Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
No One Is Looking
I thought my biggest issue with this double date would be the fact that I’m lying to my best friend.
That, and trying to keep my story straight with Oliver.
Instead, what has me up all night are thoughts about what happened in his living room yesterday.
My mind strays to the way he leaned into me, the way his mouth felt when he touched his lips to mine for the first time, and how at one point his fingers dipped below my shirt and grazed the skin of my stomach.
I think about the way he came in closer when I wrapped my leg around his back. The way he grabbed onto my hair, and how, for a moment, it didn’t feel like we were just practicing.
But of course it was just practice. I would never kiss Oliver for any other reason, and I can’t imagine he would either.
Even so, I can’t help but wonder what he thinks about it.
He’s probably so full of himself that he thinks I liked it.
He probably remembers what I drunkenly told Tina when we first met and now he thinks I’m still hung up on him.
Even worse than spending all night thinking about this is having nothing to do all day. There’s no escape from all of this ruminating. By the time Oliver knocks on my door, I’ve overthought every possible scenario for tonight.
I open the door to find him standing there with a single rose in one hand. Okay, this is one scenario that didn’t occur to me.
He hands the rose to me.
“What’s this for?” I ask as I take it.
“You.”
“Obviously, but why?” I hold it up to my nose and breathe in its sweet smell. “It’s not like anyone is watching.”
He raises an eyebrow. “Practice, I guess.”
I turn back inside and head to the kitchen to stick the rose in a vase with water. When I turn around, Oliver is still waiting out in the hall. We head outside together.
“You didn’t have to come all the way to my door,” I tell him as we make it to his truck. “You could have just texted me to let me know you were here.”
He gives me a look over his shoulder, then heads for the passenger side. I stop walking, confused about why he’s not getting in on the driver side. He opens the door, then turns to look at me. “You gonna get in?” he asks.
“Oh. Yeah.” I snap out of my stupor and climb up into the seat. “You’re almost making this feel like it’s a real date,” I tell him once we’re both in the truck. “I can’t remember the last time someone opened a car door for me.”
He looks at me as he backs out of the parking space. “You must date a lot of gems.”
“You’re going to ruin me for all of my future real boyfriends.”
He smirks. “Good.”
We make it to the restaurant that Tina reserved. Oliver parks the truck. We stay in our seats for a moment, staring out the windshield. Neither of us makes a move to get out of the car.
“We’re really doing this,” I say.
It’s more of a statement than a question, but Oliver answers anyway. “Yep.”
I suddenly feel like I’ve forgotten everything that we decided on yesterday. “How should we act?”
He turns his head to look at me. “What do you mean?”
“Do we act all lovey-dovey? More reserved? Hold hands, kiss?” I’m more nervous than I thought I would be. My heart is pounding. I don’t think I’ll be able to bring myself to get out of this seat.
“Let’s just do whatever comes naturally,” he says. As if it’s that easy.
“None of this is natural.” I squirm in my seat, pulling the seatbelt away from my chest. I feel like it’s choking me.
Oliver gets out of his seat and comes around to my side. He opens the door and stands there, waiting for me. I’m still staring at the windshield. I wonder if I just sit here and don’t move, I can pretend none of this is happening.
“It’s going to be fine,” he says. “We’re in this together.”
I dare to turn my head and look at him.
“And if shit hits the fan, and we feel like they’re onto us, we’ll hire Ashton Kutcher to come out and tell them that they’ve been Punk’d. ”
I roll my eyes, but I can’t help but laugh. “What?”
“Come on,” he teases. “Don’t tell me you’ve never seen that show.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Seriously?” He slaps a hand over his chest like he just can’t believe it. “Wow. I’m going to make you watch it next time you come over.”
I watch him. I’m smiling more than I thought I would a minute ago. I wonder if he actually expects me to continue coming over to his place, or if he’s just saying this to lighten the mood. It’s not like we ever spent much alone time together before all this.
He reaches out a hand. I look at it, then unbuckle my seatbelt. My own hand hovers over his for a few seconds before I commit to taking it. He helps me down out of the truck and then closes the door behind me. I let go of his hand as soon as my feet hit the pavement.
We’re heading toward the front door of the restaurant when Oliver grabs my hand again and pulls me closer to him.
I’m about to remind him that he doesn’t have to do all this when nobody’s watching, but before I can, he leans down and touches his lips to my neck, just below my ear.
A shiver runs over my body, covering my skin with goosebumps.
Still leaning down, he opens his mouth. I can feel his hot breath on my ear.
It feels so intimate and personal that I start to wonder if maybe he’s not pretending.
Then he whispers, “They’re behind us.”
Of course they are. That’s all this is. I can’t believe I thought for even a second that this wasn’t all for show.
“Oh my gosh!” Tina squeals. “How cute is that?”
We both stop walking and turn around to see her and Ryan. She smiles wide at us, then lets go of Ryan’s hand to run toward me. She wraps her arms around me, nearly knocking me off balance, all the while still squealing.
“You’re hurting my ears,” I complain with a laugh. “And my ribs.”
“I can’t believe we’re finally on a double date together!” She yells it so loud that a few other people in the parking lot look our way.
When she lets go of me, I look over to see Oliver and Ryan exchanging a smirk.
“I still can’t believe you didn’t tell me as soon as you two started dating,” she scolds me.
“You’re right. How dare I want to keep anything private for a little while?”
“I know, I know,” she says. “But I had to hear it from Ryan walking in on the two of you.”
“I’m sorry. Do you wish you were the one who walked in on us?”
She nods. “Kind of. Yeah.”
We both laugh. Ryan steps toward her and hooks his arm with hers. “You would have been disappointed. They were both fully clothed.”
She shoots a horrified look at me. “Seriously? What kind of weird bible-study sex are you two having?”
Before I can answer, Oliver interrupts. “What time is our reservation? I’m starving.”
Tina pulls out her phone to look at the time. “Oh. I guess we should get inside.”
We all head toward the door. As we step inside, Oliver rests his hand on my lower back.
I’m reminded of the way his hand felt on my waist when we were on his couch yesterday.
His touch seems to burn through my shirt, and it’s all I can feel.
I tune out all the noises of the restaurant.
I’m only vaguely aware of Tina telling the hostess her name.
He keeps his hand on my back as we head to our table. When we get there, he lets go, and my back feels cold where it’s missing the touch of his hand. He pulls out a chair and gestures for me to sit down.
“Thanks, babe,” I say as he sits down next to me. I’m making such a conscious effort to put on an act for Tina and Ryan that I accidentally use a term of endearment I’ve never used with anyone before.
“Don’t call me that,” he says.
I frown at him. He snaps his head up to look at me. We stare at each other for a minute, both of us realizing that we did something wrong. I steal a glance across the table at Tina to gauge her reaction. She’s frowning at us but Ryan doesn’t seem to notice.
“It reminds me of that movie about the pig,” Oliver says, then adds, “I thought we talked about this.”
“Oh. Right,” I say in what I hope is a convincing tone of agreement. This would have been helpful to know when we were talking about getting our story straight. Then I stifle a laugh, because I too am reminded of the movie Babe . It’s why I’ve never called anyone that before. “Sorry, babe.”
Oliver smirks and elbows me in the arm.
The waiter comes to the table and takes our order. The appetizer comes first along with a bottle of wine. I lick my lips, eyeing the bruschetta. As soon as the waiter is gone, all four of us dig in like starving animals.
I realize that as long as I’m stuffing my face, no one expects me to talk.
This is a good thing, since I really don’t know what to say.
I can’t talk about the plans for Tina’s proposal since Ryan is here and Tina doesn’t know that Oliver knows.
Not being able to talk also means that I’m not actively lying about my fake relationship with Oliver.
The table is oddly quiet as everyone eats the appetizers. I wonder if Oliver has the same thought as me. I’m not the only one lying to my best friend. In a way, everyone at this table is keeping a secret from someone else.
“Pretty crazy how the two of you got together so fast,” Tina says, breaking the silence. There are only a couple pieces of bruschetta left on the plate. One is in my hand, on its way to my mouth when she makes the odd comment.
I stop the bruschetta just before it reaches my mouth. “What do you mean? We’ve known each other for a year.”
She shrugs. “I can’t remember the last time the two of you had a conversation without trying to rip each other’s throats out,” she reminds me.