Chapter 16

Amelia stared at her phone, the message from Oliver glaring at her.

Oliver: Did you get home safe?

Her heart did an unnecessary somersault. It was a simple text. Normal. But why did it feel like it meant more?

She hesitated before typing.

Amelia: Yeah. You?

A few seconds later, the typing bubble appeared. Then it disappeared. Then it appeared again.

She groaned, rolling onto her bed. Why was he hesitating? Was he overthinking things the way she was? Or was he just busy? Ugh, why did she care so much?

Whiskers, or rather, the figment of her imagination that took the form of a sassy cat, stretched lazily at the foot of her bed. "You could just confess your undying love and be done with it."

She grabbed a pillow and threw it at the spot where he sat. "Go away, traitor."

"Harsh," Whiskers mused. "I'm only stating the obvious."

Her phone buzzed again.

Oliver: Yeah, I'm home. Also… thanks for today. I had fun.

Amelia bit her lip. Was he just being polite, or was there something behind those words?

Amelia: Me too.

She hovered over the send button before finally pressing it. Within seconds, he replied.

Oliver: We should do it again sometime.

Her brain short-circuited. She turned to Whiskers. "Okay, what does that mean? Is that a normal 'let's hang out again,' or is that a 'let's go on a date'?"

Whiskers inspected his paw, completely unimpressed by her crisis. "I don't know, maybe you should use those things called words and ask?"

She flopped back onto her bed, groaning. No way was she asking that. Instead, she buried her face in her pillow, hoping sleep would save her from overanalyzing every little thing.

But deep down, a small, undeniable thrill sparked in her chest.

Maybe -just maybe -this wasn't so one- sided after all