Olivia shifted her eyes to Beau as he drove the car toward the movie theater.
"You were a bit cold to him."
"He's a Lieutenant."
"I know that, but you're not even on base. You could be a bit more welcoming."
His eyes left the road and darted in her direction.
"I'm a Vice Admiral and he's a Lieutenant. I must set the example whether it's on or off the base. I need to keep a certain distance. He's not my buddy."
Seeing he wasn't too thrilled about her comment, she put on a fake smile, but she was so good at doing that with some people that he wouldn't even notice.
"You're right. I'm sorry, I just sometimes forgot how things work in the Navy."
He removed his right hand from the steering wheel and placed it on the lower section of her thigh, caressing it.
"No harm done. I like Seresin, it's not personal, it's just better off that way."
As they stopped at a traffic light, he glimpsed down at his hand on her thigh. He raised it ever so lightly off her, grabbed the fabric of her skirt in his fingers and slowly started to pull it up. When the hem of the skirt rested at the level just above her knees, he slid his hand under the fabric and worked his way up her thigh.
He shot glances between the traffic light and her. The way he was caressing her was making her breathe more deeply, and her heartbeat start to race. Every now and then she closed her eyes slowly abandoning herself to how nice it felt.
The instant the light turned green, he removed his hand, grabbed the steering, checked in his rear-view mirror, and made a fast and screeching U-turn.
"Beau, what are you doing?"
"I want you right now and if we go to the movies that won't happen."
As much as she loved the affect she had on him, she thought that at least he could wait a couple of hours.
"What about Tommy and Ellen? They're waiting for us at the theater."
"We'll come up with an excuse, but I'm sure if did they know the real reason, they'd understand," replied Beau with a smile on his face as he raised a teasing brow in her direction.
Ten minutes later, he stopped the car inside the open garage of his house. He flipped the visor and pushed on the remote control so that the garage closed behind them.
He got out of the car, walked over to the passenger side, and opened the door for her. Even though they'd been together for a while, she liked the fact that he was still a gentleman.
She took his hand as he helped her out of the car, then closed her door. He made her pivot so that they were facing, and he took her into his arms.
His eyes locked in on hers and he smiled as he reached for her neck and started to kiss it. His hands started to roam over her dressed body, teasing her in all the right places through the fabric of her clothes. As he went to the other side of her neck, he could hear and feel her quickening breath in his ear.
She let her hands reach the hem of his sweater. Once she had managed to grab hold of it, she started to lift it up. She was stopped in her motion when his strong hands wrapped around her wrists a bit harshly.
He pulled away from her neck and cleavage and looked her straight into the eyes. She knew that look. He wanted her and he wanted her badly.
He made her pivot so that she was facing the front passenger door. His hands grabbed her wrists again and lifted her hands until they were touching the front passenger door window and she was slightly bent over.
He leaned in and placed his mouth next to her ear. "I'm in charge tonight."
She closed her eyes and before she could say anything, he had bent down at the knees, grabbed the waist band of her skirt and tanga, and had pulled them down to the floor.
She felt his hands caress her skin as he made his way from her ankle to her calves, oh so delicately. Every now and then he would kiss her skin. She opened her eyes relieved, maybe things would be different this time around, she thought to herself.
Without warning, he thrust into her, and she gasped involuntarily. When his left hand violently grabbed her waist and his right hand clasped over her mouth, she closed her eyes back up. No, it wouldn't be different this time around.
She entered the locker room and headed for her locker. She was a bit early, but she didn't mind. Beau had woken her up at the crack of dawn and had, this time around, made love to her. The brutality of the night before had dissipated, disappeared and the gentleness, romantism had taken its place.
"Morning Liv," she heard coming from behind her as she placed her bag in the locker.
"Good morning, Seth," she replied as she turned her head. "Rough night?" she asked as noticed the fatigue on his face.
"Somewhat. How was your night off?"
She quickly played in review her evening… Beau, the garage, the bar, Jake… "Interesting and unexpected, but at least I got to sleep in a comfortable bed."
Seth stuck out his tongue at her. "Don't rub it in. Next thing you're going to tell me is that that Admiral of yours has black satin sheets that easily slide off your bodies when you're tangled in the sheets."
"I wouldn't dare. I know it would give you a heart attack."
He pretended to place his hand over a painful heart, and she laughed. She loved Seth like she would have loved a kid brother if she had had one.
"You know there are a lot of good-looking guys in the Navy," she said as she removed her top. She had never been self-conscious about her body simply because she didn't find her attractive compared to some of the women who worked here.
"Sure," replied Seth as he opened his locker on the other side of the row.
"I'm serious, I know I saw one last night at the bar."
Seth raised a curious brow in her direction. "Is he gay?"
"I don't think so. But you know that some are. You just need to get out more often."
"So, if he wasn't gay, he was into you?"
"He was just being polite."
Seth turned and looked at Olivia, then walked over to her.
"Guys don't come up and talk to a woman to be polite, Olivia. They usually do when they are interested. I mean how did your Admiral land you?"
"He didn't. On the contrary, the fact that he wasn't trying to get my attention, got mine. I went up to him."
He had been different than most men she had known in her life, and it had been one of the things that had seduced her about him, along the fact that he was sure of himself, his smooth talking, beautiful green his and charming smile. That had been back then, now she wasn't sure the fact that he had been different from the others had been a good thing.
"Remind me how much older he is than you?"
"What does it matter?" replied Olivia.
"I'm just curious is all."
Olivia eyed him. "I know you better than you know yourself," she said, "you're not being curious at all, something is bothering you."
"OMK…"
As he called her with his nickname for her, thing he rarely did at work, she knew something was up.
"I'm just worried is all. You are a strong independent woman. You are brilliant, intelligent, heck all the qualities any man goes for and yet, when I see you with him, you dim down, it's like he cast a dominating shadow over you."
She placed a reassuring hand on his bare arm. "Seth, you don't need to worry about me. He's important in his hierarchy, I just need to watch how I am. He's got a reputation to maintain. And you know just as I do that it doesn't only apply when on base but also off base. This entire island is practically a base within a base."
Seth inhaled and exhaled. "Ok, but just remember, that there are plenty of good guys out there who won't need you to be different when in their company and who aren't 13 years older than you."
He headed back toward his locker and felt something hit him in the back of his head. He pivoted and saw a pair of socks at his feet and lifted his head to look at Olivia.
"What?!"
"You knew and you still asked the age difference. You wanted to see if I was going to lie?"
He threw her socks back at her. "No. I know you don't lie."
"Why is the age difference such a big deal for you?" she asked as she put the final touches on her outfit, closed her locker and walked over to his as he put his pants on.
"Look, most of the women I know who date older guys do it for one of two reasons. The first being that they have daddy issues and well, that older man personifies the father figure they never had. The other reason is that they need to be looked after, protected, feel safe and someone there to help them make decisions."
He paused for a minute and seemed to search his mind. "There is also a third reason which is mind-blowing sex. But still, you don't fit the profile of the first two reasons, I just hope he' a god in bed, because if that is not the reason you are with him, I don't know why you are with him."
She swallowed carefully as to not show him and then smiled.
"Well then, you've got your answer." She looked at her watch. "I have to get going. Stop worrying about me, OK?"
"OK. Just promise me one thing."
She held the door of the locker room open as she waited for him to say the rest.
"What's that?"
"Keep your options open."
"What's that even supposed to mean?"
Seth shrugged. "I don't know, maybe a nice and polite Lieutenant."
She pointed a finger at him. "You're crazy you know that. I think you're sleep deprived. Get out of here and go home before you say something you're going to regret!"
She closed the door and let herself out in the hallway. As she turned around in her head everything Seth had told her she gave one last pondering look at the locker door before shaking everything out of her head and walking away.
She stopped at the coffee vendor and took a cappuccino. She wasn't really a coffee drinker but after what had happened last night and earlier this morning, she needed the caffeine and the energy. Who knew what her day had in store for her.
