Oliver and I both turn to look at Ryan. He looks like a deer caught in a pair of headlights. Then, choosing to ignore us, he grabs some of the bags from the floor. “I’m going to put these away. You guys want to come upstairs and choose your room?”
It’s not until he says those words that it fully occurs to me that I’m going to be sleeping in the same room as Oliver tonight. And tomorrow night too. I knew this would probably be the case when I agreed to stay the weekend here, but it doesn’t fully register until now. It would seem weird if Oliver and I insisted on staying in separate rooms.
We follow Ryan upstairs.
“This one’s ours,” he says, stepping into the first room. I peek inside. The room is huge and has the largest bed I’ve ever seen. It’s almost twice the size of a normal king bed. I don’t know why Tina and Ryan would need a bed that size and I’m not about to ask.
Oliver and I keep moving down the hall. The next room has two sets of twin-size bunk beds. I look at Oliver to gauge his reaction. Choosing the bunk bed room might be even weirder than two separate rooms. He shakes his head.
We stop in the doorway of the third room in the hall. This one has a king size bed, which is perfect. There’s enough space for us to sleep next to each other without it being any more awkward than it needs to be.
“I like this one,” I tell him. “The king size bed is good.”
“I agree,” he says, his voice quiet. “More room to throw you around.”
I look up at him, caught off guard. He leans over me in the doorway, watching me. I’m not sure what’s more to blame for the blush creeping over my whole body—the words he just said, or the way he looks at me with a slight smile and hooded eyes. I look around us, but Tina and Ryan are still in their room. They couldn’t have heard him.
“You don’t need to say things like that when no one is listening,” I remind him.
He stands up straighter and wrinkles his brow. “Right. Okay.”
I follow him into the room. I set my backpack on a chair, then turn to look at him. “Are you one of those people who unpacks everything for two nights, or do you live out of your backpack for the weekend?”
“If it’s just a night or two, I live out of my backpack. Any longer than that, I unpack.”
I smile. “Same.” I leave my backpack on the chair and wander the room. “Guess I’m done unpacking then.”
Oliver puts the strip of condoms on top of a dresser. Until now, I had forgotten he was still holding them. I can feel his eyes on me as I stare at the condoms. I turn around and head for the bedroom window, looking for anything to distract myself. I can’t handle being so close to Oliver and those condoms, his words still ringing in my head about how he could throw me around on this bed, with the memory of how he pushed me up against the sink this morning and his hand pulling my hair. I can’t even be in the same room as him. I’m afraid that he will somehow figure out that these are the thoughts going on inside my head.
I head for the closest door, which is definitely not the door that leads back out to the hallway. It’s not until I’m two feet away from it that it occurs to me that this is probably a closet, but I’m committed now, so I keep going. I open the door and step inside, shutting it behind myself. I lean against it, eyes closed, breathing heavily for a minute.
There’s a light tap on the door behind me. “Priscilla? Are you okay in there?”
I open my eyes. I’m surprised to see that I’m not in a closet, but a bathroom.
“I’m fine,” I tell him. My voice is a lot higher than I’d like it to be. I wonder if he can tell. “Just needed to use the bathroom.”
“I’m coming in.”
“What? No. I, uh—” I step away from the door just as Oliver pushes it open.
He closes the door behind himself, then stops and looks at me. He doesn’t seem surprised that I’m not actually using the bathroom. “Are you okay?” he asks again.
I nod. “Yeah. No. I don’t know. I just need a minute to breathe.”
“Can I help?” he asks.
“Help me breathe?” I chuckle. “Are you going to do mouth to mouth resuscitation?”
He shrugs. “Well, if you need me to…”
I smile. “I don’t think that will be?—”
Before I can finish my thought, he bends down and, cupping his hands around my face, he touches his lips to mine. My heart was already going haywire, and now it’s beating completely out of control. He doesn’t linger for long, but it’s enough to make my head spin. He pulls away slowly, keeping his hand on my cheek for a second longer.
“I’ll give you a minute to yourself,” he says. “I’ll meet you downstairs?”
I nod. “That will be good.”
