Unexpected

Chapter 9- Ali

~Ali~

Later that night, when I go to pick up Oliver so we can go switch out my car, I feel nervous.

When I saw Oliver and that girl together I felt hurt, like Oliver had betrayed me, thrown me away. Then I was angry he had sex with her after he tried to kiss me. Then I felt embarrassed when I remembered that Oliver and I were never a thing, never will be a thing, and he is a player.

I don't think Oliver had a solid relationship since the beginning of Sophomore year. Of course, this thought made me sad. I honk the horn and take a deep breath in.

Oliver gets in the car and simply says, "Uh, hi". "Hi" I say. The drive is quiet, until we're halfway there. "Are you okay?" Oliver asks.

"Yes, why wouldn't I be?" I say. "Because of earlier..." Oliver says. I shake my head. "Nope. Why would it bother me, it's your life" I say.

Oliver is silent.

We pull into the lot, and I see the blue Tundra truck I'm trading cars for. We park and I turn off the car, turning to Oliver. "I'll drive out, then you drive it back, sound good?" I say.

"Um okay" he says. I sigh, "Are we just going to be awkward now?" I ask. "I don't know" Oliver looks at me sheepishly. We both laugh.

"Look, I'm sorry if I made things weird, it's just... um..." I struggle for the right words to say. "Yeah" Oliver says. We smile at each other. "C'mon, let's drive our car" I say, patting his knee.

We get out and greet the guy, Ein. "Take it for a spin, I'll get the papers" he says, tossing me the keys. The truck is spacious and very nice. Leather seats, bluetooth, sunroof, and a backseat for our stuff. Plus, the back has a cover so nothing blows away while we drive.

"Look, heated seats!" Oliver says. "So if we get cold, we can come in here" I say. Oliver smiles and says, "Let's drive" We head across town, and take the freeway back.

We stop in a neighborhood and switch seats. "I like this," Oliver says. In an hour, I'm saying goodbye to my mustang and saying hello to my truck. We grab gas and then I drive Oliver home. "Three more days" I say. "Till graduation, we technically have five more days" Oliver reminds me.

I laugh and smile at him. "Thank you" I say. "Blue looks good on you" Oliver winks at me and pats the truck door before heading up his porch steps. I wave and drive back home, thinking about today.

Boy, way to make it weird.

---

The next day Oliver and I are still a little weird together. After school, Oliver texted me asking if I wanted a ride to the camping store so we can get tents, sleeping bags, etc.

So, after an hour, I'm sitting in his car.

"Thanks for doing this, I needed to go but I didn't want to" I say. "Sure, no problem," Oliver says.

In the store, we are focused. Until after we get the important stuff. "Hey, Ali... pst" Oliver whispers. I look over from looking at hiking boots.

Oliver has a neon vest on, and stands behind a pole. "Can you see me?" he says, laughing slightly. I giggle and walk over. "Where are you?" I ask, and move around the pole to face him.

We both laugh and I step aside. We walk down the aisle, talking about fishing. We trip over each other's feet, but Oliver catches us, somehow, and ends up pinning me against the shelf.

We take a moment before looking at each other. Oliver is really close, I can smell his breath. We stare at each other for a moment before Oliver backs up, clearing his throat. "My bad" he says.

"Thanks for catching me" I say, blushing. "Uh we ready to go?" he asks. I nod, smiling stupidly.

The ride is quiet, and I feel awful that now things are ten times more awkward. Oliver pulls in front of my house. "I'll uh, help you unload" he says. We put the stuff packed under a tarp so my parents don't see and I walk Oliver back to his car.

"Um... thanks for today" I say. "Yeah, it was...fun" he grins at me. I make a face and smile. "I'll see you tomorrow" I say, and walk back. Oliver honks as he drives away. I blush, feeling giddy. Oliver is driving me mad.