Loving Olivia

Chapter 15 - Meet the Parents

Nico

Bumping into Olivia's mom at seven in the morning was something I was definitely not prepared for. Even though I had never met her before, I immediately knew who she was as we walked into the apartment building at the same time. The blue scrubs she was wearing were already a dead giveaway, but the resemblance was also striking.

For a moment I consider turning around and walking back out, but it would be too cowardly. Plus, I'm dying to get back into bed with Olivia. Leaving her for just fifteen minutes was already incredibly difficult. Although I'm not sure what the chances of that happening anymore are now.

I follow her into the elevator and she asks me what floor I'm going to after she presses the button for three. I was hoping for some miracle that this was all just some strange coincidence, but I've now triple confirmed she is, in fact, Olivia's mom.

"Third, thank you," I respond.

She looks at me curiously. There is only one other apartment on Olivia's floor, and I'm sure she knows I'm not her neighbor. I wonder if Olivia has told her about me. If she hasn't, which I'm inclined to believe, this is about to get really awkward. Well, here goes nothing ...

"You must be Olivia's mom," I say as a way of introduction.

Her curious expression turns surprised. "Yes. I'm Laura," she answers, her friendliness surprising me in turn.

"It's nice to meet you, Laura. I'm Nicolas ... Olivia's boyfriend," I add at the spur of the moment. Even though it's technically not true, I love how it sounds as soon as I say it. It's still something I need to discuss with her, but given the situation I just walked into, I need her mom to know I'm serious about her.

"Nice to meet you too, Nico. I was starting to wonder when Olivia would bring you around," Laura muses, and I can't help but smile at her use of my nickname. Olivia did tell her about me. It makes me inexplicably happy. "You're here quite early," she points out as we walk out into the hallway, my smile instantly dropping.

"Um, yeah," I fumble, trying to come up with a reason why I would be here so early on a Saturday morning other than admitting I spent the night here with her daughter. I wanted to surprise her with breakfast? I'm taking her on a day trip? What?

I'm not exactly dressed for any of that. I'm wearing a very wrinkled black shirt from yesterday. She must know I spent the night. It's at this point that I actually consider making an escape through the garbage chute. I think I could somehow squeeze through there.

"Don't worry. I was young once too, you know," she says chuckling.

I brush my brow in embarrassment, feeling small particles of sweat starting to form on my forehead. "I'm sorry. I uh ... Olivia wasn't feeling so well last night." I don't want her getting the wrong idea, although I did end up doing much more than simply consoling her. But I can't bring myself to feel guilty about it because it felt so right.

Laura frowns and I think I may have said too much. "I'm glad you kept her company. I hate leaving her alone all the time," she says, speaking like a very concerned mother.

I sigh in relief. I should have known Olivia's mom would be amazing just like her. "Well, I plan on keeping her company until she gets sick of me so you don't need to worry anymore."

She smiles and I think I see her eyes glisten before she turns around to open the door of the apartment. Maybe she's just tired after working through the night. She politely excuses herself after telling me it was nice to meet me again and to make myself at home. I watch her until she retires to her room. Her welcome is such a direct contrast from the last time I was here. I honestly didn't think I would be setting foot in here after my run-in with Ruiz, but now I couldn't care less what he thinks. I just got the approval that really matters.