I decided to torture us all a bit XD
I hope you enjoy it anyway!
From Afar
Rita Calhoun could count the occasions on which she'd felt like a fool on one hand; looking foolish wasn't something that stood on her agenda, as she always tried to appear professional and sovereign, and that had kept her from experiencing too many moments in which she had to ask herself what the hell was wrong with her.
Unfortunately, she had to add another point to said short list, and the fact that only she knew about her light indignity didn't make it any better. In fact, it made her only more angry with herself for letting her secret wishes take the upper hand and guide her.
At least the drinks at the damned charity event were for free once one had donated a generous amount, so she could drown her shame in extra strong martinis. Yet she felt ridiculous in the expensive designer dress she'd only bought for tonight. Not that Elie Saab wasn't a fashion designer she adored, but she normally refrained from buying dresses this expensive if they weren't combinable in a business look. But here she was, all dressed up because of some dumb schoolgirl feelings, trying to drown her negative feelings in alcohol while she shot glares across the room from time to time where the man was standing whose fault all of this had been.
Yes, she, Rita Calhoun, had actually dressed up for a man in the hope of impressing him. It was a concept she'd never seen much sense in, and thus there was another layer to her anger.
'Foolish hag' she thought to herself while taking another sip of her martini and glaring daggers at Odafin Tutuola and his date for tonight. He looked so damn good in his black suit and tie, smirking about a joke Benson had made while his arm was wrapped around the waist of the woman accompanying him. Rita didn't care who she was, and she tried hard not to compare himself too much with the younger woman, but her subconscious still did and came to the conclusion that first of all, Rita definitely wasn't Tutuola's type, and secondly, she stood absolutely no chance against this woman.
Downing the rest of her martini and ordering another one right away, Rita scolded herself for allowing the tiniest flicker of hope that he would find her interesting. He probably only saw her as the defense attorney that was always out to give SVU a hard time, so why had she bothered? Those feelings for him, wherever they'd come from, had only given her trouble so far and she felt the desire to scream at herself for wishing she would stand where his date was standing right now. Foolish, dumb, pathetic, like a schoolgirl crush.
Halfway through her next drink, Fin's date pressed into his side almost indecently and Rita grabbed her clutch and drink, deciding it was time to get away, maybe find her own source of distraction. She was open for everything to get Odafin Tutuola off her mind as she strode through the room, unaware of the longing glance a certain Sergeant was throwing her as she turned her back.