Chapter 16
Chapter Sixteen
Probably Parkour
I ’m curled up on my couch, watching Netflix by myself late in the evening, when my phone buzzes.
For some reason, the first thing that crosses my mind is that it’s Oliver, even though there’s no reason for him to be texting me right now.
It’s not like I have any reason to want to hear from him.
I should feel relieved when I pick up my phone and it’s not him.
Tina
Hey! What are you doing?
This is how she usually starts the conversation when she wants to go out, but I’m in my pajamas and my bra is off which means I’m in for the night. I start typing out a message to tell her this but she sends another text before I can finish.
Tina
Are you at Oliver’s?
I decide that this is a good opportunity to keep up the act.
Priscilla
Yeah, what’s up?
Tina
Oh cool! Your shirt is officially stain-free. I’ll bring it over.
My face blanches. I curse under my breath. I stare at my phone, trying to decide what to do. It’s a little too late to say, “Never mind, I’m at home.” There’s only one option I can think of. I send a text to Oliver.
Priscilla
Soooo Tina is bringing my shirt over…
Oliver
Ok?
Priscilla
She’s bringing it to your house.
Oliver
Weird.
Priscilla
She thinks I’m there.
Oliver
Oh… I see.
Priscilla
Can you pretend I’m in the shower or I’m getting dressed in your room or something? Just come up with some excuse for her to not be able to see me when she drops the shirt off.
Oliver
Or you could just come over so you’re actually here when she gets here.
Priscilla
There’s no time for that. She’s already on the way.
Oliver
Don’t you think she’ll notice your car isn’t here?
Priscilla
Shit. You might have a point.
Oliver
You live closer than she does. If you drive fast enough, you might be able to beat her.
I groan. I send one last message to tell him I’m on my way. I run into my room and throw on some clothes. My poor boobs protest me putting my bra back on. My whole body protests me leaving my apartment when I was all settled in for the night and ready to go to bed just a few minutes ago.
I get in my car and step on the gas. I drive well over the speed limit and hope I don’t get pulled over on the way.
About halfway there I notice Tina’s car stopped at a red light.
I slow down, keeping my distance so she doesn’t recognize my car.
When the light turns green, I follow her carefully.
She turns into Oliver’s neighborhood. I turn in behind her, but I take a different street and then step on the gas, flooring it.
I make it to the end of the street in record time, then turn and double back to Oliver’s street.
I pull up in front of his house just as I see Tina’s headlights turning the corner.
I pull my key out of the ignition and turn off my headlights.
I don’t have time to get out of my car without Tina seeing me, so I duck down instead.
I send a text to Oliver as her car pulls up in front of mine.
Priscilla
Tina and I got here at the same time. I’m hiding in my car but I need to get inside the house without her noticing me.
Oliver
I’ll open my bedroom window. Come around the side and then crawl in and pretend you’ve been in there the whole time.
I hear a car door slamming. A moment later, I can hear the sound of Tina’s footsteps as she walks past my car.
I hold my breath, staying as still as possible and hoping that she doesn’t look in and see me.
When I can’t hear her walking anymore, I pop my head up to look out the window.
She’s approaching Oliver’s front door. He opens it and she steps inside.
Once the door is closed behind them, I open my car door quietly and step out, ducking down in case Tina looks out the window.
I sprint across Oliver’s front yard, then sneak along the side of his house until I find his bedroom window.
It’s higher than I thought it would be. I jump up and grab onto the windowsill, but I’m not quite strong enough to pull my whole body up. I knew I should have spent more time in the gym.
I let go and land on my feet. I pull my phone out and send a text to Oliver.
Priscilla
Is there another way in? Your window is too high.
Oliver
Hang on.
I can hear his and Tina’s voices inside. Then I hear the sound of a door closing nearby. A moment later, Oliver appears at the window. When he sees me, he bites back a laugh.
“It’s not funny,” I complain.
“It kind of is.” He covers his mouth with his fist.
“Are you going to help me up, or what?”
He leans out, extending his arms down to me.
I reach up and grab onto his forearms. My fingers close around his firm muscles.
I can feel the veins that pop out on his warm skin.
While I hold onto him, he grabs onto my arms and pulls.
He makes it seem so effortless, like I don’t weigh anything at all.
When I reach the window, he wraps his arms around me and pulls me all the way through.
My chest is flush with his, my face cradled in the crook of his neck.
I don’t say a word even though I’m sure I can manage to make it the rest of the way through on my own at this point.
I don’t know what’s gotten into me, but I want to stay in his arms. My feet touch the floor.
He lets go of me, but he doesn’t step away.
He’s so close that I can still feel the heat of his body.
I tilt my chin up to look at him. His eyes are on mine. I’m not sure if I’m imagining it or if his face is coming a little bit closer to mine, or maybe I’m the one doing all the moving. Before I can lean in any closer and make a fool of myself, the bedroom door flies open.
“There you are,” Tina says. “Why are you hiding in here?” She looks me over, then raises an eyebrow. “And why are you all out of breath? And your hair is a mess.” She throws her hand over her mouth. “Oh my God. I’m so sorry. I have the worst timing, don’t I?”
My face gets hot as I realize what she’s implying. I fight the urge to look at Oliver and gauge his reaction. “Don’t you know how to knock?” I ask Tina.
She snorts. “Apparently not. But hey, I wouldn’t have come if you had just told me you two were in the middle of something.”
I roll my eyes. If I had thought of that, then I wouldn’t have needed to rush over here and climb through a window.
“Anyway, here’s your shirt.” She tosses it at me, then takes a step back. “I have to run. Ryan’s waiting for me in the car.”
With that, she turns around and walks out the door, leaving me and Oliver standing in his room. I stare after her, feeling stunned.
“Did you know that Ryan was out there?” Oliver asks slowly once we’re alone in his house.
I shake my head. “If I did, I wouldn’t have crept across your yard and climbed through your window like I’m a secret agent.”
He snorts. “You didn’t exactly look like a secret agent out there.”
“It’s not my fault your window is ridiculously high.”
“It keeps burglars out.”
“And fake girlfriends, apparently.” I groan. “Do you think he saw me out there?” I ask, returning to the revelation that Ryan was in Tina’s car this whole time.
“How could he not? They were parked right in front of you.”
“He could have been distracted. Maybe he was looking at his phone.”
“Was he?”
I shrug. “I don’t know. I didn’t see him.”
Oliver sighs, shaking his head. “I guess we’ll find out soon enough. They’re going to want to know why you ran across my yard and climbed through the window when you were supposed to be inside already.”
We both turn to watch the front door like Tina and Ryan might pop back in at any second to interrogate us for our weird behavior.
I don’t realize that I’m holding my breath until it’s been a minute.
I exchange a look with Oliver, and then we both walk to his front door and peek through the window. Their car is gone.
“They drove away,” I say, stating the obvious.
“Maybe we should make out in case this is just a trick and they’re about to come back inside to surprise us.”
I turn away from the window to look at him.
He’s watching me with an amused grin. I think about how close I came to kissing him the other day when Tina and Ryan were nowhere to be seen.
I know that we’re doing this to trick them, but for some reason the reminder of that hits differently right now.
I can’t say this to him because he’ll just laugh at me.
“I should probably go,” I say.
He frowns. “You just got here. Why not stay a little while?”
“I was about to go to bed when Tina texted me. I wouldn’t want to end up falling asleep on your couch again.”
“I don’t mind,” he says. I raise an eyebrow. “I mean, why rush out of here? You might end up at a stoplight right next to Tina and Ryan and then they’ll wonder why you left right after them.”
“Fine. I’ll wait a minute and then leave. That should give them plenty of time to get ahead of me.” I look at my phone to see what time it is. I lean against the front door, waiting for a minute to pass.
Oliver’s smile fades. “Wow. You really can’t stand to be around me any longer than absolutely necessary, huh?”
I’m taken aback by his abrupt change in attitude. “What? No. I just told you I was ready to go to bed when Tina texted me.”
“You should have just gone to bed, then.” He steps toward me and grabs the doorknob.
I move out of the way as he pulls the front door open.
I look out at his dark front yard through the open doorway, and then I look at him.
Both of us stand there for a moment, him holding the door open, and me staring at him. I can’t believe he’s acting like this.
“Are you really this upset because I don’t want to stay and hang out with you?”
He shrugs. “I’m just encouraging you to do what you want. Go home, Priscilla.”
I narrow my eyes. “If you’re trying reverse psychology, it’s not going to work.”