Olivia dragged herself out of bed at an early hour of the morning. It had been three weeks of school, and she'd finally decided late last night that she needed to get her ass in that home gym.
She was still very fit; she was blessed with a naturally quick metabolism and her mom's athletic body. But she knew if she were to go for a run on the treadmill right now, it'd be painful. But that's exactly what she was planning for. She wanted to get back to the shape she was in before, and that required her to put some work in again.
And so, here she was, at just past five in the morning, struggling to get up.
She had other options. She could work out at night. She could work out after school. But of course, her dumb ass chose to wake up at five in the morning to do it.
But not because she thoroughly enjoyed waking up that early.
It was because that was when Fitz worked out.
There were multiple reasons she wanted to work out with him. First, he'd assured her a couple weeks ago that she wouldn't interfere with his workout, so she felt like it was okay. Second, she liked working out with someone—not alone.
And third, not only had he become a really great friend to her, she had developed the most major of crushes on him, and crumbled when faced with the chance to spend more time with him. She hated herself for it, because she knew it was wrong. She lived in his house with his wife and daughter, both of whom she liked a lot, and both who seemed to like her a lot.
And here she was in their home, thinking and feeling these things she was. She knew she couldn't help it. That wasn't how feelings worked.
But she also knew she could try to put up a better front with him. She didn't have to talk to him as much as she did. She didn't have to spend extra time with him. She didn't have to smile at him the way she knew she did, or call him a nickname that only she called him. Even though, smiling at him and calling him her own nickname weren't even things that she actively tried to do anymore—they just slipped out, like a terrible, terrible habit.
And all of that flew right out of her head whenever she thought about him, or was with him. This wasn't something she was used to. It wasn't something she could sit down and think through and make an educated guess about, or figure out her best plan for, like she did with everything else. This was something different, that she didn't understand how to combat and work through.
This didn't feel logical, and that was annoying as hell. None of this was logical. None of it made sense in her head. It just happened, and she was left trying to figure out how to deal with it.
She hadn't talked to anyone about it, not even Shawn. Although, she was considering telling her. She'd literally been holding everything inside for almost the entire time she'd been here, and Shawn was the only person she knew she could trust with it.
She had developed a pretty good friendship with Huck at school, who was hilarious and very kind to her. But she certainly didn't trust him with something like this because she didn't know him like that.
It all left her feeling wrong and dumb, knowing it could never go anywhere even if for some stupid, crazy reason he was interested too.
It was something she'd gone back and forth on in her head. Sometimes she really thought she felt something there that he was feeling too. Despite the fact that he was so, so unavailable. He was kind of a hard person to read. But she knew he liked her company, for sure. There was a reason he was "smiley" and it was because when they were together, he smiled. She made him smile.
And for a more introverted guy who didn't show much, that was saying something.
He started conversations with her all the time now, which hadn't always been the case. Wanting to get to know her better, it seemed. He genuinely appeared to care about her, and wanted to know how everything was going for her. And he, too, seemed to want to spend more time with her.
They now watched "Game of Thrones" together as often as both of their schedules allowed. And a lot of times, they went to go pick up Karen together from whatever she had going on after school that day, even though he technically would have time to drop her off at home before they went from the train station to her school. It would be kind of pointless and out of the way, but it would still be possible. They just spent a lot of time together, and it was something the two of them very clearly chose to do.
It was confusing. And weird. And she didn't know what to do about any of it.
And here she was, going to spend more time with him that she probably shouldn't be. She crumbled.
She got ready, going upstairs to grab a banana and fill up her water bottle first. Then brushed her teeth, and went to put on a pair of leggings and a tank top, and redid the braids she'd worn to bed under her headwrap the night before.
While she was changing, she heard Fitz enter the basement, and then the gym, and she smiled to herself. She'd shut her door to change, so unless he'd heard her briefly in the kitchen, he probably didn't have a single clue she was already up.
After putting on deodorant and tying her shoes, she felt good to go.
She grabbed her water bottle and made her way down the short hallway to the end, where the home gym was. She knocked quickly before opening the door.
"Morning, smiley."
"Oh—hey, morning," Fitz stumbled, fiddling with his shirt.
She could see that she'd just walked in on him taking it off after his warm-up, it appeared.
"Sorry—sorry," he said, pulling it back over his head.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have...sorry. I just thought I'd join you this morning, if that was okay."
"Oh, yeah, yeah, of course," he nodded, waving her in.
"You can...take that off again, if you were hot or something. I didn't mean to ruin your vibe. Sorry. I…sorry," she laughed. She'd barely seen a thing before he'd instinctively put it back on, as if she hadn't already been in his shirtless presence before.
The beach the first weekend she was here—what a nice experience.
He shrugged and gestured that it was fine. "I'm glad you wanted to join me. You're brave for waking up so early."
"Yeah, tell me about it," she laughed. "This is...this is early, Fitz."
"It is," he agreed. "If you stick with it, though, you'll get used to it."
"I'm going to stick with it," she nodded. "I want to. I just have to figure out what routine I want to start with. I figured I'd just see what you did and...go from there, so I can stay out of your way."
"Well, I do something different every day," he said. "Today I'm going to do a short HIIT workout, and then focus on arms."
"Oh, gotcha," she nodded. "I'll probably just run on the treadmill."
"Okay," he replied. "You're not in my way, though. You can do whatever you want to do. You can...you can do what I'm doing, too, if you feel like you want some guidance."
"We'll see how long I can run for before I get tired," she laughed. "I may join you yet."
"Okay," he chuckled.
She went to stretch, and he went over to where he had a mat rolled down on the floor.
She watched him while she ran. She'd done many HIIT workouts in her day, and knew of their effectiveness. But man, he made everything he did look so easy. And he made it look good.
HIIT, or high-intensity interval training workouts, weren't just a typical guy workout, involving a lot of heavy machines and lifting weights for an hour. They required stamina. Balance. Physical and mental strength. And consistency. Clearly, it was an effective part of his overall workout routine.
His was shorter, about half an hour. And he had it all memorized, clearly, because he didn't look at any workout video. All he used was his phone as a timer.
He faced her throughout the entire thing, so was sure he'd caught her looking every single time. Which, wasn't that hard, because she practically watched him the entire time she was running. It kept her mind off of how tough it started to get. A win-win in her mind.
By the end of his HIIT workout, she was ready to be done running, too. She was drenched in sweat, and he was pretty sweaty as well. She slowed down and got off the treadmill, bending down and putting her hands on her knees. She was panting heavily, wiping the sweat from her forehead.
"Holy shit," she breathed.
"Yeah," he nodded, looking at her from his mat on the floor. He was laying on his back, arms bent above his head and legs flat, taking a rest after his intense workout.
"Whew, that felt good and so awful at the same time," she said, coming over to where he was and collapsing on the floor next to him. There was another mat beside him, so thankfully, it was decently comfortable.
He looked over at her panting, and smiled. "Well, what did you run? About three miles?"
"Yeah. A little over three."
"That's pretty good, Liv," he said, getting up slowly. "Especially if you're as rusty as you were making yourself out to be."
Her heart leaped at "Liv." The nickname that he'd recently begun to realize she went by, and liked.
"I'm rusty," she nodded, trying to slow her breathing. "I used to run a seven-minute mile."
"Impressive," he smiled, looking down at her.
She smiled back at him, letting out a deep breath.
"Come on," he said, reaching his hand down. "You can do arms with me."
"Oh god," she laughed. "Okay."
"You can spot me first," he said, wiping his face with his shoulder.
She nodded and reached up, grabbing ahold of his hand. Both of their hands were extremely sweaty, but he had a strong grip, and pulled her up with ease.
"Alright," she breathed, looking at the bench. "So you're gonna bench?"
"Yeah," he nodded, heading over there and sitting back.
"Do you normally do this without a spotter?!" she asked.
"Yes..." he replied, seeing her scolding look. "I don't have a workout partner. You're...you've been my only one."
She could feel her cheeks start to get warm. Goddamn, that was annoying.
"That scares me!" she said. "Should you do this without a spotter?"
"No," he answered honestly. "But I do a very lightweight bench press solely because I don't have a spotter. That way I don't have to worry about it because it's light for me. I just do more reps."
"Hmm. Okay," she nodded, seeming satisfied enough. "Can you do that same lightweight then? Because...I can tell you with the utmost confidence that you are way stronger than I am and I don't want to let you down as your spotter."
"You won't," he assured her with a laugh, laying back on the bench. "See, just 175. That's very light for my bodyweight."
"Okay," she nodded, going to stand behind him.
She put her hands underneath the bar, following it closely as he lifted it up, and then down. His biceps in action made her heart pick up its pace.
When he was done, he let out a deep sigh, letting his arms hang down for a second to rest.
"Nice job!" she said, stepping out from behind the bench.
"Thanks," he panted, still laying there.
And as he laid there, something caught her eye. His shirt was pulled up a little bit from the top of his shorts, so she was able to see his skin. And on the lower right side of his abdomen, she noticed a scar.
It was diagonal, and a pretty good size. She just saw part of it, because from what it looked like, it disappeared under the waistband of his shorts as well.
She realized she was only seeing it now because she was standing so close to him and looking right at it.
She'd seen him shirtless before, but only in a picture much further away than where she was standing now. And aside from that, she'd been sitting on his left side the entire time at the beach.
"Oh, Fitz," she noted, before she could stop herself.
"Huh?" he asked, meeting her eyes. He followed her gaze and realized what she was looking at. "Oh."
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to look. I just..." she stumbled.
"No, it's...it's fine. It's not a big deal, or anything. It's um...I just had appendicitis as a kid," he replied, sitting, and then standing next to her.
"I'm so sorry. I didn't know that," she said apologetically. "I didn't mean to be weird about it, I just hadn't seen it before."
"No worries, you weren't. It looks way worse than it is," he replied. "It's just...well...here."
He grabbed the bottom of his shirt and lifted, pulling it over his head.
From that moment, she slowly eyed his torso, from top to bottom. She didn't even do it intentionally. It just happened. But she tried to focus on his scar, because that was what this was about.
Focus, dumbass.
It wasn't that much darker than his skin, so she knew why she hadn't seen it in the picture.
It was raised, though, and she knew it was longer than what she could currently see. And as if he read her mind, he pulled back his shorts, and compressions, to reveal the entire diagonal marking.
She wasn't sure what on earth possessed her to do it. But before she could even process that she was, she slowly reached out and ran her finger over it gently.
He let out a sudden, quiet breath at her touch, but she didn't even notice.
Fitz's heart went into overdrive, watching her.
His cheeks started to feel hot, because he could see his chest rising and falling faster than it should be. He hoped if she noticed, she'd think he was still just catching his breath from his workout. But her fingers that were touching him very low on his abdomen, were what was really causing it.
He was much taller than her, so he could see the entirety of her body easily as he stood next to her, looking down.
Her hair was in the same braids that he'd noticed was how she also usually wore it on the weekend mornings.
Her arms were defined, and so were her legs, he'd already been able to see that before. It was clear she had been an athlete, no matter how rusty she claimed she was.
She was sweaty, and not wearing any of the makeup that she normally wore. And he thought she looked even prettier that way.
It was just her natural appearance, right there for him to see. And he knew he shouldn't notice her that way. But he did.
Olivia's eyes wandered slowly up his body again, still touching him, and their eyes finally locked. He lightly tossed his shirt on the floor, studying her big, brown eyes.
And then she snapped out of it, realizing she was still touching this poor man.
"Oh...god, I'm so sorry. Sorry. I should not have done that," she said, pulling her hand away.
"Oh—no, no—it's fine, it's okay," he replied, shaking his head. He searched for anything, anything at all to say to divert their attention from whatever the hell had just happened.
She was embarrassed because she'd just touched him without any sort of permission and without any sort of warning. And he was trying to calm his heart rate down in hopes that she didn't realize his body was reacting to her.
An entire mess.
"I'm just happy you don't...you don't seem to be...grossed out by it, or anything," he said.
"Oh, no," she shook her head. "Not at all. It's just a scar, we all have them."
Yeah, so probably don't go touching anyone else's scar, okay? One is enough for the day.
"I know, it's just kind of ugly," he shrugged, fixing his shorts.
"No it isn't. You know what I was thinking?" she asked.
"Hm?"
"It looks...fucking badass," she said. She watched him smile, knowing that he was remembering a few weeks ago, when he'd said that very thing about his burned, bandaged hand to catch her off guard.
Now she'd done the same to him, and he was chuckling. But he knew exactly how to respond.
"That was so powerful."
She giggled at him, knowing he'd used her own line on her now. And just like that, the awkwardness had left, and they were back to normal. Well, whatever their normal was.
"Thank you! So…you've had a surgery in your lifetime," she said, gesturing to his scar. Another thing she now knew about him.
"Yeah. It ruptured when I was twelve," Fitz nodded. "My mom didn't connect the symptoms quickly enough, and I certainly didn't know what was going on. For me, it felt like the flu, except it hurt right here, pretty bad," he said, pointing to his scar. "She just thought my stomach hurt."
"Oh my goodness, that's awful," Olivia said. "But...everything went okay?"
"Yeah, everything went okay," he said. By the time I was shrieking in my bedroom she knew something was very wrong, so she took me in. And...a successful surgery later, I was just left with this," he said, looking down at his abdomen.
She gave him a reassuring smile. "Well, this isn't as badass as yours. I don't have any very noticeable scars, just a small one on my knee from when I fell off my scooter as a child," she laughed.
"Oh no," he said worriedly, which made her laugh.
"But, I do have a birthmark in kind of an odd place," she said. She felt she'd already stepped over the line of being inappropriate today, so she sure as hell wasn't going to show him.
"It's on my side, a little higher up," she said, gesturing to where it was over her tank top. It really was kind of a weird place, on her side right under where her bra strap went.
"Ahhh," he nodded. "See, you've got me beat there. I don't have a birthmark."
"Nothing?" she asked.
"Nothing," he shook his head. "I'm boring."
She rolled her eyes at him, knowing he'd said it on purpose. "You are not."
He chuckled, giving her a smile. "Okay. So...your turn. We took a really long break."
"My turn to bench?" she asked. "You can't judge me though. No judgy eyes."
"I would never," he assured her, pulling some of the weights off. "You can start light, and build from there."
She nodded, sitting and laying back as he'd done. He got behind the bench, putting his hands underneath the bar. "Whenever you're ready."
She nervously reached up and unhooked the bar from its resting spot, and began to bench as best as she could. He had made sure it was very light for her, so she was appreciative. It wasn't so bad, but she knew she still wouldn't be able to do as many reps as he could.
When it started to get tough, he could tell.
"You got it. Three more, you can do it," he nodded, following the bar's every move, just in case.
His encouragement really did work for her. After three more, she was spent, and he helped her put the bar back.
"Nice," he nodded.
"Thanks," she replied, laying back on the bench for a second.
They filled up an hour of time, as she suspected they would, working on upper arms and abs.
Afterward, he told her about his workouts and how seriously he took them, upon her request.
"I like to, um...I like to stay fit, and feel good about myself. I like to eat healthy. But I'm not the guy that forces himself to eat the same chicken breast, rice and vegetable every day for lunch and dinner."
"Oh, god no," she replied in agreement.
"I can't...I can't do that. It's not worth it for me to take all the enjoyment out of food," he laughed. "I like to cook, and I like to cook more than just...those things. I just...work out five days a week and I work out pretty hard."
"Right," she nodded along.
"And...Saturdays and Sundays I take off. You won't get anywhere if you don't take time for your muscles to recuperate. So...that's me. I like to maintain, and feel good. But I'm not the...crazy gym rat type either."
"I think you've got exactly the right idea," she said. "And...I don't mean to be weird, so I hope this isn't. But...you look really good. It's very easy to see you take good care of yourself."
She hoped that sounded genuine, because she really did mean it that way.
"It's not weird, thank you," he smiled. "I can...um. I can tell the same for you. In a...not weird way," he said nervously.
"Thank you, Fitz," she laughed.
He nodded back.
"But, I've got some work to do, too. So...if it's okay, you've got yourself a workout partner."
"It's more than okay," he nodded. "Thank you."
"No, thank you," she said, wiping her face, as they'd just finished. "I'm probably gonna feel dead later today, and tonight. But...thank you."
"You're welcome," he chuckled, following her out the gym door. "Okay. I'll...see you in a bit. Oh, wait—do you have protein? Recovery?"
"No," she shook her head.
"K. Come on," he said, nodding his head toward the stairs.
"Oh, are you sure?" she asked.
"Yeah. You need some. Replenish your muscles," he nodded quietly, as they entered the stairwell.
So, they both had a protein shake, and after that and the banana she'd had, she was feeling pretty full, and she knew it would last until lunch.
On top of the coffee they would obviously be consuming in the coming hours.
They each respectively got ready and met back upstairs at their normal time that they left.
Hank got his breakfast, and a treat, and then they were off.
First, to Starbucks, and then the train station.
She smiled at the sound of his music, which wasn't unusual. It had kind of been growing on her, which surprised her. But she was learning she had room for his stuff in her heart too.
"You know, your music is really nice."
He turned to her surprisedly. "Thank you."
"You're welcome," she nodded. "I've just been thinking about it."
"Well...you should really play some of yours," he said. "We play mine every day."
"Oh, no," she shook her head. "Yours is better."
"Come on," he laughed. "What do you listen to?"
"Nothing important," she replied, which had him chuckling, and in turn, her, too.
"I'm serious. Play some. We've got...seven minutes, until we're there."
"Fitz, there's a reason I have yet to tell you or play any of my music for you," she pointed out with a laugh.
He shrugged, not seeming to care a single bit what she had to say about the matter.
"I'm, uh...I'm waiting," he said, turning back to the road causally. She sighed, looking over him as he drove. In a full suit. So cute. So fine. Oh dear, she was going to scar him.
But he had insisted, so she hesitantly grabbed her phone from her pocket to connect it to the Bluetooth in his car.
And because he really wanted a taste of it, and she was feeling adventurous, she hit shuffle. Having absolutely no idea what she was getting herself into. Getting them into.
She instantly heard the high-pitched whistles of the song, and cringed.
"Oh god," she said aloud.
"What?" he chuckled, reading the song title from the screen "Head...Headband. Featuring...2 Chainz."
She was cracking up at him reading that, and already putting her face in her palm as she awaited what was to come.
"What?" he chuckled.
She just shook her head, as if to say "just listen."
"Already got one, rolled up in my left hand,
pussy on my mind, tighter than a headband—"
His eyes widened, and he looked at over at Olivia slowly.
"Okay, oh god—abort!" she exclaimed, switching the song immediately when she realized she was not gonna be able to finish listening to that song with him.
His cheeks went about as red as his hand went the day she, unfortunately, made him burn it.
"Yeah. See. Do you regret this?" she laughed.
He just sat there wide-eyed, scratching his head. Wanting to laugh or say something, but having no idea which to do.
And the next song that came on her shuffle: "Rack City"
"Nope," she said, hitting next.
"Candy Shop" came on next.
"Oh, for the love of God," she noted, disconnecting her Bluetooth. "Okay, well, we tried that. It was a fun time. Let's...let's go back to your music now."
It was only then, that they made eye contact again and finally burst into laughter.
"What the hell, Olivia!" he exclaimed through his laugh.
"Don't even!" she exclaimed back. "Youuu! You asked me to!"
"I...yes. I did. I am taking responsibility. I...okay. I just wasn't expecting that," he chuckled, looking over at her shyly.
"Neither was I. I hit shuffle, and put it in God's hands."
"God. Sir. Come on," Fitz sighed, shaking his head and looking up. Olivia was in another fit of laughter.
"Please don't...please don't play that in front of Karen, okay?" Fitz chuckled.
"Oh my god, I would never," Olivia assured him with a laugh. "Never ever ever."
"Thank you. I mean...we can...we can listen to it, though, if you want to," he offered.
"Nope, nope. I think I'll pass on that one," she replied quickly.
"Okay," he chuckled, looking over at her.
She looked back and rolled her eyes, shaking her head at herself. "We can try that again another time, in which I will carefully pick the songs I play for you."
"Okay," he nodded. "Who are your favorite artists? Would I know them?"
"I like...The Weeknd. Tyga. DaBaby. A$AP Rocky. Khalid. Post Malone. I have a lot of favorites. Do you know any of them?"
"I know Post Malone, and Khalid. And...I think I know A$AP Rocky."
She nodded. "Yeah, they're pretty popular."
"Well, maybe we can try again with your music when we head home today," he chuckled.
"Maybe," she laughed.
Like normal, it was another really nice commute into the city. But it was always nice.
They knew each other pretty well by now, although there was always more to learn, so they still were.
Olivia had learned a lot over the past few weeks, and not just things about Fitz, and not just during their commutes.
She'd learned a few things while they were at the house too. Like, one, the Grants were members at the Rye Golf club, which was a pretty fancy country club. She'd learned this because it was the tail end of the golf season, and Fitz had gone to play one last round of the fall with his friend David one Saturday. They'd also had dinner there all together, just Olivia and the family, last weekend.
It was incredibly nice.
Another thing she learned—Fitz looked fantastic in golf clothes.
Aside from that, she learned all of the things that kept little miss Karen Grant busy. One of those things—she took piano lessons, and Fitz and Mellie traded off helping her out with her practicing. Both of them could play, although Mellie was a little more advanced, and truly sounded wonderful when she played and sang at the same time.
Fitz wouldn't ever sing while he played, at least that Olivia had heard yet. But she'd heard and watched him help Karen, and it was pretty cute. Olivia definitely couldn't play the piano if her life depended on it, but all three of the Grants certainly made use of that beautiful baby grand piano they had. They were all very impressive, Olivia was never going to get over that.
Another thing she'd learned, while she went to grab the cleaning supplies upstairs so she could clean her bathroom, was that that wasn't even necessary. Mellie had immediately stopped her, and Olivia had become nervous, instantly thinking she should have asked to use the cleaning supplies.
But Mellie just chuckled and had assured her she was free to absolutely anything in the home, but that she didn't have to clean her bathroom. She didn't have to, because the housekeepers would do it for her.
Olivia had almost dropped the bucket of cleaning supplies.
So, every two weeks, a housekeeper cleaned the entire house while everyone was away at work and school. She shouldn't have been surprised. But she still was in the moment Mellie had told her that, with a playful smile and laugh, as if to say "duh!"
That was still new, but...she'd learned it alright.
She'd also learned that Mellie didn't have a very consistent schedule at the hospital, and sometimes her shifts were late at night, or early in the morning, along with her normal day shifts. Mellie also was close with her sister and her mom, who she'd gone to see once in the past three weeks. She'd brought Karen with, as apparently, they often did "girls" days like that.
During her commutes, though, Olivia was able to learn a little more personal things, because she and Fitz had become such good friends.
For example, she'd learned a little more about Mellie's background. She was from Scarsdale, New York, which was an extremely wealthy town—Olivia had looked it up. And it wasn't very far at all from Rye, which was another reason Mellie had enjoyed ending up in Rye, along with her position at the hospital.
She now also knew why Mellie worked, despite the fact that she clearly didn't need to. Fitz had told it to her straight, "she thinks it's a waste of potential if she doesn't work." And Olivia had to give it to her, she admired that. Clearly she was a smart woman, and she at least had her career shit together. And to be able to work, and be a nurse, and help people...they could always use more of that in this world. So for that, she applauded her.
Additionally, she now knew how Karen had gotten her name—from Mellie's late grandmother, who had meant a lot to Mellie growing up. Karen's middle name was Jean, after Fitz's mother. Olivia admired that, and truly had been wondering how Karen had gotten her name, because it wasn't super common anymore.
Karen had been the one to name their dog Hank when she was five. That had really made Olivia laugh, knowing that, because it was such a cute and funny name for a dog. And a five-year-old had been the one to come up with it? Adorable.
To this day, Fitz said he and Mellie still had no idea why she had picked the name. She just did, and so, granting their baby girl's wish, their cute little beagle was Hank.
She now knew a lot about all of their names in general. Melody Margaret, after her mom Margaret, who went by Maggie. Fitzgerald Thomas, who was actually the third of his name.
His father, Fitzgerald Grant Jr., had passed away when Fitz was a kid. He talked sweetly of him, and it made Olivia sad that he'd had a similar experience that she'd had. He at least got to know his dad, who apparently was known by big Gerry, better than she ever got to know hers. However, she'd still grown up with a very prominent father figure her entire life, thanks to her uncle Frankie.
Fitz on the other hand, after age seven, had not. He'd gotten the nice seven years that he had gotten, but ever since, it had just been him and his mother.
And Olivia could tell that was why he was so protective and fond of his mom. It sounded like he was still very much her baby boy, and was always looking out for him.
Olivia hoped she'd get to meet her someday. The woman who raised this wonderful man she now had the privilege of knowing? She was probably just as wonderful herself.
There was so much to learn, when completely relocating your life, and she'd been sure to learn as much as she could. And of course, Fitz especially, had been getting to learn everything there was to learn about Olivia too.
When they reached J.P. Morgan, Fitz held out his closed fist for her and she bumped it with a smile.
"I'll text you," she said as they parted ways.
"Yes please," he said, adjusting his briefcase and heading the other way. "Good luck on your physics exam."
"Thanks!" she said, turning to look over her shoulder. "I hope your meeting with Cyrus goes well."
"Thanks, Liv," he replied.
He gave her a quick smile, before he disappeared into the revolving door of the building.
Sigh. So cute.
Her physics exam did indeed go well, she thought. By the end of the day, she was also starting to feel the strain in her muscles, and it actually made her smile. Yep, that's what she'd been waiting for. But it was a good thing.
Fitz had to work a little later that day, so she did her homework after school until he told her he was ready, and then she went to meet him.
He seemed like he'd had a long day, from the minute she saw him in the J.P. Morgan lobby.
He sighed, running his fingers through his hair. And the instant he saw her, his face softened, and he smiled. "Hi."
"Hi. How was your day?"
"Long," he said, confirming what she'd thought. "Meeting with Cyrus went well, though."
"Oh good! I'm sorry your day was long, though," she replied, as they headed out.
"It's okay. How was yours? Physics?" he asked.
"Nailed it, I think," she nodded.
"Nice," he smiled. "I knew you would."
She smiled back, as they made their way the short distance to Grand Central.
After another nice train ride back, they made it to his car in the parking lot, safe from the chilly wind. It was the very end of September, and it was starting to get cooler, especially in the mornings and evenings.
He'd told Mellie he could pick up Karen that day from volleyball, because she was home already from the hospital, and he would make just about perfect timing.
But they had about half an hour until she was done with volleyball by the time they got to the car, so it was one of those times it was awkward to go home, but still a bit to wait. It didn't take long at all to get to her school from the station, so they took their time before heading there.
They warmed up for a few minutes in the car, and he broke the comfortable silence with something that made her laugh.
"Okay. What do you say. 'Headband' round two?" he teased.
She burst into laughter, leaning her head down on her lap. "No."
"Okay," he chuckled. "I'm kind of thankful you said no, I just wanted to see your reaction."
She was still laughing, shaking her head. "Yeah, let's give my music, like...another couple of days and we'll try again."
"Sounds good," he laughed.
"Or...you could sing, instead," she offered.
His eyes widened and his cheeks turned pink. "Or...you could."
"See, I have no problem singing in front of people. I just kind of want to hear your voice," she smiled.
He laughed quietly. "It makes me nervous."
"I know it does," she nodded. "You don't have to, I was sort of kidding. But your sweet daughter brags about how nice your voice is, so you can't blame me for being intrigued."
He smiled, looking down at his lap. "She's told me how nice yours is, too. And...by the way, how did you know 'Hallelujah' was my favorite?" he teased.
She gasped. "Oh, I didn't! Karen didn't tell me that!"
"Well, I've never sung it for Karen," he replied. "Although I probably should, because it's a beautiful song. My mom used to love when I would play it for her on the piano when I was little, and uh...and sing for her."
Olivia's heart melted.
"Awww. Such a nice son," she smiled. He blushed and chuckled in return, like it was no big deal.
"See, my mom used to be the one to sing it to me when I was little," she said. "That's...how I grew to love it."
"Awww," he mimicked, which made her smile.
"Now, the important question is...what's your favorite version?" she asked. "There are so many covers, and different verses people replace."
"Well, other than the original by Leonard Cohen…I like Jeff Buckley's version a lot," he replied.
"Oh, yes, his is good," Olivia nodded. "Have you ever heard the Pentatonix before?"
"Oh, yeah, they're the…um, the a cappella group," he replied.
"Yes!" Olivia nodded. "Their version is so pretty. I think…that one is actually my favorite, no offense to Leonard Cohen," she laughed.
"I've never heard their version," he admitted.
She gave him a look. "Alright. We're connecting my Bluetooth again," she said, grabbing her phone.
"Uh oh…I'm…I'm having flashbacks."
She was giggling, searching up the Pentatonix in her music library. "Don't worry. I have a feeling this will go better than this morning. Alright. Ready?"
"Yeah," he nodded, resting his head back against the headrest.
It began with a single voice, singing the first verse. It was Scott Hoying's voice, she knew.
During the first two lines, she looked over at him, to see that he was already looking at her. He didn't look away. He kept looking, and mouthed "sing" to her.
A smile began to form on her face at his silent plea for her to sing. So she started to, very softly, just so he could still hear the song.
"Well it goes like this, the fourth the fifth,
the minor fall, the major lift."
During those two lines, his lips parted almost in surprise. And then it turned into a soft smile, watching and listening, to her sing.
She watched him mouth the final line to the verse along with her.
"The baffled King composing Hallelujah."
She watched his lips move the entire time. Studying them. Smiling as she sang.
And in between "Hallelujah"s, she urged him to sing the next verse with her.
"Hallelujah…come on, sing with me. Hallelujah…don't make me do it alone—"
He was chuckling at her intermittent rushed talking between the lines of such a beautiful, powerful song.
During those seconds before the next verse started, she was nodding at him encouragingly, seeing if she thought he was going to actually do it. He was blushing like crazy, looking at her very uncertainly. But the smile stayed on his face the whole time, as it looked like he was internally debating whether or not he should.
And to her surprise, he did. He sang really softly, intentionally letting her voice overpower his.
"Well, your faith was strong, but you needed proof,
you saw her bathing on the roof,
her beauty in the moonlight overthrew ya,"
They watched each other sing intently. Focusing on saying the words, themselves, but…focusing on each other more.
Karen had not been lying. His voice was beautiful. But she desperately wanted to hear it without hearing her own. So for the last few lines, she did what he'd done before, and she just mouthed the words along with him, hoping he'd continue to sing by himself.
And he did.
He never faltered, not showing any sign that he even realized he was singing alone at this point. He just looked at her. And sang.
"She tied you to the kitchen chair,
she broke your throne, and she cut your hair,
and from your lips, she drew the Hallelujah."
She had goosebumps. Goosebumps everywhere, because of his voice, singing this song. She smiled at him, mouthing the words as he actually sang them.
She eventually joined him in singing "Hallelujah" four more times to close out the verse. And then, the entire rest of the song.
And so, she'd introduced him to the Pentatonix, sang for him, and heard him sing in a matter of about four wonderful minutes. And somehow, she felt even closer to him now, knowing he'd done something in front of her that made him extremely nervous.
After the song played out, they just sat there, looking at each other in silence.
"Your voice..." he whispered. "It's beautiful."
"So is yours," she whispered back. "Thanks for...letting me hear it. I know it makes you nervous."
He nodded. "It wasn't so bad. You made it easier."
That made her smile.
"That song…it's going to forever make me think of you now, I think," she replied quietly.
Oh dear, she should not have said that.
But his face showed a soft smile, growing larger at her words.
"Me too."
They just sat there, and stared at each other. Something, apparently, they'd become really good at.
"Um…and the Pentatonix, they're…they're really good," he added.
"Right?" she nodded. "They're not my normal type, as we…found out this morning," she said, which made him crack up.
"But…they're really talented," she finished.
"Yeah," he agreed. "I think you'll have to play that for K. I can see her loving a group like that."
"I will," Olivia nodded with a smile.
"Speaking of…we should probably head to her school," he said.
"Alright, let's do it," Olivia nodded, reaching for her seatbelt.
He did the same, and they made small talk on the way there, and while they waited for Karen to come outside.
When she did, she was ecstatic to see both her dad, and Olivia. Olivia could always bring out a pretty big smile from Karen, and vice versa.
They got the summary of Karen's day on the way home. She'd had a pretty good day, it seemed, and now she was really hungry, after having volleyball practice.
So when they got home, Fitz immediately got started on dinner.
Olivia did some homework in her room, until it was time for them to eat. She kept humming "Hallelujah," thinking for sure it was going to be stuck in her head all night now. Oh well.
For dinner, Fitz made spicy lemon garlic tilapia, and man, it was amazing.
That man and his skills in the kitchen. It still amazed her.
After dinner, Fitz went up to his bedroom to take a shower and rinse off after a long day.
When he got out of the shower, he wrapped a towel around his waist and walked into the bedroom, going to his dresser to find some clothes. Mellie had just walked in, coming to grab her iPad, it appeared.
He nodded briefly at her, adjusting his towel. She nodded back, grabbing her iPad from her nightstand.
And after their two, dull nods to each other, she exited the room again. Probably down to the sunroom, if he had to guess. Anywhere away from him.
"Always a pleasure," he whispered to himself sarcastically.
They'd been having a pretty rough go of it lately. Rougher than usual, probably.
But after years and years of this, he wasn't the least bit surprised. The really bad periods went in waves, with no particular reason as to why they were bad.
They just weren't good companions, they both knew it.
They didn't talk much. The conversations were never long, and they never had any real substance to them unless it was a fight, which did happen.
Sometimes if a fight ended extremely badly and one of them said something that had crossed the line into too rude, they'd feel bad and try to sort of make up. Which usually involved a single forced kiss, or maybe, a forced hug. To be normal.
Aside from that, they kissed in front of Karen sometimes. But there was never any other affection that was actually desired.
They had sex on occasion. There was no passion behind it, and at this point, it was far beyond "meaning" anything. At this point, it was just to get off, because everyone needed to.
Although, it had been a long time since the last time that they had. Fitz thought it had been since early this summer, but he didn't care to keep track. They'd both been "rain checked" a couple times since then.
A lot of times if he needed to take care of something, he took care of it himself in the shower. It was easier. He could be alone. And he wouldn't have to try and think about ways to keep himself interested. He knew she did the same.
The shower was a godsend.
There was just no attraction anymore. They both knew the other was attractive. But they just weren't attracted to each other.
It was just what they'd gotten used to. It sucked. But they got through it. They got through it for Karen. Because Karen was one of the only good things that had come from the two of them ever getting together. She was the only positive. She was everything.
Until about a month ago, Fitz had been used to feeling the same things. He was used to feeling happy when he spent time with his little girl. He felt pride at work, because he knew he did his job well. Pretty dull when he was alone with Mellie. And the anxiety that he had to keep in check made sure he always felt somewhat anxious.
But lately, he'd been feeling a way bigger range of emotions, aside from his normal ones.
He felt so much happier in general. He felt...things. Things that were a product of a certain young woman that he now could honestly consider one of his good friends.
She made him...smiley.
She made him feel better, and he knew why she did.
He liked her. He liked her more than he should. At first, it had begun pretty innocently. He thought she was amazing, and kind, and so smart. So had everything figured out, and he applauded her for that. And he thought she was beautiful.
But it had already developed so much further. He thought about her constantly. He thought about things that scared the living hell out of him. Things revolving around her, that he should not think about.
And because of all of that, he felt a deep sense of guilt. One that made him question how good of a man he really was, if he could think these things about someone he wasn't married to. Someone that wasn't his daughter's mom.
And so, the guilt sometimes led to him feeling sad, or mad at himself, for letting the feelings develop. Even though he knew he couldn't stop them from developing even if he had tried. If he could, he would have done it already. But nothing in life was that simple.
This sure as hell wasn't simple. Nothing about this was simple. And nothing about it was right.
But life didn't really seem to care what was right and what was wrong, because here it was, putting him in an abnormal situation that apparently he couldn't figure out how to get out of.
The only thing that ever seemed to get him sort of out of his head, was Olivia, crazy enough—considering she was what caused all of these feelings in the first place.
But when he was with her, everything felt so much better. Everything else could stop for a little bit, and he could just...be with her.
So, he decided to head downstairs to see if she wanted to watch that "vulgar" show, as Mellie referred to it. But before he did, he remembered something he should grab first, from his nightstand drawer.
Olivia was in the middle of FaceTiming Shawn, while simultaneously doing her homework, as the two of them often did. If she were back home right now, the two would probably be doing homework together at one of their houses, if Olivia wasn't working.
So they'd been doing it quite often while she was here in New York. She wasn't there with Shawn, but she wasn't going to give up their routine of doing homework together.
Shawn was currently telling Olivia, or just herself, why her pre-calculus homework made no sense. "See, now why would God invent something like this. I love you, man, but, like…really? You just out here tryna confuse ya girl constantly."
"Do you need help?" Olivia asked with a laugh, not looking away from the essay she was currently re-typing. "I need a break anyway. This isn't even due for two weeks and I've got nothing else to do right now."
"Nuh-uh. You go back to writing your essay for like, the third time or whatever. Because the second I read you the problem you'll go all 'Liv' on me and without even trying, be like 'mhm, the answer is the square root of 135.9 over 13.2 to the 14th power," Shawn said, in her best nerdy voice. "And I need to be able to figure this out on my own!"
Olivia rolled her eyes and laughed. "Math isn't even my strong suit."
"And yet…I said what I said," Shawn replied.
They were both laughing, and Olivia shook her head at her. "Shawna."
"Ohhhh, bitch, don't you Shawna me."
"Shawn…a," Olivia said, putting the emphasis on the 'a' that really ended her name. She just hated it.
"Nope. Now you really ain't helpin' me. Now, how come you don't have any more homework of your own, you weirdo? Aren't you supposed to be going to like, the fanciest school in existence?" Shawn asked.
"Yes, I suppose," Olivia laughed. "But…I do my homework after school for a decent amount of time a lot of days while I'm waiting for Fitz. Then I do it before and after dinner. And…I get shit done. It's crazy not working at ma's restaurant. I mean, I have so much more time to actually, you know, be a student."
"That's so nice," Shawn said. "Ever since I quit dance team I've had more time, too. But…I still gotta drive my little brother's ass around all the damn time."
Olivia smiled. "Tell little Isaiah I miss him."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. How about me, do you miss the superior Turner child?" Shawn asked.
"You know I do," Olivia nodded. "It's lame not seeing your crazy ass every day."
Shawn put her hand to her heart and smiled. "Bitch, you're so sweet."
Olivia smiled, putting her hand on her heart too. "Love you."
"Love you," Shawn said, giving her a smile. "A crazy annoying amount, actually."
"Now…how about…you let me see that pre-calc homework of yours," Olivia suggested innocently.
Shawn shot Olivia a look. "Don't make me hang up on you. A bitch isn't afraid to do it."
"Come onnn," Olivia laughed.
"No—"
A knock on her door disrupted their conversation, along with a deep voice softly saying "Olivia?"
"One sec," Olivia said to Shawn. She took out one of her headphones, telling Fitz he could come in. She was laying on her bed, facing the door, so he couldn't see Shawn on Olivia's computer screen.
"Hi," she greeted with a smile.
"Hi," he greeted back.
He'd just gotten out of the shower, that was clear. His hair was damp, and cutely curling up on the ends because it was already getting longer. He wore a T-shirt and joggers that fit him really nicely, but she tried not to stare. And while her best friend couldn't stare at him because she couldn't see him, she still made it known that she was very intrigued.
"Oh my god, wait, is that him? Is that mister shy man? Ohhhh, Jesus, he's so fine, he's so fine, he's so fine."
Olivia could hear it through the one headphone she had in, and tried her hardest not to giggle because Fitz had literally no idea he was currently being fangirled over, and she now wished to keep it that way.
"What's up?" Olivia asked.
"I, uh…I just wanted to see if you wanted to watch GOT with me? If…if you're busy though, no worries at all. I won't watch without you."
Shawn practically screeched in Olivia's ear.
"Oh my GOD! Olivia Carolyn Pope, if you don't go watch GOT with that man right this second, I am calling the motherfucking police."
Olivia once again had to hold back a laugh, before responding to him. She most definitely should have hung up on her before he walked in.
"Sure!" Olivia nodded with a smile. "I'll be right out, okay?"
"Okay," he smiled, starting to close the door. "Oh, and um…"
He pulled out a book from behind his back. She could read the title from her bed. "The Other Boleyn Girl."
She couldn't help but gasp.
Shawn, of course, had no idea what had happened, and was instantly confused.
"What? What did he do? Did he take off his shirt? Did he show you that dick? I need answers, woman."
Now Olivia was blushing, along with the fact that she was just super excited about the book she could now read during her free time.
"Oh, Fitz, thank you so much," she said. "I can't wait to read it!"
Shawn now understood.
"Ohhh, it's just two weirdos speaking in nerd to each other," Shawn noted.
"You read 'The Alchemist' so fast, I knew...I couldn't waste much time before giving you another."
"I appreciate it. Although I have to say, I do enjoy your other form of book delivering," she laughed.
His face went red, as they both remembered how he'd given her the last book. Under her door at about 12:30 in the morning.
He laughed quietly and scratched his head nervously.
"Oh my god, make him laugh again. That was so cute—who allowed this man to exist?" Shawn exclaimed in her ear.
She was right, his laugh was cute.
"I'll remember that," Fitz smiled.
"Okay," Olivia laughed, looking back at him with a smile. A smile that she couldn't help anymore. He just made her smile.
"Oh…damn. Now wait a minute," Shawn said.
"Um…okay. I'll, uh…I'll just…I'll wait for you out here. Take your time. And I'll just put this..." he said, reaching quickly into her room to place the book on her dresser, while not moving his feet at all. Like he was deeply afraid of invading her personal space, and entering her room. And then he gently shut the door.
She watched him do all of it with the stupid smile still probably on her face.
"Okay. Hold up," Shawn said.
Olivia looked down at her computer, seeing her best friend giving her a "hmmm" look.
"What?" Olivia whispered.
"So he digs you? He's really out here diggin' you that hard and you didn't think to tell me?!" Shawn asked.
"What?!" Olivia exclaimed quietly, knowing he was just outside in the living room. But she heard the TV turn on out there, and she felt better, knowing her talking would now be masked by its sound.
"Oh don't even! And you dig him back! You so do! I mean, by the way, I am not blaming you. He is precious. He is…wow, he is so precious. I don't even speak nerd and that was adorable," Shawn said.
"Oh, stop," Olivia laughed.
"No. I absolutely will not. You been gettin' cuddly with that fine ass man on your way to the city every day, haven't you," Shawn noted with a smirk.
"No," Olivia said, with wide eyes. "No, no, no."
She wasn't denying she had the biggest crush on him in the world, but she didn't think she'd been getting "cuddly"...right?
"Well, look, I'm sorry. This may be wrong to ask, but I'm team Liv for life, so...why the hell not?!" Shawn exclaimed.
"Because he's a 30-year-old married man with a daughter and I live in his house," Olivia exclaimed in a hushed whisper.
"All that may be true. But what I just heard doesn't lie. That was flirting, girl. On both sides. Therefore, I do not need to be a freaky genius to say….mister shy man digs you and you dig him right back."
Olivia didn't even know what to say to all of that. Her heart was beating fast at the mention of how Shawn thought he felt about her. But she didn't let herself get too caught up in anything right now, because it made her nervous.
And thankfully, she had to go anyway, because he was waiting, so she just pathetically changed the subject.
"Uh…look, I'm gonna go, okay? Is that cool?" Olivia asked.
"Are you kidding? Of course, it's cool. Now you can stop bugging me about my damn pre-calc homework," Shawn said, which made Olivia laugh again.
"Alright, I'll text you, okay?" Olivia asked.
"Yes, ma'am," Shawn nodded. "And hey."
"Yeah?" Olivia asked.
"Your secret's safe with me. I can see now that it scares you, and you don't get scared that much. So I won't talk about it unless you want to. But just know…I got your back, and…I'm with you. For everything, Liv," Shawn said.
Olivia smiled, and sighed at her best friend. "Thanks, Shawn. Thank you."
"Mhm. Now go watch some Kings and Queens and...sex," Shawn said.
"Okay," she laughed. Bye, Shawn."
"Bye, Liv."
She plugged her computer in to charge, and took a deep breath, before heading out to the living area of the basement.
"Hey," he smiled.
"Hey," she greeted back, going to sit by him.
The couch was a giant "U" shape, and therefore, was pretty big. She didn't sit directly next to him, but she still sat close.
"Alright. I'm ready, let's do this," she nodded, pulling a blanket from the back of the couch onto her lap. She looked over at him, seeing that he was just wearing shorts. "You want some of this?"
And just as she had been assuring herself before that she wasn't getting "cuddly" with him, she goes and does this dumb shit. Good lord.
"Uh…yeah. Yeah, sure," he nodded, accepting the other half of it.
The blanket was big, at least, so it easily covered both of them, despite the fact that they were a comfortable distance away from each other.
And so they settled in to watch another episode of "Game of Thrones."
She really did like it already. It was definitely gory, and she probably wouldn't have watched it had she not been introduced to it by him. But she had to admit, it was really well done. Everything about it was well done.
She had a couple of favorite characters already. One, who'd already died, which made her sad. He had also been one of Fitz's favorites. She liked little Arya Stark because she was feisty and didn't much care what others thought about her. And she had a feeling she was going to grow up to be a badass. And she loved her brother Robb, too.
He was cute. Seemed like an honorable man, just like his dad. And that was saying something, because there were a lot of assholes in the show. A lot.
"God, when is he going to die?" Olivia groaned, seeing Joffrey Baratheon's annoying face on the TV. He was the devil, she was sure of it.
Fitz chuckled. "What makes you so sure he's going to?"
"Nothing. I'm just really hoping he does. If lots of people die in this show, I have to believe this asshat will. But...maybe that's just wishful thinking."
"Asshat," he chuckled to himself.
"Mhm, he's very much an asshat," Olivia nodded.
"Well, you're just going to have to wait and find out if asshat dies or not," Fitz shrugged.
"Another thing I have to wait on," she groaned, turning to him.
He chuckled, looking back at her.
"You still won't tell me your other favorite character besides Ned and Jon, huh?" she asked.
"I would, but there's a reason I haven't."
"Oh, what's the reason?" she asked.
"We haven't met her yet," he replied.
She tilted her head at him. "Ohhh, it's a 'her', huh?"
"Yes," he chuckled.
"Is she…really pretty?" she asked.
"Um…I don't…I don't know," he shrugged.
"She is, isn't she?" Olivia laughed.
"You will just have to wait and see. It's probably not what you think," Fitz said.
"Okay, well, I'm intrigued," Olivia said, turning back to the TV.
Robb was currently on the screen, and Olivia smiled.
Fitz saw.
"So, since you want to tease me about it. Wanna…tell me why he's your favorite?" Fitz asked.
Olivia blushed, turning to him with a laugh.
"Yeahhh," Fitz chuckled at her. "See, two can play at this game."
"You got me," Olivia giggled. "He's…he's, um. Well."
"Sorry…what is he?" Fitz asked, cupping his hand behind his ear as if he couldn't hear her.
"He's cute as hell," Olivia replied. "There."
Fitz was laughing at her, and she laughed back, shaking her head.
Never once had they talked of anything of that sort. But it was both kind of embarrassing, and funny at the same time.
But it led to something more.
"So, um…" he began, scratching his head. "Ah, never mind."
"No, what?" she laughed. "Every time you say 'never mind', you know it makes me want to know what you were gonna say even more."
He smiled, his cheeks already pink.
This should be good.
"I was just going to ask...what is it about...Robb? What...do you like about him?"
She looked over at him with questioning eyes. Did she hear that question right?
He immediately reverted back to his shy, nervous self, after it appeared he realized what exactly he had just asked.
"God, I'm sorry," he said apologetically, shaking his head. "I don't know...why I asked that, that was really personal. You don't have to...answer. I should not have...God, I'm sorry."
"Oh, no, it's okay, Fitz," she laughed. "You're totally fine. And if it makes you feel better, let's sit back and remember the time that I just…up and touched your scar this morning, like a crazy person."
He burst into laughter, and all the tension evaporated away again. Thank goodness.
"You're not a crazy person."
"Well, smiley, that there, is probably a lie. But thank you," she laughed. "But…about Robb, do you mean...physically speaking?"
He bit his lip in thought and nodded slowly.
She actually grew a little nervous, because this was personal, and she knew it would expose herself to him. But she still told him. "Well...I like his hair. It's, um...dark, and curly. His jawline...it's really strong. And I think his blue eyes are bright and...pretty."
He nodded, clearing his throat to fill the silence after she described such specific physical traits that she was attracted to. The same physical traits of a man who sat in that very room—both of them electing not to acknowledge that.
"And...other than his physical appearance?" he asked quietly.
She nodded. That was more important!
"He's...so kind, and sweet. He's funny. And I think…he's faced with impossible situations, and yet…you can tell he's a man of honor. Even when…he does things people may question. He does them for a reason. To me, I think he's just…amazing."
He eyed her and nodded, before looking back at the TV screen. Both trying to focus on watching the show.
Olivia had felt as though she'd opened up a whole new side of herself to him. It felt scary, but...it felt good. They were both fiddling nervously with the blanket, and stealing glances at each other when they thought the other wasn't looking.
And based on those things, she was pretty sure they both knew that she had been describing more than just Robb Stark.
There was your chapter 4.
I know you're all patiently waiting, and it's getting there! I promise.
Things are getting a littttle more..."personal."
Hope you enjoyed,
~T