I enjoy watching her in the quiet moments before the waitress brings our food, and I squirt ketchup on my plate. After looking at Olive for confirmation and getting a slight nod, I do the same on the plate with the side of fries I ordered for her and push the plate close to her salad. “Eat.”
I take a bite of my burger as I watch her eat her salad. I can’t believe that was all she was going to order. I’m worriedabout why she would go to the convenience store for dinner, but I’m unsure how to bring it up without upsetting or insulting her.
I decide to stick with a different topic. Setting my burger back on my plate, I wipe my hands on my napkin. “So, do you want to talk about where you went?”
Her fork freezes halfway to her mouth. Placing it on her plate, she takes a sip of water, then glances over at me as she sets her glass back down. “It was just some family stuff I had to take care of. I’m sure you don’t want to listen to me complain about my problems.” She scrunches up her face. “Trust me,Idon’t even want to listen to me complain.”
I recognize that she doesn’t really know me and has no reason to open up to me about her life, but irrationally, I’m disappointed she won’t tell me about what happened. I don’t want to push her, but I want to help her however I can.
Before I can respond, she turns in her chair to look at me more directly. “About the other night…” Every cell in my body perks up at the mention of the night that haunts my dreams. “I want to apologize. I should have waited for you so I could explain. I’m sorry for just leaving like I did.” Olive takes a deep breath and continues. “I got a text that was upsetting, and I wasn’t thinking clearly.”
I shift in my seat so I can face her as well. Wrapping my arm around the back chair, I gently run my thumb over her back. “Olive, you don’t need to apologize. As disappointed as I was about not getting to spend the night with you, I’ll always understand needing to take care of your family.” I move my hand from her back to her chin and raise her gaze to mine. “I hate that you’re having to deal with anything upsetting. I hope whatever it is, it resolves quickly.”
Olive raises her hand and grips my wrist, arousalflooding my system at the touch. She gives me a squeeze. “I really appreciate that, Nate,” she replies softly.
“Do you regret it?” I ask softly. When she gives me a questioning look, I clarify, “Not spending the night with me?”
Her eyes flutter closed, and she presses her lips together. When her gaze finds mine again, emotions swirl in their depths. “No, because I needed to go.” My heart sinks until her grip on my wrist tightens. “But I didn’twantto go.”
A heavy exhale leaves my chest. I can’t take it anymore. I place a quick, chaste kiss on her lips and begrudgingly release my hold on her. She has a shy smile as she leans forward with her elbows on the table and toys with her drink napkin. Clearing her throat, she asks, “How did everything go with the police?”
My body relaxes back into my seat, and I drop my arm around the back of her chair. Even though no part of her is touching me, I still feel the energy zinging between us. “It was fine. The report was filed, and the guy will be held overnight for trespassing since the tarmac is restricted. I’ll help with getting the temporary restraining order filed. Not that a piece of paper always stops these obsessed fans, but it helps with the legal system should things progress.”
She nods thoughtfully. “That’s good. I have mixed feelings about Jenny, but I don’t want any harm to come to her.”
I smile, understanding why Olive would feel conflicted about Jenny, having witnessed some of their interactions.
Olive’s eyes rove over my body, and my heart skips a beat. “You sure you didn’t hurt yourself when you took that guy down?”
I lean forward a little, my fingers brushing her back. My eyes drop when her lips part with a sharp intake of breath. “Are you worried about me, Olive?”
Her tongue darts out and quickly wets her lips before disappearing from view. My jaw muscles clench from the effort not to touch her more.
“Honestly…I was. It was a little intense.” She grimaces, biting the inside of her lip. “And while you clearly know what you are doing, it was scary to watch you take that man down.”
My chest expands with warmth. Hearing her admit she was worried about me, even if she had no reason to be, has me preening. It’s further confirmation I need that we’re in this together.
Giving up on holding back, I run the back of my finger down the soft skin along her jaw, starting near her ear and ending at her chin. My hand drops, but I don’t lean away from her. “It’s going to take more than a scrawny guy like that to take me down.” The fear I felt earlier surrounding my growing feelings for her has all since evaporated since talking to my sister. I’m even more convinced that my downfall won’t be some idiot fan, but it’ll actually be a dark-haired, curvy goddess who’s currently looking at me like she might be coming to that same conclusion.
My eyes drop to her lips as a shudder runs through her body. Her full lips part, and I fight the urge to kiss her. Clearing my throat, I lean back and put some distance between us. “Finish your dinner,” I demand.
A small smile appears as Olive turns back in her chair and resumes eating. My pants become uncomfortably tight as her lips wrap around her fork, and her eyes peek over at me as she chews slowly.
There’s something else I would love those lips wrapped around.
I adjust my jeans to try to relieve some pressure on my dick and make a decision. All I can hope is that Olive agrees.
We finish dinner in relative silence. I haven’t been able to take my eyes off of her. Quickly paying the bill, we walk outside. I intertwine our fingers, her skin warm and soft against mine as we walk down the sidewalk toward the hotel.
When we almost reach the front doors, I pull her to a stop. She looks up at me, head tilted in curiosity. I keep my hold on her hand while gently pushing her hair behind her ear with the other. Uncharacteristic nerves flutter in my stomach as I take a deep breath and say, “Please come upstairs with me.” I’m practically begging, and I can’t bring myself to care. My heart races while I wait for her to answer.
Her eyes search my face until she finally says, “Yes.”
Relief and arousal flood my system. Leaning down, I press my lips to hers, and she doesn’t hesitate to kiss me back. She grips the front of my shirt, pulling me closer as our tongues toy with each other, and I deepen the kiss for a moment, not being able to stop myself.
With great difficulty, I pull back to rest my forehead on hers as we catch our breath. Once I regain my self-control, I straighten and run my thumb over her bottom lip. Her shaky breath flutters over my skin, making my pulse do the same.
There’s not another word spoken as I drag her into the hotel and through the lobby. When I jam my finger into the button at the elevator multiple times with impatience, Olive giggles and pulls on my hand to bring me back to her side. Gripping my bicep, she looks up at me with amusement on her face. “You know, that doesn’t actually make the elevator get here quicker.”
