26. Did I Do It Right? #2
There’s a laugh. “You’ve always been a pushy boy, going after whatever you want. You never took no for an answer, so I’m sure this will be no different.”
“Damn right.”
She chuckles softly. “Are you happy, honey?”
Heat creeps up my neck as I look around. “I’m out, Mom.”
“Answer the question, Carter.”
“Yes.”
“Yes what?”
I drum my fingers on the table. I’d like to say nobody’s paying me any attention, but that’s a load of crap.
There are three sets of eyes glued on me.
Four, if you count the girl on Garrett’s lap.
And that’s not counting the people around us who can’t believe they’re in the same bar as the Vancouver Vipers.
So I hold my phone closer to my mouth and grumble out what she wants to hear.
“Pardon me? I didn’t hear you.” Her snarky amusement grinds my gears.
“ Yes, I’m happy !”
“Oh, sweetheart. I hope I didn’t embarrass you in front of your friends.”
* * *
I last a whopping thirty-two minutes at the bar after I hang up with my mom. Long enough to drain a beer, devour a plate of nachos with Emmett, and watch Garrett get it on with a blonde chick.
I’ve got a mouthful of foamy toothpaste when I hear my phone ring on the bedside table. I dash out of the bathroom and dive across the bed, knocking my phone to the floor when I see Olivia’s name on the screen.
“Shit.” I roll off the bed and hit Accept on the FaceTime call five thousand times. “Hey. Hi. You. Olivia.” It comes out super gurgly because of the toothpaste. I hold up a finger. “Hafta spit.”
I take her with me into the bathroom, which I don’t think she minds because she’s giggling quietly, and I rinse my mouth out. Then I flop down on the bed, throw a hand behind my head, and flash her a grin. “Hey.”
Her face brightens with her smile. “Hi. You’re already in bed? I thought you’d be at the bar.”
I lift a shoulder like it’s no big deal, like I wasn’t pining over her down there. “I was for a bit, but I’m tired.”
“Oh. Do you want me to call you tomorrow instead?”
I shoot forward. “No! I mean. No, that’s okay.” I miss her already, though I saw her twenty-four hours ago. She’s in bed, too, and she looks tired. All this shit today probably took a toll on her. “I want to talk to you now.”
“I want to talk to you now too.” Leaning against her pillows, she fiddles with the strings of the blue sweater she’s wearing.
“Are you wearing my hoodie?” With a smug smirk, I scratch my bare chest. Olivia tracks the movement, which, unfortunately, only makes me smirk harder.
Tugging on the neck of my sweater, the bottom half of her face disappears behind it. “I like it. It smells like you.”
“How do I smell?”
She grins. “So good, like I wanna bury my face in your chest and soak up your hugs, every single second of them.”
Sweet Christ . “You know, you’re kind of a softie. Quite the contrast from the sassy brunette who’s told me to go fuck myself who knows how many times.”
Her cheeks tint. “Shut up.”
“Nope. My little softie. Soft, fluffy, tiny kitten Ollie.” That’s exactly what she is: a kitten. Fierce and sassy with claws she’s not afraid to show when she needs to, but underneath it all, a big ball of cuddly fluff.
“Carter,” she warns, but she’s not trying hard enough to hide that smile.
I see it. Her lower lip slides between her teeth as she fiddles with the messy topknot on her head.
“Hey, I’m sorry I kinda disappeared today.
I know it’s silly, because I knew they took pictures.
But I forgot, I guess, after everything else yesterday.
I was kind of in shock. And the article. I didn’t like the way it made me feel.”
Her honesty is refreshing, and I appreciate it.
I’m tired of misunderstandings and miscommunications.
I need to know how she feels so I can help her through this shit.
I also know that this whole thing is new for her, being in the spotlight, so I think I need to be patient with her while we navigate this part of our relationship.
Relationship . Oooh, that word tastes funny. Kinda like it.
“I should have prepared you better.”
Olivia shakes her head. “No, Carter, you didn’t do anything wrong. I kinda lost my head there for a bit, but I didn’t mean to make you question whether or not I was seeing other people.”
I wave her off. “Pfft. You didn’t.” But also: “Are you?”
The laugh that bursts past her lips makes me grin. Adam was wrong. This girl’s my girlfriend; I know it. Her feelings are real. I have no doubt.
“I only have room for one goofy, demanding, arrogant man in my life.”
I run a palm down my proud chest. “And it’s me?”
“It’s you, Mr. Beckett.”
I whoop my fist through the air. “Fuck yeah it is!” Stretching out over the bed, I watch as Olivia snuggles beneath the blankets.
I wish I was snuggling with her. “I miss you. Is that weird? Should I be telling you that? Or keeping it to myself? You don’t have to say it back.
Don’t be pressured or anything. I just—”
“Carter.”
I pull in a deep breath, trying to ease the rapid drum of my pulse. “Yeah?”
Olivia’s smile is sweet and sleepy as she lays her cheek down on her pillow. “I miss you too.”
“You do?”
She yawns, rubbing her eyes. “Yeah. It’s rather irritating. I wish you were here with me, but instead I’m alone. Cold.” The last word is a lazy mumble that tumbles off the tip of her tongue as her eyes flutter closed. It looks like it takes everything in her to keep prying them back open.
“I’d keep you warm, baby.”
“Mmm, I know. Bear.”
“Bear?”
“Mhmm.” She stifles a yawn. The whites of her eyes are red, hiding behind her hooded lids, her smile dazed. “You’re like a grizzly bear. Warm and snuggly. Cute.”
“I think you mean huge and powerful.” I flex a bicep and growl for good measure.
Her tired giggle is the best, quiet and humming.
“You’re gonna fall asleep on me, sleepy girl.” Hitting the switch on the lamp, I watch as Olivia’s eyes fall closed for the last time. Her lips part as her chest rises and falls steadily, lit up by the gentle glow of a lamp somewhere over there, right where I wanna be.
I can’t take my eyes off her.
“Carter?” she calls suddenly, the words thick with sleep. Her eyes are still closed, and I think she might be dreaming.
“Yeah, princess?”
“What if I fall in love with you?”
“Then I’ll fall with you, too, Ollie girl.”