AN: Hey guys! I want to thank you all for your kind words about the story so far, the comments really do mean a lot to me! Enjoy Ch 6 which is the first part of the firm retreat, and as always I would love to hear your thoughts! xx
(I'm going to post part 2 before the show comes back, just in case Aaron finally decides to give us what we've been waiting for - here's hoping)
Ch 6 – Mine Would Be You
What's your all time high, your good as it gets?
Your hands down best ever make-up sex?
What's your guilty pleasure, your old go to?
Well, if you ask me, mine would be you
"Good morning" Louis greets with a toothy smile as Donna joins him along with Shelia, Katrina and Samantha at their breakfast table.
"How was your flight?" he adds
"It was good" she smiles as a sleepy Harvey stumbles into the restaurant and grabs the last seat available at their table, opting to sit with them over the table consisting of Brian, Alex and his wife and Robert.
"No Thomas this weekend?" Samantha asks Donna while Harvey reaches for the coffee pot opposite him, pouring himself a glass and immediately beginning to drink it in attempt to keep busy while Donna answers the question regarding Thomas' whereabouts.
"Oh, um, I guess not" Donna mumbles, focusing an unnecessary amount of energy on the toast in front of her. Louis knew Thomas was scheduled to be in Europe for the week, but she supposes Samantha asking was a fair question, so why was it so hard to answer? And why was she avoiding looking towards Harvey while she did? Her brain hurt and suddenly she wishes she'd taken Rachel up on her offer for some girl time. She tells herself to pull it together and she manages to plaster a smile on her face as she returns to her breakfast.
"How was your flight, Harvey?" Katrina asks
"It was actually pretty good, some much unexpected time to catch up on some stuff I've really missed" he smiles, looking up and catching Donna's eye before she breaks his stare and returns to her breakfast, a small smile working it's way across her face.
"And you guys found your rooms okay?" Louis asks
"Ya, the adjoint bathroom was quite a…. surprise" Harvey adds with an eye roll
"I figured you two would be okay with sharing" Louis comments. For such a smart man, he'd clearly missed the shift in the dynamic between Donna and Harvey once Donna started dating Thomas. Though most people at the office noticed the name partner and COO spent noticeably less time together since her new relationship began, Louis remained oblivious.
The group finishes up breakfast and head to conference room A where they are having their first firm bonding activity. The spouses and loved ones excuse themselves, headed to enjoy the amenities around the resort while the employees of ZSLWW reluctantly head to "bond"
The bonding exercise Louis had planned for the day involved guessing your partners answers to a series of questions. Harvey had been paired with Samantha, much to his own protest, but the pair had done well when it came to predicting what the other would answer; likely the result of their equally competitive attitudes and their similar views on how to take what you wanted. Donna was paired with Katrina and the girls seemed to have a good time, giggling here and there about their answers. The events of the morning weren't near as dreadful as Harvey thought they were going to be, but he was glad to be headed to the pool, towel in hand by the late afternoon.
He hadn't spent much time with Donna since their flight in the previous day, so when he spots her lounging in a pool chair, he plops himself down beside her. She doesn't notice him at first, sunglasses on under a large floppy hat, wearing a navy one piece that he has to try his hardest not to focus on, nose buried in a book, but looks up when he clears his throat and smiles.
"Harvey Specter, poolside, I never thought I'd see the day" she smirks
"Someone has to still be able to surprise the mighty Donna Paulsen" he winks before beginning to apply sunscreen to his arms
He's about to ask her what she's reading when Louis calls out to him from the pool, asking him to join in on a volleyball game. He's about to decline, as he would much rather spend the afternoon laying in the sun next to her, when she slides her sunglasses down her nose and asks
"Well, aren't you going to go play?"
"I don't really play volleyball"
"Hmm that's too bad, I was looking forward to seeing you and Louis crush those guys" she gestures towards two young muscular men across the pool who are batting a volleyball back and forth. Next thing he knows, he's in the pool playing two-on-two with Louis, all in some desperate attempt to impress her. He's too focused on the game to notice, but Donna hasn't been able to take her eyes off him since the game started. She's trying to be subtle, hidden behind her sunglasses and hat, but apparently her gaze following his muscular arms as he serves the ball was not as subtle as she hoped.
"He's in surprisingly good shape, don't you think?" Samantha wanders over and takes a seat next to Donna, head gesturing towards Harvey in the pool
"Oh, I didn't really notice" Donna blushes, embarrassed to be caught staring
Samantha raises her eyebrow, questioning Donna
"Was it that obvious?" she mumbles
"Honey, it's been that obvious to everyone except for him as long as I've known you two" Samantha answers
Donna looks towards the pool where Harvey and Louis are high-fiving about scoring a point and she can't help but smile. The Harvey from a year ago wouldn't be caught dead at one of these events, let alone be playing water sports with Louis. He had changed a lot in the past year, grown up and matured, putting matters of the firm before his own, going to therapy regularly, speaking to his mother. Harvey was becoming a changed man and part of her wondered if that meant maybe he was more in touch with his feelings now than he had been in the past. He was the one to tell her he loved her and then wasn't able to tell her how. He was the one who said they'd already had everything, that he didn't want more. Then, why was it, that watching the man in front of her, the man she'd known for the better part of a decade, she suddenly curious as to whether or not he'd also become more in touch with his feelings. It was a thought that had been nagging at her for weeks. It was likely the cause of her off behaviour Thomas had observed the week prior. Something was telling her she needed to find out, and she wasn't sure why.
"What?" Samantha questions, snapping Donna out of her thoughts
"It's nothing, just…" What did she really have to lose by telling Samantha, Rachel already knew and it's not like telling her was going to change anything.
"Can you keep a secret?" Donna asks her
"As well as any lawyer can, spill" Samantha grins, as Donna leans over and whispers in her ear
***
Harvey climbs out of the pool after a long game and heads over to his chair to grab his towel and dry off when he finds Samantha and Donna sitting on her lounger, giggling over some fruity drinks.
"What's so funny?" he asks
"Nothing" they say together
"Well I'm going to go and get ready for dinner" Samantha says excusing herself, "I'll see you two later"
And with that she's off and it's just the two of them left at the pool, everyone having scattered throughout the afternoon and beginning to get ready for the evening.
"So, did you guys win?" Donna flirts, pretending she hadn't watched the entire game
"Do I ever lose?" he flirts back, causing her to roll her eyes and laugh
She begins packing up her stuff so she can get ready for dinner when she catches him eyeing her
"What?" she asks, turning to face him
"How did you manage to spend all day by the pool without getting wet?" he asks
"That is a skill" she grins
"Oh really? Is it hard to obtain?" he smirks devilishly, stepping closer to her as the words leave his lips so that they are almost whispered in her ear. Before she has a chance to reply his arms snake around her waist and he's holding her above the pool while she screams at him to put her down, flailing as much as she can but having no luck in him releasing his grip. With one final yelp he tosses her into the pool and can't help himself from laughing at the angry face she's sporting as she wades towards the pools edge. Her makeup has smudged down her face and her perfectly curled hair was now a matted mess, but he can't think of a time when she'd ever looked more beautiful. She doesn't say anything to him, doesn't yell or curse, only stands before him at the edge of the pool and extends her hand for him to help her up. He knows exactly what she plans on doing the minute he takes her hand, but he sticks his hand out to grasp hers anyways, before being pulled into the pool and under the water. When he comes up for air, she's starring at him with a wide grin on her face and splashing him she calls
"You jerk! You ruined my hair!"
"Well you ruined mine, so I guess that makes us even" he calls back as he splashes her
The splashing and giggling continues as they swim towards the ladder, each grabbing onto one side once they reach it. He pauses before they go to climb out of the pool, his eyes momentarily locking on hers as he reaches to tuck a stray piece of hair behind her ear. He wonders if she can hear how fast his pulse is racing as he studies her face. She doesn't turn away from his gaze, but rather she looks intrigued. He's leaning in slightly, closing the distance between them when he suddenly remembers he can't do this. She's taken, and he would never let himself knowingly be that man. He clears his throat, breaking the moment and allowing her to climb out of the pool before him.
They walk back to their rooms in silence, neither really knowing what to say. He's confused. If she was with Thomas, then why was she going to let him kiss her? Maybe she was just caught up in the moment too? They part ways at the door and he's the first to break the silence.
"Look Donna I'm sorry about what happened back there, in the pool" he mumbles
"Don't worry about it, Harvey, let's just forget it ever happened" She says, shutting her door to go get ready for dinner.
An hour later he's dressed in a navy suit with a white collared shirt, but no tie, this was vacation after all. He knocks on the bathroom door to see if she's done yet so he can comb his hair before meeting the others at the bar. She opens it in a stunning, slim fitted red dress, with a slit his eyes follow up her leg from her platinum heels to her mid thigh. The dress is strapless and low cut, showing off her body in all the right places. She has her hair down in lose curls and is wearing a red lipstick that matches her dress. He's speechless for a moment, taking her all in before he manages to find some words.
"You look beautiful" he breathes, the use of the term beautiful sending a chill down her spine
"You don't clean up so badly yourself" she smiles
"No tie, bold choice"
"I was feeling bold tonight" he grins as he reaches for his comb and moves his hair into place
"Ready?" she calls from the door
"I'll meet you in the hall" he calls back
The pair make their way to dinner arm in arm, both seeming to forget about their moment from earlier and telling jokes about the firm event that morning the entire elevator ride to the lobby. When they stroll into the restaurant to find their co-workers, Donna has her arm loosely laced through Harvey's and they're laughing about that god-awful dinner party from years prior.
Katrina turns to Samantha after spotting the pair walk in and whispers "If I didn't know any better, I'd say those two were the best-looking couple in the room"
Samantha turns to spot Harvey pulling out Donna's chair and chuckles to herself, "You have no idea"
Dinner is fun and light-hearted. Everyone shares the details of their day and little talk of cases and merging is done, much to everyone's relief. Harvey finds himself seated between Donna and Louis and can't hep but smirk at the sarcastic comments she periodically whispers to him. He's been doing his best to move past the incident from this afternoon, but he can't seem to drop it. Why did it seem like she wanted him to kiss her? Was she testing him? He needed to focus on anything else, so he focused on showing her what she meant to him. He'd told her how beautiful she looked, pulled out her chair at dinner, and was going to continue to be the perfect gentlemen on this trip, she deserved at least that.
After dinner the group made their way to the bar across the hall, where Harvey found himself headed to retrieve two glasses of scotch from the bar, one for him and one for Donna. As Harvey made his way to the bar, Samantha questioned her friend,
"Have you told him yet?"
"Not yet?"
"What are you waiting for?"
"The right time" she confesses
"Donna, there will never be a right time for this. You've just got to rip the band aid off. It'll be okay" Samantha smiled sweetly, pacing a reassuring hand on Donna's arm.
Harvey returns, drinks in hand and slides into the seat next to Donna's.
"What'd I miss?" he smiles
"I was just telling Donna about the tall dark and handsome man over there that I was going to ask to dance"
"I thought you were seeing someone back in the city?" Harvey asks Samantha
"I'm not one for settling down" Samantha replies
"Why's that?" he questions
"I could ask you the same question" she challenges
"I'm one for settling down, I just haven't found the right women yet" Harvey mumbles
"You will" Samantha says sliding out of her seat and making her way across the bar to the dance floor.
Donna watches with slight envy as her friend taps the man on the shoulder and proceeds to lead him to the dance floor. She loved to dance and watching her coworkers have such a good time on the dancing only made her realize how badly she wanted what most of them had in this moment. Harvey follows her gaze to the dance floor, watching her eyes light up as the music changes to a jazzy swing tune. Wanting nothing more then to make her happy, he gets up and holds a hand out to her, and with the swift raise of an eyebrow asks, "Shall we?"
She looks at him unsure before taking his hand and following him onto the dance floor, where he begins to twirl her around playfully to the music before pulling her flush against his chest. Her hands wrap themselves around his neck and he finds a place for his on her waist as he sways them to the music. He twirls her around so her back is to him and works his hands down her sides, breath hovering over her left ear before twirling her away from him once again. The playfulness of the dance has them both grinning like idiots, and when he pulls her back in, he rests his nose against hers. She bats her eyelashes up at him as the song comes to an end and they pull apart to applaud the band.
A few drinks later and they find themselves headed to the elevator towards their rooms, ready to call it a night. They're telling stories and reminiscing about the good old days as the elevator climbs to their floor and they walk arm in arm down the hall until they reach her door.
She goes to open her door and quickly turns to catch him before he walks away
"Did you mean what you told Samantha, in the bar?" she asks bluntly, "About wanting to settle down with someone?"
He stares at the scuff mark on his shoe, sure that if he looks at her, he'll break. He'll tell her not only does he want to settle down, but he wants to settle down with her. That he wants everything with her. That he was an idiot for not seeing it before, because all those years all he's ever wanted was to settle down and grow old with her. He wanted a lifetime. As badly as he wants to look up into her hazel eyes and tell her all of those things, he knows he can't. It wouldn't be right to do that to her, not while she was happy with Thomas. So, he gathers his thoughts and draws in a deep breath before turning his gaze upwards and meeting her eyes.
"I did" he whispers
He didn't realize how close they were standing but he suddenly becomes very aware of the closeness. He can smell her vanilla perfume and see the outline of every freckle on her face.
"Oh" she whispers back
"Oh" he nods back, neither making a move to turn away, but neither knowing what to say next
Donna's phone beeps in her bag and Harvey finally breaks their stare, turning towards his room.
"Well, good night Donna" he calls to her, "I had a nice time tonight, who knew a vacation was exactly what I needed"
She looks up at where he's shut his door and whispers to herself, "Good night Harvey"
He's been pacing back and forth in front of the bathroom door for 10 minutes. Why did she ask him if he meant it when he said he was ready to settle down? And was he imagining it, or did they have more than one moment today? My god, did she ever look beautiful tonight. He was an idiot for waiting so long to make a move. It was his own fault that Thomas Kessler swooped in when he did, he had years to make a move and what did he do, nothing! Every time there was ever an opportunity for him to speak up or do something, he backed down. If there was one thing he'd learned after his recent therapy sessions it was that despite never backing down in the courtroom, he was a master at backing down when it came to things that meant a lot to him; like Donna.
He wanted this, her. Ugh, but he couldn't do that to her, not after he lost his mind on her when she kissed him while he was dating Paula. He couldn't be so hypocritical. He made her promise to never do something like that again, so why was he pacing trying to get his mind off of wanting to kiss her. What if fate was telling him that they were meant to be together? What if this was his opportunity?
He swings the door open to have Donna smack into his chest, not anticipating the door opening from his side, evidently having a similar idea of her own.
"What are you…" he lets his thought trail off, realizing he's still holding on to her. He steps back from her, releasing her from his arms and glances at her. Much like him, she hasn't changed out of her outfit for the evening, and she's staring at him with a wild look in her eye.
"Why?" she questions
"Why?" he repeats, confused
"Why now? Why are you suddenly ready now?" she cries
"Donna, I don't know what you want me to say here"
"How about starting with telling me how you really feel!? Or can you still not do that?!" she challenges
"Donna…"
"No, you don't get to 'Donna' me, not this time. Call me crazy but there was a moment back there, and not just the moment in the pool, but afterwards where I thought…"
He brings his hands to her face and cups her cheeks in a slow, calming way that causes her to forget what she was saying.
"There was a moment" he reassures her, before dropping his hand from her face
"I can't do this, not here, not like this" he sighs
"I knew it was too good to be true! You're the same coward that you were when you told me you loved me years ago! You're still afraid to take risks" she yells, turning to storm back into her room.
"I'm not too afraid to take risks! " He calls, following her into the bathroom and touching her arm, causes her to spin and face him
"Then prove it!" she challenges
He moves his left hand to her cheek almost instinctively, drawing her in for a kiss to prove his point. She closes her eyes, anticipating what's to come when she feels his hand fall from her face once again and a sudden void in front of her. She opens her eyes to see he's stepped back from her and shaking his head.
"I'm sorry Donna. I can't do this. Not like this, not when you're with him" he sighs and turns, returning to his room and leaving her standing their, alone with tears streaming down her face.