35. Balls Deep #3
Yeah, no shit. The day arrived in mid-December when I first laid eyes on her, when she rolled her eyes and did that cute snicker-snort thing, then basically told me to go fuck myself.
Regardless, I’m saved from any more stupid observations when my phone starts vibrating on my lap, Olivia’s face taking over my screen. Before I can answer it, Garrett swipes it and throws himself on the bed.
“Hey, Livvie.” He kicks his legs, chin in his palm like he’s a teenage girl chatting with his bestie. “What’s up, girl?”
I scream, throwing myself on top of him, because what if she’s naked? She was last night, but then again, she knew I was alone. Still, I don’t want anyone to see her. Ever. Never ever. Mine .
Emmett plucks the phone from the middle of our fight and settles back on the couch. “Hey, Ollie.”
“Oooh,” she marvels. “Are those All Dressed? I haven’t had those in years!”
Shoving Garrett off me, I crouch behind Emmett and smile at Olivia. She’s not naked, thank fuck. She is, however, wearing my T-shirt, wet hair leaving drips and drops down her neck and on the gray material, and that does things to me, things that make me grab between my legs.
“I used to lick all the seasoning off before I ate them,” she goes on.
My gaze hoods. “I’ll buy some for Saturday night.”
“Ah, for fuck’s fake!” Garrett throws his hands in the air. “How do you manage to ruin chips for me?”
I yank my phone away and flop down on the bed, one arm behind my head. “I miss you, Ollie girl.”
She’s sitting up in bed, blankets pooled around her waist, and I think she’s on her laptop, based on how much of her I can see. Those cheeks tint pink and I wonder if she’ll always blush. I hope so. “I miss you, too, Carter.”
“Ah-ah,” I tsk.
Rolling her eyes, she huffs a sigh. “I miss you, too, sexiest man alive.”
“That’s better,” I say proudly while everyone else groans. “What’d you and Care get for dinner tonight?”
“Indian takeout.” She pats her stomach happily. “So good. And your mom and sister came too.”
“What? Really?”
“Mhmm. And Hank, obviously. He was bragging about being the only male invited to girls’ night. And Dublin wouldn’t get off my lap all night. I accidentally let him lick out my ice cream bowl during the third period, so now I’m his favorite.”
My chest feels lighter. Is that weird? “Thank you for inviting them.”
“Of course. It was fun, and your mom brought baby pictures, which doesn’t surprise me at all.
She was dying to embarrass you. My favorite picture was the one of you wearing her wedding dress.
You looked so pretty.” She snickers, nose wrinkling, and before I can respond, she continues.
“You guys played awesome tonight. Can you congratulate Adam for me on his shutout? He was incredible.”
Adam sticks his head over my shoulder and grins. “Thanks, Ollie! You got a copy of Carter in the dress? I wanna see it.”
“Like fuck.” I growl, twisting away from him.
I could listen to Olivia talk about her day forever.
She makes the best faces while she does, the entire spectrum of emotions flitting through her changing expression, hands flying around her face as she tells her stories, like how the boys in her class are scared of me now and her principal wants me to speak at some assembly, how Alannah wants me to come to a game so I can see that she’ll be “better” than me one day.
“Carter,” Olivia laughs, holding up her phone. “What’s this?”
“What’s—” I squint at the pictures on her phone and smile. “Oh. That. That’s just me making sure nobody can spin a web of lies.”
She snickers. “A web of lies?”
“Yeah. If my hands are in the air, there’s no fake gossip about who I might be touching.”
The title of the article she’s scrolling through basically says as much:
“Carter Beckett wants the world to know: he is OFF-LIMITS, ladies!”
I maybe, potentially , have been making a conscious effort to throw my hands above my head and smile at whatever camera flashes my way whenever girls have tried to talk to me this week.
Olivia shakes her head. “You are so ridiculous. Could your grin be any prouder in this picture?”
“What can I say? Letting the world know I’m yours makes me happy.”
“Oh for fuck’s sake.” Garrett chucks a pillow at my head. “Get a fucking room! Nobody cares about how balls deep in love you two are.”
Adam pulls a beer from the bar fridge, cracking the top, taking a long pull. “Seriously, how long are you two gonna dance around the words we all know you’re dying to say?”
I glance at Olivia to find her staring down at her lap and gnawing on her thumbnail. Her entire face goes beet red as she fiddles with the blankets.
“Give them a break.” Emmett drops down beside me on the bed. He stuffs his face in front of my phone, smiling at Olivia, and I’m grateful for the distraction.
Until he keeps speaking.
“Carter’s still coming to terms with the fact that he loves someone more than himself and Oreos.
Ollie’s struggling to admit to herself that she’s in love with the world’s most arrogant, controlling, annoying man.
It would be impossible for anybody to wrap their head around such a mind-blowing scenario. ”