In Deep

by Lulu Pratt

  A beat passes as the line goes silent because she struck a nerve. Hell no, I wouldn’t okay with it.

  “That’s exactly what I thought. You’ve been territorial over me since before our first kiss. If another man so much as looks at me, you go into an uproar. But you’re allowed to walk the streets with your ex after a date and I should just take it?”

  Her voice is shaking with anger and I’ve never felt more disappointed in myself.

  “I wasn’t think—”

  “That much is obvious. But I won’t be a part of this little lineup you have. You won’t get the chance to embarrass me again, Sebastian. I’m officially removing myself from your sick little roster.”

  “There is no roster! Would you just fucking listen to me?” I shout in frustration.

  “You don’t get to be angry with me!” she yells right back, not missing a beat. “I didn’t do anything wrong. Unless you count trusting you.”

  Her words sting, but I don’t have time to dwell on them.

  “Olivia, please.” My voice is pleading. “I didn’t do anything with her. She means nothing to me.”

  “She obviously means enough if you went running as soon as she called.”

  “It’s not like that. I told you I felt bad.”

  “Well lucky her,” comes her snide remark. “Listen, Sebastian. I have to go. Your pathetic excuses are the last thing I need to add to this shitty day. I’m jobless and homeless. I don’t really have the extra energy to deal with this at the moment.”

  Her initial voicemail comes to mind and I want to know what happened. Even though I know the likelihood of her confiding in me is slim to none.

  “Olivia, talk to me. What happened, baby?”

  “I called to tell you all about it, but you were too busy taking a trip down memory lane to answer me. Look, I clearly misinterpreted my role in your life but I was serious when I texted you earlier. I won’t bother you again and that’s a promise. Please don’t contact me anymore, Sebastian.”

  “Olivia, wait—”

  She hangs up on me.

  This isn’t over, Olivia.

  As soon as I send the text, it bounces back with a generic message informing me that the recipient has blocked me from sending messages.

  Furious, I shove everything off my nightstand. The loud crash doesn’t even register as I stand there fuming.

  This cannot be the fucking end. I refuse to lose her like this.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  OLIVIA KING

  One month later…

  “But I don’t understand, I didn’t apply for any scholarship. There must be a mistake. I’m here to pay with a check,” I explain.

  I’m standing in the middle of the accounting office at Tennessee State and while the lady in front of me is kind looking, she’s clearly confused me with some other student.

  “My name is Olivia King. K-I-N-G. Maybe it’s a popular last name but I assure you I haven’t received any scholarships.”

  Talking with my hands, I shuffle from one foot to another waiting for her to reevaluate her computer screen and recognize the error.

  “Honey, I don’t know what to tell you; it posted to your account this morning. An anonymous donor set up the funding and you’re the only recipient in the whole school,” the gray-haired lady informs me.

  The only recipient in the whole school.

  It doesn’t take me long to piece two and two together and come up with Sebastian. There’s no way another stranger would feel inclined to randomly cover the cost of my education.

  I’m stunned and angered by his interference all at once. He refuses to just leave me alone.

  Magically, he found out about the new apartment I’ve been renting and huge bouquets of peonies arrive every other day. Each time, there’s a card attached with a straightforward message letting me know that he has no intention of giving up on us.

  The same day I’d received my acceptance letter to nursing school, a brand new car was delivered to my doorstep. Not just any car — a shiny, red BMW with a bow on the hood to be exact. Upon opening the driver’s side door, balloons with the word “Congrats” written all over them floated up into the air.

  As stunned as I was by the gesture, I haven’t driven it once.

  No amount of expensive gifts can make me forget the pain he caused me. At least that’s what I tell myself. I’ve been second guessing my decision so much lately.

  What if I overreacted because of the shitty day I was having? Sebastian had no reason to lie. Was he really telling the truth?

  It doesn’t matter. It’s over.

  “The scholarship covers your tuition for every semester, as well as a book stipend. So make sure you come back a week before school and we’ll cut you a check so you can buy your books,” she continues to go on and on, knocking me out of my reverie.

  Numb, I thank the woman and turn just as she tells me congratulations.

  A thank you doesn’t fall from my lips because I’m too busy rustling through my bag to find my phone.

  This is enough. I’m calling Sebastian to get to the bottom of all this.

  My stomach is attacked by nervous quivering as I hold the phone to my ear and wait for him to answer the call.

  He does so on the first ring and I suddenly realize I’m not ready to hear his voice again. Especially surrounded by a crowd of strangers as I walk through campus to get back to the main road.

  “Olivia?” his voice is as deep and sensuous as I remember. My knees nearly buckle at the sound.

  I’ve missed him.

  The urge to just hang up looms over my head but I can’t chicken out. I have to give him a piece of my mind. But all my bossy remarks have suddenly fled my mind.

  I can only muster his name.

  “Sebastian.”

  “Olivia,” he says again but this time my name is a relieved sigh. As if he’s been waiting a hundred years for this moment and it’s finally happening.

  “I-I, um.” Are you freaking kidding me? I’m stuttering like a fool. Clearing my throat, I try again. “Why did you pay for my tuition?”

  The question sounds accusatory and in a way it is. I don’t need his money. I’d already won a million dollars from his company. Why did he feel the need to keep rubbing it in my face how much money he had?

  “What makes you think I paid for your tuition, baby?”

  My eyes slide closed and my heart constricts at his easy endearment. Thankfully, I’m waiting at a crosswalk by this time so I don’t get trampled by a rush of people.

  “The lady said it was a scholarship fund set up by an anonymous donor. And I’m the only one in the school who received it. Don’t you think that’s a little too coincidental?”

  “Hmm,” he hums noncommittally and lets me keep speaking.

  “I don’t know anyone with that kind of money lying around. So it has to be you.”

  He doesn’t say anything right away.

  “Sebastian, you can stop throwing your money around. I can afford to pay for my own education, thanks to you. So I don’t see the need for you to keep showing off.”

  “I’m not showing off, I’m investing in your education,” he snaps defensively.

  Don’t ask me why but the anger in his voice is just plain seductive. I have to fight hard to keep my composure as I cross the street and head in the direction of my new apartment building.

  “Fine, well what about the car?” I want to know.

  “I thought you might need a way to get to school every day.”

  “I’m okay with walking. It’s not that far,” I volley back.

  “Jesus, Olivia. Why won’t you just let me do something for you?”

  “You’ve done enough!” I explode unintentionally. The emotion that’d been rising in my chest since he picked up finally erupted. “Expensive gifts don’t fix a broken heart, Sebastian.”

  His silence is ominous before he clears his throat. “I’m fucking lost without you, Olivia.”

  His usually confi
dent and sure tone is masked by what I want to say is sadness.

  “I miss you more than you can imagine. The gifts are my only way of getting through to you because you won’t pick up the phone. Do you know how frustrating that is?”

  Emotion jams the words in my throat, so I just look to my left and blink away the tears forming in my eyes.

  “Olivia, you have no idea how many times I’ve picked up the phone to call you after a big win at work or a frustrating meeting that went sour. I call you anyway even though I know it’s going to voicemail just so I can hear your voice. I’ve run out of ways to tell you I’m sorry so I’ve resorted to showing you instead. It’s all I have left.”

  “Sebastian,” I whisper through a cloud of tears.

  “It’s not the same without you, Olivia. I need you,” he says earnestly.

  Just when I think my heart can’t hurt any more, his words amp up the pain even more.

  Because I need him, too. It’s taken me a while to realize it but he became my lifeline in such a short period of time.

  When things ended abruptly, I wasn’t prepared for the crushing pain. It was unbearable.

  “I swear to God I didn’t do anything with that woman and I never will because my heart belongs to you. Only you.”

  Rounding the corner, I bite my bottom lip to still the tears. My apartment is in view now and I will myself to make it inside the elevator before I open the floodgates and start wailing like a baby.

  I shouldn’t have called him. This was a bad idea. I’m not over him.

  I don’t think I’ll ever be over him.

  “I have to go,” I croak out miserably.

  “Olivia, please—”

  But I hang up before he can get in another word.

  The sincerity in his voice makes it clear that I made a huge mistake and I don’t know if I will ever forgive myself for that.

  Finally, I reach the high-rise luxury building that I splurged on. It’s about a twenty-minute walk from campus and has every amenity I could ever need.

  I fling open the door to the lobby of the building and sprint for the elevator, ignoring the warm greeting from Ralph, the doorman.

  Once the elevators doors slide close, I dissolve into a pile of tears near the back of the confined space. Sobs are shaking my shoulders by the time I reach the tenth floor. My floor.

  Stepping off the elevator, I wipe my tears and try to focus on calming breaths as I search for my key. Eyes cast down, I collide with a solid figure just near the end of the hall.

  Looking up, an apology is right at the tip of my tongue until I realize who it is.

  “Sebastian?”

  “Olivia,” he breathes before crushing me in a hug.

  His arms engulf my small frame in a warm embrace, causing me to melt against him because I’ve been craving his touch for weeks and the moment has finally come.

  “What are you doing here?” I ask, my words muffled against his solid chest.

  “I missed you,” Sebastian says into my hair.

  His familiar scent greets my nostrils and I breathe him in deeply.

  Sebastian.

  He’s really here.

  Ravenously, his mouth devours mine in the most sensual way. I’ve never been kissed quite so thoroughly. He pulls away roughly, his fingers firmly grasping my chin to hold me in place.

  “Forgive me,” he says and I know it isn’t a request. His intense eyes are trained on me.

  All I can do is nod.

  “I had no idea about your shithead ex. That explained a lot. I got why you were so disappointed in me.”

  Amazed, I stare at him wide-eyed. “How did you find out about that?”

  A secret smile touches his perfect lips.

  “Your friend Winnie has been very helpful in the last few weeks. I hacked her phone carrier and got her number,” he says nonchalantly.

  “Sebastian!” I whisper, scandalized, and look around to make sure no one heard him.

  “What? I was desperate. I had to put the resources I had to use.”

  I only narrow my eyes at him playfully, still so happy that he’s standing in front of me.

  “Shit, I missed you,” he declares before pulling me closer to him. So close that I can feel the erection straining against his fly.

  Instantly, my center starts pulsing in sync with his erection.

  “I love you,” he says, never breaking eye contact. “I think I knew it the second you got off that damn plane.”

  Stunned, my gaze is glued to him. I love him, too. So much. Warmth spreads through me knowing that the feelings I have for him are reciprocated.

  “I love you, too.”

  Sebastian drops his forehead to mine and makes a command I vow to never disobey.

  “Never leave me again.”

  EPILOGUE

  SEBASTIAN DOWNS

  Six months later…

  “Bash!” Olivia calls out as soon as she enters the door.

  The excitement in her voice will never get old. She makes me feel like the luckiest fucker alive when she greets me and I bet she doesn’t even know it.

  Abandoning my present task, I leave her bedroom and meet her in the hallway.

  “Hi,” she says, smiling brightly at me.

  “How was your day, sweetheart?”

  “Better now,” she says, further stroking my ego. “How was your flight?”

  “Uneventful. You were all I could think about.”

  I’d taken one of my now frequent flights in from California this morning to spend the weekend with her.

  Because of our hectic schedules, we’d settled on a compromise. I do most of the traveling because her school schedule isn’t very flexible. Most of the time, I work remotely from Tennessee unless it is absolutely essential that I show up in the flesh.

  When Olivia has an extended break from school, we go to California. We’re still working out the kinks but it’s served us well so far.

  I’m even in the process of buying land to open an east-coast division for the site and app. Steady growth has increased our demand for employees and office space and my home state is as good a place as any to put down some roots.

  Olivia made the decision that much easier.

  I want to be wherever she is.

  “How was the old guy today?” I ask, referring to her outing after class.

  Green eyes light up like the sun and her smile is just as bright.

  “Today was a good day for Arnold. He was sitting up in his chair when I got there. And he smiled when he saw me, even though he still thinks I’m his wife Claire.”

  This makes me chuckle. Arnold had been put in a nursing home only a month after Olivia was fired. His condition had deteriorated so quickly in those four weeks that his son had no choice but to put him in a nursing home.

  At first Gavin visited Arnold every weekend. The nurses report that on one visit, Arnold was unusually lucid and in a screaming fit, told Gavin that he never wanted to see him again after what he did Claire.

  It didn’t take much to figure out that Claire was Olivia, and that he knew Gavin wronged her.

  Gavin has never visited again. As an only child, Gavin and his father were always extremely close. Rumor has it Arnold’s outburst destroyed Gavin’s spirit.

  Olivia visits him every chance she got and I always looked forward to her amusing stories when she returned.

  “Claire must have been as beautiful as you are if he keeps getting you two confused,” I remark tweaking her nose.

  “Forever the smooth talker,” she grins, wrapping her arms loosely around my waist.

  God, I love this woman.

  My body is rock hard just from being in her presence. Hell, I’m never not horny where Olivia is concerned.

  She’s my strength and weakness packaged in human form. My constant when the rest of the world turns its back on me.

  Which is why I’m anxious to execute my plans for the evening.

  “Have a seat and I’ll get us something to drin
k,” I say, steering her to the sofa.

  Alone in the kitchen, I pour myself a shot of whiskey to eliminate my nerves. With my hand in my pocket, my fingers run over the velvet box housed there.

  This is it.

  I love this woman and I know without a doubt that she loves me too. But for some reason I find myself just as nervous now as I was that day in the art room before I asked her to prom.

  Just go out there and do it.

  After pouring her a glass of wine, my steps carry me back to the living room where she’s sitting Indian-style on the sofa surfing the channels.

  Her hair is piled high on top of her head, and she’s wearing a yellow sundress to combat the Tennessee summer heat.

  Her face is makeup free yet still stunning as ever.

  When she sees me nearing the couch, she instinctively reaches out for the glass and starts talking away.

  “What do you want to watch? There’s a marathon of that game show you like on. But there’s also a marathon of that renovation show that I really love—”

  I could listen to her chat all day but I need to say this before I lose my nerve.

  “Olivia, I need to ask you something,” my voice is smooth, not betraying the angst I feel.

  Noting the seriousness in my voice, she looks at me expectantly and takes a sip of her wine.

  “What’s up?”

  “I’ve had something on my mind for a while and I wanted to know how you felt about it,” I say stalling.

  Shit, this is harder than I thought.

  “I’m listening,” Olivia says smiling at me encouragingly.

  Without preamble, I take the wine glass from her hand and drop down to one knee in front of her. Once it’s situated on the coffee table, I grasp her hand in mine and watch her eyes fill with tears before I even say a word.

  “Olivia, I love you so much. I suspect I did in high school too, but I just didn’t know the words for it at the time. We never got our chance back then, but then you showed up unexpectedly and turned my world upside down.”

  “Oh, God,” she whimpers faintly.

  “I have never been happier than when I’m with you. You complete me like no one else can and I want to spend the rest of my life learning how to be a man worthy of your unconditional love. I loved you then and I always will, Olivia.”