Page 50 of Game on, Love

I did like it.

SOMETHING I NOTICEDwhen Oliver was around, was that time slipped away like water, and the fact that he somehow always managed to blend into pieces of my life like he had always belonged there.

But Leah, in her true matchmaking heart, couldn’t help but butt in. After a successful day of mooching around and retail therapy, we decided to grab a bite at my favourite restaurant.

We sat down at our booth and ordered our drinks before Oliver went to the bathroom, and Leah conveniently ‘remembered’ she had to get home early because she had dinner plans.

“I’ll tell them not to bring out my drink,” She winked at me, and I sighed, watching her walk away with an innocent expression, but as she turned around, I caught the mischievous grin that was tipping up her lips.

Leaning back in my chair, I watched the sky outside become a canvas of colours—painting the canopy glass windows above us in hues of a soft blue blending into the pink. It felt like it was holding its breath, enjoying the last moments of the day just before the night settled in.

Once the waiter placed our drinks in front of me, I sank further back into the plush velvet couch, the deep blue fabric cradling me as I watched the sky, and waited for Oliver. The place was buzzing, as it usually was; people talking, waiters rushing by, and sounds of clinking glasses, but my attention was instantly pulled on him as he stepped in my line of vision.

Gone was the big grin and the easiness he’d been carrying around all day, but now, as he walked back, his shoulders were tightened, and a small frown was on his face. But as he neared our booth, he wiped his face of any traces of the heaviness that surrounded him.

Oliver gave me a smile he’d given me before, and for some reason, my stomach dropped. “Hey, where’s Leah?”

“She bailed. Something about having plans later.”

He chuckled softly, taking a seat closer to me than he had before. “She’s subtle, isn’t she?”

“She likes to think she is. There’s a difference.”

Oliver leaned back in his seat, watching me closely. “You tired?”

“A bit,” I said softly as I watched him. “Did you have a good time?”

His body relaxed, and he nodded. “I did.”

I smiled, my eyes tracing his face. “If I ask you something, will you answer me?”

“Anything.”

“Why are you single?”

He paused mid-drink, clearly caught off guard. “Out of all the things I expected, that wasn’t one of them.”

“What were you expecting me to ask?”

He gave me a confused look. “What was I planning to order?”

“We are at a sushi bar. I think asking that question would’ve been a moot point.”

“There’s different kinds of sushi, and they also do...” He glanced at the open menu in front of him. “Teppyanka and grilled dishes.”

I pursed my lips before nodding. “Alright, what are you planning to order?”

He licked the corners of his lips before replying. “A crunchy roll platter.”

I tilted my head, and a tiny glimmer in his eyes told me my gut instinct was right. He was deflecting.

My breath got stuck in my throat, suddenly amused.

I had called Leah and Oliver two peas in a pod earlier, but in that moment I had realised how similarwewere.

“You said anything.”

Oliver smiled, and this time, it reached his eyes. “I did, didn’t I?”