Oh Cinderella: True love next door

The shared dinner...

It has been raining for three hours nonstop now. Though, the weather forecast was clear about it, Olivia doubted it would even rain at all, let alone be a heavy one. She kept holding off on making her pizza order.

It finally dawned on her that she was wrong and it was going to rain when she heard the striking sound of the rain against the roof.

She quickly grabbed her phone and ordered but it was too late. It started raining then and hasn't stopped since. That was over three hours ago.

Due to the weather, the pizza shop couldn't deliver her order in a jiffy like its custom. Olivia was then told there would be a slight delay but she still wouldn't keep calm.

"When will it stop raining for crying out loud. I'm so hungry..." Olivia cried out as she watched the rain falling hard through her window.

"Ahhhhhhhhh!!!" She screamed so loud the rain might have been scared into hiding if it were a person.

She stood fixated at the window while anticipating its stop. A while later, it started to dwindle. She was happy and quickly made her way to the living room. The pizza shop will have no excuse or choice than to deliver her pizza now.

Unfortunately, the rain started again as she stepped into living room, this time, it was with full force. It poured heavily.

"What? Not again, please, it has to stop." She whined as she disappointedly paced the room after which she put a call through to the shop to check in on her order.

It was a lady who attended to her, she tried to explain why they wouldn't be delivering the pizza but Olivia wouldn't reason with her.

"Ohh, no, no, no, you said you would make it here in a few minutes. I'm going to sue your company for going back on your word. Wait, no. You're the one I will sue for not delivering my order." Olivia fired at her.

"I'm so sorry ma'am, the roads are blocked and there is no way our delivery man can make it to your side. I hope you can understand and if you don't mind, we'd like to reimburse you. Thanks." The lady politely explained. Her calmness angered Olivia the more.

"Don't you even dare patronize me, the only thing that can make me happy and be calm right now is my pizza." Olivia fired at her again.

"Have a nice night ma'am." The lady calmly replied and then ended the call. Olivia wasn't aware of this, she kept on ranting for few more seconds until she noticed there was no reply from the other side.

"What in the name of rudeness is this?" Olivia thought to herself as she finally realized the lady was no longer there.

"What am I going to do now? I literally have nothing to eat and I won't be able to blink an eye tonight on this empty stomach." She mumbled under her breath.

"Your order isn't coming?" Ryan who had been watching quietly from the kitchen entrance asked.

"Not like it's any of your business but no, it's not. The order was cancelled just now." She replied with a raised brow.

"I don't blame them though, it has been raining for quite a while now. The roads must have been blocked and riding through would be so dangerous." Ryan chimed in as he moved closer to her.

"Well, in case you don't know, customers come first no matter the situation." She countered him.

"Trust me, that doesn't work in all cases. A good example is this. You wouldn't go too if it was the other way round." He also disputed.

"And besides, why don't you just prepare a light meal to sustain you for the night and then you get a better one in the morning. The rain would have stopped by then and the roads back to its state." He suggested.

"Dinner is supposed to be light, you know?" He chimed in.

"Like I don't know." Olivia said quietly while she subtly rolled her eyes.

"What?" He asked.

"Nothing. Thanks for the advice, I will do just that." She affirmed.

"Alright then. I better check what I'm preparing." He said and then returned into the kitchen while she followed his movement with her eyes.

"Did he have to rub it in my face like that?" She wondered as she rolled her eyes again.

She kept staring blankly and angrily at her phone. There was nothing left to do so she decided it was bedtime.

"Don't tell me you're going to bed already?" Ryan asked as he came out of the kitchen and saw her going in.

"Yeah, I am. I will eat in the morning." She replied without looking back.

"I already served you a plate. Well, that's if you don't mind." Ryan chimed in slowly with a straight face while Olivia stood still immediately.

Her ego almost got in the way. She contemplated putting her pride aside and accepting the food or stand her ground and go to bed hungry. Her stomach made the choice for her as it made a noise then, she tried to cover it with a fake cough but it didn't work. Hunger is nobody's friend.

Ryan didn't wait for an answer from her either, he slid back into the kitchen and quickly served a plate.

With a wave of hand, he signaled to Olivia, who was still fixated on the same spot to come eat.

Seeing the perfectly cooked chicken potpie knocked sense into Olivia immediately. She couldn't resist the nice aroma which filled the air and her stomach continued with the noise.

"Thanks." She said reluctantly as she took the plate from him.

Ryan returned to the kitchen to get his, after which he joined Olivia who was now chewing hard on the pie. She immediately swallowed the bite in her mouth when she saw him. The next one she took was small and carefully munched on while she had on a straight face.

Ryan couldn't help but smile when he saw this. Just a second ago, she was happily eating and now, he could barely see her mouth move.

At some point, he felt he was making her uncomfortable so he thought of excusing her and finishing his meal elsewhere.

"I have this feeling that eating here together is making you uncomfortable. I could leave if that will make you feel at ease." He said politely.

"Oh, not at all." Olivia quickly replied.

Ryan was right, she indeed was uncomfortable. She felt like Ryan's eyes were glued on him despite not sitting close. But then, she wasn't going to make him uncomfortable too by asking him to leave. She would soon be through with her meal and then leave.

"Are you sure?" He asked again.

"Yes, I insist." She said with a half smile.

"And thanks for the food. I really do appreciate the kind gesture." Olivia thanked him while Ryan looked with surprise.

Of course, he at some point knew Olivia is a nice and lovable person, he just never experienced that part of her. Now that he finally did, he felt good.

"I hope you enjoyed it though, I know people like you have great taste and it may be a little difficult to please you." Ryan chimed in in a harmless manner but she misinterpreted his remark.

"Did he just imply that I'm insatiable?" Olivia thought within herself as her countenance turned sour.

Ryan saw this and quickly corrected himself, the night was going so fine and he wouldn't want it to end on a bad note.

"No offense please, I didn't mean that in a bad way. I meant you have standards which may be difficult for an amateur like myself to... Uhm... You know..." Ryan apologized while he searched for the right word to use. He wouldn't want to dredge up more anger.

"It's fine. No offense taken." She chipped in while she slowly washed the pie down with a glass of water which Ryan had earlier served him.

He admired her composure, simplicity and firmness. She has plans and wasn't willing to compromise it for anyone. That is the kind of people he liked to moved with but Olivia wasn't making it any easy to be friends with.

While Ryan watched through his corner eye as the water went down her throat without obstruction, he wondered why she always finds him offensive. He hadn't said anything worse than she would hear in a mall. He would have to be more careful if he wanted more moments like the one they were forthwith.

"Thanks again for the food. You saved me from dying from hunger tonight." Olivia chimed in as she stood up and about to head into the kitchen.

"Now you're just exaggerating. It can't be that bad." He replied while trying to stall. He didn't want her to leave yet.

"I mean it. I was really hungry, maybe not a dying level but it was bad." She replied and then made her way into the kitchen.

"Don't worry about it. I'll do the dishes." Ryan said out loud from the living room when he heard plates clattering.

"Thanks." She replied.

She didn't leave it to him though, she did hers and the few ones that were in the sink.

"I thought I said I'll do the dishes." Ryan exclaimed when he entered the kitchen and saw the dishes sparkling clean.

"Consider it a thank you for the delicious pot pie and besides, it's not as if I did something huge, the dishwasher did most of the work." She replied while wiping her hands with one of the kitchen towels. She threw it in the washing machine afterwards.

"Good night." She said gently.

"Good night Ms. Lanes." He replied too.

Olivia went straight into her room. She grabbed her sleep face mask and then jumped into the bed. The duvet's softness and warmness was so comforting. She already fed herself to brim, all that's left was a cuddle.

Without wasting time, she pulled one of the several pillows that was neatly arranged on the bed and snuggled it. One has to make do with the things at one's disposal. That was exactly the case with Olivia.

Few minutes later, and she was already deep in sleep. A filled stomach and a cold weather will do that anyone. A light knock sounded on her door. It was Ryan. She had left her phone in the living room and he didn't notice until he was retiring to the room too.

At first, he thought of leaving it there but he changed his mind when it beeped. It was probably a text message. He had no idea since he didn't check.

Taking it to Olivia or leaving it could end in so many ways which are best imagined than witnessed. But then, the message could be an important one so he summoned up courage and took it to her.

The knock came again, this time, louder and firmer. Olivia turned and looked in the door's direction. Her mask was still on so she relied on her ears to confirm if the knock was real, a dream or her mind playing tricks on her.

She was convinced it was just a dream and was about going back to sleep when Ryan knocked again.

"Who is it?" She asked half-asleep.

"It's Ryan, sorry to bother you, you left your phone in the living room." He explained but Olivia didn't even get past the first word before she dozed off.

He waited for few minutes with hope that she was coming to answer the call and get her phone. He was wrong. He strained out his ears and listened for movement. There was none, just total silence.

"Ms. Lanes... Ms. Lanes..." He called out again.

"What is it?" She answered absentmindedly.

"Your phone... You left it..." He was still trying to explain again when she abruptly cut him off.

"Leave it there... I will..." Olivia said and then dozed off again before finishing the sentence.

Ryan didn't press further, he gently placed the phone by the wall so she wouldn't mistakenly step on it when she opens the door. He quietly left for his room afterward.