Life Support (The Breathe Series Book 2) (11 page)

I move into the bathroom and take Owen’s T-shirt off before slipping on my panties and bra. I brush my teeth, apply some simple but elegant makeup…and after adding some curls, pin my hair up loosely on top of my head, letting some tendrils fall free. Then I slide on my thigh-high stockings. I haven’t broken out the whole garter set, but thigh-highs will make my man happy, and I am nothing if not interested in making him happy.

I glide into my heels and decide that it’s time to make sure Owen is awake. He takes less time to get ready, but it’s getting late and the dinner is at a restaurant a few blocks away. I step out of the bathroom, ready to grab my perfume, when I look up and find Owen sitting on the edge of the bed, his elbows on his knees, his face propped on his steepled fingers. Yummy—he looks sexy just waking up.

He runs his fingers through his hair. His hair is shorter than usual because I asked him to cut it before the wedding. He didn’t love it at first, but he’s gotten used to it, and I think he looks hot as hell with it, so...that’s most important, right?

I know he’s watching me as I move around the room and finish getting ready. I can feel his eyes on me.

“I could watch you all night,” he says, standing up from the bed. “In fact, I would rather watch you all night. Sometimes I enjoy watching you get dressed almost as much as I like watching you undress.” He walks to stand behind me as I put my diamond studs in my ears.

“But alas, you cannot watch me all night,” I say with a smile. “People are expecting us and I know you’re excited to see everyone. Speaking of which, you better get moving, mister. We need to get going.”

“Yeah, yeah… I know,” he pouts as he makes his way to the bathroom. I can hear him running water. “Should I shave? I’m not gonna shave.” It’s a typical Owen question/statement.

I smile. “I like you scruffy. Don’t shave.”

I lean against the TV console and watch as he walks out of the bathroom and toward the closet, running his hand over his stubble. He begins to pull out clothes. “What do you think? This blue button-down with the dark jeans? Or do you think I should wear dress pants?”

I give him a grimace. “Jeans, Owen? To a rehearsal dinner? I’m wearing a cocktail dress.” I see him grin.

“Hehe... Cocktail dress.” He chuckles.

My God—men never grow up.
I can’t help but smile back. He’s such an adolescent sometimes.

“Baby, you need to wear nice pants. Wear the blue button-down with your khakis.”

He acquiesces and slips the pants on. I watch as he buttons his shirt and tucks it in. He is so blessedly hot when he’s dressed up. I mean, he’s hot when he’s dressed like a sexy, dirty firefighter, but I love having both sides of this coin.

Next, he dabs on cologne. Mmmm, I can smell it from here. It’s amazing how a scent can so viscerally spark a memory. The smell of his cologne feels like him wrapping himself around me. It’s very comforting.

He looks up, noticing me staring. “Enjoying the view, beautiful?” He smirks.

“Very much, thank you,” I call back, giving him a mischievous grin.

We finish getting ready, but before we head out for the evening, we stop by Mimi’s room to check in on her. She assures us that she’s content to relax in her room for the night. Room service has been ordered and she has her eye on a pay-per-view. She wishes us a good night and scoots us out the door, instructing us to send Travis and Lucy her best.

The rehearsal dinner is held in a private room at The Wild Ginger, a well-known Asian restaurant in the heart of downtown Seattle. The room is filled with twenty or so people all mingling and laughing. There’s a short line of people congratulating Travis and Lucy on their upcoming nuptials, and I spot Marc and Charley in the corner. Not knowing I’ve spotted them, Owen points them out to me, and I smile wide, thankful to see a familiar face in the crowd.

We say a quick hello to Travis and Lucy, who are happy to see us.

“Dude! How was your flight? Probably not as good as the last time you came out to Seattle, huh?” Travis says, giving Owen a nudge.

He possessively wraps his arm around my waist and says, “It was better.”

I bump him with my hip and stifle a laugh. My God, he’s embarrassing, telling him about our mile high adventures. Luckily they seem unaffected as Travis looks at Lucy, both of them shrugging their shoulders.

“I know you’re meeting and greeting, but we just wanted to say hello. We’ll catch up with you a little later.” Owen says.

“Yeah, this is brutal, let me tell you.” Travis frowns.

That response elicits a slap on the arm from Lucy, but they return to their other guests while we make our way towards Marc and Charley.

I am so excited to see Marc and Charley—particularly Marc and Charley ‘the couple.’ Since we left Seattle, they have been spending more and more time together, and just recently, they both admitted to having been exclusive for the last several months. Charley is like a different human being. After years of one-night stands and heartbreaks, seeing her
this
happy is so amazing. And it’s with Owen’s best friend to boot!

I hug them both and talk to them a bit about our trip. We have been trying to find a way for them to come visit us, which has been difficult due to our schedules, but we keep trying. Marc chats about the network he’s on and Charley watches him speak, enraptured. He really is a gorgeous man, his mocha skin luminous and his light eyes the kind you can get lost in.

Owen stands next to me and lightly places his hand on the small of my back. “Everyone is sitting down, baby. We should go find our seats.”

Dinner is fun and relaxed. We missed the actual rehearsal today, but it was videotaped on Marc’s iPhone, so Owen was able to watch where he’ll be tomorrow during the ceremony. It really is a piece of cake. Since he’s the best man, he’ll just be walking with Trav anyway.

When dinner is over, we all decide to go to Room 73 for drinks and some dancing. I’ve gotten a chance to really sit and talk to Lucy, I like her a lot. She is so sweet and so in love with Travis. Watching their rehearsal video earlier, I felt a tinge of jealousy, which surprised me. Lucy looked so excited, and I couldn’t help but envision what it would feel like to be dressed in a beautiful gown and walk down the aisle to the man I love. My heart swells, and without thinking, I look over at Owen. He smiles at me and gives me a wink.

We walk to the club, Owen holding my hand. It doesn’t occur to me until we step up to the door that this is where Owen and I went dancing the weekend we were here. I blush, although no one can see me. We had sex in this club, and I walked out on him in this club. I shake my head. That was a long time ago. We understand each other better this time around. This is going to be an amazing night.

When we walk in, we make our way as a group to the bar.

“You want a mojito, baby?” Owen asks me.

“Yes!” I yell back into his ear.

The music is loud, but the beat is infectious, and I’m already finding myself moving to the music. Owen looks over at me, smiling and shaking his head. When the drinks are brought over to him, I take a sip and lean over.

“I’m going to go dance with Charley, okay?”

He nods his head and gives me a sweet kiss on the cheek. “Good. I’m dying to watch you shake your ass. Then I’m going to fuck you in that bathroom again.”

Surprised, I straighten back and slap him playfully on the arm.
Horny little shit.

Charley and I make our way to the dance floor, and before I know it, we’re laughing and moving, getting lost in the music; our men reconnecting over drinks at the bar.

As we dance, I see Owen watching from the bar and chatting with Marc. They look serious at times as they lean toward each other, talking into each other’s ears. They look like they’re having a great time, and eventually, I see them slapping each other on the back, laughing hard.

Charley and I keep noticing the boys watching us dance, and I’d be lying if I didn’t say we were purposely putting on a little show for them. Hey, I may have chastised him for it, but I fully expect that, after another mojito or two, I’m going to want some action in the bathroom again.

After almost an hour of dancing and no hydration, Charley crooks her finger at me to get my attention and nods toward the bar area. It’s gotten so crowded here that we can barely see the guys, and as we look more closely, it seems they have moved to the other side of the bar, where plush, semi-private booths line the walls.

Charley pulls me in. “Let’s go get something to drink and see what the guys are doing!” she yells into my ear.

I nod enthusiastically and follow her toward the bar area. As we make our way to where the boys are gathered, I can tell that they’re deep in a conversation. Travis has also joined them. On this side of the bar, it’s not as loud, so I can actually hear people talking Even with less noise, it’s clear they aren’t aware that we’re coming.

Charley puts her finger to her lips. “Shhhh… Let's sneak up on them.”

We both giggle and crouch down like some kind of stealth FBI mission is going on. As we get closer, we stay glued to the bar and listen.

“Okay, enough with the bullshit. When are you going to settle down with Olivia? You guys are practically living together as it is. When are you going to marry that keeper?” Travis asks.

“Yeah! Trav and I have a bet that you’ll be the next one to bite the dust,” Marc pipes in.

“Guys. Seriously. You know me so much better than that. I’m not the marrying guy. Making a commitment to being with one person for the rest of my life freaks me the fuck out! I love Olivia a lot. I won’t deny that. But marriage? Mmm…I don’t think so.” Owen diverts his gaze and shakes his head as if it were the craziest thing he’s ever heard.

Charley and I are giggling...until we’re not. My heart sinks and I straighten my back. I blink, and I know I’m blushing even though it’s not noticeable in the dark. I look at Charley, who must have heard it too because she’s looking at me with that,
Olivia, don’t run
look in her eyes.

“I have to go to the bathroom,” I say loudly and turn on my heel, walking toward the restroom.

Tears prick my eyes as I make my way through the crowd.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
The tears are coming. I need to get somewhere to hide out for a minute fast. Of course the one private bathroom that’s open is the one Owen and I made love—I mean fucked—in that fateful night. Jesus Christ, can I just get one break here?

I slide into the bathroom and shut the door behind me. I sit on the chaise lounge, where the man I love more than anything had his way with me a year ago. Putting my head in my hands, I sob. Why does this bother me? Just because he loves me doesn’t mean he wants to marry me. Those are two very different things. And we’ve only been together for a year or so, so what makes me think that he’s even ready to make that commitment? I mean, Travis and Lucy have been together for, like, three years or something.

I’m not making myself feel any better. Why wouldn’t he want to marry me? What’s wrong with me? Am I just his fuck buddy? He asked me to move in with him. Maybe that was to shut me up? Make me happy so I wouldn’t want or ask for more? I barely have a toothbrush in his bathroom. Oh my God, he’s going to leave me. And there it is—alcoholic psychosis. Two mojitos in and I’m raving like a lunatic. I’m embarrassing myself.

I look around as if A) someone can hear my thoughts and B) someone is in the room with me.
Yeah, you’ve lost it, Liv.

I grab a disposable paper cup from the wall dispenser and hurriedly drink two glasses of water. The bottom line—when I finish digging through all of my crazy thoughts—is that I’m hurt. I love him. I want him to
want
to marry me. And he doesn’t, and that hurts—a lot. I was wondering what that pang of jealousy was earlier, and now I know. Owen is my permanent future, and it looks like I’m not his. Jeez, that’s a painful pill to swallow.

“Ollivviaa…” I hear from the door. “Is my naughty girl ready for me? Open up, baby,” Owen says, knocking loudly.

I don’t respond, hoping he’ll just go away.

“Olivia?” he says again, this time more inquisitively. He won’t stop looking for me. It’s no use.

I unlock the door and peek my head out suspiciously. When I see him, I turn away and let him in. I move over to the sink and put my hands on the edge, my head down. He walks up behind me and wraps his arms around my waist, kissing the back of my neck.

“Couldn’t wait for us to do this again, could you? God, I love you. You make me so fucking horny all the damn time.” He’s drunk, rubbing his erection firmly against my ass. “Why don’t you show me what you’ve got under there, baby? You know it drives me crazy,” he growls as he starts to lift up the hem of my dress.

Oh God. I can’t do this.
I brush his hands away from the bottom of my dress and turn my neck so he doesn’t have easy access anymore.

“Actually, I don’t think this is a good idea. I’ve been in here awhile already. I should really go check on Charley.”

Owen’s inebriation has never stopped his ability to perform, so he’s hard as a rock. He isn’t going to be so easily sidetracked.

“What? Charley is fine. I left her with Marc. They’re probably doing the same thing in the bathroom next to us.” He forcefully grabs my hips and pulls me back against him, running his hands up the back of my thighs, trying to use his hands to part them as I’m bent over the sink.

No, no, no.
I push back on him, which he could easily mistake as me pushing into his erection.

“Mmmm, yes, baby. Like that.
Fuck
. I always want you... Can’t get enough.”

I twist to pull out of his embrace and he almost falls face-first into the sink.

“What the...?” he says, shocked.

I walk toward the bathroom door as Owen straightens, looking completely confused.

“I’m actually not feeling so good. I think I’m going to take a taxi back. You can stay here with your friends. It’s okay.”

His face contorts and his brows draw together in confusion. I have never, in all the time I’ve known him, said no to sex with Owen. We’re always hungry for each other, always on the same page when it comes to wanting each other. It’s become a basic need for both of us.