The entire week that Olivia recovered, she FaceTimed Fitz every day. Since her parents were at work every day, she had the whole house to herself. And as Fitz would say, it was "fricken awesome". She could talk to him as much as she pleased without worrying about if they could hear her. She didn't have to be quiet in her room, or go down into her basement just to talk normally to him. She didn't have to flinch every time she heard a step outside her door. Again, fricken awesome.
Of course, that week ended, and then she was back to work at the Center for American Progress, doing her duties as press intern. In many ways, she loved being back at work. The people there were pretty nice, the D.C. location was cool, the hours weren't bad, and she didn't have to work Fridays. Plus, she certainly enjoyed earning money again, and a good amount, at that.
However, at the end of the day, it was still work. And sometimes it did get to be a bit of a drag with all the stress she was put under. But, that's what hanging out with her friends and family, and talking to Fitz were for. To de-stress.
Her first day back at work had been almost three weeks ago, and it was now the end of May. And she was pretty excited, because not only was it getting closer to July, but tomorrow, Abby was coming to visit her for the weekend. Luckily, Abby had gotten this Friday off, so she planned on making the drive to Virginia during the day to stay for a couple days. And since Olivia had Fridays off, to begin with, it was perfect.
Olivia was insanely excited, after not seeing Abby for almost a month. She deep cleaned everything, especially the basement, where they'd stay together for the weekend. Abby usually took the guest bedroom and Olivia slept on the couch in the family room, just so they were in close proximity to each other. Plus, the basement had started to become Olivia's favorite hangout spot in her house, because it was much easier to talk normally to Fitz down there without worrying about her parents hearing her, since her bedroom was near theirs. She had even spent the night down there a couple times here and there, falling asleep with him on the other end.
And from the looks of it, tonight would be another one of those nights.
Fitz sat shirtless in his bed, looking at his sleepy girlfriend on his phone screen. He had told her many times that it was alright if she wanted to go to sleep. But, of course, she refused, saying she wanted to keep talking to him and "see his handsome face".
"Hey baby" he whispered. "Hmm?" she replied. "I'm gonna go brush my teeth and grab some water okay?" he asked. "Yeah, baby, okay" she nodded sleepily. "You gonna be asleep when I get back?" he asked with a laugh. "No, no. Absolutely not" she said, shaking her head. "Oookay" he chuckled, giving her a little wave.
He went to brush his teeth, smiling down at her cute purple toothbrush next to his in his drawer. There were some things she had left there; a toothbrush, her soap in the shower, one necklace that it seemed she had forgotten, and one of her T-shirts he'd found in his laundry.
The T-shirt, of course, was folded and put away in his top drawer so that he saw it every day. He had washed it once on accident, but it still faintly smelled like her, so on occasion, he'd take it out.
She had such an effect on him, it was insane. Seeing something of hers, smelling something of hers, it all made his heart ache even more. Part of him didn't even want to wait until July to see her. It was agonizing, after nine straight months, to be away from her. She was everything. She had his heart. And man, it was kind of annoying sometimes! Everything was her. He couldn't escape her, ever. Which made it tough when he couldn't actually see her.
Maybe there was a way he could see her before July. Just maybe.
He grabbed some water and went back to his room, shutting off the lights as he entered. He looked at the screen and saw the dim lighting of her basement, illuminating her face just enough. Her eyes were closed and she was breathing lightly. And she looked absolutely beautiful. No makeup on, hair pulled up in a bun, sprawled out on the couch with her phone propped up against what he assumed was the armrest. Absolutely perfect.
"Livvie?" he asked softly. No response. "Babe" he whispered. She didn't even flinch. He chuckled quietly to himself. So much for "absolutely not" falling asleep.
He smiled at her, feeling goosebumps arise on his skin as he just simply looked at her.
"It drives me crazy, being away from you" he whispered. "I miss my girl" he whispered again. He was talking to himself, of course, but she had heard him say those things a million times, anyway. She knew how much he missed her, and he knew she was in the same boat.
He had felt a little lonely the past month. His favorite person in the world lived five hours away with her parents. Cyrus was here on occasion, also teaching night classes along with him, but he often went to his beach house with James on the weekends, leaving little time to meet up with him. And he wasn't very close to anyone else that remained here in the summer.
So, besides the occasional drink with Logan, Fitz was feeling pretty lonely. Although, that was how it had always been before he had met Olivia. He had come back to Connecticut, not really knowing anybody. He lived for his work, and only his work. And he loved his job, so it wasn't like he had been unhappy. He hadn't been. But teaching was all he had, besides Cyrus.
And then he met Olivia. And now, he lived for her. He existed for her. So when she was gone, it brought him back to the days where he'd work extra late, just to avoid going home to his empty apartment. The days when he'd drink all night, as if that would somehow help him. The days where he would sleep four hours a night, at best. And he felt all of that again just because he missed a certain twenty-year-old girl who drove him crazy. And made him feel like nobody else ever had before. And looked at him like nobody else ever had before. It was all her.
He was brought out of his thoughts by the sound of her tossing and turning on the couch. He directed his attention at her little sleeping body on his screen, and smiled. "Goodnight, Livvie."
He turned off his lamp and laid his phone down next to him. He took one last glance at the picture of them on his nightstand, and then at her on his screen. And when he fell asleep, images of her filled his mind, and the sounds of her light breathing filled his ears. It wasn't as good as having her there with him, but considering their situation, it was still a pretty good way to fall asleep.
Olivia woke up, confused. The basement light was still on, although it was dimmed pretty low. And her phone screen was black in front of her. She clicked on the home button, but it did nothing. It was dead, of course, because she'd fallen asleep on Fitz on FaceTime. Yet again.
She shook her head at herself, grabbing her phone to go upstairs and charge it.
She grew excited as she made herself breakfast, knowing that Abby would be here in a few hours or so. Man, she missed that crazy red-headed girl. She decided this summer, that she'd introduce Abby to Sandra, for sure, and maybe even Stephen. She hadn't introduced them last summer because Olivia had just wanted to spend time with Abby, and Abby alone. But she had a feeling that Abby and Sandra, in particular, would get along great. They were pretty similar, so this summer she thought it would be fun to all hang out together one night.
She grabbed her phone, seeing that it was charged enough to unlock it, and that she had a text from Abby an hour ago, saying she had left. Perfect.
She sent a quick text to Fitz, while she was on her phone.
Olivia: Morning, baby! Sorry I fell asleep. Again.
He must have been on his phone, because she could see that he was already typing back to her.
Fitz: Good morning, sleepy girl. No worries, you had a long week at work. Excited for Abby to come today?
She smiled.
Olivia: Yes, so excited! I have no idea what to do with myself, I can't wait until she gets here!
Fitz: Call me? :)
A smile spread across her face once again. She would never turn that offer down.
She called him and he answered right away.
"Hey, you" he greeted. "Hi!" she exclaimed. "Guess what I just did?" he said. "What?" she asked. "Went for a run" he replied. She gasped. "Oh my god, let me see you" she demanded. "What?" he chuckled. "You heard me, send me a picture of your cute sweaty self" she replied. "Seriously, Liv?" he asked. "Seriously" she nodded. "You are crazy" he chuckled. "That isn't new information, sweetie, send me a picture" she replied. "Calm down, woman, I will, I will," he said. She smiled. "Good."
A few moments later, her phone buzzed against her ear. She put him on speaker and went into her messages, and opened the picture he had just sent. She squealed at what she saw.
There he was, standing in his bathroom, taking a picture of himself in the mirror. He was shirtless, in a pair of running shorts, with the waistband of his Nike compressions sticking up above his shorts. His hair was extra curly, as it always got when it was hot and humid. And of course, sweat glistened all over his chest and his face. The expression on his face was also quite priceless; seeming to say "my girlfriend made me take this".
"That body is a masterpiece," she said. "Says my girl, the definition of hottie with a body" he chuckled. "No, I think that would be you," she replied. "Don't argue with me, Livvie, I'll win" he replied. "You definitely will not win" she giggled.
"You know, if I were there right now, I would've ended this by now," he said. "Oh yeah and how would you have done that?" she asked. "You know exactly how" he replied. "You wouldn't" she stated. "Oh, baby, we both know I would," he said. She smiled. "Hmm. I hate being tickled, maybe I don't miss you that much" she teased. He gasped. "How dare you!" he replied. She started giggling. "I'm just kidding, you know I miss you very much, crazy boy. Ticking and all" she said. "You better" he chuckled.
She sighed. "Yeah. Long distance is hard," she said. "It is. I don't feel like myself when we're apart" he replied. "Me neither. Although, it's only been about a month. Maybe we shouldn't be complaining, there are couples who have it a lot worse than us" she said with a laugh. "Very true. But then again, a lot of other couples don't have to sneak around and pretend in front of other people," he replied. "Also true. Well...next month, sweetie. Next month" she said happily.
"Mhm. Except I'm thinking I can't even wait that long to see your cute ass" he said. "Specifically my ass or just me in general?" she giggled. "Specifically your ass," he said, sounding very serious. "Oh yeah?" she asked. He laughed. "I'm just kidding. Although, I mean..." he began. "Seeing my ass wouldn't be all that bad either?" she asked. "Uh-huh," he chuckled.
"Well that makes two of us" she giggled. He laughed. "You and your love for my ass" he replied. "What, you have a nice one" she shrugged. "Babe, there's nothing special about it," he said. She gasped. "Don't ever disrespect your ass like that again!" she exclaimed, which made him laugh one more. "How many times do you think we've said the word 'ass' in the past minute?" he asked. "Quite a few. I like that word" she said. "Uh, Livvie, you love every swear word in the book" he replied. "Yeah, that's fair" she nodded.
They'd had countless playful conversations like that since they'd been apart, even more so than they already did. Of course, physically being with each other and talking was a lot better than only being able to talk through a phone or computer screen. But they didn't exactly have a choice, so they had to make do.
Olivia waited patiently until Abby finally arrived. The two were extremely happy to be reunited, already filling each other in on the beginning of their summers.
Abby was also extremely excited to meet Sandra, whom she'd heard a lot about over the past couple years. So, later that night, after a nice dinner all together with Olivia's parents, Sandra came over.
"Wait, wait. So your boyfriend is going to law school!?" Sandra exclaimed as they all laid on the floor in the basement. Abby nodded proudly. "My David. He's so amazing" she said happily, taking a sip of the bottle of whiskey Sandra had snuck in her purse.
"Well jeez! You two and your lawyer boyfriends. Maybe I need to transfer to Yale!" Sandra exclaimed, which made Olivia and Abby crack up. "How have you been doing, being away from him?" Olivia asked. Abby's face sunk. "It's hard. I mean, don't get me wrong, I've had fun at home. But...I miss him" she replied, handing her the bottle of whiskey. Olivia took a sip and grimaced. Ugh, whiskey was still not her favorite.
"Yeah, I feel you on that," Olivia nodded. "How's pretty boy been doing?" Abby asked. Olivia shrugged. "He's keeping busy. He's got night classes on Mondays and Wednesdays, and he's gone to one conference in Rhode Island. Otherwise, he's enjoying his time off. He went to Dennis's cabin last weekend" Olivia replied, handing the bottle to Sandra.
"I bet he's missin' you" Abby smirked. "He is," Olivia smiled. "Sandra, I'm telling you. These two are so whipped on each other it's insane" Abby giggled. "Oh, you shush. As if you and David are any different!" Olivia exclaimed, pointing at her. Abby just shrugged and laughed. "Maybe so. I think you two just show it more" Abby said.
"What do you mean, we show it more!? We can't show anything to anyone!" Olivia exclaimed with a laugh. "Oh, bullshit. I once walked in on you two half-naked, making out on a stool in our kitchen" Abby said. Olivia's face grew red and Sandra burst into laughter. "You weren't supposed to come home so early!" Olivia giggled. "Wait, wait. He was in your apartment? Isn't that kinda risky?" Sandra asked.
"Usually it would be, yeah, but it was over winter break, so there weren't really any students there" Olivia explained. "Mhm, he just had to come. That was when he expressed his love for her" Abby giggled. Olivia laughed and nudged Abby's arm. "Not true" Olivia she said with a laugh. Sandra sat there confused. "Is that when he first made his move or something?" she asked.
"Oh god no, that was when they broke their little pact of friendship and only friendship" Abby teased. Olivia laughed. "True" she nodded. "Spill, Liv!" Sandra exclaimed. "Didn't I tell you everything when I was high?" she giggled. "Not about how you two started!" Sandra replied. "Oh, well you gotta tell her that, Liv," Abby said. "Yeah! Who did make the first move?" Sandra asked.
"He did. He held my hand under the table at a restaurant. While sitting across from the head of the Political Science department" Olivia replied. Sandra's mouth hung open. "Wow. Man's got balls" she giggled. "Mhm. He knows now, though. The head of the department" Olivia said. "Oh yeah...I think you told me that. Cyrus or something?" Sandra asked. "Yeah, he and his husband, James, both know" Olivia nodded.
"Gotcha. Okay, hand holding. Then...your first kiss?" Sandra asked with a smile. "It was a little while after that. At his apartment" Olivia said, her cheeks starting to turn red. "Aw, look, she's getting all nervous!" Abby exclaimed, putting her arm around her. Sandra giggled. "And, how was it?" she asked. "Wonderful. And it escalated very quickly" she said with a laugh.
Sandra's eyes widened, while Abby sat there and smirked. "Really?" Sandra asked. "Yeah. That night was...our first time" she replied. "Seriously?" Sandra asked. "Mhm," Olivia nodded. "Wow. So was that...awkward, since it all happened in the same night?" she asked.
"No, not at all. It was actually...really perfect. He...you know, asked me if it was okay and was a perfect gentleman. I think we were both kind of thinking 'is this really happening?'. But it also had been almost four months at that point, and we hadn't told each other how we felt until that night. So...I think it all kind of hit us at once and we just...went for it" Olivia said.
"Yeah and then she comes home the next day with hickeys all over, telling me she fucked up," Abby said with a laugh. Sandra's mouth hung open. "What the hell, she showed me her back covered with them a few weeks ago too! That man really needs to watch what he does with his mouth!" Sandra exclaimed. "That's exactly what I told him!" Abby said, pointing at her. Olivia sat there, laughing and shaking her head.
"So what happened after that? Did you start dating?" Sandra asked, getting back on track with the story. "Well, after we slept together, we didn't really know what to do. He, especially, was very nervous. So then we decided to wait to be together until he wasn't my professor anymore," she explained. Sandra burst into laughter. "Well that clearly didn't happen," she said, which made Abby crack up too. "No, Sandra, it certainly did not," Abby said, shaking her head.
Olivia smiled. "Yeah...we ended up crossing some lines after getting hammered at his house one night. And then...he came to my apartment the night after that and told me he didn't want to wait. I was hesitant, but I really didn't want to either. So...we didn't. The next morning is when Abby walked in on us" Olivia said with a laugh.
"Mhm. And I was ecstatic" Abby nodded. "She was. And she was even more ecstatic when he asked me to be his girlfriend" Olivia giggled. "True. That was a great day. My faves became official" Abby said happily. "Wow. Seriously Liv, I wasn't kidding when I said you could write a book!" she exclaimed. "Oh my god! You could! I'd buy it, Liv" Abby nodded. "Me too" Sandra agreed.
"I don't think I will be writing a book in the future, guys. Sorry to disappoint" she giggled. "Hey, once upon a time you told me you wouldn't bang the hot professor. Look what happened, now you bang him all the time and he's the love of your life" Abby pointed out. "Oh, she's got you there" Sandra nodded. Olivia rolled her eyes. "I think you two have had too much to drink," she replied, which, only made them want to drink more.
"Wait, what the..." Abby said quietly, looking at her phone. "What?" the other girls said in unison. Abby looked up at them, in surprise. "Oh, uh...nothing. It's nothing" she said casually. "She probably got another dick pic from David or something" Olivia giggled. Sandra laughed. "Nice, Abby," she said. Abby just laughed. "Ha, yeah. Uh-huh" she nodded. Olivia took the opportunity to check her phone as well, seeing a text from Fitz.
Goodnight, baby. Have fun with Sandra and Abby. I love you.
She smiled down at her phone. "Aw."
"Fitz?" Sandra asked. "Mhm," Olivia nodded, showing her the screen. Sandra silently read it to herself, smiling the whole time. "Awww. He's so cute. I love how he calls you baby" she said. Olivia nodded. "Yeah, we have quite a few names for each other. So did Abby. What were all your names for Fitz again, Abby?" Olivia asked. "What?" Abby asked, looking up from her phone.
"All your names. For Fitz" Olivia repeated. "Oh, right, yeah. Uh, let's see there was 'professor dreamy', the 'hot professor', 'Fitzy boy', and 'pretty boy'" Abby listed off, before immediately returning back to her phone. "Right, yes. Apparently, she chose to go with pretty boy permanently," Olivia said with a laugh.
"Yeah. Hey, Liv. What's your address again? I just know how to get here by memory so I don't have it saved anywhere" Abby said out of the blue. "What do you need to know my address for?" Olivia asked. "Well...for letters and stuff" Abby shrugged. "Abigail Whelan, you have never once written me a letter" Olivia giggled. "Hey, there's a first time for everything!" she replied. "I suppose that's true" Olivia shrugged.
She thought it was a little strange, but she gave her address to her, nonetheless. "When can I expect your first letter?" Olivia teased. "Next week," Abby said confidently. "Alright, I'm holding you to that" Olivia said. "Please do," Abby said with a smile.
Overall, Olivia had a great weekend with her friends. On that Friday night, they had a fun little sleepover, all three of them passing out on the floor in the basement together. Then on Saturday, they all went out to breakfast, where Stephen met up with them so that he and Abby could meet.
And then Olivia spent that night with just Abby, after doing a little shopping together at the outlet mall. It was all perfect. She got to spend the weekend with all of her best friends, and she'd get to see her favorite guy next month. Life was good.
Friends weekend!
Hope you enjoyed Abby's visit, and Olivia & Fitz's phone chats.
I just want to say another thank you, to all of you who have stuck with me on this forbidden journey. I have recently gotten reviews saying that my writing has driven you to tears and that is one of the best compliments I think I could ever get. So, from the bottom of my heart, thank you. This story is all for you.
Again, have patience, friends :)
Stay tuned and read on!
With Love,
~T