24. Rachel
Chapter twenty-four
Rachel
The Fajita tasted amazing, the conversations flowed smoothly, and the effervescent energy radiated through the house. Having Olivia over seemed completely natural and calming. I am glad I finally got to talk to Olivia alone and thank her for what she did when Andrew kicked me.
I see why Alex likes her. She is so easy to talk to, and she is absolutely stunning with her Auburn hair that flows down her back, eyes that I can’t quite tell if they are blue or green, and her creamy pale skin with a slight dusting of freckles on her face. She also has a beautiful landscape sleeve tattoo. She looks like an absolute goddess.
I have never been interested in women, but there is something about Olivia. I have always admired beautiful women, but the feeling of Olivia's hand in mine felt so right. As soon as she hugged me, a spark of life entered me. It was like pieces of me were falling into place. It was bizarre; I didn’t know how to feel about it, so I embraced it.
When we finished dinner, Olivia took our plates to the sink. “You don’t have to do the dishes. I’ll do them later,” Alex shouted from the dining room. I walk in right as she rolls her eyes at Alex and returns to doing the dishes. I heard Alex mumble brat under his breath, and I chuckled and shook my head as I kept walking.
“Do you need help?” I ask as I walk up to Olivia and hug her from behind. I can’t help it. I just want to touch her all the time. I can’t seem to top myself. Olivia looks over her shoulder and smiles at me. “No, I got it, beautiful. Go relax, and I’ll be there in a minute.”
Beautiful…. Hmmm…. I haven’t been called beautiful in so long that it sounds weird. But coming from her mouth, it sounds so confident and final that it's impossible to argue with her.
I walk back into the living room and sit on the sofa near the fireplace. Alex walks back and forth from the table to the sink, cleaning up after dinner. I'm not used to sitting down when cleaning needs to be done. Andrew would have screamed at me and probably beat the shit out of me if I had been sitting and he had been the one who had to clean. He was a firm believer in the old tradition that women should be the ones to serve men, do all the cooking and cleaning.
I don’t even understand how that relationship went downhill so fast, from a good night at the bar to me becoming a murderer. I still haven't told Alex what happened. I plan to keep it that way, but his questions are becoming more persistent. I have a terrible feeling that he knows something is up and will put the pieces together sooner or later. I will have to handle that when that happens, but until then, I’m not saying anything.
I am sitting in the bar, sipping a whiskey sour, watching the NHL game on the TV. I don’t know much about hockey, but I know they look damn good playing it. I pick at the fries that are in the basket next to me. A red-headed man sits beside me, ordering a Bud Light, then swivels to watch the TV. I admire him from the side without trying to make it too noticeable. He is fit; his black shirt is snug around his biceps, and he is wearing a red hat with the college team logo, I think, but I'm not sure which one. I don’t follow sports. They have never been my thing. To be honest, they are boring to watch, in my opinion.
I tried cheerleading when I was ten years old, but I wasn't coordinated enough to dance, let alone stand on someone's shoulders in the air. Being petite made me a perfect candidate for a flyer. The coach was so excited to get me up in the air. She had them throwing me, trying to get me to do flips in the air—absolutely not. That was the scariest time of my life. I shake my head out of my memory.
“Can I have another whiskey sour, please?” I ask, raising my glass for the bartender. This gets the attention of the guy sitting next to me.
“Put her whiskey sour on my tab.” He says in a deep, growly voice. I look over at him and smile. “Thanks, you didn’t have to do that for me.”
“I would do anything for a pretty girl like you.” He gives me a crooked smile.
I can’t help but brush my hair behind my ear and smile at him. He was charming and funny. We had a great time talking all night until the last call was made. He walked me to my car and gave me his number.
I get pulled out of my memory when Alex plops beside me on the couch, making me bounce off the cushion. “What are you thinking about, beautiful?”
“Just how different I pictured my life five years ago.” I start biting my nails, waiting for Alex to say something. He just smiles up at me without a question in his eyes. It is one of the many things I admire about him. He knows something is going on in my head, but he also gives me my space, so I can approach him when I'm ready.
“Well, I hope it has turned out better than you planned five years ago.” He chuckles, and Olivia walks in.
“What did I miss?” She singsongs as she walks over to the little loveseat to my left.
“I was daydreaming, and Alex was asking how different life is now than how I planned it five years ago.”
“Hopefully, different in a good way. I know my life is completely different from what I planned, but in the best way possible,” She smiles at me with a million-dollar smile. I feel starstruck as I stare at her. She is absolutely gorgeous, and I don’t think she fully realizes it.
“I got an idea!” Alex jumped up from his seat on the couch, jumping around like a kid in a toy store. I swear this grown man has more energy than I would know what to do with.
“What’s your plan, hot stuff?” Olivia says in a sassy tone. She is calm and collected, with the perfect amount of sass. I wish I could do that, but I am too afraid to step on toes. I guess that’s what I was brainwashed to feel for the last five years. Alex has never made me feel that way.
“Truth or dare!” Alex screams. I rub my ears from him, yelling into them.
“Can you not make me have hearing loss, please?” I joke with him as he rolls his eyes at me.
“What are we, twelve?” Olivia said as she crossed her arms.
“I sure hope you aren't twelve, for what I have planned for you.” Alex winks at her, and she sticks her tongue out at him.
They playfully bicker back and forth for a minute before Olivia gives in. “Fine! We can play truth or dare, but don’t do anything stupid for dares.” Alex pumps his fist in the air with a mumble of the word yes under his breath. He does a little victory dance, then sits back in the chair to my right.
“Ok, since Olivia wants to set boundaries for how we play, she should go first.” Alex shines his best shit-eating grin her way and starts to rub his hand like he is a mastermind with an idea.
“Bet! I got this!” She sweeps her hair off her shoulder and looks around the room, stopping on both of us for a second longer than anything else, a glimmer of heat and mischief showing in her eyes.
“Alex! Truth or dare?” She is challenging him.
“Dare. Obviously!” He rolls his eyes at her. These two are freaking adorable together. Honestly, I feel like I don’t belong in the mix at all. They are flirty and playful, and I feel like I should be hiding in a corner.
“I dare you to kiss Rachel. And not just a peck. Kiss her like you mean it! I see the way you can’t keep your eyes off of her. You want her! And matchmaker Olivia is on the job!” She looks at me and winks. I can guarantee that my face is beet-red right now!
Alex gets up from his seat, walks over to me, and holds his hand for me. I hesitate for a moment, then finally place mine in his. He pulls me up to stand in front of him. My little five-foot-nothing self looks like an elf compared to his gigantic self. I look up into his eyes, and those big brown eyes twinkle with what looks like want. I give a quick nod to tell him to get on with it.
That is all the permission he needs before he grabs the back of my neck and smashes his lips into mine. I swear I see stars and feel electricity tingling all over my body, and wet pooling in between my legs. This man is one hell of a kisser, and I don’t want him to ever stop kissing me.