Olivia

“Here, take a cup of coffee. That always works for me.” Lauren gives her coffee machine an affectionate pat. Jill just looks at her as if she’s offering rotten fish. Olivia bursts out laughing. “Jill is exactly like me, she never ever drinks coffee.” Lauren shrugs. “What are you so worried about anyway? It’s a date, not a medical procedure.”

Jill smoothes down her dress. “I really, really like him. We make such a good team.” Now Olivia looks at her friend with indignation. “If it’s all so great, why do I have to come along?”

“For James, of course!” Lauren exclaims, but immediately starts biting her finger nails. “Tom said it might all be a bit too forced. Just the two of us staring at each other, I mean.” Jill says without making eye contact.

"Yeah, that sounds like a Tom thing," Lauren comments. Olivia stops what she's doing. "I keep forgetting that you know him." Lauren doesn't respond. Jill nudges her. "So your previous roommate was friends with Tom, right? That's what Olivia told me." Lauren shrugs "I don't know him that well. I think he's a decent person, though." Then she looks at Olivia. "James, on the other hand." She shakes her head. "He’s a real Casanova. He can talk any woman he wants into his bed.” Lauren goes on and points accusingly at Olivia. “You’ve been single for so long, you are definitely easy prey.”

Olivia pretends she doesn't care and puts on her jacket. She barely has enough energy to do the dishes and today she has already vacuumed under the couch. The last thing she needs is a hazy night with a stranger. She firmly pulls Jill along. “Come on, Prince Charming is waiting for you.”

After a short walk, they stop outside the pub. Jill nervously grabs her phone, but Olivia holds the door open and makes a wide gesture with her arm. Jill goes inside, but looks like she wants to run away. She stops abruptly and Olivia bumps into her. “There” she almost whispers. “Do you see them? Over there by the window. The one with the gray sweater is Tom.” Jill waves awkwardly and they walk to the table. It is still very quiet in the small pub. Tom stands up and helps Jill with her chair. He’s a handsome man, with dark hair and a calm demeanor. Olivia sits down on the last free chair and tries as casually as possible to observe the man across from her. Is he really wearing a Hawaiian shirt? Olivia decides against checking his shoes under the table. Sometimes it’s better not to know.

“Hello, I am James,” he says with a grin while holding out his hand. Olivia shakes it and is surprised by his firm grip. “Olivia,” she says with a brief nod. James looks her up and down and Olivia feels herself turning bright red. "Was it hard to get here?" Tom blurts out. Olivia smirks, but Jill smiles warmly. "No, not at all. Olivia actually lives super close now." Tom is relieved. "Yes, with Lauren. That's right." James suddenly claps his hands. “Let’s order something.” he says loudly and waves at the waiter.

Tom and Jill start to giggle as they grab the same menu at the same time. “What can I get you?” The waiter is immediately ready with his notepad. James leans back. “I’d like a coffee, please. Black. Without milk or sugar.” He makes it all look so easy. “Coffee as well, please” Tom stammers. The waiter shifts his gaze to Jill. “Yes, for me too.” she says quickly. Olivia looks up from her menu, completely stunned. She opens her mouth to say something, but James interrupts her. “And what would you like?” he says with a smug little smile. Olivia feels herself blushing again. “Fine. I’ll have a coffee too, please.” The waiter writes down the order and leaves.

Olivia pulls the menu closer. “Jill! This is that pub with all those mocktails! Look, the Blue Shoe Martini Cocktail. And the Virgin Mojito looks good.” Jill nods, but doesn’t respond and instead asks James something about his job. They exchange some polite stories and Olivia has to admit that James is actually very handsome. But then she pictures Lauren’s triumphant face and shakes the thought away. She's too tired anyway. The waiter returns quickly with four cups of steaming coffee. Olivia studies Jill’s face again. She doesn't even move a muscle. She calmly pulls one of the cups closer and begins to stir with a practiced motion.

The conversation turns to football and when Olivia thinks no one will notice, she carefully takes a sip of her coffee. Disgusting. Absolutely vile. Seriously, how can anyone drink something like this? And to think there are people who can't live without coffee. It’s worse than dissolved paracetamol. She carefully puts her cup down and looks straight into James’s eyes. He smirks with raised eyebrows, but doesn’t say anything. Olivia decides not to touch the coffee anymore. More and more people enter the pub and the music is growing louder.

Olivia watches carefully how Jill keeps taking small sips of her coffee. Every time she swallows, she stares intently at the table. Once the cup is completely empty, she gives Olivia a triumphant nudge. “I’m going to order another one, do you want something too?” she almost shouts. Olivia firmly shakes her head no. Tom follows Jill to the bar. “Have you decided?” he asks. “Yes. That blue one. What was it again? Blue Shoe Martini, please.” Tom gives a thumbs-up and orders a watermelon mocktail for himself as well.

When their drinks arrive, Tom doesn’t move. But Jill keeps glancing back at the table. “Maybe we should go back.” Tom frowns. “Why?” Jill gestures toward Olivia “I don’t know. What if she won’t make it alone.” Tom starts laughing. He even wipes tears from his eyes. “Make what? She’s with James. Not with a grizzly bear.”

James and Olivia are alone. With practiced ease he pulls his chair around the table so he’s sitting next to Olivia. “Because of the music,” he explains. Olivia smells his cologne, but gets distracted by that terrible shirt. James follows her gaze and clears his throat. “Tom really likes Jill, you know. I only came along as emotional support. As a neutral party.” Olivia furrows her brows. “This is neutral? As if you are so irresistible that Jill would just forget about Tom? She has talked about nothing but him for weeks.” James nods, completely unfazed. “Yeah, you're probably right. Maybe I should just take it off.” And he starts to undo the top button. Olivia freezes. James quickly straightens his shirt and coughs.

“Would you like another drink?” James asks after an awkward silence. “What about another coffee?” She can't help it. He says it so innocently. She laughs. “No, please, no!” James laughs too, relieved. He turns back to her with that grin from before. “I actually don't like coffee either, you know.” he says smoothly while nonchalantly rubbing through his hair. The insecurity has disappeared and he’s fully back in character. “I just think it looks cool.” Olivia is surprised. What kind of game is he playing? “Yeah,” he continues, putting a hand on her chair. “What did you expect? Am I not allowed to feel insecure when such a beautiful woman is sitting across from me?” he says calmly while looking straight at her. He observes her, patiently waiting for a reaction. Patiently waiting for her to drown like an insect in his honey-sweet syrup. Olivia drums her fingers on the table.

She leans forward. “But I don't think drinking coffee is all that attractive, so this whole charade was pointless.” she says with an equally sweet smile. He slides his chair even closer. “So what do you find attractive then?” he asks, his mouth very close to her ear. Olivia feels his arm rubbing against hers. She tries to think. To come up with something original, but she can only think about that bag of crisps in the kitchen cupboard. She slides her chair back and turns toward him. “You know what I want? What I really want? To go home. Watch a series. Sleep. I was only here for Jill and she clearly doesn't need me anymore.”

For a moment they both look at the bar where Jill is explaining something with her hands to Tom. Jill sees them and waves. “Olivia seems to have a good time after all. Do you think they could be a match?” she asks Tom. He shrugs. “Don't know. James can been quite moody. Says dating is pointless.” Jill steps back. “Do you think so too?” He looks at her with a frown. “Do you also think dating is pointless?” She repeats and quickly takes a sip of her drink. “Is this about us?” he asks while taking her hand. “With you, I want to go on at least a thousand dates.”

Olivia uncomfortably looks away as Tom starts to kiss Jill passionately. Then she notices how Jill tries to put the bright blue mocktail on the bar without letting go of Tom. Olivia bursts out laughing. “You know what, James? I’ll treat you to a mocktail. Just say which one you want.” She hands him a menu and opens the other one herself. He flips through it for a moment. Puts the menu back on the table, but then opens it again. “No,” he says more to himself than to her, while pushing the menu away from him. “That's all too sweet for me. If you are going home, I am going too.” For a moment Olivia looks at him suspiciously. “To my own house, of course.” he says, offended. “What do you think of me? I know how to enjoy my own company, you know.”

Olivia pushes her menu to the side. She takes the time to examine James again. She peeks under the table. Perfectly ordinary sneakers. She shakes her head. “I was really afraid of you, do you know that? Your reputation precedes you.” He raises his eyebrows. “My reputation? Like what exactly? A serial killer? Who told you that?” She is startled by his sharp reaction. “Only Lauren, I promise. You know, my new roommate.” For a moment something flashes across James's face. Then it’s gone again. “And what exactly did Lauren the roommate say about me?” He looks smaller now. Almost helpless. Olivia can't suppress her smile. “Maybe you should ask her yourself. Over coffee.”