Chapter 16 #2
“Then why are you still in my house?” He doesn’t raise his voice, but his words still bite. Even through all of our bickering, I’ve never heard him sound this angry before.
I’m so annoyed I could growl. I don’t know why he’s upset over this.
He should be glad that I’m leaving and getting out of his hair.
I walk out and head for my car without looking back.
I can hear his door close when I’m halfway across his yard.
It’s not until I reach my car that I realize I don’t have my keys with me.
My keys are inside of my handbag, which is…
oh no. I look inside my car. My bag is sitting right there on the passenger seat.
In my haste to get inside of Oliver’s house, I left it in my car, along with my keys.
I try my door handle, but I already know that I locked it.
It’s a habit I have from living in a less-than-ideal area.
I groan and thump my forehead against the window.
I look back up at Oliver’s house. I’m not sure if what just happened could be considered a fight, but it makes me reluctant to ask him for help. I look around and sigh. Even if I wait for a locksmith, he’s going to notice I’m still out here. I don’t have much of a choice.
I head back to his front door and knock. He takes a full minute to open the door.
He gives me weary look. “Change your mind?”
“I’m locked out of my car.”
Without a word, he opens the door a little wider and steps back so that I can come in. I feel like a jerk coming back to ask him for help right after leaving the way I did.
“I know a good locksmith,” he says. “What kind of car do you have?”
I tell him, and then he pulls out his phone and dials a number. He talks to someone for a minute, then hangs up and says, “He’ll be here in about an hour.”
“Great,” I say. I realize that I don’t sound as sincere as I want to, so I add, “Thanks.”
He reaches up behind his head and scratches the back of his neck. “I’m sorry.”
I frown. “For what?”
“For trying to convince you to hang out with me when you clearly didn’t want to.”
I shrug. “Looks like the universe wanted me to hang out with you anyway.”
He smirks. “It seems so.”
Neither of us says a word for what feels like a very long time. The silence is awkward and uncomfortable. I feel like I need to be the one to break it. “I’m sorry, too.”
“Don’t,” he says. “Seriously, I shouldn’t have been so pushy. You didn’t want to hang out and that should have been final.”
I wish I could tell him that the only reason I didn’t want to hang out is because I’m afraid of where it might lead.
We’re supposed to be putting on an act for our friends, but the lines start to blur when he suggests that we do things like make out with each other when no one is even around to see.
More than that, though, I’m afraid of how much I like it.
I don’t understand how I can like the way his mouth tastes when I can’t even stand to be around him.
“All of this apologizing is making me feel weird,” I tell him. “I’m not used to it coming from you. I feel like I’ve entered a parallel universe.”
“You were already plenty weird before I apologized,” he says.
I cross my arms. “That’s not what I—” I stop myself and shake my head with a sigh.
I set my phone on his coffee table and then drop myself onto his couch where I normally sit when I’m here.
It’s a little strange to realize that I have a normal spot in Oliver’s house now.
I watch him. I wonder if he’ll come sit next to me or if he’ll sit down in the armchair on the other side of the room.
He stays where I left him for a moment, his eyes traveling from the couch to the chair, like the same thought might be going through his head.
I reach for a crocheted blanket on the back of the couch and pull it over myself.
“Don’t get too cozy.” He finally makes his way over to me and drops himself onto the couch. “Wouldn’t want you to fall asleep before the locksmith gets here.”
His hand settles where the blanket covers my foot. I wonder if he knows my foot is under there. I wiggle my toes beneath his hand. He doesn’t move.
“The last time I fell asleep here, we ended up tricking our best friends that we’re sleeping with each other and now we’re fake-dating. Imagine what the locksmith might walk in on.”
His face turns pink. It’s so subtle that I wonder if I’m imagining it. My phone buzzes on his coffee table, distracting me. The sound is loud. Both of us look at my phone as the screen lights up.
“Oh God,” I say. “I bet that’s Tina asking me why I was pretending to be at your house.”
I lean over and grab my phone. It’s not Tina, but a number I don’t recognize. I only have to read the first sentence to know who this is from.
Malcolm
Hi Priscilla, it was nice running into you earlier. Sorry for getting back to you so late. I was wondering if you would want to meet up for drinks tomorrow to discuss some events I need help with. This is Malcolm, by the way.
“What did she say?” Oliver asks.
I look at him over my shoulder. “What? Oh. Nothing. It wasn’t her.”
He watches me. I wonder if he’s waiting for me to tell him who it is. It’s none of his business, so I don’t. I look back at my phone and read the message again, trying to decide how to respond. I send a text back.
Priscilla
Sure! Where and what time?
Malcolm
7PM @ H.M. Lounge
I raise an eyebrow. I’ve heard of H.M. Lounge before but I’ve never been there. All I know is that it’s a pretty exclusive upscale bar.
“Something interesting?” Oliver asks.
I look back up at him. “I think I’m about to get my second client.”
“Nice,” he says. “Who is it?”
“Malcolm Ridges from ANY-Time. He wants to meet up tomorrow to talk about working together.”
He’s quiet for a moment. I watch him, sensing that he’s not done talking about this. “I’m surprised he’s talking about work stuff this late at night.”
I shrug. “He’s the president of a charity. I’m sure he’s very busy. He probably works around the clock.”
“You’re probably right,” he says.
“He wants to meet up at H.M. Lounge.”
Oliver raises an eyebrow. “I’ve never been but I’ve heard it’s nice.”
“Nice probably means expensive. What do you think the protocol is here? Am I supposed to pay as the vendor trying to schmooze the client? Or does he pay since he invited me?”
“How about he pays since he got you fired from your job?”
I look up at Oliver, surprised. “Did I tell you that?”
He nods. “The other day after we got kicked out of the farmers market,” he reminds me. “You said he was your mortal enemy.”
I remember the conversation now. “Lifelong enemy,” I correct him.
I cringe. I wonder who else I told. I should probably learn to keep my mouth shut. I hope the news doesn’t make it too far outside of our friend group since it turns out it’s not true. I don’t want ANY-Time to be painted in a negative light because of me.
“I found out earlier that what my boss told me wasn’t true. It’s a long story, but I ran into Malcolm this morning and he cleared things up.”
Oliver nods slowly, pinching his lips together.
“What, you don’t believe me?” I ask.
“It just seems a little convenient. You happen to run into him this morning and he’s able to swoop in and be the hero instead of the villain you thought he was?”
I shrug. “I believe him. You would have too if you were there.”
“Maybe,” he says. “I just hope that you’ll be careful around him.”
I roll my eyes. “Thanks, but I’ll be fine.”
A pair of headlights shines through the front window, casting a light on the wall that travels from one side of the room to the other as the vehicle outside pulls up next to mine.
“That must be the locksmith,” Oliver says, standing up.
I push the blanket off and follow him to the front door. There’s a white truck with a locksmith logo parked in front of my car. The driver is getting out as we step outside.
“Hey, Oliver. Good to see you,” the driver says.
“Thanks for getting out here so fast, Eddie.”
The two men shake hands and then talk for a minute. It’s clear that they know each other but I don’t know how. I sit down on the top step of Oliver’s porch while Eddie gets to work unlocking my car. Oliver comes over and sits next to me.
“This isn’t how I imagined I’d be spending tonight,” I say.
“Me neither,” he says with a smirk.
“Sorry if I messed up whatever plans you had for tonight.”
“I don’t mind. I didn’t have anything going on anyway. If anything, you made my night more interesting, so thank you.” He leans sideways and nudges my arm with his elbow.
I nudge him back, then tilt my head up to look at him. He’s watching me with an expression I can’t read. It’s similar to how he looked at me after he pulled me through his bedroom window, right before Tina walked in.
His gaze dips down from my eyes to my lips and back up again.
The coward in me wants to turn away and find something else to say to avoid another awkward silence.
Part of me knows I’ve been hurt by him before, and I’m afraid to read too much into the way he’s looking at me now, the way he leans a little closer to me.
I’m tired of being afraid, though, so I hold my ground, keeping my eyes locked on his.
I feel like a magnet is pulling me closer to him.
Our faces are only an inch apart. I can feel his breath.
I’m not sure which one of us makes the next move, but then his lips are on mine, and my hand is on the back of his neck, pulling him into me.
His hands close around my waist. My whole body feels warmer.
Our lips separate for only a second and then he comes back in for another kiss.
His mouth makes me feel a little drunk. My body feels light, like I might float away if he takes his hands off of me.
It’s almost enough to make me forget that we’re sitting on his front porch.
One of his hands comes up, his fingers weaving into my hair, as his mouth takes control of mine.
He parts my lips with his. His tongue flicks mine, tasting me, and it sends a weird signal to my brain that makes me want to tug on his shirt until he’s not wearing it anymore.
He must possess some sort of dark magic, because he’s making me want things I never thought I would.
I want to taste him, touch him, feel him.
The only thing that breaks the kiss is the sound of Eddie clearing his throat a few feet away. We both turn to look at him. He stands in the middle of Oliver’s yard, looking at us with an embarrassed grin. “Car’s unlocked,” he says.
I take a moment to recover before I stand up. Oliver remains seated on the porch step.
“Thank you so much,” I say to Eddie. “How much do I owe you?”
Eddie waves his hand. “Don’t worry about it. I owed Ryan a favor. Y’all can tell him we’re even now.”
Oliver laughs. “I didn’t realize I could cash in on Ryan’s favors. Thanks, man.”
I watch as Eddie heads back to his truck.
I didn’t know he was friends with both Oliver and Ryan.
My chest feels tight. For a moment, I thought that Oliver might actually like me, but now I don’t know if he was kissing me because he wanted to or if he was just playing the part in case Eddie says anything to Ryan.
I guess it would explain why he waited until Eddie was here to make a move on me.
After Eddie drives away, I turn back around to look at Oliver. I’m standing in the middle of his yard now, and he’s still sitting on his porch. He stands up, pushing both hands into the pockets of his jeans.
“Thanks again,” I say. “Hopefully Eddie bought that whole making-out-on-the-porch ruse.”
Oliver’s brow wrinkles. All he says is, “Yeah.”
The confirmation that this was all for show makes my stomach sink. I swallow around a lump in my throat, and then turn back around. I don’t trust my voice, so I get in my car and leave without a word.