Dirty Martinis and Chuckles

Chapter One

Olive Bouchier sips an overpriced Americano, perched on a wooden stool outside of the coffee shop she frequented every morning. It was located conveniently across from her rent controlled apartment and it was one of the only places left where she could smoke a cigarette in their outdoor seating area and not be kicked out. Hence, why she was willing to pay the astronomical price for a subpar coffee. She plucked at the keyboard in front of her with ease, strumming up the newest piece about which pair of shoes and which bag to wear with the new trendy skirt. Olive felt bored, sucking on the lipstick stained filter of her Marlboro Menthol as she read back the last two sentences she'd written. And she was incredibly underwhelmed. Olive sighed as she ashed onto the ground, tapping her pleather kitten heels against the stool. She used to travel to Europe and eat in the best restaurants and stay in the best hotels. Writing those articles was a breeze, they felt more real. However, these fashion magazines do pay about five to ten dollars a word. So here she is.

Life had slowly but surely become unfulfilling. Perhaps it was because she was nearing thirty and what seemed so important to her at what felt like the peak of her career was no longer so pressing. Olive loved fashion, she used to think she lived for it. Writing about it has kind of washed out all of the appeal of it. Once upon a time, she was cocky and thought people should absolutely listen to her on what is hot and which accessories go with what. Now, Olive wonders why the hell she was given any authority in the matter. Because she had a handful of articles about Paris that went viral? Sure, she'd mention the streetwear when she'd visited but the meat of the articles were about how magical it'd felt to be in Paris. She'd love to be back doing travel writing. Alas, she fell in love.

Pilot Blue Rosario was the love child of two famous actors. They had an affair and Pilot was the result of it. He's quite the socialite. Never has to work a day in his life, but he gets antsy so almost monthly, Pilot has a new career. When Olive met him, he was networking at a club and she was there with some girlfriends. Pilot was starting his own PR firm back then, but he lost interest about a month later. It was a whirlwind romance. Olive and Pilot were casual at first but a couple months into seeing each other, Pilot asked her to stop traveling so much. It was the first time Olive compromised for a man and she regrets it almost everyday. But Pilot was so good looking, she tended to forget how much she disliked being with him whenever he was around.

Pilot has striking blue eyes, wild dark brown hair and strong, thick eyebrows. He has a distinct mole above his lip, almost Marilyn Monroe style and the cutest, boyish smile— his canines are just a little crooked, sitting just slightly behind the rest of his teeth. Olive always wondered why he never stuck with modeling, it was like he was born to do it but apparently, Pilot didn't enjoy doing it. That's kind of how he is about everything though. Trying a bit of everything here and there but can never follow through and stick with a commitment. Olive's not sure why they're still together given the issue, supposed he hasn't gotten bored of her by now.

There were three things important to Olive Bouchier; writing, good sex and dirty martinis. Of the three, only one was a guarantee these days.

She's brought out of her thoughts as a Boxer rips through the cafe's small terrace, running directly into her and then past with its leash whipping wildly behind it. The collision knocks over Olive's coffee but she's quick to clean it before the remaining portion meets her laptop. Olive spins around, eyes wide to search for the asshole who can't keep hold of their dog. When she sees the culprit, she tilts her head as she observes him. He hasn't even noticed and well, she can't blame him, he's got four other dogs on leashes as he's struggling to pull his wallet out of his back pocket. One of the leash handles is between his teeth. Olive's only human so of course she notices the guy is attractive, but her annoyance supercedes it. She rolls her eyes as she stands, retrieving the misbehaving dog. Luckily, its leash was caught on the fence so it couldn't escape down the street.