The Importance of Happiness Ch. 02

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.

Confident or not, in front of his wife, he could only handle so much.

He sat heavily in his chair and scooted back up to his computer desk, idly clicking his computer back to life. But only stared blankly at the charts and numbers before him. His mind was no longer on work.

Throughout the week, Alex's guilt would occasionally nudge him back in line when he found himself lost in thought during conversations with Leah or not paying attention when questions were directed at him in meetings. But guilt had no such luck now.

The little scene that just played out in the living room has his mind running wild with not so-harmless ideas and visions.

Alex was deeply involved in one such fantasy when a soft giggle shocked him back to reality.

"That doesn't look like work."

He turned to see Olivia sidle up next to him, eyes focused on his screen. As she leaned forward, fingers wrapping around his mouse. It was impossible for Alex not to be enveloped in the sweet botanical scent she wore today. And honestly unrealistic for him to not also notice the copper-colored skin of her obliques inches away from him now.

The skin there was probably as soft as it looked, he reasoned. The image of his hands gripping her waist as she writhed beneath him sent a head-to-toe flush through his body. He silently thanked the universe that he was sitting down.

"I didn't know many guys were into TMZ."

He had not realized that Olivia was doing a full investigation of the tabs on his browser. Apparently one of the gossip blogs he had been perusing earlier remained open, though thankfully he had navigated from his actual search of her name. "Oh, Leah was probably on there earlier."

Olivia stood up straight, relinquishing the mouse. "Uh huh, right." She had looked back at him with a smile on her face that disarmed his full-on embarrassment. "I was looking for the bathroom." She turned around and gestured across the hall. "That's why I'm in here," she explained.

Turning to face him had placed her in the space between his knees and the desk. He knew it wasn't just in his mind that the intimate space between them was charged with wanton energy. He watched her as she looked around awkwardly, eyes falling on different pieces around his office. She almost looked unsure of her next move. He decided to end the strange silence.

"How have you been?"

The question was just as odd as their silence since it has been literal days since their first meeting, but he felt like he had to say something.

Olivia's lips quirked into a smile. "Same old, same old. Andre left for New York a few days ago, so it's been super quiet at home." He struggled to listen to her words and not focus on her hips that were now in his line of sight. "Like I said, I was glad to get out of the house."

Her skin has brushed against his bare knee as she moved, and the brief contact held more electricity than he admittedly had felt from any woman in a long time. "You're definitely welcome here any time. One of us is usually home."

"Oh!" Olivia suddenly exclaimed, eyes growing wide with a recall. "I know something I actually did want to ask you about." Alex waited for her to continue, interested.

"Investing. Like stock market-y things?"

Right, Alex thought. Stocks. Like his job. He was indeed an authority on the topic. He really didn't know what he had been hoping her to say, but it certainly was not that. "Of course. What do you want to know?"

She seemed to think for a second, then spoke. "Andre has someone to do that all for him. We've been married for years and I really don't have any idea how to manage all of that for myself. But now I have you."

The idea of "having him" flashed an inappropriate scene in his mind, that he quickly shook off. "Definitely. I'm here to help. We can just set up a time for you, me and And-"

"No." Olivia listed forward, placing a soft touch on his shoulder. "Just us. If that's ok, I mean." She looked down at him, eyes unsure but pleading. "This can just be our thing."

Alex had not realized that the urgent request had brought them much closer together. Olivia stood solidly between his legs now, the skin of their thighs touching. They seemed to notice it at the same time, almost looking up and meeting one another's gaze simultaneously. But neither person moved.

"Yeah, it's ok," Alex answered more than one question, voice gruff. "That's fine."

Olivia smiled wickedly then, arching her back against the desk. She slowly and intentionally moving her skin against his, causing his breath to hitch. She locked eyes with him, lips parting slightly and whimpering when his hand did finally move to grasp the skin she had been taunting him with earlier.

"Liv!"

The loud noise from down the hall shocked them both, making Olivia almost leap across the room.

Alex rolled forward quickly, nearly slamming his fingers against the keyboard to bring his sleeping computer back to life.

"I'm pouring myself more champagne. You want?" Leah yelled from the other room, blissfully unaware of what was going on just a hallway away.

Alex fully expected the little pangs of guilt that had plagued him all week to be obtrusively present and accounted for. But he felt none of that. The initial fear that had jolted them had vanished. And all he could do was return the sneaky grin that Olivia shot him from the doorway.

"Yeah, here I come," she yelled. Another sweet smile and a small wave and Olivia slipped out of the room.

*****************************************************************

"Girl, I thought you fell in," Leah said with a giggle. She stood at her kitchen island filling a flute with champagne when Olivia floundered into the room in a heady daze.

Olivia joined her friend at the counter and nearly downed the glass Leah had poured for her. She needed to calm her nerves.

"I was grilling Alex about the stock market. Seeing if Andre's money manager is giving us good advice or not." It was not a complete lie. But Olivia shocked even herself with the fluid delivery of her half-truth.

Leah, glass in hand traveled back to the couch, falling back into the cushions and spilling a bit of her drink. "Don't get him started. I swear he could talk about his job all day."

Olivia still hadn't moved from the bar. She couldn't believe she had actually gone that far. She still felt a hot flush when she thought about Alex's rough fingers grabbing her and the lack of control she knew she had incited.

The soft strokes against his skin had been innocent at first, but quickly she felt a growing need to be touched by him. She had started a small fire in her mind that was now blazing out of control. The seemingly innocuous touches spoke to how good things could be between them if they allowed it.

If, she thought.

The tiny crush that she had walked into this apartment with was growing into a full-blown-

"Liv, I think I wanna order some Thai... you want anything?"

Olivia shook her head, reaching across the counter for her keys and phone. "I think I'm actually going to head out, girl. Before I can't drive home."

A puzzled look painted Leah's face. "You could literally walk, though."

She ignored her, moving behind the couch and weirdly mimicking Alex's movements from earlier, giving her friend a cute forehead kiss goodbye. "Thanks for letting me hang out. And tell Alex thanks for letting me bother him too."

"I'm sure he didn't mind. Text me when you get home."

As the elevator doors closed in front of her, she took a deep breath. Exhaling almost the entire ride down.

A strange mixture of guilt and sadness befell her when she closed the door to her car. Guilt, clearly, because she was the shittiest friend of all time. Though her tenuous reasoning still told her that nothing terrible had really happened yet.

But the sadness was the part that worried her more. In Alex's office, feeling sexy, wanted and confident, she basked in the fresh feeling of new attraction. Like the giddiness of the first days of what will be a new relationship.

But as her mind started to conjure their next meetings, reality set in. The fun hopeful draw she was feeling towards Alex could never really be anything more than what it was. She was still as completely married as was when she walked into their condo as when she walked out. And so was he.

She chided herself for even engaging in this. Wishing, like before, she had just been the doting wife and kept to her damn self. Her cell phone dinged as she was getting out of her car, but she ignored it. She was not in the mood for Andre, Leah or anyone else that made up the small population of her contacts.

It was not until she was settling into her big husband-free king-sized bed that she grabbed the phone from the nightstand and unlocked it as she put it on the charger.

A new message from an 803 area code shown on the screen. She tapped the envelope icon quickly to read it.

Hey. This is my number. Let me know when you have some free time

She was stunned for a moment but quickly moved her fingers to text back. Before she could hit send, a grey typing bubble popped into the window. The phone dinged again.

About stock markety things.

The giddy guilt-less teenager was back in an instant. She couldn't suppress the laugh that erupted from her as she sunk back into her pillows and re-read it over and over.

Will do, thank you.

She responded plainly. She wanted badly to text him more but held back. She was content for now, falling asleep to thoughts of the next time she would see Alex Connor.