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fifty-three

Lane

“You have me so confused with this date,” Olive chuckles as we walk through Greenwich Village.

Our date tonight isn’t like the others we’ve been on. I’m wearing a pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt; Olive is wearing leggings and a slouchy sweatshirt. We just finished dinner at Cheese the Day, and now I’m leading her to our next destination.

“Gotta keep you on your toes, baby,” I smile, draping my arm around her shoulders. “I wanted to do something different tonight.”

“I suppose mac and cheese is a fine substitute for French food,” she smirks, tone light and teasing.

“Brat,” I say, tickling her side as she squirms beside me.

“You love it.”

“Very much,” I reply, leaning down to kiss her as we come to a stop on the sidewalk.

“Wait, why are we at the studio?” she asks, looking at me confused.

“This is where the rest of our date is,” I say, reaching into my pocket and fishing out the key I borrowed from Eileen.

“At my mom’s ballet studio?”

“Mhmm.” I open the door for her and gesture her inside.

“Why, though?”

I take her hand and walk her through the hall, leading her into the room she uses for her lessons with Sage. “Because we’re dancing, Ballerina.”

“You’re… dancing.” Olive looks at me incredulously.

“Dancing with you.”

She laughs lightly. “You don’t know how to dance, Lane.”

“So teach me.” I step closer to her. “I’ve been teaching you. I think it’s time you start teaching me.”

“Are you joking?” she asks, leaning back a bit.

“No,” I laugh. “I’m dead serious. You and Sage both love ballet, and I want to learn more.” She keeps her eyes on mine, staring at me in disbelief. “What’s on your mind, Livvy?”

Olive lets out a light breath, a bright smile on her face. “This is just… really sweet.”

I brush her hair out of her face. “I’m interested in what you’re interested in, Olive.”

She leans up and kisses me softly. “Thank you.”

She immediately gets down to business. Teacher Olive is no-nonsense and authoritative.

It’s really hot.

I embarrass myself repeatedly as I attempt these moves, but Liv is so happy. I can plié easily, but I’m not so great at a relevé. Apparently, I jump like a baseball player.

Whatever that means.

Now, she has me attempting leaps.

If the guys were here, they’d be laughing their asses off. I’m about as graceful as an elephant, and I’m pretty sure I weaken the floorboards every time I land.

I think I’m gonna owe Eileen a new floor.

I’m also terrible at spinning because my balance is shit, but at least I don’t fall over.

Small victories.

But now we’re working on something I can do—lifts.

I lift Olive in front of me, over my head, and catch her as she jumps, and it just feels natural. For this part, we make a great pair.

She moves across the room from me, leaping and bounding her way until she turns around and runs at me. I reach out to catch her, but I do something wrong because we both end up tumbling to the ground instead, me bracing myself over top of her.

“Shit!” I say nervously. “Are you okay, Liv?”

Olive starts laughing heartily. “I’m fine. But you are no ballet dancer, Hotshot.”

I lean down and pull her bottom lip between my teeth.

“Such a fucking brat.”

“I know you like it, baby.”

I involuntarily groan. “Not as much as I like being your baby.”

Olive smiles before she leans up and kisses me, placing her hand softly on my cheek. “I love being with you, Lane.”

I rest on my elbow and use my other hand to run my thumb over her bottom lip. “I love being with you, too, Liv. So fucking much.”

“You know,” she says, running her finger lightly up my chest. “I’ve never been this happy. I have an incredible boyfriend. I have a little girl I absolutely adore. I have an amazing group of friends. I’m finally enjoying my life.”

“That’s wonderful, baby,” I smile. “But where is that coming from?”

“Because I realized something,” she whispers before her forest eyes gaze up at me, captivating me completely. “I do love myself.”

My heart starts beating faster, and I wonder if she can hear it.

“Is that so?”

“Mhmm.”

I brush my nose against the tip of hers. “Did you realize anything else?” I prod, desperate to hear her say it.

“I realized what I already knew to be true.” Olive leans up just a bit more, brushing her lips lightly over mine. “I love you, Lane.”

I immediately press my mouth to hers, capturing her in a searing and tender kiss. I lower myself gently, resting my body on top of her as she licks at the seam of my lips, and I part to let her inside.

She slips her hands under the hem of my shirt, exploring my chest and abdomen as my tongue strokes against hers. I nip at her lip, and she lightly moans, the sound traveling to the same appendage it always does.

I pull back slightly, gazing at the beautiful woman below me. “Fuck, Olive. I love you. I love you so fucking much.”

“I love you, too. As scary as the idea used to seem to me, I think falling in love with you is the easiest thing I’ve ever done.”

“Everything feels right when you’re here,” I breathe, closing my eyes and resting my forehead on hers. “You were made for Sage and me. We were incomplete before you came into our lives. You’re our missing puzzle piece.”

“You and Sage are the greatest things that have ever happened to me,” she says softly. “I love your daughter like she’s my own.”

“She is yours. You’re the only woman she’s ever considered to be her mother. Like it or not, that little girl is as much yours as she is mine.”

“How could I not like that?” Olive smiles so brightly. “I didn’t know if I’d ever get to be a mother, Lane. I know I’m still young, but the thought of not being there to see Sage grow up tears me apart. I love her so damn much.”

“I know you do, baby,” I say softly. “She loves you, too. It happened fast, but the three of us are a family.”

She gazes at me, and I can see how vulnerable she feels right now. “You see a future with me, don’t you?”

“I don’t see a future without you in it,” I admit. “This is all very real to me, and I’m planning to keep you around as long as you’ll let me.”

“Like… forever?”

“Forever is exactly what I’m hoping for.”

Olive kisses me sweetly, letting me feel the love she has for me in each press of her lips. When we break apart, she bites her lip, looking at me nervously. “Lane… I want you.”

I smile at her. “You have me, baby.”

She laughs lightly. “No, I want you. All of you. And I want to give you all of me.”

“Olive…” I manage as all the air rushes out of my lungs.

“I’m certain of this. I want this.”

“Are you sure?”

Olive rests her hand on the back of my head and pulls me in close. “Never been more sure of anything in my life. Now take me home.”