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Chapter 33: Tree House

Lay with me in your thinnest dress
Fill my heart with each caress
Between your blissful kisses, whisper
"Darling, is this love?"

Can I Stay? - Ray Lamontagne

I WAS ALREADY LATE.

I set the phone alarm at 5:30 in vibration mode to avoid waking Olivia up, but it was already 6:15 and I was still curled up looking at her. It was the first time I did it, we sometimes wake up together, and most of the times she is up before me. So I was new to that voyeur situation, and it was safe to say I was already addicted to the show.

Her brows suddenly furrowed, her lips slightly pouted and I was absolutely hypnotised imagining possible scenarios for her dreams. Needless to say, I was the main character in all of them. It took all I had to refrain myself from kissing her, the peacefulness surrounding her and my inability to break it, were my main impediments.

I reluctantly crawled out of bed, brushed a kiss on Olivia's forehead, and was bedazzled to watch her tenderly smile. I got dressed, slid my tan suede coat on, and grabbed the car keys to hit the road as soon as I could. The note I scribbled and placed on my pillow said I had left to run some errands. Which was true. Kind of, anyway.

I arrived at Kevin's house half an hour late. Managing to reduce to an hour and a half the almost two-hour drive I had from my house to his in Derby wasn't enough. I hate being tardy; therefore I spent the first couple of minutes apologising for it. Patting my back he, invited me to head towards his studio. We discussed my idea briefly and he doodled a draft before grabbing his tools and fully committing to his job.

I beamed with excitement, "It looks sick, mate!" I said checking out his creation after he announced it was done, "Thank you!"

"Glad you liked it, Hazza," Kevin smiled as he patiently cleaned his tools, "hope your girl thinks the same."

I nodded as I shrugged my coat back on as I sighed loudly, anticipation slowly taking over me. The way back home found me fidgeting on my seat, nervously tapping my fingers on the wheel. I was scared that she may feel I was taking a bigger step than what she was ready for. I didn't want to be pushy and certainly wasn't eager to push her away by any means. Not again. I knew it was a huge commitment, a statement to the world. People would start wondering and making assumptions when they see it.

I shuddered at the sudden crisp air that hit me as soon as I stepped out of the car, making me rush to the front door, craving the warmness that awaited inside my house. The second I placed my key in the door I instinctively smiled, knowing that I was seconds away from what had turned into my most treasured moment of every day: coming back home to her. I quietly walked into the house avoiding getting noticed, selfishly treating myself to the few seconds where she was still unaware of my presence, breathing her in without any distraction.

I spotted Olivia in what I discovered was her favourite place in my house, the house I also wanted her to treat as her own. Her body curled up in a big gray recliner by the window that led to the backyard, her head comfortably resting on the back cushion and her eyes focused on the book that was distracting her attention from me those last couple of days. I smirked at the sight of my vintage Rolling Stones t-shirt, the one she had already claimed as her own, covering her body perfectly. A wool cardigan and a blanket keeping her warm and comfortable. She had her lower lip pulled in and her brows knitted under the big Carey framed reading glasses she took everywhere.

Only when she slowly raised her head was that I realised I was holding my breath. Her eyes were on me in a matter of seconds, a strand of her hair delicately falling from her messy bun and resting on her forehead. And, like every day for the last past few months, I saw the expression I liked to think was only reserved for me. Her eyes sparkling, her whole face lit up and her lips slowly curling into a perfect beam. That reaction was the one she had every time she noticed me in a room, months had gone by and I still couldn't believe I had that effect on her.