He laughs, stroking his thumb across my cheek. “That helped, sure. But seeing you again, with the mess of our first meeting behind us, and watching you with Lex? With my nephew? Out there in the sun, enjoying your life, being such a radiant, honest, kind person?” He sucks in a breath, shaking his head slowly. “I’m so glad Lex suggested you and I try again.”
“Really?”
He nods. “Really, really.”
Olsen leans in, his gaze dropping to my lips. This is it. He’s going to try to kiss me again. This time, I’m going to let him. I’ve been running from this, evading it, avoiding it, worried that something bad will happen and the curse will kick in and ruin it but... I can’t run forever. And he said he likes me, didn’t he? You can’t fake looking at someone the way he’s been looking at me. Maybe Lex is right and this is my chance to—
I chase my thoughts away and try to be present. To stop overthinking and worrying and catastrophizing for once in my life and justbe.
My pulse quickens as Olsen leans in, my cheek tingling where he touches me, warmth pooling in my stomach. Then, it happens. Olsen kisses me, his lips soft, tentative, careful. And...
There’s nothing. No sparks. No electricity. I may as well be kissing a wall.
But I want this. I wanthim. I want the Perfect Guy and the Perfect Life and to be the Perfect Person he thinks I am. And the only way to be that is to move forward, to get through this awkward kiss, and break the curse.
Sometimes sparks fly. Sometimes you have to light the fire yourself.
Releasing all my inhibitions, I take Olsen’s face in my hands and pull him closer, sliding my tongue between his lips and claiming him. After a short pause of surprise, he kisses me back with just as much vigour, his hands making their way to my low back, then to my hips, nearly tugging me onto his lap, and—there. There it is. A rush of heat. A flash of electricity. A promise of more.
Someone clears their throat. “Excuse me.”
Olsen and I withdraw, pushing ourselves back in our chairs and fixing our faces as the hipster bartender passes us our bill. “We have a reservation here in ten minutes.”
I wipe at the corner of my lips, stifling my smile, and watch as Olsen gently lifts from his seat and tugs at the crotch of his pants to adjust himself. Olsen and I share a quiet laugh at being caught like naughty teenagers while he pays our bill.
Back outside, we walk to Olsen’s car slowly. He has his arm wrapped around me, and he’s so tall and warm and sturdy, I can’t help but lean against him, so grateful that finally,finally, there’s a hint of something more between us.
“I was thinking,” Olsen says as we arrive at his shiny black sports car. “You said you wanted to get to know one another better before things progressed.”
“I did, yes.” Technically, that was Lex’s idea, but I’m not going to correct him.
Olsen turns me and leans me against his vehicle, steppingcloser so that we’re toe to toe, hip to hip, mouth hovering near mine. “Do you feel you’ve got to know me well enough to come back to my place for a glass of wine?”
I slide my hands up his chest as I mull it over, feeling torn. I know I should say yes, but part of me wants to go home. This date has gone so well, continuing it is like laughing in the face of the curse and daring it to do its worst. I’ve already sent this guy to the hospital once, so who knows what will happen? What if I set off a smoke alarm and the firefighters bust down his door and we’re mid-coitus and they have to carry us out of there and we have to stand outside buck-naked while a whole crowd gathers and then somehow it’s my underwear that’s in the oven and it’s lit on fire and everyone sees them and—
“We don’t have to.” Olsen’s low, raspy voice holds no trace of disappointment. I look up at him, the streetlamps casting warm shadows on his handsome face, and note that his eyes betray nothing but sincere concern for me. He genuinely doesn’t want me to do anything I’m not comfortable with.
I may not have much experience with relationships, but I can tell by the way he looks at me, the way he touches me, the way he speaks to me, that he has some semblance of feelings for me. Maybe it’s enough. Maybe tonight’s the night, and we’re going to break the curse, and I’ll be able to move on with my life.
There’s only one way to find out.
I lift onto my tiptoes and press a kiss to his lips. “I’d love to.”
The drive home is quiet. Music plays in the background, Olsen’s hand rests on my thigh, his thumb strokes over my bare skin. The closer we get to his home the more nervous I become, like a storm has been brewing in the distance but is now swiftly approaching, growing darker overhead. Soon the skies will open and a deluge of awkwardness will soak me through, leaving Olsen in its calamitous wake once more.
We arrive at the home he shares with Lex and I step inside, slipping off my heels and wiggling my toes into the plush rug. As Olsen opens a bottle of wine in the kitchen I take my time in the living room, remembering the last time I was here and how different I felt. I’d been rushed then, moving through this phase as fast as I could in hopes that I might trick the curse into leaving me alone for five minutes so I could feel the warmth of another human body without the awkward consequences. How wrong I’d been.
This time, I feel the opposite; I want to delay as long as possible, drag it out, maybe finish a bottle of wine and stay up late talking and cuddling on the couch before moving toward anything bedroom related.
I step toward three pieces of art hanging on the wall next to the fireplace, and the abstract swishes and swirls draw me in like they had before. I know now, like I knew then, that someone with art like this is the sort of person I want to be around.
“You like those?” Olsen asks, stepping beside me and offering a glass of red wine.
“Love them. You have great taste in art.”
“Lex bought them in Peru when she went backpacking in South America during her first-year uni break.”
I look to Olsen, then back at the paintings.Lex chose these?I take another look around the room. “What about that lamp?” I gesture at it, the pop of colour a stark contrast against the suede sofas and grey shag rug.
