Intermission - An issue of trust (part 2).

They had to take a moment to calm down, breathe and compose themselves. Alice certainly needed it.

“What the hell?” she asked tiredly, rubbing her eyes. “Seriously, why throw this at me all of a sudden?”

“We had to,” Grace said with a wry smile. “We couldn’t postpone it any longer, and you know I advocate for ripping the band aid in one go.”

“You sure do…” Alice sighed. “Look, I… It’s not like I enjoy keeping people at a distance. I just can’t… be myself around people who aren’t you anymore. I can’t help it.”

“And we don’t blame you for it,” Mila told her.

“We blame ourselves,” Sarah added.

“Don’t,” Alice insisted. “Like I said, I needed to stop relying on you girls for everything. And hey, it’s worked in some ways.” She chuckled weakly. “I’m now one of the few in school who can give Grace a run for her money when it comes to test scores.”

Mila laughed more heartily. “Oh yeah! You actually beat her in history and science these midterms!”

“In my defense, I had to spend a lot of time tutoring some people in math specifically because they just couldn’t get it.”

Sarah crossed her arms and turned her gaze away. “What? Blaming Oliver for losing, Grace? Pathetic.”

“I’m blaming you, Sarah. Oliver at least finished the exercises I gave him for home study.”

Mila laughed even more. “Oliver did beat you in math, Sarah.”

“Ugh…”

It came out on its own. Alice held her stomach and began to laugh along with Mila. God, she needed it.

“It’s good that you’re laughing, but I don’t enjoy being the butt of the joke…” Sarah grumbled.

“Sorry, sorry!” Alice said, still giggling.

“Well, in return for letting you laugh at me,” Sarah grinned, “I want you to answer one question.”

“Hm?”

“You’re having a hard time trusting people, which is understandable. But if that’s the case, why did you tell Oliver your big secret?”

“Why even invite him to the car meet you have this Saturday?” Mila added.

Alice felt her cheeks and ears warm up. She smiled genuinely and answered. “You three trust someone so much that you date him at the same time. When he saw me at my brother’s shop, I felt… relieved. I was like ‘Ok, he saw me. What can you do?’” She shrugged. “Then before I knew it, I was blurting out everything, even talking about my car…”

Alice took a hand to her face. That had been so awkward. He showed a minimum of interest and Alice started talking about wankel engines… Just how starved was she for someone to talk to about this stuff?

“Honestly, I don’t get it. Remember when I told you I participated in my first race? I was all excited to tell you how much fun it was and you girls nearly killed me.”

“Oh yeah.” Sarah nodded, fondly reminiscing.

Mila giggled. “We were worried sick. We still worry.”

“Still looks dangerous to me,” Grace said. “But anyone who can control a car like that has to know what they’re doing. Besides, you sometimes can’t help your passions.”

“Please tell me you still use a helmet,” Sarah pleaded.

“And all my racing gear, too. I’m not that stupid.” Alice pouted. “The thing is, you know why I can’t even tell Isabelle and Noelle I race. It’s not just about… trust. They’d freak out for sure.” She grimaced.

“But you could tell Oliver?”

Alice sighed. “Like I said, before I knew it, I was spilling everything. More than I should have…”

“You know…” Grace grinned devilishly. “There are plenty of psychology studies that say attractive people are more likely to seem trustworthy.”

Alice now felt her cheeks and ears burn. “Grace! I didn’t mean it like that!”

“No need to be ashamed, Alice,” Sarah teased her, poking her ribs.

“He’s really cute, after all,” Mila said dreamily. “I’d get a credit card from him if he offered me one in the street.”

“You’re not going to tell us you think our boyfriend is ugly,” Grace said in a fake offended tone. “Are you?”

Alice snorted. “Like I could. It’s not like I don’t understand why you’d share…” Her voice became meeker as she realized what she was saying.

“He’s not just cute, though. His muscles are to drool over!” Mila giggled and shivered. “Want to see a picture of him without a shirt?” Before Alice could answer, Mila was already going through her phone.

“T-That’s…” Alice swallowed. “I don’t think that’s appropriate…”

“Mila, it’s not right if we **** it,” Sarah told her.

“I’m not forcing anything,” Mila pouted, looking at her phone screen. “We don’t get many chances to brag, is all…”

“**** what?” Alice asked.

Grace rubbed the back of her neck. “I was hoping things would naturally go that direction. I tried, but finding a good segue for it is hard.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Alice, what do you think of Oliver?” Grace asked. Alice opened her mouth to answer, but Grace wasn’t done. “Do you think he’s good looking? Nice? You’ve technically known him longer than us.”

What? Were they really worried that Alice was trying to take him away from them? No, if anything, their questions and teasing were more along the lines of…

“He’s… changed,” Alice answered. She looked down at the floor. “He used to actively ignore people. I never believed it was out of malice, but it made him difficult to approach. Even so, he was always kind and reliable. I guess that’s one more reason I didn’t mind telling him I’m a street racer. Now, though… The whole air around him has changed. He seems… bigger.”

Sarah nodded. “He said he grew a few centimeters, and you can tell his shoulders and arms are thicker, too.” She smiled. “He can lift over a hundred kilos, you know?”

“Not what I meant.” But… Yeah, Alice had noticed that, too, despite herself. She had to ignore the rising temperature of her face. “The way he looks at people and his willingness to speak more are probably the biggest changes. You know, other than…” Her eyes unconsciously glided over to Mila’s phone. She caught the picture she was looking at.

Oliver, sitting on a large bed in an overly fancy room, wearing nothing but his boxers. He looked like he hadn’t noticed he was getting a picture taken. His abs were marked, and his chest…

“Do you like him?” Sarah asked bluntly.

“W-What?” Alice asked, startled.

“We’d like it if you did,” Mila said innocently.

Okay, what? Was… this really what Alice thought it was?

“Like him? I… don’t know.” Alice bit her lip. Did she like him? If it was the Oliver from before, then the answer was no. Alice always thought he could be more than he was, but this certainly wasn’t what she had in mind.

She pursed her lips as his face popped into her mind, and had to consciously keep herself from stealing another look at Mila’s phone.

Looks aside, she knew from what Isabelle and the girls told her that he was doing quite a lot. He was diligently hitting the gym, he had a job as a waiter, he was keeping up with his studies, and all that on top of making her friends happier than she’d ever seen them. It was… admirable.

Alice had been trying to grow, to become as strong and reliable as Mila, Sarah and Grace. She wanted to be someone people could count on. Oliver… seemed to be the same, but the difference was he was making visible progress. It was enviable, even.

She dated a college guy for a short while. She thought he’d be someone mature, someone she could learn from. He wasn’t. If anything, Oliver was closer to what she was looking for in a partner.

“Why are you asking?” Alice asked them.

Grace took a deep breath. “Because, if you wanted to try something with him… We would support it.”

Okay, this conversation was going to take longer.

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