Chapter 22 Sam
Sam
Iwas surprisingly nervous before my date with Livi.
I woke up early and did some cleaning of my already clean house as a way to burn off my nervous energy.
Then I fed Leo, took a shower, braided my hair, and as a test of sorts pulled on some faded cut-offs over my bikini, topped it with a light shirt, and slid my feet into flip flops.
Livi arrived right at ten. When I opened the door she took one look at my outfit and her eyes widened in appreciation.
“Damn.”
She pushed me inside and gave me a long, hard kiss that left me breathless. When she pulled back I realized she was dressed similarly to me. Denim cut-offs – hers artfully distressed instead of naturally like mine – and a flowy tank top over her bikini.
“As much as I’d like to stay here and fuck you, I did promise you a day at the lake,” Livi said, holding out her hand. “Shall we get going?”
“Do you have sunscreen?” I asked, looking down at her long, pale legs.
“Of course.” She winked. “Marta helped make sure I thought of everything.”
I shook my head. “She takes good care of you.”
“Don’t I know it. She’s like the mother I never had.”
Given that I knew her mother was still alive, there was a world of meaning in that statement, but now wasn’t the time for a heavy discussion. Instead I followed her to her rental, and we headed out to one of the many lakes within driving distance of the city.
After a long day at the lake reading, swimming, and napping we came back to my apartment, took separate showers, and ordered pizza.
If Livi was taken aback by the small size of my apartment or its simple decor, she didn’t say anything.
She just made herself at home, befriending Leo and helping me with the dishes after we finished our pizza.
Livi and I ended up spending the weekend together just hanging out at my place talking, watching movies, and having sex. Lots of sex. When Sunday night came we were both sad to see our weekend together end.
“I’m not going to know what to do in an office anymore,” she said, her head on my shoulder as we watched Leo play with a little felt mouse full of catnip that Livi brought him.
“The Victorian will be quiet without you. No one will be falling or putting tools through drywall or knocking things over,” I teased. “And your friend the squirrel will miss you.”
“Ha ha.”
“You did a good job, Livi. You way exceeded everyone’s expectations.”
“Including mine,” she said.
“Can I ask you a question?”
“Yeah, of course.”
It was something I’d been dying to know the answer to since the first day we met.
“Why did you freak out on your ex?” I asked. “It doesn’t sound like you were that into him, were you?”
“Not really. The truth is, I didn’t even want to date that asshole.
My mother kept pushing us together, inviting us to dinner, making sure we were in the same place at the same time, that kind of thing.
I wasn’t in love with him, but we were comfortable together, friendly, seemed compatible.
The sex was okay, nothing great but passable.
I’d been single for a couple of years and dating him stopped my mother’s nagging about why I was single, so that was a bonus.
When Matt suggested we get married, I figured why not.
It wasn’t like I was finding any other good options. ”
She sighed deeply.
“Then I caught him cheating on me with my skanky cousin and I lost it. Not because I was hurt by him but because I was so pissed that I’d once again gone along with my mother instead of standing up for myself.
And I’d thought he and I were becoming friends at least, but he didn’t hesitate to screw me over the first chance he got. But you know the worst part?”
“What?”
“I was settling. I mean, we both were, but if I hadn’t caught him cheating I would have married him and had a perfectly bland marriage that was more of a business merger than a love match, and that’s the part that really infuriated me.”
She looked up, giving me a sweet smile. “I’m glad it happened though. Otherwise I never would have met you.”
Our lips met in a long, tender kiss, then Livi pulled away.
“I really should get going since we both have to work in the morning.”
“Will you text me when you get home?” I asked. “Let me know you made it okay?”
She looked pleased, like maybe she wasn’t used to people looking after her. Then again, I hadn’t heard her phone beep with a text or a call all weekend. Wasn’t anyone else checking on her?
“I will.”
The next morning when I got to work I was met with expectant looks from my crew.
“What?” I asked, even though I knew exactly what they wanted to know.
“How’s Livi?” Jose asked.
“Fine, I’m sure. Let’s get to work.”
But they brought her up again during lunch.
“I sure will miss our catered lunches on Friday,” Barney said. “That barbecue she had brought in our last day was the best thing I ever put in my mouth.”
It was true. After the taco truck, Livi had someone cater our lunch every Friday. For her last day she had a local barbecue place bring over ribs, brisket, fried chicken, cornbread, and a ton of delicious sides. We were all going to be sad eating our boring sandwiches this week.
But as it turned out, we didn’t have to worry. Just before noon on Friday a food truck rumbled up the road, this time from a macaroni and cheese place. The guys couldn’t dump their lunches fast enough when they saw the truck, texting their thanks while they waited for lunch.
I showed my thanks when Livi came over after work, dropping to my knees and eating her out against the front door.
After that, we fell into a pattern. Livi and I texted throughout the week, sending cute little messages and emojis in between longer conversations.
Every Friday she sent lunch for the crew, just like she had when she was part of the team, then after work she’d come to my place and we’d spend the weekend together.
We were growing closer and closer, and as hard as I was looking for red flags, it was hard to find any.
Despite her upbringing, Livi seemed refreshingly down to Earth, perfectly comfortable hanging out with me in my little apartment or doing ordinary things like going grocery shopping or taking a hike along the waterfront.
The only thing that bothered me was the gifts.
Livi spent money like a champ, probably because it meant nothing to her.
When we went out together I insisted that we take turns paying for things, but whenever it was my turn to pay, Livi seemed to make it up with a gift.
She was a great gift giver, and everything she gave me was thoughtful and sweet, but ridiculously expensive.
A leather jacket. Custom floor mats for my truck.
The most expensive smart watch on the market. Custom designed tools. Gifts for Leo.
When I asked her to stop buying me things, she would simply say, “It gives me a lot of pleasure buying you things, Sam,” and I’d forget to be mad about it.
Three months passed and I was starting to think this relationship would really work. We hadn’t talked about meeting each other’s families or anything like that, but we were calling each other ‘girlfriend’ and spending most of our free time together.
Then something happened to shake the foundation of our relationship.