Waking Olivia (The Langstrom Brothers #1)

by Elizabeth O'Roark

She's trouble of the devious, manipulative, too-fucking-hot-for-her-own good variety. Sashaying into Peter's office like a runway model, all long-legged and tan with big green eyes and a knowing smile. She's the kind of girl who causes trouble merely by existing, and then makes sure to cause more.

It’s nice to put a name to the face I’m probably going to rub in the dirt.

She grins, wide-eyed. "I do. That's why we're perfect together. You never speak and I never shut up. You're so lucky you found me."

The next morning I'm ready to put Will Langstrom in his fucking place. His words from yesterday are still pissing me off almost twenty-four hours later. Asshole. I’ve had a full night’s sleep, so let’s see him try to complain about me now.

You’re going to have to assess my ass from a distance. Get ready to eat your words, Langstrom.

"There’s one with some promise." The words come out of my mouth before I can stop them. I don't know why but something about Finnegan makes me want to discuss her, and at the same time makes me want to pretend she doesn’t exist.

I give him everything at practice, and while I don’t deserve an award for it, I do deserve one for not telling him to go fuck himself. Actually, I deserve something better than an award for that—maybe a new car or a trip to Disney.

Me: Stop texting me. Erin: Aren’t you cute? ;-) ;-) Me: I hate emojis.

I couldn’t care less about meeting the guys. Runners are too gangly for me. I prefer a build like Will's, though I want to take bleach to my brain the moment I hear that admission in my head.

There's a small muscle at the corner of his jaw that pops when he's mad. That muscle and I are practically family I know it so well.

If I were being reasonable, I’d say I couldn’t blame them. Olivia isn’t just beautiful. Something compels you to look at her even when you don’t want to. Like Medusa. The difference is that I realize Olivia probably could turn you to stone with her withering glare, while the rest of these idiots are completely blind to it.

"You'd probably make a good doctor if you ever decided to leave the lucrative world of coaching," I tell him. "Not, mind you, a doctor who needs to be pleasant, like a pediatrician or something. But one of those doctors you expect to be an asshole." "Is that right?" he drawls, trying not to smile.

That girl. I’m still kind of smiling when she leaves. When I realize this, I wipe it clean from my face. I cannot allow myself to get sucked in by Olivia Finnegan. She’s already got half the men at this school watching her every move like she’s a wet dream come to life. I refuse to join her cheering section.

"Olivia Finnegan is the last person on earth who could be an unnecessary temptation.” He nods. He looks like he believes me. So I’m not sure why it feels like it was a lie.

God help the man she ends up with.

"Sit," I bark, pointing at the curb. "And stop being a pain in the ass." She pauses, arms across her chest, scowling but not going inside either.

Olivia Finnegan is so pretty that you feel compelled to look at her even when you don’t want to. You want to memorize the delicate structure of her face, her full rosebud mouth. She’s so pretty that pretty isn’t even the word for it. It’s something that makes me feel like I can’t breathe on the rare occasions I see her smile. It’s that last part that worries me.

"I'm attractive, huh?" He walks away. "Don't worry, your personality ruins it."

“Olivia,” he says. I glance back at him. The uncertain, guilty, anxious version of him is gone. Coach Will is back, stern and no bullshit. “Show everyone what you can do today.” I swallow and nod. I could give two shits about everyone. But for him, I will.

"Don't start treating me differently. Don't act like I'm fragile, because I’m not. Nothing you've seen is new for me." "You're normally crying about how hard I am on you,” he sighs. “I can't win, can I?" “A, I don't cry, and B, I like Asshole Will. He's a known commodity." "If I'm such a known commodity,” he says, his mouth lifting on one side, “you'd know not to refer to me as 'Asshole Will.’”

"Ommmm." "Please shut up, Erin." She laughs. "That's super un-Buddhist of you." "You know what else is un-Buddhist?" I warn. "Punching someone in the face. So stop talking."

want to show Will I’m worth his effort. Over the past five weeks, in his own abrasive way, he's done more for me than anyone I've ever known.

I see him standing by the bleachers, watching, and I don't look around me. I don't even look at the finish line. I pass it, and I am first, and the whole time he is the only thing I see.

She was brilliant. She was absolutely fucking brilliant. And the truth is I’m not surprised.

Except it didn’t, because something changed in me when I caught her last night. And then it changed again, in a far more dangerous way, this morning. When I saw her asleep in my bed, her back bare, her breathing even, her hair spread over the pillow… I’ve tried a hundred times to block the image. And the one that followed, when she sat up and the sheet slid to her waist. I can’t.

“Don’t fish for compliments.” I roll my eyes. “I’m pretty sure it’s the only way to get them out of you.”

"What's embarrassing?" I swallow. "Your mom is going to think I'm some kind of freak." "And she'd be wrong to think that because ...?" he asks with a grin.

"Am I really that awful?" I demand. "You're acting like she just asked you to give me both kidneys."

And I might not enjoy his company, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy the view. He looks good riding a horse. Really good. He wears the hell out of a pair of jeans on his worst day, and even twenty feet behind him I can see the definition of his arms. I picture sneaking up behind him and pressing my nose to the nape of his neck, just below where his hair is shaved close. A small shiver brushes over my arms at the thought. I don’t want him. I don’t.

"I think even Olivia would agree that calling her a lady is a stretch." He yanks the chair out from his seated position. “There you go, princess.”

I’ve spent the last hour pretending to not be completely freaked out by what happened in the kitchen. When she turned and I found her pressed against me like that, looking up at me with those big eyes and that mouth of hers, a mouth which could inspire unwelcome thoughts at any hour of the day—and has—I didn’t just think about kissing her. I planned on it. Some baser part of me took charge and demanded a hundred different things it wanted before I came to my senses.

As pretty as she is by day, what I see right now is a thousand times more compelling: Olivia—vulnerable for once, and trusting. Trusting me of all people not to hurt her, to help her through this. I look at that face and know I’m not telling Peter anything tomorrow. I’ll find a way to deal with my own demons.

"Your mom is a nice woman," I say, looking back at the farm.

"How'd you turn out to be such an asshole?" He rolls his eyes, but I can tell he wants to smile. "No one thinks that but you.” "You sure about that?" He laughs. "No, not entirely."

I let go of my own voice and I cling to his instead. And I fly.

If Betsy were a smarter girl, she'd wipe that smug smile off her face before I do it for her.

He gives me half a smile. “Go take a shower. Try not to beat anyone up.”

"Get in the car,” he says. “My mother likes you. She's excited

you're coming today." I glance up at him in surprise. Will doesn't lie—I know he doesn’t—but this seems hard to believe. He shrugs. "It's as much a mystery to me as it is you."

“All of this you’re feeling,” he says, “it’s like a person running beside you, shouting shit in your ear to tear you down. But it can only change the way you run if you choose to believe it.”

She sinks back in her seat. “So what's your grand plan, Will?" she scoffs. "You gonna tie me to the bed? Because I'll warn you in advance I really, really like that."

Olivia, in my office, wasn’t replaceable. The need for her was sharp, urgent, painful, unlike anything I’d ever felt. At that moment, there was nothing in the entire damn world I wanted more than her. And it felt like there was nothing else I would ever want. It was insane and I’m taking it for the warning it was.

“You don’t have to shout. You’re still only a foot off the ground.” “Asshole,” I mutter. “I heard that,” he replies, “proving you don’t have to shout.”

“I’m getting to the top. I don’t care if it takes all night.” “That’s my girl,” he says proudly, and for a moment I sway in the air, stunned by how happy that statement makes me though I’ve got no idea why.

“I’m tired, Olivia, and you’re tired,” he says, stretching out his arm. “So stop arguing and go the fuck to sleep.” “What a sweet talker.” I laugh, but I lie down. He takes the quilt and tucks it around me. It’s the last thing I remember.

It wasn’t just climbing. It was sharing it with her. I should have known she would love it, that it would strip her of every thought and emotion and let her be free of it all for a while. There are times, like today, when it strikes me that we are far more alike than different. And God knows I wish that wasn’t the case.

“Am I finally seeing the naughty side of Will Langstrom?” He arches a brow. “This doesn’t even come close to the naughty side, Olivia.”

“I’ve been vandalized,” I say when he picks up. “Someone broke into my apartment and furnished it.” “That’s an outrage,” he replies. “There are some sick people in the world.” I laugh, and then grow quiet. There’s nothing in the world harder for me than what comes next. “Thank you,” I tell him awkwardly. “I don’t know what to say.”

“Okay.” His eyes widen. “You’re giving in, just like that?” I shrug. “Sure. If it means that much to you, I’ll do it.” “I guess that’s why it’s so much colder this afternoon,” he says, opening the door. Brendan and Dorothy stand right on the other side, and I suspect they were listening. “Hell must’ve frozen over.”

“So how’s school?” He shrugs. “How’s having two girlfriends?” “I don’t have two girlfriends,” I exhale testily. “Sure you don’t, Saint Will,” he says. “I’ve never seen a guy check out a girl’s ass as often as you did Olivia’s last night, but yeah, nothing going on there at all.” “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” “Cool. Because if you’re not in those pants, I’d like to be, so I’m going to take my shot.” I feel like I can’t breathe.