The Writer's Assistant (ManxMan)

Chapter 41: Surprises

Camila was excited about celebrating Oliver's upcoming book, so she decided to throw him a surprise party at the beach. "How about a barbecue party?" she suggested. "Do you happen to know any of his friends?"

I racked my brain, trying to recall Oliver's social circle. "I only know Zack and Caleb," I replied. "But I think Oliver is quite close with his military team. I could connect you with Zack, and he can help reach out to the rest of the group."

"That would be great! I'll send the invitations and organize the party while you just make sure Oliver gets to the beach without suspecting anything," she said excitedly. "Can you believe it, Daniel? He's almost finished with his book!"

"What's almost over?" asked Malcolm. I was at the gym and had just finished my training session with him.

"Oh, my boss has finished writing his book," I explained.

"Are you with someone?" Camilia asked.

"My personal trainer."

"Why don't you invite him to the party too?" Camila suggested, brimming with excitement.

I stiffened, but Malcolm had already overheard her on the phone. While part of me hoped he would decline, it would be impolite not to ask. It wasn't that I didn't want him there, but I wasn't sure if having him and Oliver in the same place was a good idea.

"Would you like to join the barbecue party?" I inquired reluctantly.

His happy, golden retriever smile came out. "I'd love to!"

"The more, the merrier," Camilia cheered, and I forced a smile. Not in this case. Oliver's jealousy wasn't something I wanted to relive.

"All you have to do is get him from point A to point B. You can pretend it's a date to lure him in," Camilia joked, and I reddened.

"Yeah," I chuckled along. I caught Malcolm staring at me, which made me even redder.

"I'll text Zack and see if he can reach out to some of Oliver's friends," I quickly said.

"Great! This is going to be a blast."

***

I invited Oliver over to my apartment for dinner. It was the first time he would be at my place, and I wanted everything to be perfect. I washed the dishes twice, cleaned the counter, and made sure every corner of my apartment sparkled. Although my apartment wasn't small, it was nowhere as big as Oliver's, and I was worried he'd find it too small.

There was a knock on my door, and I yelped in surprise. Was he here already? But when I opened the door, I was surprised to see the delivery man. Did he get the wrong address?

"Daniel White?" he inquired.

"Yes," I said.

He held out a clipboard and pen. "Could you please sign here?"

"But I didn't order anything."

"It's under your name," he responded, clearly eager to move on to his next delivery. I signed it, and when I looked at the box, it was from Jack. I felt an uneasy feeling in my stomach. This couldn't be good. I opened it, and my mouth dropped in sync with the box.

I immediately called Jake, and when he answered, I cried out, "Jack, what is this?!"

"Did you receive the package?"

"Yes, I received the package!" What was I going to do? Oliver was going to be here in fifteen minutes. "Jake, why did you send a box of dildos?!"

"Don't worry, they're new."