Rules of Engagement

Right there on the kitchen floor, Olivia had pressed her lips to the handsome stranger. Her mind reasoned that she just wanted to sample his perpetually dry lips. His mouth was soft and yielding, and while he made no attempt to deepen the kiss or hold onto her, he wasn't trying to end the kiss either. Somehow, she felt completely safe and at ease.

Fitz couldn't help it. He was getting into the kiss. There was no way he could sit there unresponsive for another second. His hands came off her knees with the intention of wrapping them around the tiny wonder on top of him. He wanted to shift their bodies, to have Olivia this willing underneath him in the worst way. That was probably not the best thought to have about someone who had hit him with a golf club not even an hour ago.

She opened her mouth to sample further when her phone loudly chimed from the kitchen counter. In a flash, Olivia quickly scrambled off Fitz's lap as if her mother had just walked into the room and said her full name in absolute horror of what her daughter was doing. "Shit! That could be Abby."

"Right." Fitz barely repressed a groan at the steamy kiss ending so quickly and without warning. He got to his own feet, and watched Olivia pick up her device and swipe her finger across the screen. Abby had terrible timing.

"Hey, Abs." Olivia chirped, trying to sound as normal as possible while her body tingled all over from the kiss. She began pacing back and forth in the small room, chewing on the end of her fingernail and avoiding making eye contact with Fitz.

Fitz was thankful for the interrupted phone call. There was no telling where that would have led to. His eyes wandered to the stairs. Yea. Probably up there. Her mouth was perfect for kissing. She had beautiful plump lips that he could spend some serious time being connected to. And it had happened so easily. As if they had been kissing each other for years.

What the hell had they been thinking? He was going to have to be a lot more careful around her. Playful conversations were one thing. Jamming your tongue down someone's throat while wishing it was on other body parts was another thing altogether.

He tried to remember what he had been doing before they ended up on the floor. Looking around for the answer, his eyes landed on the small deserted bowl on the counter, containing cut up mushrooms and onions that he planned to sauté for their steaks. The remainder of the white tear inducing vegetable was lying beside the cutting board. Thankful for the mundane, he silently went back to cutting it up. He listened to Olivia's side of the conversation as he did so.

"Abby!" Olivia protested. She could act with the best of them, but inside she was practically bubbling over with excitement. "You can't be serious?"

"Oh, don't try that on me, Liv. I have eyes. The man is gorgeous. Is he in the room?"

Olivia lifted her gaze from the floor to the back of Fitz. He wasn't fooling anyone. She hadn't heard his knife chopping anything practically since she got on the phone. "MmmHmm."

"Is he dressed?"

"Oh my god! Shut up!" Olivia giggled and turned around quickly to hide her embarrassed filled face from him.

"It may not be an ideal situation, to be stuck in a cabin with someone you don't know, but Fitz is a good guy. Like, a really good guy. We've known him for years. In fact, he went to high school with Leo. Think of how much dirt you'll get on Leo over the course of a week."

"This is a good thing." Olivia agreed with a big grin. Glancing over her shoulder, she caught Fitz staring at her. Why did that send a thrill up her spine?

"Girl, look at him."

"I am."

"It's a very good thing." Abby said with a chuckle. "Maybe you'll finally get laid?"

"Ohhh kayyy, thanks so much, Abs. I'll talk to you later."

"I want every nasty detail." Abby teased. "No sleeping in our bed!"

"Kay, byeee!" Olivia pulled the phone from her ear and touched the screen, ending the call. Setting her phone back on the counter,

"Is everything okay?" Fitz asked. He was getting a vibe from her, and it wasn't a bad one.

"It depends on how you look at it." Olivia replied.

"Oh boy." He said dryly. "What did chuckles have to say?"

Olivia grinned at the nickname for her best friend. "She said exactly what you thought. That Leo loaned you the cabin and she loaned me the cabin, and neither one mentioned it to the other one."

"Soooo, we're stuck with each other for the next five days." Fitz was trying like hell to keep from grinning himself. He had already concocted scenarios in his mind where Leo asked him to leave so Olivia could have free use of the cabin. He didn't want to leave. Originally it was because of the principal of the matter. He had offered, Fitz had accepted. Now, though, it was a bit more involved than that.

"It looks that way. Unless you want me to go back so you can stay here on your own?" Olivia decided to test the situation, to see if what she was feeling was just in her head or if he was feeling it too. She shrugged.

"I wouldn't mind." She hoped the lie didn't come across as terrible as it sounded to her own ears. "If you wanted that."

Dammit. Why hadn't he thought of such a clever way to learn what she wanted? If he said he wanted her to go home so he could have the cabin all to himself he'd be...well, he'd be straight up lying to start off with. And he'd be an asshole on top of that. Part of him really did come to the cabin to escape everything and everyone. But now that he'd met Olivia, he wanted to learn more about her and spend some more time with her. If he got a new friend out of it then great.

Friend? Yea, ok. That kiss was not a friendly one. He was not good at lying to himself.

He sighed. If he told her he wanted her to stay he'd seem like a creeper. Or that he liked her. And she'd see right through that. After taking three seconds to weigh his options, Fitz decided he'd rather Olivia think he liked her than think he was an asshole. Trying to come off as casual, he lifted a shoulder and said, "I think there's enough space here that the two of us can enjoy a week away and not get on each other's nerves. There's a great big open space outside if we want to venture out alone to be completely by ourselves."

"That's true. And we'll have someone to talk to when being secluded starts to suck by tomorrow afternoon." She giggled.

He joined in her light laughter. "That's true. And we can take turns cooking meals."

"Ummmmm..." Olivia began.

Fitz's eyes sunk until he was practically squinting at her. "Don't tell me that you don't know how to cook, or that you grew up with a private chef, or something like that."

"I can cook, thank you very much, but it has it's limits. And it's not terribly creative."

"This just got interesting." Fitz teased with an open mouth grin. "Please elaborate."

"I can cook eggs and potatoes and popcorn. I can make spaghetti, but the sauce is from a jar, not homemade." She thought about it a bit longer. "Oh! I can make meatloaf. And any canned vegetables."

"Great. So I'm going to be leaving here with a gut if you cook, is what you're saying?" he chuckled.

"That sounds like a personal problem." Olivia replied with a grin.

"Already starting trouble. I see how it's gonna be for the next few days." He hoped he got another chance to kiss her.

"I can handle it if you can." His lips were practically screaming for more attention from hers.

"We clean up after ourselves."

"And keep things civil."

"And when one of us needs space, the other one respects that."

"We are each allowed one completely selfish moment during our stay here."

"If one of us starts getting on the other's nerves we discuss it like adults and resolve it immediately so there's no weirdness."

"Anything else?"

"I think that just about covers it." Fitz said with a nod. He stuck his right hand out for them to shake on it.

Olivia firmly shook his hand with a nod of her own. She watched him absentmindedly lick his lips again. It was gonna be a long week.