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Weirdly, my first thought isI wonder if Sabrina knows her archnemesis is here, but after I shake that off, I’m in shock.
I don’t think I’ve seen Olivia at a party before, ever. She’s even more beautiful up close than she is on the stage; long golden-blond hair styled like an old Hollywood icon, eyeliner that would take me three weeks to perfect, and a perfect red lip. She looks like she should be going on the red carpet, not sitting at a college party.
“Hey, I’m sorry to interrupt,” I say as I approach them. Ryan stops whispering and looks up at me. “Have you guys seen Sabrina?”
Ryan immediately looks concerned, even though he doesn’t need to be. Well, unless I murder Aaron tonight and he has to help me hide the body. “Everything okay?”
“Aaron being Aaron. We’re heading home.”
“I saw her go into Robbie’s room with him quite a while ago,” Olivia says quietly. “I can make sure she gets home okay if you need to go. I’m not drinking and my car is right outside.”
“Do you need my help with Aaron?” Ryan asks cautiously.
“Olivia, if you could I will love you forever,” I promise, breathing a sigh of relief now I know Brin is covered. “Aaron will be fine now he’s got all his bitchiness out. I’m sorry I didn’t get a chance to talk to you tonight, Olivia. You look beautiful, next time we can get to know each other properly. My Uber is outside, though, so I need to go.”
She gives me a shy smile. “That would be nice. See you soon.”
“Text me when you get home, ’kay?” Ryan shouts as I walk away. “I mean it, Stas. Don’t forget.”
I know it might be weird to think about the guy you have casual sex with and your best friend’s fake archnemesis together, but an Abbott x Rothwell relationship would be the type teenage girls cry over because of how perfect it is.
Ryan and I work so well because I don’t want a relationship, and he doesn’t care. If he found someone he wanted to date, I would never stand in his way. He deserves to be loved like that and he deserves to be happy, because he’s such an amazing guy.
He would be Olivia’s greatest supporter, and maybe he’d bring her out of her shell a little. I don’t know Olivia yet, but even when she gets the role Brin wants, Brin can’t deny Olivia seems like a nice girl.
I can’t wait to see where this goes.
* * *
I started workingat Simone’s Rink freshman year when Rosie, a friend of a friend, mentioned her mom was looking to hire help.
The cost of textbooks was mounting up and I couldn’t ask my parents for money, since they were already paying for all my skating stuff. Simone, the owner, paid for me to do a coaching qualification, which meant I could teach Saturday classes to kids under ten.
“All good?” Simone asks, walking into the break room where I’m sitting, contemplating what to eat.
“Yeah, great. I’m gonna go grab some lunch before my next class, I think.”
“There is a very handsome man in reception asking for you,” she says with a wink. “Looks like he has food with him.”
Venturing out to the reception desk, I see Simone was right, there is a very handsome man.
Ryan looks super out of place with the energetic six-year-olds circling him, screeching. The second he spots me, his tired eyes soften, and the corner of his mouth tugs up. He holds up paper bags in each hand. “Wanna be my lunch date?”
“I’ve got another class at one p.m.; can you eat all that in thirty minutes?”
“I can achieve a lot in thirty minutes, Anastasia, you should know that by now.”
We settle down at a table in a quiet corner next to the concession stand, and he begins to unbox the food. “Before you shout at me, I got you a Cobb salad…but I also got you a side of bacon cheese fries and nuggets, because I saw your post this morning about how important balance is.”
I roll my eyes because I’m not sure which of us is becoming more predictable. “Balance is important, stop teasing me! Anyway, thank you. You didn’t have to bring me lunch, well, two lunches, but I appreciate you. Where did you end up last night?”
Ryan takes a bite of his cheeseburger and stuffs in some fries, groaning happily. “West Hollywood at The Honeypot. I overdid it.”
“With Olivia?”
I swear his cheeks blush a little. “No, Liv headed home unfortunately. Stop looking at me like that.”
“Oh, she’sLivnow is she? I’m excited for you. I’m allowed to be excited, so you can’t stop me. You haven’t dated anyone in so long, and she seems like a nice person from the little I know.”
