My Sweet Olivia.

The day we met.

Since Amelia and James were staying at The Watergate Hotel, Noah and I would have the house all to ourselves. And that made me extremely happy. We needed this.

“Will you follow me home?” I asked him. I really, really, really wanted to spend some time with him. All this stress I have at work has made me so tense. His caresses and his kisses would definitely help me relax. It's what I had been telling myself all day long.

“Sure, but I have to leave. I forgot to tell you that I am going out of town with my parents first thing in the morning,” Noah told me. I just gave him a small nod— but s**t like this makes my blood boil. Our mutual communication kept getting worse each day.

I have met his parents occasionally, and his father is a very nice person. I would confidently say that Mr. Myers likes me, but I don't feel the same with regard to his mom. She makes me feel so irrelevant when I'm around her. She tries so hard to ignore me. Even though we only live about thirty minutes away from each other, Noah has barely invited me to any of his family gatherings. I have never been to one of their holiday celebrations, and I have no clue what it's like to hang out with him and his family all at the same time.

And I blame his mom for that.

He only takes me to his huge house when his parents are out. They travel a lot. We've spent a lot of time with his younger brother, Chris—I can say that he is fond of me too. He is goofy and very smart, and he loves banana splits just as much as I do.

Contrarily, Noah has had the opportunity to spend more time with my family. He has been coming to Richmond for two weeks each summer since we started dating, and he has also spent New Year's Eve with my dad and my stepmother. And during the first year of our relationship, we drove home every six weeks to spend the weekend with them.

And lastly, he spent a week with me right after we graduated. He had to tell my father that I would be in great company when I moved to Northern Virginia, or my dad would have had a hard time. Noah then helped me move to Alexandria into our rental home, where Amelia was waiting for me.

So, I get that he keeps his travels with his parents all to himself, and that I'm not welcome to join them, but could he at least be open about it?

“Oh, yeah. Where are you guys going?” I asked bluntly. I mean, can he at least tell me where he is going? It's not like I'm going to follow them.You would think it’s obvious, since we have been together for four years, or was I expecting too much from a boyfriend?

“We are heading to New York.”

“Is your brother getting married?” I knew his older brother had gotten engaged a while back, but it wasn't because of Noah. Chris had told me this the day it happened.

Noah has an older brother whom I have never seen or met because he moved to New York six years ago. He and Noah are not so close anyway-- I never really understood why. He is three years older than Noah and they are only half-brothers.

Lou, or whatever his name is, is the oldest child. Mrs. Myers had a previous marriage, but her husband died in a car accident, so she got married to Noah’s father a couple of years later and had Noah and Chris. For what my beloved boyfriend has told me, his oldest brother was the only heir to his father’s billionaire company. So, he moved to New York with his grandparents to run the company when he turned twenty-one.

“No, that fucker broke their engagement six months ago,” Noah uttered.

And why didn't I know that? I suppose it was because we never talked about him. “Well, I’m sure he had his reasons. No one breaks an engagement without a reasonable cause,” I responded to his mean comment. And then he kept beating around the bush about our initial conversation. He changed the subject a couple of times, so I got it.

As much as I tried, it seemed like Noah wouldn't tell me anything about his trip to New York. So, I just left it at that. “I’ll see you at home,” I told him, and I quickly got into my car. We were only about eight minutes away from my house. This is why I love living in the city. We are at the center of almost everything.

We both pulled into the driveway at once.

Noah got a brand-new Corvette from his parents when we graduated two years ago; I’m still driving my old white Honda Civic that I got during my senior year in high school. His parents are filthy rich. After all, they own a millionaire construction company. My dad doesn't match their joint income, and I thought he was making great bucks as an attorney. He makes dissent money, but not the kind of money to buy me a car worth over one hundred thousand dollars as a gift. And it is not like I would let him anyway, because I find that unnecessary.

I took my shoes off the moment that I walked through the front door. My body was longing for Noah’s touch and kisses. I was dying to taste his lips and feel his strong muscles under the palm of my hands. He has always been very fit and muscular.

I met him back at the beginning of our junior year in college. It was a week before Thanksgiving and our football team had a home game against one of our biggest rivals. I was the kind of girl that never went out. I turned down every invitation I got from Amelia, Iris, and Caroline. Even when I was in high school, I never went to a homecoming, a football game, or anything that was fun-related. I almost skipped prom night too. I only went because dad insisted I go, and he got me a beautiful dress.

Sometimes bullying changes the way you see things.

As a teenager, I was always the quiet girl who was too wrapped up in her studies, had her nose buried in a book, or was doing some kind of research on which colleges to apply to. I also spent a lot of time working at my stepmom’s beauty store too. So, I never had any time for entertainment, and I was happy living a mediocre life. It kept me out of trouble.

That night: I still remember the day and time Noah came into my life. It was Wednesday, November 20th, 2019. It was around 8 o'clock, and I decided to join the girls after they begged me to go out with them for so long. And also because I was driving back home the next day for my well-deserved Thanksgiving break. I’m not sure if they felt sorry for my boring ass, or if they just needed a ride to the stadium, but I accepted this time.

Caroline was dating Steven Martinez, one of the hot football players. “Woohoo! Go Wolves,” they all cheered. Caroline was always a naughty girl. “Stevie, baby, play good, and I will reward you!!” she screamed. We were literally at the bottom of the bleachers, the whole football team heard what she shouted. I almost swallowed the cherry lollipop I had in my mouth.

“Caroline!” I exclaimed. There were parents and professors all around the field. This girl was behaving like she was under the influence of some stimulants.

“What about me? Who will reward me if I play well?” uttered this guy who was wearing a big #33 on his jersey.

Caroline engaged in a negotiation with him and screamed once again, “One of my friends here will do it,” and she motioned to the three of us sitting right next to her. He took his helmet off and looked at us, like he was exploring his options.

“The girl with the sucker in her mouth” he declared right away.

“What the f**k? Caroline!” I barked at her. I got up abruptly and started walking towards the stairs.

“Oh! c’mon on, Liv” Caroline uttered as she grabbed my wrist. “This guy is just messing around. Don’t let him scare you. He will forget all of this by the end of the game,” she told me. "I promise, girl. So, stay put and sit down."

“Yes, sit your ass back down” spoke Iris; Amelia just laughed. I sat back down and crossed my leg on top of the other. I gave them all a murderous look— I was upset at Caroline for putting me on the spot like that.

I have a lot of football knowledge because I grew up watching games with my dad. He is very loyal to the New York Giants, since he is originally from New York. I, on the other hand, was forced to like them because I loved my father too much. I didn't want to hurt his feelings by letting him know I liked the Washington Red Skins.

I was paying close attention to the game, and I could not deny that #33 was a great wide receiver. He was fast and had a lot of agility. I freaked out the moment he scored a beautiful touchdown and pointed the ball in my direction. Was he flirting with me? s**t, he was reminding me of his bet. I got anxious right away.

They were in the final quarter, and I decided to head home at that time. I wasn’t going to sit around, and wait to find out if he remembered what Caroline had said. After all, the guy had killed it. He played like a beast all through the game.

“Ladies, can we go now?” I asked them.

Amelia looked at me, and then she glanced at the scoreboard before she answered, “Olivia, sit down. We only have two more minutes left in the game.”

“I will be waiting for y’all over there-- in-my-car,” I spat after I pointed to the other side of the field, and then I left. Those girls were crazy if they thought I would sit around and wait to see what #33 wanted from me. I would honestly have left, but I was driving them back to our building. That is how the four of us were really close— we lived in the same hall.

I went to my car and turned the engine on; we only had about a minute left before the game ended. So, I pulled out my phone and texted my dad. It had been a few months since I last saw them.

Me: I can’t wait to see you and Anne tomorrow.

Dad: I’m looking forward to spending some time with you, my sweet girl. What time will you be arriving tomorrow?

Me: I will leave sometime after lunch. Amelia wants to have a little Friendsgiving before we leave campus.

Dad: Okay— Anne and I will have dinner ready around 5:30.

Me: Who did you guys invite for Thanksgiving dinner next week?

Dad: Same old friends. See you tomorrow, kiddo, and drive safely.

Me: Thanks, dad…

I was so distracted texting with my father and checking the weather, that I did not realize that my friends had returned, but they were not alone. Steven, along with #33, had come with them. I rested my head in my hands and sighed heavily. Are you f*****g kidding me? "Why is he here?" I mouthed to my friends. He tapped the glass on my window, and with his hand, beckoned me to get out of my car. I shook my head instantly, and he smiled at me. The guy was incredibly hot. I don’t remember ever seeing him around on campus, he was way too handsome to be overlooked.

“Come on, it’s time for me to get my reward,” he told me. I shook my head vigorously and turned my head to face Caroline. I gave her the middle finger as she rested on the bonnet of my car. She laughed. “I played well for you, come out here,” he insisted.

Iris, Amelia and the couple of lovebirds started encouraging me to get out of the car. Hot #33 managed to open my door and stretched his hand out for me. His beautiful smile charmed me right away, and something made me stand up; I was now cornered between him and the door. He had cast a spell on me or something.

“Did you like the touchdown? I scored that for you,” he muttered. For a second, I didn’t understand what he did. I felt his hand pulling on the back of my head and his warm and wet lips were now on top of mine. I froze on the spot. He continued to kiss me, and my eyes widened in shock. I pushed against his large and hard chest with one of my hands and held myself steady on the door with the other one. However, he only held the back of my head tighter as his other arm snaked around my waist.

I parted my lips as I gasped, and he skillfully entered his tongue into my mouth. I heard clapping and cheering in the background and that infuriated me. I pushed myself away from him and this time I managed to pull away from his delicious lips. I had to catch my breath the moment his tongue slid out of my mouth.

His gorgeous blue eyes pried on my lips and a mischievous smirk curled up in the corner of his lips. “What the f**k did you just do?” I shouted. He smiled at me again, he then turned around and left.

Who the f**k was this handsome specimen, and what did he just do to me? I'd be untruthful to myself if I said I didn't enjoy the kiss, but I obviously couldn't say that to my friends.

I was so annoyed at the fact that he simply walked away after kissing me. That bothered me more than the actual kiss. I immediately got into the car and closed the door with great irritation. I scowled at the girls defiantly, and they ran inside the car before I took off, leaving them behind. Caroline kissed her hot football player and ran to secure her spot in the back passenger’s seat.

Our ride back to our dorm was utterly quiet. No one spoke a single word, as they knew what my reaction would be the moment they tried to excuse their ridiculous behavior.