Page 38 of Call My Bluff
“Sort of, yeah.”
“And what if she doesn’t?” Jake asked, his voice skeptical.
Noah huffed, barely even considering the possibility. “Then I’ll cross that bridge if I come to it.”
“So, have youheard from Noah since the debacle yesterday?” Robin asked from her place on the love seat. She and Kate had spent the night after the party to make the most of their last weekend before homework once again took over all of their lives.
Olivia chuckled and reveled in the sense of victory that surged through her veins. “Nope,” she said, letting the word pop from her lips. “And I don’t expect to, either. Did youseethe way his eyes bugged out every time I said the word ‘boyfriend’? There is no way he’s coming back after that.”
“You arewaytoo happy about this,” Robin said dryly. “Are you sure you really want to scare him off? He seems like a catch.”
“Yes, I’m sure,” Olivia retorted. “Besides, it’s not like we won’t wave if we pass each other in the quad or something. He’ll just refocus his energy on chasing someone else’s tail, and I won’t have to worry about it anymore.” She settled back against the pile of pillows she’d constructed in front of the couch.
Lexie and Kate came back into the room, both carrying two bowls of early-morning ice cream. “If you’re not interested in Noah, why don’t you just tell him that outright?” Lexie asked.
Olivia scrunched herself farther into her nest before responding. “I did, and it didn’t work,” she admitted.
Robin and Kate both burst into laughter.
“But you think this will?” Robin asked.
“Desperate times call for desperate measures!” Olivia declared. “You saw the way he peeled me off him the second Jake suggested they should leave. He couldn’t make it to the door fast enough!”
The three other girls shared a skeptical sort of look before Robin crossed her arms stubbornly over her chest. “Methinks the lady doth protest too much,” she said, quoting Shakespeare.
Olivia only rolled her eyes and picked up the remote. “Methinks we should just watch the movie,” she grumbled, pressing play. There was no reason to dissect the way dinner had gone. Had she been a little over-the-top? Yes. Was it the greatest idea she’d ever had? Probably not. But it had worked, and that was the point. Noah Campbell would find somebody else to annoy and let her finish her semester in peace.
Everybody won. End of story.
About twenty minutes later, Olivia’s phone vibrated against the top of the coffee table, the screen glowing brightly in the curtained gloom of the living room. She glanced at it, expecting to see one of her parents’ or brothers’ names highlighted at the top, but her breath caught in her throat when she saw Noah’s name instead.
Noah:Hey pretty girl! You don’t work nights, do you?
She froze, the movie forgotten, as she stared at his question.
Another bubble took the first one’s place.
Noah:Some friends of mine are going to play laser tag after class on Tuesday. You want to come? Let me show off my girl? ;)
Olivia had barely finished reading when the device disappeared from the table, and she looked up to find Robin holding it in her hand.
“He wants toshow off his girl?” she asked, and the glee that crossed her face made Olivia’s ribcage tighten.
“Hewhat?!” Kate blurted, and Olivia pushed herself off the floor.
“Give that back!” she grunted, swiping at the device.
Robin jumped onto the couch and held it out of arm’s reach as she read the message aloud. “Looks likeyour boyfriendgot over his shock, Liv,” she crowed.
“He’s not my boyfriend,” Olivia insisted, each word forcing itself out between gritted teeth.
“Well, you stood right here and told him that he is,” Kate pointed out. “So now you either have to date him or eat your words.”
“I’m not going to date him! He doesn’t evendorelationships!” Olivia cried in dismay, and her own words caused her to pause.
Noah didn’t do relationships; he’d told her that himself. So why was he suddenly so chill about being committed? Why was he asking her to meet his friends when he should have been changing his number?
The answer occurred to her all at once, as obvious as the joy on Robin’s face.
