The Secret (Single in Seattle 1)
“Easy-peasy,” she agrees. “Maybe I’ll sit over here and get my energy up.”
“No, no sitting.” I hold onto her and point her up the stairs. “You can do it.”
“It’s a core workout,” Liv complains. “Climbing stairs. Did you know that? Why?”
“I think it’s legs.” I plant my hand on her ass and push, helping her up to the second floor.
“Legs, core, whatever.” She giggles and walks into her bedroom. I barely manage to get the door closed before we both flop onto the bed on our backs, staring at the ceiling.
“That was a successful party.”
“They usually are,” she says and brushes her hair out of her face. “Thbthbthbthb. Dumb hair. Why don’t you have hair in your face?”
“Mine isn’t that long.”
“Not fair,” she says with a pout. “I think Stella was jealous about your hair pulling techni-tenic-talent.”
I laugh at the way she stutters and slurs her words. “Why?”
“She needs a boy.” Liv sighs and reaches for my hand, linking her fingers with mine. “She’s so fucking pretty. Right? Don’t you think so?”
The truth is, Stella is a fucking stunner. She’s absolutely gorgeous.
But I feel like this might be a trick question.
“She’s pretty, sure.”
“Like, she’s not just pretty. She’s goooooorgeous.”
“Not as gorgeous as you.”
Liv giggles. “You’re nice to me. Anyway, she’s so pretty but even better in here.”
She slaps her free hand on her chest.
“In here? She’s just the best. And she should find a nice guy, one who doesn’t just want to fuck her and be an asshole. I hate fuckboys. Don’t you?”
“Despise them,” I reply, adoring her. “She’ll find someone.”
“Yeah.”
“Would I be a fuckboy if I told you that I want to fuck you?”
“No.” She looks over at me and then closes her eyes. “Spinning. What do you want to do to me, anyway? Pull my hair?”
“For starters.” Now that I know how much she loves the hair pulling, I’ll never fucking stop. “I want to lick your belly button.”
“Ew.” She laughs. “What if there’s lint in there?”
“I’ll clean it first.” I laugh out loud, totally tickled by that. “And I want to kiss down your spine. I don’t think I’ve done that yet.”
“I want to kiss the dimples above your ass,” she says with a happy sigh. “It’s just so…kissable.”
“My ass?”
“Mm. And I want to suck on your cock.”
“Okay. That sounds good. I’m going to kiss your nipples and finger-fuck you until you beg for mercy.”
“Wow. That sounds fun. What about toys?”
“What about them?”
“Should we play with some? Like a vibrator? Oh! Do you want to tie me up, all red-room style?”
“Would you like me to?”
“Yeah.” She scratches her nose. “That could be fun. But don’t whip me or anything. I’m not that hardcore.”
“I feel like I should be taking notes. Do you have any toys?”
“Just a vibrator that Stella got me for my twenty-third birthday a couple of years ago. I’ve never used it, though.”
“Why not?”
She shrugs. “Dunno. We could play with it.”
“Sure.”
“But let’s rest for a minute first, just to get some energy. Maybe make the room stop spinning. I feel like I’m on a roller-coaster.”
“Good idea.”
“I’m gonna close my eyes and rest them,” she informs me.
“Okay.”
She’s quiet for a minute, and I look over at her. “Are you all rested and ready?”
She snores softly.
I grin at her.
“Are you asleep?”
No answer.
“Well, since you’re asleep, I guess I can tell you this.” I swallow hard and look back up at the ceiling. The room really is spinning like a motherfucker.
“Do motherfuckers spin?” I ask out loud. “Anyway, that’s not what I was going to say. I love you, Olivia. I love you so fucking much it scares me.”
I take a long, deep breath and feel mildly sick as if I might throw up.
Maybe it’s the alcohol.
“Maybe it’s love,” I mutter. “I love everything about you, and I don’t even know everything yet. You’re so damn cute and funny. And I love how big your family is and that you love them all so much. I admit, they intimidate the hell out of me, but that’s just because I’m not used to it, you know?”
I glance over, expecting a response, but she’s still sleeping peacefully.
“You’re so beautiful; you steal the breath from my body.” I want to reach over and touch her cheek, but I stop myself.
“The sex is crazy-good, but it’s so much more than that. I can’t keep my hands to myself, and I want to protect you and cherish you, and…man, if that doesn’t make me sound like a lunatic, I don’t know what does. I don’t even know if I’m the one talking right now.
“It feels like I’m talking. Yeah, I’m talking. Talking. Talk. Ing. I’ve said that too much, and now it feels weird. Have you ever done that? When you say a word too much and then it doesn’t even sound like a word anymore? Probably not. You’re too smart to do that.”