Memories [Book Three]

Two

"Uh, dating? Yeah... I don't think so." Olivia spoke awkwardly, as she held her mug between her hands and focused on the steam. 

Ever since she broke up with Trevor, she didn't feel like dating anyone. She didn't feel like letting herself get hurt again. The only men she could trust were Felix and Garrett since neither of them has ever hurt her before.

"Momma, you are hot. You could get any guy you wanted." Adalee smiled. Ember had told Adalee about the fact that Felix had a thing for their mother, and Adalee approved of it just as much as Ember does.

"I'm not hot, girls... I have had four kids, and that doesn't leave a woman's body looking amazing." Olivia sighed. She took a sip from her mug before looking back at her girls.

"Don't you want more kids?" Ember asked, and Olivia frowned. She had always seen herself having a huge family. More than five kids. But here she is, with five kids, single, and thirty-seven.

"I'm happy with the kids I have. Minus you two. You two are driving me nuts." Olivia sighed softly. She stood and moved to leave the room, but Ember stopped her.

"Momma, someone is out there who wants to be with you. You just have to find him." Ember breathed. Olivia frowned before nodding slowly.

"Maybe. Or maybe I'll be better off without a man in my life. I've been doing good for the last five years. Your siblings are still going to be here for a while, so it's not like I'll be struggling with an empty nest." Olivia sighed.

"Momma-" Adalee started, but Olivia shook her head and raised her hand.

"We are done discussing this. I want to be your mother and your friend... but at this moment I'm your mother and only your mother. Please do not bring up my love life again." Olivia spoke sternly, before leaving the room in a huff.

|*|

The next morning, Olivia left well before her eldest two daughters woke up. She got into her car and went straight to the garage where she was going to rant to Felix about what the girls did the night before.

"We need to talk." Olivia huffed, as she started to get undressed in front of Felix so she could get into her uniform. Felix had a hard time not looking at Olivia because he did like the way her body looked. But he was incredibly attracted to her personality. Her mind. They had been best friends for over 14 years, and he had been in love with her for almost that same amount of time.

"Okay?" Felix asked as he avoided looking in Olivia's direction.

"My lovely daughters decided to ambush me last night. They were asking me about dating! As if Trevor didn't turn me off from the idea forever!" Olivia spat. She took her jeans off before tugging on her dress pants. Felix turned around slowly to look at her and frowned.

"Olivia, they want you to be happy," Felix spoke gently.

"I know they do, but I'm happy! At least I think I am..." Olivia trailed off as she turned to look at Felix. She was standing there in pants and her bra, and Felix looked down again.

"Felix?" Olivia asked gently.

"I'm going to go back up the rig. Grab your jacket. It's a little chilly today." Felix spoke.

Once Olivia was changed and her hair was tied back into a bun, Olivia walked slowly out to the rig. She watched as Felix packed up their bags and did an inventory check of their rig.

"Felix, did I say something?" Olivia asked as she moved closer to her best friend and partner.

"No... it's just that I can't stand the idea of you giving up on love."

"You've watched me go through two men... first Elliot and then Trevor. How can you think that another relationship will be good for me after I've been hurt twice in the past?" Olivia questioned with wide eyes.

"Not all men are bad. If you would just look in front of you, maybe you'd see that. Maybe you'd realize that someone has loved you for so long, but hasn't been able to step forward and tell you. Just don't give up, Olivia. Keep looking." Felix frowned. He moved into the rig, and Olivia followed.

"Felix-"

"Did you even listen to me?" He whimpered.

"What?"

"Look. In. Front. Of. You." Felix grumbled.

|*|

Usually, while Felix and Olivia are waiting for a call, they chat and joke around. When they are even heading out on a call, they managed to talk about something. But today, they didn't talk. It was a slow day, so they worked on cleaning up their rig and the garage. Olivia kept looking over at Felix, but he didn't do anything. He didn't ask her what she was looking at, and Olivia didn't try to push him.

As the day progressed, Olivia and Felix got a call about a car accident. These were some of the hardest for them because they usually had to work side by side with firefighters to get the victims out of the car or get in the car to secure their necks.

"Since I'm smaller, I'm going to be doing most of the inside action," Olivia spoke, as she took her bun out and tied her hair at the base of her neck.

"Okay," Felix spoke.

"So you aren't even going to fight me on this?" Olivia sighed.

"There is no use in fighting you," Felix replied dryly.

"Who do you think loves me?" Olivia mused.

"We are going to a car accident, Olivia. We don't need to talk about this."

"Felix-"

"I was told by Ember to go slow. To not force anything on you. But you are nosy as hell, so here we go."

"What-"

"I love you, Olivia!" Felix yelled.

"I love you too, Felix! We are best friends and have been for years!"

"No! I love you and want to be the man in your life. I want to be more than just best friends!"

"You are into men!" Olivia squeaked.

"I'm bisexual. You never asked and just assumed that I only liked guys. But I like women. And I love you."