56. Olivia
DAY FOURTEEN OF THE 2024 OLYMPICS
Olivia was sitting on her bedroom balcony with her paint pots on a table and her iridescent notebook in her lap. Every time she sat on the balcony, she was struck by just how beautiful Athens was. The bright pink bougainvillea bushes growing around each building, the sounds of people filling up the streets below her, and the warm sun on her bare arms.
As the sun rose higher, she realized with complete clarity that this summer hadn’t put even the smallest of dents into her ambition. While the past couple of weeks hadn’t gone quite the way she’d expected, the vision she’d stuck up on the wall five years ago had served her well. It led her to the Village. And to Zeke.
She still wanted it all, the influence and the power. But she didn’t want it just to prove she could or because she still believed that anything other than perfection meant failure. Now she wanted it so she could enjoy it all.
For the past five years, the plan had been a checklist. A clear road map to some future perfect version of herself. But as she opened her notebook, she decided that the next plan would be an adventure. A list of all the fun she could have, the memories she could make, and the ways she could become the woman she’d always dreamed of growing up to be.
She made a list of goals, and then she made a list of all the things she’d once loved but let go of. Her younger self had decided that she needed to be excellent at something to justify spending her time doing it. But that summer changed her mind. So, she wrote, “Do things you love badly!” and then underlined it three times. She let everything she wanted spill out onto the page. The plan became a manifesto on how to live a full life, not just a successful one.
“Five-year plan?” asked Zeke, opening the door and coming over to join her on the balcony. She looked up and saw the brightest smile she’d ever known. A face so handsome, so deep with warmth, that she could have sat there looking into his eyes for hours.
“I figured I owed you at least one of these,” he said, reaching into the paper bag he was holding and pulling out two tall, cold plastic cups of green juice. Olivia couldn’t help but laugh.
“I’ll need at least twenty to make up for how much it cost me to dry-clean that suit.” But she smiled as she drew him close to press a soft, sweet, gentle kiss on his lips. He put an arm around her shoulder, and she moved closer until she was cozily snuggled into the gap between his shoulder and chest.
“So, this new five-year plan,” began Zeke, looking at her open notebook. “Is there any space for you to finally let me take you out on that date? Any gaps between now and your path to world domination?”
Olivia tilted her head from side to side, pretending to think it through.
“Well, I do have a lot of plans for the rest of the summer,” she said.
“Oh, I can see that,” Zeke said, planting a kiss on her right cheek.
“And I’m very busy with walkie-talkie calls.”
“Mhh-hmm.” Zeke softly kissed her left cheek.
“Lots of plans to make, very important meetings to go to,” she said unconvincingly.
“Very important.” He kissed her neck.
Her eyes closed involuntarily. “But I think I could pencil you into my diary,” she said, biting her lip as he carried on kissing her neck. The sensation was electrifying.
He drew her closer to him and kissed her with a sweetness that felt like stepping outside to the first warm air and blue sky of spring. She kissed him back, marveling at the soft tenderness of his lips. They sat like that for hours, telling each other their favorite stories in the warm, golden daylight. Until the sky melded into pinks and purples, eventually deepening into that magical, familiar shade of blue. Bright enough to still see each other, but dark enough for the yellow streetlights to turn on and line the roads with a warm glow. The air ripened with possibility. Another sunset settled over the Athens skyline, and, as the rest of the city began to dim, Olivia and Zeke realized that they’d happily spend every night for the rest of the summer just like this, watching the day fade into the night by each other’s side. In a couple of days, the 2024 Olympics would come to an end, but Olivia and Zeke’s story had just begun. And what they had was definitely more than just a summer fling.
Olivia knew that one day she would love him. Love the way he smiled in excitement before every run, how he reverted to his teenage self around his brothers, and how, one day in the future, he’d sweep her off on spontaneous adventures that would make their hearts fill with wonder.
Zeke knew that one day he would love her too. Love the way she made every idea that came to her at two a.m. into a seven-page spreadsheet, how she laughed until she cried at old sports movies she’d watched a dozen times, and how, one day in the future, she’d turn their kitchen into a dance floor, twirling to the sounds of old love songs as they danced together every night.
They didn’t know who they would be by the time the summer came to an end. There were still so many sunsets to watch from the roof, golden hours to spend walking through cobbled streets, and long deep-blue nights to get swept into. They didn’t need certainty. It was enough to know that they found home whenever they sat beside each other. It was enough to know that they were falling in love.
Olivia let her head fall against Zeke’s shoulder. He smiled and laid his head against hers. The blue sky turned to black and, as the city fell asleep, Zeke and Olivia held each other and closed their eyes. Finally, it was safe to just be who they were.