Olivia
“Why are you looking at me like that?” I ask.
My eyes are closed, but I know Vivien is staring at me. She’s been staring at me ever since I got home.
“I sent the neighbor over to feed you,” I say. “And to take you out.”
Vivien doesn’t respond. Obviously. She’s a dog.
But that doesn’t mean she’s not judging me.
And Airedale Terriers are very judgy. Especially when they are expecting you to come home and give them treats, but instead you stay the night in another city.
Needless to say, Vivien has made it very obvious that I am in the doghouse, no pun intended.
“Seriously,” I say as I peel the cucumbers off my eyelids so I can look at her. “I would never leave you. You have to get over your anxiety. And your trust issues.”
Like I am one to talk though. I have terrible anxiety and attachment issues and all the things.
That’s what happens when you grow up in a house where your parents get divorced and you swear you’ll never end up with a man like your father, only to end up with a man like your father.
And after finally getting away from him, you redefine what love is in your mind because the modern dating world deceived you almost as badly as it deceived your poor mother.
But I digress.
I am supposed to be relaxing right now, something that even as a single, childless woman in my mid-twenties I never do. Hence the facemask and the cucumbers, and the glass of wine.
“You’re just going to have to get over yourself,” I tell Vivien, replacing the cucumber slices and leaning back into the chair again.
I am sitting on my balcony in a yellow, fuzzy robe, feet up and wine in hand because I don’t have to work today.
I don’t have a date today, and I am totally and completely and blissfully alone.
“Olivia?” Sadie’s voice comes from below, and I swear under my breath. I guess I spoke too soon. “Olivia! You’re not answering your phone! Again!” she says before disappearing momentarily. And I know that my at-home spa day is about to be over in three, two, and one–
“Girl, we need to talk,” Sadie says as she walks inside. I sigh before getting up and walking inside from the balcony, tossing the cucumbers in the trash.
“Do we, though?” I ask. “I haven’t been on any more dates, and there’s not much to report on the podcast front.”
“Did it ever occur to you that I meant we need to talk about me?” she asks, helping herself to a glass of wine.
Considering my dating life has become the center of your world for the past few weeks, no, not really.
“Thank God,” I respond. “I would love to talk about anything but–”
“It’s about Luca,” she cuts me off.
Sigh.
“I thought you said it was about you,” I tell her, picking at my face mask. It’s one of those that dries on your skin all chalky like and if I’m being honest, it’s making my skin crawl. It needs to come off, and now.
“It is about me,” she says. “Me and Luca.”
Even more lost than I was before, I wave at her to come with me to the bathroom so I can wash my face. I turn the water on and wait for it to warm up, then look at her in the mirror as she goes on.
“I ran into him today,” she says.
“Really? Where?” I ask.
“The coffee shop by the office,” she answers, and I test the water before bending down.
“You were at the coffee shop by the office? Isn’t that kind of out of the way?” I ask as I douse my face.
“I was in the area,” she says. “Anyways. I was in line to get coffee, and I saw him from behind. He’s very easy to profile from behind.”
You’re telling me.
“Oh?” I ask, shutting off the water and blindly reaching for a hand towel. Sadie grabs it and hands it to me. “Thanks.”
“Anyways, we got to talking about the work trip,” she says, and there’s something careful in her tone. I wipe my face and look at her.
“Work trip?” I ask.
“The annual trip to Miami,” she says, and I just shake my head.
“I don’t know anything about that,” I say casually. “Am I supposed to?”
“Um, considering the fact that he is planning to take you with him, yeah, I would have thought he mentioned it to you,” she says. I stop, turning around to face her.
“Take me with him?” I ask. “To Miami?”
“Yes,” Sadie says, picking a piece of the mask off my chin that I must have missed.
“For date number 5? Or is it 6?” I ask. I’m really starting to lose track here. Not just what number date this is, but what we are even doing anymore.
“For the conference, but yes. I assume you’ll be staying in a hotel and going to the beach. It’s what they always do on these work trips,” she says, waving her hand.
“Interesting,” I say, pulling the scrunchie from my hair to let it down before making my way back to the kitchen.
“Interesting?” Sadie asks, hot on my heels. “I just told you that Luca is planning on taking you to Miami and all you have to say is interesting?” she asks.
“Well, it is interesting,” I say. “For one, he hasn’t said anything to me. And also…that just seems like a big deal. I mean, we aren’t even actually dating. I mean…we are, but we aren’t together.”
“Are you sure about that?” she asks, as I pull a box of cookies from the cabinet. “What do you mean?” I ask, pulling out a chocolate chip cookie before handing her the box.
“I mean…it just seems like things are getting…serious,” she says.
“Sadie,” I say. “I am doing what I am supposed to be doing. Everything you and Kiersten and Henry and the listeners all told me to do.”
“I know. And I think you’re doing a great job. But I also think Miami is a great opportunity,” she says, munching on a cookie.
“A great opportunity for what?” I ask.
“To break his heart,” she blinks. “Or did you forget?”
I chew on my own cookie for a moment before responding. I love Sadie. I do. And I know this was my idea, and we are best friends. But I’m also seeing this whole thing from other angles now, and I’m struggling with the original plan. “Sadie. Why do you want to break his heart so badly?” I ask.
“Why?” she echoes.
“I know he hurt you. And you feel like he used you,” I say.
“He did use me. He led me on and took me out and–”
“How did he lead you on?” I ask.
“By flirting with me, giving me a promotion, taking me out to dinner, and then just walking away before firing me. No explanation, nothing,” she says.
“So he didn’t try to sleep with you?” I ask.
“No. He was just an ass. Probably because he knew that I wasn’t going to let him just use me. Once he figured that out, he was gone,” she says, popping another cookie in her mouth before washing it down with the last of her wine. “Bottom line is, he’s an ass. He deserves the same treatment.”
“Interesting,” I say, and she just stares at me.
“There’s that word again. What’s so interesting this time?”
“I don’t know, Sadie. I just…” I trail off, afraid to say what I’m about to say. But her eyes widen, prodding me to go on, and I feel like I have no choice. “I feel like the Luca you describe and the Luca I know–”
“The Luca you know?”
“The Luca I’m getting to know…are very different men,” I say.
“I see,” she nods, and I know my friend well enough to tell that I’ve struck a nerve. “And who is this Luca you are getting to know so well?” she asks.
“Honestly?” I ask, and she nods. “He’s nice. I mean…he’s reserved. And yes, like you said a while back, he can be a grump. But he’s a gentleman. And it just seems like his intentions are…”
“Yes?”
“Genuine,” I say. There. That’s it.
Sadie bites her lip with another critical nod. “So what you’re saying is you think he’s actually interested in you.”
“What? No, I mean…I don’t know…” I say.
“Olivia. Luca is just trying to charm you. Trust me. That’s what men like him do. I would think your job would tip you off to that. Luca is a grade-A catfish, and he’s fooling you. And if you care about me and what he put me through, if you’re really my best friend, you’ll see through his charm.”
“You are my best friend,” I tell her, setting my wine down and rounding the counter to hug her. “And I would never intentionally do anything to hurt or betray you.” “There’s something else,” she says. “The Miami trip isn’t the only thing we talked about.”
I pull away to look at her. “Okay?”
“He knows that we are friends.”
I blink. “What?”
“Yep.”
“Are you sure?” I ask.
“He said so,” she says. “And if he knows we are friends, he probably knows we are up to something. You have to trust me on this, Livv. You have to see past his act and remember why you’re going out with him in the first place.”
After Sadie leaves, I sit down on the chair again with a heavy sigh. She’s right. I can’t betray her. I have to remember why I’m doing this. I have a nagging feeling in my chest that something isn’t quite right. Something just doesn’t add up.
“What have I gotten myself into?” I sigh, and Vivien looks up at me again, ears perked. “I know, I know. This is my fault. But still. It’s confusing. He doesn’t seem like a bad guy.”
Suddenly, my phone buzzes with a text.
It’s him.
Luca: Hey. How do you feel about the beach?
Well, well, well. Here it is.
Olivia: You mean the s’mores and dancing weren’t enough to answer that question?
Luca: I don’t mean Boston beaches. I mean warm beaches. White sand beaches. Beaches with cocktails.
Olivia: Do you know a place like that?
Luca: I’m going to a place like that…and I was hoping you’d come with me.