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She shrugs and gives me a little grin. “Sometimes, I get a little wild. It happens.”
Her response makes me laugh. Olivia doesn’t seem like the type to get wild. Ever.
“You said you would talk,” she reminds me since I’m taking too long to answer. Her four fingers on her right hand rest on my knee.
With a deep breath, I close my eyes, trying to visualize that morning in my head. It feels like forever ago. I pinch the bridge of my nose in frustration. This feels more intimate than the other things I’ve shared with her today. Like I’m not just showing her the skeletons, I’m letting her get a closer look to fully examine them and discover what happened. Her fingers wrap around my wrist, tugging my hand away and causing me to open my eyes. Don’t get me wrong here, I hate her pushing most of the time, but her waiting until I’m ready freaks me out even more.
“I wanted to,” I say first, just in case my words manage to twist themselves into something she doesn’t approve of. “I woke up feeling good, like things could be better. There’s a chance that won’t ever happen again, so I took it while I could. While I felt like I could, while I still wanted to. Is that enough for now?” Why am I asking her? I offered to do this, so I should be able to say when I stop. Still, I wait for her answer.
She’s watching and thinking. Her mouth parts, like she wants to ask me something. Please don’t, I silently beg. She nods. “Yeah. Thanks, Corey.” Olivia leans over, placing a soft, short kiss on my lips. “How about I give you a haircut and then we go out like we were supposed to yesterday?”
“Can’t we stay here?” I don’t feel like leaving, especially if I have to go see Dr. Stewart later.
“No. The point of me asking was to get out of the apartment. It won’t be terrible, I promise.”
I stare at her for a moment. “What are we going to do?”
Olivia sighs. “You don’t need to plan this out. C’mon. Live a little, Corey.”
Live a little? Doesn’t she know living makes me tired? I know what she means, though. She doesn’t mean live as in the ordinary, day-to-day st
uff. She means going out on a limb, trying new things, and breathing in life instead of always breathing it out.
“Fine, but don’t get used to it.”
She grins. “I’ll be right back, then.” Olivia disappears out my door to run across the hall.
Time with Olivia and a doctor’s appointment all in one day? This will either turn out really great or like shit.
SHE RETURNS A few minutes later after I’ve washed our dishes. When I turn around, she’s holding a towel and a little kit.
“This isn’t my first time cutting a guy’s hair,” she explains. I guess she means her brother. “Come sit.” I do and for the first few minutes, I cherish the silence, the feel of her hands in my hair, the snipping of the scissors and the buzzing of the razor. “Hey, were you still going to find a second job?”
“I probably should.”
“Well, I may have one for you, if you’re interested. You’re going to have to be able to make the commitment, though.”
Uh-oh. What is she thinking? Commitments aren’t something I particularly want to make during a time when getting out of bed is hard to do sometimes. “What is it?” I ask anyway.
“My uncle is a carpenter and he’s about to start a remodeling project for a client. He would be willing to bring you on as like an apprentice. You can work with him, learn how to do stuff, and maybe even enjoy it. He does all kinds of things, so it could be fun. You’d start next week if you want to do it. Though, you would have to meet him first.”
Carpentry? My dad was a carpenter too, but he never got the chance to pass that on to us. All I know is football and being a bouncer at a club.
“He would teach you everything. A lot of skills that would last a lifetime no matter what you end up doing,” Olivia adds, definitely trying to sell me on this. “All you have to do is go in, work hard, and come home. You work, you get paid. You’ll make enough you could quit the other job if you wanted. But if you don’t work, you don’t make money. Plus, as long as you can nod in understanding and don’t have any questions, you won’t even have to carry on conversations with anyone.”
I’m sold.
Surely I can do that. Maybe it would be cool to experience what my dad did, too. Olivia places her tools on the counter and removes the towel around my shoulders.
“You’re finished, but before you can look, I want to know what you’re thinking about the job offer,” she tells me as she walks around to stand in front of me, her thighs touching my knees.
“Yeah.”
“Yeah? Seriously? That’s all you got?”
I grin. “I want to do it.” Here’s my live-a-little for today. I tell her something I don’t have to. “My dad was a carpenter.”
“Really?” I nod. “That’s cool. I bet you’ll at least enjoy learning some of the things he knew how to do.” She gives me a smile. “Okay, you can go look and get a shower. I’m going get ready too and then meet you back over here, okay?”
