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When they came to an agreement, the trainer was sure the next step was to pull away so they could actually move. Yet her hands were taken and placed back where they originally had been, and Natalie couldn't help the humored breath that left her. Though she made no complaint by the decision her counterpart made. A minute. Surely they could handle that.
She pulled her a little closer, even if there was barely any distance left between them in the first place. "Alright," she agreed lightly, her own voice dropping to match Teddy's quietness before she leaned in and caught her lips again.
Once inside, Natalie took the lead again. It wasn't far now. "Oh, that's interesting." With the list Olivia compiled, it seemed like that must have taken most of her time outside of work, even if work was keeping her busy enough as it was. "It's good to have something like that."
Her mouth scrunched to the side when the question was turned around on her. "No, not really. At least for classes." She explained with a roll of her shoulders. "I'm usually pretty independent with them. I'll cook all the time, and usually I'll go for a run a few times a week." Sometimes daily. "That just works better for me, though."
As they turned a corner, she smiled and gestured towards an open door to a room full of couches. "And here we are."
It was so easy to get caught up that Natalie almost forgot where they were. Her hands applied pressure to try and keep the lawyer close, but with the first sign of distance coming from her counterpart, dark eyes opened as she eased herself back, though only a fraction. Anything more might be the death of her, but reason filtered in the space created between them, and as breathless as she was, she still nodded.
"Right." Because she absolutely was.
Still, she kissed her again, and it was longer than it really should have been, given the agreement. When she pulled away, her arms were slow to drop.
As she felt the faintest brush of lips against her own, Natalie closed her own eyes. It almost felt like a tease, and she wanted to chase her for something more solid. Though words spoke with as much physical conviction as a kiss could have. Natalie lost the air in her lungs completely, her warm breath dusting against the lawyer's lips.
Given the events of today, she hadn't expected to find herself so tangled up like this, but it shouldn't have come as a surprise. Teddy was wonderful. Perfect, even. She couldn't help the way she was drawn to her.
Hearing a reason why someone couldn't commit to something like meditation or yoga wasn't uncommon. Natalie offered a little hum in response, unsure if the paralegal really would look into it, but she wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt. "There's lots of videos online that do daily practices - it's only about thirty minutes a day." And entirely free. But it was as far as she would push the subject. Forcing someone onto something that they didn't want to do for themselves was a step in the wrong direction.
As they approached another building, Natalie pushed open the door, holding it again for Olivia and her animal companions. "What sort of hobby classes do you take?" She asked. Maybe that was something within itself that served as a sort of mediation.
Understanding came in the form of her own perspective. She could feel it in her own blood; how she often thought of the lawyer. How she always longed to be with her. And here, how she could barely handle being only a few feet away from her. Even though her vision blurred with the close proximity between them, she still tried to look. Because she deserved every ounce of attention that she could give her.
"Then come home with me." She answered far too easily. It was already burning in her mind, but responsibility to Teddy's job had kept her quiet. She knew how important her work was, but she was weak when words like that hit her ears. "Please." Though, she knew the strain in her request wasn't needed to persuade, it was important to convey.
Olivia almost seemed relieved, and with that, she started to walk again. The student lounge was still a couple minutes away. At least now she could focus on her steps, despite how she still let her attention fall on the nervous paralegal. "Have you considered meditation? Or something to act in place of it?" Natalie asked, ready to offer advice she knew really could help. Anxiety wasn't uncommon for the trainer who spent most of her young life struggling to talk to people over animals. Building up to a certain lifestyle helped significantly. "I practice yoga regularly, and it really helps bring ease to the mind." It was more than just a physical workout.
"Finding something that can help channel your awareness into something positive can be significant." How she chose to channel it was entirely up to her, however.
The lawyer had a valid point, and Natalie could see it without aid of being so obvious. There was a mutual feeling in that, and when Teddy rose to her feet, Natalie felt herself doing the same, if only to try and meet her part way. Because as hard as she tried not to be a disturbance of her work, they were past that point and her palms ached with the urge to reach out to her. They pressed to the small of Teddy's back to draw her in as close as she could.
And once she was close enough, she kissed her. Slowly, lightly. Like she could savor every detail of the feeling and make it last for decades.
"An obsession." She breathed against her eventually.
Natalie wished she could have some sort of advice to offer, but she was still a little confused with what was entirely wrong. It seemed like Olivia was more upset with herself than anything else, and the trainer had no way to knowing how to deal with that. "I think the best thing you can do is just try. Doesn't that make the best practice?" It was strange to be giving someone her own age the advice she offered her students when they met failure. More strange that it was to Olivia about this particular situation; it was a conflicting thought. Perhaps her background offered a little more insight than she initially thought.
Another apology came forth and Natalie shook her head. "It sounds like you needed to get that out," she replied. "I just don't want you to feel uncomfortable." She hardly wanted to be the cause of distress for the woman. Because it was her fault, even if Olivia had tried to take it back a bit. Her decision to stay away from the office during normal work hours was likely a good one, she determined.
Natalie should have better prepared herself for what was to come. She'd heard the compliments Teddy offered when she could, and in those times they were overwhelming. When they stacked up as they did now, they consumed her entirely. The controlled breaths she was trying to take were wavering, hands sinking back into her lap as they squeezed each other. It was so much to take in, and all coming at her so suddenly. She knew her face gave it away, but she made no attempt to hide it.
It was a sort of affection that she never thought could really exist. Something out of a book or movie. Yet there it was, and now her heart was drumming in her ears with elation.
"I-" Her sentence broke, tongue running along the length of her lips. "You have this magnetic pull to you. I always want to be near you."
It was a straightforward question, and Natalie received one in response. Though harsh, she really couldn't complain given that she had asked. What was more important was the reason why, but before Natalie could think to ask, the woman started going on something of a tangent. Her eyes grew wide, and she stopped walking all together in order to make sure she wasn't missing something. And she was pretty sure she already had, because she was being called perfect and then suddenly learning details of Olivia's history that she hadn't really been expecting. Her eyebrows shot upwards as she continued.
When she finished, there was a lot to take in. It took Natalie a few moments to process. She inhaled slowly through her nose, lips parting as she let the breath go before making any attempt to speak. "It's okay, you shouldn't be sorry." It seemed like the paralegal desperately needed to get whatever this was off her chest - given the rant she offered to someone who was a practical stranger was enough of a sign that she kept this bottled up for too long.
"If it makes you feel any better, this is new for me, too." She really wondered how detailed she should go here. "I've never really continuously seen someone before." Maybe there was comfort in knowing that Olivia wasn't alone in treading foreign waters. "And I'm definitely not an Amazonian goddess, that's for sure." She tacked on with a laugh. Her own nerves were heightened with the strange turn of this conversation, but she was determined to breath through it. "So you're upset... because this is new?"
This was hardly helping her counterpart with the work that required her to stay so late, but Natalie couldn't help but to comply. It was easy to talk about her thoughts on the lawyer, even right in front of her, only except that it made her heart rate elevate. She exhaled through her mouth, practicing every bit of meditative training to control it, but to little avail.
"It's more of an expansion upon those thoughts," Natalie said after a few moments. "You're wonderful. Talented. So smart. And you have all these emotions that come out and they just take me completely. Even when you're worried about balancing your work and personal life, you're still so caring. I feel it."
She sucked in another breath, if only to stop herself from going too far. "And what do you think about me, then?"
Really, Natalie hadn't known what to expect was to come. Her eyes were drawn to the particular curve of Teddy's lips; how her smile had managed to come through despite any attempt to try and hide it. When they parted to speak, her gaze returned to the bright set of eyes hiding behind lenses.
"When you sat down next to me, I almost couldn't believe it." She confessed with a little laugh. "You're so beautiful, and you could have talked to anyone." It was her initial reaction, and though it could have sufficed, she thought the lawyer deserved more. Especially considering how she had requested to ask this question. It deserved the respect of a well rounded response. "And you were so sweet." She still was, and Natalie hoped that was apparent in her tone. "You're so interesting, and caring, and attentive."
The corner of her mouth drew upward. "Why do you ask?"
Natalie found humor in the idea of her teaching someone so educated anything. More, she just felt like it was concern for someone so dedicated that might need the reminder to look after herself instead of driving herself into the ground through pure willpower.
Silence was comfortable, and so Natalie made no effort to break it. The passing moments were easily occupied by the woman sitting across from her. She could stare for hours. Days, likely, even if she hadn't had a gaze as sharp as Teddy's.
With Natalie's abilities came some unexpected side effects; there was a practically constant communication going on between herself and her dogs. They could pick up emotions in people far better than the trainer ever could, and what was a little warning of anxiety skyrocketed with an alarm at her answer. If it wasn't enough, Olivia's bumbling transition into a new subject was enough to even make her aware that she was clearly uncomfortable.
"I'm sorry," Natalie immediately apologized, slowing her pacing to turn and look at Olivia. Concern worked into her features. "Did I do something to make you uncomfortable?" They'd only met a couple of times now, but she couldn't help but to ask.
