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Instead spending the night alone in a room stuffed with people, Olivia decides that she might as well make the most of the situation. That is exactly why she heads to the kitchen to grab a drink.

"There's a whole bunch of stuff in the fridge if you're thirsty," a woman who she assumes to be Ricky's mom says, smiling brightly as she eyes a batch of cookies baking in the oven.

Olivia didn't expect for any parents to be home while this party was going on, but clearly, this is just a regular, old get-together with Jake and a bunch of Ricky's friends. He didn't even need her supervision after all. "Okay, thanks, I think I'm just going to grab a bottle of water."

The doorbell rings, playing a cute little melody. "Ugh, my hands are full, and I really don't want these cookies to burn. Would you mind getting the door for me, sweetheart?"

"Yea, sure, I can get it."

Olivia walks through the living, where a bunch of people are sitting, watching television, and laughing. She doesn't recognize any of them even though every single one of them stare at her as she walks by. Bracing herself for the wave of awkwardness that will inevitably crash down on her when she opens the front door, Olivia whips open the door, expecting to see another group of strangers standing on the doorstep.

But that doesn't happen.

"Lincoln?" she says, surprised.

"Hey, it's Pine Tree girl!" he laughs, rubbing his chin as a smile slinks onto his face.

He has a nickname for me? Olivia wonders, returning the grin. God, she's fallen head-over-heels for a boy she just met yesterday.

"Are you related to Ricky?" he asks, stepping into the house. For a split second, they are only inches apart, hands brushing as they both reach to close the door. That is, until, Olivia snaps out of her trace and backs up, giving him ample room to take off his coat.

"No, I'm Jake's sister, who's friends with Ricky."

"Ah, Jake," Lincoln replies, raising his eyebrows. "That dude is crazy."

"I don't even want to know," she laughs, brushing her hair out of her face.

"Well, I'm really glad I ran into you. What's your name again?"

Lincoln' eye contact is almost too powerful to handle; his brown eyes have the innate ability to stun her into silence. Mustering enough strength to hold his eye contact, she pulls herself together before telling him her name. "Olivia."

Lincoln's eyes crinkle at the corners ever so slightly when he grins again. "Olivia, okay. That's a really pretty name."

Olivia can help but let out a giggle, feeling her face heat up. "Thanks."

"You wanna head downstairs? I'm sure I could easily whoop you at a game of table tennis."

"In your dreams, elf boy."

Lincoln and Olivia head to the basement. A bunch of people say hi to him as he walks by, and he even strikes up a conversation with Ricky's mom before clomping down the stairs and into the basement. Olivia immediately spots Jake sitting on the couch with his arm around two girls on either side of him. She makes a mental note to punch him when they get home.

"Yo, Jakey P, what's up?" Lincoln yells, approaching her brother. They do a quick man-hug before they talk about football for a bit. Jake quickly notices Olivia standing awkwardly next to his best friend and sense that the two of them have some unfinished business to attend to.

"I'm just going to head upstairs for a quick bite. Feel free to drive my sister crazy."

"Will do, man, will do."

Jake and his lady friends disappear, and now, it's just Lincoln and Olivia in an empty man cave . "You ready to lose?" Olivia teases, grabbing one of the paddles off the table.

"Hell no!" he replies, grabbing the orange ping pong ball and running to the other side of the green table. "Winner gets to pick a punishment for the loser, deal?"

Everything bone in Olivia's body begs her to turn down the deal, but her heart tells her to be daring and go along with whatever he has in mind. "Alright, sure," she hears herself reply, flashing a quick smile as she takes her place on the other side of the table. "The first person who get ten points wins."

And so the biggest battle of the entire century begins. When Lincoln serves, Olivia hits it right back, and the play doesn't end until Lincoln hits her in the stomach. It is impossible to predict who the winner will be; at first, Lincoln is in the lead, but Olivia easily catches up.

The score is 9-9, and Lincoln is serving. A thin layer of sweat forms on her forehead as she prepares herself to return the serve. Sure, this is only a game, but she has no idea what Lincoln has in mind for a punishment.

"Alright, here goes nothing," he teases, tossing the ball and hitting as hard as he can. The hollow ball pounces off the table and hits the ceiling, which hinders Olivia from even touching it.

"Yes! I won!" he laughs, tossing the paddle on the table and doing a happy dance in celebration.

"Yeah, yeah, congratulations," Olivia deadpans, rolling her eyes.

"That also means I get to give you a punishment."

Olivia pauses, waiting to hear what he has to say.

"Okay, I'll go easy on you," he finally says, inching closer to her. "All you have to do is give me a kiss."

That's not all that bad of a punishment in Olivia's eyes; it shows her that Lincoln likes her at least a tiny bit. "Okay, fine, but only on the cheek, not anywhere else."

"Sure, sure," he replies, chuckling to himself. "Whenever you're ready."

Olivia takes a deep breath, telling herself that there is no reason to be nervous. She scoots closer to him, inhaling the scent of his cologne. Resting her hand on his shoulder, she inches closer to his face and closes her eyes, preparing to lay a kiss on his cheek.

Lincoln quickly slinks his arm around her waist and turns his head, catching her by surprise by pecking her on the lips.

"What did you do that for?" Olivia yelps, shocked that he kissed her.

He drops his arm, laughing. "What do you mean 'what did I do that for'? I kissed you because I like you." Quite frankly, Olivia is the prettiest, funnier, most wonderful girl Lincoln has ever come across, and watching her blush just makes the surprise attack all the more worth it.

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