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When the conversation lulls for a few seconds, I turn to Olivia. I need us to discuss the future. I need to know that Olivia cares about it as much as I do. I understand that there are people who are into letting things flow and I’m guessing Olivia is one of those. She doesn’t like making plans for the future at all. Not with her career and not with us. I’m the opposite. I need goals and plans. I need a road map or I feel lost. And right now, I’m feeling a bit lost.
“I feel as if we are on a countdown. Three weeks to go and Sarah is back.”
“I know what you mean. It’s on my mind a lot. I’m going to miss you.” Olivia becomes teary which takes me by surprise.
“Hey, I’m not going anywhere.” I’m touched by how emotional she is but it’s not necessary. “Come here.” I slip my hand around her neck and pull her to me. The tip of her nose feels warm to the touch and she giggles when I rub my nose against hers. “That’s better.”
“I don’t know what came over me,” Olivia says, her warm breath fanning my face.
“It’s okay. We’re used to being together all day. It’ll take some getting used to.”
Olivia cups my face and brings her face to mine. I revel in the delicate softness of the light kiss. Her lips are full and gentle, the touch of her fingers electric on my face and burning me from the inside out. For some inexplicable reason, the kiss leaves me feeling sad. As if it’s the last time we’ll be together. I’m not normally a morose person.
I’m not the only one who is feeling it. Olivia leans her forehead against mine. I feel her sadness as acutely as I feel my own. I slant my lips over hers to kiss her again. She melts into me and lets out a soft moan. A moan that is begging me to take off her clothes and make love to her. I wish we weren’t in the car.
“Do you think this is your last relationship?”
She looks surprised at first, then her expression grows thoughtful. “Everyone goes into a relationship hoping that it’s the last one, don’t they?”
“I suppose they do. For me, I think this is it. I’ve never been as close to someone as I am with you. You make me whole, Olivia, in a way no woman ever has.”
She looks away. “I feel the same. “I’ve never had this kind of connection with a man. Let me ask you something... What is a deal breaker for you in a relationship?”
“The usual. Cheating. But it all boils down to trust. What about you?” I like that we are having this discussion. It gives me hope that she believes we have a chance.
“They usual, I suppose,” Olivia says in an odd voice. She sits up from the relaxed pose she was in. “I should go. I’ll barely have time to shower and change.” She leans across to kiss me noisily. “Have fun with the family.”
“I will, thanks. Have fun with Melissa.” I watch her walk to the entrance of her building and disappear in. I’m still smiling a minute later when I’m driving toward my parents’ house.
I park my car and reach for my phone to check if Adam has replied to my email. He has. He loves Olivia’s writing and expresses surprise that she’s not a professional writer. My laugh is so loud it bounces off the walls of the car. Adam asks if I can give him her contact info. He wants to offer her a job writing the kind of stories she wrote in the brochure if that’s where her interests lie.
I throw a punch in the air. I wasn’t wrong. There’s something special about Olivia’s writing. She has a way with words. A natural talent. I can’t wait to see her face when she gets a job offer from Adam.
I quickly type out a reply giving him Olivia’s email address. She’ll be so surprised and so excited. Maybe now she’ll believe in herself.
I knock on my parents’ door and a minute later, Stephen welcomes me in. I’m late again and this time I have no suitable excuse and I take my mother’s scolding.
It doesn’t faze my good mood though.
“No wonder Mother doesn’t pick on you,” Dylan grumbles. “It’s no fun if you look like you’re enjoying it.”
I laugh but not because Dylan is funny. I’m just happy and for me, it’s an excuse to express joy. I didn’t know you could love someone so much that when something good happens to them, it feels as if it’s happened to you as well.
We exchange pleasantries, then head to the dining room for dinner. My concentration is whack. All I want to think about is the future. Olivia’s and mine. I want to marry her. Spend the rest of my life with her.
“Back to earth, Jace,” Alec says nudging me painfully on the side. “What the fuck’s wrong with you?”
“Language, Alec,” my mother says sharply, reminding me of when we were growing up. With three boys, she was always snapping at someone and correcting our language. The memory makes me smile.
“You said you may have a solution to the idea that Dylan proposed,” my father says, staring at me intently.
“Oh, yes.” I can’t believe that I’d forgotten why I asked my family to have dinner together. Olivia has captured every part of me including my brain. I explain my idea in greater detail than I did with Olivia.
My father nods and so does my mother. Those are the toughest to convince.
“I like it,” Alec says. “We’ll slot in their appointments just as we do with our regular patients. Everyone is happy.”
“Hold on,” Dylan says. “But that will really limit the number of people we can help.”
