by C. A. Harms
Loading my duffle bag with the last of my youth, I threw it up over my shoulder and took one last look around. Once I walked out of this place, I never had the intention to return.
I was ready to move forward without the weight of this life holding me back from being happy.
***
I hadn’t been able to get Olivia Sawyer out of my head.
That feeling I got when I watched her sass Landon Murphy was something I hadn’t felt too often. There she stood, all reserved and unimpressed, as the campus jock-off attempted to woo her. It was something that didn’t happen to him very often.
But the moment I talked to her, she froze. It was cutest damn thing. It was like pulling teeth to get her to tell me her name. The thing was I already knew her name, but that was all I knew.
I was the guy who sat in the back of the class. Most people looked at me like I was some kind of trouble. What they didn’t take the time to find out was that academically, I was at the top of my class. There was no reason for me to waste time trying to impress those who felt they were above me. I would be someone someday, and I didn’t need any of them to help me get there.
But having Olivia around might make things a little less lonely.
She was like a breath of fresh air on a cool morning, that clean feeling just after it rained.
She was so pure you could feel it, and that was something I had not often been around.
Chapter Three
Olivia
I missed home.
I missed my family, even with all their craziness.
I’d been back in Montana for five days and this was the first time I had the chance to sit back and relax.
Between Amber and my aunts, I was pulled in all directions. But I’d enjoyed every moment of it. If I was surrounded by cousins and my brothers, it was home. And home gave me peace.
Aunt Bailey was about to pop with the devil’s spawn. I was sure that mini Jackson would be just as crazy as his daddy. Throw in Bailey’s fiery attitude, and the Tasmanian devil would soon grace the Sawyer family. Little Belle was so sweet and gentle; it was amazing she had been created by Uncle Jackson.
Tonight Uncle Noah invited us all over for dinner so there would be no time to rest or recover. All the Sawyers trapped together in one house would be anything but peaceful. But I looked forward to it. I would have time to rest when I got back to campus on Sunday. For now I would just allow them all to drain me dry.
***
“So I hear there’s a guy that actually made the Sawyer Sass stumble a bit.” Gran sat down beside me on the couch. She spoke a little too loud, because now all eyes were on me.
The women of the room were smiling, but the guys were scowling.
Three sets of eyes narrowed and I just rolled my own at them, choosing to ignore their distaste.
“I was just taken aback a little is all.” I shrugged as if it was no big deal, but Gran saw right through me; she always had.
“Well, tell me about this boy that stumped ya.” She sat back and got comfortable. I knew I would have to get this out if I planned to move forward from it. I was on display before every adult within our large family as the kids ran around in the game room like a pack of wild beasts.
“Fine,” I groaned. “You people are ridiculous when it comes to your inability to allow me to have a life, or privacy for that matter.”
I didn’t miss the nods of Amber, Alena, and Bailey. They all knew just how pushy the Sawyer pack could be. But those with Sawyer blood running through them only remained in place staring back at me as if there was nothing wrong with their pushy ass ways.
“Landon Murphy is a full blown ass,” I began.
“Do you have to cuss?” my father asked.
“If you want to hear every last detail of my life, then you’re gonna have to deal with the occasional ass, damn, and so forth.” I arched my brow and just waited for his stubborn butt to argue. Amber hid her laughter behind her hand when he slouched back against his chair and crossed his arms over his chest.
“Anyway,” I continued. “Landon struts around campus like he is this gift from the world to every girl he passes. I’ve never been impressed and felt lucky he hadn’t made any attempts to gain my interest. But last Friday he walked up to me and asked me out.”
Uncle Jackson sat tall, squaring his shoulders. I fought against the urge to roll my eyes once again.
I swore when they looked at me they still saw a twelve year old girl in pigtails.
“I turned him down, of course, and basically told him I wasn’t impressed. He tucked tail and walked off trying to save face, but there was a guy who observed the entire thing.” I paused long enough to fight off the smile pulling at my lips. It happened every single time I thought about Keeton and that damn dimple of his.
“Wipe it clean, Liv,” my dad said, and I narrowed my eyes at him. Amber slugged him in the arm and he covered the spot, rubbing lightly. “What?”
“You know what,” she said in return. “She is twenty years old, not fourteen. It is bound to happen.”
He didn’t look pleased at all, but chose not to argue.
Did I mention how much I love my stepmom? She’s got my back and always has. Even before her and my father truly got together, she always put my feelings first. Amber was a godsend, straight from my momma’s arms in heaven. At least that is what I liked to believe. It was her way of watching out for me and my dad. I think she knew we needed someone to help us heal.
And Amber was that someone.
“His name is Keeton Pearce, and he complimented me on the way I handled Landon. But the thing was I completely froze up and just made a fool of myself. He smiled the whole damn time, too.” I looked over at Gran and she smiled wide. “He’s tall, like really tall. And he has the sweetest smile, with a dimple.”
My father stood from his chair and walked out of the room.
“And when he kissed me,” I added, loud enough to torment my dad. He immediately stopped in his tracks and spun around to face me. I couldn’t hold back my laughter from the nasty ass look on his face.
“Shit ain’t funny, Liv,” he mumbled.
“Don’t know about that,” Uncle Noah added with a chuckle. “I thought it was pretty funny.”
“You’re supposed to be on my side.” My dad looked back at him with a grumpy-as-hell expression on his face.
“Hell, brother, I’m on your side. Lord knows when that day comes for Nora, I’m going be knocking some heads, but I’m not delusional enough to think it won’t happen either.” My Uncle Noah was always the logical one; well, most of the time anyway. “She’s twenty years old, Ry. She ain’t gonna be no nun.”
They all treated me like I was some sweet little virgin, but what most of them didn’t know was that ship had sailed my senior year of high school. But there was no need to share that story at all. I’d just let ’em all believe what they wanted to. Amber knew different; after all, she was the one who took me to get put on the pill in the first place.
Like I said, a godsend.
Thank you, Momma.
Chapter Four
Keeton
I entered my apartment after an eight hour shift at the garage to be bombarded by Duke, my Siberian husky. He was only two years old and was the biggest damn baby, even though he appeared vicious.
My neighbor, Lacy, took him out for me during the day until her shift started at the diner. Going all day without me to rough him up made him a bit hyper.
I bent down and picked up his ball, torn and on the verge of death, and held it out before him. “You miss me, bud?” I asked as I shook his ball from side to side.
I laughed when his head moved from side to side mimicking the movement of the ball.
When I tossed it, he barreled ass toward the direction it had gone before hurrying to bring it back for yet another round. This was a daily routine before I took a shower and then we went on our nightly walk.
School was back in session tomorrow, and believe it or not
, I was looking forward to the distraction. I hated the quiet. It always made me think that in reality, I was alone. I didn’t have family I could turn to or a mass of friends I could hang out with. I was that loner everyone categorized me as, someone who stayed out of the limelight and chose to keep to himself more than follow the leader. Well, without the partying and so on.
My free time was spent either working at the garage with Nate, or doing programming and technical repairs on computers contracted out to me by a local repair shop. I was my own boss, it was good money for easy work, and it paid the bills. Plus, it was something I enjoyed doing. I was a techy; not what most would assume, I knew. The garage job fit the outside image people saw; the computer geek did not.
After I loaded up Duke’s bowl, I jumped in the shower, then put on a pair of running shorts and a t-shirt. I figured if I was going to take Duke for a walk, I may as well make it a run. I was feeling a little down on myself since my recent visit to my father’s, and it was time to pull myself out of this funk.
Duke and I started off at a slow pace down North Ave., rounding onto Milton. My earbuds blasted my country-boy mix, filled with a little bit of everything Texas. Duke was still so damn playful and hyper that at times I felt he dragged me along. He was a damn good workout partner.
We came to a stop near the student hall, and I leaned against the side of the building, just for a few moments to catch my breath. Duke took a seat at my side and I swore he was looking up at me as if to say, “What, pussy? Can’t keep up?”
“Yeah yeah, I know I’m out of shape.” I laughed when Duke tilted his head to the side. Apparently my dog was a comedian.
“Out of shape is not what I was thinking.”
I looked up quickly and it was me that was thrown off kilter this time.
Olivia Sawyer stood only a few feet away from me, her arms crossed and placed just beneath her breasts, now pushed upward and begging for me to stare. Only I continued to look at her face, because those gorgeous blues were pretty hard to resist.
“So the feisty girl can talk,” I suddenly found my confidence.
“Yeah,” she said with a little shrug. “I’m not really mute.”
We both stood staring at one another as if we were just waiting for the other to speak.
“Does he bite?” she asked, looking down toward Duke.
“Nah, he’s just a big ole’ baby,” I assured her.
She moved closer and held out her hand in Duke’s direction. “Hey boy,” she whispered as he sniffed at her hand. His tail began to wiggle profusely and she laughed at his happy response.
“Duke,” I told her and she knelt down in front of him as he nuzzled against her. Instantly I was jealous of my dog.
They continued to share a moment as I quietly observed.
Olivia was beautiful. She had her dark hair pulled back in a ponytail that hung over her left shoulder when she leaned forward. The smile she now wore was the complete opposite of the surprised expression she had the first time we met. She appeared so much more relaxed.
“Now I know the dorms don’t allow pets, so you must live off campus,” she prompted as she stood up and placed her hands in the back pockets of her jeans.
I had a little one bedroom apartment just off campus. Nothing special, but it was mine.
“Yeah, we live over on North Ave. in a small apartment.” Duke still sat at her side as if he too was completely mesmerized.
“I’d give just about anything to get away from the dorms. My roommate is a nightmare. In fact she purposely looks for ways to torture me.” A small groan of irritation escaped her lips before she continued. “My dad has this thing about me living off campus alone. But he needs to realize my roommate is probably a hell of a lot more dangerous than anything I’d encounter out there.” She pointed away from the building and rolled her eyes.
I think I could watch her facial expressions all day and not get bored. She was fucking adorable. I don’t think she even knew how appealing she was. Everything about her was so natural. It was as if she didn’t give a shit about what I thought; she was just rambling on.
“My dad’s a little overprotective. And then there’s my uncles—they’re like a group of damn bulls when it comes to me. I’m surprised they even allowed me to go off to college without following me. But my stepmom Amber helped with my escape.” When she looked up from Duke and her eyes met mine, she sort of froze again.
“Ah hell,” she whispered and hung her head once more.
It was then that I chuckled.
“The first time I met you, I barely said five words and this time I can’t shut up. Apparently there is no happy medium for me. You can run away now if you want,” she lifted her head. “I’d completely understand and wouldn’t hold it against ya one bit.”
“You’re actually pretty damn cute when you ramble,” I told her and her cheeks reddened.
“That’s the second time you’ve said that.” She arched a brow as if to question me.
“I like both versions, the quiet, and the wordy. Pretty sure I’d enjoy any other version too,” I confessed. “It’s kinda refreshing, actually. I can think of a few other words to describe what I think of you, but we’ll just stick with cute for now.”
Sexy as fuck, gorgeous, beautiful, just to name a few.
It was amazing how normal it felt to be standing here talking to her. I had no fear of judgement like I felt with others. I was so relaxed and at ease.
“You heading back to the torture chamber you call your room?” I asked her and she smiled and nodded her head. “I’d ask you if you wanted to go grab something to eat, but I got Duke.” I allowed the idea of asking her out to sink in before I asked. I was hoping I had better luck than Landon did.
“So maybe another night?” I asked as a lump formed in my stomach. Suddenly I felt nervous she might say no.
“Yeah,” she replied, and I took in a deep breath hoping it wasn’t completely obvious that I was nervous. “I think that would be nice.”
“You think I could get your number?” I pulled my phone from my shorts pocket and handed it to her.
“Nice play list,” she said with a smile.
I watched her as she closed out my music file and clicked on the contacts tab.
After she added her number, she handed it back to me and backed away. “Now that you’ve got my number, use it.” She winked as she spun around and walked off toward campus.
I took a few minutes to appreciate her beauty, the sway of her hips bringing my attention to her ass.
I had a feeling Olivia was about to take me for one hell of a ride. And nothing about that terrified me; I couldn’t wait to get started.
Chapter Five
Olivia
I entered my dorm with a huge smile on my face. Apparently Keeton Pearce was not intimidated by my crazy. He found it cute.
Granted, I hoped it wasn’t cute as in the same way he might feel about a kid sister.
My cell vibrated and I pulled it from my pocket as the elevator doors closed.
Unknown: Sexy.
One word flashed on my screen. It was from an unknown number and I knew instantly it had to be from Keeton.
When it vibrated again the notion was confirmed.
Keeton: Just one more word I would use to describe you. How would you feel about dinner tomorrow night?
Okay so I guess it wasn’t kid sister cute he was referring too. Feeling brave, I immediately sent a text back.
Olivia: Dinner tomorrow sounds perfect. And the term sexy is so much better than cute. I was worried you may not like me the way I was hoping you did.
My heart raced waiting for him to respond.
Keeton: Gorgeous, yet another word. And I don’t think you have to worry about me liking you I think that part should be obvious by now. After all I didn’t run away.
I smiled as the elevator announced it had arrived on my floor. The vibration of my phone notified me of another message.
Keeton: 7:00 tomorrow? The
Italian restaurant on Morgan Drive?
I paused at the door to my room and typed out another message before entering.
Olivia: Can’t wait.
I felt giddy like a school girl. That was until I opened my door to find my skanky roommate having sex with some hairy guy on my damn bed.
I may have yelled a few nasty words before slamming the door and storming off down the hall.
I tapped out my father’s number and waited for him to answer.
“Hey baby girl,” he sounded a little winded, and I could hear Rory or Rogan squealing in laughter. That damn homesick feeling pulled at me, threatening to wash away my irritation for only a moment. Until I closed my eyes and the vision of the hairy ass came back into view.
“She is nailing some hairy-ass guy in my bed. Not just in our room, Dad, but in my damn bed.” A few students in the hall gave me a weird look as they passed. “I can’t keep this up much longer before I stab her with a damn pencil in her sleep. This is so nasty.”
There was silence on the other line and I pulled it away from my ear to see if we were still connected. It showed fifty-eight seconds and the time was still ticking.
“Hello?” I said as I pressed it back against my ear.
“Hey sweetheart.” Amber was on the line now. “Your father sort of checked out for a moment. And by the purplish color of his face, I would have to guess he may be too angry to talk. So tell me what’s going on.”
“You need to work on him.” I leaned against the wall at the end of the hall and sunk to the floor. “I came home tonight to find Jeannette screwing some guy on my bed.” Amber groaned in disgust. “Yeah, tell me about it. I used to love that comforter and now I have to burn it.”
“I’ll talk to him,” she assured me. “Do you have somewhere to go tonight?”
