Worthwhile
Page 10
He made a face. “Hell yeah. She went home with my father.”
She felt her jaw drop an inch. “Your father?”
He nodded.
“He was at the club last night? I thought I overheard that on the phone.”
“Showed up after you left.”
“Does that happen a lot?”
“What? My father showing up or him going home with girls younger than me?”
“Both, I guess.”
“I’m coming to realize that my father has Peter Pan syndrome.”
“Funny, some might say that about you,” she said.
He gave her a look, which she returned with an apologetic smile. “Sorry.”
“It’s that he’s always been my role model. I looked forward to my weeks with him as a kid so much. I wanted to be exactly like him when I grew up, but now that I am grown up, I see him for what he is.”
“What’s that?”
“A loser.”
Her heart tore for him. “Oh, Drew. I’m sure he’s not a loser.”
“He called me this morning after ditching me last night to complain that he was worried about a pregnancy scare, and wouldn’t that suck because being a father would be the worst thing that could happen to him.”
“Maybe he meant at his current age,” she said, looking for any way to spin such a horrible thing for a parent to say to a child.
He shook his head. “He’s always said shit like that, but I shook it off and didn’t hear it for what it was.”
“I’m sorry he said that to you. It was unkind. What are you going to do?” she asked.
He shrugged. “What can I do? I can wish him to be a different person, the kind of guy who would’ve stuck around to be a husband and real father, but that’s a waste of time. He isn’t going to change.”
“Maybe if you tell him how you feel,” she tried. “People can change.” Look at her. She went from school slut to twenty-seven-year-old virgin.
“Not him,” he said, almost harshly.
He sounded wounded, and she wished she could say something that would make him feel better, but she had no words. Sometimes you had to cry or yell the bad feelings out or let them simmer until they boiled away. A good hug often helped, so she scooted forward to wrap Drew in her arms.
Given their positions on the couch, it was nearly impossible to get in a good hugging position, so he pulled her onto his lap, until she was straddling him, and they wrapped their arms around each other.
It was meant to be a platonic hug. One friend comforting another, but Olivia and Drew didn’t know the meaning of platonic. Sparks exploded whenever they touched and right now was no exception.
With their faces inches apart, it was a no brainer for them to lean in a bit more until their lips were pressed tight. He tasted like toothpaste and coffee, and it was delicious. His palm cupped the back of her head, holding her against him.
The second they were kissing, all fears and worries fell away. She was meant to be in his arms, touching his lips to hers.
But then he pulled back and lifted her off his lap, putting her back on the sofa, a foot between them. “Olivia, wait.”
“What’s wrong?” she asked in a daze. They’d only kissed for less than ten seconds, but that was enough to have her brain spinning.
“We didn’t talk about the other thing.”
“What other thing?”
“The guys from last night.”
“Oh.” Poof. There went her little happy haze from kissing.
“I ran into them after walking you to your car.”
She crossed her arms across her chest, but didn’t say a word.
“They told me they called you Olivia the Giver back in high school.” He held up a hand before she could say anything. “No judgments. I want to hear your side of the story, because yours is the only side that matters. Those guys are nothing to me.”
She wanted to kiss him again. She knew he wouldn’t let her until she told him her tale. “There’s not much to say.”
He raised both brows at her, and she rolled her eyes. “Fine, there’s a lot to say, but I’d prefer to be kissing.”
He grinned. “Me too.” But he didn’t make a move toward her, and she knew she’d have to explain. “I was a bit of a wild child in high school. I wanted to be popular, and I thought that making the boys like me would make me popular. I was overly generous with my favors, because I told myself that I was still pure if I did everything but…” She smiled wryly. “It kind of worked. I was very popular with certain boys, but I developed a certain reputation. My brother heard about it and had a come to Jesus meeting with me.”
“I like him already.”
“It didn’t work. It wasn’t until my senior year that I realized I had no friends and I had a teacher who also had a come to Jesus meeting with me. Hers sort of worked, but it wasn’t until I made a pass at my brother’s best friend and he turned me down that I changed. I started dressing differently and didn’t talk to a single boy until Christmas.” She stopped talking and chanced a glance at him to see how he was taking her story.
“I’m still a virgin by the way,” she said. That got a reaction, it was subtle, but she noted his eyes flared and his hand clenched into a fist.
“Don’t distract me,” he said, a growl in his voice.
“I realized today that I’m still living like I’m trying to shed my slutty image, and I decided that I’m an adult. Nobody’s opinion matters but my own and the people I love.”
“Good for you.”
“It also means I realized I missed out on a lot of things I should’ve been exploring. Like sex. That’s why I told you I’m willing to explore what’s between us. I want you to be the one to teach me about sex. No strings. Before, when I was with a guy, it was about his pleasure. I never got much out of it. I think it’d be different with you.” She looked at him expectantly hoping she hadn’t misplaced her trust.
Drew had to grab a handful of sofa cushion to stop him from pouncing on Olivia, pinning her to the couch and teaching her all about sex. Jesus, she nearly killed him with her confession. “When’s the last time you were with a guy?” he asked, almost sounding as if he were being strangled.
“When I was seventeen.”
“Ten years.”
She nodded.
“And you haven’t had…urges in all that time?”
“Sure, but nothing I couldn’t handle until…” She closed her lips and stayed silent.
“Olivia?” he asked, wanting her to admit what was between them. He wanted to be the reason she was ready to leave her monkish existence.
“You,” she whispered. “When you kiss me…” She shuddered slightly. “It’s more intimate than anything I’ve done before. I can’t wait until we actually get our clothes off.”
He had to close his eyes and count to ten before he could speak normally.
“Sorry. Did I scare you?”
“Scare? No. Thrill, excite, and terrify, yes.”
She laughed.
“I know this may sound old fashioned, but can I take you on a real date first?”
She stopped laughing and looked suspicious. “Why?”
“Because, contrary to your opinion of me, I’m not an asshole.”
“I never said you were an asshole.”
“You think I am when it comes to women, and after seeing my dad in action last night, I want to do right by you. Please, Olivia. Let’s do this right.”
She visibly softened at his mention of his father. “But nothing can come of it. You asked if we’d possibly have a future, but I don’t think so. We’re too different. Us dating couldn’t mean anything.”
“It’d mean something to me. Olivia, don’t give up on us without giving it a chance.”
She rested her head onto her palm that was propped up by an elbow on the back of the sofa. “Fine. I’ll think about it.”
“Great. Think about the movies. Thursday.”
“Fine,” she finally agreed.
Olivia hurried into the movie theater where she was supposed to meet Drew at two thirty. It was closer to two forty-five now, and she’d texted to say she was running late. Her tardiness might have something to do with the many outfit changes. She’d nixed the first dress she’d put on. Too obvious, and she’d never make it past her parents without enduring the third degree. They wouldn’t believe she was meeting a girlfriend at the movies during the day dressed like she was heading back to OCXA.
She finally settled on tight jeans, sparkly flip flops and a blouse that revealed a lot of cleavage with every breath. It was a full-on wardrobe malfunction if she leaned over. She planned on leaning over a lot this afternoon.
It was too fun to flirt suggestively with Drew and earn his sucked-back breaths and hooded eyes. Like now, as she walked into the movie theater lobby and saw him standing there holding a large popcorn and soda. The cup bent in where he squeezed it as he looked her up and down.
She stood a little straighter and hurried over to take the drink from his hands and kiss him on the cheek. When she moved away from him slightly, his free hand tugged her back.
“Give me a real kiss,” he murmured.
She smiled, feeling her cheeks warm like she’d been standing in the Miami humidity too long. “Good things come to those who wait.” She turned to walk into line to get a ticket, and he came up close behind her, pressing his front against her back.
“You better believe it,” he murmured in her ear.
She almost tripped on her feet.
“I already bought tickets,” he said. “Come on.”
“You didn’t have to pay and buy the popcorn and drinks.”
“Is this a date?”
She nodded.
“I asked you out. I pay.”
She wouldn’t argue with that logic. “All right.” She followed him to the ticket taker then to theater four where he found them two seats together a third of the way from the back. As it was a weekday afternoon, it was nearly empty.
“Like our own private theater,” she said, settling down and grabbing a handful of popcorn. “Damn.”
“What?”
“I forgot my sweater.” Movie theaters in Miami pumped their air conditioning units as if trying to freeze out a lava flow.
“I’ll keep you warm. C’mere.” He wrapped an arm over her shoulder, and even though it was the cheesiest cliché, she loved feeling safe and warm in his arms.
“I hope there’s caffeine in that soda,” she said as the previews started.
“Yeah, why?”
“Because I’m working tonight after this.”
He leaned away to look her in the face. “You are?”
“Yes. Is that a problem?”
“No, but I’m trying to work through the logistics of this in my mind. It’s going to be hard to find alone time with you. Either you’re at your parents’ house, work, or my place with my mom.”
She hadn’t thought about that either. “We’ll find time. I’ve scheduled things to get one full day and night off.” She snuggled in closer to him. “I wouldn’t mind going back out on your boat, but only the two of us.”
A slow smile spread across his face and his fingers gripped her shoulder.
“You like that idea,” she said.
“Hell yeah.”
The movie started, and if you asked her after, Olivia couldn’t tell you what it was about. There was a man, two women, and a car chase at one point. Other than that, she was way more focused on the feel of Drew’s arm on her shoulders. And the slow rhythm of his chest moving up and down as he inhaled and exhaled. And the brush of his fingers when he passed her the bag of popcorn.
Now that she’d made the decision to hook up with Drew, the actual event couldn’t come soon enough. She didn’t want to be sitting here in the dark watching a movie she didn’t care about when they could be exchanging kisses and more.
“Olivia,” he murmured. “Stop looking at me like that.”
“Like what?” she whispered back.
“Like you want to get kicked out of here for indecent exposure.”
She giggled. “Would that be so terrible?”
“I’m thirty years old. Please don’t make me have to call my mother to bail us out. Or worse, your father.”
She outright laughed, earning some shhs and scowls from the handful of other moviegoers. “He’d bail me out. You’d be left to rot,” she whispered.
He chuckled. “Let’s get out of here.”
She rose. “Oh, thank goodness. I wasn’t watching it anyway.”
He held her hand as they left the theater. “Me neither.”
“I bet it wins an Oscar,” she said. “And we’ll have no idea why.”
“But we’ll be able to say we saw it.”
“True, though we’ll have to look thoughtful and critical and murmur hmm a lot when people discuss the movie since we won’t be able to discuss the actual plot.”
They burst out laughing.
“You’re funny, Olivia,” he said. “I didn’t think you would be, but hidden under your strict façade, you’ve got a wicked sense of humor. I like it.”
She gave a little curtsy, still holding his hand. “Thank you.”
He tugged her to him and wrapped an arm low around her waist. He leaned down so their faces were inches apart and let his lips linger over hers. “Mmm,” he said. “Delicious.” She felt him smile against her mouth, and she nipped at his lower lip.
She was going to spontaneously combust before she managed to get him to a bed.
“Did you have lunch?” he asked, pulling back, but keeping a hand on her body. She hoped he felt like she did, that touching was of utmost importance.
“If popcorn counts as lunch.”
He tugged her toward the exit. “Come on, there’s a taqueria next door.”
Over really good carne asasda tacos and cerveza for him, iced tea for her, he made her laugh telling her the craziest things that had happened at OCXA since owning it.
“Then the three of them came out of the bathroom naked,” he said, and she thought that was the end of the story.
She wiped her eyes. “That’s insane.”
“No,” he said, sipping his beer. “The crazy part is that we never found their clothes. Not in the bathroom, not out near the Dumpsters. Vanished.” He snapped his fingers. “Someday they’ll knock our building down, and three gold sequined mini dresses will be discovered.”
She held her stomach from laughing.
When she stopped laughing, she glanced at her phone.
“How much longer do I have you?” he asked.
“Twenty minutes.”
“Then let’s walk.” Like a gentleman, he cleared away all trash and then took her hand as they strolled outside. It wasn’t one of Miami’s cuter neighborhoods, so there wasn’t much to see, and the humidity made her feel the rain in the air, but she was happy to simply be walking holding hands with him.
“I want to get another date with you on the calendar,” he said.
“You’re going to see me tomorrow by lunchtime. I work until two, then I’m coming to your place to sleep for a few hours, and then I’ll be with your mom all day. You’ll be sick of me by tomorrow night, I promise.”
He stopped walking and spun them so her back was to a fence and he caged her in. “I won’t be sick of you.” For emphasis, he let his entire body press against hers and kissed her softly on the cheek. Ay mami, she was going to lose her heart then her mind to him.
“Are you okay with my mother knowing?” he asked.
“About us?”
He nodded.
She bit her lip, thinking. “No. I’m her nurse, and I don’t want to either raise her hopes or make her feel guarded around me.”
“Why would she do that?”
“Because people tend to get chatty with their caregivers. I know all kinds
of family secrets.”
“Like what?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” She pretended to give an evil laugh.
“Olivia.”
“I know that you were valedictorian of your high school and could’ve gone to an Ivy League school, but instead chose the state university.
“It’s an excellent school and more affordable.”
“And has better parties,” she said.
He shrugged. “A perk.”
She laughed. “I also know about Kendall.”
His expression blanked when she mentioned his high school girlfriend. “What about her?”
“That she was the big reason you chose Florida, but then you broke up with her the week after you got there. Your mom was disappointed. Did you know Kendall is married and has twins?”
“I’m aware,” he said. “My mother sees those twins as the grandchildren she’ll never have.”
“Did you love her?” she asked.
“Maybe. I was seventeen. What the hell did I know about love?”
“Why’d you break up? Your mother thinks it had something to do with your father’s visit to campus.”
He closed his eyes briefly, then looked at her. “Probably. At the time I thought it was so awesome. My dad came to hang out with me and my new friends and to take us to fraternity parties. Should’ve been a big red flag right there when your dad wants to take you to a kegger.”
She murmured something sympathetic.
“Anyway, my dad told me I should ditch the ball and chain. That college was about meeting as many girls as possible and a steady girlfriend would slow me down.”
She pushed off the fence and started strolling again. “Why do I suspect your dad phrased it differently?”
He chuckled. “You’d be right.”
“So was your father.”
He froze, then kept walking. “What do you mean?”
“Odds of you and Kendall staying together? Not good. You would’ve missed out. Like I did.”
He shrugged. “Probably true. Anyway, none of that matters now, because I met this amazing girl who loves when I kiss her.”
Giggling, she allowed him to twirl her into an embrace which started as a silly kiss, almost tango on the sidewalk, then quickly heated. She was lost in his lips and his arms around her. She ached to get even closer to him, wishing they didn’t have the layer of clothes between them. Even more, wishing they were not on a public sidewalk, and instead in a bed alone.