Copyright © 2021 S. Nelson
Editor- Hot Tree Editing
Cover Design – CT Cover Creations
Photographer – Wander Aguiar
Cover Model – Lucas Loyola
Proofreader – Elaine York, Allusion Publishing
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the publisher’s imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.
Simply Complicated/ S. Nelson – 1st edition
Contents
1. Olivia
2. Olivia
3. Luke
4. Olivia
5. Luke
6. Olivia
7. Luke
8. Luke
9. Olivia
10. Luke
11. Olivia
12. Luke
13. Olivia
14. Luke
15. Olivia
16. Luke
17. Olivia
18. Olivia
19. Luke
20. Olivia
21. Luke
22. Olivia
23. Olivia
24. Olivia
25. Luke
26. Olivia
27. Luke
28. Olivia
29. Luke
30. Olivia
31. Luke
32. Olivia
33. Luke
34. Olivia
Epilogue
MC Series
Stay Informed
About the Author
Note To Reader
Acknowledgments
Books by S. Nelson
To those who finally got their happily ever after
1
Olivia
“I can’t tell if you’re serious or not.” Brooke, my best friend, narrowed her eyes at me before pursing her lips in that cute yet marginally annoying way of hers. “Sounds more like something I would do. Not you. Besides, you’ve never had one.”
“I know, that’s the point.” I tapped the side of my glass with the tip of my fingernail, gearing up for the upcoming conversation. Some might refer to what I wanted to do as careless. Others might view it as bold. But I preferred liberating.
“I meant you’ve never had a one-night stand. You’re a serial monogamist.” Her smile amused and irritated me simultaneously.
“Am not.” A quick flick of her brow caused me to stammer over my next words. “Okay… maybe… hell, you’re right. To be fair, though, things just happened to work out that way.”
“Because you choose relationships over letting go and having fun.”
She signaled to the bartender for a refill as she drained the remainder of her wine. He practically tripped over himself to get to her, ignoring the two guys who’d been waiting patiently to be served. Little did he know she was only interested in women. Sometimes that tidbit of information caused some guys to pursue her even more, which I thought was odd since they didn’t stand a chance.
Brooke never made a big announcement she was a lesbian. Anyone who knew her was aware. She didn’t hide it, not from her parents, her friends, or her classmates when we were in school. Her sexual identity was part of her, as it was for the rest of us. When I stumbled across her kissing Jenny Madsen behind the gymnasium in seventh grade, she winked at me. Jenny, on the other hand, made us both promise we wouldn’t say anything to anyone, telling us her parents would be so mad if they found out. Brooke, being the self-assured person she was, even at twelve years old, rolled her eyes at the poor girl and told her she was missing out.
I’d been jealous of her confidence. Still was to this day. She didn’t care what anyone thought about her, living her best life every single day. Brooke wasn’t perfect, and she had problems like the rest of us, but her attitude toward life, and believing everything would work out, was something to be admired.
“I want to be more like you,” I joked, the underlying seriousness of my jest peeking through.
“Who doesn’t?” Her shoulders bounced in a lazy shrug. “Seriously, though, I’m all for you trying this out, but promise me you’ll be safe. There are a lot of creeps looking to take advantage of someone as innocent as yourself.”
“You make it sound like I have no idea what I’m doing.” I couldn’t decide if I was offended or not. “I’m not inexperienced.”
A small commotion erupted across the bar, and when I turned to see what happened, there was a small crowd gathered near the door. The group of patrons seemed excited, but I couldn’t determine why.
“Having three long-term boyfriends doesn’t exactly qualify you as experienced,” Brooke said, poking my shoulder to get my attention. “You met all of them through friends or in school. You don’t know what it’s like to pick up men.”
“Neither do you.”
“True, but I’ve had plenty of them hit on me, and I’m much better at detecting bullshit than you are.” She playfully nudged my arm. “You’re too trusting.”
My lips parted in preparation to disagree, but as the words filtered through my brain, I was aware whatever I spewed back at her would be a lie.
She was right.
I believed everyone to have the best intentions because that was how I was. It was only over the past year that my blinders had started to fade away. I supposed I could thank Cody, my recent ex, for exposing me to some of the harsh realities of life. Correction, to the harsh realities of loving someone who was selfish and ended up being an overall prick.
The trust in our relationship dwindled when I caught him texting some girl six months ago, someone he vehemently denied cheating with. I didn’t wholeheartedly believe him, but I didn’t not believe him either, if that made any sense. After the incident, he became unusually possessive and controlling toward me, which was a sure sign he was, in fact, doing something he wasn’t supposed to be. And even though I couldn’t link the connection at the time, I knew in my gut something was off.
I wasted a year and a half on that relationship, and most days the thought of him angered me. But there were times when his image would infiltrate, and sadness would creep over me. And it was during those instances when I stalked his social media. Nine times out of ten I’d remind myself he wasn’t worth it, and my inner chastisement would work. But for the one time it didn’t, I was left feeling a certain way. Not depressed, because I didn’t want to be with him, but possibly insulted I was replaced so quickly. I ended things with him four months ago, and he was already in a three-month-long relationship.