Chapter 19
Oliver
hey, you busy?
I guess you are
not an emergency, but I am kind of out of food and need to go grocery shopping, but I’ll probably use Instacart or something
unless you become available in the next hour and also need to go grocery shopping…?
no pressure though, I’m cool, I’ll figure it out
does Max have a car?
Jude
oh my god Oliver lol
you’re such a mess
Oliver
nuh uh
Jude
I was busy, but Nikki is about to leave for work now, and I could use some groceries myself
Oliver
ohhhh ho ho ho you were BusyTM
busy busy bee
first of all, I’m so sorry if I interrupted, and second of all, I’m sorry for the previous two texts
third of all, it’s really no big deal if you have other stuff going on!
Jude
dude chill lol
I’ll be down to get you in about twenty minutes, is that cool?
Oliver
you’re literally the best, Jude my dude
Jude
so I’ve been told
“Here we are!” My voice echoes in the parking garage. I press the unlock button on my key fob, illuminating my gray Nissan’s headlights.
“Ooh, very nice,” Oliver says, surveying the car and approaching the passenger side door. “Does your car have a name?”
I climb into the driver's seat and pause, not sure if I heard Oliver correctly. “What?”
Oliver settles in, adjusts the seat back for his gangly legs, then gives me a grin. “Does your car have a name? Theo named his car Eileen after that ’80s song, ‘Come on Eileen,’ because it’s red, I guess.”
Buckling my seatbelt, I crack a smile. “I did name my car, but no one’s ever asked before. Her name is Ripley, after Ellen Ripley from the Alien franchise.”
“Hell yeah,” Oliver replies, buckling his own seatbelt. “That’s dope. Although, wouldn’t naming it Nostromo make more sense? After the ship, since it’s a car?”
“Her name is Ripley,” I reiterate. “Please respect her gender and her name.”
Oliver holds his hands up, then gently pats the dashboard. “My deepest apologies, Ripley. I was trying to show off my Alien knowledge to your driver.”
“Her driver knows exactly what you were doing,” I riposte, pressing the “start engine” button. “Now, do you want a ride to Publix or not?”
“Ooh, you’re taking me to Publix? How fancy!” Oliver teases, mimicking the motion of tucking hair behind his ear despite his hair being in a bun. “I hope I’m not underdressed.”
“I will drop you off at The Carter Center and make you walk back.”
“Fine, fine, I’ll behave,” Oliver vows. “Can I be the road trip DJ?”
I laugh. “For the seven-minute drive? Sure, knock yourself out.”
Grocery shopping with Oliver is quite a different experience from shopping with Nikki.
For one thing, there’s far less pressure.
I don’t worry about how Oliver will interpret the items I buy.
He obviously feels the same way, tossing a giant bag of Doritos in the cart with the same enthusiasm as a hand of bananas.
Another major difference: without the prospect of sex to look forward to, there’s no sense of urgency while we shop.
We don’t have anything else going on, so we take our time and enjoy being together.
Even something as tedious as grocery shopping turns into an adventure of its own, and we have fun with it. Honestly, Oliver can make anything fun.
It’s kind of what makes our friendship so perfect.
After we’ve checked out, loaded the trunk, and returned to Ripley, Oliver excitedly resumes his playlist, and I bob my head to the music as I drive.
“Oh!” Oliver shouts, startling me.
“What?”
“I almost forgot! Theo’s older sister, Grace, is hosting a Halloween party at her house in Druid Hills, near Emory. It’ll be the Saturday before Halloween, so, what, the twenty-fifth, I think?”
I nod. “I think that’s right.”
“Yeah, you should come! Theo’s also inviting Max and Vimlesh, and I’m sure Celeste is invited, too. Grace is really cool for an older sister. She and Theo are pretty close—they’re both bi, actually, and she’s always been super supportive of him.”
“Aww, that’s sweet.”
“Yeah, plus she told Theo that she and her roommate will be providing alcohol and will let us drink as long as we stay the night and promise not to get too rowdy.”
I laugh. “That’s awfully nice of them to let a bunch of first-years drink their booze. I’m sure she won’t regret that later.”
Oliver hesitates. “Why would she regret it?”
“No reason,” I wave a hand dismissively. “Are you sure she’d be okay with you inviting me?”
“Of course! Theo said she’s cool with a crowd as long as we provide a head count as soon as possible.”
“Interesting.”
“You’re welcome to invite Nikki, too!”
I chew on my bottom lip as I consider it. I have a hunch that she’ll probably decline on principle, especially if the party will mostly consist of wasted first-years and sophomores. But Oliver doesn’t need to know that. “Yeah, that could be fun!”
“That reminds me,” Oliver continues. “What is Nikki even like? I feel like you never talk about her.”
Keeping one hand on the steering wheel, I use my other hand to run my fingers through my hair.
“Oh! Well, I guess I’m just trying not to brag too much.
Nikki’s great! She’s, like…really hot. Like, if you were attracted to people, you’d be shocked that someone who looks like her is with someone who looks like me. ”
Oliver scoffs. “Okay, wow, that was offensive on like, three levels. First, just because I’m ace doesn’t mean I’m blind. Second, I wouldn't be shocked if an attractive person were with you because, third, you are hella attractive. You know that, right?”
I snort. “Dude, please. It’s fine. You seriously don’t have to lie to me.”
“I don’t lie,” Oliver counters, his tone more serious than before. “That’s not who I am.”
“Okay, but still,” I insist. “Nikki looks like a model. Like, celebrity-level gorgeous.”
“And?”
“And I’m just…average? I don’t know. I’m definitely not at her level.”
“Whatever, man,” Oliver replies, a hint of irritation in his voice now. “Does she have any other qualities? Or is she only mind-blowingly hot?”
Now I’m annoyed. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You’re the one only describing her by her looks.”
I roll my eyes. “Okay, fine, she’s also really smart. She’s motivated and ambitious. She’s always busy because when she’s not in class, she’s either working, studying, serving as a TA, or at the gym.”
“Okay, what else?”
I sneer. “What do you mean, ‘what else’?”
“I don’t know. Is she nice?”
“Of course!”
Oliver pauses. “I feel like we’re fighting. Are we fighting?”
I glance at him briefly before turning my attention back to the road. “We shouldn’t be. That would be weird.”
Another pause. “Sorry, I just…I don’t like you putting yourself down or comparing yourself to other people like that. You’re a great person, Jude. And you’re…you’re beautiful, too. Inside and out.”
My heart thrums in my chest. Oliver thinks I’m beautiful?
Oh, shit. Oliver thinks I’m beautiful.
“And I hope you don’t take that the wrong way,” he continues, reading my mind yet again. “I’m saying this as your friend, and I respect your boundaries, etc., etc. I’m not coming on to you. I just think you need to hear it more often.”
The tension leaves my shoulders as quickly as it arrived, and I sigh. “Thank you, Oliver. I’ll try not to be as self-deprecating around you.”
“I mean, if you do it in a funny way, it’s fine,” Oliver says. “But I don’t know. I don’t want you thinking Nikki could do better just because she’s ‘celebrity-level’ attractive.”
“Okay, fair enough.”
“Good. Thank you.” He takes a swig of his water bottle before continuing. “Now, on a completely separate note: have you heard of the Russian band Little Big?”
“Little Big?” I repeat quizzically. “Nope, that sounds very made up.”
Oliver lets out a devious chuckle. “Oh, man. Jude, my dude, I’m about to change your life.”