AN: I can't express how much you guys' response to the first chapter blew me away! Someone actually called me the smut queen. Don't let that kinda shit get to my head! Let me thank all the guest reviewers and anyone who hasn't enabled private messaging here on FF who I can never thank personally. You rock, and it honestly gave me quite a boost on a shitty day. I tripped and fell on a hike in the woods and ended up with an injured palm and a swollen ankle :-(

Since so many of you asked about Harvey's wager: You will find out, but it won't be for quite a few chapters! Sorry, not sorry :-) Gotta keep you coming back somehow, right?

Thank you, again, to my amazing betas Yvonne and BellaDonna who went above and beyond to make sure this was turned from an unreadable mess into something I could present to you readers.

Enjoy!

Ground Rules

Donna felt like she had made a huge mistake. With that stupid bet and her even more stupid wager, she had seriously put her friendship with Harvey in jeopardy. A friendship that they had worked hard on since they had reconciled after she had kissed him in her office that night. And all that could go out the window because she wasn't even taking their progress into consideration when she had half-drunkenly scrawled her horny wish on that piece of paper. He had made it clear multiple times that he wasn't interested in her that way, and she had more or less convincingly lied to him and said that the kiss hadn't meant anything. Months of friendship reconstruction lay behind them. She felt like they were in a good place. Sometimes flirty, sometimes dreamy glances, but always supportive of one another, especially now with the whole name change at the firm.

Which was why she had been avoiding him all day. She had left the meeting in conference room A about the summer associates in a hurry two minutes before it ended and had mumbled her apologies as she'd stumbled out of the room. She felt ashamed of herself. The second time avoiding him, she got saved by the bell when it looked like he was coming straight into her office, but her phone rang. So she had held up her index finger like an idiot, as if to pause him on his way, and he'd walked past her office. For a third and final time, she saw him by the elevators when she was supposed to go on her lunch break, but she decided to stay at the office after all, out of sheer fear of running into him on her way back as well.

It was now almost 5 o'clock, and she knew they had to talk about it. And who knew, maybe if she gave him the chance, he would graciously back out, and she would be safe. For now. But talking about this at the office was a definite no-no, so she wrote him a post-it note, too scared to call or text him. A post-it note was like a message on an answering machine. Say your piece and fear no reply. Walking by his office, she was relieved to find it empty. She quickly went in to put the sticky note on his laptop and hurried back to her office. Donna didn't have too much more work to do, so she would soon get ready and be on her way home.

An hour later, she was opening a bottle of wine when she heard his knock on her door. She calmly went to let Harvey in. He only nodded his greeting and followed her back into the kitchen. She wordlessly went back to screwing the cork screw in, pulled until she heard the familiar pop, and poured them both a generous glass of wine. She then went to sit on her couch and waited for him to follow suit.

"So," she started and then paused to take a small sip of her wine. "We need to set some ground rules. That is if you still agree to go through with this."

Harvey was expecting something like that. She had ominously left him a post-it on his desk asking him to come to her place after work. Three days had gone by since the cat had been let out of the bag. Donna had bet that Louis would get Sheila pregnant and wagered to spend thirty nights in Harvey's bed. Despite her offer to forget about the bet, Harvey had agreed to her terms. And now... now they needed to come up with a set of rules so they would both get through this unscathed.

"Ground rules," Harvey repeated after also drinking some wine.

"Yes. I mean, we can't just spend thirty nights together without talking things through first," she insisted.

He nodded but wanted her to start because he had no idea in which direction this was even going. "I assume you already have some ideas."

"I do. For starters, I would like you to know that I'm not seeing anyone right now, so it's not like I'd be cheating on anyone."

"Me either," he assured her. She had suspected as much. But without Mike and Rachel here, Donna learned way less about Harvey these days. Normally Mike would find out something, tattle on Harvey with Rachel, and Donna would find out things through her. And ever since Harvey was back in his old office, Donna barely saw him some days.

"Good. Then we can start with the rules. No one in the office can ever find out about this. If they know that I'm sleeping with a name partner, it'll look like I slept my way up. And I really don't need those kinds of rumors after Malik..." Donna said before her voice gave out. She was so angry at that man.

Harvey's eyes were full of understanding and compassion when she brought up Malik. It still made Harvey want to punch the bastard in the face when he thought back to that awful day in court where his former co-worker made it look as if Donna hadn't deserved her promotion, when in reality it had been her hands that had held onto the cracks in the foundation of the firm, time and time again.

She cleared her throat. "So no talking about it at work, either. If Gretchen overheard, I'd never hear the end of it. We have to behave normally at work. Friendly, and professional," she said and seemed pretty calm again. On the inside, however, she didn't know if the words she just uttered were even spoken in English.

Harvey gave her the smallest, yet clearly smug smile, which threw Donna off completely.

"What?" She wanted to know.

"So there will be sex in those thirty nights?"

Now Donna looked even more confused. "Um, what?"

"Your wager said Thirty nights in Harvey Specter's bed, you didn't actually mention sex."

She swallowed. Score one for Harvey. "You must have assumed that sex was implied though."

His smile grew wider. Apparently, Donna hadn't been able to put it out of her mind, either. Why else would she suggest not one but thirty nights together? This was getting interesting. "All right then."

"Don't gloat. I had three big glasses of scotch that night. You had mentioned strawberries and whipped cream a couple days earlier. And on top of that, you said I could write down anything I wanted. Add to that I haven't had time for sex or even a date in months... We were talking about Louis getting Sheila pregnant. Let's just say I had sex on my mind, that's all."

She sounded convincing. But Harvey was feeling flattered nonetheless. It didn't happen every day that the woman he'd been in love with for over a decade put herself out there like that.

"What about your rule?" he asked then. He simply had to. He was unable to keep himself from wondering about her rule for the past three days. And the past thirteen years.

"The rule will be suspended for the thirty days. The reason for the rule existing is workplace-related. Which is why I don't want anyone in the office finding out."

"How would someone from the office find out about us anyway?"

"I could be seen entering your building with an overnight bag, or leaving your building in the morning," Donna reasoned.

"Nobody knows where I live."

"Louis does."

"He lives on the Upper East Side, my place isn't even close to being on his route to work."

"He might meet a client downtown for breakfast and drive past your building. I just wanna be careful."

"All right, no one in the office will find out," he conceded. It would have been harder to protect this rule if Mike and Rachel still worked there. "What else?"

"Well, we need to talk about protection," she said and eyed him curiously. He looked almost a tad too relaxed for her taste. Her palms were getting sweaty just thinking about them sleeping together.

"We used condoms last time. I don't see why we wouldn't now."

"Good. You can tell me your preferred brand, and I'll get them," Donna offered and took another sip of her wine. Having the glass in her hand really gave her something to hold on to. This whole negotiation was very unnerving to her. On the one hand, they both seemed almost too distanced and factual about it. On the other, she tried very hard to stay sort of detached because talking about sex with Harvey was not something that put her in her comfort zone.

"I can buy my own condoms," he said then. Not that he had been buying a lot of condoms lately.

"But it was my idea," Donna said softly.

"So?" He did not know why she was insisting on this.

"I feel I need to take care of it because it was my idea," she reasoned.

"Donna, I'm getting the condoms," he assured her.

"All right."

"Can I ask a question?" he said.

"Sure."

"Will the, um, action be restricted to the bed?" he asked. Aside from her rule, this was the other thing that he kept getting back to in his head.

"Why do you ask?"

"Because your wager specified my bed."

"I guess not."

"Good," he said, and then started to give her a hint of his sexy smile. Having sex with Donna again was not something he had ever expected to be on the table. But for thirty nights? Harvey felt like he had won the lottery. At the same time, it freaked him out a little. And he was getting excited.

Donna drank from her wine to buy herself some time. "But I would suggest we restrict it to your place. No getting carried away at work. That would not be OK on any level."

"Sounds fair. Maybe we should also talk about the sex part. Things that are off-limits," Harvey suggested. Since their last time had not only happened ages ago but had also been unplanned, he felt it would only be right to talk about things beforehand this time.

Donna was surprised at his foresight, given that she apparently hadn't thought this whole thing through. "Um..."

"I can go first. I assume oral would still be fine?" he asked a little shyly.

"Yes," she said. Somehow talking about their future sexual acts felt very clinical to her, but it wasn't unpleasant. Like they were exchanging movie recommendations.

"What about toys?" Harvey dared to ask.

"Nothing humongous. No ten-inch dildos. Oh, and no flavored lubes. They smell disgusting. What about you?"

"I don't like getting hit in the face. Or anywhere else, for that matter."

"Do I even want to know?" Donna asked as she got up to refill their wine glasses. No way in hell could she look at him after that statement.

"Don't ask," he said and really didn't want to get into it.

Donna didn't want to put him on the spot. So she decided to go next. "No spontaneous anal sex, please. I'd need to prep for that," she said with a firm voice, but on the inside, her heart was racing, and she felt more awkward than she had in a long time. This was not a topic she usually talked to friends about. And last she checked, Harvey was her friend. Her friend who she was planning on spending thirty nights with. This was bonkers. She felt horny and overwhelmed, all at once.

"Noted," he said and dared to look into her eyes. Was it bad that their conversation was turning him on a little? "Let's just inform each other as soon as something's uncomfortable, OK?"

Donna nodded her agreement, thankful that they had come to a consensus. They stayed silent for a while, letting everything that was talked about sink for a minute.

After over a decade of officially not being allowed to think about her body, Harvey suddenly had nothing else on his mind. His pants were getting tighter, but he knew he couldn't have her yet. Maybe after talking about things that were on the boundaries list, they could switch focus to things they actually liked. Harvey knew he had to ask her about it. He was aroused out of his mind already talking about things they wouldn't do. But if they were talking about the thirty nights, he might as well ask about the other things.

He changed his sitting position a little and put his wine glass on the coffee table. "Um, what about the things you do like?"

"I like hard nipple play," Donna blurted out. She regretted it not a second later, but it was out there now. At this point, this conversation could not get any more awkward and arousing for her, so she might as well answer his questions.

"I remember," he smiled shamelessly. This line of questioning definitely wasn't helping matters. He shifted in his seat again. Donna blushed. This was definitely more explicit than insinuations and allusions about strawberries and whipped cream.

"What do you like?" she asked. Her cheeks were burning. She had to switch the focus from herself to him.

"You," he said without missing a beat.

Her eyes widened at his possibly involuntary admission. "And specifically?"

"I'm not gonna lie, Donna. I can't wait to eat you out." Harvey sounded calm and sincere. Brutally honest even. Not that he would have volunteered to say it in the first place, but she had been brave enough to talk about what she liked before, which had emboldened him in return.

Her head was spinning. Her clit throbbing. She felt like she was trapped in her dream and her nightmare at the same time. Anticipation was mixing with the fear of not being able to recapture the magic of their one night. And on top of it all, she felt that she was getting wetter and wetter. She needed to change the subject. There was one more thing on her agenda, and she better bring it up now. Maybe it helped to clear her head somewhat.

Donna cleared her throat. "We also need to talk about the days where we have to, uh, abstain. Do you want me to spend those five nights at my place, and we extend the thirty nights by five nights?"

His facial expression betrayed that she had completely lost him then, so she clarified. "For when I'm on my period."

"Oh," he replied. It hadn't crossed his mind. "Um, no, it's OK. Let's make it thirty consecutive nights."

Donna felt a little deflated. She had secretly hoped he would go for the extension, but it was her own fault. She had suggested thirty nights, why would he now agree to more than that? She had to settle for what she could get.

He must have sensed something's wrong. "You didn't say thirty nights of sex, your wager said thirty nights in my bed."

"True," Donna replied. "Do you have any other suggestions or rules you want us to stick to?"

"I was thinking that it would be nice if we could have dinner together. Probably not every night, because sometimes we both work late, but let's make an effort to eat together."

She was touched, her face was beaming. Where was this coming from? "I like that. Can I ask why you suggested it?"

"Honestly, because I feel it would be weird if you came by my place at 10.30 every night or whatever to have sex with me, like I'm your fuck buddy or something. Besides, I like spending time with you." Harvey wanted to try and make their purely physical arrangement something that felt more comfortable for the both of them. He would feel weird seeing his friend every night to sleep with her. He felt a little like she only wanted him for his body, nothing more. But to him, it didn't seem like her. So, he offered dinners to feel out the situation.

"Thanks Harvey, that sounds nice." Donna appreciated his idea. But his statement that he liked spending time with her kind of confirmed her suspicion that he was primarily seeing her as his friend, which meant she now worried even more about destroying that friendship. She felt she needed to confirm that they would be friends, even after the thirty nights. "And when it's all over, we can go back to just being friends. No harm, no foul."

He gulped. If only it were so simple. He knew that he would need some time to get over those thirty nights, that was for sure.

They finished their wine and Harvey put his empty glass next to her sink.

"So, now that we've set the rules, when are we gonna start playing?" he asked seductively.

Donna felt overwhelmed. She'd expected everything, but not him being down for her bold idea. "Um, on the first?"

He took out his phone to check on his calendar. "Next Wednesday? Works for me."

"Good."

They said their goodbyes, and Donna walked him to the door. When she returned to the kitchen to rinse their wine glasses, she sighed. Five more days before their thirty nights would start.

She needed to make an appointment for a bikini wax.