by Amy Storm
Olivia grew more aroused as Melanie’s lips left a trail of kisses up her neck towards her right ear using her tongue and lips. Melanie nibbled gently on the outer edge of her ear.
Olivia pushed Melanie away. “This is too intense. I need to sit down.”
Melanie watched as Olivia sat down on the love seat and leaned back. “That wasn’t quite the reaction I was going for.”
“I’m sorry, Melanie. I think we need to slow down a little.”
The sting and disappointment of hearing the words was evident on Melanie’s face.
“I’ll be right back.” A few seconds later Melanie returned with two cool beers from the refrigerator.
“Ah, thank you.” Olivia took a sip and rolled the bottle between her hands. “This hit the spot.”
They sat in silence as they drank not knowing what to say or where they stood at this point.
“Let me show you some of the pics I shot of you before.” Melanie pulled the card out of her camera and uploaded the pictures to her laptop that was on the floor beside her.
“Damn, look at you. You’re so beautiful.”
“You’re crazy. Are we looking at the same pictures?”
Melanie turned towards Olivia and kissed her cheek. Olivia’s eyes closed as soon as she felt Melanie’s lips against her skin. She was falling for Melanie hard. Was it too soon to sleep with someone after sharing their first kiss? If they slept together, was she supposed to stay the night? Her thoughts continued to race, but her cell phone ringing snapped her mind back to reality.
“Hello?”
“Hi, Olivia, it’s Mary. How are you?”
Olivia played with the hem at the bottom of her sweater as she answered Mary. “I’m fine. I’m here with Melanie.”
There was a pause. “Really? I wanted to invite you over for dinner tonight if you’re free. No secret surprises this time.”
Olivia looked over at Melanie who was shaking her head. Olivia raised a questioning eyebrow and mouthed, “What?”
“That sounds awesome. I would love to.”
“Ask Melanie if she will come too. I don’t get to see her that often.”
“Okay, I’ll ask her.”
Olivia ended the call and placed her phone down in her lap. “Your mom wants you to come to dinner tonight.”
“Hmm, will you be my date?”
“I would love to.”
Melanie placed the laptop on the floor and moved closer to Olivia. “It’s so nice that you are close to my mom. She really does think the world of you.”
“Well, I enjoy her company, but I hope that doesn’t complicate things.”
“Should we break the news to Mom about us?”
“Us? I didn’t know we were an us yet.”
Melanie turned red. “I’m sorry, weren’t we just making out a few minutes ago, or did I imagine our intimate encounter?”
“So, what does that mean? Are you my girlfriend now?”
“I would like to be.”
Olivia leaned over and kissed Melanie. For the first time in her life she had a girlfriend. She had never wanted to date before and didn’t understand how someone could settle down and only see one person. She didn’t choose this, it just happened and she didn’t want to fight it. “Let’s tell Mary. I don’t want to keep it a secret.”
“Oh, geez. She is going to make a big production about it, and I can assure you Larry won’t be too happy when he finds out.”
***
Melanie opened the door and Olivia followed her into Mary’s apartment. Mary came out from the kitchen with open arms. “Well, hello you two. How are my two favorite girls?”
Olivia gave Mary a big hug. “Thanks for inviting me over, Mary.”
Melanie got her hug in. “Hi, Mom. How are you?”
“Oh, pretty good. I met with Joan today for lunch. Then, she took me to the grocery store and I ran a few errands.” She waved them to the dining room. “Come girls, take a seat.”
“Something smells amazing. I’m starving,” Olivia said.
“Joan gave me a new recipe that came from Frank’s Steak and Chicken Grub in Cambridge. It’s a chicken dish with melted cheddar cheese, bacon, and honey mustard sauce.”
“Wow, that sounds delicious,” Melanie said.
The timer buzzed in the kitchen. “Well, girls let’s see if the chicken tastes as good as it smells.”
She returned with the chicken and a large bowl of salad. “I guess we should try to eat something healthy before we clog our arteries with cheese and bacon.”
Melanie was the first to take a bite. “Wow, Mom this is so good.”
Olivia nodded her head in agreement. “This is delicious.”
Halfway through the meal, Melanie decided it was time to come clean. “Mom, there is something Olivia and I would like to share with you.”
“Oh, did you guys win the lottery and you want to take care of your loving mother?” Mary chuckled.
Melanie took a sip of wine and looked to Olivia for support, but instead Olivia had panic written all over her face.
“Mom, Olivia and I are sort of...”
Mary looked to Olivia who was staring at Melanie. “Spit it out already, would you?”
“We are going to start dating each other,” Melanie blurted out.
“My goodness.” Mary was so excited she knocked over the rest of her wine, which spilled onto the tablecloth. “You two? Olivia, I had no idea. Well, I am so happy for you both. You better treat each other with love and respect or you will both have to answer to me.”
Mary threw her napkin over the wine stain and gave them both huge hugs. “I’m not sure Larry’s reaction will be the same as mine.”
The rest of the evening involved telling silly and often embarrassing stories of Melanie and Larry growing up. The photo album came out after dessert. Mary pointed out that Melanie had a fondness for rainbows and multicolors when she was little.
“Yeah, I guess my true colors came out later on,” Melanie added. They laughed.
Olivia felt relaxed around the two of them. She felt like she was part of a family again, something she had not felt in almost two decades. It was nice, but at the same time it made her miss her own family more. She would never have the chance to bring someone like Melanie home to her family and share embarrassing stories about her childhood, but she couldn’t dwell on that. Right now, she felt at peace starting a relationship with Melanie, and she felt closer to Mary who was like a mother to her.
Chapter Twelve
Three months later, Bruno had been arrested and remained in jail while the police gathered more evidence. Reverend Higgins’ received an apology from the Boswells. Other families began coming forward once they questioned their children about Bruno. Mary had the hardest time dealing with what Bruno had done. She told Olivia she knew in her heart that Reverend Higgins was innocent from the beginning. She thought she knew Bruno well enough and felt responsible for what happened to those poor kids.
The church was dealing with the aftermath. Olivia’s work there was finished, but she had to confess to Mary and Melanie that she wasn’t who she said she was. It was eating her up inside carrying the huge secret, but up to now she had no choice but to keep it a secret.
It was Monday morning and Mary grew concerned that Olivia didn’t show up to church. She called Melanie to see if she was at her place, but there was no answer. Mary then called Olivia’s phone again, and it went to voicemail. “Olivia, it’s Mary. I hope you’re okay. I’m worried about you. Give me a call back.”
Olivia sat on her couch procrastinating the inevitable, but it had to be done. She picked up her cell phone and hit the missed call button, debating whether to hang up before Mary answered.
“Olivia? Where are you? Are you okay?”
“Yes, I was going to call you this morning to let you know I won’t be coming to church today.”
“I hope you’re okay. I can’t believe that sick pedophile Bruno and what he did to those girls.”
/> “I know it, it was a horrible situation. Listen, I have to go but I’ll call you later.”
Olivia called Melanie next.
“Hello, Olivia?”
“Hey, Melanie. Are you busy?”
“Not if it involves you, sweetheart. What’s up?”
“I have to come clean about something.”
“Oh, no. Are you leaving me already?”
“No. Are you crazy? I haven’t been completely honest with you about my profession,” Olivia said.
“Are you a prostitute?”
“Uh, really? Did you just ask me if I was a prostitute? What would give you that impression?”
“Well, it sounded like you were going to tell me something pretty crazy, so I made an outrageous guess. At least that way whatever you say will not sound as bad as that.”
Olivia started pacing back and forth in her living room. “I told you the truth about having my own business, but I’m not the owner of a cleaning service.”
“Does your job involve drugs, sex, or gambling?”
“It depends.”
“Okay, now you’re scaring me. I was joking about the prostitute thing. What’s going on with you, Olivia? That is your name, right?”
“Yes, that’s my name, but I’m actually a private investigator. I was working as an undercover PI at your mother’s church. The Boswell family hired me.”
“Shit, Olivia. The family on TV? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I really wanted to, but I couldn’t.”
“I can’t believe this. How could you keep this huge secret from me? We’re just starting out and you’re already keeping secrets?”
“I’m so sorry, Melanie. I wanted to tell you as soon as I met you, but it was a high profile case and the legal aspects are a gray area.”
“I feel like I don’t even know you now.”
“Come on. If you had a secret and you wanted me to keep it, wouldn’t you expect me to give you my word and absolute confidence that I would do that for you without a doubt?”
“Yeah, well I also would expect you to tell me everything up front. Do you not care that you went to one of the holiest possible places and pretended you were there out of the goodness of your heart instead of just working on a case? That was one of the things I found endearing about you.”
“Melanie, please you have to believe me, I had no choice. It wasn’t up for debate. This is my career we’re talking about here. When I’m working on a case, no one knows I’m involved. Sometimes, it could put my life or others’ lives in jeopardy.”
“I understand why you have to be private, but I guess I didn’t realize that included keeping things from me. Does my mom know?”
“No, I wanted to tell you first. You mean so much to me. I told you over the phone in case you never wanted to see me again.”
“I need to absorb all this. Let’s meet and talk,” Melanie said.
“How about meeting at the ice skating rink at Frog Pond? We can chat and grab some lunch.”
“Okay, I’ll meet you there. I just have a few things to finish up first, but it won’t take long.”
“Okay, see you soon.”
Olivia didn’t know what to think. Would Melanie forgive her? She was nauseous and her heart raced. Whatever happened now was beyond her control. Maybe she should have never allowed herself to get involved with Melanie. Things were so much simpler with previous hookups with no strings attached and no feelings involved. Without feelings, she never got hurt, but what about the other women? For the first time, she thought about the other women who gave her their number and expected her to call. Was this her payback?
***
Olivia spotted Melanie on the south side of the ice skating rink. “I grabbed us some coffee from the cafe across the street.”
Melanie took the coffee and forced a smile. “Thanks.”
“It’s crowded here today, huh?” Olivia said.
“It sure is, but I love people watching.”
“I’m afraid I do that a little too often with my line of work.”
“I betcha do,” was Melanie’s only response.
“I’m sorry, Melanie. I understand how you feel and how it makes it hard for you to trust me, but it involved you in an indirect way because your mom is affiliated with the church. I don’t want to lose you over this. I’m not good at expressing myself to anyone or giving a shit about what anyone thinks of me, but you matter to me. I care about what you think of me. I feel like I can discuss anything with you, and it killed me not being able to talk about why I was at the church.”
Melanie stared out at the people skating while she listened to Olivia. When Olivia finished, Melanie took a few sips of coffee, and played with the ring of paper on the cup.
“I want to move past this, but you have to promise me that you will never keep me in the dark again. I understand why you couldn’t tell me, but it doesn’t change the way I feel about it. Can you make that promise?” She looked at Olivia who had fear in her eyes, and Olivia nodded. “Well, I think we can put this behind us, but first is there anything else you’re hiding up your sleeve?”
Olivia sighed a breath of relief and lifted the cuff of her jacket. “Nope, I don’t see anything in there.”
Melanie shoved her. “You’re such an ass, but you always make me laugh. I can’t stay mad at you.”
Olivia gave her a kiss and put her arm around her. They both looked up when they heard a little boy a few feet in front of them.
“Eww, kisses. Mommy, those two girls kissed.”
Olivia and Melanie giggled.
A lady came over to them dragging the boy with her. “Billy, say you’re sorry to these nice ladies.”
He put his head down, “I’m sorry. I don’t like girl kisses.”
The woman looked embarrassed. “He’s at that age where all girls are yucky to him.”
“No problem. He’s adorable.” Melanie said.
“Thanks,” The woman said before continuing on her way. She stopped and said something to the boy, and he turned and waved at Melanie and Olivia. They waved back, and Olivia saw a familiar face approaching.
“Olivia, is that you?” Olivia turned red. “I hardly recognized you without your makeup. You look different.”
Olivia could not believe her luck, especially after rebounding from telling Melanie the truth. It was the front desk receptionist from the hotel she used to frequent.
“Sue, is it?” Olivia said.
Melanie stared back and forth between Olivia and Sue.
“Are you going to introduce me to your friend, Olivia?” Sue asked.
Olivia cleared her throat. “This is my girlfriend, Melanie. Melanie, this is Sue, an acquaintance of mine.”
Sue looked Melanie up and down studying her with a smirk. “Oh, you must be the flavor of the month or should I say the week. Actually, Olivia, I didn’t think you were the girlfriend type. I believe every time I saw you there was a different woman waiting to be taken upstairs.”
Melanie’s eyebrows raised and she crossed her arms. She turned to face Olivia, giving her a threatening stare. “Olivia, what is she talking about? Is this some kind of prank?”
Olivia shot Sue a look from hell. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. You don’t know anything about me.”
Sue put her right hand on her hip and leaned forward. “Oh, honey, I know all about you and your one-nighters at the hotel. Guess I’m not your type, huh? Funny, this one doesn’t look like your type either.”
Melanie turned her attention to Sue. “Excuse me? Is this some kind of sick joke? How do you know Olivia?”
Olivia had no idea what to do. Everything Sue said had been true. She had no excuses for her past, but that was the past. She never wanted to return back to that lifestyle. She put her elbows on her knees and bent forward covering her face with her hands.
Sue crossed her arms in front of her chest. “Oh, I know Olivia from the front desk of Ubiquity Hotel on the outskirts of the city. She u
sed to be a regular there. Wasn’t it chocolate strawberries that you liked to order?”
Olivia stood, trying hard to control her actions. “What is your problem, Sue? How dare you come over here and try to destroy the one good thing in my life. I’m not the same person that I used to be back then.” Olivia shook her head and got up in Sue’s face. “I don’t even know why I’m explaining myself to you. Just get the hell out of here before I lose my temper.”
Melanie stared at Olivia and her jaw dropped.
Sue put her hands up and backed away. “Fine, I’m leaving. I guess I’ll see you back at the hotel when this one realizes you don’t do relationships.” She turned and left.
By now, there was a crowd of onlookers. Melanie stood up. “Turn around. The party is over. Go back to what you were doing before.”
Olivia reached for Melanie’s hand, but Melanie yanked her arm away. “Melanie, I’m so sorry you had to deal with that crazy lunatic.”
“Really? Who the hell is the lunatic? Maybe I’m the crazy one for giving you another chance. I feel like I don’t even know you. I keep finding out these hidden disturbing things about you. Are you hiding anything else?”
“No, I swear I’m not. I told you I had a complicated past. I wasn’t ready for a relationship until I met you. You made me feel loved, something I had to feel from someone else before I could give it back. You changed me. There is no going back now. I’m in love with you.” Olivia’s tears broke free as she felt her heart breaking into sharp shards of glass, piece by piece, piercing into her chest.
“Please, Melanie. Let’s talk this out. Don’t throw away the past six months over this.”
Melanie wiped away her own tears determined to not let Olivia see her upset. “I’m done. I can’t believe I let myself fall for you, whoever you are. You don’t know what love is, especially since you don’t love yourself. Your life is a mess. I have to go. I should’ve never came here today. I can’t do this with you right now. I need to spend time apart from you.”