Never Have I Ever (One Last Time # 1) (Wattys2017)

Fear and Fake ID's In Las Vegas

"Vegas? Jesus, Olivia. Are you sure?"

Lena looked up from the strawberry milkshake in front of her, her lips hovering over the straw as she gaped at me.

"We're leaving in about an hour. It's only about a four hour drive." She still looked shocked.

"You're going to Vegas alone with Abel?" She questioned, her eyes darting from me to my Penguin phone case in front of me.

"Oliver's coming." I spun my straw around in my nearly empty chocolate milkshake, frowning.

"Liv, look at me for a second." I lifted my head slowly, afraid of what she was going to ask that was important enough for me to have to meet her eyes.

"Do you like Abel?" I snorted a little too quickly after the question, warmth spreading through my cheeks.

"What? I'm no-"

"Don't act like you're naive and don't realize it, Liv. Tell me the truth." I sighed, pushing my bangs out of my eyes as I stared across the table at my best friend.

"I think I do, but I'm not sure. Lena, I loved Adrian for-"

"Don't bring him into this, I'm sick and tired of associating his name with you. My question is about him, but I'm not saying his name." She took a deep breath, "Do you think that maybe you weren't really in love with him, but maybe the idea of being with him?" Her question made my mind immediately do spin around and drift back to what Abel had said.

"Nobody loves me, they love the idea of me." He had said. Could. . . was Lena actually right? Was I never actually in love with Adrian Parker? Had I only been obsessed with the idea of having someone to love, for someone to love me?

"Liv." Lena reached across the table, her hazel eyes more green in the dim light of the diner, "Do you remember when we were like eleven and Abel gave you his sweatshirt to wrap around yourself when you got your period? Adrian was there, but he never did anything. A real man puts a woman's needs, his woman's needs, before anything else." I wanted to tell her that the comment was kind of sexist, but decided against it.

"You know I don't like Abel, he's a manwhore. He was with most of the girls in high school. . . but maybe he's grown up. Maybe he's starting to realize just how damn wonderful you are." I smiled a little, but dropped my head to stare down at the marble table below me.

"My advice is to find out if you have feelings for him in Vegas. Because we both know this list is almost done and then what happens?" I nodded.

"What if it's a game?" I blurted before I could stop myself.

"What do you mean?"

"What if he made a bet with Oliver or someone else, that he could-"

"Stop right there." Lena shook her finger in front of my face, "Abel may be a man whore, a cocky douche, and even a little bit of a liar, he would never, ever do something like that to hurt you, Olivia. I've had the unfortunate experience of knowing him for ten years, and I've seen the way he treats you, the way he looks at you." I turned away from her, grabbing my phone as I stood up.

I wasn't oblivious or stupid, I had seen the looks Abel had given me over the years. I had always just. . . I guess I had just thought they were nothing but looks. After I had turned him down when we were kids, had turned him into the manwhore Lena loves to hate, I thought he would have moved on. But somehow, somehow he hadn't. And in some weird way, I was relieved he didn't.

"Liv. I know you may not want to listen to me, that you're still trying to figure out how the hell you feel about everything. About what happened with Adrian and me, about your feelings for Abel, about the list. But I want you to know that you can call me, you can tell me everything. I'll always be here for you, we're sisters, remember?"

*

"Is that it? You got everything?" Abel asked, shutting the trunk of his black Volvo. Oliver nodded beside me, yawning.

"Yeah. What about you, Liv?" My brother sent me a curious glance as our parents walked out on to the porch.

"You kids behave yourselves, you understand?" Mom said, pointing at the three of us. I laughed while Abel nodded with a small smile.

"Yes, Ma'am. It's only four days." My parents exchanged a look before laughing.

"A lot can happen in four days, kiddo. Especially in Vegas." He said a few other things to Abel before we all hugged and walked back toward the Volvo where Oliver was swinging the keys around his finger.

"Be careful! We love you guys!" Mom yelled as we climbed in. It wasn't until we had drove away from the house that I felt a strange feeling set in the pit of my stomach.

"Is little Livvy already homesick?" Oliver taunted from the driver's seat, catching my eye in the rear view mirror. I glared before laying my head against the window.

"Cool it, Oli. Isn't this her first time away from home?" Abel snapped back at my brother, earning a look out of Oliver and me.

"Yeah, man. But she better get used to it if she's going clear across the country for school." Abel stared at my brother for a long time, as if he were some math problem he was trying to figure out, then looked back at me.

"So I've got a friend in Vegas to hook us up with ID's and a pretty nice club." Abel went on, looking ahead as my brother turned on to the freeway. I stared at the back of his head, watching as he ran his hand through his blonde curls nervously.

"Fake ID's?" I spoke up, "Aren't those illegal?"

"If we get caught." Oliver responded.

"I don't think it's a good idea. We could get-"

"It'll be fine, Liv. Stop worrying so much." Abel cut me off, shaking his head in the front seat, "I promise you won't regret it once we're there." I turned to stare back out the window, watching as we passed LAX and continued into the large mass of traffic in front of us.

*

I woke up to someone carrying me, my head hitting his chest. I could tell from the familiar scent of AXE and the smell of some designer cologne that it was Abel.

"I don't think we should wake her, man." I heard Oliver whisper, "She's probably exhausted and doesn't want to go partying tonight." I felt Abel shift me in his arms, his chest moving as he huffed out a sigh.

"We didn't come here to sleep the entire time, Oli. We came here to-"

"I get that." Oliver snapped, sounding irritated, "But she's not like us, Abe. She can't go all night partying and getting shitfaced. I won't let her and if you gave a shit, you wouldn't either." I felt Abel's grip on me tighten for a second.

"What the hell is your problem, Oliver? Why'd you come if you were just going to sit here and kill every one of my ideas? This was supposed to be fun, not some boring vacation." I heard Oliver snicker at Abel's words.

"You expect me to believe that, bro? You don't think I know what plans you had for you and Liv if I hadn't come? I'm not a dumbass, Abel. I know exactly what the fuck is going through your mind every time you see her, I can see it in your eyes." I heard a slight pause before Oliver went on, "Why don't you just tell her?" I shifted a little in Abel's still arms, not knowing if I wanted them to know I was awake or not.

"I've tried." Abel muttered, "But every time I try the words don't come out right and I sound like a fucking idiot. She deserves better then me anyway, Oliver. I. . . I want her to be happy." Somehow it wasn't Abel's response that surprised me, but my brothers.

"If you want her to be happy, then I think you should tell her straight out, Abe. She's not one for little games, you know that as well as I do." My brother's voice was closer as he finished his sentence, "All she wants is someone to love her, Abel. And if you believe that you can be there for her, then I highly suggest you make your move before it's too late."

***AN***

Hope you guys enjoyed!

Do you agree with Oliver? Do you think Abel should make a move before it's too late?

Let me hear your thoughts!

~ChasingMadness24