Oliver’s head fell back as he laughed at my concerned expression. “Yes, Frankie. I’ve done laundry. I just toss it back on the bench when it’s clean.”
My mouth parted in shock as I walked over to the set of drawers standing next to the bed and opened one. “This is a perfectly good dresser, and it’s right here. Arguably closer to the washer and dryer.” I pointed to where the appliances were housed next to the bathroom. “Why can’t you dump your stuff here?”
Oliver rolled his eyes, clearly amused by how appalled I was. In one fell swoop, he went to the bench, scooped his clothes up, walked over to the dresser, and dropped his stuff into the awaiting drawer. “Happy?” he asked.
“Ecstatic,” I said flatly.
He grabbed me around the waist, and I looked up into his eyes. He dipped down to kiss the top of my head.
“Alright,” he said, releasing me but grabbing my hand and tugging me to the kitchen. “Since I so abruptly ended our date, let me see what I have in here for food.”
He gripped my waist and I let out a small squeal as heeffortlessly lifted me onto the countertop. I watched him dig around in his cabinets. Being in his space felt more intimate than I’d expected. Like I was getting some sort of behind-the-scenes peek into his life.
“So, plans,” I said carefully, wanting to keep the moment light, but also desperately wanting to know more about where he’d be going next. “I haven’t exactly helped you come up with any.”
Oliver produced a sleeve of crackers and handed them to me. I took one and nibbled on it, trying to play it cool as I waited for his response.
“Helping me come up with a plan was always going to be a losing battle.”
I swallowed and took another cracker from the sleeve. “But you said you aren’t going back to Denver. You must have some idea of what you want to do next.”
He shrugged. “I’ve reached out to a few people I know. I’m sure I’ll find some gig for the summer.”
The summer. He didn’t have anything lined up yet. Even though I found little comfort in that, it made me feel better to know that hopefully he wasn’t traipsing out of here the second his last snowboarding lesson ended. I should come right out and ask him.
“How many more lessons do you have left?” I asked.
“Why? Trying to book one more for yourself?” he teased, poking me in the ribs.
“No,” I said, feeling slightly frustrated he turned every attempt at conversation into a joke. Typically, I liked that quality about him. But the fact that I couldn’t even broach the subject of him leaving, or figure out where we stood, was starting to get annoying.
At this point, it was obvious to me that this was Oliver’s coping mechanism. He avoided the hard stuff by constantlybeing the fun, chill guy. I knew he wouldn’t change—not for me anyway. But some of the topics I thought were light, he still chose to avoid.
“I’ll squeeze you in if you want. I promise, no more injured wrists,” he continued.
“I’m good,” I said.
His face fell as he noticed my annoyance. “Everything okay?” Oliver asked. His voice sounded completely different when he wasn’t joking. Deeper.
“Yep.” I forced a smile.
“Frankie.” He tipped my chin up so that I’d be forced to look at him.
It was almost as if we were on the brink of something incredible, yet if I said even remotely the wrong thing, he’d never speak to me again.
Oliver’s eyes scanned mine and his jaw clenched. “Talk to me,” he whispered.
“Are you sure you want that?” I asked quietly.
That seemed to catch him off guard because he loosened his hold on my chin.
I half expected him to say that hedidwant that. To beg me to talk to him. To say something real and ask me what’s going on. But Oliver being Oliver, he did none of that.
“I’m sorry,” he said, his tone pained.
Suddenly, the tiles of his kitchen floor were the most fascinating thing in the world to me. My head felt heavy and the idea of meeting his eyes twisted my insides.
Oliver’s fingers brushed underneath my chin. He used the tiniest bit of force to tilt my face up. While his eyes still looked dark and serious, the corner of his mouth twitched. “You can’t even look at me now? Damn. I must have really messed up.”
