Page 73 of Fielder's Choice

“Happy it helped,” I reply, tucking her soaking hair behind her ear and kissing her gently. “You’ve had a bit of a rough night.”

Olive sighs. “I’m sorry for how the night ended, Lane. We had such a wonderful date, and then we came back here only for me to ruin it.”

“You didnotruin the night, Liv.” I cup her cheek and force her to look at me. “I had an amazing time at the restaurant. Sure, I planned for far fewer tears the rest of the night, but I don’t mind how it ended. You opened up to me, and I’m honored that you trust me enough to share that with me.”

She lets her forehead fall against mine. “You might actually be perfect. I’m so lucky to know you.”

“Sage and I are luckier,” I smile. “My daughter gets to look up to you, and you are incredible. I want her to look up and see such a strong female role model. I want her to be as strong as you when she’s older.”

“I’m not always strong,” she breathes. “I have days where the darkness wins, but I’ve been having fewer of them.”

“On your darkest days, lean on me, Liv. You’re safe with me, and I’m happy to be your comfort.”

“Thank you.” She kisses me softly before letting out a sigh. “I’m sorry for lying before.”

I look at her in confusion. “What are you talking about?”

“About being a virgin. It’s just the easiest way to avoid unloading my trauma and avoid talking about sex. Nobody asks questions.”

“Olive.” My tone is stern, and I keep my eyes trained right on hers. “You lied about nothing.”

“I did, though. You can’t be a virgin when you’ve had sex.”

I wrap my arms around her and hold her against me. “You didnothave sex, Olive. You were assaulted. Sex is something you consent to, and it should be enjoyable for you. As far as I’m concerned, youarea virgin. Virginity can’t be taken from you if you aren’t the one giving it away.”

“Gynecologically, though, I’m not a virgin. My hymen is broken.”

“You can do that riding a fucking bike,” I say emphatically. “It means jack shit in regards to your virginity. Sex is the only factor involved in that, and you did not have sex.”

“That’s what Corinne tells me, too,” Olive says softly. “She’s why I say I’m a virgin at all.”

I rest my palm against her cheek. “You say you’re a virgin because youare.And you’ll remain a virgin until you have sex, when or if that happens.”

Olive is crying now, but these don’t seem like sad tears. “Thank you, Lane. You’re amazing.”

“I’m not doing anything special, baby. I’m doing what’s right. You deserve to be reassured that nothing was taken from you.”

She leans over and kisses me before pulling back, eyes glazed over in a mixture of hope and fear. “Lane, what is… this?”

“What do you want this to be?” I ask, brushing my lips over hers before capturing them again.

“I don’t know,” she breathes. “I know that I really like you, and I have such a great time with you. And you know I absolutely adore your daughter. But I’m scared. This is all very hard for me.”

“Then we won’t put a label on anything, Olive. We can do what we’ve been doing. I’ll kiss you every time I see you. I’ll still take you on dates. You’ll still wear my shirts around my penthouse and come dance with my daughter. We keep not acting too close in front of Sage until we know this is a sure thing. Nothingchanges except the knowledge that we’re not just friends. We just aren’t giving ourselves a label. Would that be okay?”

“Yes,” Olive smiles softly. “That would be perfect.”

twenty-seven

Olive

Whatisthatsound?

It’s like a loud banging.

Wait…

Itisa loud banging because someone is knocking on Lane’s door.

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