I giggled. “Just making sure I’m not dreaming.<i>” </i>
“Here, let me help you out then.” He reached over and pinched me lightly. The spot stung, but I couldn’t help butugh.
We were stopped at a light, and Richard looked back at us. “Hey, you two, hands where I can see them back there!” he teased.
“Olivia is the one who can’t keep her hands off of me,<i>” </i>Alexander protested and chuckled under his breath. “I should figure out a payment system for what you owe me for how handsy you’ve gotten.”
His voice still held humor, but there was an undercurrent behind his words. They reminded me of how I had misinterpreted him asking me for moneyst night after we made out. That made me spiral in shame, and I let go of Alexander’s hand and inched away from him. Exhaustion flowed through my body, and I leaned my forehead against the cool window and allowed my eyes to flutter close.
Once we got to my apartment building, Alexander instructed Richard to drop us off at the front and then park the car in the parking garage across the street. Had he done this to get me alone?
When we were in the elevator, Alexander put his hand lightly on the small of my back, making my stomach flip. “Since you didn’t have dinner, would you like to eat at my apartment?” he asked. “Mike is preparing a delicious dinner of pot roast, seafood congee, and your favorite abalone.”
My stomach growled, and I was about to ept his invitation, but something crossed my mind as soon as I opened my mouth. Alexander
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<b>inviting me </b>for dinner was how we <b>ended </b><b>up </b><b>making </b><b>out </b><b>in </b>a public parkst night. Was it wise to ept <b>his </b>invitation<b>? </b>
“No, thank you,” I finally answered when the elevator <b>dinged and </b>opened. “I’m exhausted, and I haveundry to do before tomorrow.
A look of disappointment crossed Alexander’s face, but I told him goodnight, grabbed my bag, and exited the elevator. Arge part of <b>me </b>was screaming at me to go back to his side, but I forced myself to keep walking.
When I entered my apartment, a lonely feeling settled in the pit of my stomach. Guilt for turning down Alexander joined the feeling until my stomach was bubbling with shame. My apartment felt cold and dark even when I flipped all the lights on. When I set my bag down on the floor, I realized that I hadn’t thanked Alexander for all the help he gave Ava and me in Ld. Without him, we would probably still be in jail right now, and Chloe and her mother wouldn’t be where they belonged–behind bars.
But after everything we’d been through this weekend–all the passionate kisses we shared and the sharp words we exchanged–how was I ever going to face him again?
*Olivia*
It was true that I needed to doundry–I hadn’t been lying to Alexander about that–but I just didn’t have the energy to do it. For five minutes, I stared at my fridge, going back and forth with myself, wondering whether I had made the right decision to decline Alexander’s invitation.
My spiraling was interrupted when my phone vibrated with a text, making it move slightly on my marbled kitchen counter. When I picked up the phone, my stomach jolted, thinking that the message was from Alexander.
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But my heart lowered when I saw that it was from Mike. It was a picture of the dining room table loaded with my favorite foods. He sent a message along with it saying that he had made so much food and he would be delighted if I joined them.
His message didn’t help with my indecision. How rude would it seem if I declined both Alexander and Mike’s invitation for dinner? They might never invite me again. Before I could think of a response, Mike sent me a voice note. I pressed y, wondering if this was going to be another plea for me toe to dinner.
“Hey, Olivia,” Mike’s voice floated through the speakers in my phone. “I know that you’re probably exhausted after your trip. So, I was thinking, why don’t I just pack up some food and bring it to you so you could eat it in thefort of your own home.”
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