Nolan put his feet on his desk and leaned back in his chair. She had no idea! Although he was sure it was his imagination, the clock seemed to be moving agonizingly slowly—especially in the evenings which, in turn made his fingers twitch and his eyes wander to his phone. Inevitably, he found himself trawling through Tinder—which he’d not quite got around to deleting—and it took all his goddamn willpower to stop himself going any further than just looking at what was on offer.
“Yeah. Even though it’s been full-on at work, it’s dragged. You any plans for tonight?”
“No. I guess I’m gonna eat and watch Netflix.”
“No plans with Michael?” Nolan held his breath, for some reason he hoped she hadn’t. He wanted a night out with her—it was ages since they went to a club or something.
“Um, we split up.”
Fucking, yes. “Oh, Livi, I’m sorry. You okay?”
“Yeah, of course. I told you last week we weren’t going anywhere.”
“So, you and Michael didn’t get it on last Wednesday?” She’d called him earlier in the week for a pep talk. It was kinda cute, she was anxious about planning to finally invite Michael to bed.
“No.” She sighed loudly. “I just couldn’t do it, Nol. We started making out on the sofa and when he put his hand in my pants, I just panicked I guess. Next thing I know he has a foul temper and I asked him to leave. When he called to apologize later, I just ended things. I wasn’t being fair to him.”
Okay, he really should not be feeling so ecstatic about her break-up. “Oh, honey, don’t feel bad. Why don’t I take you out tonight? We can eat, hit a club…”
“And I can watch you get off with the first girl who bats her eyelashes at you and get to play third wheel all night?”
“Not gonna happen. We made a resolution, remember. I’m abstaining until you have sex.”
Olivia laughed. “Was that really the agreement? God, Nolan, you should just pay me the hundred bucks because you are gonna have a long wait for that to happen.”
He scratched his fingers through his short beard. Nolan had a feeling he had just upped the stakes, but… “Well, it might not have been before but, yeah, I can handle it. From now on, I’m on the wagon until you fall off it. Besides, it will give me an incentive.” Idiot! He’d probably just given himself a life-sentence! How the hell was he going to get Olivia to sleep with someone.
“An incentive?”
“Yeah, if I can’t have sex until you do, then I’ll just have to make sure you find a guy tonight.”
“Oh, Lord! I’m not sure this is a good idea, Nolan.”
“C’mon, it’s a fantastic idea. I’ll be your wingman. How about I pick you up at seven and we’ll make a night of it.”
“Seriously, I am not ready to do this.”
“That’s okay, Livi. I’ll tell you what, tonight I’ll give you a hall pass. It’ll be just for us. We’ll have a good time together and if I get tempted, you can distract me.”
“Hmm,”
“I promise to dance with you.”
“You swear?”
“On my life. I’ll even let you pick the club.”
“Then I call El Rio.”
“Of course, you do! Sheesh, I haven’t danced the salsa in months—years, actually. But you have a deal if you wear that red dress with the ruffles and the wonky hem.” An image of Olivia in that dress a lifetime ago flashed into his head. It was probably the last time he had been to El Rio with her and Lenny. The dress swirled around her thighs when she danced the salsa… okay, this was doing nothing to help him take his mind off sex.
“It’s asymmetrical, not wonky.”
“So, will you wear it if I promise to take you to El Rio?”
“Deal.” She sounded excited. “Thanks, Nolan, I need this. I haven’t been dancing since…”
He softened his voice, “Don’t say it, honey. We’re moving forward, remember? Let’s not prefix everything with a Lenny memory—let’s make some of our own.”
“Yeah, you’re right. Thanks, Nolan. I don’t know how you stay so patient with me. All my other friends are tired of my wallowing but it’s hard to breathe sometimes, you know?”
An ache filled his chest. “I know. I’ll pick you up around seven and we’ll get food first, grab some asopao at Sol Food, then you can crash at mine after we’re done at El Rio.”
“Sounds like a plan. I better get going and finish this marking before I leave work, as it sounds like I might be too hungover tomorrow morning to do it.”
After Nolan put down the phone, he felt his mood lift. He was really looking forward to his night out with Olivia. They both needed it. It’d be like old times… well, almost.
His eyes drifted to the photo on his desk and a heavy feeling settled on his shoulders. “Fuck you, Len. Why the hell did you have to go an’ die on us?” He picked up the frame and studied the man in the picture. Larger than life in every way, it was no surprise that Lenny had left such a hole in both Nolan and Olivia’s lives. Nolan couldn’t remember a time when they hadn’t been friends, and in all their years of friendship he didn’t think they’d ever said a cross word to each other.
Nolan’s eyes drifted to Olivia in the picture. She was wrapped in Lenny’s arms, her petite frame tucked into his, a loose hand-tied bouquet in her hand. God, the woman had looked stunning in that wedding dress. Lenny was one fucking lucky guy.
“Sorry, buddy.” Nolan took the frame and placed it into the bottom drawer of his desk, out of sight. It was baby steps they were taking and each one of them was going to fucking hurt. “I’ll let you out again soon, when the memories don’t hurt so much.”
A knock on the door brought him out of his head. “Come in.”
Raul stepped in, a huge grin on his face. “You did me a fuckin’ solid man!”
Nolan rolled his eyes. “You’re welcome. Where you taking Ronnie?”
“Straight back to my place, via the Chinese takeaway.”
“Classy, Raul. Have fun.”
Chapter 6
Olivia
Hey, Olivia, you wanna grab a coffee on the way home?” Tamika appeared at the door to Olivia’s classroom and shook her car keys. “I’ll give you a ride back.”
Olivia leaned back in her chair and stretched. Her friend had awesome timing, as she’d just deposited the last test on her pile. Now her marking was complete and she wouldn’t have to take it home with her. She glanced at the clock—it was already five-fifty and a lift home instead of doing battle with the train sounded like bliss.
“Sure, but could we do coffee at my place? Nolan is picking me up at seven, we could chat while I get ready.”
“Sure. You ready to go now?”
The ride from the high school across town took around thirty-five minutes. It seemed ironic that she worked three blocks away from Nolan’s condo near the Presidio, yet she was heading across town in rush-hour traffic to Greenbrae only for Nolan to bring her back later. Seriously, she really needed an apartment out this way. It would save her so much commuting. Her job, Nolan, and several of her other friends all lived in the city. Trouble was, with only her salary to cover rent, that was not going to happen. She was regretting having handed in her notice on her apartment without thoroughly checking out availability and pricing in the area. Rents had sky-rocketed since Lenny and she moved out to the suburbs and there was literally nothing she could afford in the Greenbrae area, let alone the city. At this rate, she was going to end up even further out.
“You’re quiet.”
“What? Oh, sorry, Tamika. I have a lot on my mind.”
“I thought you might. It was the anniversary last weekend, wasn’t it? You get any more news?”
Olivia shook her head. “I don’t think we’ll ever get him back.” A solitary tear rolled down her cheek but before the floodgates opened, she changed the subject. “But it’s not that, I’m trying to find a new apartment.” She sighed loudly. “It’s impossible! Have you seen how much rent is over in the city?
I don’t even think I can afford Greenbrae any longer.”
“Yeah, I know. It’s ridiculous, and hardly anything comes up. I’m sooo glad my dad helped me buy my apartment a few years ago.”
Olivia smiled at her girlfriend. “I don’t suppose anyone is moving out of your place any time soon?”
“Huh, sorry, hun. I have a couch you are welcome to, but I’m just as far out of the city as you.”
“True, and I’m too old for sleeping on couches. Besides, if I’m desperate—which, I might very well be—Nolan has a spare room he’s offered me.”
“As in Nolan Carmichael?” Tamika’s face took on a dreamy look.
“How many other Nolan’s do I know? Yeah, I might just have to take him up on it because the one and only place I’ve seen that was affordable was a 376-square foot shithole with no window!”
“Jesus! Why the hell aren’t you taking him up on the offer? His place would be perfect. Three blocks from school, that fantastic little international grocery store around the corner, hot and cold running tamales at that little Mexican take out...” She giggled. “Not to mention a hot running and iron-pumping Nolan to look at. For Christ sake, it wouldn’t matter if there was no window in his place if you got to ogle him all night!”
Olivia laughed. “He is rather easy on the eye, but…”
“But what? Are you crazy, girl? Move your shit in with him and, if it were me, I’d damn well store my shit in his spare room and move my ass right in next to him in his queen-sized bed.” Tamika pulled up at Olivia’s apartment.
“For your information, Nolan has a king-size.” She winked at her friend’s gaping mouth.
“You’ve slept with him and you never told me?”
Olivia climbed out the car and they headed across the parking lot to her place. Letting them in, she headed straight to the kitchen and flipped on the lights. Deliberately ignoring her friend’s comment, she pointed at the coffee maker. “Will you make the drinks while I jump in the shower?”
“Sure.”
When Olivia stepped out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel, Tamika was standing right outside the door with two steaming mugs in her hand. “Explain yourself, girl. You do not get to drop a bombshell like that without spilling all the details.”
She shouldn’t have teased Tamika. Olivia had known the woman since she’d started teaching at the high school and, although four years older than Olivia, the thirty-year-old and she had become firm friends the very same day. Of course, the fact they both taught math in the same age group didn’t hurt but, outside of that, they also had the same tastes in films and just about everything else. They shared all their secrets, good or bad, so there was no way Tamika would ever let this pass.
“There are no details, Tami. I stayed over, he was chivalrous and offered me his bed, end of story.” A flush seeped up Olivia’s neck and into her cheeks—except it would have been if Nolan and she hadn’t kissed.
“Liar!” Tamika saw straight through her. “You expect me to believe that you slept in Nolan’s bed and you guys never…”
“Nothing happened.”
“Then why are you blushing like a school girl?”
Olivia sighed and slipped into her closet. When she returned with her favorite red salsa dancing dress it was obvious Tamika was not going to let this drop. “Okay, a little something happened.”
Tamika winked at her. “I hope it wasn’t too little, because rumor has it Nolan Carmichael has a humongous d…”
“Stop. You wanna hear this or not?”
Her friend sat on her bed and piled all the pillows behind her. “I sure as hell do. My lips, from now on in, are sealed.” Tamika made a zipping action in front of her mouth.
Sitting down next to her friend, Olivia began to feel nervous. “It was all innocent.” Except for a few seconds when she had been desperately hoping it wouldn’t be. “I spent the day with him and we remembered Lenny together. He was really sweet, as usual, while I was a mess and mainly cried on his shoulder. At one point this bitchy girl he’d been seeing turned up and he kicked her out after she mouthed off at me. We drank—a little too much—and he offered me his bed so I didn’t have to drive home.”
“Now we are getting to the interesting bit!” Tamika looked at her with wide-eyed eagerness.
“Not really, he slept on the couch.”
“So, if he slept on the couch, why are your cheeks as red as that dress you’re holding?”
“I…” Olivia wrinkled her nose and shook her head. “I was a little teary in the night and he climbed in to comfort me.” As Tamika opened her mouth to say something, Olivia glowered at her. “We fell asleep and I swear, nothing happened.” She looked down at her fingers as they fiddled with the dress zipper. “Except… in the morning, I was having this dream about Lenny and it had me all hot and bothered and when I woke up, I was snuggled in Nolan’s arms—his legs tangled in mine.” Tamika took a sharp intake of breath and Olivia buried her face in her hands. Peeking through her splayed fingers at her friend as she confessed, “I kissed him.”
“You kissed Nolan Carmichael?”
Olivia nodded her head but Tamika continued to look at her.
“Well, say something, Tami.”
“Were there tongues? What was it like? Did he respond… did he get naked? Oh, God! Please tell me you both got naked!”
“Yes, there was some tongue and it was nice… huh, more than nice. But no, there was zero nakedness. I freaked out and came to my senses.”
“No! What happened then?”
“I climbed out of bed and made coffee.”
“You climbed out of Nolan Carmichael’s bed when you were seconds away from the best fuck of your life!”
“How do you know it would be the best? Lenny was pretty damn perfect in that department.”
“I listen to all the gossip, Olivia. The word on the street is Nolan is a fucking-machine.”
Olivia held up her hand, silencing her friend again. “I think you’re missing the point, Tamika. Nolan was my husband’s best friend—he is my best friend—and besides, I was still in a relationship with Michael last weekend. Of course, I shut things down.”
Tamika was silent for a moment as she concentrated on drinking her coffee. When she finally put the mug on the table, she took hold of Olivia’s shoulders and sighed heavily. “You are a freaking idiot, you know that? I know you don’t want to hear this but Len’s gone, honey. You’ll never find anyone better than Nolan Carmichael to…”
“It’s not like that, we’re just friends. Nolan is not into me. We were both just waking up, it was a lapse of… of… something—in the moment stuff, you know?”
“If you can’t see how much he is into you, then you are blind, girl.”
“You’re wrong, Tamika.”
“Did he kiss you back? Did he try to prevent you from getting out of bed?”
“Yes.”
“Which?”
“Both.”
“There you go then, I rest my case.”
Olivia bit her lip. “But Nolan is… shit, it just wouldn’t work. He is never serious about anyone and after what I had with Len, I need serious, Tamika. I can’t compromise on that. Besides, I need a good friend and Nolan is terrific at being that. If we, um, fooled around it would spoil that friendship and I’m not prepared to lose that because I had a momentary lapse of judgement and felt horny for five minutes.”
“So, you admit, he turned you on?”
“I haven’t had sex since I lost my husband, Tami. Yeah, I was turned on, but it was wrong.” Her eyes caught the time on the clock. “Shit, he’ll be here in ten minutes, I have to get ready.”
As Olivia dressed and applied makeup, her friend curled her hair. “So, what happened after?”
“After what?”
“After you left his bed? Did you guys talk about this?”
“Yes, of course. We agreed to forget it ever happened and we made a resolution.”
“What do you mean?”
&nbs
p; “It’s Nolan’s idea to help us both get over Lenny. He thinks I need to have sex with someone and…”
“He’s the best candidate!”
“No. Actually, he is going to abstain from sex until I have found someone.”
“Seriously? Nolan is off the market?”
Olivia shrugged. “I guess, though to be honest, I can’t see him being able to keep to it. Anyway, that is why we are going out tonight. He’s gonna be my pimp.”
“Nolan said that?”
“No, he said wingman, but it feels more like pimp. Shit, Tamika, I’m so confused. I loved Len so much but I miss being in love, I miss the kissing, and I really miss sex. I don’t want to spend the rest of my life alone, yet at the same time, I can’t imagine ever being with someone else. And, even if I was, it wouldn’t be fair. I come with all this baggage. Sooner or later, Len’s ghost would come between me and someone new.”
Tamika took her hand and patted it. “I think you are overanalyzing this, Olivia. When you fell in love with Len, it just happened. You didn’t go through scenarios in your head like you’re doing now, you just let it develop naturally. “
“I’m doing that?”
“Yeah, I think you are. Mikey was a nice guy, honey. He liked you a lot but you had him written off from the beginning.”
“But I was right, Lenny did come between us.”
“No, I don’t think he did. You put Lenny there on the first date, Mikey didn’t stand a chance.”
Olivia stared at Tamika through the mirror, her friend probably had a point. The few guys she’d tried to date since Lenny passed away had all been doomed to failure by that same philosophy. She couldn’t imagine them accepting that her past marriage was something that she looked back fondly on. Jesus, widows had it hard! If Lenny and her had divorced then at least there would have been animosity between them to act as a barrier. But when Lenny was taken from her, she couldn’t have been more in love with the man and every memory she had of him was a fond one. She wasn’t ready to let go of any of that anytime soon. It would take someone pretty extraordinary to accept that.
After Hurricane Nina, Nolan's Resolution (Hot Hunks-Steamy Romance Collection Book 2) Page 5
