Chapter Thirty – Racing Toward a Fall

They thundered down the pathway toward the bridge they used as a finish line. Ben was holding his own and could have a chance of winning, but Olivia wasn't going to let that happen. At the last second she poured on an extra burst of speed and managed to slip under the bridge a few steps before him. They both slowed to a stop and moved off to the side to catch their breaths. Ben folded his hands behind his head and walked in a small circle. Sweat was pouring down his face. Olivia didn't look much better and had to brush a few wet strands of hair out of her face that had fallen loose from her short ponytail (if it could even be counted as a full ponytail). Even Suvi was panting slightly. It had been a long run.

"I'm not ever going to beat you, am I?" Ben asked.

"Maybe. Maybe not. You got close that time."

"Because you were messing with me."

She smiled, but her chest was still heaving as she tried to catch her breath. While she'd managed to answer his question, the words had come up between pants for air. There was no denying she was exhausted.

"Do I look like I was messing with you?"

"Never know. You could have more hidden energy reserves."

Olivia laughed breathily and shook her head at him.

"I'm all tapped out."

He slipped his arm around her back and led her and Suvi down the path at a more sedate pace. They walked in silence until they all got their breathing down to a normal level. Ben finally glanced her way and smiled.

"You know it's been almost three months since we met. Right here in this park. Granted I was a stalker and not a boyfriend then."

"Mmhm."

He lifted an eyebrow in surprise. That serious lack of a response was not what he'd been expecting. Her reaction made it sound like their relationship was nothing special and a special date wasn't worth mentioning. He suspected that the tiny glint in her eyes was more for the stalker comment than the time that had passed.

"Aren't women usually big on anniversaries?"

"It's just three months, Ben."

Granted that was longer than most of the relationships Olivia had been in. Regardless, three months really shouldn't seem like that big of an accomplishment. Some high schoolers managed to hold a solid relationship for three months.

"Okay, that's true."

He watched her for a moment, debating whether to say anything or not. Considering this was Olivia, three months seemed like a big achievement to him. There were a few things bothering him though. Olivia caught him watching and cocked an eyebrow questioningly.

"In three months you've started trusting me a tiny bit, but sometimes I wonder."

"Ben…"

"I'm not asking you to share everything. I get it that you keep everything close to the vest. The thing is, you've met a lot of my friends, even some of my family, but I've never met any of yours."

"You've met Rollins, and I don't have any family."

"I met Amanda by accident, and you weren't very thrilled about it."

"You still met her."

He sighed. Apparently she was going to split hairs and make a big deal out of this. He seriously doubted she was considering it a big deal in the same way as he was. To him it was a big deal because he believed it was important to get to know her friends and the people she cared about. It was why he'd risked bringing it up. With how angry she was already with the topic, it was turning into a bigger risk than Ben had expected.

"It's not the same, Olivia. I want to meet your friends."

"Why? Why is that so important?"

"Because they're a part of your life. You not wanting me to meet your friends makes it seem like you're ashamed of me or something. Either that or you don't want me to be a part of your life."

"That's ridiculous."

"Really? It doesn't seem that way to me."

"You're making too big of a deal out of this."

"Then introduce me to them."

"You don't need to meet them."

"Have you even told them about me?" he demanded in frustration.

Olivia stopped walking and turned to glare at him. The stabbing ferocity in her eyes wasn't new to Ben. It had cowed him more than once before, and he could see how it would work wonders in an interrogation room too. This time though the killer look only made him more frustrated. She was trying to end the conversation with intimidation. His frustration was quickly shifting toward anger.

"Fine, Olivia. Whatever. I'll just be your closet boyfriend."

"Stop it."

"Yes, boss," he growled.

His words were the equivalent of throwing ice onto Olivia. She bowed her head and sighed sadly. While she'd wanted to get him to drop the subject she hadn't wanted to upset him as much as she apparently had. Shame flickered through her, and she desperately wanted to make things right. The problem was she didn't really know how.

"Ben, I'm sorry."

"It's fine," he snapped, then sighed and continued in a softer tone. "Don't worry about it."

Olivia really wasn't convinced he was being fully honest with her. It definitely wasn't fine, and she knew he was still worried about it even if he told her not to be. The anger was still there, just no longer on such open display. She didn't want him to feel like she made all of the rules and he had to follow them.

"I'm not your boss, Ben. I don't want you to feel like I am or like I'm giving orders."

Ben sighed and ran a hand through his still sweat damp hair.

"Sometimes I wonder about that."

Her gaze dropped in reply. She knew that she wasn't easy to deal with. Independence was fully ingrained in her, and stubbornness only made it worse. The fact that she wasn't one for compromise didn't help either. It wasn't surprising that Ben had noticed that.

"I know. I've never been a very open person, Ben. You've walked farther into my life than anyone else ever has."

"Only had to cross a frozen tundra, a croc infested swamp, and an open field in the middle of a downpour of acid rain to get there," he teased softly.

"You make it sound easy."

He smiled in return and decided to let their debate go for now. The topic of meeting her friends would come up again; he would make sure of that. They'd fought enough for one day, and the park was a little bit too public for them to really go at it. Fighting with Olivia required a lot of energy. Next time he would be more prepared so he might stand a better chance of winning. Besides, he needed to meet with a new set of clients later in the afternoon. The last thing he wanted to do was show up to the meeting already heated from a relationship spat.

Speaking of the meeting he checked his watch to see how much time he had. More than enough even if he wanted to get there early to prepare. He could easily use his need to go into work later as a subject change that would hopefully confirm the temporary end to their argument. Walking in silence without a plan for distraction would be asking for a continuation, if not a growth, in the fight. At the moment Ben definitely wanted to make sure that didn't happen. Pausing for a moment and putting the issue on the backburner would be a good idea. Definitely a good idea. So, he decided to shift back to his original comment to her about their anniversary.

"I have some time before my meeting. What do you say we stop for a smoothie on the way out? Kind of a commemoration of our first date."

"Alright. As long as you're sure you won't be late."

"If I am I'll call for a personal teleporter. Problem solved."

"I'd love to know who you're going to call for that," she laughed. "Don't expect me to bail you out of Bellevue afterward either."

"Don't worry. I'm not going anywhere."

"At some point you're going to act like enough of a nut that you won't get a choice."

"Nah. I'm too crazy for Bellevue. They would kick me out."

Olivia choked back a laugh and couldn't help smiling. Ben returned the warm smile with one of his own.

"See? That's the Olivia I love."