Paper Dolls [Book Two]

by Emma Chamberlain

  “After I got my bachelors I had intended to go into law as well,” he started to speak almost normally. “My father was an attorney, had his own criminal defense firm, but I had been taken with sailing while in undergrad and eventually I figured out that law school was not for me. However, not having a trade was not good enough for my father so I entered the Navy, thinking that I would only do a four year enlistment . I never looked back. I made a career of it and, when he passed, my father told me how proud he was that I’d found my own way.”

  He cleared his throat and went back to his food. I’d never seen him talk so much about himself and it had been all in two minutes. Maybe it was the way she asked her questions but I never knew a lot of what he had just told us.

  “Your relationship with the sea sounds romantic,” Olivia smiled, taking a sip of her water calmly and setting it down. “You found the sea. The sea carried you… I love stories like that… I think I have too many fears to do something bold like that. Let the land slip so far away… Trust in something so powerful, something I can’t control. I’ve sailed but never too far or too long. Were you ever scared?”

  He stopped eating, swallowing his last bite and looked thoughtful for a second. I just watched them, forking food into my mouth.

  “I suppose you could say it was love at first sight. I went to college in Texas, close to the coast. A buddy of mine took me out to sail with his family and soon I was taking every opportunity to get onto the water. The ocean has a calm strength but it can change on you in an instant. Was I ever afraid?” Dad nodded and looked at Olivia. “Plenty but when you love something that much the fear only deepens your love. After I got caught in my first storm I didn’t sail for a month but I would pass the marina every day and know that part of me was out there on that water.”

  “Dad?” I just stared. “I never knew any of that.” Adam was always the one Dad most identified with. I was his daughter but I wasn’t a daddy’s girl. I always spent more time with Mom. Now, I envied Adam those long sailing weekends with him.

  “Well, Av, you never were much for sailing. You took to water like a fish but you were more like your mother. I guess we just never spent enough time together. My fault.”

  He looked away and started to eat again. It wasn’t fair for him to say these things when I wanted to be mad at him. I felt anger. Not the flash of anger that I’d shown before but the slow burn from years of feeling like he didn’t care.

  “Do you have pictures?” Olivia asked, finally relaxing enough to touch her food. “From growing up in Texas and your first years at sea? I’d love to see them.”

  “Ah, they’re all up in the attic, I think.” He pushed his plate aside and sat back, more at ease with Olivia here than he would be if it were just the two of us.

  “I’ll have to dig them out for you. I assume that you’ll be sticking around since you two seem so close.” He was only quiet for a second before he nodded, like a decision had been made.

  “This isn’t the situation I ever thought I would be in. I knew when Avery started dating that I would want to know about the young man’s intentions but as it’s clear you’re not a young man I had no idea how to proceed. However, after seeing you two together and speaking with Avery’s mother I’ve come to realize this is exactly the same.”

  He gave Olivia a discerning glare and I started to open my mouth. He was really trying to go down this road. It made my head swim but I wanted to laugh at the same time. When this was over I was never bringing her over again. That was a lie.

  “What are your intentions with my daughter.”

  “Dad! I’m freaking sitting right here!” I cried, beside myself. “Vi, you don’t have to answer that. It’s not an appropriate question.”

  “It’s fine Avery,” Olivia laughed. “And I dunno, Mr. Lockhart. What does it look like to you? What do you think my intentions are? Do I seem like I’m out to corrupt your daughter maliciously or use her?” She stopped talking long enough to settle. I don’t think she much liked that question coming from him. But she softened. “I fell in love with Avery the first time I met her. And I may not understand that much more than you do. All I know is my life changed the moment I really began to see her as a person and my chest hurt thinking about not being with her, thinking about losing her, thinking about hurting her in anyway or of her being hurt by anyone. This just wasn’t something I was used to feeling for someone else. I’m not close to many people. And I hope that’s not too strange for you to hear. I know I can’t be a man, nor would I want to be. But I’d like to be strong for her, be good to her. I’d like to be able to love her and make her happy. Those are my intentions. Nothing more.”

  “I see,” he replied.

  This was like some weird tennis match. My gaze darted from one to the other, wondering if she was winning him over or not. He sat up, putting a hand on the table and leaning up.

  “It’s taken me awhile to wrap my head around this and I’m still not one hundred percent okay with this but I have a feeling I will be. As long as you treat Avery with respect and care we won’t have a problem. Since you’re both planning on going to Stanford I assume you’ll continue seeing each other after you go off to college.”

  “Dad, about Stanford-”

  He turned to me, giving me the most reassuring look I’d ever seen. “You’re going. We will figure it out.” He patted my hand and I nearly had an aneurysm. “I’ve already contacted a few people about scholarships.”

  “Um, okay.” I could only sit there and feel where his hand had touched me. “Thanks.”

  He nodded at me and took a sip of his coffee. “There are a lot of opportunities for children of veterans to get college money and you know you could always enlist and get college paid for that way.”

  I scoffed at him. “No way. I don’t like getting up early and people telling me what to do all the time is not my idea of a fun career.”

  He chuckled and shook his head. “That’s about what I thought you would say.” He sat his mug down and took a look over the table.

  “Well, girls, I’m off to get ready to leave. You finish up and Avery, clean this up?”

  I blinked. Speaking of people telling me what to do. “Okay.”

  “Olivia, it was good to see you again and for the record you’re welcome here. Just watch the.. Ah.. Funny business.”

  His cheeks turned a little red and he got up, taking his coffee with him. I couldn’t decide between laughing or crying over this. He was acting like a human being for once and being here but it chafed a little. It wasn’t his place to dictate to me, only it was by traditional roles. He was trying to be okay with my relationship and he was questioning Olivia about her intentions. I should have just told him that we were getting married but this was enough for one day. I couldn’t take his reaction to that.

  “You can go upstairs and get in bed. I’ll clean this up,” I told her.

  She just stood up and started to help me clear the table.

  “No, for real, I know you’re tired and I can do this really quick and come join you.”

  “There is no way I’m letting you do all this by yourself.“

  She followed me into the kitchen and stood with me while I scraped the leftovers off the first plate.

  “How’d I do?” She asked.

  “Are you kidding me?” I set the first plate in the sink and took the next one. “I’ve never ever seen him take to someone like that. I’m a little bit weirded out to be honest.”

  “What do you mean? You think he took to me?”

  “You got him to talk about things that I’ve never even known about. He even laughed and smiled a lot. You won.” I turned, set the third plate in the sink and turned to her. “You were amazing and he likes you or he wouldn’t have talked to you like that. It went so far beyond my expectations.”

  “Okay,” she laughed, sort of scornfully. “What were your expectations then? Did you think I’d screw it up?”

  “No, not at all. My expectations were t
hat he would be negative and closed no matter how amazing you were and are. You were never going to be the problem. I knew you would be a star.”

  I started to rinse the plates and pulled down the door to the dishwasher, sticking them in.

  “I so didn’t mean it that way.”

  “Sorry,” she mumbled, leaning on the counter with her back. Her arms were folded and she had a sort of downward stare like maybe she was fixated at the ground.

  “No, it’s okay.” I finished with the dishes and dried my hands on a towel. She looked so tired and a little downtrodden. I reached out, tugging at her hand.

  “I’m just shocked that he wasn’t a dick but I should have known that between you and my mom he would come around.”

  “Well he did ask me my intentions… That was kind of a dick move. What did he think? That I just wanted to fuck you and then leave?”

  “I don’t know. The man’s a mystery. I’ll ask Mom and see what she thinks. Probably just another attempt at making up for being a shitty dad.”

  “I would never. You’d have to hurt me I think. Intentionally and bad.” She made sure to say.

  I pulled her into me, kissing her cheek and then her forehead. “Let’s go upstairs. My bed is pretty awesome and I can pet your hair until you fall asleep.” I didn’t want to think about either of us being hurt. It was depressing and I wasn’t in the mood to be scared.

  “I don’t think you’ve ever said sweeter things,” she gazed at me lovingly.

  “Oh, now I have to top myself in the future. The bar is high.” I winked at her and pulled her out of the kitchen and through the living room. We went up the stairs and passed Dad on his way out. He mumbled some form of goodbye while eying us the whole time.

  I opened my bedroom door and led her inside and straight to the bed. “Get in, sleepy face.”

  She plopped down almost drunkenly, kicked her heels off one-by-one, and tried to struggle out of her jacket but she was having difficulty and she started to whine.

  “Here,” I said, reaching out to help her. “Slow down.” I pulled her arm free of the jacket and tossed it on the chair in the corner. “Get up. Let’s take off your jeans too. You’ll be more comfortable.”

  She didn’t move, just looked up at me, so I kneeled down in front of her and reached out to unbutton her jeans, pulling them down until she lay back and lifted her butt so I could take them off. She lay there sideways on the bed until I took my own clothes off and pushed her body onto the bed the right way. I got in and pulled the comforter up. It had been wrecked from when I moved the bed so my bed wasn’t even made.

  “There,” I cooed, pulling her body close to mine and brushing the hair out of her face. “Just go to sleep.”

  “Why does this feel so right?” She asked, hugging herself onto me and shutting her eyes.

  “I’m gonna go with because it is.”

  “I love you Avery. I love you so much,” her forehead scrunched and she looked pained but I knew she was just tired.

  “I know you do and I love you just as much.” I smoothed my fingers over the creases in her brow. “Just relax and get some rest. You need it. I’ll wake you up later.”

  “K,” she said sleepily. Her breathing got slow pretty fast. It might’ve only taken her a minute to really fall.

  It left me there holding her, only feeling a little tired from seeing her tired. I could be calm for her. She settled into me and I sighed, laying my head on the pillow next to hers. I could smell her shampoo as she shifted her head. It was something I associated with her now. Some kind of expensive European stuff. I loved it. I didn’t even care what it was because I smelled it and thought of her.

  I would probably have to steal some from her bathroom and keep it in mine so I could smell it sometimes if we really had to sleep apart until we went to Stanford. Just like I’d have to steal one of her shirts in return. She was in my bloodstream and I was afraid of the withdrawal.

  It was crazy to think about from a logical perspective. We shouldn’t be so attached so quickly but all that weird, crazy, fate stuff had to be true on some level because that’s how I felt and I couldn’t see it ending anytime soon.

  She was sleeping for sure now. I could tell by her breathing and the tiny sounds she made. It made me feel better to know that she was getting some rest and that I could watch over her while she did. My dad’s questions took us both by surprise.

  It wasn’t an interrogation or him accusing. He just asked questions and got to know Olivia a little better. Not well enough to know who she was but enough to know that she was a well-mannered girl with a good amount of ambition.

  To me she was every color in the world and more. I couldn’t ask him to see that but I hoped that this meant that he would be okay with our plans. I wanted to marry Olivia sooner rather than later. Why wait?

  My pocket buzzed and I reached down quickly, pulling out my phone. I looked over to see if Olivia was still sleeping. The vibration didn’t even make her stir. The blinking light told me I had a text so I tapped my power button and checked it.

  CaptainDad: I like Olivia. Approved. Mom says hi.

  Avery: Thanks Dad. I think the intentions speech thing was a bit much but I’m glad you like her. Tell Mom I love her and thanks.

  CaptainDad: I wanted to know if she was as serious about you as you seem to be about her. Your mother told me how smitten you were. Will do.

  He really did like her. Sad that he couldn’t just tell me that later. He had texted it to me. If he couldn’t say these things to me personally then I wasn’t sure how to do this. Forgiving him for just being gone was going to be a long process. I wasn’t even sure if I could do it completely.

  I tucked my nose into Olivia’s neck and reached behind me to put the phone on the bed where it wouldn’t disturb her. Just laying there I started to feel my eyes drift closed. My energy was leaving me a little more every time I heard her soft breath. I could feel her chest rise and fall with the hand that was around her. I went to sleep thinking about that shampoo again, wondering if I could afford to get some.

  Hours later my alarm went off, startling me. I jumped up, falling off the bed backwards. “Argh.” I struggled to flip over and get up onto my knee. My head rose beyond the side of the bed to find her looking back at me, puzzled, features scrunched.

  “What happened?” She wondered.

  “I set my alarm and when it went off I freaked. Sorry. You can go back to sleep if you want.”

  “Yeah, no,” she said, stretching. “Waking up twice in one day is definitely enough. Are you okay though?”

  “Yeah,” I replied. I dropped back to the floor from my kneeling position and just lay there, trying to find the strength to get up.

  Olivia crawled over the bed to look down on me. “Why’d you set an alarm anyway? Ya weirdo,” she joked, smiling down at me.

  “‘Cause I’m an idiot and I didn’t want to sleep the entirety of our last day of freedom away. It was only supposed to vibrate, not make sound but I guess I forgot to turn the ringer off. I wanted to wake up and watch you sleep again.”

  “Baby, I didn’t have to sleep. I didn’t know you were sad. We could’ve done something.”

  “I’m not sad. I just wanted more time with you and since you needed to sleep.” I gave her a stern face. “And don’t try to tell me you didn’t- I was just going to have fun thinking about you while you were making those cute noises you do when you’re all passed out.”

  “Sorry,” she said. “I really did want to sleep with you. Sleep isn’t as good by myself. Is that weird?”

  “Sort of but I like it. Is that weird?” I laughed and shifted up, crawling onto the bed beside her. “Well, I was definitely sleeping if that makes you feel better? I didn’t think I was going to get there.”

  “You don’t have to act calm for me, or sleepy. Just being in your bed and smelling you would’ve worked, believe me,” she confessed.

  “Don’t talk about smelling. That’s all I did while I was awa
ke. Your hair, I was living in it, thinking about stealing your shampoo.” It made me all dreamy to think about smelling her all the time. “I’m that weirdo who would carry some in a little bottle in my bag so I could smell it when I felt bad or missed you.”

  “Not weird,” she said, curling up into me. “I like being here,” she said. “Everything smells like you.”

  “Yeah?” I put my arm over her back. “I hope I smell good.” I pushed into her body a little. “Not all dried, sweaty, and dirty from running last night and then lots of crazy sex.”

  “The sex smells good too,” she said, moving up on me and running the tip of her nose up my cheek. “You’re addicting,” she whispered. I heard her breathe me in and then I felt it as she rest her forehead on the side of my face.

  “I was going to say the same thing to you. My drug.” I shivered from her touching me. My brain had a funny way of working though because I remembered the texts.

  “Oh, my dad texted me while you were asleep.” I pulled back and shifted my head so I could kiss the side of her lips.

  “Yeah?” She asked, waiting for the rest of my news.

  “Aaaaand,” I drawled, kissing her cheek and moving back to her ear. “He approves, not that it really matters if he does.”

  “Well, he better,” she laughed darkly. “I’m not some creep, Avery. I don’t even know why he would think that. I’d already met him before and I wasn’t a creep then either. If anything I should’ve been asking him questions about you, about what he thinks your life was like without him. I just knew it would freak him out.” She leaned up on her hand and stared down at me.