Dating Rule: Always Wear Sexy Underwear
"Excuse me, can I help you? Are you lost?"
She turned to find a well-dressed man with the brightest, most seductive smile she had ever seen. It was genuine, refreshing and adorable. She found herself rudely staring at him, with a goofy smile planted on her face.
She cleared her throat to gather her thoughts. "Yes, I'm looking for my sister. I think I'm on the wrong floor," Alexis said.
Harrison had seen her wondering around the floor and immediately knew that she did not work there. He certainly would have remembered if he had seen her before. She was beautiful. She had a walk of confidence that enticed him. And as if he was in a trance, before long he found himself chasing after her. He followed behind her for several minutes admiring her shapely legs showing beneath her knee-length skirt and the gentle sway of her hips.
"I can help you. Who is your sister?" he asked anxious to spend as much time as possible in her presence.
"Thank you, my sister is Olivia Pope. I'm Alexis by the way, and you are?" she held her hand out eagerly waiting to make contact with his.
"Harrison Wright, pleased to meet you," he shook her hand and held on to it for as long as he could without drawing undue attention to them. "Well your sister is on a different floor; allow me to take you there."
"Thank you, I would appreciate it," she said.
He guided her to the elevator; gently placing his hand on the small of her back. She loved it when men did that. It was a sign of a true gentleman taking care of a lady. They entered an empty elevator and stood next to each other; only a breath of space between them. He reached over her to press the floor and Alexis took in the smell of his cologne. It was light, not over-powering but fragrant, enticing and masculine. "Excuse me," he said smiling as he apologized for reaching over her.
She met his eyes and could not look away; there was something about him that attracted her like no other man and she couldn't break the connection. She never felt like this before and possibly against her better judgment, within minutes, she was kissing him against the wall of the elevator. He tried to keep the kiss light, sweet but she deepened it and opened her mouth to take in his tongue and savor his flavor. They moaned simultaneously at the intensity of the kiss.
She lifted her leg to allow her pelvis to cradle the evidence of his growing attraction to her. She felt his hands traveling up her thigh all the way up to her underwear. He toyed with the lace trim of her panties and she was only mildly aware that they were on a public elevator, whose doors could open any minute. He was trailing kisses down her neck, while holding her leg in place so that he could grind himself into her. The daring love play only heightened her desire. The idea that she just met this man minutes ago and they could get caught was deliciously exciting. His hand was at her lace underwear and about to travel inside when….
Ding.
Like lightening the jumped apart, each taking a corner of the elevator, calming their breath and stealing glances as they righted their clothing, waiting for the doors to open.
When the doors opened, Alexis began to exit. She looked back at him and secretly gloated over the obvious affect she had on him. He was leaning against the wall still trying to recover from their tryst. She smiled and said, "Thank you Harrison, I think I can find my way from here."
She walked away from the elevator silently thanking her aunt for the gift she received and the advice she gave to always wear sexy underwear.
Several Days Before
Although he should not have been, Fitz was surprised when he walked into his living room Sunday morning and saw his brother crashed out on his couch.
"Tommy, Tommy, wake up, what are you doing here?" Fitz yelled over his brother.
Thomas groaned and squinted under the pressure of sunlight. "Oh come on Fitz, stop yelling….give me a minute to get it together."
Fitz sighed. "I'm going to make some coffee." He went to the kitchen to start breakfast.
"Is Mellie….or another girl…..in your bedroom?" Thomas asked as he finally walked into the kitchen with disheveled hair and wrinkled clothes.
Fitz gave him a look. "What do you think?"
"I didn't think so…that's why I thought it would be perfectly fine to come here," he said smiling. Thomas knew that he and Fitz were as different as night and day in their treatment of women.
"Why are you here?" Fitz asked again.
"You see there's this girl….I swear I only took her out a couple of times but now…."
Fitz tuned out everything else his brother said. It was always the same story. Thomas mistreated some girl and now she had turned into a stalker-chick camped out at his home. And to avoid confronting her he stayed out all night or if he got tired of that, he used the key Fitz gave him to come in and sleep. Fitz thought it was childish and wondered, as he often did, how it was that Thomas was older than him.
Fitz put a cup of coffee in front of his brother. "Drink it."
Thomas took a sip and grimaced at the strength of the brew, "So the movie premier….."
"Yeah, um, I don't know about that…."
"Oh come on Fitz, you're the only family that is willing to come. Is it too much to ask for the support of my family? It's important. It's a good movie; critics are giving it a B rating and I have a pretty significant part in it."
Fitz tried to detach himself as much as possible from the movie entertainment scene. He didn't like it. In his opinion it was filled with shallow, phony people – sharks always looking for the opportunity to suck the life out of their next innocent victim. His brother loved it. He struggled in the beginning, trying not to bank on the 'Grant' name, but now it seemed like the tide was turning. Thomas loved the big screen and bright lights and Fitz thought he was a great actor, he just hoped the Hollywood-life didn't change him for the worse – at least not too much. He was a good person at heart but the temptation of it all could change anyone without the will to resist.
"You mean Bugsy isn't even coming?" Fitz asked. "Bugsy" was the nickname they gave to their eldest brother Benjamin. He hated it when they called him that, which made all the siblings use the name even more so. He didn't ask about Lily. He knew that Lily never attended events unless it was absolutely necessary to her work. She avoided the parties and the crowds in an effort to maintain control over her sobriety.
"No, he said he had a business meeting that night, which was a lie because I didn't even tell him what night it was on!"
Fitz laughed; that sounded like something his brother would do.
"Look I got you two tickets…you can bring Mellie if you want," Thomas placed two tickets on the counter for him.
"Alright, no problem, I'll be there," Fitz said but immediately thought that Mellie would be the last person he would bring with him.
XXXXXX
Clarissa Pope was a striking woman in her late fifties. Her beauty often made people think she was younger than she actually was. She believed in looking her best at all times and therefore, took extra care to make sure her body was fit, her hair was always done and her clothes were always in the latest fashion. The unexpected death of her husband years ago left her financially secure, which allowed her to retire early from teaching. She loved to travel to Europe for extended periods of time – always enjoying the culture, the lifestyle and the men. The only thing as exciting as her trips was the time she would spend with her nieces - Olivia and Alexis – retelling her adventures abroad. When she returned they always followed the same routine: her brother, Jamison Pope, would excuse himself under the guise that he had to go to the store and shop for food, which would allow her and the girls to talk freely about everything including men and sex.
She had become very close to her nieces when their mother died during childbirth. She helped her brother, Jamison, raise the girls, thereby becoming a second mother to them. She never had children of her own and had come to view the girls as the daughters she never had.
Olivia and Alexis opened both of their gifts and immediately burst out in laughter. Each box contained several pieces of lingerie, including bra and panty sets, one of which was actually crotch less.
"Aunt Clari you are really too much," Olivia said.
"Oh please Liv, you know you need this as much as anyone. How can any woman not feel sexy and pretty wearing these? And directly from Paris -French lace underwear – very, very sexy" she said as she held up some lace thong panties. Olivia and Alexis laughed again.
"I like it all, thank you Aunt," Alexis said as she kissed her aunt's cheek in appreciation. She knew she could put the items to good use.
"So Liv, do you have a man that you can model these items for?"
Olivia blushed. After all these years, she still got embarrassed talking to her aunt about love and sex. "No I don't, not yet."
"Are you really looking? Or are you sitting around hoping the right guy will show up and ring your doorbell?"
Olivia sighed, she really didn't want to talk about her love life, or lack thereof. "A little of both."
"Don't worry honey, we will help you won't we Lexi," Clarissa said smiling.
"We certainly will," Alexis said as she winked at Olivia.
Olivia rolled her eyes, not quite sure that she really wanted either of their help.
XXXXXX
"I am a 26 year old professional. I am the only single person in my circle of friends and sometimes when I'm around them I feel completely unattractive. My friends say that my lack of self-confidence will make it hard for me to find a man of my own and I'll be doomed to a single life forever. I hate having low self-esteem. I want to feel better about myself. Can you help?"
"I personally think she needs a new set of friends but you look like you're itching to answer this one so go ahead," Fitz said inviting her to speak first. She normally deferred to him, allowing him to give his feedback first.
"Well, something happened yesterday and without going into too many details I think it directly relates to her letter…." She looked at him knowing that he had no idea what she was talking about. But she smiled and continued, "the answer is underwear…..she needs to start wearing sexy underwear. I bet you her underwear isn't matching or attractive in anyway. She should start wearing thongs, lace bra and panty sets, you know what I mean."
His mouth was wide open; she rendered him speechless.
"It is entirely impossible to feel unattractive when you have on the sexiest underwear. It doesn't matter who sees it or who doesn't, you know it's there and that's the point. You will walk with more confidence and with your head held high, feeling a new found appeal. And if she couples it with high heel shoes…she definitely would not have a problem thinking she is attractive."
He was still giving her the same look.
"Fitz? Do you want to add anything?"
After a few more minutes of staring at her, he finally said, "One, what the hell happened after I left you this weekend? Two, why wasn't I invited to participate? Three, you can't sit here and talk like that without expecting me to imagine you in sexy underwear. Four, you have ruined any hope I had of concentrating on work; I'm going need to go take a walk after this. And five, just answer me this, are you wearing a thong, lace or both right now?"
Olivia laughed at him. She shook her head knowing that she wasn't going to answer any one of his questions. They were suddenly interrupted by a knock on Fitz' office door. He cleared his throat. "Come in."
It was Amanda Tanner. "Hi Fitz, hey I was just wondering if you were bringing Mellie to Quinn's birthday party on Friday. I hadn't seen her in a while and was hoping she would be there so we could catch up?"
Fitz immediately sobered. "I'm not positive that I'm even going Amanda. But I'm sure you can call Mellie, like you always do and she can give you more of an update on her social life than I can."
Amanda frowned, shot Olivia a harsh look and said, "Sure, no problem, thanks."
After she left, Fitz was still frowning. It had been four days since he spoke to Mellie and he had no plan to speak to her any time soon. He didn't miss her at all. He also knew that she more than likely put Amanda up to asking him. It was a game Mellie played and he was refusing to participate. He needed a cooling off period from Mellie. He needed time to figure out what he wanted to do about their relationship. He supposed that sooner or later they would need to talk about it but Mellie's problem was that she rarely listened to anything that went against her plans and ideas.
Olivia coughed and stood up to leave, "I better go write this answer. It's going on the online posting, so we need to get it to Cy in an hour. Can you write your response in an hour?"
"Yeah I can no problem. Thanks Liv." It was amazing how one mention of Mellie and all the joy was sucked out of the room. Both he and Olivia immediately felt the loss of energy at the mention of her name. He guessed, then that if she had indeed sent Amanda in to talk to him, she had effectively accomplished her purpose of ruining the moment he had with Olivia.
"Oh hey before you go…..Next Thursday, my brother has this movie premier thing going on and he gave me two tickets. If you are free, can you come with me?"
"Ummmm?"
"It's not really my thing to do but he's looking for a little family support so I told him I would go. I don't want to go by myself, so can you come?"
She smiled at him; she thought it might be fun. She almost asked why he wasn't asking Mellie but didn't want to mention the woman's name. "Sure, I would love to…but can you do something for me too….I'm having my sister's boyfriend over for dinner the day after. The thing is my gut is telling me that something about the guy is off and I could use an objective opinion. So do you mind spending your Friday night at my place for dinner? I'm inviting my friend Abby and her date, David Rosen."
"David Rosen in Marketing?" Fitz said as he raised his eyebrows in surprise.
"Yes, why?"
"Nothing, I just thought he was gay."
"Gay?...With Abby?...I highly doubt that."
XXXXXX
It was the big day; the day the new CM edition was being released and "Right and Wrong Way – Dating in the City" had a cover by-line.
Olivia rushed to get dressed in the morning. She wanted to get to the office early, knowing a copy of the new edition; hot off the presses would be waiting for her. She grabbed a large cup of green tea and made her way to the office.
When she got there, she could see down the hallway that Cyrus' office light was on but that was not unusual, being that he seemed to eat and sleep in his office. Other than that the floor was empty.
She rushed in and practically ran to the magazine on her desk. She flipped to the page where the article was and an immediate rush of delight filled her. It was weird but she even smelled the fresh paper and new ink on the page. It was like the smell of accomplishment. She kept all her articles from Everyday Woman and would continue in the ritual. She wanted to look back on them one day and be proud of what she had done.
She read the article title and saw the writers name's printed as O. Pope and F. Grant. She smiled at the gesture. She and Fitz never discussed whose name would come first; she automatically assumed that since he had seniority at the company, his would, but he allowed her to go first. He really was a good guy.
She read the entire article out loud. The format was different from anything else out in print. It was written like she and Fitz were engaged in a dialogue about the dating problem. She liked the way they decided on the structuring to make it seem more enticing and dramatic. And at the end of the article, readers were invited to weigh in with their opinion on who presented the 'right way' and who presented the 'wrong way'. With the poll they would continue to have a pulse of the readership and judge the interest in their article. She couldn't wait to see the social media responses. And then she remembered the online article was being released today too. She could barely contain her excitement with the entire process. She couldn't sit still. She couldn't concentrate on work.
It was a little out of character for her but after checking her watch to make sure it would be another 15 minutes before anyone got in, she walked over and closed her office door. She then took off her heels and turned on her music. She had some pint up excited energy that she needed to get out and she started singing and dancing around her office. She was caught up in the music, enjoying the opportunity to shed the conservative, controlled life she led for a moment in exchange for a small window of freedom and abandon.
She was moving and swaying to the music playing on her IPod. She was on a high – a thrilling almost euphoric feeling coming upon her. In these 15 minutes she wasn't the person he said she was – she wasn't unattractive, unappealing and unaffectionate; she wasn't 'Cold'. For now, she was everything she wanted to be, anyplace her imagination could take her. She was an expert on dating; she had a passionate dating life with a wonderful man that loved her unconditionally. She knew the love of a man who cherished and valued her above anything. She was complete, whole; she was not in any way damaged.
The 15 minutes were over much too soon.
XXXXXX
When you work at a magazine, it was generally understood that you could judge the success of an article based on what the employees of the magazine read at their desks. Their loyalty and patronage to the magazine as a whole was a foregone conclusion but the articles inside were chosen exclusively based on personal taste. So when most of the employees were either observed reading or talking about the RAWW article, it was clear that it was the highlight of the entire edition. Fitz and Olivia could barely walk anywhere in the office without someone congratulating them or wishing them well.
The public obviously like it too. By Friday morning, the magazine social media pages contained various comments on the article and the writers themselves. People wanted to know who they were, what they looked like, what they did in their personal time. Speculation abounded and whiffs of rumors were starting but Cyrus took all the publicity – negative or positive – as a plus. As long as people were talking about the article and it's writers he was happy.
By Friday evening, Fitz and Olivia were exhausted. They both felt that Cyrus was draining every bit of life from them – challenging and pushing them to come up with more ideas that could engage the public. He was never satisfied, always wanted more. He said the moment they stopped trying to improve on perfection, their competition would spring up and take their market share. They knew he was right and that motivated them to keep trying, but his ideas never failed to leave them drained.
"Are you going tonight?" Fitz asked from her office doorway. It was Quinn's birthday and she was having a party at a new lounge opened two blocks from the office. Her boyfriend knew the owner and had gotten him to agree to shut it down for the private party. Quinn was excited; she had reminded the entire floor over and over again to come. Olivia didn't want to let her down.
"I'm tired but I'm going. I don't want to disappoint Quinn. Besides for some reason, my sister wants to come and meet some of my co-workers. Are you going?"
"Yes. Quinn cornered me in the break room and made me promise to come. So, I'm coming."
She wanted to ask him if he was bringing Mellie but she didn't. It had turned into a sore subject that neither of them dared talk about. She didn't know why it had proven to be so sensitive for her; she should have been more supportive of their relationship. But she didn't like Mellie and she knew that even if she tried to be positive, it would come off disingenuous.
"Ok well I'm going home to change first then I will see you there."
"Alright, sounds good," Fitz lingered and he wanted to say more. He wanted to be in her company; to bring her to the party but he knew he could not. He didn't tell Mellie about the party and did not invite her but he still knew it was a strong possibility that she would show up anyway. He thought the infatuation he had for Olivia would wear off and they would settle into a comfortable friendly relationship but it didn't happen that way. He was becoming more and more attracted to her every day and he worried what affect a personal relationship would have on them professionally. They had just started the magazine article and he couldn't, he wouldn't wreck it. He would not allow his personal feelings to damage her career.
She was giving him a concerned look, wondering why he was still standing there. He cleared his throat and said, "I'll see you later."
XXXXXX
"Olivia this is Jake…Jake Ballard. He owns the lounge," Quinn said as she introduced the two people. She thought they would make a great couple and became excited to see that from their smiles there was obviously some attraction between the two. She excused herself to look for her boyfriend Jesse.
"Nice to meet you Jake," Olivia said as she shook his hand. Olivia thought he was handsome. He had a youthful face – happy and charming.
"Nice to meet you as well Olivia," his smile was genuine, warm and inviting. Don't mess this up, Olivia told herself. He invited her to sit with him at the bar and she accepted. It was an easy conversation of her asking about his background and why he chose to open the lounge. He was open with his answers, never giving her the feeling that he was hiding something or withholding information. She found herself getting comfortable in his presence – attentive to the conversation and laughing, not putting on an act, no pretenses, but really enjoying his company.
"Jake," Jesse, Quinn's boyfriend, came and patted him on the back. "I'm sorry for interrupting but I think it's time for the cake."
"Oh yeah of course. Excuse me Liv. I'll be right back…will you wait for me here?" he asked.
"Yes….Yes I'll be here," Olivia responded as she smiled into her drink. She didn't want to rush things but she was starting to feel some type of connection between her and Jake. She hated this part of dating. She hated trying to figure out if someone liked her; whether she laughed at the right points in the conversation; whether she was being too clingy or too standoffish; whether her makeup was still right or whether something was stuck in teeth. Admittedly, she had a tendency to doom relationships before they even started. She was always guarded, never allowing herself to let go, to relax and let everything evolve organically. She walked around waiting for the worse to happen; waiting for the day when they would lose interest in her. She was an expert at sabotage and that was no way to have a relationship with anyone. She needed to stop it and she vowed right then that whatever did or did not happen with Jake, she would just have fun. It was great advice; something like what she would tell a reader. After all, she was very good at giving advice to every other person on the planet except herself.
The cake came out and everyone sung Happy Birthday to Quinn. After she blew out the candles, Jesse came up to her and kissed her cheek. Everyone cheered in congratulations, and then Jesse said, "I want to thank everyone – family and friends – for coming out tonight. I love this girl with everything I have. She means the world to me and I only thought it would be appropriate to show my love in front of everyone who means anything to her…" he turned to Quinn and got down on one knee, "Quinn, sweetheart, I love you more than my own life. You make me happy every single day and I'm so proud that you have allowed me to share this life with you. But I can't get enough…I need to be with you forever. So will you agree to stay with me forever? Will you marry me?"
Everyone was quiet, holding their breaths, waiting for the answer. Quinn was crying, speechless, probably for the first time in her life. She smiled as she looked down at him; looking at the beautiful ring contained in the box he held in his hand. "Yes…oh God…Yes, Jesse!" she screamed and he grabbed her in his arms and swung her around in unabashed joy. The room broke out in a roar of excitement as Jesse placed the ring on her ringer and well-wishers clamored upon them.
Meanwhile in a closet….
"This is crazy right?" Alexis said into his ear between gasps as he trailed kisses down her neck. "I've never been attracted to someone like this before."
"I know me too…But I can't get you out of my head. I can't stop thinking about you. Tell me you feel the same…tell me," Harrison pleaded.
"I do...I feel it too…take me home with you," she said confidently. He pulled back and looked in her eyes trying to judge if she was serious. She bestowed him with a full smile and he knew that he had to get her out of there right now.
Back at the Party….
The party was winding down; many people had already left for the evening. Jake had been closed up in his office on an important phone call but not before he made sure he exchanged phone numbers with Olivia.
Only slow songs were now being played by the DJ. The small dance floor was filled with lovers and drunk companions getting felt up. Olivia had received a message from her sister saying that she had to leave unexpectedly and would call her in the morning. Olivia had drunk enough, talked to enough people and now felt that she should be heading home too.
"You're not leaving are you?" Fitz asked.
She turned around and smiled at him. She hadn't spoken to him all night; she missed his company.
"I'll stay if you are," Olivia said. He smiled back at her.
"Good, then dance with me," when she nodded he led her to the dance floor.
Olivia had danced with men before. She had been held by men before. But being held by him; dancing with him was something that surpassed every feeling she had ever known. It was not only the closeness but it was the protection she felt; the warmth of him; the strength in his arms. As she laid her head on his shoulder allowing him to guide their moves, she felt it. Her heart rate sped up and her blood was pulsating; her head was swimming with the truth….she was falling in love with him. She had tried to avoid the issue, tried to deny it but it was there – growing, flourishing, and thriving just beneath the surface. Tears were stinging her eyes as she chanted over and over in her head, willing herself not to cry. There was sadness at the admission because for the first time in 2 years she was in love with a man that was not hers to love.
Fitz' couldn't contain himself. He had to get to her; he had to touch her. She looked so beautiful tonight and if he could selfishly claim her time, for however brief a period, he convinced himself he would be satisfied. But it was not true. He kept himself away from her all night, trying to occupy himself talking to different people but nothing would satisfy the desire he had for her. Every moment in her presence made him wish for another and another. He was insatiable. And now when she was in his arms, nothing on earth felt as right. It was natural and true; it needed to happen. The song ended but he didn't want to let her go; he held her until the last possible second.
Another song started and he almost kept her in his arms until….
"Do you mind if I cut in?" Mellie's voice cut through.
Fitz and Olivia looked at each other. Olivia spoke up first, smiling she said, "Of course, he's all yours Mellie."
"Liv," Fitz said, attempting to protest.
"I'm tired and going home. I'll see you on Monday Fitz. Have a great evening both of you," Olivia tried to sound calm, unbothered, nonchalant but the crack in her voice betrayed the emotions she tried to hide. She smiled harder to mask her disappointment.
Mellie's voice was like a siren, like a glass of cold water splashed on Olivia's face. It made her wake up and brought her back to reality. There was no way she could ever be with Fitz; Mellie had her claws in him fiercely and from the way things appeared, he wasn't looking to break off their relationship anytime soon. Besides, a personal, romantic relationship could ruin them professionally and that was a risk neither one of them could afford to take.
Olivia was skilled at hiding her heart. She had done it many times before and she could do it again. Sacrifice, pain, regret and disappointment had become a part of her life for so long; she really didn't know how to live without them. She didn't know what it meant to be happy with someone. She didn't know how it felt. The old cliché, 'You can't miss what you never had' seemed appropriate. She shouldn't miss love because she never had it in the first place.
Still, as hard as she tried not to care about it, to pretend she didn't need it, when she saw his face, his laugh and the way he looked at her she wondered if it was possible. Could he feel for her the way she was starting to feel for him?
The ringing of her cell phone cleared her thoughts and the car system told her that the caller was Jake Ballard. She smiled as she took the call, thankful for the welcome distraction.