“Ollie,” I gasp, clutching at the back of his head. “Please,” I beg.
“Please, what?” He moves to my other breast.
I take his face between my hands, pulling him away. His eyes meet mine and I bite my lip before saying, “Please fuck me.”
A small smirk lifts his lips. “Well, since you asked so nicely.”
He works my shorts down my hips and I stand, letting them fall to the ground. He skims his hands up my bare calves and thighs and gives a small tug so that I drop back down onto him. I giggle, my hands falling flat on his chest. I glide my fingertips down, over his abs, hooking them beneath the elastic of his sleep pants. I push them down enough to free him and he groans when I wrap my hand around his length.
He burrows his head against my neck, his mouth leaving a soft trail of pleasure.
I slowly guide him to me and he rumbles deep in his chest when he can feel my wetness.
I sink down on him and his fingers press into my hips, keeping me from sliding back up.
“Ollie,” I plead, desperate to move my hips.
“Give me a second,” he breathes through clenched teeth.
I press my body against his, burrowing my head against his neck and hoping he doesn’t hear my tiny whimper of protest at being told to wait.
After a moment, the hold he has on my hips lessens and I’m able to move. I roll my hips slowly at first, kissing him deeply, but soon it’s not enough and I grind against him.
He cups my cheek and his hand slides down to my neck, settling against the spot where he can feel my pulse racing.
Sweat dampens my skin and my body tightens all over with the need for release. When I come, I cry out and he silences my sounds with a kiss. I wrap my arms around his shoulders, using his body for support as I continue to move up and down until he finds his own release.
Neither of us move for a minute, so he doesn’t realize I’m crying at first, but then he must notice the dampness on his shoulder because he pushes me back gently and holds my chin prisoner so I can’t look away. Luckily, my hair falls forward to hide my face.
“Are you crying?”
“No,” I sniffle.
He pushes my hair back and flinches when he finds that I am, in fact, crying.
“Tal?” he questions softly. “Why are you crying? Please, talk to me.”
“It’s stupid.” I try to look away, but he still holds my chin so I’m unable to move.
“Nothing’s ever truly stupid, because stupid is merely an opinion and I say your opinion on this matter is probably invalid.”
I try not to smile but it’s impossible. I take a deep breath and say, “I didn’t mean to cry, I swear, and it’s not because I’m sad or anything. I’ve missed you and I know that’s silly since you’ve been right here all along, but I guess I’ve missed this.” I motion between the two of us. “I miss things being easy between us.”
He twirls a long lock of my blond hair around his finger. “Not silly at all. I know what you mean.”
He wraps his arms around my body and holds me against his chest. I hug him back, letting a few more tears leak out.
We miss the sunrise, but I don’t think either of us cares.
I hop up on the kitchen counter, crossing my legs, and try not to laugh as Ollie attempts to make scrambled eggs. There’s a basket of fruit sitting on the counter, and I grab an apple, biting into it.
“These are going to be the best damn eggs you’ve ever eaten,” he declares.
Thankfully, the sound of me crunching the apple stifles my snort.
He pours the egg mixture into the pan and then frowns. “Why isn’t it sizzling? It’s supposed to sizzle, right?”
I can no longer hold in my laughter at that point and clutch my stomach as I’m overcome with hysterics.
“Talia,” he whines. “What’d I do wrong?”
Wiping tears of laughter from my eyes, I tell him, “You have to turn the frying pan on.”
His shoulders sag. “Oh.” His bottom lip juts out and he turns the stove on.
I try to sober, but it’s difficult since I find the whole thing absolutely hilarious, but I can tell he’s genuinely upset that he’s failing at the simple task of making breakfast.
I hop down from the counter and wrap my arms around his body, laying my head against his back.
I feel him exhale a heavy breath and then one of his hands settles over mine.
After a moment, he breathes out a gruff laugh. “They should have a fucking McDonald’s somewhere around here for us cave people who can’t cook.”
I laugh and pull away, hopping back up on the counter and kicking my legs back and forth. “McDonald’s are all over the world, so I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if there is one.”
His eyes widen with excitement and at the same time we both say, “Let’s Google it.”
I grab my phone from the counter and quickly type into the search engine.
“There’s one ten minutes from the resort.”
He gets an excited gleam in his eyes. “Let’s go.”
Five minutes later we’re dressed and making our way to the front of the resort when we pass an empty golf cart. I think nothing of it at first, but then Ollie grabs my elbow and halts me.
“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” His eyes move from me to the golf cart.
My lips form an O of surprise and then I nod giddily in excitement.
Chances are, we’re not supposed to take the golf cart, but if you spend your whole life stopping to think about the consequences then you’ll miss out on some pretty great memories.
Ollie slides behind the wheel and I get in beside him.
I bring the Maps app up on my phone and give him directions to the McDonald’s. People give us funny looks, since we’re riding around in a golf cart, but neither of us pay them any mind.
When we reach the McDonald’s, Ollie parks the golf cart beside a work truck and a van. The white cart looks funny parked between the two regular sized vehicles and I can’t help but laugh some more.
I follow Ollie into the building and we place our order. The menu has only a few minor differences from the one in the States so we’re able to get something familiar.
Once our order number is called, Ollie grabs the tray and we find a table by the windows overlooking the parking lot. Two guys stand and point at the golf cart, and it’s obvious they find it being there as hilarious as we do.
Ollie hands me my breakfast sandwich and I unwrap it, my mouth watering.
I wasn’t able to fall back to sleep this morning and since I was up so early I’ve been hungry for hours.
I bite into the sandwich and moan. “I haven’t had one of these in forever,” I say around a mouthful. “I forgot how much I love them.”
Ollie’s almost completely devoured one of his sandwiches—he got two—and nods.
“I’m glad I decided not to cook,” he agrees once he swallows and can talk. “My eggs would’ve tasted like rubber. Greasy fast food for the win.” He grins and finishes the last of his sandwich, grabbing the other one and unwrapping it.
He starts on his second one while I finish my first. “Where are we going next? I haven’t seen any plane tickets. Did you hide them from me?”
He shakes his head and swallows his bite. “I texted Liam when we got here and I didn’t see any, I was worried someone stole them, and he said someone was going to deliver them with another surprise.”
“Another surprise?” I raise a brow. “Hasn’t he done enough?”
Ollie shrugs. “You know Liam. Go big or go home.”
I shake my head and my teeth dig into my bottom lip with worry. “It’s just a lot of money. I feel guilty that he’s doing all this for us.”
Ollie sighs, wiping his fingers on a napkin. “Me too, and I told him that, and it only pissed him off.” He chuckles, thinking back on whatever conversation he had with his friend. “So I decided not to let myself worry about that and enjoy the fact that I’m here, wit
h you, getting to see all these wonderful places we wouldn’t have had the chance to see otherwise.”
I look down at the table and trace my finger over a wood swirl in the laminate design. “It’s a once in a lifetime experience, that’s for sure.”
Ollie grabs my hand, stilling its movements. “What are you thinking about?” He urges.
I shrug, pulling my hand from his and cradling both in my lap. “Ari,” I admit. “Now that I’m dealing more with things I feel bad for not being there for her.”
Ollie shakes his head. “You had your own stuff to deal with, Tal. You couldn’t take on yours and hers.”
“Still …” I trail off, looking out the window. “I don’t want her to think I hate her for what happened. It’s not her fault.”
Ollie smiles sadly. “I’m sure she knows that, but when we get home you can tell her if it will make you feel better.”
“It will.” I nod. “I think I’ll feel a lot better if I talk to her.”
Just the thought of talking to Ari about everything makes me feel loads better. The two of us have been so distant since the accident and I miss her friendship. I don’t think either of us has known what to say to the other. I still don’t know but sometimes taking the step to be there, to show effort, is worth more than words. I want her to know that I’m there for her. We both went through the same hell and we shouldn’t let that day rob us of our friendship.
Ollie wads up our trash and puts it on the tray to throw away. I grab each of our drinks and trail along behind him to the trashcans. He empties the trash and puts the tray on the counter.
I can’t help but laugh again as we head toward the golf cart. It looks so silly.
“Do you want to drive back?” Ollie asks, dangling the keys to the golf cart between his fingers.
I don’t hesitate. I snatch the keys from him and run giddily at the golf cart, sliding behind the wheel. Ollie slides into the seat beside me a moment later.
I start the golf cart and back it up. The little cart jerks beneath me since I’m not used to having to apply so much pressure to the gas pedal to get it to move.
The golf cart has a surprising amount of speed, so Ollie has to hold on so that he doesn’t get jerked out. He drove a lot smoother, and slower, than I am so I didn’t have the same experience.
It doesn’t take us long to arrive back at the resort, and I take a spin around the front before coming to a stop.
“Man, that was fun,” I chime, unable to stop smiling.
Before Ollie can respond, an angry voice calls out. We both look back to see a short man in a work uniform running toward us, his fist raised in anger.
Ollie gives me an amused look. “I think we stole his golf cart.”
“Appears that way.”
Then we both take off running.
Laughing and running isn’t the best thing to do, since you run out of breath faster, but both of us find the situation to be hysterical.
The man chases us, trying desperately to stop us, but we’re faster and eventually he loses sight of us and we make it back to our bungalow.
Once the door closes behind us, the two of us drop dramatically to the floor, hands on our chests, trying to catch our breath.
“Well,” Ollie starts after a moment. “That was fun.”
“Yeah, it was.” I sit up and look over at him. “Race you to the beach now.”
I hop up from the floor and take off running. We left the doors open to the back when we left—there’s really no need to worry about closing them—so I burst outside and run past the pool.
I can hear Ollie behind me, catching up, so I go faster, but once my feet hit the sand, it becomes more difficult to run.
Ollie’s arms close around my waist and we fall to the ground. He rolls so that I end up on top of him, his hands settling on my butt.
“Convenient spot your hands landed.” I quirk a brow.
He grins and squeezes my butt. “What? This? It’s squishy. Me likey.”
I laugh and lay my head on his chest. The steady drumming of his heart joins the roar of the ocean, creating a unique symphony you don’t otherwise notice unless you stop and let yourself relax.
His hands move up my waist, settling midway up my back. He looks at me intensely, studying every individual freckle on my nose.
“Before you, I didn’t have a family,” he whispers. “I used to think I’d never have that, but you changed everything.” He takes one of his hands and cups my cheek. “So many people strive for all the wrong things in life. Fame. Money. Recognition. But family and love are the two most important things, and there are also the two most over looked. I don’t ever want to take you for granted.”
I don’t answer him with words.
Instead, I kiss him, and say everything that needs to be said with that one simple action.
My sleep is disturbed the next morning by someone pounding on the door.
Ollie sits up, looking around and trying to regain his bearings. “What the hell?” he mutters.
He slides from beneath the slick covers and heads for the door just as another barrage of knocking begins. In the person’s defense, it’s after ten in the morning so we should be up.
Ollie swings the door open and I can see the man from where I lie in the bed. He’s dressed in a uniform and obviously works for the resort.
“I am sorry,” he says, his cheeks reddening when he notices me in the bed. “I was told that it was urgent that I get this to you.”
He holds out a thick padded envelope.
“I am sorry for the inconvenience.”
Before Ollie can respond, the man ducks and leaves. Ollie closes the door and heads back to the bed. He hops onto the mattress with enough force to bounce me up and down.
“Open it,” I plead, excited to see what’s in the envelope.
It’s one of those manila envelopes with a silver clasp. He undoes it and slips the papers out. Two plane tickets fall into his lap, but there are more papers than that.
“What are those for?” I ask him as he scans the paper.
“It’s for some kind of boat ride,” he explains. “Shit.”
“What?”
Ollie shakes his head back and forth and I can tell he’s overcome with emotion. “That fucker,” he mutters. “It’s a private yacht and it’s ours for the whole day.”
“Give me that.” I take the papers from him and read them over. He’s right. “Liam is a nutcase,” I mutter. “A complete and utter nutcase.”
Ollie pinches the bridge of his nose and tilts his head back. I know him well enough to know he’s fighting back tears.
“Ollie?” I venture hesitantly, touching my fingers to his shoulder. His skin is heated beneath my fingertips, the muscle pulled taut.
He scrubs his hands over his face and lets out a heavy sigh, glancing over at me.
“It’s strange, you know?”
“What is?” I ask, confused as to what he’s talking about.
He shrugs. “For the longest time it’s only been me and you. Then we settled in Malibu and met the guys and they’re family now too. Especially Liam. I used to think family was only in the blood, but it’s not. Family can also be the people you willingly choose to surround yourself with.”
I smile and lean over, pressing a kiss to his lips. “We chose good people then.”
“Yeah.” He smiles back, nodding. “We did.”
I take a deep breath and set the papers aside. “So, Cheeto Boy, tell me, where are we going next?” I nod at the tickets in his lap.
He picks them up and holds them out so we can both read them together.
“Portugal,” we say simultaneously, then look at each other with the biggest grins on our faces.
I stand up on the bed and he follows suit.
“We’re going to Portugal!” I scream and start jumping up and down.
Ollie joins in with his own shout of, “We’re going to Portugal!”
He takes my hands and we jump up and down
together a few more times before collapsing on the bed.
We revel in our excitement for only a minute longer before we have to get up and get ready. According to the papers, our yacht is ready for us to board at twelve o’clock.
I change into a yellow bikini and then wear a loose white dress over it. I decide to put more effort into my appearance today, and opt to curl my hair and put on a little makeup.
Ollie only had to change so when I come out of the bathroom I find him sitting outside with his feet dangling in the pool.
“Are you ready, stud?” I call out and he looks up.
His eyes scan me from head to toe and back again. “You look beautiful.”
I duck my head, hiding my blush. “Thanks.”
I like that, even after this many years together, I’m still affected by him.
Ollie stands and slips his feet into his shoes. He takes my hand when he reaches me, and I expect him to start for the front door of the bungalow, but instead, he pulls me until my body is flush against his. He cups my face, rubbing his thumb over the apple of my cheek, and lowers his head to kiss me. I rise up on my tiptoes, wanting to get closer to him, and his hand moves down to the back of my neck.
He breaks the kiss and leans his forehead against mine. “I love you. You know that, right?”
I nod. “Yeah, I know.”
He kisses the end of my nose before stepping back. “Good.”
My body feels flushed and I’m still reeling from the kiss when he guides me to the door and outside.
It’s a beautiful day, every day that we’ve been here has been, and I find myself almost wishing we didn’t have to leave tomorrow. Almost.
When Ollie and I reach the front of the resort there’s a large black SUV waiting. We don’t think anything of it until the driver, who’s standing outside the car, flags us down.
“Are you Mr. and Mrs. McGruff?”
I snicker.
“Yeah,” Ollie says, not correcting him.
“I’m to drive you to the docks.”
He opens the back passenger door and motions for us to get inside.
Ollie looks at me with one raised brow and I shrug. I doubt a murderous lunatic would lure us into a car in broad daylight in front of the resort, but hey, you never know.
A Love Like Ours Page 9
