Prologue
Leland
Olivia Hall.
The girl I needed to ask out as a favor to my best friend, Danny. He had fallen instantly in love with Olivia’s BFF, Delia. I wasn't sure how when they’d never actually spoken to each other. Since he was determined to get into Harvard Law and couldn’t divide his focus, he’d gone insane and pretty much decided to stalk the girl.
I figured I could keep him out of jail if I helped out, so I offered to take Olivia on a date to dig for more information. Not that my plan was completely altruistic. Olivia was sexy as hell, smart, and funny. A night in her company would not suck.
Too bad I was asking her out on false pretenses, or sucking might have been on the menu.
Olivia and Delia were just leaving their last class, so I “bumped” into them in the quad. I’d met both of them before because I knew just about everyone on campus. Unlike Danny, I was the life of the fucking party. Don’t get me wrong, I studied and maintained a high GPA, but my degree was in the much less grueling subject of finance. That left me plenty of time to live up the college and Greek life. I didn’t really date, though, because relationships weren’t worth the hassle.
“Good morning, ladies,” I spouted cheerfully as I matched their pace and walked beside them.
“Leland, to what do I owe the pleasure of your company?” Olivia chirped playfully while Delia just smiled and waved.
“I need your help,” I told Olivia in a solemn voice.
“Oh?”
“I’ve been having this recurring nightmare where I’m on a date with a red-headed chick with green eyes and freckles. After dinner, I take her home, where she pulls out a knife and stabs me to death.” I shuddered.
Olivia stopped and looked up at me (at six foot four inches, I towered over her average height), raising an eyebrow. “And you want me to reenact it? Find me a rubber knife, and I’m in.” Her tone was utterly deadpan.
Delia giggled, but I stared at Olivia for a couple of beats, trying to decide if she was fucking with me. One corner of her mouth slipped up before she began walking again, and I chuckled.
“Well, you’re half right,” I said, reaching out to tug on a shoulder-length, bright red lock of hair.
“Just the stabbing part? I don’t know, shouldn’t I get a nice dinner for risking myself by being your real-life nightmare? And by the way, if you lose your shit and I have to punch you to keep you from attacking me, you’ll owe me dessert too.”
I held in a laugh and kept my expression serious as I pretended to think it over. Olivia intrigued me in a way that I’d never experienced before. She really was the whole package.
Finally, I shook my head. “I don’t think having you pretend to kill me will help my nightmares. I suspect that if I take you out to dinner—dessert included—and the night doesn’t end with me bleeding out on the ground—real or pretend—the dream won’t haunt me anymore.”
Olivia was quiet for a few moments, although Delia was trying to hold in her laughter. When I winked at her, she burst out laughing, and while she wasn’t nearly as drop-dead gorgeous as Olivia, I could see what Danny saw in her.
“Okay,” Olivia said, holding out her hand. “I still think stabbing is the way to go, but I’m willing to try it your way.”
“Excellent,” I replied with a grin. I took her hand, and a bolt of electricity shot up my arm and down my body, straight to my dick. Fucking hell. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt desire for a woman, and my body picked this time, this woman?