40. Olivia
EARLY HOURS OF THE MORNING, DAY SIX OF THE 2024 OLYMPICS
When Olivia opened the big glass doors and stepped out into the summer night air, a silence fell between them. The view from her balcony was magical. The sky was a deep, dark blue that perfectly contrasted with the warm yellow lights of the city. Olivia could see the tiny shapes of people walking down the main roads of Athens and crowds moving down the brightly lit streets of the city center. She could hear the faint sounds of music leaking out of the late-night restaurants and see a group of performers dancing in the middle of a distant square. The jacaranda trees and bougainvillea bushes below them were decorated with warm twinkly lights. It felt like the whole city was celebrating.
She looked over at Zeke. He was gorgeous, the lights of the city reflecting on his skin, and he seemed completely content, more relaxed than she’d ever seen him inside the Village. And he was looking at her like they’d known each other for much longer than just a few days. She was a thousand miles away from London, but with Zeke, she felt right at home.
“This is my first time coming into the city at night, you know,” said Zeke.
Olivia fixed the sight of him in her mind, because she knew that her future self would want to come back to this moment over and over again.
“Really? Are athletes not allowed to leave the Village at night?” she asked.
“We are, it’s just not really recommended until the Games have ended. You can’t predict what a crowd is going to be like,” he said with a shrug, remembering what brought him up to the apartment in the first place.
“Or if paparazzi will follow you to a club,” she added.
“Or if a strange girl is going to lure you into her bedroom to ‘see the balcony,’” he said.
She could feel them drifting closer toward each other.
“It’s late,” she said.
“It is.”
“And I start at seven a.m. tomorrow.”
“You do.”
“And you have training in the morning.”
“Yeah,” he said, taking a step nearer.
“So why did you stay?” she asked softly, but with a sliver of danger in her voice. It was less a question and more a challenge. “You didn’t follow me out onto the balcony because you wanted to see Athens, did you, Zeke?” The air felt even more charged.
“Olivia,” he said, his voice so deep and rough that it sent a hot, delicious thrill down her spine. She touched his shoulder and felt his muscles contract at her touch. The first few buttons of his shirt were undone and so her hand moved gently across his shoulder, grazed his neck, and slowly began to make its way down the bare patch of skin on his chest. Before she could overthink it, she placed a finger on one of the buttons on his shirt and undid it. He looked down at her with an intense look of desire that almost stopped her in her tracks. But she knew what she wanted. She moved closer, until their lips were just about to touch. His hands slid a trail down her back and around her waist. He slowly guided her away from the balcony and back into the dim, warm light of her bedroom, the lights of the city getting farther and farther away.
“Is this okay?” he asked, as he led her inside until they were standing next to her bed.
“Yes,” she said, as he slowly wrapped his hands around her waist and then laid hot, breathless kisses along the length of her arm, from her hand all the way up to her shoulder.
“Why didn’t you go to the party?” she said. She didn’t need the reassurance, but she wanted to hear him say it out loud. It came out as a whisper as his warm, rough hands gently traced the curves and bends of her body. It was slow, sweet torture, and she didn’t want him to stop.
“Olivia,” he said. The sound of her name on his lips made her eyes flutter, and she wanted to hear it over and over and over again. “You… know… why,” he continued, his breath uneven.
“I don’t,” she said with fake innocence as he left another tantalizingly slow trail of kisses up her body and casually set her on fire with just the tips of his fingers. He stroked the side of her face and looked into her eyes with an equal mixture of desire and adoration that made her feel deliciously lightheaded.
“Zeke. Don’t show me… tell me,” she said, looking directly into his eyes. She wasn’t going to fill in the blanks for him this time.
“I want…” he said, his voice breathless as he swallowed, “I want… you.” His eyes looked into hers with a burning intensity that melted away all her bravado.
“Oh,” Olivia said, feigning surprise as her lips gently curved up again. Then she looked back up into his eyes, “Okay, now you can show me,” she whispered.
Their lips crashed into each other, and it felt like lighting a match. The sensation of his hands against her skin was intoxicating; she wanted more. She wrapped her legs around him, tugged his lip between her teeth, and sighed as she felt the effect she was so clearly having on him. She grazed the skin of his bare arms with the tips of her nails and unbuttoned the rest of his shirt. Then he laid quick, hot, tormenting kisses down her shoulders and across her chest. His eyes were wide open, learning her, taking in every part. Then he turned her around and slowly, agonizingly, began to untie the delicate strings of her dress. Olivia let go of her need to control things and just let her skin, lips, and hips do the talking as they succumbed to the pleasure coursing through their veins. Tracing lines of desire across the curves, contours, and soft edges of their bodies, savoring each touch until they were completely, dreamily undone.