Finding Olivia (Trace + Olivia #1) (30 page)

I’d agree
but I couldn’t open my mouth to find the words to voice it.

“I have to
move, baby,” he warned before he slid out a little, and back in, the water causing more friction than usual.

I clung to his shoulders and rested my head on his chest.

Our labored breaths filled the cavernous room and my hips rolled against his thrusts.

I was finally near my orgasm, one he wasn’t going to steal from me, when I leaned back and opened my eyes.

Over Trace’s shoulder, and through the glass on the door, my eyes connected with a deep pair of blue ones. They were narrowed in anger as they watched us shrewdly. I was too far-gone in a pleasure-induced coma to care, but I knew I would be pissed later that Aubrey was watching us. Couldn’t the bitch go away?

I tore my gaze from hers
, and kissed Trace, cupping his cheeks in my hands. His tongue flicked against mine and I gasped in pleasure as he nudged a sensitive spot inside me.

“Trace!” I screamed out his name and my hands dropped from his cheeks to his shoulders. My orgasm tore through me and my whole body shook. He kept a firm grip on my hips as I shook. When he was sure that I was able to stand
, he set me down on my feet, and slipped out of me.

He pumped his length with his hand and growled as he came into his palm.

I watched, fascinated. When he was spent, his arms circled around me, and he kissed me deeply, leaning me back so that the ends of my hair skimmed the surface of the water. Both of our chests were rising and falling from the exertion as we clung to one another.

“I think I like pool sex,” I whispered.

Trace’s chuckle vibrated my body. “I like any kind of sex with you. In fact, I like everything with you, not just the really great sex.”

“Good to know,” I laughed.

A boom sounded outside, and I turned in his arms to look out the wall of windows, where I saw fireworks going off. Red, green, blue, purple, and silver. They were beautiful the way they lit up the night sky with their colorful sparks. I had never seen fireworks in person before, only on TV, once or twice. I found myself smiling as we watched them

When they ended, we were still in the water
, in each other’s arms.

Trace gazed down at me, his green eyes full of an emotion I couldn’t decipher.

“Happy New Year’s, Olivia. Here’s to a new year, and new adventures, together,” he murmured and kissed me.

c h a p t e r

Twenty
Four

School started back up which meant Avery and I were back in the dorms. The Callahan’s promised that my mom wasn’t a bother and could stay as long as she needed. In fact, Resa and my mom, had grown quite close, and Resa was helping her to find a job. Nick, thankfully, had to go back to Virginia Tech, so I didn’t have to worry about him hitting on my mom anymore.

I didn’t tell my mom, but I still worried that Aaron might show up. He was a bully…but a wimp at the same time, so he probably wouldn’t, but I also knew, he wasn’t the kind of person you should underestimate. He had nothing to lose, while we had everything.

I guess I was of the mentality that all good things must come to an end.

I hoped that wasn’t the case, but…

“Where are we going?” I asked Trace, holding tightly to his hand, as we ran down the sidewalk of the old walking mall. I forced my worried thoughts from my mind. I
needed
to have fun. My braid thumped against my shoulder and snow flurried around us. The late January weather in Virginia was unpredictable. Some days were warmer, with temperatures in the fifties. While other days, like today, were cold enough for snow. 

“I promise, it has nothing to do with your list,” he called over his shoulder, dragging me along.

I released his hand and stopped in my tracks. He turned around and jogged towards me.

“What are you looking at?” He tilted his head as he looked at me.

I pointed to the store window, where there was a red shirt displayed that said,
I Love Ketchup
. “I’m buying that for you,” I declared, heading straight into the store, not caring if he followed.

Trace grumbled about us being late, but I didn’t care. I grabbed the shirt and paid for it. Under normal circumstances, I would’ve taken the time to look around, but since Trace was on a time constraint to get…wherever it was he needed to be, I didn’t.

“Put it on,” I handed him the bag.

“Olivia,” he groaned, looking around the store at the people browsing.

“Trace,” I eyed him sternly. “You’re always pushing me out of my comfort zone. Put. On. The. Shirt.”

A challenge ignited in his green eyes.

“Fine,” he grinned cockily. He removed his jacket and long-sleeved plaid shirt. Then, with a giant smirk, he pulled his black V-neck t-shirt over his head. “Hi,” he waved at the teenage girl working the cash register. The poor girl’s mouth was hanging open as she stared at Trace. Someone needed to get a mop, because the amount of drool she was producing could cause someone to slip.

Trace took the bag from me and pulled out the bright red shirt. He ripped the tag off
, and pulled the shirt on, tugging it down so that it covered his tightly sculpted abs.

“Happy now?” He asked, turning so I could assess the shirt.

“Ecstatic,” I smiled, putting the shirts he’d been wearing before, into the bag.

He grabbed his jacket and shrugged it on. “Now that you’ve had your fun, we really have to go.”

“Red’s a good color on you,” I laughed as we walked out of the store.

“Every color is a good color on me,” he chuckled. “Especially, when said shirt,” he plucked at the garment, “reflects my never-ending love of ketchup.”

I shook my head, laughing under my breath at him.

“Ah, here we are,” Trace held the door to a coffee shop open for me. The sign hanging above the door was in the shape of a coffee cup and declared the place as
Griffin’s
.

“Are you going to tell me what’s going on?” I questioned, looking around
at the crowd gathered.

“Well,” he rocked on his heels, “Since classes started back up, you’ve been really busy, and I wanted us to do something fun.”

“O-okay,” I hesitated as we made our way to a vacant table. People were gathered around something, but I couldn’t tell what it was. “And what exactly does this ‘fun’ entail?”

He wet his lips and shifted in his seat. “I was
hoping
you would sing with me again.”

“What?!” I gasped loudly, causing a few heads to turn in our direction. “No way! I was scared to death the first time
, and that was karaoke, where most people suck,
and
they give you the lyrics.”

“Calm down,” Trace pleaded. “If you really don’t want to, I’ll sing by myself, but I really hoped we could do it together,” he pouted. “Your voice is beautiful, Olivia,” his fingers brushed my chin.

My breath was shaky, my palms sweating.

I looked around at all the people, there were ten times more than had been at the restaurant when we sang karaoke, and most of those people had been drunk. These people, weren’t drunk, and they were here to listen to
good
music. I knew I had a decent voice, but I wasn’t confident enough to get up in front of a crowd this size.

“I don’t know,” I frowned, my shyness making
me wish I could disappear.

“We’re supposed to sing in fifteen minutes,” he warned. “So, don’t think too long.” He paused, contemplating something. “I signed up for two songs…what if I do a solo
, and then we do a duet, would that make you feel better?”

I nodded. “Yeah, that makes me feel better.”
Not much better, but a little better.

“Great,” he beamed.

I wished I felt as happy as he looked. His smile seemed glued onto his face from excitement while I was trying not to throw up.

“What song are we singing?” I asked.

He contemplated, seeming to run through a list in his head. “What about,
If I Didn’t Have You,
by Thompson Square? Do you know that song?”

“Yeah, I know it,” I nodded, my nerves kicking up several notches.
At least, if I made a fool of myself, I didn’t know any of these people.

“Olivia! Trace!”

Dammit.

Scratch that, I did know two of these people.

“What are you guys doing here?” Avery asked, snaking her way through the crowd to our table, with Luca at her heels.

“We’re going to sing,” Trace announced proudly.

Avery’s dark green eyes widened. “You’re going to sing?” She asked me. “Like on stage? In front of people?”

“Yep,” my eyes shifted nervously away from her
s.

“What are you singing?” Luca asked Trace, pulling out a chair,
and flipping it around backwards, before sitting.

“On my own? I haven’t decided yet,” Trace shrugged. “I’ll figure it out when I get up there.”

Luca’s eerie pale blue eyes zeroed in on Trace’s shirt. “What are you wearing?”

Trace sat back and pulled the shirt away from his body. “This? Olivia bought it for me.”

Avery snickered. “You bought him an
‘I Love Ketchup’
shirt?”

“He has a strange
obsession with the stuff,” I shrugged. “I thought everyone should know.”

“Ketchup is delicious,” Trace licked his lips.

He looked at the time on his phone and stood. “I better get up there,” he pointed to the stage. “You can wait here till I finish my first song,” he informed me.

I watched him bleed into the crowd.

“I can’t believe you’re going to get up there and sing,” Avery shook her head.

“Are you good or do you suck?” Luca asked me.

Avery snorted and answered for me. “Olivia is amazing, but she’s too shy to sing in front of people. I caught her singing by accident.”

“Hmm,” Luca hummed, adjusting his fedora to hide the scar on his forehead. I noticed, that for once, he wasn’t wearing a vest. It seemed weird
, seeing him without one. It was like his vests were an extension of his laidback personality. “You look more like the type to draw or something.”

I snorted. “I’m the least artistic person, ever. I can’t draw worth crap.” I had learned that the hard way when Trace took me for painting lessons.

A finger tapping against the microphone ceased our conversation as we turned to face the stage. There were still people standing near the stage, but most people had taken a seat, so I had a clear shot of Trace sitting on a stool. Another guy sat in the corner, with a guitar in his lap, he scratched his stubbled chin, and flipped his wavy dark hair out of his blue eyes.

My gaze quickly left the other guy and focused on Trace. He looked gorgeous sitting up there so casually. His dark brown hair was mused from running his fingers through it. “I’m going to sing
,
Only You’re the One
, by Lifehouse. This one’s for Olivia,” he smirked in my direction. He motioned over his shoulder for the guy to start playing the guitar.

I sat, riveted, as the lyrics poured over me
, along with Trace’s raspy singing voice.

“’I’m with you when the lights go down. Take my hand I’m all yours now. I know you’re the only one that would never lead me on. I’m with you when the lights go down ‘cause you’re the one and…Only you’re the one and…’”

I swallowed thickly as the words of the song registered in my brain.

His green eyes never
strayed from mine, as each word left his mouth, making their meaning more powerful.

“Whoa,” Avery gasped when the song ended, clapping her hands mechanically.

I clapped too, along with everyone else in the room, completely enamored with the man on stage that was mine completely.

Trace bowed his head under the crowd
’s praise. “Thank you everyone,” he grinned. “If y’all don’t mind, I’d like to sing another song, with my girlfriend.” He waved me up on stage. “Get up here, Olivia.”

With red cheeks, I made my way up to the stage.

An older man
, who worked there, brought out another stool and microphone. “Thanks, Griff,” Trace said to the man.

I sat on the stool and faced the large crowd. I took several deep breaths to calm myself but it wasn’t working.

Trace’s hand entwined with mine and he gave it a light squeeze. My gaze slid from the crowd and connected with his green eyes.

“You can do this, Olivia,” he assured me. “Forget about everyone else. It’s just me and you, baby.”

I swallowed down the lump in my throat and whispered, “You and me.”

He nodded, smiling reassuringly.

Trace nodded to the guy on the guitar again.

There was no turning back now.

I gripped the microphone so tightly in my hand that my knuckles turned white.

I took a deep breath and sang. “’Sometimes it feels like, I’m gonna break. Sometimes this world, gives more than I can take. Sometimes, sunshine gets lost in the rain, and it keeps pouring down. It just keeps coming down.’”

It didn’t escape my attention that Trace had chosen a duet that was mostly sang by a female.

His voice mingled with mine on the chorus
, and I was, once again, amazed by how well our voices blended together. My eyes never left his as we sang the chorus. “’This life would kill me if I didn’t have you. I couldn’t live without you, baby, I wouldn’t want to. If you didn’t love me so much I’d never make it through ‘cause this life would kill me. This life would kill me if I didn’t have you.’”

The more I sang, the more confident I became. So, before the song was over, I found myself singing less to Trace and more to the crowd. I still gripped his hand for support, but I didn’t feel as scared as I did at the beginning of the song.

When the song ended, and the coffee shop erupted into applause, I found myself looking at the floor of the makeshift wood stage.

Trace stood, pulling me up beside him.

“Thank you,” Trace waved to the crowd.

“Thank you,” I mumbled bashfully, my earlier confidence
completely drained.

Trace handed his microphone to the next performer and I handed mine to a coffee shop worker.

We hopped off the stage, hand in hand. Instead of returning straight to the table, Trace dragged me to the counter of the coffee shop.

Trace waved at the older guy working behind the counter. It was the same man who had handed me the microphone. “Hey, Trace,” the man said in a gravely voice, rolling up the sleeves of his flannel shirt.

“Griff, this is my girlfriend, Olivia. Olivia, meet Griff, the owner,” Trace introduced us.

“It’s nice to meet you,” I smiled shyly at the older man. His gray hair was pulled back in a low ponytail and his light brown eyes were kind.

“Nice to meet you too, doll,” he chuckled. He leaned his elbows on the counter and eyed Trace. “I haven’t seen you here in a while…a
long
while.”

Trace cleared his throat. “I haven’t done much singing since high school. The place looks amazing,” Trace looked around. “You certainly didn’t have a stage when I performed here.”

“Didn’t need one,” Griff shrugged. “But more and more people kept showing up every week, so something had to be done.” Smiling at me, he pointed to the open area. “There used to be a wall there, but I took it down to make room for the stage, and give more room for eating.”