Confrontation

She could feel his eyes on her, his eyes burning into her. She knew if she looked, there would be no going back. So she chose to look away, forcing every fiber of her body to look at the banners and the blank walls. Thank God Jake called, or else she wouldn't know how she would've reacted after he walked down that podium into the crowd. He was still standing a few feet away, but it might as well been centimeters. She could still feel felt his presence, like the buzz from drinking too much. She couldn't deny the attraction, but she could walk away.

Olivia walked toward the women's restroom, eager to be away from the crowd, desperately needing some distance from Fitz. As she opened the door, she exhaled. Luckily, the bathroom was empty; she walked over to the sink and splashed some water on her face while glancing at her reflection. Pull yourself together!

She reached into her clutch retouching on her makeup and adding a bit more color to her face. She was simply here to support the Caldwells. That was the priority.

The door opened and a man in a suit walked in with a radio over his ear. Tom. He looked at her knowingly through the mirror.

"Is there anybody else in here?"

"I don't want to see him"

Tom ignored her comment.

"The President's orders ma'am"

"Does he know that this is the women's bathroom?"

Tom said nothing and looked straight ahead. "All clear sir"

And there he was, standing in front of Tom. She refused to turn around to look at him. But God, his reflection in the mirror was enough. He wore a perfectly fitted black tux with crisp black bowtie to match. His hair was tousled, slightly that not only made him look presidential but boyish. His stormy, tender eyes made her knees weak. One look and she knew she'd probably forgive him for everything.

"Thank you Tom" Fitz closed the door behind him and locked it.

"You can't be in here" she looked down at her hands, which were trembling slightly.

"I need to talk to you Livvie"

"I don't want to talk to you"

"Who were you on the phone with?" he asked bluntly

"It's none of your business" she got up and walked briskly to the door. But he crossed her in two steps, towering in front of her. She looked straight ahead, looking at his white shirt.

"Let me go"

"No"

"I'll scream," she threatened.

"Be my guest" he smirked.

"Fine" She turned her back to him and looked out the window, it was large enough for her to fit through and it wasn't too far from the ground. She didn't know how the hell she was going to accomplish this feat in heels, but it was worth a try.

"You're going to climb out the window?" he stifled a laugh, reading her mind.

"You're blocking the door."

"Who were you talking to on the phone?" he asked again.

"Why does it matter?"

"Livvie" his voice was softer, almost tender.

"I don't want to do this. Move out of the way."

"Liv" he reached out and touched her shoulder, his fingertips barely making contact with her skin, yet it was as if a flame burned her skin. She flinched, swallowing hard and walked further away from him looking out the window.

"You broke it off with me, so you don't have the right to ask me these questions anymore."

"I was angry. We are never over."

"Why are you here?" her lips slightly quivered as she was slowly losing her composure. Liv made sure to continue looking straight ahead at the glass with her back to him.

"Because" she felt his breath on her shoulders, how did he cross the room so quickly?

"I'm in love you." She closed her eyes closed for a second, embracing his presence.

Why did the words that she had desperately long to hear feel this agonizing? She felt herself leaning into his chest and breathing him in as his arms enclosed around her. She felt his lips graze the nape of her neck sending chills down her spine. No. No.

"No" she spun around pushing herself off him and looking into his eyes. "You don't get to say that to me anymore. You don't get to do this to me anymore." She said through her tears that began to form in her eyes.

He responded by pulling her against him so roughly that she let out a small cry as his lips closed around her mouth. His tongue beckoned entrance to her mouth. His hands were clenched around her waist and he pulled her close to him, she felt him harden against her. She moaned unconsciously as her hands moved to the nape of his neck to his hair, her fingers instinctively ran through them. She was drowning in him again. His hands snaked down from her waist to the tip of her dress. She felt his fingers moving underneath the fabric, pulling it up to waist as his fingertips stroked her thigh. Every touch was electric. He pulled away from her lips to her neck, his teeth scraping her sensitive flesh, while his kisses mended them.

"Fitz" she whimpered, she felt his fingertips brushing over her panties where she was already wet; gently teasing her bundle of nerves. No. No.

Reality snapped back as her she tilted her head back and heard music and voices from outside. They were not going to have sex in the bathroom. "No" she pushed him away, and stood back. He grimaced and looked down at her.

"We can't do this." Liv said quietly.

He sighed and ran his hand through his hair before looking down at her.

"I made a mistake Liv. I hurt the person I care about most in the world, and I'm sorry. But I'm never going to let you walk away from my life again. I need you. I love you. We have to put this behind us." He leaned in again hoping to continue what they were doing.

She stepped back from him. She exhaled as she tore her gaze from him and looked down at the tiled floors.

"What's wrong?" he reached down and touched her face.

She recoiled at his touch.

She took a deep breath before responding, "You still don't understand. You don't. I didn't rig Defiance for myself, I didn't do it get a spot in the White House, I did it for YOU." She looked into his eyes.

"I did it because when your father died, you were lost, you were broken Fitz and I wanted to mend you. I wanted to fix you. I would've done anything to make you happy. When the numbers came in, you didn't have a chance. And at the time, it seemed like the only option. I was willing to live with this guilt and shame because I… I love you." She stopped, taking a deep breath and trying to pull herself together.

But she couldn't, her voice dropped and trembled, "And you never gave me a chance to explain. What happened in Defiance kills me everyday Fitz, because I did something that was against everything I believed in, and I never want to do something like that again, so whatever this is between us needs to end."

She walked past him, her eyes downcast. She didn't think she could look into his eyes, which at an instant, she knew would her make run back to him, embrace him, and take back everything she had said. She felt tears well up in her eyes, half because she couldn't bear to walk away from him and half because she couldn't believe he didn't come after her.

She walked out of the bathroom, quickly darting out of party and out to the terrace and called the only person she trusted.

"Olivia?" the voice on the other end asked.

"Huck, can you come pick me up? I was going to call a cab, but—"

"You don't need to explain yourself to me. I'll be there in a few."

"Thanks"

"Liv?"

"Yeah?"

"For the record, you deserve better."

Of course Huck knew.

She didn't say anything. She cleared her throat.

"I'll see you in a bit"