I wave goodbye as he walks backwards out my front door. Once he disappears into his truck and turns out of my driveway, I reach for my phone to call Hayley.
I need a drink.
Chapter Thirteen
“How’s your aunt doing?” Hayley asks me.
After I fill her in, I ask her about her editing project.
“My deadline’s not until next week. You want to get drunk?”
After what happened with Jenson today, I can hardly wait. “I’ll meet you in ten minutes.”
The Tap & Pitcher, the tiny bar on Main Street, is packed with people like us who left the fair early.
Hayley nods as the bartender delivers our drinks. “We have no cars parked out front, thanks to the taxi, so there’s literally no incriminating evidence if we come staggering out at two a.m.”
I laugh as we click shot glasses, and I swallow my whiskey and feel that comforting burn in my throat.
“So what’s up?” Hayley asks me. “You look upset. You’re dressed in your upset outfit.”
I look down at the faded blue jeans and black top with the half-open back I only ever wear when I’m down.
“Things are going so well,” I say to her. “But you know me—I’m a born pessimist.”
“What worries you? That he’ll leave again?”
I shrug. “Last time, he left for college, which was nothing unexpected. But then, he left forever to my teenage brain. I was just so young; it hit me harder than it probably would have as an adult. I didn’t get over it easily. And it’s like this reflex within me—I equate things going well between Jenson and me as the prelude to the end.”
“I understand.” Hayley pats my arm. “But you’re grownups now. And he doesn’t look like he’s going anywhere. It will work out, Olive.”
“We’re too flawed people, Hayl.”
“Everybody comes with something,” Hayley says.
“It’s not because he has kids,” I say. “I love them. A lot. We just have this whole long screwed-up history together. Two divorces between us already, and we’re not even thirty.”
“Maybe you need to stop seeing Jenson as eighteen and see him for the man he is now,” Hayley suggests. “You’ve known him at every age, but you’re both grown up now. Maybe you wouldn’t have been happy together before this and before all you both went through to get here.”
I feel tears prick my eyes.
“I say this harshly only because I love you: stop avoiding your heart, Olivia. Tell Jenson how you feel, and don’t hold back. Do you really want to give up what could be with him just because you both come with a past?”
Before I can answer her…
“Olivia,” comes a flirty voice from behind me.
Hayley raises her eyebrows, and I whip around to see Will smirking at me.
“Will here, from the cook-out,” he says to break the silence. “Remember me?”
I really wish I hadn’t turned around. “Hi. Yes, of course.”
“Right,” he says confidently. “So, too bad about your relative there. Rolling down the hill and all.”
“Yes. Rolling down the hill was too bad.” My God, this guy is an idiot.
“How about we have a drink together?”
“No, thanks,” I say immediately. “I’m here with my friend…” I turn and quickly introduce Hayley to Will. “If you’ll excuse us.”
“Your mom assured me you’d at least meet me for a drink,” he says.
Oh, crap.
As if on cue, my cell phone buzzes with a text.
Olivia, please don’t forget about poor Will in the middle of all this. Give him a chance, honey.
No one can lay on the guilt like a mother to her daughter.
I make eye contact with Hayley, who shrugs.
“I really am not good company tonight, Will.”
He shifts closer to me. “That’s okay. I’ll hang out with you two anyway.”
“Really, we’re having a private chat,” I say, but he’s already turned to the bar to order us all drinks.
“Is this the guy you said your mom wanted you to go out with?” Hayley whispers in my ear. “She sure knows how to pick ‘em, huh?”
I glance at Will’s collared shirt with the sleeves rolled up. His dark hair’s slicked back with gel, and he’s wearing an expensive watch on his wrist. He may be handsome, but even if I were looking to meet someone, he’d be last on my list. He’s clearly already buzzed with his glassy eyes and the way he’s talking extra-loud.
“We don’t need alcohol,” I say, tapping him on the shoulder. “Just water would be fine.”
“It’s on the house,” he says as he hands me some fruity-looking mixed drink. “Try it. Women love this shit.”
I take it out of his hand and stare down at the red-colored beverage I’m holding. Looks like exactly what I would never order. Sweet and fruity. If I’m going to drink hard liquor, I’ll take a whiskey over this any day.
Will downs another shot. He’s starting to slur. Before I can protest, he grabs me around the waist and pulls me onto the dance floor.
I twist away, but Will keeps getting closer. His breath stinks of beer, and vodka, and then…he throws up on me.
“Oh, God.” He tries to turn away, but it’s far too late. “Shit!”
I think I’m going to puke now. I run to the restroom, where I clean off as best I can with paper towels and water from the sink.
When I open the restroom door, Will’s leaning against the wall in the hallway. “Sorry about that.”
“Let me call you a cab,” I say to him as I reach for my phone.
Hayley’s waiting for me when I make it back to the bar.
“What a nightmare. Are you okay?”
I roll my eyes. “I stink of puke. I just want to go home.”
“No way.” She points at my phone. “Call Jenson and invite him to join us. I want to get to know him better.”
“Seriously, can we do this getting to know him better business when I don’t have some other guy’s vomit on me?”
“Ask him to bring a clean shirt you can borrow. You guys need a witness,” she insists as I try to protest. “Like a pair of binoculars.”
“Oh, God, you’re getting buzzed.” I laugh. “That just made no sense.”
“No, it did.” Hayley grabs my arm and leads me to an empty booth away from the crowd. “You and Jenson have always felt alone like nobody else has ever felt this same way. First of all, that’s not true. There are forbidden affairs going on all over the place. Second of all, I think I can help. Let me try?”
I am really tired of carrying this secret all by myself. So I look down at the phone in my hand. He’ll be done with practice and probably putting Kyle and Connor to bed. I start typing.
An hour later, Jenson slides into the booth next to me, takes my hand into his lap, and squeezes it. His green eyes lock onto my blue ones and hold me still. I’m mesmerized by his need for me, his unflinching, unwavering interest in me.
Whenever I would walk into a room, Jenson Beau would focus on me like I was the only person who existed. Nothing’s changed except that maybe I have. Maybe it was my divorce. Or maybe it was the humiliation of the way that my marriage ended. But my guard is down, and that wall I used to have to raise between Jenson and me—it’s quickly disappearing.
He hands me a t-shirt of his. “What happened that you need to change? I love your outfit.”
I show him the vomit stains. “It’s a long story. Be right back.”
When I return from the bathroom a few minutes later, Hayley’s deep into her interrogation.
“And your sons are so freaking cute,” she says as I slide in next to him in the booth. “Oh! You never ordered a drink.”
“I’ll have a little of Olive’s,” he says as he takes a sip of my beer. “I think two drunk people at this table is enough.”
“Where in Pittsburgh did you live?” she asks. “Are you planning to buy a house in Liberty Falls eventually or just rent?”
After ten more minutes of Hayley grilling Jenson with question after question, all of which he responds to with clear amusement, I jump in.
“Max and Hayley are getting married soon,” I say to him. “But Hayley doesn’t like much about marriage.”
“I like Max,” Hayley says. “But I’m against a lot of marriage’s traditions, and how it’s legally binding.”
“And that scares you,” Jenson says calmly.
I look at Hayley in surprise. For some reason, I hadn’t thought of that before. She turns red and picks up her beer instead of answering him.
“It does scare you,” I say to her. “Doesn’t it?”
Jenson runs his hand along my thigh underneath the table, and every part of me lights up.
“So what’s your story?” Hayley says as she tries to turn the tables on Jenson. “What are you scared of with Olivia? Or is it just guilt?”
Jenson raises an eyebrow. “You’re fairly blunt, aren’t you?”
“And you’re not?” she counters him.
I feel like I should intervene, but I want to hear Jenson’s answer too much. So I sit quietly, drink my beer, and listen to them go at it, wondering who’s going to break first.
“I’m not scared,” he says firmly with a glance at me.
“But you feel guilty?” I say. “Because of our families?”
“Don’t you?” His eyes dare me to be honest. “Your dad’s a public figure. My mom works for him, and the whole thing will create a firestorm of gossip.”
I swallow. “I’m aware of the repercussions. Obviously.”
“What you two need to realize is that your feelings of guilt aren’t helping anyone,” Hayley says. “Not your family or yourselves. So you have to find a way to let all that go. It’s just negativity you don’t need.”
“Are you a shrink as well?” Jenson asks her.
“Just a proofreader,” Hayley says. “I told you I get paid to make things right. Nothing I get my hands on can be sent out into the world until it’s been made perfect. I can do the same for you two.”
Jenson grins. “You’re quite the friend. I’ll have to remember to call you up anytime I’ve got a problem.”
“Absolutely,” Hayley says. She leans back against the booth, suddenly looking exhausted. “No wonder you two are stressed out. I’ve only talked about it for fifteen minutes, and I’m tired.”
Jenson’s hand feels warm through my pants, and I take my left hand and put it over his.
Jenson drops Hayley off at her house, and when we pull up my driveway, he parks and walks me to the door. I invite him inside, and he asks me if I’m okay. I’m super buzzed from four hours of drinking with Hayley, and I elbow him in the side.
“You’re teasing.”
He chuckles. “I’m not. But you are drunk, babe.”
He goes into the kitchen, and I take a seat on the couch in my living room. A couple of minutes later, Jenson hands me a glass of water and sits next to me on the couch.
I take it and nearly spill it all over him. He makes me take a few sips before putting it on the coffee table. I lean in to kiss him, and he puts his arms around me.
“I love kissing you,” he murmurs as he takes my bottom lip between his teeth and tugs. “Could do it all day.”
“That guy my mom wants me to date?” I mumble. “I ran into him at the bar tonight.”
Jenson wrenches his mouth off of mine. “What the fuck was he doing there?”
I make a face. “Getting so drunk he puked on me. Freaking Patsy’s dear friend Maureen has a son named Will. He worked in Manhattan as an investment banker, but he just took a job in Philly.”
“An investment banker?” Jenson’s tone is laced with irritation. “It sounds like you have a lot in common.”
“Oh, please,” I say to him. “You have literally nothing to be jealous about.”
“I’ll be jealous if I want to,” he says. “Maybe it’s time to tell them all the truth.”
“I don’t want their agendas pushing us into a decision,” I say. “We promised we’d take things slow. Remember? I don’t want to go too fast because of some silly fantasy of my mother’s. There’s nothing to worry about. You’re a part of me, Jenson.” I slip my hands underneath his shirt and feel his hot skin against my fingers. “You’ll always be a part of me.”
I don’t want to stop this time. With the way I’m feeling right now, I don’t know why we ever stopped.
“What was wrong with me earlier, anyway?” I say to him. I’m dizzy with alcohol and lust, and when I hear my own voice back in my ears, it sounds different, like I’m no longer guarding my heart. “Family? We’re not blood related. The past? It’s over and done with. Sex? I don’t know why I was scared of that kind of commitment. Do you?”
Jenson pulls my hand away as I reach for his pants. “I’m not sure,” he says. “But I’m not going to make love to you when you’re drunk. We’ve waited long enough. Let’s both be sober, Olive.”
His green eyes are piercing as they fix on mine. But there’s something else—
“You’re afraid it’s too soon,” I say in surprise.
“Maybe so. But I know I’m not going to do this when you’ve been drinking.” He kisses my cheek. “I’ll help you to bed, okay?”
I don’t want him to leave. “Let’s talk,” I plead with him. “You tell me a secret, and I’ll tell you one.”
The corner of his mouth lifts in a grin. “Okay. I’ll start.”
“Okay.” I curl up next to him on the couch, and he starts talking.
Chapter Fourteen
I wake up in the morning and roll over sleepily to glance at the clock. Shit. It’s nearly eight o’clock. I never set my alarm, never need to. I usually wake up with a start every morning, so afraid I’ll be late to work. I’m counted on to open the bank three days a week, but luckily today isn’t one of them. Because it’s Sunday.
And I am unbelievably hung-over.
Yesterday comes flooding back to me in snapshots.
Jenson.
And Hayley.
At the bar. So drunk.
And then Jenson at my house.
I can’t seem to remember much of Jenson being here. Except I vividly remember I said I wanted to have sex, and he said I was too drunk. After that, it all goes blurry.
I get up gingerly. I have a massive headache to go along with my massive embarrassment for propositioning him when I was in that state of inebriation. Maybe I can avoid Jenson for at least twenty-four hours.
I’m showered and dressed and have just put on a pink Randolph College raglan shirt and jeans when the doorbell rings.
When I open the door, Jenson is standing on my front step with his two sons and…a dog.
Looking incredibly handsome in athletic shorts, a fitted black t-shirt, and sexy day-old stubble, Jenson has Connor in his arms and Kyle’s holding onto the dog leash.
“Hi.” Jenson’s sexy half-smile says much more than he can say in front of his kids. His gaze flicks to my lips, fresh with mauve lipstick, and then down to my outfit, fitted perfectly to my figure, and he winks. “How are you feeling this morning?”
“I’m fine.” I lean in to give Connor a kiss and then bend down and put my lips to Kyle’s sweet head. “Hi, boys. How are you?”
“Hi, Livia.” Kyle hands me the leash, and I take it from him automatically, not understanding. “Surprise!”
“Did you get a new pet?” I ask him.
Kyle looks up at Jenson, who says, “I got you a dog.”
“Why?” I stare down at the wriggly, floppy-eared creature with a giant tongue sitting at my feet.
“You said you wanted one,” he says. “Remember last night?”
I stare at him. “No, not exactly. And how did you find a dog so quickly?”
“Funny story,” he begins.
“Really,” I say back as I give him a look.
His eyes fill with humor. “My mom volunteers at the Animal Shelter every week. A dog came i
n on Friday, and she never does this, but she took him home with her on a whim. She knew she couldn’t keep him because Dee’s not a dog person. But she was hoping somebody could because she said he’s one of the cutest dogs she’s ever seen in her life.”
I look down at the dog in front of me. I don’t think he’s especially cute. He’s not ugly, but I wouldn’t say he’s super cute. There’s something about him, though, that I’m falling for….
“And I take it this is him?”
“That’s him. I figured you may not remember telling me you wanted a dog last night. It was one of your secrets,” he adds.
One of my secrets? Oh, my God, what else did I tell him?
“It just gets more interesting,” he says as his eyes lock with mine.
Shit. I had a feeling he was going to say that.
He grins. “Anyway, you can take some time to think about whether you want to adopt a new pet. I probably should have waited to confirm with you, but I thought you could use a dog in your life. You can take him on your walks with your Mom.”
“I can’t take care of a dog,” I say to him.
“Daddy said you might say that,” Kyle pipes in, his smile nearly as mischievous as his father’s. “So he said you two could share him, and that way, Connor and I can play with the doggie, too.”
I look up at Jenson, who swallows and waits for my reaction.
“Share him, huh?” I ruffle Kyle’s hair. “Well, that’s an interesting idea.”
“Is that okay, Livia?” Kyle persists. “Can you and Daddy share the dog?”
“Please say yes!” Connor says, his green eyes pleading.
I smile at him. “Of course. You can play with the dog as much as you want to, honey. He’ll be all of ours, okay?”
“He can stay at my mom’s for now,” Jenson says as he moves Connor to his other arm. “I’m taking the boys with me to practice this week, and Coach says the dog can come too. By the way, my mom reminded me about Thursday’s annual summer mayoral dinner.”
Jenson (Wild Men Book 4) Page 13