Finding Olivia (Trace + Olivia), page 35
“I want you to feel comfortable here, Olivia. There’s no need to be so shy,” she smiled kindly and waved her hand for me to follow her.
Thankfully, there were no customers at the moment. Marcy showed me where the key was to open the glass cases so people could try on the necklaces, bracelets, and rings. After that, she showed me how to use the iPad that she used instead of a regular cash register. Everything seemed very straightforward and simple. I immediately started to feel more at ease. Marcy hung around to help me with the first few customers that trickled in. After being successful with all the customers, Marcy felt comfortable enough to leave me on my own.
I handled two more customers on my own before Alba showed up. There was no mistaking her as Marcy’s daughter. They both had the same pointed features. Her hair was died black with streaks of crimson and purple. Thick black bangs curtained her forehead and she had a nose ring. Her eyes were a light blue that I was sure was the product of contacts. No one’s eyes were naturally that shade of sky blue.
She held out a hand to me. “I’m Alba,” she smiled, showing off straight white teeth.
“Olivia,” I replied.
“I’m glad my mom was able to get some help. I can’t help her as often as I’d like,” she shrugged. “I recently started my own tattoo business,” she explained.
“Oh,” I nodded, “so you’re an artist like your mom, just in a different way.”
“Yep, we’re very artsy people,” she nodded, looking around. “You appear to be doing very well for your first day,” she appraised me, hands on her studded belt.
“Thanks,” I breathed, relieved that she thought so.
“If you think you can handle yourself out here, I’ll go back there, and help my mom out,” she pointed to the beaded curtain that separated the backroom from the front.
“I think I’m good,” I smiled.
“Awesome,” she clapped her hands together. Her nails were painted black with red skulls drawn on top. “If you need one of us, give a holler.”
Alba disappeared behind the curtain and I was left alone once more.
At lunchtime, my phone vibrated in my pocket. I pulled it out, wiping my Cheeto stained fingers on a napkin, and smiled at the picture Trace had text. He held Ace in one hand while the other held the phone out. A ham sandwich was clasped between his teeth. I giggled.
Miss u. I no ur doing gr8.
I replied back to tell him that he had been right and my first day was going well.
Marcy breezed by me with new products to display. “Based on the smile on your face, I’d say you’re talking to your beau.”
I paled at being caught. “Sorry,” I mumbled, putting my phone away.
“Sweetie, you’re on your lunch break. I don’t mind if you’re texting that fine specimen of man. If you know any more like him, maybe you can send them Alba’s way?”
“Mom!” We heard the groan from the back. “I am a smart independent woman, I don’t need a man!”
Marcy rolled her eyes and shook her head. “That may be so,” she whispered to me, “but I want some grandchildren before I’m dead.”
“Mom! I can still hear you!” Alba called.
Marcy and I snickered.
“I may know of some guys for Alba,” I shrugged, thinking of Justin and Brian from the tattoo shop.
“Really?” Marcy asked, brightening.
“Mhmm,” I nodded.
“I don’t need a man!” Alba yelled, and a moment later, appeared from behind the beaded curtain.
“Well, someone has to clear out the cobwebs in your vagina,” Marcy pointed at her daughter.
“Mom!” Alba shrieked, her face coloring an unhealthy shade of red. “Don’t say things like that! It’s disgusting coming from you!”
“Oh please, Alba. Don’t be so dramatic. Everyone has sex.” Alba cringed at her mother’s words. “Sex, sex, sex,” Marcy chanted.
“I think I’m going to be sick,” Alba frowned, shaking her head back and forth.
“You young people can be so ridiculous, acting like us older people have never had sex,” Marcy defended with her hands on her narrow hips. “How do you think you came into this world? A stork?”
“Ugh,” Alba groaned, “if you keep this up, I’m leaving.”
“Fine, I’ll shut my mouth,” Marcy rearranged some necklaces, “but only because I need your help today.”
“Way to make me feel used, mom,” Alba laughed, the beads swishing closed as she returned to the back.
“Say hello to that handsome man of yours for me,” Marcy squeezed my arm lightly as she breezed around me. “Oh, and sweetheart, you look nice and all, but there’s no need to be so dressed up. You’re making the owner look bad,” she chuckled.
I glanced down at my slacks and dress shirt. “What would you prefer me to wear?” I asked with a smile, amused at my boss.
“Jeans, shorts, whatever you want, really. I mean, look at me,” she pointed to her own long skirt and breezy shirt. “Some people might say it’s unprofessional but it’s my business and I’ll run it how I want to,” she said firmly. “Besides, my fashion sense doesn’t seem to keep the buyers away,” she chortled.
★★★
The rest of the day went by quickly and Marcy closed the store at five.
“I hope your first day wasn’t too bad,” she smiled as she flipped the sign from Open to Closed and lowered the blinds over the glass door.
“It was great,” I answered honestly.
“So, you’re not sick of us yet?” Marcy asked, pointing to herself and Alba.
“Of course not,” I laughed. “You guys are great.”
“Phew,” Marcy pretended to wipe sweat from her brow. “I was worried we’d be too much for you to handle and you’d quit.”
“Not at all,” I replied, straightening the displays in the glass case.
“If you don’t have to get back to that love muffin of yours, would you like to have dinner with us?” Marcy asked.
I giggled at her term for Trace. “I don’t have plans, but I don’t want to intrude,” I bit my lip nervously. “I would hate to feel like I’m imposing.”
“Nonsense,” Marcy scoffed. “I’m inviting you, how could you be imposing?”
“If you’re sure,” I agreed reluctantly, looking between the mother and daughter.
“It’ll be fun,” Alba smiled genuinely.
“Alright, I’ll go,” I finally agreed.
Between the three of us, we finished cleaning and straightening the store in no time. I grabbed my purse and followed them outside.
“We had planned to go to Olive Garden, is that fine with you? If not we can go somewhere else,” Marcy informed me, her rainbow colored hair blowing in the wind.
“That’ll be great,” I smiled.
“Excellent,” she clapped her hands together and headed towards her car, a bright yellow Fiat.
I got in my car and texted Trace to let him know what I was doing so he wouldn’t worry.
I met Alba and Marcy at the restaurant that looked like it belonged in the Tuscan countryside with its stone walls and terracotta roof tiles.
We had to wait fifteen minutes before being seated but spent the time chatting casually. Somehow, much to my dismay, Marcy always managed to bring the conversation back to Trace. I was beginning to think she was the grown up, hippie version, of Avery.
We finished dinner and parted ways. I felt completely at ease and excited for my next day at work.
★★★
I unlocked the door to the apartment and giggled at the sight that met me.
A song by 3OH!3 was pumping from the iPod dock in the kitchen, and Trace was dancing around the apartment in only his jeans, a bowl of ice cream in one hand. He sang along with the lyrics, trying to coax Ace into dancing with him. The puppy simply cracked his eyes open and promptly went back to sleep.
The door closed behind me and he turned around quickly.
“Hey, you’re home,” he grinned, spooning a mouthful of chocolate ice cream, his thick-framed black glasses were perched on his nose.
“I’m home,” I repeated, smiling as I dropped my purse on the floor. “I’m going to shower.”
“Alright, how was dinner?” He licked a smear of ice cream from his lip.
“It was great,” I started unbuttoning my blouse as I made my way to the bathroom. “Marcy is awesome, and her daughter, Alba, is great too.”
“Looks like we can cross, make more friends off your list,” he chuckled, making his way across the room to me. “I’m so happy your first day went so well,” he planted a sticky kiss on my cheek. “Although, I never doubted that it would be anything but fantastic,” he smirked.
“We can’t all be as optimistic as you,” I joked.
“Need me to wash your back,” he quipped as I moved to close the bathroom door.
“I think I’ve got it covered,” I shook my head at him.
“Are you sure? I’m an excellent back washer,” he grinned.
“I’m know,” I rolled my eyes, remembering the morning after the first time we’d had sex, when we showered together.
I finished my shower, alone, and dressed in my PJs, taking my spot on the couch beside Trace. Ace curled into the curve of my legs to be close to me. I loved that little dog.
I laid my head on Trace’s shoulder, not paying attention to whatever was playing on TV.
I smiled to myself, thinking about how at ease Trace and I were, with living together. True, it had only been a week, but I felt so at peace…and loved, even if he hadn’t said it yet. I didn’t think it was possible for anything to burst my bubble.
c h a p t e r
Thirty Two
I said goodbye to Marcy and made my way home, so I could shower, and get ready. Trace and I had plans to meet Avery and Luca at a restaurant nearby.
“You look nice,” Trace commented when I stepped out of the bedroom in a new sundress I had bought.
“I wanted to dress up,” I shrugged. Lately, all I had been wearing was shorts and t-shirts, so I wanted to look nice. “How long before we’re to meet them?” I asked, sitting on the couch to put on the heels Avery had given me.
“We should be heading out now,” he smiled at me from where he lounged on the couch with Ace curled against his body.
“I swear, all that puppy does is sleep,” I laughed. “Aren’t most puppies into mischief?”
“Probably, but not Ace,” Trace rubbed the puppy’s back, and at Trace’s touch, Ace rolled over to get his tummy rubbed. We had quickly learned that Ace loved belly rubs. “He’s special.”
“Let me fix my hair and I’ll be ready to go,” I informed him as I strolled into the bathroom. I quickly side-braided my damp hair and added some gloss to my lips.
Trace was already grabbing his car keys when I walked out.
“Bye Ace,” I crooned to the dog, kissing his soft head, and handing him a treat.
Trace shook his head at me. “That is the most spoiled dog ever.”
“He deserves to be spoiled,” I laughed, passing by Trace, and making my way down the staircase to the parking lot.
“How was work?” He asked, starting the old Camaro.
“It was great. Marcy is so awesome,” I gushed. After three weeks of working at Marcy’s store, I had yet to run into a hiccup. The customers were great and Marcy was the best boss ever.
“See, you had nothing to worry about,” he grinned, his eyes a light shade of green today, which meant he was in a happy carefree mood.
“Do you want me to admit that you were right?” I laughed.
“Just one teeny tiny, ‘Trace you were right,’ would be awesome,” he held up his fingers a centimeter apart.
“Fine,” I rolled my eyes. “Trace, you were right.”
“Those words warm my heart,” he grinned with a hand over his heart.
“Look at the road,” I warned.
“You worry too much,” he mumbled, but his eyes strayed back to the road ahead.
He hadn’t driven far when he turned into a parking garage. We got out of the car and I followed him around the side of a painted stone building to a gate. He pushed the gate open and I spotted Avery and Luca seated at one of tables with a yellow umbrella.
I saw a band setting up on a stage in the far corner of the outdoor patio.
“Another thing you can cross off,” Trace whispered in my ear with a steady hand on my back as he guided me to the table.
I shook my head in amazement.
Trace and I, met by chance, and something made me show him my list, but somewhere along the way, my list stopped mattering to me. It became, not so much about accomplishing these things, but about living in the moment and just…being happy. As simple as that may sound, it’s true. Happiness is everything.
Trace pulled out a chair for me to sit down and then scooted me into the table.
“Have y’all already ordered?” Trace asked the other two.
“Nah, we were waiting for you guys to get here,” Luca replied, slouching in his chair with an arm thrown casually across the back of Avery’s. He was in one of his vests, again, with no shirt underneath. Quite a few girls kept eyeing his impressive arms, trying to get a peek at what the vest was hiding.
“I already know what I want,” Trace pushed his menu aside. “Luca and I come here all the time,” he explained.
The restaurant’s name, Piccadilly’s, was scrawled across the top of the menu in a swirly font. I perused the different items, settling on the club sandwich. It was a hot evening so I wasn’t in the mood for warm food.
A waitress appeared with her pen already poised against her notepad. She appeared frazzled with all the tables and I felt bad for her. I knew I could never be a waitress. I’d never be able to carry those heavy trays of food and walk at the same time. She was dressed casually for the summer heat, in a pink polo shirt, and kaki shorts.
“Have y’all decided?” She asked.
We all nodded and rattled off our orders.
“Great,” she smiled as she took the menus, “I’ll get that in and I’ll get your drinks right out to you,” she pointed to Trace and me.
We had only been outside, for maybe five minutes, and I already felt sweat beading on my skin. My dress began to stick to my body from perspiration.
The umbrella, although it provided shade, did little to squelch the heat. I prayed for a breeze as I fanned myself with a hand.
The waitress returned with our drinks as the band started to play. They were only a local band but they were pretty good. I recognized the first song as an old beach song.
I slurped greedily at my sweet tea, and soon the glass was empty, but I was still thirsty. I should have been smart and ordered water. In this heat, sweet tea did little to quench my thirst.
“I know it may not be the concert you were hoping for, in a big stadium, but I thought this would suffice,” Trace leaned over to whisper in my ear so that Avery and Luca didn’t hear.
“It’s perfect,” I beamed at him.
He smiled in response and sat back to enjoy the show.
Our food was brought out and the band took a short break.
“This is really good,” I mumbled around a mouthful of sandwich.
“Yeah, this place is great,” Avery smiled, dipping her fry into ketchup. I really hoped Trace didn’t start up an argument with me about ketchup again. “My family comes here a lot.”
“And now, I feel like the odd man out,” I grumbled, chewing on a non-ketchup covered fry.
“That’s because,” Avery pointed at me, “up until Tracey-poo, over here,” she pointed a finger at Trace and he smirked in response, “came into your life, you rarely left the dorm, unless it was to do your homework or read a book outside.”
“I can’t help it that I have a really strong work ethic and you don’t,” I joked, pointing a finger at her.
Avery’s eyes zeroed in on a spot over my shoulder, just before I heard the words, “Well, well, well,” from a voice I never wanted to hear from again.
The hairs on my neck stood on end as I cringed.
“Can I ever catch a fucking break?” Trace grumbled under his breath, turning around to face our visitor. “What do you want, Aubrey?”
I recoiled at the sound of her name coming off of Trace’s lips.
“I was hoping my date,” she emphasized the word, “and I could join you?”
“Hell to the mother-fucking no,” Trace seethed.
I turned to watch Aubrey’s reaction. Her blue eyes widened briefly. I was sure she had expected Trace to remain cordial since we were in public. “Trace,” she scoffed, “you shouldn’t use language like that, with small children nearby.”
“And maybe you shouldn’t walk up to people that obviously don’t like you. You’re not welcome here,” Trace waved his hand like he was shooing her away. “When things ended between us, they ended,” his words were harsh and Aubrey crossed her arms protectively over her chest. “Stop trying to revive something that died a long time ago.” Trace looked up at Aubrey’s date. “If you were smart, you’d drop this one, she’s nothing but trouble.”
Aubrey’s mouth opened and closed in shock. “Trace!”
“What? It’s true?” He shrugged. “You’re like a fucking plague, sucking the life out of everything you touch, just like you did with me. And yet, somehow, you wonder why no one likes you?”
My stomach clenched, not because I felt bad for Aubrey necessarily, but if, for some reason things between Trace and I ended, I didn’t think I could stand it if he spoke to me that way. Why? Because I was hopelessly in love with the man sitting beside me. I loved his cocky attitude and smiles. I loved that he could be arrogant. I loved that when he was with me, he was sweet and attentive. I loved that he was caring and passionate. Hell, I even loved those stupid plaid shirts he always wore. But most importantly, I loved him. Down to his very core, the good and the bad, I loved it all.
And despite being upset that Aubrey was once again, causing a scene, I decided in that moment that I was going to tell him that I loved him. Not now. But soon. It didn’t matter anymore that he hadn’t told me. I had to get these words off my chest.
