Unfolding Souls Fiction

Olivia started her first day at the Barnett Company law firm bright and early Monday morning.  She had called Karen Barnett before she left Portland to tell her that was available to start work on Monday; a few days earlier than they had previously discussed.  Karen was thrilled since Olivia’s replacement’s last day of work was Thursday and now there would be a few extra days for training.  Olivia’s motivation was, of course, because was excited to start working there, but mostly because when she had called Karen she was a wreck mentally and emotionally and wanted and needed the distraction.  She didn’t want to be sitting around with nothing to do at Kelli’s house, all the while thinking about Kevin and Nick and her dilemma.

On the previous day, Olivia was awoken from her nap--which had turned into a 1½-hour siesta--by the sounds of voices and noises.  It took her a minute to realize where she was and then she realized that it must be Kelli, Danny and his friends who had started unloading her truck.  ‘Oh, no!’ she thought and jumped up to help.

It was only a two-hour job and afterwards Olivia treated them all to dinner at a local pizza place.  After lively discussions, stuffing themselves with pizza and breadsticks and swigging beer, Olivia and Kelli came home after 9:00 pm.  Olivia was still exhausted and she went back to bed.  Kelli stayed up watching “Desperate Housewives” and then hit the hay after 10:00 pm.  So there was no time to return Kevin or Nick’s calls.  Besides, Olivia wasn’t ready to call either of them yet.  She was still clearing the cobwebs from her mind and deciding on the best strategy for breaking the news to Nick and welcoming Kevin into her life.  There would be time after work on Monday.

Monday was an enjoyable workday for Olivia and she picked up the details of her new position quickly.  Driving home, she had a lot on her mind and thought of Kevin as she passed Malibu and smiled.  Thinking of Beverly Hills, Nick popped into her mind and a frown creased her face.  She dreaded talking to him.  It was going to be a difficult conversation.  Looking forward to getting home, changing into more comfortable clothing and just hanging out with Kelli before deciding whether to call Nick or Kevin or go to see them, she pulled into Kelli’s (and hers now) driveway and noticed a familiar car was parked out front.  She recognized it immediately.  It was Kevin’s. ‘Oh God, oh, God…’ she thought and her heart beat faster.

Opening the front door, Olivia’s heart was filled with excitement to see Kevin again and to tell him how she really felt about him.  Olivia saw Kevin sitting on the couch in the living room talking to Kelli.  They both turned at the sound of the door opening.  Kevin was facing Olivia and his entire face lit up when he saw her.  Kelli turned to see Olivia.

“Hi, hon.  Welcome home.  How was work?”

“Good.”  Was all Olivia could say, just staring at Kevin.

“Great.  Well, I’ll let you two talk.”  Kelli left the room.

Olivia put down her purse and at first walked slowly towards Kevin and then they both ran into each other’s arms.  Kevin held her tightly, kissing her hair, rubbing her back, thrilled to have her in his arms again.  Olivia relished the feel of his strong arms around her, once again feeling safe and secure.

Kevin pulled away.  “Olivia, baby, I am so sorry…”

“No, Kevin, I’m sorry.  It’s all my fault.”

“It’s both of our faults, but let’s not dwell on that.  Can we just move on?”

Olivia nodded.  “I’m so happy you feel that way.  I really want to do that.”

Kevin smiled and took her face into his hands and kissed her hard and deeply, his tongue finding hers.  He kissed her with all of his pent-up passion for her; his anger and resentment melting away.  Olivia kissed him back, just as eagerly, melting in his arms, her heart full of joy being with him again.

Kevin again pulled away.  “Does this mean that you want to be with me? That you…?” Kevin didn’t know how to formulate the words.

Olivia nodded.  “Yes.  I love you, Kevin.”

Kevin’s heart soared.  “I am so glad to hear that.  I love you, too.”  And he kissed her again.  They ended up lying on the couch, making out, groping, fondling, exploring one another’s bodies through their clothing; wanting to rediscover their passion together since their declarations of love.

A knock the door broke the spell and Olivia sat up. 

“Just ignore it.”  Kevin said and pulled her to him again, kissing her again.  The knock persisted.

Olivia once again pulled away.  “Kevin, I have to go open the door.”  She giggled as he tried to lunge at her again.  “I’ll be right back.”

She stumbled to the door and opened it to see Nick.  She should have known…

Nick took in her obvious ruffled appearance - hair messed up, lipstick smeared, clothing in disarray and said, “Well, I guess I know my answer.” And he turned to walk away.

“Nick, wait—“ Olivia closed the door and followed him outside.

“Why, Olivia? You’re obviously back together with Kevin, so why should I wait?” He turned to face her, looking tormented.  "I thought that was his car in the driveway."

Olivia didn’t know what to say.

“Well, you are, aren’t you? Back together with Kevin?” He asked.

“Yes… but, I wanted to talk to you.  I really care about you, Nick.”

“Yeah, whatever.” Nick said and turned to walk away.

“Would you quit walking away from me?!” Olivia said, experiencing deja vu.

Nick stopped and turned to face her.

“Thank you.  What I wanted to say is that I really do care about you, maybe even love you, but I love Kevin, too and I know we can make a life together.  You’re young and I don’t think you’re ready and…”

“Yeah, so I’ve heard.”  His voice was laced with hurt and sadness.

Olivia reached up to kiss Nick, a goodbye kiss and he kissed her back with all of the love he felt inside for her, wanting to cling to this one last kiss and make it last forever.  He enfolded her in his strong arms, breathing her in, wanting to inhale her, feeling her in the depths of his soul.  He kissed her deeply and passionately, leaving little doubt to his true feelings for her.  She pulled away, breathless and aching for more.  She would always want more with Nick.  He was where her true passion lay, but she could never give into it again.  It was over.

Nick let her go and Olivia watched him walk away one last time.  She reached up to dab away one lone tear running down her cheek.

***

Two weeks later Olivia was still thrilled with her new job and with her new boyfriend.  She and Kevin were deliriously happy, seeing each other every day, getting as much of each other as humanly possible.  The Backstreet Boy’s concert tour was less than two weeks away and they were dreading the time they would be apart.  Olivia pushed the thought as far from her mind as possible and succeeded most of the time, but it was nagging at the back of her brain and she hated it.  Kevin tried not to think of it either.  He was the happiest he had ever been in his life and he didn’t want this feeling to end.

Joshua had called Olivia a week and a half ago inquiring about her new life and she decided to nip any possible romantic feelings he may have for her in the bud.  He wished her well with Kevin and didn’t call again.  Olivia breathed a sigh of relief and was happy to have that chapter closed.

Nick was another story.  He was more difficult to get over, especially since she saw him occasionally when she went to the studio with Kevin or to a promotional event.  They were courteous to each other, saying their brief “hi’s”, but it was uncomfortable for both of them.  Olivia’s heart still pounded furiously whenever she was around Nick, but she had given her heart away to Kevin and they both knew it.

Olivia would not hear of Kevin and Nick fighting or being mad at each other.  She encouraged Kevin to work out their differences and they did.  The two had too strong of a bond to let anything come between them.  Nick was the bigger man because he had to overcome not only losing the woman he loved to Kevin, but to endure seeing them together.  He was moving on with his life though and he had even started dating a little.

Life was getting busy for the members of BSB with rehearsals, interviews, meetings, etc.  The five of them were excited to get on the road and perform for their adoring fans.

They didn’t have too long to wait because the next two weeks flew by.  Olivia woke up filled with dread on Friday morning.  Tomorrow was the day, the day Kevin would be gone for nine months and she would be alone again.  Tears cascaded down her cheeks, tears that seemed to flow so easily the past few days.  She was so damn emotional and she didn’t know if was just because Kevin was leaving or some other reason.

“What’s wrong, baby?” Kevin sat up when he realized Olivia was crying next to him.  Olivia usually stayed overnight at Kevin’s house just on the weekends, but for the past week, she had wanted to be with him as much as possible so she went straight to and from work from his house in Malibu.  It was nice he lived closer to her work, too.

 “You’re leaving tomorrow!” and the sobs wracked her body.  Why was she crying so much and so hard lately? She thought.

"Oh, sweetheart..." Kevin took her in his arms and hugged her while she sniffled and tried to stop the endless flow of tears.  He actually was pretty broken up about it, too.  He didn't know how he was going to leave her for so long...

Olivia pulled away.  "I'm okay, I'll be okay."  She said and brushed the tears from her eyes.

"Here."  Kevin pulled a tissue out of the box on the end table and handed it to her.

"Thanks."  She smiled gratefully and blew her nose.  "I don't know what's wrong with me these days, I'm such a mess!"

"You're not a mess, you're beautiful." Kevin said, leaning in for a kiss.  He reached under her nightgown to fondle her breasts and she pulled away suddenly.

"Ow!"

"What's wrong?" Kevin asked, surprised.

"I don't know... my boobs hurt for some reason.  Sorry, babe.  I need to get up and get ready for work anyway."  She kissed him and got up and into the shower.

On the way out, Kevin gave her kiss and said, "Don't forget about the party tonight.  I'll pick you up at 6:00 at your work, okay?"

"Sounds good.  Can't wait."  BSB's production company was throwing a 'goodbye, good luck on the tour' type of party tonight for the boys, the crew and staff at Spago's in Beverly Hills.  Olivia had bought a smashing dress and couldn't wait to wear it.  She would have to change at work, but she didn't mind.  It would be fun to go out with Kevin - they always had fun together.  But Olivia hoped she was feeling up to it; she was developing a stomach ache right away and she prayed it would be gone by the time she got to work.  Just as Olivia got into her black Acura, she opened the door and leaned out to throw up the breakfast she had just eaten.