Page 35 of Come As You Are
A burst of laughter greeted me just before I opened the door and stepped inside my home, and a sudden bout of nerves made me pause. I could hear the sound of their voices but not what they were saying. By their tone, they seemed to be having a good time, and I felt a sudden stab of jealousy.
The jealousy turned to stunned shock when I opened the door. Olivia and Vee sat on the couch with Vee’s injured foot resting on a pillow to elevate it, but that wasn’t what surprised me. Both of Olivia’s feet rested on Vee’s lap, and he was in the process of giving her a foot massage. As if that weren’t enough, Olivia was dressed more casually than I’d ever seen her in leggings and an oversized, chunky sweater that had slid off one of her shoulders to reveal a tattoo I never knew she had. She was still styled to the nines with a necklace made of heavy, gold links around her neck and lots of chunky rings on her fingers, and her makeup, though a bit more subdued than what she wore at Illyria, was flawless.
I’d always thought Olivia was beautiful, almost goddess-like. The way she presented herself was statuesque, formal, reserved, but she could also come off as somewhat cold and rigid in the way she held herself apart from other people. That hadbecome even truer since Antonio’s death as she’d taken on the responsibility for the club and everyone’s livelihood.
The version of Olivia in front of me, the one who was relaxed and laughing with Vee was something else entirely; something free and gorgeous, and I couldn’t get enough of seeing her in my apartment, sitting on my couch as if she belonged here. My heart beat quicker with longing for that to be our reality.
“You look amazing,” I blurted out at the same time Olivia said the same thing. We stared at each other in surprise, and then laughed. My heart literally soared.
Olivia disentangled her feet from Vee’s hands and stood. “This outfit is incredible,” she said as she circled me to take in the full effect.
I loved being the center of her attention and focus. In a strange way, I felt as if she was truly seeing me for the first time even though I was in drag. Even stranger, my impression of her was the same. I was usually the one in casual clothing, usually in jeans and a T-shirt or button-up, and she was the one who wore dresses and heels. It was also a kick that with her in bare feet and me in heels, I was nearly a foot taller than her.
As she continued to circle me, I turned to watch her. I tried to jut out a hip in a sexy and provocative pose, but I lost my balance and started to fall. Olivia reached out, and caught me. For a blissful moment, I was held in her arms—her surprise at finding me there mirrored in my own expression as I stared into her eyes—and then we overbalanced and toppled onto the couch.
Vee yelped as we tumbled onto him, and I felt a seam let go on the side of the dress, but I was more concerned about reinjuring Vee. I struggled to sit up, the top of my head colliding with Olivia’s chin as she tried to do the same thing.
“Oh my God, guys.” Vee was laughing and shouting at the same time. “Stop.”
Olivia and I froze. “Are you okay?” I asked.
“I’m fine,” Vee answered. “I moved my foot in time.”
We were close enough, Vee’s breath skated over my cheek. I turned my head slightly and found that our mouths were perfectly aligned, so I leaned in and gave him a kiss. His mouth was sweet, and I couldn’t resist sliding my tongue between the seam of his lips.
Vee responded immediately, but the sigh I heard didn’t come from him. It was Olivia. Her abdomen was pressed against my arm, and I felt the deep breath she took as I lifted my head from Vee and focused on her. Her dark eyes were wide and those luscious lips slightly parted. The longing was there again—from me, from her, from Vee—a palpable thing connecting the three of us in some deep and elemental way.
Vee nudged me, urging me to close the distance between Olivia and myself, but all I could do was stare at her and wait for her to give me a sign that she wanted me as much as I wanted her. And then it happened. Olivia leaned into me, her gaze never leaving my face, her lips slowly connecting with mine in a kiss so gentle there was almost no pressure, but I felt it. There was warmth that spread from my mouth into my chest, my heart expanding until I feared it would burst.
Beside me, Vee had stopped breathing, which made me aware that I had as well. For the life of me, I couldn’t remember how to start again, not while Olivia was touching me. If the kiss went on for much longer, I was in danger of passing out, but I was quite willing to take that risk. Nothing would make me pull away from Olivia short of an earthquake or alien invasion.
As Olivia pulled back from me, I groaned, and felt the seam on my dress split even further.
“Maria is going to kill you,” Vee whispered with a smile.
“I think she’ll forgive me,” I said as I turned my head.
None of us had moved, and we still lay in a tangle of limbs, which meant Vee’s mouth was still close. All it took was thebarest of movements to connect our mouths again. Olivia’s hand trailed up my neck, her fingertips tracing the tendon that was stretched tight as I moved slightly to get closer to Vee. I didn’t have to look to know she was watching us, the sound of her breath hitching told me everything I needed to know as I closed the distance once again and kissed Vee.
This time, Vee opened to me immediately and groaned as my tongue licked into his mouth, teasing at the sensitive skin just inside his lips, then going deeper to stroke the velvety softness within. I felt Olivia’s breath as she leaned in and withdrew from Vee to kiss her, then urged Vee to come closer as I pulled back slightly.
“Your turn,” I said softly.
Vee and Olivia stared at each other. The expression on her face could so easily have been mistaken for disdain in the way she lifted her chin, but I knew different from all the time I had spent studying her, learning her body language, deciphering the moods and emotions she tried so hard to keep under wraps. What I saw on her face now was longing and desire. She might look like she wanted to pull away, but that was born of fear and a need to protect herself from hurt.
On Vee’s face, I read hope and yearning, and a similar fear of rejection that meant neither of them would make the first move.
“Can Vee kiss you?” I asked without taking my gaze off Olivia.
When she nodded, Vee smiled, and then they leaned toward each other, their lips touched, and it was my turn to sigh. There was something perfect about this moment, something that was so much more than I had thought possible in all my fantasies and daydreams about Olivia, or the time Vee and I had spent together. We’d barely scratched the surface of our attraction, but then I realized it was because we were waiting for Olivia.
We would have remained on the couch all day trading kisses back and forth, but a knock at the door interrupted us. Thepizza Olivia had ordered was being delivered. As soon as we disentangled ourselves, I realized I had to get out of my dress and untuck myself. I needed to pee something fierce, and the dress was too confining. Olivia went to the door, and I disappeared into my room to change.
Back in my normal clothes, I went to the kitchen and rounded up some paper plates, grabbed the roll of paper towels, and headed back to the living room where I took a seat while Olivia started divvying up the slices. I didn’t realize how hungry I was until I took my first bite, and then I couldn’t stop until I’d devoured two slices.
“So, what happened at the Grotto?” Vee asked as I shifted from eating at the speed of a velociraptor to a more sedate pace.
“Did you learn anything?” Olivia put her slice down and turned her full attention on me.
