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After Amy’s departure, I clean up the leftover desserts and wine glasses and lie back down on my couch, trying to digest all that I learned tonight. Could it be true? Could Oliver have feelings for me? Whatever the truth is, this weekend cannot come fast enough.
CHAPTER 24
Lilly
Friday arrives at last, and as I pack up my desk at work and log off my computer, my stomach is filled with butterflies. Unsure of what this weekend will bring, I am excited to be spending so much one-on-one time with Oliver, pretending to be a couple no less. And testing out the waters of what could be a potential relationship. Just thinking about it fills me with equal measures of excitement and blind terror.
This past week, I have been in regular contact with Oliver. Every day, he has been alternating between calling me and texting me, sometimes spending hours on the phone well into the night, both of us missing sleep because of it. It has made me wonder where Oliver is finding the time to fit me in, given his already jam-packed work schedule. And this is making me think that there may be a teeny, tiny chance Amy is correct. Would Oliver dedicate so much of his precious time to someone he only sees as a friend? With this in my mind, I am now seeing every interaction with Oliver through a different lens. When he sends me sweet messages, I wonder if they could mean something more. And then when my heart races every time he calls, I know I am in big trouble.
After I get home from work—hooray—I finish packing and wait for Oliver to pick me up. I have packed some banana chocolate chip muffins for the two-hour drive ahead and have a road trip playlist ready to go. In true Oliver style, right on time, he knocks on my door, and when I answer, he looks so good I have to take a step back to stop from throwing myself at him. He is wearing blue jeans that fit him like a glove and a black polo shirt that hugs his biceps just right, and his hair is tousled in a way that makes me want to run my fingers through it. If this is how I am feeling just looking at him for thirty seconds, this weekend is going to be a test of my self-control. I know I agreed with Amy to use this weekend to “test the relationship waters” with Oliver, but I don’t think that involves jumping his bones the minute he walks in the door. A shame, really.
“Ready to go, Lil?” he asks, flashing his dimples at me.
“Yup,” I reply. “And I have snacks!” I tell him, holding up my Tupperware container.
Oliver grabs my suitcase; and we head out the front door, with Oliver telling me as we leave to “lock the front door behind us,” making me roll my eyes and stick my tongue out at him behind his back. Must he always think of me as incompetent?
“The GPS and Google Maps say it will take two hours to get there, even with some traffic,” Oliver tells me as we head downstairs and towards where he parked his car. Of course Oliver has checked the travel times from two independent sources, just to be 100 percent sure. “So I think we should be able to get there and get settled before dark.”
“Sounds good to me,” I say, happy to leave the decision making up to him, waving to Johnny from my window.
As I settle into the front passenger seat, I watch Oliver put my suitcase in the car’s trunk and give Johnny a timid wave. I smile at this small interaction and then plug my iPhone into his speaker system, ready to get this road trip off to a good start.
“What are you subjecting my ears to today?” Oliver asks as he starts up the car and heads away from my apartment building.
“Only the finest road trip tunes ever written.” I reply, flashing him a big smile. “You just drive, and I will be in charge of food and entertainment.”
Oliver nods with a smile and grabs an offered muffin, groaning as he takes a bite, and we settle in for the drive ahead. The wedding is to be held in a large hotel in the seaside town of Sorrento, which is known for its sandy beaches and resort-style feel while only being a few hours’ drive away from Melbourne. The hotel I have booked is the same one where the wedding is taking place, making for an easy weekend with everything on our doorstep. Having checked out reviews and pictures online, I am looking forward to a little luxury this weekend.
While we drive, we make small talk, focused for the most part on my Love, Lilly Instagram success, with Oliver offering helpful suggestions for bolstering potential sponsorships and revenue, and the time passes by in a hurry, as it so often does when we are together. Oliver fills me in on gossip from his office, including a tidbit about one of his co-workers asking him out. He seems to think it is an amusing anecdote, while I grit my teeth and curse this unknown woman in my mind. Who is she to swoop in on the newly single, still broken-hearted Oliver, anyway?
When I can no longer hold back the question, I ask, “So are you going to go out with her?” I need to know the answer before the weekend can continue.
Oliver sends me a quick glance before looking back at the road. “No, I’m not interested in her. It was just a tricky situation, that’s all. I let her down gently, but now I must see her every day at work, and we are friends, and it’s a bit…” He pauses.
“Uncomfortable?” I finish for him.
“Yes, it’s hard to have to be friends with someone when you have essentially rejected them.”
These words reverberate around my head, with big flashing warning signs attached to them. Warning me against doing something stupid. Because despite what Amy may believe, if I were ever to act on these feelings I have for Oliver and he didn’t reciprocate, what would become of our friendship? I would rather have Oliver in my life, even if it is just as a friend, than to end up as someone he needs to avoid.
“It’s too soon for you to be dating anyway, given that you and Emma just broke up. The next girl would end up being a rebound,” I tell him, hoping to sound casual and not like my heart is hurting.
Oliver gives me another look, longer this time, and says nothing. We sit in silence for the next hour until we reach the Sorrento Resort and Spa, our home for the next few days.
After Oliver parks the car and grabs our bags, we make our way to reception to check in, when it dawns on me, finally, that we are going to be sharing a room. Just the two of us. And because I didn’t think about this for more than two seconds when booking the room, I asked for one with a king-sized bed. Because I love the luxury of having a big bed all to myself. How did I manage to mess this up? One room, one bed, with Oliver. For two entire nights. And seriously, how is this only occurring to me now? When I look at Oliver from the sides of my eyes, I note that he doesn’t seem at all perturbed, because he is a logical human being who has clearly anticipated this situation, given that we are here as a “couple” this weekend.
“As you are guests of the wedding party, we have reserved you a deluxe room, on the fourth floor with a view of the ocean. As requested, it is a room with a king-sized bed,” the receptionist tells us, looking at Oliver the whole time with heart shapes in her eyes while I groan internally. Damn me and my need to have a big bed! I look at Oliver to see if he is at all uncomfortable with sharing a bed, and when he looks at me with a smile and a wink, I decide to not explore the option of requesting a room with separate beds. I want to avoid anyone figuring out that we are not really a couple, and I also want to stop this receptionist lady from flirting with my pretend boyfriend. Even as I stand here, she is running through all the services the hotel has to offer, which if her sultry voice is anything to go by, includes a personal massage for Oliver and Oliver alone.
“Thank you,” I cut in, my tone aggressive. Can she not see that he is here with me? “We will just get our key and be on our way,” I add, looking between the two of us. We.
Oliver looks at me with a small laugh as he shakes his head. It is like he can read my inner monologue and finds it all very amusing.
“The lifts are just through that way,” the reception lady tells us, eyes still glued to Oliver, smiling at him, not sparing me a glance. “Please call me if you need anything. Anything at all.”
Oliver gives her a dismissive glance and puts his arm around my shoulder, guiding us away.
“What’s her problem?” I grumble as we walk away. “Am I wearing my invisibility cloak today? How dare she flirt with you while I am standing right there? And stop laughing, it’s not funny!” I add when he continues to look at me with amusement.
