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*****
Three hours and many, many complaints from me later, the “fun” finally ends. As it turns out, both Sebastian and Oliver are competitive, and as each event rolled on, they became more intense with each other. Sebastian seemed to goad Oliver at every chance he got, trying to get a rise out of him, and Oliver, to his credit, did his best to focus his attention on me while also winning every game. I was just happy to stand at Oliver’s side, saying random words of encouragement and watching him. Halfway through the beach volleyball match, his shirt came off, and I got the absolute pleasure of rubbing sunscreen all over his back. A favour that Oliver seemed all too happy to return. The aftermath of his warm skin under my hands, and then my warm skin under his, had me taking myself for a dip in the ocean to cool off.
And now we are back in the hotel room, having to get ready for the night ahead, the bachelor and bachelorette parties. The two groups will start off apart, with the girls having wine tasting and dinner beforehand and the guys playing some more sports-type activities, before the two groups will join back together at some beach bar nearby. Oliver has been taking everything in his stride, seeming to enjoy himself even while spending a weekend surrounded by strangers, something he has avoided doing in the past. Me? Well, I have loved every minute of our time together. Oliver has been playing the part of the doting boyfriend to perfection, holding my hand, caressing my arm, thigh, face at any chance, even giving me a few fleeting kisses on the cheek when the occasion called for it. Whoever ends up with Oliver will be a lucky girl because this guy is an amazing boyfriend.
I tell him this as we settle in our room later that day for a mandatory break from activities, sun kissed and covered in sand.
“Ollie, you should write a book on how to be a boyfriend, ten steps to being the best partner,” I say as I flop down on the bed, exhausted by the sheer amount of physical activity I had to endure today.
“You are a pretty great girlfriend yourself,” he replies, plopping down next to me and rolling on his side to face me. “We make a great team,” he adds, gazing into my eyes, making my heart race.
I sit up, trying to get control of my runaway emotions. This is pretend, Lilly. You must not forget that.
“Are you sure you are OK going to this bro night tonight? It sounds painful, and you will have to spend time with Sebastian.” Over the course of the day, both Oliver and I agreed that Sebastian is, in fact, the worst, and I can’t imagine why Oliver would volunteer to spend additional time with him.
“It’ll be fine. Just a couple of beers and some pool before I get to be with you,” he replies, sending my heart racing some more. At this rate, I will have a full-blown heart attack before the weekend ends.
“OK, but feel free to leave at any time. I give you permission to ditch Sebastian and his gang of merry douche friends and come back to the room for some down time.”
“I’m OK, Lil. Don’t worry about me. Are you going to be OK spending the evening with Sarah? She is so weird,” Oliver says with a puzzled smile. All day today, Sarah has been acting in a strange manner around me. I am not sure if it is because I used to date Sebastian or if there is something just not quite right with her. It has been a stroke of luck that most of Sarah’s friends are nice people who have made me feel accepted and welcome.
“I know, right? What is her problem? Do you think she is behaving strangely because she thinks I am a threat to her relationship?”
Oliver raises an eyebrow, allowing his gaze to travel down my body and back up again, lingering on my face.
“Sometimes I wonder what you see when you look in the mirror, Lilly,” he says at last. “Because one look at you is enough to cause any woman a lot of anxiety. You are gorgeous. And smart, funny, and kind. Sarah is bound to be jealous, and Sebastian is bound to regret having let you go.”
I stare at Oliver as he is saying these wonderful things to me, my cheeks heating.
“You think I’m gorgeous?” I say in a hushed tone.
Oliver looks at me like I am crazy. “Of course I think you are gorgeous, Lilly. I wish you could see the person I see when I look at you.”
Unable to find an answer to this, finding myself speechless, I lie back down and face Oliver on the bed.
“I think you are gorgeous too,” I finally say, a quiet confession.
Oliver smiles, the full-dimple smile, as we lie in bed just staring at each other, content to let this moment just be. Unfortunately, Amy, the queen of bad timing, chooses this exact moment to call me, her ringtone blasting through the room, breaking the mood. As I cross the room to answer the call and tell her to piss off, Oliver says he is going to use the shower and get ready for the evening.
“Lilly?” Amy yells as I answer the phone. “Where have you been? Why haven’t you been returning my calls or texts or DMs? I’m dying to know what happened after the night in the one bed.”
“Nothing happened,” I say almost sadly. “Oliver was a perfect gentleman. He stayed on his side all night.”
“Oh, boo, that’s no fun,” Amy says with a pout I can almost see through the phone.
“I did wake up wrapped around him like he was an enormous teddy bear I was hugging,” I add, smiling at the image of our early-morning cuddle.
“You what?” she screeches, almost deafening me in one ear.
“It was nothing. I extricated myself before he woke up, and it has all been platonic ever since. For the most part.”
“Spill,” Amy demands.
“It’s so confusing, Ames. We spent the day together, and it felt like we were really together, you know?”
“Ah, huh.”
“But it is only pretend. Except it doesn’t always feel like we are pretending. This was a big mistake, Ames. Now that I have had a taste of ‘being with’ Oliver, going back to being just friends is going to be impossible.”
