Page 74 of Weekends with You

An open mind,I replied.If you remember from New Year’s, it’s kind of a crazy crowd. Lol.

I remember fondly. See you soon.

I put my phone away and refocused on the group, trying to control my nervous energy.

“Was that Oliver?” Raja asked, nodding to my phone.

“Yeah, he’s on the way.”

“Okay, everyone, be cool,” Finn said. “It’s important we don’t embarrass Lucy. She does enough of that on her own, so we shouldn’t add fuel to the fire.” This got a laugh from everyone except me and Henry, and I forced down the lump rising in my throat.

When I agreed to inviting Oliver, I had been caught up in the moment. I wanted Raja to know I was serious about him and over Hen, but I wasn’t sure I’d really thought it through. And now it was happening regardless, so I had to prepare myself.

I slipped off to the bathroom to run my fingers through my hair, wipe away the mascara smeared under my eyes from laughing, and take a few deep, steadying breaths. Away from my roommates’ constant teasing, it was much easier to be excited about Oliver’s arrival. This was good. Necessary.

By the time he arrived, we were already well into our first Pimm’s Cups on the roof. It was a chilly night, but it had been so long since we’d been able to tolerate being up there at night that we just bundled up and embraced it.

When I left to let him in, I thought I heard Finn whispershowtimebehind me, which turned my stomach to knots. Thankfully, the minute the elevator doors opened and I seteyes on Oliver’s warm face, the knots untangled themselves and turned back into butterflies.

“The cold does wonders for your cheeks,” he said, kissing them both. “Flushed is a good look for you.” My peachy face must have turned crimson at the compliment, but he seemed to like that, too.

“Are you ready?” I asked before I opened the door to the roof.

“As I’ll ever be.” The corners of his eyes crinkled when he smiled, and for a second I imagined tracing those lines with my fingertips.

“I’m really glad you’re here,” I said, and I meant it.

“Me too. Now let’s do this thing.” He swung the door open, and we headed out onto the roof with the rest of them.

“Aye, the man of the hour,” Finn said, already a little drunk. “Welcome to our humble abode.”

“He’s always this weird,” Liv said, brushing him off. “Just ignore him. That’s what the rest of us do.”

“Oh, is that what you do, Liv?” Finn said. “Because if we look back at, I don’t know, any time we’ve gotten home from a party—”

“Can we get you a drink?” Liv said to Oliver, interrupting Finn and shooting daggers in his direction.

“That would be grand, thanks.”

Liv got to work on a cocktail, and I introduced Oliver to everyone else, most of whom he remembered vaguely from New Year’s.

“You must be the one who travels,” he said, shaking Henry’s hand. Either he knew because he didn’t recognize Henry from the party, or because my descriptions of Henry were more thorough than those of anyone else, but I was too distractedby Henry’s expression to care. His lips were tight, the curve of a smile nearly nonexistent.

“So Lucy’s told you about him, has she?” Finn asked. Oliver adjusted his coat, looking at me, trying to make sense of Finn.

“Right, then, Finn. I’ve told him about everyone, haven’t I?” I said. “Introducing anyone to you lot requires quite a bit of preparation.” I tried to laugh to keep things light, but I had a feeling Oliver was too perceptive for Finn’s comment to slide under the radar. “Now, let’s stop treating him like a museum exhibit, shall we? And go back to having a normal night?”

“Not quite sure anything around here is ever normal, but I second at least the first part,” Raja said. “Come sit. We were just about to play a drinking game.”

“We were?” I asked.

“I mean, I hadn’t proposed it yet, but is anyone opposed?” She looked around, and no one disagreed. “Right, then. I’m thinking King’s Cup?”

“A classic,” Jan said. “I’ll go grab a cup and the cards.”

“Grab a handful of beers while you’re at it,” Henry called after him. “We’re gonna need them.”

“For the game, or for whatever record you’re trying to set tonight?” Liv said. “You drank quite a few at dinner, too, didn’t ya?”

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