Chapter Five: Surprise
The day rolls on and each passing minute, he can't take his mind off of her. During his final surgery, he thinks about whether to make dinner for her or take her out. He expresses this while operating on a thirteen-year-old boy who fell out of a tree and broke almost every bone in his body.
"Doesn't she hate you?" Alex says, carelessly.
"If it's any of your business, Karev, she's just playing hard to get. Know the difference," Mark replies while he finishes up a few stitches.
Alex scoffs, "Right and I'm sure 'son of a bitch' is her pet name for you."
Mark only eyes him and finishes the last stitch.
"Done," he announces, "Unless there's anything else that requires my magic, I am going to go home."
Nobody objects.
"Perfect! Good night everybody." He discards everything and slides past the door before it fully opens. Once he's fully dressed, he stops by Callie's room before leaving for the night. She looks up from a magazine when he enters her room.
"Do you need anything before I go?"
"You're leaving? Already?" Callie asks when she sees him casually dressed, "No, I'm fine. Arizona is still here, anyway."
"Great. I will check on you tomorrow. I'm going to make dinner before Olivia leaves." He smiles excitedly, "Good night!"
Before she comes to a realization, he's already out of her sight.
"Mark, Olivia just-" She sighs and goes back to her magazine.
After a quick stop to the grocery store, Mark pushes past his apartment door and begins unloading the groceries. He doesn't take the time to remove his coat or set down his keys – the keys that are still in the door. He begins a boiling pot of water before he hears a door open.
She steps out.
He freezes and eyes her long legs, soaked body, and her full breasts peeking out from over the edge of the blue towel. She doesn't see him at first – she takes the first few steps out of the steamy bathroom while adjusting her towel.
He wishes on every star in the sky that she takes it off.
She spots him and a heavy blush stains her cheeks.
"Oh my God," he utters, "You're beautiful."
Olivia forces a smirk, covering her shock and embarrassment. She tries to appear calm as she saunters over to her suitcase. Her cheeks are on fire and her heart is racing but she can't let him know that. She knows his eyes are running up and down her half naked body. She'd be lying if she said it didn't excite her. She can't express humiliation, she just can't. Olivia tells herself to keep calm and pretend not to care.
He tries to give her privacy. He tries to focus on the halfway chopped vegetables in front of him. Mark looks down at the sliced zucchini but there's a burning temptation inside of him that keeps urging him to look up at the tantalizing woman who is strutting around in only a piece of cloth. Does she know how badly she's seducing him right now? Is this on purpose? He swallows while he watches her every move from when she bent over to pick up an article of clothing to her deciding what she should put on. Either she's seducing him on purpose or she's completely shameless.
Or maybe both.
"Mark." He blinks out of his daze and focuses on her face. She's smiling but her eyes are elsewhere, "Your water."
Mark whips around to see the water boiling over the edge of the pot. He rushes to it but not without seeing her smirk and then disappear into the bathroom.
She closes the door behind her and exhales deeply. Her heart continues to pound against her chest. She's never been this reserved when it came to being half naked in front of someone but this time, she's basically trembling. Is it because she was afraid that Mark would judge her? Or perhaps the overall shock of being caught in a towel startled her. What she also doesn't understand is why she was so particular in what she chose out - a blood red, v-neck, long sleeve shirt with a pair of dark jeans along with a matching lace bra and thong.
Is she hoping for something tonight?
A small sigh escapes Olivia while she dresses herself, dries her hair, and puts the towel away for the next time she'll need it.
The table has to be perfect. The food has to be perfect.
Everything has to be perfect.
Tonight, he is going to win her over. He's going to show her that he is not the man she first met. He is not going to mess this relationship up. So, he lights a candle and puts a rose in a small vase of water. He's meticulous with the table setting and the choice of music. When he realizes he has a few extra minutes left, he makes sure his bedroom is well kept and inviting.
Very inviting.
Just incase.
She steps out of the bathroom and faces a candlelit table with a carefully organized table setting accompanied by two glasses of red wine. She stands there, staring at the surprise. The delicious aroma of the meal he prepared surrounds her and the soft music relaxes her.
When Mark comes out of his bedroom, her back is turned to him. He can tell that her arms are crossed, he can tell that she's taking in what he's set up for her, but he can't tell if she's moved or not.
He takes a step closer to her. He just wants to wrap his arms around her and kiss her neck, while slowly pushing her shirt aside to kiss her shoulder. He wants to inhale her perfume and whisper words of affection in her ear in her ear. He wants to skip dinner altogether and just go to bed with her.
He can't because he's positive she doesn't feel that way.
Olivia turns around and looks at him. She's smiling.
She looks impressed.
So far, so good.
"You didn't have to," she says.
She doesn't want to look flattered. She doesn't want to express the warmth she's feeling right now but she does. There's something about all of this that makes her forget everything that went wrong. She forgets about Callie and the accident, the surgery, the ill child, and the whole reason why she's here. All of it vanishes.
"I know. Sit." Mark gestures towards the chair and begins to supply the plate with food.
"A daughter! Really?" Olivia sips her wine.
"Yeah," Mark replies and combines it with a chuckle, "Sloan."
Their plates are clear of the delicious meal Mark prepared. Their plates have been clear for the past hour. The bottle of wine is nearly empty and the candles are halfway through. The conversation has not stopped since they sat down.
"And a grandson. Wow," Olivia adds. He's smiling. His eyes are calm. For once in about an hour and a half, there's a lingering silence between the two - that silence between a couple that can be used for a kiss, or handholding, or a romantic embrace.
But they're not a couple so it's just a regular silence and none of that would be appropriate.
A regular, boring, silence.
But it feels like so much more than that.
"What?" Olivia breathes when she realizes he's returning the stare she's giving him.
He opens his mouth to speak but the beeping on his belt speaks for him. When he checks his pager, everything seems to crash. Every worry, every problem, everything that was once bliss has shattered all by one small page that forces him to leave the romantic confines of his dinner date and go to work.
"Shit," he hisses.
"Is everything okay?" She asks. The concerned look on her face makes him feel even worse.
"Yeah, well, no. I'm being called into work. I'm really sorry."
"No, no, I understand." She forces a smile. "Raincheck on dessert?"
He tries to force a smile - it only turns into a disappointed lopsided grin.
"Raincheck."
Within twenty seconds, he's on his feet and out of the door. Olivia looks at the empty table, the empty kitchen, and then the empty house.
Everything suddenly becomes a little cold.
She elicits a sigh and stands. Before clearing the table, she blows out the candle in one, small, breath. She wants to laugh at herself for feeling this way – hiding her feelings like she's in high school. She wants to cry for this romantic night. She does neither. She stares down into the flood of soapy water while she thinks of how much she thinks about Mark. The thoughts keep coming and coming while she absentmindedly cleans his kitchen.
Once her hands are dry, everything is spotless, and the music has been turned down a bit, Olivia falls back on her makeshift bed and closes her eyes. Within minutes, she's asleep.
Four hours after his sudden exit, Mark comes back to find everything back to normal. As if this whole evening didn't happen. But it did. There was chemistry and conversation and fireworks. There were feelings there that he hadn't felt in a very long time.
It did happen.
He looks across the room and his eyes rest on her sleeping figure. She's still dressed in the same attire she wore when she had dinner with him.
She proves that tonight happened.
He could kiss her. He would kiss her. But he doesn't. He just walks past her into his bedroom.
Just like this night never happened.