AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Wiping away the rest of her lipstick, I couldn't help but smile. "That's quite all right. Although, I have to admit, I'm a little surprised."
Olive crossed her arms, adjusting her hold on her purse. "Surprised that I kissed you? Am I not your date, after all, Mr. Wilson?"
Her smirk was playful, but I didn't bite.
"I guess I'm more surprised that one second you're telling people your name is Mallory Jensen and saying I only invited you here tonight to flaunt you around...and the next second you're kissing me. It's just a little...confusing."
What I meant to say was “crazy,” but I'd dated enough women to know that word was a no-go when it came to conversation, even when the talk was light-hearted.
Her behavior was nothing short of erratic, but there were three things I couldn't deny.
I had brought her here to show her off...it had gone better than expected...and that kiss. Well, that kiss, I enjoyed.
Olive twirled a piece of her hair and cocked her head. Her smile told me that she wasn't going to answer me. "What did Jessie mean by 'next speech?'" Her tone implied the question was a challenge.
This was a game, and we both setting up our defenses. For her to answer my questions, I'd have to answer hers.
And what would I say? The truth?
That Jessie's comment meant that he liked Olive enough to consider her a worthy girlfriend for his Vice Presidential candidate? That I was right on track to become that person?
I should be ecstatic by this news. The night had gone better than expected.
Except Jessie didn't even know Olive's real name...and Olive, well...did I even know her anymore?
I held her gaze firmly. "I have no idea what he meant."
She narrowed her eyes, and I suspected she saw through my lie. But instead of responding, her smile slowly faded. "You're right. I shouldn't have kissed you. That was a mistake."
Did she really believe that or was she just trying to get under my skin?
She glanced down at her phone. "I think I'll get a taxi home."
"Absolutely not. You're my guest, and I brought you here. My driver will take you." I pulled out my phone to text Jeffrey but hesitated. Was this really the last time I would see her? Were we going to leave it like this?
I didn't even know how things had become so complicated...but I didn't want the night to end. "Why did you kiss me?" I wasn't even sure why I asked the question, but as I lifted my gaze to meet hers, her lips parted.
"Will you ride back with me?"
There she went again, answering my question with another question. But this time, my answer was easy. "Yes."
This might have been a mistake.
Half way through the drive, that was all I could think about. Jeffrey had raised the privacy screen between the front and back seats of the limo, but it kind of seemed pointless. Olive was perched on the very opposite side of the seat, as far from me as possible. She was twisted around so her back was to me, and I could only make out her faint reflection in the glass of the window.
Okay then. Guess there was nothing more to talk about.
I peered out the window as the brick mansions gave way to three-story townhouses. The energy of the city shifted, a palpable pressure that made me sink into my seat. Streetlights dimmed, crowds moved from busier streets to isolated side alleys, and the architecture sunk into the surroundings, sagging roofs and broken windows blending into the trash that littered the sidewalks.
How had Olive ended up living here?
The woman I'd dated in college had dreamed of a world so much brighter than this. We'd only dated a year and a half, but at one point, I'd imagined a future with her, one where we grew up old, pursuing our dreams while always pursuing each other.
That Olive had smiled so much easier than this one.
But maybe I hadn’t really know her like I'd thought. Maybe this was who Olive had always been. Unclear about her true intentions. It would explain why things had ended the way they had between us.
As Jeffrey pulled the limo in front of her apartment building, my stomach twisted, my foot tapping inside my boot. My chest tightened, and I tugged at my tie, the constriction suddenly making it hard to breathe.
