Chapter 13
Robbie
We lost 3-2 to the Bobcats, but I couldn’t care less. Okay, that’s a lie. I care a little bit. This should have been an easy game, but apparently the Bobcats have some overachievers on their team this season. But we did the best we could under the circumstances. I told Olivia to wait for me after the game so we could discuss plans for our day in the city.
I see her sitting on a bench by the player’s exit area. Her equipment bag is propping her feet up and she’s wearing thick black leggings and a sweatshirt that drowns her figure. Every time I’ve seen her she’s worn a faded sweatshirt, and this one is a light gray and has the original six hockey teams and all their logos on it. I search her face and notice her eyes are closed and she’s clutching her phone in her hands.
My chest constricts and I feel bad for making her wait when she’s clearly exhausted. The hotel we’re staying at is fifteen minutes away, so I unlock my new phone and order us a ride share. Then I slowly approach and sit down next to her. I gently bump her shoulder with mine and she opens her eyes. They focus in on mine, and I can say I am thoroughly, completely fucked.
She’s so goddamn pretty it physically hurts. Her green eyes are dark and I notice a few freckles on her nose and cheekbones that I haven’t before. Her lips part in surprise as she sees me there next to her but she doesn’t straighten up. She continues to rest her back and head on the wall and I mirror her.
With a soft smile I say, “I made lots of plans for us tomorrow, but if you need rest I can adjust some of them.” She starts shaking her head before I can even finish the sentence. “Are you sure? You look tired.”
“I’ll be okay. It’s only ten right now, I’ll get plenty of sleep as soon as I can get up and walk to the hotel.”
“I ordered us a car. It should be here in five minutes,” I say looking down at my phone.
“You didn’t have to do that,” she says, looking at me with gratitude.
I shrug and say, “You looked tired, so I got your back”.
Oh shit, was that the wrong thing to say? Why are her eyes glassy, like she might cry? My own eyes widen, but before I can backtrack or say anymore stupid shit, I’m met with arms around my neck.
I’ve always loved hugs, but Olivia’s hugs? Incomparable. She squeezes me tight like she won’t ever let go and I can’t help but reciprocate. I bring one hand up to her head and gently rub the back of her neck as she tucks her nose under my chin, right at the base of my throat. My other hand rubs small circles on her back and her grip turns from tight to melting. After a couple minutes of just holding her, I get a notification that our car is outside. “Car is here. Are you asleep?”
“Hmm, no. But I could be. You give nice hugs,” she says in a tired voice. I have to say I didn’t expect her to be so into physical touch. Or maybe it’s just because she’s tired and I shouldn’t read too much into it. I give her one more squeeze and break us apart, then grab her bag and sling it over my shoulder. I offer her a hand and she takes it, and we walk to the car together.
The driver doesn’t try to make small talk, which I always appreciate. So instead, I focus on Olivia. As soon as we get in the car, she puts her head on my shoulder and I swear I feel actual butterflies in my stomach.
Since when do I get butterflies? I am a grown ass man.
I like that she feels comfortable enough around me to let down her barrier like that. She trusts me. It makes me feel like the most special guy in the world.
“Olivia,” I say, gently moving the hair out of her face, “can you stay awake? The hotel is very close, we’ll be there shortly.”
“I’m awake,” she mumbles and I chuckle at her. “Don’t laugh at me, I had a long day.”
“I know you did. Are you sure you don’t want to cancel tomorrow?” I ask, deep down hoping she says no, because I want nothing more than to spend time with her. But not if she’s this tired.
My question makes her more alert, so she sits up fully. I instantly feel the loss of her on my shoulder and mentally kick myself for opening my mouth. She looks at me and narrows her eyes, “Are you trying to cancel tomorrow?”
“No, of course not,” I say immediately.
“Okay, then we’re good. So tell me, what did you plan?” she says mid yawn.
“Well, I figured we can head out around 7 and grab some breakfast.”
“SEVEN?? Like, AM??” she says.
I laugh at her dumbstruck expression and say, “I take it you’re not a morning person?”
“Nooo,” she groans and her lips get all pouty and adorable. Kissable. Aw hell, not this again. I shake my head and stop looking at her lips so I don’t do something stupid like grab her by the waist, pull her in my lap, and kiss the hell out of her. I want so badly to mess up her hair and run my hands over her thighs. I need to stop having these thoughts. She’s just a friend. A brand new friend at that.
The car comes to a stop in front of our hotel so we get out and I grab her equipment bag from the trunk. She tries to take it from me now that she’s more alert, but I playfully slap her hand away. She scoffs and says, “I can carry that myself, you know.”
“I know,” I say with a smile and start walking away from her. She shakes her head but follows me inside the lobby. We head to the elevator and she punches in her floor number.
“Okay, I’ll be ready at 7 AM, but I will need coffee before I can even attempt to make conversation with you. And I will be very grumpy until I have breakfast.” My eyebrows go up and I smile at her. She shrugs and says “Just a fair warning, I’m quite grumpy when hangry.”
“Don’t worry, I planned for everything.”
“What else is included in that everything?”
“Hope you’re not afraid of heights, because after breakfast, I’m taking us to the John Hancock tower and the ferris wheel. Then we have lunch at a ramen place, some shopping on Magnificent Mile, maybe an architecture boat tour. Then we can end the night with dinner and a drink at a really nice speakeasy.”
“Wow, that’s a lot,” she frowns and then goes quiet for a moment. We get to her floor and she leads me down the hall to her room.
“Is everything okay?” I ask, confused. I thought she was fine with me planning everything, but maybe I’ve taken it too far.
“I don’t know,” she says, peeking at me and then looking away before she pulls out her room key and fidgeting with it.
“You can tell me. If there’s something you don’t want to do, I can cancel it.”
“It’s not that—I just—“ she fumbles with her words and there’s some pink in her cheeks now. She sighs and says quietly, “I don’t know if I can afford all of that.”
Oh.
Right.
I didn’t even think about what her financial situation could be like. Shit, the last thing I want is to make her feel uncomfortable.
I clear my throat and drop the bag at our feet as I face her, “I’m sorry, I should have asked before making all of these plans. I assume you would kick me in the balls if I suggested I pay for everything?”
“Don’t you dare,” she says, giving me a death stare.
I put my hands up and say, “Fair enough, I would probably feel the same if someone did that to me.” Her expression softens but she looks a bit sad now. I am absolutely not letting her cancel this whole trip on me. “How about a compromise?” I hear myself say. My head is spinning with ways I can make this simpler and still take her to all these cool spots.
“What kind of compromise?” she asks hesitantly.
“Well, what if you pay for breakfast and I pay for dinner? And for lunch, instead of another restaurant, we just grab some hot dogs from a food cart? And we choose between the tower and the ferris wheel. And instead of a boat tour, we just do the architecture tour on foot?” I say all of this really fast and take a deep inhale while I wait for her reply.
She seems to consider it, but she is biting her bottom lip. It takes all my willpower not to reach out and touch it with my thumb. “I guess that would be fine. But I feel like you paying for an expensive dinner is not comparable to me paying for breakfast.”
“There’s no way I’m not taking you to that speakeasy. You will love it, trust me. And if you’re that worried about it, we don’t have to do a full dinner. We can just share something,” I say hopefully.
She holds my gaze for a moment and gives a quick nod. “Okay. Thank you, for compromising.”
“Of course,” I say honestly, “I just want to hang out with you.”
She gives me a small smile and a quick ‘thank you’ hug, then opens her hotel door. She grabs the bag at our feet and I say, “Goodnight, Olivia.”
“Night, Robbie.”
I smile wide the whole elevator ride to my room and have the best sleep I’ve had in a while.