“My mother likes you,” Olivia informed the blonde whose arms she was lying in. “She says you make me happy.” Her kisses began around Hilary’s jawline before slowly moving up to her ear. “And she knows we’ve had sex.” She giggled.
“Oh, does she?” Hilary responded, a little mortified, before connecting their lips in an enticing kiss. “Well, I suppose she is a good judge of character.” She tugged gently at the offending towel that was now in the way of where she wanted to be. It fell open to reveal small but perfectly formed breasts. She closed her eyes and remembered the first time she had had permission to touch, when she had taken a sweetly curved mound in her palm and massaged it, teasing the hardening nipple before leaning forward to take it between her lips and nibble gently. She remembered the reaction of gentle moans as Olivia had pressed herself further forward, enjoying the way her lover suckled and teased without any sign of urgency.
“Make love with me?” she whispered into dark damp hair, carried away on a cloud of aroma that always seemed to follow Olivia. It was sweet and subtle but invasive. Every inward breath brought it more powerfully to her nose.
“Always,” Olivia responded, allowing her own hand to slide slowly up and under the towel along a firm thigh that forced the material to fall away and reveal a body that Olivia had fantasised over more than once.
She matched her girlfriend and palmed the soft flesh available to her as they continued to kiss and tease and work each other into a sweating, heaving mass of tangled arms and legs until the peaks of gratification from both were attained, and sleep was all that was left.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Olivia was on a high. She had been able to spend three nights in a row with Hilary, and as a bonus she still hadn’t seen Ava for anything more than a glimpse of the back of her short-haired head. It had thrown her stomach into a somersault of unrest, but she had managed to breathe it out and find herself busy elsewhere. She had to admit, she dreaded actually coming face to face with her ex.
But now it was the weekend and she had the day off. All thoughts of Ava diminished the moment she got home and Hilary arrived.
The morning came bright and early for them both when Gracie came flying into the room. Dressed head to toe in every item of Disney clothing she had, she bounced up onto the bed and wriggled her way in between them.
“Gracie, didn’t we talk about knocking,” Olivia said, as Hilary pulled the sheets up higher, a little embarrassed flush across her cheeks. Olivia mouthed a silent “sorry” at her.
“But Mummy, it’s Disney day!” Gracie said, smiling at her, completely oblivious to the fact that Hilary was there.
“Uh huh, that’s right, but still we agreed that when you wanted to come in, you would knock first, like you do with Nanna.”
Gracie pouted and folded her arms. “Fine.” She turned to Hilary. “Are you coming to see Mickey too?”
“Uh, yes. If that is okay with you.”
The pout was gone in an instant, replaced with a huge grin. “Of course, Hilary.”
Olivia sat up, smiling. She grabbed Gracie and hugged her, kissing the side of her head. “But first, we need to get up. So, skedaddle kiddo, tell Nanna you need breakfast.”
Squirming out of the hug, Gracie giggled. “Okay, hurry up, Mummy.”
With Gracie out of the room, Olivia fell back against the pillows. “I’m so sorry for the rude awakening.”
Hilary rolled over, kissing her gently. “I like it.”
Olivia leaned back and studied her. “You really do, don’t you?”
“I really do.” Hilary grinned. “Now, we better get dressed. Otherwise…”
“MUMMY! HILARY!”
Both women rolled together laughing. “Alright. Disney, here we come.”
~MB~
The queues for everything were long. They’d spent almost all of the morning wandering around meeting all the different characters, and Gracie was beside herself with excitement.
“Guys, I think we should get something to eat,” Olivia said, pointing towards one of the numerous eateries available. “You go find some seats and I’ll get us all burgers, fries, and milkshakes?”
“Yay! Strawberry, please,” Gracie said, jumping so excitedly that her Mickey ears fell off.
Hilary reached down for them and placed them back on Gracie’s head. “Sounds good babe. We’ll grab the best seats.”
“Over here, Hilary,” Gracie said, racing off in the direction of a free table. She plonked herself down and pushed the tray full of other people’s trash to the other side.
“Great, stay here while I get rid of this,” Hilary said. Putting their bags down on the chairs, she picked up the tray and looked around for somewhere to put it. There was a tray rack to her left, and she quickly deposited it there before returning to the table and finding Gracie smiling at her.
“Having fun, Grace?”
Eagerly nodding, Gracie grinned. “Best time ever. You’re more fun than Ava.”
“Oh, well that’s good,” Hilary said, not quite sure how to navigate a conversation about Ava with the youngster.
“Yep. Mummy said Ava was naughty, that’s why she couldn’t come with us to lost angels.” She kicked her little legs back and forth under the chair.
“I see. Ava missed out then, didn’t she?”
“Uh huh, but she wouldn’t like Disney,” Gracie continued. “Even Elsa, she…she was always…” Hilary smiled as Gracie tried to think about the story she wanted to tell. “Ava didn’t like Elsa.” Holding out her palms, she said earnestly, “It’s Elsa!” Suddenly, she stopped talking and looked at Hilary seriously. “You like Elsa? Right?”
“Oh, yeah, I love Elsa.” Hilary grinned. She looked up and saw Olivia walking between the tables, carrying a tray piled high with food and drinks for them.
“Okay, that’s good,” Gracie said. “Mummy!” she shouted as she too caught a glimpse of her mother. “Hilary loves Elsa.”
When Olivia bent to place the tray down, Hilary leaned in, kissed her cheek, and said, “Hilary loves Olivia more.”
Chapter Thirty-Six
The following week, Olivia was still on set as it neared 11 p.m., but she didn’t mind too much. Her mother and Joan had taken Gracie to the cinema, and Olivia had managed a video call with her at bedtime. Hilary was working too, so there really was nowhere else to be right now. She heard the click and crackle come over her radio and listened as someone requested a member of the team to attend. She sighed, picked up her clipboard, and headed over.
Although they filmed 24/7, the show itself was cleverly edited to only include the entertaining stuff. Staff such as Olivia were in and out of the building as much as cameramen and producers. Often, they were sent in with instructions on what to ask a guest to do to liven things up a little, so it wasn’t a big deal when guests requested something, or someone.
She busted her ass and got over to the main building as quickly as she could. One of the cameramen, Jeff, pointed to a bathroom down the hall. The hall was long. This building was huge; it had to be to house twelve housemates and a gluttony of staff, cameras, and other equipment.
On opening the door, she realised all too late that she should have asked who it was first.
Ava.
“Liv, I wondered if it would be you.” She smiled, the way she used to do when they first met, cocky but cute.
Using her foot, Olivia kept the door open and stood in the opening, expression blank. She could be professional about this. “What do you need?” she asked.
“How’s Gracie?”
Olivia tilted her head. “She’s fine. Settled.”
Ava smiled. “I asked to see you earlier, but that Greg guy told me it wasn’t possible. I didn’t think I’d get the chance—”
“Ava, I am really not interested, okay? I am seeing someone, I don’t want—”
“Woah, hey wait up,” Ava said, her palms up in front of her. “That’s not – look, I know things ended…badly. I realise I was a complet
e arsehole. I just wanted to apologise. I’m sorry, Liv.”
“Right.” Olivia looked around the room, reminded that there were no cameras or mics in here. “I don’t think it’s that simple for me. Do you even understand what you did?” she hissed, watching as Ava pushed her hands further into her jeans pockets. Her shoulders hunched as she bowed her head, nodding.
“Yeah, I – I know what I did, it’s the reason I am here. I lost everything, Liv, but it forced me to focus. I’m clean now.” She shrugged and tried to smile, but it looked more like a wince.
Olivia felt torn between wanting to punch her in the face for all the hurt and pain she had put her through, and throwing her arms around her and forgiving her.
She studied her ex. The Ava standing in front of her now wasn’t anything like the one she had left behind in London. And yet, as her words replayed in her head, she knew nothing had really changed. It was all still about Ava; beautiful, selfish Ava, who had lost it all and was now hoping for forgiveness.
Olivia checked her watch. Five more minutes and she would be out of here heading to Proton, to indulge herself in an exhibition of selfless gorgeousness as her girlfriend danced for her. “I have to go. What was it that you wanted, Ms. Janko?” she asked quickly, keeping her glare firmly on Ava until the model looked away.
Ava pulled a hand from her pocket and ran it through her short hair. “I left my book in my hotel room, I just – It’s the new Patricia Cornwell, I’d like a copy if it’s possible. They said we could.”
Olivia studied her some more. It was a lie, she knew Ava too well, and a book wasn’t what she had wanted. “Right, I’ll leave a note for Jenny. I am sure she won’t mind running around after you. I, on the other hand, have a girlfriend to meet,” she said, watching just long enough to see the barbed comment hit before turning her back and walking away. She didn’t hear the quiet “Thank you.”
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Surprisingly, and annoyingly for Olivia, over the first two weeks, Ava grew popular with the public. The media had, it seemed, forgiven any tales of wrongdoing, and by the end of January she was the show’s pinup darling. Even Olivia had to admit that it was possible rehab had had a positive effect on her ex-partner, and that maybe she really had turned things around.
Anytime she had to have any interaction with the supermodel, Ava had been polite, but it still left Olivia feeling uneasy around her. She hadn’t forgotten or forgiven what had happened. Any time she found herself within touching distance of Olivia, Ava would apologise and at times, Olivia felt torn between wanting to believe it, and wanting to be as far away from her as possible.
During all of it, Hilary had been everything Olivia needed to get through these weeks, and she knew it must be tough for her too. Having to listen to her girlfriend constantly talking about her ex had to be frustrating, and yet Hilary never once showed any sign that she was not willing to be there for her.
“Maybe I just – maybe I need to forgive her?” Olivia said. She was lying on her stomach in bed with her elbows propping her up while Hilary massaged her feet. It was killing her to wear heels again for such long periods.
“Or maybe you don’t?” Hilary said quickly. “What she did was just…”
“She said sorry, maybe I should accept that?”
“Do you want to?” Hilary asked, pressing firmly into the plantar fascia on Olivia’s left foot. “Can you ever forgive that?”
Olivia groaned involuntarily before continuing. “I don’t know. Part of me wants to. I’m watching her every day and she – she’s different. Life has already knocked her down. Do I need to keep knocking to make me feel better?” Hilary said nothing, continuing to massage and press into muscles that needed relief. “but part of me is so angry at her still.”
“You have every right to be.” Hilary said, stopping her movement to look at Olivia.
“My life is so…it’s so much better now.” Olivia rolled over and sat up, shifting so her legs lay across Hilary’s lap. “I have you, a new career, you.” She smiled and reached her arms up and around Hilary’s neck, kissing her gently as she pulled her downward.
“You absolutely do have me.” Hilary’s smile wasn’t quite so beaming as usual, and Olivia tilted her head to look at her properly.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing is wrong,” Hilary answered, looking away before turning back and kissing her. “I just – maybe I feel a little jealous?”
“Why?” Olivia felt the hurt in her heart. She moved quickly to straddle Hilary, pressing herself up close, connecting them as one. “Talk to me.”
“She’s beautiful, and you loved her once.”
“And she raped me.” The words hit Hilary hard, and she winced.
“Yes, but now – it seems she has changed and maybe—”
“Don’t finish that sentence, don’t even think it because it isn’t true.” Olivia brought both hands up and cupped her cheeks. “It isn’t true. I love you, why are you doubting that?” Her lips grazed Hilary’s forehead.
“I’m just a—”
“Wonderful, caring, kind, and attentive lover who has shown nothing but respect and love for me, and loves my little girl so much that she is prepared to dress as Elsa whenever she demands it.” They both smiled at the memory of Gracie wanting a Frozen day. “How could I turn that away for someone who, no matter how much she has changed, will never be you? She will never understand me the way you do. She had four years to work it out, and she failed, but you managed it in just a few months. Don’t ever put yourself up next to her because you are so much better than she will ever be.”
With Olivia’s monologue finished, Hilary did the only thing she could. She leaned in, and when their mouths met this time, there was an urgency. There wasn’t anything tender or languid; it was pure unadulterated want. Hilary couldn’t move, even if she had wanted to, as Olivia pulled her t-shirt from her and cupped her breasts in an instant, barely breaking the kiss that had become a battle, a duel of two snaking tongues as they wrapped around one another and desperately demanded dominance.
Pressing against her shoulders, the brunette pushed Hilary onto her back, grinding herself against her lover in an insistent rhythm of need. Twisting, she rolled off, pulling Hilary with her, obeying an instinct she thought she had lost, giving control to her lover. She took Hilary’s hands in her own and stretched up, the back of her hand against the bed. She could feel Hilary holding off, not using her weight to pin her completely.
“Don’t think about it, just take me,” Olivia whispered, all the while holding her lover’s gaze. The blonde hesitated just a moment, but finally allowed her weight to push down and hold her lover in place.
For the first time, Olivia felt they had truly had sex. In her mind they had always made love, with Hilary taking special care not to do anything that might cause a trigger, but tonight, they had fucked, and she felt good about it. Finally, she was back in control of her own life. She felt alive. As much as she loved to make love – and she really did love that with Hilary – there were times when she hated Ava for taking away her enjoyment of rough, unadulterated, unplanned sex. Those moments when time was of the essence and a quickie was all you could share. Those times when she was so full of pent-up energy that all she wanted to do was have her clothes torn off and be shoved up hard against a wall and taken, thrust into and pounded. Ava had taken all of that away when she had assaulted not just her body, but her mind, her confidence. Hilary had given it all back to her and now, now she felt epic.
And in the aftermath of their release, when both were naked and sated and gasping for breath, she had felt the loving warmth of those safe arms wrap around her and hold her.
Hilary was all she needed.
~MB~
The following morning when Olivia woke up, she felt a delicious ache in her muscles. Once her confidence returned, she hadn’t given Hilary much chance to sleep. She didn’t feel too badly about it. Hilary had the day off.
She, however, w
as due at work.
“Babe, can you do me a favour today?” Olivia asked as she set about applying her make-up.
“Sure, what do you need?” Hilary replied. She hadn’t fully woken up yet and was lying on the top of the covers with her eyes closed.
“I noticed that I have a bulb out. Can you take the car to the garage for me?”
“Uh huh,” Hilary said sleepily.
“And can you drop me off first, then pick me up again later?”
The words revolved inside Hilary’s head, taking a while to settle and make sense. Once they did, she sat up suddenly. “Your car? The Porsche?”
Olivia giggled and looked at her through the mirror. “Of course my car, babe.”
“I haven’t…for years, I…last time I drove was…” She ran a hand through her hair. “I can’t even remember.”
Turning, Olivia smiled. “I trust you.”
“What if…”
“I already added you to my insurance, you’ll be fine.” Olivia continued to smile as she stood and walked back to where Hilary now sat. “But if it’s really too stressful, I can get an Uber and have the garage pick it up.”
“What? No,” Hilary huffed. “I’ll do it.”
Olivia kissed her quickly. “Great.” She checked her watch. “I need to leave in 10 minutes.”
“Jesus, Liv…I’m never going to be ready,” Hilary said, jumping up and running naked to the bathroom.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Hilary drove the Porsche through the gates and stopped right outside. Olivia leaned across and kissed her deeply. “Thank you.”
“You’ll call when you’re ready?”
Olivia nodded. “Yes, and if you want to drive around in the car all day, then please do so.”
“Oh no, I…”
Olivia’s brown eyes widened as her brows raised. “Hils, just use the damn car.”
Hilary grinned. “Alright. You want me to pick up Gracie?”
Model Behavior Page 16
