How to Liv (14 page)

Thursday.  One day closer to the weekend.  One day closer to spending time with Joel.  I think I’d figured out why I was so desperate to see him.  Yes I was falling for him, yes he was sexy as all hell and so good in bed, yes we had so much in common, yes he was sweet and caring and so many other things… but I think the real reason was, he just didn’t seem real.  He seemed too good to be true, I was still waiting for the other shoe to drop (what does that saying even mean exactly?) and I was desperate to see him before he disappeared.  I was worried that I wouldn’t get enough time with him before he was gone from my life, as he inevitably would be.  I wanted a repeat of last weekend and I couldn’t wait.  I was excited just thinking about his body and what he could do with-

“What are you smirking at?” Karen asked, cutting me from my thoughts.  I gave her a pointed glare.  “Okay, I don’t need to know the details.  I’m guessing Joel?”  I nodded.  “On second thought, maybe some details would be good, I have to live vicariously through you, after all.  And, well, he is hot!”

“Good morning, ladies!”  Jess happily interrupted us as she took a seat opposite me at the industrial bench we were once again working at today.

“Figures.
  You getting some, too?  Am I the only one around here with absolutely no sex life?” Karen complained, which made Jess blush.

“Oh, uh, no I…” she stuttered.

“I take it you and Eric have sorted things out?” I asked, trying to save her.

“Yes,” Jess said softly, smiling timidly at me.

“What?  You and Eric are doing it?” Karen blatantly said aloud, causing Jess to look completely horrified.  She glanced around the factory to see if anybody heard.  I looked around, too, but it seemed we were the only ones that had heard Karen’s outburst.

“No!  We talked - that’s all!” a red-faced Jess replied.

“So you guys are like a thing now?” Karen asked.

“Yes,” Jess replied slowly.  The look on her face was priceless, she was glowing.  I was no longer worried that my interference had affected our friendship.  Karen shook her head and walked away.  Jess turned to me, “She’s got Eric all wrong you know.  He’s just misunderstood.”  I gaped at her until I caught her eye, a look of guilt washed over her face.  “Of course, I didn’t have to tell
you
that.  I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you Olivia.  You were right and I…”  She looked lost for words.

“I’m just glad you’re not mad at me for last night and I’m happy that you both worked things out.”

“Thanks to you.”

“Yeah, thanks to me!  You two wasted enough bloody time!”  I smiled at her and she smiled back.  “So you talked?”

“Yeah… for
hours
.”  She was gushing and it made me think of Joel and what my face must look like lately.  Poor Karen, no wonder she was feeling left out. “It was amazing!” 

“Just talked?” I asked sceptically, the look on her face made me wonder.

“Well, he did kiss me good night,” she giggled, “at about three a.m.”

“Some talk.”

“Aha.”  She bit her lip as she gazed at something behind me.  The look on her face told me I only needed one guess to know what or who she was looking at.

“Good morning, Olivia.”  Eric’s voice came from behind me.

“So I hear.”  I smiled at him as he walked past, but he wasn’t looking at me, his eyes were fixed on Jess’s as he rounded the table to stand closely in front of her.

“Good morning, Jess.”

“Morning,” she replied softly, gazing up at him wide-eyed.  That must have been some talk last night/this morning.  It was clear that their relationship was blossoming before my eyes.  I breathed out a happy sigh as I watched Eric lean down to whisper something in her ear which made Jess giggle.

“You had to interfere, now neither of them will get any work done,” Karen said to me as she approached the workbench.

“Oh whatever,” I replied, poking my tongue out to make her smile.

“I better get to work,” Eric said to Jess before turning to me.  “Thank you, for kicking my arse, Olivia.”

Eric’s words were heartfelt.  He gave my shoulder a squeeze when he passed.  My eyes diverted to Jess for her reaction to his physical attention.  She only smiled and mouthed ‘thank you’, making my heart beam with pride.

“You’re welcome,” I replied.  Karen laughed and went back to her office shaking her head.

The rest of the day past in a blur.  We were busy as usual and I was grateful for that, it made the day go quicker.  At knock off time, Karen and I watched Jess and Eric walk out the door together and my heart swelled at their blossoming romance.  Karen let out a sigh and I looked at her questioningly.

“What?  Okay, they make a cute couple and I love a good romance as much as the next girl.  I admit it.”  I nudged her with my elbow.  “Hey, shouldn’t you be racing out of here to meet up with your man, too?”

“Nah, he’s probably working late.”  I shrugged and walked to the staff room.  I opened my locker and grabbed out my phone, finding another text message from Joel confirming as much.  “He’s going to call me later when he knocks off work,” I told Karen after I read the message.  “Home to my sister again, I guess.”

“Well, we could swap.  I have a couple of kids that have cabin fever.  They are sick and tired of spending their school holidays at their grandparents’ house.  They whinge about it from the time I pick them up until the time they go to bed.  Count your lucky stars you only have to deal with your sister.  Thank god Marg is back from her holidays next week.  I’m going to see if I can take a couple of days off to spend with them and give Mum and Dad a break.”

“I’m sure they’d love that, and you could do with a break, too.”

“Tell me about it!  At least Matt is able to get time off before the kids go back to school.  Did I tell you they’re staying with him for a week?  They’re
gonna love spending a whole week with their dad and I’ve never had that much time on my own.  We’ll have to get together and do something fun while I’m childless.”

“Oh definitely!
  Count me in!”

“Well, anyway, I better fly.  See you in the morning.”

“What’s this I hear about you dating again?”  Mum asked.

I groaned. 
Ally and her big mouth!

“Libby?”

“His name is Joel,” I mumbled down the phone.

“From what I hear he’s a good looking fellow.” 
Figures Ally would say that
.  “Why didn’t you tell me?  And when am I going to meet him?”

“Mum, we’ve only just met, give me a chance-”

“So what’s he like?” she interrupted excitedly.

“Joel is… he’s great Mum.”  I smiled.

“You really like him?”

“Yeah, I do.”  I could hear the happiness in my voice so I’m sure my mum could, too.

“So when do I get to meet this guy?”

“I’m not sure yet.  Soon, I guess?”

“So it’s serious then?”

“I hope so.”

“I’m so glad baby, you sound really happy.  You deserve it.  After everything you went through with Craig, I just-”

“Mum, I’ve got to go.  Dinner’s ready, I’m about to dish up.”

“Oh, okay darling.  Speak soon.”

“Bye, Mum.”

I hung up the phone and looked around my empty kitchen.  There was no dinner in front of me.  I hadn’t been cooking anything, that was just an excuse to get off the phone.  I wasn’t even that hungry now, thoughts of Craig tended to make me lose my appetite. 
Why did she have to bring him up?
  I headed for the bathroom to take a long, hot, shower instead.

Thankfully, Ally had left for work before I made it home tonight and I had the place to myself.  After my shower I decided to try to eat, hungry or not.  I grabbed a bowl of last night’s leftover stir fry, cranked up the
aircon and got comfy on the couch.  I turned on the TV to block out thoughts of Craig.

When I woke up, it was dark out, the TV was still on and the half-eaten bowl of chicken stir fry was still sitting on the coffee table.  I stretched my neck on the back of the couch to read the clock in the kitchen.  It was after eleven. 
How’d that happen?

I turned off the TV, taking my bowl to the kitchen.  I threw its contents in the bin and then washed it.  I had a drink of water and then looked at my phone. 
Shit!
  I’d missed three phone calls from Joel!  I must have really zonked out!  I was about to call him back when I thought the better of it, he was probably asleep now and I didn’t want to wake him.  So I brushed my teeth and went to bed instead, kicking myself for not hearing the damn phone.

When I arrived at work the next morning, my phone rang before I’d even made it into the building.  It was Joel.

“Hey.”

“Hey, Liv.  Is everything all right?  I tried calling you last night.”

“I’m sorry.  I was really tired, I crashed early.”

“Oh, okay, never mind… Did you sleep well?”

“I slept okay, I guess. 
You?”

“Not really… I was worried when you didn’t return any of my calls.”  I could hear that nervousness in his voice again.

“I’m so sorry, Joel.”

“I thought maybe you were mad at me or something.”

“Why would I be mad at you?”

“For, I don’t know, being a jealous prick the other
day, or maybe for not having the time to see you.”

“No, no, not at all.”
  I tried my best to reassure him.  Again, I was surprised at his insecurities.  “Though I am mad at myself now.”

“What for?”

“I woke up during the night and saw I’d missed your calls but I didn’t call you back because I didn’t want to wake you.  I probably should have, huh?”

“It doesn’t matter now,” he spoke quietly.  “Well I better let you get to work.  Will I see you tonight?”

“Of course.”

“I’ll give you a call when I finish work then?” he asked.

“Okay, that’d be great.”

“Have a good day,
Liv.  See you tonight.”

“Bye, Joel.”

Friday.  Ah yes, I could smell the excitement in the air when I entered the factory, after ending my call with Joel.  People were buzzing about already.  I entered the staff room and put my belongings in my locker, shrugging on my lab coat in time to see Eric giving Jess a peck on the cheek, before heading off to his office.

“Good morning Jess?”

“Oh, yes it is!  Hey, you coming to the pub tonight?  Eric and I want to shout you a couple of drinks.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, thanks again for knocking sense into us.  We went out to dinner last night and had such a great time,” she gushed.

“Sounds like dinner’s not all you had!”

“Olivia Moore!”  She slammed her locker shut and turned to glare at me with a red face.  “It’s not like that!  Eric isn’t like that!”

“Chill Jess, I was only joking!”  I laughed, loving the fact she got so easily riled up.

“I know, it’s just,” she took a couple of steps closer and lowered her voice, “Eric and I are taking things slow, physically, I mean.  We’ve kissed a couple of times but that’s all.”

“Good for you Jess.”

“I’m blocking my ears.  I do not need to hear this stuff!”  Karen waltzed in with her hands over her ears and a smile on her face.

“So are you both coming to the pub tonight?” Jess asked, ignoring Karen’s comment.

“Most definitely.”  Karen nodded enthusiastically.

“It depends what time Joel finishes work. 
Maybe for a little while.”  I shrugged.

We made our cuppas and headed into the factory to start our day.  It was obvious by everyone’s moods that there would be no overtime tonight, all of us eager to start our weekends.

“Oh, you have to see this,” Karen said, pulling me into her office.  “Madi went shopping yesterday and bought this wicked stamp for me.”  She pulled out a piece of paper and stamped it.  “I tell you my girl is so in tune with me it’s not even funny!  What do you think?”

She turned the paper towards me and I burst out laughing.
The stamp read, ‘YOU’RE AN IDIOT!’

“I think you’re in trouble when she hits her teens!” 

“I know, right?  She’s just gone twelve and already making me so proud.  But wait there’s more…”  She turned the knob on the side and stamped again ‘I’M A GENIUS!’ We both laughed.  Then she turned the knob again ‘AMAZEBALLS’ and the fourth and final one was ‘MEH…’

“Classic!”  I laughed.

“I’m going to have so much fun with this!”

And boy did
she ever!  All day our paperwork had stamps on it.  Where we would normally stamp ‘COMPLETED’ on a job sheet she would stamp ‘AMAZEBALLS’.  There was a staff memo from the office reminding people to wash their own cups, which we always do, it’s the damn office people that don’t, Karen of course stamped that one with ‘YOU’RE AN IDIOT!’  On her sandwich bag after she ate her mediocre lunch from the deli she stamped it ‘MEH…’  She carried that darn thing in her lab coat pocket all day and used it wherever possible.  It was hilarious and we were just about pissing ourselves with laughter all day.  I was going to have to thank that daughter of hers the next time I saw her for making my day so fun.

When we clocked off that night at five o’clock she stamped ‘I’M A GENIUS!’ next to her name on her clock card.  I was having such a good
time,I decided to go for drinks with them all, without waiting on Joel.  I gave him a call but he didn’t answer, so I sent him a quick text instead:

Just knocked off work.
  Heading to the pub for drinks.  Come pick me up when you finish?

“Hey Karen, do you think you could swing by my house and pick me up again?”  I asked, catching her just before she took off in her car.

“Sure thing, but you owe me.”  She pouted unconvincingly before cracking a smile.

I quickly rounded her car and jumped in mine and we both drove back to my place.

“Do you mind if I get changed real quick?” I asked as I reached the driver’s side window of her car, idling behind mine in my driveway.

“Not at all.
  I’ll come in, I need to use your loo anyway,” she answered, shutting off her engine.

“Okay, but you’ll owe me.”

“Whatever.”  She laughed.

I went into my bedroom and started taking off my work clothes, I felt sweaty and dirty.  I heard the toilet flush and yelled out to Karen.

“Are you in a hurry, Kaz?  Or do you mind if I have a quick shower?”  I poked my head out the door and caught her as she was exiting the bathroom.

“Well, you do kind of stink.”

“Har har.”

“Go ahead, I’m in no hurry.”

“Thanks.  I won’t be long.”

I ducked back into my room and picked out a pair of jean shorts and a halter neck top that was tight over my breasts but then hung loose from the bust line down.  It was black and sparkly and swung nicely.  I also picked out a black lace bra and matching knickers, something special that Joel hadn’t seen me in.  I wanted to make an impression on him tonight.  I raced into the bathroom and had a record fast
shower, I’d washed my hair the previous night so I didn’t let it get wet.  I didn’t know what time Joel would finish work and I didn’t want him to get to the pub before me.  I idly wondered if I should pack a bag, I guessed I would be spending the night at his place.  Maybe packing a bag was a bit too presumptuous though, so I decided against it.

I ran back into my bedroom and put on a pair of black sandals, then ran into the lounge to where Karen was seated.

“Shit!  I forgot perfume!”  I swung around and raced back to the bathroom, spraying myself liberally with my favourite scent.

“I said I wasn’t in a hurry, calm down!” Karen yelled from the lounge.  I slowed down and walked back towards her.  “What’s got you so stressed?” she asked.

“Joel’s picking me up from the pub.”

“Say no more!”  She eyed my outfit.  “Well you look
great, he’ll be putty in your hands!”

“Putty?
  That stuff’s soft, right?  Not quite what I was going for!”  I giggled.

“Okay, he’ll be hard as a rock then!” Karen joked and we both laughed as we made our way out the door.

When we got to the pub Eric and Jess were seated at a table opposite Daniel and Scott, Karen and I took seats at the end.  Eric was quick to stand and ask what I would like to drink, to which I answered a Malibu and Coke.  After I’d finished that one, Jess bought me another.  At seven o’clock, I checked my phone for the umpteenth time and there was still no reply from Joel.  I was getting hungry and everyone was talking about ordering meals, so I sent him another text:

Are you coming to the pub?  The others are about to order
food if you’re interested…

I hit send and waited, holding my phone and hoping for a response.  I didn’t have to wait long:

Sorry.  Just ducked home for a quick shower.  Leaving in about ten.  Order me something.  I’ll see you soon x

The little ‘x’ on the end sent a thrill through me
again, as did the fact that he was leaving it up to me to decide on what to get him to eat.  It was so casually done, as if we were a couple that had been together for ages.  It felt nice.

I followed the others up to the counter to place our meal orders.  I decided on a steak for Joel and a chicken schnitzel for me, just like our first meal together, although I didn’t order any entrees or a third main like Joel had done.  I then went to the bar and ordered myself a third Malibu and Coke.  It was going to be my last though, because I didn’t want to get drunk like last Friday.

When I sat back at our table Jess scolded me for buying another drink while placing one she’d bought in front of me. 
Well I guess I will be drinking another then – can’t let it go to waste.

I watched Eric’s eyes follow Jess when she walked from one end of the table to the other and then sat back down.  It was obvious he was absolutely smitten.  I caught his eye and he smiled bashfully before re-focusing on her.  Eric had always been
such a hands on guy, but I noticed he barely touched Jess.  In fact he looked like he was having difficulty, he looked awkward, like he was restraining himself.  Jess sure had done a number on him, or maybe I had with my comments.  I felt bad that he looked so uncomfortable.  I was about to lean over to tell him as much when Joel walked in the door, catching my eye immediately.

He was wearing dark grey cargo shorts and a white polo shirt.  I loved him in white.  His hair was still damp.  He hadn’t
shaved, he looked ruggedly handsome with the extra hair on his face.  When he reached me his cologne hit me like a tidal wave of desire.

“Hi.”

“Hey.”

He gave me a sweet peck on the cheek, his stubble grazing me just nicely,
then sat down next to me.  His arm came around the back of my chair.  He leaned in close and took a deep breath.

“You smell so good,” he breathed out. 
I’m glad I ran back for that perfume.

“
Mmm, so do you.”

He leant in for another kiss, this one not so sweet.  His tongue lashed my mouth and his facial hair gave me goose bumps.  His hand cupped my cheek and I moaned when he pulled away.

“Sorry I’m so late.”

“Not a problem, I’m just glad you made it before the food arrived.”

“Mmm food, I’m starved.  Thirsty too.  Can I get you a drink?”

I motioned to the two drinks in front of me and he raised his eyebrows.

“No, you’ve got that covered, I see,” he said with a smirk.

“Yep, my friend’s here are feeling rather generous.”

I looked over to Eric and Jess and smiled.  Then I looked back at Joel who was frowning at Eric, I put a reassuring arm on Joel’s thigh.  A smile replaced his frown but he wasn’t looking at me.  I followed his line of sight and saw that he was still watching Eric.  Only now Eric had his arm around Jess.  That is what Joel had seen, that is what had turned his frown upside down.  Not me.

“How’s it
goin?” Joel asked Eric.

“Fantastic!” Eric replied, looking at me and then to Jess who smiled back at him.  They officially, finally, looked like a couple.

“I take it that’s what you have been helping your friend out with,” Joel whispered in my ear and I nodded, still watching the happy couple.  “And that’s why they’re shouting you drinks?”

“Yes.”  I turned to look at Joel.  His eyes burned bright and intense.  I couldn’t look away.

“You are amazing, you know that?”

Then he kissed me again, hot and intense, and if it hadn’t been for the conversation that we’d just had I would say that his kiss almost felt like he was staking his claim. 
Maybe he was. 
That thought, of me being his, as well as the intensity of his kiss had me worked up in no time.  I was ready to beg him to take me home, I wanted him so bad, but instead he pulled away and abruptly stood to leave the table.