I'm so sorry, you guys. My laptop broke and I haven't been able to write!
"I'm a lesbian, Olivia."
Olivia almost spit out her lemon water. "What?!" she practically choked out.
Oh, good Lord this woman is slow. "A lesbian? ...Gay? … I like girls."
"Ha. Ha," she said dryly, "I know what a lesbian is, Alex. I am one, remember? I just…wasn't expecting you of all people to be one.
"You know what happens when you assume, detective…" I tell her calmly. I seem to have gained the upper hand somewhere in this conversation.
"That I do, counselor. That I do."
I smile and continue to eat as if I didn't just tell the woman I'm rapidly falling for that I'm gay.
"I'm sorry." She said suddenly.
"For what?" I asked her sincerely.
"For, um, what Abbie said about you being a princess and all."
"I believe she called me a 'mother fucking' princess, Olivia," I said looking directly into her eyes, "and I will have you know that I am absolutely a princess. And don't forget it." I seriously hope that came off as a joke. I mean yes, I was Daddy's little princess growing up, but when he found out that his princess liked to fuck other princesses, he sort of disowned me.
Olivia laughed and I rejoiced on the inside.
"Well," she said, "let me rephrase my original question. What do you look for in a girl?"
Suddenly, I've become very embarrassed. I opt for the safe, articulate answer. "Um…" Okay, I lied. It wasn't the slightest bit articulate. "It depends." I finally decide.
She nodded in acknowledgement.
"What about you?" I asked tentatively.
"Isn't it obvious?" she retorted.
I think back to Abbie sitting on top of Olivia's desk. "Oh, you go for brunettes?" I asked, already planning an appointment to dye my hair.
"Not usually, no," she said, "I just meant lawyers. I kind of have a track record around the DA's office. First there was Serena Southerlyn...then, there was Karen Fitzgerald… and now, Abbie."
"Good." I said without thinking, "I'd look awful with brown hair." No! Stupid, stupid, stupid girl!
Olivia obviously can't tell if I'm joking so she laughs nervously.
"Olivia…" I begin, "I'm sorry. That was supposed to stay in my head."
She smiled genuinely. "You're strange." She said simply.
"Yeah," I sigh, "I know."
"You ready to head back?" she asked as she signals the waiter to bring the check.
"Sure," I said as I pulled out my credit card.
"Alex, don't be ridiculous. My treat."
"No, Olivia. You already treated me to those lovely napkins earlier. Plus, I've got to use this corporate credit card some time."
She reluctantly hands me the check. When did I get so good at persuading people? Oh, right. I'm an attorney. Duh.
When my credit card returns, we walk outside and I decide that I'm getting a cab, not wanting to risk falling flat on my ass again.
"Do you want to share one?" I said, pointing to the taxi that had pulled over to the side of the road.
"Sure." She answered and hopped in next to me. She gave the cabbie the address of the precinct and Branch's office while I got down to business and began to change my pantyhose.
I pulled off the ripped ones that I was already wearing, and took the others out of the package.
Olivia looked on in amazement. If I didn't know any better I would think that she was checking out my legs. Huh. I guess those years of volleyball didn't go to waste.
"What?" I asked, pulling one leg of the stockings over my foot with ease.
"I have trouble doing that when I'm not in a moving car." She laughs.
"I've been wearing pantyhose practically everyday since my second year of law school when I started interning, and to be honest, this—as you've probably guessed—is not the first time I've had to change them during the day."
I get a laugh in response. "Oh please, Alex. You can't be that clumsy!"
"Um, have you met me?" I laughed. I scoot my legs forward and pull the top of the stockings over my hips, hoping that my skirt didn't ride up too high.
"I'm impressed," she said.
"That's nothing," I said, "you should see me when I'm fu…" I stop mid-thought, knowing that it would have been completely awful if I actually finished what I was going to say.
She looked at me with a cocked eyebrow, and I know that she knew what I was going to say anyway. Damn it! I should really work on that thinking before I speak thing that everyone is always talking about.
The cab stops, and I thank Olivia for a great afternoon before I run out of there so quickly that I'm already inside the building before the car drives away.
I barely have time to look in the mirror before I make my way to Branch's office.
I knocked on the door, and I heard his deep baritone voice laced with his Southern accent say, "Come in, Alexandra."
I opened the door only to find Branch sitting at his desk, and Abbie sitting in the chair opposite him.
"Miss Cabot," he began, "this is Abbie Carmichael. I've asked her to show you the ropes around here until you get your footing."
Did someone just suck all of the oxygen out of the room?
A/N: Again, I apologize for the lack of writing…I won't have my laptop back for another week or two, but I figure that I'd write this for you. My desktop doesn't have Word on it, so please forgive me if there are any errors in grammar or spelling…I've pretty much flying blind here!
As always, comment and with any luck my laptop will be back soon so I can write DUN-DUN-DUN! The Alex/Abbie confrontation that you're all waiting for!! Yay!
