24. Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Two

Ollie was on cloud damn nine. Higher than that; cloud nine hundred. On Friday, Lara had invited her over, her daughter away on a sleepover. She’d pulled Ollie instantly through the door to kiss her hotly, the two of them tumbling through the living room as frantic as teenagers. They’d barely even made it to the bedroom before they’d crossed the line from fooling around to something far hotter, Lara gasping into her mouth as Ollie’s hand slipped up beneath her dress. The night had passed in a heady blaze, the heat ratcheting between them now they were learning each other’s desires and oh my god were they ever complementary.

“You’re actually evil,” Lara gasped out, her whole body flushed and trembling after Ollie had withheld her orgasm from her so long she’d become nothing short of frantic.

Ollie laughed even as she dripped with desire from how hot Lara had looked as she’d finally, utterly lost control.

“I told you I could make you come like that again,” she beamed triumphantly. “Oh god,” her thighs slipped and slid between Lara’s as she straddled her, “oh my god-”

“ You like saying no to me far too much,” Lara’s breath was still short as she pulled her down on top of her, Ollie starting a slow grind of her hips against her intensely slippery thigh, even as Lara listed off her complaints. “You like to deny me,” Ollie kissed her throat, “push me too far-”

“Mmhm,” Ollie started to see sparks, “god yes.”

“Make me beg,” Lara let her voice get soft, gazing up at her as Ollie ground faster, “fuck me without letting me come. Drive me crazy, work me up-”

“Can’t help it, looks so good on you-” she gasped.

“You like watching me hunger for it,” Lara whispered, fingers slipping between them, giving Ollie something to grind upon, “knowing you could give it to me any time you wanted, but you just want to push a little longer, make me wetter, make me lose my fucking mind-”

Ollie squeezed her eyes closed, not remotely coping with the first time Lara was the one to dirty talk.

“You’re just so pretty when you’re desperate-” she ground out. “Oh fuck -” she threw back her head, hips thrusting and Lara watched her intently, teeth sinking into her lower lip as Ollie came sharply, back arching, shuddering in pleasure, unsure whose wetness was whose anymore.

“I’m not the only one who’s hot when they lose control,” Lara murmured against Ollie’s earlobe. “I like to watch you lose it over me.”

She pulled Ollie down to kiss her as she writhed with aftershocks. Honestly, this much Lara Bennett should come with a warning; how was she supposed to cope when Lara looked at her that way?

The sun was almost up before anyone had gotten a wink of sleep.

They’d eaten pancakes in the kitchen late in the morning, Ollie tugging off Lara’s singlet to drip maple syrup over her bare nipples, Lara shrieking and struggling and laughing, and then losing her breath, then her underwear. Ollie thought of the spiky defensive woman she’d seen the first time she’d met Lara as an adult and wanted to die with how she looked, bare skinned and glowing, her cheeks flushed with laughter.

“You’re something else,” Ollie pulled her into her lap where they’d tumbled onto the kitchen floor. She kissed her and kissed her. “What am I going to do with you, Lara Bennett?”

Cloud nine thousand and nine.

On Sunday, just before midday, Ollie sat out in the shade of the deck umbrella with a coffee, sun blazing overhead, Nico beside her, his feet up on the deck rail.

“How’s things with Lara?” he asked her, a solid smirk in his voice.

“None of your business,” she tried not to smile. “How’s things with Sadie?”

Nico was silent for a long moment.

“Mate,” he finally said, “she’s fucking incredible.”

Ollie turned her head and looked at him. Nico was looking away over the grapes but there was a slightly dazed grin on his face. She couldn’t remember him looking like that ever before.

“Is she just?”

“She’s coming to family dinner again tonight,” he told her. “Thought you might want to know, just in case you want to embarrass yourself a second time making eyes at her best friend all night.”

Ollie breathed in at that. It had been one thing to invite Lara over before they’d ever hooked up. It was a whole other thing to bring her to family dinner now something was happening between them. She was pretty sure Lara would think so too.

She could imagine Nico with his wide goofy grin, holding hands with Sadie at the table, clearly intent on letting everyone know they were a thing. She felt a flash of jealousy. She and Lara had a time limit hanging over them. She was trying to avoid thinking about it but the idea Nico might be settling into something real while Lara was only ever going to be hers until Summer… the thought stuck like a barb in her throat.

And yet, despite it all, Ollie found she wanted her there anyway. She wanted the sweetness of Lara being all cute and uncharacteristically polite for her parents, Tilly jumping up and down to see Rocco, Lara with a glass of wine in her hand looking beautiful and relaxed. If they were only going to be together for a little while, shouldn’t they get to enjoy every moment that they could?

She wandered indoors.

“Hey mama,” Ollie said as she found her already doing early meal prep for dinner .

“Hi darling.” Her mother looked up. “Ah good, can you dice the pumpkin for me?”

Ollie got to work.

“You know how I asked you to give Lara a chance the other week?” she started. Her mother lifted her head.

“I’m not afraid to say I was wrong, Viola,” she said firmly. “This town is full of terrible gossip and everything Pia said about what happened was true. That Lara Bennett, she’s an absolute darling - such an angel - and her little girl-” her mother clutched her chest “-just beautiful.”

Ollie smiled. She’d been hearing various repetitions of this for a fortnight.

“I mean an angel might be pushing it,” she said, trying not to smirk, “but I like her. A lot.”

“Well, I figured the sleepovers at her house made that quite clear.” Her mother narrowed her eyes.

Ollie quickly dropped her gaze to the cutting board. Even now she was thirty-five years old her mother’s view on her children having extramarital sex was not exactly glowing .

“It’s just…tricky,” she tried to explain it, “with the fact that, you know…come December, I’m going back to Melbourne.”

“Are you sure, Ollie?” Her mother stopped dicing, putting her knife down to turn and examine her face.

Ollie was startled. She’d lived in Melbourne almost longer than she’d lived in Ribbonwood now. It wasn’t even a discussion. Melbourne held her entire adult life, her friendships, her career, her deeply loved little townhouse, her…job. Ollie swallowed, a slight tremor returning to her fingers. She felt a little winded. Ribbonwood had always been a place she’d fled from; never once had it felt like a place she might want to escape to. Ollie made a mental note to get around to calling the damn therapist Cherie had referred her to, ASAP.

“Yes, Ma, of course I’m sure. Jesus.”

“Hmm,” was her mother’s only comment. Ollie shook her head, knowing better than to give the woman an inch in this conversation. Quickly, she got them both back to the matter at hand before this thing could spiral any place Ollie did not want to go.

“Would it be okay if I invited Lara to dinner again tonight?” she asked, avoiding her mother’s overt stare.

“Because you like her, even though you’re going to drop her like a hot potato in a couple of months?” her mother clarified .

“No!” She was flabbergasted. “It’s mutual, mum, she knows the deal.” While they hadn’t discussed it in depth, Lara had said as much, when she’d invited Ollie over on Friday. It’s not because I can’t wait to see you or anything like that, her text had read, I just figure I should use you for everything I can get until you leave again. Ollie had seen through the snark and known Lara absolutely couldn’t wait to see her. At the same time it had been good to know their understanding was matched.

“Well,” her mother said with a small frown, “I can’t begin to understand what you think you’re doing, but Lara Bennett is welcome here anytime. Besides, I’ve got that new nesting material with the flower petals in it and I want to know if she’s tried it.”

“No mealworms.” She pointed at her mother.

“Ollie, they’re-”

“Absolutely not!”

She’d finished dicing the pumpkin and walked away to text Lara.

If this is too weird just say so…but come to Sunday dinner again tonight? Sadie will be here. And I want to fill you up with wine and make out with you this time .

Lara texted back a full hour later. Ollie wasn’t sure whether to read into that.

What does your mother say?

Ollie smiled. Lara and her damn mother.

That I’m a deep disappointment to her as a daughter since I’m still going back to Melbourne in December but she very much likes your extremely pretty face and wants to talk your ear off about chickens.

There was another pause. Ten minutes went by before the response came through.

As long as you don’t try to sit next me or anything, Ollie Gabrielli.

Ollie’s mouth twitched into a smile. She tried not to think too hard about just how much she couldn’t wait to see Lara again.