“Once my mum left, and we’d moved to London, Martha took me under her wing. For the first time in my life, I knew what it was like to have a family. I’d never felt like anyone cared enough to stay. My mum left me, and my dad was gone the second I was accepted into university.” I rubbed the back of my neck, the rejection still stinging me even years later. “Martha was my real family. She cared about me. It didn’t matter that we weren’t related by blood.”
“Family isn’t always about blood. It’s about the people who love and accept you for who you are, no matter what,” Olivia said, when my words eventually trailed off. “Thank you for sharing that with me, Luke.”
I leaned back, feeling strangely light. I hadn’t felt able to talk so freely with anyone before, other than Martha.
“Thanks for listening.” My voice cracked and I took a long pull from my drink.
“Luke, I want to be honest with you.” Olivia took my hand, running her thumb across my knuckles. “I like you. A lot. I can appreciate and understand why you don’t want a relationship, but...” She took a deep breath. “Okay. I need time to think if I can do this—if I can separate the benefits—” Her face flushed. “—from feelings. I’m worried that I’ll end up wanting more from you than you’re willing to give.”
What did I do to deserve her understanding?
“Take as much time as you need. Thank you for, well, everything. To be honest, I thought you would tell me to fuck off.”
She smirked at me. “There’s still time for that, so don’t get comfortable, Davenport.”
We sat in the pub for hours, talking and laughing. It was as if me spilling my guts had taken away a wall I wasn’t even aware of. Olivia opened up to me, talking about her move to London, not knowing anyone, and how our animosity had made her feel. “You know, you’ve made me cry quite a few times,” she admitted softly.
Well, now I feel like a complete wanker. “Liv, I’m so sorry.” I wrapped her in my arms, and she buried her head in my shoulder.
“Hey, I was as much to blame as you,” she insisted.
“That’s true, alright.”
I felt her body shake with laughter, and she pulled away from me.
“I like this,” she admitted. “Having a laugh with you is way more fun than fighting.”
“Admit it, you liked the fighting.”
“I’ll admit it if you will.”
“I liked it sometimes,” I conceded. “When you weren’t driving me insane.”
“Same here.” She smiled up at me.
“You know what you’d like,” I began, smirking at her.
“With that expression on your face, I’m not sure I want to know.” She giggled. “Go on, then, what is it I’d like?”
“Me. Inside you.”
She dropped her head into her hands with an exaggerated pained groan. “That was the worst line ever. Have you been taking tips from Alex or something?”
I laughed, shrugging. “We’ll blame Alex’s influence—why not. The line sounded better in my head, promise.”
“I’m sure it did.” She lifted her head, humour dancing in her eyes.
I moved to kiss her, but she shook her head, moving out of my reach. “No. I need to think about things. For now, we’re going to have to be strictly friends only. Pretend I’m Ethan or Alex.”
I snorted. “I don’t have any urges to kiss my friends. Until now.” I paused, leaning down to whisper into her ear. “And I’m talking about you, to be clear.”
Olivia laughed, rolling her eyes. “Obviously.” She paused for a moment. “Although…Ethan and Alex are attractive men. Just saying, I wouldn’t blame you if you wanted to go there.”
“Seriously?”
“No, but it was worth it to see the disgusted expression on your face.”
“I’m sure.” I raised an eyebrow at her, then tried to get the conversation back on track. “Listen—I’m sorry. I’ll try to behave. I know I’ve dumped a lot on you today.” I ran my hands through my hair in frustration. “I can’t even get anything straight in my own head. How can I expect you to?”