[Theodora James]

Polite professionalism was something Teddy had to laugh at. For the most part, she was incredibly good at it. As she glanced towards the woman she worked with, it was interesting to try and see her in a different light. Letting go of that very attitude was a feat within itself. "I don't want to be your boss at all the moment we leave the office." She replied with ease. That was the whole point, she hoped.

Again the door was opened for her, and again Teddy found Olivia's behaviour endearing as per usual. She was cute in her own way when she was trying so hard. Considering how they last left things outside of work, it was good to know she must have put thought into what she might want.

"Lead the way." She said with a smile, hands in her pockets to protect them from the cool night air.

[Olivia Dawson]

220 Words

i'm driving fast now don't think i know how to go slow The ease in which Olivia smiled at Teddy's comment said more than words could convey. She was comfortable, that much was obvious. And she was happy. Waiting for Teddy to exit the car, Olivia took her time eyeing her date with a smile. She closed the door behind her and locked the car, slipping the keys into her pocket and nodded at Teddy's request. She was reminded of their last night at New York and her smile turned affectionate. It seemed stupid now that she had been so nervous then. Both of them had liked each other for far longer but had decided to keep quiet. Well, she wasn't going to be quiet any longer. Olivia entered one of the many doors along the street and out of courtesy, held it open for Teddy before going up the stairs that led to the class. There were a few people already present either on their phones or chatting with their partners. Olivia recognised two from her cooking class and waved at them. They waved back with smiles before returning to their conversation. There were four stations open and Olivia guided Teddy to one closest to front and shrugged her coat off to hang on the hook on the wall. She turned to Teddy. "May I?" She asked, pointing at her coat. our road is long

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[Theodora James]

Arriving in the building, Teddy watched the way Olivia briefly interacted with people she clearly knew. Though she only had one lifeline this room, she didn't mind the pressure that would have put on someone else's shoulders. The confidence she carried didn't allow her to dwindle. She was growing to really like the idea of seeing Olivia in a different light. Outside of work; professional labels off.

Easing her coat away, she turned to look at the person who brought her. Her curtesy knew no bounds and this was no exception. She handed it off without fault. "I think I'll let you take the lead on all this." She offered. What better way to completely rid them of the normal hierarchy.

[Olivia Dawson]

269 Words

i'm driving fast now don't think i know how to go slow Olivia turned after hanging Teddy's coat and her smile widened. "Yeah. Of course." She nodded as she realised what Teddy was going for with the reversal of roles. She appreciated that Teddy trusted her enough to give her the reins. She checked her watch and noted that the class will be starting in five more minutes. She chewed on her lower lip before moving closer to Teddy and leaned in. "You look nice." She said, rolling her eyes at herself for how lame she must sound. But she stood by the assessment. Teddy did look nice. The instructor finally came and with him was an assistant who placed baskets with cards attached to them on all the stations that had slowly filled up. Olivia took the cards and looked through them to see recipe placards for the dish they would presumably be cooking tonight. Greetings came and then explanations were given out. Everyone involved were allowed to bring back the basket and the recipe cards after class was over and whatever ingredients were left after cooking. Olivia got excited at that and took the ingredients out of the basket to lay it all out on the station. She listened closely to the instructor before dividing the tasks equally between them. She washed her hands first before diving into the preparation. "So I think I can handle the cutting if you could run the chicken under cold water and then pat it dry, with the mushrooms as well and then start the fire to fry the chicken." She turned to Teddy before handing her an apron with an excited grin. our road is long

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[Theodora James]

Control was a hard thing for someone like Teddy to give up. It was a testament to their agreement from almost a week ago. She was willing to open up and try to give Olivia a chance, and the smallest of efforts counted greatly towards that. She watched the way she leaned in, the little compliment slipping through and the roll of her eyes following quickly afterwards. But this was Olivia in her prime, Teddy suspected, and so she reached out with a small step closer to rest a hand against her shoulder. "You're sweet to notice." She pointed out. After all, she could have just as easily said nothing and stewed in silence over the thought. Steps were still steps.

Interruption followed at just the right - or wrong - time and Teddy eased back a fraction. Fixing her sleeves, she rolled them up instinctively as she did her best to listen, but her eyes never sat well staring at a man for long. She let them wander to the person she was standing with for a better vision to capture her focus.

Her grin was enough to drag a eased smile from the Brit. It was cute. Honestly, her entire attitude was cute. She dragged her eyes away long enough to get stuck into the basic instructions given to her. Rinsing chicken in the sink and ensuring all the water was off it moments later, she mused aloud on a thought. "So you go to all this effort to learn to make something new, and then you just make the same thing when you're at home?" She asked with a laugh, turning on the stove top with a slight lean.

[Olivia Dawson]

100 Words

i'm driving fast now don't think i know how to go slow Hearing the laugh, Olivia turned her head to Teddy before snorting. "Practice I guess?" She shrugged as she continued to cut the ingredients as per the recipe. The instructor was already on to the next step just as Olivia finished with her cutting. "Okay so put a cube of butter into the oil and then put the peppercorns and garlic in." She handed the ingredients over to Teddy and salted it a little. "Sautee it for a while and then put the chicken in skin down." Olivia nodded and then cut the mushrooms. "This is pretty simple, don't you think?" our road is long

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[Theodora James]

Without the weight of work holding her down, Teddy quickly learned how much she liked being around Olivia. It reminded her of the simplicity when they were in New York during the one free day they got to share together. Her reservations seemed to melt away with each easy moment.

Easing the ingredients out of her hands, she placed them in the heated pan. After the right amount of time, she placed the chicken in as per the easy instructions given to her. She watched the way Olivia worked as she considered the question posed.

"That depends on your level of skill." Teddy replied easily, catching another look at her, "Which I'm going to hold you to, now that I'm here. At some point, I'm cashing in on that and coming over for dinner."

[Olivia Dawson]

233 Words

i'm driving fast now don't think i know how to go slow Olivia bent down to grab a small pot and filled it with water and placed it on the free hob and started boiling the water. Teddy's gaze on her didn't feel as intimidating as it did before so she continued working, though with a small smile on her face. Which widened when Teddy mentioned cooking for her again. She turned to Teddy and smiled, her teeth sinking into her bottom lip as she did so. "Anytime." She responded before turning back to the instructor. "You're distracting me." She whispered to Teddy with a shy smile before checking on the water in her pot. It had started to boil and she handed Teddy the mushrooms to put into the water. "I think you can flip the chicken over." Olivia instructed as she brought the bowl of sauce she had mixed earlier. "You can put that in with the chicken. Lower the heat and then cover it with the top." She tapped Teddy's hand and pointed to the correct top for the pan. They continued to work with all the ingredients, tasting as they went, adding whatever they felt was lacking and as they waited for the chicken to continue cooking, the instructor told them to finish up with the mushroom salad and have a taste of that. Olivia took two spoons from the drawer under the stove and handed one to Teddy. "Here goes." our road is long

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[Theodora James]

Teddy? A distraction? She was sure it wasn't supposed to be a bad thing, and the way her voice dropped made it clear that the thought was for her ears only. Was she such a distraction where they worked, too? Or was it solely for her behaviour outside the office. She raised her hands and eased back, willing in silence to at least pretend she was going to focus.

So instead, she followed every straight forward instruction given to her to the letter. Maybe it was safer for Olivia for her to do so.

Reaching out finally, she took hold of the spoon offered to her with a little nod of thanks. A deep breath at the way she spoke, almost like she should expect something bad. But there was nothing bad about it. Everything about the bite she took was worthy of the environment they were in. "You've done well." She offered finally, willing to hand out any compliment she thought worthwhile.

[Olivia Dawson]

122 Words

i'm driving fast now don't think i know how to go slow Teddy was absolutely a distraction for Olivia. It really wasn't a bad thing, especially not in this setting, it just proved difficult to concentrate on doing anything. To be fair, it wasn't the woman's fault for being so beautiful and charming despite her austere professionalism. Olivia offered a smile when Teddy stepped back a little. She didn't mean to sound or be mean so the smile hopefully lessened the sting, if there was even one. The compliment that came from Teddy widenedher smile as she spooned some for herself and ate. "Ooh...it's not bad at all." She chuckled as she chewed. She turned to Teddy as they enjoyed the fruits of their labour. "Are you...having a good time?" She asked. our road is long

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[Theodora James]

As far as first dates went, it was certainly a unique one. But it wasn't by any means a bad choice; rather, Teddy had to enjoy the fact that Olivia was opening up this particular part of her life to her otherwise-boss. It was so like her, and that was everything she wanted in something planned like this.

"I like to think that if I wasn't, you'd know." Teddy wasn't exactly the kind of person who faked a feeling for the sake of being nice. It didn't work at work, and it wouldn't work in her personal life. Still, she recalled Olivia telling her about the reassurance she would often look for. There was nothing wrong with that. "But I am. I really like being able to see you outside the office." And she could only hope her own differences were actually starting to shine through.

[Olivia Dawson]

152 Words

i'm driving fast now don't think i know how to go slow Olivia nodded, breathing a subtle sigh of relief that Teddy wasn't against what they were doing. She instructed Teddy to turn off the heat just as the instructor up front told them to plate their food. "It might not be fair of me to bring you to something of a comfort zone for me. But...I want you to see me being comfortable instead of the nervous wreck I usually am." She shrugged, biting her lower lip. She used tongs to get the chicken out on to the plates she had taken out earlier on. Carefully, she took a small spoon to drizzle the sauce over the chicken and then scooped the rest of the mushroom salad to the side of the plate. Breaking off a few pieces of mint leaves, Olivia stuck it on the chickens and looked to Teddy. "Go on and dress it up how you'd like." She smiled. our road is long

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[Theodora James]

Teddy could completely see that this was her comfort zone. It was refreshing to see how she didn't struggle to take the lead in something she'd done so many times before in a round about way. She was sure it was impossible to convey her appreciation correctly. "I really don't think I've ever seen you as a nervous wreck." She offered genuinely.

"And I don't find this uncomfortable." She added finally, glancing down at their work. Simplicity was always key with these kinds of things. "I think it's good, actually. I think this is the first time you've looked at me like there's nothing else but us." No debilitating difficulties between co-workers; just people.

[Olivia Dawson]

155 Words

i'm driving fast now don't think i know how to go slow Olivia looked at Teddy curiously as the other woman spoke, the words making her cheeks flare up slightly. She most definitely always felt that around Teddy and for her to say otherwise was encouraging. Her dark eyes dropped down to their plates as a smile curved her lips. She was honestly glad she decided to ask Teddy out. Even if this didn't go anywhere, Olivia was happy to accept the fact that she would be comfortable with anybody as a date. It certainly opened up a whole new world for Olivia she never explored before. She leaned forward and placed a kiss on Teddy's jaw, pulling away after to give the other woman a smile before digging into her food. The instructor came over and nodded at the pair with a smile before checking in on everyone else. "I'm kind of reminded of that day we had at New York...I really liked that day." our road is long

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[Theodora James]

Though Teddy usually had perfect control of her expression, she couldn't help the way surprise coloured her features when unfamiliar lips collided with her skin. Though the pressure was gentle, the weight behind it was irrefutably huge. For someone who had previously seemed so unsure about the idle connections, she was certainly changing her approach. It wasn't a bad thing, it was just surprising.

Her eyes had to dart up at the instructor who made the mandatory rounds. She gave him an easy smile; it felt right to do so.

Thoughts drifted back to New York, and she laughed to herself lightly. "It was a good day." She admitted. Considering she had no plans at all for the time there, it was so nice to actually get out and do something. "And there was nothing subtle about you questioning my relationship with Emmett." She had to tease her a little about it. It was only right.