A/N: This has been on my laptop for a few weeks. It was unfinished for a while but for the lovely Xmisschievous, I finished it as best I could. It never really had a point or a plot. It was just an idea I got listening to a song. But I hope y'all enjoy it.
The hum of the coffee pot broke the silence of the nearly empty diner. Olivia was only vaguely aware of it as it had become white noise that went on throughout the day. She wiped down the countertop beneath the order window with a bleach-spotted towel, thinking that the evening shift was going to progress at a glacial pace if no one showed up. Just as the thought left her head, the door chime jingled, signaling a customer. She was about to turn to greet them when the order she'd been waiting for came up and she had to put it on a tray to deliver to the elderly couple who took up the diner's back booth every day, talking louder than any human should to one another. She delivered their food with a smile and accepted their shouted thanks with a smile. She returned to the counter and switched off the coffee maker.
"Can I get a cup of that?" a man asked.
"It'll be a minute. I have to get the mugs out of—" She stopped short, her mouth slightly agape as she stared at the man. It had been years since she'd seen him, about 5 if she remembered correctly, but there he was, leaning on the counter with a lazy grin on his face like it had only been days.
She watched recognition light in his sapphire eyes and his grin faltered slightly but never left his face. "Liv."
"Fitz." She couldn't believe it. He was back. It had been so long since she'd wished he'd just show back up that she could almost swear she was hallucinating.
Fitz was practically beside himself. Of course it was her. How could he have forgotten the shape of her delicate little frame? The honeyed southern lilt of her voice? It had been years but the feelings rushed back to him like it had only been hours since he saw her. Memories of their first and last night together washed over him like waves crashing on a shoreline. How could he have left behind such bright eyes? Such succulent lips? Surely he'd been a fool. "Hi."
"Hi." Her mouth formed a straight line as she recalled the way he'd fled her bed like a thief in the night at the first sign of morning. He had only left behind his phone number scribbled on a scrap of paper on her nightstand. She hadn't called, of course. She wouldn't dignify his exit with a conversation. He was just a drifter and she was just one of many girls. No sense in hurting herself with hearing the words from his cursed mouth.
"It's been a while." He wasn't sure how to broach things with her. Surely he owed her an apology for taking off before she awoke, but she hadn't called him even though he'd left a number so he wasn't completely to blame for things between them never going any further than the night of passion they'd shared.
"Five years." She turned her back on him and was thankful to see that Huck, the fry cook, had set the tray of freshly washed mugs in the order window. She took them down, placing them next to the coffee pot, then poured him a cup. She put the mug in front of him on the counter, not looking at him as she did.
Fitz added a little sugar to the coffee and sipped it. He struggled for something to say to her, finally coming up with, "Cold today."
"Usually is in November." She wouldn't welcome him back with the open arms he'd fled like she was some secret he couldn't face in the light of day.
"I was up in Tennessee yesterday. They got snow. Glad I left when I did before it got bad. The whole state's shut down." He took another sip of his coffee, watching as she wiped down the counter with an unreadable expression.
"Hm." She offered nothing else, just an acknowledgement that she'd heard him.
Fitz sighed. The last thing he'd ever meant was for her to get hurt. "Livvie—"
She looked up at him with a glare. "Don't. You don't get to call me that when you left me high and dry like I was some dirty secret you couldn't look at in the morning."
"I never meant—"
"Tell me why."
"Why I left?"
"Why you said all those things—why you danced with me that way—why you made it seem like I was special when I was just another girl to you?"
He looked down at his lap, not sure how to explain himself. "You were special, Liv. It's just…I got a call about an open mic night in Nashville where there were supposed to be a lot of important music people and I had to go right then to make it. I didn't want to wake you, so I left you my number. I figured when you called, I could explain what'd happened…but you never called."
"Why would I call when all you left was a phone number on my nightstand? You could've woken me up and told me. Didn't you even stop to think of how that would make me feel?" She stared at him and he feared he would turn to stone under her gaze. He hadn't thought of it. He hadn't thought of anything really. He'd just left, hot on the trail of a dream. It hadn't even occurred to him that he'd hurt her so badly until he saw her glassy eyes.
"I didn't think. I just…I got the news and I took off. I'm sorry." She didn't want to accept his apology. She had grown used to being numb and the idea that he could so seamlessly reinsert himself in her heart was unappealing to say the least.
"Okay," she replied, turning her back on him again. Fitz stared at her little body, not sure what to say to her. He'd apologized and she hadn't accepted it. Where else was there to go? Should he tell her that he thought about her every day for five years? That he searched every crowd for her face? That he wished he had some way of getting her number so he could call her and tell her how much he missed her laugh? None of those things seemed like the right thing to say to someone with whom you'd only spent a night. But none of the feelings he'd had that night were the kind of feelings you had with someone you'd only known for a few hours.
He could remember everything about her from that night: the way she'd smiled at her when he sang her favorite song, "Colder Weather," and made eyes grow to the size of saucers, her delicate ebony braid that she'd allowed him to unweave in the semi-darkness on her front porch swing, her slender fingers weaving through his hair, the stars tattooed down her spine that he'd kissed as he slipped off her plain black bra and panties. He wasn't sure where to go, if there was anywhere else to go. A woman as beautiful and enchanting as her was probably drowning in prospective suitors and needn't be hung up on some drifter who had crept out of her house at the break of dawn. He frowned at the back of her head. "Okay."
Olivia heard shuffling as took his coffee and moved away from the counter. She willed herself not to turn around and call out to him. He had left her the way he had for a reason, and that reason was that she wasn't as special to him as he'd led her to believe. She was an adult and she needed to stop indulging in the childish notion of enchanted meetings that led to happily ever after. She counted to ten then turned and spotted him sitting at the booth furthest from the counter, dejectedly tuning his guitar. It was that cursed instrument that had gotten them talking in the first place. He'd offered to play her a song if she'd give him a smile. Had she not been having such a sullen night and his eyes not been so devastatingly blue, she might have turned him down. But his smile wouldn't stop tugging at her heartstrings, so she agreed.
She was about to turn away when a little girl belonging to a tired-looking couple of travelers approached him with a wondrous look. She asked him about the guitar, pointing a marker-streaked finger at it, and he smiled at her, nodding as he answered her question.
"What's your name?" he asked.
"Annie." She grinned proudly. "You spell it A-n-n-i-e!"
"That's a very pretty name. My name is Fitz. It's not very pretty." The little girl let out a delighted laugh, her red curls flopping around her freckled face. Fitz just smiled. Olivia willed herself to look away. But how could she when he was being so precious? "You know, one of my favorite songs is about a girl named Annie. Do you want to hear it?"
She cast a plaintive look at her parents and her mother gave Fitz an appraising once over then nodded. Annie looked back at Fitz and nodded eagerly. He picked up his guitar and began strumming it. Olivia's breath caught in her throat at the opening strains of "Sweet Annie," another favorite song of hers. She hoped more customers came in, or that someone needed something, any distraction from his voice would do for her. But none came so she resigned herself to listening with reluctant enchantment as he sang the song. Annie revealed tiny white teeth, a little space where she'd lost one of the front ones, as she smiled at Fitz. She began twirling to the music, her little pink tutu swirling as her light blue Chuck Taylor's squeaked on the tile floor. Fitz looked away from her, his eyes immediately falling on Olivia as she leaned on the counter.
"Sweet Annie/ Can I stay with you a while?/ Cause this road's been putting miles on my heart/ Sweetheart/ I've been living in a fantasy/ But one day that lightning will strike/ And my bark will lose its bite/ But don't give up on me/ What will be will be." He never looked away from her. "Turn out the lights/ These hands they long to hold you/ Fall all over you/ All over and over again/ Come a little closer/ So I can show you/ My heart still beats fast for you/ All over and over again."
"I like that song!" little Annie declared as he strummed the last notes.
It was only then that he looked away from Olivia to smile at the little girl. "Me too."
She turned at the sound of her mother calling and waved goodbye before scampering back to the table. Fitz looked up at Olivia and she quickly looked away. She wasn't sure what to make of her feelings. He had hurt her far worse than she cared to admit, but those eyes were calling out to her and she wasn't sure she could resist them. Fitz's hopes buoyed at the softness of her expression. All he needed was the chance to prove to her that he wasn't running anymore. He was there to stay, that is, if she would have him. He put down his guitar and picked up his nearly empty mug then headed to the counter.
"More coffee please?" he asked. She looked at him for a brief moment before retrieving the coffee pot and refilling his mug. Before she could move away he caught her hand in his and held it. Olivia looked down at his hand wrapped around hers then back at his face before pulling her hand away. She wanted to give in, but she couldn't bring herself to, not when there was a chance that he would just up and leave again. She had spent weeks missing him, and months hoping he would just show up out of the blue. Fitz frowned. "Will you talk to me? Please Livvie?"
She let out a deep sigh then leaned on the counter. "What do you want to talk about?"
"Well I've missed you. I haven't stopped thinking about you, even after all these years. I don't know what that night meant to you, but it meant a lot to me. And I shouldn't have left the way I did, but I was young and stupid and selfish and… I'm sorry. So sorry. Can you forgive me?"
"I'm sorry too. I could've called to at least hear what you had to say. I was just hurt and I felt so stupid. I didn't even think about how you must have been feeling. I can forgive you if you can forgive me."
"I already have." He reached for her hand but she pulled it away, putting it in the pocket of her white apron.
"I'm sorry. I can't go there with you again. I just… What if you leave again? I can't do that to myself." She scurried into the kitchen and busied herself slicing apple pies for the dinner rush. Fitz stood for a moment, staring at the spot where she'd stood, then went back to his table. He sat and sighed. He picked up his guitar and began strumming it miserably. Olivia looked at him only when she was sure he wasn't looking at her. He was playing, "Give In To Me," the song that was playing on the diner's jukebox the night they met. She remembered dancing to it with him after closing, the scent of soap and shaving cream on his skin, the smell of leather on his jacket, his hands so firm and strong on her lower back. She found herself humming as she moved around taking the orders of the new dinner customers. She was hoping one of them objected to the music so she could make him stop, but they all seemed to be enjoying his music. And why wouldn't they, with his voice so sensuously deep?
"I'm gonna start a fire/ You're gonna feel the heat/ I'm gonna burn for you/ You're gonna melt for me." She could feel his eyes on her as she moved to refill his mug. She only looked at him for the briefest of moments before moving away. "Come on/ Come on/ Into my arms/ Come on/ Come on/ Give in to me."
She made a bee-line for the bathroom, needing a moment to be somewhere she couldn't hear him and the memories of his calloused fingertips wouldn't ghost over her skin and give her goose bumps. He had been the most attentive lover, knowing exactly where to kiss and touch to leave her a quivering mess in his arms. She took a deep breath then went back into the dining room.
Unfortunately he was still singing. "You're gonna take my hand/ Whisper the sweetest words/ And if you're ever sad/ I'll make you laugh/ I'll chase the hurt."
She hated herself for humming as she handed out orders, and even more for singing along. "My heart is set on you/ I don't want no one else/ And if you don't want me/ I guess I'll be all by myself."
She knew he was watching her as she sang along with him. What was she going to do? She couldn't go there with him again, not when he had her heartstrings all in knots. Fortunately he ended the song early so she was able to regain a little sanity as images of them together stopped playing in her head.
Fitz watched her walk around, checking on customers. Her hair was longer, and lighter, waving lazily between her shoulder blades. He wondered who she'd been with since their night, if there was someone waiting at home for her. She was still as beautiful as ever, still made his heart flip with every little look on her face.
He only looked away from her when the rain began battering the diner's storefront windows. The storm had moved in quickly, the sky alight with thunder. He looked back at Olivia. She had stopped to watch the storm's cacophonous beginning. She stared until she realized he was looking at her then walked away.
XXXXX
"Need a ride?" Olivia frowned as she looked out at the still-raging storm. It had been so nice that she'd walked to work and now she regretted her decision in the worst way, especially since Fitz was seemingly her only hope for getting home without getting soaked. He stood before her, his hands stuffed in his pockets, looking at her with those damned eyes.
"It's just a ride. It doesn't change anything." He shrugged, heading outside to get his truck. He pulled it in front of the diner's entrance and Olivia walked out, happy that she only get briefly sprinkled as she hurried to the truck's open passenger door.
Fitz turned on the heat when she closed the door, watching her shiver as she sat on the other side of the truck's long front seat, as far away from him as she could get. He watched her out of the corner of his eye until they reached the first traffic light. He was surprised to remember the exact route to her little bungalow. He sighed. "Liv, come here. You're cold."
"I'm fine." She looked away from him, her chin raised defiantly. She wouldn't give in to him any more than she already had, wouldn't show him any more softness.
"Dammit Olivia, stop being so stubborn. I'm just trying to warm you up because you're shivering. Come here." She sighed, rolling her eyes, and scooted over so that she was in the middle of the seat. Fitz stretched his arm out to wrap around her, pulling her closer so that she was nestled against him. The feelings rushed back instantly. He had held her the same way that night, breathing in the scent of her hair as she slept peacefully, snoring ever so gently. The warmth of his body made her insides quiver. She remembered that night, naked and boneless from making love like she'd never done before, and the contentment that came with smothering herself in his warmth. She had given his Adam's apple sleepy kisses until his scent and the gentle stroking of his fingers on her spine lulled her to sleep. He reached around her and turned the radio's volume up, filling the car with Conway Twitty's soulful crooning. Fitz could have whooped. If there was any man who could help him fix things between him and Olivia, it was Conway Twitty.
"What's that darlin'?/ How am I doin'?/Guess I'm doin' alright/ Except I can't sleep/ And I cry all night 'til dawn." Olivia looked up at him. He was staring straight ahead, singing like he didn't know how his voice tugged at her heartstrings. There was a sad soulfulness that filled his eyes and voice when he sang that made her want to pluck his heart from his chest and tuck it in her pocket for safe-keeping, just in case he ever decided he was tired of love. "What I'm trying to say/ Is I love you and I miss you/ And I'm so sorry that I did you wrong/ Look up darlin'/ Let me kiss you/ Just for old times' sake/ Let me hold you/ In my arms one more time."
She tried to tune him out, turning her head so she could look at the rain pelting the windshield. She could feel the particular need rising up, the one she'd had all those years ago when he smiled crookedly at her and offered her a ride home the first time. But she wouldn't go there with him, not again. She couldn't. Her heart couldn't take the same hit again. She was thankful when he finally turned in her driveway, bringing the truck up as far as he could get. She would still get wet but she was touched that he tried, and that he wasn't pushing.
"I'm sorry I don't have an umbrella for you. You're gonna get soaked." He only looked at her briefly. He couldn't look at her very long without having the urge to kiss the breath from her lungs.
"I'll be okay. Do you want to come in for a minute?"
He looked back at her. "Is that a good idea?"
She sighed. "I'm not trying to do anything. I'm just offering you a cup of coffee."
"Livvie, if I come inside, I'm not leaving." She blinked at him, surprised. She wasn't sure if he was trying to call her bluff or rattle her. But she wouldn't give him the satisfaction.
She threw the door open. "Fine."
Fitz followed her as she trotted to the door. She unlocked it and rushed inside. Fitz could almost hear her teeth chattering as he shut the door behind him. He watched as she immediately went to the thermostat and turned on the heat. She shivered into the kitchen and he heard her turning on the coffee maker. She reappeared a moment later, still shivering.
"Livvie, stand still. You'll warm up." She looked up like she'd forgotten he was there and stopped in her tracks. Fitz slipped off his leather jacket, throwing it over the back of a wooden chair at her round dining room table, then walked over to her. He took her in is arms and pulled her close, leaning his forehead down to touch hers. "Forgive me."
"No." He planted a kiss on the hollow of her throat.
"Forgive me." Another kiss that made her heart jump.
"No." She knew she wouldn't last, not when he was so deliciously warm and kissing her so gently, but she couldn't give in just yet.
"Forgive me." His hands went to the buttons on her uniform, undoing them one by one even as she stepped out of his grasp. He followed, pulling her back into his embrace, smiling when she melted against him. He took her hand in his, swaying her to an imaginary melody as he walked her back toward the table. Her eyes closed when he began singing. She didn't even notice her bottom colliding with the table. "Turn out the lights/ These hands they long to hold you/ Fall all over you/ All over and over again/ Come a little closer so I can show you/ My heart still beats fast for you/ All over and over again."
"I love that song," she whispered against his neck as her hands wandered to his belt buckle. "I haven't played it since you left."
"I'm not leaving anymore." He quickly rid her of her uniform and set her on the table. "I'll sing it for you every day if you want."
Olivia kicked off her red Keds, wrapping her legs around his waist after ridding him of his t-shirt. Her knees pushed his jeans down and she felt around for the waistband of his boxers. Fitz stopped his assault on her nipples, twisting them between his thumbs and forefingers, to push his pants and boxers down. He lay her back on the bed, his erection pressed against the inside of her left thigh. It had been so long since he'd seen her body in all its glory. He slipped off her black cotton panties, undergarments that hadn't been expecting such company and plunged inside her waiting wetness. The look that came over her face, her eyes snapping shut as her mouth fell open, her back arched like she was possessed, was nearly his undoing. But there was so much more to be had, so much more to make her do and feel. He found a slow, deep rhythm that made her body convulse, a string of keening cries filling the air.
He leaned over to take her right nipple in his mouth, pulling on it as he did the same to the left with his hand.
"Ungh Fitz…" Her fingers twined in his curls, tugging desperately. He lifted his head to look at her. She pulled him in for a kiss, tugging on his bottom lip. "You're not leaving."
"I'm not leaving." He wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling her up off the table and changing the angle of his strokes in a way that made her head fall back. "I'll never let you go, baby. I promise."
Her breath became short, ragged gasps. He could feel her channel rippling around him. Olivia wrapped her arms around his neck, holding onto him for dear life. She knew it wouldn't be long before he pulled her world apart. She wondered how it was possible for them to feel the same after so long, if it was natural.
"Livvie, Livvie, Livvie…" She couldn't take him moaning her name that way, not when he was rolling her firm bundle of nerves between his thumb and forefinger.
"Ungh Fitz!" Her nails dug into his forearms as the edges of the world blurred around her. Fitz wished he had a camera, just so he could show her how beautiful she was when she came undone. It was an image that had haunted him for five years. Everything went black as she writhed against him. She wasn't even aware of Fitz's climax until he slumped on top of her. When she came to, he was worshipping her neck with gentle kisses.
She ran her hands through his hair. He was still moving inside her, mostly for emotional satisfaction. He smiled as he rested his forehead against her, his nose rubbing against hers. She couldn't help smiling back. How could she not when he was looking at her like that, with that curl flopping on his forehead.
"I've missed you." She slid his ears between her index and middle fingers.
"I've missed you too, Livvie." He lay his head on her shoulder, nuzzled her neck gently. He couldn't stop kissing her. He had five years to make up for, five years where he'd been a fool to not come running back.
"You're not leaving."
He smiled. "You couldn't get rid of me if you tried baby."