elusive | h.s

chapter 6

Olive

The next couple weeks flew by quite quickly. Harry and I met up at the cafe for lunch every day, same time. It was honestly the highlight of all my days, seeing him there. We'd gotten closer with each day, quickly becoming good friends. We got into this rhythm, where we would alternate who got to choose the coffee of the day.

We had ran into each other a few more times after work, at Mike's. It was funny, almost as if we were going there each night, determined to see the other. Nothing crazy ever happened, we'd just share a few drinks and tell stories, with Jo and Aaron. I enjoyed it, it was like we were forming a cute little friend group.

Jo and Aaron got a little closer too, but it didn't look romantic at all. In fact, I was starting to notice that she was beginning to look at Harry a little differently than usual. I wondered if she was interested in him. I wouldn't blame her if she was.

It was Monday now, almost time for me to head to the cafe to see Harry. Work had been a little slow, nothing much happening there. I guess most people could solve their problems with the ATM out front.

"Hey Olive, have you ever been to that restaurant down the street? The really nice one with the dim lights?" Brian came around to my desk, sitting in the chair across from me, meant for the customers.

My face lit up as I realized he was talking about Harry's restaurant.

"Yes! The Hive? My friend is a chef there, the food is godly!" I couldn't say enough nice things about Harry's cooking. He deserved all of the compliments.

"Oh, good. So it's good, yeah? For a date?" He looked a little nervous, stuttering a bit.

"What? What do you mean, a date?" I'm sure the shock was written all over my face. Brian wasn't asking me on a date was he? Oh my god, I hope not.

"Shit, no, I mean, not us. Sorry," he said quickly, clearly embarrassed by the way he made it sound, "I meant for my girlfriend."

Now it was my turn to be embarrassed. "Oh my god, sorry, duh. I just haven't heard you mention her in a while so I wasn't sure if you two were still together."

"Yeah, it got a little rocky but we're good now. Been really good the past couple weeks. I wanted to do something special for her so I figured I'd ask you about that place."

"That's great, yes take her there. She'll love it, I promise. I'm meeting Harry now at the cafe, I could let him know you were coming? What night were you thinking?" I didn't know if Harry would really care that Brian was coming to try his food, but maybe he could make it a little extra special for them.

"Thanks Olive, Friday night?" He asked.

"Okay! I'll pass the message along. I'll be back soon, I'm starving." I wasn't really that hungry, I never was, at this time of day. I was just antsy to go meet Harry.

He was waiting for me at our table, as usual, but today he had an extra cup of coffee and an almond croissant waiting for me on a napkin.

"Hi! Sorry I'm later than usual, was chatting with my boss," I smiled as he looked up at me, "did you order for me?"

He looked shy as he nodded his head, "yeah, I figured you would've wanted the same thing as me so I just ordered it for you."

"Looks delicious, thank you Harry." He was so nice. Such a good friend.

"Oh! The reason I was late was because my boss, Brian, was asking about your restaurant."

"The Hive?" He asked for confirmation.

"Yes, silly. He's taking his girlfriend out for a special date on Friday and I told him it was the perfect place."

He nodded in agreement, "yeah, it's very romantic in there for dinner, that'll be great. He can ask for me when gets there and I can make them something special, if you want?"