Citrus Blossom

by Sarah Pond

  One lunchtime, Laura said to Olivia that it was going to be Jasmine's birthday next week, and she was going to book a meal for the four of them to celebrate. Jason said that he would pay for the meal, and asked Laura to book the table. It was booked for the evening, so then they could all get changed after work. Jasmine was touched that they all wanted to celebrate her birthday with her. She did have some arrangements with friends, but that wasn't until the weekend. She arrived at the restaurant to see the others already there. 'Happy birthday!' they said in unison as she arrived. 'Thank you all, so much', and she kissed each of them on the cheek.

  Jasmine looked stunning in a tailored black trouser suit and a deep red lacy top with spaghetti straps. Olivia thought that Jasmine always looked so sophisticated. Jason said, 'So, it's a big one this year then! Thirty years old.'

  Jasmine looked at him, with a raised eyebrow, 'Thanks, then, for broadcasting that!'

  Olivia said, 'Well, you look fabulous, and younger, too.'

  Jasmine smiled at her, 'Thank you, Olivia.'

  They had a lovely evening, and asked Jasmine whether she was doing anything special to celebrate. Jason was trying to find out whether she might be seeing someone. Although they had known each other a long time, he knew nothing of her relationships, she was very private about her personal life.

  That weekend, Jasmine's friends Phoebe and Fran were throwing her a birthday dinner party. They lived in a townhouse in Islington, with steps leading up to a large black front door. There were going to be about fifteen or twenty people going. When she arrived, Phoebe invited her in. 'Happy birthday! Chris and Ali are already here, so are Sam and Susan,' and she hugged her friend.

  Jasmine followed Phoebe through to the kitchen, where she greeted Fran, who poured her a drink. Fran asked her how things were, and Jasmine told them about going out for dinner with Jason, Laura and Olivia. They asked how Olivia was settling in. 'She is a wonder. She works hard, and is so good at the job. In fact, we're working together on the launch of a new book. She was so excited about it, I asked her to invite the author in for a meeting. It's so great working with someone who is so passionate.'

  Phoebe gave Jasmine a look, and Jasmine ignored her, raising her glass, 'Cheers!'

  Fran said, 'Come on, get your dancing shoes on, we've got some music going.'

  Back at work after the weekend, Jasmine and Olivia were preparing for the book launch. Emma had started joking with Olivia, asking whether she now lived in the office. Olivia had replied that once they had had the book launch, things would go back to normal. She couldn't believe that she had already been in London for over three months, it didn't seem that long at all.

  One evening, Olivia was working in Jasmine's office, going through a check list for the book launch. Jasmine said, 'I really appreciate all this extra time you're putting in. When we've had the launch, you can take a few days off if you'd like to, or work some half days.'

  Olivia replied, 'I'm happy to do it. I didn't think I would get to be so hands on this early on, I love being involved, it's so exciting. Not to mention, I've got this really nice boss!'

  Jasmine looked at Olivia, and smiled, 'As long as you're happy.'

  'Oh, yes, I'm very happy,' smiled Olivia.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  It was now the end of September, and Friday was the day of the book launch, which was due to start at midday. They were all going to meet at the venue, just around the corner from Trafalgar Square. Olivia was so excited, and arrived quite early, meeting Caroline at the entrance. Caroline was feeling really nervous, so Olivia took her off to get a coffee and have a chat with her. Looking after Caroline helped to take Olivia's mind off of the fact she was nervous, too. Soon, Laura arrived, followed by Jason. Olivia thought, 'Wow.' She had never seen Jason in a suit before. He was wearing a tailored blue grey suit, with an open necked white fitted shirt, which showed off his great physique. He looked gorgeous. Laura noticed Olivia looking at him, saw a look in her eyes, and raised her eyebrows at her. Immediately, Olivia blushed, and looked away. 'Hi ladies, you're all looking lovely.' Jason smiled at them.

  'Why thank you, you look very handsome, Jason,' said Laura, then looked at Olivia, who had gone very red.

  Then Jasmine arrived, wearing a long midnight blue halter neck dress, with her dark hair loose on her bare shoulders. Olivia looked at her, thinking how elegant she looked. 'You look really beautiful,' she said, and the others all agreed.

  The guests and press were arriving now, and it was time to introduce Caroline and her book. Jasmine gave special mention to Olivia, which she found really touching.

  The launch went really well. Caroline was quite emotional, thanking Olivia and Jasmine profusely. In turn, Olivia thanked her for the opportunity of reading it, saying how helpful she had found it, and that it had given her the confidence that she was doing the right thing in her own life. Caroline was thrilled and touched that her book meant so much to Olivia. Olivia asked Caroline to sign a copy for her, and she wrote, 'For Olivia, Enjoy the view on your first flight, knowing that you have helped me on mine, With love, Caroline.' Olivia read the inscription, and felt tears well up in her eyes. She hugged Caroline, and said, 'Thank you so much.'

  Jasmine noticed the exchange between them, and smiled. Most people had left now, and Laura was just packing up and about to leave. 'Have a great weekend Laura, see you Monday,' said Olivia.

  'Yes, you too. Don't do anything I wouldn't do!' Laura laughed as she left.

  Olivia began packing up. She had had a great week, but with all of the work leading up to the book launch, was glad it was the weekend. Jasmine walked over to her, looking relaxed. Olivia had never seen Jasmine get flustered, she always seemed so calm and in control. Other people seemed to be frazzled by Friday evening, but not her. Jasmine smiled at Olivia, 'I just wanted to say thank you for all your hard work this week, well over the last few weeks really, your work on this book and the launch. It is in large part due to you that this all happened. I knew we'd made the right choice hiring you, you've been amazing,' and she touched Olivia's hand.

  Olivia flushed, feeling very pleased, also a bit embarrassed. It made such a difference being appreciated for your work. She knew people who hated their jobs, and never received praise or recognition, and this made her extra thankful. Olivia said, 'Thank you for the opportunity, it's been wonderful working with you so closely, I've learned such a lot. We've been working together so much, my flatmate thought that I live in the office now...' and she trailed off as she looked up and saw the look in Jasmine's eyes.

  'I knew. The moment I saw you, I knew I wanted you.' Her dark eyes were intense, her pupils dilated, and behind the intensity was a longing. Olivia was completed floored by this revelation. 'I was never going to act on it, but these last few weeks, working so closely with you, seeing your passion... you are so natural and free, so beautiful, and when you spoke of following your heart, I think that's when I started to fall for you.'

  Fuck. Olivia's head whirled, she couldn't comprehend what Jasmine was saying, although she certainly had a stronger understanding of the expression 'head-fuck'. Jasmine leaned towards Olivia, 'I really want to kiss you,' slowly moving towards Olivia, closer, closer still, until her lips were almost touching Olivia's. 'You can just say, and I'll stop...' she whispered.

  Olivia could smell the sweet and exotic scent of Jasmine's perfume, saw her lips full and slightly parted. Olivia felt light headed, and for a moment she couldn't move. 'Um. I don't know... I, I...' Olivia flushed, feeling giddy, and then Jasmine's mouth was on hers, so soft and gentle, seeking permission.

  Olivia felt Jasmine's hands gently touching her hips. At first Olivia didn't respond, her head still swimming, trying to make some sense of what was happening. It was like an out of body experience, it wasn't really happening to her. As Jasmine moved her hands up Olivia's back and into her hair, a thought flashed through her mind, to just give in to it, let herself go...

  A feeling of electricity shot through her body
, and Olivia suddenly began kissing back. Jasmine deepened the kiss, holding her body closer, her soft kisses becoming urgent and passionate, and Olivia responded by running her hands through Jasmine's long silky hair. Olivia was aware of her skin being so sensitive to Jasmine's touch, as she ran her hands along Olivia's arms, across her back, and back through her hair. Jasmine relished the feel of Olivia's skin, she had wanted so desperately to kiss Olivia, to touch her like this, she could hardly believe that it was actually happening. Every part of her being was so highly sensitised, she was drawn to Olivia in a way that she had never been drawn to anyone before. Olivia felt a strange sensation, which was like nothing she had ever experienced, it felt so unusual and also familiar and safe. The kiss seemed to go on forever, then Olivia started to pull back. What the hell am I doing? It was like she was awakening from a dream, that weird sensation when you don't know what is real and what isn't. Olivia pulled back, breathing heavily. She leaned against the wall, trying to get her bearings. 'I, I have to go. Sorry.' Olivia grabbed her bag, and bolted towards the door, leaving Jasmine looking bewildered.

  'Shit.' Jasmine was usually good at reading people, she must have really got it wrong. What was I thinking, I'm her boss, for fucks sake. But she had felt a connection on numerous occasions, she was sure that Olivia had looked at her with something more than... Fuck. What should she do now, go after her? Probably not. She picked her phone up and rang Olivia's number. It went straight to voicemail. That wasn't surprising. Jasmine decided that she had to go and see her, she couldn't leave things like this. She looked up Olivia's address. It wasn't that far from here, and Jasmine remembered that Olivia said she was staying with a friend whilst she got settled. She decided to walk there, that would give her time to clear her head a bit, and think what she was going to say to Olivia. What on earth had come over her. Boy, she might have really blown it. Still, for a moment Olivia had responded, had kissed her back... Shit, how was she going to handle this.

  Olivia rushed along the road, her cheeks hot and flustered. After a few minutes she slowed, then stopped and looked behind her. At least Jasmine hadn't followed her like she thought she might, which was a relief. She needed some time. What the fuck had just happened. Thank goodness it was Friday, and she had the weekend ahead of her. It was a cool evening, and Olivia now walked more slowly. She decided to call Emma and see if she wanted to meet up for dinner, as she didn't want to go home yet. She needed something to take her mind off of what had just happened. Thankfully, Emma had just finished work. She usually managed to get away about five o'clock on a Friday, but the rest of the week it could be six or seven depending on the work load. They arranged to meet at the Mexican restaurant, and Covent Garden wasn't far from here. Making her way there, it was really busy. People were chatting and heading off for meals before going to the theatre or for a night out clubbing. As soon as Olivia arrived at the restaurant, she got a table and ordered a cocktail for both of them. As it was still relatively early, there were a few empty tables. She knew that by six o'clock the place would be packed. There were already quite a few people at the bar, and the noise levels were beginning to rise. Emma arrived, gave Olivia a quick hug and sat down. Noticing the drinks, she said, 'You've started sharp this evening!' then saw Olivia's face. 'Hey, what's happened with you? You have a very strange look on your face.'

  Olivia felt her face flush. Shit, was it that obvious something had happened. 'It's just been a hectic week, today in particular with the book launch. Let's have a great evening and forget about work.'

  They ordered fajitas and another cocktail each, and Olivia started talking about films to take her mind off of what had happened earlier. Over the course of the evening, Olivia began to feel more normal, to the point of wondering whether she had dreamed what had happened earlier. It had been very busy recently, and she had been doing long hours, and was very tired. She tried to talk herself into believing that she had fallen asleep after the launch. Olivia was feeling exhausted, and as the evening wore on, she was muzzy headed. Perhaps I've had enough cocktails for this evening, she thought. Despite the long meal, it was only nine o'clock when they were ready to leave. The bar area was getting very busy and noisy, so they paid the bill and decided to head home. Out of habit, Olivia glanced at her phone, and saw that she had multiple missed calls from Jasmine, and a couple of voicemails. She felt the colour drain from her face as everything came flooding back. Hopefully Emma wouldn't notice. What surprised and shocked Olivia, was that at the remembrance of the kiss, she felt a twist of excitement in her stomach and heat between her legs. Fuck.

  'Livvy, are you okay? You look really weird.'

  'No, I... I'm fine. Just maybe one too many cocktails, and I'm really tired. Let's go home.'

  Hopefully that would cover it, Olivia thought, she really needed some time to process this.

  They walked back to Emma's place, and Olivia was glad of the fresh air. When they arrived home, Olivia said that she was going to go straight to bed as she was wiped out. As soon as she got to her room, she closed the door and sat on her bed, her phone in her hand. She pressed the voicemail button. The first message was a simple, 'Hi, it's Jasmine. Give me a call.' The next one said, 'Hi, it's me. We really need to talk. I'm so sorry about what happened. Please call me back.' Olivia flopped back onto the bed, staring up at the ceiling. What was she going to do?

  Jasmine was going mad with worry. She had tried Olivia's number a few times with no reply. After looking up her address she had arrived at the flat and pressed the buzzer. No reply. Shit. She rang Olivia's mobile number again, this time leaving a message. Please, please, please pick up or call back. She decided to make her way home in the meantime. Arriving at her front door, she got her keys out of her handbag and let herself in. She put her bag down on the table and went to the fridge. Taking out a bottle of wine, she got herself a glass and poured the wine, then went to sit on the sofa. She sat down heavily, sighing. Now what? She checked her phone again, although she knew that no one had called, as she had kept her phone in her hand all of the way home. She rang Olivia's number again, and again it went straight to voicemail. Jasmine left a second message, then put her phone down on the sofa next to her. She took a sip from her cool wine, then put it down on the coffee table. She lent back into the sofa, and a tear ran down the side of her face.

  Olivia woke from a fitful sleep on Saturday morning. Automatically she checked her phone which was on the dresser. Thankfully there were no new messages. She decided that a day to herself was what she needed, and thankfully she hadn't made any arrangements with anyone today. She walked into the lounge, and through to the kitchen. It seemed that Emma wasn't up yet, which was good. Olivia didn't feel like talking this morning. She felt as though she was watching someone else's life, she felt disconnected. Although Olivia wasn't very hungry, she thought that she ought to eat something, so decided on a muffin and some orange juice. Then she caught the scent of Jasmine's perfume on her skin.

  Waking with a fuzzy head, Jasmine sat up, realising that she was still on the sofa. This is crazy, I've got to pull myself together. She replayed last night, walking over to Olivia slowly, thinking she had never seen anyone so beautiful. It was more than a physical attraction, something Olivia exuded, something intangible. She had never before got involved with anyone she worked with. She kept her romantic life very much separate and never talked about her relationships. In fact, Jason and Laura assumed she wasn't interested. She loved her career, and they had never heard her talk of partners, only the occasional friend. Shit, she really had messed up. But when she thought about that lingering kiss, the feel of Olivia's skin beneath her fingertips, and how Olivia had kissed her back, her lips so soft, she had a feeling of longing, and felt bereft.

  Olivia took a shower, washing off Jasmine's scent, and started to feel better under the hot, soothing water. She decided that she would go to the Natural History Museum, which she had loved when she was a kid. It was years since she had been there. The anonymity amongst all th
e tourists would be good. The thought of taking the underground really wasn't appealing, what with the volume of people and everyone rushing around. The bus would be much better, and she could people watch along the way. She liked to make up stories about the people and their imaginary lives. Olivia got dried off, dressed quickly and left the flat without seeing Emma. She walked along the road to the bus stop, and took the bus to South Kensington. When she could see the museum in the distance, she got off and walked along Cromwell Road to the museum. It was a very busy Saturday, as usual in London. Standing in the grounds of the Natural History Museum, Olivia looked up at the magnificent building. It really was beautiful. She walked up the steps, remembering how excited she was to visit here when she was a child. Walking into the main hall, with the imposing Diplodocus holding court, it was just as she remembered it. She still had that feeling of awe.

  Olivia wanted to go to the mammals area, to see the blue whale. She remembered as a child looking up in amazement at the massive blue whale, finding it hard to believe that there was really a creature that big in the world. Now twelve years later, it was more than another lifetime away, which seemed a strange thought to Olivia. She went to look at the map, and turned left off of the main hall, though the mammal area, towards the blue whale. Olivia approached the whale, then stood still. Standing here, Olivia felt reassured, that she was a small part of something much bigger than herself. It helped her to put a perspective on things. She felt safe here, as though things hadn't changed, and she was that ten year old girl again. Olivia walked up the stairs to the viewing balcony, and stood at the tail of the blue whale, looking at the sheer size of it. She walked over to a bench, and sat down, looking at the whale. It dwarfed everything else, even the elephants looked small in comparison. Olivia looked up, above her head, to see whales and dolphins suspended above her, and it gave her a feeling of being underwater. Her thoughts began to drift, then she started people watching, idly playing her game of making up stories about the people around her. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of a tall woman with long dark wavy hair. Jasmine. Her heart began thumping in her chest. No, the chances of that were very unlikely. The woman turned around and looked up to where Olivia was sitting, and it was someone that she had never seen before. Boy, get it together, she thought. Olivia realised that rather than trying to process what had happened, she was trying to shut it out. She stood up and stretched, and was aware that she was feeling hungry. She hadn't eaten much this morning, so she decided to go and get some lunch. Olivia made her way to the cafe to get a coffee and a sandwich. She found an empty seat at one of the tables in the middle of the cafe area, and took in the architecture and stained glass windows around her. The cafe was bustling with families and excited children. There was so much life here. Once she had eaten, Olivia felt a bit better. She then went to have a wander around the dinosaurs, another favourite of hers when she was a child. It was packed, with parents trying to keep up with their children, exclaiming over the size of the dinosaurs. Olivia followed the exhibition around to the animatronic Tyrannosaurus rex. It was a great showpiece, and although it didn't roar very loudly, some of the younger children were scared, and were being comforted by their parents, whilst others were taking photographs. As the time went by, Olivia was getting tired, and began making her way to the exit. She would get the bus home again, then she could relax on the journey home.