Challenges
Love.
There was no better way to describe the smell of freshly brewed coffee in the morning! There simply wasn't a better smell in all of creation, in Fitz's humble opinion, and right now, the smell was wafting – no, beckoning him – as he finished brushing the death off his teeth from the night before and almost giddily jogged down the stairs into Liv's space. He marveled at how quickly it had become routine for him to get his coffee down here. The little groan of anticipation for his morning drink simply couldn't be stifled.
"Godddd, that smells divine!" He muttered to himself and continued towards the kitchen.
"Good morning, Fritz." Liv said with a smile from her seat on the sofa.
His head turned to her direction. She was curled up on the sofa wearing a simple pink cotton bathrobe that was belted at the waist. The thin covering should have made him think of his grandmother and the robes she was prone to wear in the mornings when he was a boy at her house in the summer, but not this time.
Seeing Liv's well toned mocha legs stretched in front of her sent all thoughts of grandma out the window. Keep it together dumbass, he reminded himself. He sent a smile back at her, but his was full of mischief and pride. "I'm glad I didn't dream that. I guess it actually happened."
"It did." She teased.
"I can't seem to remember what it was the I called you. Something more creative, I'm sure." Squinting, he glanced up, but the nickname didn't come to him. He shrugged. "I do remember that you were pretty wrecked last night."
She brought a hand up to her throat and glanced around the empty room with wide eyes in fake disbelief. "Me?"
"Oh yea." He openly mocked.
"If I was wrecked, you were hammered." She shot him a superior look and chuckled.
Fitz went to the sofa and sat down near her. He picked up her legs and set them in his lap as if he'd routinely done that a million times before. She seemed completely comfortable with the simple gesture, so he gently set his hands on top of her shins.
"Hammered is a bit strong. I was definitely feeling something though." Not quite the same thing he was feeling right now.
Why did she have to look so good all the time? Why did he have to sound like such an idiot whenever he spoke to her? Pushing the self deprecating thoughts away for the moment, he studied her gorgeous face. She didn't look like a woman who had enjoyed a night of heavy drinking and had gotten home just hours earlier. There wasn't a hint that she was suffering from a hangover either. Something she definitely should be dealing with after the amount she had consumed at the bar.
The amount they both had consumed, his lightly thumping head reminded him.
Liv looked completely at ease sitting there, listening to the sound of his voice drone on as his hand stayed on her legs. He was trying like hell to keep his eyes on her face instead of her exposed legs. It was much more difficult as flashes of him gripping her thigh rushed through his mind.
That was the moment that his brain reminded him of what it felt like to kiss her too. His blue eyes zeroed in on her plump lips and he studied them intensely. What he wouldn't give for a sober sample of her mouth. His tongue slid out between his parched lips as he made himself look her in the eye. "Uhh, you're not having coffee this morning?"
He sounded like a moron.
She enjoyed watching Fitz struggle with all of the things that seemed to be going on inside him. He was thinking about how they had left things last night. She'd bet money on it.
Good. She didn't want to be the only one tortured by the memory.
"It's brewing. I was trying to enjoy the feeling of freshly brushed teeth as long as possible."
That was smart. "Me too."
Getting up on her knees, she tried not to smile as his eyes grew wider at her movement. She put a hand down on the sofa between them and leaned towards him. "Are you always this chatty in the morning?"
Breathe, breathe, breathe, his mind commanded as he refrained from licking his lips once again. Trying to sound casual, he gave a light shrug and said, "just trying to get rid of the cobwebs after the events of last night."
She moved closer in his direction. "Maybe I can help with that?"
"Maybe" he said lightly before swallowing hard. He'd bet she could help with a lot of things, cobwebs being the last thing on the list in his mind.
"How are you feeling?" she asked quietly.
Liv was like three inches from his face, and she was definitely putting out a kiss me vibe. How was he feeling? Like a man doing his best to contain his wild side. "Ummm, you know...pretty good."
She grinned at him. They were practically nose to nose now. "Tell me you don't want to kiss me right now?"
Closing his eyes, Fitz let out a light groan, and quietly replied, "I can't."
Just as she was going in for the kill, Liv stopped short. "Wait."
His eyes popped open and flicked up to her confused expression.
"You can't tell me no? Or you can't kiss me?"
"Are you insane?" He practically accused her. I've wanted to kiss you since the second I..."
"You kissed me last night." she said, interrupting him.
"You kissed me. Besides, we both had been drinking heavily, and that didn't count. Not really."
She arched a challenging eyebrow at him.
"I mean..." He stammered. "It counted. But..."
"But?" She prodded him for the rest of it.
"But it wasn't real."
"Excuse me?" Liv pulled back slightly from him. He was really quite adorable when he painted himself into a corner.
"You know what I mean! It was real in that it happened, but it wasn't real in that you caught me off guard, we were both drunk, and it wasn't my best work."
Shooting him a flirty look, she asked, "why haven't you kissed me before then?"
They were really going to have this conversation before coffee? Fitz cleared his throat and went with the truth. "Because I didn't want to make any unwanted advances or push myself onto you."
She leaned closer to him than she had been moments before and nipped his bottom lip between his teeth until he winced. "I've been waiting for you to push yourself..."
The rest of her sentence was left hanging in the air as he grabbed her shoulders and quite literally pushed her flat on her back against the sofa. He covered her petite body with his much larger one as her arms reactively came up around his shoulders. With equal parts of pride and fascination, Fitz watched as her breathing quickened and her large brown eyes searched his blue ones.
Wow! She felt like a rag doll being flung around so effortlessly by his huge hands. Even though she had put no work into the position she now found herself in, Liv's heart was pounding as if she'd been chased through the woods in the middle of the night. She liked the rush.
One of her hands slid from his shoulder and came to rest on his heart. The smirk of satisfaction knowing his heart was racing just as wildly as her own couldn't be helped. It seemed they both had intense reactions towards each other. She hoped he was a good kisser. He had to be, right? So much time could not have gone into putting this sexy ass man together just for him to be lacking orally.
That made her mind wander to a completely different kind of oral, and a light groan slid up through her throat before she could contain it. Her eyes darted wildly back to his intense blue ones. Now he was smirking at her.
"Is this what you've been waiting for?" He challenged. He was nervous as hell but wasn't about to admit it. Liv wasn't protesting. Quite the opposite in fact. He was enough of a gentleman to ask just to make sure.
He'd be crushed if she said no.
Instead of answering with words, she wrapped her legs around his narrow hips to hold him in place and gave a playful, "Uh huh."
He caressed her cheek with his left hand and was happy to learn that her skin was as smooth and soft as he had imagined. Touching her was becoming one of his favorite things.
Liv picked up her head, impatiently trying to connect their lips when it seemed like he was happy enough to rub her cheek.
His smirk faded into a lopsided grin, and he pulled his head back away from hers, keeping his mouth just out of her reach. "You still have coffee made, right?"
Her grin instantly matched his. "You're still cooking lunch today, right?"
Where had she been all his life?
Without wasting another moment, he nodded slightly and leaned down, very slowly. The two of them were completely absorbed, almost lost in the other's gaze as his head continued its slow drop towards hers. Nerves and anticipation mixed as he kept watching her face until her eyes closed at the very last second before his lips brushed against hers in a feather light kiss. Even her lips were soft and smooth.
It was perfect.
Determined to keep the kiss light, Fitz took his time enjoying it, instead of seeing it as a move towards another step. In his mind this was the only step that mattered, and he wanted Liv to feel that way too. He continued to take his time, loving the feel of her lips on his. Still keeping it light and leisurely, he slid his tongue into her mouth; and discovered heaven.
He was an amazing kisser! The feel of his body on top of hers, fully clothed as it was, felt glorious to Liv. She could feel that he was in no rush whatsoever, and she appreciated him for that. His hands weren't trying to grope or probe her bare skin like an awkward horny teenager, his lips weren't in a mad rush to wander to places more southern on her body. He seemed genuinely content to kiss her like this for as long as she liked.
When her fingers began to thread through the curls at the back of his neck and pull him closer, that was when Fitz broke the kiss. Her eyes popped open, and she froze all movement, staring up at him confused. "Whad I do wrong?"
"Absolutely nothing! Why would you ask that?"
"Well...because you stopped kissing me." She accused lightly.
He began sitting up. It gave him a minute to stifle the laughter that threatened to bubble up inside of him at her tone. "I weigh a lot more than you do, and I'm sure having it all bearing down on you was..."
"I didn't feel anything but your lips." She rolled her eyes in a guilty fashion. "Okay, and maybe your hair."
He chuckled at her.
"It's so soft. What do you put on it to keep it so soft?"
"You wanna talk hair care products right now, Liv? Really?"
"Okay. No." She tucked her feet underneath her body and rubbed her lips. "That...was a great first kiss."
"Much better topic." He agreed with a smile. "And it was fantastic. Thank you."
"Don't thank me!" She sputtered out.
"Why not?" he teased as his smile grew bigger.
"It's weird." she hissed out.
"You're weird." She was perfect.
"Yea, but you seem to have a thing for me, Fitz." She had him there and they both knew it.
His arm snaked around her waist, and he pulled her onto his lap. "Funny. I was just about to say the same thing about you."
She was staring at his lips, eager to have them touching hers once more. In a needy voice, she anxiously whispered, "kiss me again."
But he was already moving in that direction. And this time he was a bit more eager too.
Did he just nibble on her bottom lip? She grinned as she poured herself into the heady kiss and held onto him tightly.
It was all he could do to keep his hands on her waist in a respectful manner instead of letting his fingers do the walking all over her body. Fitz hoped to one day explore every inch of her skin, but right now he was completely and happily absorbed with kissing her.
Liv, on the other hand, felt a bit more at ease to let her hands do a little wandering on his body. Everywhere she touched was muscle. His shoulders, back, and chest all felt like wonderfully chiseled well toned male strength. The excitement of touching him had a heady effect on her lips. She wanted more of him. Her mouth anxiously tried to dominate the kiss as she gripped him harder and tried pulling him even closer than he already was.
He broke the kiss abruptly. She was making it extremely difficult not to turn into a wild animal. Everything about her was as intoxicating as the alcohol they had enjoyed the night before. He wanted more of her, but there wasn't any rush.
"Why do you keep doing that?" she asked breathlessly.
Quick thinking saved him from potentially hurting her feelings. Shooting her a smile, Fitz replied, "like I said, you have a thing for me too. Let's take it slow and see what happens."
"I'd like that." she said, smiling back.
"Oh, I heard you singing when I woke up."
She covered her face in her hands to avoid his judgement, but chuckled. "Oh, God. I'm so embarrassed! I didn't know I was being that loud. I'm..."
Fitz gently pried Liv's hands away from her face and his smile grew a little bigger. "Don't say you're sorry. It was nice. You have a great voice, by the way."
What a sweet compliment. "Thank you."
"You're welcome." He held her hand and timidly began tracing little circles on her warm skin.
"About that coffee." They both said in unison.
Both sets of eyes widened moments before wild laughter filled the house.
Realizing what had just happened, Fitz immediately stopped laughing and pointed at her with his mouth forming an astonished little o. He was about to say the one word that would have her making their coffee this morning, but she beat him to it.
"JINX!" She shouted giddily. The mock look of defeat on his handsome face brought her back to loud laughter. Jumping to her feet, she did a happy little dance before returning to her seat, the picture of calm and poise. "Two creams and one sugar please."
"WOW!" Fitz exclaimed. "Jekyll and Hyde have nothing on you, Liv. That change was instantaneous! Like flipping a light switch."
"Less talky. More walky." She teased, motioning him towards the kitchen with her hands.
"Yea, yea. I'm going." He shot back with a short laugh. "I'll be quicker next time."
"Keep telling yourself that if you like."
"I don't like this side of you."
"Kay." She stretched loudly and watched his ass as he trudged to the kitchen. "I'll be sitting here comfortably, trying to change my ways."
He snorted at her sarcasm but kept moving. Once in the kitchen, a mischievous plot formed and without hesitation, he decided to run with it. As he prepared Liv's coffee, he muttered to himself, "never screw with the person who handles your meals. She'll learn."
The last two words he had lightly spoken aloud hung in the air, making him stop all movement. He realized in that moment that he had allowed his heart to think of the future. Granted, their time together was only for a few days more, but the enormity of knowing he had opened himself to thoughts of another relationship – of sorts – was huge. It brought a huge sappy grin to his face. Looking down into the mug he had just prepared for Liv, he hesitated about taking it out to her. When he reversed their situations, he knew she would do the same to him, he gave a slight nod to his favorite room and made his way back to her.
She was sitting on the sofa, happy as a clam and twice as proud of herself. When she heard his footsteps, she glanced up at him and began to anxiously clap her hands together lightly like an excited little kid.
He handed her a mug.
"Thank you. I'm guessing delivered coffee tastes way better than made it myself coffee. Let's test that theory."
Fitz sat down on the opposite end of the sofa and sipped his coffee in peace while he still could. There would be hell to pay in 3, 2, 1...
Liv brought the mug to her lips and closed her eyes, savoring the sweet victory for a second longer. She'd stop being so damned smug after the first sip. Or so she thought...
Her entire face crinkled with confusion in an instant. Sputtering, she jerked her head back and coughed loudly. Once the confusion wore off, seconds later it was replaced with an incredulous wide eyed glare.
"You okay, Liv?" Fitz asked politely from a safe distance.
"Is that...salt in my coffee, Fitz?"
He tapped his chin and thought about it for a full three seconds, before smiling patiently and answering, "I believe it is."
"Why did you do that?" She set the mug down not so gently on the little table nearby and wiped her mouth. "It's disgusting!"
"So, you are saying delivered coffee doesn't taste better than made it yourself coffee? Who knew?" He wore an angelic smile.
"You know what you've done?"
"Put salt in your coffee instead of sugar?"
"You've started a war."
"Liv. No. Calm down." He chuckled. "You were getting a little too big for your bitches, high on the win. You needed to be brought back down to Earth."
"Ohhh, and you assumed you'd take on that role, huh?" She was gonna get him when he least expected it!
"Mmmm, yea. The opportunity presented itself, and I accepted the challenge." As much as he was enjoying his momentary win, a sense of dread was beginning to settle in his belly. He'd bet she could be very sneaky when she wanted to be. "Let's chalk it up to a lesson learned and call it a day. Whaddya say?"
She was already contemplating how to get even on a much bigger scale. He'd never see it coming. Tilting her head to the side, she shot him a similarly sweet smile and said, "no thanks" before getting up to make herself a new cup of coffee.
A/N- I'm beyond sorry that you haven't had regular updates on this story & that this one is so long overdue! I don't think I've ever had such a big gap in time between chapters, but I do always finish my stories & I will finish this one too. Good, bad, or ugly, I hope this brings a smile to your face. I love playful Olitz. Until next time...
