Finding Olivia (Trace + Olivia), page 3
How could he make me feel so fluttery inside when I had just met him?
He dug some change out of his pocket and put it in the parking meter.
I followed him inside the building like an obedient dog. He ordered his sandwich, and then looked over his shoulder at me, motioning me forward to order.
I shook my head, the braid bobbing against my shoulder. “Nice try.”
He glared at me, his green eyes darkening. “Olivia,” he said warningly, “order something to eat.”
“So demanding,” I grumbled, stepping forward and ordering the first thing I saw off the menu.
He leaned against the counter, handing his debit card to the woman working there.
“My mama raised me right,” he told me, “and that means you never let a lady pay for her own meal.”
“I think you already mentioned that,” I took one of the glasses of water the lady had placed on the counter.
“And apparently,” he grinned, slipping his wallet into his back pocket, “it didn’t get through your thick skull,” he tapped my forehead.
If he kept touching me, even if it was only silly little touches like this, I was going to melt into a puddle of goo.
He grabbed his own glass of water and we picked an empty table while we waited for our sandwiches to be made.
“I’ve been wondering something…” I paused, searching for the right words to ask my question.
“Ask away,” Trace grinned, tipping his chair back on two legs.
“Why did you stop to help me last night?” I bit my lip.
His smile widened. “Gentleman, remember?” He tapped his chest. “I wasn’t going to leave you on the side of the road, for anyone to stop, when I could help you.”
“Well, thank you,” I took a sip of water, wetting my suddenly dry mouth.
“It’s not a problem,” he shrugged, gripping his glass of water. His fingers were long and elegant, his arms sinewy.
I didn’t know what to say after that, so I chose to keep my mouth shut, before something embarrassing came out.
Our food was brought out, and my stomach rumbled to life. That Special K Bar Avery gave me hadn’t helped to satisfy my hunger.
“This is really good,” I commented, after swallowing my first bite.
“I thought you might like this place,” he took a massive bite of his own sandwich.
“It’s delicious,” I bit into the sandwich again, “and this place is really homey.” I glanced around the café.
“I don’t like to eat at the mainstream places,” Trace took a sip of water and my eyes followed the curve of his lips as they wrapped around the glass.
Oh, God. I was staring at his lips! What was wrong with me? I acted like I’d never been around the male species before! The one time I needed Avery and she ditched me! She was going to hear a rant from me later.
“They’re too overdone,” he finished, setting the glass back down.
I shook my head, forcing my eyes away from his full pouty lips.
“What’s overdone?” I asked. “Oh, right, mainstream restaurants,” I added. I really needed to stop looking at his lips, because I was getting flustered.
“You said you’re going to Shenandoah Universtity, right?” He asked, wiping his mouth with a napkin.
I nodded, tucking a piece of hair that had come loose from the braid, behind my ear.
“Are you a freshman?”
“Sophomore,” I answered. “Are you in school?” I asked. He didn’t look much older than me, but one never knew.
“Nah,” he let the napkin fall back to the table. “I was never big on school. Don’t get me wrong, I love to read, and history is cool, but I never liked it. I went to a technical school to work on cars, but that was easy for me since I had been around cars my whole life,” he shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t like to study,” he added.
“Who does?” I smiled.
“True,” he grinned, and finished off the last bite of his sandwich.
I had only eaten half of mine and I was already stuffed.
“I can’t eat another bite,” I mumbled, pushing my plate away.
“I’ll get a box for you,” he hopped up from the table and headed towards the counter.
A moment later, he returned with a small box, handing it to me.
“Thanks for lunch,” I smiled gratefully, boxing the sandwich.
“It’s no problem,” he mumbled.
I tilted my head and studied him.
“What?” He squirmed under my gaze.
“You have a hard time saying you’re welcome, don’t you?”
He squirmed some more. “Maybe. It’s just…I don’t expect a thank you. When I do something, it’s because I want to, not because I want to be praised for it.”
“Hmm,” I mused.
“Are you sure you’re not a psych major?” He questioned.
“I’m sure,” I laughed. “I’m just observant. It comes from being shy.”
“Ah, I see,” he nodded.
I grabbed my purse and the to-go box before following him outside.
His car was low to the ground, and even though I was short, I felt like I had to perform contortions to get in there. I had no clue how Trace managed to duck his six-foot frame inside so easily.
“Am I going to see you again, after today?” Trace asked, glancing at me out of the corner of his eye.
“I don’t know,” I answered.
“I want to,” he confessed, looking at me through thick sooty lashes.
I swallowed. Trace wanted to see me? Trace, with his cocky smile, and those lips, wanted to see me, after today?
It didn’t seem possible.
I was plain old Olivia who no one ever noticed. I was a wallflower. A nobody.
But Trace noticed me.
In fact, he saw me.
“I’d like to see you, again,” I admitted.
That cocky grin graced his full lips. “Good.”
Trace parked his car in the same spot as it was before and we walked around to the front of the building. I was surprised to see that Luca and Avery weren’t still against the building. Maybe they had moved onto the hood his car. I really hoped they were done, if that was the case.
Luckily, they were sitting inside the small office that was attached to the garage, and all their clothes were in place.
“Avery!” I called, waving her over. “Let’s go!”
“Wait,” Trace grabbed my arm and a shiver skated up my spine. “What’s your number?”
I rattled off my cell phone number and he entered it into his phone. “I’ll call you,” he let go of my arm.
“Okay,” I smiled, hoping he would but believing deep down, that he wouldn’t.
Avery made her way out of the office, making sure to sway her hips in a tantalizing rhythm for Luca’s benefit.
I rolled my eyes at her and unlocked my Ford Focus.
“Thank you again,” I told Trace.
“It’s not a-”
“Problem, I know,” I interrupted him.
He grinned as I climbed into my car. Before I closed the door, I heard him say, “I’ll see you soon,” and my heart soared.
Avery got into the car, grinning like the Cheshire cat. I gave her a look to keep her mouth closed, as I backed out of the garage, praying I didn’t hit anything. It would be like me to get into an accident while I was still at the mechanics.
Luckily, I managed to get out of there without making a fool of myself, and poor Avery was about to jump out of her skin.
“How’d it go? Did you talk a lot?” She asked. “Or…not a lot?” She waggled her perfectly sculpted auburn colored brows.
“I think it went good,” I told her, but in my overactive girl brain I was already over analyzing everything. “We talked and he took me to lunch.”
“That sounds promising,” she fixed her lipstick in the mirror. “Did you get his number?”
“No, but he asked for mine,” I bit my lip, hard enough that it started bleeding.
Avery squealed, “This is good news! He asked for your number, which means he’s interested. Since you didn’t ask for his, you don’t seem desperate.”
“What if he doesn’t call?” I continued to nibble on my lip.
“Oh, he’ll call,” Avery smirked.
“How’d it go with Luca?” I asked, desperate to steer the conversation away from myself.
“Let me tell you, that man knows what he’s doing,” she fanned herself. “The things he can do with his tongue. Wow.”
“Avery,” I groaned.
“What? It didn’t go that far. Stop imagining dirty things, Olivia,” she laughed.
“Knowing you, I couldn’t imagine it dirty enough,” I eyed her.
“That’s very true,” she conceded. “Hopefully, I’ll be seeing much more of Luca, if you know what I mean.”
I wanted to bang my head against the steering wheel.
How Avery and I had ended up roommates and best friends was beyond me. We were so incredibly different. Sometimes, like now, I wanted to strangle the girl. But I couldn’t imagine not having her as a friend.
“And maybe you can see more of Trace,” she kicked off her heels and then brought her feet up to rest them on the dashboard, “and finally get laid so you’ll stop bitching all the time.”
I rolled my eyes. “Sometimes, I really think you’re a guy.”
“Hey, I have five brothers, so I practically have a dick,” she shrugged.
“It doesn’t mean you should act like you have one,” I reasoned.
“Touché,” she smirked, wiggling her red painted toes.
I parked my car in front of our dorm and grabbed my backpack out of the trunk. “I have to go,” I told her, slinging the heavy bag over my shoulder. “I’ll see you tonight.”
“Later,” she called, heading in the opposite direction for her own class.
My phone vibrated in my back pocket with a text.
I pulled it out and smiled when I saw it was an unknown number.
Is it too soon to ask you out?
I don’t know.I replied.
What if I said I want to see you tonight?
Are you desperate?I asked.
No.
Sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you. I wrote back.
I know. I just wanted to make you sweat a bit. ;)
You’re mean.
No, I’m a guy that you haven’t said yes to seeing again.
Yes.I answered, hoping I didn’t come across as desperate.
But he had been the one to text me, not the other way around. Besides, I’d never dated before so I was completely clueless on how these things were supposed to work. Was it normal for a guy you’d just met to ask you out? I’d have to ask Avery later.
Tonight?He asked.
I bit my lip. I was eager to say yes, but I knew that a mountain of homework was waiting for me tonight.
Fridaynight works better for me. How about the park?I suggested, crossing my fingers that he wouldn’t cancel.
My phone sounded seconds later with his reply.Sounds good. I’ll bring dinner. :)
I’m looking forward to it.
Me too.He texted back.
I smiled goofily as I stuffed my phone into my pocket. I walked the rest of the way to class, with a slight skip in my step.
c h a p t e r
Three
I fingered the worn piece of paper in my hands. I wrote it over a year ago, the edges were torn, and the once white paper had faded to yellow. I hadn’t been able to bring myself to rewrite it. Maybe it was childish, but it felt special, and I didn’t want to replace it. It was my ticket to freedom, if only I would stop being so shy, and do the things I had written down.
All the things on my Live List, as I called it, were things I had always wanted to do. But most of them, I couldn’t, because of my father. He had controlled every aspect of my life, and I let him, because I was scared of displeasing him. All I had ever wanted was to make him proud. By the time I started high school, I knew that nothing I ever did, would please him. He was always striving for perfection, from himself, from me, from everyone and everything. But perfection doesn’t exist, no matter how hard or how long we search for it.
So, why was I still looking for it?
I read over each item on my list like I did every night. It had become a sort of calming routine for me. By now, I didn’t have to look at the list to know what was on it, but I did anyway.
My Live List
1. Get drunk
2. Fly in a hot air balloon
3. Go to the carnival
4. Go to a concert (even if it’s someone I’ve never heard of)
5. Go to a party
6. Lose my virginity
7. Dance in the rain
8. Go roller skating
9. See the ocean
10. Learn to paint
11. Get a dog…or a cat…or a rabbit. Any pet will do.
12. Sing in front of real people. Avery doesn’t count.
13. Make more friends
14. Shoot a gun
15. Smoke
16. Get a tattoo
17. Learn to pole dance
18. Go skinny dipping
19. Pierce my belly button
20. Fall in love
I knew some of the stuff I had written down was silly, but I still wanted to try them. It was all about the experience and the chance to do something forbidden.
There were so many things I hadn’t been allowed to do and I felt like I had missed out on a ‘normal’ childhood.
I wanted, desperately, to do these things. But I was starting to believe it would never happen. A whole year had passed since I made my Live List and I had only done four things.
True, four was more than zero, but it seemed pretty pathetic to me, compared to all that was left to do.
I read over the items, yet again, nibbling on my bottom lip.
My need, to do these things, was growing restless.
Something inside me was saying it was now…or never.
The dorm room door opened and I hastily stuffed the piece of paper back into my pocket.
Avery dropped her backpack on the floor and promptly pulled her hair up into a ponytail.
I grabbed my textbook off my bed, and placed it in my lap, pretending to be doing my homework so Avery wouldn’t start questioning me about what I had been doing.
I had never explained my list to anyone, let alone shown them, but I was beginning to think differently. Avery was my best friend but I certainly didn’t plan on showing her. She’d try to cross everything off in one night.
“Have you heard from Trace?” She asked, sagging into her desk chair, dejectedly. I guessed she’d had a hard time in class.
“He texted me,” I shrugged, like it was no big deal.
“Annnnd?” She prompted, perking up.
“We’re having dinner Friday,” I answered.
“Aww, my little Livie is growing up,” Avery cooed, batting her eyes, “and finding herself a man.”
“You’re ridiculous,” I rolled my eyes.
“What? It’s about time you dated, I was starting to think you were a lesbian, and I should stop changing in front of you,” she smirked.
I tossed my pillow at her but she easily deflected it.
“Or maybe,” she laughed, “you’re finally shedding that good girl preacher’s daughter image. Let your inner woman out, girl!” She exclaimed. “Let her roar!” She clawed dramatically at the air.
I cupped my face in my palm. “Do you think before you speak?”
“Rarely,” she grinned. “What do you think you’ll wear for your date?”
“First off,” I held up a finger, “it’s not a date. Secondly, do you only think about clothes?”
“Oh, it’s a date. And no, sex comes before clothes,” she grinned.
“Ugh,” I groaned. “You act like a horny teenage boy.”
“And someone sounds jealous,” Avery twirled around in her pink swivel chair.
“Of the fact that you’re practically a horny teenage boy? Hardly,” I snorted.
“But seriously,” she whined, still twirling, “what are you going to wear?”
She finally came to a stop and swayed dizzily.
“Probably jeans and a sweatshirt,” I shrugged.
Avery made a strangled noise in the back of her throat. “No! You can’t wear that!”
“We’ll be in the park and it’s cold out,” I shrugged.
“You still can’t wear that! A sweatshirt is completely unsuitable!” She gawked at me like I had grown three heads.
“I want to be comfortable,” I reasoned.
“You can be comfortable when you’re dead!” She squawked.
“Avery,” I rolled my eyes, “don’t be dramatic.”
“I am not being dramatic,” she spun in her chair again. “I’m just telling you what everyone with a vagina knows about the rules of dating,” she scoffed. “Everyone, except you, that is,” she added.
“Why does there have to be rules?” I groaned. “It’s stupid,” I complained, falling back on my bed, the textbook on my lap falling to the side.
“There are rules for the sake of our sanity,” Avery answered, striding across the room, and sitting on the end of my bed. I kicked at her with my feet, trying to dislodge her.
“I’m wearing a sweatshirt,” I mumbled, “whether you like it or not. I don’t want to be cold.”
“Olivia,” she whined, “that’s the point, you’re supposed to get cold, so he can offer you his coat.”
I sat up, staring her down. “What is this? The colonial age? I swear, what handbook are you reading this from?” I grumbled.
“The one that’s been around since the dawn of time,” she reasoned with a wave of her manicured hands.
“And that’s exactly why it needs to be thrown away,” I pointed out. “Women should be able to stand on their own and not depend on a guy. Let alone these stupid rules that are the so-called guide to dating. It’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.”
Avery grinned. “I don’t need to depend on a guy. I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself. I just like to take a ride on their fun stick every now and then.”
“Avery!” I blushed. “You did not just say that!”
“I did,” she smirked, smoothing a finger over her red lips. “I love how when I say dirty things your little virgin ears turn red.”
