Fitz shakes his head as he says, "Tell me about it. Speaking of him; do you think he's still here?" Harry replies, "yeah he is. Brandon left. But I saw him talking to Chris and Josh a few minutes ago by the pool when I went to the bathroom."
He sighs as he says, "I should've kicked his ass out." Drew replies, "Man, it's not your party. Therefore it's not your place to throw him out. But, if you want him gone. Talk to Liv about it. And see what she says." He agrees, as he replies, "I will. But first, I need another drink." Harry grins as he says, "Here! Here! I'll drink to that." They laugh as they head over to the cooler to get some more beer.
Thirty minutes, a few more drinks, and a wrap up conversation amidst Drew, Harry and Fitz later, Olivia is getting another drink herself, and is still dancing and bopping around, enjoying the moment, while Stacy is in the bathroom and Abby steps inside to take a call from Kevin.
After pouring her drink, she remembers she was going to check on Fitz, but he seemed to be engaged with the guys, when she was headed his way. She now looks in the last direction they were in, but she's halted. Suddenly she feels a hand on her lower back, but she doesn't flinch, because it feels familiar. She then hears, "Have I told you how good you look tonight?"
She smiles as she turns to face him, and replies, "No, but I'm listening." He grins at her as he steps a tad closer, and she tries to be mindful of where they are, with him being so close. In her head, she's wondering if Jake is somewhere watching them, and making note of their interaction, to use it in some salacious story he makes up for his gossip rag.
However, he seems to not care, as he pushes her verbally saying, "Am I too close? Because I've been closer." She wants to say yes. But, looking up into his eyes, feeling his body heat radiating off of him, and allowing her eyes to trace his strong arms and shoulders, outlined in the navy tank he's wearing, which brings out his eyes, and reinforces his well built upper body, is giving her cause to remain silent for a bit. He sees her searching for words, as he continues, "Hmm, I would ask if the cat got your tongue. But, somehow that term doesn't seem applicable here."
His smirk prompts her, as she feels her words come to her. Sensually, she slowly licks her lips, leaning a bit forward as she replies, "Facts, but you'd know better than anybody here what's had my tongue in the last 24 hours, wouldn't you?"
Her words hit him like a ton of bricks, as he feels himself quickly harden, and he clears his throat, as he changes his stance. Breaking their eye contact, to prevent himself from grabbing hold of her.
Seeing his struggle, she continues the tease as she smiles, saying, "Hmm, now I would ask if a cat has your tongue; but we both know the correct question would be, did you enjoy when my cat had your tongue as much as I did?"
She watches as he bites his bottom lip, as he now gazes into her eyes. The hue of his eyes is much darker, and she can feel the fire burning behind them, regardless of there being people all around.
And just before he makes a move that solidifies their current situation; he spies Jake sitting on a table, a few yards away, talking to a young lady. Even though he's not looking at him and Liv; seeing him still causes Fitz to pause. Confused about the sudden change in energy, she looks at him as she notices his body language change. She then follows his eyes and sees who's in his line of sight. But, she also sees he's talking to someone. He's not necessarily lurking around them.
So, she asks, "Hey, what's going on? Why are you mean mugging Jake? Other than for the obvious reasons of you not wanting him here." She expects a laugh or a smile. He looks at her, but his facial expression is unfamiliar to her. She's never seen him so conflicted, unless it was regarding his father. His reaction bothers her, as she asks, "Did something happen that I need to know about?"
He still remains quiet, and she grabs his opposite hand, where nobody can see she's holding his hand. Instantly, he snaps out of his head, as he replies, "I was about two seconds from dropping his ass a bit ago; because he was making disrespectful comments about you."
Finding his protective nature sweet, she squeezes his hand, as she replies, "Awe babe. That's sweet of you to defend me. I appreciate it. But you can't let comments from him disrupt you so deeply. It's not worth it. He literally says shit for shock value, to trigger people."
He takes in her response and realizes she's right. Drew was right too. This is what people like him do. He releases a breath he didn't realize he was holding as he says, "I hear you. I've got to get better at not letting him annoy me." SHe nods as she responds, "Yes. You do. Because you have way more to lose than he does. And he knows it; that's why he's trying to agitate you and provoke you into responding in a way that meets the narrative he wants to dictate."
Her words bring clarity to his thoughts, and a smile spreads across his face. She sees his smile, and asks, "What's the grin for?" He replies, "It's for you. You put it there, like always. Thanks for talking me down." She grins as she responds, "Always. You know that." He brings her close for a hug, that is sweet and comforting.
When the hug ends, they share another smile. And before either can say another word. Abby interrupts as she pulls Olivia back a step, tugging on the back of her pants, while saying, "It's showtime." She smiles as she looks at her, asking, :What are you talking about?" Abby then points to the house, and she sees Mellie and a group of people standing in the living room. Olivia then looks at Fitz and she says, "It's showtime indeed. Are you ready?"
She sees a look on his face that doesn't compute to her though; as he too sees Mellie and Nick, along with a group of others. Admittedly, she does look great. Her makeup and hair are flawless. And her outfit is hot, accentuating her boobs and long legs.
Momentarily, she's wondering if he's in awe of how she looks, or if he's still dealing with seeing her with Nick. She just can't make out his expression; but before she can ask him, the music dies down as Ally gets on the mic and says, "Ladies and gentleman, the madam of the hour has arrived!"
Mellie then walks out onto the patio, where a mic is handed to her, and a spotlight is shined on her too. Stacy walks over with Drew and Harry in tow, as Stacy says, "Give me a fucking break." Drew replies, "Come on babe. You know we are starring in the Mellie show right now." They all laugh as Harry says, "Hell I need to call my agent. I need to be paid for this shit."
As their laughter settles, they hear her thank the crowd for coming to her event. Abby groans as she says, "She's unreal. She didn't plan a damn thing." Olivia sighs as she replies, "Nope. And you can't be surprised she's taking credit for its success, can you?" She agrees as she says, "Point taken."
After Mellie greets the crowd, the music crunks back up and the dancing continues. It's then that Olivia turns her attention back to Fitz; but then Abby says, "Hey let's go meet cruella deville and her bunch of misfits." Her remark makes her laugh, despite her being concerned about what's on Fitz's mind.
Nonetheless, she grabs his hand and brings him with her, as they all walk toward the house. With Fitz in tow, they all walk inside, where Mellie and her group are standing, talking and drinking in the living room. Mellie's eyes go to Fitz immediately, as he stands next to Olivia.
Mellie is feeling good, like she has the drop on him. But, as she notices Fitz makes direct eye contact with Nick, but doesn't flinch. And she sees his eyes go from Nick to Alex, standing next to him. It causes her mind to hesitate, as she tries to figure out what Fitz is thinking or feeling. The expression on his face isn't one of being upset or shocked, like she expected. Instead, it appears he's more intrigued. Which greatly confuses her. But, she proceeds with the introductions as she says, "Alex, Cam, Nick, Kay, Ced, and Heather, these are my roommates Olivia and Abigail."
Abby thinks to herself, no she didn't use my government name. But she smiles through it, as she waves and says, "Please call me Abby." And Olivia follows with, "And me Liv, please. No need for formalities." They all nod at at her, kindly, accepting her offer.
While Mellie takes joy out of annoying them as she continues introductions down the line saying, "And these gentlemen are good friends of ours Andrew, Harrison, and Fitzgerald."
While Drew and Fitz just shake their heads at her use of their full legal names, and they also correct her. Harry decides to step up to the petty train, as he asks, "So I guess we're going to start using full legal names huh, Millicent Ruth? Anyway, hello everybody, welcome to the party."
They all wave and laugh at his remark, realizing he's simply clowning her, for using their legal names. So he called her out for not using her own.
However, despite everyone else being in good spirits about it. The look on Meliie's face is priceless, causing Olivia and the gang to laugh, as Stacy whispers, "Damn he got her good." Both Drew and Fitz hear her, and agree. Mellie really shouldn't come for Harry. He will roast you where you stand, it's what you get when you mess with a bonafide comic.
With the greetings over, everyone starts to talk amongst themselves, and the mood is pleasant and light. Regardless, one thing is certain, Mellie can barely keep her composure, she's intensely pissed at Harry. And, normally, if he hurts someone's feelings or upsets them; he would apologize. But, in this case; he doesn't care to apologize. Because he's not sorry. That's what she gets for trying to embarrass his friend, and be petty by disregarding their preference for using their nicknames in social settings.
Nick sees Mellie is upset and says, "It's no big deal Mel. Everyone uses a different name if they don't like their birth name." She looks at him as she responds, "That's not the point. He was trying to embarrass me." He sighs and smiles as he sips his beer, and she asks, "What's so funny?" He replies, "What's funny is you're just mad he used your own game against you, and it's silly for you to be this pissed about it. It's a great party. Let's just enjoy it."
She decides to give in to him, and enjoy her time with him in her element. She joins his friends and they go outside to join the party. While dancing with Nick, and having fun, she sees Jake. He's definitely found the beer cooler a few times too many, as he's posted up against the fence, trying to keep his footing. But, she continues to enjoy her surroundings. Despite seeing Fitz and her other friends huddling up on the patio talking, rather intensely. She wonders what they're talking about, but then sees him look in her direction. And she smiles thinking, maybe she did accomplish her mission. He's likely talking about her. And that makes her smile.
Meanwhile, as Fitz and the gang are chatting; Olivia says, "Fitz, are you sure it was her?" He nods as he says, "Yes. I am positive, Liv." Abby shakes her head as she replies, "This is wild. I can't wrap my head around it." Fitz replies, "I know it sounds crazy. But, think about it. It's the only thing that makes sense, based on his reaction to him seeing me."
Drew thinks through what he's said so far and responds, "Okay. So from the top, you were at Jack's and you saw Nick at a table with one of the girls who's here with them tonight."
He nods, and Olivia says, "her name is Alex." Drew replies, "My bad. Thanks Liv, I couldn't recall her name." She nods as she replies, "No problem." He continues, "Anyway, you're saying because they had lunch together, and he looked at you oddly, maybe they're messing around. That's a stretch." Everyone nods in agreement with Drew.
Fitz sighs as he replies, "When you say it like that, sure. It sounds thin. But, hear me out. It's not just that I saw them having lunch. The way Nick looked at me when we locked eyes. He was scared, as if he was caught. But remember, at the time I didn't know he was dating Mellie. And, even if I did. He was with Alex, not Mellie when I saw him. So, if it was just lunch with his roommate's girlfriend, why did he look like he was busted doing something?"
Olivia then says, "Because he knows you and Mel are friends and he may have thought she told you about him. So, you seeing him out with another woman, would be an issue." Abby then picks up where she leaves off, as she replies, "But, if the lunch was innocent, why would he be scared when he saw Fitz?"
Fitz adds, "Thank you." Drew, Harry, and Stacy, begin to see his point. As Drew says, "Damn, so that would fit with why he wasn't introduced to the group till now. He didn't want to be. Because he didn't want Fitz to remember seeing him with Alex."
Stacy nods as she replies, "It likely would've been better for him if he hadn't brought her with him, though, don't you think?" Harry responds, "20.00 says that wasn't his idea. Or likely even hers. That smells like Mellie. She loves to have an audience when she does outlandish shit. Only this time, it was an epic fail. Because I embarrassed her ass, before she could get the dramatic effect she was aiming for."
They all laugh, remembering the moment vividly. And as their laughter settles, Olivia asks, "So with knowing all of this. What do we do now?" Fitz sighs as he replies, "I don't know. That;s the question of the day. Should we disclose what we suspect? Or do we let her find out on her own?" The question gives them all cause to pause, as they think about what to do next
Thank you for reading my fan fiction tale. Whew, who saw this coming? Do you think they should tell Mellie about Nick possibly cheating? Now we know why Nick didn't or doesn't want Mellie hanging out at his house when he's not home. Looks like he's having his cake and cobbler too. What did you think about Fitz's fierce defense of Olivia, and how he handled meeting Nick? It appears Fitz had time for both Jake and Mellie in this installment. And Harry didn't come to play either.
In the next installment we find out how the group handles learning about Nick's extra curriculars. We also find out how Jake deals with his drunken interaction with Fitz when he's sober; the group deals with Mellie's mayhem together, and she finally finds out about Olitz too. All this and more in the next installment of Between Friends.