Page 49 of Always Been You

I turn my head and look at Josh, who is already watching me. He has a small smile on his face as he just sits and stares at me.

“What?” I ask as he continues to say watch me in silence.

He shakes his head. “Nothing, you ready to head inside?”

“Yeah.” He gets up and offers me his hand. The walk to our room is done in comfortable silence.

Dinner with Oliviatonight was more than expected. It was hard to hear that she has been unhappy these last few years, but hearing her say that she is finding happiness again and hoping that I’m a part of that made my heart race in my chest. Conversation with Olivia flows so easily, but we can also enjoy silence together comfortably, like we did sitting on the bench across from the hotel.

Listening to her talk about wanting kids made me realize even more that I want that with her someday, I want us to be a family, to see little girls who look just like her running around our home, little boys skating on the ice like I did as a kid. Realizing that, I just sat there and stared at her. I know how crazy it all sounds, too. To be thinking about wanting to marry her and have kids when we have only started dating. The thing is, we have this foundation of friendship that we are building our romantic relationship off of. We were friends as kids; we grew apart afterwards, and when wereconnected, it was seamless. I’ve never questioned where I stand with her, or how genuine she is with our interactions. She has always been uniquely her.

We are silent as we make our way hand in hand to our hotel room. Olivia and I have been intimate, but have not had sex yet. I want it to happen naturally, but I can feel myself getting nervous as we get closer to our hotel room. With Olivia, this is different. Not only have we known each other for years, but she is someone I can see a future with. Someone I want a future with. I want marriage, a big house with a yard for the kids and dog to run around in. The last thing I want to do is screw this up.

It doesn’t feel like we just started dating. All the years of our friendship have led us to the place we are now, and having her live in my place for weeks before we started dating adds to this feeling. I felt comfortable having her in my space. I looked forward to going home and spending time with her. This has all been building gradually and I know that means that this is going to make it all so much better.

I fish out the room key from my pocket, finally grabbing it and flashing it in front of the lock. Opening the door, I allow Olivia to walk into the room in front of me. She kicks her shoes off beside the entertainment unit holding the TV in the living room, before positioning herself on the couch. I follow her into the room and toe off my shoes beside hers. I lean over Olivia, placing a swift kiss on her lips, pulling back and letting my lips hover just a few centimetres from hers.

“I am going to take a shower; I’ll be right back.” I place another quick kiss on her lips after she nods.

I head into the washroom and turn on the shower, moving quickly once I’m in. When I come out dressed in a pair of gymshorts, Liv goes to her bag, grabs out a few items I assume are her pajamas, and heads into the washroom.

As soon as I hear the water turn on, I head over to my bag and start grabbing some things I packed for the weekend. I grab out a few unscented candles, placing them on the dresser across from the bed and a few on the windowsill, and place two lavender-scented ones on the nightstands beside the bed. Inside the nightstand, I place the new box of condoms that I bought. I bring up a playlist and connect my phone to my portable speaker. I make my way around the room, light the candles, turn off the lights, and close the door that connects the bedroom to the main room.

This is kind of setting the scene for sex, but I don’t expect anything from her tonight or this weekend. The candles, music, and lights are for us to relax and the condoms are so that should we decide to move forward this weekend, I’m prepared.

As soon as I close the door, I hear Olivia open the washroom door and her intake of breath. She looks around the room slowly before her eyes land on me.

She is standing there in a soft-looking maroon negligee, with lace around the triangles of fabric covering her breasts. Her hair is dry and loose down her back and her face has been washed of any makeup she had on earlier.

She is absolutely gorgeous.

We walk towards each other, meeting halfway. I look down at her as I wrap my arms around her back and she wraps hers around my neck, looking up at me.

“You look beautiful,” I say before kissing her softly. “I want you to know I don’t expect anything from you, but I do want to spend a romantic night in bed with you. Maybe watch a movie or we can just talk and listen to music. Whatever you want as long as we can do it together.”

Olivia plays with the hair at the nape of my neck before she gets up on her tiptoes and kisses me. It’s a slow and intimate kiss, one that says so much more than words could possibly express.

Her lips leave mine, but she stays on her tiptoes as she whispers, “I know, Josh. I know you won’t push me. I feel so unbelievably safe with you. I trust you.”

Those words cause my insides to warm. Her feeling safe with me and trusting me is all I could ever ask for.

She drops back down to her feet, grabs my hand, and leads me over to the bed. She pulls the blankets back and climbs on, kneeling as she continues to face me and wraps her arms around my neck again. Pressing her lips to mine again, this time she kisses me more hungrily. Her tongue licks at my lips and I open to her, groaning into the kiss as she grips the hair at the base of my neck. Her nails scrape my scalp.

My arms wrap around her, and I step closer to the bed, pulling her body into mine. Her ample breasts press against my chest, and she shuffles closer to the edge of the bed, trying to get closer to me. My lips move from hers and trail along her skin. I kiss softly across her jaw and down her neck.

I pull back and look her in the eyes. “Olivia, you are entirely in control. If you want me to stop at any time, I just need you to tell me, and I will stop immediately. Tell me you understand.”

She nods. “I need words, babe. I need to know one hundred percent that you understand.”

“I understand, Josh.”

“Good, now why don’t you climb into the middle of the bed for me?”

She complies immediately, shuffling to the centre of the bed and laying on her back. I take a few seconds to takeher in as she lies there, spread out for me. The light from the candles flicker over her, creating an ethereal look. She is breathtaking. I climb on the bed, settling beside her, running a hand through her hair, admiring how soft it feels between my fingers.

“You are stunning, Olivia; I don’t ever want you to question that.”

She looks at me like she is trying to find some sort of sign that I am not telling her the truth. It only solidifies in my head that people in her past have made her feel like shit about herself and I will do everything I can to fix that.

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