Chapter Two
The next morning, Olivia got up with her alarm, dressed in her dark blue bikini, wrapped herself in her plush pink robe and matching slippers, and made her way to the indoor lap pool. Shedding her robe onto the cushioned lounge chair at the poolside, she let her skin heat in the thick mist of the room before she dove into the sparkling blue water. She started the first of her ten laps slowly, then went faster and faster until she couldn't go one more stroke. Surfacing, she wiped her eyes, and came face to face with Taylor. Forcing herself to go against instincts and sink chin deep in water, she lifted her chin and began to climb out of the pool slowly. She watched his eyes wander down her, watching the water slide down her body and drip from the ends of her hair. She suddenly felt like her bikini wasn't enough. Then it felt like it was too much. Her skin flushed and heated when she knew he was undressing her with his eyes. She stopped in front of him and stood patiently. She always was convinced that that was a silly saying, until now. Her body yearned to be touched by his hands. How many times had she thought about that? She didn't want this to end, so she waited for him to come back to Earth.
"Oh. Sorry. I ah-" She smiled as he lost his train of thought again. She took another two steps to him, stopping when only a piece of paper could fit between them.
Looking into his eyes which were watching her lips, she said quietly, "You don't look like you came for a swim." She leaned in, her lips a whisper away. Once she had his eyes on hers, she turned and sauntered to her robe and slippers, then started to dress. Taylor stood, frozen. Smiling as she tied her robe securely, she started for the door.
She stopped when he turned and began to speak. "Bea said this time of day you're here..." He shook his head, obviously trying to collect his thoughts, then looked at the pool to finish his sentence. "We- my brothers and I were wondering when we could go over to the stage to figure things out." She saw him glance at her sideways.
Laughing inwardly, she told him- "We can go in five minutes or after breakfast. Up to you."
"How about after breakfast? One less trip." He turned, faced her straight on, and gave her a brilliant smile. A smile shouldn't feel like you've just been kicked in the stomach, leaving you breathless, but that's what his did to her.
She swallowed once, trying to controll her voice. "Sure." She looked at the clock above the door to the sauna. She'd taken a little longer than usual. Must be the extra distractions. Rolling her shoulders, she looked at him. "Breakfast is in half an hour. I'll have everything arranged for you starting in an hour." With that, she turned and walked out the door. Taylor looked at the door after her. Should he take that barely a brush and almost a kiss as an invitation to chase after her? He thought about the answer on his way back to his sleeping brothers to report the answer they had shotgunned him into going to ask.
Livvy, back in her room, was in the shower while her curlers heated. She skipped breakfast to dress and do her hair and make up. She wondered if they were a little disappointed she wasn't there. But then, they have a busy day ahead of them so they were probably going over every minute detail for the hundredth time. She smiled at herself in the mirror as she applied a little eyeliner. With the last coat of lip gloss, she stepped to the full length mirror. Strappy white heeled sandals, short light blue jean skirt, a white tank top with a big cowl neck, bug curles in her hair and hoops at her ears and wrist. It was eight oh three. They were probably waiting down in the foyer. With a last check, she turned off the lights and left her room. Coming down the stairs slowly, she head their voices carry. They were singing. She froze mid step as they warmed up their voices as they harmonized. She was sure not too many others had heard this kind of magic. Her heart melted as their voices blended seamlessly. When the last note ended in a quiet decrashendo, she finished her short walk to the foyer as they discussed certain notes.
"Hey guys. Ready?" She smiled warmly when they turned to her. "You guys sound amazing. Though I'm sure you hear that enough." She dismissed her compliment with a wave of her hand. "Anyway, we have four-wheelers to go over there, or you can follow me in your bus."
"Good. You be the responsible one. I'm taking a four wheeler. Tay?" Zac asked. Everyone looked to Taylor. A wicked grin appeared on his face. A fantasay of Taylor driving with her in front crossed her mind.
"I'll take a quad."
"Or another option, one I'll be using, we can travel by horseback." Their eyes grew wide as she smiled. "Any takers?" She was met with silence. "Alright then. Let's go." She led them throught the front doors, let them pass, then closed the doors securly behind them. As they stood on the step, the guys faced their bus, two quads, and a tall, lean chestnut gelding. "Come on, don't be shy." She went past the guys and to her horse, Devious, grabbed the reins and a handful of hair, then hoisted herself up and and on. "Keys are in the ignition." She signaled her horse to go, and went in slow circles until they were finally ready. She started down the road in the grass, heading towards the back of the three hundred acres. After her horse had warmed up, she urged Devious into a canter. She listened as the bus and quads moved up to the next gear. After a little while, she slowed back down to a trot. She'd do this stretch, then gallop the rest of the way. She just wanted to give Devious a little break before the all out. She looked over her shoulder and smiled. Zac and Tayor on the quads behind her, and the large brown tour bus behind them. Only slightly intimidating. She grinned wickedly, then asked Devious to run. Gallopping full out, she started to pull away from her guests as the quads took a second to accelerate and catch up. She looked under her arm back at the guys who were grinning too. With the wind pulling her hair back, she let her soul fly. She was at her happiest on her horse. When she finally slowed, she was about a hundred yards from the line of trees that separated the "venue" from the rest of the property. She came up to the gate, entered the code o the post, and the doors swung wide to let the bus through. She led them over to the spot designated for the bus by the stage. She jumped off and slid the bridle off of Devious and dropped it on the ground and let her horse graze. "So this is it." She pushed her hair out of her face, then ran her hands through it, trying to fix it as she went up to the guys. With all the engines shut off, it was quiet. There was a large swell of screams that followed, proving the presence of the group of fans already waiting outside the gate. Livvy grinned at the guys, and then it was quiet again. "Let me know." She went front and center on stage and picked up a thin book. "This has a map of the grounds, names and numbers of the stagehands and security." She handed it to Zac who stood closest to her. Standing up, she turned, her back to the soon to be crowd. "It has the walk route, and my cell if you need anything. Otherwise it'll run like any other show. The gates are timed to open at six, and staff'll be there for tickets. There's a side gate next to the large outside gate you can use to come in and out for the walk, and can be used for afterwards for autographs if you want. Everything's in the book. You're free to stay here as long as you wish, there's also all routes to the house. So if you're not needing anything else, I'll be returning to the house later."
"When will you come back?" Ashley asked.
"Unless you need anything between now and then, I'll be back before the walk." He nodded. "You're welcome to come back to the house and eat at any time. Just come in and go to the kitchen, or anything else you need."
"Awesome. Thanks Olivia." Isaac said.
"Welcome." She gave him a smile, then whistled for her horse. "The stage crew and security will be here at eleven." She mounted her horse from the stage. "Anything else?" She looked to each one. When they each shook their head, she turned Devious away. "Call if you need anything, any time." With that, she commanded her horse to run. With a small rear, Devious broke out into a canter.
When the guys saw her pass the line of the trees, they began to talk about their hostess.
"That's one fine piece of ass." Zac said after making sure Ashley was out of earshot.
"Imagine that, in a bikini, dripping wet from the pool. That's what I saw this morning."
"You saw that!?" Isaac exclaimed.
"Yeah. That's my reward for you douches voting me out of bed while your lazy asses stayed in bed."
"Shotgun for tomorrow!" Zac said.
"So what happened? Tell me you made a move," Isaac said.
"Actually, I ah-" he looked around quickly for Ashley, then turned to his brothers. "I pretty much froze. She came up out of the pool, just like you see in the movies all the time, and my mouth went dry and my tongue tangled. Literally. She came out of the pool in what I swear was slow motion, and stopped right in front of me. And I could only stair. And she let me. She nearly kissed me, and finally I remembered to ask the question I'd come to ask. Then she got into her robe and slippers, and left me standing there."
"Tay!" Zac exclaimed. "You blew it. She almost kissed you and you didn't move in for it? I should punch you."
"It's strange. I mean, I know her event arranging is her degree, but with us, I'm surprised she's not more...like, a clingy fan, you know?" Isaac pointed out.
"Yeah. I've noticed she's always leaving us." Zac agreed.
"Which is fine, because the view's great." Tay grinned. He saw Ashley coming back towards them with papers and a roll of tape.
"Are you going to move on her Tay? I'll give you first dibs, 'cause you get all mushy, frozen and tongue tied," Zac said, giving a brotherly push. "If not, I call her. Sorry Ike. You can have one of her not so bad looking friends. Wait. Minions. I wonder when they'll get here anyway. They're funny."
"Hey Ash. Ready?" Taylor asked.
"Yeah." He gave him the papers and tape.
"Don't avoid the question Tay. We need to know ASAP. Not all day. You shouldn't need all day anyway."
"Zac." Ashley said. Zac narrowed his eyes at his older brother.
"Fine. Yes."
"Don't make it sound like a chore."
"Okay Zac! Okay. I want her. Bad. Is that cool with you?"
"Sure. Go get her."
Chapter Three