20. Drake #2
The rest of the week flies by, and Olivia and I keep things under the radar at work.
I didn’t have a chance to talk to Tyler about what's going on, and I figure it’s best to keep things calm before things blow up after the event.
You know what they say, it's always better to ask for forgiveness than permission.
That motto will carry me far in pursuing this relationship with Olivia.
On Saturday, I spend a little extra time getting dressed before picking up Olivia at her place. I knock on the door, and her roommate answers, none too pleased to see me. Still, she invites me inside and I stand awkwardly in front of the door for a few moments.
“You must be Olivia’s roommate,” I say, searching my mind for her name. Olivia must have mentioned it at some point, but I can't remember.
“I am. And you must be her boss… errr, baby daddy.” She crosses her arms in front of her and raises an eyebrow.
“Actually, I'm both,” I say with a smirk. I know she's trying to get a rise out of me, but I won’t let her.
Before she can say anything else, Olivia walks out of her room in the dress, and my jaw is once again on the ground. If she looked good in the dress shop, she looks ravishing now. Her hair cascades in waves around her shoulders and her makeup is delicate, and it makes her face glow.
“Take it easy on him, Callie,” Olivia says, nudging her roommate and pushing her aside. She stands next to me, and I force myself out of the stupor I'm in to give her a hug.
“I want her back by curfew,” Callie says, looking me up and down disapprovingly. I'm not sure if it's a joke, but I laugh anyway.
I open the car door for Olivia, doing everything in my power to be as chivalrous as possible.
She's amused by that as she climbs in. We chat about our days on the way to the observatory, and I find myself more interested in the details of her life than I've ever been about anyone's.
A simple story about her washing machine leaking every time they use it and how she has to stand there with a pan to catch the water is the most riveting story I've ever heard.
The press is lined up outside the observatory, eager to catch glimpses of celebrities and prominent entrepreneurs as they arrive.
Because my relationship with Olivia is new and hasn’t been made public, we don't walk the red carpet to the event.
Instead, we walk in through a side entrance and join the party.
The din is loud as people excitedly talk to one another with tall glasses of champagne in their hands. I can't take my eyes off Olivia as she looks around the room, gazing up at the painting in the atrium that depicts Atlas holding the Earth on his shoulders with Greek gods surrounding him.
I hold her hand as we walk through the crowds, trying to take in everything we can about the beautifully designed building as we look around for important people.
Olivia told me in the car that she is on celebrity watch while she's here, and every time she sees someone from a reality TV show, she taps me on the shoulder and excitedly tells me some of their “lore.”
“I take it you've never been here,” I say as we walk away from the center of the room and find a quiet corner to talk in.
“I haven't done any of the classic touristy L.A. stuff yet,” she says after she finishes a bite of the truffle mac and cheese ball she grabbed from a server. “I've been meaning to. I was so stressed about finding a job when I moved here that it all got put on the back burner.”
She flags down another server to grab another mac and cheese ball, and I watch her with an amused smile before grabbing her hand and dragging her toward the back of the observatory. She doesn't protest as I pull her into a hallway and lead her down it.
“Do you know where you're going?” she asks, looking around to see fewer and fewer people.
“I was a pretty big science nerd when I was younger,” I say as I slow my pace and cautiously look around to see if anybody has spotted us. “That's why I invest a lot in medicine and technology. There's no money in being a chemist, so I pursued finance in school instead of science.”
“That's not true; you could have been an incredible kingpin.” I laugh louder than I should considering I’m leading her to a part of the building I’m sure is off-limits.
“Some wealthy people don't mind doing illegal things, but believe it or not, I try to stay aboveboard with my finances.” We come to a halt at the end of the hallway, and I put my hand on the door to make sure it's unlocked.
“I spent a lot of time in this building in my teenage years. Now, I want to show you one of my favorite parts of it.”
A wild smile crosses her face as I open the door to reveal the east terrace.
It's different than I remember when I was thirteen, but the view is unbeatable.
Nobody else is around, and I grab Olivia's hand to guide her toward the edge of the terrace to look out at the city.
The sun is low in the sky, and vibrant orange and pink hues glow around the city below us.
“This is incredible,” Olivia says as she watches the sun set with a dreamy look on her face. Her eyes are baby blue and as clear as ever as dying sunlight soaks into them.
I stand behind her and wrap my arms around her, holding her close to me while we watch the sunset together.
Her body relaxes against mine, and she smiles as my hand falls to her stomach.
She turns her face toward me, and I look away from the sunset to an even more beautiful view of her face before leaning down and kissing her.
It feels so comfortable. She turns and wraps her arms around my neck, pulling me closer as I back her against the wall of the terrace. I hold her close, feeling her curves under the dress.
“This feels so natural,” Olivia says when she pulls her mouth away from a kiss, looking over her shoulder at the newly formed twilight. “Every time we’re together like this ... it’s like we’re supposed to be together, you know?”
“I feel the same way,” I agree, wrapping my arms tighter around her and pulling her closer. “Every time you're gone, I hold my breath and wait for you to come back. I can't get enough of you.”
I kiss her again, and her fingers find the back of my head and begin interlacing with my hair, pulling it softly as she moans into my mouth.
My hands explore her body, desperate to feel more.
I feel myself getting hard and don’t do anything to stop it.
Maybe being out here with her in such a public setting is a mistake, but I couldn't care less right now.
My lips are on her neck, her eyes closed, and she’s moaning in my ear as I kiss her soft skin. I could lose control right now, lift the skirt of her dress, and make love to her without a second thought.
But before I have the chance, the door behind us bursts open, and a security guard emerges with his hands on his hips. Olivia and I burst into laughter, following him off the terrace and back to the ballroom.
When we're back on the main floor, I grab her hand and lead her to the exit. “What are we doing now?”
“Finishing what we started,” I say as I flag down the valet to retrieve my car so we can go back to my house.