Day One

Olivia's POV
Who knew that a new office could also give a person a new perspective? I am currently sitting behind my desk in my newly decorated co regional vice president office and feeling very optimistic about the future. It feels like for the very first time in a long time, I can breathe easy. There aren't crazy people trying to take us down. No one is stalking us everywhere we go. Fitz and I got the shared promotion just like we wanted. And while everything might not be in a perfect place, it is in a good place. For me, that is enough.

Fitz stayed in New York to help me unpack my office two floors up from where my old office had been. The company insisted that the movers do it, but it was something I wanted to be very hands on about and did it myself. I gave the movers the joy of packing up my old office, so that was something. I hated the packing up part anyways.

Besides, I wanted my new office to look as much like my previous one had been so that I could imagine the brief time Fitz and I spent together in it. Every day if I wanted to. Even now, I eyed my desk and ran my hand across the smooth wooden surface of it as a devious smile crossed my face. Memories of being face down on this desk with Fitz right behind me talking dirty floated through my head.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, pulling my hand away from the polished furniture. I had to stop thinking things like that. It made me miss him that much more. It was hard enough that he was in California while I was in New York. Letting memories like that run rampant through my brain wouldn't change that. Or make this sad feeling any less intense.

The day we moved my stuff into my office, Fitz and I had enjoyed a little picnic lunch right there on the carpeting once we got all the boxes brought up into it. The other furniture hadn't arrived just yet and he took advantage of the situation by having lunch delivered to my office. It was funny and romantic and sweet. Even with the desk and a dozen or so boxes surrounding us.

Jesus, I need to stop.

It seems like the more time I spend in my new office, the more time I spend thinking about and missing Fitz. I could only hope it was something that faded with time. If not, it was going to be a real problem.

He left this morning to head back to California. He had to get settled into his own bigger newer office there. He was desperate to see Roscoe and his parents again. I think he was ready to get back into the rhythm of working from his own office instead of out of mine or a hotel room on the road.

He was coming back to New York in a week, but it would only be for a long weekend. I was already counting the days. He called me when his plane touched down. I don't think he had even been given the okay to use his phone, but he called me anyways. "Liv? I made it safe and sound."

The deep baritone of his voice sounded like heaven.

"The weather here is beautiful. Just the way I remember it."

The ache that shouldn't even be there yet – because he hadn't really been gone long enough for me to actually miss him - intensified as he spoke to me.

"The sky is picture perfect. Not a cloud in it. I wish you were he..."

"I don't have time to worry about you, mister." I interrupted him. I couldn't hear him say that he missed me. It would be too difficult. So, I plowed on ahead. "I am hard at work trying to make sure this side of things runs smoother than a sewing machine. You're gonna be busy playing catch up over there."

"Yea? Some things never change, I see. You're still under some delusion that you're better at your job than I am. We're partners now you know?"

He chuckled, and I almost cried. How fucking ridiculous is that?! I covered my mouth with my hand and closed my eyes, willing myself to pull it together. It was day one! I could do this. We could do this. We agreed on it together. Still, I couldn't help how much I already missed Fitz. His encouraging voice broke through my self centered thoughts.

"I already know exactly how amazing you are, Liv. You are the best." He huffed out a breath. "I miss you though. I miss you a whole hell of a lot more than I thought I might. I know I shouldn't say that, but..."

"I miss you too!" I blurted out. He had said it and now I wanted him to know that I felt exactly the same way.

"You do? I mean, of course you do. But if you're saying it out loud that means you're having just as hard a time adjusting to this new normal as I am. And my feet haven't even touched the California landscape yet." Fitz paused and whispered, "it helps to know you feel the same way."

"It does. It's not supposed to be this difficult on day one. Is it?" Surely, this wasn't normal? It couldn't be. He had only been gone for a few hours. I thought I was the only one being ridiculous, but apparently, he was feeling it too? It was nice to know I wasn't the only one.

"I...I don't know. But it is difficult. The whole time I was on the plane I was thinking about all the times we rode on a plane together. I remembered the time we had decided to keep things professional. God, we were apologizing to each other for our first kiss. Do you remember that?" he asked.

"Those were the easy days. We just didn't realize it then." I commented. "We've done much worse since then. And done it a whole lot better too." I chuckled.

"You're not supposed to wait until I'm on the other side of the world to get flirty and naughty with me."

I could practically see his grin from where I was. The one on my face probably matched his perfectly. "I guess I'll have to get flirty and naughty the next time I see you?"

"I can hardly wait."

"So. What's the plan once they let you off the plane?" I wanted to hear anything he wanted to tell me. I didn't care how mundane it seemed.

"I am going to go to my parent's house to save my dog from having heart disease or slipping into a coma from laziness. I'll visit with the folks for a little bit and then I'm going to go home and take a walk on the beach while the sun sets."

It all sounded perfect. "Send me pictures? Of the beach, I mean." He could send me pictures of his big toe and it would make me smile.

"I'll do it. I'll send you one of Roscoe too if his fat ass still fits into the screen of my phone." he chuckled. "Liv, listen. We are exiting the plane. I'll call you later on, okay? I just wanted you to know that I made it here safely."

"Yea...No...I understand. I'll talk to you later. Give your mom a hug for me please. I love you."

"I will. I love you too."

He ended the call and I felt infinitely better. There was just something about hearing his voice that was just so soothing.

Lori buzzed my phone and I picked up. "Hey, Lori. What's up?"

"James Novack is on line one for you." she chirped.

"Shit." James probably wanted to solidify dinner plans with Fitz and me. He didn't know that Fitz had already gone back to sunny California.

"Do you want me to take a message?" Lori asked.

"He'll just keep calling back. You can send the call to me. Thanks, Lori."

"No problem, Miss Pope."

I waited the obligatory two rings before I picked up. "James! Hello!"

"Uh uh! Don't you dare answer the phone all chipper and perky." he chided me. "You, Fitz, and I were all supposed to go to dinner together, but you never called to give me the go ahead to set it up. What happened? Congratulations on your new promotion by the way."

"Wow. Ummm, I'm sorry. And thank you." I wasn't sure which item to discuss first?

"Really? That's it? After all the time that has gone by since you and Fitz visited my store? I'm sorry and thank you? I don't think so. Spill it."

"Okay, dinner didn't happen because we ran out of time. There were circumstances that I can't get into with you right now, probably never will be able to get into with you but suffice it to say that life hasn't exactly been boring for me lately."

"That sounds very James Bond to me for some reason?" he said.

"That's not far from the truth actually. But like I said, I can't get into it. I really don't want to either. As for Fitz, he is back in California now. He flew back earlier. Just landed as a matter of fact." I explained.

"What the hell, Liv? Why can't you hold onto a good looking, hard working, best lay you've probably ever had in your life man like Fitz? He's the complete package!" James sputtered.

"I can hold onto him!" I replied defensively. "I have held onto him! What makes you think he's the best lay I've ever had in my life though?"

"Oh honey. A blind person could tell you he's the best lay you've ever had. That is not the point you need to pick apart right now. Why is he in California? Is he packing up everything he owns to have it shipped to New York? What'ssssss going on there?"

"Are you at work right now?" I asked.

"What? No! I wouldn't be calling you and discussing your personal life during work hours. I'm your employee while I'm at work. When I'm off the clock though, I am your friend. So, tell me why he's out west."

"Just checking. I don't know if you're aware of it or not, but we both got the promotion. We are co regional vice presidents. It's a job sharing thing. Fitz is off on Mondays and I am off on Fridays."

"That's great. You both deserve that. I was on pins and needles wondering which one of you would end up with the promotion. I'm glad it worked out like it did. You'll get to work together too. How cute will that be?"

"I am glad about it too. The only kicker is..." I began.

"Oh shit." James interrupted morosely.

"Yea. The only thing they wouldn't cave in on was letting us both work from one coast."

"Wait one damn minute!" James practically shouted. "Are you telling me that Fitz is back in California for good? As in, he's living there again and not moving here?"

"That's what I'm telling you."

"What the hell, Liv?"

His outrage reminded me of Fitz for some reason and it made me smile.

"This is bullshit! Do your bosses know the two of you are dating? I'm going to schedule an appointment with your boss and give whoever the hell he or she is a piece of my damned mind! This is absolutely ludicrous!"

I had the best friends in the world. James had me smiling and feeling lighter than I had been just before he called. But he had to be stopped. "Listen, James. You don't need to do that, okay? It's fine. We've worked it out to where we will visit each other. He'll fly here once a month and I'll fly there once a month. It's doable."

"Do you want to go to dinner with me tonight? I know I'm no Fitz – hell, who is – but I can make your first evening apart a little less lonely if you want?"

It was the second time in as many phone calls that I almost cried. I was so thankful for James. He seemed to know exactly what I was needing without me even having to explain or ask for it. I appreciated that more than he would ever know. "Dinner sounds nice. But aren't you working? It's Friday."

"The good thing about being the manager is that I make the work schedule. I've been so busy putting out Fourth of July crap that I am dangerously close to having over time. So, I can't go in today. My assistants got it anyways. I'll pick you up at your place at six?"

"Six sounds good. Thanks, James. This means a lot to me. Bye."

"Bye, Liv."

I ended the call and took a deep breath. I would get through the day just fine now knowing I had plans later. It would save me from texting Fitz every five minutes and annoying the hell out of him. I pushed my chair back up to my desk and got busy.

Fitz's POV
The first day back in California was really tough. I missed Olivia more than I thought possible. I had played it off casually when I called her from the plane, but hearing her voice kept me sane throughout the rest of the day.

I went directly to the office from the airport, not to my parent's house like I had told Olivia I was doing. I had a meeting with Abby. She was acting as my boss until someone could be hired for the position. It was no secret that I hoped she would get the job.

I knocked on her door and walked in without waiting for an invitation. She was writing something at her desk. "Heya, Abs. Settling in okay?"

Her head remained down, but her eyes went to mine and she wore a stern look. "Don't call me Abs at work. But to answer your question, yes, I am. It's a lot. A lot to do and a lot to learn to do."

"You're doing great." I replied.

"You have only been here two minutes. How do you know how I'm doing?" She accused.

"Because I know you. You put your heart and soul into everything you do at work. So, I know you're doing great. Did you apply for the job?" I already knew she had because I made some calls. Being a co regional vice president had its advantages.

She kept her eyes on what she was writing but answered the question. "I did." She wrote a few more lines and then looked up at me with a smile. "So, if I get it I will be your boss. I am looking forward to that more than anything else."

"Oh?" I asked with a grin. "Why is that?"

"Because then I'll be able to tell you what to do at work." she said smugly.

"You've been doing that for years though."

"Yes, but then you'll have to listen to me and not do what you want like you usually do."

"There's that." I agreed.

I watched as her eyebrows sunk low. "What are you doing here today anyways? You're not supposed to be back at work until Monday. Remind me to have you negotiate my schedule when I interview for this job. Fridays off was a genius move."

"I missed you too." I chuckled. "But I came by to disclose something to you."

"Oh shit. I hate it when you say that."

"It's for your ears only at this point in time."

She shot me a look. "I really hate it when you say that."

I reached into my pocket and pulled out the small velvet box that held Olivia's engagement ring. "I'm proposing to Olivia next weekend when I fly to New York to see her."

She studied my face for what felt like an eternity. Just when I was starting to feel uneasy by it and decided that I would say something, she spoke up. Her voice was a quiet one. "Let me see the ring. I mean, if you don't mind?"

I shrugged. "I don't mind at all. I've been dying to show this thing to somebody! The only people I know in New York besides Olivia is her family. And I can't show it to them."

I pried the square lid open, revealing the decent sized diamond sitting in the middle of the small box. I watched for her reaction, figuring it would tell me if I had chosen well or not. She squinted at it, as if it was a piece of lint that was the same color as her dress. At first, I thought she was messing with me the way she was looking at it. Abby picked the ring up out of the box and squinted at it some more. My mind raced to which jewelry store was closest to the office and how much money I had in my savings account when Abby nestled the ring back into the slot in the box, smiled at me and said, "she's gonna love it."

Her words caught me completely off guard. "Wait. What? Are you fucking with me?"

"I was." She said grinning. "But in all seriousness, Olivia really will love that ring. It's beautiful. It's not too big for her little finger, but its big enough to draw attention to her hand. You did good, Fitz."

I smiled and snapped the ring box shut and stuck in back into my pocket. "Thank you."

"How are you gonna do it? Take her to dinner? Get down on one knee? What's the plan?"

Now it was my turn to grin at her. "I don't feel compelled to disclose that to you. I just wanted you to know that I will be an engaged man very soon, so expect me to be super happy and have goofy smiles on my face at random times of the day."

"So, nothing is going to change is what you're saying?"

"And on that sarcastic note, I am leaving."

"Where do you gotta rush off to? You just got back."

"I've got to go rescue my dog from my parents. And then we are going to take a walk on the beach. It's been way too long since I have been outside. I'm going to enjoy my day off. Have fun at the office." I gave her a fake salute and walked out the door.

I didn't call my mother to warn her that I was headed to her house this time. I just showed up and expected the worst. I knocked on their door and heard the barking of a dog who knows his owner is on the other side. Roscoe and I practically knocked my father flat on his ass the second the door was opened.

My dog jumped up into my arms and I plopped down on the floor with him and began petting him and scratching him behind his ears. "Who missed me?

Roscoe barked.

"Whooooo?"

He barked and licked my face.

"Fitzgerald, don't get him all wound up!" My mother warned me as she made her way into the living room from the kitchen.

I ignored her. "Who loves me?"

Roscoe whined and licked me some more.

"The two of you are insane." my father said in a disgusted tone. He went to sit back down in his recliner.

"I missed you too! That was a long ass trip wasn't it? Yes, it was! But I'm here now." I stood up, trying hard to keep him in my arms as he wiggled happily and continued licking my face. After a few minutes, Roscoe wanted to be back on the floor, and I obliged him. "Roscoe isn't as fat as I thought he'd be. How was he?"

My mother rolled her eyes at me and ignored my apparently stupid question. "You look too thin. Didn't you eat at all in New York?"

I chuckled and pulled her into my arms for a hug. "Of course I ate, mom. New York has some amazing food. But nothing as amazing as your cooking."

She hugged me tight, probably glad to have her only child back home safe and sound? And then she started giving me a hard time. "Mr. Sweet Talker here. You go off for months on end and come back dishing out compliments." She pointed a finger in my direction. "I know what you are doing."

I put on my best innocent face. This was a two person play that my mother and I acted out every time I came back home from a road trip. She loved it just as much as I did. "What am I doing? Nothing! That's what! I just said that I missed your cooking."

She shot me a disbelieving look. "That's all you were doing? Do I look like I was born yesterday?"

I tilted my head to the side and looked at her face before kissing her cheek. "Maybe not yesterday. But you could easily pass for forty, mom. Couldn't she, dad?"

"You two and this thing! Leave me out of it." My father replied.

"See! That's his way of saying you look amazing! I think he wants more kids with you?"

"It's time for you to go home." dad said.

And that was my cue. My father had told me a long time ago that any time he made the statement that it was time for me to go home – it really was time for me to go home. I never asked him why or what happened after I left. I didn't want to be emotionally scarred.

"Roscoe?"

My dog ditched my dad and the comfort of his chair to join me at my feet. I looked down at him and said, "you wanna go for a ride?"

He lost his fucking mind every time I asked that question. He began whining and jumping and running in circles at our feet as my mother and I stood in front of the door.

"Don't get him all wound up or he will pee in your car."

"He knows better than that, mom. He's not a baby."

"Is that why you treat him as if he was one?"

I scooped up my dog. "We gotta go, Roscoe. Let's have dinner tomorrow night. I'll bring steaks to grill. Whaddya think?"

"That sounds good. We'll be able to catch up without a hyper dog running all over the place. I'll get some potatoes to bake and make a salad. Maybe make your favorite dessert?"

"That sounds amazing. Thanks for taking care of my dog, mom." I kissed her on the cheek again.

"Hey!" my father exclaimed.

"What?" I answered him with fake annoyance.

"I helped too yanno."

"Are you feeling left out, dad? Come here."

I went to kiss him on the cheek too, but he pushed me away and said, "it's time for you to go the hell home son."

"Bye dad. Bye mom. I love you guys." I waved at them and went out into the warm afternoon.

The moment Roscoe and I got home I felt so much lighter. There is just something about coming home after a long trip that just makes you feel so good. Roscoe did exactly what I thought he'd do. He ran straight for the small square at the bottom of the back door. Poor guy had been cooped up inside or in the fenced in backyard at my parent's house for far too long. I went to the window to see him running ninety miles an hour in the sand.

I needed some fresh air myself and opened the door and took a deep breath. It was glorious out here. No tall buildings looming overhead. No wall to wall people as far as the eye could see. No strange smells or honking horns filling up the air. Just the open sunny sky and crashing waves. It was good to be home.

I stepped outside. It was good to be home, but it was even better to be outside. The sun felt good on my face and I turned it upward to soak up as much Vitamin D as possible. The sound of the ocean, of the breaking waves was hypnotic and I turned my attention to them. To just watch them break, and the water foam, and then slowly pull itself back into the mass of water behind it and start all over again. I wished more than anything that Olivia was here to enjoy this moment with me.

I pulled out my phone and decided to FaceTime with her. To show her what she was missing this afternoon. Her smiling face filled the screen of my phone. "You still working hard at the office?"

"Yup. Just finishing up. What are you..."

I touched a button and showed her what I could see.

"Oh wow! I am so jealous right now! Did you just FaceTime me to show me what I'm missing?" she asked.

I turned the camera back onto my face, gave her a lopsided smile, and said, "that doesn't sound like something I would do. Does it?"

"You are so rude! That is beautiful though. I really am jealous that you can open your back door and be on the beach like that!" She sighed loudly. "Is that tiny dot near the top of your screen Roscoe?"

"Probably." I said with a chuckle. "He ran out of here like his tail was on fire the minute we walked through the door."

"Poor baby. He was probably sick of being cooped up for so long. He needed to be free and feel the wind on his face with his tongue hanging out of his mouth."

"I really miss you, Liv. Both of us came outside the minute we got home. As soon as I saw how gorgeous it was out here, I wished you were here to see it too. So, I did the next best thing."

"I'm glad you shared it with me. And I miss you too, Fitz."

"How's your day been in the big city?"

"It started out kind of crappy, but then James called and offered to take me to dinner tonight. He said he wanted to make my first evening apart from you a little less lonely. Wasn't that sweet?"

I shook my head back and forth. "Yea. The sweetest. Tell him to keep his hands off of what's mine."

Olivia held up her left hand and looked at it, then looked at me, and said, "I don't see a ring on my finger. I belong to no one."

I tapped my pocket that held her engagement ring, tilted my head, and raised my eyebrows. "Don't make me get on a plane earlier than planned, Miss Pope. I'll give you a reminder of what belongs to who and who loves it that way. Tell me I'm wrong."

She rolled her eyes at me but said nothing.

"I'm not hearing any words dear, sweet, single, belongs to no one Miss Pope." I challenged.

"You are hindering me from doing my work. If I get a bad performance review, it won't go well for you, Mr. Grant." she challenged.

"Oh, I know ALL about bad performance reviews too, Miss Pope."

She giggled and I swear, my soul felt ten times lighter.

I tried to remember what I had been talking about. Ah! Performance reviews! I continued my direction. "The key is correcting those things the moment they are mentioned."

"Is that so?" she asked with a grin.

I nodded. "It is. At least, that has been my experience with poor job performances."

"How many bad job performances have you ever gotten in your life?" She asked.

I decided to go with honesty. "Just one."

Her grin was huge; covering her face in fact, and she brought a hand up to cover her mouth with it. "That's a pretty good track record though."

"Mmmmm." My eyes noticed her desk for the first time. "I see you got your desk arranged where you wanted it."

"I did. I'm thinking of getting a new one though. This one has seen better days."

"You can't!" She was messing with me. There was no way that she was going to get rid of her desk.

"I just think it should be donated to a company or factory where it can really be used."

"Liv" She was playing with fire here.

"It's just not living up to its potential here." she said with a small shrug of her shoulder.

"You just wait. When I get there next weekend, I am going to make sure before it's hauled off it gets used to its fullest potential."

"You sound a little defensive over there." she said with a grin.

"You DO sound defensive, Fitz." A hand grabbed my phone before I could realize it had even happened.

"What the fu...?"

"Dude! It's Olivia! Heyyyyyyy!"

My confused eyes flicked up to look into the face of the familiar voice that belonged to the grabby hand. It was my dumbass friends.

"Hey, Liv. Can I call you Liv?"

"Let me see! Damn she is hot! Hotter than that picture Fitz showed us."

"She can hear you, asshole. You know this is a video, right?"

"Whoa!" Olivia said. "I'm getting a little dizzy being passed around like that. One at a time please."

"Damn, she even sounds hot."

I grabbed my phone out of Aaron's hand. "HELLO! I was talking to my girlfriend. What the hell are you guys doing here anyways?"

"We knew you'd be a miserable old lady your first night here without Olivia, so we thought we'd come by and cheer you up."

"How are you gonna do that?" I asked doubtfully.

He plucked my phone out of my hand. "We brought beer."

"Awww. That's so sweet of you guys to take care of my guy like that. I think I should go okay?" Olivia said.

"No, no, no, no. Don't go, Liv." Paul whined.

"I'm at work soooooo I should probably go do that." she explained.

"You gotta meet the guys real fast first. Then we promise to leave you alone...IF you'll answer one question from each one of us." Paul told her

"Absolutely not!" I demanded and grabbed for my phone, only to have it passed to someone else. "Hang up, Liv. I love you and I'll call you tomorrow."

"I love you too, Liv."

"Yea! Me too, Liv."

Someone made the kissing sound.

Finally, it was dead quiet, and I knew she had ended the FaceTime. The guys I called friends started laughing and my phone was hoisted up into the air. I saw Olivia's face and then we all heard, "I'd like to hear these questions they have for me."

All of my friends cheered loudly. I put my head in my hands. This was gonna be bad.

"Hey, Liv. I'm Aaron. I'm the most handsome one in our group."

"He's also the biggest liar." Matt added on a laugh.

"Nice to meet you, Aaron. Are you single?"

"Damn, Fitz. She's flirting with Aaron right in front of you, man!"

Olivia's giggle broke through the noise. "I wasn't asking for myself. I have a very single very attractive secretary who would probably love to land a California guy of her own."

"That works too, Liv."

"Her name is Olivia to you fools!" I demanded.

"Hey, Liv." Paul said, ignoring what I had just said. "I'm Paul. How are you doing this evening?"

"Heya, Paul. I'm doing great. I'm enjoying myself meeting all of Fitz's friends. Who is next?"

"IIIIIIIIII didn't get to ask you a question though." Paul said with a charming smile.

"Yes, you did. You asked me how I'm doing this evening. NEXT!" she called out on a laugh.

Male laughter sounded, and I found myself laughing along with them. She was funny and the guys were enjoying it.

"Ohmygod dude! You suck!"

"That question was the WORST!"

"Fucking idiot!"

A hand grabbed my phone and a smooth voice said, "Hey, Olivia. I'm Matt" as he looked at the screen.

"Okay, this one right here, Matt, is the one to watch out for!"

Aaron pushed his face towards the phone screen and said, "Matty's married. He is so NOT the one to watch out for."

"Married Matty sucks!" Paul laughed.

"You guys shut the hell up!" Matt demanded.

"Matt. You tried, buddy." I remarked. "And you failed."

Everyone laughed at him.

"Sorry, Matt. What's your question for me?" Olivia asked pleasantly.

"Don't you think Fitz's flat ass is kinda pathetic?" Matt asked.

"Matty?" Olivia said. "Can I call you Matty?"

"You can call me whatever the hell you want to, Liv." he answered as he grinned up at his friends.

"Let's be clear here. You are the one who thinks Fitz's ass is pathetic. Not me. That observation worries me more than a little, but I'm gonna let it go for now and answer your question with some information I probably shouldn't share." Using her hand, she gave him the 'come here' motion.

Matt leaned closer to the phone as if she was about to whisper something to him that only he could hear. There was no chatter from anyone at that moment. I don't even think anyone was breathing. Without knowing it, we all leaned a little closer to the small hand held device.

"Fitz has a great ass, in my opinion." she whispered.

I smiled proudly as my woman sang my praises in front of my friends.

"But..." she said.

"Oh shit! Here it comes!"

"Your girl is about to drop some truth, Fitz!"

"Cover your precious ears, man. This might hurt your feelings."

This was all in good fun as far as I was concerned. I didn't much care what Olivia said about me. I knew she loved me and was probably just razzing the guys for a laugh. Still, I listened.

Olivia waited until the manly mayhem died down. When it was completely quiet once again, she winked and said, "But, what he lacks in the back, he more than makes up for in the front."

"Ohhhhhhhhhh no she didn't!"

"This girl is a keeper, Fitzy!"

"Liv is dickmatized."

I laughed along with my ridiculous friends. She had set them straight all by herself. My phone was reluctantly passed to me. "Hi."

She smiled at me. "Hi yourself. Your friends are adorable."

"They are a fun bunch. I'm glad you got to meet them." God, I loved her. Still, I had to give her a little bit of a hard time. "Do you really think my ass is pathetic?"

"I never said that about your ass. In fact, as much as my hands are on it, I think it's safe to say I love your ass."

"End the call already!"

"It's guy time!"

"Pass me a beer!"

"Go back to work now, Liv!"

"I can see where I'm not wanted." she chuckled. "Hold me up please so they can all see me. It was really nice to meet all of you. Thank you for taking care of my man tonight and keeping him company. You guys are the best. I'll talk to you soon." She blew a big kiss to no one in particular.

I brought the phone back down to in front of my face. "I love you, Liv. I meant what I said about James. He'd better mind his manners with you tonight."

"Who the fuck is James?"

"Do we need to beat a guy up?"

"James need a come to Jesus chat with the four of us?!"

Looking up at my friends I said, "shut up you guys! I've got this." Looking back down at Olivia I smiled and said, "have fun. I'll call you tomorrow. I love you."

"I love you too, flat ass."

She ended the call, leaving me listening to the wild laughter of my idiotic friends. I knew I'd never hear the end of that one.