Duets

(4) Why Don't We Paint The Town And All That Jazz

The very dainty barista hands Olive her mug of coffee but doesn't smile when the brunette does. Olive turns, rolling her eyes as she does so and makes her way to the table in the corner. The boy sitting at the table has mocha skin and dark brown eyes. His curly hair is almost the same color as his eyes and the slight scruff growing on his face.

"Okay, why am I here?" Olive asks, pulling out a chair in front of him. The boy, Matt Davis, gives her an incredulous look.

"You know exactly why you are here." He responds, wrapping his hands around his brown mug. Olive and Matt have been best friends since they met their freshman year of high school. He even sacrificed his degree to Brown to attend the small community college next to her. Matt is there to tell her when she is being illogical, and Olive is there to tell him when he needs to loosen up and have fun.

"Ben and I... I don't know. We just work, I guess." She shrugs, as if it's no big deal because to her, it really isn't. This is not the first time it had happened, and Olive knows that it definitely isn't the last. Not as long as they live in the same town.

"No, you don't." Matt waves her off, sipping his coffee. "About a week ago, the boy next door was the answer. You were going to be happy again, but now? Whoops, I'm just back with my ex? That's not how it works, love." The brunette girl looks down into her coffee, trying to avoid his eyes at any cost.

"I don't know anything about Drew. Not like I know Ben. I think it's best if I just stick to what I know." As much as Olive wants to get to know every aspect of Drew, she knows that nothing will be the same as Ben.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, and all that jazz. Whatever, Liv. You know a lot about him. I know that much." Matt pops his knuckles once before shaking his head. "You know, Drew sounds like a great kid. He sure thinks the world of you."

"How do you know what Drew thinks?" Her phone vibrates in her pocket, and she slips it out just far enough to see the contact name at the top of her screen. Drew M. She doesn't reject it, but she also doesn't answer it; she only slips the phone back into her pocket.

"I may or may not have stolen your phone to get his number." Matt shrugs. He had done the last time Olive was at his house, moping around over Drew. He had to hear from the guy that so obviously hurt her. She wouldn't tell Matt anything about him, other than the fact that he lived next to her. If she didn't live in the worst part of town and it wasn't super late, they probably would've ended up at her place, and nothing could've stopped Matt from going to see Drew in person.

"I'm sorry, what? You had no right to do that." She says, clearly upset but not as upset as her best friend expected.

"It's my job to keep you happy, alright? I had to check him out for myself." The dark-haired boy answers. "And honestly, I think you need him."

"I don't need anyone, except my best friend." Olive smiles, placing her hand over his where it lays on the table. 

"You seem to think that you need Ben, but Liv, that's the last person you need in your life right now. I think that Mr. Morris needs another shot." As soon as he stops speaking, her phone began ringing again. She pulls it out expecting it to be Drew but notices that the name has changed to the blonde boy's name. "Is that Drew?"

"No, it's Ben." Olive says, clearing her throat.

"Can I have this one?" She shrugs and slides her phone across the table. Matt takes the phone and his mug to the small bench directly outside of the coffee shop, leaving Olive with her own mocha and his phone laying screen-down on the other side of the table.

The short-haired girl glances behind her at Matt once before picking his phone up. She unlocks it and immediately pulls up his call history. Sure enough right at the top rests Drew's name. Before she can stop herself, she taps his name and places the phone against her ear.

"Hey, Matt. Have you met with Olive yet?" Drew answers on the second ring. Olive smiles too herself. Just hearing Drew's voice automatically perks her up. She can't imagine what actually seeing him would do to her.

"It's me, Drew." She replies.

"Olive, oh my God. It's so good to hear from you." She can hear the relief flooding through his voice. He's just as happy as she is.

"So, I was wondering if you wanted to try that date again? Wednesday night, even?" 

She hears him laugh on the other line before sighing. "Absolutely. I mean, I would love to. So, what happened with - Cait, stop! Hey, stop it! Look, um, I'm kinda having a bit of a situation here. Can we talk when you get home? Caitlin Morris, get off the table!" He answers, talking back and forth between the rowdy puppy and the beautiful girl.

"Yeah, I'll be home soon." They hang up on each other just as Matt emerges back into the cafe. "So, how'd that go?" Olive asks.

"Probably not as bad as yours. How's the kid?" Matt responds, tossing her phone back to her.

"Well, we're going out again, so pretty well." She responds. Her friends rolls his eyes and shakes his head.

"You didn't even need me. Get outta here. Go sing to him in the shower again." He jokes, carrying both off their half empty mugs to the counter to get them put into travel cups. Drew didn't even have to tell Matt about the shower duets because Olive had told him herself, thinking it is probably the cutest thing she's ever had with anyone.

"Maybe I'll sing All That Jazz. Find out if he's a Chicago fan." She teases, taking the now to-go coffee from him as they make their way outside.

"Ha, ha. Just get in the car." He pushes her away gently while she laughs, finally actually sounding happy again.