pushed away from William and sat on the bed, pulling off my heels, thigh highs and bra so that I was completely naked, but free. I hugged my knees to my chest and took a deep breath.
“My parents are dead, William.” I felt his hand on the small of my back.
“I’m sorry, Livy.”
“How could you know? It’s not like we ever talk about anything important.” I could hear the bitterness in my voice.
“You’re right,” William agreed. “We should talk more.”
I gave him a sly smile. “It’s not really our fault. We just happen to be really good at other things.”
William returned my smile. He pushed back on the bed so that he was sitting up as well. “Ask me something, Olivia. Anything.”
I tapped my chin thoughtfully. Finally, we were getting to the good stuff. I had a chance to learn about the real William Connor. “You’ve never taken anyone home to meet your parents until me. Why?”
William leaned his head back and half-closed his eyes. “I don’t know.”
“Terrible answer.” I slapped his leg. “You can do better than that.”
“Olivia, I honestly don’t know. I have no idea why I decided it would be a good idea to introduce you to those people.” A smile threatened to appear. “You’re just so different from the other women I’ve dated.”
“Tell me about them.” I didn’t really want to hear about these other women, but I wanted to know more about William.
“There’s not much to tell.”
“What was your longest relationship?”
William looked away. “I don’t know. Six months?”
“So, Holly?” I felt a twisting in my chest.
He shrugged. “I guess. But I wouldn’t exactly say we had a serious relationship. It just took me awhile to get around to breaking up with her.”
“You realize that makes you sound like a total jerk?”
William sat up abruptly. “Fine. Here goes. I’ve dated a lot of women, especially when I was younger. I have a lot of money, and it’s hard to find quality women. So eventually I stopped looking and settled for easy women. I had a lot of meaningless sex. Occasionally, I kept one of those women around for a little while. By the time I met Holly, I thought I was ready to have a real relationship, so I tried to make it work. But it didn’t take long to realize she was only after my money, so I ended it.” He reached over and rested his palm on my cheek. “Then I met you, and everything changed.”
“How do I know you aren’t just saying what I want to hear to keep the sex coming?” Even as I asked the question, I knew he wasn’t just bullshitting me.
William actually laughed. “Have you been paying attention? You made me beg and plead on multiple occasions for you to even give me a chance. If I was just looking for sex, I would’ve moved on a long time ago. And I certainly wouldn’t have introduced you to my mother. She’s a giant cock-block.”
I laughed loudly at that. He was right.
“My turn?” William asked. I could tell he had a list of questions he was dying to ask me. I cringed a little, but said yes.
“When we were at the shelter, you seemed to know everything about that place. Down to the minutest of details, like where they keep the matches.” William’s hand had slid to my back and his fingertips grazed a light path down my spine. “You didn’t just volunteer there, did you?
William Connor was too perceptive for his own good. “That’s true,” I said. “I may have changed some of the details about my past. After everything that happened with Paul, I didn’t have anywhere to go. I was in a pretty bad state physically, and I spent two weeks in the hospital recovering. On top of that, I had nowhere to live. Paul and I had been living together, and I was too scared to face him. I didn’t have any family I could rely on. The counselor at the hospital gave me information about the shelter. I lived there for two months until I was able to stand on my own two feet again.”
I could see the anger in
“My parents are dead, William.” I felt his hand on the small of my back.
“I’m sorry, Livy.”
“How could you know? It’s not like we ever talk about anything important.” I could hear the bitterness in my voice.
“You’re right,” William agreed. “We should talk more.”
I gave him a sly smile. “It’s not really our fault. We just happen to be really good at other things.”
William returned my smile. He pushed back on the bed so that he was sitting up as well. “Ask me something, Olivia. Anything.”
I tapped my chin thoughtfully. Finally, we were getting to the good stuff. I had a chance to learn about the real William Connor. “You’ve never taken anyone home to meet your parents until me. Why?”
William leaned his head back and half-closed his eyes. “I don’t know.”
“Terrible answer.” I slapped his leg. “You can do better than that.”
“Olivia, I honestly don’t know. I have no idea why I decided it would be a good idea to introduce you to those people.” A smile threatened to appear. “You’re just so different from the other women I’ve dated.”
“Tell me about them.” I didn’t really want to hear about these other women, but I wanted to know more about William.
“There’s not much to tell.”
“What was your longest relationship?”
William looked away. “I don’t know. Six months?”
“So, Holly?” I felt a twisting in my chest.
He shrugged. “I guess. But I wouldn’t exactly say we had a serious relationship. It just took me awhile to get around to breaking up with her.”
“You realize that makes you sound like a total jerk?”
William sat up abruptly. “Fine. Here goes. I’ve dated a lot of women, especially when I was younger. I have a lot of money, and it’s hard to find quality women. So eventually I stopped looking and settled for easy women. I had a lot of meaningless sex. Occasionally, I kept one of those women around for a little while. By the time I met Holly, I thought I was ready to have a real relationship, so I tried to make it work. But it didn’t take long to realize she was only after my money, so I ended it.” He reached over and rested his palm on my cheek. “Then I met you, and everything changed.”
“How do I know you aren’t just saying what I want to hear to keep the sex coming?” Even as I asked the question, I knew he wasn’t just bullshitting me.
William actually laughed. “Have you been paying attention? You made me beg and plead on multiple occasions for you to even give me a chance. If I was just looking for sex, I would’ve moved on a long time ago. And I certainly wouldn’t have introduced you to my mother. She’s a giant cock-block.”
I laughed loudly at that. He was right.
“My turn?” William asked. I could tell he had a list of questions he was dying to ask me. I cringed a little, but said yes.
“When we were at the shelter, you seemed to know everything about that place. Down to the minutest of details, like where they keep the matches.” William’s hand had slid to my back and his fingertips grazed a light path down my spine. “You didn’t just volunteer there, did you?
William Connor was too perceptive for his own good. “That’s true,” I said. “I may have changed some of the details about my past. After everything that happened with Paul, I didn’t have anywhere to go. I was in a pretty bad state physically, and I spent two weeks in the hospital recovering. On top of that, I had nowhere to live. Paul and I had been living together, and I was too scared to face him. I didn’t have any family I could rely on. The counselor at the hospital gave me information about the shelter. I lived there for two months until I was able to stand on my own two feet again.”
I could see the anger in
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