I have no excuse. I was at the beach for a work conference very similar to the one you are about to read about. That's where the inspiration came from. If parts of it are boring, I apologize. I am half way done with Thursdays installment, so YAY. And I'm working on the following chapter too. I hope you all have a great week, and as always, thank you for reading

Goodbye and Hello

Sex. It could be used as a diversion. For making up. For feeling closer to someone you love. For getting to know someone new. For scratching an itch. For releasing stress. For blissful enjoyment. Or any other various number of things.

But at this moment, it was being used as a way to say goodbye. For holding on a little longer. For hating the departure that was dreaded and inevitable in a few short hours. For saying 'I love you' as many times as possible while the act lasted. For reminding each other what is and what would be again once they were back together after an extended time apart.

It was Sunday afternoon and Fitz was leaving for Chicago in a few hours to attend a conference. It was an annual nationwide event that thousands of professionals in the food service industry had been invited to. The event showcased new kitchen equipment, chefs showing new cooking methods, as well as foods that vendors displayed in hopes that the attendees would try, and eventually take back into their own establishments. The conference lasted four days in whichever city hosted it and Fitz went every year. He was excited for his first time in the windy city.

This was the first time they would be away from each other for more than the typical work day hours. Neither one of them was looking forward to being separated from the other. Neither one of them wanted the moment they were in to end because they would be forced to get up, get dressed, and go to the airport. So they held onto each other a little longer under the sheet. And gave themselves to each other in a way that only they could.

"I'm going to miss you so much," Olivia whined as she wrapped her arms a little tighter around him.

"I'll miss you more." Fitz said breathlessly. He was currently on top of her, but that had changed so many times since they gotten into bed he lost count. He tried to keep his weight off of her but it had been no use. Olivia wasn't having any space between them right now and she had pulled him down until his long lean body covered her smaller one completely.

He had set a slow pace this afternoon, trying to drag it out as long as possible without missing his flight. He pushed into her completely, enjoying the feeling of connecting with her like this. He planted kisses on her heated skin as his body moved in and out of hers. He had already built her up to explosion twice and would be happy if he could get one more out of her before he himself exploded. But she was in a chatty mood right now and he understood how she was feeling.

"You know that's impossible, right?" She was keeping the lazy pace with him and didn't want to let him go. "There's no way you could miss me more than I'll miss you." Olivia looked into his beautiful blue eyes that were so full of love for her. There was no hair to push back off his forehead since he had gotten his hair cut recently. She missed the longer curls. "You promise you'll call and..."

Fitz captured her lips in a heated kiss sliding his tongue into her mouth as he slid himself back into her. He broke the kiss and said, "And skype. I promise. It's just a few days. It'll go by really fast." He pulled slowly out of her again.

She closed her eyes and arched her back as he pushed back inside her heat. He was killing her with this incredible pace. After getting her thoughts back she whispered in a worried tone, "I don't know if I can be here without you for four days?" She turned her head as a tear fell from her eye.

Fitz put his finger under her chin and directed her head back to facing him. He wiped the tear with the pad of his thumb and kissed her sweetly as he pulled back out of her. "You did just fine without me for much longer than four days before we met. We're going to talk all the time. It won't even feel like I'm gone."

"But that was different. I didn't know you then. Now you've spoiled me to having you around every day." Another tear fell from her eye. "And I don't want to go back to life without you."

Fitz chuckled at her. "I'm not leaving you for good. Just four days. Just think of the positives to me not being around. No extra laundry. No picking up after me. No waiting for me to get home so we can have dinner. And no one bugging you for sex."

Olivia pretended to think all of that over. "Those are very good points. No one hogging the remote control. No one telling me I can't stand on his side of the work space. Maybe I'll rearrange the closet. Some of your stuff needs to be gone through and gotten rid of anyways."

Fitz reached down and tickled her sides until she shrieked. "No throwing any of my clothes out, woman! No standing on my side of that room!"

"What are you gonna do about it from Chicago? Nothing." She said with a triumphant smile.

"Maybe not after I'm gone. But I can do plenty right now." He moved his hips faster and faster, successfully shutting her smart mouth up. She was still talking now, but it was less claiming what she would do once he was gone and more 'just like that', 'faster', and 'ohmygod'. She griped his shoulders hard and her fingernails left little crescents on them. He felt like a genius and kept up the faster pace, feeling her getting closer to her climax. He would most definitely miss this over the next four days.

A little more swiveling of his hips and Olivia fell apart beautifully under him. While she tried to figure out how to breathe without gasping for air, he continued pummeling in and out of her body at lightning speed until he himself fell off the edge of the world into a blissful abyss.

Their goodbye at the airport was tear filled one for Olivia. She hugged him tightly and reminded him again about his promise to call her when he got into his hotel room. "Have fun. Be safe. I love you." She told him.

He held her close and almost changed his mind about going. Until she lovingly shoved him away from herself. "I love you too. And I'll bring you back something pretty. I promise. Maybe even shoes." He teased.

"You'd better! Call me later, babe. I love you." She watched him go through the line past the airline desk and disappear. She wiped her eyes and turned to leave. It would go fast, she promised herself. Stephen was probably not going to get laid while Fitz was gone because she was going to have Abby over. She was coming up with a plan to accomplish that when she felt two hands grab her from behind. "Hey!" She yelled loudly slapping at them.

"How far have you gotten in your plot to have Abby come spend the night tonight?" Fitz chuckled.

"Fitz! Go get on the plane!"

"I'm going. I just wanted to be the last one to say I love you." He pecked her lips once and walked away.

"I love you too!" She yelled at his back with a huge smile.

"I can't hear you!" He shouted without turning around.

Fitz called her when he landed to let her know he had arrived safely. He already missed her but wouldn't say it on the phone. He didn't want to upset her. She had already conned Abby into coming over for the night and he was relieved that she wouldn't be alone.

He checked into the hotel and made his way to the elevator. As he waited for the elevator to slowly make its way down to the ground floor, Fitz heard a familiar female voice behind him. He stood there and tried to remember who it belonged to. And then it hit him. Grace Pilkington. Talk about a blast from the past.

Grace Pilkington was a sweet, petite, southern girl who Fitz had met in his last semester of college. Grace had been a free spirit, always eager to try new things and meet new people. She never met a stranger and Fitz supposed her southern charm had a lot to do with that.

He remembered the day she strolled into class. She had brown hair that lay perfectly straight down the middle of her back and huge blue eyes. She was barely five feet tall. But she had a warm personality and everyone liked her. She sat next to him in the lecture hall and asked to borrow a pen. Fitz had given her one and the two of them chatted quietly while they took notes.

They had gone for coffee after class to talk and get to know each other. She wanted to become a top rated chef and was ready to get out into the world and try her hand at it. Fitz knew she would stop at nothing until she reached her goal. He admired Grace for her vision. It was Grace whom Fitz first voiced his dream of owning his own bakery someday. He didn't think she would take it seriously, but Grace became his biggest cheerleader. She had been an amazing friend during that las semester but they had lost touch over the years since.

Back then he had been working his way up for a man who owned a bakery, in hopes of taking it over one day. It wasn't exactly the dream he had for himself. Grace encouraged him to turn his passion for baking into starting a business of his own. Starting out from scratch seemed to be an unreachable dream for Fitz at the time, but looking at what he had now, he knew he had made the right decision.

Grace had brought out Fitz's fun side. She had been full of energy and always up for an adventure. He wondered if she remembered him? Probably not. He looked up at the digital numbers on the elevator, and saw that it was about to be here. One floor to go.

When it did finally stop with a PING, Fitz waited while the people inside the elevator stepped out, and then he walked in. Turning to the panel on the left, he hit the number 5 button so it would stop on his floor. It was then he heard, "Fitzgerald Grant? Is that you?"

Yup. She remembered him.

He looked over and saw her getting on the elevator. He smiled at her and said, "Grace?"

"Yes, Lord! It's me. C'mere and give me a hug!" The two of them embraced. "What are the chances of me running in to you in Chicago? What on earth are you doing here?"

"I'm here for the convention in the hotel. What are you doing here?" He asked.

"Same thing! I just got in this morning. You look exactly like you did in college. I swear you haven't aged at all." She gushed.

They stood side by side talking to each other, the elevator to themselves. "Me? Apparently you have found the fountain of youth. You look just the way I remember you."

"You were born in the wrong state, Fitzgerald. You could easily pass for a southern gentleman. Saying all the right things a girl likes to hear. Are you staying all week for the convention? I'd love to catch up with you one night if you're free?" She asked.

"Yea, I'm here until Thursday night. It would be great to catch up. I'd love to hear about what you've been up to since college." The elevator dinged on the fourth floor and he held the door open while she stepped off. "I'm sure I'll run into you at some point at the convention tomorrow. We can check our schedules and go from there if you'd like?"

"That sounds like a plan to me. I'll see you soon." The doors closed and Fitz found himself alone on the elevator once again.

Early the next day Fitz took a shower, got dressed, and ate the breakfast he had delivered up to his room. He called Olivia but got her voicemail. He left a detailed sexy message and knew she would be calling him back before long. He couldn't wait.

He left his room and hopped on the elevator to the first floor. He walked around until he started seeing signs for the event. He followed those until he found the place to register. Fitz gave the woman behind the counter his name and was given a badge, a bag, and directions to the convention hall. He looped the badge around his neck and made his way into the huge decorated room full of chairs.

The open sessions were always boring in Fitz's opinion. Welcome to Chicago, we're glad you're here, bla bla bla. It lasted for an hour with introductions and speeches from people most of them had never heard of. But opening and closing session were necessary and part of the experience.

Then everyone was released to the exhibit floor. It looked like a huge warehouse that was filled with vendors and chefs from all around the nation. They had equipment, food, and gadgets to show anyone interested enough to stop at their booth to ask questions. Some were small business owners. Some were major corporations. All wanted your business and attention.

After thirty minutes of walking around Fitz heard his phone ring. He pulled it out of his pocket as he stepped away from the booth he was looking at. It was Olivia. "Hello, Miss Pope. How are you this morning?"

"Not good. I bored Abby to death with all my Fitz talk last night. And then we had coffee before we left for work and I started crying because her coffee isn't as good as yours..."

"Awwww, babe."

"And then I was fine. I pulled myself together and drove to work. I had to tell the girls the story about our sex in the bathroom dancing night..."

"Had to huh?" He interrupted with a chuckle.

"I saw that I had missed a call from you. And then you got me all wound up with your voicemail. What are you doing to me? You can't do that on day one, Fitz! We have three more days to get through."

She sounded exasperated. It was a really cute sound to his ears. "I'm sorry. Would it help to tell you that I just sat through an hour of listening to strangers talk? I hate the opening session."

Silence on the line.

"Liv?"

"No! It doesn't help. What would help is if you came home today." She whined.

"You are so hot when you beg. I promise to have you begging for something else the minute I get home." He whispered.

"You are really not helping here."

"I'm going to help you everywhere in three days." He promised quietly.

"No more sexual innuendos. I'm hanging up now. I love you."

"Love you more." He laughed.

Fitz walked around a while longer and saw some pretty interesting things. He got some ideas he thought would go over pretty well at the bakery. He found a vendor who had an edible cupcake liner and invited Fitz to try it. The liner actually tasted good. It would be fun for the kids. Or would it make them think they could eat all cupcake liners? He wasn't sure. He was still interested though and put the information given to him from the vendor into his bag.

An hour before lunch, Fitz was headed to an educational seminar. There was a list of several topics to choose from and he found himself walking to the room covering the topic of how to grow a small business. It was one that interested him even if no one else knew that he wanted to eventually open another store.

He left the room feeling empowered and a little smarter about how to go about it. Opening another location for the bakery was always in the back of his mind, and was definitely a dream for the future somewhere, but Fitz felt like he had a better idea of how to accomplish that goal now. It was a very interesting process from start to finish and he couldn't think of a step they had left out.

His stomach started rumbling and Fitz checked his program schedule. He had another seminar to choose from in a few hours and then day one would be a wrap. He decided to go to lunch at a nearby diner.

It turns out lunch was boring when you're alone in a new place. His mind went back to when he took the girls out to lunch and he smiled. To when he cooked dinner for Olivia at the bakery the night she showed up out of the blue. He missed her. He was just a little better at putting up a brave front. He wondered if she would think about coming to Chicago and spend some time with him here? He'd mention it to her when they talked later tonight.

After his last seminar for the day, Fitz went back to the hotel and collapsed on the bed. He just needed a power nap to feel refreshed. An hour later he woke up in a mild panic, not knowing where he was. He glanced over at the night stand and saw the red digital numbers on the clock. Oh yea, Chicago.

He got up, relieved himself in the bathroom, and grabbed a bottle of water from the mini fridge in his room. Although the fifth floor wasn't the penthouse, the view was still a good one and he sat on a chair near the window as he drank his water. Although he loved the annual conference, Fitz was missing Olivia. And if he felt this way after one day he knew she was a mess. He decided to call her now instead of waiting until later.

She answered with a smile in her voice on the first ring. "Hi."

He immediately smiled and forgot about the view out his window. "Hi. How has your day been?"

"It's been great." She said enthusiastically. "We had lunch catered at the office today from that amazing Mexican place I love..."

He was glad that her day had turned around.

"And then we all were told to take off after lunch but to consider it a full day's work. Plus overtime..."

Fitz scrunched up his face. Damn good perks at her job.

"And then the office had a masseuse come to my house to give all of the ladies thirty minutes on the table. Ricco has very gifted hands."

"Wait. What?"

She chuckled at him. "I would love to have thirty minutes on the table with Ricco, but my day sucks. I'm still at work and I still miss you." She whined. "I don't want to be here anymore."

Fitz lowered his voice and said, "Ricco is not allowed to touch my girl."

"He's not?" She flirted.

"He's not. Unless he wants me to kick his ass he'll keep his hands to himself."

"But he's sooooooooo good at the art of massage." She grinned into the phone.

"He can bestow his art onto someone else. You want a massage? Come to Chicago. I will rub every muscle in your tight, perfect, little body until it's humming." He was getting aroused just thinking about touching her again.

"You would give me a massage?"

"MmmmmHmmmm. I would work all those kinks out of your muscles the best way I know how. The way you are probably craving right now, if I know your body. And we both know that I know your body very well. What do you think, Miss Pope?"

Olivia was breathing hard just thinking about his magical hands on her body. "Wh...What did you say?"

Fitz grinned to himself. She was practically walking onto a plane. He just had to help her a little more. "What do you say about coming to Chicago and... getting taken care of by someone who knows your pressure points?"

"Fitz, you really don't play fair." She looked at her schedule and knew she had one meeting tomorrow that she could not move around. "I don't think I can make it. I have a meeting tomorrow that I have re-scheduled twice already. I have to be here."

"That's ok. I understand. You are a very busy, very intelligent woman. Maybe we can come visit Chicago one weekend in the spring? That would be fun?"

Olivia felt bad. She could tell he was disappointed, but it couldn't be helped. "That would be great. I bet the city is really pretty in the spring?" There was silence on the line and then she asked, "Are you gonna call me tonight? After your done for the day?"

"Of course I will." He looked at his watch and realized it was time for him to head downstairs. "I've got to go for now, Liv. I miss you. And I love you so much."

"I love you too, babe. I'll talk to you in a few hours." She said. They ended the call and she continued what she had been working on before he called.

The next day went by rather quickly for Fitz and he was grateful for it. He hoped the rest of the conference went by at the same speed. He still had two days left and while he was learning a lot, he was missing Olivia terribly. The thought of going back to New York before the conference ended was a constant thought in his mind.

He was laying on his hotel bed, waiting for room service to deliver his dinner when they finally knocked on the door. He had ordered a steak and was looking forward to eating it alone, calling Olivia, and going to bed early.

He jumped up off the bed and walked to the door. When he opened it, he wasn't greeted by room service. A smiling Olivia greeted him with a suitcase beside her. After his initial shock Fitz picked her up and spun her around right in the hall. "What the hell are you..."

Olivia silenced him by fusing her lips to his in a heated kiss. She pulled away from him and rested her forehead on his while he held her. "I had my meeting this afternoon and it went great. But I missed you too much. I had to come."

Fitz walked them into his hotel room and kicked the door with his foot. He was grinning at her, so thankful that she had come to Chicago to be with him. He pecked her lips once more and stated, "I missed you more. You have no idea."

"I'm gonna want that massage tonight." She said with a devilish smile.

"You're awfully demanding, Miss Pope." Fitz nuzzled in her neck for a moment, so thankful she was actually here with him, and then deposited her on the floor in front of him. "I think you should give me a massage. I'm the one who's full of tension. I think you should work all that out." He gave her a lopsided smile back.

"Fine. But I want something to eat first. I'm hungry." When he started pulling her to the bed she giggled and put a hand on his chest. "Food, Fitz! That kind of eating will come later."

"Fine. Let's go to McDonalds." Fitz said with sarcasm. Her following laughter was exactly what he needed to hear. It was so infectious that he joined her. "I'm really glad you're here."

There was a knock on the door and Olivia looked at Fitz. "That's room service bringing me a steak. I'll share it with you or you can call down and order whatever you want?" He offered.

"Let's share it. We don't have time to wait for a steak to cook." She grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him to her for another kiss. "I have a massage to give."

Fitz grinned at her and replied, "Yes ma'am!"