When Martin pulled up in front of Alexander’s building, Chelsea waited for Alexander to run around and open the car door for her. Olivia would have just opened it herself, he thought. He took a deep breath, half-heartedly regretting his decision to invite Chelsea over but, at the same time, feeling that he needed to move past Olivia. This was the only way he knew how. She wanted him to move on. That’s what he was doing.

“I just love the view from your place, Alex,” Chelsea said as they entered his penthouse. She kicked off her heels and made her way towards the staircase, turning back to look at Alexander. He stood at the door, a dumbfounded look on his face, the normally confident man nowhere to be found. “Are you coming or not? I don’t have all night.”

He contemplated what to do. Yes, he did invite Chelsea over for the sole purpose of fucking her until Olivia never again entered his mind. But now that she was here, could he really follow through? Just a few months ago, he wouldn’t even be having second thoughts. He’d bring her upstairs and bury himself inside of her. Now, after Olivia and everything they had been through, it felt wrong.

Chelsea slinked towards him. “Stop thinking,” she whispered, brushing her ruby red lips against his neck, gently nibbling on his earlobe as she ran her fingers through his dark, unruly hair. “This is just sex, Alex. Nothing more. Come on. I know what you need. You need to forget about her. I can help you.” She pressed her body against his. Alexander wondered how she could tell he was thinking about a girl.

It all felt so different. There was no spark. Hell, he was even having a little trouble getting an erection. That never happened with Olivia. He was always ready to go when she was around…and even when she wasn’t.

Chelsea grabbed Alexander’s belt, pulling him toward her, quickly unbuckling it before unzipping his pants. Her small brown eyes met his as she reached into his boxers and helped spring him free. “There’s my boy,” she smiled.

He exhaled loudly, desperate to feel something other than the excruciating loss that he had been feeling the past few weeks. “Just make me forget, Chelsea. Please,” he pleaded with her.

“Okay, Alex.” She pressed her lips to his.

He grabbed the back of her neck, deepening the kiss. Slamming her against the wall, he tore her panties from her body and got lost inside of her. The whole time, he was thinking about his Olivia and what she was doing at that exact moment, wondering whether he should have looked harder. Thinking about whether or not Kiera was right. Would she ever come back? Maybe Olivia needed to know that he would fight for her, no matter what. But he didn’t fight for her. He just let her walk away from him. Now it was November and the trail had gone cold. Olivia disappeared without a trace. Even with all the resources he had at his disposal, there was nothing. Not one clue.

He thrust even harder into Chelsea, needing to find some sort of release. Release from the hold Olivia still had over him. Would he ever be rid of that? He didn’t see how. Olivia always had a hold over him. Everything he had done throughout his life had been for her. Growing up, he just knew that she wasn’t dead. She couldn’t be. His lack of serious relationships was due to that, always holding out hope of finding her. And once he found her, he didn’t want to let go. And she left him.

“That’s it, Alex. Let go!” Chelsea screamed as Alexander bit into her neck, pulling out as he came in his hand. He just couldn’t bring himself to come inside of Chelsea. The last person he came inside of was Olivia and he wanted to keep it that way.

He turned and walked briskly down the hallway to the bathroom to clean himself up, leaving Chelsea alone in the living room. Looking in the mirror, he saw a shell of his former self. Maybe it would have been better if he had never found Olivia. Maybe he should move on like she said. Maybe he should just forget all about her. He needed to forget her.

He splashed some water on his face, enjoying the coolness of the liquid, before walking back down the hallway into his living room.

“Feel better now, Mr. Burnham?” Chelsea asked coyly as she sat on his sofa.

“Yes, I do. Thank you.” He strode over to the couch and took a seat next to her. The air was thick in the room, Alexander not really wanting to initiate conversation.

Chelsea sighed loudly. “So, want to talk about it?”

Alexander looked over at her. “No. Not really. I’d rather just forget about everything that went on these past few months and pretend none of it ever happened.”

She grinned. “Would you like my help doing that?”

His eyes met her small brown ones. How could he possibly forget about Olivia’s big brown eyes? He would always see them in his dreams. He knew that. But maybe, with time, he could forget. “Yes, I would, Miss Wellington.” His eyes became hooded as he pushed her down on the couch, grabbing both her arms and pinning them above her head.

“Oh, Mr. Burnham, I love it when you tie me up,” Chelsea whispered.

“Stop talking. Don’t say a word until I tell you to,” he growled. He just couldn’t listen to her voice. Every time she spoke, all he felt was betrayal. And he didn’t want to feel that. He didn’t want to feel anything.

Alexander ripped off his tie and wrapped it around Chelsea’s hands, binding them together, before pulling out a condom and sinking back into her.

CHAPTER TWO

SOMETHING

OLIVIA DIDN’T EVEN KNOW his name but, every morning, she looked forward to seeing surfer boy park his Jeep in front of her house and untie his surfboard before hitting some waves with his friends. He would smile at her and she would feel heat coursing through her body. It wasn’t the same as what she felt when Alexander smiled at her, but at least she felt something. And something was better than the nothingness and pain she had been feeling since she ran.

The mid-November sun shined through the thick clouds one morning as she sat on her beloved deck and drank her coffee. Olivia actually started to look forward to seeing him. She was surprised that he surfed every day, even when the waves were fairly non-existent. Regardless, like clockwork, his Jeep pulled up in front of her house just as the sun rose every morning.

One of Olivia’s favorite things about her new home was the location. It was so peaceful being able to wake up and watch the sun climb up the horizon over the crashing waves. There was something about the sunlight reflecting on the ocean that made everything seem okay. Not good, but okay. And Olivia was content with just okay. Nothing would ever be extraordinary. Only Alexander was extraordinary, so she settled for okay.