Bound Together (68 page)
Authors: Marie Coulson
Draping her arm around my
shoulder Mel let out a long breath. “You know what you have to do
Layla. Don’t you.”
I nodded weakly. “When
will you tell him?”
Gazing at them both I
sighed. “Not yet. I don’t want to ruin these last few weeks with
him. I will tell him but I need to give him this. I owe him that
much.”
Sitting on the floor in
front of me, I could see tears in Amy’s eyes. “Oh Layla. I can’t
believe he’s leaving and that he’s got to go with a broken heart.
Maybe you’ll change your mind. Maybe, if you really try and spend
more time together you’ll see how amazing he is and you’ll just
forget about Jared. Ollie loves you Layla. He can make you so happy
I know it. You’d have an incredible life. You’d be his queen.
What’s not to love about him?”
Poor Amy, she really was
a hopeless romantic. Just because someone is the good choice it
doesn’t make it the right choice. “Amy if I went with him it would
be out of guilt or because I feel I should. He wouldn’t want that.
He said he wants me to want to go with him.”
“
Don’t you?”
I sighed.
“
Of course I do Amy, but
for all the wrong reasons. I should go because I love him. Because
I can’t bear to be away from him. Not because I don’t want to break
his heart or because I’ll miss him when he’s gone. This is his
chance at a new life. A start over. He deserves it. If I went with
him we’d just be living one huge lie. I won’t put him through it.
It wouldn’t be fair on either of us. Look, how about this. I won’t
say anything to Ollie until I’m one hundred percent sure of what I
want. I’ll just…take it slow. Never say never right?” She knew I
was right and though I could see it pained her to accept it, she
respected my choice. “Ok. But just give him a chance.
Please?”
That’s exactly what I had
been doing since Christmas and I was no closer to knowing what I
wanted now than I had been then.
mirror, I sighed. In less than an hour I would be face to face with
the woman who abandoned Ollie. I could already feel the anger
building inside me. I didn’t care what he said; there was no excuse
close to acceptable for what she’d done. Deciding on the purple
dress I’d worn for our dinner date, I twirled, patting down the
garment for any dust or lint. “You look incredible.” A pair of warm
arms snaked around my waist as his lip ring pressed against my
cheek.
“
Thanks. Hope she
approves.”
“
I don’t care what she
thinks. I approve.”
Turning to face him I
pressed my palms against his chest. He was wearing his black pants
and a deep blue shirt slightly unbuttoned.
“
You don’t look so bad
yourself.”
Pressing his lips to
mine, the spark of electricity between us made me smile. Ollie
really was amazing and whenever I was around him I felt so
comfortable and happy. Ollie’s natural charisma, and gentle charm
was completely disarming and totally swoon worthy. I wasn’t just
with a great guy, he also happened to be one of my best friends.
“Well, let’s get this show on the road.” Holding my hand tightly in
his, we walked outside where a cab was waiting for us. My mind
suddenly drifted to Daniel, the Mercedes and Jared. Angry at myself
for letting my mind wander, I glanced at Ollie and tightened my
grip on his hand.
Entering the restaurant I
could feel the nerves swarming in my stomach. Still holding my hand
firmly, Ollie led us through to a table in the far corner where a
slim woman with long dark hair was sipping a glass of water. Seeing
us approach she stood and immediately wrapped her arms around Ollie
who, albeit rigidly, hugged her back.
“
Mom, this is
Layla.”
Leaning in to me she gave
me a peck on the cheek and smiled widely. “It’s lovely to finally
meet you Layla. I’ve heard a lot about you.”
I eyed her with
skepticism. “I’ve heard a lot about you too.” Looking at Ollie and
then at the floor she sighed. “Yes, I imagine you
have.”
Noticing the tension
building between us, Ollie gestured for us to sit. Taking the seat
next to me he held my hand on top of the table and brushed his
thumb back and forth over my knuckles. “So, Layla. Ollie tells me
the two of you have been dating for several months now. How did you
meet?”
I shifted uncomfortably
in my seat. “Well, I actually quite literally bumped into him on my
first day at college. We became good friends and then we started
dating around Christmas time.” Ollie held my hand firmly and smiled
at me. “That’s sweet. So why the long wait between meeting and
dating?” I gave Ollie a discomfited look. I didn’t like the
direction the conversation was going. “She was in a relationship.
He treated her badly. They broke up. That’s it.”
Ollie to my
rescue.
Sitting back in her
chair, his mother gave me a smile but I got the district feeling
she was sizing me up. What gave her the right? She’d only just
crawled her way back into his life and here she was questioning me?
I gave her an icy glare. I was not going to be intimidated by the
likes of her. Taking my menu, I gave the waiter my order and sipped
on my water, all the time keeping my eyes fixed on the woman
sitting opposite me. Her hand brushed Ollie’s as they spoke about
his move to Utah this summer and my stomach twisted into knots
every time they made plans, spoke about the apartment or even said
the word move. “Oliver tells me he’s asked you to come with him
Layla. Well, we’ll be very happy to have you join our little
family. My younger son Jason has always wanted a
sister.”
I almost choked on my
water.
“
Mom I told you to drop
it. I won’t pressure Layla into a decision.”
He placed his hand on the
small of my back and I couldn’t have felt more awful.
“
What’s to think about?
You love each other, you want to be together, and Utah is only a
different state, not another country.”
“
Mom! That’s enough. Just
drop it.”
Raising her hands
defensively, she shot me a questioning look and it instantly got my
back up. I was glad when our food arrived as it gave me a reason to
remain silent as the two of them continued to talk about Ollie’s
new life that waited for him.
“
Well, if you’ll excuse
me I need to use the bathroom.” Resting his hand on my shoulder he
leaned in to my ear. “You’ll be ok?” I nodded and giving me a quick
peck, he left the table and the two of us alone. Watching him
leave, Ollie’s mother turned her attention to me.
“
Layla, I’m going to be
frank and say what I have noticed this evening. You don’t want to
come to Utah and you certainly do not feel about Ollie the same way
he does about you. Now why don’t we stop pretending and lay the
cards on the table. You don’t like me for what I did to Ollie in
his past. And I certainly won’t like you if you jeopardize his
future happiness. If you don’t want him, let him go.”
I stared at her in total
shock. “How dare you. I am crazy about your son and I would never
jeopardize his future.”
“
Oh come on dear. Be
honest with yourself. You don’t love my son and the way you have
responded to his enthusiasm about moving has left a lot to be
desired. I appreciate you care about him and maybe on some level
you do love him. But I’ve been the woman you are now. You stay
because you feel you should and if you came to Utah it would be for
him, not you. Be kind, let him go.”
Now I was irate. She had
no right to question my motives or my feelings considering what she
had done. “I don’t know who you think you are but the only one
hurting Ollie around here is you. You come wandering back into his
life and offer him this perfect little family and just like that
he’s leaving his whole life to come to Utah. His college, his
friends, everything.”
She gave me a satisfied
grin. “I notice you never mentioned yourself in that list. You are
hurting him more and more the longer you give him hope. Cut the
strings and let him go. I made the biggest mistake of my life when
I left Oliver and his brother but I had my reasons, reasons I do
not have to justify to you. Oliver has found it in his beautiful
heart to give me a chance to make it up to him and I will not stand
idly by while you tear his heart out.”
Standing, I slammed my
napkin on the table, grabbed my purse and walked away. Her words,
though harsh, were right on the money. She’d seen through me and
called me on me on it. As I reached the door, I saw Ollie coming
out of the bathroom and putting my head down, I quickened my pace
out into the street and across the road to hail a cab. Sprinting
out of the doors he yelled after me. “Layla! Wait, where are you
going? What’s going on?”
I stood staring ahead
looking for a cab to pass for me to take. Reaching me, he held his
hand on my arm and lifted my chin to face him. “Layla, what’s
happened? Why did you take off?” I shook my head, unable to look
him in the eye. “I have to go home Ollie. I can’t stay
here.”
“
I don’t understand. I
went to the bathroom everything was fine and I come back and you’re
taking off. What did she say to you?” Pulling away from him I
exhaled loudly. “Nothing that I didn’t already know. Ollie
I…”
He cut me off, closing
the space between us, pressing his lips to mine. “You’re not coming
with me to Utah are you Layla.” His forehead rested against mine
and weakly I shook my head. He sighed. “I know. I always knew. I
understand. It’s a lot to ask of you and I shouldn’t have expected
you to leave everything for a man you don’t even love.”
Tears pooled in my eyes.
“Ollie…I’m so…”
“
It’s ok. We gave it our
best shot didn’t we? Sometimes the story doesn’t end the way we
want it to. Can you do something for me?”
I gazed into his eyes
“Anything.”
“
Let me pretend, just a
while longer. I need it.”
Warm salty tears rolled
heavily down my cheeks.
“
Ok.”
We didn’t stay for
dinner. Leaving me on the sidewalk Ollie ran back to the restaurant
to say goodbye to his mom and that he would call her the next day.
Sliding into the cab beside me he held my hand threading our
fingers together. My heart gave an almighty thud as I gazed into
his deep brown eyes. He smiled but I knew he was hurting as deeply
as I was. The walk down our hall was a long and silent one.
Standing outside my room, we stared at each other. Taking my hand,
Ollie pressed my palm to his lips and kissed me softly before
holding it against his cheek. My heart swelled and my eyes blurred
with unshed tears. “I love you Layla. Thank you.”
I couldn’t believe what
he was saying. Everything I’d put him through and he was thanking
me. “What for? Breaking your heart?” Tears fell silently from my
eyes.
“
No. For letting me know
I have one.”
A sob escaped my lips.
Pulling me to him he held me in a warm embrace and stroked his hand
up and down my spine.
“
Shhh. It’s ok. It’ll be
ok. I promise.”
I nodded weakly, unable
to believe his words and I was sure he didn’t believe them either.
Releasing my hand he smiled and reached for his door
handle.
Taking his other hand I
stopped him. “Don’t.”
He looked at me confused.
“Stay with me. Even if it’s just for tonight. Be with me
Ollie.”
Cupping his face in my
hands I kissed him passionately. I kissed him like it was my last
and the way things had played out that night, I feared it could be.
His hands on my shoulders his tongue slid into my mouth slowly
rolling, caressing and stroking my own. “Are you sure about
this?”
Catching my breath I
gazed at him and nodded. “I want to be with you tonight Ollie. I
want to do this with you.” Taking his hand I led him into my room.
Amy had gone home for the weekend so I knew we had the whole night
alone. He looked nervous. Closing the door behind us I lit a few
candles around the room. His eyes glistened and sparkled in the dim
light beneath his long black hair. My palms pressed against his
chest, I gently and slowly unbuttoned his shirt. I felt him tense
beneath my fingers and momentarily I pulled away. Catching my wrist
in his grasp he placed it back over his heart. Gazing down at me he
kissed me softly and slid his hands over my shoulders, making the
straps of my dress loosen and rest on my arms.
Turning around, I held my
hair up as his fingers traced across my neck before gently
unzipping my dress. Turning back to face him, I shrugged it over my
body and it fell lightly to the floor. Stepping out gracefully, I
ran my hands over his bare chest, beneath his open shirt. My mouth
closed over his as I pulled and tugged it from his torso. Tracing
my fingertips over his chest, I followed every line, curve and
contour of his body. I drew in a sharp breath as I slid my hands
downwards to his pelvis. Snaking my hands over his hips and around
his waist, I pressed my hands firmly to his back, forcing him close
to me. His own hands glided up and down my spine gently before
resting on my hips. His forehead rested against mine and I could
hear how breathless he was and my own chest rose and fell heavily.
“Make love to me Ollie.” His lips sealed over mine as he scooped me
into his arms and carried me to the bed.
shoulder Mel let out a long breath. “You know what you have to do
Layla. Don’t you.”
I nodded weakly. “When
will you tell him?”
Gazing at them both I
sighed. “Not yet. I don’t want to ruin these last few weeks with
him. I will tell him but I need to give him this. I owe him that
much.”
Sitting on the floor in
front of me, I could see tears in Amy’s eyes. “Oh Layla. I can’t
believe he’s leaving and that he’s got to go with a broken heart.
Maybe you’ll change your mind. Maybe, if you really try and spend
more time together you’ll see how amazing he is and you’ll just
forget about Jared. Ollie loves you Layla. He can make you so happy
I know it. You’d have an incredible life. You’d be his queen.
What’s not to love about him?”
Poor Amy, she really was
a hopeless romantic. Just because someone is the good choice it
doesn’t make it the right choice. “Amy if I went with him it would
be out of guilt or because I feel I should. He wouldn’t want that.
He said he wants me to want to go with him.”
“
Don’t you?”
I sighed.
“
Of course I do Amy, but
for all the wrong reasons. I should go because I love him. Because
I can’t bear to be away from him. Not because I don’t want to break
his heart or because I’ll miss him when he’s gone. This is his
chance at a new life. A start over. He deserves it. If I went with
him we’d just be living one huge lie. I won’t put him through it.
It wouldn’t be fair on either of us. Look, how about this. I won’t
say anything to Ollie until I’m one hundred percent sure of what I
want. I’ll just…take it slow. Never say never right?” She knew I
was right and though I could see it pained her to accept it, she
respected my choice. “Ok. But just give him a chance.
Please?”
That’s exactly what I had
been doing since Christmas and I was no closer to knowing what I
wanted now than I had been then.
* * *
mirror, I sighed. In less than an hour I would be face to face with
the woman who abandoned Ollie. I could already feel the anger
building inside me. I didn’t care what he said; there was no excuse
close to acceptable for what she’d done. Deciding on the purple
dress I’d worn for our dinner date, I twirled, patting down the
garment for any dust or lint. “You look incredible.” A pair of warm
arms snaked around my waist as his lip ring pressed against my
cheek.
“
Thanks. Hope she
approves.”
“
I don’t care what she
thinks. I approve.”
Turning to face him I
pressed my palms against his chest. He was wearing his black pants
and a deep blue shirt slightly unbuttoned.
“
You don’t look so bad
yourself.”
Pressing his lips to
mine, the spark of electricity between us made me smile. Ollie
really was amazing and whenever I was around him I felt so
comfortable and happy. Ollie’s natural charisma, and gentle charm
was completely disarming and totally swoon worthy. I wasn’t just
with a great guy, he also happened to be one of my best friends.
“Well, let’s get this show on the road.” Holding my hand tightly in
his, we walked outside where a cab was waiting for us. My mind
suddenly drifted to Daniel, the Mercedes and Jared. Angry at myself
for letting my mind wander, I glanced at Ollie and tightened my
grip on his hand.
Entering the restaurant I
could feel the nerves swarming in my stomach. Still holding my hand
firmly, Ollie led us through to a table in the far corner where a
slim woman with long dark hair was sipping a glass of water. Seeing
us approach she stood and immediately wrapped her arms around Ollie
who, albeit rigidly, hugged her back.
“
Mom, this is
Layla.”
Leaning in to me she gave
me a peck on the cheek and smiled widely. “It’s lovely to finally
meet you Layla. I’ve heard a lot about you.”
I eyed her with
skepticism. “I’ve heard a lot about you too.” Looking at Ollie and
then at the floor she sighed. “Yes, I imagine you
have.”
Noticing the tension
building between us, Ollie gestured for us to sit. Taking the seat
next to me he held my hand on top of the table and brushed his
thumb back and forth over my knuckles. “So, Layla. Ollie tells me
the two of you have been dating for several months now. How did you
meet?”
I shifted uncomfortably
in my seat. “Well, I actually quite literally bumped into him on my
first day at college. We became good friends and then we started
dating around Christmas time.” Ollie held my hand firmly and smiled
at me. “That’s sweet. So why the long wait between meeting and
dating?” I gave Ollie a discomfited look. I didn’t like the
direction the conversation was going. “She was in a relationship.
He treated her badly. They broke up. That’s it.”
Ollie to my
rescue.
Sitting back in her
chair, his mother gave me a smile but I got the district feeling
she was sizing me up. What gave her the right? She’d only just
crawled her way back into his life and here she was questioning me?
I gave her an icy glare. I was not going to be intimidated by the
likes of her. Taking my menu, I gave the waiter my order and sipped
on my water, all the time keeping my eyes fixed on the woman
sitting opposite me. Her hand brushed Ollie’s as they spoke about
his move to Utah this summer and my stomach twisted into knots
every time they made plans, spoke about the apartment or even said
the word move. “Oliver tells me he’s asked you to come with him
Layla. Well, we’ll be very happy to have you join our little
family. My younger son Jason has always wanted a
sister.”
I almost choked on my
water.
“
Mom I told you to drop
it. I won’t pressure Layla into a decision.”
He placed his hand on the
small of my back and I couldn’t have felt more awful.
“
What’s to think about?
You love each other, you want to be together, and Utah is only a
different state, not another country.”
“
Mom! That’s enough. Just
drop it.”
Raising her hands
defensively, she shot me a questioning look and it instantly got my
back up. I was glad when our food arrived as it gave me a reason to
remain silent as the two of them continued to talk about Ollie’s
new life that waited for him.
“
Well, if you’ll excuse
me I need to use the bathroom.” Resting his hand on my shoulder he
leaned in to my ear. “You’ll be ok?” I nodded and giving me a quick
peck, he left the table and the two of us alone. Watching him
leave, Ollie’s mother turned her attention to me.
“
Layla, I’m going to be
frank and say what I have noticed this evening. You don’t want to
come to Utah and you certainly do not feel about Ollie the same way
he does about you. Now why don’t we stop pretending and lay the
cards on the table. You don’t like me for what I did to Ollie in
his past. And I certainly won’t like you if you jeopardize his
future happiness. If you don’t want him, let him go.”
I stared at her in total
shock. “How dare you. I am crazy about your son and I would never
jeopardize his future.”
“
Oh come on dear. Be
honest with yourself. You don’t love my son and the way you have
responded to his enthusiasm about moving has left a lot to be
desired. I appreciate you care about him and maybe on some level
you do love him. But I’ve been the woman you are now. You stay
because you feel you should and if you came to Utah it would be for
him, not you. Be kind, let him go.”
Now I was irate. She had
no right to question my motives or my feelings considering what she
had done. “I don’t know who you think you are but the only one
hurting Ollie around here is you. You come wandering back into his
life and offer him this perfect little family and just like that
he’s leaving his whole life to come to Utah. His college, his
friends, everything.”
She gave me a satisfied
grin. “I notice you never mentioned yourself in that list. You are
hurting him more and more the longer you give him hope. Cut the
strings and let him go. I made the biggest mistake of my life when
I left Oliver and his brother but I had my reasons, reasons I do
not have to justify to you. Oliver has found it in his beautiful
heart to give me a chance to make it up to him and I will not stand
idly by while you tear his heart out.”
Standing, I slammed my
napkin on the table, grabbed my purse and walked away. Her words,
though harsh, were right on the money. She’d seen through me and
called me on me on it. As I reached the door, I saw Ollie coming
out of the bathroom and putting my head down, I quickened my pace
out into the street and across the road to hail a cab. Sprinting
out of the doors he yelled after me. “Layla! Wait, where are you
going? What’s going on?”
I stood staring ahead
looking for a cab to pass for me to take. Reaching me, he held his
hand on my arm and lifted my chin to face him. “Layla, what’s
happened? Why did you take off?” I shook my head, unable to look
him in the eye. “I have to go home Ollie. I can’t stay
here.”
“
I don’t understand. I
went to the bathroom everything was fine and I come back and you’re
taking off. What did she say to you?” Pulling away from him I
exhaled loudly. “Nothing that I didn’t already know. Ollie
I…”
He cut me off, closing
the space between us, pressing his lips to mine. “You’re not coming
with me to Utah are you Layla.” His forehead rested against mine
and weakly I shook my head. He sighed. “I know. I always knew. I
understand. It’s a lot to ask of you and I shouldn’t have expected
you to leave everything for a man you don’t even love.”
Tears pooled in my eyes.
“Ollie…I’m so…”
“
It’s ok. We gave it our
best shot didn’t we? Sometimes the story doesn’t end the way we
want it to. Can you do something for me?”
I gazed into his eyes
“Anything.”
“
Let me pretend, just a
while longer. I need it.”
Warm salty tears rolled
heavily down my cheeks.
“
Ok.”
We didn’t stay for
dinner. Leaving me on the sidewalk Ollie ran back to the restaurant
to say goodbye to his mom and that he would call her the next day.
Sliding into the cab beside me he held my hand threading our
fingers together. My heart gave an almighty thud as I gazed into
his deep brown eyes. He smiled but I knew he was hurting as deeply
as I was. The walk down our hall was a long and silent one.
Standing outside my room, we stared at each other. Taking my hand,
Ollie pressed my palm to his lips and kissed me softly before
holding it against his cheek. My heart swelled and my eyes blurred
with unshed tears. “I love you Layla. Thank you.”
I couldn’t believe what
he was saying. Everything I’d put him through and he was thanking
me. “What for? Breaking your heart?” Tears fell silently from my
eyes.
“
No. For letting me know
I have one.”
A sob escaped my lips.
Pulling me to him he held me in a warm embrace and stroked his hand
up and down my spine.
“
Shhh. It’s ok. It’ll be
ok. I promise.”
I nodded weakly, unable
to believe his words and I was sure he didn’t believe them either.
Releasing my hand he smiled and reached for his door
handle.
Taking his other hand I
stopped him. “Don’t.”
He looked at me confused.
“Stay with me. Even if it’s just for tonight. Be with me
Ollie.”
Cupping his face in my
hands I kissed him passionately. I kissed him like it was my last
and the way things had played out that night, I feared it could be.
His hands on my shoulders his tongue slid into my mouth slowly
rolling, caressing and stroking my own. “Are you sure about
this?”
Catching my breath I
gazed at him and nodded. “I want to be with you tonight Ollie. I
want to do this with you.” Taking his hand I led him into my room.
Amy had gone home for the weekend so I knew we had the whole night
alone. He looked nervous. Closing the door behind us I lit a few
candles around the room. His eyes glistened and sparkled in the dim
light beneath his long black hair. My palms pressed against his
chest, I gently and slowly unbuttoned his shirt. I felt him tense
beneath my fingers and momentarily I pulled away. Catching my wrist
in his grasp he placed it back over his heart. Gazing down at me he
kissed me softly and slid his hands over my shoulders, making the
straps of my dress loosen and rest on my arms.
Turning around, I held my
hair up as his fingers traced across my neck before gently
unzipping my dress. Turning back to face him, I shrugged it over my
body and it fell lightly to the floor. Stepping out gracefully, I
ran my hands over his bare chest, beneath his open shirt. My mouth
closed over his as I pulled and tugged it from his torso. Tracing
my fingertips over his chest, I followed every line, curve and
contour of his body. I drew in a sharp breath as I slid my hands
downwards to his pelvis. Snaking my hands over his hips and around
his waist, I pressed my hands firmly to his back, forcing him close
to me. His own hands glided up and down my spine gently before
resting on my hips. His forehead rested against mine and I could
hear how breathless he was and my own chest rose and fell heavily.
“Make love to me Ollie.” His lips sealed over mine as he scooped me
into his arms and carried me to the bed.
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