Chapter Nine – What is Better Than a Stalker?
"Olivia!" Ben called out as he hurried over to her in the park.
Olivia's head swiveled around in confusion until she spotted who was calling her. She stopped and moved off to the edge of the path with Suvi at her side. When Ben caught up to her she smiled gently.
"It's been a while. Where have you been?"
Olivia's smile morphed into a look of confusion at his question. Yes, she'd been gone for the last five days and hadn't run into him in the few days before and after her trip, but it wasn't like they met every day. They didn't even meet most days.
"Are you stalking me?" she teased, though the question held almost equal amounts of teasing and suspicion.
If he had sounded more angry than worried Olivia would have been seriously concerned. In that instance the teasing definitely wouldn't have been there.
Ben snorted back a laugh and shook his head at her. So they were back to that were they? It was somewhat frustrating, but at least this time she seemed to be teasing him more than anything else.
"Stalking is such a bad word. I prefer to call it awareness. Or reconnaissance."
Olivia popped one hand onto her hip and watched him with a raised eyebrow.
"Sounds like stalking to me."
"Okay, okay. How about using patterns and logic to spend time with someone that I don't have a phone number for?" he asked as he held his hands up in a gesture of peace.
That caused Olivia to blink in surprise. Was that his way of asking for her number? If it was, did she give it to him? They'd run into each other quite a few times already, and she hadn't sensed anything off. At least nothing off besides his general goofiness. Then again, her track record with judging men outside of work wasn't exactly stellar.
"I really like spending time with you, Olivia," Ben added after he didn't get a response.
Olivia's eyes shifted downward. It was an automatic response that she couldn't stop. She hesitated for another moment before slipping her hand into the bag she kept Suvi's vest in. When she'd been a detective she carried a few business cards with her constantly. It was a habit that was hard to break. After a bit of digging her fingers connected with one of her consultant business cards. Most consultants put their cell numbers on the cards, but Olivia wasn't quite willing to let that number get out so easily. Instead she had a consultant's voicemail number on hers. A little more digging revealed a pen which she used to quickly jot down her cell on the back.
"You can stop being a stalker now," she told him with a light smile as she held out the card.
"Much better than being a stalker."
"Mm. I would hope so."
"I'd still love to know where you've been."
Olivia smirked and turned away from him. After having wandered off to sniff around nearby for a bit, Suvi came thundering back when she moved and rubbed against her legs. She stroked his head before glancing back at Ben with a grin.
"I'm sure you would."
"Right, right. Don't tell the stalker anything. I get it."
"Nope, I don't think I will," Olivia returned as she dropped a tennis ball into his hand.
He looked up at her curiously, but Olivia just smiled and jogged away. Suvi watched her briefly and then focused his eyes on the ball in Ben's hands. About ten feet away from Ben Olivia turned.
"Ben."
His eyes met hers and then Suvi's. Her dog was nearly dancing in place. A smile spread across Ben's face as he understood.
"You want this, Suvi?" he asked as he held the ball up.
Suvi darted forward and back again in excitement.
"Ready, go!"
The moment Ben released the ball Suvi spun on his paws and shot toward Olivia. She caught the ball easily, waited for Suvi to reach her, and threw it back toward Ben. Suvi skidded to a stop and darted back in Ben's direction. As the game continued Suvi began getting more and more aggressive toward winning. He was going to get that ball. They couldn't keep it from him forever. After a few more rounds with no success he decided it was time to take matters into his own paws. As the ball headed back toward Ben, Suvi launched himself upward. If he had to snatch the ball right out of Ben's hand then he would.
"Whoa!"
A half step back by Ben was all Suvi needed to take advantage of the extra room. He may not have caught the ball, but Ben hadn't either. All Suvi had to do was get to it first. Easy enough. A quick twist of his body and the task was accomplished. With the ball in his mouth he began racing around Ben. A little bit of taunting never hurt.
As Ben reached out for him in a weak attempt to grab the ball Suvi dashed away, slowing when he reached Olivia. Olivia rubbed at his ears, but Suvi's focus was on Ben. His eyes were bright and his tail wagging. Oh yeah, he'd totally won this round.
"Yeah, you win," Ben admitted.
The confirmation sent Suvi into a circular dance complete with head shaking. A few times around and he stopped to look happily up at Olivia.
"Yes, you won," she confirmed before dropping to one knee and wrapping her arms around his neck. "You're such a good boy."
"He's like a sponge with your attention," Ben said with a smile. He'd wandered closer while she'd been rubbing Suvi's ears.
"He is, but he deserves every ounce I give him."
With how well behaved and attentive he'd been during the last week he deserved every ounce of playtime too. The conference hadn't exactly allowed for many opportunities. While she'd gotten to enjoy herself in the hotel pool, her time to relax had likely been rather disappointing for Suvi since he couldn't come in the water with her. Not that he hadn't tried at first. Eventually he'd contented himself, somewhat grudgingly, with the water that had splashed out onto the pool deck. Being still on the job all he could really do was lie in it. It hadn't been very fun for him at all. In fact, Olivia had gotten more entertainment out of the look on his face when he realized the water was chlorinated than Suvi had with the entire pool episode.
"I'm guessing you probably went on a business trip and haven't been able to play with him in a while."
"Yeah," she replied. "A four day thing."
It wasn't really a lie. She had been on a four day business trip and hadn't been able to play with Suvi much. Why she hadn't been able to was just a bit different than what Ben likely thought. Suvi hadn't been placed in the kennel to wait for her return. He'd come with her and had been working just as much as she had.
"Now I understand why I didn't see you."
"That's why you didn't see me much before last week either. I was prepping for the conference."
"It went well?"
"For the most part. I had to deal with a few idiots, but that's generally par for the course."
Ben laughed and shook his head at her.
"That's usually the case everywhere, isn't it? Gotta have your wits about you to fight off the crazies. They're like zombies. If you're not paying attention you could end up joining their ranks."
Olivia glanced up at him, her eyes sparkling in amusement.
"Are you sure you haven't already joined them?"
"Nope. I'm just a tourist."
"Tourist to the normal side," she countered.
She didn't think Ben was actually crazy. He simply liked to enjoy himself and keep a light spirit. Joking, teasing, and saying things that were so unexpected Olivia didn't even think they qualified as "out of left field" were as normal and easy for him as breathing. She'd come to accept that you simply couldn't take much of what he said seriously, or at least not at face value. That wasn't to say that he couldn't have a completely serious and intelligent conversation. She'd seen him do it. His ridiculous humor was what kept bringing her back though. In a way, he reminded her of Suvi. He could make her smile over the silliest things, which was probably another reason why she was actually sticking around. She definitely wouldn't have before. Now a little extra reason to smile was welcomed.
"Nah," he returned.
His eyes locked with hers, an amused smile still on his face. For a long time Olivia stared at him before finally looking down in embarrassment.
What was she doing?
Aside from being ridiculous, which was pretty much what she felt like at the moment. With any luck nothing had shown on her face and Ben wouldn't think anything of her reaction. He was her friend, nothing more. Considering all of her baggage, he probably shouldn't even be that.
Unfortunately for Olivia her luck wasn't holding out. A small blush had touched her cheeks, and Ben had noticed before she'd looked down. He didn't say anything, but a tiny smile flickered across his face. Ever since he'd met Olivia he'd simply been riding on hope. Maybe, at some point, his slow progress would actually amount to something. Her tiny little blush was the biggest indication he'd gotten so far that she could eventually feel the same way about him. At least the time when he could potentially ask her on a real date didn't seem quite so far away now.
"I should probably go," Olivia said suddenly.
Before Ben had fully processed what she'd said Olivia was on her feet and preparing to leave. He scrambled to his feet after her.
"I can call you, right?" he asked without really thinking. A second later, when he realized what he'd said, he became flustered. "Ah, I know you gave me your number and all…"
Olivia took pity on him.
"Yes, you can call me. Just don't make me get a new number."
"I won't."
There was no way he would risk calling her enough for her to even think about changing her number. He'd been careful so far, and that wasn't going to change. The opportunity to be with her meant too much.
