Page 96 of Olivia's Only Pretending
“I replied, ‘WOW! I’m so glad it feels like a good thing. Does this mean the pause is off?’To no reply.” Lucy cast me a glance from over her phone, then resumed reading. “I sent a follow-up, ‘Hey, how are you feeling now since the kiss?’ Still no reply, until you called me this evening and invited me to shop for dresses.”
“Baby steps, okay? I’m getting better at sharing in person. It might take time for that to translate over the phone, if it ever does.” I checked myself out in the mirror. I was usually a decenttexter, but I’d been highly distracted by Victor since the kiss. I’d felt like I was floating on a cloud these past couple days, and he and I had been trading text messages and phone calls in all the spare non-working moments.
“I’m not asking for a play-by-play via text. A simple ‘I’m going to the wedding as Victor’s date’ would’ve sufficed.”
“You knew we’d kissed. I would’ve thought you would assume if Victor was taking a date, he was taking me,” I said, pulling down a zipper on the back of my dress.
Lucy was by my side in seconds to assist me with the zipper—another perk to shopping with my sister. “You guys have been such dorks the past couple months, so for all I know, you two had kissed but were still in denial, and maybe he’d given up and gone for someone else.”
“Well …” I spun around to face her. “We’re not in denial. The pause is thankfully over, and we’re most definitelyon.”
She clasped her hands together in front of her chest. “Adam and I have been waiting for this moment.”
“You know what? The kisses are …” I shuddered happily. “Amazing. But one of the sweetest moments of the night was when I looked out into the audience and saw him sitting there in the front row. My heart melted, and I realized, who am I kidding, this is the guy for me.”
Lucy sighed.
I chuckled. “The next morning, he showed up at my door with coffee, and we were chatting. And I realized, I’m getting all my favorite parts of our friendship, but even better now. No more resisting the urge to grab his hand or tell him he’s adorable.”
“Wait, wait, no zipping forward to the next day until after you’ve told me everything I missed from Monday,” she said, laser-focused on me and waiting for the story.
As we walked out of the store together, giggly like we were in high school again, Lucy squeezed my hand and said, “I’m so happy to see you so happy.”
Cars zoomed past us on the downtown streets. People bustled by on the sidewalk. The sun had set, streetlights glimmering overhead. “I am happy,” I said.
“For what it’s worth, I think Victor is worth taking a chance on.”
“It feels like more than taking a chance on him,” I said, my voice wobbly. I’d been circling around these thoughts since we confessed our feelings the other night, but they were big and something I could’ve easily shoved away for later. Maybe past versions of me would’ve done exactly that.
But here I walked, arm in arm, with my sister, walking down the street toward dinner. I felt safe. I felt ready. “I’m in love with him, Lucy.”
Lucy stopped our quick pace. The two of us were at a standstill outside the Mexican restaurant. The air was cold around us. “Love?”
“Love.” I turned to her. “I love him. I’m in love with him.”
“Have you told him?”
I shook my head. “I’ve only thought about it so far. I had to process it?—”
“Of course, you’re Olivia. You’ve got to let it simmer for a minute.”
I chuckled. “I’m going to tell him. I mean, I don’t see how I could go on without telling him with the way he kisses. If I don’t find the right moment, it’s going to slip out accidentally.”
That night, after I showered and wrapped myself up in my plush pink bathrobe, I called Gracie. We’d both been sobusy. We hadn’t caught up in a while, and I wanted to check on my little sister. I put the phone on speaker.
“Hey, Liv.” Her voice echoed through my bathroom from where I had my phone sitting on the bathroom counter.
“Gracie,” I squealed. “You picked up.” Gracie was a busy college student, so it was a rarity to get her to answer a phone call.
“I mean, I’ve been waiting for your call. I’ve heard from Mom and Lucy today that you havenews…”
I ran a brush through my wet hair. “That’s correct. I do have news. Victor and I are no longer just friends. We’re taking it to the next level.”
She cheered on her end of the phone. I reached for my vanilla lotion.
“I’m happy for you, and honestly, relieved. You were two little idiots pretending you weren’t head over heels.”
I snorted, rubbing lotion down my arms. “Honestly, Gracie, I wanted to check on you, too. We’ve barely spoken, except for a few text messages checking in, since your call about Austin the other night.”
