It sticks in my head that he bought me the wind chime to hold onto. I could say it’s sweet, but it feels more profound. Hetouched me and he has no idea. It was inside my constrained chest of emotion.
One day someone will be so damn lucky to have him.
He’s biting his inner cheek because he is trying to stop a smirk. Is it because he is amused by this turn of events?
I’m not complaining, except there are nerves swirling.
Oliver clears his throat and scratches his cheek, unsure of what to say. “I’ll take the floor.”
Instantly, I sputter out a laugh. “I think we are two mature adults who can handle sharing a bed.”
He steps forward, composed. “Okay, then I guess I’ll go shower while we wait for that snack plate.”
“Yeah. You deserve it. You’ve been driving all day. I’ll get ready for bed later.” A strong sound of thunder causes me to flinch from surprise, and it only heightens the thousands of floating dots inside of me.
He drops our bags in the corner of the room and begins to unzip one of the outside pockets of the bag. I just watch as he lifts his laptop out.
“Oh no you don’t, mister.” It’s a shame he likes to work. Oliver is funny and fun to be around, but when you unmask relaxed Oliver, then it’s even better. Sometimes I wonder why he hides behind work so much.
His eyes survey me. “Uh, why not?”
My hand falls to my hip while I squinch my eyes at him. “No work. Besides, you know lightning can strike a laptop? It’s a thing. A rare phenomenon, but you might not want to risk it.”
Oliver stays mute and for a few seconds assesses me before he ceremonially tucks the computer back into his bag.
I smile brightly at my victory. “Good choice.”
“I don’t have many options. If I don’t listen to you then you might steal the blanket during the night or something.”
My body rockets in heat again at the reminder. “Nah, I’m not that mean.”
“True. You’re alright if I sleep in boxers?” He throws that question out at me as though it’s simple.
But it is. I don’t need to act like a shy woman. This is logistics, and neither one of us needs to read anything more into it.
“Oliver.” I inhale a strong breath, choosing to channel my confidence that I always possess. “It’s fine. I mean, we’ve seen one another in swimsuits before, and it’s the same amount of clothing as my bra and lace panties. It’s just that society makes us think that seeing someone in their underwear is a big deal.”
He drags a hand across his face with a closed-mouth smile apparent, even though something is bothering him. “You had to mention lace, huh?”
That’s what has him in this state? I really like that.
And now we’re alone in a room. I get to stare at a sleeping Oliver shirtless. He mentioned shirtless, right? Or do I need to crank up the AC?
A knock on the door breaks this moment, and I watch Oliver as I walk backwards until I have to turn to open the door.
Our attentive host greets me on the other side with a plate in her hand and balancing a bottle of wine and flashlight with her other arm. “I already had an extra serving on hand.”
She passes me the plate full of fruit, cheese, crackers, hummus, and cut-up veggies, not to mention a few pieces of fudge that appear to be local based on the wrappers.
“That’s very kind of you.”
She grabs the flashlight that she had tucked under her arm and hands it to me. “This is for you two. Just in case we lose electricity. It looks to be just a storm that will clear the area in about an hour. I’ll be back around 9 with brandy unless the sign is on the handle.”
My eyes dart to the inside handle and I see the do-not-disturb sign.
Before anything she said registers, Oliver appears at my side and spears his eyes straight into my own. With purpose, he slides off the sign then plants it onto the front handle, not breaking eye contact, and coyness shades his face.
“Forgot to put that on,” he declares. My eyes widen enough for him to appear satisfied that he caught me off guard.
