Model Behavior

by Claire Highton-Stevenson

  “But?”

  “It’s a huge night at the club. I was hoping maybe we could go to the party?”

  “Do I get to be your zombie date?” Olivia laughed. “Because I am so up for that.”

  Hilary laughed. “You can be anything you want as long as it’s my date.”

  “Then we should definitely plan our outfits accordingly. Something that works for trick or treating, and also works for clubbing after.”

  ~MB~

  There were many aspects of their relationship that Hilary loved, but on the day itself, being in a relationship with a woman whose mother was a film star meant access to some incredible people.

  Cynthia had put them in touch with a friend of hers who worked in the make-up department of one of the Hollywood film studios. Beth had arrived fully prepared to create anything they could dream up.

  Three hours later and Olivia had half her face hanging off from her cheek. Her skimpy Wonder Woman costume was torn and dirtied up a little, scars and wounds covered her abdomen and thighs, and in Hilary’s opinion she had never looked sexier. Wonder Woman had always been a favourite of Hilary’s. She had watched all the re-runs and would follow her sister’s interests on the TV, and having her very own superhero, albeit a scary zombie version, made her feel very lucky.

  Hilary, on the other hand, was dressed in one of her old uniforms. It too had been ripped and torn to create the illusion that she had been murdered. The axe nestled in her hair along with a huge indentation wound. Her face was bruised and made to look as though she were a walking corpse.

  Gracie screamed when she wandered into the room for her own costume and make-up session.

  “Mummy, your face!!” Gracie cried.

  “It’s just make-up, Sweetie. Look.” Olivia knelt down and let her daughter inspect her face.

  “I can give you a little glue, maybe close the skin flap while you’re out with the kids.” Beth giggled and handed over a small tube. “It will easily pull away later when you want to open it up again.”

  “Hmm, maybe I should rethink the axe,” Hilary said, equally worried for the children they would meet.

  Beth stood and inspected the artwork on the axe and head wound. “Well, we could use your hair to wrap around it. That would cover most of the gore and then again later, you can restyle to show it off at the adult event.”

  The grin on Hilary’s face said that would be awesome and Beth set to work, easily weaving Hilary’s long hair around the area.

  “Oh my God, we look amazing,” Olivia gushed to Beth as she made finishing touches to Hilary.

  “I’m glad you like it,” Beth laughed as she began to pack away the tools she wouldn’t need for Gracie’s transformation.

  “Hilary, you look so cool,” Gracie chimed in.

  “Go look at yourself, babe.” Hilary laughed as Olivia turned to find the mirror. The loud scream came seconds later when Liv finally looked. “Sexy as hell!” Hilary laughed and shouted out.

  “Ya know, she really is,” Beth agreed.

  “Don’t I know it,” Hilary answered.

  “So, Gracie. What are we doing for you?”

  The dark-haired little girl looked up at her mother, then at Hilary. “Just dead. I wanna look dead,” she stated, before adding, “And a princess.”

  ~MB~

  Gracie was exhausted by the time they got back from the trip around the neighbourhood. Hilary was overwhelmed by it all too. Some of the houses were amazing, and the decorations were out of this world. At one point, she seriously thought she had entered the set of The Walking Dead. It was so realistic. And when A-list movie stars opened doors, she almost fainted.

  They’d needed two plastic orange pumpkin buckets to collect all of the candy that was on offer as Gracie entertained each household with her zombie princess routine.

  Cynthia chuckled as they came through the door. Wonder Woman was carrying a sleeping zombie princess, while murdered nurse Hilary traipsed in behind with the goodies. “Looks like you all had fun.”

  “Dear God, it was exhausting,” Hilary said, placing the buckets down on the side. “I need a nap.”

  Olivia chuckled. “You need a shot of tequila and a night dancing with me.”

  Hilary smiled at her. That was probably the best idea of the day!

  “Why don’t I take Gracie? She’s going to need a bath, and that will ruin the fantastic job Beth did with both of you,” Cynthia offered and held out her arms for her grandchild.

  “Thanks, Mom.” Olivia smiled as she handed her over. She stretched her back and arms. “She is getting too big to carry for long.”

  “They grow so fast.” Cynthia smiled fondly, remembering the days when she would carry Olivia into the house like that. “Go on, you two go out and have fun.”

  ~MB~

  Even as early as it was, just past nine p.m., a lot of people were already out and about celebrating The Night of the Living Dead. Proton was almost packed already. Everyone had made a real effort to dress the part. Zombies and corpses danced in every nook. Brides and Draculas necked on the dance floor. Harley Quinn seemed a popular choice this year too, with lots of blonde-haired women in pigtails waving fake baseball bats and chewing gum menacingly.

  “I wanna dance with you,” Olivia said, dragging her girlfriend to the dancefloor. “And I am not letting anyone else butt in.” She laughed.

  “I’m not arguing with that,” Hilary said, letting herself be pulled into the throng.

  After at least two songs, she dragged Olivia the other way and over to the bar, ordering Mojitos.

  “This is so much fun.” Olivia laughed as she was pushed closer against Hilary when several exuberant young men forced their way to the bar.

  “Thank you for coming with me,” Hilary said, their eyes holding as Hilary’s hand tightened around Olivia’s waist.

  “I’d go anywhere you asked, Hils.”

  Two hours later, Hilary asked her to go outside. She went willingly.

  A little intoxicated, Olivia hung around her neck, kissing the skin just below her earlobe, and it was driving her crazy.

  “Liv, if you keep doing that I am going to—”

  “What are you going to do, baby?” Olivia teased as she licked the same spot until she reached her lobe and sucked it between her teeth.

  “Fuck, I am going to—Do you know what you’re doing to me?” Hilary gasped, but did nothing to stop her.

  “Hilary, take me home,” Olivia whispered against the shell of her ear before she brought their lips together and kissed her hard.

  ~MB~

  They climbed into the taxi, and in an instant Olivia had her hands all over Hilary. Looking up, she caught sight of the driver grinning at her through the rear-view mirror.

  Gently she grabbed Olivia’s hands and pulled her into a hug. They did not need to put on a show for this man.

  “God, I am so turned on,” Olivia whispered. Alcohol waving goodbye to any inhibitions that might have lingered.

  “Uh huh, I can tell.” Hilary chuckled. “Maybe we should wait till we get home before you…”

  “Alright…” Olivia slurred a little. “I can wait for you.”

  Had their relationship become intimate already, and had Olivia not come from an abusive relationship, then Hilary might have been intently interested in hearing all about how turned on Olivia Copeland was, because she was just as turned on, and just as ready to move forward as a couple. But right now, she was not going to take advantage of her, no matter how difficult it was to say no to that pout.

  Trying to get a tipsy Olivia from the car to the apartment was fun in itself. Eventually she was persuaded to take her heels off before she injured herself. They stumbled up the steps, and Hilary had to hold her up against the door in order to get her keys from her bag.

  “Oh, yeah baby, you gonna take me right here?” She giggled, arms tightly held around Hilary’s neck.

  “I am going to take you to bed.” Hilary laughed and kissed the side of her head as
she turned the key in the lock. Manoeuvring through the door, she helped Olivia to the couch so she could lock up and take her shoes off. When she turned back around, Olivia was asleep. She smiled at the sight in front of her before she headed to the bedroom and grabbed the comforter and some make-up wipes. While Olivia slept peacefully with a smile on her face, Hilary gently rubbed the make-up from her face and peeled the latex off. Her costume left little to the imagination as it was, so she didn’t feel she needed to remove it. She cleaned her own face, stripped out of the clothes down to her underwear, and climbed onto the couch behind her girlfriend, pulling the cover over them both. It was the perfect end to a perfect night.

  Chapter Thirty

  When Thanksgiving came around there was a decision to be made. Cynthia would usually go out with Joan for a meal at one of their favourite restaurants, but this year, with Olivia and Gracie home, she wasn’t so sure.

  “Olivia?”

  “Yes?”

  “I was wondering, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Do you and Gracie have plans already, or…” Cynthia inquired.

  “Oh, I hadn’t given it much thought. I guess I stopped celebrating Thanksgiving.”

  “Right, well usually Joan and I just go out, but Joan suggested, and I agree, that it would be nice to stay home and cook for the family.”

  Olivia considered the plan. “I think that would be lovely…it’s just…”

  “And of course, that would include Hilary.” Her mother pre-empted the issue.

  Olivia smiled. “Thank you. I will ask her.”

  “So, I’ll tell Joan we’re eating here then?”

  Olivia nodded. “Yes, I’d like Gracie’s first real Thanksgiving to be a proper family meal at home.”

  “Fabulous, then that is exactly what we will have.” Cynthia smiled.

  They both turned at the sound of two sets of feet running through the foyer towards them. Olivia rolled her eyes. “I don’t know how many times I have to tell her not to run in the house.”

  Cynthia raised a brow. “That will be as many times as I told you, I suppose.”

  Before Olivia could reply, Gracie and her new friend, Kristy, skidded to a halt in front of her.

  “Can we go to the beach?” Gracie asked, both girls looking up at her expectantly.

  “I’m not sure it’s warm enough for the beach today,” Olivia explained. It was certainly warmer here in LA than it would be back in England, but even then, it wasn’t beach weather.

  “Aww, but we wanna build a castle,” Gracie continued, with a little stamp of her foot in defiance.

  Olivia remained silent, staring down at her child who was now pouting. When the pouting stopped, Olivia knelt down and took both of Gracie’s hands in her own. “I know that you love the beach, but sometimes you can’t always have what you want. I am going to pick Hilary up in a moment. You girls can come with me and we can go for a walk along the pier. Would you like that?”

  Kristy grinned and nodded her head, but Gracie was less easily persuaded. “But that’s at the beach, we can…we can go and…”

  “No, we can’t. You have two options. The pier with Hilary and me, or stay here with Nanna.”

  “Let’s go to the pier,” Kristy said happily. “We can look at the ocean and go on the rides and…” She looked up at Olivia before continuing. “We can have donuts?”

  Olivia smiled. “I think we can definitely have donuts.”

  Gracie huffed. “Fine. We will go to the pier.”

  The girls ran off to get their things. “I don’t know what to do with this attitude that’s developing,” Olivia said to her mother.

  “Give her time. She’s still adjusting to a completely different way of life, and I guess we all have spoiled her a little.”

  “I guess. I just don’t want her to become one of those horrible rich kid brats.”

  Cynthia laughed. “Well, we managed with you and you turned out alright. She will be fine, darling.” Cynthia poured a glass of water. “How are you doing?”

  “I’m fine.”

  “You’re still seeing Dr. Demetri?”

  Olivia shook her head. “No, I feel better now. I just…” She sat down opposite her mother. “I just feel a little nervous, with Hilary, I mean.”

  “In what way?”

  “I don’t really know. I am not scared of Hilary in any way. I feel totally at ease with her, and I really want to be intimate again. I just worry that it might be anti-climactic for her.”

  Cynthia chuckled. “I think Hilary will be happy whatever you two do together, and that includes in bed.” She reached out a hand across the table. “Just go with it, Livvy. Don’t overthink it.”

  Two sets of feet running down the stairs once more grabbed Olivia’s attention. She made a small growling noise as she rose from the table and grabbed her bag. “I’ll be back in a few hours with an answer to Thanksgiving.”

  ~MB~

  Hooking her arm through Hilary’s, Olivia enjoyed the closeness as they walked the boardwalk and kept an eye on two rambunctious five-year-olds running around excitedly. There was a cool breeze, but overall it was a nice day, and plenty of other people had made the effort to enjoy the pier and surrounding area.

  “This is nice,” Olivia said, her hair blowing gently when she turned to face Hilary. “You’ve been quiet. Is everything alright?”

  Hilary looked at her and smiled. “Everything is just great, actually.”

  They stopped walking, and Olivia gave Hilary her full attention. “Yeah?”

  Nodding, Hilary said, “I finished my courses. I can officially start looking for work. I just need the results to be enough.”

  “Hilary! That’s awesome. Why didn’t you say? We have to celebrate!”

  Laughing, Hilary took her elbow and they started walking again. Glancing around and quickly locating the girls, she said, “I was going to wait until this evening. I thought maybe I could take you to dinner.”

  Olivia shook her head. “You’ll do no such thing. This is my treat. Congratulations, Baby. I am so proud of you.” She squeezed her hand. “Oh, and speaking of dinner, my mother invited you to Thanksgiving.”

  Hilary stopped walking again. “Oh, that’s…I’m really…I’m not sure I can.”

  Disappointment flooded Olivia. “Of course, I mean…I wasn’t sure…”

  “I really would love to spend that time with you, but my dad…Amanda and Marnie will do their own thing. Debbie alternates and this year, it’s her husband’s family’s turn, so I’m all that Pop has…”

  Olivia considered this new information. Smirking, she licked at her lip as a plan developed. “He likes my mom, right? He’s a fan?”

  Hilary nodded. She had been teasing him mercilessly over it. “Oh, he is a fan, yes.”

  “So, bring him too.”

  Chapter Thirty-One

  The restaurant was flashy, the kind of place that Hilary would walk past and wonder who could afford to eat in there. And yet, here she was, sitting in a window seat opposite Olivia and about to order from a menu with no prices.

  Debbie told her once that if you had to ask the price, you couldn’t afford it. But this was Olivia’s treat, and from the look on her face, Hilary was convinced it was the most important thing she had done this week.

  “Here’s to you,” Olivia said proudly, holding up her flute of champagne – something else that Hilary was in awe of, the way that Olivia just ordered it, by name and year. This was no ordinary bottle of fizz.

  “To us,” Hilary added, raising her own glass to chink gently.

  They both sipped and placed their glasses down. “I just wanted you to know, Hilary, that you’re very special to me. I…I don’t think I have been this happy in a long time and…and I am really, so grateful with how patient you have been with me and…”

  “Olivia, I like you too.”

  The meal was perfect, finished with the most exquisite dessert, and more champagne. Hilary had never felt more spoiled in her life.

  ~
MB~

  It deepened quickly, the need coursing through Olivia to ground herself in this woman. She moved to get more comfortable, a knee either side, trapping her girlfriend’s thighs between her own.

  “Tell me again how it is that I got so lucky to have found you?” Liv smiled as she kissed her again.

  “Mm, because it was meant to be?”

  “I like that.” Olivia sat back and stared at her. Hilary could see she was contemplating something by the way her eyes squinted slightly and then she smiled, a slow, lazy smile as she pulled at her top and lifted it, unveiling an ivory and navy lace bra and a tanned, toned stomach. Her breath hitched as she then leant forward and captured warm lips in a slow, smouldering kiss. Her hands moved behind her back and unclasped her bra, and when she broke the kiss and sat back again, she let the bra slide forward and down her arms before dropping it on the floor.

  Hilary watched, enthralled. They had been dating for months now and had never gone further than kissing. Until now, now that Olivia Copeland sat topless in her lap, biting her bottom lip as she smiled shyly and tilted her head.

  “I’m ready,” she said, barely audible. “I’m ready to be with you.”

  “Are you sure?” Hilary asked, not wanting to push her into anything that she would regret. Olivia’s dark hair swayed gently as she nodded her assent.

  “I want you. I want to feel you touch me,” she said. She stood and reached out her hand. Hilary took it, allowed herself to be pulled from her chair as she followed. Olivia held her hand with both of her own as she walked backwards toward the bedroom.

  Smiling.

  ~MB~

  At the foot of the bed, Hilary pulled her close. Keeping her arms loosely around her. “We don’t have to, there’s no pressure from me for us to do this, if you’re not…”

  Olivia closed the gap and kissed her. Pulling away slightly, she smiled. “I’ll admit, I am nervous. I don’t want to freak out on you again.”

  “I won’t touch your hands. I promise.” Hilary answered sincerely, and then gasped as she felt Olivia’s hand smooth its way up her torso.

  Staring into Hilary’s eyes, Olivia licked her lip thoughtfully. “I want you to touch me. I want to know what I feels like to be loved by you.”