The Art Of Us

31 • The Beginning

"Let's look over it one more time." Alice opened her folder, with everything she had prepared for her pitch this afternoon.

She was sitting across of Fred back in the Mayor's office. Her nerves were more than she could handle, and so she did what she was a good at— throwing herself into her work.

"Alice, your plan is solid." Fred assured her. He knew that it was a big day for her, but he was going to be there to make sure she felt supported.

"There can't be any flaws, Fred. If I won't succeed then..." Alice sighed, she wasn't even sure how to finish that sentence. There was a heavy weight on her shoulders, one she could barely carry.

"Hey, it will be fine. You're going to seal this deal." He encouraged her once more.

Again, he was staying calm when she was stressing. It was part of their dynamic, and somehow it always worked.

"Don't pressure yourself too much." He said, before giving her a warm smile.

"I have to, Fred!" Alice exclaimed, her voice cracking against her will.

"I don't want to fail these women." She said quietly,

"There are big chances I need to present this plan to a man, who might not understand the importance of the venue for us." Alice had a valid point here and it worried her more than she had admitted out loud.

"Hey, the owner showed interest in your plans already, didn't they?" Fred tried to look on the bright side, to hopefully make her feel more confident.

All she wanted was to create a place for women to feel safe, to come together, to protect one another. A place like the Wyrm, but for women only.

"Yeah, but..." Alice tried to argue with him, but Fred didn't want to hear any of it.

"No buts." He said, shushing her effectively.

"FP, Charles and I will be there. If you don't know what to say, we'll help you. We've got your back, Smith." He promised her, which did make her feel better. She'd be fine, because of them.

"Now, take a deep breath and relax a little before it's time." He walked around his desk and took her hand to pull her up, turn her around and massage her shoulders for a little bit.

"Thank you, Fred. I have no idea what I would do without you." Alice breathed out in relief.

**

Alice had gone home after her meeting with Fred, thinking that the few hours she had before she just needed a good distraction. So, she put her folder into a drawer so she didn't have to look at it, and went to the one person who always knew how to take her mind off things.

FP hadn't complained when she went home and basically attacked him. He had lifted her up and carried her to their bedroom, not even caring where this sudden wave of affection came from, he'd take every chance to worship her.

They were catching their breaths while FP rolled off of her, and she immediately snuggled closer to his chest, secretly loving to cuddle with him after sex. FP instantly wrapped his arms around her and chuckled sweetly, before pressing a loving kiss on her hairline.

Alice giggled, and looked up at FP, her hand raising to softly tickle his stubble.

"You are so cute." She sighed dreamily.

"Oh yeah? What's cute about me?" FP rested his head on his arm, the movement making his muscles flex. Alice bit her bottom lip as she looked at how effortlessly sexy he looked.

"Your crooked smile. Curse that for making me fall in love with you as a teenager." Alice traced his lips with her finger and grinned to herself.

She still knew the first time she had ever seen him use that smile on her. She had been into a fight and had punched the linebacker of the Bulldogs when she was just a freshman, and he had given her that smile when she won.