CHAPTER ONE
Olivia had always wanted to visit somewhere with exotic plants, although she wouldn’t remember their names if her life depended on it. Her dream had always been to be surrounded by water reflecting in the late afternoon sunlight, drinking a margarita with a dry rim, not forgetting a splash of blue curacao. She took a sip and looked towards the water, noticing a small school of fish congregating near the shore. She had no doubt they were trying to stay clear of sand sharks and the like. There was a pelican flying over the shoreline. You could barely see his shadow, a nice sized fish in his beak. Olivia laid her head back and slowly closed her eyes, listening to the waves crash against the shore. “Ah, this is exactly the relaxation I needed,” she thought. The Imperial Pigeons were cawing at her feet begging for a scrap of her tuna salad sandwich, but that didn’t bother her. She was reveling in the smells, sounds, and feeling of peace in her paradise.
Olivia suddenly awoke to her clock radio blaring on her bedside table covered in empty wrappers of Lindor chocolates. She didn’t know how her old clock from the 90s still worked, but it was about the only thing that awoke her out of her deep sleep nowadays. “Oh, come on!” she exclaimed. She was just starting to enjoy herself in her fantasy world of palm trees, squawking birds, and salty air. Now she was back to reality, alone in her fourposter bed, along with her cat Oscar curled up in his common spot, right between her legs. “Ugh, I guess it’s time to get up now bud. Come on, I know you’re hungry.” She moved one leg slightly to compel her loudly purring orange tabby cat to jump off the bed, allowing her to kick her comforter off without hurting him in the process.
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When her feet hit the cold hard wood floor, she mentally filed a note to have mostly carpet in her next house, except for the kitchen for obvious reasons. As she walked towards the guestroom, temporarily the cat room until she could receive her washer/dryer combo and change its location, Oscar weaved in and out of her legs meowing obsessively loud. “Impatient little menace. I’m going as fast as I can,” she thought. After licking his bowl clean, he left her to take his after-breakfast nap, one that he had at least 10 of before the end of the day.
Olivia’s phone rang back in the bedroom, and she ran to catch it before she missed the call. She still hadn’t changed her obnoxious voicemail since getting this new job in the city and didn’t want to be embarrassed on her first day.
“Hello, this is Olivia,” she said in the best customer service voice she could manage at 7 In the morning.
“Olivia, this is Jack from Campbell, Mrs. Holiday’s class. I know this is a surprise, but I was wondering if you have a moment to chat.”
Olivia dug deep in her memory trying to figure out who this Jack character was, and then it hit her. This was her high school crush, a tall, blonde-haired, blue-eyed football player exemplifying the stereotype of the perfect man for a girl to get her hands on. How could she forget him? She was only ogling him for 4 long years, unnoticed by the jock being arms locked with skinny, blonde cheerleaders.