You've Found Oliver (You've Reached Sam, #2)(59)

“Whatever.”

“Oliver mentioned you’re from Seattle,” Ben says.

Julie nods. “Yeah, I grew up there.”

“I think I can tell.”

“Is that so? I’m guessing you’re from there, too, then.”

“No, but I go to the University of Washington.”

“Oh, really?” she says, leaning into the table. “Both my parents graduated from there. That’s actually where they met. What are you studying?”

“Astronomy.”

“Interesting.” Julie glances between us. “Remind me how you guys met?”

I should probably answer this one, but I’m curious to see what he comes up with, so I lean back and say teasingly, “Yeah, Ben. Why don’t you tell her the story.”

Ben blinks at me. “You want me to answer?” He takes a second to think. “Wer…met at a research conference.”

Julie raises a brow. “Oliver…at a research conference? Did he wander in there by accident or something?”

I shoot her a look. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Oliver actually knows a lot about space,” Ben says, touching my shoulder. “At least in the abstract sense. He came up to my presentation on black holes and asked a lot of thoughtful questions.”

Julie points to me. “This Oliver?”

I throw up my hands. “What’s so hard to believe?”

“I just didn’t know you were interested in astronomy,” she says, shrugging.

“Then maybe you don’t know me as well as you think you do.”

The waitress comes to take our order. As usual, Julie orders a Greek salad with a side of fries. Ben and I are going to share the country fried steak and a blueberry waffle. The moment the waitress walks off, Julie notices the flowers.

“Whose are those?” she asks, pointing.

“Actually, they’re for you.” Ben hands them to her.

“Oh…really?”

“Oliver mentioned you like roses, too.”

“I do. But what are they for?”

I fold my arms. “Does there need to be a reason?”

“You’re right. That’s really kind of you. Thank you.”

She holds the flowers like she’s not sure what to do with them.

There’s an awkward silence. Thankfully, Ben breaks it by saying, “So, Oliver tells me you’re studying abroad in the spring.”

“Actually, I might not be going.”

I look at her. “What are you talking about?”

“I’m sure you’ll be happy to hear this,” she says, setting the flowers down beside her. “But I’ll probably being staying here after all. My dad’s accepting a position in Baltimore, starting in the new school year. He asked me to stay for the spring since he already thinks we don’t see each other enough.”

I thought he’d already turned that down. “Didn’t he decide to stay in Seattle for a few more years?”

Julie takes a sip of water. “Apparently, he had another meeting with their provost and changed his mind, so I guess you’ll have me for the whole year.”

I’m not sure how to feel about this news. I’d been trying to convince her to stay for months. I should probably be thrilled about this, but for some reason it doesn’t seem right to celebrate. The waitress comes out with our food. I’m not as hungry all of a sudden.

Julie takes a bit of salad and says, “So, Ben, what else should I know about you?”

“I like to cook sometimes.”

“What kind of food?”

“Nothing too fancy. Unless I have a visitor.” He squeezes my leg under the table. “Oliver tells me you’re an incredible writer.”

“I don’t know about that,” she says, slightly embarrassed. “But I do write a lot. Mostly poetry these days. I’m in a creative writing class right now.”

“I’m always jealous of creative people,” Ben says. “All the ideas you come up with. I struggle writing birthday cards.”

“Do you read a lot?”

“Not as much as I want to,” he admits. “The last thing I read was The Paper Menagerie by Ken Liu. Honestly, I needed time to recover. It’s the only book that’s ever made me cry.”

Julie leans into the table. “Oh my god. I cried, too.”

They continue talking about their favorite books. Julie offers to give him some recommendations, which is a good sign from her. Coincidentally, they’ve both studied French, and they go on about some film called The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, which apparently inspired La La Land. Meanwhile, I haven’t seen either movie.

It’s really nice to all sit together, watch them hit it off for the first time. I wonder if they’re getting along a little too well. When they start talking in French, I have to interrupt them. “By the way, I’m also here.”

We finish dinner with an ice cream sundae. Then Ben gets up to use the bathroom. Julie waits a beat before she leans in and whispers, “I like him more than I thought I would.”

“I told you, he’s great.”

“He’s also really cute. Now, tell me how you really met.”

“You heard him. We met at the conference,” I say.