20
Olive
After spending a couple of days snowed-in on the boat with Zach, Olive was quite disappointed the snow had melted enough for people to use the lane leading to his house. It had been cosy, just the two of them making do with what little they had. Never in her wildest dreams did she imagine ever living such a way.
Zach knocked on the window. ‘Olive, come and look at the bathroom.’
She heard his cheer, then saw him sprint off. Gazing over at the house, she wondered how long she would live there. Would he give her a departure date, like Emilio had with the hotel? Nothing had been said.
Olive put on her coat and boots and plodded through snow and slush to the house, mindful of the roofers working.
Zach was standing at the bottom of the stairs, grinning like a child in a toy shop. He quickly took her hand and went upstairs. ‘You’re going to love this.’
Just for a moment, Olive felt they were a couple viewing their new home. If only she had such a happy life.
Large light-grey tiles made the shower cubicle, and glass panels with black framework made the screen.
Zach reached in for the chrome fixtures and switched on the water. ‘Ta-dah!’
Olive laughed, more at him than having a hot shower.
‘Tonight,’ he said, one hand waggling around the screen, ‘we can shower, put on our PJs, have some hot chocolate, and light a fire in the new fireplace in the living room. We’ll turn up the central heating as well, and watch telly, now that’s been delivered, and I’ll order a pizza, and—’
‘Slow down. You’ll get dizzy.’
He grinned. ‘I feel dizzy.’
Olive stepped closer to feel the steam. ‘I do believe this is the best shower in the whole world.’
‘Good. Let’s check it out.’
Before she had time to respond, Zach pulled her into the wide space, fully clothed.
Olive could do no more than laugh at the madness. They were soaked through within minutes but loving every moment.
Zach started to sing about rain and twirled her in his arms.
‘We’re going to freeze getting back to the boat,’ she said, swiping her drenched hair back.
‘Not you. You can wait here in the warm while I bring our things over.’
Olive slapped a hand to her mouth. ‘Are we really moving in today?’
‘Don’t see why not. We’ve got water and heating. The kitchen is finished, the bathroom sorted. The roof tiles will be finished by tomorrow.’ Zach picked her up and moved her under the showerhead. ‘Olive, we’re home.’
She went to correct him, but he was so excited and darted off before she could say anything.
There weren’t any towels in sight, but the hot water was so wonderful, Olive didn’t want to dry off yet anyway.
She stripped to her undies and tossed her clothes into the corner, knowing the workmen weren’t inside the house.
Zach came back, wearing a dark tracksuit. He rubbed a towel over his head as he placed a bundle of white towels on the closed toilet seat. ‘These were in the bedroom. Got more things arriving tomorrow. Wrap up while I bring your…’
She turned to see why he had stopped talking, hoping he hadn’t spotted a spider or something, but he was staring at her, and she soon realised she was in her bra and knickers.
Zach cleared his throat. ‘Erm, won’t be long.’
Olive laughed to herself at how quickly he fled the scene.
It’s no different from being on the beach .
She switched off the shower to get dry in the new soft towels. The central heating was already making the room feel cosy, and she was looking forward to another shower later when she had shampoo and the rest of her things. Pizza and PJs couldn’t come around fast enough.
Wrapped in a large towel, Olive left the bathroom to enter one of the bedrooms, wondering if Zach was going to bring over the mattress from the boat, as the room was bare, and she was pretty sure the others were too, as the snow had slowed deliveries.
A sudden warmth hit her shoulder and she knew it was Zach behind her.
‘There’s a bed due sometime today. Just the one for now, but I can bring over the mattress from the boat.’
Without turning to face him, she said, ‘No need. We can share the new one until we get another one. We’ve fallen asleep together before.’
Even shared a portable loo .
‘Okay.’ His voice was low, soft, waking butterflies and causing goosebumps.
Olive closed her eyes for a moment, wondering what it would feel like if he kissed her shoulder, her back, her neck. A bang on the roof made her jump, and when she turned, he was gone.
The workmen were getting louder, so she moved to another room and peered out the window.
The back garden looked in need of some love, and now she was going to be designing gardens for Fran, she figured she could do with a sketchbook.
‘Oh, there you are,’ said Zach. He moved to her side, glancing at the garden. ‘Bit grim down there.’
‘Nothing that can’t be sorted.’ She saw him smile.
‘I brought your clothes. Do you want this to be your bedroom? I’ll leave them here if so.’
Olive felt the need to talk about their living arrangements. Emilio had left her feeling unstable about the subject. She swallowed hard and took a steady breath. ‘Zach, how long—’
‘As long as you want.’
She breathed out a small laugh. ‘You don’t know what I’m thinking.’
‘You were about to ask how long you can stay. The answer is yours. You choose if you want to stay. I’ll never kick you out. I promised I’d help you, so help you’ll get.’ He turned to face her full on. ‘Look, I don’t expect you’ll want to live here forever, but just know you’re welcome.’
A lump clogged her throat, and without warning, she wrapped her arms around him, holding him close. ‘Thank you,’ she whispered.
Zach was holding her too, and he wasn’t showing any signs of letting go. His mouth was close to her bare shoulder, and his warmth was causing all sorts of fizz to her brain.
‘You up there, mate?’ called out a worker from the front door.
Olive expected Zach to drop his arms and leave, but he held on that little bit longer, and she was quite sure her heart had started to skip beats. She made the first move, stepping back just a touch, afraid to make eye contact in case it led somewhere she wasn’t sure they should go. ‘I’ll just get dressed,’ she said quietly, because her voice refused to work properly.
‘I’ll be downstairs.’
She watched him leave, then went to sort her belongings, fanning herself as she sat on the new wooden flooring.
Could this be something? Am I being stupid? I don’t want to ruin things between us. I can’t do this. I just can’t. If anything goes wrong, he’ll kick me out then. I can’t risk it. I won’t. I need to focus on my job. Earn some money. Find some stability .
She stared out the door at the empty landing, wishing Zach was back in her arms.