Loving Olivia

Chapter 6 - The Teddy Bear Emergency

Nico

I can't believe she's here. I can't believe I just made her a grilled cheese sandwich in my freaking kitchen, and she actually liked it. I can't believe Gael is not her boyfriend. And I definitely can't believe I flirted with her so much, and now I'm holding her hand as we walk back downstairs to the party.

The game room is almost twice as packed as before I left, and I use it as an excuse to bring her close to me. Now I'm actually glad all these people showed up, when before I couldn't stand to be here anymore. Go figure.

I offer her a drink and she asks for a beer. I think I might've fallen for her right then. There's nothing sexier than a girl confidently tossing a beer back from a bottle. The way Olivia lightly licks her lips afterwards has me practically groaning. I try to make conversation with her, but it's so freaking loud in here it's hard to do. I wish I could be alone with her again. I was really enjoying our time together in the kitchen, but she obviously came here for the party and I didn't want to seem like a lame ass who'd rather be watching a movie in my room.

I spot Ben looking at us from a distance and he immediately shakes his head at me and rolls his eyes. I can almost hear him mocking my words when he first told me about her. Yeah well, a lot of things have changed since then. Like the fact that every time I have an encounter with her she's even more fascinating than I thought was possible, and I'm dying to find out everything about her.

I look back at Olivia and for the first time I notice she looks tired. Bored, even. Maybe she's not digging the party much either. Or maybe she's not digging me. The thought makes me frown.

"Did you want to go find Gael?" I lean down and speak into her ear. I have to offer her an out in case she is being too polite to get rid of me. Gael might not be her boyfriend, but she did come with him after all. It makes me wonder what exactly their relationship is, but from what I can tell they seem to know each other well.

She looks over my shoulder and suddenly laughs. "I think I found him," she says pointing behind me.

He's dancing in the middle of a big group of girls and they're all cheering him on like a rock god. I have to say I'm impressed.

Olivia doesn't seem to want to join them and stays put in front of me. She takes another sip of her beer and looks like she's considering something.

"I'll be fine here if you need to get back to your hosting duties," she ends up saying.

Does she think I was trying to get rid of her? Is she crazy?

"Actually I was thinking about getting out of here," I admit.

Her eyes go wide. "You're leaving your own party?" she asks incredulously.

"Well, it's not exactly my party. I just offered up the place, but yes."

"Where are you going?" she says intrigued.

I had meant for both of us to leave, but maybe she doesn't want to tag along. I hesitate, deciding if I should share this or not. "To be honest, I just want to chill, maybe watch a movie or something. I know it sounds really lame, but –"

"Can I go with you?" she interrupts, perking up. Her eyes gleam as if I had just announced I had front row tickets to a hot concert.

I'm still trying to get over how quickly she asked to come along with me, when her expression falls. "Sorry, I didn't mean to impose or anything." She crinkles her eyes and looks a lot more tired than I first noticed.

"Of course. And no, not at all." Yep, she's definitely crazy if she thinks I don't want to hang out with her. I'm pretty sure I would have begged her to.