Hard to Love

Chapter 1 - Meet Oskar

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Oskar and I are standing on a street corner somewhere in the West Village. It's peaceful and dark and we're alone, with the exception of a flickering "Closed" sign in a bodega and a few surviving partygoers idling after a night out. Oskar's face is lit up with the warm glow from the rundown pizza shop behind us, the incandescent lights reflecting off the blonde in his hair.

He hands me a slice of pizza. It's warm and gooey on my fingers, the kind that is overloaded with more cheese and pepperoni than there is physically room on the pizza. I almost burn the roof of my mouth as I take a huge bite.

"Oh my god," I mumbled, stopping myself before I inhaled the entire thing in one go. "This is exactly what I needed right now."

I look up to see Oskar chowing down what must be his third slice in minutes. He's holding a pizza box that's now over half empty. He tries to speak while mid-bite in a mouthful of pepperoni. I can't help but laugh and steal another slice, swiping at his outstretched hands as he playfully covers the box.

"This is my last one!"

"You say that now, but I know you well enough by now," he says smiling while rolling his eyes.

"You don't know that," I laugh and give him a soft shove.

I watch as he grabs a slice from the box and buries his face in more pepperoni, barely having his grip on the crust. He glances at my direction, teasing me for a reaction that I respond with my best annoyed face. My attempts to ignore him go unfazed.

I'm temporarily distracted by a vibrating buzz from my phone. I pull it out to see my screen light up with a notification: "Your Uber is on the way. Ahmed will arrive in two minutes."

"It's here?"

"Yup, almost," I reply, giving a quick glance around the street before checking the the driver's location pinned on my phone. "Keep an eye out for a black Sedan. It says it should be here in two minutes."

After what feels like no time at all, I see our Uber slow down and park across the street. I beckon to the driver and we make our way over. Oskar opens the door and I follow him inside, piling into the backseat. I giggle, getting a load of how he's still clutching tightly onto the pizza box.

The driver turns the radio up as he pulls away from the curb, and we're engulfed in the drawling tones of old school 2000s R&B. The likes of Sean Kingston fade away into the velvety notes of Usher, and I'm reminded of the days of summer camp swim days and bumbling high school dances. The song is soothing and upbeat, reigniting the throbbing energy from earlier in the night.

I feel Oskar's presence in the seat an inch away and I can feel my face getting warm. I can feel the last of the alcohol lingering in my system, but I could swear that every second felt as clear and sober as day.

I try not to peek at him next to me, but I feel my eyes running down his silhouette. His neatly combed hair is messy and his shirt is slightly unbuttoned. It feels so disarming to see him so dishevelled compared to his normally put-together self at the office. It makes him look younger and more relaxed.

I meet his gaze and he looks back. I smile at him sheepishly. Before thinking twice, I scoot closer and casually lean into him. I can feel my skin getting hot and I try not to think about it, letting my emotions wash over me. I rest my cheek on his shoulder and I can feel his body relax.

"Hey Sierra?"

"Yeah?"

"What do you think you'll do when our internship over?"