Read Online Hating Olivia: A Love Story by Mark Safranko - Free Book Online
Authors: Mark Safranko
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these salesgirls, either, but on the other hand, Livy was trying to sell them the Brooklyn Bridge—even I could see that. But the last thing I wanted to admit to myself was that Livy had put me in a bind.
I began to nudge her away from the counter. “Why don’t we just chalk it up to experience…. ”
“Because I don’t want to chalk it up to experience! I want my goddamn money back! Or I’ll never shop in this trash heap again!”
“Liv, it’s not worth it! Let’s just take your dress and get the hell out of here…. ”
Giselle and Seven-one-one watched triumphantly as I swung Livy, spitting and smoldering, away from the counter.
“Can you believe some people!” sniffed the biddy next in line. “Choke on it, bitch,” I told her.
“Oh, go to hell, you too!” Livy barked as a parting shot.
I don’t know how I managed to force her out of that place, but I did. Like a tornado she whirled through the mall and parking lot, dropping merchandise in her wake, and by the time I caught up with her she was already in the car.
I got in and drove. For a long time she refused to look at me or talk. No way I dared bring up her attempt to swindle the department store. Didn’t I owe her the benefit of the doubt? Besides, even if she’d tried to take Macy’s for a ride, who was I to judge? Mrs. London’s phone calls to me had gone unanswered, hadn’t they? What made me any better than Livy?
“You’re supposed to be on my side, no matter what, Max,” she hissed as we neared Roseland Avenue.
“I am on your side, Livy…. ”
“Then why didn’t you stand up for me—why?”
“Well, I—”
“If you love somebody, you’re supposed to believe in them!” “I do, baby, you have to see that I do—”
“But you didn’t say a fucking word! You just stood there and let them humiliate me, Max!”
“I didn’t! I mean, I didn’t mean to—”
“Do you love me, Max?”
“Of course! God, yes! You know I do!”
“Then you have to promise you’re with me forever, no matter what! You have to promise!” “I’m with you!” “Promise?”
“Promise!” “Oh, Max…. ”
It was a plaintive wail, like the cry of a wounded bird, and it came from a place much darker and deeper and sadder than the urge to fraud or kleptomania.
“Yes, Liv?”
She didn’t finish what she was about to say. I pulled her over to me, hard. I grabbed her hand and guided it to my cock. Her fingers coiled like snakes around my stick. I slid my hand up her skirt and inside the band of her bikini panties.
She was wet in there. Very, very wet.
13.
The Macy’s debacle was the only black cloud that passed over our idyll. It was a momentary aberration, nothing more. But as with any storm, there was fallout. Sometimes, lying naked on the bedroom floor, Livy would snare me in a debate of extravagant speculations.
“If I were asleep on the twentieth floor of a burning building, would you rush in and save me, even if you’d probably die in the process?”
“Jesus, Livy, that’s insane.”
“Would you, Max? I have to know!”
I’d tell her “Of course I would,” just to soothe her peculiar anxieties.
“Are you sure? Do you swear?” “I swear!”
“Now … what if you came upon me as I was being raped by a gang of six thugs, and you didn’t have a weapon, and it probably meant your getting seriously injured trying to help me—what would you do then?”
“Whew, sweetheart, you sure can dream them up…. ”
“I have to know, Max!”
“I’d do whatever it took to free you.”
“Do you swear, Max?”
“Yes, I swear.”
“That’s the right answer.”
“Well, I’m glad…. Why are we going through all this, anyway?”
“Because I have to know. It means everything to me.” Pause.
“Why didn’t you defend me that day in Macy’s, Max?”
“Oh, shit, Liv. How many times have I explained it to you? That was completely different! You weren’t under attack. I was just trying to save you the
I began to nudge her away from the counter. “Why don’t we just chalk it up to experience…. ”
“Because I don’t want to chalk it up to experience! I want my goddamn money back! Or I’ll never shop in this trash heap again!”
“Liv, it’s not worth it! Let’s just take your dress and get the hell out of here…. ”
Giselle and Seven-one-one watched triumphantly as I swung Livy, spitting and smoldering, away from the counter.
“Can you believe some people!” sniffed the biddy next in line. “Choke on it, bitch,” I told her.
“Oh, go to hell, you too!” Livy barked as a parting shot.
I don’t know how I managed to force her out of that place, but I did. Like a tornado she whirled through the mall and parking lot, dropping merchandise in her wake, and by the time I caught up with her she was already in the car.
I got in and drove. For a long time she refused to look at me or talk. No way I dared bring up her attempt to swindle the department store. Didn’t I owe her the benefit of the doubt? Besides, even if she’d tried to take Macy’s for a ride, who was I to judge? Mrs. London’s phone calls to me had gone unanswered, hadn’t they? What made me any better than Livy?
“You’re supposed to be on my side, no matter what, Max,” she hissed as we neared Roseland Avenue.
“I am on your side, Livy…. ”
“Then why didn’t you stand up for me—why?”
“Well, I—”
“If you love somebody, you’re supposed to believe in them!” “I do, baby, you have to see that I do—”
“But you didn’t say a fucking word! You just stood there and let them humiliate me, Max!”
“I didn’t! I mean, I didn’t mean to—”
“Do you love me, Max?”
“Of course! God, yes! You know I do!”
“Then you have to promise you’re with me forever, no matter what! You have to promise!” “I’m with you!” “Promise?”
“Promise!” “Oh, Max…. ”
It was a plaintive wail, like the cry of a wounded bird, and it came from a place much darker and deeper and sadder than the urge to fraud or kleptomania.
“Yes, Liv?”
She didn’t finish what she was about to say. I pulled her over to me, hard. I grabbed her hand and guided it to my cock. Her fingers coiled like snakes around my stick. I slid my hand up her skirt and inside the band of her bikini panties.
She was wet in there. Very, very wet.
13.
The Macy’s debacle was the only black cloud that passed over our idyll. It was a momentary aberration, nothing more. But as with any storm, there was fallout. Sometimes, lying naked on the bedroom floor, Livy would snare me in a debate of extravagant speculations.
“If I were asleep on the twentieth floor of a burning building, would you rush in and save me, even if you’d probably die in the process?”
“Jesus, Livy, that’s insane.”
“Would you, Max? I have to know!”
I’d tell her “Of course I would,” just to soothe her peculiar anxieties.
“Are you sure? Do you swear?” “I swear!”
“Now … what if you came upon me as I was being raped by a gang of six thugs, and you didn’t have a weapon, and it probably meant your getting seriously injured trying to help me—what would you do then?”
“Whew, sweetheart, you sure can dream them up…. ”
“I have to know, Max!”
“I’d do whatever it took to free you.”
“Do you swear, Max?”
“Yes, I swear.”
“That’s the right answer.”
“Well, I’m glad…. Why are we going through all this, anyway?”
“Because I have to know. It means everything to me.” Pause.
“Why didn’t you defend me that day in Macy’s, Max?”
“Oh, shit, Liv. How many times have I explained it to you? That was completely different! You weren’t under attack. I was just trying to save you the
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