He gives me a look over his shoulder, then heads for the passenger side. I stop walking, confused about why he’s not getting in on the driver side. He opens the door, then turns to look at me. “You gonna get in?” he asks.
“Oh. Yeah.” I snap out of my stupor and climb up into the seat. “You’re almost making this feel like it’s a real date,” I tell him once we’re both in the truck. “I can’t remember the last time someone opened a car door for me.”
He looks at me as he backs out of the parking space. “You must date a lot of gems.”
“You’re going to ruin me for all of my future real boyfriends.”
He smirks. “Good.”
We make it to the restaurant that Tina reserved. Oliver parks the truck. We stay in our seats for a moment, staring out the windshield. Neither of us makes a move to get out of the car.
“We’re really doing this,” I say.
It’s more of a statement than a question, but Oliver answers anyway. “Yep.”
I suddenly feel like I’ve forgotten everything that we decided on yesterday. “How should we act?”
He turns his head to look at me. “What do you mean?”
“Do we act all lovey-dovey? More reserved? Hold hands, kiss?” I’m more nervous than I thought I would be. My heart is pounding. I don’t think I’ll be able to bring myself to get out of this seat.
“Let’s just do whatever comes naturally,” he says. As if it’s that easy.
“None of this is natural.” I squirm in my seat, pulling the seatbelt away from my chest. I feel like it’s choking me.
Oliver gets out of his seat and comes around to my side. He opens the door and stands there, waiting for me. I’m still staring at the windshield. I wonder if I just sit here and don’t move, I can pretend none of this is happening.
“It’s going to be fine,” he says. “We’re in this together.”
I dare to turn my head and look at him.
“And if shit hits the fan, and we feel like they’re onto us, we’ll hire Ashton Kutcher to come out and tell them that they’ve beenPunk’d.”
I roll my eyes, but I can’t help but laugh. “What?”
“Come on,” he teases. “Don’t tell me you’ve never seen that show.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Seriously?” He slaps a hand over his chest like he just can’t believe it. “Wow. I’m going to make you watch it next time you come over.”
I watch him. I’m smiling more than I thought I would a minute ago. I wonder if he actually expects me to continue coming over to his place, or if he’s just saying this to lighten the mood. It’s not like we ever spent much alone time together before all this.
He reaches out a hand. I look at it, then unbuckle my seatbelt. My own hand hovers over his for a few seconds before I commit to taking it. He helps me down out of the truck and then closes the door behind me. I let go of his hand as soon as my feet hit the pavement.
We’re heading toward the front door of the restaurant when Oliver grabs my hand again and pulls me closer to him. I’m about to remind him that he doesn’t have to do all this when nobody’s watching, but before I can, he leans down and touches his lips to my neck, just below my ear. A shiver runs over my body, covering my skin with goosebumps. Still leaning down, he opens his mouth. I can feel his hot breath on my ear. It feels so intimate and personal that I start to wonder if maybe he’s not pretending.
Then he whispers, “They’re behind us.”
Of course they are. That’s all this is. I can’t believe I thought for even a second that this wasn’t all for show.
“Oh my gosh!” Tina squeals. “How cute is that?”
We both stop walking and turn around to see her and Ryan. She smiles wide at us, then lets go of Ryan’s hand to run toward me. She wraps her arms around me, nearly knocking me off balance, all the while still squealing.
“You’re hurting my ears,” I complain with a laugh. “And my ribs.”
“I can’t believe we’re finally on a double date together!” She yells it so loud that a few other people in the parking lot look our way.
