Page 66 of Call My Bluff
“And you enjoy hanging outwith him, right?”
“Sure, but we—”
“And you go on dates and flirt, and there’s definitely chemistry, right?” Olivia didn’t answer right away, and Lexie nudged her with her shoe. “Don’t try to deny it. Total strangers can tell there’s something going on there.”
“Okay, yes,” Olivia muttered.
“And neither of you are seeing anyone else, right?”
Olivia considered the possibility that Noah might be talking to some other girl the same way he talked to her, and the very idea made her stomach twist into a knot. She didn’t think that was true—not while he was still trying to get under her skin, anyway.
“Right,” she admitted reluctantly.
“Then you’re actually dating. Joke’s over. The end.”
Olivia’s mouth fell open to reply, but nothing came out. It wasn’t that simple! There were extenuating circumstances—circumstances that were still in effect until either she or Noah specified otherwise.
And when you do? What happens then?
Olivia reached back and tightened her ponytail, as if that would somehow silence the voices that asked far-too-relevant questions these days. Suddenly, the clang of a bat resonated across the small practice field, and Olivia looked up to see Jake had hit a hard line drive toward third base.
Noah dove wildly to his left, and the ball hit his glove with a smack just before he hit the ground. He rolled once before regaining his feet. “Out!” he yelled, pointing first to his best friend and then toward Olivia in the stands. The cocky smirk on his face spoke volumes, and Olivia rolled her eyes and tried to keep from smiling.
Show off.
Later that night,Olivia was almost ready for bed when her phone buzzed against the porcelain sink.
Noah:When I said do your worst, I clearly underestimated you.
She smiled around her toothbrush and held it in her mouth while she typed a reply.
Olivia:Rookie move.
Noah:So are you in for the night?
Olivia:Yes. Wild horses couldn’t drag me back out.
At that very moment, there was a knock on the front door, and Olivia narrowed her eyes.
Olivia:If that’s you, go away.
Noah:If what’s me?
Olivia:Whoever’s come tokeep me awake.
Noah:And you think I’d do such a thing? I’m not stupid. You get cranky when you’re tired.
There was another knock, and Olivia finished brushing her teeth before wandering down the hall to see who or what was so important that it had to interrupt her life in the middle of the night. She yanked open the door, fully expecting to find Noah Campbell with his phone still in his hand, but was surprised to find the landing empty. Then she noticed a single red rose secured to the door itself with two short strips of duct tape. She smiled and stepped out to peer over the railing toward the parking lot below. Noah was nowhere to be seen, but she knew he’d been there.
Turning back, she carefully detached the flower from the door and pressed the soft petals against her nose.
Stop it!she told herself.You’re immune to this!
But then her phone vibrated in her pocket, demanding to be heard. She fished it out with one hand as she drifted back into her apartment and shut the door with her foot.
Noah:Will you accept this rose?
Her smile grew into a beaming grin.
