by Wendy Louise
The usual sexy-server-girls are carrying trays of tequila around, giving the eye to anyone that may be able to further their careers. Normally I would be all over that but not now; I just want Liv, no one else.
This is a smaller gathering than those that Ryan normally throws, but as I scan the room I realise that I know pretty much everyone here. The showbiz scene in LA is a pretty incestuous one.
Liv looks incredible tonight.
It’s a warm evening, although there are storm clouds on the horizon. She’s wearing a short, black, figure-hugging dress. Her short ankle boots accentuate her long legs and her dark hair is pulled back into a sleek ponytail.
The red lipstick she wears shows off her plump lips against the black of her outfit.
I tighten my grip on Liv’s hand as I see Ryan approach.
I don’t miss the way his eyes drop subtly to where our hands are interlaced.
I like Ryan, he’s a nice guy, but I’m not giving Liv back to him, that’s for sure. This is one pissing contest that I’m going to win.
“You made it,” he says as he pulls Liv in for a hug.
“We did,” she responds. I don’t miss the ‘we’ that she threw in there, and I don’t think Ryan did either.
“Hey Grayson,” Ryan says, as he turns his attention to me and holds out his hand.
I let go of Liv’s hand so I can shake Ryan’s, but pick it up immediately as soon as he releases me.
He doesn’t miss that either. “Thanks for inviting us man.”
“Grab a drink and relax,” he says. “Oh, and save a dance for me Liv,” he calls over his shoulder.
I feel my grip tighten again, to the point that Liv looks down to our hands and says “Ouch,” shaking her hand out to relieve the pain.
“Sorry,” I respond. “C’mon, let’s get a drink.” Olivia laughs, obviously amused at my jealous streak.
After a couple of tequilas we decide to have a dance. The DJ is playing some great tracks and one of my favourites has just started – Mirrors by Justin Timberlake. He’s a freakin’ musical genius, I love him.
Liv and I are in each other’s arms. Hers around my shoulders, mine on her hips. We’re swaying to the rhythm, enjoying being together. Enjoying holding one another.
We’ve been getting a few raised eyebrows tonight as people take in the fact that we’re here together. The gossip mill will be churning, that’s for sure. It wouldn’t surprise me if Ethan and Ava hear about it all the way in fucking Thailand.
I feel a tap on my shoulder, “Can I cut in?”
It’s Ryan.
I want to tell him to fuck off, but this is his party and what right do I have to do that? Liv and I haven’t even defined what this is that we’re doing, so I have no right to act like a jealous boyfriend. I look into Liv’s eyes to see if she’s giving off any clues as to whether she wants to dance with Ryan or not, but her expression is blank.
“Sure,” I say reluctantly, releasing her to him.
I grab another tequila shot from a passing tray and down it without the salt or the lemon chaser. I position myself at the edge of the dance floor so I can keep a close eye on Liv.
Ryan has his hands on her hips now and I want to rip his fingers off. Liv has her hands on his arms, but hasn’t moved them around him. That’s the only thing that is keeping me from going over there, acting like a caveman, and dragging her out of here by her ponytail.
They’re chatting and laughing like friends do, but each moment she spends with him is causing a little fissure to form in my heart.
As the music transitions to one of my songs, I can barely stand still anymore. Watching Ryan touching and dancing with Liv is bad enough, but to one of Awesome Rebel’s songs, it’s torture. Liv’s eyes drift to mine and I can see that she is trying to apologise to me for still dancing with him.
Just as I decide to cut in and reclaim her, Madeline, Ethan’s sister, steps in front of me.
Madeline has always been a prima donna, and if I’m honest, a bit of a bitch. She’s grown up in this town and loves the lifestyle that goes with being a famous actress. I’d be blind if I didn’t acknowledge that she’s stunning and has a body to-die-for, but now that we know that she is Ethan’s sister, I would never go there.
Not that I would have before anyway.
I prefer dark-haired girls to Madeline’s blonde locks.
She has always been pretty flirtatious with me, and that hasn’t calmed down much on her part, even since we found out that my best friend is her brother.
“Hey Gray, great to see you,” she says placing a sticky kiss on my cheek. “What brings you here tonight?”
“I’m here with Liv,” I respond, keeping my eyes trained on Olivia and Ryan.
“Oh right, Ava told me that you guys had moved in together. How’s the whole roommate thing going?”
“It’s going well,” I reply.
I can’t take my eyes off Ryan; his hand is resting too low on Liv’s back for my liking.
“Wanna’ dance?” Madeline asks, pulling my focus back to her.
I guess if I dance with Madeline I can get closer to Liv on the dance floor, and keep an eye on her. “Sure,” I reply, holding my hand out to her.
We position ourselves fairly close to Liv and Ryan.
The DJ is playing Sexy Back, which is a pretty suggestive song, so I need to keep my distance with Madeline. I don’t want to give her the wrong idea.
Liv looks to me like she wants to say something but turns away. Her face sets hard as she slowly moves her arms around Ryan’s back.
What the fuck! Why the hell is she doing that?
My blood is boiling but I move my attention back to Madeline, two can play at this game.
I pull Madeline’s hips towards mine and we start to move. She can dance, that’s for sure. We’re moving and dipping in time with the song. Her arms have curled around my neck, holding tightly to me. I tighten my grip on her hips.
I know it’s not nice to use her like this, but if Liv can do it, then so can I. I’m furious with her.
I notice that Liv and Ryan have moved off the dance floor and are standing over near the bar talking. Ryan hands Liv one of his signature cocktails, the ones that Liv loves so much, and she throws her head back to laugh at what he has just said. If she thinks that I’m just going to stay here while she re-connects with him, then she has another thing coming. As the song nears its end, I thank Madeline for the dance and stalk towards Liv, taking long strides across the dance floor.
As she sees me coming her eyes widen. She knows she’s stepped over the line and she can see the fire in my eyes. She takes a sip of the pink cocktail in her hand and maintains eye contact.
Ryan turns towards me as I arrive beside them.
“I’m ready to go Liv.” I state, my calm exterior betraying the storm inside me.
“I’m not.” She says simply.
I give her a look to let her know that I have no intention of leaving here without her.
“I can make sure Liv gets home safely,” Ryan states.
Yeah, like I’m going to let that fuckin’ happen.
“Thanks man, but I’ll take her.” I hold my hand out to her, letting her know that I’m not playing games.
She puffs and places her now empty glass onto the bar.
“Thanks for having us,” she says to Ryan, placing her plump lips onto his cheek for a kiss. Her lipstick leaves a mark on his cheek, so she uses her thumb to rub it off. I really need to concentrate on not going mental over that.
Liv storms past me without taking my hand and heads towards the front door.
Our car is waiting out front for us, so we both climb in the back.
Liv sits as far from me as she can, looking out the window on her side, ignoring my presence. I fasten my seat belt and look out my window. We need to talk, but I don’t want this conversation to have an audience, and this car has no privacy screen.
We both sit in silence as the driver brings us closer to home.
All the while my insides are churning, and not in a good way.
I know that Liv and I need to decide what we are doing here, but what if her decision is different to mine?
Declarations
What the hell was that back there?
Gray knows how I feel about Madeline, so to dance with her and let her touch him, well that just about made me lose it in the middle of Ryan’s party.
I was so angry with him.
Stupidly, I then ended up leading Ryan on, and the last thing I want to do is send him the message that I’m interested again. I’m going to need to do some damage control there.
The level of jealousy that I felt seeing Gray dance with Madeline frightened me. I didn’t realise that I had fallen quite as hard as I have. I don’t want to see him with anyone else, I want him to be mine and mine alone.
As I stare out the window of the car, I notice small droplets of water hitting the glass. It rarely rains likes this in LA, especially on such a warm evening. I focus on the droplets as they join together and run in lines down the window.
Anything to keep my glare away from the man beside me.
I need to calm down before I talk to him.
“Are you going to ignore me all night?” Grayson asks from beside me. I can hear the concealed anger in his tone.
I turn my stare towards him. The heat in my eyes is reflected in his.
“Yes.” I respond in a bratty tone.
We both turn our heads back to the views outside our windows and watch the rain pound the streets as we drive by.
As the car pulls up outside our building, I throw my door open and start to make my way up the path to the entrance.
I hear Grayson tipping the driver and then his door shuts hard behind him. The rain is starting to soak through the fabric of my dress so I drop my head and increase my pace towards the door. Before I reach the overhang, Grayson grabs me by the elbow and spins me around.
He is drenched.
His usually spiky hair is dripping over his forehead, and his white shirt is clinging to his muscular chest. None of this is helping me maintain my anger towards him; it’s just turning me on, he looks hot.
Ridiculously so.
I struggle in his hold, trying to rip my arm from his grip. “Let me go Gray,” I warn.
“No. Not ‘til you talk to me.”
“Fine, I’ll talk. What the hell was that tonight?” I ask.
I rub my palm over my face, trying to remove the raindrops that continue to soak me. My long ponytail is dripping now, and I can feel the droplets running down the open back of my dress. I run my hand down the long strands, squeezing some of the excess water off the ends.
“What are you talking about?’ Gray yells and throws his hands in the air. “You started it with Ryan!”
His white shirt is completely soaked now and stuck to him all over. I can see every plane of his chest and abs, including the outline of his tattoos. I need to look away. He throws his hands angrily through his hair, spiking it back up again.
Sexy bastard!
Hold your ground Olivia, don’t let him distract you.
“Ryan asked me to dance Gray. You were the one that walked away and left me with him.” I say in my defence.
“Liv, you wrapped your arms around his back in front of me! How do you think that made me feel, seeing you with your ex-boyfriend like that?” He has a hurt tone to his voice but I’m too angry at him to care.
“I did that when I saw you on the dance floor with Madeline. You know she’s not my favourite person Gray, and you danced with her!”
Rain is running down both of our faces now, and a violent shiver runs through me from the cold. Gray has drops dripping over his nose and onto his lips, and his eye lashes have gone pointy from the water. We stare at each other, blinking from the rain, neither wanting to break away first.
As the rain starts to pour heavily, I have to raise my voice to be heard.
“Gray, I was furious at you. Did you do that to make me jealous?” I yell.
“Did it work?” he counters, with a smug grin on his face.
“You arrogant prick!” I reply.
I turn to make my way inside but Gray pulls me back against him, holding me tight. I place my palms flat on his chest to steady myself, and I can feel his heart beating furiously beneath my fingers.
“Tell me what you want Liv. This stops now!” he yells. “I’m not playing games anymore. We live under the same roof, we do everything together. I’m sick of pretending that I don’t feel anything for you. I know you feel it too. Stop denying me. Stop denying us.”
Grayson’s voice is low and deep. His eyes are locked onto mine and I can’t speak.
He wraps his hand around my neck and pulls me to him, placing his lips on mine and kissing me with every fibre of his being, hard and fast. The rain continues to run over both of us, but I no longer feel cool, in fact my skin has burst into flames.
Most surprisingly, despite my anger at him, my damn foot pops with the kiss!
Gray pulls back and cups his hands over my face, staring into my eyes. “I love you Olivia Lucas. I’ve loved you since the first time I saw you, and I’m not denying that anymore. You. Are. Mine….” he says, each word staccato to emphasize the sentiment, “….only mine, and I’ve been yours since the day we met. I belong to you!”
The conviction in his voice makes me tremble.
Before I can respond, he pulls me back and takes another taste of my lips. He entwines our fingers and brings them up to rest over our beating hearts. His lips convey all the love that his words have just declared.
I move my hands into his hair and twine the ends around my fingers before I pull back to stare into his eyes. “Grayson Adams, what am I going to do with you?” I say with a smile.
He starts to say something but I place my finger over his lips to silence him. “I love you too Gray. More than you could ever know. I’m yours, only yours, and I want you to be mine. Always.”
Grayson’s smile lights his face.
Bright and beautiful.
Warm and sincere.
We forget about the fact that we’re both standing out the front of our building in the pouring rain and we wrap our arms around one another, kissing each other and pouring all the love we feel into the other.
Gray lifts me and holds me tight, moving through the entrance of our building. He punches the elevator button without letting me go, and continues to rain kisses down my neck as we wait.
I bury my face into his neck inhaling his gorgeous scent mixed with the warm rain.
As we fall through the door of the apartment, I wrap my arms and legs around him tightly. He carries me in quick strides to his room and pushes the door closed with a flick of his foot.
As he continues to kiss me I mutter, “We’re soaking wet Gray,” against his lips.
“And?”
“I don’t want to get your bed all soggy.”
Ignoring me, Grayson moves me to the dead centre of his big bed.
“I don’t give a fuck about my bed Liv,” he growls. He climbs over me and stares down into my eyes.
“I love you Liv,” he says simply.
I slide my knuckles down his cheek as my heart inflates with his words. His eyes soften. “I love you too Gray. I want you. Make love to me.”
“You don’t need to ask me twice,” he says with a wicked smile as he starts to peel off the wet clothing we are both wearing, which takes more effort than you can imagine.
Fingertips trace patterns slowly over my stomach. I’m warm and comfortable so I don’t want to wake up yet. I feel Gray’s lips pecking me gently under my ear, causing me to giggle.
“That’s my ticklish spot.” I say with a sleepy voice.
“Good to know….” he replies, “…and good morning baby.”
It’s not the first time he has called me that, but I still get a thrill when he says it.
Turning in his arms I place a light kiss on his stubble. “Good morning to
you too.”
I run my fingers down the length of his nose and over his lips. I stroke my thumb over his dimple, “I love this,” I say as I lean up and kiss him in the centre of it.
Our legs entwine and our hands run lightly over each other, memorising all the planes and curves that now belong to the person who represents the other half of us.
“So,” I say, “how do we do this?”
Grayson pulls back and looks at me, eyebrows pulled in, “Do what?”
“Us.” I state.
“Last time I checked Liv, we were doing pretty good at us,” he says with a salacious grin, wiggling his eyebrows up and down.
I give him a light shove, “I’m not talking about the sex Gray, that’s pretty awesome…”
“Just pretty awesome?” He pretends to be offended, “I thought it was mega- chocolate-sundae-chocolate-fudge-cherry-on-top awesome.”
“Well it is all that.” I laugh. “I’m talking about us, our relationship. You’re about to head off on tour and my schedule is about to get crazy with the movie. I’m scared that our careers are going to pull us in opposite directions. Of course there’s also all your fans for me to worry about too…I mean you’re a rock star.”
Grayson scoffs and takes my hand in his, pulling it to his chest. “Liv, don’t you know by now that I want you, only you. I know that work is going to force us to spend time apart, but we’ll make it work. I’ll fly to you when we have a few days off and you can do the same.”
“You make it sound so simple.” I say with a sigh.
“It is Liv; love doesn’t have to be complicated,” he says as he kisses my lips.
Grayson’s cell starts to ring as he deepens our kiss.
“Are you going to get that?” I ask against his mouth.
He groans and rolls away from me to check the screen on his phone. “It’s my sister,” he says, as he punches the screen to accept her call.
“Hey Sienna… No I’m not busy…” he replies, rolling his eyes at me.
I giggle.
“You are...When...That’s so cool…Where are you staying?... I’ll check with Olivia but I’m sure you can stay with us….” He looks at me with the question in his eyes.