Page 34 of Let the Games Begin
Zeke moved a little bit closer, and so did Olivia. They leaned closer, and then closer again, like theyneededto be together. Like this was inevitable. As Olivia breathed in, she felt Zeke’s nose gently touch hers. Her heartbeat quickened. He placed his hand on the side of her face and softly cupped it to bring her closer still. Without thinking, she gripped his shoulder to bring him forward. Zeke brushed a strand of hair out of her face and traced his finger from the top of her head, down over her cheek, and then across her lips… so achingly slowly that Olivia could feel herself trembling.
“Zeke,” she whispered, her voice shaking at his touch.
“Hmm?” he said, his nose grazing her chin as his hot breath swept up across her neck, leaving each inch of her skin feeling like it had been set alight. She was going to lose her mind if he didn’t just hurry up and kiss her.
“Zeke,” she said again, her voice strained. They were so close now that they could feel each other’s breath and hear each other’s heartbeat. All that separated them was a sliver of distance so delicate she could almost taste it. Shereallywanted to taste it. And then their lips crashed straight into each other. Olivia’s breath hitched at the contact. His lips were soft, and the kiss was hot and urgent. She wrapped her arms around the curve of his neck, and he snaked his hand around her waist to pull her closer. The sides of her shirt had lifted a little, and the sensation of his firm hands against her sensitive skin sent a trickle of pleasure down her spine. She deepened the kiss, tilting her head and gently biting his bottom lip, smiling into his mouth as she heard his quiet moan. Her self-control weakened as she felt the slide of his tongue inside her mouth. She was melting at her core.
In one effortless swoop, Zeke lifted her up from the floor and placed her firmly on his lap, his hands gripping her thighs. She wrapped her legs around his waist, realizing how thin her shorts were when she felt him beneath her. She wanted to get closer. There couldn’t be any space between them. She was intoxicated by the sensation of her body against his. She laid hot, breathless kisses on his lips, and his hands tangled up in her hair. She traced circles on the firm, soft skin underneath his shirt. She gently began to lift it up and then retreated as he kissed her with such passion and urgency that she began to feel lightheaded. He ran his hands down the sides of her body, creating a need so visceral she felt it crackling under her skin. They were both getting so lost in the blinding intensity of the moment that it would only take a few more seconds to tip over the point of no return.
“Is that your phone?” said Zeke. Olivia opened her eyes, came to her senses, and climbed off Zeke’s lap. She was flushed and a little disoriented. Zeke’s shirt was rumpled and his mouth was covered with her lipstick. His face was still wearing an expression of heady, breathless desire. And she was the cause.
29Olivia
DAY FOUR OF THE 2024 OLYMPICS
Olivia shuffled away from Zeke and glanced down at her phone to check the caller ID.
“It’s my best friend,” said Olivia. A part of her wanted to let the phone ring out and slide back over to the other side of the elevator. But she and Aditi were both in a foreign country. What if it was an emergency and she actually needed to reach her?
“Hey, are you okay?” Olivia asked as she answered the video call.
“Areyouokay?” said Aditi from the other side of the phone. “You usually text me every three minutes when you’re on your way home. I hope the radio silence is because you’re having fun, not because you’re in a dark room somewhere staring at your screen applying for jobs and muttering about how much you hate… Wait, where are you?” Aditi was peering at the screen.
“I’m in a lift. I’m stuck in a lift,” Olivia said.
“Oh no, are you with someone? How are you getting phone service? Do you need me to call Village Security?” Aditi asked.She said it like she was concerned, but Olivia could see the delight in her eyes. This was exactly the kind of thing that happened in the K-Dramas they watched on Friday nights.
“I’m fine,” Olivia said.
“The technician should be here in, like, five minutes, right?” said Zeke. But before Olivia could reply, she saw the look of glee on Aditi’s face.
“Wait, is that a boy? Are you stuck in the lift with a boy?”
Olivia closed her eyes in embarrassment. Zeke looked amused; Olivia bit her lip to maintain her composure.
“Olivia, pass the phone over to whoever you’re with right now. I need to warn them about how intense you get when you have to deal with a situation you can’t control for more than ten minutes,” said Aditi.
Zeke shuffled closer, and Olivia shook her head in defeat as the side of his face came into the frame. Aditi’s eyes and mouth widened.
“Zeke Moyo? Oh my God,” said Aditi. “Wait, Oliviahatesyou.”
Olivia tried to silence Aditi with just her eyes, but it didn’t work.
“Oh, I already know,” Zeke said. “She quite literally slid down the wall when she realized she was going to be stuck in here with me.” Nobly, he failed to mention that she’d also just climbed on top of him so she could kiss him from a better angle.
“Well, I think you might have a smudge of something on your lips, Zeke. Something red?” Aditi said, not so subtly pointing out the lipstick stains around Zeke’s mouth.
“I’m hanging up now,” said Olivia.
“Thin lines, right?” Aditi said with a wicked smile.
“Bye, Aditi,” said Olivia as she ended the call. She put her phone in her pocket and looked anywhere but at Zeke.
“Thin lines?” Zeke asked.
Olivia had no intention of giving him an answer. And, luckily, the emergency intercom in the lift buzzed before he could ask again.
“Hey, Giannis… yep, I’m here,” she said, trying to make her voice sound upbeat and casual to distract herself from the fact that her whole body was drawing her back to Zeke, to finish what they’d started. She could still remember the feeling of Zeke’s hands running up and down her sides, the dizzying effect of his lips, and just how breathless she’d been when they’d let go. The tension between them was still lingering in the air. Olivia knew that if the lift doors stayed closed, there would be no stopping what they’d put into motion.
