eyes bugged out and the little hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. Time stood still and Olivia tucked her head down into her arms and closed her eyes tight. All the while, her heart kept thumping away and her imagination kept churning.
“Here,” George said right by her ear.
She screamed.
When she managed to scrape herself off the ceiling, George handed her a beer. “Now, tell me what you smoked, snorted or shot up tonight.”
“Huh?”
“Are you high?”
“No!”
“Then what the hell is wrong with you?”
“I don’t know!” she cried.
And then she started to cry.
And George started to laugh.
“Damn, Liv. What the hell am I going to do with you?” he asked, his voice laced with amused love instead of the anger Mitch tended to dole out.
He pulled her into his arms and held her while she sniffed and sniveled and soaked his t-shirt with tears. He rubbed her back and stroked her hair, and whispered words of comfort. His arms were her security, his love her anchor. She curled up against him and listened to the soothing cadence of his heartbeat. Slowly, the fear washed away. Humiliation took its place. She shifted to pull away, but he only held her closer.
“You’re not going anywhere,” he said softly as his lips brushed against her ear. “Not until you tell me what happened.”
“Mitch took me to the movies,” she said on a whimper.
“And?”
“That’s it.”
“Mitch took you to the movies?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Was it a scary movie?” he guessed.
“Uh-huh.” She nodded, feeling like the biggest fool on the face of the planet. “I get freaked out easy. It wasn’t even a bad one and it still scared the crap out of me.”
“Are you still scared?”
She shrugged. “No.” Yes.
“Liar.”
“Can I stay here awhile?”
“Yeah.”
She looked up at him, at the skin around his eyes already darkening into purple bruises. She ran a light touch over the sensitive area. “I’m sorry about your nose.”
“It’s fine,” he assured her.
“Liar.”
He smiled. “If you tell anyone I got this from you, I’ll have to kill you. I’m sure you understand why.”
“Unfortunately, I do.” She smiled back.
He let out a light laugh and leaned down to place a soft kiss on her lips. Instead of pulling away, his lips hovered over hers as he drew in a deep breath of her air, and then he kissed her again—slowly, gently—in a way that sent a shiver up her spine. It wasn’t their usual fast, hot, frantic, “I want you so bad” kind of kissing. His kiss was a leisurely yet intensely erotic kind of kiss—the kind of kiss she had always imagined would precede the kind of love making that would create the first of her two-point-five kids in Northside.
His hand slipped under her t-shirt and skimmed across her stomach until it reached the base of her bare breast, and then stopped. He pulled away from her the slightest bit. The conflicted look on his face as his eyes roamed her features confused Olivia. Everything about the kiss confused Olivia—the speed, the heat, the purposeful intensity of it—but the look in his eyes was most unsettling.
“George?” she whispered.
“Yeah?” He breathed the word from deep inside as his eyes stayed on her lips and he took slow, deep breaths that gradually sped up as his eyes darkened in desire.
She didn’t know how to ask what she wanted to ask. She didn’t know if she even knew what she wanted to ask him, and she didn’t know what she would do with the information once she got it. She didn’t want to offend him in case she was wrong. And she felt like it would be cheating on Mitch even to hope for it.
“Never mind,” she said with a little shake of her head.
His hand traveled around to her back and that shiver went up her spine again, electric fire.
“Baby Girl?” he asked in a whisper. His eyes were still focused on her lips, his body temperature a feverish high. His fingers slowly skimmed along the waistband of her panties
“Here,” George said right by her ear.
She screamed.
When she managed to scrape herself off the ceiling, George handed her a beer. “Now, tell me what you smoked, snorted or shot up tonight.”
“Huh?”
“Are you high?”
“No!”
“Then what the hell is wrong with you?”
“I don’t know!” she cried.
And then she started to cry.
And George started to laugh.
“Damn, Liv. What the hell am I going to do with you?” he asked, his voice laced with amused love instead of the anger Mitch tended to dole out.
He pulled her into his arms and held her while she sniffed and sniveled and soaked his t-shirt with tears. He rubbed her back and stroked her hair, and whispered words of comfort. His arms were her security, his love her anchor. She curled up against him and listened to the soothing cadence of his heartbeat. Slowly, the fear washed away. Humiliation took its place. She shifted to pull away, but he only held her closer.
“You’re not going anywhere,” he said softly as his lips brushed against her ear. “Not until you tell me what happened.”
“Mitch took me to the movies,” she said on a whimper.
“And?”
“That’s it.”
“Mitch took you to the movies?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Was it a scary movie?” he guessed.
“Uh-huh.” She nodded, feeling like the biggest fool on the face of the planet. “I get freaked out easy. It wasn’t even a bad one and it still scared the crap out of me.”
“Are you still scared?”
She shrugged. “No.” Yes.
“Liar.”
“Can I stay here awhile?”
“Yeah.”
She looked up at him, at the skin around his eyes already darkening into purple bruises. She ran a light touch over the sensitive area. “I’m sorry about your nose.”
“It’s fine,” he assured her.
“Liar.”
He smiled. “If you tell anyone I got this from you, I’ll have to kill you. I’m sure you understand why.”
“Unfortunately, I do.” She smiled back.
He let out a light laugh and leaned down to place a soft kiss on her lips. Instead of pulling away, his lips hovered over hers as he drew in a deep breath of her air, and then he kissed her again—slowly, gently—in a way that sent a shiver up her spine. It wasn’t their usual fast, hot, frantic, “I want you so bad” kind of kissing. His kiss was a leisurely yet intensely erotic kind of kiss—the kind of kiss she had always imagined would precede the kind of love making that would create the first of her two-point-five kids in Northside.
His hand slipped under her t-shirt and skimmed across her stomach until it reached the base of her bare breast, and then stopped. He pulled away from her the slightest bit. The conflicted look on his face as his eyes roamed her features confused Olivia. Everything about the kiss confused Olivia—the speed, the heat, the purposeful intensity of it—but the look in his eyes was most unsettling.
“George?” she whispered.
“Yeah?” He breathed the word from deep inside as his eyes stayed on her lips and he took slow, deep breaths that gradually sped up as his eyes darkened in desire.
She didn’t know how to ask what she wanted to ask. She didn’t know if she even knew what she wanted to ask him, and she didn’t know what she would do with the information once she got it. She didn’t want to offend him in case she was wrong. And she felt like it would be cheating on Mitch even to hope for it.
“Never mind,” she said with a little shake of her head.
His hand traveled around to her back and that shiver went up her spine again, electric fire.
“Baby Girl?” he asked in a whisper. His eyes were still focused on her lips, his body temperature a feverish high. His fingers slowly skimmed along the waistband of her panties
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