A Beautiful Mess (7 page)

As he rounded the corner, the crystal clear lake came into view. The Swan Boats were out as tourists clambered for their turn to ride the famous boats. In the corner of his eye, he saw a woman sprinting in his direction. He stilled, flashing back to Friday night. It all seemed so familiar, but there was something different. No, this time, the woman was running for fun and not because her life depended on it. It looked like her, but surely, it couldn’t be. What were the chances?

Alexander continued to run toward the woman. It
was
Olivia Adler. He couldn’t believe his luck as he full out grinned at her, hoping she would stop for a quick chat. But she was so focused that she wasn’t paying attention to anything around her, including anyone running nearby.

“Woah! Slow down killer!” Alexander shouted, causing Olivia to stop abruptly.

She turned around, taking her ear buds out, and searched for the source of those words. She knew instantly when she saw his eyes. Those beautiful green eyes that she had been dreaming about the past few nights.

“Mr. Burnham, I mean Alexander,” Olivia said breathlessly, blushing when she recalled his words from the other night. “
People only call me Mr. Burnham in the bedroom
.” She bent down and put her hands on her knees, trying to slow down her breathing. “Sorry. I didn’t see you. I was in the zone.”

“What zone is that? The heart attack zone? You need to be careful in this humidity,” he said in a stern voice.
Olivia needed to take better care of herself
, he thought. It was careless to run with such intensity in that heat and humidity. Something could have happened to her. Why did he care? He didn’t know what to make of the strange feelings he had for her.

Olivia looked up and stared at the attractive man in front of her, taking in his beautifully sculpted biceps threatening to bust through the arms of his running shirt. Licking her lips, she imagined how he would look with his shirt off, wanting to rub her hands all over the finely defined abs she could faintly make out through his shirt.

Alexander’s face softened with a hint of amusement, noticing her eyes traveling over his body. “You’re not from Kenya, so stop trying to run like you are.”

Olivia laughed and it felt good. Maybe it was the nerves of being so close to Alexander again, but she didn’t care. She couldn’t remember the last time someone made her laugh like that.

“That’s a beautiful sound,” Alexander said as Olivia straightened up, finally having caught her breath.

“What is? A girl out of breath from trying to break the four minute mile?” She smiled as she took a sip from her water bottle.

“No. The sound of your laughter,” he said softly. “I think it’s quickly climbing on my list of favorite sounds.” Olivia blushed at his words, dropping her gaze from his. He took a step forward, leaning down to her ear. “But I’m sure I’d enjoy the sound of you out of breath as well, just as long as it were my doing.”

Olivia gasped, blushing again, as she turned her eyes away from him. Something about Alexander and his words made her blush like a teenager. She was normally so confident and sure of herself, but around Alexander, her stomach seemed to be all knotted up, never knowing what words were about to fall out of his sensual mouth. She found herself thinking about all the ways she wanted Alexander to make her completely breathless. She felt the possibilities were endless as her eyes roamed his body to his perfect legs.

“See something you like, Miss Adler?” he asked with a mischievous grin on his face.

Shit
, Olivia thought.
He totally caught me checking him out!

Alexander smirked, proud of himself for catching Olivia off-guard. For someone who seemed so confident, he could tell it was all a front to keep people away.

Avoiding his eyes and his last statement, Olivia turned, gazing at the lake. “This is one of my favorite spots in the city,” she said, taking in the Swan Boats as they floated through the park that morning. She had no idea why she felt the need to share that piece of information with him. She was desperately trying to ignore the desire that had begun to grow within her own body, particularly after his previous comments. “I couldn’t decide whether to run the Charles today or come to the Commons.”

“Well, I’m glad you went with the latter.”

Olivia turned to look at him and was met with a full beaming smile. There it was again. That electricity between them. After a brief moment of silence, Olivia felt that she needed to say something. “Thank you for the flowers,” she said, crossing her arms in front of her body. “I thought about calling you last night, but it was one in the morning and I didn’t want to disturb you,” she explained nervously as she stood not even a foot away from Alexander, staring into his piercing green eyes. His proximity was overwhelming.

“I told you to call me anytime and I meant it,” he replied softly, taking a step closer to her, their bodies almost touching. Olivia could smell him. He smelled of sweat and body wash, and a unique scent that she assumed was just him. A slight breeze ruffled through the trees, causing a few wayward curls to fall in front of her face. Alexander gently tucked a curl behind her ear and she immediately became self-conscious, not wanting him to be turned off by her flushed complexion or her sweaty body.

Olivia had no idea why Alexander affected her as he did. She never found herself completely speechless in front of the opposite sex before in her life. But something about Alexander made all notions quickly disappear, prohibiting her from forming any rational thought. Most of her life, she had shied away from any sort of real relationship, fearful that she would be left heartbroken and alone, but there was something about the man in front of her that made her want to get to know him better. And there was part of her that felt as if she already did.

“Well, I should finish my run,” Olivia said, breaking her gaze from his eyes and taking a step back, hopelessly wanting to keep her distance from Alexander. “I’m planning to head to Beer Works later for the game,” she explained.

“Oh? You’re going to the game today?” Alexander piqued up. This was turning into a golden opportunity for him.

“I hadn’t planned to. I just love the atmosphere by Fenway on game day. And I love the watermelon ale at Beer Works, so it’s a win-win, if you ask me.” Olivia took another drink of water.

“Well, I have Red Sox season tickets. If you want to watch the game, I can take you with me. I was going to take my brother, but he can go next time.”

“I don’t know. I wouldn’t want to interfere.”

Alexander reached for Olivia’s hand and that spark was back. That feeling of electricity between them that Olivia had only read about in romance novels. That feeling she was convinced did not exist in real life. “If I didn’t want you to join me, I would not have asked you,” he said in a husky voice that just oozed sex.

Part of her wanted to refuse Alexander’s invitation. Yes, he was sexy as sin, but going out together, alone, scared Olivia. She secretly wanted to invite him over so she could fuck him and get him out of her system. Then she could go on with her perfectly ordered, albeit lonely, existence. But she realized something about Alexander would make it impossible to get him out of her system.

“I promise I don’t bite,” he whispered. “Unless you want me to.”

Fuck
. How could she say no to that?

“Okay. I’ll go with you. But I need to go to Beer Works first for a watermelon ale.”

“Absolutely,” he replied with a twinkle in his eye. “The game starts at four-fifteen. Why don’t I pick you up at two? That way we can relax and have a few beers before the game.”

“Okay,” Olivia agreed, glancing down at her GPS watch. She had more than enough time to get in some serious running before he would pick her up.

“Please take it easy on the rest of your run.” Alexander looked down at the woman in front of him, the stern look back on his face. Olivia didn’t know whether to find it frightening or endearing that he seemed to care about her so much as to chastise her behavior. And there was something about that look and voice that made her want to obey him.

“I will.” Olivia turned to finish her run. She briefly glanced back and waved at him, thinking about what she had just agreed to. She had never dated before and immediately became anxious as she thought about what she had gotten herself into.

Growing up, Olivia went to an all girls boarding school for as long as she could remember. She would spend her summers with her uncle, who was her guardian, and he didn’t really allow her to date. He was a little over-protective, which was understandable, considering her parents were killed when she was young. Even in college, Olivia didn’t date. She would casually see people, but she never really let anyone in. This was her life and it worked perfectly until Alexander walked into it two nights ago. Thinking about his hooded eyes and the way his mouth caressed certain words made her stomach tighten in excitement. No one had ever made her feel like that before. And that scared her to death.

What was Alexander doing to her? She had known him for less than forty-eight hours and already he had her rethinking her relationships. Before meeting him, she was too worried about losing someone close to her to allow anyone in. She always pushed away anyone who seemed interested, refusing to fall in love. But now, something changed. And she wasn’t sure how she felt about that.

~~~~~~~~~~

Olivia returned home around noon and got ready for her afternoon with Alexander. After showering and going through the tedious process of straightening her thick, curly hair, she headed downstairs to the kitchen and prepared a quick spinach and quinoa salad. As she ate, she sat at the breakfast bar, staring at the flowers Alexander sent the day before.

The yellow tulips and white calla lilies were beginning to slowly bloom and Olivia thought that the flowers could be a metaphor for her feelings for Alexander. They were slowly growing stronger and stronger. But just like everything else in her life, the flowers would inevitably die. And she would just be left alone. Again.

She played around with her salad, regretting that she actually agreed to go to the game with Alexander. It seemed like a good idea at the time as his delicious body stood in front of her, his voice husky when he told her he didn’t bite unless she wanted him to. But now in the clarity of her home, she knew it would just end up horribly for all involved. Nothing ever worked out for Olivia. She was all sorts of crazy and it was only a matter of time before her crazy scared off Alexander. As she finished her lunch, she wondered why she even cared. She needed to clear her head.

Trekking up to the third floor of her house, she entered her huge music room, which took up the entire floor. It was her pride and joy. After she bought her house, she hired contractors to demolish all the walls between rooms, making the third floor one large open space. It was just her, so she didn’t have a need for two additional guest bedrooms. One guest bedroom and one master bedroom was all she really needed.

Entering the large room, she smiled as she walked to the upright piano placed against the wall facing the street, a feeling of calm overtaking her body from being enclosed in the four walls of her musical sanctuary.

In addition to her piano, she had several different types of guitars, a keyboard, amps, and anything else a musician could possibly desire. Several framed posters of her favorite bands and musicians adorned the walls. Against the far wall sat a large couch as well as several lounge chairs. That room was her refuge when things got bad. Some weeks, it seemed she practically lived in there.

Olivia shuffled through her bookcase, searching for the sheet music to the song she had on her mind, not really even needing it, but it never hurt to have a guide. After several minutes of searching, she found it, making a mental note to organize her music. The room was a little stuffy, given the late August heat, so she opened one of the large windows to let in some fresh air, looking down at the street below to make sure Alexander wasn’t there yet.

She walked over to the piano and placed the music in front of her. Olivia had one passion in life. And that passion was music. It was how she dealt with life.

Olivia sat down and started the song, the sound of the piano and her voice filling the large room, the acoustics perfect.

At that moment, Alexander pulled up in front of Olivia’s house. He rang the doorbell. No answer. He rang again. Still no answer. He immediately became concerned. He tried the door. It was unlocked. He gingerly opened it, calling Olivia’s name. His ears were soon met with a beautiful melody that could only be Olivia singing.

He immediately flashed back to his younger years. Spending time with family friends. Playing piano and singing along during the holidays. Then having those friends taken from him. They weren’t the only victims that day. Part of Alexander died that day, too.

He walked up the stairs, listening to Olivia play piano, her voice soaring through the house. He could hear the pain and loss.

As Olivia sang, she thought about everyone she had lost in her life. She grieved for her parents, desperately hoping that she had made them proud. She grieved for the life she had before the accident. The life she couldn’t remember. She wasn’t sure if it was the loss of her parents that caused her so much pain or whether it was the loss of her life before that day. She tried so hard to remember her friends and family. She must have had friends. But who were they? And where were they now? Would they remember her? And why couldn’t she remember them? No. The only clue she had about her life before the accident came to her in the form of her dream. The green-eyed boy.

Olivia finished the song, keeping her eyes closed for a few seconds, trying to deal with her emotions after singing the song that reminded her so much of her parents and all the loss she had suffered throughout her life.

She took a deep, steadying breath before she heard a clapping sound in the doorway behind her. She screamed, jumping out of her chair and turning around. Alexander stood there, leaning against the doorway, a bright smile across his chiseled face.
God, he looks good
, Olivia said to herself, salivating over the man standing in front of her. No matter what, he definitely had good style, she thought, eyeing his crisp white polo shirt, plaid shorts and a pair of flip flops.
I love a man who can wear flip flops
, she smiled to herself.