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What was she going to tell Lace about Eric? Olivia wondered, pushing her mashed potatoes around her plate so they mixed in with her peas. She'd never believe it, not in a million years, not when she knew what she already did. Short of marrying him, Olivia was sure Lace would see right through the whole masquerade. She groaned to herself and lowered her head in defeat. She was screwed. Maybe I just won't ever have to tell her... She hoped.
"What's this I hear about you ditching Brent for Eric?" Lace asked as she sat down next to her.
The cafeteria was nowhere near full for dinner but a few people sat at the table with them and they glanced up at Lace's question. With eyes now on her, Olivia lowered her voice so only Lace could hear, "Where did you hear that?"
"From Brent." She said, copying her friend. "He told me he went to your place after the fight to see you and Eric told him you were on a date with him. He didn't believe me when I said you went to the fight with me. What's going on?"
Shit, shit, shit. What should she say? Even for an ex-Amity, lying to an ex-Candor wasn't easy. They always knew your tell signs. She decided to take a page out of Eric's book and lied by omission.
"I saw Eric after the fight. He invited me in for chocolate cake as an apology for not keeping his friends in line and I accepted. Stuff was said and… he essentially asked me out." She said, praying it would be enough.
Lace looked dumbstruck. "You went into his place at night, alone? And you said yes to a date? Are you sick?" She touched Olivia's forehead with the back of her hand but Olivia pulled away.
"He seemed very sincere with his apology, okay?"
"Uh-hmm…" Lace hummed in speculation. "You're using him aren't you?"
"Dammit, Lace. Can't I have any secrets?" Olivia grumbled.
Lace chuckled. "Not when I'm around. Spill."
"Fine." Olivia huffed and her posture deflated into a hunch over her food. "I ran into him after the fight and he told me that Brent stopped by with a cake. For some reason he thought it would be a good idea to insinuate that he and I were together and the next day Brent cancelled our date. Then this morning, Eric invited himself over because he found out that Ralph had tried to…" She paused to evaluate whether or not to tell Lace what happened and deciding it was it essential to the story, said, "Assault me last night…"
"Hold up. He what?!" Lace said, instantly angry. "I'm going to kick Ralph's ass." She declared and was already getting up but Olivia pulled her back down.
"Don't make a scene. I said he tried."
"Did you at least tell Max?"
Olivia rolled her eyes. "Of course I did, who do you think told Eric?"
"And what did Max say? Please tell me he arrested that perv's ass."
"No." Olivia grumbled. "There's nothing he can do without proof, so I'm stuck watching my back."
"That's fucking ridiculous." Lace growled. "Eric didn't threaten you, did he? Because if he's more interested in protecting those ass wipes he calls friends then he's got another thing coming."
"Actually, he didn't. He really did apologize, amazing as it sounds. It was even his idea to pretend to be dating so Ralph would be too scared to touch me again." Olivia explained, leaving out the bit about his threat to arrest her if she didn't agree to it.
"What?" Lace said, surprised. "Are you really going to go through with it? I mean, it's Eric."
"Well, I can either go around with eyes at the back of my head or I can feel somewhat safe and make googly eyes with the hottest guy around." She replied.
"But you hate him." Lace reminded her.
"Yeah, I know." Olivia sighed. "But what other choice do I have? He is by far the best option and he offered."
"Yeah, but what's in it for him?"
"He said he owed me." She shrugged. She honestly had no idea why he wanted to do it but she wasn't exactly in a position to demand answers either.
"I don't know…" Lace hesitated. "When's the last time he did something for anyone out of the goodness of his heart?"
"How should I know? I'm not his keeper." Olivia snapped; her frustration with the whole idea rising to the surface.
"Sorry." Her friend apologized. "I just find it really odd that he wants to help you over his friends. By the way, won't it get super weird to be 'dating' their friend? You might have to hang out with them."
"We haven't discussed the logistics of it all yet. I asked for a day or two to think about it first." She replied while looking down at her plate and realized she wasn't hungry. She shoved it to the side.
"Good idea. You should write down a list of rules to follow. I'm assuming you don't plan on sleeping with him?" Lace asked with an eyebrow arched in inquiry.
"Hell, no." Olivia bluntly denied the possibility.
"Make sure he knows that." Lace said, waving her fork at Olivia before stabbing a piece of lettuce and eating it.
"Trust me, I will." She agreed. "But you have to promise not to tell anyone, even Eric, that you know."
"I promise and hope to die, stick a needle in my eye." Lace said, playfully crossing her chest. Olivia smiled at her best friend and shook her head.
The Pit was busy as usual as they browsed the racks in one of the stores. Olivia found a really cute dress she desperately wanted to try on but she was saving her points to buy more paints now that she was running low and decided not to tempt herself and put it back with a sigh.
She joined Lace by the lingerie where she was holding up a black see through baby doll and matching thong to her body. She looked at Olivia's reflection in the mirror and asked, "What do you think? Would Maxi like it?"
"You'll be naked underneath it, what's not to like?" Olivia replied nonchalant. Lingerie wasn't really her thing and she never saw the draw. The end goal was to get naked, wasn't it?
Lace rolled her eyes at her in the mirror. "You're no help."
"Why are you bothering to waste your points on this stuff for someone who would willingly dump you to the side as soon as someone else comes along?"
"As much as it's for Maxi, it's for me too. It makes me feel sexy and it boosts my confidence, if you know what I mean." She winked suggestively and playfully nudged Olivia with a chuckle.
Even not having an affinity for other women, Olivia still couldn't fathom why her friend would need a confidence boost in the sexy department. Her beautiful dark tan skin was smooth, her naturally black hair was streaked with medium blue highlights and it hung down her back in a silky curtain; her almond shaped brown eyes always shone with laughter and her petite body was toned and firm. Maxi would have to be crazy not to find her attractive.
It must be a man/lesbian thing, because all Olivia knew was that she had no desire to see a man in lingerie. Give her a hot guy just out of the shower in nothing but a towel and she was good.
"Maybe we should get you one; it might help your objection to having sex with Eric. God knows you could use a good lay and I hear he's pretty good." Lace teased and handed her a black corset with a leather front that laced up between the breasts. The sides and back were nothing but lace that ran down to make a skirt that ran around the hips beneath the leather top. Olivia stared at the material that was shoved into her hands and was startled when a deep voice beside her spoke up.
"Hey."
Olivia internally groaned as she recognized Zayne's voice.
"So, I guess the rumor is true, you're dating again?" He said, eyeing up the lingerie she held. "Must be a lucky guy, you never wore anything like that for me."
"Um, yeah I am." She replied, not wanting to have this conversation with him. In fact, she didn't even want to look at his asshole face but she liked the way he seemed jealous over the thought she might be into someone more than him and she flaunted it. "We're going on a special date soon and I thought I'd spice it up."
"I guess leadership gets you the best of everything, even when it comes to women." He said.
"Leadership?" She asked.
"I heard you were seeing Eric; everyone's talking about it. Were you keeping it a secret?" Zayne asked when he saw the confusion on her face.
"Um…" She stammered. How did he find out so soon?
"Not anymore." Someone else said as he slipped an arm around her waist and jolted her out of her stupor. Eric's strong arm pressed her firmly into his side as he addressed her ex. "She wanted to wait until we decided to make it official."
"I see." Zayne said, noticing the possessive way Eric held her. "I guess congrats are in order, then. You're a lucky guy, she's a great girl."
"I'm not sure you know just how great she really is, seeing as you broke her heart, what, four years ago?" Eric said, glaring Zayne down. "So, if I see you talking to her again, you can guess what will happen." He threatened.
Olivia was stunned. Not only did he know that information but he'd defended her as Zayne nodded and walked away with a single glance back at her.
Eric loosened his grip on her tense body and peered down at her. "Are you okay?"
She swallowed and replied, "I'm fine." When she noticed he was staring at the corset, she quickly hid it behind her back and waved it so Lace would get the hint and put it back. "What are you doing here?" She asked to distract them both from what just happened.
"I was on my way back from seeing Max and I spotted him walking over."
"Oh… How did you even know he was my ex?"
He glanced at Lace, who pretended to peruse the dresses a couple of feet behind them, and said, "It's hard to not notice when your neighbor goes from having hot rabbit sex to crying every night for months."
"We did not have hot rabbit sex." She objected.
"Believe me, you did." He smirked and looked back at the lingerie on the rack. "And it looks like I've got a lot to look forward to as well."
"That…" She stopped and cleared her throat. "We were looking for Lace. But speaking of that, I need to talk to you in private."
"Sure, my place is free."
"Fine." She agreed and turned to her friend. "I'll see you tomorrow, Lace. I'm just going to…" She trailed off, unsure what to say.
"No problem." Lace replied, eyeing Eric up with concern as they left.
Walking down the halls, it was the first time they had been alone since the whole situation began and she was acutely aware of his body keeping pace beside hers. Olivia wasn't sure how she should be acting with him now that it was clear they were going through with it and she was caught off guard when he took her hand.
The skin on his knuckles was rough from years of fighting and they scratched the pads of her finger tips, sending a tingling sensation up her arm. She brushed it off as nerves and tried to endure the awkward silence between them on the way to his apartment but it seemed that he couldn't.
"Your hand is sweating." He said.
"Oh, sorry." She mumbled and let go so she could wipe it on the leg of her pants. She didn't offer it back, though, and his hand eventually fell to his side.
"I know you told Lace the truth." He said a few minutes later.
Olivia looked up at his stoic profile but she remained quiet.
"It's alright. I wasn't really expecting you to pull it off, that's why I spread it around that we were together before you could ruin it."
"It was you?" She said, surprised. "You couldn't wait another day or two like I asked?"
"This way you had less reason to back out." He replied with a slight shrug.
Unamused at the fact that he basically made the choice for her, she entered his place when he unlocked the door and held it open for her.
"So, what did you want to talk to me about?" He said as he tossed his keys onto the coffee table.
"If we're going to do this, then I want to set some rules." She declared putting aside her nerves.
"Like what?"
"Like, we're not sleeping together… ever."
His lips lifted in a half smile. "I sort of already figured that one out but that lingerie did throw me for a second."
"I already told you that I wasn't buying that." Olivia huffed. "And I want your famous revolving door to stop too. I don't need people thinking I allow my boyfriend to cheat on me."
He eyed her for a second before he flopped onto his couch and answered, "Done."
"Really? You're not going to argue about it or try to convince me that I owe it to you?" She said, full of scepticism that it would be that easy.
"Like I said earlier, this isn't me trying to force you to sleep with me, but you will owe me big time for the amount of blue balls I'll be getting from our dates."
"Dates? What dates? I thought we were just going to pretend in public." She said, taken aback by this new bit of information.
"Won't it look a bit odd to people when they never see us together privately? You see most couples on their dates at the bar or out for a run together." He pointed out. "If we want to sell this as the real deal then we're going to have to look intimate with each other and that means PDA because there will always be someone watching."
"I was expecting some hand holding in the hallways or a kiss on the cheek in front of our friends, not a real relationship." She argued.
Eric got up and slowly approached her. "Well, think of it this way. If you were still with Brent, you'd be forcing yourself to do all these things with him anyway, including sleeping with him, just to keep him from finding out you're using him. I on the other hand already know and am willing to keep sex out of the equation since you're so against it. I think that's a fair deal, don't you? But if you ever change your mind on that lingerie, I'm more than willing to help you out with your Tuesday night ritual." He said suggestively.
He was now so close that his chest was an inch from her nose and she had to take a step back to look up at his face, which was hovering above hers as he asked, "What's with Tuesdays anyway? Is it your treat day or something?"
Her cheeks heated as blood quickly rushed to her face. "My Tuesdays are none of your business and you're a pig for listening in."
He smirked at her answer. "Well, I can't be too chivalrous or you'll fall in love with me and we can't have that, can we?"
Olivia scoffed. "I don't think that will be a problem."
"Good." Eric replied and reached behind her.
She jerked back at his sudden nearness and bumped into something hard. He had backed her up to the door without her noticing and she took the hint that it was time to leave when he opened the door.
"I'll pick you up at 8pm tomorrow for our date." He said as he leaned on the open door. She replied with a curt nod and slipped out of his apartment, filled with dread at what tomorrow might bring.