Trace + Olivia Series Boxed Set (45 page)

The three of them watched me take a bite.

I winced at how sugary it tasted.

“It’s…okay. Too sweet though,” I tentatively took another bite, licking the threads of candy off that had stuck to my fingers.

After a few more bites, I had had my fill, and handed the rest to Avery.

“You can have it,” I shoved the mostly uneaten cotton candy in her hands.

“You didn’t like it, did you?” Trace chuckled, grabbing a handful of the blue fluff, and shoving it in his mouth. “Tell the truth, Olivia.”

“Not really,” I admitted.

“It’s not for everyone.” He grinned mischievously. “
I
, however, have quite the sweet tooth.” He winked. “And you have such a sweet p-”

I jumped from the table before anything humiliating could come out of his mouth. “We better get going,” I grabbed his hand and dragged him away from the table. “I don’t want to miss out any of the rides,” I told Luca and Avery.

Avery snickered. “Uh-huh. That’s exactly why you’re running off, Livie!” She called after us.

“I hate you,” I glared at Trace, but I couldn’t stay mad for more than a few seconds, because a piece of blue cotton candy was stuck to the corner of his lips, and I wanted nothing more than to kiss it away. So, I did.

“You say you hate me, and then you kiss me. Woman, I can’t read these mixed messages,” he chuckled, finishing the last bite of cotton candy, and tossing the plastic bag in the nearest trashcan.

“It makes me mad when you start spouting about that kind of…” I crossed my arms over my chest, floundering for the right word, “
stuff
, in public.”

“And what stuff would that be?” He grinned.

“You know…” I paused. “You were about to say the ‘P’ word,” I hissed under my breath.

“What ‘P’ word? Popsicle? Potato? Pistachio?” He raised a brow.

“You know exactly which word I’m talking about,” I hissed.

“You mean,” he enunciated each word carefully, and leaned down to my ear, “pussy?”

“Yes! That one!” I cried, pushing him away with a gentle shove.

“Hmm,” he hummed, “but you like it when I lick your pussy and it’s so sweet.”

“Oh my God!” I covered my face, wishing I could disappear.

“Don’t hide your face,” he grabbed my hands and pried them away.

“Why do you say this stuff to me? You know it embarrasses me?” I glared at him.

“But you’re so cute when you’re embarrassed,” he winked, “and it makes your spitfire side come out. I like it when you get all
feisty
with me.”

“You are so weird,” I shook my head, staring at the ground.

He lifted my chin. “I’m not weird,
but
if you like weirdness, I’m sure I can think of a few interesting things for us to try out.”

I shook my head rapidly back and forth. “I can assure you, I won’t be trying anything weird.”

“Too bad…” He paused. “We got really excited.”

“We?” I questioned.

“Yes,” he smiled, “we.” He pulled me against him so that our hips were flush and there was no mistaking the bulge in his jeans.

My cheeks flamed red. “Trace! We’re at a carnival!”

“I know,” he sighed, “and since there’s no way to fix my...” he glanced down significantly, “problem, we better find something to do. What would you like to do next?” He asked, flicking his dark hair off his forehead.

I pointed behind him and he turned to look.

“The carousel? Really?” He raised a brow. “That’s for like…toddlers.”

“I’ve never been on one,” I frowned. “Please?” I begged, making puppy dog eyes.

He sighed. “Fine,” he agreed. “But this is gonna hurt,” he glanced down at his pants.

“Yay!” I cheered, not at all concerned about Trace’s
problem
. I was at a carnival, for the first time
ever
, and I planned on taking full advantage.

I ran up to the carousel, giddier than the small children, and hopped on.

Trace grumbled under his breath and climbed onto the empty horse beside mine, adjusting himself in his jeans.

The ride started up and I squealed in delight as it spun, and the horses slid up and down the gold metal bar impaling their bodies.

People were looking at me weird but I shut them out.

I had never been to a carnival before and I wanted to experience all the things I had missed out on as a child.

After the carousel, we rode a few more rides, and I insisted on doing the Ferris Wheel again.

“We better head back soon,” Trace announced, checking the time on his phone.

“Crap!” I exclaimed, seeing how late it was.

Trace stopped walking and faced me. “I’m going to win you a prize, because you deserve the whole carnival package, and then I’ll take you home,” he smiled.

I nodded. “Okay, that sounds good.” I
really
wanted him to win me a prize. I knew it was stupid, but that’s what all the guys in the movies did, and I knew I would cherish that prize forever.

Trace assessed the different games and picked one where you threw darts to pop balloons.

“Are you sure you can do this?” I asked skeptically.

“I got this,” he winked. “I have excellent aim, remember. It’s in my blood. I
am
a Wentworth after all.”

I stood back as he spoke with the man running the game. He handed Trace the darts and Trace looked over his shoulder, grinning at me.

“Watch this, baby,” he smirked.

I stepped forward so I stood beside him.

He drew his arm back and let the first dart fly. It connected with the yellow balloon and the pop echoed around us.

He successfully popped the remaining balloons. “Told ya,” he snickered.

“Pick your prize,” the man working the booth intoned dryly. He looked bored and half asleep.

“Which one do you want?” Trace asked, pointing to the various stuffed animals hanging above.

There weren’t many options. A giant teddy bear, a blue gorilla, and for some reason there was a stuffed banana.

“That one,” I pointed to the gorilla. It was the cutest, with its pale blue wrinkly face, and fluffy body.

The guy removed the stuffed animal from the hook and handed it to me.

“There ya go,” he waved his hand for us to leave.

With a hand on my lower back, Trace guided me to the exit, and then to his car.

I sat my giant blue gorilla on my lap. It smelled like popcorn.

“Did you have fun?” Trace asked, exiting the parking lot. We passed by the Dairy Queen we had eaten at a few months ago.

I nodded my head eagerly. “It was great. I had way more fun than I thought I would. It was nice to have a night out, not worrying about school.” I leaned my head against the headrest and let out a heavy sigh. “I can’t believe the school year is over in only nine days.”

Trace swallowed thickly. “There’s something I’ve been wanting to talk to you about.”

“Really? What?” I asked, forcing my sleepy eyes to stay open.

He cleared his throat and his hands flexed against the steering wheel. “You can’t stay on campus for the summer, and your mom is still living at the Callahan’s…” his fingers tapped restlessly against the steering wheel, “so…” he paused nervously, “where are you planning to live?” He glanced at me anxiously.

“I figured, I’d stay at the Callahan’s as well,” I shrugged. “You know I got that job at the jewelry store in old town, that starts in two weeks, and Resa was able to get my mom a job at the hospital. My mom and I are hoping that by the end of the summer, with our combined incomes, we’ll be able to rent a place.”

“What if
you
didn’t have to rent a place?” His green eyes flicked my way for a moment.

“I don’t understand,” I shook my head. “What are you saying?” I was pretty positive I knew where he was going with this, but I needed to hear him say it. I had to know for sure.

“Move in with me,” he stated, like it was that easy.

“Trace,” I gasped, “I can’t do that.”

“Why not?” His brow furrowed together when he looked at me. “You spend most of your free time at my place, anyway. Move in.”

“I-I-” I stammered. I didn’t know what to say to him. Moving in together was a
huge
step. It was a step in our relationship I wasn’t sure either of us was ready for. I mean, he’d never told me that he loved me. True, I hadn’t told him either, and I did love him. I wanted to tell him,
badly
. I had come close to spilling out those three little words, several times, but always held back. I needed to hear him say them first. I knew it would break me if I confessed my feelings, and he didn’t return them.

He parked in front of the dorm, forcing a smile. His green eyes were sad. “Just think about it, Olivia. Please?”

“I can do that,” I nodded.

“Thank you,” he murmured, leaning over to kiss me chastely.

With my blue gorilla in tow, I made a slow procession up to my room.

I was so confused about what to do. Trace had thrown a wrench in my plans and I only had nine days to decide what I was going to do.

I sat down at a table in Starbucks, and unwrapped the paper from the green straw, sticking it into my Frappuccino. I took a sip of the caramel goodness.

Avery stirred the whipped cream into her drink, eyeing me. “Spill girl, I know you’re worried about something.”

Avery hadn’t come back to the dorm last night, from the carnival, so I hadn’t had a chance to tell her about Trace wanting me to move in.

For a distraction, I wiped the condensation forming on the clear plastic cup. I decided to bite the bullet and tell her. There was no point in putting this off. She was my best friend, and right now, she was the only person I could confide in. “Trace wants me to move in.”

“What!?” She shrieked, earning us glares from the staff and patrons.

I nodded. “He told me last night.”

“What did you say?” She asked, wiping a dribble of Frappuccino from her lip.

“I said I would think about it,” I mumbled, removing the straw from my cup, and licking off the whipped cream.

“How do you feel about this? Living together is a big deal,” she remarked, pulling her red hair back into a ponytail.

“I don’t know,” I answered honestly. “I don’t want to rush our relationship, you know?”

“I totally understand,” she leaned forward and bit down on the green straw. “If Luca asked me to move in with him, I’d give him the middle finger, and tell him to fuck himself.”

“That’s because you’re a commitment-phobe,” I pointed an accusing finger at her.

“Damn straight,” she winked, slurping her Frapp. “But
you
are not.”

“Ugh,” I groaned, burying my face in my hands, and shaking my head. “I don’t know what to do!”

“Go with your gut,” she shrugged. “My gut’s never steered me wrong.”

The espresso machine whistled beside us.

I took a deep breath. “I think it might be a good idea but my mom-”

“No buts,” Avery interjected. “
You
have to do what’s right for
you
. Your mom will be fine. She can get her own place. Although, I’m sure my brother would be willing to get an apartment with her,” she snickered.

“That’s not funny!” I exclaimed.

“I wasn’t trying to be,” she laughed.

That only made it worse.

I shook my head back and forth. “I’m so confused.”

“Why are you confused?” She asked, tilting her head. “You said you thought it would be a good idea to live with lover boy. If that’s how you feel, then that’s what you should do,” she reasoned. “I know I shouldn’t talk, because I haven’t been in many long-term relationships, but you can’t judge everything by a timeline,” she shrugged, taking a sip of her Frappuccino. “Love doesn’t work that way. When it’s right, it’s right, and when it’s not, it’s not.”

I was taken aback. When had Avery become so wise?

I began to look under the table and over my shoulder.

“What the hell are you doing?” Avery questioned with a short laugh.

“I’m looking for my best friend. Her name is Avery. She’s about this tall,” I raised my hand up to Avery’s height, “has red hair, and never says anything wise.”

She scoffed. “I can be wise!”

I gave her a look that said, ‘Oh, really?’

“Joke all you want,” she stuck her nose in the air, “but what I said is true.”

“I know,” I laughed, “that’s why I couldn’t believe you said it.”

She tossed the wadded up paper from her straw at me and it got caught in the waves of my hair.

I pulled it out and dropped it onto the lacquered wood top.

“So, you’re going to move in with him, right?” She picked a chocolate chip off the rim of her cup and licked it off her finger.

I fiddled with my hands. “Yeah, I am.”