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Summertime & Butterflies

Five

“So… just tell me again why you wouldn’t give Cutie McHottie Rock star your number?”

Olivia looked up from the colouring book she was doodling in and rolled her eyes at her sister. “Seriously?” she questioned before selecting a bright green crayon and filling in Queen Elsa’s braid. It had been three days since the night out at the bar and while Olivia was content to just brush it off and exaggerate the story to when she, the nearly middle-aged school teacher, turned down the handsome rock star, Stephanie was having a hard time letting it go.

“But he was so cute!” Stephanie whined, leaning against the island counter and resting her chin in her palms. “And you know he was super nice! And those dimples!” Stephanie threw her head back and sighed loudly. “You’re so dumb!”

“Shut up,” Olivia retorted, her choice of words causing her niece, Mia, to look up from her own colouring page and shake her head solemnly at Olivia.

“We don’t say shut up in this house,” she quietly informed her aunt, repeating a phrase she’d been told many times herself. “And we don’t say dumb either, Mommy.”

“Sorry, honey,” the sisters apologised in unison to the five year old. Stephanie covered her mouth, bemused by her daughter’s disciplinary attitude, but Olivia kept her head down, focusing too intently on the colouring book before her.

“But seriously, Liv,” Stephanie pressed on, her comment causing Olivia to groan loudly enough that the dog, curled up under the table, lifted his head and got to his feet, vacating the room. “This dude was into you! And he wasn’t just looking for a piece!”

“How do you know?” asked Olivia scornfully.

“How do you?” Stephanie retorted. “Is it really so hard for you to believe that a super cool guy could actually want to hang out with you because you’re super cool and gorgeous and awesome and everything wonderful, and not just be trying to take a peek at your vagina, no matter how wicked it may or may not be?”

“It is pretty wicked,” Olivia answered, sounding bored. She’d heard it all before – incredulous aunts, shocked cashiers, drunk older men. They all fed her the same stories, wondering how she could be single when she farted rainbows and sneezed pixie dust. And sometimes, she’d believe it. She’d re-sign up for Plenty of Fish, talk to a handsome man with a good job and no kids and she’d think he could be the one to sway her thinking. They’d go on a nice date, have an innocent good night kiss and by noon the next day, the unsolicited eggplant pictures were flooding her MMS inbox. She’d stopped thinking it was the men. It had to be her.

“Well, Harry wasn’t thinking about your wicked vagina!” Stephanie shot back. “He was thinking about your smile, and your laugh, and how cute you were when you blushed!”

“And how do you know all that, Madame Stephanie?” Olivia asked, lifting her hand away from the colouring book so Mia could flip through the pages and find another blank one she could attempt to colour on for five minutes. This kid was single-handedly keeping the logging industry thriving.

Stephanie grinned mischievously and held up her phone. “Maybe you didn’t want to give out your number but someone did!”

Olivia paled. “What did you do?” she asked, her voice filled with apprehension. “Stephanie, I swear to God…” She gripped her stomach and stared at her sister anxiously. Being the youngest of three girls, Olivia was used to her life being meddled with – though it didn’t mean she enjoyed it or had gotten used to it.

Laughing, Stephanie came and sat at the table beside Olivia. “Calm down,” she told her sister, still grinning. “I gave mine to Louis, because he’s interested in meeting Jeff and some of the team. It’s not all about you, you know,” she added, punching Olivia’s arm playfully.

Letting out a sigh of relief, Olivia leaned back in her chair. “Thank God,” she determined, shaking her head at Stephanie. “God, you suck.”

Smiling brightly, Stephanie stood up, positioning herself out of arms reach. “Oh, there’s just one more thing…” she added innocently.

Olivia narrowed her eyes. “What?” she asked hesitantly, the knot in her stomach that had disappeared quickly returning.

“They’re coming over for a barbecue… Tonight!”

*~*~*~*

“Are you still mad at me?”

Olivia glanced up from the YouTube tutorial she was watching for the third time – what thirty-one year old woman still had trouble with eyeshadow trios? – and sighed. Stephanie was standing in the doorway of the guest room, timidly peering around the door. After she’d heard the barbecue bombshell, Olivia had uttered a string of expletives at Stephanie, got scolded by an aghast Mia and disappeared into her bedroom where she’d stressed, panicked and cussed for the last hour.

“I’m not mad,” Olivia replied, her tone even and implying the opposite. She picked up her eyeshadow and examined the container, ignoring her sister.

Taking her response as an invitation to enter, Stephanie pushed the door open the rest of the way and took a step in. “Yes, you are,” she countered, watching Olivia examine the eyeshadow. “The lightest colour is – “

“I know!” Olivia snapped, tossing the eye shadow in the direction of her makeup bag.

“I’m just trying to help!” Stephanie shot back, crossing her arms defiantly across her chest and resembling her pre-school aged daughters.

“I don’t need your help!” Olivia argued, the bickering in the room sounding the same as it did fifteen years earlier in the home they grew up in. “It’s my life and you don’t have to butt in all the freakin’ time! Just because I don’t live my life like you do doesn’t mean you can tell me what to do!”

Stephanie furrowed her brow. “It’s eyeshadow,” she reminded Olivia, her lips twitching into a grin. A riled-up Olivia was her favourite kind of Olivia and, in typical big sister fashion, she enjoyed poking the bear.

“I’m not talking about stupid eyeshadow, idiot!” Olivia exclaimed, certain that Stephanie knew that and was just being her usual difficult self. “I’m talking about this stupid barbecue! Why can’t you just let this go? It’s not a big deal, and it’s kind of embarrassing that you’re making it one.”

“I told you, Louis wanted to meet Jeff and the –“

“Bullshit, you don’t give a crap about that,” retorted Olivia, amazed Stephanie was still trying to use her hockey playing husband as the reason behind the barbecue. “Just be straight with me and tell me you’re being a nosy, bratty busy-body and… maybe I won’t be mad anymore.”

“I’m not being a brat,” Stephanie answered, taking another step into the room. The fact that she didn’t deny being nosy or a busy-body wasn’t lost on Olivia. “Besides, I thought you weren’t mad?” she added, her eyes twinkling.

Olivia sighed loudly and covered her face with her hands. “You don’t get it!” she told her sister, her voice muffled. “This is so embarrassing for me! Not only was I this awkward, bumbling loser like I always am around cute guys, but then I reject him – and not in a cool, sophisticated way, oh no! In, again, an awkward, bumbling loser kind of way!” She fell backwards onto the pillows, her hands still covering her face. “And now you’re bringing him here! Where I’ll still be an awkward, bumbling loser!” Olivia peered at her sister through her fingers and sighed again. “Do you hate me?”

“God, and the Oscar goes to…” Stephanie said with a roll of her eyes, joining Olivia on the bed. “I don’t hate you, idiot. Just the opposite, in fact.” She propped herself up on her elbow and stared at her dramatic little sister.

“I wish you could see yourself how I see you,” Stephanie confessed quietly. “You’re not an awkward, bumbling loser. You’re a beautiful, strong, amazing person who’s been screwed over by dickwads who don’t even deserve the time of day from you. I promise, Liv, my best promise, that I never in a million years would have even talked to these guys again if I didn’t think that they were good guys. I promise,” she added again for good measure.

Olivia sighed again. She knew Stephanie was right. She was annoying and meddling and a know it all, but she wasn’t malicious. She also had a good read on people, better than Olivia ever did. Olivia was the type of person who thought the best of someone when she should think the worst, and thought the worst of someone when she should think the best. Stephanie could see through people like she was looking through a window and was rarely wrong with her conceptions.

“Fine,” Olivia answered, the word accompanied with a long, drawn out sigh. “But, if you’re wrong? You owe me… Jeff’s salary for a year.”

Stephanie chortled, sticking her hand out to shake on it. “I’m never wrong.”

*~*~*~*

Ding dong!

Olivia’s head snapped up at the sound of the doorbell ringing through her sister’s home. They were early. Too early. What kind of rock stars were early? Olivia was elbow-deep in hamburger mix, she was still wearing her glasses and she hadn’t had enough wine to feel entirely comfortable with the situation.

“Come in, come in!” She heard Stephanie exclaim in the foyer, clearly not thrown off by her guest’s early arrival. There was a commotion at the door as the boys were ushered in, but Olivia kept her head down, focusing on the hamburger patties. She gripped the cold meat with her fingers and slowly pressed her palms together, almost methodically. She reminded herself to act cool, though it was easier said than done. It frustrated her to no end that she could be outgoing and funny and mildly flirtatious when she had no interest in a guy, but the second she developed a modicum of an interest in him, she became an awkward, insecure dope.

“Where’s Olivia?” she heard a voice – Louis, she thought – ask. Olivia couldn’t be sure, but he sounded as though he was smirking.

“Where every good woman should be!” Stephanie replied, her voice growing louder as she led the way into the kitchen. “Voila!” She announced, opening her arms with flourish as though she was presenting Olivia, who responded with a roll of her eyes. After a reminder to herself, she added in a smile, intended to be directed to the both of them but instead, she locked eyes with Harry. He was still as beautiful as he had been three days ago. He matched her smile, looking relieved that Olivia had initiated the smile.

“Oy, is this how your guests earn their keep?” asked Louis with a chuckle, taking it upon himself to settle into one of the chairs in the breakfast nook. Harry stood in the door way for a brief moment, looking at the empty chairs beside Louis before deciding on one of the stools at the island – conveniently, directly across from Olivia’s work area.

“I have frozen patties!” Stephanie protested, pulling a few different liquors from the cupboard and spreading them out on the counter, along with the box of merlot that was ever-present in Stephanie’s home. “But Liv wouldn’t let me cook them.”

“Steph, they were from 2008,” Olivia reminded her sister, adjusting the patties on the cookie sheet and fussily pressing on them, ensuring they were as circular as she could make them. Harry watched her, amusement on his face.

“They’re a bit… oblong,” he told her, his voice quiet but teasing. Olivia’s initial reaction was to look down at the tray of patties and examine them – they’re perfect! - before realizing Harry was teasing her.

“Oh stop,” she told him, allowing herself a smile at her obsessiveness but being unable to keep her hands away from the patties, cupping her hands around them once more.

He let out a chuckle, looking up from Olivia’s hands only to reply to Stephanie’s drink question. He took a sip of the merlot she’d handed him before asking Olivia “what can I do to help?”

She smiled appreciatively at the gesture, though she normally didn’t like help while she was cooking – the only help she tended to accept was help with the cleanup. She was about to tell Harry no but after a second thought, she decided to accept the offer and let go of her controlling kitchen habits, at least for the evening.

“Thank you,” she answered, sliding a block of cheese towards him. “Can you cut this into slices? The cutting board’s right there,” she added with a gesture. “Just like… thin slices. Not too thick, but just… skinny ones. But not super-skinny, like not see-though…” she told him, trailing off and closing her eyes briefly when she heard how she was rambling about cheese slices.

Harry grinned, pulling the tinfoil off of the cheese. “Got it,” he answered, tickled by her rambling. “That’s exactly how I like to cut my cheese.”

Olivia wrinkled her nose, attempting to supress her laughter at Harry’s choice of words. It was a futile effort, and she let out a snicker. “Sorry!” she quickly apologised, ducking her head and focusing on the last of the hamburger patties. Her eyes caught the block of cheese and she giggled again, reminding herself of a twelve year old boy, laughing at fart jokes.

Harry looked at Olivia curiously. “What?” he asked, Olivia’s giggle making him smile, though he was unsure why. It took him a moment and then he laughed, realising what he’d said. “No, that’s not what I meant! I meant it’s how I cut – slice! – the cheddar!”

His effort to try to correct what he’d meant made Olivia laugh harder. “Sorry!” she panted between fits of giggles. “It’s not funny, I’m sorry!” She took a deep breath and exhaled, blowing her bangs off of her forehead, willing herself to stop laughing at an unintentional bathroom joke. Her attempt to calm herself made him laugh harder, and within moments the two of them were cracking up, heads ducked and hands braced against the countertop.

Had Olivia not been preoccupied with laughing hysterically, she would have noticed the look Louis and Stephanie exchanged across the room. “What’s so funny, guys?” asked Stephanie in a saucy voice, pleased to see her sister relaxing and sharing in a raucous giggle-fest with the dimpled darling.

“Nothing, nothing,” Olivia assured her sister, her voice still thick with laughter. She turned to the sink, washing the hamburger off her hands before turning back to Harry. He looked as though he was holding in his laughter, causing her to crack up again. “We’re eleven, aren’t we?” she pondered, picking up the tray of patties and stepping towards the door.

“I’m just gonna get these going,” she told the group, pushing the door to the back deck open and stepping onto the patio. She didn’t know why, but for some reason, laughing at the silly slip of words didn’t make her feel like an idiot. Maybe because they were actually laughing at something he said, and not something she did, but regardless of the reason, laughing with Harry was nice.

Mere moments after she came outside, the door opened again and Harry, looking somewhat sheepish, stepped onto the deck, balancing the plate of cheese, his wine glass and her wine glass in his hands. “You forgot the cheese,” he informed her, his lips twitching at the word.

Olivia grinned, pleased he came to join her. She took the cheese plate from Harry and set it beside the barbecue before accepting her now-full wine glass from him. “You’re the one who cut it,” she reminded him.

“You’re right, you’re right,” Harry mused, leaning against the lattice railing. “I guess it’s… nacho cheese,” he added, his voice breaking into a snicker at his own joke.

“Oh my God!” Olivia laughed, twirling the dials on the barbecue and pressing the ignitor. Straightening up, she took a sip of wine and grinned at Harry. “That’s terrible. It’s… it’s not gouda,” she told him, pleased – and quite surprised - with her own quick wit.

Harry had been taking a sip of his own drink when Olivia made her joke and he coughed, choking on the liquid as he laughed loudly. “Oh, God,” he chuckled, his voice raspy as he coughed again. He took another sip to clear his throat and ran his hand through his hair.

“Well played,” he told Olivia, holding his hand up for a high-five. She obliged, connecting her hand with his. Their hands stayed connected in the high-five position for a moment longer than required before they both dropped their still-joined hands to their sides. The butterflies in Olivia’s stomach were multiplying and fluttering around as though they were on speed. As their hands separated, she could still feel the presence of his hand against hers and realised she wanted him to touch her again.

“And to you,” answered Olivia, taking another drink before running the wire brush along the barbecue rack. “Nacho cheese… very clever.”

“I hate to brag, but terrible jokes are my specialty,” Harry replied, pretending to flip his hair over his shoulder arrogantly.

“I’ve noticed,” Olivia told him, holding her hand over the racks to check the temperature. “That raisin joke? It was such a dad joke, it was a grandpa joke. I’m kind of jealous of your skills,” she continued cheekily.

Harry took another long drink, as though he was using the alcohol to build up confidence before smiling at Olivia. “Speaking of the raisin joke… you never did answer it,” he informed her with a soft smile before breaking his gaze and looking at the ground.

Olivia had been hoping their chuckles over cheese would be enough of an ice breaker that the embarrassing night at the bar didn’t get brought up, but she supposed the kind thing to do would be to explain to Harry why she turned him down. Given how many times she’d been turned down, she assumed the gesture would be appreciated.

“I’m sorry about that night,” Olivia told him, matching Harry’s long drink with one of her own. “I just thought that –“

Harry looked up at Olivia and shook his head. “You don’t have to apologise,” he advised her. Smiling, he chuckled softly. “You’re so Canadian.”

Olivia gave a slight eye roll. “I know, I’m sorry, but I –“

He pointed a finger at her, cutting her off again. “Stop it,” he instructed, his voice firm but a smile on his face. “Your sister explained it all. It’s fine.” He scuffed the toe of his shoe along the deck and shrugged. “I respect why you didn’t, if you thought that’s what it was all about it. It wasn’t. It’s not,” he quickly added. “I think you’re really cool, and… I really would like to take you out sometime. Somewhere nowhere near my house, I promise,” he told her with a grin.

His words hung in the air for a beat or two before Olivia smiled. Stephanie had been right – so much for winning an NHL salary for a year. She locked eyes with Harry before nodding ever so slightly. He noticed her nod and smiled brightly.

“So…” he began, his dimples prominent as he grinned. “Do you… like raisins?”

Olivia laughed. She couldn’t picture any of the boys back home making jokes about cheese or raisins and looking so adorable while doing so. He was such a dork, but she couldn’t deny the fluttering in her stomach. “No!” she exclaimed, still laughing.

He grinned and rubbed his hands together in mock anticipation. “Then… how about a date?”

Olivia pressed her finger against her cheek, pretending to think his question over before laughing again. “Yes,” she answered sincerely, giving Harry the answer she should have given him three days ago. “Of course.”

Notes

Comments

@Kammy.
Oh I know. It hurt me too. When this idea first came to me, I was like "fuck... Noooooo!" But... I felt it was realistic (and stupid and dumb and dumb and stupid!) too. Sigh.

harambejtrump harambejtrump
4/26/18

this hurts, I'm broken...you have ruined me... (I still love you, but omg does this kill me)
You know I love this story, Olivia is my girl...but my heart hurts now

On that note....the realistic way they ended, wow...I could see this happening in his life easily, poor H...

Kammy. Kammy.
4/26/18

@Prinny1321
Thank you!!

harambejtrump harambejtrump
4/25/18

I'm sad that they didn't get back together but I love how realistic it was <3 I loved this though

Prinny1321 Prinny1321
4/25/18

@morrison_hotel
❤❤❤

harambejtrump harambejtrump
4/25/18