Olivia arrived at the concert at 7 pm after battling with several cars for parking. She walked up to the door and provided the usher her ticket and a pleasant "good evening". The woman simply smiled and scanned her ticket.
She searched the busy lobby for her friends, but even with a stack of 4" heels giving extra height to her petite body of 5'4", it was still difficult for her to see above the crowd. She looked down at her phone and became flustered seeing that the battery had died.
In frustration, she stomped her foot and came into contact with black shiny shoes.
"I'm so sorry!" The words rushed from her mouth, as she gave an inward groan at her childish behaviour and looked up to offer a sincere apology to the victim. It took her a while to meet his eyes as he was standing several inches above her, and when she finally got there, she was greeted by the bluest eyes she had ever seen. She blushed slightly and began apologizing again for her mishap.
Fitz usually never walked the lobby before a concert because he knew how fans would get when they saw him. But for some reason that night he had decided to walk the lobby to the merchandise booth where they sold his CDs and other memorabilia.
He wore a black tailored suit that fitted him in all the right places, with a black button down shirt which had a dark blue pattern that brought out the cerulean blue of his eyes.
In an attempt at disguise, he'd worn a ball cap to cover his dark brown curly hair and it was pulled low on his face. This, he had hoped, would be enough to ward off fans even though some could recognize him from his back.
Focused on getting to the merchandise booth, he strode through the crowd, moving his 6'2" body across the room as quickly as possible. His strides stopped when he felt a sharp tap on his left shoe.
Looking down, he saw a brown foot with pretty pink toes encased in a white high heeled sandal lying squarely on the tip of his shoe. He quickly looked up and saw that the foot belonged to a woman with doe-shaped cocoa brown eyes, full luscious lip that looked naturally kissable and high cheekbones that accentuated her beauty perfectly. She was beautiful; beautiful in a way that left him in a trance as he watched her mouth move without hearing what she was saying.
Then her agitation registered, and he had to snap himself out of it. He heard her apologize for stomping on his feet and that she was waiting for her friends whom she could not find.
He quickly told her, "It's ok and accidents do happen."
Olivia replied, "I'm not usually this childish. I wanted to call my friends but my phone battery is dead."
"I can help you look for them, if you do not mind?"
"I can't possibly have you do that, I'm sure you would like to grab your seat before the show starts." With a smile she added, "I'm a big girl and I'll find my way. Thanks for the offer."
Before Fitz could find a rebuttal for her decision, he was greeted by his manager telling him that he needed to get ready as it was almost show time.
At that moment, it finally dawned on Olivia that she had been talking to Fitzgerald Grant III, music extraordinaire who went by the name III Legend.
Fitz saw her lips part in surprise as she realized who he was, but all he managed to say was, "It's nice to meet you," before his manager grabbed him by the arm and dragged him away.
Some fans realized that Fitz was in the lobby, and they started advancing towards him but he hurried his steps, fearing that if he stalled now, the concert would be late.
Olivia remained rooted to her spot as she felt humiliation rising at what just happened. She kept murmuring, "I can't believe I stepped on III Legend's foot" over and over, not realising that Abby and Quinn were approaching her.
Olivia looked gorgeous in her white sleeveless, mid thigh dress. Her hair was in Senegalese twist as it was easier to manage these days. Being busy with school and work was a bit too much to care for her hair everyday.
The girls finally approached her with squeals that startled Olivia a little. However, she was mostly relieved that they'd found her. She related the story of her battery being dead and her encounter with III Legend in the lobby, which was met with more squeals from the girls, who wanted to know how he smelt, what he sounded like and if he was as handsome in real life as he looked in the media. While Olivia was trying to answer these questions as best she could, they finally managed to find their seats just as the lights dimmed.
In the quiet darkness, Olivia kept thinking back to how handsome III Legend was, or in this case Fitzgerald as he had been just himself in that lobby – approachable and kind. She couldn't help smiling at his offer of helping her find her friends. She'd always been a fan of III Legend as she enjoyed his type of music and from the few interview she's read of him he'd appeared to be a humble man.
The band started playing instrumental music that brought her out of her thoughts. She relaxed in her seat as she allowed the music to flow over her. Olivia had always been a fan of instrumental music and it brought such peace to her soul.
After the musicians had finished, the lights went completely out for a few seconds, then came back on showing III Legend standing on top of his piano with one hand at his side and the other holding the mic in the air. The crowd went crazy with everyone "ooooooing and ahhhing" and basically cheering at the top of their voices.
On stage, Fitz felt nervous, which was unusual as he had never felt nervous in the five years he'd been singing professionally. He wondered if his nerves had anything to do with the woman sitting in the centre of the fifth row looking even more gorgeous than he remembered from the lobby. She had the most angelic smile that he'd ever seen.
Stepping down cautiously from the piano, he greeted the crowd and thanked them for another sold out concert. Then he took a seat at his piano and started playing his very first single, which always brought him joy. Once he'd started playing the nerves went away and he became one with his music.
With every song he sang, Olivia felt as though he was singing only to her. His voice was a deep baritone that reverberated through her body. She was in enthralled and she loved every minute of it. She sang along to the songs she knew, but for the most part she sat there and allowed his music to wash over her. She didn't realize she was wearing a ridiculously huge grin until Abby pointed it out. Olivia rolled her eyes and kept her eyes focused on the man singing.
It was almost time for his last song when he was cued to pick two lucky people from the audience to meet with him backstage. This was something he did at every concert despite sometimes feeling tired afterwards.
His manager Sean came on stage to announce the lucky winners. He called out the number 132J and it brought a squealing young woman running from the balcony to be on stage where she immediately tackled Fitz for a hug.
He smiled at the woman. Then he turned to the audience, where his gaze searched and found the lobby woman and their eyes locked for a few seconds. His manager then called 5L and he saw her eyes widen with shock as her friends nudged her to go forward as it was her ticket.
Not wanting to make a scene, Olivia got up and came on stage, despite feeling like her heart was beating out of her chest. She mustered up all of her strength to shake Fitz's hand, feeling a slight charge as they shook hands, even though it was for the briefest of moments.
People were clapping and Olivia wished she was anywhere but ON STAGE. The other guy that had been speaking approached her and the overly-excited girl, instructing them to follow him.
Once they were backstage Fitz began singing, and Olivia sat on the couch listening to him as he sang his final song. He again thanked everyone for coming to his concert and told them that he would love to return to their city, which prompted more cheers from the audience.
Walking off stage at the end of another concert, Fitz hurried to meet his two lucky fans, eager to meet one of them in particular. There she was sitting on the couch, her smooth brown legs peeking from underneath her dress as she conversed with the other woman.
He approached them and they both smiled gingerly. He introduced himself to them and asked each of them their names. The first fan said, "I'm Veronica," and she proceeded to giggle while the lobby woman simply smiled and offered her name as "Pope. Olivia Pope."
Fitz continued to smile as he thought of how much her name suited her.
He made small talk and offered them each a signed copy of his new album. At that moment, Veronica's phone interrupted the conversation and she said she had to go because her ride was waiting. She hugged Fitz again before sauntering off.
Left alone with Fitz, Olivia felt it was time for her to leave too, when out of nowhere he asked, "Would you like to go to dinner with me and my band? We normally go to a local restaurant after each concert."
She was flattered, but she had to refuse. "I'm sorry Fitzgerald.."
"No, please call me Fitz"
She smiled, "Ok, Fitz. I'm sorry but I will have to politely decline your offer as my friends are waiting on me and I have to be up early tomorrow."
He nodded. "Before you go, is it possible for me to get your phone number?"
He couldn't let her go and he didn't know what was wrong with him. He wasn't in the habit of asking fans for their phone numbers but there was something about Olivia that made him feel a little desperate.
She was shocked that he'd asked for her phone number. She thought back to all the glances he had given her throughout the night, which she'd firmly decided was him just being friendly. She never thought that he would be interested in her that hesitated, her mind racing as she wondered whether or not to give him her number, since she didn't know if he made a habit of this with all his female fans. Then she thought to herself, 'what's there to lose', and she quickly wrote her number down on a flyer from a nearby table and handed it to him.
Seeing her pondering over whether she should give him her phone number, Fitz became nervous thinking she would turn him down. Instead she moved to write her number down on a piece of paper, then give it to him with a shy smile. He accepted it with a huge grin.
"When is it ok for me to call you?"
"You can call any time before 9 and after 5 on weekdays." With another shy smile, she added, "I have to go, Fitz, and it was truly nice meeting you."
Fitz didn't want their time to end but he reluctantly said, "Bye, Livvie."
The name was already out of his mouth before he could stop it, and he caught her blush before she quickly made her way to the exit.
Then Fitz turned and saw his manager staring at him.
"What?" Fitz mouthed. Sean simply shook his head.
That night Olivia slept peacefully hearing Fitz's classical voice singing melodiously in her dreams.
Meanwhile, Fitz was in his hotel room, staring at a picture of him and Olivia backstage that Sean had taken with his camera. Fitz smiled to himself, knowing that his life would never be the same. It had changed from the moment this beautiful woman had stepped on his shoe and told him that she was sorry.