Authors: T.K. Leigh
Pulling up in front of Olivia’s house, he was surprised to see a rental car parked in her driveway. Grabbing her house keys, he walked up to the front door.
“Hey, buddy. Can I help you with something?” Cam bellowed to a figure slumped over, sitting on her deck and leaning against the railing. The figure jumped, startled, and raised his head to look at Cam.
Shit
,
it’s him
.
Pushing past him, Cam walked to the front door, not wanting to look into the face of someone who had damaged Olivia past repair.
“Hey! What are you doing here?!” Alexander roared, following Cam into Olivia’s house, Nepenthe stalking the front door, hissing at both men.
“What am
I
doing here?!” Cam shouted. “I’m taking care of my fucking friend! That’s what I’m doing. What the fuck are
you
doing here? Shouldn’t you be off on your honeymoon with your
wife
?!”
Alexander shuddered at the term.
Cam lowered his voice. “Please. You need to leave her alone. She doesn’t need someone like you in her life.” He walked toward Nepenthe’s food bowls and began filling them up, freshening his water before throwing some cat nip on the ground for him to roll around in.
“You barely know that fucking girl,” Alexander growled. “Who are you to tell me who she needs in her life? What is this? You want her for yourself?”
Cam exhaled, not wanting to tell Alexander what he thought he needed to hear, wondering if Olivia had told anyone about what happened the night she found out that Alexander had gotten engaged.
Lowering his voice, he turned to face Alexander. “Listen, when Olivia first got here, she was so sad. I knew she was depressed. All the signs were there. Then we started to spend some time together, and I got to know her.”
Alexander’s temper flared just thinking about someone else being able to spend time with his Olivia.
“She started to come out of her shell. Then she found out you were dating that girl and she broke down again. And I was stupid enough to give her space. I knew it was the last thing I should have been doing, but I fucked up. I pissed her off and then let her stew. Weeks later, my friend texted me, letting me know about your engagement, and I rushed over here. Olivia didn’t seem to know about it just yet, which was good. So I left her with the promise of coming back in an hour to take her to dinner. When I got here…” Cam trailed off, remembering the scene he saw when he kicked in the door.
“When you got here, what?” Alexander inquired, his voice shaky, unsure of whether he wanted to hear what Cam was about to tell him. He followed Cam’s eyes to Olivia’s front door, noticing the repaired door jam.
“When I got here, I knocked and no one answered.” Cam gulped, remembering the sinking he felt in his chest that night. “So I knocked again, but there was still no answer. Then I heard a scratching.”
“Nepenthe…” Alexander breathed, looking down at the cat.
“I knew something was wrong so I looked into the window…and she was lying on the floor over there, a pill bottle spilled out on the coffee table and an empty liquor bottle next to her. She was unconscious. She had taken four valium and drank far too much liquor…”
“Fuck…”
“If I arrived any later, I wouldn’t have been able to get those pills up. But I did. And then I pushed her out the door, thinking that if your love for her was as strong as it seems hers is for you, then maybe you’d forget about all this bullshit and take her back. It killed me to do it, but I knew she needed the closure at least. But now, I don’t know. She’s just so empty, as if she’s just going through the motions, waiting…”
Alexander sat down on the couch, trying to process everything Cam had told him. Olivia hadn’t mentioned any of that to him. “How is she? I mean now? Is she okay?”
“She’s pretty banged up, mentally and emotionally. But she’ll smile again one day. She’s stronger than this.”
“Why didn’t she tell me?” he asked, staring at the floor, unable to truly comprehend what he had done to Olivia.
“Would you have listened if she did? Please, you need to let her heal, and the only way she can is with you out of her life. I can’t bear the thought of walking in on her and seeing her like that again. Please. You need to leave. Go back to your wife. It will be too painful for her to see you now that you’re married.”
“I didn’t do it,” Alexander said quietly.
“Do what?” Cam asked.
“Get married,” he replied, still processing everything Cam had just told him. “I left her at the altar. Literally. We were about to say our vows and I left.”
Cam chuckled. “Seriously?”
Alexander simply nodded.
“Come on. Want a drink?” Cam asked, gesturing Alexander out of the house toward his Wrangler.
“I could definitely use one after the week I’ve had,” Alexander said, standing up and following Cam out the door.
~~~~~~~~~~
Olivia woke up, unsure of where she was. Sun seeped in through large windows, illuminating pastel blue walls with beige trim. Inhaling deeply, she knew she was in Cam's bed. It smelled like him.
“Morning, beautiful,” Cam crooned, sitting on the foot of the bed and staring at Olivia’s resting body. “Sleep well?”
Olivia stretched. “Yeah,” she croaked. “I’m sorry I fell asleep on you yesterday. I was exhausted.”
He grinned. “That was Sunday. It’s Tuesday.”
She shot up. “It is? Fuck! Nepenthe! He needs to be fed.” She jumped out of bed, scrambling to pack her things and get back home.
“Relax, Libby. I found your keys and made sure he had food.” He smiled, watching her frantically run around the room wearing just a pair of boy shorts and tank top.
She stopped abruptly, turning to look at him. “You did?”
“Yeah. I didn’t want to wake you up. It looked like you needed sleep. Of course, every few hours or so you’d wake up and stumble into the bathroom, then stumble back to bed. I didn’t know if you were ever going to wake up. I tried to get you to eat, but you could barely open your eyes.” Olivia’s stomach grumbled loud enough for Cam to hear. “Get ready. I’ll take you out for breakfast and then back to your place, okay?”
“I’m sorry, Cam. I’ve made you miss work. I’m the worst friend.”
He shrugged. “Don’t worry about it, Libby. You needed me. I’d be a worse friend if I ditched you for my job.” He walked out of the room to let Olivia get ready in private, grabbing his cell phone and sending a quick text message to his new friend.
A few hours later, after a nice relaxing breakfast, Cam pulled up in front of Olivia’s cottage. Grabbing her bag, he ran around to the passenger side of the Jeep, helping her out and handing her bag to her.
“Thank you. For everything.” She planted a kiss on his cheek before walking across the sandy road abutting the coastline toward her house, her eyes settling on a figure standing on the deck. Her chin quivered and she spun around, heading back toward the Jeep.
“Libby,” Cam said, glaring down at her.
“No. Take me back to your place. I can’t…”
Cam clutched her hands in his. “Libby, look at me.” She slowly raised her gaze, meeting his kind eyes, the sun reflecting in them and making them sparkle. “Just listen to what he has to say.”
Olivia visibly shook. “I don’t think I can. I’m not…”
“Yes, you are, Libby. You’re stronger than you think you are. I’d never make you do something if I didn’t think you could handle it. You can do this. Go. He flew all this way to see you. At first, I wanted to kill him for how he hurt you, but then we talked yesterday over a few drinks and he explained everything to me. Just talk to him. And then, if you want, you can drive back over to my place, okay?”
She took a deep breath and nodded as Cam brushed that same errant curl behind her ear. “Good girl.” He planted a kiss on her forehead and watched as she walked toward her house. At that moment, he knew he would probably never see her again.
Olivia slowly crossed the narrow beach road back to her front deck, her heart beating loudly in her chest. Walking up the steps to her deck, her eyes met Alexander’s, his green eyes empty, the usual vibrancy gone.
“Hi,” she said sheepishly as she made her way to the front door, noticing the mark from when Cam had to kick it in. She shuddered at the memory, hoping that she would be strong enough to survive the impending conversation.
“Can I come in?” Alexander asked softly, approaching Olivia from behind.
Her body overheated from the proximity of him. A tear fell down her cheek as she thought how unfair life was.
“Shouldn’t you be with your wife, Alex?” she asked, turning around after unlocking the door.
“Please, Olivia. Let me in. I just want to talk to you. If you don’t like what I have to say, I promise I’ll never show up on your doorstep again. Please. Give me five minutes.”
Olivia exhaled, opening the door and walking through the living room, Alexander following.
He surveyed her house and noticed a piano in the guest room. “Here, come with me,” he said, grabbing her hands. He led her toward the piano and sat down at the bench, patting the seat next to him.
Sighing, she sat down beside him, their arms and shoulders touching, making her entire body tremble. Not with excitement. Not with fear. It was something far more devastating. She trembled with the excruciating pain of complete heartache and loss.
“Play it again, Olivia,” he whispered into her ear, his breath hot on her neck.
Olivia shook her head, unsure what he was talking about.
“The song you played the other night. I beg you. Play it again.”
Her eyes flung open, wide with curiosity and fear. She didn’t know if she could torture herself like that again.
“Please, Olivia.”
Inhaling deeply, she placed her shaky hands on the piano, playing the opening chords of the very song that she sang just a few nights beforehand in her last attempt to win Alexander back, pouring her entire soul into the notes and lyrics. Memories of that night came flooding back as she sang, her eyes boring holes into Alexander’s, tears flowing down both of their faces.
Sobs wracked through her body as she sang the chorus, begging for another chance…a chance that she never got.
Alexander stared into her eyes as she struggled to get through the words. He knew he messed up. He was such a fool to think he could forget her. He never forgot about her during those twenty-plus years he thought she was dead. His heart belonged to her and he needed her in his life. Her soft plea nearly tore him apart.
He grabbed Olivia’s hands in his, cutting the song short. “Smile, love. It’s the second best thing you can do with those beautiful lips of yours.”
Before Olivia knew what was happening, Alexander crushed his lips to hers, pulling her body against his own.
For a brief moment, they were the only two people in the universe that mattered. They poured all the emotions that they felt over the past several months into that kiss. It was desperate and passionate and, no matter how much they devoured each other’s mouths, it wasn’t nearly as deep as they wanted or needed.
After several long, intense moments, Alexander pulled back, gasping for air. “I never had a chance with you, Olivia,” he whispered against her neck. “It’s you. It’s only ever been you.”
“What about Chelsea?” she asked, confused about what happened.
Brushing a tear from her eye, Alexander cupped her cheek in his hand. “I couldn’t do it. I was such an idiot to keep pushing you away. You’re the only woman for me. No one else has ever compared to you. Please, Olivia. Forgive me for being such an ignorant ass. I’ll do anything. Name it and it’s yours. Just, please, don’t make me go through life without you in it. I need you. I…”
Olivia pressed her lips to his, not letting him finish his thought. Alexander groaned, running his hands all over her frail body as he told her with his mouth just what she meant to him.
He pulled back, catching his breath. “Bedroom?”
“Upstairs,” she responded, panting.
Alexander scooped her in his arms and carried her up the short flight of stairs and into her bedroom. Placing her gently on the bed, he slowly shrugged out of his jacket, followed by his t-shirt and jeans as Olivia watched, her eyes intense. Lowering himself back down on the bed, he hovered over her body and planted soft kisses on her neck, savoring the sweet smell of her vanilla body wash and a scent that could only be categorized as Olivia’s natural essence.
She moaned as Alexander trailed his mouth down her collarbone, fumbling to remove her shirt. As he lifted it over her head, he looked down at her body.
“Olivia,” he said in an almost horrified voice as he took in the sight of her ribs poking through. A tear fell down as he returned his mouth to hers. “I’m so sorry I did this to you. I’ll make it up to you. Just tell me what to do to make it right.”
Sobs shook her body from the closeness of Alexander to her again. She couldn’t remember ever being so happy in her entire life. “Please, Alex. I want to feel again. Let me feel you.”
He groaned, nipping Olivia’s neck as he slowly slid her shorts down, tossing them to the side before taking off his own boxer briefs. Running his hands up and down her body, he positioned himself between her legs.
“Please, Alex. Make me feel again,” she sobbed out, the closeness of his erection to her apex was overwhelming. Slowly, he entered her, filling her.
“Do you feel that?” Alexander asked sweetly as he lowered his body on top of her, leaning on his elbows, worried that he would crush her.
“Yes, Alex,” Olivia cried out. “I feel it. Don’t stop.” Running her hands up and down his back, she gasped at the absolutely complete feeling she had as Alexander slowly moved in and out of her.
“Don’t ever leave me again, love,” he grunted. “There’s no one else for me. Only you. You’re my Eve. Always and forever.”
Olivia sobbed at his sweet words, wrapping her legs around his waist, not wanting any space between their bodies. His motions were slow and deliberate, and for the first time that she could remember, that’s what she wanted and needed.
“God, I missed you, Olivia,” he said, his eyes searing holes into hers. She reached up and grabbed his head, forcing his lips against hers. She thrust her tongue inside his mouth as she continued moving her hips with the tempo that he set.