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Stagford was still a mystery to Olivia but she was assimilating quite nicely. Her job was now a guaranteed constant and her family life was also stable. She had time to herself that she was trying to use up by signing up for the gym, a baking class and several other classes that didn't clash with each other's timing.
She wasn't much of a cook so she had taken up the habit of eating out, sometimes with Kenny, most of the time alone. She found that she enjoyed her own company although sometimes, it did get a little boring.
She had even found a restaurant she liked above many others and though it was a little pricey, Olivia was a proponent of quality over quantity and the restaurant was worth every single penny she splurged. It was there that she ran into the person she was starting to like.
"Mi-Teddy!" She exclaimed as she walked up to the entrance of the restaurant where Teddy was standing. "Um...hi. Sorry, I was just going in and I saw you so I thought I'd say hi." She gave the other woman a full genuine smile.
There were a lot of people in the world who found it weird to eat at a restaurant on their own. Most people who dared a table on their own brought some kind of armour; work, or a book, or something. Anything to indicate to the outside world that they weren't on their own because they were stood up. Teddy had never been one of these people. She saw no issue sitting at a table by herself when the food was worth it. And at this place, it absolutely was.
She was just about to make her way inside the busy restaurant in question when she heard her voice. It was enough to have her whirl around in that general direction, blue eyes bright at the person calling out to her. "Hello! It's nice to see you outside the realms of the office." She declared. Being new to the town, she literally only knew the people she worked with. Any time out of work was time spent alone.
It was almost odd to look at her in a light not reflected by work.
"You're going in?" She asked, glancing back in to watch the seemingly endless bodies bustling about; "I hope you called ahead. It looks packed in there tonight."
She nodded at Teddy's question and smiled at the restaurant. "I reserve a place here every Saturday night." She grinned sheepishly. "I've been in Stagford for short of three months and I'm already a regular." Shrugging, she bit her lower lip before asking Teddy.
"Are you here alone?"
After a pause, Olivia plucked up the courage and took a deep breath before asking. "If you're not with anyone, would you like to join me? Might have to wait a while because I think my booth is occupied but we can have drinks first."
Pride would swell in most people at such a forward question. Teddy was obviously alone, but perhaps the question was more geared to whether or not she was waiting for someone? She paused before her answer thoughtfully, and it was enough time for the conversation to proceed without her.
The slightest tilt of her head at the proposition had the naturally stoic lawyer smiling. "I would love that, actually." She said, the surprise evident in her tone, but it was hardly a bad thing.
"Only if you're sure, of course. I don't want you to feel obliged to offer because we work together. You might be sick of spending time with me as it is." She certainly hoped that wasn't the case.
Glad to see the smile, Olivia was emboldened and returned the smile with her own. As Teddy continued, Olivia couldn't help but laugh lightly.
"Might have been thinking it was the exact opposite, to be honest. But no, I'm rather enjoying working under you. I've fortunately been blessed with great bosses." She responded blatantly.
The hostess finally attended to them and ushered them to the bar. "Hey, Livvy! The usual?" The bartender smiled at Olivia before her head turned to Teddy. "Hey, you brought a friend! What can I get for you ladies?" She asked.
Olivia responded with her usual order of beer and turned to Teddy with a questioning look.
There was genuine relief in the fact that this woman wasn't sick of her just yet. Teddy knew there could be difficulty in making friends with colleagues, but they all usually worked so much that there was no other circle to interact with. Olivia had already learned in such a short time how many late nights Teddy was prone to.
Pursed lips worked to stop Teddy from offering an amused smile at the nickname tossed across the bar. She knew for a fact that that wasn't her preferred name. It felt good to be able to know that.
She felt a set of eyes on her then, chasing an order to be easily filled. "Merlot would be perfect, thank you." She said politely. Naturally. She glanced back at her newfound counterpart with new interest in her eyes. "You weren't kidding when you said you were a regular. Have you lived here long?" Surely this couldn't be a meeting of outsiders.
Taking off her jacket and hanging it on the back of her stool, Olivia waited until the bartender, Halley, was gone before turning to Teddy. "Just under three years," she grinned sheepishly. "Before I actually settled down in my apartment, I came here every day before I started pacing myself."
Being outside of the office and in a familiar place made Olivia a lot chattier and considerably more at ease. Even her smiles were unrestrained. Untrained eyes could see she was in her comfort zone.
The bartender came back with their drinks and Olivia raised her bottle in Teddy's direction. "Cheers." She took a swig before craning her neck to see whether her booth was open. It wasn't.
"So, Teddy...are you settling in here in Stagford?" Olivia asked.
Teddy looked surprised to hear she'd only been here a short while. Most people had some connection to the school but then, it was easy to forget she was in the presence of someone without supernatural powers.
She offered a small raise of her glass in the other woman's direction before daring to press her lips against the glass. Deep red liquid took hold of her senses for the brief few seconds she encountered it. As she settled the glass back down, her bright eyes were on the person sitting next to her. Given the look she gave - the interest she compounded into her icy set - the room might as well have been empty.
"For the most part, I like to think so. I still don't really know where I'm going, but honestly, I'm only ever going from my home to the office." She explained. That could have easily sounded sad, but her content tone and expression eased the assumed notion. "It has it's own charm, though. It's a beautifully scenic place to live." If she had the time, she could probably enjoy it more. But she never thought she had the luxury.
Olivia had to say, she had never been paid attention to the way Teddy was paying attention to her then. Her ice blue eyes on her made Olivia's cheeks heat up. She tried recalling a time when a man looked at her this way and she felt this intensely gazed upon and she couldn't, for the life of her, remember feeling this way.
Gulping inaudibly, she tried to concentrate on Teddy's answer. "I know exactly what you mean." She nodded, taking another long sip from her beer. "I've been here for three years and I still haven't seen a lot of it except for the town square, the office and my apartment." Olivia responded.
"Are you looking to explore any time soon? I know work's been cooping you up in the office but you must have some time off?" She asked before a teasing tone came out. "Or do you use that time to work too?"
If nothing else, Teddy certainly hoped she wouldn't make it to the three year mark without having looked around a little. Perhaps that was just the nature of the work they did; it overtook everything.
A small chuckle escaped her lips, and she raised her hand instinctively to briefly cover her face. It was like a kind of shame, to have little to no social life outside of work. But she didn't seem to mind it. "I suppose that now would be the best time, while the workload is light." She reasoned. Somehow she landed on the other side of her own argument.
"What about you, hmm? What do you do when you're not working so hard?" She asked then, unable to forgo the desire to learn more over giving more.
Olivia nodded in agreement to Teddy's sentiment. "Especially now that I'll be making it lighter." She added with a grin.
Teddy's question was simple and Olivia wondered briefly whether the woman was a mind reader. She seemed to know exactly what to ask to keep her mind at ease. She'd noticed it in the office and now out in the world. "I sign up for classes around the town square." She offered with a shrug. "The notice board offers different classes every six months and I've tried to dip my foot in almost all of them."
Most of them she did alone but sometimes she gets Kenny excited for some and they end up doing it together for weeks.
"There's a Korean cooking class next week that I'm kind of excited for." She grinned as she sipped from her bottle.
Perhaps it was because she was so new to town, but Teddy had no idea the town they lived in offered such a diverse range ot things to do. Some people would have argued that taking an abundance of classes was a sign of being a little lost. Trying to find something a hobby in the world that was driven by passion wasn't easy for most.
"I'm impressed." She said finally. "Most people settle in what they're doing on a daily basis." She was no exception. Most hobbies fell to the wayside when work picked up.
Thoughtfully, she took a slow drink, silence beckoning a deeper contemplation. If only for a moment; "You might even inspire me, Olivia."
Ducking her head in slight embarrassment, Olivia hid her smile behind her bottle as she finished half of it before setting it down on the bar top. She didn't know whether she should let Teddy in on the fact that she'd pretty much mastered all the hobbies she'd picked up because that usually made her sound a little insane. In fact, one of her ex-boyfriends did tell her she was insane because of that very reason. She liked to learn new things, she didn't understand why that was such a problem.
Time management was one of the things she managed to learn and incorporate into her life so it made picking up hobbies doable. Of course, she also had another reason for picking up the hobbies. It wasn't that she was lost, like Teddy was thinking. Olivia just didn't like having time to herself.
She turned and smiled at Teddy, raising her bottle in cheers to her being inspired by Olivia. "If you have the time, the notice board isn't going anywhere." She offered a smile before turning to the hostess who cleared her throat to get their attention.
"Your booth's ready, Miss."
They were ushered to the booth and Olivia looked through the menu to find something she hadn't tried yet. "Oh, right...I never asked, but have you been here before?" She looked at Teddy over the menu.
Thoughts of branching out and finding new hobbies that were good or bad now flooded the usually busy lawyer's mind. Teddy had no idea what could strike her on a notice board in the middle of a town she was still so new into, but the idea of it was something she never considered. She had to give it to this woman for teaching her about that.
Her eyebrows rose and suddenly her attention was split between her and the person who spoke to her. Without a second thought she followed a step behind to the booth reserved for Olivia. She had to wonder then if she always picked the same one. She'd have to ask about it later. Instead, she settled her glass at the table and reached for the menu instead. It was unfamiliar, but that wasn't bad.
"I haven't, actually." She admitted with ease, her eyes flicking from the menu to the person opposite her. "So, it's your turn to take the lead." It was nice not to have the power for a change, odd as it felt; "Tell me what's good."
Teddy's answer had Olivia nodding and she scanned the menu for recommendations. "Okay, so the filet mignon here just melts in your mouth. I usually get that."
Olivia continued to recommend a few other dishes, including the vegetarian options before deciding herself on what to eat. "You really can't go wrong here." Olivia shrugged before putting the menu down. She stole a glance at Teddy and a ghost of a smile appeared as she admired the other woman's flawless complexion.
The past week had been testament to how much self-control Olivia actually had. She wasn't stupid, she knew she was attracted to Teddy but it still felt so damn confusing. It wasn't like she had been deprived of beautiful her entire life and suddenly Teddy was like a well of fresh water. Olivia had been so certain she liked men and yes, she appreciated women and their beauty; who wouldn't, women are just naturally beautiful. But she never actually felt such an attraction to women until now.
Frankly, she was a little scared.
"Are you ready to order?" Olivia asked to shut away her confusing thoughts.
