Once in his car turned to Olivia to ask for a brunch recommendation. She was happy to suggest a local diner that wasn't too far from her apartment. At the diner they were seated in a small booth. Liv sat on the side of the booth facing the door while Fitz sat opposite of her. It wasn't busy and looked like a hidden gem that was probably overlooked by tourists and locals who didn't venture out.
"Hey, y'all, welcome to Charlie's. My name is Shirley and I'll be your server. Here are your menus, can I get y'all started with drinks?" Shirley handed them menus and laid out their silverware on napkins.
Fitz motioned for Liv to order her drink. "I'll have a water, no lemon, please."
Shirley nodded and looked to Fitz. "I'll have the same," he replied with a small smile.
"I'll be back in a few minutes to take your orders." Shirley smiled once more then walked away.
Liv was studying her menu thoroughly until she felt the weight of Fitz's stare. He had not picked up his menu and had a small smile on his lips as he looked at her. "Do you already know what you want, Fitz?"
He drummed his fingertips on the table as his smile widened. "I definitely know what I want, Livvie." His gaze turned predatory and she knew exactly what he meant.
"I was talking about food, Fitz." She shook her head slightly exasperated at his statement.
"I wasn't, Livvie." His cerulean blue eyes darkened and his baritone voice had dropped even lower. He reached for her hand and linked their fingers. He rubbed his thumb across her fingers.
Her body was responding to him-his voice, his stare, and his touch. They were all softening her towards him. She could not help but notice the ease and warmth that filled her when he was near. She felt relaxed and secure in the knowledge that if a situation arose she could trust him to stand with her. He wanted her and she felt the tug of desire that flared whenever they were in close proximity.
Fitz could almost hear the thoughts running through Liv's head. He saw a range of emotions flicker across her beautiful face. Her doe eyes had widened, a smile had raced across her lips briefly before she swallowed it and closed her eyes. He knew that he wanted her and that she wanted him. He wanted them to spend more time together. When he was with her he felt his mind settle and a sense of calm filled him. He loved how strong and independent she was.
"Sorry to interrupt but are you ready to order, dears?" Shirley cleared her throat softly and felt bad at her sudden intrusion. The two of them were clearly involved and having a moment. They had been totally focused on each other and had not noticed her until she spoke.
Fitz was the first to tear his gaze away and he blushed a bit when he noticed that the waitress had been standing there awhile. "I apologize, Shirley. We were having a discussion and lost track of the time. I'm afraid I haven't even looked at my menu. Maybe Livvie is ready to order." He returned his gaze to Liv whose cheeks were slightly flushed.
"I'll take the French toast meal with sausage patties and over hard eggs. Thank you, Shirley." Liv was polite as she looked at Shirley to give her order. Shirley took the order down.
"Now that leaves me. Shirley, I don't want to be a difficult customer. What would you recommend for me to order? Is there a special?" Fitz turned his charm onto Shirley and as a result she blushed a bit.
"Well, you look like you need a solid meal so I would suggest you get the Belgian waffle meal with your choice of fruit topping, two eggs, toast and a meat of your choice, dear."
Fitz nodded in agreement. "That sounds great. I will have the Belgian waffle meal with strawberries, scrambled eggs, wheat toast and sausage patties. Thank you for the suggestion." Shirley jotted down Fitz's order and took their menus as Fitz handed them back to her.
While they waited for their food they chatted about what they should do after their meal. Fitz suggested that they act like tourists and take in the historical monuments since it was a clear and warm day. Liv agreed since it had been a while since she had seen them. They agreed that when they were done sightseeing they would decide what to do for dinner. By the time they had finalized their afternoon plans Shirley had returned to the booth with their food.
They ate and chatted easily and they were almost done with their meals. Shirley had stopped by a couple times to refresh their drinks. Liv had one more piece of French toast and Fitz had his Belgian waffle left with some toast he was biting into. Liv eyed his waffle and wondered if he would mind sharing. It looked delicious with the strawberries topping it and a bit of powdered sugar on top.
"Fitz?" Liv phrased the question softly. He looked at her as he bit into the toast he had slathered strawberry jam on. He chewed and motioned with his toast for her to continue.
"I was wondering if I could have some of your waffle? It looks so good! I'll even give you some of my French toast." She framed her food with her hands to make it seem like an even trade. She watched as he raised his brows, finished off his toast and wiped his mouth with his napkin.
"Of course you can have some of my waffle, Liv. What's mine is yours." He paused to let that statement sink in.
"But I have to warn you, I have a feeling that is waffle even with the strawberries and powdered sugar still won't be even half as sweet you are." He closed his eyes and ran his tongue across his bottom lip groaning as he recalled her taste.
She watched him lick his bottom lip and almost pouted at the fact that she couldn't reach his mouth at the moment to taste his tongue. What he had said about what was his being hers echoed in her mine and she wondered what he would say if she wanted to claim his heart and body. She shook her head at that thought. She had no right to claim him even if the thought of him being hers filled her with pleasure.
Fitz cut a portion of his waffle and piled on a small strawberry for Liv. He held out his fork and brought it to her mouth so that she could taste it. Their eyes met as she closed her mouth around the waffle and fork and pulled back to chew. She moaned as the fluffy Belgian waffle mixed with the strawberry rolled around in her mouth delighting her taste buds. She moaned in the back of her throat as the flavors hit her. Fitz watched her enjoying that bite and moaning and responded with a groan of his own at her reaction. She was so expressive he wanted to see and hear her moan again.
He cut another piece to serve her and brought it up to her mouth when he saw she was done chewing. His head was cocked to the side and his gaze was hooded. He leaned forward nudging the fork against her lips and watched her mouth take the second belgian waffle offering. A small bit of strawberry juice dropped from the fork onto her lips and before she could catch it with her tongue his was there. He licked the outline of her lips before leaning back into the booth. He felt his pants tighten at the fresh taste of her and the sounds she was currently emitting.
"Do you want more of my waffle?" He had one hand holding his fork and the other rested on the table. Liv opened her eyes upon hearing his question.
"Oh...no, thank you. I still have to finish my French toast. Thank you for sharing. It's delicious, Fitz." She licked her lips trying to capture the taste once again. His eyes tracked the movement of her tongue.
"It's no problem. I enjoyed seeing you enjoy the food." He winked and gave her a warm dimpled grin. He then proceeded to finish off his waffle and she did the same with her French toast. Liv finished first and pushed her plate away from her. Fitz was on his last bit and she moved to sit beside him. She leaned against him and he brought his right arm around her.
"Do you want the last bite?" His left hand brought the fork to her mouth and she shook her head clutching her stomach. He squeezed her shoulder and polished off the last bite. When he was done he chugged the rest of his water and pressed a kiss to the top of Liv's head. He moved to nuzzle her neck and took in her scent-it was a mixture of jasmine and something sweet. Moving up her neck he placed a small kiss under her ear and tugged at her earlobe with a small bite. Her left hand reached out and squeezed his thigh in response. She bit her bottom lip to keep from moaning.
Shirley returned just as Fitz started to lower his right arm from his shoulder to her waist. They thanked her for the meals as she cleared the table. Fitz pulled a few bills from his wallet pressing them into Shirley's hand before she could leave the tab. "Thank you for the service and the meal suggestion, Shirley. I imagine this won't be the last time you see us." He gave Shirley a quick wink as Liv slid out of the booth so they could leave.
"Nice meeting you, Shirley. Like Fitz said, I'm sure we'll be back again." Olivia gave her a warm smile and a small nod.
"It was a pleasure serving the two of you. It's so nice to see a couple so in love and sharing it with the world. Truly inspiring to see two people in sync. Be sure to request me as your server when you come back!" With that exclamation and a small pat on the back of Fitz's hand she was gone.
Fitz and Liv looked at each other both unsure of exactly what to say but Shirley's words were ringing in both of their ears. They had both known they seemed to be in tune but they had not realized that other people could see exactly what was going on between them. Instead of speaking they both reached to link their fingers. They both looked down at their hands and wondered how they had known to instinctively reach for each other. They started walking back to his car in a comfortable silence.
They had spent the afternoon acting like lovesick teenagers as they visited tourist spots. They took pictures of and with each other in front of monuments. During a break in the mall they found a photo booth and took a few sets of pictures. The first set was full of silly faces at each other and the camera. The second set had Liv acting silly to a straight faced Fitz. The third set the roles were reversed and Fitz was silly to a stern looking Olivia. The fourth and fifth sets were full of candids including shots of them hugging, kissing and a couple shots that captured them looking at each other with the weight of their budding feelings in their gazes. They decided that the dinner would be a homemade meal cooked by Fitz at his place. To make things easier they were going to go grocery shopping together then head back to Fitz's.
When they got to the grocery store they argued over who would push the cart but they settled on Fitz pushing it so long as Liv got to pile in anything she wanted into their cart. He shook his head at how she had negotiated that out of him as she eyed her putting strawberries and chocolate syrup into the cart. It was so simple and domestic but he knew that this small act was just one more thing he wanted to continue sharing with her. When she pointed at things she couldn't reach on the top shelf he wanted to be there for her for more than just these moments.
He wasn't sure where she saw this going or if she felt even a fraction of what he felt. He didn't quite know what to call it but he knew that he wanted her to be his. He wanted other men to know that she had chosen him and that it was his duty to see to her happiness.
"What are you cooking tonight, Fitz?" She stopped in front of the cart and waved her hands in front of his face. He seemed dazed but hearing his name pulled him back into reality.
"Do you have a preference? Any favorite dishes or is it the chef's choice? I'm no Emeril but I won't burn down my kitchen," Fitz said with a laugh.
Liv rubbed her chin thoughtfully. Did she have a favorite dish? "Well, my all time favorite meal would have to be roasted chicken with potatoes accompanied by Caesar salad full of croutons."
"What my woman wants, my woman gets. Any preference for dessert, Liv?"
As soon as he had called her his woman she had zoned out. He thinks I'm his woman. He doesn't just see me as a female friend he happens to be attracted to. He doesn't see me as a random hookup.
She had been hesitant about grocery shopping since it was such a domestic act but she had written it off as friends helping each other shop. She had tried to mask her unease by joking about who should push the cart. But as they had roamed the aisles she had found comfort in the fact that they were shopping for food that was going to be cooked and shared by them in a meal. When she couldn't reach for something Fitz was there to keep her from jumping up and down like an idiot. It had made her feel good knowing that she could count on him for that but at the same time it had saddened her a bit since she was not sure exactly where this was going.
They had not talked about what they were to each other aside from acknowledging that there was definitely a spark between them. While she had agreed to explore it she could not help but want more as the time they spent together grew and they inserted themselves into each other's lives. She wanted more of this-more grocery trips, tourist spot visits, shared meals and good mornings-with Fitz. She wanted them on a firmer base to stand on. He had calmed any worries she had with that simple phrase. He wanted the same thing, they just needed to get it out in the open to verify they were on the same page.
Fitz walked over to her and laid his hands on her shoulders. "Livvie? Are you alright?" His concern came through in his tone and showed through his worried eyebrows. She looked into his eyes and brought her hands to his face. She pulled him down to give him a reassuring kiss that turned into more when his tongue broke the seal of her mouth. Their tongues tangled briefly before he rested his forehead against hers. "Are you okay?"
"I'm great, Fitz. I was just distracted. All that talk of that great meal took me to a strange place." She tried to make it seem like a joke wrapping her arms around his waist and gave him a brief hug for reassurance. She then rested her head on his chest and listened to his strong heartbeat.
"Okay...so dessert? Any preference?" His voice rumbled through his chest into her causing her to shiver slightly and she leaned back to look as she answered him.
"Tiramisu. It's my favorite and an absolute guilty pleasure. But I know it takes a while to make so I'm not expecting-"
"It's not a problem, Livvie. Since it's too late for me to make one, I'm going to find you the best tiramisu the city has to offer. It happens to be my favorite dessert as well." He winked. "Besides, I wasn't joking earlier when I said 'what my woman wants, my woman gets.' You'll see that I'm a man of my word and you can count on me. I promise you that, sweet baby." With that said he leaned down for another quick kiss before he walked back to the back end of the cart to start pushing again. He pulled out his phone and seemed to be typing as Liv started getting the ingredients for their dinner.
Fitz was happy to see her reaction upon him declaring that she was his woman. She seemed to like the idea as much as he did. He knew that they would have to talk about exactly they were looking to get from this relationship. He smiled at that word. They were in a relationship and he didn't plan on letting their relationship go anytime soon that was damn certain.
He started looking up places that served tiramisu and started to get frustrated until he remembered someone he could contact. He sent off the text knowing that the tiramisu would be waiting for them by the time they got back to his house. With that taken care of he returned his focus back onto Liv who was still pulling the cart around behind her as she tossed in ingredients and what looked like a bunch of snack foods.
He smiled and wondered if she realized that she was shopping as if she wanted to keep his place stocked with her favorite snacks. They finished up shopping and Fitz made sure to throw in some things he knew he was low in at the house. When Liv remembered that she needed to restock some of her toiletries Fitz insisted that she put them in the cart.
Once everything was paid for they put the groceries into his car and left for his penthouse apartment.
Thanks again for the reviews! They are appreciated! OX