Mental Training

by S. B. Sheeran

  Olivia smiled wearily in agreement. She had no idea how Gracie’s family would take the news, but she knew how her family would react and a stab of nervousness went through her.

  CHAPTER 7

  Saturday afternoon Olivia left work early to drive thirty minutes to her parent’s house. She used the quiet to rehearse what she wanted to say to her family. There was no doubt in her mind that they would be shocked and ask a million questions, but she took comfort in knowing that they wouldn’t disown her or anything like that. Her family had their values, but judging others for their lifestyles wasn’t something they practiced. Even when they disagreed with it.

  Olivia groaned in dread when she pulled up to her parent’s house and spotted her oldest brother’s, Rich, SUV parked in front. She considered then and there driving back to Springs, but resolutely put her car in park. Either way Rich would hear about it and probably give her grief over it. That was the story of her life growing up with three brothers and being the youngest child.

  She grabbed the cucumber salad Gracie prepared for her from the passenger’s seat and stepped out into the dry afternoon. Thunderstorms once again clouded in the south horizon and boomed in the distance as they approached steadily with the help of a gusty breeze. Olivia paused in front of the door in the gate, smoothing a nervous hand over her hair. This was it. She had to be strong now.

  Her family was gathered underneath the latticed porch and the smell of barbecued chicken washed over Olivia in a warm breeze. She walked along the stone pathway towards them and forced a pleasant smile on her face when they turned to greet her with a wave.

  “Aunt Olive is here!” Jessie exclaimed, brown curls bouncing as she sprinted forward.

  Olivia smiled down at her niece hugging her legs tightly and smoothed an affectionate down the back of her curls. She took Jessie’s smaller and sweaty hand in hers and swung it playfully between them as they walked up to the porch.

  “There’s my baby sister, Olive.” Rich said, grinning widely at her. He swept her up into a fierce one armed hug. “Mom wasn’t kidding when she said you lost weight. When did you get arm muscles?”

  “You sound a little nervous, bro.” Olivia said, grinning. She tightened her hand into a fist and waved it threateningly at him. “Now that you know that I can kick your ass.”

  Rich chuckled, shaking his head in bemusement. “Whatever floats your boat, sis. I could still totally kick your ass.”

  He sat down in a chair around the tiled table. After hugging her parents hello, Olivia sat in the chair next to Rich’s and swung it around to face him. “Where’s your wife, by the way?”

  “Oh, at work. Somebody called in sick. You know how it is working in retail. If one person calls in sick, the whole store goes into chaos.” Rich said, rolling his eyes dramatically.

  Olivia laughed in amusement. “Yeah, I know. I remember what it’s like working for a retail store. It’s pretty damn close working for hell.”

  “How’s your job going? Mom says you got a new job.”

  “Good. It’s going good. Decent hours, paychecks, and benefits. Can’t complain.”

  The next hour flew by in casual chatter. Olivia kept quiet, half listening to her family talk as she mentally rehearsed what she wanted to say. She waited until Jessie left the table to play in the lawn before speaking up.

  “I have something tell you guys.”

  Three pairs of eyes swiveled over to her curiously. She curled her fingers around the edge of her chair and forced herself to blurt out, “I’ve been seeing a woman.”

  Her parents and brother stared at her in utter shock. The only sound for awhile were crickets chirping loudly and the sound of Jessie playing down in the lawn. Olivia closed her eyes and waited for someone to speak.

  “You’re gay?” Rich said, breaking the silence first. “I thought you were dating Jack.”

  “I was dating Jack. We aren’t seeing each other anymore.”

  “And is that why you are gay now?”

  Olivia rolled her eyes in irritation at her brother’s question. Leave it to him to ask questions like that. She nervously slid her attention over to her parents across the table who were exchanging glances with each other.

  “Are you guys mad?” She asked, hesitantly.

  “Mad?” Michelle repeated, shaking her head in confusion. “I’m not mad. I think we are just a little confused is all.”

  “I know. I am too a little bit. It’s just something that kinda happened.”

  “Whose the woman you are seeing?” Daniel asked.

  Olivia relaxed visibly in her chair. If there was going to be a blow out it would have happened by now and the questions were a good sign.

  “Actually, it’s my trainer from the gym that I’m seeing. Her name’s Gracie.”

  Her parents raised their eyebrows together before a knowing smile spread across their faces. Before they could say anything further Rich turned to her with a teasing smile on his face. “That kinda sounds like porn video I’ve seen online before. Trainer seduces client.”

  Laughter erupted. Olivia smacked her oldest brother on the arm despite the grin spreading across her face. All jokes aside, she was relieved to know they were accepting of her relationship with Gracie. She pulled out her iPhone to text Gracie who was at her own family function.

  Olivia: Just told my fam. No blow outs or judgement. They were cool.

  CHAPTER 8

  Olivia arrived to the gym in her workout clothes this time. Waving a quick greeting to the girl behind the counter, she hurried into the gym. Not finding any sight of Gracie’s dark hair anywhere in the gym or locker room, Olivia rounded back up to the front counter. The pit of her stomach tightened in dread.

  “Where’s Gracie?” Olivia asked.

  The girl’s face visibly fell. “Oh, I thought Bruce called you. I guess Gracie called in sick this morning and said she would be out for the rest of the week.”

  “No.” She said, pinching the bridge of her nose in irritation. “Bruce never called me. Do me a favor? If anybody hears from Gracie have her call me.”

  “I thought you were in touch-”

  Olivia turned around sharply and jogged out of the building before she could ask anymore question. She fumbled through her purse and pulled out her iPhone, finding Gracie’s contact information in her favorites. Her call went straight to voicemail.

  Frustration built up in her again. Just like that she was back to the day after finding out Jack had cheated on her and wanting to scream from the anger coursing through her. Chucking her iPhone onto the passenger’s side, she drove towards her work even though it was her scheduled day off.

  Mike looked up from his computer when Olivia stepped into the air conditioned store and walked towards him through the row of canoes. He raised both eyebrows at the scowl currently etched on Olivia’s face.

  “Isn’t today your day off?”

  “Yeah, it is. I-” She paused, trying to think of the right thing to say, “I just need some extra hours and a distraction.”

  She set her purse on the counter and went to step around it to clock in, but Mike held up a hand to stop her. “First off, no more over time. My payroll is stretched as it is. Secondly, I’m not letting you work with that I-will-kill-you-if-you-piss-me-off scowl on your face. What type of customer service is that?”

  The corner of his lips twitched from the effort of trying not to smile. Olivia smiled despite the foul mood she was currently in. Even though his words said out of jest, the concern in them touched her. She had grown incredibly close with Mike and her other co-workers over the past few weeks.

  “So,” Mike said, propping his elbows on counter to look at her more seriously, “What’s going on with you? You look like you are about to go ballistic on someone.”

  “Ugh. You have no idea. My girlfriend is driving me crazy with all this back and forth-”

  “Wait a second. Did you just say girlfriend?”

  Olivia paled when she realized what she had just s
aid. She had never been sure what Mike’s views were towards same-sex relationships and didn’t bring it up either. She didn’t want to risk possibly losing her good work relations because of her personal life, especially after reading some women’s not so good experiences in the work place.

  But the cat was out of the bag, so to speak. She wanted to keep proving to Gracie, even though they weren’t talking at the moment, that not everybody in their lives weren’t going to judge them.

  “Um,” Olivia swallowed thickly, nodding her head. “Yeah. I have a girlfriend or had. I don’t know what’s going on exactly at the moment.”

  Mike stared at her for a few more seconds. She tried to read his expression, waiting for him to blow up or look uncomfortable. Instead, he shrugged his broad shoulders indifferently and looked back at his work computer.

  “I guess that explains why you’ve never brought your imaginary boyfriend to work functions.”

  The teasing in Mike’s voice eased the tension in Olivia. She sagged against the counter in relief and a bubble of laughter escaped her lips breathlessly. “I was so worried you were going to judge me for it.”

  Mike frowned at her. “Judge you? I really don’t care what my employees do in their personal time or who’s in your bed at night. That’s my personal opinion anyways. What others do in their private lives is none of my business.”

  “Not everyone carries that sentiment.”

  “Yeah, well, I think this country would run much better if they had that attitude. Now get out of my store. You’re scaring away my customers with that scowl still attached to your face.”

  She exited the store with a genuine smile spreading across her face. At least she had her family’s and work’s acceptance. She just needed Gracie’s acceptance and who knew how long that would take.

  CHAPTER 9

  “How many cakes are you baking?” Darcie asked.

  Olivia slid her credit card through the machine and punched in her pin number with more force then necessary. She waited for the receipt to print and ripped it from the machine, shoving everything into a plastic bag.

  “Do me a favor, Darcie.” She said, sighing in exasperation. “Just let me have this one moment without judging me for it or making a snarky ass comment.”

  Darcie’s eyes widened in surprise. “I wasn’t making a snarky ass comment.”

  “Yeah, you were or were about to.”

  They exited the grocery store. Halfway through the parking lot, Olivia ripped the foil off the can of frosting and stuck a plastic spoon in the chocolate goodness. She ignored the alarmed look Darcie shot her and continued to scoop large bites of frosting into her mouth.

  “Since you don’t want me to judge, I’m not even going to ask.” Darcie said, face twisting in a disgusted grimace. “If you want to switch to alcohol at any point tonight call me. I’ll have a drink with you. Just not a can of frosting.”

  “Thanks.” Olivia mumbled through a mouthful of frosting, hugging Darcie briefly. “You’re a good friend. I’ll call you sometime this weekend.”

  Clutching her five jars of frosting, Olivia kicked her shoes off the second she arrived to her apartment. She opened the second jar of frosting when a knock interrupted her and slammed the jar of frosting down moodily on the counter. She yanked the door open.

  “Darcie, I told you to-” She stopped in disbelief to see Gracie standing on her front door step. “Gracie? What are you doing here?”

  She stared at the dark haired woman in shock. Before Olivia could even form another thought, Gracie surged through the door frame and in the next instant her mouth was on hers, needy and greedy. The sudden force bumped Olivia back into the little table near the door and items fell to the floor in a chorus of keys and a wood bowl hitting the ground. Gracie paid no heed to the surprise stiffening up Olivia’s body and slid her palms along her thighs, hooking them behind her knees. The ground disappeared from the bottom of Olivia’s feet before she was set back down on the table she bumped into.

  Olivia’s resistance faded away along with the frustration. When Gracie’s teeth snagged on her bottom lip, she lost all sense of reality and buried her hands in the French braid holding Gracie’s hair back. The strands were soft and silky to the touch as Olivia combed her fingers through the rose scented locks. She wasn’t sure if the balmy air was from the thunderstorm raging outside or if it was the desire roaring to life between them. When their tongues tangled in a fight for dominance Gracie suddenly pulled back. Her lips, puffy and shiny from their heated kisses, curled up into a playful smile.

  “You’ve been eating frosting.” She observed, hands massaging her hips in a rather sensual caress.

  Olivia swallowed thickly as she struggled to find her voice through the hazy cloud of desire in her mind. She trailed her hands over the curves of Gracie’s sculpted arms and sucked in a steadying breath that smelled of sugar. “No, I haven’t been eating any frosting...”

  A bemused sigh escaped Gracie’s lips. “Yes, you have. You know how I know this?”

  “How?”

  “There’s chocolate frosting in your teeth.”

  Olivia slapped a hand over her mouth in horror. She ran a tongue over the front of her teeth and tasted the sweetness there, bowing her head in humiliation. When had she lost her ability to be sexy and not look like a complete idiot?

  “Oh, don’t be embarrassed. I caught you at a bad time it would seem.” Gracie said.

  Their hands continued to trail down each other’s bodies, fingers smoothing along certain patches of skin. She reached over to brush a piece of Gracie’s hair back from her face and splayed her fingers over the side of her neck, a rush of pleasure going through her when Gracie’s eyes fluttered at the contact.

  “You never catch me at a bad time.”

  Somehow they stumbled back into Olivia’s bedroom and by some miracle didn’t trip over the clothes they threw carelessly onto the floor. At a gentle nudge on her shoulders, Olivia fell stark naked backwards onto the bed. A violent shiver tore through her as Gracie’s bare skin brushed against hers as they kissed again. The first touch of Gracie’s lips against her collarbone nearly jolted Olivia off the bed and again when Gracie’s hand found its way down between her legs.

  Instinct drove them on further, pressing their mouths to each other’s breasts and touching in all the right places as they rolled around in the sheets. The room filled their gasps of pleasures, the trembling moan whenever they succumbed over to a orgasm and their laughter whenever a finger poked a little too hard or whenever a hand grew fatigued.

  By the time they stopped night had fallen and filled the room with darkness. They laid side by side, hands twined loosely between them as a late night breeze touched their cooling bodies.

  “So,” Olivia said, rolling over to face Gracie in the dark, “Where have you been exactly for the past few days?”

  She felt Gracie turn her head on the pillow they were currently sharing and finger tips gently traced her cheekbone. Olivia closed her eyes at the contact and snuggled into her side, twining a leg around one of Gracie’s.

  “I went to visit my family to tell them about us.”

  “How’d it go?”

  Gracie shrugged her shoulders. “They were bit surprised, but said they will learn to accept it over time. Whatever makes me happy.”

  “And I make you happy?” Olivia questioned, pressing her lips to the curve of Gracie’s shoulder.

  “More than anything. There’s just one problem.”

  Olivia stiffened at that and paused in lavishing Gracie’s chest in kisses. She propped herself on a elbow, half draped over Olivia’s body so their breasts touched. “What’s that?”

  “I don’t have a place to live. I packed up all my things and put them in car.”

  A slow smile spread across Olivia’s face. She leant down and kissed Gracie with renewed passion. When they broke apart the both of them were breathless.

  “We better bring your things inside then.”

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  CHAPTER 1

  THE TORNADO

  “I don’t want to do Google Calendar. I want you to write things on this calendar and put it on my desk, where it’s always been. I’ve been doing it this way for the 16 years this company has been around and the 20 before than that at the ad agency. Don’t you tell me what is, or isn’t, productive.” Harold Carson, overweight, red faced and much older than his 56 years, stands behind his desk with a desk calendar in his hand. “If you’re going to keep working here, you’re going to have to learn to do things my way. Bridgeport Marketing has been one of the top marketing companies in West Virginia for over 16 years, and we plan on staying that way. Get with the program Carmen, or get out.”

  Carmen Hernandez, 30, is pretty in an unconventional way, slightly overweight with full lips and long dark, straight hair. Her almond eyes have a scared look in them. Even though her last two jobs were for difficult men, Harold is the worst of them. He is so demanding and condescending, but Carmen had to take this job. After rear-ending someone without insurance, she needs to pay back the insurance company and damages to the driver and it never seems to end.