Title: You Know For Me, It's Always You (I Know For You, It's Always Me)

Author's Note: For disclaimer, see chapter one.

.

Chapter 2: "I Know Places"

You stand with your hand on my waist line

It's a scene and we're out here in plain sight

Alex parks her car outside of Olivia's apartment building at 6:25. She checks her makeup in the mirror one last time before shutting off the car and grabbing the bouquet of roses from the passenger seat.

Olivia's apartment is situated in the back corner of the fourth floor and Alex finds it with little difficulty. She knocks twice and waits for the door to open.

"It's open," Olivia yells.

Alex takes a deep breath and opens the door.

Consisting of just a single large room and a small bathroom, the apartment is smaller than Alex expects.

"I'm running a little late," Olivia says, poking her messy-haired head out of the bathroom. "My professor kept me late to talk about a paper I wrote."

"It's fine," Alex says, standing awkwardly in the hallway outside the bathroom. "Was there something wrong with it?"

"Just the opposite actually," Olivia says, breezing out of the bathroom, her black dress glittering in the apartment lighting. "He wants to publish it."

"Liv, that's great news!"

Olivia grins widely, finally stopping long enough to get a good look at Alex. Her eyes roam over Alex's body, noting the way the red of her dress almost matches the red of her lipstick. "You look incredible."

"So do you."

"I'm not underdressed?"

"No," Alex says. "It's perfect."

Olivia blushes, averting her gaze to look at the flowers. "Are those for me?"

"Yes," Alex says, startled. "Yes, these are for you."

"Thank you." Olivia finds a vase and fills it with water, placing the flowers in it by the sink. "They're beautiful."

"Yeah, but they're nothing compared to you." Alex stares down at her feet, blushing almost as red as her dress. She clears her throat. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yes," Olivia says. "Yes, absolutely."

.

.

Alex darts ahead of Olivia as soon as they get outside and stands in front of the car door, effectively blocking it. She reaches out, placing her hand on Olivia's hip, finding familiarity there.

Olivia heart thuds painfully in her chest. Right here in this moment she sees the Alex she fell in love with all those years ago. "What are you doing?" she asks, frowning.

"Do you want to drive?"

"What?"

"Do you want to drive my car?"

"Why?"

Alex shrugs. "I remember how you used to like to drive because I always made you feel nauseous."

Olivia laughs. "Oh God, Alex," she says. "You were a terrible driver."

Alex grins sheepishly. "So do you want to drive or not?"

"Are you sure?"

"I wouldn't ask if I wasn't, you know that."

Olivia looks at the sleek body of the car in front of her. "Yes," she says, grinning as Alex hands her the key. She circles around the car and drops into the driver's seat, starting it up. "Where to?" she asks, looking over at Alex.

Baby, I know places we won't be found

And they'll be chasing their tails tryin' to track us down

Cause I, I know places we can hide

I know places, I know places

Alex presses a button on the radio display, pulling up the GPS. "It's preprogramed," she says. "All you have to do is follow it."

Olivia nods, pulling out of the parking spot. "You're not even going to tell me where we're going?"

Alex smirks, relaxing back into the passenger's seat. "Somewhere we won't need to worry about being found."

.

.

They end up at a nice little restaurant on the outskirts of the city, far away from where the paparazzi can find them.

"How'd you find this place?" Olivia asks.

Alex takes hold of Olivia's hands as they walk into the restaurant. "It's the best kept secret in the Industry," she says. "And you can't get in unless you know the word of the day."

Olivia nods, not really paying attention as Alex talks with the hostess and certainly not paying to anything but the romantic atmosphere of the restaurant and, okay, maybe she occasionally glances at the patrons, but, really, who could blame her?

Alex squeezes her hand lightly and leans in close to whisper, "Try not to stare too much. It makes people uncomfortable."

Olivia blushes, looking over at Alex. "Sorry," she says. "I didn't realize I was staring."

Alex grins, shaking her head. "I'm just letting you know."

The hostess leads them to a table toward the back of the restaurant and leaves them to peruse the menu.

They deiced what they want quickly enough and Alex flags the waiter over, ordering champagne and their meals.

The champagne arrives a minute later and Alex thanks the waiter as he fills their glasses.

"So," Alex says, taking a sip of her drink, "what made you decide to say yes? Was it my stunning good looks? Or perhaps you were curious to see how well we fit after all these years?"

"Actually," Olivia says, a hint of a smirk playing at the corner of her lips, "it's your money."

Alex rolls her eyes, frowning. "That's not even remotely funny, Liv."

"You're right," Olivia says. "I'm sorry."

"Be serious: Why'd you say yes?"

Olivia shrugs, looking anywhere but actually at Alex. "I don't know," she says. "I guess I just wanted to see if it could work again."

Alex nods. "Is it?"

Olivia smirks. "I guess you'll have to wait and see, won't you?"

They lapse into silence as they eat their meals, and by the time they are done, Alex is buzzing to get out of the restaurant. She pays before Olivia even has a chance to object and they are up and leaving the restaurant as soon as she gets her credit card back.

Out in the car, Alex sinks into the driver's seat, gripping the steering wheel like it is the only thing keeping her from falling apart. "Sorry," she says.

Olivia nods, reaching over and placing her hand on Alex's. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Alex says quickly. "Nothing's wrong. I think I just needed to get some air."

"You should've said that, Alex," Olivia says. "You looked pissed."

Alex shrugs. "Do you remember prom night, Liv?"

Olivia grins. "How could I forget? We rented that hotel room for the night…" She trails off, a dreamy look in her eyes.

Alex nods. "I want to take you home."

Olivia blinks. "Oh," she says, frowning. "Okay."

Alex laughs quietly. "Let me rephrase that: I want to take you back to my apartment. If that's okay with you, of course."

"Oh," Olivia says. She looks over at Alex, who suddenly looks almost feral in the streetlights. "Oh" – she nods fervently – "yes, I'd like that."

Alex grins. She moves her hand to the center console and takes hold of Olivia's hand.

Just grab my hand and don't ever drop it

My love

.