"I'll just text you when I'm close to done, okay?"
"Okay, sounds good," he nodded.
"Sorry. I've just never been to this salon before so I'm not sure how long it will take, it'll depend. I'm just guessing based on the style I'm getting and reviews I've read on this salon. I would say roughly around six hours, give or take."
"Liv, it's really okay," he chuckled. "No need to be sorry. You already told me how this goes. No worries at all."
"Okay, cool," she laughed back. "Maybe...I'll text you during. I brought my book, too, but I'll need to take some breaks from reading."
"Yes. Do that," he nodded. "Definitely do that."
"Okay," she smiled, squeezing his hand.
He leaned in and she leaned back, giving him a goodbye kiss as they sat in the car, in the back of the parking lot alone.
She pulled back to look at him. "I'll miss you, mister."
"I'll miss you, too," he said, looking at her longingly. "Text me."
"I'll text you," she smiled. She looked at his cute face, and couldn't help but lean back in.
"You are so cute," she whispered, kissing his lips again and again, because she truly didn't want to leave him.
"You are so cute," he whispered back. "Do you have to go?"
"Yes," she laughed. "Unfortunately I do have an appointment."
"Okay, okay, I'm sorry, go ahead," he chuckled. "I can't wait to see you later by the way. I know you'll look beautiful. You always do."
She sighed, looking at him with admiration. She couldn't help it.
"You're so sweet. Okay—God, kiss me one more time," she said, cupping his cheeks.
"Is that...is that kind of like 'hit me, baby, one more time', but different?" he asked.
"Yes," she giggled, pulling him toward her again. "Kiss me, baby, one more time. Exactly right."
"Just...one more time?" he questioned.
"Hmm...okay, maybe a couple more times."
"Okay," he whispered, capturing her lips in a kiss. "...Baby."
He said it hesitantly and after the fact. It felt like such a safe, Fitz way for him to introduce it; as part of a joke.
But he waited to see how she would react; was that weird? Were they not there yet? Would they ever get there?
He had kind of hoped so, so he'd gone for it.
She smiled so big against his lips, feeling a rush of butterflies in her stomach.
"Did you just say that?" she murmured, pulling him closer by his jacket collar.
"I did," he murmured back, pulling on her jacket back gently. "How is it...being received?"
She smiled against his mouth. "Well—I don't wanna go now, that's for sure."
He opened his eyes, pressing a soft kiss to her lips again. "So...it was received well," he whispered.
"Extremely well," she whispered back, letting her hands travel to the back of his neck.
The man had only recently begun to turn "Liv" into "Livvie" on his own, having no idea beforehand that her mother called her that, too. He had developed that all by himself, and just that was enough for her to go crazy inside.
But this? Baby? Man, she wished she could stay with him.
"I think this has been more than a couple kisses," he chuckled. And yet, he pulled her closer; his grip was impossibly tight on her at the moment.
"Are you complaining?" she teased.
"No," he said, letting his tongue brush her lips. His hands wandered down to her sides, and one of hers moved down to rest on his thigh.
He let out a breath against her lips, opening his eyes to look at her.
She inched her hand up a little higher, maintaining eye contact as she did it. Watching him study her face, and open his mouth a little in surprise.
And then he was leaning back in again, desperate to kiss her again.
She really did have to go. But being alone in a car with him in a completely different town than where they lived wasn't common, so it was clear they both didn't want it to end.
She didn't want to drive him too crazy, though, so she didn't move her hand any higher, either. Instead, she slowly pulled it away, and gave him a few last pecks.
"Okay, I'm actually going now," she whispered, kissing his cheek.
"Okay," he nodded. "I'll see you later."
"I'll see you later," she nodded.
"Bye, you," he whispered, leaning in for one more kiss.
She happily obliged, and then gave him a nose kiss because it always made him smile instantly.
"Bye, you."
And then she did truly have to get out of that car and go. Or else she'd never leave. Kissing each other was a very tempting activity, and one they'd learned it was hard to stop.
He watched her through his rearview mirror, walking into the beauty salon.
When she was safely inside, he let out a deep sigh, leaning his head forward against the steering wheel.
"God," he whispered to himself, clutching the leather of the wheel. He began to smile, thinking about her. Her wonderful scent still filling his car. She affected him so much.
He already missed her.
Not just because he missed her presence. But when he was with her, he could shut things out for a little while, and he didn't think about everything else as much.
But of course, when they were separated, everything else picked up in her absence. The guilt, the sadness—the anger, because of everything.
It was beginning to get hard. It was beginning to get really hard. Starting to feel very serious about someone, but having it also come with serious negative thoughts as well—was so difficult.
And to make matters worse, they both felt the same way. Two people who were extremely attracted to each other, yet both knowing the not-so-good side to things, too. Both not wanting to fuck things up for each other, but also wanting to push the guilt aside and let things happen. Let things go where they both desperately wanted it to go at some point.
The entire thing was agonizing. And yet on the other hand, so so good. But both already knew this. This was how life had been for them for a while now. It was just a big mess of conflicting feelings.
And sexual tension, when they were alone. All the time.
Today, however, they wouldn't have much time to truly be alone, so they'd get a break from that constant feeling. Today was a super busy day, and for the most part, they'd all be together.
Fitz had dropped her off at the salon, and then planned to go run some errands. Later that afternoon, Karen had a piano recital that they were all going to, and then they were going out to dinner afterward with some of Mellie's family members.
So after her appointment, Olivia was headed with Fitz, Mellie, and Mellie's sister and mom, to both of those things, because she hated to miss an opportunity to be there for Karen. Depending on when she was done with her appointment, Karen may come with Fitz to pick her up from the salon, so that they could go right to the event center for her recital.
It just didn't make sense for Olivia to take the car for six hours, when multiple people were running errands and going different places. Mellie still had to go pick up her mom and sister later that afternoon, when they were free. It was an extremely busy day for all parties.
But Olivia just knew that she wanted to support Karen as best she could. And plus, she had heard Karen practicing for that piano recital for months now. She'd feel so proud today, seeing her perform.
But before that, she was finally getting her hair done.
After some searching and looking at styles, she's decided on a style of thinner Senegalese twists that she'd seen.
They were beautiful, and she hadn't done that particular style before, so she was pretty excited. She was always excited whenever she had the chance to get her hair done.
Her plan was to have dark auburn-colored extensions, twisted in with her natural hair. Ultimately, the twists would be pretty long—about down to her hips or so.
And because of the mixture of the two colors, it would come together as a smooth, two-colored look that was both fun, yet elegant.
She'd already shown and told the Grants as much as she possibly could before today, so they had an idea of the specific style she was going to have done. They were completely new to this, so they were a little curious about it all. They had questions, but they were very respectful with their questions, so she was happy to answer.
Karen was particularly cute about it. She was enamored with the look already, and had been just as excited for Olivia to get her hair done as she was.
Fitz, also, had been waiting for her to do it. He had been the one initially to offer to take her to the salon, or help her in any way she needed.
So for all of that, Olivia was grateful. Plus, she'd been saving up for this experience in New York for forever. And being able to spend some of her hard-earned money on things like this—made her happy. Although her studies were more important, it was still fun to see it go toward at least a few things for fun, not just the costs of books and classes and everything else school-related. She'd saved up for these things too. She'd wanted to be able to have a little freedom, and this was a part of that.
And changing up her look and not always having to style it every day was an added plus. Not only would it save effort, but it would save time, too. A lot of time.
Overall, she was pretty stoked for the busy day she had ahead of her.
Luckily she was able to start right at the time of her appointment, which was right at 9:30.
She went through everything with the braider; how she wanted it parted, and the fact that she wanted to be able to still put it up in a ponytail or a bun so she could work out comfortably.
And then they got started, not wanting to waste any time. It was also helpful that Olivia had come with her hair washed and blow-dried beforehand, which saved about an hour or so of the total process.
She chatted with Ava, the braider, for a little bit, talking about where she was from and what she was doing in New York. What she planned to study. All the good stuff.
But she eventually pulled out her phone and sent a text to her favorite guy.
Olivia: Hi.
While she waited for him to reply, she started to read her book. She could have brought the most recent book Fitz had given to her, but she had decided to read for school since she'd be at the salon a while, and she could then get a big portion of her weekend homework done. So she read 'The Heart of Darkness', waiting for Fitz to respond.
She looked up every once in awhile, of course, seeing her hair being twisted with another beautiful color.
She was so excited to see the finished look.
And then he texted her back.
Fitz: Hi. How is it going?
Olivia: Good! I'm SO excited.
Fitz: Good! I can't wait to see you, Liv.
Olivia: Can't wait to see you too. How are your errands? You grocery shopping?
Fitz: Yeah. It's going okay. You sure you don't need anything?
Olivia: I'm sure!
Fitz: How about shrimp?
She started to giggle.
Olivia: Well...I do love shrimp...
Fitz: I know you do. Looks like I should probably get some.
Olivia: Look, I wouldn't be opposed to that idea.
Fitz: You are too cute. Shrimp is safely in the cart, miss.
Olivia: Thank you!
Fitz: Of course. Okay, I should probably stop texting and shopping, I may injure someone. I will text you when I get home. Promise.
She was definitely giggling now.
Olivia: Sounds good, mister. I wouldn't want you to injure someone. Or yourself. You're very important to me, you know.
She kind of took advantage of the conversation and snuck it in there, just as Fitz had done earlier in the car with the endearment.
Fitz: I can't even tell you how important you are to me. I can barely grasp it myself. I don't know what I would do without you. I really don't.
Olivia: You're making me blush! I feel the same. I feel a lot of things.
That scared the hell out of her because it was true. She did feel a lot of things. Things she hadn't felt before, but things she was beginning to understand. She knew what she was feeling. She hadn't needed to feel it before to know what this was.
It was scary as fuck, that's what it was.
Fitz: I feel a lot of things too. You're powerful.
He had her consistently giggling quietly to herself, which had Ava giving her little smirks here and there.
Olivia: You're...very powerful. In many ways.
Fitz: I think I'd like to hear all those ways sometime.
Oh boy, her cheeks could not feel any hotter at the moment.
Olivia: :)
Fitz: And I would like to continue to make you blush, because I love it when you do. However, I really should go now because I've been parked in front of the seafood section for a while and I think this woman is kind of mad at me.
She smiled, typing quickly in response.
Olivia: Right, right! Text me later, don't make the woman too mad! Miss you.
Fitz: Miss you. Text you later.
She put her phone down and sighed happily, looking up at herself in the mirror. Ava had made more progress since she'd last looked up. She was also smirking.
"What is it? Boyfriend? Girlfriend? I know it's gotta be one of 'em—seein' you smile and laugh like that!" she exclaimed with a laugh.
She couldn't see Olivia's phone screen, her brightness was too low. But she could sure as hell see Olivia smiling and laughing the whole time, despite her attempts to be discreet.
However, she didn't know how to answer that. Fitz wasn't really her boyfriend. Or...maybe he was? They didn't exactly have titles.
Olivia laughed. "Something like that."
"Mmhm," Ava nodded. "Always good when they affect you like that. Hold on to them, honey."
Oh, if it were only that easy.
"I will," she smiled.
And she truly felt like despite the difficult situation they were in, that what she had just said was true. She knew it would be hard, and she didn't quite know what their road ahead would look like. But she knew she wanted him. Whether or not that would happen, she couldn't know. Not right now. But she knew she wanted to hold onto this. Hold onto the things she felt. Him.
And it made her think about something they'd both said earlier.
That they didn't know what they'd do without each other.
She had a decision to make in the coming weeks. The program gave students a lot of flexibility when it came to what they wanted to do. Uprooting your life and school wasn't exactly an easy thing to do, so they allowed flexibility and gave plenty of time to decide, which was nice. But she did eventually have to come to a decision about if she was going to stay in New York for her final semester, and if she did, where she was going to stay.
She was about 90 percent sure she was going to stay in New York City to finish out her final year. She'd have to go back home for graduation in June. And depending on her plans for the summer, she'd probably be headed back anyway if she was going to work at home.
She missed her mom and her uncle, she missed her friends back home, and she missed her house.
But here, New York. It felt like home now. It really did. And part of her truly couldn't imagine going back to her school in North Dakota. After everything she'd experienced here—how much she'd already grown, and got a taste of the life she truly wanted to live in this city, she didn't think she could ever go back to her home state permanently.
What she wasn't sure about yet, was where she was going to live. Part of her desperately wanted to stay where she was. She loved Rye, she appreciated the little taste of home it provided with its more suburban setting. She got the best of both worlds living there, but still going to school in the city.
It was a nice town, and it was absolutely beautiful. She had a great place to stay with lots of space, and she had grown to love the Grants. She loved Karen so much. And she felt things for Fitz that were extremely new and overwhelming. Part of her never wanted to give any of that up. Thinking of not seeing them every day flat out sucked.
But on the other hand, the situation with Fitz made it tough. If there was nothing between the two, her decision would be easy. She would stay with the Grants.
But given the situation she was in, she knew the right thing to do would be to leave. To go stay in the city, with the other UNIS students who'd chosen to do the same. It was wrong enough that she was coming between a marriage. But it made it even worse that she lived in their home. It wasn't right, and she knew it.
And then there was the fact that she did truly want to live in the city. That had been her plan all along; the host family option had been more of her mother's idea. And no matter how much she had grown to love it, the city had still been her original plan. It would save her time in the morning, not having a longer commute. She could see her friends way more often, because most of them didn't live with a host family, and the ones that did, lived in the city still, or at least much closer to it than she did.
Much like her position with Fitz, it was all very conflicting.
So for now, she was taking advantage of the program's flexibility, and weighing her options. She, of course, had to let the Grants know before anyone else, since this was their life too. But as of right now, they hadn't talked much about it.
Regardless of where she chose to live, she already had her heart set on continuing school at UNIS. She'd saved up for it, she had the aid and the loans to do it. This was her dream. The only thing was, her dream had been beginning to shift a little bit. Her dream now included parts that she hadn't anticipated when she came here.
So with these decisions to make, applying for college, the Holidays, and just the crazy busy schedule she had with school in general, the next months would surely be busy.
As time went on, her hair grew closer and closer to being done. She read, she texted Fitz, and she watched the progress being made on her hair. She did stop and have a bigger snack when her braider had lunch, simply because their appointment went over the lunch hour.
She'd had a big breakfast, so she wasn't all that hungry. But she also wouldn't get to eat until after Karen's recital tonight, so she still had a snack to tide her over. When they all went out to eat after that, she knew she'd be ready to eat for sure.
She read way past the amount she was assigned for homework, which she was totally fine with. She thought she may as well make use of her time as best she could. Plus, the book was a good one.
But even though it was a good book, she was excited to be done at the salon. She could tell she was going to be done around the time she thought—about six hours, maybe a tad under that. She knew she was getting there when another available braider came to help finish twisting all the way down to the bottom.
And later, she grew even more excited when Ava began to heat up some water to finish her hairstyle off. The ends of her twists were dipped into the boiling water in order to seal them.
After which, they were cut in order to give an overall polished look, and to eliminate any frays.
She watched her lightly apply mousse from top to bottom, and glanced over her almost-finished look. It looked so good, she was so pleased.
She texted Fitz while Ava applied gel to her edges, and cream to her scalp, knowing she would be done pretty soon after that.
And then she was able to admire her long twists in the mirror. They reached down past her hips, and they were gorgeous. The mix of black and dark auburn was perfectly balanced.
All she could do was thank Ava—who had done a fantastic job, and give her a nice tip. If she stayed in New York, she was going to remember this beauty salon in the future.
She knew based on the time she got done, that Karen would be with Fitz too when he picked her up so that they could go right to her recital. Which was fine with Olivia, she was completely prepared for a recital. Her outfit looked cute and her hair was freshly done. Her scalp may be a little sore for the rest of the weekend, but it would be well worth it.
When he texted her that they were there, she happily said goodbye to the ladies at the salon, thanking them again, and headed outside in the chilly fall air.
Fitz was looking down at his phone, after just sending a text to Mellie that they were just about on their way. They'd had to coordinate pretty consistently today, with all the shuttling around they were doing, and with their busy day in general. She was probably in Scarsdale right now as well with her sister, picking up their mother. Her sister had already been at the house for a couple hours, unfortunately for Fitz.
She and Mellie were way too similar for his liking. She and their mother were nice women, he hated to be too internally mean. But it had just grown to be a weird situation over the years. He truly didn't even know how much they knew of his and Mellie's marriage. If they knew how bad it was, or if Mellie downplayed that even to her family in order to keep up the image. He didn't know, but frankly, he didn't care anymore.
When they had been younger, he had tried to do his best to impress her family because he thought he didn't really have a choice. They were young, and they put themselves in a tough situation as young adults, so he'd wanted to show them he'd be a good dad for Karen.
But now, he was obviously way past that point. He and Mellie weren't in college anymore, and he wasn't trying to impress her family anymore. All he did was do his part whenever they were all together, and Mellie did the same whenever his mother was present, too.
So he was used to days like today. And Karen loved her aunt Harmony and her grandma Maggie, so as long as she was happy, he was happy.
He put his phone away after texting Mellie, and looked up briefly at the salon.
And then he took a quick breath.
"Holy...crap," he whispered to himself, seeing her walk out of the salon.
He was pretty sure if Abby had referred to her as a Goddess before, she would have definitely thought so now.
Her long hair in thin twists, all the way down to her hips, and even a bit past them.
He literally had no words to describe how beautiful she looked. And it was probably a good thing he didn't—because he wasn't the only one in the car.
"What, daddy?" Karen asked.
His eyes widened, having briefly forgotten his daughter was literally in the backseat.
At least he'd kept it to "crap."
"Uh...uh—I just thought...I knew that guy over there," he said, pointing to a man on the other end of the sidewalk. "But I realized it wasn't who I thought it was."
"Oh," Karen nodded. "You know, dad, you shouldn't say that word."
He chuckled. "You're right, I'm sorry about that, K."
"That's okay. I still know you are a grown-up. And grown-ups say bad words sometimes."
"Yes. Yes...they do," he nodded, secretly eyeing Olivia as she approached the car. Holy shit, he couldn't stop staring.
When she got a little bit closer, Karen finally realized that Olivia was up ahead, and grew excited.
"Oh, dad! Look at Liv! She looks so pretty!" Karen exclaimed.
Yeah, sweetheart. I know.
He had been eyeing her without turning his head so that Karen couldn't see him physically checking her out. But now that she'd brought it up, he turned his head more dramatically and pretended to look at Olivia for the first time.
"Wow. Her hair does look nice, doesn't it," he nodded.
"Yeah," Karen nodded in agreement. "We should definitely tell her she looks pretty, dad."
He smiled. "You're right. Why don't you tell her first. You are her favorite."
Karen giggled and smiled. "Okay. I will tell her first."
As soon as Olivia got in the car with a smile on her face, Karen let her know.
"Liv! Liv! You look beautiful!" Karen exclaimed.
"Aww, thank you, K!" Olivia said happily. "You look beautiful too!"
Olivia could tell even as she sat in the backseat that she was dressed up nicely, and she had a cute headband in her curly hair.
"Thanks! Okay, dad. You tell her now," Karen smiled.
He chuckled and looked over her.
"You do look very nice," Fitz nodded casually, giving Olivia a brief smile. Being the way they were in front of everyone else.
But she could see it on his face. She could see the flushed cheeks and the wandering eyes.
He liked what he saw.
"Thanks, Fitz," Olivia smiled. "I'm so happy I got done just in time for your recital, K!"
"Yeah," Karen said nervously, looking down in her lap. "I am really happy you're coming. But I'm nervous."
"Sweetheart, you're going to be great, just like always!" Fitz said.
"Yes. I've heard your practicing for months now, I know how good you are and I can't wait to hear you today, Karen. I know you'll play beautifully! Don't be nervous. You've got this," Olivia said.
She nodded and gave them both a small smile. But Olivia could tell she was still a little scared. And she understood.
"Yes, you do," Fitz agreed. "Mom will meet us there too. She's picking up grandma Maggie, and then she'll meet us there."
"Okay," Karen nodded.
"Grandma Jean is so sorry she can't make it, she had a wake she had to go to this afternoon, she's a little bit sad. But she wants to FaceTime you this weekend so you can tell her all about it, okay? She may want a little recital of her own, too," Fitz smiled, looking in the mirror.
"Well, that will be way easier! I could play for grandma Jean over FaceTime and not even be nervous, dad," Karen said proudly.
"I know you could," he said. "You're going to be great today, too."
"Thanks, dad."
Olivia smiled over at him subtly, and then looked down at her lap. Thinking. Processing. Still so happy about her new hairdo.
It had been a great day.
They made it to Karen's recital with plenty of time before it began. It was in a smaller event center in Rye, but Olivia was still surprised to see how big of a recital it truly was. There were a lot of kids, all of which had been growing up with the best of lessons, she could only assume. Not all were piano players; some played the violin too, and there was even a cello up at the stage.
Mellie met them there, and they'd all saved a seat for her, her sister, and her mother. It was the first time Olivia had met any of them, but they all seemed nice enough. Her sister looked just like Mellie with a little bit lighter hair, and they both looked like their mom. Other than that, Olivia didn't truly have an opinion on them from the brief introductory conversation they'd all had. But they were clearly very supportive of Karen, and that was all Olivia really cared about.
Kids went in order of their last names, so Karen had a bit before she was up to play.
But throughout the entire thing, Olivia could see she was nervous. She looked like her dad when he got nervous—something Olivia had noticed. She would fiddle with her hands in her lap. Just like Fitz.
She did it less, but the hint of her father in her was definitely visible. The shyness in her was also far less than it was in him, but it was one of those times that it was beginning to come out.
During the third to last performance before she was up, her nerves really began to kick in. She started to pull on her mom's and dad's hands, looking up at them for support.
And while everyone clapped for the most recent performance, they took a minute to reassure their daughter.
"Hey, hey. Honey. It's gonna be okay. You've gotten so good at these. Remember? It always feels easier once you start playing," Fitz said, above the clapping.
"Exactly. Dad's right. You'll be wonderful. You're always wonderful," Mellie smiled, cupping her cute little face.
"Always," Fitz agreed. "Remember. Take a break, take a breath. Right?"
"Right," Karen nodded.
"There you go, honey. You're going to do great!" Mellie whispered. "We are so proud of you."
"So proud," Fitz whispered.
Karen was clearly breathing fast, looking between the two nervously and nodding at what they were saying to her. Trying to think about the last recital she had performed in, probably. Doing the best a little kid could do to calm themself down in a situation that made them nervous.
Olivia felt bad. And she tried not to feel jealous, seeing Fitz and Mellie do what they were supposed to be doing—being parents together. It wasn't fair of her, and she internally cursed at herself for even the hint of jealousy she began to feel. So she reminded herself that she was the one that was out of line. She was the outsider at this recital right now, that was otherwise full of Karen's family members. She was the one not doing what she was supposed to be doing.
She was the one feeling things for the man to her left. The father, and married man.
That was a big part of what killed her. Not only did she feel like she was betraying Mellie, the woman who she definitely had mixed feelings about, but also, the woman who had never been anything but kind to her.
But there was also Karen. She loved her. She felt connected to her personally, more than she had with any other child. And yet, she was betraying her, too. And Karen didn't even know. To her, she was just Olivia, someone she loved and looked up to. When in reality, she was interfering with her family.
The thought of Karen finding that out, wondering how it would make her feel, made her heart sink.
And so, the pain and the guilt set in all over again, washing away the stupid, ridiculous jealousy.
Ah yes, back to normal.
Both Karen's grandma and aunt Harmony wished her luck, and then Olivia jumped in just before she had to go up to behind the stage to get ready. She couldn't not say anything to her before she went up there.
"You got this K. Good luck!" Olivia said, as Karen stood up amongst the clapping.
She turned to Olivia, clutching her sheet music in her hand, and smiled. "Thanks, Liv."
And then she was off, to the front of the stage where she would wait to the side before it was her turn to go out and play.
There was another pianist up before Karen, so when it was finally Karen's turn, she had to adjust the piano bench a little bit since she was taller.
Olivia could see her little hands shakily putting the sheet music up on the stand. She took a deep breath, and paused.
Taking her dad's sweet advice.
And then she calmly put her hands up to the keys, and began to play.
Olivia had heard her play the piece hundreds of times.
But somehow, hearing it right then and there in front of everyone, was the best. Olivia was sure it was the most beautiful she'd ever played it.
She felt a sense of pride, watching her play up there. And Olivia couldn't even play the piano. But she'd been there at home, listening to that song many nights during the week. She'd been through it all, hearing her learn and improve.
It was amazing to see the progress. And when Olivia looked over at Fitz, he was smiling. Watching her intently.
It warmed her heart.
She played it all perfectly. And when she finished, she received a room full of applause. She smiled and did a curtsy, as she had practiced.
She came back to their seats with a lot more confidence, and seemed very proud. Olivia sure knew she was proud of her. Everyone around her told her just how amazing she did.
When the recital was over, everyone went in their separate cars to the restaurant of Karen's choosing, since it was her day.
Karen had chosen her favorite restaurant in Rye—a fancy steakhouse that they apparently went to almost every time she got to choose. It worked out well too, as they were all dressed very nicely, to begin with. They had reservations; Fitz had made them last night, so they knew they wouldn't have to wait.
Karen wanted to ride with her grandma Maggie and aunt though, and chat with them since she hadn't seen them in a while, so that just left Fitz and Olivia taking his car to the restaurant.
As soon as they got in the car, he turned to look at her in awe.
"You look...fucking amazing," he said.
And she blushed like crazy, because it was the first time they'd been alone since she'd gotten her hair done.
"Oh my god, thank you!" she exclaimed, looking at him with a smile.
"You're welcome. You're so beautiful."
"Thank you," she whispered, looking at him sweetly.
He smiled, starting the car. He reached over and put his hand on her thigh just about as soon as humanly possible after they left the event center.
Mellie called him on his Bluetooth, asking what name the reservations were under since they'd gotten there first, and were going to go save the table. Olivia could tell she was being her ultra peppy self in front of everyone else in her car.
It was weird, listening to him talk to his wife over the phone, while his big hand was currently intertwined with hers and resting on her lap.
She'd learned to deal with these kinds of things, but it never got easier. It only reminded her that they'd put themselves in such a weird, wrong situation. It only made her feel more guilt. And yet despite those things, she could never bring herself to stop doing them. Feelings were so...well, powerful.
Like right now, she just wanted to hold his hand for as long as she could, before they'd have to stop. She squeezed his hand while he talked over the Bluetooth, and he squeezed immediately back, rubbing his thumb over the top of her hand.
She looked over at him, his curly hair only getting curlier and longer by the day. His nice jacket and his slim khaki pants. His perfectly sculpted jawline and defined facial features. She could look at him for hours.
She toned out Mellie's voice and just admired him, clutching his hand. Never wanting to let go.
But eventually, they got to the restaurant and they had to let go. Very hesitantly.
Dinner was good. The food was good, and Olivia thought Mellie's family was at least kind, as she got to know them a little better. The three women were all very alike, so she could see how it could probably get to be a lot for Fitz to handle on his own when he had to.
The man had to deal with a lot of women in his life in general.
But she had nothing bad to say about them. They talked to her a little bit, asked her about school and what she wanted to do. It was pretty clear that Karen loved having Olivia with them, so Olivia was sure that helped her cause.
Little did these women know, she was screwing around with Mellie's husband. Yet another time in which she felt like the world's most awful person for acting like everything was perfectly normal.
But the way she felt never went away. She felt her heart lift each time Fitz's foot brushed hers underneath the table. Those feelings that she felt couldn't be denied. They were very real and they only grew every day.
The other women mostly talked amongst themselves, discussing how next weekend they were probably going to do a girl's weekend again. They'd done one earlier this fall, Olivia had remembered. Maggie, Maggie's sister, Mellie, Harmony, and Karen would all spend the weekend together, usually at Maggie's or Maggie's sister's house. They'd shop, cook, go out to dinner, do wine tastings at home, which apparently Maggie was really into, those kinds of thing. A way for all the ladies to bond and spend time together, including Karen.
Apparently Maggie and her sister had always done it with their mother, and Maggie had always brought Mellie and Harmony along too when they were younger. Olivia thought it was a nice tradition, and very sweet.
She couldn't also help but think about what that would mean for next weekend. She and Fitz would be alone for…the entire weekend.
Last time this had happened earlier in the fall, they had not yet been involved, and Fitz had spent a majority of that Saturday golfing with David, and she had spent a majority of Sunday downstairs.
She and Fitz briefly eyed each other at the mention of the girls weekend, and then she really got butterflies. It would definitely be interesting, that was for sure. And she felt guilty as always, but…she was kind of looking forward to it.
However, she would never show it. She just kept to herself, and so did Fitz. They had mastered the art of being nonchalant about literally everything, so that, at least, wasn't a problem.
After their dinner, which was truly fantastic, they all headed home. Mellie's sister and mom didn't stay all night, just late enough to have some dessert that Karen had baked herself the night before, with the supervision of everyone.
Angel food cake, with whipped cream and strawberries to go with. It was very good, and she got a lot of praise for it.
When Maggie and Harmony left, the night really started to wind down. Karen had to go to bed, and Olivia was kind of tired, herself. So after saying goodnight to everyone, she headed downstairs.
Mellie let Hank outside one more time before she went to the sunroom to read a magazine. Fitz, however, went right upstairs to shower. Not surprising that the second they were alone, they both chose to be far apart.
And just like that, their busy Saturday had come to an end.
Sunday went just as quickly. Nobody had any plans, except to do homework and work. Fitz watched football all day while he worked on his laptop, and sipped coffee. Olivia sipped coffee too, read, did some more homework, and tried to follow the football on TV.
Football wasn't her favorite sport, but it certainly didn't bore her. Lots of her guy friends were big into football too. If he wasn't watching on TV, he was always keeping tabs on his phone. He had NFL and NCAA updates—she'd seen them pop up.
She found it super cute, although she didn't really know why. But he'd be doing work on his computer, sneaking glances at her as often as he could. Very discreetly—but he would.
And as soon as the referee blew the whistle, or the crowd or announcer got just a little bit louder than normal, his head would whip up and he'd look at the TV to see what had just happened.
The Giants didn't even play that day, but here he was, keeping up with every other game the day had to offer. Nobody else in the house had any interest in football, so they weren't on the main level. Mellie and Karen were upstairs, going through some of Karen's clothes that didn't fit anymore and could be donated.
At least they had Hank on the main level with them, laying comfortably by Fitz. Enjoying the pets he received every once in a while from his dad.
But Sunday evening came fast. Before Olivia knew it, she was saying goodnight to everyone, and then getting ready for bed. Wrapping her twists up into her satin wrap so they would be safe from rubbing against anything.
When she woke up the next morning, she immediately took off her wrap and gathered her twists into a high ponytail. She still put them in more of a bun, even though the bun was quite big. But she didn't want them getting caught anywhere or getting in the way if she were to keep them in a long ponytail.
She went through the rest of her normal 5:00 am routine; she grabbed a banana and filled her water, and finished getting dressed and ready.
By the time she finished brushing her teeth, Fitz had come downstairs and to the bathroom door to say good morning.
Another part of her morning routine: receiving Fitz's kiss on the cheek.
He smiled when he first saw her with her twists up in a high ponytail/bun, rather than how they'd been the last two days, which had just been down.
"I love it," he whispered, leaning in and pecking her cheek.
"Oh, thank you," she smiled, touching his chest. "You're always so sweet."
"Hey. I just tell you the truth," he replied, heading down the hall to the gym.
She smiled and quickly finished up and grabbed what she needed, catching up to him as they reached the gym.
Today they'd planned to start a more difficult HIIT routine, adding in a mix of exercises that worked out different muscles. It was good to do that every so often, just so you were always working as much of your body as you could.
And if Fitz knew it would be even a step up for him, she knew it would for sure be more difficult for her. He was extremely strong— having worked out with him for months now, she knew better than anyone. So she was prepared to be a little sore tomorrow.
They did a little warm-up and stretched as always, before getting right into it. It was difficult for sure, focusing on upper body and abs. And doing a little bit of machinery after that too—wow, it would be a nice workout.
Both got extremely sweaty, even a little more than usual, probably. It was definitely one of those days she was using her sweat towel constantly.
Near the end of her workout, she was sitting on the lat pulldown machine, taking a brief break before doing a last set.
She saw Fitz panting near the pull-up bar, taking a quick break as well. He was standing there, shaking out his arms and panting.
And then his hands went to the bottom of his shirt, which was sweat-soaked on the back.
And he started pulling it up and over his head.
She had to hold in gasp, because she literally hadn't seen the man shirtless since the very first time they worked out together months ago, and before that—since her first weekend here.
Clearly he wasn't one to show his body off. And she understood he was shy, but man, he still had every damn right to show it off with a body like that.
She obviously stared. She wasn't sure how she couldn't stare. And she thanked the heavens for making their workout hard enough to where they were sweating that much, and he needed to cool off. She could easily take hers off right now too—she knew it would feel a lot better if she did.
But she didn't. She just looked at him for now.
He was turned away from her, so all she could see was his back. And that was totally fine with her.
Olivia made herself do her last set of lat pulldowns, but luckily, could still face him while she did them, and while he did his last set of pull-ups.
She'd seen him do pull-ups with his shirt on numerous times. But seeing him do them with his shirt off, was a whole different ball game.
She could see every muscle working—whether they were muscles in his arms, or in his back. All she knew was his back looked so good, and so muscular.
She also knew she was getting a lot better view of his ass without the shirt on. What a nice ass—good God.
So she worked out—and watched him on the pull-up bar. Breathing out each time he pulled up, with his ankles crossed, and his muscles flexing with each rep.
He switched his grip on the bar and did as many chin-ups as he could do after that, too.
And then he hopped down, grabbing a sweat towel immediately and running it over his face and the back of his neck.
"Whew," he panted. "Tough one today."
"Yeah," she agreed, wiping her face as well. But she continued to watch him, as he finally turned toward her.
Every inhale and exhale—his abdomen flexed. His entire chest was so defined—his pecs, his abs, his obliques. That six-pack made her mouth water.
She'd seen it all before, it was nothing entirely new. But it had been way too long.
Wow, was all she was thinking.
"Really...tough," she added, checking him out. Not being at all shy about it.
"What are you...looking at?" he asked quietly, taking a long drink of his water.
"You. I'm definitely looking at you," she nodded in response.
He smiled back at her, watching her get up from the bench she was sitting on. She started walking over to him, and she watched his eyes wander slowly down her body. She was wearing tighter clothes—she always did to work out. And he made it very known that he was looking at her, too.
"God, you look good," she said, looking him over.
He reached out his hand for her to take, looking at her a little surprised after her compliment.
"Thank you," he said quietly, pulling her toward him. "So do you."
She let out a breath and brought her hand up to his abdomen, running it up his chest. Their eyes locked, as she touched his chest.
He was easily the most muscular guy she'd ever seen, let alone touched. And her body was letting her know. Her heart started beating extremely fast, and her skin tingled.
She remembered the last time this had happened; she had touched the scar that she could now see perfectly up close again. Only now, she was touching much more than just his scar.
She felt his firm muscles beneath her fingers, and the light layer of hair that covered his chest.
He was breathing heavier now, since she'd been touching him. Watching both her eyes, and her hand. His other hand rested at his side, clenching and unclenching his fingers.
"Olivia," he whispered, wetting his lips.
"Yeah," she whispered back.
"Kiss me."
He didn't have to tell her twice.
She stood on her tiptoes and leaned in, pressing her hand to his chest harder as their lips met. His arms wrapped right around her, pulling her body into his.
She was right up against him. And since she was wearing leggings—she could feel certain things. It wasn't extremely noticeable, because she had seen the waistband of his compressions sticking out above his shorts. Compressions were known to keep things...contained.
But she could feel him. And that only made her want to keep kissing him.
His lips captured hers, and he stepped out from the wall a little bit, keeping his arms firmly wrapped around her. But he turned them both, so that he had the more dominant position, pressing her into the wall.
His hands slowly came out from behind her lower back, and moved to her hips. They were warm, and big, on the outside of her shirt. But they started to move again.
He inched them up, still focusing his sole attention on her lips. But his hands were moving.
His thumbs were on her abdomen, and his hands were wrapped around her sides, but they were inching upward.
She knew where they were going, and she wanted him to continue.
Her hands were now on his face, cupping it as she kissed him.
One of his hands had now gone up to the bottom of her breast, while one had stayed gripping her hip.
He took a breath, the very tips of their lips still touching. And he slowly covered her right breast with his hand, massaging it lightly.
"Is that too far?" he whispered against her lips, his hand pausing.
"No—no," she whispered quietly. "It's not too far. It's...please don't stop."
He responded with another open-mouthed kiss, and another light squeeze of her breast.
A moan escaped her mouth, and she only started to feel the bulge in his shorts more. She was so completely enamored with his respect for her, and for her body. But at the same time, she just wanted him to keep going.
His lips on hers and his hand on her breasts at the same time was something she definitely hadn't experienced with him, and something she definitely loved. It made it hard to breathe, especially because she had kind of already been out of breath from working out.
But he pulled back eventually, leaning his forehead against hers as he touched her. It felt so good—she wanted more. And before she could even think about what she was saying, the words had come out of her mouth.
"Do you want it off?" she whispered, bringing her fingers to the bottom of her own shirt.
He studied her eyes, looking back and forth between them and the bottom of her shirt.
"Yes," he whispered back.
A little smirk played across her face, as he stepped back half a step and watched her strip her shirt over her head.
She dropped it to the ground, watching his eyes wander from her sports bra, to her toned abdomen.
Something he hadn't seen since her first weekend here. But she knew she probably looked a little different. More toned. More muscular, even. He and his workout routine had definitely impacted her body in a good way.
"Touch me," she said.
He also wasted no time with her request.
His hand returned to its previous position, and his lips went back to hers.
Only with time, his fingers began to slide inside the top of her sports bra as they made out.
The second his fingers brushed her nipple, she felt completely done for.
She gasped into his mouth, and she knew he was basing his next actions off of her reaction.
So he brushed over her nipple again gently, and watched her open her mouth in pleasure, and close her eyes.
"Ohhhh. God," she whispered, leaning her head back against the wall. "I don't want you to stop."
"I don't...want to. I don't want to stop," he whispered back, leaning down to kiss her neck, and her chest. He pulled down her sports bra a little bit too, kissing the tops of her breasts.
All she could do was watch, and cup the sides of his face. His eyes were closed, but his lips were busy, as were his hands.
She wished they could keep going. But on one hand, she knew they didn't have the time to keep going. It was already 6:00, and they had to leave in less than 45 minutes. And also—Mellie and Karen were in the house. And somehow, going consistently further with them upstairs just never seemed like an option. It felt even more wrong—if that was possible. Considering it was already very wrong.
This was the first time, though, that she knew—if they weren't limited on time, they probably wouldn't have stopped. Her sports bra would have come off, and potentially other articles of clothing, too.
The early hour of the morning had absolutely no effect on their desire. It was only a factor because they were running out of time, and they had to get to the station.
God, it was hard. But she knew as time went on, they weren't going to be able to stop themselves. No matter what, she knew things were going to progress. They wanted it, they felt it—they both just knew.
They weren't always going to be limited on time. They weren't always going to be in the house with Mellie and Karen.
But for right now, they were, so they had to stop eventually.
And that made it even harder to leave the home gym.
They did, though, after a few more kisses by the basement door. They put on their shirts and went upstairs to have protein shakes and recover from their workout.
The time they had was little, to begin with, but they had even less time then because they'd shaved off some of it after their workout.
Whoops.
Thankfully, Olivia's hair took next to no time to do—it was already done. Other than making sure her edges looked good, she didn't have to do a thing.
She didn't need anything else for breakfast either, so she just had to rinse off quickly in the shower, get dressed, and do her makeup. Her makeup was what took the longest, really, and even that was something she'd learned to do well and quickly.
But they both made it work, leaving the house at their normal time and heading to Starbucks, and then the station.
So other than their extended workout, their morning routine was the same. He couldn't drive anywhere just the two of them without his hand on her thigh, or his fingers intertwined with hers.
They sipped their coffee. They chatted. And they got on the train.
But then things headed in a different direction than normal.
He couldn't stop looking at her, and she was quick to notice. She turned to look up at him with a smile, curious as to why he was looking so intently at her.
"How's your day today?" he asked.
"It's...pretty light. Should be an easy Monday," she nodded.
He nodded, seeming happy at her response. "You know, I actually got a lot done yesterday. And...aside from the phone calls I know I'll get—because that's inevitable, my Monday is pretty light too," he replied.
"Oh, that's good!" she smiled.
"Yeah," he nodded, leaning forward in his seat and smiling at her beside him.
She nodded, continuing to smile back at him. But it kind of felt like there was something going on in that brain of his that she wasn't catching onto.
"What?" she giggled quietly.
"Nothing. I just have an idea."
She leaned forward too, nodding at him. "Hit me."
"Please feel free to shoot it down."
"Tell me," she laughed, leaning closer to him.
"We could...play hookey," he whispered.
Her eyes widened. "Play...hookey?" she asked.
"Yeah. You know, it's when you...skip school or work," he replied.
"Fitz," she laughed. "I know what it means, I just...I've never done it before."
"Me neither. Never in my 30 years of life," he chuckled back. "That's why I said feel free to...shoot it down. It's probably a really stupid idea, but it just...came over me."
She looked over at him with a smirk. She didn't think it was a stupid idea, she actually kind of liked it. But she wanted to know how the idea had come to him.
"What would we do instead?" she asked.
He shrugged. "I thought maybe…we could just have a day together in the city. We could do...really New York things, if you want."
She started to laugh, looking back at him with a smile.
"You're...serious?" she asked.
"Yeah," he nodded. "I don't...I don't tend to be a rule-breaker, so I wouldn't have suggested it if I wasn't serious."
She understood what he meant, but now she had to tease him for that comment.
"So you don't...break rules, huh?" she asked, giving him a "hmmm" look.
He paused, his face starting to get red. "Okay, you're right. I guess I don't really...have a right to say that," he chuckled. "I...usually don't. Only if...something's really important to me."
"Hmmm, so what I'm getting from this is that me, and playing hookey, are equally important in your life!"
He chuckled again, putting his head in his hands. "Damn. I really suck at flirting," he whispered.
"Oh, no, no, you do not," she said, laughing. "I love your flirting."
He smiled, looking back up at her. Studying her face.
"I just thought...me and you are always stressed about this. I'm just going to be honest, we both know it's true. It doesn't feel like it...ever goes away. It hasn't been easy."
She nodded because, yeah, he was right.
"So maybe we could just have a day together. We could have a day where...nobody knows who we are, or that we shouldn't be doing what we're doing. Maybe we could just...try to be normal, and not think about anything else except...me and you. Because we never get to just think about me and you. So why not...today?"
She looked at him, and couldn't help but smile. Realizing how perfect she thought he was, and how cute. And she agreed.
Why not today?
"Alright," she nodded. "I'm down. Let's do it."
"...Really?" he smiled.
"Mhm," she nodded. "Really."
So they did.
Instead of heading right to JPM like normal, they exited Grand Central, and she looked around before giving him a smirk.
"Alright, smiley. I'm ready. Where are we going?"
He smiled and reached for her hand. "Okay, follow me. But we have to ditch our coffee."
She looked at the cup in her hand, knowing she had a few swallows left in the cup, probably. So she shrugged and slammed it.
He chuckled as she intertwined her fingers with his. And then he shrugged and slammed his too, before they threw their cups away.
"Are we going someplace where we can't have drinks?" she asked.
"No. We're just going someplace to...get more coffee."
Her eyes lit up.
"You really are perfect, aren't you."
He started to laugh and blush, shaking his head. "Look who's talking."
She squeezed his hand, looking up at him with a smile. "So...where are we going to get coffee?"
"A place you will love."
She gasped. "Where? You're killing me, I must know."
"You'll just have to wait and see," he laughed.
Luckily, it didn't take long to get there. A brief trip down W 40th Street and they were there. She, of course, didn't know where "there" was, until he pointed it out.
"There," he nodded.
She looked ahead at Birch Coffee, thinking it looked pretty cute on the outside.
"Oh, I love it already!" she said.
"Just wait," he said, leading her inside.
And when they got inside, it about took her breath away.
Along with it being an adorable coffee shop, it had bookshelves practically from floor to ceiling on an entire end of the shop.
The style was beautiful inside too—cherry wooden table, floors and shelves, but giving off kind of a rustic feel, too.
"Holy sh...cow," she whispered.
He was laughing, squeezing her hand. "I love it when you can't pick a word."
"There are too many words in the English language to pick sometimes," she replied. "I got that from you, by the way."
"Ah...right. When I burned my hand," he laughed.
"Yes. Your poor hand," she said, bringing it up to kiss it.
He smiled at her while she did it. "Come on. We'll sit by the bookshelves."
Okay. Yes, please.
They ordered their coffee first, which Fitz paid for again. She protested, but of course, he didn't care at all. He still bought it.
And the nice thing about the place was that it really was a quiet little cafe, so it gave her the opportunity to call into her school. She was a legal adult, so there were no problems with her calling in. It would just count as an unexcused absence. She'd never had one this semester, so at least she was safe from going over any sort of limit. However, she did have to lie to the front office people on the phone, which felt way too rebellious for her.
However, she was also in a relationship with a married man—so maybe she was already past "way too rebellious."
Unfortunately, that also meant she had to lie to her mom. Having never missed a day yet, she didn't know if they would contact her mom, even though she called in ahead of time. So just to be safe, she did text her that she wasn't feeling well, and if the school let her know, that's why she wasn't there.
Playing hookey, but being safe about it. Shawn would be so proud.
Her mom texted her back immediately, telling her to get some rest and feel better.
She felt guilty. But there was something about just pushing your thoughts aside for a day, or at least attempting to. And that was what she and Fitz had planned; to just have a day to focus on them, and nothing else. Be in their own little world.
So that's what she tried to do.
But she did send a quick text in her group chat with her friends, too, just so they wouldn't worry.
Fitz also took that time she was using, to pull out his phone and send a few emails. He was in a high up position where he couldn't just disappear off the face of the earth for a day, but where he also had a lot more flexibility than many others. So he'd keep his phone on, but focus on her.
He still had his briefcase with him if he needed it. Olivia had her backpack too, which she kind of wished she didn't. Oh well. At least her backpack was a cute style, she always got compliments on it.
They finally got to settle down with their coffee in the back corner nook of the shop, at a table between two bookshelves. Truly—it was her dream coffee shop. She was definitely going to remember this place.
"This place...is amazing," she said, looking around at all the books.
"I know," he nodded. "You should have seen my face when I first discovered Birch Coffee shops."
"Are there more than just this location?" she asked.
"Oh yeah," he nodded. "There are quite a few. But this is my favorite one. I've wanted to take you here for a while, I just...didn't know when I would get to."
"Really?" she asked, smiling at him.
"Yeah," he replied. "I knew you'd love it here."
"I really do. Thank you for taking me here, Fitz," she said, reaching for his hand.
He reached back across the table, holding her hand comfortably in his. "Thanks for playing hookey with me. I hope...it won't cause too much of an issue with school. I do know how important it is to you."
"It is," she nodded. "But I wouldn't have agreed to this if I had too busy of a day. I never miss, so missing one day isn't going to be the end of the world. School is important to me. It's always been...the most important thing to me. But I have to admit, Fitz," she began.
He could feel his heart starting to beat faster, as he looked at her. Waiting for her to finish her sentence.
"You are...all I think about. Constantly. You are...insanely important to me. And honestly...having this day with you, just us two. That means the world to me."
He sighed, squeezing her hand. "It means the world to me too. You mean...the world to me."
She rubbed her thumb across the top of his hand, looking at him and listening to him talk. She could have stayed at that coffee shop for hours just talking to him. Saying the things that maybe they hadn't gotten up the courage to say yet.
There were still things she definitely knew she didn't have the courage to say yet.
But, one step at a time.
They talked for a while at Birch, but Fitz had other plans too.
They ventured around the city all morning.
There were some places she had already seen as part of a little touring day with her school back in September. You couldn't really go to school in New York City and not see some of its most iconic attractions.
But Fitz took her again, and this time, she got to spend a little more time looking around both Times Square and One World Trade Center. Also, more of the Theatre District.
And holding his hand the whole time made the experiences way better.
Throughout their morning, Fitz did have to take a few calls, and make a few in return, which was totally fine by her. It was actually kind of interesting, hearing him talk to people at his work, or people in the business. There was a whole different professional side to him that she didn't really get to see that often. He was always sophisticated, there was no question. But when he was on a work call, you'd never be able to tell he was a quiet guy outside of work. Everyone acted differently at work, she knew that. It was just interesting to see that side of him a little more.
Sexy, actually.
When it got to be time for lunch, he already had an idea of where they were going before she even asked.
"Will I know it?" she asked.
"Nope," he chuckled.
"Is it really...New York-ish?" she asked.
"Mhm," he smiled, as they walked there.
And low and behold, he was right.
New York-style pizza at a place called Uncle Paul's Pizza.
It was only then that she realized she'd never once in her life had New York-style pizza in New York City. That was probably a crime of some sort.
"Oh...my gosh," she laughed as he opened the door for her. "Is it rational for me to be as excited as I am right now?"
"Absolutely," he chuckled. "This is very important."
It was a cute little sit-down Italian place. Pretty small, but also nice, too. There were lots of places to sit, and a counter where you went up and ordered what you wanted.
Before they ordered, he had to go through some of the options with her. They had a variety, so if she didn't want the New York style, there were other varieties she could get.
But she was obviously getting the New York style. How could she not.
He ordered them a few different slices so that she had options.
They both got their drinks and then sat down. Her stomach growled, so she was definitely excited to eat. And thankfully, it didn't take long for their slices to be brought to them, so they quickly dug in.
She took a bite of her huge slice of pizza. Jesus—it truly was huge. And he started to chuckle at her, putting his napkin up to his mouth.
"What?" she blushed, starting to laugh too.
"Fold it. It will help," he said.
She looked at his perfectly folded slice and remembered their...ettiquette.
North Dakotans definitely didn't fold their pizza.
But she nodded and folded it, taking another bite.
She finished chewing and couldn't help but laugh at his smiling face. "Now you look like a New Yorker."
"Oh, good," she giggled. "Now I just need to lose the Midwestern accent and learn to talk like a New Yorker."
"Wait. No. I love your Midwestern accent," he chuckled.
"Seriously?" she giggled. "That was honestly kind of a joke, I feel like we don't really have an accent."
"It's not very noticeable, no. I mostly notice...certain words you say that people don't say here," he said.
"Like what?" she laughed.
"Like...um...what's a hot meal, usually eaten for dinner. It's...it's got meat and vegetables in it."
"Oh. A hotdish?" she asked.
He started to laugh and look at her with a smile.
"Yeah, I know. That's not an East coast thing," she laughed.
"No, we would say casserole. But...hey, I like hotdish," he shrugged.
"Thank you!" she laughed.
"And um...what's this?" he asked, pointing to his Diet Coke.
She immediately started to blush, because this one was more obvious, and she'd gotten teased about it before. "Ohhh I know this one. Ah! I'm sorry, I'm sorry. It's just...what a lot of people call it where I'm from!"
"No, don't apologize, I want you to say it," he chuckled.
She sighed, putting her head in her hands. "Ugh...pop."
"There it is," he chuckled.
"Yeah, that ones bad, I know. It's just...habit. But truly, it could be so much worse. I could call a water fountain a 'bubbler' like people from Wisconsin. Or say 'you betcha' like Minnesotans. Or I could let the strong Norwegian area of the Midwest influence me enough to say 'uff da,'" she laughed.
"Uff da?" he exclaimed.
"Uh-huh," she laughed. "It's like an...'oh dear' or...'wow', sort of. You can kind of use it in a lot of different ways."
"That's...really cute, actually. Can you say it again?" he asked.
"No," she laughed. "I know I say 'hotdish' and 'pop' but I definitely don't say that."
"Please? For...me?" he smiled.
She rolled her eyes and laughed. "Uff da."
He laughed. "I love it."
"Now enough of my weird accent, I want you to accentuate yours."
"I don't have one, do I?" he chuckled.
"Well, coming here, I wondered if you all would have a noticeable accent, but you really don't either. Maybe with certain words, like you said about me, but it was less than I expected," she replied.
"Yeah, I think...a lot of people expect New Yorkers to have this heavy accent, when...most people's aren't really that heavy. Don't get me wrong, there are many that have a recognizable accent. But...mostly, I'm sure it's kind of disappointing for people."
"Okay, so...if I asked you to speak with a stereotypical New York accent...you wouldn't be able to do it for me?" she laughed.
"Oh, I absolutely would be able to do it," he chuckled.
She gasped. "Okay, then you must.
"Ah. Is this another one of those...you 'didn't make the rules', but you very clearly did make the rules situation?" he laughed.
"Yes. This is exactly one of those situations," she nodded. "Come on, please. You made me say 'uff da!" she giggled.
He laughed and put down his pizza slice, grabbing a napkin to wipe his fingers.
"You uh...you wanna grab anotha cuppa cawfee with me? Or maybe we could head down to Rockefella Centa? No, wait—I got somethin' betta. I can take you to the Brooklyn Bridge, so you can getta good view. You know—the bridge on the East Rivva."
She sat there with her mouth wide open, staring at him.
He took another bite of his pizza casually, giving her a shrug. "That was...maybe a little on the Italian New Yorker side, too, but...you know. You get the point. I did what I had to do for you."
She still couldn't believe what she'd just witnessed and heard.
"That was...by far the hottest thing I've ever heard in my life."
He raised his eyebrows at her and laughed. "Really?"
"Really," she nodded. "And holding a piece of New York-style pizza in your hand at the same time too. That was perfect. Wow."
"Ah Ah, Livvie," he shook his head. "Slice."
She tilted her head at him.
"This is a slice of pizza. And those over there," he said, referring to those whole pizzas being kept hot behind the counter. "Those are pies."
She started to laugh.
"There are so many rules about pizza here!"
"Well, we do take our pizza seriously," he nodded. "Despite the fact that...a lot of the good New York-style pizza options are little hole-in-the-wall places that'll serve you a slice on a paper plate."
She covered her mouth, as she was now chewing and laughing at the same time.
"Really?"
"Uh-huh," he chuckled.
"Man. I should have read more about pizza before coming here, apparently," she laughed.
He chuckled. "Yeah. I could have brought you to one of the places like that. But this place has a variety, and it's a little bit nicer. And it's really good."
"It is really good," she agreed, looking down at the slice of pizza she'd almost finished. "And a good thing we had that tougher workout this morning to make up for it."
"Very true," he laughed. "There were...a lot of good things about this morning."
She eyed him slowly, a smirk beginning to form on her face.
"Yes. There were."
His eyes flickered back and forth between hers and the table, a small smile on his lips.
He cleared his throat, wiping his fingers with his napkin again.
"Alright, you want to try this one with me?" he said, pointing to a different slice.
"Absolutely," she smiled.
They shared a couple different other slices, but still didn't finish everything that they'd ordered. Fitz ate more than Olivia could, though.
After their lunch, they went to the Empire State Building, which she had never been inside. It was a little bit busy, because she assumed it always was. But since it was a random Monday in November, it was more manageable.
He paid for tickets so that they could go up there. She told him absolutely not—but she'd been learning that he was actually a pretty damn stubborn man.
He chuckled, sliding his card as he bought their tickets on the machine inside, while she was telling him not to continue to spend money on her. Especially for something he'd probably done a thousand times—another 'touristy' thing that she knew native New Yorkers probably hated to do.
He, however, gave no fucks.
So they went up to the 86th floor, and she had nothing to do but take advantage of the beautiful view, and take lots of pictures. Even a selfie with Fitz outside on the observation deck. She would never show anyone, but it felt good knowing they had a picture together.
"Send that to me," he said, smiling down at her phone as they waited for an Uber afterward. They were headed to Rockefeller Center to walk around for a little bit. Another thing she had never done.
"Really?" she asked. Almost like she was surprised.
He nodded at her like she was crazy. "Yeah. You look beautiful in it, and I want it."
She smiled, tapping her screen a few more times. "Okay. It's sent."
He pulled out his phone to go look at it, and smiled when he saw it.
Oh god, he was so cute.
When they finally got in their Uber, he got another call, which he immediately apologized for again.
"Fitz, it's okay. You're an important man," she said, reaching for his hand.
He smiled back, intertwining their fingers in the back of the car.
He didn't let go as he cleared his throat and answered the phone.
"Hello, this is Fitz."
She smiled, listening to him talk to whoever the hell he was talking to, about some data they needed.
She didn't understand, but oh well. She was content to lean her head on his shoulder and hold his hand.
He immediately scooted closer to her when she leaned into him, and then pressed a quiet kiss to her forehead while still on the phone.
"I'm not in front of my computer right now, but Ethan's in the office, he should have it."
"Yeah. Alright. I'll touch base with you later this afternoon," Fitz said.
"Okay. Yep. Bye."
"Was it something important?" she asked, closing her eyes as she leaned on his shoulder.
"Nope, it was no big deal," he said, kissing the side of her head again. "People just forget how to look for things on their own sometimes."
She giggled quietly, squeezing his hand. "Ain't that the truth. People need a babysitter more often than not, I've found."
"That is...extremely accurate. And I don't have time to babysit, ever. Especially not today. Today is for you and me."
Butterflies fluttered in her stomach, and she looked up at him with a smile. "Today has been...amazing. I've had so much fun."
"Me too," he smiled, leaning down closer to her. He waited for her to lean back, and touch her lips to his in a kiss.
"So...does today count as our first official date?" she whispered, pressing another kiss to his lips.
"Yeah," he smiled back.
"On a random Monday, during school and work hours. I would have never expected this," she giggled.
To which he shrugged, the cute smile still on his face.
"Why not today, right?"
She nodded. "Yeah. Why not today."
She knew the two of them would probably never truly stop thinking about the negative side of their relationship. The negative side was pretty big, and pretty wrong. To stop thinking about it in itself would be wrong.
But she had to admit. Despite everything, taking that day for the two of them felt…good. It felt really good. They knew they weren't normal, nothing about their relationship was normal. But a day in New York City, where they could actually be together without anyone so much as looking at them twice—it meant a lot. And so they cherished it. After everything, all the internal self-bashing and the guilt. It was all they could do, was try to cherish it.
They finished their day off, walking around Rockefeller Center. She had already felt bad for everything he'd bought today, but she made the mistake of looking at the jewelry store Swarovski for about .6 seconds too long.
"Do you wanna go in there?" he asked her, adjusting his grip on her hand.
"Oh, no, God," she laughed. "That's alright. I was just looking from afar."
He stopped them both outside the store, glancing at her, and then in at the store. "You want to."
"What?!" she asked, as he led her to the store.
Of course she wanted to, who wouldn't. But she hadn't even said anything!
They were greeted as soon as they walked in, and Fitz just told them they were looking around.
She hoped that's all they were doing.
"We are just looking, right?" she whispered, laughing at him.
"Yeah," he nodded. "I see you wear your jewelry all the time. I just thought...you'd like it in here."
"Well, I definitely do," she said, admiring the cases of jewelry. She didn't have a single piece of jewelry from a nice store like this.
"So go ahead. Look around. Act like I'm not here," he said with a shrug.
And just then, his phone rang again, so that caused a huge smile on his part.
"See," he chuckled. "I have to babysit. Give me a second, okay? Go look around."
"Okay," she whispered, accepting the kiss he leaned in and planted on her lips.
She heard him say "Andrew, hey. Did you get those numbers?" before he exited the store. So she shrugged and decided to listen to his advice and look around.
Now she felt like she could without worrying that he'd up and buy something for her or something. So she politely talked with the workers behind the cases, getting little descriptions of some of the things she looked at.
There were a lot of beautiful pieces of jewelry in that store. But there was one necklace that caught her eye the second she saw it.
It was a rhodium-plated chain, with a crystal pavé circle pendant and a separate smaller medallion hanging next to it that had "NY" engraved into it. But inside the crystal circle pendant, was the outline of the state of New York.
It wasn't insanely expensive, but it also wasn't just something she'd just randomly decide to buy for herself. Especially after she'd spent a good amount of money already this weekend.
She internally decided that maybe as a Christmas present, or a graduation present to herself, she'd come back here and buy it. But that was before Fitz came back, ready to see what she was looking at.
She didn't even realize until he was up next to her, looking at her and then down at the glass casing.
"Oh, hey," she said, linking her arm in his. "Get everything taken care of?"
"Mhm," he nodded. "Which were you looking at?"
"Oh, it's nothing," she replied with a shake of her head. "You want to go?"
"No, wait. Which one?" he asked.
"Fitz," she laughed. "It's not important. Come on, let's go, you."
"Tell me," he smiled. "Please?"
"No," she laughed. "I don't want you getting ideas."
He looked down at the case and studied the options. Seeing if he could figure out which one. She knew it wouldn't be hard to figure out, if he really thought about it. There was nothing else like that necklace in the section, and he knew her well.
"Fitzgerald," she laughed, tightening her grip. She would try to pull him away, except he was far too strong.
And then he stopped looking. "Oh my God."
Shit.
"Nooo—no," she shook her head with a laugh. "Come on. Let's just go."
"Wait," he said. "You would...you would like this, though. It has a lot of meaning for you."
"I know it does. But I'll come back and get it another time," she said. "I've spent too much money this weekend already."
He shook his head. "No. I want you to have it now."
"Fitz, really, no," she replied. "Please. You spend too much on me."
He started to laugh and shook his head. "Livvie. When are you going to understand that it isn't a big deal? I want to. I wouldn't do it if I didn't want to."
She sighed. "It just feels like a big deal to me, Fitz. Especially this. This is...a necklace. A nice necklace."
"I know," he whispered. "So let me get it for you. If you want it, I think...you should have it."
She sighed, shaking her head at him. "I just..."
An employee behind the cases came up to them, asking if there was anything, in particular, they wanted to see.
Fitz was quick to answer.
"Yeah, I think we're gonna look at that one there," he said, pointing to it.
Within minutes, it was in Fitz's hands, and he was putting it on for her so she could try it out.
She smiled down at the pendant hanging around her neck, feeling as though she could actually cry.
It was beautiful. And it really did mean a lot to her.
After that, there was no way he wasn't buying it for her. She knew she was screwed, because she was pretty sure the second he saw it, he had his heart set on buying it.
The moment they turned the corner out of the store, she wrapped her arms around him, trying to stop the tears from coming out and being too goddamn ridiculous.
But it just meant a lot. She wasn't sure he even understood quite how much.
Luckily, she hated crying, so she forced herself to push the tears away. She couldn't have them ruining her makeup, which was perfect at the moment. And she was on a date. Hell no.
Get it together.
"Thank you so much," she whispered, resting her head on his chest and closing her eyes.
"You're welcome, baby," he whispered back, squeezing her tightly.
The endearment only made her feel happier.
"I love it. It's...it's so beautiful," she said, pulling back to look at it.
He looked down at it too and nodded. "Beautiful necklace—beautiful girl."
Her smile only grew bigger. "I will wear it every day. Every single day."
He smirked at her.
"You betta."
And then she was giggling, leaning into his chest again. Wearing the necklace that he had bought her. The necklace that showed the state where her heart belonged.
And not just because it was where she wanted to continue to go to school, and eventually work and live permanently.
But because it was also home to the man she was falling in love with.
And there was your chapter nine.
I hope you all enjoyed it!
Things will only progress, but as I've said, it will be difficult.
Stay tuned.
Read on, and be safe, friends!
~T
P.S. If you want to see a visual of how Olivia's hair looks, it will be up on my Twitter and Tumblr! (It's a pretty style that Kerry has done before) :)