I was, surprisingly, able to keep up a conversation as we walked. We crossed a particularly busy street, and I, being the graceful woman that I am, stepped in a pot hole.
As I was falling down, I managed to grab on to the closest thing in sight. I pulled myself up, and only then did I realize that I was holding Olivia's hand.
I dropped Olivia's hand like it was a scalding piece of metal. "Sorry." I mumbled. Way to go. Now she thinks you're inarticulate and clumsy.
"That's ok, Alex. Really. Did you hurt yourself?" She asked, concerned.
"No, I'm fine. You'd think that at 32 years old, I would know how to walk. But, alas, I do not."
Olivia laughed. Her face fell as she looked down. "Alex, you're bleeding!" she yelped, pointing to my knee that had obviously made contact with concrete.
"It's nothing." I assured her. To be honest, I was certainly more concerned about my ripped pantyhose than I was about my knee. I had a meeting with my boss later, and the last thing I wanted to do was show up looking like a little girl who had just come home from playing a game of kickball.
But Olivia, being the most amazing woman I've ever met, stopped at a nearby hotdog vendor.
"Can I have a few napkins, please?" She asked the man. "My friend fell and her knee is bleeding."
I tried to ignore the fact that she called me her friend.
"Ok. One dollar each." The man replied in broken English.
"No," Olivia said, thinking that he misunderstood her. "I just want napkins."
"I know." The man said to her. "They one dollar each."
Olivia rolled her eyes, dug in her pocket, and threw the guy two bucks. She grabbed two napkins in return and quickly was at my side once again.
"You really didn't have to do that." I said.
"Of course I did. Now come and sit down for a second." She said, gesturing to a nearby bench.
I reluctantly sat. "At least let me pay you back," I offered.
"Oh, please Alex. Really, don't worry about it. Just let me see your knee."
I smiled at her and adjusted my position so that my legs were tucked under my chin and I was facing her.
"I swear I'm not usually this clumsy." I told her as she dabbed my wound with the napkin.
She smiled. "There," she said once the bleeding stopped. "I think you'll live."
I laughed (probably too loudly). "Oh, well thank you doctor. Shall we continue on our excursion?" Oh man, you are on a roll with the talking thing here, Alex.
Olivia nodded and helped me off the bench.
We proceeded to walk towards the deli, and with each passing block, Olivia would assure me that it was "just up ahead."
"Oh! Can we please stop here?!" I asked as we passed a CVS Drugstore. "I really need some new stockings before my meeting with Branch later." And some tampons, but I don't think I need to tell her that.
"Sure." She said, "I've got plenty of time."
I thanked her as we walked into the store. "Do you need anything?" I asked, already making mad dash for the toiletries aisle.
"Nope." She informed me. "I rarely wear stockings."
Pity. I bet she has a nice pair of legs—out of the gutter, Cabot! Out!
I grab a pair of generic pantyhose and a box of tampons and I'm ready to go.
"I wasn't aware this was a whole shopping excursion, Counselor." Olivia said, gesturing to the tampons.
"Well," I started, "I saw them and I figured I should get them while I'm here. Why? Do tampons make you uncomfortable?" Why would you even ask that? You are slowly but surely losing your mind. Get a grip!
"Hardly." She says as we walk up to the counter to pay. I'm not sure when our dynamic changed from awkward to flirting, but the air between us is different now. I wonder if she notices as we walk out of the store.
"I swear it is right up ahead this time."
"That's what you said four blocks ago," I joke.
"Fine," she said, "don't believe me."
We continued on in a somewhat comfortable silence until Olivia abruptly stopped in front of a small bistro.
"This is it." She said happily.
"Finally!" I said with an exasperated sigh.
She smiled and rolled her eyes as she gave a small wave to the waiter. In return, he gestured to a small table by the window.
"I take it that you come here often?" I ask as we sit down, silently cursing myself because I know that I made it sound like an awful pickup line.
"What can I say?" She asked. "I like predictability."
…which probably explains why she's still with Carmichael.
The waiter comes over to take our orders. "Your usual, Miss Benson?"
Olivia blushed slightly. "Yes please, Frank," she tells him.
He looked at me, as if he was just registering my presence for the first time. "What? No Miss Carmichael today?" he joked.
I can see Olivia turn three shades of red as I calmly laughed it off. "Sorry to disappoint," I say and order a glass of water and a Caesar Salad.
"Sorry." Olivia said when the waiter has left our table.
"It's ok." I assured her, although I was mortified beyond belief. If this waiter automatically associates Abbie with Olivia, there's a fair chance that everyone else does, too.
"So who are you arguing your first case against?" She asked, and I am thankful beyond belief that she changed the subject.
"Langdon." I said, making a vomiting noise to accentuate my point. Way to sound like a nine-year-old, Cabot.
Olivia giggled. Actually giggled. "You have a history with him?"
"Unfortunately. I dated him once."
"Ouch! Why? I mean not to be personal, but why?" she asked, still laughing.
"Well, he'd been after me forever… and I lost a bet with a friend of mine."
"That sucks."
"Tell me about it. He tried to kiss me goodnight and I ended up kicking him in the balls. Needless to say, he isn't my biggest fan."
"Ha! Good for you! I've wanted to kick Trevor in the balls for as long as I can remember. I'm glad someone got to." She said.
The waiter brought our food and to my surprise, Olivia's "usual" is the exact same thing I ordered. I smile and begin to eat.
"So what do you look for in a guy?" she asks in an attempt to make small talk.
"Well," I begin, "for starters, it's helpful if they don't have a penis." Whoa, Cabot. That was definitely NOT the smoothest way to tell her that you're gay.
The expression on her face is one of pure confusion.
"I'm a lesbian, Olivia."
AN: Yeah, this took forever and it sucks a little, but school is INSANE right now. And also, a man charged me once for napkins when a friend of mine was throwing up, so that's where that came from. Ridiculous, right?