Finding Olivia (Trace + Olivia #1) (26 page)

c h a p t e r

Twenty
Two

It was Christmas d
ay at the Callahan house, which meant it was awkward central for my mom and me.

I made my way down the curved staircase and
I heard the whole family in the living room. The sounds of wrapping paper being ripped, met my ears, and I was sure they were all gathered around the massive Christmas tree.

I tried to tiptoe
by them, into the kitchen, for a glass of orange juice, but since I had the crappiest luck
ever
, Avery spotted me.

“Olivia! Come in here!” She called
, and her whole family stopped what they were doing, to look at me. Her remaining four brothers had arrived a few days ago. They seemed nice but I hadn’t talked to them much, preferring to stay out of the way, unnoticed. Unfortunately, Nick had a knack for finding my mother. Gag.

Ben, the brother that was a doctor, smiled kindly at me. “Don’t stand there, come in
,” he waved me into the room.

“Uh,” I stepped into the room and faced all of them. “I was going to get something to drink and go back upstairs. I promise I won’t be in your way.”

“Olivia, please, sit down. It’s Christmas,” Galen said. I was surprised he had spoken. He hadn’t said much to me since him and his wife arrived, he hadn’t been mean to me or anything, but he certainly didn’t go out of his way to make conversation.

“I feel like I’m intruding,” I tried to back out of the room.

“Sit, Olivia,” Avery demanded and like an obedient dog I listened. Dammit.

“Thata’ girl,” she patted the top of my head.

“I will so get you for this,” I hissed.

“Don’t be such a baby. It’s Christm
as!” She chimed, throwing her hands in the air with excitement.

I glared at her and then began to giggle. “Why are you wearing an elf hat?”
I eyed the monstrosity on her head.

“It’s tradition!” She exclaimed.

I looked around and realized that Galen was wearing a Santa hat, Resa was wearing a Mrs. Klaus bonnet or whatever you wanted to call it, while Avery and the guys all wore elf hats, pointy ears included.

A giggle bubbled to the surface
, and escaped my lips. At the sound of my laugh, I couldn’t hold back full-blown hysterics.

“I need a picture of this,” I wiped tears from my eyes and grabbed my phone from my pocket, snapping a picture of Avery before she had the chance to react. “This is so going in our dorm room,” I laughed, waving
my phone around.

When her brother’s caught sight of the picture
, they began to laugh. Pretty soon, even Resa, Galen, and Avery were laughing.

Once our laughter had ceased, Avery smiled menacingly. “Luckily, we have an extra hat,” she stuck one of those ridiculous elf contraptions on my head. “Now,” she smiled, “we can continue with presents.”

“What’s going on?” I turned around to see my mom standing in the doorway.

“Olivia’s making everyone laugh,” Nick grinned at my mom. “Join us,” he patted an empty spot of carpet beside him. I watched as she made her way across the room
, to Nick, and sat down beside him. He leaned over, and whispered something in her ear, which made her smile and blush at the same time.

Avery and I exchanged a look and shook our heads. I had no idea where that was heading, and frankly, I didn’t want to think about the possibilities.

When they started making lovey dovey eyes at each other I wanted to point a finger at my head and yell, ‘Mom! Look at me! Your daughter! Over here! Stop staring at the guy young enough to be my brother!’

Nasty
.

I didn’t understand how she’d become so smitten with Nick so soon. I would’ve thought that after finally getting
the courage to leave my father…um, Aaron…the last thing she would have been interested in would be another guy. I guess I was wrong.

“I got you something,” Avery beamed and plopped a box in my lap. It was large
, but light, and wrapped in shiny green paper with stockings on it.

“Avery, you didn’t have to get me anything,” I told her.

“I know,” she shrugged, smiling at me, while she played with a strand of red hair.

“I feel bad,” I frowned. “I didn’t get you anything.”

“Don’t,” she smiled. “Besides, Christmas is about
giving
gifts not
receiving
them.”

“Are you sure you’re Avery Callahan?” I tapped her forehead.

“Yes,” she rolled her eyes. “I do have a heart, you know. Now open it!”

I smiled and began tearing off the wrapping paper. It was just a plain brown box, tapped down on all four sides. I used the edge of my fingernail to rip off the tape and then took the lid off.

I pushed aside the red and green tissue paper to find a stylish infinity scarf in different shades of blue and a navy button down pea coat.

“Avery,” I gasped, pulling the items out of the
box. “They’re beautiful.”

“
I knew you’d love them!” She clapped her hands together. “As soon as I saw them, I knew you had to have them. There’s a hat too,” she shuffled more tissue paper aside and pulled out a beanie in one of the lighter shades of blue from the scarf.

“Avery, this is too much. I can’t accept this,” I whispered.

“You can and you will. You’re my best friend, Livie, and I wanted to get you something nice, for putting up with all my crazy shit,” she smiled.

“I-I-thank you,” I stuttered, completely taken aback by the sweet gesture.

“You’re welcome,” she beamed.

I hugged my best friend to my chest. “I’m so lucky to have someone as wonderful as you in my life,” I confessed. I didn’t tell Avery enough, how much she meant to me. A lot of people were less than happy with their roommate
, but I had found a lifelong friend with mine.

“I didn’t know a coat would make you this happy,” she giggled. “I only wanted you to stop wearing those sweatshirts.”

We both dissolved into a fit of giggles.

“My sweatshirt sure didn’t stop Trace,” I whispered in her ear.

“Oh my God,” she laughed. “Livie! Too much information!”

“
You’re the girl who asks me a million and one questions about my sex life,” I giggled, “and gives me the explicit details of hers.”

“True,” she put a hand over her mouth to stifle her laughter. “I do like me some details.”

After that, it was hard for us to reign in our laughter.

★★★

Once every present was opened, I insisted on helping clean up. After all, they were letting my mom and me stay there for free. It was the least I could do.

Two trash bags were filled to the brim with wrapping paper and I was finally sure I had gotten everything.

I tied the bags shut, and carried them to the garage, dropping them into the trashcans.

On my way back inside, my phone buzzed.

I pulled it out and saw that I had a text message from Trace.

I’ll b there in 10 min. B
ready.

Ok
.
I replied right back and couldn’t help smiling.

I dashed upstairs
, and changed out of my pajamas, into a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved sweater with an owl on it. I cut the tags off of my gifts from Avery and put them on as well. I spotted the heel bootie’s she had given me at the beginning of the school year and sat down on the end of the bed to put them on.

I opened the door and was greeted with a low whistle. “Lookin’ nice,”
Dylan, the brother closest in age to Avery, said. He towered above my small frame and his blonde hair waved on the ends. His eyes were the same shade of dark green as Avery’s.

“Thanks,” I mumbled.

“Where you goin’?” He asked, crossing his arms over his massive chest. All of Avery’s brothers were huge, tall and muscular.

“Out,” I replied casually. It’s not like I owed him a lengthy explanation or anything.

“Dylan!” Avery yelled up the steps. “Leave, Livie alone. She’s not going to suck your dick for you, so give it a rest!”

“Avery!” I shrieked.

“It’s true!” She hollered.

With a quick glance at Dylan
, I ran away from him, and down the steps before Avery could say anything else embarrassing.

I met Avery in the foyer and she assessed my outfit. “I knew that would look good on you.”

“I love it,” I did a little twirl and the ends of the coat flared around my knees.

“I take it Trace is coming to get you,” she smiled and we started towards the garage.

“Yeah,” I blushed. “Was I that obvious?”

“No…you just smile dif
ferently when Trace is involved,” she opened the door that led to the garage and leaned inside to push the button that raised the garage door.

“I’ll see you later…or maybe not,” she winked.

I shook my head. “Thank you again for the coat and-”

“You’re welcome, Livie,” she grinned. “I’m happy you love it so much.”
She pulled me into a quick hug.

I stepped outside and she closed the garage door behind me.

Trace was pulling into the driveway and I scurried inside his car before the cold penetrated my coat.

“Excited to see me?” He grinned crookedly at my speedy entrance.

“I didn’t want to get cold,” I laughed.

“Aw,” he put a hand to his chest, “and here I thought you were excited to see me. I’m hurt.”

“Hmm,” I leaned over and kissed his stubbled cheek, “how can I make it up to you?” I whispered.

His eyes met mine and the green had darkened to a mossy gray color. “I’m sure I can think of a few different ways.”

“That sounds…” I paused, messing with him. “Exciting.”

“Oh, it is,” he grinned and backed out of the driveway.

“Where are we going?” I asked, looking at the snow-covered lawns.

“My place,” he answered. “Unless you don’t-”

“No, no, that’s fine,” I interjected.

“Good,” he smiled and adjusted his grip on the steering wheel.

★★★

Christmas music played softly in the background
, and the smell of hot chocolate permeated the air, along with the scent of freshly baked snickerdoodle cookies. Not only could Trace cook, but he could bake as well. Was there anything he couldn’t do?

“How many marshmallows do you want?” He asked from the kitchen.

I sat on the couch and turned so I could watch him. “Are they mini’s?”

“No, the big ones,” he looked up at me
, and held the bag aloft, shaking it for emphasis.

“Two, then,” I smiled.

He fixed the hot chocolate in coffee mugs, and added the marshmallows, then carefully carried them to where I was. He placed them on the coffee table and winced. “They’re a little too hot.”

Before he sat down
, he went back to the kitchen, to grab the plate of cookies.

He held the plate out to me and I took one of the cookies. It was cooked to perfection
, and every bite was chewy, just the way I liked them.

“You’re Betty Crocker,” I laughed.

“It’s not like I made them from scratch or anything,” he defended, sitting down beside me so that the sides of our legs touched. “It’s not that difficult to heat up the oven and stick em’ in. You just have to watch them so they don’t burn.”

“They’re delicious,” I finished off the first and reached for a second.

“I’m glad you like them, but you haven’t tried my hot chocolate yet. Now,
that
I do make from scratch,” he grinned, a cookie crumb sitting on the corner of his mouth.

I couldn’t help myself. I leaned over and licked it away.

When I pulled back, his eyes were closed, and his Adam’s apple was bobbing.

“That wasn’t nice,” he whispered and opened his eyes. The green was light and playful.

He pounced on me and my second cookie fell to the floor as I squealed.

He pressed me into the couch as he hovered above me.

“Fair is fair,” he grinned, pinning my wrists to my sides as I squirmed against him. He bent and licked the side of my mouth in the same spot I had licked his.

“Now we’re even,” he gazed down at me and pressed his hips
into mine.

“No, we’re not. I didn’t have any cookie crumbs on my mouth,” I
panted.

“I can fix that,” he folded both of my hands into one of his and lifted them above my head. With his free hand
, he reached for a cookie. He broke a corner off of one and held it above my mouth, crushing it in his palm, and letting go so that the crumbs covered my mouth and cheeks. I’m pretty sure a few went down my shirt but I wasn’t telling him that.