by Robyn Roze
He understood her suffering all too well, because he had the same nightmares.
****
Olivia felt confined and overly warm in a heavy fog. She was having trouble breathing and hurt everywhere. Who was dragging her? Oh, God, the pain was excruciating. Was that smoke she smelled? She hated this foul recurring dream and started mumbling and thrashing trying to wake herself from the never-ending misery.
Now she felt something heavy on her and the smell of smoke replaced with the scent of familiar contaminated air. Oh, God, now something was crawling on her face and neck. She tried opening her eyes but was having difficulty as her frustration escalated. Why couldn’t she wake up?
Then she heard a disembodied voice whispering softly. ‘It’s okay, sunshine. I’m here now. I’ll take care of you.’ Her eyes popped open at the realization of Nick on top of her, kissing her neck with his hands in hers, holding them down above her head.
“I’ll never leave you, Olivia,” he pledged feverishly as he began pushing into her.
CHAPTER 12
It was after eleven on Sunday night when Olivia’s plane finally landed. Nick had purposefully booked the last flight as punishment for her defiance when she didn’t come home Friday night as he had originally decreed.
She stared vacantly out the taxi window at the passing lights and decided to turn her cell phone on to see if there were any missed calls or messages. She had kept her phone off all weekend to prevent her two lives from mingling. Oh, crap! There were multiple missed calls and texts from Jake yesterday, but none today. Her stomach sank. Should she call him this late on a Sunday night? She decided to text instead in case he was already asleep.
*sorry i missed your calls.
my phone was off.*
She didn’t expect a response so quickly or at all really.
*i need to see you.
can i come over?*
What? Why? It was already after eleven-thirty at night and she wouldn’t be at the dorm until close to midnight. Maybe she could hold him off for a day or two. She was bone-weary and depleted.
*its late. can it wait?*
*just 5 minutes. please.*
She thought about it for a little bit.
*ok. i’ll meet you out
front in 20 minutes.*
As the taxi pulled up just before midnight, Olivia saw Jake sitting on the bench outside the entrance to her dorm. The campus security lights created a hazy dance club for the bugs bouncing to their own tune underneath them. She could see that Jake was wearing faded jeans, a white t-shirt and a dark leather jacket.
She paid the driver, grabbed her bag and exited the taxi. When Jake saw her, he stood for a few seconds and then walked toward her meeting her halfway. She couldn’t read the expression on his face in the dusky light. He took her bag from her, placed it on the ground next to him, and then stepped in closer to her. He searched her face as if he was trying to answer some vexing question. She inhaled his scent and wished she could just drown in it.
Jake had tried getting a hold of Olivia all day Saturday. He had finally stopped by her dorm hoping to catch her there, but she was gone. Roxy told him that she had gone out of town early that morning. Why hadn’t she said anything to him about that? What was she hiding - a boyfriend? Now here she was standing in front of him and he had to know. He had to know if the alcohol made him imagine things or if he had just misread it all.
He scrutinized her face for answers. She appeared tired and there was a hint of sadness that dulled her normally sunny emerald green eyes. Jake cupped her face, slowly tilting her head back in his hands and touched his forehead gently against hers softly rolling it back and forth with his eyes closed. He inhaled her scent deeply and exhaled. Without warning, he claimed her mouth with his, kissing her with an intense, mounting passion.
Olivia matched him in every way with the heat from her body and mouth. Forcing himself, he broke away and rested his forehead against hers with his eyes still closed trying to regain control. She was breathing heavily and her hands slid down from his shoulders to rest on his narrow hips. She was real. He hadn’t imagined the way she tasted and felt in his arms Friday night.
He didn’t really want to know the answer, but he asked her anyway. Jake sighed. “Do you have a boyfriend, Olivia?” he questioned huskily, keeping his eyes closed. Please tell me you don’t, he pleaded silently in his head.
His question took Olivia by surprise. This was why he had to see her tonight? Did he really think she would kiss him like that if she had a boyfriend? She had never actually had one, but she wouldn’t admit that to him, and Nick sure as hell didn’t count.
With his thumbs, he tenderly caressed her cheeks waiting for her response. “Answer me, Olivia. Please,” he pressed breathlessly. There was an undertone of desperation in his voice.
She shook her head slowly. “No, Jake. I don’t have a boyfriend.”
He exhaled deeply opening his eyes and gently kissed her forehead. “You do now…if you want one.” He searched her eyes with an expression and unspoken words that crushed her under their weight. The emotion radiating off him right now made her uncomfortable. She had always preferred that everything remain light and above the surface. Life was easier that way, and she felt compelled to lighten the mood.
“Who’d you have in mind?” she teased with an arched brow and sly grin.
Jake snorted softly, shaking his head. “Oh, Olivia. That mouth of yours.” His stunning electric blue eyes were shining and he had the sweetest grin she had ever seen. She couldn’t believe he was serious. Would she be an idiot to agree? Could she really afford not to? She decided to find out.
With pinched brows she asked, “Wouldn’t a girlfriend kind of ruin your whole playboy lifestyle?” She smiled up at him, but her eyes were dead serious.
Jake tucked stray strands of hair behind her ear, tilting her chin up so she would look at him directly. With utter certitude he announced, “I’m ready for a change, Olivia. I’m ready for you.”
CHAPTER 13
A few weeks had passed since Jake melted Olivia’s heart outside Schuster Hall that late Sunday night. She would’ve let him take her on the ground right there, but she felt like there was more to it than that and really didn’t want to rush it. Their sexual chemistry was undeniably potent, but she felt as if it was cloaking the promise of something more. Olivia fantasized that sex with Jake might actually feel special and be memorable. Maybe she would finally experience the passion that she had read and heard about from others.
Now she didn’t know what her next move would be. She wanted the reality to live up to the building fantasy in her head, but she was also finding it difficult to concentrate because she just kept picturing her and Jake wrapped around each other naked, sweating and writhing in ecstasy. God! She needed him out of her system so she could think clearly. He had to be feeling as horny and needy as she was. The kissing and over the clothing making out was just not cutting it, but was definitely fun. He must be taking cold showers regularly, she laughed to herself. Oh, great, now she was picturing him in the shower! Arggh! This had to stop.
Where could they go and have the privacy that she really wanted the first time they were together? She didn’t want to be rushed or worried about interruptions. The dorm room was an absolute no for their first time, and even though Jake lived in a house off-campus, Steve was always there. Usually with a friend or two camped out in the living room and milling around in the kitchen. When he wasn’t, he had always managed to walk in and kill her mood. She definitely did not want to have sex while Steve was in the house. She could just picture him outside Jake’s door with numbered cards rating her performance and comparing her to Jake’s many other conquests.
Olivia had noticed that Steve was cool toward her, probably because he believed she was cramping Jake’s style and didn’t like losing his best whoring buddy either. Well, screw him, she puffed to herself. Jake made that choice, not her. She hadn’t forced him or even asked him to stop seeing ot
her girls. It didn’t matter, though. She could tell that Steve believed Jake was whipped.
****
Jake was sitting at a stop light on his way home from the gym daydreaming about how Olivia would feel naked and wet underneath him. He just wanted to bury his face between her legs and make her come again and again until she screamed his name. What would she sound like? What would she look like? Oh, no, he reached down to adjust himself. Is this fucking light ever going to turn green he roared in his head.
For the past few weeks, Jake felt like he had been sitting for too long at a red light, revving his engine ready to roar as soon as it turned green. There had recently been a couple of times that he thought the light was turning green with Olivia. Then Steve had managed to screw it up. He had to get him out of the house.
Jake knew that Olivia was uncomfortable around Steve, and he couldn’t blame her. Steve wasn’t exactly friendly to her. He had let Jake know that he didn’t agree with him hanging up his playboy ways. Well fuck him, Jake thought. The light finally turned green, and as Jake accelerated through, he decided Steve was going to take a trip this weekend one way or the other.
When Jake walked in the front door, Steve was on the sofa with his feet propped up on the worn ottoman watching football on the mounted flat screen above the fireplace. He had a large bowl on his lap shoveling popcorn into his mouth, a beer in the other hand. Jake dropped his bag in the foyer and stood for a few minutes watching the game.
Jake had a plan. He rubbed the stubble on the side of his square jaw and walked into the living room. “Hey, how long’s it been since you visited your parents, Stevo?” Steve stopped mid-shovel and looked up at him.
“Huh?” He continued chewing and looked at Jake skeptically.
Jake raked his hand through his hair. “I want the place to myself this weekend, buddy. Can’t you go home or something for a couple of days?” He knew Steve wasn’t going to comply without answers first.
Steve squeezed his eyes together as he shoveled in more popcorn. “Why the fuck do you need the place to yourself for a whole weekend?” he grumbled through the mouthful of popcorn, eyeing Jake suspiciously.
Jake walked into the kitchen and poured himself a big glass of cold tap water. “I just do,” he answered from the kitchen. “Can you go this weekend?” Jake asked over his shoulder as he stared out the kitchen windows at their neighbor’s house.
Steve had moved to the kitchen and was leaning his shoulder against the cased archway. “If you need some alone time with your little girlfriend, why don’t you just say so?” Steve mocked.
Jake turned around, leaning up against the edge of the countertop drinking his water. Eyeing Steve, he answered, “Fine. I’d like Olivia to stay for the weekend and it’d be a hell of lot easier if you weren’t here.” He took another drink.
Steve’s brow raised as recognition slowly filtered into his brain. His eyes narrowed. “Wait. Are you telling me you haven’t hit that yet?” Steve groaned loudly and his hands went up to his head shaking in disbelief. “Does everything really need to be just fucking perfect for her before she’ll give it up? Oh my God, Jake! What the fuck’s happened to you!” Steve derided. “I never had to leave before when you wanted to fuck some girl!”
Jake was going into a slow burn and slammed his glass of water on the counter splashing most of it out. He rose to his full six-foot three inches and moved with menace toward Steve. “Shut your fucking mouth, Steve. You don’t know shit! Olivia isn’t some girl, and I don’t give a rat’s ass whether you like her or not! I want you gone this weekend.” He was attempting to regain some control. Hell, all the pent up testosterone made him want to explode.
Steve knew from Jake’s tone and demeanor that he had better back down. He put his hands up in a gesture of truce. “No problem, man. I can be gone all weekend.” Steve was backing away with hands still signaling surrender. “I just hope she’s not playing you, buddy. I just got a feeling that something’s not right. But, hey, what do I know?” He rolled his eyes, shrugged and headed upstairs.
“You don’t know anything!” Jake steamed as he watched Steve stomp upstairs to his room. He knew that Steve just patently distrusted girls, so his assessment of Olivia wasn’t surprising. However, Jake still had his own niggling doubts about Olivia but decided that she was just a very private person and that she would open up more once he had proven his trustworthiness. There would be time for history lessons later, he told himself. Right now, he just needed her in his bed anyway he could get her there.
CHAPTER 14
It was a late evening in early fall as Olivia headed back to the dorm from a study group session at the library. Jake had wanted her to come over and study at his place, but she was sure the studying would have been an afterthought with him around. She tugged her jacket closer when an evening breeze surprised her with its chill. Just then, her phone buzzed with a text. Please let it be Jake, she groaned. She pulled the phone out of her pocket and was very relieved.
*hey liv. pizza or
chinese takeout
tomorrow nite?*
*chinese please*
They had been seeing a lot of each other the past few weeks and she was enjoying every minute of it. Olivia had never had a boyfriend and so far, she really liked having one. Jake was funny, attentive and a fantastic kisser. If their make out sessions were any indication, she was sure they were going to combust into red-hot flames when they were finally naked together. Just the thought made her core tingle and clench. Olivia was beginning not to care whether Steve was there or not. She wanted Jake, and she would just have to ignore the image of Steve with his rating cards outside the door.
*time?*
*i’ll pick you up at 5:30?*
*ok. meet you out front. ;) *
Olivia’s last class on Friday ended at three o’clock so that would give her time to take a long hot shower and prepare for what she hoped would be a night to remember. She shivered and felt the goose bumps exploding everywhere. Oh, please let reality live up to the fantasy, she pleaded in her head.
*sweet dreams, liv….*
Oh, he had no idea what she had been dreaming. Well, actually, he probably did, she reconsidered, licking her lips and smiling.
*they’ve been much
sweeter lately…. ;) *
*i could make them
come true…..*
*confident about that?*
She could picture him with a smug expression, probably thinking she would be begging him for more soon enough.
*don’t let my dancing
fool you. i make up for
it in other ways.*
*ha ha. see you
tomorrow night.*
As Olivia continued walking home with a silly grin on her face, she received another text. She looked to see what Jake had to say. Her heart sank.
*flight home tomorrow night.*
Her stomach rolled. It hadn’t been that long since her last visit. She didn’t want to go back there, preferably ever. She could breathe deeper the farther away she was from Lake Abyss and him. Besides, this didn’t make sense. Olivia checked online earlier in the week and knew that Nick’s team would be competing at the Grand Prix in Aragon, Spain this weekend. There was no way he would miss that. She really wanted to see Jake tomorrow night - and the next night, and… Oh, just screw Nick! She would have to figure a way out of his web.
*sorry. can’t. working at
hospital this weekend.
degree requirement.*
She was lying and waited for flames to shoot from her phone. She kept walking toward her dorm waiting for his response. Olivia glanced around to see if he was lurking somewhere as another fall chill licked at her. Finally, a new text buzzed.
*next weekend.
NO EXCUSES.*
Wow. No argument. Maybe being so far away was starting to change things for Nick, too. He never caved in so easily in the past. After he irrevocably changed their relationship, he had become very domineering, not a
llowing her to attend dances, parties or any other social activity with friends. He even made her quit the track team because boys were paying too much attention to her. Maybe he was finally coming to terms with the reality that his ownership was ending soon with her twenty-first birthday around the corner and her burgeoning independence finally rearing its head.
After the time she and Jake had been spending together lately, Olivia knew that a serious talk was due with Nick. There was no way she was letting him touch her anymore. She had atoned many times over to him. From now on, she was sleeping in her own room when she visited, and she was not going to reveal anything about Jake. That wouldn’t be a good idea right now, she decided. There was no telling how Nick would react, and she didn’t think it was necessary yet anyway, given Jake’s attention span would most likely begin to dwindle once they had done the deed.
Inching away from him would be better than running away from him…for now at least. However, things were going to have to change until then, and the biggest question mark was how to proceed with the blueprint she had been working on before she met Jake. He had been a big, wonderful, wrench in everything.
She texted Nick back.
*ok*
CHAPTER 15
Olivia unloaded the trove of Chinese takeout while Jake docked his iPhone in the living room. The kitchen flowered with the pungent scents of all varieties of seafood, chicken and beef prepared in delicious Asian sauces. They had egg rolls, spring rolls, vegetable fried rice, hot and sour soup, egg drop soup, banana spring rolls, a bag full of fortune cookies and just about everything else possible.