Chapter Thirteen
Oliver
Three days later, life had settled into something that almost resembled normal.
Almost.
The Dairy Bar had closed a half hour ago, and by the time we made it back to the clubhouse, it was pushing nine-thirty. More than half the club had headed over to the Social Club for the night, leaving the clubhouse surprisingly quiet.
It was just me, Lark, Ever, Jude, Penny, Ender, and Clove.
The second we walked through the back door, Ever clapped her hands together. “I want a grilled hot dog.”
Jude looked over his shoulder. “You’ve been thinking about that all day, haven’t you?”
She smiled sweetly. “Maybe.”
Five minutes later, we were all outside.
It had become one of those late summer nights where the air was finally cool enough that sitting outside actually sounded better than staying in.
Penny and Clove crouched beside the fire pit, arguing over the proper way to get a fire started.
“You need more air,” Penny said.
“I have air,” Clove insisted. “We are freaking outside.”
“No, you have smoke.”
“I have both.”
Ender snorted as he flipped a hot dog. “They’ve been out there five minutes and still don’t have fire.”
Clove looked over her shoulder. “We’re building ambiance.”
“You’re building smoke.”
Jude laughed. “I’ll eat my hot dog before your ambiance starts.”
Lark sat back in one of the patio chairs beside Ever with a blue wine cooler in her hand. They looked completely relaxed. Something I hadn’t seen much of the last couple of weeks.
I opened two bags of chips and a package of hot dog buns.
Lark looked up when she heard me move closer to her. I set everything down on the table beside her. “This is the most cooking I do.”
She looked from the buns to the chips before laughing. “I don’t think opening bags can be qualified as cooking.”
“It counts.”
“It absolutely does not.”
“I brought supplies.”
“You transported supplies.”
“I transported them successfully.”
She grinned. “I’ll give you that.”
The smell of grilled hot dogs drifted across the patio as Jude pulled another one from the grate. “Alright,” he called. “They’re done. Come get one before they burn.” He looked toward me. “And somebody forgot plates.”
I looked at the buns. “...Maybe.”
Lark laughed as she stood. “I’ll get them.”
“No, I—” I started.
She was already walking toward the door. “I got it.”
The screen door swung shut behind her.
I stared after her and something tugged in the back of my mind. The same feeling I’d had since Wrecker told us about the phone calls at the motel.
Nothing had happened since Basil and Kingston started staying there.
Not one call.
Basil was probably in hell having to spend every day around Archie. Kingston, on the other hand, thought the whole assignment was the funniest thing he’d ever witnessed.
Still, Wrecker’s words stayed in my head.
Stick like glue.
Without really thinking about it, I followed Lark inside.
She didn’t hear me and was standing on her toes reaching into one of the cabinets for a package of paper plates.
She grabbed them, turned, and walked straight into me. “Oh!” The stack slipped from her hands and paper plates exploded across the kitchen floor.
“Sorry,” she laughed.
We both bent down, our hands reached for the same stack.
Our shoulders bumped, and we both leaned the same way to avoid the other. Our foreheads knocked together with a soft thunk.
She laughed again. “So graceful.” She looked up at me, and neither of us moved.
One hand still rested on the stack of paper plates between us.
She was close. Too close.
Close enough that I could see the tiny flecks of gold mixed into her brown eyes. Close enough to smell the faint vanilla scent that always seemed to follow her around. Close enough that I forgot why we were on the floor in the first place.
“Ollie...” She barely whispered it.
Somehow it sounded different. Softer. Warmer. She leaned forward just enough that I almost closed the distance myself.
“You coming with those damn plates tonight?” Jude’s voice echoed through the clubhouse.
The spell shattered and Lark blinked. “Oh!” She sat back so fast she nearly dropped the plates again. A blush crept across her cheeks as she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. “Sorry.”
“There wasn’t anything to apologize for.”
She smiled nervously before standing. “I should probably...”
“Yeah.”
She hurried back outside and I stood there for another second before following.
The first time she’d called me Ollie, I’d hated it. Or at least I’d told myself I did.
Now, damn. I almost looked forward to hearing it.
Nobody had ever called me that before. Just her, and for some reason, I liked that.
Outside, everyone had already descended on the hot dogs.
Ender had somehow managed to eat one before anyone else grabbed theirs.
“I thought we were waiting,” Clove said.
“I waited,” he said around a mouthful.
“For three seconds,” Clove laughed.
“I got hungry.”
Lark handed out the plates. “You all act like you’ve never seen food before.”
“We work hard,” Jude answered.
“We’re dramatic,” Ever corrected.
“That too.”
The conversation drifted from work to stories about Dairy Bar customers before Penny disappeared into the clubhouse and came back carrying a small Bluetooth speaker.
She set it on the table and music filled the backyard.
Ever immediately stood. “Oh.”
Jude looked up. “No.”
“Oh yes.”
She grabbed his hand and he sighed dramatically. “I knew this was coming.”
“You love me.”
“I tolerate you.”
She laughed as she wrapped both arms around his neck. “You definitely love me.”
Penny grabbed Lark’s hand next. “Come on.”
“I don’t dance.”
“Liar.”
“I dance badly.”
“Perfect,” Penny laughed.
Within seconds, the three women were laughing and moving around the patio while Ender and Clove watched from beside the fire.
I leaned against the railing with my bottle of water, mostly watching Lark.
She laughed with her whole body. She threw her head back and didn’t care who saw. Didn’t care if she looked ridiculous. She just lived.
Penny’s phone rang, and she frowned at the screen. “I gotta take this.” She wandered toward the side yard, and the next song that came through the speaker was slower.
Ever immediately melted closer to Jude. He wrapped one arm around her waist like it was second nature.
Lark stopped dancing and she just watched them for a second, then she looked at me. Before I knew what she was doing, she walked over.
She took my hand and didn’t ask. Just pulled.
“Lark,” I protested.
She tipped her head back and placed my hand gently on her waist. “Ollie.”
Damn. I really did like hearing that now.
“Just stop thinking, okay?” she said quietly. “You’re supposed to keep me safe, and dancing with me keeps me safe.”
“It also keeps you safe if we don’t dance and I keep standing where I was.”
She shrugged. “We’re already here.”
“I noticed.”
“So...” She gave my hand a little squeeze. “...go with it.”
I should’ve told her no. Instead, I slid my other hand into hers, and we started swaying.
Simple.
Slow.
Easy.
The farther we moved from the fire pit, the more the shadows wrapped around us.
She fit perfectly against me, like she’d always belonged there. I couldn’t remember why I’d been fighting this.
She was funny. She challenged me. She made me smile when nobody else could. She somehow got me talking when most people accepted one-word answers. She never treated me differently because I was quieter than everyone else.
She just stayed. Wanted to be around me. Wanted to know me.
“Lark...”
She looked up. “What?”
I reached up and brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
She didn’t move away and didn’t say anything. She leaned closer, giving me every chance to pull away.
I didn’t.
Our lips met softly. Carefully.
The kiss barely lasted more than a heartbeat before we both paused.
She smiled. Just a little, and then kissed me again.
Longer this time. Still gentle. Still cautious. Like neither of us wanted to rush whatever this was becoming.
“Oh, lovebirds!” Ever’s voice carried across the yard. “We’re heading to bed.”
Lark and I stepped apart.
Jude smirked. “Penny, Clove, and Ender already went inside.”
I looked toward the clubhouse. “We should head in too.”
Lark nodded. She’d gone unusually quiet.
Neither of us seemed to know what to say after the kiss.
I walked her down the hallway to her room like I had every night since Wrecker told me to stick close.
She opened her door, stepped halfway inside, and then hesitated. She looked back over her shoulder and her lips curved into a soft smile. “Goodnight, Ollie.”
Before I could answer, she slipped inside and quietly closed the door behind her.