The Challenge
Chapter 11
Wood v Steel Part 2
"Fitz are you okay?" Olivia rubs his arm trying to elicit a response.
"Maybe it's all the tequila shots," Abby suggests.
"Sorry, did you say something?" Fitz comes to himself seconds later.
"Grant I thought you'd be gloating about winning. This subdued attitude is completely unexpected. I thought you'd be thrilled. What gives?" You nervous? Afraid to zoom along on some spindly tracks at 128 mph soaring into the sky 450 ft one minute and plummeting toward the ground in the next."
"I'm not nervous or afraid. I have a healthy sense of self preservation. One mistake on a rollercoaster and you are dead. There is no parachute or safety net to save you when the safety harness snaps and you free fall 30 stories on you way to a concrete death. So I'm not jazzed about winning the opportunity to risk my life and limbs on national tv. No I do not find it thrilling to sit with 30 complete strangers all with varying degrees of suicidal tendencies. Rollercoasters are not my idea of an eticket ride or fun."
Fitz storms out of the bar to his car to wait for Olivia. Stephen and Abby give Olivia a sympathetic shrug.
"Stephen what's wrong with Fitz, why is he upset? "
"It's not my story to tell, you need to ask him yourself." Olivia turns to follow Fitz out but Stephen tugs her by forearm before she can leave.
"Olivia this is one time where sarcasm and joking is out of bounds okay." She nods without hesitation seeing the concern in Stephen's eyes.
"Look, me and Abby will call for an Uber so you and Fitz can be alone. If he doesn't want to talk about it please don't push him." She nods again, then is out the door stepping into the crisp night air looking for Fitz. He's leaning against his car staring at the ground.
"Hey babe. Stephen and Abby are going to call for a ride. I feel like walking, how about you? After all the shots we've had we can't drive anyway and I need to clear my head." Fitz nods, Olivia hands him his jacket.
Strolling down the almost empty streets, Olivia's voice is the only sound heard echoing in the quiet night outside their footfalls and the occasional sound of tires on asphalt. "I cannot believe the last word was based on reindeer pee. Sorry to say this Grant but your people have too much time on their hands if they can find uniform distance by observing the defecation habits of caribou or elk or whatever animal that was." Fitz remains silent, he stares straight ahead, lost in his thoughts. He squeezes Olivia's hand when there's a lull in the conversation to let her know he's listening even though he's not paying attention to what she's saying.
"Abby doesn't believe you're half Finnish. According to her there are no Finns in California because they only live in cold states where they can find reindeer, like Vermont or Minnesota. "
Olivia talks about school, the latest Uncle Bobby news and the mysterious cat lady who moved into her building recently. Fitz keeps looking forward, only offering the occasional "uh huh". By block five her throat is parched and she's runs out of topics to discuss. She pulls Fitz into a quiet 24 hour diner for coffee and pie. She orders for both of them since he still hasn't uttered a real word. After the coffee arrives, she squeezes his hand and kisses his wrist.
"If you don't want to talk about it , it's okay, we can just sit here and eat pie. I may even let you taste my peanut butter chocolate cream pie after you eat your boring old apple pie." She kisses his hand again.
The waitress brings their pies and some water. "Can I get you anything else?"
"No we're good, thanks." The order up bell rings and the waitress leaves to service the other tables.
"Ten years ago I was an avid coaster, you name it Stephen and I rode it. When the Monster Mangler was set to open Stephen's dad managed to get us shakeout tickets. " Fitz closes his eyes and takes deep breaths. Olivia moves closer to hold both his hands.
"The mangler was a four dimension coaster, you know the floor less kind where you hang by a harness seat below the tracks. The harness is four across." Olivia nods. "Stephen broke his foot a few days before the shakeout so he couldn't ride. He gave me the tickets and I asked our friend Gordon to take Stephen's place. Everything was going fine, the ride was a real adrenaline rush until second to the last upside-down loop. We all hear a cracking sound, like metal breaking away. The guy next to me starts screaming, when I turn to look at him, his harness is hanging by a single screw and we are coming into the last loop. He kept screaming, calling for help. All of sudden he's grabbing me, pulling me down with him. I hear more metal stripping, my seat tilts to the side, it's coming apart too. They stop the ride just before the cars enter the last loop and all I hear is people screaming in terror or yelling hold on. The added weight from the guy holding onto me weakens the rivets holding my harness and I begin to slip down with him. Gordon takes off his belt tells me loop it under my arms, then he loops it around his safety bar and arm. " Olivia looks at Fitz confused. "Gordon was on the hefty side, he had a large waist."
"It feels like we've been dangling for hours but only minutes have past. I can hear sirens approaching and the coaster engineers telling us to stay calm and not move. I remember thinking what a stupid thing to say. Of course we're trying not to move, we know we're one screw away from plunging to our deaths. Then we hear more metal ripping away and man's seat next to me comes uncoupled. He's holding onto my legs, pulling my body against the safety bar. I can't breathe from the pressure. I feel the man slipping inch by inch down my leg, I hear more metal fatiguing, a second later the man slips off my legs. I look down in time to see his head slam again the lower track and the seat fall to the ground into a crumpled lump." Sweat beads form along Fitz's hairline. He squeezes Olivia's hand for reassurance. His voice grows lower.
"The rescue team reaches me just as my seat is about to give way. If Gordon hadn't strapped to his safety bar, taking some of the weight off my car I'm sure I would have died that day."
"Oh Fitz I'm so sorry that happened to you." Olivia draws Fitz close, he slumps into her arms and she kisses his head.
"I had nightmares for a couple years after the accident. The insurance companies were quick to payout a large settlement given Senator Grant's son was among the traumatized riders. I gave my money to the dead guy's family. He had a pregnant wife and two kids. I've never talked about the accident to anyone except Stephen and my therapist."
"Not even Gordon?"
"No, Gordon and I would just sit and not say a word. We didn't need to talk about it we were there, we remembered every detail. Sometime we'd sit for an hour or two, sometime a few minutes. We always instinctively knew when our time was up, he'd pat me on the back and I'd give him a shoulder hug and that would that until the next time we needed to sit. He moved away six months after the accident but we still keep in touch."
The waitress comes to pour more coffee, Olivia asks for the check her. "Fitz let's head home. We can relax at my apartment."
"We haven't touched our pie. I'm okay, really. I haven't thought about that day in years but when the moderator said wood or steel, the memory came rushing back. I'll be fine." Olivia can see the pain and guilt in Fitz's eyes. She hugs him again hoping her touch provides comfort.
Careful to try not to upset Fitz Olivia asks a question in a soft gentle voice. "Fitz do you feel guilty you survived?" He looks away at first seeming to gather his thoughts, then looks at her with eyes that say, how did you know.
"For those first two years, yes. I couldn't understand why he died and I lived. He had a wife, kids, a family that needed him, depended on him. I was a kid that had probably seen and done more in my ten years of living than he had in his thirty-one. He never got to see his children grow up or his new baby. It felt unfair."
"Fitz bad things happen all the time for no apparent reason to people with young families. No one is immune to tragedy. No one life is more precious than another. I think you know this. Tragedy is an equal opportunity offender. I can argue the opposite of your unfair assertion. You were ten with your whole life ahead of you. You hadn't experienced love, a career or a family of your own. Just because you may have gone more places than the man who died doesn't mean the loss of your future would have been any less tragic. Do you think the pain from your loss would have been less for your family? Fitz do you honestly think your death would have been the better outcome?" She turns his head to look him in the eyes. She gently places four point kisses on his face ending at his brow.
"No", he whispers gazing at her appreciatively.
"Besides, if you had died you would have missed the incredible life changing experience of meeting and falling in love with me," she says bumping his shoulder with her own trying to lighten the mood.
"How could I have overlooked such an important perk." He lightly smacks his palm against his forehead.
"Let's go. I want to spend the night with you." Eyebrows raised, he looks at her in surprise.
"Geez Grant must you always go there? Get a grip. I may sympathize with what happened to you but not to the point of wanting to have sympathy sex."
"Actually, I think it'd be more along the line of comfort or pity sex. Either which I'm open to."
She pushes him away grinning, then steps out of booth. They take their pie and coffee to go, then a taxi to Olivia's apartment.
When they enter the apartment Abby and Stephen are sitting on the couch watching a movie.
"Hey", Olivia greets.
"Everything okay ", Abby replies stretching her head backwards looking over the couch. Olivia smiles nodding her head.
Stephen follows Fitz and Olivia into the kitchen. He stands next to Fitz.
"You good man?"
"Yeah, I told her. Of course she put the Pope spin on things and made it somehow all about her."
"Liar", Olivia snaps with a smile pushing past him, pie in hand. I'm going to my room.
" I love you sweetheart."
"Yeah, you better babe."
Stephen's eyes widen. "Are you two, you know?
"We've decided to officially be involved but we're taking it slow"
"So the challenge is over?"
"Hell no," both Olivia and Abby say in unison from different areas in the apartment.
Fitz takes his pie and a couple of waters to Olivia's room. They shower separately, eat pie in bed and go sleep with Olivia holding Fitz in her arms.
The next morning Olivia awakens with Fitz holding her from behind. She can feel his morning erection pressing against her pajama covered slit. She can't help herself, she starts to giggle. Fitz slowly awakens hearing Olivia's giggles.
"What are you giggling about Pope?"
"It's true. I mean I've heard about, now feeling it for myself.."
"What?
"Your morning wood."
"Oh, sorry. Fitz begins to turn away.
"No, I find the sensation interesting? Can I touch it?"
"What, no!"
"Why not?"
"It's not an object for examination Olivia. If you touch it you better know what you're doing because there is a cause and effect to touching."
"Come on, can I at least see it? Pretty please. I'll show my boob," she says excitedly.
"I said no", although secretly I really to want you to touch it, stroke it, lick it. Damn it, now it's twitching.
"Come on, I know you want to show it to me. Look at it this way, a little sneak peek will help build the anticipation for the real deal. Don't you think? Hey is it suppose to move like that?"
"Aargh," Fitz growls. Okay, one quick look, no touching, then I'm going to the bathroom."
Fitz raises his hips and slowly lowers his boxers releasing his fully erect penis. Olivia looks at it with scientific scrutiny, noting the length, thickness, the veins and circumcised tip. Uncomfortable with Olivia's focused attention, Fitz quickly pulls up his underwear.
"Well?
"It's big, it's long and I have no idea how it's going to fit inside of me." She reaches over to touch it.
"No touching Pope. We're not ready." Olivia scrunches her mouth.
"What?"
"Well, outside the actual physical act…I was also thinking about the other stuff."
"The other stuff?"
"Yeah, it's kinda like a cow tit, when you think about, huh. Masturbation and hand jobs all require movements similar to milking a cow. The up and down, the pulling, the squeezing, the ejac…"
"What! Okay stop. Do not say another word. Olivia, you…you..how. A cow tit!" Fitz has no words. Of all the analogies he's heard about a penis, or jerking off a cow tit isn't among them. Flustered he nearly falls off the bed on his way to the bathroom. En route he pulls open his boxers to look at his dick. He looks back at Olivia shaking his head and mumbling.
"Hey don't you want to see my boob? I'll even let you touch it."
"No!" he yells back.
Olivia sighs whispering under her breath, "At least you won't think about death, the unfairness of life or rollercoasters for the forceable future." She lays across the bed thinking, it really is like milking a cow. Suddenly she pops up. "Oh god what if he becomes self-conscious, we may never… brilliant Liv, real brilliant."
AN: Now you know the source of Fitz's rollercoaster anxiety. Pretty sure he'll be passing the VIP passes on to someone else.
Do you think Olivia did a good job comforting Fitz? Was the tough love necessary?
Did she inadvertently give him a penis complex?
Next up dinner date with the Grants.
I'd love to hear you observations and comments? Remember to review, follow or favorite. All feedback is appreciated.
Have a great week.