Page 54 of To Love Jason Thorn

I cleared my throat, but Olive didn’t hearme, not with the stupid blasting music—none of them did. I glanced at herfriend, but she was looking anywhere but me.

Sighing, I put my hand on Olive’s waist.

The touch felt familiar—maybe a little toomuch.

She whirled around, her hair smacking me inthe face; it smelled like fruit. Edible.

Fuck me.

Not edible.

Not my little Olive.

When I was safe from the hair attack, shewas staring at me with a frown on her face, then she slightly lifted my baseballcap and recognized me at once. Her expression turned from cute fury to afucking beautiful smile.

It was good to know she knew how to handlestrangers touching her: hit them in the face with the hair whip and then frownup at them until they slithered away. My only hope was that they wouldn’t carryher away along with them.

“Jason!” She beamed up at me and threwherself in my arms, trusting me to catch her.

Grunting at the unexpected weight, I had totake a step back to steady us. Laughing, I nudged her chin up from where it wasburied in my chest.

“You smell soooo good,” she slurredslightly. “Did you come to see big Olive? I’m not so little any more, am I,Jason? You saw that, right?”

She looked so vulnerable and hopeful that Ihad a hard time finding the right words to speak.

My hand acting on its own, I cradled herface and watched her close her eyes for two seconds then softly open them up togaze right back into mine.

“No. I guess you’re not that little any more,my little Olive.”

She scrunched up her nose. “You’re stillcalling me little.” Shaking her head, she said, “You need sooo much help withfinding the right nicknames. You always did.”

Laughing, I leaned down to her ear and asked,“Do I, now? Would you like to volunteer to help me on that front?”

She nodded eagerly, her smile bloomingagain.

It was damn impossible not to smile down ather.

For a moment, we stood there glancing ateach other and my smile slowly melted away.

I was doing something wrong.

I was feeling something wrong.

Then thankfully, her friend was there,clearing her throat as she put a hand on Olive’s back.

“Lucy,” Olive yelled over the musicexcitedly as she steadied herself against my chest and saw her friend.

She was definitely a little drunk.

I wanted to tug her closer.

Lucy smiled at her. “Maybe you should letJason take you home before somebody recognizes him here. People seems to belooking your way,” she added, looking at me apologetically.

I glanced around and sure enough, therewere a few people close by, whispering as they kept their eyes on us.

“I should?” Olive asked.

“You definitely should,” Lucy repeated,patting her arm.

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