Crushing on My Billionaire Best Friend: A Hot Romantic Comedy

by Jolie Day

  Or I could say that I accidentally lost it. I could add that while I did lose it, I knew he definitely wasn’t interested. So, get lost, Red.

  But deep down I knew, no matter what I did, that girl would come and go. Next week, both she and Oliver would be on to somebody new. Something needed to change. I thought the little extra fuel for my fantasies would be enough, but it only seemed to make me want more. I needed Oliver to know how I felt. There had to be some way to get Oliver to really see me.

  And then it hit me. Of course!

  I impulsively hid in one of the janitors’ closets, pulling up a milk crate to sit on. With pen and paper in hand, I started writing. I had held it all in for so long that suddenly it was just exploding out of me. I was tired of these girls always carrying on about how “cool” or “hot” Oliver was. They didn’t care for him the way I did. If he weren’t the most popular guy in school, he would have been as invisible to them as I was.

  All of my feelings came bursting from the ink, resulting in a three-page letter that bordered on an epic sonnet of Shakespearean magnitude. It was beautiful. I was so proud! I was finally going to tell Oliver how I felt. But when I reached the bottom, I hesitated. I probably shouldn’t sign my name. I wasn’t sure if he’d recognize my handwriting, but if I did sign it…I imagined the life I knew slipping through my fingers.

  No more pass to walk right up to him and his guy friends. No more letter deliveries. No more winking and calling me “Laney.” If he knew the letter was from me, he’d probably treat me like one of “them,” thinking I wasn’t any different.

  Or…I imagined a different scenario. One where it was all left up to the powers that be. He would read the almost anonymous letter, put two and two together, and know it was from me. Maybe, he’d know it deep down in his bones…in his soul. Because we were meant to be together. He wouldn’t even need to respond to it. He would find me after school and just kiss me without saying a word.

  I signed with my initials, E.C. It may have been the most ridiculous idea ever, but I was too high on hormones and desire to care. I was convinced it could work—that he’d be happy I’d written the letter and look at me differently, not just as his friend. I knew it would work. I burst out of the closet and down the hall. Oliver was making his way to his first class. I made sure to slow down and walk more casually up to him, trying to breathe and act normal.

  He turned to look at me, then down to the letter in my shaking hand. “Wow. Another one already? Busy morning.”

  “Yeah, but I think…I think this girl really likes you.” I smiled with a wink. “Like…really, really, you know?”

  “Oh, yeah?”

  “She’s…super cool.”

  I knew I sounded like a babbling idiot, but I felt the need to translate my thoughts into something that more closely resembled his lingo. He had three pages of my true language and would be reading every word of it soon enough.

  Oliver simply nodded and walked over to lean against his locker. I watched as he skimmed through the first page too quickly, and by the second page, he was bursting into laughter. I could see him silently mouthing through the words, sometimes regaling them a little louder for his cluster of guy friends that had gathered around.

  My heart shattered. I could feel hot tears welling in the corners of my eyes. I tried to forget what I wrote, somehow rearranging the words in my head to not sound as tragic and pathetic as they actually did. But there was no taking it back. I remembered each and every word perfectly.

  Sometimes the best things for us in life are right under our noses, and we never pay attention long enough to realize it. I believe I could be one of the best things for you…because you are for me. Maybe you’ve never considered me in that way before, but the powers that be brought us together under the roof of this school, and you do feel drawn to me…at least in some way. Maybe you feel drawn to me because we’re soul mates.

  “Ha-ha-ha.” Oliver laughed even harder, emphasizing the words. “‘Your brown eyes are deep and mysterious. Your blond hair is like a field of wheat dancing in the sun!’ What the hell?” He tried to slow down to catch his breath, clutching his stomach as he gasped between bursts of laughter. “‘How could I see these things about you if you weren’t my soul mate? If you took a closer look at me…maybe you’d see things you loved about me, too.’—What a nutcase!”

  What a dickface. With a quick glance to make sure nobody had really noticed my part in the whole exchange, I took off running toward the bathroom again.

  I’d never once missed a class until that morning. Through the entirety of AP English, I sat on one of the toilet lids, locked away in a stall, sobbing as I accepted the reality that absolutely nothing would ever make Oliver see me the way I saw him.

  Thank God I hadn’t put my full name on the letter. But did he recognize my handwriting? If he didn’t now, he’d certainly figure it out later.

  And I would deny that the letter was from me.

  11

  Laney

  I braced myself against the sink and stared at my morning reflection. Okay, Elaine. Remember your little pep talk and that awesome five-step plan last night? Suck it up, butter cup. You’ve got this! You’re going to have fun and enjoy your time with Oliver. No sappy shit today, got it?

  I tucked a few strands of hair behind my ear and put on some mascara, eye shadow, lip gloss—regardless of what we were doing today, I wanted to look and feel good. I also put in my contacts. No glasses today!

  As I opened my bedroom door, I was instantly hit with the delicious smells of coffee, fresh juice, and hot syrup.

  “Mmmm, thank you. Looks amazing.” Oliver was reading a paper at the table where a plate of pancakes topped with fresh blueberries was waiting for me.

  “Just a little fuel for the day.” He poured me a glass of OJ. “There’s coffee, too, if you want some.”

  “What, no note for me?” I asked with a wink.

  He glanced up from his paper and shook his head. “Laney, I’m a man. You’ll never see me write notes. In fact, hell would freeze over first.”

  “So you don’t like it when I leave you notes?”

  “I didn’t say that, but you’re a girl. I’m a man. A man does not write cutesy notes. Got it?”

  I fluttered my eyelashes, laying it on thick. “Not even for his very best friend and best roommate, who makes awesome breakfast and spends hours watching Netflix and—”

  Oliver grinned and cut me off. “Don’t push it, Goofball, or I’ll eat all the pancakes myself.

  I laughed and filled up a mug from the pot before joining him at the table. “You didn’t have to go through all this trouble, you know.”

  “I wanted to,” he said with a shrug.

  Uh-huh. He was up to something…

  Did a letter from NYU arrive for me?” I asked.

  “Nope. Sorry.”

  I started cutting up the pancakes, wondering what was going on in that head of his. “So, what do you have planned for me today? Spelunking? Rock climbing?”

  “It’s a surprise.” He winked.

  Oh. Shit. My heart jolted in my chest. Surprises from Oliver could go one of two ways: he could scare me to death, and actually make me think I was dying—skydiving! Oh, my God. Like, for real. That was not fun when you felt or saw your death coming at you just before the parachute saved your ass. But what if the parachute failed? It’d be Pancake City. Or it could be one of those where he wanted to show me something new he’d found, a new hobby. This was what I hoped for. Otherwise, I might not make it through the day. Rock climbing?

  Elaine, remember plan number one on your list: I will relax and be my normal happy self. That means, not overthinking things like a crazy person and just letting go. Okay, I could do that.

  I bit into a forkful of fluffy, hot syrup-covered pancakes and tried my best to forget all of that (especially Pancake City) as I watched Oliver eat while reading his paper, barely able to contain his smug smirk. He loved tormenting me with the unknown and
being in control. I supposed I could put my reservations aside for a few hours if it meant making him as happy as he looked this morning.

  When we finished eating, I rinsed our dishes and put them in the dishwasher. Oliver had gone to grab his jacket, and it made me wonder if I was dressed appropriately. The little shit still hadn’t given me the slightest hint as to where we were going.

  “Hey, is my blouse and jeans okay for whatever it is you have planned?” I asked as he returned to the kitchen.

  Oliver stroked his chin, eyeing me with his signature smirk.

  “What? Do I need to change?”

  He chuckled. “The pink heels should probably go. Maybe a pair of sneakers?”

  I loved my heels, they matched my blouse, but he was right. What had I been thinking? Heels? Ugh. I laughed at myself. “Um, right. Good call. Be right back, and then we can go.” I headed to my room to change my shoes (that still matched my blouse, thank you very much!) and met him in the living room.

  He escorted me out into the parking garage. I was relieved when he led me to his white convertible Porsche rather than his motorcycle. I let out a big breath as I climbed inside the passenger’s seat.

  “Figured I wouldn’t scare you right off the bat today,” he said as he slid into the driver’s side. “We’ll start out slow and save the bike for another day.”

  Thank God. Smushing my chest against his back and clinging to him for dear life was not the tone I wanted to set for the day. I buckled the belt across my shoulder and sat back, eagerly awaiting the big reveal for whatever he had planned.

  I was surprised when Oliver finally pulled into a large parking lot somewhere I didn’t recognize. I followed him through the gates of a covered enclosure where men were posing with golf clubs on a vast green plot spread out in front of us.

  “Golf?” My mouth dropped open as he stuck a key into one of the lockers and pulled out a bag of his own clubs. “You got me to agree to absolutely anything in the world, and you brought me to play…golf?”

  “Yep! Disappointed?”

  “Not at all!” I was so relieved I’d not be staring down the side of a cliff he expected me to jump off of or some cave I was supposed to go dangling down into on a rope, that I couldn’t help myself. I stood on my tiptoes, hugged him, and kissed his cheek. “Thank you for not forcing me into anything too extreme.” I could feel the blush on my cheeks from my accidental kiss.

  Holy crap! I hadn’t meant to kiss him, but his unshaven skin sent a thrill of desire straight to my panties. It made me wonder what his stubble would feel like between my legs. Oh, heavens… I had to squeeze my thighs together to ease the throbbing sensations growing more and more intense by the second. So much for relaxing. God, Elaine. Get a grip! You can think of this in your bedroom later! Not at a golf course while you’re standing in front of Oliver!

  “See. I told you that you can trust me.” He was surprised to say the least. “Ever played?”

  He started walking toward two of the stations in a row of other men. I had to run to catch up to him. “No, I’ve never played. I didn’t know that you did, either.”

  Oliver stopped at a small green square with a couple of feet of netting on either side of it. An identical empty spot sat right next to that one.

  “You know I do a little bit of everything. Keeps things from getting boring. Anyway, golf is a good buffer for entertaining potential clients in my line of work.”

  I stood there, watching cluelessly as he pulled out a golf ball and placed it on the tee in front of him. Like a pro, he swung his strong, muscular arms back before hurtling them forward again, sending the little white ball bouncing somewhere off in the distance—almost too far away to see.

  He nodded between me and the empty spot next to him. “Go on. Give it a try.”

  I sucked in a deep breath and stepped over to the bucket of balls behind us. I tried placing one on the tee, just as he had done, but of course, mine fell off and went rolling down the hill without ever even touching the end of the club Oliver had shoved in my hands.

  Baring my teeth in a nervous laugh, I slinked back over to grab another ball. This one managed to stay put long enough for me to square up to it.

  “Sure, I can get the hang of this,” I said out loud to myself as I reared back in the same way all the other people were. No problem. I’ve so got this!

  But my club went flying right past the ball without even so much as grazing it. I laughed it off and tried again. Um, so, I don’t “got” this… God, I sucked ass at golf. But at least I managed to hang onto the club. That was a plus.

  Oliver chuckled and stepped forward. I stiffened when he stood right next to me and said, “Here, let me help you with your form.”

  I had been worried about my chest against his back if he forced me onto his bike, but now it was his chest against my back, which as it turned out was just as bad. I could feel his perfectly chiseled abs pressing against me and his warm breath on the back of my neck. His large hands wrapped around my grip on the club, placing his arms skin to skin against mine.

  Everything in me tensed up as I swallowed hard, trying to keep my feet firmly planted. I wanted to run away. I needed to flee from him just like I always did. But I wouldn’t. I had a plan. I also didn’t want to be hit with another lecture from him for making things weird, and I didn’t know how many more of those I could take before the whole awful truth came spilling out.

  Okay, I didn’t really want to run, but his being so close, the feel of him, it was too much. I wanted him so badly—all of him.

  So, I told my internal voice to shut the hell up.

  “Just relax,” Oliver said softly against my ear in that deep, sexy rasp he pulled off so well whenever he was speaking quietly.

  The minute he said it, I relaxed too much. I completely melted inside and felt my grip loosen around the club. If Oliver hadn’t been positioned behind me with his hands on mine, I might have dropped the damn thing. But it seemed to be exactly what he needed from me. He started molding me like putty in his hands.

  Everything around us seemed to dissipate as he offered tips on where to move my hands and how to stand. I couldn’t breathe when his hand dropped to my hip as he moved one of my legs a few inches back. I was losing myself in his voice and turned my head, bringing us face-to-face. I didn’t know why I did it, but there we were, suddenly—his face and lips inches away from mine, with his body wrapped around me from behind.

  Oliver had been in the middle of explaining something, but his words slowed before stopping entirely. It was like a million fantasies I’d had over the years—a moment where everything was still, and we were close. I’d pictured it happening so many times just before we finally kissed. I couldn’t believe it was finally happening in real life. A breeze went by, filling my nostrils with the scent of his cologne: notes of cedar and mint. His brown eyes drifted down my face, landing on my lips. I parted them instinctually, and we both seemed to linger far too long.

  He took a step back. “Just like that. You’re getting the hang of it. Now try it again.”

  I instantly missed the warmth of his body against mine, but I sucked it up and closed my eyes, trying to compose myself. Inside I was screaming, how can I be expected to swing this club like all of that didn’t just happen?

  If I waited too long, things would get awkward. I hurled my arms forward like I never had before, letting them glide smoothly through the air. The tip of the club smacked into the ball, sending it flying all the way out to the fifty-yard mark.

  Fifty yards was the closest distance marker, so every other golfer around was looking at me like I was crazy. But since my first attempts had sputtered out at a much shorter distance, it was a huge feat for me.

  I erupted into a bouncing dance of cheers and squeals, dropping the club to the ground. I was so excited, I hopped all the way over to Oliver without thinking, but he was quick to oblige me with a big smile before wrapping his arms around me for a congratulatory hug. Our eyes met again but we we
re interrupted by a loud woman’s voice.

  “Oliver? Oliver!”

  Oliver let go of me, and I looked up just in time to see a woman walking up to him to put her arms around his neck, practically running him over and forcing him to take three steps back. He smiled right back, which cut me like a knife.

  As the woman pulled away, my heart sank. It was the same chick from the kitchen the other night. Her questioning gaze eyed me up and down, but it was safe to assume she had no memory of me and was more concerned about trying to figure out what my relationship was to Oliver. Likely due to the fact I’d dashed back to my room because I didn’t want to see her half-naked ass.

  “Hey,” he said slowly. “This is my friend, Laney. And this is…” He turned back to the woman, but I could tell he was trying to remember her name. The longer he hesitated, the more frustrated she appeared as my face brightened up.

  “Sandra,” she said with a tight smile, relieving him from his lapse of memory.

  “Of course, Sandra.”

  “It’s so good to see you,” Sandra said to him, not acknowledging me, her hair blowing perfectly in the wind. I was glad I’d pulled mine back in a ponytail. “I’ve been waiting for you to call so we could have dinner. Maybe tonight?”

  The confidence and certainty in her body language and voice made me cringe. That was the sort of thing I could never pull off. She didn’t even bother to hide the suggestive tone in her voice. I knew exactly what she meant by “dinner,” and so did he. She made sure of it. She didn’t care that seconds ago, he couldn’t even remember her name.

  “I would love to,” he replied, causing my heart to drop again. “But I have plans tonight. Maybe some other time.”

  “You better,” she purred before walking away, not even noticing that I was standing there and almost bumping into me. What a bitch.

  I went back to the task at hand. My irritation with the snobby, rude-ass girl was soothed by Oliver’s response. The rest of it, I intended to take out on the golf ball. I flung the club back, just like he had taught me, and swung.