I had just made it down in time to start my shift. Antonio was refilling the drink machines and checking the ice. My hair was still damp from the shower after the swimming and Antonio acknowledged it with a smile.
"So you went swimming this morning then?"
"Yep." I nodded with a smile.
"Ah, good girl, keeping yourself fit and healthy." We both laughed as I went to serve some of the guests waiting for their drinks.
It was late in the morning when I heard a familiar voice call my name in the distance.
"Olivia!" Louis came skipping up to the bar. Harry followed, a gorgeous grin on his face.
"Hey guys. How's it going?" They both reached the bar with Louis slightly out of breath. They didn't reply immediately but instead they both reached over and pulled me in for hugs.
"Good thanks. Oh the dinner last night was incredible. This place really doesn't disappoint when it comes to food. Niall looked like he'd gone to heaven and back!"
"I'm so pleased you think so! Dad will love the feedback."
"Yeah, let him know for us, will you?" Harry flashed his smile.
"Of course. So you guys want any drinks?" They shook their heads, their smiles turning into grins and their eyes slightly narrowing.
"So, how was your swim this morning?" Harry eyed me and I instantly looked away.
"Fine." Was all I could say with a weak laugh at the end.
"Hmm. It seemed pretty fine didn't it?" Harry looked at Louis and back at me. "Liam seemed to have enjoyed himself. You and that kid seem pretty tight, huh?"
I had to concentrate carefully to answer their question because the single mention of Liam's name made my legs feel weak.
"Oh yes, Liam was there. Yeah, it was fun. I had fun. But I wouldn't say we're tight. We were just keeping each other company."
"Oh really?" Louis raised his brow.
"We just swam together. It wasn't a big deal."
"You know, Liam definitely enjoyed himself. Through the whole of breakfast, he couldn't stop smiling. We teased him and guess what, not a single frown! That's a record for him. " I shrugged at Louis' comment.
"Interesting." Harry smirked as he rubbed his chin, watching me closely. Louis made a noise in agreement and just like that, the two of them turned around and left the room without a second glance.
Strange boys, the lot of them. I shook my head and then busied myself with serving the other guests who had lined up at the bar. It was a long day, and mostly uneventful. Although I tried to forget about the guys whilst tending to the bar, it was hard to shake them from my head. I wasn't sure if my earlier run in with Louis and Harry had been serious, or if the pair were trying to wind me up with some fictitious story about Liam overly enjoying his morning with me. Surely he couldn't have had that much fun. So much so that it had left him in an unquestionably good mood throughout his breakfast with the rest of the band. In a way, it didn't matter. Good mood or not, it was a brief moment that we'd spent together. There was nothing more to it, and with that thought in mind, I finished my shift, waved goodbye to Antonio, and left for my room.
I changed out of my uniform and into some sweatpants and a tank top ,tying my hair up into a bun. With the chaos of the band's arrival, the tour around the hotel, and everything that had followed, I hadn't checked my phone in nearly two days and when I looked at the screen, Maria's messages covered every inch.
Ciao Olivia, how's it going? Have you met them yet?xxx
Olivia! What do you think of them? Have you spoken to them? Please text me!xx
Are you ignoring me? Olivia where are you? I need to know! What's happening. Text me!! x
I felt guilt rush over me. Maria had asked me to keep in contact, even if all she wanted to know about was One Direction. I opened the balcony doors to let the cool evening breeze swirl into the room before hopping on to the sofa to reply.
I'm so sorry Maria. It's been crazy here! But yes, I have met them and I have spoken to them. They're alright I guess. Not much more to report though. Hope you're enjoying the time off! xx
Almost immediately after I'd pressed send, my phone started to ring. Maria's name shone on the screen.
"Oh my God! You spoke to them?" Her voice was shrill.
"Hello to you too, Maria." I laughed back.
"Sorry, I just can't believe it. You actually spoke to One Direction?"
"Yes, I d-," she quickly interrupted.
"Oh, aren't they gorgeous? Tell me you at least think they're cute?"
"Hmm, they're not bad." I lay on my back and smiled to myself.
"I bet you like one of them more than the others. Everyone has a favourite!" As soon as she mentioned it, I saw Liam's face in my head. His eyes, so deep and thoughtful. His jawline was so strong and handsome and his hair seemed so perfectly moulded. His voice, calm and reassuring. Something in my stomach swooped, just as it had done at the pool.
"Hey, you've gone quiet. Are you still there - wait - Oh my! You do have a favourite! You're thinking about him right now and you're going to tell me!" Maria was squealing down the phone again so loudly that I had to pull it away from my ear just to hear myself think. "I like Zayn, no Niall, oh but Louis. Damn it, I don't know. But I have Giovanni so I shouldn't really relax. He hates it when I talk about them but I can't blame him." She was quieter after acknowledging her boyfriend, Giovanni. "So go on, tell me."
"I don't know what you're talking about." I really didn't want to have to admit that I liked one of the boys more than the others.
"You're not fooling me. You have a favourite and I won't quit asking until you tell me." Her words were dripping with determination.
"They're all cool in their own ways."
"Fine, I'll guess who it is. You'd like a strong guy, someone to hold you up when you're down. Someone to tell you you're beautiful. Funny, maybe? Yes, funny but also serious when he has to be. Hmm, Zayn-."
"Come on, Maria, stop-."
"Harry... No, maybe Louis."
"Seriously, stop it" I laughed with a sigh.
"Wait, I have it. Liam. It's Liam." That name. I had butterflies in my stomach again and I was too late to notice that I'd fallen silent for a little longer than I should have. Maria noticed instantly.
"Oh. My. God! You like him. You like Liam Payne!"
"Yeah, sure. Liam is a good looking guy. I like him, but-"
"Oh I can totally see you it."
"See what?"
"The two of you as a thing. I bet he likes you back."
"We hardly know each other and there will be no thing happening between us. So can we drop this now?"
"No we are not dropping this. It's important. I know you only just broke up with Federico, but you deserve to move on. Imagine how shit it'd make Federico feel if he saw you with someone like Liam. He'd be kicking himself for the way he hurt you. Liam is so sweet. You have no idea. I've read all about it in the magazines and on the blogs online." As Maria spoke, my ex-boyfriend's face came into mind. Federico, the golden haired, womanising Italian that my cousin had introduced me to when I first came to Italy. I felt a lump in my throat and my eyes started to sting but just then, I heard a knock on my apartment door.
"Maria, sorry, but I'm gonna have to go. I think my dad's at my door. Loved talking to you."
"Hmph, well this talk isn't over, Olivia. Keep me posted this time!"
"Sure, I will. Ciao." I stuffed my phone into my pocket and jumped up from the sofa. The knocking grew more impatient.
I reached the door and opened, expecting to see dad at the other side.
"Louis?" I spotted Harry peering over his shoulder. "Hey, how did you know where to find me?"
"We followed you that day when we were heading to the lift. We turned back to see where you'd go and planned to come back later. So here we are." He smiled at himself proudly and both he and Harry exchanged a high five. Harry turned to me for a high five but I disregarded it.
"No. I can't believe you followed me. What, so One Direction stalk people now?"
"Nah come one don't say it like that." Louis said quietly.
"In the nicest way possible, what do you guys want? I already finished my shift."
"We were gonna invite you round to our apartment. I mean, Liam had you all to himself this morning so we decided it was our turn. You have to come on down. We brought board games with us!" Louis exclaimed getting all excited at the last comment.
"Board games?"
"Yeah, you know. Monopoly, twister-," Harry went on to say. "Oh twister is the best." He winked at me and I couldn't bring myself to say no.
"Oh fine. I'll get my shoes."
***
"Boys, look whose here!" Harry yelled as we walked into their room. The layout was similar to mine, only there were more doors which must've led into the different bedrooms.
Niall looked up from the sofa and came running over. "Alright Olivia?" I smiled as he hugged me.
"Vas happenin!" Zayn walked over smiling with his arms in the air and then he too gave me a hug.
"What's going on out here lads?" I heard that familiar voice coming from one of the bedrooms and from there Liam walked out shirtless with only a pair of sweatpants hanging loosely at his waist.
"Liam! There is a lady here. Go back and put some clothes on, is there no decency in you?" Liam held his hands up in surrender and walked back into the room after giving me a quick grin.
I walked over to the sofa and sat down watching Zayn and Niall making space in the room. "We chose twister. It's more entertaining than Monopoly." Niall smirked at me.
"Hey, look at you two wearing the same sweatpants. Dressing like a couple already." Louis was looking between me and Liam who had just come back into the room.
"Louis." Liam shook his head.
"Wanna know another thing you have in common. You're both very attractive young individuals." Louis said giving both me and Liam a wink. I snorted a laugh when Louis made the comment. He looked down at me with a funny expression. "What, do you not agree?" He questioned.
"Well, I don't know about me." I said challenging him, but I put myself in an even worse position when Harry shot me another question.
"But you still think Liam's hot right?" Harry was testing me and I could feel my cheeks starting to burn. I remembered what had happened when I'd stayed silent for too long after Maria's interrogations, so I quickly spoke up.
"Yeah, no. Well I-, you know. Liam's fine,"I stumbled on my words and felt my cheeks burning even harder. I should have just stayed quiet. I sank into the sofa and saw the four boys in front of me smirking and exchanging nods. I started to bite my lip and turned slightly to see Liam settling into the space next to me, looking at his feet with a smile on his lips and pink in his cheeks. He looked up at me, his smile turning into a nervous grin and I immediately looked away feeling utterly embarrassed.
"Well come on, let's get the game started!" Niall beamed. I silently thanked him for breaking the awkward silence.
The game went on for a good hour or so and by the end, I felt completely out of my comfort zone. Harry was tangled around Louis. Niall was sort of lying on Zayn whose arm was tangled with mine, and Liam was stuck under Louis' leg and was left to face me. Oh please, could someone just end the game now?
As if hearing my plea Niall made a comment, "Okay guys I'm hungry. Can we stop now?" The rest of the boys agreed and at the same time, we all tried to untangle themselves resulting in everyone falling on top of each other. We laughed and carefully got up one at a time instead.
"You want anything to eat, Olive? Can I call you that?" Liam asked smiling at me. The way he said that name gave me the strange feeling inside so I just nodded and replied no to the food. Harry and Louis exchanged a smirk but I ignored it.
"Hey do you wanna stay over?" Louis asked happily.
"I have work tomorrow first thing." He gave me a glum expression as I quickly checked my phone. "And my phone's about to die. I better get going."
"I can charge it for you if you like." Without giving me a chance to respond, Louis came bounding over to me in an instant and took the phone from my hand. He walked out the room and into one of the bedrooms. I heard some muffled talking but didn't acknowledge it much.
In no time at all, Louis returned with a triumphant smile pasted on his face. "You don't have to work until lunchtime."
I stared at him and when he passed my phone back I checked the recent calls and saw that he'd spoken to my dad. I just shook my head and laughed. "You could've at least charged my phone." Louis stuck his tongue out as I threw my phone back to him.
After packing up the game, Zayn turned the lights down and put on the TV. He left it on a movie channel where an Italian film had already started. Harry and Louis settled into one of the single armchairs and were sprawled out on top of one another. Niall sat on the armchair opposite them with Zayn lying out across the rug below his feet. I was back in the same spot on the sofa and Liam had joined me.
Everyone seemed rather entertained by the Italian film, despite the language barrier. But I wasn't surprised; the film was full of fast cars, guns and girls. I paid some attention to the film and attempted to understand the Italian but soon my eyes felt heavy. I glanced over at Louis and Harry who had both fallen asleep, and then at Niall who had his eye closed and his mouth hanging open. I couldn't see Zayn's face, but he had been still for quite a while so I expected that he had fallen asleep too. Then I turned to Liam. His eyes were still open but only just. He noticed me looking at him and gave me a small smile. I returned it and turned to watch the film again. But before long, my eyes grew heavy, the voices from the movie seemed to grow distant and soon enough, I was drifting to sleep.