Olivia stood in front of her dresser rummaging through her blouses and finding none to be satisfactory. It was only one o'clock, she didn't plan to leave the house until after five, but Olivia figured she had better get the process started early if she wanted to actually make it there on time. She knew she would most likely change her mind about her outfit a number of times, even though she kept reminding herself that the outing was not a date.
Nevertheless, she still wanted to find the perfect thing to wear that would make him sit up and pay attention. She wanted to look pretty for him. Olivia was jittery with nerves, but also bursting with excitement. She couldn't believe that Professor Grant, Fitz, thought she was cool enough to hang out with in an informal environment.
He doesn't, he just felt bad for you being alone on Christmas, that's all, her critical inner voice whispered in the back of her mind, Olivia quickly shut it down.
I am not going to be a Negative Nancy today, she promised herself. Olivia knew once she got into that mood, she wouldn't be able to shake it and it would taint the entire night. Not today...she thought until the doorbell interrupted her thoughts.
Who the hell is that? Olivia wondered to herself, knowing she wasn't expecting company. She moved to the window to see if she could get a glimpse of the culprit. Olivia spotted a DHL delivery truck parked directly in front of her house and groaned. She booked it down the stairs, but just as she was opening the door, the deliveryman had already hopped back in his truck and was pulling away from the curb.
Olivia retrieved the small package out of the dropbox and rolled her eyes with irritation at the sender's name: Edison Davis. She groaned again, Not another one, this is getting beyond ridiculous!
Ever since the complete failure that was the Pre-Fall ball, Edison had been working relentless to get back into Olivia's good graces, to no avail. After he realized that trying to talk to her in person was as good as talking to a wall, he began sending apology notes attached to the most beautiful and exotic flowers. As beautiful as the floral arrangements were, Olivia could not bring herself to water any seeds of his affection and let them die.
Edison then upgraded to sending teddy bears holding small trinkets and before long, very expensive gifts. Olivia regularly came home to large, extravagant parcels awaiting her and it was driving her crazy, but she refused to give him any direct response. He'd lost any chance of being in her life by showing her such blatant disrespect.
She had asked her housemates to stop accepting the deliveries, but they were more sympathetic to Edison's broken-hearted plight than to Olivia's hard-heartedness, and encouraged her to speak to him or at the very least accept the amazing gifts that seemed to flow endlessly.
But she didn't want the gifts. Olivia knew there were strings attached, so she continued ignoring the generous gestures, and just began adding each new gift to the stockpile in the closet. She knew one day he would grow tired and demand them back and he would get every single one in its original condition. He couldn't buy his way into her heart or persuade her to forget his wrongdoing. Instead of softening her up, each successive package was another reminder of that terrible night and made Olivia more resolute in her decision. Over the last few weeks the gifts had increased sharply in quantity, and it was actually beginning to make her mad.
Olivia had left most of them unopened, but curiosity got the best of her and she decided to open this particular package before adding it to the pile. Shocked to find a Tiffany's diamond tennis bracelet, Olivia muttered to herself in disbelief. He really thinks I have a price. Enough is enough, she decided, picking up the phone to end this once and for all. The line didn't even ring one full time before he picked it up.
"Merry Christmas, baby. I'm guessing you liked the bracelet, huh?" Edison asked in a cocksure tone. "My dad said you would."
"I am not your baby, and no, Edison, I don't like the bracelet, or any of the other things you've sent. What I really want you to give me is the quality of being left alone, for you to stop sending me things! It's over, what part of 'do not contact me' did you not understand? Please, let it go," Olivia huffed in an aggravated tone, shifting the phone to her other ear.
"Olivia...no."
"What?" she asked, exasperated.
"I said, no," he retorted coolly.
"What do you mean, no?" she asked, dumbfounded. "You can't make me want to be with you, Edison. It doesn't work like that."
He chuckled softly, "Olivia, seriously, cut the bullshit. I'm getting really tired of this 'poor little orphan girl,' 'woe is me,' 'you don't get my hard knock life' act. This hard to get game is getting old, and I'm getting tired of chasing you. So here's what we're gonna do: you're gonna take these next couple weeks until I get back to campus on January tenth to fix your attitude, and get yourself together. When I see you next, you're going to be wearing that little black number I sent you and some of that jewelry. Then you're going to thank me thoroughly and enthusiastically for everything I've done for you by consummating our relationship. Do you understand, Olivia? I want you, and I'm finally going to have you. The time for games is over. Resistance is futile."
Olivia looked at the phone in disbelief. She chuckled, and then let out a full fledged laugh.
"Edison...you're crazy. I honestly believe you may have a few screws loose. You're spoiled, entitled, and manipulative, and you know what, I'm not sure how I didn't see it before...see you, before. Listen closely because I'm not going to repeat myself again: I'm done with you. Now here's what I'm going to do for you: I'm going to put everything you've ever given me in a box and have it available for you to pick up whenever you're ready, and if you don't come pick it up by January 15th, I'm going to donate all of it to the GoodWill. Goodbye, Edison," she finished, ending the call without waiting for a response. He was already on her straight to voicemail list, so he could call back as many times as he wanted and it would be of no use.
Olivia had kept a calm and even tone on the line with him, but part of her was a little concerned. She was fairly certain that Edison was harmless, but she couldn't put anything past anyone; seemingly normal people snapped all the time, especially people with money and means that were used to getting exactly what they wanted. Something about the cold and calculated tone he had used when he was telling her the plan that she "had" to comply with reminded her of her uncle.
I should have listened to my gut about him, she chided herself. But for tonight, at least, she was gonna put that out of her mind and try to have a good time.
Fitz was sitting in a small booth in the back facing the door so that he could see her when she came in. The Stinking Goose was small enough that all the seats pretty much had a view of the door, but this particular booth was his favorite. He fiddled with the cutlery, and then his phone, and then checked his watch in spite of himself - 5:47. He'd made sure to arrive early to secure his lucky booth, not to mention he was growing extremely anxious sitting in his apartment.
It's not a date, Fitz kept reminding himself, but that didn't help keep the nerves in check.
The Stinking Goose was bustling with activity today, and he was pretty sure it had something to do with the unlimited refills on the Ale based Stinkin' Cider that had been heavily advertised over the last month. The establishment had done an impressive job of jazzing up the place for the holiday, replacing the normal tablecloths with red and green checkered fabric, utilizing mini Christmas trees as the centerpieces, setting up the nativity scene behind the bar, and plastering red and green string lights everywhere.
The decorations gave the place a cozy, Christmas ambience while still maintaining some semblance of a bar scene. Fitz looked out of the cloudy window and noticed that it was snowing softly outside. It was his first winter on the East Coast and he had never experienced Christmas snow before; the flakes looked like big fluffs of powdered sugar floating on wisps of air and gave the evening a magical feeling. Anything felt possible.
Fitz spotted Olivia as soon as she walked in and immediately rose to greet her. Olivia was donned almost completely in white, from her scarf, to her parka and form fitting pants, but her boots were a bright Christmas green. She was wearing her hair straight and about her shoulders and small snowflakes danced between the strands, giving her an angelic halo.
She absolutely took his breath away.
When their eyes met, Fitz couldn't stop the smile that was spreading across his face as she was crossed the distance to the booth.
"Hi," was all he could manage to say once she was directly in front of him.
"Hi," she replied sliding into the booth, seating herself a safe distance from him.
"Did you find the place okay?" he asked.
"Yeah, the bus actually stops just a couple of blocks from here, and google guided me the rest of the way," Olivia joked, unwrapping her scarf and removing her coat. She was wearing a silken white top that dipped low around the collar bone, exposing her exquisite neck and tempting skin. A golden heart shaped locket hung from her neck, drawing his eyes to her exposed cleavage. Fitz was careful not to let his eyes linger there too long.
"Oh, you don't drive?" he asked, searching for words to shake his nervousness.
"Well I have my license, but I don't have a car. I'm not really a big fan driving much, anyway. The public transportation around here is pretty good and a lot of the main buses stop on or near campus, so it's convenient enough for me. I'll usually ride my bike if I need to get someplace quick," she explained with a smile.
"Well with the way gas prices are right now, that's probably a better alternative. Not to mention, more environmentally friendly. Uh, I drove here tonight, I could drop you off on the way back. it's not out of my way, and I'm sure everything is running slower due to the holiday." he offered.
Just then the waitress came over to take their orders.
"Can I get you two drinks to start?" she asked congenially.
"Sure, I'll have a Stinkin' Cider," Fitz turned to Olivia, "What would you like?"
"I'll have the same," she replied with a soft smile.
"Comin' right up," the waitress turned on her heels to go fill their orders.
Fitz paused for a second - he hadn't ever bothered to check if Olivia was of drinking age. He knew she was in her third year of college, so there was definitely possibility she hadn't turned twenty-one yet. Dumb move, Grant. It was extremely awkward, but Fitz had to ask.
"Olivia, have you turned 21 yet?"
"Soon," she answered, not taking her eyes from the menu.
Fitz chuckled, "How soon is soon?"
"Soon enough," she met his eyes with a knowing smirk. "Don't worry, it's not my first time at the rodeo."
Fitz couldn't help but laugh at her charm, "Now what exactly does that mean?"
"It means I can handle a few ciders," Olivia replied confidently, looking straight into his eyes. "I promise you that I will not get drunk and make you regret inviting me. There's probably only like five percent alcohol in the cider, anyway," she added, returning her eyes back to the menu.
Just then the waitress returned with their mugs and Fitz decided to drop it, even though he was genuinely curious about exactly how old she was. Olivia was right about the low alcohol content, and thinking back on it, he was definitely drinking scotch and not hard cider in his early college years. Now if she started ordering highballs, then he would be forced to intervene.
"You all ready to order?" the waitress interrupted Fitz's thoughts.
Olivia looked to him, "You come here often, right? Maybe you should just order for the both of us since I trust you know what's good here."
"Sure," Fitz agreed, casting another glance at the menu, "I'll order a bunch of things I think you should try, and we can order more of anything you like."
"Sounds great," she beamed at him and Fitz blushed.
It'd been a long while since been out on not a date with a woman, and Fitz was truly enjoying Olivia's company. As the waitress took their menus away, the pair made small talk and Olivia inquired about his past Christmases on the West Coast. Fitz found himself telling her stories about his holiday experiences and how it was for him as a child growing up in the valley.
Olivia laughed heartily at his jokes, asked questions in the right places, and encouraged him to continue, which had Fitz telling stories he had almost forgot that he remembered. The waitress kept refilling their ciders, and over the course of the conversation the space between them had dwindled until their thighs were brushing and Fitz had his arm draped just above her shoulders in the booth.
Olivia felt so comfortable with Fitz she eventually laid her head right on his arm and gazed into his eyes as he spoke, telling herself all the while that she just wanted to be close enough to hear him clearly. Fitz was enchanted by Olivia's attentiveness and proximity, so much so that he felt almost as if there was no one else in the room. His fingers were itching to hold her close and trace the soft pout of her lips, but Fitz managed to keep his temptation under control.
Their reverie was broken by the clanging of silverware against glass. Fitz looked around, wondering when the place had gotten so crowded; all the tables were full, as well as the stools at the bar, and a number of people were standing. There was silence for a moment, until the bartender's voice rang out.
"Okay everyone, you know what time it is! Karaoke timeeeee!" A cheer erupted in the bar. "Sign up right here with me ASAP. We're closing a bit earlier than usual tonight, so all requests must be submitted before ten-thirty! That'll also be the last call for alcohol."
A number of people rushed the bar to browse the catalogue just as a drunken, brunette woman jumped on the microphone and began butchering 'Don't Stop Believing.'
"Are you a fan of karaoke?" Fitz strained to be heard over the woman's crooning.
"Say that again?" Olivia almost yelled over the extremely loud vocals.
Fitz planted his hand on the other side of Olivia on the booth, boxing her in so he could whisper directly into her ear, "Are you a fan of karaoke?" he repeated himself.
Olivia felt the stubble on his jaw tickling her cheek and his lips made the slightest contact with her ear, causing her body tremble with delight. Feeling the boldness of the hard cider in her veins, Olivia placed a hand high on his thigh for leverage, her full lips pressed against his earlobe.
"Me? No, I'm not really the karaoke type," Olivia giggled.
Her touch set Fitz on fire and sent a jolt of electricity through every inch of his body. He knew they were playing a dangerous game, but he was in too deep to turn back. She was so close he was becoming intoxicated by her light scent of vanilla and honey. He imagined himself running his lips, tongue and teeth over the soft, sensitive skin of her neck until she trembled in his arms and moaned his name.
Fitz leaned in closer. What exactly is the karaoke type?"
"Her," Olivia laughed, pointing at the mess of a woman standing on bar, still belting Journey with intermittent choreographed steps, and he joined in on the laughter. "I'm just way too shy, I'd screw the entire song up," Olivia confessed.
Fitz turned serious for a moment, "I think you'd do great," he pulled back and stared intently into her eyes before leaning forward into her ear again, "I bet your singing voice sounds just as beautiful as you look. I wouldn't make you go up there alone, we could choose something together."
Olivia blushed and shook her head rapidly, "No way, maybe next time?"
Fitz raised his eyebrows at the mention of a next time. "Well I'm going to hold you to that, little lady," he said, picking her hand up from his thigh and placing a light kiss across her fingers.
"Okay," Olivia grinned, her eyes seeming to shimmer with glee at his gesture.
God, she is beautiful. It took Fitz every ounce of self restraint he had not to kiss her right then.
You're playing with fire, a voice of reason finally welled up within him and Fitz straightened up and put a bit of space between them. As if she could sense his thoughts, Olivia excused herself to the restroom. He watched her disappear into the crowd in the direction of the ladies' room and trird to quell the desire burgeoning within himself.
Why does she have to be my freaking student? I guess it doesn't matter why, because she is, just shut this down, his conscience reprimanded. Fitz knew if he kept going with the flow, he'd end up crossing the line.
As Olivia was making her way back from the ladies room, the lights flickered on to signal the approaching closing time.
"Okay everyone, you don't have to go home, but you can't stay here! Thanks for spending your Christmas with The Stinking Goose. We'll be closed for a couple days for the holidays and reopen the evening of the twenty-seventh. Make sure you come join us for our New Year's Eve bash!"
The crowd clapped and cheered and everyone began moving from their seats en masse to the door.
"Looks like they're kicking us out," Fitz informed her with a small smile, sad to see their night end.
"Wow, I can't believe we've been here for like 5 hours, it didn't even feel like it all. Thanks again for inviting me...Can I take you up on that ride?" she asked hopefully.
"Of course," Fitz grinned, happy to steal some extra moments with Olivia.
The couple rose to join the slow moving crowd en route to the door when some pushing began, and Fitz reached for Olivia's hand so that they wouldn't get separated by the antsy bar crawlers. His heart leapt when he felt Olivia's fingers slide into empty crevices between his digits. Her fingers, tiny and warm compared to his, were just the perfect fit.
Once they eventually made it out of the front door, he led her to his car by their intertwined with hands. He felt overjoyed that she hadn't withdrawn her fingers from his yet. He opened the passenger side door for her before sliding around to the driver's side and cranking up the heat. Although he had the car warming from the moment they reached the exit, it was still too frigid for his taste. The snow had actually stuck, and there was a distinct windchill in the air.
The weather is just about the only thing I miss about California, Fitz thought to himself.
As the car pulled off in the direction of campus, the two joked about the patrons who had completely let loose at karaoke, some of whom actually were quite talented.
Fitz was just turning onto campus when he heard Olivia murmur, "Oh no."
"What's wrong?" he asked, taking his eyes off of the road momentarily.
"I can't find my key card. I know I had it before I left, and now it's not here," she groaned.
"Damn, that's no good," Fitz reached up and turned on the small overhead light so Olivia could get a clearer look into her bag as he simultaneously wheeled the car around. Keep looking, but I'm going to start circling back to The Stinking Goose just in case, maybe they're still locking up and we can see if it's in our booth," he reasoned.
"Oh goddd," Olivia moaned dejectedly as he watched her through the mirror, rummaging furiously through her small bag with her face contorted anxiously. He whipped it as quickly as he could back to The Stinking Goose, but the gate was already down, the lights off, and all of the cars vanished from the parking lot.
Olivia put her head in her hands and looked like she wanted to cry; all the fun of their evening had been washed away in a single moment.
She breathed in deeply, "I'm gonna check and see if maybe I dropped it outside." Olivia quickly exited the car, and Fitz followed her lead hoping maybe his extra set of eyes would make all the difference, but knowing that the snow on the ground and lack of daylight was working against them.
"Fuck," Olivia grumbled, kicking around snow frustratedly as if she hoped the ground would offer up her missing keycard. "It's not here. I dont have it, I'm not sure what I should do," she admitted with her voice shaking. "ResLife warned me that there wouldn't be anyone around to let me in for the next couple days, and of course I would lose my card then..." She let out a frustrated noise and it seemed like she was talking more to herself than him.
"Hey," Fitz moved closer to Olivia and placed both of his hands on her shoulders, "it happens, okay? Don't beat yourself up. Everyone has misplaced their keys at one point or another. Not to mention, you're not in this alone; I wouldn't leave you stranded. Come on, let's go downtown and see if maybe we can find you a room for the night? How does that sound?" he tried to reassure her.
"Thanks," she offered him a strained smile, "I appreciate it."
Olivia was quiet in the car, and he could tell she was still beating herself up for the mishap. He wanted to say something, but everything seemed cliche.
Four hotels.
They visited four hotels before they found a vacancy. Even though Olivia and Fitz weren't doing much celebrating for the holidays, they were in the minority. The hotels were bustling with activity, and apparently mostly sold out. Fitz pulled into the Westin, hoping for better luck.
"Welcome to the Westin where ALLLL our guests are very important people! My name is Judy, and how may I help you today?!" The front desk associate greeted them with a perky intensity that felt odd for such a late hour. He wondered how many ounces of espresso she was keyed up on .
"Hi Judy," Fitz replied, unable to return her energy, "we'd like to see if you might have a vacancy available for the next two nights?"
"I'd be much obliged to check our availability for you sir, but I must mention that due to the holidays, we are requiring our guests to adhere to a three night minimum policy. Room selection is also rather limited," she informed him while punching away at the keys on her computer.
"Okay, well let's see what you have," he tried to be positive. He could visibly see Olivia's level of frustration rising with each passing rejection.
"Well sir, I'm pleased to inform you that we do have just one two-room suite available for the following three nights, at our best available rate of $879 per night plus tax. Would you like to secure that right away with a credit card?" she asked with a syrupy sweet smile.
Fitz's head was still spinning at the exorbitant price and the nonchalant attitude in which she'd offered it in, when he heard Olivia take a deep sigh and slide a card across the counter.
"Whoa, whoa, hold on. Would you mind giving us just one second to discuss?" he interrupted the transaction, grabbing Olivia's small hand that still held the card and leading her out of the lobby and back to his car.
"Why did you do that?" Olivia questioned, "There probably won't be anything else available, and I'm honestly tired of looking. It's getting late," she told him in a resignated tone as they slid into the car.
"Olivia, did you hear that price? I couldn't let you agree to that. It's way too much, even for the Westin. How would you explain that to your parents? Wouldn't they kill you once they saw the statement?"
She sighed and looked out of the window, "They're dead, that's how I have the money."
Fitz froze, "I'm sorry Olivia, I wouldn't have said...I didn't know, I'm sorry."
"It's okay, there's no way you could have known. It's fine, really, I'm used to people asking."
"Okay, but again I'm sorry...look, I just don't feel right about you spending that kind of money . I also feel partially responsible for this whole mishap. I know it may be a little unorthodox, but I would feel bad not offering... I have a couch. I'd be more than willing to give you my bed for the next few days, and I'll stick it out on the sofa. To boot, it won't cost either of us a couple thousand dollars," he offered with a reassuring smile.
Olivia looked up at him, "You would do that for me?"
He reached over and covered her hand with his, momentarily emboldened, "Absolutely. It's no trouble at all. Come on, let's get out of here."
His conscience was screaming at him that this was a stupid move, and he knew he was teetering dangerously close to crossing the line, but Fitz couldn't find it within himself to care. He was intoxicated by Olivia's presence and he glad the night wouldn't be coming to an end just yet. He had spent the entire semester avoiding her, but somehow it felt like the universe was conspiring to bring them together. Fitz was tired of fighting fate.
A/N: yeah, Edison is a little crazy! He doesn't give up easily either! Alex will come up again in the next chapter or two, and Olivia will definitely get closer next chapter. Do you think Fitz is way overstepping his boundaries? Next chapter within a couple days or so!
