by Hattie Lou
“That sounds like fun, but Katherine should be getting up any minute now.”
He backs away and walks over to get a cup of coffee. “You know how to ruin a man’s morning, you know that?”
I laugh as I watch him pour himself a drink. Even in the morning, he looks sexy. His hair isn’t brushed and he’s still wearing his pajama pants. I can stare at him all day without blinking. His body is memorizing. I wonder if all guys in Hollywood look like him every day. I bet they don’t. Something tells me Luke’s one of a kind. He’s not this wild crazy party all night Hollywood guy that he tries to act like. He’s descent and he cares even when he doesn’t want to.
“What are you smiling about?” Luke asks as he makes his way back over to where I’m sitting.
“Nothing.”
“That wasn’t nothing.” He says as he once again presses his lips to my neck. “I think you were having dirty thoughts about me.” He jokes.
I laugh. “In your dreams. I forgot to tell you, Ben and Steve are having a party at their house for the fourth of July.”
He chuckles into my ear causing me to giggle. “Are you asking me to go with you?”
I playfully shrug. “Your mom wants to go. Harry’s going to be there. There’s going to be a lot of food and music. I think you might enjoy it.”
“If you are going then I’m going.” He says, kissing the top of my head.
“Teenage love.” Katherine sighs from the doorway.
Luke quickly backs away from me and pulls out a chair for Katherine to sit. “What would you like for breakfast?” He asks, cheerful.
“The usual.” She says.
Luke looks at me, not sure what the usual is. He still needs some help when it comes to her schedule and what she wants.
“Sausages and eggs,” I tell him as I get up to make her a glass of orange juice. “Did you sleep good last night?” I ask her.
“Yeah, honey, all that walking we did yesterday made me tired,” Katherine says.
Luke and I exchange a quick look. It was raining all day yesterday, so we decided to stay inside and play cards. We sat around the table as Katherine kept asking Luke questions about how to play poker. According to Luke, Katherine used to love playing poker back in the day. He even admitted they used to play for money and Katherine always found a way to beat him.
Luke
Olivia and Mom went to pick up some items for dinner tonight. They are in the mood for Italian. Olivia asked me what I wanted to eat. I told her I don’t care what she feeds me as long as it’s real food. I can get used to eating Olivia’s cooking. She knows her way around the kitchen. Her meals taste like something straight out of the expensive restaurants that I eat at in LA.
I’m out back cutting the grass. Olivia didn’t ask me to but I figured I would do it since I’m here. There is no need for her to do everything around the house. I take my shirt off as I reach for the hedge clippers when a set of hands come over my face. I smile at first thinking it’s Olivia, but I frown when I hear her voice.
“Hey, stranger. Long time no see.” Erika asks as her hands are slowly going down my back.
I turn to see her. She’s smiling as she can’t take her eyes off of my body.
“What are you doing here?” I ask. I don’t want her here, not at my mom’s house. We live together and have sex, but I don’t let her in my personal space. She doesn’t know much about my parents. How did she find out the address to Mom’s house? It isn’t listed!
“I was getting lonely in LA. The photographer got all the photos he needed for Sports Illustrated so I went back to our house. It’s too quiet. I couldn’t sleep without you. The slightest noise made me jumpy.” She says, batting her fake lashes at me while her finger goes up and down my chest.
Who’s she kidding? We have a security team at all times plus we have cameras covering the property. No one can get past the metal gate unless they know the code. It’s too far up to climb. There is no way for anyone to get on our property without someone knowing.
“None of your boyfriends were in town this weekend?” I joke.
She laughs. “It’s summer. They are mostly on vacation.” She says, walking around the yard. “So, this is where you have been staying?” She asks, not hiding how unimpressed she’s with the house. It’s old and not in the best shape, but it’s not in the worst shape either.
“Yeah, this is my family's house,” I say, trying to get back to work.
She looks at the lawn chair and sees a set of pink sandals that Olivia left outside. “Are you here alone?”
“No. My mom is here along with her caretaker.”
“Caretaker? Is she sick?”
“She has dementia,” I tell her.
“That sucks.” She says not showing any emotion. Erika has always been about herself. She doesn’t care about others. She makes her way over to me. “I missed you.” She says, running her fingers through my hair.
If we were in LA this would be the part where I would pick her up and take her straight to the bedroom. I don’t feel like doing any of that right now. I’m pissed that she is even here. A warning would have been nice, but this is typical of her. When she gets lonely, she comes to me. It has always been that way. It never bothered me because I enjoyed when she would show up unexpected, but now I’m wishing she would get on a plane and go back to LA.
I turn around and go back to cutting. “I have to get this work done before they get back.”
“Are you getting paid to clean up this mess?” She asks looking at the dead branches on the ground.
“No. I’m helping my mom. She can’t do this work by herself.”
“You should pay someone to do this job. You’re going to get sore and you don’t want to mess up your hands.”
“I’m almost done,” I tell her as I hear Olivia and Mom getting out of the car.
A minute later the door opens and Olivia steps out with a glass of iced tea in her hand. “You picked a hot day to do yard work.” She says. Her eyes fall to Erika as she’s standing close to me.
Erika wastes no time letting her presence be known. “Hi, I’m Luke’s girlfriend, Erika and you are?” She says making sure she marks her territory. When she feels threatened by a woman, she isn’t one to hide it, even if we aren’t really together.
Olivia looks at me and then her. “I’m Olivia. I’m Katherine’s caretaker.”
“You live here?” She asks.
“Yes. Twenty-four seven.”
She lets out a huff. “Interesting.”
Olivia excuses herself to go check on Mom, leaving us alone in the yard.
“Do you not see what’s going on here?” Erika asks.
“What?” I answer, annoyed, I’m trying to get done with the yard, but I can’t when Erika keeps interrupting me.
“That woman is completely using your mom. I bet she’s trying to get money off of you and your mom!”
“Enough!” I shout. “This is my mother’s house so you either respect her or get the hell out of here. I will not have any fighting going on here. Mom is sick and she doesn’t need to deal with any drama. We aren’t in Hollywood.”
Erika looks at me, shocked. I never lost my temper with her. I don’t like Erika talking bad about Olivia.
After dinner, Erika announces she’s going to get a shower, leaving us to clean up the table. Olivia is quiet. She has barely spoken since meeting Erika this afternoon. I don’t like it. I need to know what’s going on inside of her head.
“Are you okay?” I ask her as she is washing the dishes. I touch her waist and she surprisingly pulls away.
“I’m fine.”
I feel bad for her. I didn’t know Erika was coming today, not a damn clue. She’s here now and there is nothing I can do about it. At least she is leaving the day after tomorrow.
“I know how awkward this has to be for you.”
She turns off the sink and dries her hand on the dish towel before looking at me. “Maybe this is a wakeup call that I needed.”
What is she talking about?
“What?”
“It’s a sign that we need to stop what we were doing. No more sex. You have a girlfriend and my job is to take care of Katherine. We shouldn’t be doing this.” She says, moving her finger back and forth between the two of us.
I reach for her wrist. “No.”
She shakes her head. “It’s for the best.”
“Why?” I ask wanting to know the sudden change. Olivia knew about my situation with Erika. I was honest with her that we have sex sometimes and she didn’t seem to be bothered by that. So, why does having Erika here now bothers her? She doesn’t answer me but instead goes outside to the deck. “Why?” I repeat, not ready to let this conversation go.
She looks back at me and I can see the water in her eyes. “Because with you, I feel something.” She says almost whispering.
“You feel what?” I ask wanting to know and not know at the same time.
The door slides open and Erika steps out of the house wearing one of my t-shirts. “Ready for bed?” She asks, rubbing my arm. She’s doing it again. She’s claiming me in front of Olivia. “My flight was long and I’m tired, baby.”
“Yeah,” I say, following her back inside the house, leaving Olivia on the deck where she watches me walk away holding Erika’s hand.
All I can do is stare back at Olivia. This can’t be happening. She doesn’t have feelings for me.
Chapter Twenty-one
Olivia
Luke has been saying that he and Erika aren’t really a couple. I believed his every word, but not anymore. The way she hangs on his arm, I can tell she likes him a lot. Luke was probably just lying to me about them. I bet they are a real couple and they aren’t faking anything for the cameras.
Seeing her with him yesterday outside while he was standing there shirtless made me realize how dumb I have been acting. I was believing maybe I was special and Luke could be the one for me. I was living in a fantasy world. Luke never once made me a promise that he would stay. He made it clear that he loves fame and his life in Los Angeles.
I hated that we all sat down at the dinner table and ate. It was too weird knowing that Luke and I were hiding a secret from Erika. The thought made me so sick to my stomach that I couldn’t eat the food. I wanted to tell her the truth, but if anyone should tell her, it should be Luke since it’s his relationship after all.
Katherine and I left the house to go over to Ben’s while Erika and Luke were out. I find myself avoiding him. I shouldn’t have said anything to him about my feelings I’m also worried that Erika can see right through me. She might be able to see the look on my face and ask me if I slept with Luke. I’m not sure how to answer that question.
He didn’t seem too upset with Erika yesterday for showing up unannounced. I heard him yelling at her in the yard. He told her to respect his mother’s house. He didn’t mention me. He could have told her to at least show me some respect since I’m also living here.
“Hey! You are finally here!” Ben says, greeting me as we make our way to the backyard where Steve is busy flipping burgers on the grill. He looks around. “Where’s Hollywood boy? Did he already go back to LA?”
I shake my head. “He is busy. Erika showed up.” I say, trying to hide the bitter taste that her name put in my mouth.
His eyes widen. “She is here? Wow! I would love to meet her. An autograph would be nice.”
I stare at Katherine so I don’t accidentally roll my eyes back at Ben for wanting to meet her. She’s famous and gorgeous but I don’t like that she is back at the house all alone with Luke while I’m here.
“How is she?”
“I haven’t had a chance to really talk to her. She has been busy with Luke. I haven’t seen them much around the house.” I tell him. It’s the truth, but I’m also lying. I don’t want to talk to her. She has the only thing that I want. Luke is the only man who makes me happy. I wish Luke felt the same way that I do.
I look around the yard. Everyone is sitting and laughing. Katherine got Harry. Ben got Steve. I’m sitting here all alone. I never realized just how alone I have been. At least I got the fireworks to entertain me.
I wonder what Luke is doing right now. Is he having fun? Is he cuddling with Erika? No matter how many times I tried not to think about him, my mind keeps going back to him. He has become my new obsession that I don’t want to be obsessing over. What is wrong with me? Luke is at home with his girlfriend and here I am thinking about him.
“You look like you could use a beer or two.” Steve jokingly says, knowing that I don’t drink. He takes a seat next to me. “What’s going on with you?”
“Tired.”
“Is Katherine having a bad day?”
No. It’s more like I am. I’m going to keep having a bad day until Erika leaves. “She’s fine.”
“And Savannah? How’s she adjusting?”
“I talked to her today. She’s having fun with them. She has been doing a lot of sightseeing.”
He takes his time trying to study me. “Okay. Besides being tired, how are you? I mean, with Katherine’s son being back in the picture. Is he still giving you a hard time?”
If Steve only knew about my feelings for Luke. “No. We are good. He’s actually a nice guy. He is so sweet with Katherine. I know it has to bother him a little that she doesn’t remember him, but that doesn’t stop him from talking to her.”
After getting Katherine settle in for the night, I don’t go to my room. I don’t want to lie in bed knowing the wall behind my bed is Luke’s room. They might still be up. Who knows what they are doing. Instead, I go to the living room and lie down on the couch. I wrap myself in a blanket that Katherine made for me. I sit in the dark, not wanting to turn the television on. I rather lie here in the dark so I can hear myself think. Luke is going to be leaving soon and heading back to Hollywood. Life will go back to the way it was before he arrived here. I’m just going to have to learn to accept it. Maybe he will visit a bit more since he knows she is sick. He might not want to come back since I’m here. I hope not. I would hate to be the reason he doesn’t come back to see Katherine.
Luke
I walk pass Olivia’s bedroom while on the way back from the bathroom when I notice her door is cracked open and she isn’t sleeping in her bed. Her bed is still made from this morning. She hasn’t slept in it yet. If she isn’t in her bed then where is she? The clock reads three in the morning. I can feel my pulse racing. Did she leave because of me? I step into her room to see that all of her belongings are still there. I walk into the living room to see if the alarm system is on. I breathe a sigh of relief when I see it’s on. She has to be here.
When I turn around to head into the kitchen, I notice her sleeping on the couch. Her body is curled into a ball. I sit down on the edge of the couch to watch her sleep. I’m mad at myself for not going with her tonight. She asked me to go with her a week ago and I told her that I would. If I would have gone, I know that Erika would have come. I don’t want to make things more awkward for Olivia then they already are.
I pick her up and carry her to her room. She shouldn’t be sleeping out here. She should be sleeping in her comfortable bed.
I lie her down and cover her up with a blanket. I should walk away, but I don’t. It has been one day since Erika arrived here and I feel like I haven’t talked or seen Olivia in over a week.
“Hey.” She says, half asleep.
“Hey,” I say, moving a piece of hair that has fallen in her eyes. “Did you have fun tonight?”
She shakes her head. “No, but your mom had fun. Don’t worry, I kept an eye on Harry for you. He was a gentleman.” She teases.
I hate that she didn’t have fun because I wasn’t there. “I’m sorry for not going tonight. I was looking forward to being there with you.”
“It’s not like you had a choice.”
Just because I wasn’t there, doesn’t mean that I wasn’t thinking about her the whole time. I kept wondering what
she was doing. If she was talking to anyone or if Joel just happened to be there tonight.
I take her hand into mine as we sit for a few minutes in silence just staring at one another.
“You should probably go back to bed before she notices that you aren’t there,” Olivia says.
It hurts because I don’t want to leave. I rather stay here in this room with her all night. We don’t have to talk. I’m fine watching her as she falls asleep. She’s right. If Erika wakes up and starts to look for me only to find me sitting here in Olivia’s room all hell will break loose.
“Goodnight.” I kiss her on the forehead before walking away.
Chapter Twenty-two
Olivia
This morning I walked into the living room to find Luke sitting on the couch as Erika sat on his lap. She kept giggling as she kissed his lips. I stood there and watched them like some sick stalker. I noticed Luke didn’t seem happy with her. Maybe it’s just wishful thinking. One thing that is different between me and Erika is that I don’t force Luke to put his mouth or hands on me. He does it because he wants to. He likes to be in control with me. He said so himself. Erika likes to call the shots. She’s the one with her hands all over his body.
“Oops. I didn’t see you there.” She says, pretending she didn’t see me. I wasn’t born yesterday. She knew I was here which is why she was putting on a show. Erika better let Luke do all the acting because she sucks at it.
Luke practically jumps up as he buttons his shirt like I haven’t seen him shirtless before. “Do you need something?”
Not really. I don’t know why I’m still standing here. What is wrong with me?
“I just wanted to tell you that Katherine and I are going to the store. Do you need me to pick up anything for you?” I ask.
“He got everything he needs. Don’t you, baby?” She asks, giggling once again as she runs her hand along his jaw. To be honest, I don’t know how he puts up with her. She giggles too much.
“I’m good.” He says, staring at me.
