"Yeah. I played football in high school and college," he said in his deep voice. "You know, I'm kind of a big deal."
"Well, you're not exactly a big deal because you didn't make the pros, did you, brother?" Olivia cut him off. "Okay guys, do you guys want some coffee? Tea? What do you feel like?"
"I'll have a cup of coffee, please," I said, and Derrick just nodded before speaking.
"Yeah. Make that one for me as well."
"Three coffee’s then. Milk and sugar?"
"Yeah. I'll have a milk and a sugar."
"Same for me," Derrick said.
Olivia just shook her head and walked over to the side. I watched her as she turned on the kettle to boil water and walked over to her. "Are you making us tea or coffee?"
"I'm making coffee, but we have a French press here, so I'll put the ground up coffee beans into the French press and then I'll pour the water into it. Haven't you used one of those before?"
"We don't have those fancy things in Florida."
"Oh my gosh, Tyler. It's not fancy. You can get a French press at Target for like $10."
"Oh, I didn't know that. I just use the Keurig."
"Oh. I don't really like Keurig coffee. It doesn't taste good to me."
"It tastes okay to me, plus it gives me the fix that I need real quick. I always do the espresso. Espresso goes right to my head, and it gives me lots of energy. And you know I need energy."
"Oh, yeah. Because you go all night long with all of your women." Olivia rolled her eyes.
"Actually, no. It's because I work 80 hours a week at a law firm, and I need to have my brains and my wits about me when I'm going through the paperwork."
"Oh, yeah," she looked sheepish. "I kind of forgot about that."
"You really do have a poor opinion of me don't you, Olivia? And I don't know why. We haven't seen each other in years. You don't really know my life, yet you still seem to be judging me based upon something you thought you knew."
"Well, I guess that's true." She sighed. "You're sounding too reasonable. You're making too much sense. I'm confused."
"Why are you confused?"
"Because Derrick is obviously still a player. Look, he was with that girl, Tiffany, last night. Now he's flirting with my friends, and I'm sure he would love to take Birdy home if she said yes."
"I don't know about that. He seems like he's kind of into Tiffany," I said slowly as I watched her face turning into a grimace.
"What do you mean he's into Tiffany?"
"I mean I feel like he possibly could get serious with her."
"No way. Derrick does not do serious."
"Well, maybe that's about to change."
"There's no way in hell that he's going to change to do something serious with someone like Tiffany when he's dated so many more intelligent girls."
"Sometimes when the chemistry is there, it doesn't matter how intelligent they are."
"So you admit Tiffany is not intelligent, right?"
"I'm not saying anything," I chuckled.
"Oh, Tyler, why don't you just speak up? You know she's a ditz. My brother deserves someone better than her."
"Why do you care so much, Olivia? You know, sometimes when love hits, you've just got to go with it."
She looked at me for a few seconds, her brown eyes thoughtful, and I wondered if we were about to have a moment of mutual understanding.
"I don't know anymore," she just sighed. "Let me get some cups. Hold on." She walked to the side and opened a cupboard and pulled out three cups. "Any of you girls want some coffee as well?" she asked her friends behind us.
"No, we're okay. Thanks." They all chorused their no’s instantly.
She closed the cupboard and brought the three cups back over to me, and I looked at her long, thin, beautiful, well-manicured fingers, and I thought to myself what they would feel like on my body. Would they feel warm sliding up and down my cock? I shifted as I stood there. I needed to get my mind out of the gutter or I was going to be walking around the office with a massive boner. And that was the last thing that I needed.
“Okay guys, you can have a coffee and see the office, but then you have to go. I have work to do.” Olivia said in a serious voice.
“But we’ll see you tonight, right?” Derrick asked her with a small smile. “We going to paint the party red.”
“No.” She shook her head. “Birdy and I have plans tonight.” She turned away. “And so we’ll have to figure out something for tomorrow.” I watched as she walked to the fridge to grab some milk and I wondered why she was being so cagey about her evening plans. Exactly what were she and Birdy up too?
Chapter 9
Olivia
There's nothing quite like getting ready for speed dating. It wasn't something that I'd done many times, but it was something I'd always been curious about. I wanted to look pretty and I wanted to look hot and sexy, but I didn't want to look too sexy. If you look too sexy, the guy will think you're only out for one thing. And as much as I enjoyed sex, I wasn't looking for a one night stand.
I knew that Birdy was going to be dressing pretty damn sexy, though. She didn’t care what the guys thought. She'd already shown me the dress that she planned on wearing. It was black, short, and clung to her petite figure. While I wasn't a huge girl myself, anything that clung to my figure made me feel like I was showing off every little piece of fat that I have. Tight clothes made me feel exposed and wanton. And I knew that men saw that as an invitation to try and have meaningless sex. And as I'd already said before, that wasn't what I wanted.
I can hear Tyler in the bathroom singing to himself as he brushed his teeth and got ready for the evening. I knew that he was going to laugh when he found out I was going speed dating, but I didn't care. He had to know that he wasn't the only man in my life. Just because we’d shared a kiss. That didn’t mean anything.
Oh, my God, what am I thinking? He's not even the man in my life. He's no one. He doesn't mean anything to me. I had to keep reminding myself of that fact. Otherwise, I was going to do something that I regretted. And if I did that, I knew my brother, Derrick, would be really upset.
"Be cool, Olivia. Be cool," I whispered under my breath as I looked through my wardrobe.
Finally, I saw a slinky red dress that I'd gotten the year before at Macy's. It was short, but not too short, and it was made of a nice, soft material that flattered my body. The material felt silky to the touch and had a smooth textural that was pleasing, not that I wanted any guys at the speed-dating event to touch me, of course.
"Hey, hey! What you doing there, Olivia?" Tyler came out of the bathroom, his eyes upon the dress in my hand. A towel around his waist. I couldn’t help but stare at his naked chest. It was perfection in person. "You wearing that tonight?"
"Yes, I'm wearing this dress."
"Oh, wow, you're really getting dressed up for me, aren't you?"