Olivia's Ride (Sawyer Brothers Book 4) (5 page)

Chapter Ten

Keeton

I was beginning to wonder if it was possible for a human to fuck themselves into a coma. If it was, I was positive Olivia and I were well on our way. After the first couple times we were together we’d decided condoms were a protection we could move past. She was on the pill and we both knew that we wouldn’t be with anyone else.

Once we got a feel for one another without anything between us it was like a whole new experience and we went a little wild.

I had unleashed something in her after our first night together, and not that I’m complaining, but I barely had time to sleep anymore. Between work, school, and Olivia, I found little time to get any rest.

Our schedules were pretty much the opposite. When she had class I was on a break and vice versa. And I had taken a few extra shifts at the garage to cover expenses my scholarship didn’t. Plus my truck was giving me all kinds of shit, and I had to pump over $500 in parts just to get it running again.

The stress of it all was getting to me and I felt like I just needed a couple days to recover. But telling your new girlfriend you were already burnt out probably wouldn’t be the best choice. So instead of saying anything, I just continued to go on like nothing was wrong.

I crawled out of bed ten minutes before class started and after scrambling to get ready I exited my apartment and collided with Lacy as she was rounding the corner.

“Damn,” she shrieked as she did her best not to drop the groceries she held in her arms. “What’s the hurry?”

“Sorry, Lace,” I reached out and held onto the bag until I knew she had a good hold. “I’m late for class.”

I looked down at my phone and realized Mr. Lerrick would have already started class. And nothing pissed that man off more than a student interrupting class by arriving late.

I signed in defeat as my shoulders sagged and I backed up leaning against the wall.

“Dude, you look like death.” Lacy laughed as she balanced her bag while trying to unlock her door. I pushed off the wall and took the bag from her making it just a little easier on her. “What’s up with you anyway? You’ve been walking around looking more and more like the walking dead.”

“Just trying to keep up,” I told her.

She opened her door and held it as I stepped past and walked toward her kitchen. Her apartment was a mirror image of my own. Except hers was much more decorated and clean.

Granted, since Olivia has been around more, my place has been looking a little less lived in. It smelled pretty damn good, too.

I had been introduced to Febreze plug in air fresheners.

The scent of Duke was no longer the prominent scent that engulfed someone entering my place.

“Maybe you need to take some time off,” Lacy said, as if she read my mind. “Your dad and brother aren’t giving you shit again, are they?”

“No,” I told her.

Lacy was one of the first people I met when I moved into the building. We may have started out as more than just neighbors but in the end, we were just friends. She had also been the one to call the cops when my drunk brother showed up at 2:00 in the morning, beating the hell out of my front door with a baseball bat.

Needless to say, it was really hard to avoid telling her the story behind Kurt and Karver Pearce. But she never felt sorry for me; she just listened and in the end told me that getting away from them was probably the best choice I ever made.

“You hungry?” She held up a box of brown sugar Pop-Tarts and I couldn’t help but laugh. They were my favorite. I was the one who first introduced Lacy to them, and now she was hooked herself.

“You know I always have room for those.” I grinned as she spun around and tore the package open, placing them into the toaster.

She sat down on the opposite side of the bar once they were finished and we talked about her job and how much she hated it.

The time sort of got away and when I reached for my phone in my pocket I came up empty. I began looking around the room and found it lying just next to the front door. It must have fallen from my pocket when I entered earlier.

Lifting it from the floor, I saw the flashing blue light on top.

I had two missed calls and a text message, all from Liv.

I bypassed voicemail and went straight for the text because it was the latest.

Olivia: Are you okay? I waited for you outside of Union Hall and realized you weren’t in class. Are you sick?

“Fuck, I gotta go,” I said over my shoulder as I walked toward the front door of Lacy’s apartment. She walked after me.

Opening her door, I saw Olivia’s back just as she extended her hand and knocked on my front door.

She spun around and gave me a strange look as she looked back at my door, as if for a moment she thought she was about to knock on the wrong door. That cute scrunched up look she gives when she gets confused made me smile.

“You got the right place,” I told her as I stepped forward and wrapped my arm around her shoulder. “I just saw your text.”

“Are you feeling okay?” she asked. Her concern for me was heartwarming. It was something I hadn’t known much growing up. Olivia was always trying to take care of me.

“I’m fine baby, just tired,” I assured her.

“Don’t forget these.”

I turned around to see Lacy holding out my keys as she leaned up against the doorframe of her apartment.

I felt Olivia tense against me, and I immediately wanted to fucking kick myself for agreeing to hang out for that damn Pop-Tart. Olivia and I never had the “ex” talk. Not that she had a lot to reveal, but something told me Olivia wouldn’t like me hanging out with a girl I used to hook up with.

“Thanks,” I said as I took the keys, and turned back to find Olivia looking at Lacy with curiosity. I knew the situation could no longer be avoided, so I turned her in my arms so she was facing Lacy’s door instead of my own.

“Liv, this is Lacy, a friend I met when I first moved into the building. Lacy, this is Olivia.” I looked down at her and winked. “My girlfriend.”

They exchanged a hello, but I could tell Olivia wasn’t fully satisfied with my introduction.

Lacy said goodbye as she retreated back to her apartment and closed the door behind her. Without saying another word on the matter, I led Olivia to my place and unlocked the door.

Hearing the sounds of the door, Duke came barreling through the kitchen and plowed into Olivia’s legs, knocking her back against me.

Once we were inside with the door closed she knelt at Duke’s side and allowed him to happily welcome her before he turned around and walked back to his bed in the living room.

I walked to the couch and could almost feel her eyes burning into my back. I thought for sure she would ask about Lacy, but she surprised me when she instead asked if I was sure I was okay.

“I just woke up late for class and when I was in a hurry to leave, I collided with Lacy and knocked her groceries from her hands.” She looked down at her lap and twisted her ring around her finger. “You gonna ask me?”

Olivia lifted her head and her eyes connected with mine. “Ask you what?”

I could tell she was playing it cool. It was easy to see she didn’t want to come off as the jealous girlfriend.

“Lacy,” I replied. “I know you want to ask about her.”

“It’s not my business.” She shrugged.

I disagreed; it was her business. Maybe not necessarily our past sexual encounters and the details of each event, but in order for her to feel safe about the present, the past would need to be discussed. If the roles were reversed, I knew I would want to know.

A tense silence set over us as I stared at the top of her head while she looked down, still focusing on her ring.

“Com’ere,” I said.

At first I wasn’t sure if she would come to me, but when she rose up on her knees before standing and walking in my direction, I felt the tightness in my chest let up.

She tried to sit next to me, but I captured her hips in my hands and pulled her onto my lap, one leg on each side of me.

Once she was seated, I gripped her hips and pulled her forward, bringing her as close as possible. “You’re wrong.” I said. This caused her to look directly at me and arch her brow.

That damn look of hers always threatened to make me laugh. That Sawyer stubbornness she talked of often ran through her heavy.

“And may I ask how I’m wrong?”

“Okay, feisty,” I said, tapping the end of her nose with my finger. “Slow down. I just meant that anything you want to know about me, you should feel free to ask. It is your business. If we’re together, then I want you to feel welcome to ask about my past relationships.”

“So you did have a relationship with Lacy?” And there it was.

I looked directly at her hoping the intensity in my stare made her understand what I was about to say was the full truth.

“For a very short time, yes,” I confessed. “But it was nothing like what you and I have. And in the end, we realized we’re much better as friends.”

She nodded her head, as if to accept my explanation. It only irritated me, because there was no way she could be fully satisfied with just that. Girls just didn’t work that way. And I knew if we didn’t get through this now, we would only be fighting about it later.

“There is nothing more than friendship between us now, Olivia. There hasn’t been for close to two years,” I assured her. “You have nothing to worry about.”

“Okay,” she whispered.

I had a feeling she wasn’t being honest. I could feel the hesitation in her when I placed my hand on the back of her neck and pulled her lips to mine.

I would just have to prove to her she was the only girl I wanted.

Chapter Eleven

Olivia

My phone rang in the distance but I didn’t want to move.

I was in one of my most favorite places. A spot I had grown to love over the last month. A place that no matter how miserable my day may have been, it always made me feel better.

Keeton’s arms.

We snuggled on the couch to watch a movie, my head resting on his chest, and I must have dozed off.

“Liv, your phone,” Keeton said as he kissed my forehead and held my phone out for me to take.

Seeing it was my dad only made irritation roll through me. He had dragged his feet on the whole apartment issue and just last night told me he decided against it. He was being damn stubborn. As if being in a dorm would stop me from acting like an adult. Hell, my roommate didn’t let the dorm stop her from banging every guy within a ten mile radius. My father thought keeping me locked away in a dorm would keep me in a little metaphorical cage.

“You do understand that he will just keep calling?” Keeton whispered, causing me to roll my eyes.

“Yes,” I replied. “I fully understand that, but I like to make him sweat. It’s actually quite humorous to work him up until his face changes colors.”

“I’ve seen the way you work him up.” Keeton pulled his arms from behind my head and got up from the couch. I instantly missed him.

He looked back over his shoulder and flashed that dimple that made my stomach tense with excitement, every time. “Call him back, babe.”

But before I could think of doing so, my phone began to ring again. I groaned and hit the button to answer the call.

“I was two seconds from hopping on a damn plane, Olivia.” he growled. He didn’t even take the time to say hello.

“Well hello to you too, Dad.” I leaned back against the couch cushion and closed my eyes. “I’m doing well, thanks; how about yourself?”

“Stop being a smartass,” he added. “What took you so long to answer?”

“I was studying.” It sounded more like a question than an answer. I opened my eyes to find Keeton standing in front of me with his eyes narrowed and his brows scrunched up together.

My father’s response was more of a grunt before he started to talk again. “I was calling because I have some good news.”

For a moment I grew excited at the idea of him calling to tell me he changed his mind about the apartment, but then he began again.

“Amber’s pregnant,” he said, and I could hear the happiness in his voice. It hadn’t been the news I was hoping for, but it was happy all the same. It was hard not to smile knowing I would have another brother, or even a sister.

Had someone asked me five years ago if I wanted a brother or sister I would have thought they were crazy. I gave that notion up when my mother passed. But after my dad married Amber and they shared the news of Rory and Rogan, I couldn’t remember a time I had been happier. I adored the two of them and couldn’t imagine what it would be like without them.

“That’s so exciting,” I said as my eyes grew misty. “How far?”

“Still real early, but we wanted you to be the first to know.”

He grew quiet for a moment. “I know you’re mad at me about the apartment thing.”

“It’s all right.” I didn’t want this to be yet another argument. I wanted to just enjoy the news.

“Can we just get through this year, you come home for the summer, and we’ll talk more about it?” He sounded suddenly sad.

“Yeah, Dad,” I replied. “The year is almost over anyway, and you wouldn’t be able to get back any of the housing costs for the dorm, so we’ll just consider it for next year.”

“So I didn’t run you off from coming home for the summer?” I couldn’t help but laugh at my father’s weak attempt to assure my presence back in Livingston.

“I’ll be there,” I assured him. “I miss my boys.”

“They miss you too, Liv,” he said with a chuckle. “We all do.”

“Love you, Dad,” I told him.

We said our goodbyes and I hung up just as Keeton sat down at my side. “Everything okay?”

“My stepmom is pregnant,” I said, and once again smiled so big my cheeks ached. Keeton smiled in return because he had spent more than enough time listening to me go on and on about my little brothers. “It was hard to be upset with him about the apartment argument when he sounded so happy.”

Keeton just sat and listened to me ramble.

“I spent years watching my father mourn the loss of my mom. He was so sad all the time and there was nothing anyone could do to bring back the spark that was in him when my mom was alive. He always told me that he loved her from the moment he saw her, and losing her was like losing half of himself.” I took in a shuddering breath as Keeton rubbed my leg soothingly.

“When he met Amber, I’ll admit I was a brat about it. But I was so scared having her in our lives meant that I had to let go of my mom. But it wasn’t like that, because Amber made sure of it. She’s amazing, and she always made sure my mom remained a huge part of our lives. There are pictures of her around their house as if she’s part of the family they’ve created.”

I turned to look at Keeton as a tear escaped and ran down my cheek. He quickly wiped it away with his thumb.

“Amber brought my dad back, and the happy in his world has multiplied beyond anything I ever expected. And now they’re having another baby.” My lower lip trembled, not from sadness, but because the happiness consumed me.

And then a thought hit me.

“What are you doing this summer?”

He looked back at me suddenly with a confused look. “Working.”

I nodded and looked off toward the kitchen.

“Why?” he asked.

“I’m going home for the summer,” I whispered.

A silence set in as we both realized I would be thousands of miles away from him in little more than a month.

“Don’t you have family you’ll visit?” I asked.

“Nah,” he answered quickly as he once again got up from the couch. Yet this time he didn’t pause to look back at me to flash that dimple I loved. I could tell it was a subject he didn’t want to continue discussing.

And it was then that I realized Keeton hadn’t shared much about his family. I had gone on and on about my own, yet knew very little about his.