“That is a very private question,” Olivia told her friend firmly, glancing down at her. She smiled then. “But, in total, maybe seven times.”
Shelby studied her friend for a moment. Olivia was smiling a lot more than she had when she was with Owen and her eyes had already reclaimed that excited sparkle that had lost itself somewhere long ago. She was relaxed and laidback and her style had come to back to her as well. Currently, she was wearing a black hat with Jack written on the side with white stitching in flowy, dramatic letters. On the back where there was a Jack Skellington picture was now covered by a Jack Sparrow pin because, as Olivia pointed out, “There are tons of Jacks out there; I don’t want people getting my affiliation with Jack Sparrow confused with any other Jack.” She was wearing a black Shady hoodie over a long-sleeved shirt and tight, low-cut jeans. On her feet were worn black and pink Converses. She looked natural; she looked happy.
“He’s good for you, you know,” Shelby said as the two got out of the car. The young woman pulled out her umbrella while Olivia opted to walk in the light drizzle. “I mean, the whole sex thing is obviously a bonus, but I think generally… he’s good for you.”
“God, Shelb,” Olivia said, tilting her head back in exasperation. “You make it seem like we’re dating or something. We’re just having fun.”
“Exclusive fun,” Shelby pointed out as they walked around the empty street corner. While rainy days were common for Boulder, people still preferred the indoors where it was cozy, warm, and dry. However, the two women were on a mission to pick Shelby’s perfect wedding dress, and, if extra lucky, maybe the bridesmaid’s dresses.
“We’ve never even been on a date,” Olivia said defensively, looking at her friend despite the abnormally low bill of her cap.
“He brought over Chinese food Tuesday night,” Shelby reminded her. “You are both obviously happier together than apart, but apparently that hasn’t stopped from fighting.” At this, she rolled her eyes and opened the door to a local bridal shop and let Olivia enter before following her in. “Which means,” she continued, “that you’re both not trying to change yourself for each other. Which is healthy in a relationship.” She grinned at her deductive reasoning.
“I don’t even know if it’s a relationship,” Olivia said shrugging, downing the rest of her hot chocolate before throwing it away in the nearest trash can. She put her hands on her stomach and frowned. “God, I’m all, like, bloated now. I hope I’ll be able to fit in the dresses.”
“Oh shut up,” Shelby said, shoving her friend. “And yes, it is a relationship. I’m surprised you don’t recognize it as one. I mean, think of it like a patient, right? The symptoms of a common disease are pretty easy to diagnose, right? He brings her flowers, she writes him poems, they go on romantic dates; they’re dating, right? But what if they have abnormal symptoms but the diagnosis is still the same? You’re part of a diagnostics team; this should be easy for you to understand.”
Olivia still looked doubtful when an assistant with platinum blonde hair and dark eyes walked over to them. She had a friendly smile, and a sharp black and white pantsuit. “Hello,” she greeted with a soft but expressive voice. “My name is Melanie.” She shook both Shelby and Olivia’s hand. “How may I help you today?”
“I’m actually looking for a wedding dress,” Shelby said with an excited smile. She couldn’t deny how excited she was for her upcoming nuptials.
“Congratulations!” Melanie exclaimed, seeming genuinely excited. “Oh, how incredible. When’s the date?”
“We haven’t actually set a date yet,” Shelby explained. “I mean, we’re both pretty impulsive, so we want to plan for everything early in case we decide to get married next month.” Melanie grinned at Shelby, but the young woman continued. “Although there is something you can help us with besides the obvious, of course.”
“Of course!” Melanie exclaimed. “Anything.”
“Well, my friend here just got out of a somewhat serious not-really relationship,” Shelby began, and Olivia let out a groan. “She has just engaged in very good sex with her boss, who, by the way, is good looking and the two have shared hardcore sexual tension for three years beforehand. Their bout of fun is exclusive and they both enjoy each other’s presence, but they haven’t been out on a date before. Do you believe that this is a relationship?”
Melanie glanced at Olivia. “Oh, yeah,” she said with a mischievous smile. “Absolutely. Is he cute?”
“He’s very… sexually appealing,” Olivia said, a light blush cascading her cheeks. It was odd talking about Mason this way, with no relation to work and all relation to her. “But we agreed we don’t want the whole stigma of being boyfriend-girlfriend.”
“You don’t have to be boyfriend-girlfriend to be in a relationship,” Melanie said with a warm smile. “Those are just labels that are given to people because our society likes labels; they need labels to explain everything. The thing is, you don’t have to explain yourself to anyone. If you’re happy, no one else matters. You’re whatever you want to be.”
Olivia paused a moment, taking everything Melanie said in. The woman knew what she was talking about, and Olivia wasn’t exactly surprised; she primarily interacted with people in relationships on a day-to-day basis. “I like her,” Olivia said, giving a glance at her friend. Shelby only grinned in return.
“Well, speaking of liking,” Melanie said humbly, “I have many dresses here that are absolutely to die for. Is there anything in particular that you have in mind?” Her thin brows perked up at the question and she looked at Shelby with a patient expression.
Shelby blushed. All throughout high school, college, and graduate school, she was known for being the brains. She was incredibly smart and ambitious, and while she dressed somewhat feminine when she wasn’t working, she’s always wanted to try something more. “I… I want to feel like a princess,” Shelby replied with a shy smile. “I want the whole white, puffy dress. I want to feel beautiful.”
“You are beautiful,” Melanie said with a smile, “but we can definitely enhance your natural beauty.” She turned and the two young women her followed her past the bridesmaids and prom dresses before leading her to the center of the store, where there were numerous dressing rooms with mirrors covering the doors. Many sofas were in the center of that section of the store for anyone not trying on anything.
“Now,” Melanie said, leading Shelby and Olivia to an empty dressing room. “I’m going to take your sizes and go find you a few dresses to start off in. Anything in particular about the dresses that catch your eye, please, do not hesitate to tell me.” With that, she turned and walked towards the largest part of the store; the wedding dress section.
When she had disappeared, Olivia turned to look at her friend. “Are you excited?” she asked with a smile.
“Of course I am!” Shelby exclaimed.
“Oh, I’m so happy for you!” Olivia told her honestly, and pulled her friend into a tight hug. “But remember,” she said, releasing Shelby, “that we don’t have to get anything today. Don’t let anyone pressure you into getting something you don’t want to wear, okay? It’s your day.”
“I know,” Shelby said, just as Melanie returned with three dresses over her arm. Despite the thickness of each dress, she seemed completely at ease with carrying the heavy dresses. Obviously she had been doing this for quite a while.
“Ready?” Melanie, asked, her brow raised and a smile on her face.
“Absolutely,” Shelby said, and with one last glance at Olivia, she disappeared with the three dresses in her dressing room.
Olivia took a seat in one of the couches, her fingers softly drumming on the arm of said couch. Her thoughts drifted to her earlier conversation with Melanie and Shelby. She was definitely happy with Mason, that was for sure. So what if they had never been on a date or called each other terms of endearment? They cared about each other, and that was what mattered.
Chapter 11
Mason hated going out on week
ends. Actually, he hated going out anytime, except now, of course, he was definitely growing fond of going over to Olivia’s place. Besides work, Mason rarely ever chose to leave his downstairs apartment. He would rather stay nice and warm inside, playing his piano or avidly watching American Idol or Bones than traveling outdoors for any reason. However, Saturday afternoon, Mason was walking down a block on a Boulder street, shopping for his mother’s birthday present. He would have nearly forgotten it if Olivia hadn’t written him a note and taped it on his computer screen reminding him of the date.
In all honesty, Mason had no idea what to get his mother. He had casually entertained the idea of asking Olivia for assistance, but he didn’t want her to think he was incompetent of picking out a gift, especially his mother. His hands were deeply shoved into the pockets of his jeans, wearing a grey flat cap on his head with dark plaid designs. The light drizzle wasn’t bothering him very much; he was wearing a long sleeved collared shirt, a blazer jacket, and a scarf with tennis shoes on his feet. He definitely wasn’t cold, but he did want to get home as quickly as possible. Currently, he was in the middle of composing an original piece of music on his piano, and he wanted to finish it by the week’s end (or beginning, depending on how one looked at it).
Mason had passed numerous shops, but nothing had struck him as worthy of his money. What would his mother like? He knew that just remembering her birthday would be enough for her, but he wanted to get her a gift. Maybe jewelry…? No… he wasn’t good at picking out women’s finery. The last time he bought jewelry was on his anniversary with his last girlfriend, and he had gotten her a nice promise ring. He didn’t propose or anything, but it had reminded him of her and he wanted her to have it. Turned out, he had gotten one size too big, and because he didn’t know her ring size, she hadn’t spoken to him for the entire day. Jewelry was definitely out of the question.
What about money? Like a big, fat check? That would be too impersonal. Scratch that option off along with gift cards. He knew his mother well enough to know that she would be offended by such an indifferent gift. Maybe shoes? God, no. He had the same pair of tennis shoes for five years, and those took quite a while to find. Women’s shoes were a whole different language to him. He didn’t even want to think about clothes; if he got her the wrong size, he’d never hear the end of it.
A figure caught his attention from inside what appeared to be a bridal shop. She was standing in the middle of the room, one arm crossed over her chest while the other arm’s elbow rested lightly on the back of her hand, and her fingers tapped her chin, deep in thought. Now, what would Olivia be doing in a bridal store? He took a step forward, hoping to see her at a different angle; she wasn’t trying on any dresses, thank goodness, but appeared to be looking at someone wearing such a dress. Then she scrunched her nose and shook her head, her lips moving as she validated her reason why this dress wasn’t appropriate for whoever it was she was talking to.
An idea sprung into his mind. This was his chance to meet a close friend of hers, and maybe this person would give him more insight into who Olivia was. It still baffled him that he had known her for three years and didn’t know that she played soccer on a regular basis. He even believed he knew her fairly well then.
Without fully comprehending what he was doing, he maneuvered his way into the store. It was then he realized he had never been in such a specialty store before, especially such a store geared towards women – women who were planning on getting married. He had never seriously thought of getting married before, and yet here he was, standing in a bridal store. He ignored the assistant that came over to him and greeted him; instead, he managed to walk around the edge of the store, hoping to get a better look at Olivia and her friend without being seen.
She was definitely familiar, he realized as she took in the shorter woman. Her long, black hair was pulled into a loose bun, and she was wearing a very big, and seemingly very heavy wedding dress. She was listening to what Olivia was saying quite intently, her brow pushed together and her lips pursed. The dress was white, with long, bell-shaped sleeves, narrowing at the waist and flaring at the hips. The young woman seemed to drown in the pounds of material. Then he saw the young woman stand on her toes and seemed to tell Olivia a secret. Olivia listened, and then her eyes locked into his.
Oh shit. Busted.
“I was wondering when you were going to introduce me,” he drawled, walking up to her.
“We’ve been introduced twice,” the young woman told him before Olivia could respond. “I’m Shelby Woo, Head of the Nursing Station at Boulder Grace.”
“Ah yes,” Mason said, nodding. “Now I remember you. Well, now it all makes sense how you and Goodson are bffs.”
Olivia rolled her eyes. “Yes, Hadley, this is my best friend Shelby,” Olivia told him. “She’s getting married to someone else in the hospital. You might know him, Dr. Andy Summer. You know, the guy who asked for a consult last week.” She cocked a brow at him.
“Ah, yes, I think I know who that guy is,” Mason said. Olivia was watching him suspiciously, her arms crossed over her chest. “Isn’t it a little juvenile to be wearing a hat sponsoring a pirate?” he asked Olivia.
“Isn’t it a little elderly to be wearing a golf cap?” Olivia retorted.
“Touché,” he said, a small smile touching his lips.
“All right, now here I have…” Melanie’s voice trailed off as her eyes registered the man standing in front of Olivia. “Is this the man you were talking about?” she asked the young woman, to which Olivia could only respond by dropping her head in her hand.
“You were talking about me?” he asked, nudging her slightly with his arm. He wasn’t sure what he was feeling as of right now. He felt good… maybe even a little flattered that she was discussing her relationship with him with her friends.
“It’s really not a big deal,” Olivia said, lifting her head and shaking her head.
“If it wasn’t, you wouldn’t be blushing,” he taunted lightly.
“What the big deal is is why you haven’t taken her out on a date yet,” Shelby stated flatly. Instead of elaborating, she turned to Melanie, and the two started murmuring things about the dresses.
Before the two walked off, Melanie glanced at Olivia and said, “You were right. He definitely is sexually appealing.”
Olivia groaned as her friend and the assistant disappeared, and Mason chuckled. Olivia’s face snapped up, and she grabbed his wrist and led him into the nearest, unoccupied dressing room and all but slammed the door behind themselves.
“What, exactly, are you doing here?” she asked through gritted teeth. Her voice was quiet due to her desire of keeping things private between them.
“I was shopping for my mother’s birthday gift,” he replied innocently. “Was I surprised when I saw you in a bridal shop.”
“What’d you get her?” she asked skeptically, crossing her arms over her chest.
Mason reached up to scratch the back of his head, averting his eyes from her. Olivia rolled her eyes once again.
“God, you are such a guy,” she muttered, and then said, “Let me give you advice; when it comes to women, you can never go wrong with an assortment of lotions. For example, a gift basket of lotion and soap and stuff from Bed, Bath, and Beyond. You’re on your own when it comes to the scent.”
Mason made a mental note of what she said but said no more on the subject. “I like your friend,” he stated indifferently.
Olivia’s eyes narrowed, and she jutted a finger at him. “I know why you’re here,” she hissed. “You want to interrogate Shelby about me.”
“Interrogate is such a strong word…”
“Well, it’s not going to work,” she said as a matter-of-factly.
“She already told me you want to go out on a date with me,” Mason pointed out. “Obviously you can’t trust that woman with a secret. Hopefully, word doesn’t get around work how hot for me you are.”
“Trust me, if I was hot for you, I’d be fucki
ng you right here, right now,” she told him seriously.
God, when she talked so indifferently about sex it made his cock stand instantly at attention. Immediately, he placed both hands on the back wall of the dressing room, blocking any means of escape for her. “So, what’s stopping you?” he asked throatily before claiming her lips as his own. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer to her. His hands fell from the wall to wrap around her waist and pressed his hardness into her hips. She bit his lip from moaning aloud, and he growled softly, pressing himself into her harder.
“Now,” she choked out. “Hurry.”
Mason didn’t need to be told twice. His arms slipped from around her waist and dropped to the hemline of her jeans. He fumbled with the button before finally managing to unbutton it and then slid down the zipper. Helping him slide her pants off, she wiggled as quickly as she could, annoyed how jeans were so comfortable and yet so difficult to get off. Before they reached her ankles, Olivia kicked off her shoes and then finally managed to get out of the confining jeans. Without skipping a beat, her fingers did the same thing with his jeans, and within seconds, they were barely hanging around his knees.
Mason gripped the back of her thighs with the palm of his hands, and as he lifted her up, she wrapped her legs around him. Her back leaned against the wall, and she squeezed her legs, pulling her closer to him. He thrust up into and she bit his shoulder to muffle her cry of pleasure. This was the first time they were doing it without any protection, and while it wasn’t exactly the smartest thing, it sure felt better than anything he had ever felt before. She was wet, she was tight; he could feel her pulsate for him.
“Oh my God,” he murmured, his forehead resting on her shoulder. He was definitely dressed to warm to participate in this kind of activity. She kissed the top of her head, a small smile on her face. The two had known each other for a long time; she knew he was clean, and she knew she was clean. This felt… right.
Mason began to move inside her now, causing her neck to arch back. He placed soft kisses on her throat, feeling her pulse increase underneath his lips. He loved knowing that he was the one causing her all this pleasure, and he loved feeling it as well. They both had to remember to be quiet; they were in a public dressing room after all. However, that didn’t stop him from increasing his speed, keeping a steady hold on her so her back wasn’t pounding against the wall.
A Diagnosis Dark & Deadly: A Dark & Deadly Novella (A Dark & Deadly Series Book 4) Page 7
