Olivia (30 page)

The next night, Sam was in a remarkably better mood, and Izzie had a bit of a smile on her face. When Sam’s and Izzie’s eyes met over the conveyor and a blush rose up Izzie’s neck, Olivia became highly suspicious of what exactly had gone on in that office after everyone had left. According to Izzie, they had only talked, but she was evasive about what exactly they had talked about. Olivia tried to get information out of Melanie, but if she knew anything she was keeping it to herself. Olivia resorted to spying and note-taking.

By the end of the night, Sam had looked at Izzie forty-seven times, and Izzie had looked at him one hundred and four times. On twenty-eight of those occasions, she either blushed or smiled, or she lost her train of thought entirely. Sam touched Izzie twice, once accidentally and once on purpose, and Izzie touched Sam six times, all intentionally, blushing with each contact.

Izzie followed Olivia and Sam outside during Olivia’s second smoke-break of the night with an “important” question about one of the drawings in her CAD binder. It was so important it couldn’t wait five minutes for Olivia and Sam to come back inside. That was the occasion of Sam’s accidental touch of Izzie—their arms brushed against each other when he leaned over to look at the book. Izzie blushed so deep red Olivia could see it clearly under the dim glow of the streetlights in the parking lot. The sexual tension in the air was so thick Olivia actually got a little excited by it, and it wasn’t even her sexual tension.

Clete showed up at exactly midnight to pick her up again, but this time she made him wait in the parking lot for Sam to come outside so she could not-so-subtly warn him that if he desired to keep his family jewels attached to his body he would keep his grubby paws the hell off of her best friend.

They waited for what felt like forever. When Sam finally came outside, Olivia hopped out of the cruiser before Clete could stop her and made a beeline for him. Just as she was opening her mouth to give him hell, Olivia’s eyes landed on Izzie, who was two steps behind Sam with her hair mussed and her clothing slightly askew. Izzie saw Olivia at exactly the same moment. When their eyes met, Olivia knew she was already too late. Izzie was an adulteress.

“Liv!” Izzie cried out in what could only be shame and regret, but Olivia turned on her heel and stormed back to Clete’s car without another glance at Izzie, and without a word for her former best friend—unless you count flipping the bird a word.

Olivia was so focused on being indignant over Izzie cheating on John that she didn’t see the person charging her until she was blindsided and sent sprawling across the parking lot. The back of her head smacked against the blacktop and she saw stars through her double-vision as she looked up at the person towering over her, poised to pounce. It wasn’t Mitch, unless Mitch had suddenly grown itty-bitty titties and a big, bubbly ass.

“You bitch!” Yvette spat at Olivia as she lunged for Olivia’s throat.

A heartbeat later, Yvette was face-down on the blacktop next to Olivia, with Clete’s knee wedged into her back and her wrists locked tight in handcuffs. Damn, he was fast!

Olivia moaned as she struggled to sit up. She brought her hand up and gingerly touched the back of her head. It was tender and already starting to raise a bump. Knowing her luck, the bump would keep growing and growing until it was long and pointy like on those old-timey cartoons she used to watch when she was a kid.
Shit
.

“You have the right to remain silent.” Clete ripped a screaming, spitting Yvette to her feet.

Olivia groaned. “Let her go, Clete.”

“Yeah, let me go so I can kick her ass.” Yvette growled and writhed to get out of Clete’s grasp.

Clete ignored both of them. “If you give up this right—”

“Let her go!” Olivia pushed herself to her feet and pulled on Yvette’s arm to get her away from Clete. “Damn it, Clete! She’s not a criminal!”

“Anything you say can and will be used against you—”

“Clete!”

“What?!”

“Let her go!”

Clete’s jaw set as he looked from Olivia to Yvette and back to Olivia. “No.”

“Clete!” Olivia cried out in frustration, but it didn’t do any good.

Clete half-walked, half-carried a snarling, snapping Yvette to the police car as he finished reciting her Miranda rights. He shoved her into the backseat and slammed the door, then walked around the cruiser and ripped open the front passenger door. “Get in.”

It wasn’t a request.

“No.” Olivia crossed her arms over her chest and glued her feet in place on the blacktop.

“Get in the car, Olivia,” Clete repeated. Again, not a request.

“Not until you let Yvette go.” Her eyes narrowed and she set her jaw. Her head throbbed and there were two Cletes glaring back at her, but she held her ground.

“Get in the car.”

“Fuck you, Clete.”

“Real mature.”

Olivia stuck her tongue out at him.

“Get in the goddamn car. Right.
Now!
”

Olivia had no idea why he was pissed off, but he was definitely pissed. And it pissed her off that he was pissed off. “Fuck. You!”

“Olivia?” Izzie put her hand on Olivia’s arm and tried to turn her around. “Are you ok?”

Olivia pushed Izzie away. “Go to hell, Iz.”

“Liv?” Izzie asked again, her voice breaking. “Sweetie, please look at me.”

Olivia ignored her.

“You’re bleeding, Liv,” Sam said.

“What?” Olivia whipped around to face him. The parking lot spun and fireworks shot through her vision as she grabbed at Sam to catch her balance. Her other hand came up to touch the back of her head again, and this time it came back soaking wet, warm, and red. “Oh…”

And Olivia fainted.

Chapter Fourteen

“It’s none of your business, Liv,” George said as they lay in each other’s arms later that night. Or maybe it was early the next morning. Olivia didn’t know which for sure.

Her brain was still a little fuzzy from her knock on the head, and the second knock on the head she got when she fainted. The single stitch the EMT gave her in the parking lot burned like hell, and she was still pissed at Clete because he was still pissed at her and she still had no clue why he was pissed in the first place. He had stuck around long enough for the ambulance to arrive, with George close behind, and then he’d set Yvette free and taken off with a squeal of his tires.

From what else Olivia could remember, Yvette apologized to Olivia, George apologized to Yvette, and Olivia apologized to the EMT when she got so dizzy she threw up on him. George brought her home and stripped her down and cleaned her up and then took her to bed. With every minute that passed, her head grew clearer and she felt more alert, but sitting up still kinda sucked.

“Izzie and John
are
my business. Izzie’s been my business since we were kids, and her marriage is my business.”

“Izzie’s a grown woman. If she wants to get a divorce there’s nothing you can do to stop her,” George said.

“But she’s making a huge mistake. Izzie and John are in love! They’ve always been in love. She just forgot that while she was all wrapped up in her crazy, baby-making obsession. I never should’ve let him stay at his brother’s house—and what was I thinking having Mel and all her kids move in with Iz?” She turned toward George and propped up on an elbow. “I should’ve made them stay together and just taken Izzie to see Dr. Phil or something instead.”

“Dr. Phil?” George laughed.

“He’s a very smart man.”

George smiled and tucked a wild piece of Olivia’s hair behind her ear. “How’s your head?”

“Ok.” She shrugged. “Why? You horny or something?”

“Always. But that’s not why I asked,” he said.

“I’m horny.”

George smiled. “Not tonight.”

Olivia pouted. “Why?”

“Because you might have a concussion,” he said.

“So?”

“So, you should take it easy.”

“I could lay here and let you do all the work,” Olivia offered with an eyebrow wiggle and a little smile.

“No.” George smiled back.

“I thought if you have a concussion you weren’t supposed to sleep. I don’t think they ever said anything about avoiding orgasms.”

“Really? I coulda swore I heard that somewhere.”

“Where?”

“On Dr. Phil maybe?” George teased.

“Jackass.” She ran a light hand down his face and kissed him. “I’m going to miss you when this is over.”

“You don’t have to miss me yet. I’m not going anywhere,” George whispered, then pulled her down for another kiss.

Olivia closed her eyes as he deepened the kiss, and the room tipped slightly off its axis.

“Whoa,” she said on a fast exhale, and lay back down.

George sat up at attention. “You ok?”

She brought her hands to her head to stop the spinning. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

He watched her for a moment, evaluating her, then stretched out alongside her and held her close. “Maybe we should keep you awake for real, just in case.”

“But I’m tired,” she murmured into his neck. And she was tired. Suddenly she couldn’t keep her eyes open.

“I know. But let’s stay awake anyway.”

“Sex?”

“No.” George laughed. “Let’s just talk.”

“About what?” Her lips worked his neck and her hand slid across his chest as she snuggled into him. God, she was
really
going to miss him. She loved everything about him—his scent, his laugh, his smile, his angry face, the way he tasted, how he crooked his eyebrow when she irritated him, his cooking, his handwriting, the way his jeans hung on his hips, the little trail of hair from his belly button down to his…

“Liv?” George whispered and shook her gently.

If she could go back and do it all again, would she? Would she let herself fall in love with a man who could never love her in the way she needed to be loved? She wanted a lifetime with George. She wanted to marry him and know she could make love to him until they were too old to make love and were satisfied with giving each other papery kisses every morning and every night. She wanted to feel his baby growing in her belly and watch the unique mix of him and her grow up and make them smile and piss them off and be immortalized in a Walmart Portrait Studio 8x10 in a wooden frame. She wanted to throw him a fiftieth birthday party and bring him pancakes in bed.

“Wake up, Liv.”

If she kept her eyes closed they could be together forever. She could spend the rest of her life with her head on his shoulder and his whispers in her ear. His heart would be hers, and hers alone, and she would be all he needed to be complete. He wouldn’t long for the love he lost. He wouldn’t feel empty or alone. They would have each other, and they would be whole.

“Come on, Liv, open your eyes.”

“
Mmm
… Don’t wanna.”

“Please, Baby Girl.”

How would she ever find anyone else who made her feel the way George made her feel? He needed completion, but she was already complete. She had been from the moment he had sighed and opened his heart to her. It was where she belonged. She was meant to love and be loved by George, but he was meant to love and be loved by someone else… and it wasn’t fair.

“George?”

“Yeah?”

“Tell me you love me.”

“I love you, Baby Girl.”

“Forever?”

“And ever and ever.”

“I love you, too, Georgie.”

She had never been fully and completely loved by anyone. Not by her mother, not by Eugene, although he tried. Not by Pee-Pee or any of the string of guys who came after him, and definitely not by Mitch. What was wrong with her that she could not be the love of someone’s life? Was she so horrible a person that she was destined to end up heartbroken and alone? Because once George left her, that’s what she would become. Alone. There was no life for her after him.

“Hey.” George shook her again. “Don’t fall back asleep.”

“I’m awake,” she said, but only her lips moved, no sound came out.

“Liv.”

She slid her leg along his and kissed his neck.

George sighed in contentment and ran his hand around her hip.

Eyes closed… Perfect moment… Perfect life… Never wake up.

“Olivia.”

She fit him. He fit her. They fit each other.

“George?”

“Yeah?”

“Will you teach me how to make pancakes?”

“Ok,” he answered with a chuckle.

“Tonight?”

“How about tomorrow morning?”

“Ok.” She sighed. She stretched and her body protested. It was tired and wanted to go to sleep. “I’m tired.”

“You have to stay awake.”

“Make love to me.”

“How about instead of that you tell me something about yourself that I don’t already know,” George suggested.

“You know everything.”

“No, I don’t.”

“Yeah, you do.” Her fingertips trailed across his chest and down his stomach, around his belly button and down to his—

“Liv,” George warned and took her hand in his.

“You suck.”

“I know.”

“What don’t you know about me?” She pressed her palm into George’s and finally opened her eyes to look at their hands together. His was bigger and stronger and made hers look small. She liked the way her hand looked when George held it.

“Why did you have a life size cut-out of Marky Mark in your trailer?” George asked.

“Because he’s hot,” Olivia answered. Duh.

“Ok.” George laughed. “Umm… let’s see… When you were a kid, what did you dream of being when you grew up?”

“The food sample lady at the grocery store.”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah.” Olivia brought George’s hand to her lips. She tasted his skin, falling in love with its flavor all over again. “It looked like a pretty cool job.”

“I guess it does,” George agreed.

“What did you want to do?”

“Play football.”

“Why didn’t you?”

“I was good, but a lot of guys were better.” He outlined her lips with his fingertip and asked in whisper, “Favorite flavor of bubble gum?”

“Grape.” She parted her lips and moistened them with her tongue. “Yours?”

“Grape.” He outlined her lips again and asked, “Bubble Yum or Bubblicious?”