"Can I offer you a drink?" Olivia looked up to two men standing in front of their booth. The one that spoke was a handsome, dark-haired guy and he was grinning at Abby.

Olivia watched Abby eye the man up and down and then extend her hand, "You sure can, I'm Abby."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, sweetheart," the man took her outstretched hand, kissed it, then pulled her gently until she stood up and walked with him to the bar. As their backs turned, Olivia just barely caught the man's name, "I'm Stephen."

"Well then I guess it's just me and you."

Olivia shifted her gaze upwards to see a green-eyed man standing in front of her. She nearly dismissed him until she caught sight of Abby over his shoulder. She was smiling and giving Liv a double thumbs-up while mouthing "Have fun!"

Liv decided that she needed a little fun in her life, besides, the guy in front of her wasn't terrible looking. She took a deep breath and then smiled at the man, "I guess so."

"I'm Jake Ballard, and you're beautiful." Olivia nearly burst out laughing at the corny pick-up line.

"Actually, I'm Olivia; but thank you."

"What are you drinking, Olivia? Can I get you anything?"

Olivia motioned to the drink in front of her, "My friend over there actually just convinced me to try a chocolate martin;i so I'm good."

"A chocolate martini for a chocolate girl," was his response. For half a second, Olivia couldn't believe her ears. Was he trying to be funny? Another attempt at a pick-up line?

"Excuse me?" she shot him a look that he should've known meant to start backtracking, now.

"Well, you've never had a chocolate martini, but you're trying it tonight. And I've never been with a black girl, so maybe you'll let me try your chocolate tonight?" he grinned lasciviously.

Olivia gave him a small smile, took a sip of her martini, then stood up slowly. She was going to just walk away, but then the idiot licked his nasty looking lips and winked at her, sending a chill right up her spine; and not the good kind.

Before she could stop herself, she dumped her drink right over his head. "This is the only chocolate of mine that you'll be getting, asshole." She pushed past him and stormed out of the club.

Olivia couldn't believe her luck. First Edison cheats on her. And then this guy. Even if she didn't really care about Edison, or their relationship, she still didn't deserve to be cheated on. And then this Ballard guy. What was his problem? Did he think just because a white man was interested in her, she would jump at the opportunity? She hated when people fetishized their interest in members of a different race. Fine, be attracted to whoever you want, but Ballard had made her feel like a prize, something to be won, owned. She leaned back against the brick exterior of the club and sighed, maybe it's me, she thought. She'd had such terrible luck with guys. In high school, was also painfully shy and extremely focused on school work. She wanted to get into Stanford more than anything; and that combined with low self-confidence didn't leave much room for boys. In college, things became a little different. The new environment and people proved to do wonders for her self-image and she became more confident in her body image. Despite that, she was still very focused on school work and didn't find anyone that she could stand for more than a few weeks. Undergrad was fun though, Abby made sure of that. Even without having a steady boyfriend throughout college, Liv loved her time at Stanford. Then, a few months ago, she met Edison and figured he'd be the "right type" of guy to settle down with. He had a steady job, she knew her parents would approve, and it just seemed like the right thing to do; even though she felt near-to-no passion for him. Maybe it was her, she didn't really have a lot of experience dealing with men and so maybe she had a misguided sense of how they should treat her…

"Don't do that. It's not your fault," a deep baritone voice shocked her out of her thoughts. Before she could get her bearings, the man continued, "I know the last thing you probably want is another guy hitting on you, but I saw what happened and I just wanted to come out here and apologize for my… friend." The hesitation before the word "friend" didn't go unnoticed by Liv. "He can be an asshole sometimes, well, most of the time, so I'm sorry for whatever he said to you that made you dispose of your drink."

The man smirked. Liv admired him as subtly as she could. He was at least six feet tall and she felt tiny standing next to him. He wore a dark blue button up with short sleeves that hugged his biceps in a way that should've been illegal. The top two buttons of the shirt were undone, revealing a bit of chest hair that made Liv a bit weak in the knees. He had a strong jaw line with a hint of stubble, and a head full of curly brown hair. Her fingers twitched at her sides as she imagined what it would feel like to run her fingers through those locks. When she met his eyes for the first time, she let out a barely audible gasp. They were a clear, piercing blue that she'd never seen before. When she saw amusement and something else she couldn't quite place dancing in them, coupled with a sexy half smirk, she couldn't help but smile back. She was so drawn into him in that moment.

"I probably shouldn't have dumped my drink on him, that was rude," she giggled bashfully. Stop giggling like a school girl, Liv. You're the formidable Olivia fucking Pope!

The man smirked and shrugged one shoulder, a move that Liv found inexplicably sexy. "I'm sure whatever he said warranted it. He turns into even more of an asshole when he sees a beautiful woman."

For some strange reason, the compliment felt genuine coming from this man, but given recent events, she was still a bit skeptical. Her hesitation must've crossed her face because the man took a step back and gave her a tight, almost sad smile, "I'll just leave you to it then."

The reluctance to leave was evident in his eyes, but Liv could also tell that he didn't want to impose upon her either. As he went to turn around, Olivia felt a sense of longing that she couldn't place, but she knew she didn't want him to leave.

Before she could find the words to stop him, Abby burst out of the club, a little wobbly on her heels, with the dark-haired man from earlier wrapped around her.

"Liv! There you are! I've been looking all over for you! Me and Stephen," she motioned to the man whose arms were wrapped around her waist. "Stephen and I are about to get out of here. You can drive my car back to the apartment, his place his is close enough to walk to." Abby's word were a little slurred, but Liv could see the clarity in her eyes, so she knew she was okay.

She reached for Abby's hand and pulled her out of the grasp of Stephen.

"Condoms?" she inquired.

"Got em," Abby whispered, going over their usual ritual when either of them was going to leave with a guy for the night.

"Phone?"

"Check."

"Cash?"

"He's not a hooker, Liv."

"For the cab in the morning, genius."

"Oh! Dang! No I don't have any on me."

Olivia reached into her clutch and handed Abby her two twenty dollar bills. "Here you go, gingersnap."

"Thanks love!" Abby smiled gratefully.

"Don't mention it. Have fun!"

Abby glanced over Liv's shoulder where Stephen and her sexy mystery guy were talking. "Looks like I won't be the only one having some fun tonight. Good job Liv Liv, he's a hot one!"

Olivia felt her cheeks heat up and glanced over her shoulder, mentally agreeing with Abby. He was hot. But there was also a sort of kindness about him, and something else, that was drawing Liv in.

"Finally! You're done with your girl talk!" Stephen stepped back over to them, the group of four all facing each other now. "I see your friend has already met my buddy, Fitzgerald. Perfect. Well we're going to head out now! See you kids!"

Abby reached in her purse and handed Liv her car keys before walking away with Stephen. Liv sighed and leaned back against the wall of the club.

"Perfect, just perfect," she muttered under her breath.

"Something wrong?" inquired the deep baritone.

She almost forgot he was there, but as soon as he spoke, her whole body seemed hyperaware.

"No, no, it's fine. It just seems our friends have left me in a bit of a pickle."

"Seems like I'm spending quite a bit of time apologizing for my friends tonight," the man smiled. "I'm Fitz Grant, by the way."

"Olivia Pope."

They shook hands and Liv's heart skipped a beat at the feeling passing between them. Everywhere their hands touched had come alive and their eyes flew to each others.

Clearing his throat and gently pulling his hand away, "So, what's your problem?"

"Well Abby was supposed to be the designated driver tonight but obviously that's shot to hell now. I've already had too much to drink to be comfortable driving back, but it's all good. I'll just walk. The fresh air will do me some good."

Fitz scowled, "If you want some fresh air, I'll take a walk with you, but you probably shouldn't walk all the way home."

Liv didn't like the sound of that. "I'm not some little girl, Fitzgerald. I've been getting myself home fine for twenty three years now and I'm sure I'll be just fine on my own tonight."

"I didn't mean to insinuate that you're not capable of looking out for yourself. I'm sorry if I offended you. Half of the reason I suggested that was because I haven't had anything to drink yet so I'd be perfectly fine to drive you home. Plus, I was raised to be a gentlemen and a feminist, considering I've got four sisters. The other half of why I suggested it was because I'd like to spend some more time with you. I know I said I wouldn't hit on you, and I'm not trying to, but for some crazy reason, everything inside of me is telling me not to walk away from you without at least giving it a shot."

Olivia was shocked into silence. She couldn't believe how open, how honest, he was! She'd never had a man come out and straight up say that he wanted to spend time with her. It was always some pick-up line, or some comment about her body. But Fitz had offered to walk with her and then drive her home, and sure, he'd probably have sex with her if she initiated it, but she got the feeling that he wouldn't be trying anything shady.

"Sorry," Fitz said quietly after she didn't respond for a while. "I guess that was too forward. I'll leave you to it, get home safe, Olivia." "Wait!" her heart ached, literally ached, at the thought of never seeing him again. "Is that offer still on the table? I mean," she took a deep breath before continuing, "would you like to take a walk with me, Fitz?"

"So we're back to Fitz?" he smirked. "I must admit, I kind of liked the way 'Fitzgerald' sounded coming out of your mouth."

Olivia threw her head back and laughed. "Don't tease!"

Fitz chuckled, "You're right. Come on, let's take that walk, there's a park not far from here."

They set off and oddly, Olivia didn't feel apprehensive about walking off into the night with a strange man. Fitz didn't feel strange. She'd talked to him for maybe twenty minutes and he'd already shown that he was kind, generous, and just gave her an overall amazing feeling.

"So," Fitz broke the comfortable silence after they'd been walking for a while. "Tell me about yourself."

"There's not much to tell," Olivia felt the urge to open up to him and she didn't fight it. "I'm originally from D.C. Only child. My parents still live there now. I came out here to go to Stanford and after graduating, Abby and I stayed. We work at an art institute that partners with schools in the area to keep arts programs alive. I really love helping kids discover how art can effect their lives. Unfortunately, funding for the arts in schools is getting cut and we also try to combat that. We do charity events and fundraisers all of the time to help support the school districts. It's really fulfilling work. Sorry, I'm rambling. What do you do?"

Fitz gave her a gentle smile and she could tell he'd been listening to her attentively. "I like hearing you talk. And you seem so passionate about what you do. That's good. A lot of people don't have that. I work at a marketing firm in San Francisco. I enjoy the work there and I'm looking to have a big promotion coming up so that's exciting."

Olivia smiled at him as they entered the park Fitz had mentioned. There were a few benches and trees, mostly just open area surrounding a giant fountain. The water flowing through the fountain created a gentle backdrop as they came to a bench and sat down.

"That's really great, Fitz, congratulations!" There was a light in his eyes when he spoke about his job that she was sure mirrored her own. Fitz seemed just a bit older than her so to be climbing the ladder at his company had to be a big accomplishment for him.

"Thank you, Livvie."

Olivia froze. "Livvie?" No one had ever altered her name that way before.

"No?"

"…Yes."

"Yes?"

"I like it."

Fitz smiled and then took her hand in his. "I like you. I can't say why exactly. But I do. I just wanted to tell you that."

Olivia averted her eyes shyly and nodded, a small smile on her face. They sat there quietly for a few minutes, just enjoying each other's prescence. A slight breeze blew over them and the moment Olivia shivered a bit, Fitz's arm was around her, lending his warmth. It only took a moment for Olivia to relax against his torso. He was warm, solid muscle, and she fit into his side like puzzle piece. She felt Fitz press a kiss to the top of her head and she shifted her body into his and rested her head between his shoulder and neck. The skin there was warm and they sat there, with Fitz holding her, for what must've been at least half an hour.

Liv was so comfortable that she must've dozed off, because the next thing she knew, Fitz was gently rousing her, "Livvie baby, wake up. Are you ready to head back?"

She sat up and blinked slowly and then nodded. Fitz stood up and tucked her under his arm as they slowly started to walk back to the club. Their pace was considerably slower and Liv knew that neither of them wanted to separate. As much as she was drawn to Fitz, she did just get out of a relationship that day and it wasn't fair to make her rebound; even though she knew that wasn't the case.

With that sobering thought, she led him to Abby's car and handed him the keys, despite the fact that by this point most of the alcohol was out of her system. Liv didn't really feel like talking and Fitz respected that, nodding and following her instructions as she directed him to her apartment.

When he parked, Fitz jogged around to her door to open it for her and that made Liv feel even worse for what she was going to have to tell him. As they walked up to her floor, Fitz tucked her under his arm once more and she reveled in his warmth. When she got to her door she stopped and turned to him.

"Fitz," she took a deep breath. "I know that we both felt some kind of connection tonight, but. I- I just got out of a relationship less that twelve hours ago and it wouldn't be right for me to—"

"Livvie, it's okay. We can be friends," Fitz interrupted.

"Friends?" As sexy as she found Fitz, she found it hard to imagine being just friends with him.

"Yeah. We can hang out and spend time together. No pressure. I'll take whatever you give me. I just want to be around you."

"Okay, friends," Liv liked the idea of a no pressure relationship with Fitz.

"Great," he flashed her a grin that was anything but friendly and she felt her knees go weak.

"Will you call me when you get back to your place?" He had told her he would catch a cab back to his part of the city and she thought that him bringing her home was very kind of him.

"Is that your way of asking me for my number?"

"Fitz!"

"I know, no teasing. I just can't resist." Smiling at each other, they exchanged numbers and when the time came, Fitz pressed a gentle kiss to her hairline before making sure she was inside with the door locked before he left.

Later on that night, just as Olivia was getting into her bed, her phone rang,

"Hi."

"Hi."

She sat there with a stupid grin on her face.

"Goodnight Livvie."

"Goodnight Fitz."