Chapter 34

Chapter 34  

Mia clapped her hands together. “Oh, I love this. Go get him, tiger.”  

Sophia groaned but couldn’t deny she was a little curious to see how this would play out. Olivia was bold, there was no questioning that. But was it going to work in her favor this time?  

As Olivia strode toward the guy’s table, Mia and Sophia exchanged glances.  

“This is either going to be amazing or a complete mess,” Mia whispered.  

Sophia smirked. “Either way, it’ll be entertaining.”  

And with that, they both leaned in to watch as Olivia made her move.  

“Hey there,” Olivia said to him and sat down in the empty seat in front.  

“Hi,” he said as he stared at her. His voice was even more attractive.  

Oh my gosh, she said to herself.  

“I’m Olivia,” she said as she stretched her hand forward in a handshake.  

“I’m Jake. Nice to meet you, Olivia. What can I do for you?” he said with the coolest tone as he set aside his plate to stare at Olivia.  

And Olivia felt all the confidence in her disappear. “Well… well,” she stuttered a bit, embarrassed.  

God, what am I doing? she said in a low tone.  

“Hey, it’s okay. How about we exchange numbers so we can hit each other up over text? That is, if you don’t mind,” Jake offered.  

And Olivia felt her confidence restored. Is it possible he also finds me attractive? she said to herself.  

“Why would I mind exchanging contacts with a handsome guy like you? It sounds fine by me.”  

He gave her his phone. “Please put your number here, and I’ll send you a text.”  

Olivia collected it and put in her number.  

“Are they exchanging contacts?” Mia said to Sophia. “This is going way better than I thought.”  

“It sure looks like it. Way to go, girl,” Sophia said to Mia.  

“You have such a lovely name. I have to get back to my meal now, I’m starving,” he said to her.  

“Well then, I will take my leave,” Olivia said as she stood. “Text you later then.”  

“Sure thing, Olivia,” he said as he nodded toward her.  

“I love the way he says my name,” she whispered as she walked back to her friends. Excited giggles followed as they made their way to each other.  

“You did it, girl!” Mia said to her.  

“I can’t believe this. It went smoother than I thought! Even when I almost messed it up, he offered for us to exchange contact. My god, his voice is so smooth. His name is Jake—such a cute name for a cute guy!”  

“Alright, enough, we get it. We are happy for you, though,” Sophia said with a smile.  

Olivias phone beeped Ohh it's a text from him she said 

    Girl come sit here let's see what it says 

No I don't think so , I'd rather keep this for myself, keep your eyes away

   What do you mean by that?you can't carry us along in this then decide to drop us on the way show us everything ,Mia pressed 

   

“All right, someone is curious. Let’s get to our room then; we can’t do this here,” Olivia said, already grabbing her tray.  

“All right then, I’ll just pack up my meal,” Mia added, quickly gathering her things.  

Sophia nodded, excitement showing even though she tried to remain calm,she didn't have any friends aside from her cousin ,so having to be close to people felt like a new experience for her . The three of them hurriedly cleaned up and made their way back to their dorm room, eager to dive into Olivia’s big text in privacy.  

—  

“That was wild, can’t lie,” Mia said as she fell onto her bed,as soon as they arrived their room shaking her head in disbelief.  

“Come on now, read the message out for us,” Sophia pressed, her curiosity getting the best of her.  

Olivia took a deep breath, staring at her phone as if the words might change. “It’s nothing much, actually,” she muttered, but the way her fingers trembled slightly as she held the phone said otherwise.  

Mia rolled her eyes. “Girl, stop stalling! Just read it.”  

Olivia cleared her throat and began, “Hey Olivia. It was nice meeting you. You walking over to me was kind of cute. How about we meet after classes tomorrow and carry on from where we left off?”  

The room fell silent for half a second before Mia let out a dramatic gasp. “Oh my God! It’s that serious,” she gushed, eyes wide.  

Sophia’s lips curled into a smirk. “So not only did he find you cute, but he also wants to see you again? Olivia, you might just be winning here.” and to think we all thought it was a bad Idea 

   Umm ? You and who is “we" I for one was supporting my girl to go for it mia said and kept on smiling 

Then, all of them erupted into giggles, throwing pillows at one another as the energy in the room buzzed with excitement. Olivia couldn’t stop grinning. “I can’t believe this. I thought I’d completely embarrassed myself when I started stuttering, but look at me now!”  

Mia wiggled her eyebrows. “Jake definitely saw something he liked.”  

“Okay, but what should I say back?” Olivia asked, suddenly serious.  

Sophia rolled her eyes. “You obviously say yes, Olivia. What else?”  

Olivia hesitated. “I mean, yeah, of course, but should I sound casual? Like, ‘Sure, see you then’ or maybe something a little more flirty?” I don't want him to think I am too thirsty 

   But you are…Sophia teased 

Mia gasped. “Flirty, for sure. You need to make it clear you’re interested.”  

Sophia tilted her head. “Or, keep it light. Let him chase a little, make him work for it.”  

Olivia groaned. “Ugh, this is harder than I thought.” it was actually easier facing him in person 

Mia snatched the phone from her hands. “How about this?” She quickly typed something before handing it back. Olivia read it aloud.  

“‘That sounds fun. I’ll be looking forward to it.’”  

Sophia nodded in approval. “Perfect. It shows you’re interested but not desperate.”  

“Yeah, I love it,” Olivia said before hitting send.  

As the night carried on, the three of them continued chatting, teasing Olivia endlessly about her new love interest. The easygoing energy between them made Sophia feel more at ease in her new environment.  

             Ryan and Jessie arrived at school just a few minutes past nine. The campus was already buzzing with students moving around, chatting in groups, or rushing to their morning classes. Ryan carefully parked his car into an empty parking spot near the corner before turning off the engine.  

“Well then, here we are,” he said, exhaling as he reached for the door handle.  

Jessie stretched her arms before stepping out. “Yeah, I guess. Feels like we’ve been away for a whole day. Today was wild, though,” she said with a small laugh, leaning against the car.  

Ryan shut his door and slid his hands into his pockets, his gaze lowering slightly as he kicked at the gravel beneath his feet. “Yeah… as wild as it gets with my friends,” he muttered, the usual playfulness in his tone absent.  

Jessie picked up on it immediately. She frowned, stepping closer. “Hey, are you okay?” Her voice was filled with concern as she came closer to him, her head almost touching his face to get a better look at his face.  

Ryan quickly forced a smirk. “Yes, I am. Don’t I look okay?” He shrugged, but his posture remained tense.  

Jessie wasn’t convinced. “You do, but…” She hesitated, searching his eyes. “You’ve been a little off since we left. Is it about what happened back there?”  

Ryan let out a dry chuckle. “we have talked about this multiple times already Jessie , I know You mean the whole Zach, and Taylor situation? Nah,you don't worry I’m used to it and eventually if you hang around us more you will get used to it too” He sighed “It’s just… you ever feel like no matter how much time passes, some things never really change?”  

Jessie nodded slowly. “Yeah, I get what you mean.” She crossed her arms, leaning against the car beside him. “But you know, just because things feel the same doesn’t mean you haven’t changed. You handled things way better than I expected back there.”  

Ryan smirked. “Oh? And what exactly

were you expecting?”  

Jessie laughed. “Honestly? I half-expected you to throw a punch the moment Zach opened his mouth.”