Chapter 10
It was getting late, and Olivia was tired, but she wasn’t ready to
go inside yet. She and Nick had been
sitting on the beach, right down by the ocean, for over an hour. They had hit it off right away and had
talked about all kinds of things.
The conversation slowly died down.
Olivia found herself gazing out at the dark ocean, sparkling in the
moonlight. It was so beautiful, even at
night. She didn’t think she would ever
get over its majestic beauty, no matter how long she lived there. Which won’t be much longer, she
reminded herself sadly.
“So… you got a boyfriend?” Nick asked, shaking her out of her
thoughts.
“Huh? Oh… no, I don’t,”
Olivia replied absently. Suddenly, she
realized what he had just asked her and immediately wondered if it meant
anything. “How about you? You got a girlfriend?” she asked, rather
flirtatiously.
Nick smiled slightly.
“Nope, not right now,” he said.
“I saw this girl Tiffany a few times awhile ago, but we never really hit
it off. Just didn’t have much in
common, I guess.” He gave her a
sidelong glance.
She nodded. “Yeah. Well, they do say opposites attract. But I think common interests are better for
relationships.”
He nodded in agreement. “I
think so too. So you really aren’t
seeing anyone right now?”
She had to smile at his sudden repeat of his old question. “No, I’m really not,” she laughed. “Why?”
He shrugged. “It just
seems weird for a pretty girl like you not to have a boyfriend,” he said,
glancing away from her.
Olivia stared at him in wonderment. She wished it was daylight so she could see
his face better, because from the tone of his voice, it sounded like he was
blushing. She began to seriously wonder
if he could possibly have taken interest in her. Of course, he could have just been making conversation,
but why would he keep bringing it up if it was only a random conversation
topic? She wished she knew what he was
feeling, but decided to play it cool and keep acting flirty.
“Oh really?” she asked, raising an eyebrow. “Well, I’m wondering the same thing about
you, Mr. Backstreet Boy. I figured you
would have tons of girlfriends.”
He grinned. “Just cause I
have tons of girls liking me doesn’t mean I like them back. I dunno, I’m just waiting for the right girl
to come along.”
Olivia nodded. “I hope she
does,” she replied.
He eyed her, smiling that half smile he was famous for. “Maybe she already has, and I just haven’t
realized it yet.”
Olivia returned the slight smile.
“I hope you figure it out soon,” she replied softly, never taking her
eyes off of him.
Olivia was no expert on guys, but she knew Nick was definitely
flirting with her. But was he
serious? Or was he just playing
around? She was surprised to find
herself hoping for the first choice.
But I hardly even know him! her mind
protested. But her heart argued, Maybe
not. But I like him.
***
The next morning, Olivia did not wake up until almost
She was downstairs fixing herself some toast when she saw Nick
come out onto his back porch from her window.
He had two small pugs on leashes with him.
Olivia quickly spread butter on her toast and carried her plate
out onto her back porch. “Hey!” she
called to Nick, who was walking his dogs along the beach.
He turned, shielding his eyes from the sun, and waved to her. Then, tugging lightly on his dogs’ leashes,
he walked towards her porch.
Olivia set down her plate and walked down onto the sandy beach to
meet him. “Good morning,” he greeted,
smiling.
“Morning,” she replied, returning his smile. She noticed him studying her and suddenly
felt self-conscious, realizing she was still dressed in her boxers and T-shirt
and hadn’t had a shower yet. She had no
make-up on, and her hair probably was a mess.
“So, uh, who are these little guys?” she asked, glancing at the two
dogs.
“This is Willy, and this is Mikey,” Nick
introduced, bending down to pet the pugs.
(AN: I don’t know if Willy and
Mikey are still alive or what, but we’ll just pretend
they both are in this story, lol)
Olivia nodded and offered them her hand so they could sniff
it. One of the dogs immediately started
licking it, and she smiled.
“So, what are you up to today?” Olivia asked.
Nick shrugged. “Not
much. Just taking these guys for a walk
before I have to go to my doctor’s appointment.”
“Doctor’s appointment? Is
something wrong, or is it just a check-up?” Olivia asked, then immediately
regretted it, realizing she probably sounded nosy.
Nick shifted uncomfortably.
“Well, no, it’s not a regular doctor.
It’s a… um… well, it’s a psychiatrist.”
He glanced down, obviously embarrassed to admit it.
“Oh,” she replied casually.
Noticing him start to blush, she added,
“It’s nothing to be ashamed of, you know.”
He glanced up sheepishly and shrugged. “I know.
I just… wasn’t sure how you’d take it, you know?”
She smiled. “You have
nothing to worry about. I understand.”
He returned her smile, looking relieved. “Thanks,” he replied gratefully.
“Not a problem.”
“So,” he began to ask, “you doing anything interesting today?”
She shrugged. “Nope, not
that I know of,” she said. “I’m just
gonna chill out. I just got up
actually, if you can’t already tell.”
She laughed lightly, glancing down at herself. “Sorry for looking like crap.”
He smiled, blushing ever so slightly. “You don’t have to apologize. I think you look great.”
Now it was Olivia’s turn to blush.
“Aw, stop it. You’re just being
nice.”
“No, really. I don’t think
you could ever look ‘like crap’, Olivia.
You’re beautiful,” he said sincerely, blushing even more.
Olivia was taken back by his forwardness and the genuineness in
his voice. “Thank you,” she replied,
awed.
“You’re welcome,” he replied softly, smiling his half-smile. “Well, we better get going. I’ll see ya around, okay?”
“Sure,” she replied, heading back up onto her porch, as he walked
the dogs on down the beach.
***
