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Paige sat up, squinting at her. “Reservation?” she repeated, her voice still groggy. “Oh dear, what have you got planned?”
Olivia wiggled her fingers. “It’s a surprise. You’ll have to wait and see.”
“Somehow, that doesn’t reassure me,” Paige muttered, raking a hand through her short curls. They flopped over her eyes in a tangle, and she caught Olivia staring at her, an unreadable expression on her face. “What?”
“Nothing,” Olivia said, collecting herself. “Did you sleep well?”
“No, actually. I had a nightmare about going swimming in the ocean in the middle of the night and getting attacked by a giant octopus.”
Olivia chuckled, fixing the strap of her shirt as it slid down her shoulder. “Are you sure it was a dream?”
Paige sucked in her cheeks. “I’m starting to wonder.”
She got up and took a quick shower, wrapping one of the cottage’s soft microfibre towels around her body to ward off the chill that rose from the bathroom tiles. She had brought a pair of denim shorts and a striped crew-neck t-shirt to change into, but her mind went back to the look Olivia had given her earlier that morning, and she decided to try something different.
“Olivia?” she called through the door, rapping her knuckles softly against the wood. When she received no response, she inched open the bathroom door, clutching the towel tighter against her chest as steam flooded around her legs.
The bedroom was empty, so Paige tiptoed over to the wardrobe and pulled out the blue-and-white skater dress that Olivia had convinced her to buy. She hadn’t had the chance to wear it yet, and she wanted to surprise Olivia by putting it on.
She took it back to the bathroom and got changed. The material of the dress was soft and flexible, swishing around her legs. She smoothed her fingers through her curls, letting them fall freely around her face instead of tying them back, and stepped out.
Olivia was in the kitchen, humming to herself as she buttered a croissant.
“No Nutella this time?” Paige asked, arching a brow.
Olivia turned round, the knife still in her hand, and froze when she saw Paige.
“You’re wearing your dress,” she said as Paige fiddled with the hem of one of the sleeves, her fingers tugging anxiously at the material. She felt shy all of a sudden beneath Olivia’s gaze, and hardly knew where to look. “You look... really lovely.”
Paige felt her cheeks flush. “Thank you. I figured I probably wouldn’t wear it back home, and it seemed a waste since I went and bought it and everything,” she rambled, still picking at the fabric.
Olivia simply nodded, and Paige wondered if she was imagining the pink colouring on Olivia’s cheeks.
“So, are you going to tell me where we’re going yet?” Paige asked, taking a seat at the island and drumming her fingers against the marble surface.
“Nope,” Olivia said, buttering the rest of her pastry before dumping the knife in the sink and sitting opposite Paige. “I told you, it’s a surprise.”
Paige sighed softly, bridging her hands beneath her chin and leaning her elbows against the table. “Last time you said that, you came back with your hair chopped off.”
Olivia smiled around a mouthful of croissant. “You’re going to love it. I promise.”
Paige bounced on the balls of her feet as she waited for Olivia to finish locking the door, the sun hot on her neck. “Which direction are we heading?”
Olivia slid the key into her bag before turning to face her. “That way,” she said, pointing vaguely towards the amusements.
“That doesn’t tell me anything.”
Olivia grinned. “Exactly.”
“Alright, lead the way, I guess,” Paige said, wondering what kind of ‘reservation’ her friend had booked. As long as it wasn’t some kind of spa treatment, she should be fine. The thought of strangers massaging her body made her all sorts of uncomfortable.
The tide was high that morning, and only a small strip of the beach was uncovered, the sand crisscrossed with fresh footprints. Paige wondered if any of them belonged to her and Olivia from last night, or if the traces of their midnight adventure had already been swept away.
Loud music poured out of the amusements as they headed up a set of steps half-hidden behind them, onto a street of old-fashioned brick buildings. A fish and chip shop called ‘Catch of the Day’ sat on the corner, the smell of grease and vinegar wafting from the outside vents.
Paige cast a curious glance towards Olivia, but she either didn’t notice, or purposely ignored it, smiling to herself. Paige wasn’t usually the biggest fan of surprises—she hated being kept out of the loop—but she trusted Olivia, and she was almost excited to see what she had planned.
Olivia finally stopped walking as they reached the middle of the street and stood facing a building with a white pebbledash exterior. Orange paw prints were painted along the side of the wall, circling around a logo that spelled out SANDY PAWS CAT CAFE.
