If We Were Perfect - Ana Huang Page 0,33

of his—

Nope. Nooooot going there.

“Thought you went to dinner. Date with Malcolm the Tech Guy didn’t go well?” Sammy asked casually.

“It was fine. I...” Huh. She didn’t actually need to look that hard. She could totally see his—no! Stop it! Olivia tried to push her dirty thoughts out of her mind and prayed to God she wasn’t blushing. “What?”

Sammy gave her a strange look. “Date. Hungry?” he prompted.

“Right.” She cleared her throat. “We went to a bad restaurant, and I didn’t eat. The end.”

“You want ramen?”

“What?” She sounded like a broken record.

“Instant ramen,” Sammy clarified. “I can make some. They’re nothing mind-blowing, but they’ll tide you over until the morning. Unless you want eggs and toast.”

A warm, gooey sensation oozed through her chest. “Ramen is fine. Thank you.” She watched him prep the food, swallowing the lump in her throat. Even though there were moments she wanted to kill him, Sammy was a good guy. No, not good. Great. And she’d been stupid enough to drive him away. “What about you? Why are you up so late?”

“Couldn’t sleep.” Sammy dumped the noodles in a pot on the stove. “Thought I’d watch a show or something till I could.”

“What show did you have in mind?”

“Probably Friends or something I’ve already watched. Otherwise, I’ll stay up all night to find out what happened next, and that won’t solve the problem.”

“Good point.” Olivia chewed on her bottom lip. “I’m down if you are.”

Sammy’s eyebrows rose.

“To watch the show,” she said. “I can’t sleep either, and we’re both already up...” She trailed off.

Sammy shut off the stove and ladled the noodles into a bowl. He stayed silent for so long Olivia was sure he’d say no until he surprised her with a quick nod.

“Let’s do it.”

They stuck with his original Friends suggestion. In between laughing their butts off and arguing over which character was the best friend—Olivia said Phoebe; Sammy was Team Chandler—they talked about everything that came to mind, just like they used to. There was something magical about the late-night to early morning hours that compelled people to drop their guards, and for once, things between Olivia and Sammy felt like old times: easy, comfortable, and poignant all at once. The awkwardness that had lingered between them since her apology dinner faded more and more until it was nothing but a faint memory by the time Olivia drifted off.

She stayed on the couch next to Sammy, too cozy and sleepy to move, and as her eyes fluttered shut, she found herself thinking that she could get used to nights like this.

Chapter Ten

Over the next two weeks, Sammy and Olivia settled into a comfortable routine. Their unexpected late-night bonding over Friends reruns had erased some of the tension, and the longer Sammy lived with her, the easier it was to pretend they were just roommates with a history but no hard feelings. He even invited Olivia to his friends’ annual Fourth of July party. The fact that she accepted after only a brief hesitation spoke volumes about how far they’ve come in such a short time.

They weren’t back to the way things used to be before their breakup—Sammy didn’t think that was possible. But they were friendly, and that was a helluva lot less exhausting than hostile.

Of course, that didn’t mean he couldn’t have his fun. He saw the way Olivia looked at him when she thought he wasn’t paying attention. She was attracted to him, and he took advantage of her attraction by walking around the house shirtless more often than he would’ve otherwise.

A little regret and longing never hurt anyone, and it was fun seeing her squirm.

Sammy smiled a diabolical smile as he pulled up in front of Aaron’s house.

“What’s that look on your face?” Olivia eyed him with suspicion.

He smoothed his features into a mask of innocence. “I’m excited for the food. Aaron is a grill master.”

“That wasn’t a look of excitement. That was a look of pure deviousness.”

“Deviousness? Me?” Sammy doubled up on the innocence. “I would never.”

“Hmph.” Olivia didn’t look like she believed him, but a golden blur distracted them before she could continue her interrogation.

“Hey, buddy!” Sammy laughed as Milo, Aaron’s huge golden retriever, nearly knocked him off his feet in its excitement. He scratched the dog behind the ears, and Milo’s tail wagged with enough speed to whip up a Category One hurricane. “Excited today, huh?”

“Sorry about that. He’s been jumping on people all day.” Aaron strolled out of the house and shook his head good-naturedly.