I wanted to thank you for the amount of support I got after the first chapter. It heavily outweighed the hate I got for it, although I was not surprised about the hate. I know this story is different, and I know it's not ideal, and that was why I wanted to tell it. I'm not going to spend time defending the reasons I'm writing it the way I am, because those reasons will be displayed throughout the story. However, if you do not care to learn the reasons, please do not read it. I will say that real life is messy, and real life is complicated. And canon Olitz was one of the messiest, complicated couples I've ever witnessed. Sh*t happens, and that's that. So without further ado, here's chapter two.
"Karen! Are you ready?" Mellie yelled upstairs.
"Yes, I'm coming!" Karen yelled back excitedly.
"Baby, did you grab the beach bag?" Mellie asked.
"Yes," Fitz nodded.
"Wonderful. How about you, Olivia, do you have everything you want to bring?" Mellie asked.
"I'm set," Olivia smiled, holding up the book she was currently reading. It had been assigned as summer reading, and she'd read it once already. She'd finished all of those assignments back in July. So she was reading it again. Nothing wrong with being extra prepared, she thought.
"Mom. Can I bring my phone?" Karen asked.
"Sure, K. As long as you keep it in the bag when you go in the water," Mellie nodded.
Karen nodded back and met them all by the entryway, wearing her swimsuit coverup.
They were about to go spend the afternoon at the famous Rye Town Park and Beach that Olivia had heard so much about, and that she'd seen pictures of online. It was a beautiful beach club that required its visitors to be members. There were other beaches that you didn't have to be members to go swim at, but apparently this one was the best.
Karen had told Olivia as much, and they'd been waiting a couple days to go.
And now, Labor Day was finally here. The last day of summer, and the day before she officially started the school year at UNIS. She'd been waiting for this for a long time, too.
And she was pretty excited to spend her last day of summer at the beach. There was nothing better than laying out in the sun with a good book.
Fitz gave Hank a treat before they left, and then they all piled into Mellie's SUV to head there. It was a brief five-minute drive. Olivia still found herself admiring the town out the car window as they drove. She'd been here a couple days already, and she was still enamored with the place.
She could only imagine how enamored she'd be with the actual city once she got to see it in person.
When they got there, they immediately had to check in, and get Olivia her guest pass. Fitz and Mellie had made sure to call ahead of time and get her one so that she could go whenever she wanted without needing any of the Grants there with her, if she so desired.
This kind of thing was entirely new to her. The beach club. The fancy memberships. The marina of boats. She couldn't deny that it was pretty cool, though.
They found a nice spot near the middle of the beach where they laid out their towels. It was about 1:00, they'd eaten prior to coming, but had brought some snacks along just in case they got hungry later in the afternoon. It was the perfect time to be out, but it was also pretty busy.
Karen immediately wanted to go in the water, so Olivia volunteered to go with her, which made her even happier.
"Oh, perfect! Thank you, Olivia," Mellie said.
"Of course!" Olivia nodded, laying out her towel.
She pulled the T-shirt over her head and slid her denim shorts off, revealing a blue bikini underneath that was one of her favorites.
"That's a pretty swimsuit, Olivia," Karen said, smiling at her.
"Thank you!" Olivia replied. "I love yours, too."
Karen blushed, smiling down at her floral one-piece. "Thanks."
The talk of swimsuits had both Mellie and Fitz looking her way. The second she met Fitz's eyes, he immediately looked out at the water, scratching his head.
In the couple days she'd been here, she still hadn't really been able to figure him out. He was kind. But so quiet, and so shy. He didn't talk much to her, but she was pretty sure he just needed to become more comfortable with her. He certainly wasn't this shy with his wife and daughter, she didn't think, so she figured it would just take time.
She and Karen went out to the water, which was filled with people. She had her hair up in a tight bun so that it didn't get wet, but Karen was eager to jump right in.
She was pretty cute. Olivia could tell that Karen had already really taken a shine to her, and it had been the same for Olivia. She was a good kid.
While they were out in the water, she would often sneak a glance back at the shore, where Mellie and Fitz were laying.
Mellie was in her bright red, flashy bikini, tanning on her towel. Olivia wondered how the two had gotten together, because she was sure they were the exact opposite.
Mellie was not at all afraid to flaunt their wealth and their beauty. Which, wasn't necessarily unfair, she guessed. They were two very clearly successful, good-looking people, there was no denying it, so they'd earned the right to show it off, she supposed. And she didn't know for sure, but she wouldn't be surprised if one, or both, had come from well-off families, based on the lavish lifestyle they lived. But, she could be wrong. It truly wasn't her place to even make a judgment call on the matter. Either way, Mellie liked to make sure people knew about it.
But Fitz was not at all that way. Not flashy, at least in his personality. He sure as hell wore nice things, and if you saw him on the street without knowing him, you'd probably know he was loaded. But it wasn't his instinct to flaunt it. He very quietly went about his business, and looked good while doing it.
That was Olivia's assessment so far.
Fitz was still wearing his shirt, reading a book a comfortable distance away from her. The entire time Olivia and Karen had been out in the water, she hadn't seen them speak to each other once.
Granted, he was reading and she was tanning, she understood that. But not a single time? It seemed a bit odd.
Since she'd been here with this family, she'd noticed that most of the interactions she witnessed were either between Fitz and Karen, or Mellie and Karen, and of course, they'd all speak to Olivia. When the couple did interact, it always felt a little forced, as if it was for show.
Olivia definitely found it strange. She didn't know what went on behind closed doors between the two, and she didn't have a right to know. It wasn't her place and she shouldn't even concern herself with the thoughts. She still didn't know these people that well. But she couldn't help that she'd taken note of that right from the beginning.
Eventually, Karen wanted to get a snack, so they decided to go back to their towels for a little bit.
"How was the water?" Mellie asked.
"Really good!" Karen exclaimed.
"Yeah. Refreshing," Olivia nodded, wiping her face with her towel.
"Wonderful. What do you say when you're done with your snack, you come swim with your old mom?" Mellie exclaimed. "I need to cool off."
"Really?" Karen asked, as if it was crazy her mother was offering.
"Of course!" Mellie nodded.
"Okay!" Karen said, finishing up the snap peas she was eating.
Olivia laughed when Karen and Mellie eventually ran out to the water. Karen was such a sweet, happy girl.
Olivia took the opportunity to look over at Fitz, whose towel was next to hers.
He was reading "All the Light We Cannot See," which she'd heard of.
At the risk of annoying him while he was trying to read, she started a conversation. She couldn't help it.
"I've heard that book's really good. Would you recommend it?" she asked.
He looked over at her, his short, wavy hair starting to get very curly in the summer heat. She knew she had been right about those hidden curls.
"Yeah, I really like it so far," he nodded. "I'd recommend it."
She nodded back with a smile. "Cool. Another one to add to my never-ending list."
He gave her a smile. "When I finish it…you can read it if you'd like."
"Really? Oh, thank you!" she replied gratefully. "I will take you up on that."
"Of course," he nodded. "I saw before that you're reading "Death of a Salesman.'"
"I am!" she nodded, pulling it out of her bag. "Have you read it?"
"Yes," he nodded. "Twice, actually."
"Really? Me too," she laughed. "Well, I'm on the second read-through right now. It's for this semester."
"And you've already read it once?" he asked.
"Yeah," she nodded. "I finished my assigned reading over a month ago, and…I guess I just want to be prepared, so I'm reading it again."
He looked impressed. "Good for you."
"Thanks," she smiled.
He smiled back and then put his book down next to him, looking out at the water. Karen and Mellie were out there talking to what looked like another girl Karen's age and her mother.
Olivia followed Fitz's gaze out to the water, until she was distracted by rustling next to her.
She looked over at him, and he was lifting his shirt over his head. She actually wondered how he'd gone this long, because it was hot out.
But her eyes began to widen, and she began to officially stare.
Ho..ly…shit.
He put his shirt down next to him and adjusted the waistband of his swim trunks, before leaning back on his palms.
She was sure she watched the entire goddamn thing. She'd known he was a fit guy, she'd been able to see it through his clothing. But there was only so much you could imagine in your head until you actually saw what was beneath the clothing.
His sculpted abdomen and pecs were now out in the open for her to see, and so were his biceps, for that matter. She had heard him work out this morning in the home gym downstairs, so that was all becoming very clear to her now.
She had to quickly look away before he saw her staring. She instantly felt so wrong for even noticing the way he looked. Not her place, not cool.
She did, however, quickly look out at Mellie just to make sure she hadn't seen her do a full stare-down of her husband.
Mellie was still very much engaged with the other woman, chatting with her. So Olivia felt instant relief.
Now. Please stop being an idiot, she thought.
She was currently fiddling with a loose thread on her towel, trying to think of something to divert her attention from what she'd seen and carry on the conversation. She looked up at him and was about to ask how often they went to the beach, but found that he was already looking her way.
Not noticeably. His head wasn't fully turned. But he was very clearly looking at her.
His eyes flickered up to meet hers, and she could have sworn she saw sheer panic in them. As if he was so afraid she'd just seen him looking.
Now she was completely flustered, temporarily forgetting what the hell she was just about to say to him.
So this "getting comfortable with each other" thing wasn't going so great.
They both tried to start another conversation after that awkward interaction.
"So how—"
"Um, so—"
They both cut themselves off as the other had started to talk too, and awkwardly laughed.
"Sorry. You go," he said.
"Right, sorry, I was just going to ask how often you all came to the beach," she said.
"We come pretty often. Maybe every other weekend or so. It depends on what we've got going on and what Karen's got going on. But…between this and the pool, we've got no shortage of swimming, so we're very lucky."
"Yes, your guys' pool is amazing," Olivia agreed. It was, indeed, very pretty.
"Thanks. You're welcome to go for a swim any time you'd like, by the way. Please feel free. I'll have to show you how the pool cover works," he said.
"Oh, thank you! Really, thank you," she said appreciatively. She wasn't going to turn down access to a beautiful backyard pool. She was honestly itching to go lay out back there, but felt a little awkward doing it randomly. Now that he'd given permission, she at least felt a little better about it.
"Mhm," he nodded.
"What were you going to say before?" she asked curiously.
"Oh," he remembered. "Uh…I was just going to say thanks for, um…for going out there with Karen. She really likes you, it's very easy to see. So thank you."
"Oh that's no problem at all, I really like her, too! She's so sweet, and so smart, my goodness," Olivia said.
He smiled, looking down at his towel and nodding. "Yeah. She is," he agreed.
Her heart warmed at how happy he became at the description of his daughter. Of course, he knew those things far better than she knew. It was a very sweet moment.
"Olivia!"
Olivia and Fitz instantly turned to see Mellie walking back with Karen, who was more like galloping toward Olivia excitedly. Alongside Mellie was the woman she'd been talking to, and her daughter, too, it appeared.
"Hey!" Olivia greeted.
"This is my friend, Casey."
Casey caught up and gave a shy wave to Olivia.
"Well hello there, Casey!" Olivia said.
"Hi," she replied shyly.
"Hey, Casey!" Fitz greeted, giving the little girl a smile.
Casey giggled and waved back. It was very clear Casey must have been pretty familiar with the Grant family because she was much less shy toward Fitz than she was toward Olivia.
"Have you two been having fun in the water?" Olivia asked.
They both gave excited nods.
"We sure have been," Mellie said, coming to meet them with Casey's mom right beside her. "Olivia, this is Susan, she's Casey's mom."
"Oh, hi there, nice to meet you!" Olivia said, kneeling forward and extending a hand.
"Nice to meet you, as well, Olivia," Susan said politely back. "I hear you're staying with Fitz and Mellie for a while!"
"Yeah, I am!" Olivia nodded. "They're showing me the ropes of Rye."
"Good! You'll fit right in here, I just know it!"
Olivia smiled back. "I hope so!"
"Hey, Susan, would you mind taking our picture together? We need to have one of our first outing together!" Mellie exclaimed.
"Oh, of course!" Susan nodded.
Mellie pulled out her phone and handed it to Susan while everyone got settled for the picture. Casey instantly went by her mom to examine her picture-taking skills.
Fitz and Olivia stood up next to Mellie and Karen, wiping the dry sand from their bodies.
Karen instantly went right in front of Olivia, so Olivia smiled and put her hand on her little shoulder.
She was directly next to Fitz, and Mellie was directly next to him on the other side. As they got ready for the picture, she could feel Fitz questioning if it was alright to touch her for the picture.
So she gave him a brief smile and leaned into his body a little bit, trying to tell him without words that he was fine.
He seemed to get the memo, because he rested his hand on her bare upper back lightly.
Olivia made sure to give her brightest smile for the camera.
That picture turned out to be a really great one. All four of them smiling brightly at the camera, with the chaos that was Rye Town Park and Beach around them.
It was definitely something she wouldn't ever forget. She had a lot of fun hanging out with them, and chatting more with each member of the Grant family. And reading in the wonderful sun.
But eventually, they did have to head back home. Not only to let little Hank out to the bathroom, but apparently Mellie was going to take Karen on a little last-minute school shopping spree.
They had to go pretty quickly after they got home, because the shopping center had shortened hours for Labor Day. So, they showered and got ready, and assured Fitz and Olivia they'd be home for dinner.
Olivia took some of that time to make sure everything was ready for her first day of school tomorrow. She had her outfit picked out, she had all her books packed. She sent a reply to her mom's "how are you?" text. And then she FaceTimed her best friend back home, as she hadn't spoken to her since the first day she'd arrived in New York—she'd only been keeping in touch with her over text and Snapchat.
Shawn wanted to hear all about the past couple days, and about the beach today, as Olivia had sent her a few Snapchats of the beach's view.
So Olivia made sure to tell her everything had been great. She even sent the picture that they'd all taken at the beach over to Shawn, as Mellie had sent it to her before she'd left for the mall.
The two friends were FaceTiming on their phones, but Shawn was simultaneously working on a last-minute summer assignment on her computer, so Olivia saw Shawn's reaction to the picture when it came up on her Mac.
Shawn leaned in close to the computer screen.
"Now wait a goddamn second."
Olivia nodded. "I know, I know—you like the cute one-piece, but I wasn't feeling it today. I decided on the blue bikini last minute."
"Nuh-uh, not that," Shawn said, looking at her computer screen with wide eyes. "Who in the hell...is that guy."
Olivia studied the chaotic picture on her own Mac. There were lots of people in the background. The beach had been pretty busy, after all, but she assumed Shawn meant the only guy that was clearly smiling for the camera.
"Um...brown hair, gray swim trunks, next to me?" Olivia asked.
"Ohhh yes, Jesus," Shawn nodded, lowering her glasses and leaning in closer to the screen.
Olivia felt her cheeks get warm, knowing exactly where this was going. Only because she wasn't an idiot, and because she'd had a similar, but more contained reaction at the beach, herself.
"That's Fitz, Shawn..." Olivia said with a laugh.
"Come again?" Shawn asked, bewildered.
"Fitzgerald Grant," Olivia repeated.
"That's him? The shy, quiet dad. That is him," Shawn stated, in disbelief.
"That is him," Olivia nodded.
Shawn let out a deep breath, still examining Fitz on the screen closely with her glasses on the bridge of her nose.
"Sweet lord, that man is fine as hell," Shawn said, looking back to Olivia and pushing her glasses up.
Olivia laughed and looked around, making sure she was still alone in her beloved basement room.
She knew she was blushing as she turned back to her friend, not really sure what to say.
"Um hello?" Shawn asked.
"What?" Olivia asked.
"Have you been ignoring how fine that man is or are have you just not looked at him the entire three days you've been there? Goddamn! I mean—I'm normally not into white dudes but that white dude is—"
"Okay—shhhh!" Olivia exclaimed, looking around for her headphones. She should have put those in the second Shawn went all googly-eyed.
"Don't you dare say anything else," Olivia said, grabbing her headphones.
Shawn put her hands up in defense, waiting patiently for Olivia to have them in her ears.
"There. Am I free to speak?" Shawn asked, shooting her a look.
"Yes, you are free to speak," Olivia laughed.
"Okay, good. Now explain yourself."
"Explain what?!" Olivia asked. "I didn't ask God to make him that fine."
"Ouuu!" Shawn exclaimed, slapping her desk dramatically. "So…he's not racist, or sexist. He's nice. He's rich as hell, but not snobby. And he looks like that? I've decided the shy, hot dad must be protected at all costs."
"You've decided this, huh?" Olivia laughed.
"I have, ma'am. Protect him for both of us, okay?"
"Well, I think I can do that. It sounds like I'll be spending more time with him than anyone else in the family, so."
"Perfect. That's what I like to hear."
"Yeah. He's...I don't know. I don't know how to describe him. Something about him just...interests me," Olivia said. "I feel so weird about it, but he's just…I don't know. He's interesting."
"Mmmhm, homie interests me too," Shawn smirked.
"Stop that. No. Definitely no," Olivia laughed.
"Ohhh, is someone jealous?" Shawn asked, giving Olivia an even bigger smirk.
"What?" Olivia asked nervously. "The man is...literally married, Shawn. And…like, 30. And...I live in his house. Yeah, god no."
"All of that has absolutely no relevance in this conversation."
"Uh…yes they do. I can't be jealous of someone that's so unavailable it's not even funny," Olivia said.
"Sure you can. You don't control jealousy. The heart wants what the heart wants," Shawn said dramatically.
"Well, the heart does not want Fitz Grant," Olivia laughed.
"Then what does the heart want?" Shawn asked.
"His food," Olivia said, pointing at Shawn. "He's lowkey a damn good cook and I smell his food already, so I should go."
"Shit," Shawn said. "And he can cook?! You sure the heart don't want all that?" she teased.
Olivia rolled her eyes. "I'm sure. Bye Shawn."
"Bye, Liv."
She put her phone down and let out a big breath, thinking about their conversation.
Weird.
All she could think to do lately was brush these things off. Mostly because she felt wrong for even thinking about the man in the slightest. So she shook it off, and headed upstairs toward the wonderful scent of Fitz's cooking.
As soon as she entered the kitchen she could see that he was alone, and that Mellie and Karen hadn't come back yet. He stood at the stove, multitasking with different pots and pans.
"Hi," Olivia greeted.
He jumped, almost knocking over the pot in front of him. The problem with that, was that he touched it out of instinct to steady it, and that pot clearly did not feel good on his skin.
"Oh, f—sh—son of a—" he grimaced, shaking his hand out and turning toward the sink.
She put her hands up to her mouth, wincing at him. "Oh my god, are you okay?"
He ran his hand under cold water and looked up at her, his face red with embarrassment. "Hi. Sorry. I'm fine, you just…you scared me."
"No, I'm sorry, oh my god. Seriously—I'm so sorry, that was my bad," she said, coming to look at his red hand under the running water.
"No, it's okay," he replied, turning off the water.
"This doesn't look okay," she said, grabbing his hand gently and examining it.
One side of his entire palm was already red, and she knew it must have hurt like a bitch.
She held his hand, realizing how large it was on top of hers. His fingers were long, and his palm was big. The veins were extremely prominent too, which wasn't surprising, considering they were prominent all over his body. Or so she assumed, based on what she'd seen at the beach.
She quickly realized she was doing it again. Staring.
"I heard a lot of potential curse words come out of your mouth and I don't think you followed through on any of them," she said, looking up at him.
He laughed. "I couldn't pick one."
"The funny thing is I can't imagine you picking one. Do you ever curse?" she asked.
He looked at her funny and then nodded.
She smiled. "No way."
"You don't believe me?" he asked.
"It's just...you're kind of quiet. I couldn't imagine you cursing."
He swallowed and nodded. "Yeah."
She leaned her elbow on the counter, looking up at him curiously. "Can I...ask why that is?"
"Why...I'm quiet?" he asked.
She nodded.
He shrugged. "I don't know. I'm not quiet around...the right people."
"So...I'm not…am I not the right people?" she asked.
His eyes widened like he'd done something wrong. "What? No, I'm sorry—I didn't mean—"
"I'm kidding," she laughed.
He nodded, smiling slightly at her. "I just meant...we don't know each other very well yet."
"Ah. So by the end of this semester, we're gonna be chatting up a storm, you and I?" she asked.
He stood in thought, and then nodded. "Yeah."
"Okay. I'm holding you to that," she said.
"Please do," he nodded, looking down at his hand.
She followed his gaze and realized she was still holding onto his hand. His poor, red, burned hand.
"I'm sorry—I'm...wow. I'll go get you a bandage for this," she said, finally letting go.
"You don't have to," he replied.
"Yes I do, my fault. I've got a first aid kit, I'll be right back," she said.
"Okay," he chuckled.
She brought up her first aid kit, the one her mother insisted she pack. Thanks, mom.
"Okay, let's see," she began, looking through her kit.
He sat on the chair next to her, holding his burned hand out for her because she was hell-bent on fixing this. Well, as best she could, despite the fact that the damage had already been done.
The Neosporin she knew would help, so she grabbed that.
Meanwhile, she was pretty sure his palm only continued to get more red.
She paused, looking at its puffiness. "I am seriously so sorry, Fitz."
"It's really okay, Olivia," he assured her.
"Hmm," she said, grabbing his hand and showing him the bright red color—as if he couldn't see it himself. "This just doesn't look okay to me."
He leaned in closer to her. "I think it looks fucking badass."
Her eyes widened, and she saw him start to smile, looking innocently at her. She began to laugh.
"You actually had me there, oh my god!" she said.
"Were you expecting that?" he asked,
"Not at all. That was so powerful."
"It was powerful?" he laughed.
"Yes."
"Thank you. I didn't know I held this power."
She laughed, looking up at his smile. He had a really nice smile, she had to admit.
"You're welcome."
She fixed up his bandage, occasionally meeting his eyes. She almost felt shy every time she looked up at him.
"Uh...uh—okay. Is this better?" she asked, looking at his now bandaged hand.
"Yeah. Thank you very much," he nodded, flexing his fingers.
"Of course. Again...I'm just really so—"
"Olivia."
"...Yes."
He smiled at her and chuckled a little bit. "It's okay."
"Okay. Alright," she replied, putting her palm to her face in embarrassment.
"I uh...I've got some food ready, if you want to eat," he said, scratching his head. "Mellie texted me and said they'd be here soon but that we should start without them. She didn't want us having to wait on them."
"Oh, okay," Olivia nodded. Thank you so much."
"Mhm."
"So what's on the menu today?" she asked, getting up to go look.
"Just...garlic chicken and rice and...some salad," he said casually.
"Fitz, this looks amazing," she noted, looking down at the creamy chicken dish simmering in the pan.
"Thanks," he said, coming next to her. He grabbed her a plate, and reached for the big serving spoon to serve her some rice and chicken.
He tried not to show it, but the burn on his hand really did hurt, especially when the spoon handle was digging into the bandage.
"Oh. Oh no," she noted, looking at the spoon in his hand.
"…What?" he asked.
"You're left-handed."
He looked down at the spoon he held in his bandaged left hand.
"Uh…yeah."
"I didn't realize until now. Let me help. I'm so sorry," she said, reaching for the spoon.
He chuckled, but agreed and handed it to her. He actually was kind of thankful.
"Thanks."
They sat down to have dinner, and it was nice. So far between them, it had been little to no conversation, awkward staring, and she'd now successfully aided in injuring him in the first three days. So, to have a nice, normal dinner with him for about twenty minutes was promising. Maybe it would make up for the lack of normalcy before.
But they only had those twenty minutes, because then Mellie and Karen came home. Karen was happy to show off all her new treasures, thanks to her mom. Mellie also later applauded Olivia's "bandaging" skills on Fitz's hand, which Olivia thanked her for, being a nurse and all.
It was a nice evening.
They all eventually retired to different ends of the house for the rest of the night, though. Olivia, to the basement, to get a good night's sleep for her first day.
Karen upstairs to her bedroom, to do the same.
Fitz upstairs to shower and then crawl into bed, too. He wanted to be well-rested for the week after the long holiday weekend. A lot had changed in just a weekend, and a lot would change going forward.
And he wasn't upset about it. In fact, in the three days their new guest had been there...he'd felt a little happier.
He felt happier seeing Karen so happy. She definitely liked Olivia, and looked up to her already. It was so easy to see.
He felt happier knowing Hank got a little more attention and affection.
And he felt happier that he had met her, now, after the brief two weeks he'd had to prepare for it. He didn't know why he felt happier about it. He didn't even know her well. But he just knew he liked her.
So he settled down in bed, feeling more content than he normally would on the evening before the week started.
Mellie, on the other hand, always liked to lay low and relax on Sunday nights. Or in this case, it was Labor Day Monday. She'd go lay in the sunroom and watch one of her recorded shows, read a magazine, or scroll through Pinterest. Anything to relax before the busy week started. And anything to be away from him, he assumed.
He certainly never saw her "relax" in their bedroom with him in it. In fact, their bedroom was never a relaxing spot in the house. Usually, it was tense, and cold.
He eventually heard Mellie come in that night, and silently groaned. Just as he was about to fall asleep, too. But he told himself to stop being an internal ass, and tried to will himself back to sleep.
She got ready for bed, doing her nightly routine and making a racket.
She finally crawled into bed next to him and scooted closer, wrapping her arms around him which instantly had him confused. Not that they were ever on super normal, great terms, but they particularly hadn't been the last few days. They'd barely uttered a word to each other in private.
So he certainly wasn't expecting her to cuddle with him right now. They didn't cuddle. He seriously couldn't remember the last time they had.
But then he understood her intentions.
She started to kiss his neck, and her hand wandered down to his crotch. He was just wearing boxers, so she got a nice big handful.
He started to shift in bed, and winced at her mouth on his neck. He finally opened his eyes and turned to her, and put his hand on top of hers, which was still cupping his junk.
"Hey."
"Hey," she said, nipping his ear playfully.
"I'm tired, Mell."
"You won't be in about 30 seconds," she smirked, continuing to try and massage him down there. But it was clear neither he nor his dick were having it. He was tired, and it was flaccid central down there.
"Mellie, stop," he whispered. "What are you doing?"
"What does it look like I'm doing? It's been ages, come on," she whispered.
"Can we just...hey—rain check, okay?" he asked, keeping a firm grip on her hand.
Her hand paused, and then reluctantly slipped out from under his.
He heard a big sigh, followed by her fluffing the covers.
"Rain check," she said to herself. Not as if she was agreeing with him. More like as if he was crazy.
He wanted to roll his eyes. But then he felt guilty, so he turned over and looked at her as she got settled into bed. She was much further away from him now that he'd denied her a chance to fool around.
He leaned in and kissed her cheek, which she looked like she could have cared less about. He went for her mouth to see if he got a better reaction. He didn't.
"I'd appreciate if you kissed me back, at least," he said dully.
"Aren't you too tired?" she asked him annoyedly.
He shot her a look. Seriously?
She sighed, but then waved him closer again with her fingers. So he planted another brief kiss on her lips and this time was reluctantly kissed in return. What a concept.
"Goodnight," she said, turning away immediately.
"Goodnight," he replied, doing the same.
It was no light-hearted interaction by any means.
And yet still, that little interaction was probably the most "affectionate" they'd been in ages.
Olivia walked around her room, double-checking that she had absolutely everything she needed. She definitely wouldn't have time for coffee this morning, because Fitz had told her last night what time they needed to leave, and it was nearing that time.
Oh well. She could skip coffee on the first day.
Maybe.
She slung her backpack over her shoulder, did one last check of her appearance in the mirror, and shut her door.
She'd slept pretty good last night. She awoke briefly when someone had come down to work out, which she assumed had been Fitz. But she had been able to go back to sleep.
That man woke up early. Props to him. She wanted to be that motivated, herself. But she figured she needed to at least get a couple days of this entirely new life under her belt before she started drastically shaking up her schedule with a before-school workout. She already woke up early as hell just to make sure her makeup was on point every day. Which, it always was. She was a bit of a makeup guru and perfectionist.
When she walked upstairs, with a couple minutes to spare, she was greeted with just him in the kitchen, finishing a cup of coffee. Jealous.
"Hey, morning," he greeted, putting his cup in the sink.
She briefly looked over his apparel, and instantly wanted to know what exactly this man did for a living, because wow. He was in a three-piece suit on a Tuesday.
She knew he worked at J.P. Morgan and that was about the extent he had shared. Clearly, he was important.
"Morning," she greeted with a wave.
Hank came running up to her from behind, instantly rubbing up against her leg and vying for attention.
"Hey, Hank!" Olivia whispered, crouching down to pet him. He was very appreciative. His tail wagging gave it away.
"Are we the only two up?" Olivia asked, looking up at Fitz as she scratched Hank's back.
"Mellie's up, but she's getting ready for work. She won't leave for a while. And Karen's still asleep, her bus doesn't come until 8:30."
"Oh, okay," Olivia nodded. "Well, I'm ready when you are!"
"Alright. Bye, buddy," Fitz said to Hank.
Hank wagged his tail at Fitz, as if to say bye back.
Olivia smiled and gave him one last pat before standing up to head out.
"Did you…you ate breakfast right?" he asked, as he opened the garage door.
"Yep, usually that's the first thing I do when I wake up. So…it was a while ago," she replied.
"Oh okay," he nodded, just wanting to make sure.
She climbed into the passenger seat of his jaguar, which, was absolutely stunning. She actually hadn't been in it yet, because everywhere they'd gone so far, they'd taken Mellie's bigger SUV.
He put his briefcase in the backseat and then joined her in the front. She was welcomed with the smell of cologne as he got in. She wasn't complaining, he smelled fantastic. Men always did.
He adjusted his jacket and pushed the start button, looking over at her as she admired the car.
"I really like your car," she noted.
"Thank you," he nodded, turning the dial to reverse.
He backed out of the garage, and then put it in drive, making his way around the beautiful roundabout driveway and down toward the gate.
She still couldn't fathom that she actually now lived at a place like this. But here she was.
The car had recognized his phone instantly through bluetooth, and had begun to play his music quietly. He turned it up and looked over at her.
"You, um…you want to play some music?" he asked her.
She listened to the song he had on, and instantly decided the answer to his question was no.
The song that was playing was some alternative rock-sounding band, and based on that, she wasn't about to corrupt this poor man with the stuff she listened to.
"Uh, no that's alright," she assured him.
"Sure?" he asked. "I don't know…what kind of music you like."
"This is perfect," she nodded.
"Okay."
It was comfortably silent for a few minutes, until he turned on his signal and slowed down. She was confused, because she knew they couldn't already be at the train station. They'd driven by it a couple days ago to show her, and it was about ten minutes from the house. And she knew this wasn't the area it was in.
She still wasn't familiar with the whole town yet, so it wasn't until they pulled up to the actual building that she realized where they were going to go.
She turned to look at him. "Starbucks?"
"Always Starbucks," he nodded, lifting himself off the seat a bit and grabbing his wallet from his suit pants.
"Agreed," she laughed. Yeah, he had that absolutely right. And it worked out perfectly for her, because she hadn't had time for coffee before they left.
"What do you like here?" he asked.
She thought quickly, seeing as though she liked a lot of different things. But it was still hot outside, so her go-to was an iced drink of some sort.
"I'll do a grande iced flat white, please," she said, pulling out her wallet from her backpack.
"Mkay," he nodded, pulling up to the window when it was his turn.
He rolled down his window and answered when the employee asked what he wanted.
"Hi, can I get a grande iced flat white, and a venti americano, please," he said.
Her eyed widened. Coffee at home, and a venti drink at Starbucks? This man did life right.
She calculated her total from the digital screen, and dug through her wallet to pay him back.
"Yep, thank you," Fitz said to the employee, before pulling forward. He looked over at her fiddling with her wallet.
"Oh, hey. No worries," he shook his head.
She looked up at him like he was nuts. "What? Oh, no, Fitz. Please, you don't have to."
He shrugged, pulling up to the window. "It's really okay."
She just sat there, holding a five-dollar bill. Wishing he would just take it but knowing that buying her a coffee probably didn't make even the slightest bit of difference in his bank account.
"Olivia. You can...you can put Abe Lincoln away."
She still felt bad, and she sighed as she put it back in her wallet. "Thank you, Fitz. You really didn't have to. My Abe Lincoln was...totally ready."
He started to laugh, and the sound made her happy. She hadn't heard him laugh all that much, but she liked when he did.
"It's not a big deal."
"Well, I take my coffee very seriously so it means a lot to me," she replied.
"I, too, take mine very seriously," he agreed. "It's a necessity of human life."
"It really is," she laughed. "I knew you took it seriously when I saw you'd already had a cup before this, and then ordered a venti, anyway."
"Yeah," he chuckled. "It only becomes a problem when I don't eat anything. Then I feel...shaky. But otherwise...it doesn't affect me much. I sometimes even have a third or fourth cup of the day later at night."
"Really?" she asked, in awe.
"Yeah," he nodded.
"I'm impressed," she said. "Powerful."
And then he laughed again. The "powerful" thing seemed to make him laugh.
"You're funny."
The smile grew bigger on her face and she knew she probably was blushing.
"Thanks," she laughed.
They got their coffees and resumed their comfortable silence on the way to Rye's Metro-North station. They would be taking the New Haven Line at 6:55 a.m., and arriving at Grand Central at 7:40. This gave her the perfect amount of time to get to school for her 8:15 start time, which she had to admit, was nice.
Her school back home started at 7:30, so this was a plus. Although, it did end later, at 3:00, rather than 2:25 back home. But she didn't mind it much.
When they got to the station, she had to pick up her monthly unlimited card, which Fitz already had, of course. Aside from the money that went through the program to the Grants, to pay for her food and for her "housing," money also went toward her transportation.
And she was now about to get her first taste of the train, which she was kind of excited about.
Fitz had a parking pass for the station parking lot, and from there, it was pretty easy. They went to pick up her pass, and then waited outside the station for their train to come. They had made it about five minutes early, so she used those five minutes to start another conversation.
"This may be a dumb question, I just don't speak New Yorker," she began.
He was already laughing again. "I'm sure it isn't a dumb question, ask away."
"So…how come you don't drive in to work? I mean, do people in Rye do that, since they're not all that far from the city?" she asked.
"Oh, yeah some do," he nodded. "I do on occasion. But with the traffic, it usually takes just as long, if not longer to drive in than it does to take the train. And…on the train, I can read or get ahead on my emails, and make the most of my commute time. Whereas if I'm driving…I just waste two hours of my day every day."
"Very understandable," she nodded. "And I bet parking is a disaster in the city."
"A sizable disaster," he agreed, which had her laughing.
"Well, thank you for helping me with this. I truly hope it isn't too much of a bother for you," she said.
"Oh, no, not at all. You're welcome," he nodded.
"Is this the train you normally take?" she asked.
"Uh…no, I…usually take the 7:45 one," he admitted.
Her eyed widened. Mellie had made it seem as though this was going to be no big deal for him. But here she was, screwing with the man's schedule, and she didn't even know it. "Oh...my god. I'm so sorry, I wasn't aware this was going to affect you this much."
"What? No, it's okay," he chuckled. "This way I get in earlier and can leave earlier. No big deal at all. I won't have to rush to pick up Karen from all of her after school activities, either."
She shook her head. "I just…I really appreciate this. I can never say thank you enough."
"You're welcome," he nodded, looking down at her. Like he was trying to tell her that it was okay.
The train finally came, and they got on. Olivia was pleased to see that there were still even some open seats. Not many, but a few. Others were standing, too.
They took the last two seats near an end railing, and she put her backpack up on her lap. He immediately scrolled through his phone, looking at emails, she presumed.
There were butterflies in her stomach at the idea of this dream of hers becoming a reality. In just over an hour, she would be at the amazing school she'd dreamed of going to for years. With students from all over the world going there with her.
Just a girl from North Dakota, living out her dream in the big city.
She didn't bother taking out any of her books that she'd already read multiple times, although Fitz took out his. He asked if she minded if he read for a little bit, and she said of course not.
It kind of made her smile, actually. There were all these people on the train, looking at their phones or just looking utterly annoyed that their week was starting again after the long holiday weekend. Some were chatting quietly with each other, and some were just embracing their solitude.
And here was Fitz, very clearly a businessman, from his attire, reading a book.
It just wasn't something she'd seen very often. She admired it.
That train ride went surprisingly fast, given how excited she was for her day.
The butterflies in her stomach only heightened when they got off at Grand Central.
She slung her bag over her shoulder, making sure to stick close to Fitz's side so she didn't lose him in the swarm of people at the station.
And holy shit, the swarm of people. So many people everywhere.
He kept looking back to make sure she was still following close behind, and then nodded forward, as if telling her to walk by him.
"Sorry," she laughed, looking up at the grand Grand Central, and catching up to him.
"No worries," he replied. "How do you like it?"
"It is…really large," she admitted, looking around. "And amazing."
"Yeah," he agreed, adjusting his briefcase and looking around with a smile. "It is."
The beautiful teal-colored ceiling was even more amazing in person. She'd seen her fair share of pictures. But the real deal was much better.
She refrained from taking her own pictures because she didn't want to look touristy.
And once they exited the terminal and went outside, she really had to refrain from taking pictures. She was now standing in New York City. The greatest city in the world, she thought.
"Holy…sh..f…wow," she whispered, looking all around her.
"Couldn't pick one?" he asked, looking over at her.
"Couldn't pick one," she agreed with a laugh, remembering their burn incident yesterday.
He smiled, watching her admire the city. He understood. He loved it the way she loved it, too.
She knew his office was a mere three minutes away, because she'd looked it up. But he offered to walk her to school, as she'd literally never walked anywhere in this city in her life. She gratefully thanked him and took him up on that offer.
"Just…just for today. Tomorrow, I swear, you can leave me to figure it out on my own," she assured him.
"I wouldn't do that to you," he said, shaking his head. "It's a big city. It will take some getting used to."
Well, she definitely believed that.
"Thank you," she said, for about the millionth time since she'd known this family.
He nodded, and they made their way past his building, toward where UNIS was. It wasn't a bad walk at all, which she was grateful for, for his sake. She didn't want him to waste any of his time on her. They'd already done so much for her and it was only her first day of class.
The second she saw the blue UNIS logo on the building, she wanted to cry. But again, she refrained.
It was hard to believe this was all really happening, until she actually saw the school in front of her.
"You nervous?" he asked, taking note of her wide eyes.
"A little," she admitted. "But mostly just…excited. Grateful."
He smiled. "I'm glad. Think you can take it from here?" he asked, as they approached the building. Students were already entering it, some alone, some with other students or adults.
"Definitely," she nodded, adjusting her backpack. "Thanks so much again."
"Of course. You get done at…?"
"Oh, 3:00. But please, don't worry about it. I can wait. I really don't want to interfere with your work, you don't have to—"
He shook his head at her, interrupting her plea. "I'll be here at three."
She smiled, starting to head up the stairs. "Thanks," she mouthed.
He nodded back, giving her a wave. "Good luck."
"Thanks!"
And with that, he turned and headed back to his office. Briefcase slung off his shoulder. Starbucks cup in his hand. Dressed to the nines.
She let out a deep breath and turned toward the school doors. Ready to face her new school. Her new reality. Her new life.
And her first day.
I wanted to at least get this chapter up, because I had it mostly written already and I know people want to learn more about the characters right away when the story is new.
It won't always be this timely, but I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Again, you will continue to learn about them with each new chapter, and there will be a little more from Fitz's point of view, too.
Read on.
~T