AllFreeNovel
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“I think I’m done trying on dresses today, anyway.” I tell him. “Can you unzip me, and we can get some dinner?”
With a pained look—gosh, he must be so bored—Oliver steps closer and pulls on the zip. I feel his warm hands on my bare back and agree with him. Maybe this shopping together wasn’t a great idea after all.
“You’re all set,” Oliver says at last.
“Thanks, I will just take this off, and we can be on our way.”
“I’ll wait for you outside,” he says, his voice again strained. “No rush.”
I shake my head at how weird Oliver is behaving and take the red dress off before getting back into my work clothes, ones I can breathe in. I hand over the unwanted outfits to the sales assistant and thank her for her help.
“No worries,” she says. “And girl, your man is fine.” She points to where Oliver is standing waiting for me.
“Don’t I know it!” I reply with a smile as I leave the store.
After looking around for a short while, we find a suitable place to have dinner. We find a table, and Oliver and I take a seat, each grabbing a menu. To get the evening back on track, I start a running commentary of my potential meal choices:
“I could have the risotto dish, but I had risotto the night I was out with Grant 2.0, and ugh, that now has bad associations, and I really should try something different. Ooh, seafood! Do I feel like seafood today? Pasta? Yes, definitely pasta! Oh, but there is pizza, and I love pizza. This is too difficult!” I finish up, having worked hard and made no decisions.
Oliver laughs, seeming to enjoy my antics. “Why don’t we order two dishes and share? Then you can have pasta and pizza.”
Sigh, why does he have to be so perfect all the time?
“But do you want either pasta or pizza?” I ask.
Oliver shrugs. “I don’t really care. If this makes you happy, let’s do it.” He grabs the attention of the waitress and orders the pasta and the pizza with extra plates for sharing.
“Happy now?” he asks.
“Absolutely. Can I keep you as my fake boyfriend forever?”
The smile on Oliver’s face fades, and I realise what I just said.
“Only kidding!” I hasten to tell him. “I know this is a one-time offer and that we will be back to friends after the wedding. Not that we have to stop being friends while we are at the wedding. Oh, you know what I mean…” I trail off, wringing my hands and feeling awkward.
“I know what you mean, Lil. And don’t worry, no matter what happens, we will always be friends,” he reassures me.
I settle back in my seat, feeling better, and look at him. I could stare at his face all day. He’s so handsome.
“So what is the plan for the weekend?” Oliver asks, ever the pragmatist.
“It shouldn’t be too difficult. I figure we just keep a low profile, don’t draw too much attention to ourselves, and leave at the earliest opportunity.”
“And what about our backstory? Should anyone ask?”
“Hmmm, we can keep it simple. We have been friends forever, then it turns out you have been secretly pining for me and finally found the nerve to ask me out, and here we are?” I offer.
Oliver doesn’t respond straight away, instead stares at me with a strange intensity until I start to squirm in my seat.
“You don’t think that will work? It’s not believable enough?” I ask.
Oliver looks away for a moment before finally saying, “Sounds real enough to me.”
Before I can delve into that any deeper, the waitress puts our food on the table, and I am distracted by the deliciousness in front of me.
“Hmm, so good,” I say as I alternate between bites of pizza and pasta.
Once full, I lean back in my seat and pat my belly with a happy grin.
