A/N: Hi! This is some old scrap that I can't remember for the life of me what I was going for. I assume I had a plot at one point but it's been so long since I've worked on it that I forgot. Anyway, I hope y'all like it.
Olivia sat at the bar next to Edison, frowning as she watched the club's dance floor fill with people dancing and enjoying themselves. Olivia loved to dance. Edison preferred to sit and just listen to the music. She sighed and looked over at her husband. He was nursing his beer and typing on his phone. If he wasn't going to dance with her, he could at least talk to her.
"If we're not gonna dance, you could at least talk to me," she said, making him look away from his phone.
"In a minute." She bristled at his dismissive tone. He went back to typing and Olivia rolled her eyes.
She looked around the small club and locked eyes with a tall handsome man sporting the most beautiful blue eyes she'd ever seen. He smiled at her, their gazes lingering for much longer than what was appropriate, then turned to talk to someone she couldn't see. She rolled her eyes and stood. "I'm going to dance."
"What?" Edison's question went unanswered because Olivia was already on her feet, pulling down the hem of her neon pink strapless bodycon dress and heading for the dance floor. Edison couldn't go back to answering e-mails, not when his wife was rolling her hips to the loud R'n'B music the DJ was playing. Olivia turned her back to him, enjoying herself for the first time that night.
Across the room, Fitz was searching the crowd for the gorgeous brown-eyed woman who had smiled at him. She was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen in Tantra, possibly anywhere. The club wasn't one of his favorites—a little too full of twenty-somethings for him—but his younger brother Teddy enjoyed the scene so Fitz acquiesced. He was glad that he had let Teddy have his way when he spotted the beautiful black woman. But where had she gone? He grinned when he spotted her on the dance floor. He wasn't big on dancing, but her hips were practically calling out to him. He looked over at his brother and smirked upon finding Teddy entertaining two cute blondes. Fitz kept his eyes on the beautiful woman as he made his way across the club to her. He thought of stopping her movements, but she looked like she was having such a good time that he just clasped his hands on her waist. She turned and looked at him in surprise. Had he not been so handsome, Olivia would have shrugged him off. But he was nothing short of gorgeous as he grinned at her, so she smiled and went back to rolling her hips, pushing back against him. The DJ mixed in some reggae and Olivia's hips wound hypnotically, rubbing her soft bottom against Fitz in a way that he was sure was illegal. He was barely moving because he just wanted to feel her against him.
"What's your name?" His lips close enough to her ear to make her spine tingle.
Olivia turned to smile at him. "Olivia… I'm married."
"Congratulations!" Fitz smiled at making her laugh. "I'm Fitz."
Olivia nodded, still smiling at him, then went back to dancing. She placed her small hands on top of his much larger ones, intertwining her fingers with his, and pulled his arms a little tighter around her, something she wouldn't have done if he hadn't smelled so heavenly. Fitz, feeling eyes on them, looked up and found a large black man frowning at them. He leaned over to Olivia's ear again. "Someone's watching…your husband, I'm guessing."
Olivia looked up and smirked at Edison's frown. "He doesn't like to dance."
"I don't either. But I couldn't pass up the chance to dance with someone as beautiful as you," he replied. Olivia turned around and smiled at him, hoping he couldn't see her blushing. Fitz's fingertips brushed the delicate curve of her jaw. "God you're beautiful."
"You're sweet." They danced to a few more songs, not talking much, just moving against each other. At the bar, Edison watched his wife dance with the tall stranger. He had never seen her dancing so sexily, not ever with him. The DJ played something slow and bass-heavy, and Edison thought his eyes would bulge out of his head as he watched Olivia reach up and entangle her fingers in the stranger's hair. The man's hands roamed over the swell of her breasts then down her stomach, coming to a stop on her hips. Olivia's eyes were closed and she seemed completely unaware of everything. Enough was enough. She had played her little game, and had her fun making him jealous. Edison got off his stool and headed for his wife.
Fitz saw Edison headed for them and smirked. In Olivia's ear, he murmured, "Uh-oh. Ball and chain's on his way over here."
Olivia opened her eyes, remembering where she was. She had gotten lost in the music and Fitz's scent and his luscious curls. She sheepishly removed her hands from his hair and frowned at Edison's scowling face heading toward them. When he reached them, he huffed, "I'm ready to go."
"Okay." Olivia wasn't ready to leave just yet, but she had been dancing with a man who wasn't her husband for nearly 30 minutes and she knew she had pushed the boundaries far enough. "I'm gonna go to the bathroom really quick. Why don't you go get the car?"
Edison nodded and left, but not before fixing Fitz with a hard stare. Olivia smiled at Fitz. "Thank you. I had more fun tonight than I imagined I would."
"Always a pleasure to spend time with someone so beautiful." He wasn't sure how to play things. She was very much married but he was more attracted to her than he had been to a woman in a very long time.
Olivia found herself blushing under his intense amorous gaze. "I should get to the bathroom."
Fitz nodded, still smiling at her, and stepped out of her way. He watched her walk to the bathroom, thinking that he couldn't just let her leave. He couldn't get that smile and the feeling of her silky skin out of his mind. He took a deep breath then went to the small foyer where the bathrooms were located. He waited a few minutes before Olivia emerged. She was surprised to find him there, especially as she'd just spent the last few minutes trying to wash the scent of his shampoo off her hands and his cologne off her neck and shoulders. She would have been lying if she'd said those eyes weren't going to haunt her forever.
"Hi." He smiled just so and she wondered why anyone would need such a sexy voice.
"Hi." Her whole body went hot under his gaze. She didn't know what it was about him that made her so tense.
Fitz decided to go for broke. "This was fun. We should do it again."
Olivia laughed nervously. "I don't think my husband would like that."
"Probably not." Fitz shrugged cutely, a little smile on his face. Olivia wanted desperately to get her hands on those curls again, and maybe the biceps flexing under his black leather motorcycle jacket. "So can I have your number?"
Olivia laughed again. Dancing with him was inappropriate. Giving him her number was adulterous. "That's probably not a good idea."
"You're right. That's inappropriate." His smile became mischievous. He wasn't crazy. She was attracted to him too. Olivia wondered what was on his mind. "What if I give you my number?"
"It's sort of the same thing." She smiled as she shook her head.
"Not really. If you give me your number, I'm gonna text you until you reply," he explained. "But if I give you my number, you make the choice."
"But what if I choose not to text you?" Olivia smiled challengingly at him.
"That would be really hurtful." Looking at his oceanic blue eyes, Olivia knew it wasn't a matter of "if" she texted him. It was only a matter of "when." The thought was alarming but something about him sparked a curiosity within her that she had never known. She smirked at him as she handed over her phone. Fitz typed his number, saving his name under "Fitz" with a heart emoji next to it. Olivia smiled, rolling her eyes when she saw it. Her smile faded when her phone buzzed with a text from Edison: Outside. What's the hold up? Olivia smirked as she replied: Bathroom line. Out in a minute.
"You're gonna be in trouble."
"I should probably go." But her feet weren't moving. She smiled at him for a moment before insisting her body move according to her will.
"Text me tonight," he called. Olivia laughed as she made her way out of the club. Outside, Edison was sitting in his black Mercedes, frowning as he tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. Olivia sighed before getting in the car. Edison didn't look at her as he pulled away from the curb. She knew he was angry but she wasn't in the mood for his attitude. If he had danced with her, she wouldn't have had to dance with someone else. She could admit that things with Fitz had gone a little too far, but it all stemmed from Edison's negligence. She looked down at her phone, scrolling through her contacts, smiling when she landed on Fitz's name. She stopped herself from texting him. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of texting him so soon.
Edison was silent the whole drive home. He didn't know what exactly to say to her, not when the issue was so muddled. He could have danced with her, but even though he didn't, she didn't have to behave that way with that guy. He chalked it up to their age difference. Olivia was 26. Edison was almost 40. She was practically a child compared to him. But he loved her. By the time he pulled into the circular driveway of their large townhouse, he had settled to a low simmer. Olivia was on edge, ready for the fight she knew was coming. She walked into the house ahead of him and put her small nude clutch on the kitchen isle before getting a bottle of red wine from the refrigerator and poured herself a glass. Edison unbuttoned his shirt as he watched her.
"Did you have fun?" Here we go, Olivia thought as she sipped her wine. Honestly if he had screamed at her, or given her the silent treatment, she might have been more inclined to fight. But he always settled into petty passive-aggression that made her want to hit him in the mouth.
"Yeah." She could have been passive-aggressive back to him, threw some jabs about how someone else had to give her the attention she didn't get from him, but that wouldn't have done any good.
"You danced a lot." He moved around her to reheat leftover pizza.
"I like dancing." Olivia wanted to smack him, to do anything that would blow the lid off their pressure cooker argument so it would be over. She hated when he needled her instead of just saying what was on his mind.
"I've never seen you dance like that. Not even with me." Edison was enjoying himself, making her sweat. Olivia wasn't rattled, just annoyed.
"You never dance with me." Olivia wouldn't give him the satisfaction of being the first to snap, even though she was hanging onto her composure by a thread.
"If you danced with me the way you danced with him, maybe I would."
That was it. She shouted, "So you're angry that I danced with someone else? That's why you're being such a bitch?"
Edison bristled at her shouting and name-calling. "Don't talk to me that way!"
"Or what? You'll find a way to be even more passive-aggressive with me?"
Edison glared at her before walking into the living room and plopping on the couch. He turned on the television and made a point of turning the volume up loud enough to make Olivia want to crawl out of her skin. She walked into the living room and smirked at him.
"Nooo," she drawled sarcastically, "this isn't childish at all."
"Whatever." He wasn't going to fight with her and have her make him out to be the bad guy when she was in the wrong. Olivia rolled her eyes then went upstairs to their bedroom. She stripped out of her clothes and found the smell of Fitz all over her dress. God, he smelled good. She wondered if they had been that close, if she had really danced with him closely enough to get the smell of him all over her. She got into the shower, breathing out a breath of frustration that she hadn't realized she'd been holding in until she let it out. Her shoulders ached with stress. She hated arguing with Edison, mostly because it never solved anything. They never even got to the root of the issue most times before he shut down and just stopped talking to her. In the three years they'd been married, she couldn't think of one argument they'd ever actually had that he didn't stop abruptly. She decided to forget him and his attitude. She'd had fun that night, whether he liked it or not.
Fitz's face swam to mind and she found herself smiling. He was so nice and relaxed…and so sexy. Those eyes, and that hair, and those arms… She'd never been one for lust but she was definitely lusting after him. She was also curious about him: what he liked, what he did for a living, what his favorite color was, how he liked his coffee. She didn't know what it meant that she wanted these things, that he was on her mind at all. An uneasiness settled in her stomach as she got out of the shower. She was having high school crush thoughts about another man when she should have been worried about making up with her husband. After all, it had been her fault. She didn't have to dance that way with Fitz. But then again, Edison could have just danced with her.
She put on her pajamas then remembered her purse was in the kitchen. She went to get it, walking stonily past Edison on the couch, ignoring the feeling of his eyes on her. She wouldn't give in, not when he was acting that way. She retrieved her clutch and poured a little more wine in her glass then went back upstairs. She lay in bed, the television's volume low in the background. She held her phone, telling herself she wouldn't text him. It was wrong, so wrong. Nothing good could come of texting him, not when the thought of him made her stomach quiver so violently. She scrolled through her contacts until she reached his name, smiling at the little heart he'd placed next to his name. He was too cute. She typed the message before she lost all her nerve: Hi. It was simple and innocent. Well, as innocent as a text to a man who wasn't your husband could be.
He replied a minute later: Hey beautiful. What took you so long?
She grinned like a school girl, rolling onto her stomach and replying: I wasn't planning to text you lol
F: And yet here we are talking
O: You're a smartass
F: It's charming right?
O: You wish
F: The only thing I wish is that I'd kissed you tonight
O: That would've been a nice way to get my husband to punch you
F: It would've been worth it
O: Lol if you say so
F: So what are you doing tomorrow for lunch?
O: Nothing with you
Fitz laughed as he sat on his couch next to Teddy. They were supposed to be playing Call of Duty, but one text from her and he couldn't put the controller down fast enough. Teddy looked at him and smirked.
"Is that the girl from the club?" he asked, trying to lean over and read the screen of his brother's phone. Fitz moved his phone away from his brother's prying eyes.
"Mind your business." Fitz turned away so he could reply to Olivia: Not even if I ask REALLY nicely?.Fitz knew she would crack. She had texted him even though she'd said she wouldn't.
Olivia shook her head, smiling at her phone. She was playing a dangerous game, tiptoeing very closely to the boundary between harmless flirtation and cheating on her husband. Seeing him would have been nothing short of electrifying, but there was no plausible excuse for it. What if someone she knew saw them? How would she explain having lunch with someone so handsome to whom she had no connection other than a steamy encounter on a dance floor? She sent back: I can't. For obvious reasons.
Fitz smirked and replied: I won't tell if you won't
O: No
F: Yes
O: No
F: Come on
Olivia was surprised when the next message contained a picture of his face, giving her his best puppy dog eyes and sticking out his bottom lip. She wondered how he could be more handsome than she remembered. She stared at his face for an inappropriately long time, wondering what his lips felt like, what his mouth tasted like. She was embarrassed that she was ogling a selfie of a man whose last name she didn't know, but she couldn't look away from it.
She finally replied: Well if you're gonna do that with your face, I suppose I have to say yes
XXXXX
*Six Months Later*
Fitz frowned at Olivia as he watched her zip her coral scalloped sundress. She pulled the zipper up as far as she could then sighed, knowing she would need his help but not wanting to ask. She knew the moment she opened her mouth it would all come crashing down. They didn't have fun anymore. It always ended in an argument. Fitz watched her for a moment then got up from his bed and zipped her dress the rest of the way. His arms wrapped around her waist and he kissed the curve of her jaw. Olivia hated the way her body came apart in his arms.
"Stay." It was one word, but it opened up a whirlpool of emotions.
"I can't." He frowned. She had to leave, but he didn't want her to. He was tired of watching her leave, knowing she was going home to her husband when she had told him that it was him she loved, that she wanted to be with him forever. Fitz sighed and let her go. Olivia's body cried out at the loss of him. It wasn't just that he let her go. It was that she felt like he was moving away from her. He didn't hold her on the rare occasions that they actually slept together. In fact, he slept on the other side of the bed most of the time, much the same way she did at home with her husband Edison.
She sat on the edge of the bed and put on her nude Louboutins. She knew that things had dragged out far enough, that she either needed to break it off with him or leave her husband, but she wasn't sure what to do. Edison was perfect—a little less than thoughtful most of the time—but nowhere near deserving of what she was doing to him. Fitz was…magnetic and enthralling and made her heart hammer so loudly that she was sure he could hear it when he was close. She had never felt the things he made her experience. But that was no reason to leave her husband. Who was to say that she wasn't just attracted to him because he and Edison were so different? Who was to say that she and Fitz wouldn't fall apart immediately after she left her husband, and that her life wouldn't be in shambles? It was these nagging doubts that kept Olivia bound to the situation she was in. She couldn't let go of Edison, but she couldn't let go of Fitz either. It wasn't fair or right but she loved them both.
"Don't forget this." Her rings dangled from his long fingers, the cushion cut diamond sparkling of her engagement ring sparkling. There was a time when she stared at that ring for hours. Now she only acknowledged it when she took it off before she and Fitz made love. She looked up at him, his icy blue eyes boring into her brown doe ones, and took the rings, turning away from him when she slipped them back on her left ring finger.
She got up and got her nude Prada bag from the armchair in the corner of his room then looked back at him, her heart immediately fluttering at the sight of him pulling on a white t-shirt then running his fingers through his messy hair. She put down her bag and looked at him plaintively. "Please don't do this."
"I'm not doing anything," he replied curtly as he stepped into his sweatpants. They were supposed to have the whole day together—he had even taken off work—but her husband wanted to have dinner with her and she hadn't had a reason for why they couldn't. He almost smirked at her. Freshly showered with her makeup touched up, she looked almost nothing like the woman who had not too long before been on all fours in his bed, promising her soul to him.
"You're shutting me out. Please don't Fitz," she pleaded. He was always the one to give in and go to her. But not today. Not this time. He leaned against his dresser and looked at her.
"I'm not shutting you out. I just don't want to do this."
"Do what?"
"Hold you and ask you to stay like I do every time even though I know you won't. Argue with you about when you're going to leave him, or at least tell him so he'll leave you. Watch you leave. Sleep in our sex sheets for days because they smell like you." He sighed, a frown creasing his beautiful face. "I'm tired of doing this. So just go and we'll talk whenever."
She walked over to him and kissed him, frowning when he didn't respond. She held his face. "Fitz…"
He finally wrapped his arms around her, pulling her against him. "Just stay."
"Fitz…"
He sighed. "I know."
She kissed him again, getting lost in his mouth. He squeezed her tight, wanting to meld into her. She finally stopped, knowing she had to leave. Her insides were pulling apart. She wanted to leave but she wanted to stay. She wanted to have him and her husband too. She whimpered, "I love you. Please know that."
"I know. But I want more than that." He sighed. He hated that she made him feel so needy. He hated that he searched every crowd for her face, that he thought about her for hours, that he wanted to talk to her twenty times a day and found himself going out of his mind when he couldn't.
"Fitz…" Tears pricked her eyes. She wanted to pull out her hair and crawl out of her skin. She wanted to shout from the rooftops that she loved him. She wanted to be with him without breaking Edison's heart or disappointing her family and friends. She wanted everything she couldn't have.
He let her go, moved away, toward the bathroom. "I'm gonna take a shower. Let yourself out."
Olivia watched him walk into the bathroom then got her purse. She walked over to the bathroom door and leaned against the cool wood, wanting to say so many things. But she couldn't. So she left. In the car she texted him: I love you. I promise.
XXXXX
Olivia frowned at her phone. It had been two hours since she'd left, since she'd texted him, and he hadn't replied. She wondered what he was doing, where he was, if he was thinking of her. Across the table from her, Edison studied the menu as if they hadn't eaten at the Chinese restaurant a million times. She texted him again: I know you're angry but please don't leave me hanging.
"Know what you want?" Edison asked, drawing her attention away from her phone.
"Orange chicken." It was what she always ordered. And he would get the Sesame chicken. They would split them like they always did. She wondered why he was being annoying. Or if she was just annoyed at Fitz and projecting.
"Are you okay?" he asked, wondering why she was staring so intently at her phone. He knew her job rarely ended at 5 like his did. He wondered if she was dealing with a difficult client.
"Fine. Why do you ask?" She wondered why he was suddenly so inquisitive. She was used to half-listening to him complain about his day. The Q & A wasn't really a pleasant change. Olivia had discovered that she liked Edison better when he was quiet. She had also discovered that one of the things she liked best about Fitz was that he wasn't chatty like Edison. He only spoke words that had meaning and purpose, and she hung onto ever one of them.
"You're just really quiet. And you keep looking at your phone. Is it one of your clients?" he asked.
Olivia was about to answer when she heard a laugh—that laugh. She looked up and sure enough, he was walking toward the bar, chatting casually with a man who looked like a younger version of him, probably the brother he always mentioned. He was devastatingly handsome in a black leather jacket over a white t-shirt and dark denim jeans. His helmet was under his arm and his brother carried a similar one. She loved that he rode a motorcycle most places. He had even taken her for a ride once when they first started…whatever it was they were doing. She couldn't decide if she was more thrilled by the lightning speed of the sleek black Ducati or if she just liked holding onto him.
She must have looked at him too long because he looked up at her. He stopped talking mid-sentence and stared at her in surprise for a moment before his eyes drifted to Edison, still looking at the menu, then back to her. He frowned then turned his back to her, resuming his conversation with his brother, Teddy.
Teddy noticed the exchange of glances between his older brother and the beautiful brown-skinned woman, guessing she was the Olivia he was always going on about. Smirking, he asked Fitz, "Is that her?"
Fitz didn't reply. He just sat on a bar stool and placed his helmet on the one next to him. Teddy looked back at the woman again then at the man she was with. "Is that the husband?"
Fitz nodded, frowning deeply. He felt like someone had kicked him in the stomach. It was one thing to know that she was married. It was another to see her out with her husband. Teddy sat down and gave him a comforting pat on the back. "I might be biased because we have the same face, but you're way better looking than him."
"Thanks man." Fitz gave a mirthless smirk. They ordered beers and drank them slowly.
At her table, Olivia was sure she would vomit at any moment. She had always known that at some point she would run into him out in public. She hadn't expected it to be so unnerving. She took a gulp of her wine, hoping Edison hadn't noticed anything. He looked up at her and she prepared herself for the moment where he asked if she knew Fitz and she had to lie. She was surprised and inappropriately relieved when he asked, "Liv, what's wrong?"
"Nothing." She answered far too quickly. She took a deep breath. "I'm just tired, I guess. It's been a rough week."
"I'm sorry babe. Just be glad you haven't had my week. You'd be ready to throw yourself off a bridge."
There it is, Olivia thought with a frown. Edison's self-importance and disregard for non-Edison related things had finally showed up. Olivia removed her napkin from her lap, glancing at the bar to find him staring at her in the mirror behind the shelves of liquor bottles, and stood. "I'm gonna go to the ladies' room."
"Okay. I'll order for you." He watched her head for the restroom then pulled out his phone to answer work emails.
Fitz waited a few minutes, watching her table to see if she'd return in a timely fashion that would let him know she had actually needed to use the restroom then stood and looked at Sam. "I'm gonna hit the head."
"Not too hard I hope." He had seen Olivia head to the restroom and knew it would only be a matter of minutes before Fitz went too. He didn't have any moral objections to what Fitz was doing. He just didn't want his brother getting hurt.
Fitz hoped the ladies' room was empty of other occupants as he pushed the heavy wood door open and stepped inside. Olivia leaned against the counter, looking at the floor. She looked up when he opened the door and her top lip quivered. He let the door shut and stuffed his hands in his pockets, staring at her.
"That must be Teddy," she said, unsure of what else to say to him. He nodded. "He looks like you."
He looked up at her for a moment before closing the space between them. He stood before her, filling her body with his clean scent. She was practically trembling when he took her face in his hands and crashed his lips into hers. His hands wasted no time sliding to her waist to hold her there. Olivia knew it was wrong. It was so wrong. Her husband was waiting for her at their table, trying hard to make things work between them. And she was in the bathroom getting felt up by her boyfriend. It was so wrong, but so good. Fitz's hands were hot under her dress, pushing her thighs apart, helping her up onto the counter.
"Do you want me?" he asked in a hoarse, sex-filled voice. The evidence of his arousal strained against his jeans and pressed into her stomach.
"Yes," she whimpered immediately when his lips found the sensitive spot on her neck.
"Do you want me more than him?" he growled as he pushed her dress up, forcing his hands between the dress and her body so he could squeeze her breasts.
Olivia immediately remembered where they were and that her husband was waiting for her. She placed her hands on his chest and pushed him back. "Fitz, we can't. Not here."
Fitz sighed as he removed his hands from her body. He wanted to crawl out of his skin. He tugged at his hair, his face a little red. He took hold of her again, just holding onto her. Olivia wrapped her arms and legs around him, kissed him below his earlobe. He murmured, "I love you."
"I love you too," she replied, running her fingers through the curls on the back of his neck.
"Can you get away tonight?" he asked hopefully. She didn't think she could, but she didn't want to deny him.
"I don't know. I'll try." She was already thinking of reasons to leave the house when they got home. Fitz sighed as he let her go. He stared down at her.
"You should go back before he comes looking for you," he finally said, running his hands up and down her thighs.
Olivia hated the hurt in his eyes, and hated herself for putting it there. She gave him the gentlest kiss. "Will you wait for me?"
"What?" he asked in reply.
"I'm gonna leave him. I promise. Will you wait for me?" She stared into his eyes for any sign of doubt or untruth.
"Yes," he answered without hesitation.
"If I… Would you ever leave me?" His hands moved to her shoulders, rubbing her thin, bare arms.
"No. Never." He didn't blink, didn't hesitate. He would never let her go, never take himself away from her. His whole life was her. He took hold of her face in his hands. "Livvie… I love you. I'm in love with you. I wait for you. I watch for you. I can't breathe because I'm thinking about you. You have my heart, my mind, my soul. I couldn't leave you if I wanted to. I can't exist without you."
Tears pricked Olivia's eyes. She believed in his love—their love—more than she had ever believed in anything. She half-whispered, "It'll be soon. I promise."
"I'll wait. Just tell me when and I'll be there." Olivia pulled him close and kissed him deeply, wanting to meld into him. She wanted to swim around in his veins. She wanted to hook her lungs up him, to breathe only Fitz. When they let go, when they needed air, he ran his fingertip down the curve of her jaw, looked at her one last time, then left the bathroom so she could pull herself back together.
Olivia looked in the mirror. She didn't look old enough to be wearing the emerald green strapless dress Edison loved on her so much. She finger-combed her hair then reapplied her kissed-off red lipstick. She took a deep breath then left the restroom. Edison looked up at her when she sat down,
"Do you know that guy?" he asked, nodding at Fitz and making her stomach drop. She looked over at the bar as calmly as she could and found him staring at her as he sipped his beer.
"No." She rarely lied out right to her husband of three years. "Why?"
"He's looking at you really hard." There was something familiar about the guy but Edison couldn't place him. Then again, he worked with so many different people all the time he could have seen the man anywhere.
Olivia looked at Fitz again. He gave the smallest smile, lifting his beer in a little toast to her, then turned around to talk to Teddy. She looked back at Edison. "Maybe he just thinks I'm beautiful."
Edison couldn't think of a time when he'd ever heard Olivia refer to herself as "beautiful." She was always more vocal about her non-aesthetic qualities. He wondered what that meant, what had changed and made her more aware of her physical qualities. He looked at the guy at the bar again, feeling a little jealous. What was it about his stare that made Olivia feel beautiful? Was it the intensity, the way his eyes had lingered, the little smile he fixed her with?
"Beautiful and married," Edison replied with a smile.
Olivia gave him a lopsided smirk. "The two aren't really connected."
Edison wasn't sure how to respond. He just looked at her for a moment before sipping his wine. The waiter came over and placed their food in front of them then left. Olivia's phone buzzed in her purse. She pulled it out. It was a text from Fitz: I hate watching you with him. Olivia frowned and replied: I'm sorry. He sent back: I love you. Olivia bit her lip then sent: I love you too. She snuck a glance at him and found him looking at her in the bar's mirrored wall. Edison watched her type on her phone with a frown. He was taking a break from a job that was far more important than any little event she could have been planning to spend time with her. The least she could do was put her phone away for an evening. He sighed. "Liv."
Olivia looked up at him. "I'm sorry. What did you say?"
"I didn't say anything," he replied, a little annoyed that she was so zoned out. "If you'd put the phone away, I might though."
Olivia sighed. She hated when he was passive-aggressive with her. She set her phone in her lap and blinked at him, expecting him to say something since he'd wanted her attention so badly. When he didn't say anything, she smirked. "Well?"
Edison blinked at her. She didn't have to be such a brat. He frowned at her. "Never mind, Olivia. Go back to your phone."
"Don't speak to me that way." She hated when he talked to her like she was a child. "We're adults. If you have a problem, say so."
"Okay. I took off work to have dinner with you. You could at least try to be engaging," he sniped.
Olivia blinked at him. "Engaging? It's not my job to entertain you, Edison. I took off work to be here too."
"And yet you're on your phone every other second."
"You know what? I don't need this. You're on your phone constantly and I never say a word, but the one time I do it, you have a come apart." Olivia took her napkin from her lap and standing. "Enjoy your dinner."
Fitz watched Olivia stalk out of the restaurant then looked at Edison frowning as he sat at the table alone. He wondered if the fight was for his benefit, so she could get out and see him, or if they'd had a real disagreement. Judging by the look on her face, the fight was very real. Teddy looked at his brother, knowing what he was thinking. Nudging Fitz, he declared, "Your girl's a pistol."
Fitz smirked. "Yeah…"
"I'm guessing I'm hitting the next bar alone."
Fitz shrugged. "She's pissed. I don't think she's headed to my place."
Olivia sat in her car for a moment, concentrating on breathing evenly. Edison could irritate her like no one else. Honestly, it was a little embarrassing how he rattled her some times. She turned on the car and gripped the steering wheel then leaned her head against it. She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths, not wanting to cry. When she lifted her head, she saw Edison leaving the restaurant with takeout plates. He walked to his car, parked next to hers, and got in, looking at her the whole time. She looked back at him. He was expecting her to break first, to come to him and apologize. But she wouldn't. She was tired of always being the one to try to fix things. She smirked at him as she started her car then pulled out of the parking space. Edison watched her leave, thinking that she was probably heading home and would soon be in a better mood. Olivia thought of going home, even if she gave Edison the silent treatment when she got there. But that wouldn't do. Not with her current mood.
When she got to a red light, she dialed Fitz's number. He answered on the second ring. "You okay?"
"Yeah," she sighed. "He just…"
"Where are you?"
"On your street."
"I'm on my way."
Twenty minutes later, she heard the hum of his bike. He slowed to a stop next to her car then climbed off. She got out of the car and stood before him for a moment. She needed to be held but she didn't want to say, didn't want to admit that his embrace would heal every wound. It was pathetic and needy and so not her. Fitz gave a little smile as he walked over to lean on the car next to her. He smirked and smacked a kiss on her cheek, darting his tongue out to lick her. As he hoped, she let out a startled laugh.
"I can't believe you just licked my face!"
He grinned at her. "If you come inside, I'll touch your boobs."
She laughed, slipping her hand in his as they headed up his walkway. "Do you promise to flirt with me when we're old?"
"Only if you flirt back."
She knew things would be bad in the morning, when she had to leave him again, and even worse when she got home to Edison, but for the moment, everything was okay. She just needed okay.
A/N: Don't forget to review! XOXO