Disclaimer: I don't own Hannah Montana.
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A/N: Sorry for the long wait. I had a bit of difficulties writing this chapter for the reason that it's rated M, and it's my first time ever writing a story with such rating and I had to seek a bit of inspiration from other places. It's easy to get carried away and write something dirtier and more descriptive and reach an MA rating, so I had a lot to edit out, but I think I did a fine job in the end. I was a bit careful not to bend the site's rules, so I consider it more like Light M. Let me know what you thought of it, okay?
Also, if you're too young to be reading stories with M rating, or if you just don't like them, then this isn't a story you'd want to read. And yes, I know HM is more of a children TV show, but this story is not, so thanks for understanding.
Enjoy! :)
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Shooting Rainbows
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Chapter 6:
Something really annoying woke Oliver up from his sleep. It was a tune, a song, something familiar that he was too fogged with sleep to think what it was exactly. At first he didn't know where he was, what time or day it is and what was that thing that kept playing music. His hands fumbled blindingly in the dark, searching for the source, and finally finding the menace that somehow got shoved under his pillow. He pulled the offending object out and realized it was only his phone.
The screen flashed brightly, illuminating the dark room. Oliver squinted at it, trying to read the caller's name through bleary eyes, but gave up when they started to water. Wiping his face from sleep, he answered the call with a raspy voice, "Hello?"
"You little piece of shit!" yelled someone from the other side of the line.
Startled, Oliver quickly drew his phone away from his ear. He was too drowsy to understand why anyone would call him and start yelling at him. "Huh?" he asked his caller, utterly puzzled.
"I had a great night. It was great, really great, thank you for asking," said the caller and started rambling. "And I tried to go to sleep, but I couldn't. So there I was thinking to myself, 'hey, I'm bored. I already had sex tonight, so what else can I do? Oh, I know! I can watch TV!' So you know what I did? I watched TV. And you know what I saw on my TV? I saw you! Now, can you tell me what you were doing on my TV? Because I sure as hell can't explain it!"
Oliver tried to look at the caller-ID again, but still couldn't make out the name. "Who is this?"
"It's me, you dumb fuck!" yelled the person on the other line.
Oliver put one plus one together. The inappropriate use of language and the familiar cynical voice kind of gave him away. "Jake?"
"Who else could it be?" Jake said, sounding irritated.
Oliver rubbed his eyes, trying to wake up slowly. "What...? What time is it?"
"It's four-thirty," answered Jake casually.
At that, Oliver's sat straight up in bed, not thinking much of it. "In the afternoon?!" He couldn't believe he slept all day. Was he really that tired? If he was, than why was he still feeling so exhausted? And why was everything around him so dark? Were his blinds closed?
"No... a.m.," Jake cleared up.
Oliver sighed, feeling slightly relieved that he can go back to sleep peacefully and slumped back down to his pillow, trying not to get annoyed with his friend. "Okay, Jake, I'm hanging up now. Call me at a decent hour when my brain will know who's the current president, so I can yell at you then."
"No, no, no! I want an explanation now!" Jake demanded, not giving up.
Oliver pinched the bridge of his nose and squeezed his eyes tight. "And I want an explanation to why you won't let me sleep?!"
"Crabby, aren't you?"
"Jake, I swear to God –"
"Just when were you exactly planning on telling me it happened?"
Oliver buried his head under his pillow, wishing he could seriously beat up Jake right now. He groaned loudly, but Jake went on, ignoring Oliver's annoyance. "I thought I'll be the first one to know, you know, me being your best friend and all, but no, everyone else has to see it first, on national television, no less. And besides, I thought you'll be over the moon about this. Was the sex at least good?"
Oliver still couldn't understand what Jake wanted from him at this crazy hour of the night. "What the hell are you talking about?!"
"You kissed Lilly!" Jake accused.
Oliver sighed, wanting this pointless conversation to be over so he could go back to sleep. "Is this really what it's all about?" he asked furiously.
"Of course," Jake answered simply. "Now what do you have to say for yourself?"
"It was not a kiss."
He heard Jake laugh hollowly. "Yeah, right. I keep replaying that part for the past ten minutes. Your lips touched, you both closed your eyes. You kissed, end of story."
Something finally registered in Oliver's mind. "Wait a minute. You really mean it when you say you're seeing it on TV?"
"Yeah, I taped last night's game so I could watch it after I got back from my date with Julie."
"And where is Julie, by the way?" Oliver asked.
"She's in the bedroom," Jake answered carelessly. Oliver could picture him shrug.
"And you're... where?"
"In the living room."
Oliver could distinctly hear in the background the familiar call of 'That's the way to do it!' the announcer at the game had said after he and Lilly kissed earlier that night, and understanding that Jake was serious when he said he was replaying it over and over. "Let me tell you, I was not ready to see that. One minute I'm at the kitchen, the commercials were playing and I'm thinking I would let them play while I make myself a cup of herbal tea –"
"Isn't every tea herbal?"
"Shut up, let me finish. Anyways, I'm taking my time, and then they go back to the game, but first they have to show that kitschy Kiss Cam. I just took my first sip when they showed the last couple and you know what happened when I saw who they were?"
Oliver sniggered. "Herbal tea all over the floor?"
"No, on the carpet. Now you owe me a new one."
Oliver rolled his eyes. As if, he thought to himself. "Seriously, Jake, it was nothing."
"Bullshit!"
"I mean it. Nothing happened. They asked us to kiss, we agreed to give them a little show, as friends. It was only a peck. Besides, I'm gay, remember?"
"Oh, so now you're okay with throwing the 'I'm gay' card at me, but yesterday you wouldn't shut up about how you are completely straight."
Oliver sighed again, itching to hang up. "Can we talk – or not talk – about this later?"
"Oh, we'll talk about it, alright. You owe me details and you better not skip anything."
"Sure thing, gossip girl."
Oliver didn't wait for any more 'small talk'. He shut off his phone, closed his eyes and snuggled back into his pillow.
–––
Feeling a little cranky since he didn't get much sleep after Jake's call, Oliver reluctantly dragged himself out of bed much earlier than he expected to wake on a Saturday morning.
Shuffling his way to the bathroom, all Oliver was thinking of was having a warm shower to get rid of his exhaustion. He had a restless night, full of bothersome dreams about Lilly and Jake's call earlier didn't help him get any rest, either. He took off his clothes and stepped into the shower as his mind was still reeling on the events from last night.
Adjusting the water temperature just right, Oliver shoved his head under the hot spray and closed his eyes, trying to enjoy the pressure the water was casting on his back. Images of Lilly from last night flooded his mind without warning. They flashed before his eyes as though he was spinning on a carousel in a nightly festival, the shimmering lights and colors circling him and making his dizzy. He had to hold onto the shower's walls to keep him from tripping.
There were Lilly's eyes sending him a questionable look after he kissed her. The next second it was Lilly's voice that sounded somewhat disappointed when he reminded her why he couldn't like the kiss. And finally was the image of her snuggling and sniffing his jacket.
It was all too confusing. Oliver began wondering what would have happened if he never agreed to play along to Jake's plan. What would have happened if Lilly knew he was actually straight and that he was beginning to think of her in a way that he shouldn't be thinking of his roommate? He knew it was wrong and that he shouldn't go that way, but what if Lilly was sharing the same feelings? It was silly, he knew that. They knew each other for less than a week. She couldn't possibly feel this way. Oliver was trying to force himself to believe it was the female companionship that he missed, that it would've happened with any girl he'd spend some time with.
"You're spending quite a bit of time in the office with Julie and you never thought of her this way," a voice echoed in the back of Oliver's mind.
"Yes, but Julie's a bitch," he countered, not even realizing he was speaking aloud.
"You said 'any girl'," the voice reminded him, and for some strange reason it sounded exactly like Jake's voice.
"I'm just lonely. It's really been a while since..."
Oliver's voice trailed off and he groaned with frustration. He fumbled blindly for the small shelf that held a selection of bottles and tubes. He grabbed the shampoo bottle, poured some of the thick liquid into his hand and began to massage it to his scalp. The small room quickly filled up with the hot shower steam and the soft scent of the shampoo. Oliver inhaled deeply, taking in the unfamiliar fragrance. It smelled fruity and perfumey and it smelled just like Lilly. Opening his eyes in surprise, he knew he'd find a different bottle of shampoo standing in front of him on the shelf than the one that he was used to. He snatched the bottle and read the label. "Apples. Great..." he muttered, and cursed silently at his mistake. Now he had to wash his hair all over again. He searched the shelf for the right bottle, but found that it was missing. It didn't take long, though, for him to get used to the scent and he couldn't lie to himself that he actually liked it. "Perfect! Could I get any gayer?"
But with the images of Lilly in his mind and her scent going through his nose, all thoughts of pretending to be gay left his consciousness and the wonderful moments he shared with Lilly for the past week replaced them. He never felt more masculine and proud to be straight.
It was impossible to push back the thoughts that entered his mind next. The moment they kissed in the game last night made him picture a different kind of scene: It was him and Lilly sharing an intense kiss, but they weren't at the game, they were sitting on their living room couch, just as they did two nights ago, sipping on red wine and just letting their feelings take over their actions. Lilly threw back her head and Oliver's lips traveled down her neck, planting butterfly kisses at the exposed skin, and making her emit a small, sexy moan in the contact.
Oliver cursed at his imagination. His whole body tensed up and a small pain in the middle part of his body began to build up. He had to take care of things quickly, right there in the shower; so he lowered his hand down to do the job, still picturing what would happen next.
His dream-self grabbed the hem of her tank top and helped her pull it over her head. His lips quickly resumed their previous actions at her neck, leaving dark marks at their wake that claimed her as his. His fingers, gentle but bold, slowly lowered Lilly's flimsy bra strap off her shoulder and revealed more creamy skin to kiss. Finally, his hands took control and snapped the bra open –
The fantasy faded away when Oliver finished quickly with a gasp. He breathed deeply, still the smell of apples swirling around him. As he relaxed, he began feeling even dirtier than before taking the shower.
"You're an asshole," he commented to himself and washed away the mess. He couldn't believe he's done it while thinking of Lilly. She was kind, funny and wonderful and now his dirty, horny mind had gone and ruined that image of her. How was he supposed to face her now after doing that?! She was his roommate! He will have to live with her and with this secret from now on and it won't be easy.
"No more of it," he scolded and turned off the water. The pipes inside the walls gave a squeak of protest.
He reached for a clean towel from the higher shelf. His fingers felt the soft fabric and realized it was another thing that belonged to Lilly. He wondered what happened to his own towel, the black one with the scratchy, overused fibers, or the rest of his stuff, for that matter.
Just when he was about to step out of the shower, the door to the bathroom suddenly opened, and Oliver quickly managed to duck back inside.
"Oops," Lilly said, but Oliver could see her silhouette through the steamy shower's glass, walking around the room. "Sorry, didn't know you are up."
"Lilly!" Oliver hissed, covering himself with the towel, even though he knew the shower glass was all fogged up and the steam that filled the room made it hard to see anything. "Get. Out."
"Oh, boo-hoo. It's not like it's something I've never seen before," she said in mock insult. Her voice was clear and fresh, signaling she'd been up for quite some time now. "I just came to pick up the dirty laundry. Do you have anything else that needs a wash?"
"Other than my dirty, hormone-driven mind, you mean?" The voice inside Oliver's head asked and Oliver was glad he didn't say it out loud. He gritted his teeth, wishing she would just leave already. "No," he hissed.
"Alright, I'm out." The door closed and the room was filled with silence once more. Oliver sighed, glad she didn't walk in on him barely five minutes ago.
He wrapped the towel around his waist, before the door opened again and Lilly's head picked in. "By the way, there's a lock on the door, you know," she said and disappeared as quickly as she showed up. Her giggles echoed behind the hard wooden door and Oliver growled loudly, wishing he could throw something at her to keep her out. Living with a girl wasn't as simple as he originally thought. But he was glad that he could get annoyed with her. That way, it would be easier to suppress his current desire he had for her.
After he got dressed and brushed his teeth, he turned around to hang his used towel to dry. His face came face to face with a piece of clothing Lilly apparently forgot behind. He snatched it and marched to the laundry room.
But he stopped short at the sight that waited for him when he entered the room. "Oh dear," he blurted.
Lilly was bent over the laundry basket. She took the dirty laundry and shoved it inside the washing machine. Normally, Oliver wouldn't think any of it, but since he just had to jerk off to a mental image of her, things were bound to change, especially since she was now wearing nothing but a pink tank top and sky blue cotton boyshorts.
He swallowed thickly at the sight of her perfectly round bottom held high in the air and for a moment he wondered if she was doing it on purpose.
She didn't seem to notice him, so he cleared his throat loudly. She peeked at him from between her legs and Oliver shifted uncomfortably, wishing he wouldn't get aroused again. She would be horrified if she saw he was getting excited while watching her behind and she would surely kick him out of the apartment.
"You forgot this," he said, his voice hard. He knew his cheeks were flushed. The memory of his fantasy was still fresh in his mind.
A navy blue bra dangled from the tip of his finger by the strap; he was holding it away from him, as if it was infected. She straightened up and he threw it at her. "Don't leave your underwear hanging all over the place like that again. No one else but you needs to see them." He knew he was being an ass, but he forced himself to act like that because if he didn't, he'd be acting like the infatuated fool that he was. "And would you please put something on? This isn't a strip club."
He span hard on his heal and walked back into the kitchen. As he prepared himself a cup of coffee, he pictured the hurtful look on Lilly's face and shut his eyes tight, taking a deep breath and hoping he didn't make her cry. He'd hate himself forever if he caused her to cry.
"Sorry, I didn't know it would bother you so much," Lilly said from the back room. Oliver was surprised her voice sounded so casual. "But you don't hear me complaining about your underwear, do you? Here I am putting them in the wash without snarling about it."
The washing machine began to pound as it started to work. Lilly walked out and passed by him without giving him much of a glance. Oliver knew he had gone too far. "I'm sorry. I just –" But she didn't pay attention to him. She simply walked over to her room and shut herself inside.
Oliver sighed. He left his coffee on the table and walked over to her door. "Lilly. Are you mad?"
The door opened in a quick motion after a minute and Oliver stepped back when Lilly appeared before him. She was now wearing a sweatshirt and long pajama pants instead. The fact that he now knew what she was wearing underneath, didn't help to soothe him much. "No, why would I be? You were right. It's just that that's how I used to dress around the house when it was just me and Miley. I didn't realize it won't be the same with you around. I'm glad you told me, though."
"I'm sorry, it's your home, too. You can wear whatever you feel comfortable with." For the life of him, he wished she didn't. He couldn't take another moment of her prancing around the apartment in her underwear like that. He would never stop those kinds of hot showers if she had.
She shook her head. "No, no. It's your apartment now, too. You should feel comfortable here and I wasn't doing a good job for helping you with that, and for that I'm sorry. I'd be more careful from now on." Oliver nodded in agreement. Lilly's lips suddenly curved into a playful smile. "Besides, it's clearly you have a phobia of female underwear."
Oliver frowned. "I do not."
She raised her eyebrows, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Maybe that's one of the reasons that you're gay?"
Oliver rolled his eyes, but couldn't help but laugh with her. They settled their argument with a friendly hug. Lilly pressed her face in the crook of his neck and then began to sniff. "Did you use my shampoo?" she asked as she pulled away.
Oliver opened his mouth, but it took him a minute to retort. "About that... what happened to all of my stuff?"
"What do you mean?" she asked, confused.
"My shampoo, my soap, my towel. Everything is gone."
"I put them on the shower's floor. There wasn't more room on the shelf. Did you not see them? And your towel was in the laundry basket. I just put it in the wash."
"Oh," Oliver said, now feeling stupid. "Well, there's another thing." He took a glance around the apartment. "Did you realize that everything around here is yours?"
She arched an eyebrow and they walked together to the living room. "What?"
"All of the furniture, the electronics, kitchenware and even the pictures – they're all yours. Everything that's mine is either in my bedroom or in the bathroom."
Lilly gave him a weird look. "You didn't bring anything else," she said slowly.
"It's beside the point, I could have –"
"Great," Lilly said cheerfully. "I don't mind. Like I said, this is your apartment, too. In fact..." She walked over to the bookcase behind the couch and held up a Polaroid camera.
Before Oliver saw what was coming, a flare of a light blinded him just when he took a sip from his coffee.
"Ugh, no," he grumbled, covering his eyes with his free hand.
"You asked for it!" Lilly said and snapped another picture of him.
"Stoooppp!" he called, a chuckle escaping his mouth.
"What's a better way to start decorating our apartment, than to fill it with pictures of the two of us?"
"I'm okay with pictures of the two of us, but not just of me."
He turned to her, grabbed the camera backwards so the lens was facing them and raised it high. He and Lilly leaned their heads together and smiled as he took a photo. The camera buzzed and the picture came out. Oliver shook it and then showed it to Lilly. They both waited for the image to appear.
"Oh God! I look stoned!" Oliver whined.
Lilly giggled. "I look fine," she said, sounding pleased. "And so do you." She went to return the camera to its place.
"Seriously? Look, I have dark circles under my eyes. Let's take another one. There's bad lighting in here."
"No, I like this one. Give it to me, I'll frame it," she said, holding out her hand to him.
Oliver suddenly felt self-conscious. "No way. I'm not putting a troll-like picture of me in the living room."
Lilly put her hands on her hips. "Just a minute ago you complained you don't have any pictures in here, and now that you do, you complain they're not good. Stop acting all girly and give me the photo."
"I will. I'll just get it airbrushed first."
Lilly laughed. "Fine. There are two perfectly scandalous pictures of you right here," she said and picked up the previous two pictures she took that fell to the floor.
Oliver launched at her, trying to grab the pictures from her hand. "No!" Lilly giggled and managed to escape from him. They ran around the living room, Oliver chasing after her, while she took advantage of her small figure to get away from him. "Come here! Lilly! I swear, if you put those pictures up, I will –"
"You will what?" she challenged with one eyebrow raised in curiosity.
He stopped short of breath and looked at her, the low coffee table standing between them. He tried to think of a good enough of a threat. Finally, he smirked evilly. "I'll delete all of the episodes of Desperate Housewives off the TiVo."
Lilly gasped. "You wouldn't!"
He quickly grabbed the remote control from the table and turned on the TV. "Hand me the pictures and the Housewives survive."
She narrowed her eyes. "We'll trade. You give me the one you have and you get these two," she said, waving the pictures in her hand.
"You're in no place to negotiate!"
"I can always dye the rest of your clothes in pink," she informed him confidently, folding her hands over her chest.
He clenched his jaw and studied her carefully. She didn't seem like she would lie about it. He knew she was able to do it and he really didn't want to risk testing her. He sighed. "Fine!"
They exchanged the pictures and Lilly smiled with satisfaction, while Oliver tore up the other two.
"Oh God, you do look awful in this!" she suddenly called. Oliver's head whipped around to her, but she simply gave him a wink as she put the picture in a frame on the TV unit.
"I hate you," he growled and she laughed heartily.
"Oh, that's not true. You know deep down you secretly love me," she said.
She walked over to him, gave him a quick peck on the cheek and snatched the remote control from his hand. She sat down on the sofa and began watching another episode of Desperate Housewives.
And Oliver just stood there, thinking over what she just said and wondered if what she said could actually be true.
–––
That very evening, while Lilly was in the bathroom, getting ready to go out with her friends, Oliver ended up dozing off on the couch. The TV was on, now playing some sort of an old movie on low volume. No wonder he fell asleep...
A sudden set of loud poundings on the door woke him with a start. Oliver rushed to the door as quickly as he could and peeked through the peephole. He sighed heavily before he unlocked the door, preparing himself from what was about to happen next.
He opened the door and stood back to let Jake in. Jake entered in a smooth walk, his strong aftershave following his trace.
"What's up?" Oliver asked casually, knowing by now that Jake won't fall for it. He closed the door after him and watched closely for his friend's reaction.
"Don't 'What's up' me," Jake said dismissively, shoving Oliver's shoulder hard. "You shut off your phone, you dick."
Oliver shrugged innocently. "It's my day off, I wanted some quiet time."
Jake nodded, his expression showing his evident disbelief. "Yeah, some quiet time with your new roommate lover, you mean."
"Shh!" Oliver hissed. "Lilly's here! She might hear you!"
Jake looked surprised. "So? She's part of this."
"No, she isn't," Oliver insisted. "I told you, nothing happened!"
"You seriously didn't sleep with her?" Jake asked, his voice now a whisper.
Oliver walked over to the kitchen, opened the fridge and took out a bottle of Coke. He poured two glasses and handed one to Jake. "She's my roommate, of course not."
Oliver exchanged a careful look with Jake. He knew Jake could read him like a book. After all, he wasn't that good of a liar. Jake suddenly gasped when he noticed the guilt creeping on Oliver's face. "But you want to!"
Oliver rolled his eyes, drank his Coke in one gulp and turned to the sink to wash his glass. Jake followed him, trying to make Oliver emit some sort of an answer. "Oliverrrr..."
Oliver's head snapped up and he glared at Jake warningly. "Don't."
He grabbed Jake's glass from his hands, not waiting for him to finish his drink, and spilled the untouched soda into the sinkhole before he began rinsing it, too.
"But I'm happy for you," Jake said, sounding genuinely pleased. "This is – It's good. It's about time, too."
Oliver scowled. "What is that supposed to mean?"
Jake grabbed a plum from the fruit bowl next to him, turned and leaned his elbows against the counter, and began tossing the fruit from one hand to another. "It means that it's really been a long time since you've been with someone, and one more week without sex and you might as well consider yourself a virgin again."
Oliver finished busing himself with the dishes and dried his hands in the kitchen towel. "Jake, I care for you, really, you're my best friend, but I think your hearing might be wonky. You should really see someone about it."
"Very funny," Jake muttered. He stared at the plum in his hands for a moment before he bit into it.
"Then hear me out. I didn't have sex with her and I'm not going to." Jake opened his mouth to argue, but Oliver interrupted before he could say anything. "Let it go."
They walked into the living room and sat together on the couch. Oliver began flipping the channels on the TV, not finding anything interesting to settle on.
"Wow. You've really living it up here, huh?" Jake said sarcastically. "You should really get an X-Box or something."
Oliver shrugged. "I can always come to your place and play with yours."
Jake took another bite off his plum. "Not tonight, though, I'm going out," he said while chewing.
Oliver looked him up and down, finally seeing for the first time since he entered that he's all dressed up. "Another date? Who is it this time?"
Jake sighed, sinking his teeth into his plum and finishing it in one large bite. "Julie."
Oliver was surprised. "You're going out with her again? Is it serious?"
Jake chuckled. "Of course not. We just didn't get to talk much last night, if you know what I mean..."
Oliver shuddered at the thought, noticing a smirk spreading on Jake's lips. Thinking about his best friend and his office-mate together made him slightly sick. It wasn't that he disliked Julie. He hated her. And the fact that Jake was going out with her two nights in a row, worried him. Usually Jake didn't bother asking the girls he went out with on second dates unless he found something different in them, and that, too, didn't go on beyond the third date. Oliver hoped this wasn't the case with Julie. He knew that Jake could find someone better.
"Wow..." he said slowly. "Well, good luck, I guess."
"Thanks. I'll talk to her about you tonight, don't worry," Jake added and for a moment Oliver forgot why he needed to come up as a conversation topic on their date, but then he remembered what happened yesterday at work and relaxed.
"Good. Make sure she'd be convinced."
"Well..." Jake said slowly, his voice turning slightly pitchy.
Oliver frowned and looked at him. "'Well' what?"
Jake scratched his chin and Oliver knew he was thinking whether to say it or not. "We did discuss it a bit yesterday."
"And...?" Oliver urged.
Jake bit the inside of his cheek. "She didn't quite believe me."
Oliver's eyes widened. "And what makes you think she will today?"
"Well, she suggested something."
Oliver's eyes squinted at his friend, not liking where this was going. "What?"
Jake looked as if he was preparing himself from being hit by Oliver the moment he will speak. He cowered in his spot and said carefully, "She said she would believe me if you go out with her friend."
Oliver blinked, not sure how to react. A date with a friend of Julie's. Great, that ought to be good.
He sighed, willing to get this over with. "Fine. When?"
"To...tonight?" Jake asked, his voice weak but hopeful.
"With the two of you?" Oliver asked and Jake nodded. "I don't think so."
The sound of a lock clicking came from the hallway interrupted them and the door to the bathroom opened. A cloud of heavy steam escaped the room and Lilly emerged out, all dolled up as she had been last night, only this time she was wearing a red mini dress and her hair was wet and pulled up into a tight ponytail. Oliver swallowed hard the lump that built at his throat at the sight of her. The familiar scent of apples slowly left the shower and Oliver could feel himself melting.
As she walked into the living room, she stopped at the sight of Jake sitting with Oliver on the couch. "Jake! Hi!" she said in surprise.
"Hey, Lilly," Jake said, raising a hand in a wave. "Nice seeing your face is not glued to this ugly one right here," he said teasingly, clapping Oliver on the shoulder. Oliver shrugged his arm off his shoulder in annoyance.
Lilly laughed lightly. "Oliver told you about that, huh?"
"Nope. Saw it on TV."
Lilly's face suddenly paled. Oliver twitched in his seat uncomfortably. "Oh dear," she muttered. "Maybe that's why my mum called me so many times. I need to call her back." She then turned to look at Oliver. "Prepare yourself, Oliver, she might want to meet you, just to make sure you're alright, but don't worry, I'll let her know you're just a friend and try to get you out of it."
Oliver shook his head. "Good, because I don't do parents."
"Apparently he doesn't do anyone these days," Jake added and yelped when Oliver shoved his elbow at his ribs. Lilly chuckled at the joke. "So... Going out tonight?"
She looked sheepishly at him. "Yeah. There's this party..."
"At Miley's," Jake completed her sentence, nodding in understanding.
"Yeah."
"Do you need a ride somewhere?" Oliver asked, interrupting the awkward moment and changing the subject.
Lilly turned to him, obviously surprised at the suggestion. "Um, no. I already have a ride," she said. "Thanks."
She opened her clutch purse and looked inside, as if checking if she forgot something, but Oliver knew she just did that as a distraction.
"Well, I got to go. Don't forget to leave the door chain unlatched. I'm probably gonna be out late tonight," she told Oliver as she walked to the door.
Oliver's gaze followed her. "Alright. Have fun!" He waved her goodbye and she left.
Jake straightened up, seeing the smitten look plastered on Oliver's face and chuckled. "Only roommates, huh? You were basically undressing her with your eyes."
"I was not," he denied flatly.
"Oliver, you're in too deep."
Oliver sighed. "I can't be feeling this way towards her, Jake."
Jake perked up. "You need a distraction, my friend. Come on, come with us tonight. It'd be fun. We're going to a bar. We'll have a few drinks, talk for a bit and let ourselves loose. By tomorrow we'll laugh it off."
"I don't know..." he hesitated. "Seeing Julie at work is more than enough, why do I have to endure her on weekends, as well?"
"Don't think about Julie. You'd be too busy with her friend to even notice her. Besides, I'd be busy with her, you won't even care."
Oliver didn't know if he should agree. Judging by Julie's slutty behavior, it wasn't hard to guess her friend was probably the same as her. Slutty women were definitely Jake's thing. Oliver never found it appealing. Then again, Jake was right. He needed to forget the sudden, unwanted feelings he developed towards Lilly and this was a good way of doing it.
"What do I have to do?" he finally asked Jake.
Jake rolled his eyes. "Jesus, Oliver, it's not a mission. Give it a try, maybe you'd like her?"
"I doubt it. Now, tell me."
Jake pondered for a moment before replying. "Just take her home with you."
"You mean –"
"I mean, it's time to pull out the Durex out of the drawer, Ol."
Oliver felt his throat begin to contract and he swallowed hard. Can he do this? He never has before. One night stands weren't his thing. He thought of the way Jake lived his life, noticing how happy and carefree he was, going from one girl to the next. Maybe it was time to live a little? Start new things? Hell, he was pretending to be gay; he needed to get a girl laid, so he won't get too used to the idea. And he didn't have any better plans for tonight. After all, it was only ten minutes ago that he was snoring on this very couch.
"Give me ten minutes to get ready."
Jake grinned, digging out his phone from his jacket's pocket. "I'll let Julie know."
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A/N: That's that for now. Next chapter is also gonna be a little intense. Hope you like it. As per usual, I'd like to read your thoughts, so write them below and I will upload the next chapter ASAP. Cheers!
