Olivia had spent an unreasonable amount of time pacing back and forth in her bedroom trying to decide a few different things.
Her outfit, the least important of those decisions was what was troubling her at the moment.
She stood in her floor length mirror, judging herself and the casual outfit she had put together. She did not do casual often. It just was not really her thing. Plus, there was a pretty good chance that anytime she left the house she would end up on some internet fashion thing, that would judge her to pieces.
The faded red Lucky crop top and cuffed denim shorts were cute. It looked deliberate without trying too hard. Her hair was curled into intentionally messy waves.
She posed, doing a few circles and checking her body out at different angles.
Olivia had texted Leah an hour ago, saying she may stop by after a morning appointment near her building. But there was no appointment. Just a half-baked idea that Olivia had not been able to shake since their dinner a week ago.
Alex Connor was obviously at the center of that idea.
Olivia was almost embarrassed at how often she had found herself daydreaming about him. Random thoughts would cross her mind all day. What he was doing at that moment. What kind of music he listened to in the car. Things that made her feel silly, but also made her smile when she thought about them.
It really wasn't until she stood in her favorite boutique, trying to decide which of two dresses Alex would like her in more, that she even realized how out of control her crush was.
Because, at this moment, that's what she was calling it. Nothing more, nothing less. Just an innocent interest in someone she was fairly certain was interested in her. A totally fun thing.
Olivia also blamed the amount of time she had to think about Alex and his perfect face on her husband, Andre. He had left the night after their dinner party for some taping for the finals of some sport in New York.
All of the emotions that she had at the end of the night could have been abated by some fun with her husband, she reasoned. Maybe some movies, wine, and cuddling. Sex, even. Something that night to help take her mind off of the southern drawl and dimples.
But now, she foolishly convinced herself, it was too late.
She shrugged at her reflection in the mirror and grabbed her keys and phone.
It was a short drive to Leah's condominium building. It was about the same as hers. New, modern and boujie- and clearly her best friend's taste. As she rang their doorbell, she glanced around at stark minimalist hallways that looked very similar to her own. Andre had wanted to live in a high-rise, despite her wanting a house in the suburbs. Something about Alex made her think that he wasn't really into all of this, either. He seemed way more low-key-
"Hey girl!"
Olivia's reverie about the type of place Alex would probably like to live in was loudly interrupted by Leah's greeting. The door had swung open and she was immediately swept up in a tight embrace.
Nothing had changed at all since high school. Leah was still the super bubbly blonde that she spent so many hours shopping and studying with.
"That was super quick, I wasn't expecting you for another hour." Leah moved quickly, pulling Olivia by the hand into her apartment. "How was the appointment?"
Olivia stood agape for a moment before she remembered her lie. "Oh! Right. Yeah... it was canceled. There was a scheduling conflict." She knew she was a terrible liar, but Leah shrugged and seemed to accept her answer.
She watched her blonde friend open the fridge and make quick work of turning its contents into two heavily poured mimosas. "Well, is it too early to drink?" Leah glanced past Olivia and laughed. "It's 11 AM."
Olivia shrugged and smiled brightly. "Its never too early for mimosas."
As she grabbed her glass and followed her friend into her living room, she couldn't help but look around. Alex had said he worked from home, and that really what this whole scheme was built on. But so far, there was no sign of him.
The question sat on the tip of her tongue as she took a seat next to Leah on their huge sofa and distractedly watched some Netflix Makeover show her friend put on.
But straight up asking would be really obvious right?
She shook the thought and decided just to enjoy her time. It had literally been years since she hung out with another girl. Especially this comfortably. Her little secret-crush plan had seemingly flopped, but she was still going to make the best of it.
They started a conversation about the show that quickly turned into a full-blown trip down memory lane. They were knee-deep in retelling each other highschool gossip they had heard when Leah's eyes suddenly shifted to something behind Olivia.
"What are you girls up to?"
The deep voice surprised Olivia, almost causing the stem of her glass to slip from her fingers. She recovered quickly, placing her drink on the side table and watched as Alex moved from behind her to the side of the couch his wife sat on. He bent down giving Leah a quick peck on the forehead as she looked up at him.
Leah giggled. "How's work going, babe?" She held her husband's hand where it rested on her shoulder.
They were being really cute and overly affectionate. And Olivia felt more jealously course through her body than she had in a long time. She almost started to question herself, thinking maybe the nuances of the other night had been contrived by the alcohol she had drunk.
"Had to take a break. My eyes were crossing." Alex looked up from his wife, meeting Olivia's gaze. "It's nice to see you again, Olivia."
As she met his steely stare, Olivia realized there was something was very different about the Alex of today. The way he was smiling at her and holding eye-contact rang much more confident than the shakeable Alex of the other night.
"Nice to see you, Alex." Olivia had been sitting up on her knees, legs slightly spread. And the way Alex was openly staring her up and down made her skin hot. She almost felt self-conscious but instead took his leering as a challenge.
"I was so bored at home. I was so excited when Leah called." As Olivia spoke, she slowly and deliberately ran her hands down the skin of her thighs, dragging her nails against her flesh. The move was barely perceptible, but she didn't miss the way Alex's eyes followed the action.
Alex let out a choked laugh, clearly distracted. "I'm sure Leah's happy to have someone besides me to watch her shows with."
"And gossip with!" Leah's voice broke the unspoken play between Alex and Olivia, both bringing their eyes to the blonde. "Nothing like day-drinking and Facebook-ing old boyfriends."
The three shared a laugh and then Alex lightly squeezed his wife's shoulder. "Well, I'll let you girls get back to that. Holler if you need anything."
Olivia couldn't help but smile at the sexy twang in his voice. She waited until he was out of the room before making a face at her friend.
"You did good, Leah. He seems so sweet."
Leah beamed, a faint blush painting her cheeks. "He really is so great. I kind of had resigned myself to being single for the rest of my life until he came in and swept me off my feet."
Olivia responded with a weak smile, almost feeling somewhat guilty for pining away for her friend's 'great' husband. But illogicality reminded her that it was just a cute fun crush.
Nothing more, right?
*****************************************************************
Alex had known from when Leah hung up the phone that morning that Olivia was coming over. If he was being honest, he had been eavesdropping on a lot of his wife's conversations that week waiting for this one.
He had actually been scheduled to go into the office today, but immediately text his boss when he heard his wife confirm her plans.
"Olivia should be over soon!" Leah had yelled from the other room as he sat at his desk in his office. The confirmation of her visit triggered a lot of emotions. But besides excitement, he had also resolved that this time when he saw Olivia, he wouldn't be the nervous wreck he was last time.
He had easily picked up girls everywhere before he met Leah. He was every bit of the loud, gregarious frat boy in the bar that all of the girls would swarm to. Olivia had caught him off guard at their last meeting, but today he wouldn't let that happen again.
Alex tried his hardest to work for the rest of the morning, but trying not to concentrate on every small noise that he heard in his home was difficult. When he finally heard the knock at the door, followed by the familiar voice, it took everything in him not to jump up to greet Olivia.
But he waited. He listened to his wife and her friend get more comfortable, gossip and enjoy a few mimosas before he decided to take a break from 'working'. Again, being honest, all work had consisted of thus far was clicking between the different blog and Instagram posts about Olivia all morning, like he had been doing since they met.
Finally seeing her in person after staring at pictures of her for days shocked his system.
Robotically, he had entered the room and greeted his wife as normal. The same kiss on the head he always gave her. But his eyes were locked on Olivia.
He didn't think anything could top the dress he had met her in. The sexy sophistication of it had left him speechless. But today, in ripped denim shorts that clung to her hips and thighs, and a crop top that gave a glimpse of her cocoa colored tummy... he had barely caught the expletive he had thought before it slipped out of his mouth.
Alex knew he was a dirtbag. He stood behind his wife rubbing her shoulders but took full advantage of the fact that she couldn't see where his eyes were roaming. He stared unabashedly.
"I was so bored at home. I was so excited when Leah called."
Alex knew that there was something between them from the other night. But when Olivia stared him dead in the eye while almost gripping the flesh of her thick thighs, he was shaken. His cock twitched as he pictured himself manhandling her and spreading her legs himself.
Alex had muttered something in response. He still wasn't sure what it had been. But he nearly darted out of the room and into the safety of his office.
