Seeing that it's now 11:30 pm, she says, "Well, I better go. We have a long day ahead of us for the Super Tuesday ramp up." He knows she's right; but he doesn't want to hang up yet. Nonetheless, he agrees to let her go, as he says, "Okay, I will let you go, but only until tomorrow." She laughs as she says, "Okay, good night Fitz." He smiles as he says, "Good night love…Livy." He stammers out. They both hear it, but they also ignore it, and hang up.
As she hangs up; she places her hand over her mouth, and almost screams. Was he about to say I love you? She wonders to herself. Interestingly enough in that moment; she's not sure what her response would have been, if he actually said it. His Freudian slip makes her aware that something real is happening between them, and they both feel it. Something she is also struggling to identify, and control in the moment.
When her alarm goes off, she is already awake; she slept somewhat, but not completely. She is too amped up for the rally today; they will be on the buses all day, and making several different stops around Texas. She gets dressed in her best fitted jeans, comfortable FG for President T-shirt, complete with buttons, and her sneakers. She gives herself the once over, and smiles knowing that one of her best assets will be on display today. She grins as she grabs her keys, and goes downstairs to meet with the other volunteers. Today she is very happy her, and some of her volunteers got an extra shipment of shirts, and other novelties ready last night to load all of the busses.
By the time she gets to the volunteer room, all of the busses are loaded, and they are ready to go. She doesn't see Cyrus or Fitz though; she heads out to the bus, and they are both already seated. When Fitz sees her board, he ushers her over to sit in the seat next to him. She takes a breath, and sits down, but she has to pass by him, to get to the window seat he is offering. As she slides past him; he cannot help but notice how nice her jeans are fitting. He tries to be as subtle as he can, but clearly not subtle enough, since she sees him looking, as he bites his bottom lip, and she smiles back at him, as she sits down.
The moment she sits down; the bus pulls away, and his attention changes to her, as he says, "Good morning Liv." She responds, "Good morning Fitz," She says with a smile. Thankfully Cyrus is too caught up in reading the poll analysis she emailed him this morning, on her way downstairs to catch one of the many staring moments, her and Fitz share when they are together. Cyrus comes out of his number haze, moments later after she and Fitz have managed to break the stare, and are currently talking about campaign related business.
Cyrus joins the conversation, and compliments Liv on her work. They tweak the speech he is set to give today, just before they arrive at the first stop, and Liv encourages him to go off the cuff more with the groups they have today. He does it, and each rally they go to has a fantastic turnout, and response to his message. By the end of the day they are all confident they have Super Tuesday on lock. If the poll numbers that come in tonight are good; he will secure the Republican nomination for president early, and can begin working on the general election strategy, she has already started compiling.
They arrive at the last rally; its 9pm and everyone is exhausted. But they are also very excited about the successful day they have had. The number of young people at the last 4 rallies is shocking; it is like being at a high school function. Fitz is extremely happy, and so are Liv, and Cyrus, as they look at the crowd. This is a clear reflection of the media blitz working.
Cyrus goes out on the stage first and waits for him as he stands just off the stage with Liv. "Are you nervous?" She asks, as she walks up, and stands next to him. "A little, this group is all young people." She surveys the crowd, and says, "Yes, but just like the other stops, they are here to see you, and hear you. They want to know you; so let's let them know you." He asks, "What do you mean?"
She replies, "Talk about what they want to hear, and let them know that what is important to them, is also important to you. Tell them your stance on the issues they care about, like college payback programs, and the revamping of standardized testing." She sees some reluctance in his face; she looks at him and says, "Fitz you can do this. I believe you can do this." She's smiling at him, as she touches his face; he looks back into her eyes, as he places his hand on her waist. She knows he appreciates her reassurance; she always knows exactly what he needs.
They share a deeper smile as she says, "Now go show them who you are, and why you should be their next president." He squeezes her waist, and then goes out onto the stage. He walks out to cheers, and strong applause; when the rally is over, they all feel it is a great success. When he leaves off the stage walking toward her on the opposite side of the stage. He greets her with a hug and a lift. Afterwards, he puts her down, and they smile at each other, grateful no one sees them, after realizing what he just did.
As they walk toward the exit; she says, "You can't do things like that Fitz". He knows she is right; it was an honest bone headed moment. He responds, "I know Liv. I'm sorry; I got caught up. I'll work on it. Just don't change buses again." She looks at him, and they share smiles. He says, "Promise me you won't avoid me anymore." She replies, "Only if you behave." He responds, "Okay, it's a deal." She shakes her head, as she laughs at the cute, happy smile he's sporting. They join the group boarding the bus; traveling back to the campaign headquarters. Everyone around them is in great spirits especially Cyrus.
The buses are loaded and they pull off; it's an hour and a half drive back to headquarters. Everyone on the bus is tired and looking forward to the quiet drive. As they ride down the road everyone appears to be sleeping except Liv and Fitz. Despite her promise not to avoid him any longer. Liv listens to music on her phone, with her ear buds. She's trying not to engage him any further.
She knows that this thing between them; is getting out of control, and she has to do something to save both of them from making a terrible mistake. Fitz just watches her as she looks out the window listening to her music. After a while he decides he's done with her trying to ignore him; he pulls the ear bud closest to him out of her ear and says, "I thought you were a woman of your word." She replies, "What do you mean?" He responds, "You just promised me you wouldn't avoid me twenty minutes ago, and yet you're doing it." She looks at him and then looks away, as she takes a breath.
He says, "You can't avoid me if I'm sitting right here huh? Not if I'm in your face." As he speaks he's leaning in toward her, and their faces are mere inches apart. She stares at his lips, and he stares at hers too. The moment is heating up for sure. However, Cyrus coughing, breaks their trance, and they both sit back in their seats.
However, her ear bud is still hanging down the side of her arm. So he looks at her, and picks it up. She sees his persistence. He's not letting this go. She knows he feels the tension between them too, and he's walking into it head on. The faster she walks away, the faster he's willing to walk, if not run, to catch her. She can't lie, she's enjoying his pursuit. Even though, it feels dead wrong, given their situation. Knowing she should try harder to pull away; something about him, pulls her back toward him. She watches him put her ear bud in his ear, as he asks, "What are you listening to?"