Trying to calm my nerves, I take a detour to the kitchen to drink a big glass of water. Then I wander into the living room, stacking books by subject so everyone can take theirs back to their room. I’m about to do exactly that with my little pile when I stumble over a discarded shirt at the foot of the stairs.
With a sigh, I pick it up. Before I can check the tag, though, a pair of feet appears in my field of vision.
My head snaps up, and I come face to chest with Olli. He’s panting, as if he bolted from his room and down the stairs, his hair sticking up in all directions, his cheeks flushed. Not to mention that he’s shirtless and his jeans are hanging low enough on his hips to reveal that he isn’t wearing any underwear. He’s holding on to the railing with one hand, the other pressed against the wall, as if he needs both for support.
“Hi! Hello, Linden! Fancy meeting you here!”
I raise a brow. “Uhm…I live here?”
“You know”—he tilts his head—“you, me, on the stairs.” He looks at something over my shoulder, but before I can turn, he clicks his tongue and then continues talking. “You’re home early. Got plans?”
“Barb said I should go,” I mutter, frowning as I look him over more closely.
“What’s with that face then? It’s a beautiful day, the sun’s shining and—oh, you found my shirt!” Olli grabs for the black fabric between my fingers, pulling it on in one smooth movement. It must be the only shirt he owns without some kind of cartoon or dumb sex joke printed across the front. But, although he’s done flooding me with words, he’s still fidgeting; shifting on his legs, hands brushing over the T-shirt to smooth it down across his chest and stomach.
“Are you okay?” I ask, tilting my head.
“Huh? Oh yeah! Why wouldn’t I be? Totally great! In fact,” Olli says, his hands stopping their fiddling with the ring he wears on his right middle finger to reach out and squeeze my shoulder. “What’s up with you, hm? Are you seeing anyone?”
I blink, then narrow my eyes at him. But just as I open my mouth to ask what’s going on, a loudthumpinterrupts me.
I crane my neck to look over Olli’s shoulder out the window and into our backyard.
“Did you hear that?” I ask, trying to squeeze past him so that I can check, but Olli stands firm, not even flinching.
“Like what about that Colin guy? Has he been bothering you again?” He bulldozes on to the next topic, utterly unconcerned.
“What?” I can’t help but stare at him, surprised that he even knows Colin’s name. “I…no? No, he isn’t…bothering me,” I hedge, so caught off guard, any thought about thethumpslips from my mind like a fish unwilling to be caught.
Olli frowns, tipping his head the other way. The light from the window transforms his dark eyes from brown to honey-golden. “Okay, but you know you can talk to—”
“So you can laugh at my nonexistent sex life? No thanks.” I snap my mouth shut, already regretting my outburst. Olli might be annoying, but he doesn’t deserve that. “Sorry, I didn’t mean…sorry.”
“Aw, Lind, it’s all good! Love it when you show that fire.” Olli laughs, cocking his hips as he leans his shoulder against the wall. “Let’s try this again, hm? What’s up?” He looks me up and down, brows raised.
I groan, my fingers tensing around the railing. I take a deep breath. At least Olli won’t judge me.
“I’m having someone over. Tonight.”
Olli blinks but doesn’t say anything. He just waits until I can’t stand the quiet anymore.
“Like…a date.”
“Ohh lala, Linden!” He grins, and I wish I could sink through the stairs and disappear. But Olli’s hand on my shoulder prevents that.
“Don’t worry, I’m almost gone. You’ll have the house aaall to yourself. And yourdate. Have fun!” His voice drips with innuendo, and I groan.
“Yeah, right,fun, until I make a dumb mistake and ruin everything.”
“A mistake?” Olli tilts his head, eyebrows furrowing.
Of course he doesn’t understand. How could he? Everything falls into his lap, especially when it comes to sex and boyfriends. I bet Olli never once in his life worried about not being sexy. About not knowing what to do when someone is naked in his bed.
The mere thought makes my ears burn. I have seen more than just a few guys waltz out of his room in the morning. Or caught him strolling back home, looking a mess and covered in hickeys. His cocky grins, when he didn't even bother to put on a longer shirt to hide them, always made me grind my teeth hard enough to give me a headache.
“Ugh,never mind!” I bite out, pushing forward to get past him.
“Whoa, hey, hey, hey.Hey.” Olli grabs both my shoulders, barely holding me back from storming upstairs. “Okay, it's hard, but dating and sex are supposed to be fun! Don’t turn it into a huge thing. It’s not that serious.”
