Nepenthe (Bracing for Love #2) (14 page)

“Where's your spare key?”

“What?”

“You know where mine is. Where's yours? I checked under the mat and you don't keep it there.”

Olivia laughs, giggling like a little kid. “I don't keep my spare outside. Obviously. I was locked out, remember?”

I grin. “Looks like I'm the genius then.” She shoves me out of the apartment, so she can get ready. “Don't wear your hoodie,” I half-tease before she can close the door.

She stops and smiles. “Maybe I'll wear something just for you.” And then she closes the door completely.

That was definitely not the thing to say to me. Because as I shower, change, and get ready myself, my imagination runs wild with all the different possibilities. Tonight could be good. Enjoyable, even. All I have to do is go and hopefully have fun with Olivia. I want that. For me and for her.

Of course, it doesn't take me long before I'm all ready to go. Twenty minutes pass as I wait for Olivia's text, saying that she's ready too. I never pegged her for the girl to take forever, but then, I guess they all do.

Me: Hurry up before I change my mind.

Olivia: Don't rush me. Texting only makes it take that much longer.

Me: Then speed things up.

Olivia: You sound like you're ready. Like you really want to go, I mean.

Me: Only a little. I just wanna see you.

Olivia: I'm ready :)

I snatch my keys off the counter and lock my door on the way out, just as Olivia is exiting as well. When I turn, I'm slightly disappointed. While she's not wearing a hoodie, I still have no idea what she's really wearing thanks to a black coat. Stupid winter. It's killing me. Her dark jeans, however, satisfy me for now as I run my gaze over her.

Olivia takes my hand and starts walking towards the parking lot. I steer us to my car because she isn't driving. She has to tell me the name of the bar again since I wasn't listening before. We're about a twenty-minute drive from the place, so I reach for her hand, intertwining our fingers. I'm about to be surrounded by people, football players, Olivia's friends. All I have to do is be, or pretend to be, normal for a few hours.

“Hey, thanks for coming with me, Corey.” I glance over at her for only a moment. I hate when she thanks me. “Just let me know when you're ready to go, and we'll leave, okay?”

“I'll be ready whenever you are.” Oh, I hope I can last that long. It can't be good if I already doubt myself, right?

When we get to the bar, I let Olivia lead the way. These are her friends, after all. There's seven or eight of them crowded around a small table, half sitting on bar stools, half standing. Three girls are sitting and Ben gets up to let Olivia have his stool. She pushes her bangs back into place and tugs on my hand for me to step closer to the table, forcing me into their group between her and one of the girls.

“Guys, this is Corey.” She points to everyone as she introduces them. “Corey, that's Ben, of course. And then Big Ed, Ricky, Quinton, Lisa, Vanessa, and my best friend, Chelsea.”

We exchange hellos. Based on how the guys are standing with the girls, very close next to them, Ben is the single in the group. Chelsea, the girl to my left, smiles at me. She's not the same chick from that night at the club.

“It's nice to finally meet you, Corey.” So, Olivia has talked about me to someone. What does she tell them? All I am is my secret that only she knows, but she wouldn't tell anyone that. “I was beginning to think Olivia was making you up. She said you were pretty perfect and I mean, no one could really be as perfect for her as she said.”

With a grin, I look to Olivia. She thinks I'm perfect for her? We'll worry about the how-in-the-hell part later.

“I never said that!” she objects.

“If you say so,” Chelsea laughs.

“What do you do, Corey? Besides be Liv's neighbor?” Ben asks as Olivia shrugs out of her jacket. The action distracts me, especially when I see what was hiding from me. Her black and pale pink top hugs her everywhere it needs to, enunciating her hourglass figure and her breasts.

With a sly smile, she bumps her shoulder into me. “He asked you a question, Corey.”

Right. “I'm in grad school, but I took the semester off.” Sounds better than the truth, and he definitely doesn't get to hear that.

“I swear you look like someone I know,” Big Ed speaks up from behind Lisa. He's definitely a football player. There aren't many guys I remember well, but I transferred to the rivaling school, so most of the players' faces are familiar at least. They call him Big Ed for a reason. He's huge and can tackle almost any player without putting too much effort into it.

Either I wait until he figures it out, or I admit it. I place my hand on Olivia's lower back and she leans into me slightly. I can do this, right? They might not ask about it. I can say who I am, who I
was
, just like I did with the guy in line at the restaurant that day.

“I used to play for Salem University. Patrick and Jonathan Kennedy are my younger brothers.” There. I said all I have to say.

“I knew it!” Ben slams an open palm on the table. “I knew that's who you had to be, but Liv wouldn't ever say anything about you, to me at least.”

Big Ed grins. “We beat their asses this season,” he gloats.

“Are we seriously going to talk football?” Chelsea complains. “Not all of us care. Where is the waitress anyway? Olivia and Corey need a beer.” I think I might love Chelsea.

“Corey's driving, so he gets water,” Olivia corrects.

The waitress eventually comes and Olivia gets pulled into conversation with the girls. The place gets even more crowded, so I move to stand behind her, my hands on her hips. Until the girls decide to go dance together, leaving me with the guys. She abandoned me with at least two other football players. I don't recognize Ricky or Quinton.

“How long have you been seeing Olivia?” Ben asks.

Why is that any of his business? Is something going on between them that I don't know about? Is that why she said it was easier to have him come to her house for tutoring? “I've seen her since she moved in.” That sort of answers his question. It's technically how long I've been “seeing” her.

“No shit,” he deadpans. “I didn't know much about you until I found out you might be working with my dad.” His dad? Ben explains once he sees my confusion. “Olivia is my cousin. Dad told me she asked him if he had a job vacancy for a guy she knew with no experience, but could really use it. Lucky for you, he does and he would be willing to take you on.”

My eyes scan the dance floor until I find Olivia. Why couldn't she have mentioned he's her cousin? I wouldn't have disliked him nearly as bad and I could have made a better impression.

“She didn't tell me that,” I comment.

“Apparently, she hasn't been telling a lot of people much of anything.” A small smile lifts the corners of my lips because that reminds me of myself. “About you,” he adds. “And I can't decide if you're a dick or not.”

Ricky laughs. “Yeah, I doubt Olivia would put up with someone's shit. She can put someone back in their place faster than anyone I've ever seen.”

Quinton adds with a nod of his head towards Ben, “He should know, because she does it to him all the time.”

“What are y'all talking about?” Olivia asks, her body touching my side from where she's standing so close.

“You,” I tell her. “And me. Ben thinks I'm a dick.”

Olivia smiles and looks at him. “He can be, but then, so can you. I came to tell you the girls want their boyfriends to dance with them.”

All three guys groan, but they get up to go find them. Ben dismisses himself for the bathroom and I have Olivia all to myself. Rotating on my stool, I grip her waist to place her between my knees as she rests her hands on my thighs.

“Do you want your seat back?” She shakes her head. “Why didn't you tell me he's your cousin?”

“Because he said you had already covered introductions. I figured he would have said so, or I would have told you.”

“So, tutoring him at your place is easier because he's related to you?”

“No, because he lives nearby and he stops before he goes home.” She seems to think about something before her eyes light up and a slow smile begins to form. “Were you jealous of him? Did you think there was something going on between us? Is that why you said 'Liv' earlier?”

I clench my jaw at the thought of being jealous. “No, I wasn't jealous of your cousin.”

“But you didn't know that at the time,” she points out. “A little jealousy isn't a bad thing, Corey.” Olivia runs her hands up my thighs slowly. “Are you sure you weren't?”

Swallowing hard, I lean forward to whisper in her ear. “I wasn't jealous. Olivia, you aren't mine,” I pause, “yet. I didn't like thinking you may have someone else, though.”

When I pull back, she's smirking. “Well, you know what you have to do to change that.”

Yeah, I have to ask Miss Old-Fashioned out. I'm not ready to do that yet. Things are good like they are, so I'm not going to change it for now. My thumbs slip under the hem of her shirt, grazing over the skin as I allow my eyes to scan over her once more. “This is what you wore for me?”

“Nope. I wore the jacket instead of a hoodie for you,” she grins, making me laugh. “But yeah, this too. Do you like it?” I nod and her smile widens. Olivia leans closer to give me a quick kiss. “Good.”

Everyone seems to make their way back to the table at the same time. Olivia ends up reclaiming her seat, and I stand close behind her, lazily running my fingers under her shirt at the small of her back. Big Ed is actually hilarious. I never would have thought he was the comedic type, but he keeps us all laughing. They do most of the talking, and I'm sure I make Olivia proud every time I add something to the conversation.

However, at some point, I rest my forehead on her shoulder, only for a moment or two. I may have socialized like normal people tonight, but I've overdone it by my standards. When I lift my head, Olivia glances at me and then her friends.

“Alright, guys. We're going to head out. See ya later.” She hugs Chelsea and Ben before waving to the rest and taking my hand as we leave. “Did you have fun?” she questions as I drive us home.

“Actually, yeah, I did.” The fun just ran out towards the end. I don't have to look at her to know she's smiling like a fool who won the lottery.

“Well, how much fun do you have left in you?”

What is she talking about? “Why? I'm not doing yoga today, Olivia.”

She laughs. “Neither am I. You keep talking about yoga like you hate it. Do you forget who you're talking to? I can see into your soul, Corey, and your soul
loves
yoga.”

“It does not. I hate it.” Kind of. It's not that bad, really.

“Liar. Anyway, I was going to see if wanted to stay with me instead of going home.”

“Okay.”

If tonight has shown me one thing, it's that Olivia knows way more about me than I know about her. Time we change that, I think. Before I go to her house, I change and get ready for bed, so I don't have to come back over here later. When I make it to Olivia's apartment, she's lying on the couch, watching TV.

She laughs when I lay myself on her, using my arms and knees to keep most of my weight off her. “What do you think you're doing?”

“Getting comfortable, obviously. What do you think you're doing?”

“Trying to watch TV, obviously,” she mocks. Olivia scoots closer to the edge, so I lie on my side between her and the back of the couch, propping my head up with one hand, the other resting on her stomach.

“I think we should talk.”

Her brows raise. “Really? About what?”

“Not me. You.”

“What do you want to know?”

“Everything.” My answer surprises me a bit. It's so...so...
honest
. Which makes it weird. Do I honestly want to know everything about her? Or more than I know now?

“Okay.” Olivia nods. Of course she has no problem with this. “Let's see. I grew up in a town about four hours from here. You already know I have a brother and a sister. My sister, Hannah, is married now and lives back in my hometown. My brother, Steven, goes to SU. Ben is my cousin and he and his family live here. After I graduated, I wanted to leave home, start fresh, and here I am.”

“Why did you want to start fresh?”

She interlocks her fingers with my hand on her stomach. “You know, college is the next chapter in our lives and I wanted to get away from the previous one. Makes sense to go somewhere else, right?”

“Yeah, sure.” That was my intention with coming here, but it didn't work out so well for me. Plus, I was trying to run from something that's within me and can't be escaped by moving to a new location. “Do you want to move back to your hometown once you graduate?”

“I don't know yet. I really like it here so far and I've made plenty of friends. I'll figure it out once I've graduated.”

“Do you have a good relationship with your parents?” My parents were as great as they could be to a ten-year-old. Dad was my hero, my teacher of life, and Mom ran a business from home so she could cart us off to wherever we needed to go.

“Yeah. For the most part. They can be a pain to deal with, but their intentions are always good.” Her voice softens. “Do you miss your parents?”

“You're the topic, remember?” We're not about to change that either. Not tonight. “How did you get into yoga and video games?”

Olivia lets me continue with my interrogation. “Chelsea. We met freshman year and she dragged me to a class. She slacked off, but I enjoyed it enough to buy everything and do it here. As for the video games, I have a younger brother. I got stuck playing with him a lot since Hannah was so much older. The habit stuck when I left for college.”

What else can I ask her? I'm tempted to ask her when was her last boyfriend, but I don't really want to know. Her bangs fall over her eyes and before she can move them away, I do it instead. Olivia's skin is soft underneath my fingertips. She watches me with a small smile as I let my hand continue until it sinks into her hair.

“Want to stop talking now?” There's a teasing tone in her voice that causes me to grin.