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Way to make things even more complicated…
She carried Olivia’s drink back to the table, almost spilling it into Olivia’s lap as she set it down with a shaky thud.
“What made you decide to do it?” she asked, cradling her own tea in her hands, soaking up the condensation. “Cut your hair.”
“What you said in the car,” Olivia answered, putting her phone away and trying her drink. “Oh, this is good. I’m not usually a fan of cold tea.” She took another long sip, tucking her hair back behind her ear. “You told me to focus on what I wanted, nobody else. And I realised that this is what I wanted. So I went for it.” There was a giddiness in her voice that made Paige smile. It was nice to see her so happy. She’d almost forgotten what it was like to be around people with such an infectious mood. Her mother was hardly the best role model.
“I mean it when I say you look great,” Paige said, lifting her gaze slowly to meet Olivia’s. “I’m glad you went for it.”
“Thanks, Paige,” Olivia said. “So am I.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
Paige struggled to sleep that night with all the thoughts swirling around in her mind. Thoughts about the girl snuggled beneath the covers beside her, the edges of her pink-and-blonde hair almost touching Paige’s brown curls.
What did it all mean?
Those looks they had shared after Olivia had cut off her hair. The book about friends turning into lovers. All these weird thoughts and feelings.
She felt like everything around her was changing, and she could hardly keep up with it all. This was supposed to be a fun holiday, a break from her depressing mother, a chance to reconnect with her best friend after drifting over the last few weeks.
Friendship isn't enough...
Was that the case for Paige? Was her friendship with Olivia no longer enough? Did she want something more? She didn't know. She couldn't tell. Her thoughts were as tremulous and billowy as the wind outside, rattling the windchimes on the porch.
She'd never felt like this before, about anyone. Romance, attraction, dating... none of it had interested her in the slightest over the last seventeen years of her life, so why now? And why Olivia?
She turned her head so that she was looking at Olivia. Her lips were parted, her breaths fluttering the edge of the sheet. Even in the semi-darkness, they looked so pink, so soft.
Paige wondered what it would be like to kiss them.
She’d never kissed anyone before. The desire to do so had never even crossed her mind.
Until now.
Oh god. Now she was thinking about kissing her best friend?
Even if she did like Olivia in that way—in a way that was something more than simply being friends—it wasn’t as though she could come out and admit it. What if it ruined their friendship completely? Olivia couldn’t feel the same way. She’d never even shown any interest in dating girls before, and she’d told Paige herself that relationships were out of the window for a while after the last boyfriend disaster.
She thought agreeing to join Olivia on holiday would help sew up the frayed edges of their friendship, but now she was thinking things that had the power to rip it apart at the seams. She didn't want that. She didn't want to lose Olivia. Not when she was the only person who really understood her—and liked her—for who she was.
She wasn’t going to ruin everything they had just because of some silly little feelings that she didn’t even understand.
“We have a busy day ahead of us,” Olivia said the following morning as she sat in front of the mirror, curling her newly-cut hair with tongs. “I want to do all the beachy stuff. Walk on the sand, look for shells, eat chips and ice cream and, finally, visit the amusements.”
Paige flopped back onto the bed, covering her face with her hands. “Sounds… exhausting.”
“You didn’t come on holiday expecting to lounge around in the cottage all day, did you?” Olivia said, setting the tongs down.
Paige peeked between her splayed fingers. “No…”
Olivia laughed, walking over to Paige and pulling her hands away from her face. Paige squirmed, trying not to focus on the way Olivia was looking down at her, her short hair falling over her cheeks, her green eyes twinkling. “Come on, it’ll be fun.” She pulled Paige to her feet. “You’ll feel better once we have some breakfast.”
“Your hair’s only half curled,” Paige pointed out as she shuffled into the kitchen behind Olivia.
“Food before beauty,” she replied flippantly.
They had managed to grab some groceries from a local corner shop on the way home from town yesterday, so the cupboards were no longer empty. Olivia had insisted on more pastry for breakfast, grabbing a bag of pain-au-chocolate and some butter croissants to have in the mornings.
