Oliver
I held the bouquet tightly in my hand as I used to other to ring Lianne's doorbell. It was the night of Alexia's part and as much as I didn't want to go, the prospect of spending more time with Lianne made the night more than bearable.
I heard a lady's voice, that was not Lianne's shout from inside a 'he's here' before the door was opened. A brown haired woman opened the door for me with a smile.
“Hi, I'm Rhetta, Lainne's friend, come in!” She introduced herself, stepping aside for me.
I slid into the house, noticing that Lianne wasn't in the living room. “Is she ready yet?”
The lady shook her head, glancing to where Lianne's room most likely was. “Just give her a few minutes, please.”
I nodded and she disappeared into the back of the house. I just stood there awkwardly after she left but I didn't have to wait long as a few minutes later, Lianne walked out, looking gorgeous.
“Hi, Oliver.” It was a simple greeting but with her smile and how wonderful she looked, I got a bit flustered.
“Hi Lianne, you look…” I mulled my brain for the word to properly describe her. Not finding anything, I settled for; “Amazing.”
She smiled wider, casting her eyes down shyly. “Thank you. You look good too.”
“I brought these for you.” I drew her attention to the flowers in my hands, two dozen pink tulips that I'd picked out for her.
She glanced at them then gave me a grateful smile. “Thank you, they're so beautiful.”
“Not as much as you are.” I muttered as she took them from me.
I caught the sight of her cheeks flushing before she turned around to place the flowers in a vase. I watched her arrange them, brushing her hands ever so slightly on the petals before she returned to me.
“Shall we go?” She asked, picking her clutch up.
I nodded wordlessly, trying my hardest not to stare. She really did look beautiful with the gold dress fitting like a second skin and her make up perfectly done. It was no wonder how she was a successful model with the hourglass figure she had.
She was pretty with her hair down but something about having her hair up made her look even better. Coupled with her jewelry and bag, I'd say gold was definitely her color.
She screamed a 'goodbye' to her friends who only teased and made kissy noises in return. She rolled her eyes at them and followed me to my Lamborghini Veneno, letting me open the door for her before slipping in.
I got into the other side and started the drive. For the most part, she was quiet, only humming to a few songs that played on the radio.
I made sure to drive as slow as legally possible, earning myself a few honks from driver's behind me.
“Oliver, is there a reason you're going thirty below the speed limit?” I heard her ask.
With a shrug, I replied. “No really.”
She released a breathy chuckle. “So stop driving like an old man.”
I let out a laugh, conceding. I drove much closer to the speed limit for the remainder of the ride to Alexia's house. To say I wasn't happy to be there was an understatement. Parties like this never really thrilled me, though I grew up going to them.
They were hardly ever fun especially when everyone around you wanted to talk business or brag about their latest accomplishments. I'd much rather be at home, curled up on a couch, watching TV.
“The press is here?” Lianne noted as I helped her out.
I looked not far from us to see that members of the media were indeed present. Yet another reason I didn't want to attend to any social gathering she planned. Alexia always has to get the media involved in every little thing she did. They had already been unkind to me for the past few months and I was trying my best to avoid giving them more to write about me.
I think Lianne shared my opinion as she frowned deeply about having the media there. She's had her own fair share of scandals and of course avoids them.
“Do you want me to take you back home?” I offered hoping she'd say 'no'.
She shook her head with a sigh. “We're already here, there's no point going back. It'll be okay, we're coming together as friends, there's nothing wrong in it.”
I nodded though the label of 'friend' didn't sit right with me. Call me greedy, but I wanted more than that.
I handed my keys to a valet and offered an arm for her to hold. She rested he hand delicately at the base of my arm, offering me a smile before we started walking.
The paparazzi at the door went wild seeing us together and started firing questions. At a young age, I learned to mostly ignore them but Lianne wanted to answer a few of their questions.
“Lianne, you and Oliver are you together, is this the beginning of a relationship?” A reporter questioned.
I sneered. Of course that's the first thing they'd ask.
Lianne held her gentle smile as she answered. “No, Oliver and I are just friends. I agreed to accompany him today as just that.”
That word again. 'Friends', I was so unsatisfied being called that, it left a bad taste in my mouth that I desperately wanted to get rid of.
Only a few other questions were asked after that, some still suggesting that we were together but she quickly shut them down. Pretty soon, we were at the door l, just outside the party.
Alexia basically ran up to me once we went through the door. My assistant was the one who warned me thought the communicator in my ear. My tie clip held a hidden camera and just like the day I met Lianne, my assistant would feed me the name of the person in front of me.
“Oliver, thanks so much for coming.” She practically forced the hug on me, pushing her body on mine.
I did my best and smiled as I pulled away, wrapping my arm around Lianne's waist. “Of course, Happy birthday.”
“Thank you.” She hugged me again, intentionally pushing her boobs to my chest again.
I unconsciously held onto Lianne's waist tighter and she placed her hand on my back, rubbing slowly. Alexia completely ignored her, smiling and grinning at me. Even my assistant commented on how desperate she was being and I couldn't help but agree silently.
“Alexia, I believe you've met Lianne.” I called her attention to my date, tired of her attention being on me.
Lianne has told me on multiple occasions since the day I convinced her to come here that she doesn't not like Alexia. She wasn't one of her favorite people to say the least and I should not expect her to be overly nice, the most she could do was civil.
It sucked because I was hoping she'd be even less than civil so we could leave early.
Alexia clearly shared the distaste as when her attention was called to Lianne, she gave the other woman a dirty look before pulling out a fake smile.
“Lianne, nice to see you again.” She greeted tightly, like it was so hard to get the words out.
Lianne held a smirk, seeing her struggle. “You too. Happy birthday.”
“Thank you.” She ground out. “Excuse me, I have other guests to entertain. I'll see you later, oliver.”
At the end of her sentence, she shot me a flirty smile before walking off.
“She's a real piece of work.” I heard Lianne say with displeasure.
I hummed in agreement, leading Lianne into the main party room. As I expected, it was the usual high society party with wine and champagne being served everywhere and guests in their very best.
I was in a plain black tuxedo and dress shoes to match. Lianne and I unfortunately were not matching but I liked to think our outfits complemented on another well enough.
Alexia's husband came up to me and quickly got me absorbed in a conversation. I'd introduced Lianne of course and he greeted her kindly but didn't really linger on her.
At times, I felt bad for him. He had always been faithful to his wife but she made a constant show of flirting with me. He was a gentle soul and loved to keep to himself. Most of the time, his wife was the one who convinced him to attend functions like these or throw them.
Some people speculate on why he does this but I understand him. He liked his space.
Soon after, he left us to find our seats. Alexia had reserved two for my date and I, not knowing it was Lianne. We shared the table with an older couple and a man. His seat was right next to Lianne's and his attention on her. I was talking with the man of the older couple when I heard his decided to tune into their conversation.
“So, miss Lianne, what do you do?”
Lianne answered. “I actually model.”
“Oh really? I mean, I should've guessed on seeing you, such a pretty face on a better body.”
My eyes shot to glare at him at that moment as Lianne said a shaky 'thank you'. He wasn't the worst looking person, brown hair and equally brown eyes, a short beard that made him took a but older than me.
I mainly preferred to keep my face smooth but I didn't mind a small stubble sometimes.
He kept talking to her, not minding my glare at all. “You know, I work with a lot of top models and brands, I could help boost your career.”
I held in a scoff. He clearly didn't work with enough as he didn't know who Lianne was. I looked her up and she is one of the top ten most demanded for models right now. Meaning, she didn't need him.
“Um, thank you but I don't think I'd need that.” She said politely instead of telling him to fuck off.
“Let me tell you something, pride does not look good on anyone. Now, I'm gonna give you my card and you're gonna take it and call me.” At that point I'd had enough and pulled Lianne's chair closer, my glare hardening.
“She said no.” I growled at him.
He rolled his eyes at me. “I didn't hear it from her.”
“Then you better get your ears checked.” I stood up, still glaring at him.
He mimicked my actions, standing two inches away. “You better mind your business. I don't know what gives you the right to add yourself into our conversation, why don't you just sit back down and get yourself a drink to keep you company.”
I stared angrily at him, about to give him a shove before Lianne came between us.
“How about we go dance, Oliver?” She suggested, wrapping an arm around my back. She looked to the man who was bothering her with pursed lips. “It was nice meeting you.”
I didn't let her say anything else to him and walked us to the dance floor. The music was classy and slow with a live band playing. Her hand went to my shoulder while the other gripped mine. I placed a hand on the small of her back as we swayed softly to the music.
“Thanks for standing up for me.” She said after a minute.
I blew out a breath, letting out my frustration. “Anytime. I saw he was bothering you.”
The corner of her lips turned up. “I never knew you could get like that. I mean, with Nolan you were different, this time you looked ready to fight.”
“I was.” I replied honestly.
Her brows furrowed. “W-why?”
I shrugged, not wanting to tell my reasons. We continued dancing for the next few minutes before going to take another walk around the hall. Avoiding Alexia, we had conversations with businessmen, friends of both me and Lianne and a couple of other random people.
We also met Natalia, Lianne's sister, who I soon learned was no different from the host of the party. She was in a dress almost similar to Lianne's but the color was different and the slit was much higher. She didn't look bad at all but she couldn't be compared to Lianne.
The two women had a glaring match, making the atmosphere thick before I cut in, introducing myself. Natalia's murderous glare quickly turned into a saccharine smile when her attention turned to me.
“Hi, I'm Natalia.” She made a show of pulling the front of her dress lower to expose more of her cleavage. “I've never seen you around Lianne before, you her new beau?”
He wishes. My subconscious mocked. “No, we're just friends.”
“Good for you then, Lianne's known for being…” She trailed off, appearing to think of the right word. “I'll say loose, lot's of men in her life.”
“You're one to talk, miss I-lost-my-virginity-at-eleven.” Lianne snapped at her sister.
“At least I'm not some pretentious outsider.” Natalia retorted.
“And I am no cheap whore.”
“Oh right, you're prude who can't keep a man.”
I quickly stepped in before the disagreement became physical which, by the look of things, would've been soon. “I think we should get a drink, right?”
I hurriedly pulled her with me before she could even reply. We went to the refreshment table and I handed her a champagne flute, not expecting her to chug it.
A waiter handed me a second glass and I refused to give her a third, sitting her down. She had this hard look on her face, obviously angry bit there was a hidden sadness in her eyes.
“What was that about?” I decided to ask.
“Nothing, just the usual Lianne and Natalia.” She replied.
“You're upset.” I placed a hand on her shoulder but she swatted it away, shaking her head.
“I need another drink.” she told me.
“Not till you tell me what's wrong.” I insisted.
She sighed, leaning back in the chair. “Sometimes I think she's right. Any guy I date cheats on me once I mention I'm waiting till marriage, says I can't keep them happy or satisfied when I act like such a prude. I try not to act like it but, it hurts and I'm tired of being called names.”
I watched as she pursed her lips and looked down at her thighs. Pulling a chair closer, I sat down, holding her hand in support.
“I know it's harder than that but you shouldn't let them get to you. It's your body, you're choice.” I offered a smile. “Fuck them.”
She looked up and raised a brow at me, causing me to realize my mistake.
I clarified immediately. “Not like that, no, I mean they don't matter. Not that you should sleep with them, fuck them, you know.”
She cracked a smile, shaking her head. “You're a funny man, Oliver Graham.”
I shrugged with a smile. “I try.”
“Wanna dance again?” She slowly got off her seat. “After I get another drink though.”
I let out a small laugh, following her lead as she headed towards the drinks table. Before she got there, a waiter approached her, holding a single glass on his tray, offering it to her.
She took it before I could voice my suspicions and gulped it down. “That was different.” She commented.
“And suspicious.” I added.
Her hand waved dismissively. “You worry too much Oliver, let's go.”
She pulled me to where others were dancing and we joined in. We danced for a few minutes before I noticed her skin getting redder and that she was stumbling often.
“Do you need to sit down?” I questioned as her entire face changed color.
“Hm?” She looked up at me, eye glazed over.
“Are you okay?”
“Just dizzy.” She groaned, resting her head on my shoulder.
“Let's sit.” I held her waist tightly as I took a step but before I could take another, she let out a wheeze and collapsed in the middle of the dance floor.
Author's Note:
Hey guys. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. What do you think?
Was it interesting or did it feel like more of a filler?
Don't you just love Lianne's outfit? It's on top.
How do you like the new cover? It was done by Reeruworld00 please check he out, her work is amazing as you can see. If you have any covers for me, send them to my Instagram at Aaliyah2048 and I'll definitely use them on the chapters and give you credit.
Also, it seems I've lost a lot of readers so I just wanna say thanks to those who've stuck by me.
Lianne and Oliver's relationship seems to be getting started 😏😏.
Next chapter once this one reaches 10 votes.
Thanks again for reading and don't forget to vote and COMMENT, please! I'm dying to hear what you guys think. Any ideas you guys have, my DMs are always open.
See you at the next chapter.
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
-E