by Jordan Lynde
‘What?’
‘What what?’
He gave me an interested look. ‘Why do you want to wait until you get another job?’
‘Because there’s just a lot of stress on me and I don’t want to snap at you because of it,’ I told him. ‘I’m not home free yet. Either I get a job or I get my inheritance – either one would relieve the worry. And then I’d be more than happy to be in a relationship.’ As soon as the words came out of my mouth, I felt my cheeks warm up.
Oliver grinned at me. ‘Well, hurry up. While you may be patient, I’m not.’
I couldn’t help but grin back. ‘Well, Oliver, you’re really different from that delinquent I met a few months ago.’
‘I’m still the same person.’
‘You’re nicer,’ I told him.
Oliver snorted. ‘No I’m not.’
‘Yes you are.’
The sound of someone clearing their throat filled the room before I could say more. My eyes dropped to Elliot, who was giving me an impatient look.
‘You always forget I’m in the room, Pig!’ he accused, putting his hands on his hips.
‘Sorry, Eli,’ I apologized, squatting down to his level. ‘Your soup is cooking.’
‘I want crackers too.’
‘Of course.’
Before I could get the crackers, my phone started ringing again. ‘I’ll be right back,’ I told Oliver and Elliot, heading to the phone. On the third ring, I picked it up, putting it against my ear. ‘Hello?’
‘Harley?’
‘Anthony?’
‘It’s me,’ he responded in an excited tone. ‘How are you?’
‘I’m good, you?’ I responded slowly, trying to figure out why he was calling me. Unless . . .
‘Listen, I know Oliver’s probably mentioned this a thousand times, but I figured I’d give you a call too.’ I heard him take a deep breath over the phone. ‘Please, please, come work full time for me. I don’t care if it’s just for a couple weeks. I want to help you out. Oliver told me everything. And honestly, I really could use the help right now. And I’m not lying to you so you’ll accept my offer. I really do need the help.’
I gripped the phone tighter. ‘But . . .’
‘You’re a pleasure to work with. I’d love to have you around more.’
‘Are you sure?’
‘I’m positive.’
My heart sped up in my chest. No way . . . since when was my life this easy? It hadn’t been this way since my parents died. ‘Thank you so much,’ I said, feeling emotion roll over me. ‘Really, thank you.’
‘So I take it I’ll see you soon?’ he asked eagerly.
I laughed. ‘I can’t say no to you.’
‘Great! Then see you soon, Harley. I’ll be in touch about your shifts.’
‘See you soon. Thanks again.’
‘No problem! Tell Oliver I said hi.’ With that, he hung up.
I placed the phone back down on the receiver, staring at it. Was this really OK? But I couldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth. Maybe life was just going easy on me for once. Moving back to the kitchen, I found Oliver pouring Elliot’s soup into one of the porcelain bowls I never used. When he heard me enter he looked up at me with an inquisitive look.
‘Who was that?’
‘Your dad . . .’
He looked even more curious. ‘What did he want?’
‘You probably already know. To offer me more hours.’
‘And what did you say?’ he prompted.
‘Um, I said yes.’
Before I could blink Oliver was across the room, his hand slipping to the back of my neck. He brought his face closer to mine, blue eyes piercing into my own. My breath caught in my throat at our closeness. ‘You have a job now,’ he told me in a matter-of-fact tone, smiling smugly.
‘I—’
My response was cut off when Oliver pressed his lips against mine. Instead of doing what I should have done and closing my eyes, they widened and I stood there awkwardly, too surprised to respond to the kiss.
He pulled away after a moment, frowning at me. ‘The least you could do is kiss me back,’ he said in an offended voice.
‘Well, you kissed me without any warning!’ I shot back, feeling my face catch on fire. ‘You could have at least warned me or something!’
Oliver rolled his eyes. ‘Didn’t you realize something was going to happen when I came close?’
‘No!’
‘I’m going to kiss you again.’
‘Oliver—’
Staying true to his words, he held my head still and kissed me once more. My face grew darker and I froze again, unable to kiss him back, though this time I noticed just how soft his lips were. He pulled away again, frowning deeply. ‘We can keep doing this until you get this right, Harley.’
‘Oliver, Oliver, wait,’ I demanded, putting a hand to his face as he tried to kiss me again.
‘What?’ he murmured through my fingers.
‘Elliot . . .’
We both turned to my little brother, who was watching us intently, his mouth open and his soup-filled spoon suspended in the air mere centimeters away from this mouth. Oliver immediately backed away from me, holding up his hands to Elliot.
‘You didn’t see anything,’ he told Elliot in a firm voice.
Elliot closed his mouth abruptly, dropping his spoon back into his bowl. ‘Olive . . .’
‘Elliot . . .’
‘Olive and Pig sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G,’ he sang excitedly, grinning at us. ‘First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes Ardy in a baby carriage!’
I grimaced at my little brother, who continued repeating the silly little children’s song. Oliver glanced at me, his expression caught between amusement and annoyance. I couldn’t help but laugh. And when I started laughing, I couldn’t stop. Everything was going OK again. Everything was working out. There was just one thing I needed to fix before it was perfect.
Arden.
Chapter Twenty-eight
‘Why do I have to come along?’ Oliver muttered as we made our way through the slushy parking lot to Side Street Café.
‘Because you’re my boyfriend, so we do things together,’ I said simply.
‘Sounds like a hassle.’
‘Hey, you asked for it.’ I turned my head up to grin at Oliver and he returned my gaze with an amused one. After a moment he slowly brought his head closer to mine and my breathing caught and I froze, knowing what was coming. Oliver’s breath seemed to always smell like mint and I wondered briefly if he did that on purpose, but all thoughts were cut off when he placed his lips against mine. Unlike a few days before, I didn’t stand there like a statue. This time I brought my arms around him, pushing myself up onto my tiptoes in order to kiss him back.
After a moment he pushed me away, once again looking amused. I cocked my head at him, wondering why he’d pulled away. He laughed through his nose. ‘You’re a really bad kisser, Harley.’
It took a minute for his words to sink in. When they did, I stared at him in shock, opening my mouth to defend myself, but nothing came out. He laughed at my expression, turning his head down, and trying to cover it as a cough. ‘Sorry,’ I apologized finally, trying not to sound too embarrassed or bitter. ‘I haven’t kissed anyone since a spin-the-bottle party in eighth grade.’
Oliver shook his head, still smirking. ‘Don’t apologize. We’ll just have to practice.’
‘But—’
Oliver cut me off by bringing his head back to mine, kissing me again. This time I focused really hard on trying to match his lips to mine – I had to learn to kiss better fast. I turned my head slightly, causing our noses to smash together and Oliver snorted while I scowled, trying to pull away. He held my head fast.
‘Don’t move,’ he ordered. ‘I’ll show you.’
I stood stock-still, pursing my lips. Once again, Oliver laughed. ‘What?’ I snapped.
‘Don’t purse your lips. You look stupid.’
‘What do I do, th
en?’ I demanded, feeling a little irritated. ‘I thought I was doing fine before.’
Oliver rolled his eyes. ‘OK, we’ll do it that way until you get the hang of it.’
This time when his lips touched mine, a voice behind me spoke up. ‘Whoa, too much PDA.’
My eyes flew open and I immediately backed away from Oliver. He turned toward the café, hiding his face from me, and I quickly twisted on my heel, coming face-to-face with Arden.
‘Am I, er, interrupting something?’ he asked, looking a little embarrassed.
I stared at him, my heart beating in my chest. ‘Arden.’
He grinned sheepishly. ‘Hey, Harley.’
It took me about five seconds to cross the distance between us and nearly tackle Arden down in a hug. I wrapped my arms around him as tightly as I could, squeezing him with all my strength. He gasped in surprise, staggering back a step, but I just held him harder.
‘Arden, I’m so sorry for lying to you,’ I apologized, pressing my cheek to his chest. ‘I didn’t mean to hurt you. I’m sorry. Trust me, I felt horrible for lying to you. I really wanted to tell you, but I was so scared I’d lose my job.’
‘Harley—’
‘I can understand if you won’t forgive me, but I still want you to. Please. You can’t imagine how sorry I am. I broke our promise and—’
‘Harley,’ Arden said firmly, pushing me away from him. ‘Be quiet for a minute.’
I stared at him, feeling somewhat hurt. He heaved a heavy sigh, running a hand through his shaggy, umber hair. After a few moments of silence, he finally spoke. ‘You shouldn’t be the one apologizing,’ he told me, his gaze dropping to the floor. ‘You have nothing to apologize for. You had to lie to me about your age. I know that now. It’s not your fault.’
‘But I should have just told you!’
Arden shook his head. ‘No, you shouldn’t have – you couldn’t let anyone know.’
I frowned. ‘But—’
‘Let me finish. I feel like a total . . . jerk for telling Mr Martin.’
‘Don’t you think jerk is an understatement?’ Oliver demanded, coming up to us now.
‘Oliver,’ I warned.
Arden laughed a little, nodding his head. ‘It’s a huge understatement, but I know Harley doesn’t like it when I swear.’
I looked back at Arden, a little dumbfounded. He remembered that? A small smile made its way onto my face as Arden made eye contact with me and he immediately dropped his gaze, making me frown.
‘So, I’m here to apologize to you, Harley. I’m sorry for making you lose your job and I’m sorry for saying everything I said to you in the bar that time. I really didn’t mean it – I was hurt, and angry.’
‘It’s fine,’ I told him. ‘Don’t worry about it.’
‘I’m also sorry you lost your job.’
‘Well, I shouldn’t have had it in the first place.’
Arden scowled. ‘I should’ve realized you’d kept it secret for a reason. I know this sounds dumb, but I thought maybe the principal was in on it. Of course, as soon as I opened my fat mouth I realized he didn’t know. But I’m really sorry – I never meant for any of this to happen. I messed up.’
‘Arden, it’s fine, stop apologizing,’ I said, shaking my head. ‘It’s OK.’
‘You should hate me,’ he said quietly.
A lump suddenly gathered in my throat and I had to swallow it a few times in order to go away. ‘I don’t hate you, Arden. You’re pretty much my best friend. I don’t care about what happened – in fact, I should thank you, because I was in more of a mess then I could handle. So, you helped me in a way. Thank you.’
‘Don’t thank me,’ he muttered, turning his head away in embarrassment.
‘And I accept all your apologies if you accept mine.’
‘I do,’ he said.
And with that I stepped back to him, wrapping my arms around his body again. ‘I missed you.’
He hugged me back, squeezing me tightly. ‘I missed you too, Harley.’
Oliver snorted from behind us. ‘OK, lovebirds, time’s up. It’s cold. Let’s go inside.’
‘Lovebirds?’ Arden echoed.
I pulled away from him, glaring at Oliver. ‘Oliver.’
Oliver smirked at me. ‘Yeah. Didn’t you realize that, Arden? Harley loves you.’
‘She does?’
‘No, Oliver! I mean, yes, I love you, Arden, but in a friend way—’
‘Or a romantic way,’ Oliver insisted.
Arden looked confused. ‘But you guys were definitely making out when I walked in here.’
Oliver looked smug. ‘That’s because she chose me.’
‘I didn’t choose anyone!’
‘Really?’ Arden responded, furrowing his eyebrows. ‘You chose him already, Harley?’
I looked at Arden, my face dropping. ‘Arden—’
‘Well, that doesn’t mean I can’t try to steal you away,’ Arden commented in a thoughtful tone.
Oliver narrowed his eyes at him. ‘Good luck with that, Ardy.’
Arden laughed, and before I realized what was happening, he had his arms around me again, planting a quick kiss on my lips. I froze, staring up at him in shock while he grinned down at me. A warm blush spread across my face as I struggled out of his arms.
‘I won’t need luck, Oli,’ Arden stated confidently.
‘You—’ Oliver growled, taking a step closer to Arden.
I quickly put myself between them, putting my hands on Oliver’s chest. ‘Wait, wait. Don’t do anything, Oliver.’
‘But he kissed you!’
I nodded my head in agreement. ‘Yeah, but it was the type of kiss Elliot gives me.’
‘You thought that was a family kiss?’ Arden responded in a surprised voice. ‘I can redo it—’
‘No!’ Oliver and I responded at the same time.
Arden looked taken aback for a moment, but then he smirked. ‘Just you wait, Harley. You’ll love me.’
Oliver put a possessive hand on my shoulder. ‘It’s too late, Arden.’
Arden didn’t look fazed. His smirk just grew bigger. ‘We’ll see.’
Oliver scowled at him, tightening his grasp on my shoulder. I made a face, feeling helpless. Whatever I had just gotten myself into was going to be interesting.
Epilogue
‘So how’s it feel, being rich?’ Zak said with a little smile, leaning toward me, a pizza crust in his hand.
We were in my apartment, seated on my living-room floor with empty pizza boxes scattered everywhere. Everyone was there: Zak, Tucker, Arden, Oliver and Melissa. And we were all gathered to celebrate my eighteenth birthday.
‘Well, since I just got the check today, I couldn’t tell you,’ I responded, smiling back. Anyway, technically I wasn’t rich, but I was still in a much better place than I had been before.
‘Still working at Oliver’s place too?’ Zak asked.
I nodded. ‘Yup, still there. I like it. And now I’m old enough to serve alcohol too, so I’m going to start as a waitress.’
‘That’s good. You’re cute, so people will tip you well,’ Arden commented with a grin. ‘I know I would.’
‘Hey, careful, Harley’s boyfriend is right here,’ Melissa mock-whispered, pointing at Oliver behind her hand.
‘Don’t worry, Oli. I play fair,’ Arden said.
Oliver didn’t look fazed. ‘Oh, I’m not worried.’
‘Guys,’ I cut in before they could start squabbling. ‘Let’s try to get along for one night, OK?’
Arden almost looked offended. ‘We are getting along!’
Which was true – for some reason, they got along best when they were arguing.
‘Well, you’re definitely getting along better than when I first started teaching there,’ I said, smiling. ‘The whole class was a handful back then.’
Zak blinked at me. ‘Oh! That reminds me.’ He quickly climbed to his feet. ‘I’ll be right back.’
I watched as he left the liv
ing room and the apartment altogether. I glanced questioningly at Tucker and Melissa but they both shrugged their shoulders.
Moments later Zak came rushing back into the room. ‘This is from the whole class,’ he informed me. ‘Everyone misses you. I said it was your birthday and we all decided we should make a card for you.’
I smiled. ‘Really?’
Zak grinned widely back at me. ‘As they say, age is but a number. You were my favorite teacher, Harley. Even if you were a little young.’
‘Mine too,’ Tucker admitted. ‘You really helped me out.’ He smiled at Melissa.
‘You helped all of us out,’ Arden corrected.
Melissa nodded. ‘I’m glad I met you.’
I looked at Oliver and he smirked at me. ‘Oh, do you want me to say something sweet? I guess I could.’
I blushed, puffing my cheeks. ‘No, not here.’
‘Open the card,’ Zak insisted.
So I did. The whole card seemed to be hand-made. The front cover just said ‘happy birthday’ in huge writing. I opened it up and felt my smile growing. Inside was a drawing of the classroom, students included. And in the front, me at my desk. The art definitely wasn’t good, but that made it all the more endearing. By each student’s picture, a small note was written by the corresponding student.
Each note was short and sweet. Zak had drawn a picture of a bear by his picture, reminding me that I still had the passes for Build-A-Bear and had to go back to the store again. Tucker had only written four words: Thank you for everything. On the bottom, next to Oliver’s picture, there was a drawing of a pig. Arden had drawn a heart around his picture and I had to fight the urge to roll my eyes.
Still, the whole thing made a lump rise in my throat. I swallowed a couple times to get rid of it. ‘I love this,’ I finally said.
‘We thought you would,’ Arden said.
‘Who drew the pictures?’
Zak put his hand up.
I laughed. ‘They’re cute.’
‘I thought pieces of paper with little notes on it would be boring, so I decided to draw everyone. In an hour,’ he explained, shrugging.
‘Thank you, I love it. Thank you, all of you.’
‘You’re welcome,’ they chorused.
‘I know I should probably regret choosing to lie about my age and working at the school, but I don’t. I’m really glad I met you all,’ I said sincerely. I knew I’d found some friends for life so, looking back, I wouldn’t have done anything differently.