The first time Amanda kissed Olivia, it was a peck on the cheek, quick and casual. At least, it was supposed to be casual, but somehow it was really an event to Olivia, one that lingered in her mind. It was when Amanda and her two kids were saying goodbye to Olivia and Noah, after maybe their fifth playdate. They had all had a good time, as usual, and the goodbye scene - rather chaotic, as is to be expected with three kids - wasn't anything out of the ordinary. There was nothing particularly emotional that had happened to warrant a kiss on the cheek, as far as Olivia could tell - it was more like Amanda spontaneously decided to preface their usual goodbye hug with an additional affectionate gesture. Just a kiss on the cheek. Like friends do. No big deal. So why was it?
Olivia fretted over it as soon as the door shut behind Amanda and her kids. She hadn't had much of a reaction to the kiss, and she felt guilty for that - was she supposed to have kissed Amanda's cheek in return? But they were already hugging, so wouldn't it have been awkward to pull out of the hug in order to do so? It was sweet of Amanda to have kissed her cheek. She didn't want her to think she hadn't appreciated it. Olivia rolled her eyes at herself and how ridiculously over-analytical she was being about this, and luckily, did not have much time to dwell on it before Noah started pestering her about making a new batch of playdough and wanting another snack.
Still, the next time Olivia and Amanda got together with their kids, at the park this time, Olivia noticed herself anticipating the ending of the outing. She and Amanda were side by side on a bench with lattes, watching as Jesse and Noah ran around chasing each other with handfuls of colored leaves. Billie slept in the stroller by Amanda's side, her brow furrowing adorably as the occasional breeze swept through. Olivia was thinking about how she needed to make sure she kissed Amanda's cheek this time. Again, she mentally kicked herself for thinking about this so much; she wasn't usually so socially awkward, and was not prone to overthink things like this.
"You okay, Liv?" Amanda suddenly asked, snapping Olivia back to the present. "You seem a little distracted." Her eyes met Olivia's and Olivia stared, which only made her friend frown slightly in concern.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry for spacing out," Olivia said, sweeping her gaze back to the kids. "I guess lately I've been overthinking things, in a way that I don't usually do, so I'm just distracted by my own brain." She knew that vague non-explanation wasn't helping matters any, but she didn't know what else to say - Amanda was her best friend, and they were way beyond the "I'm fine; it's nothing" white lies they'd give to other people. She knew Amanda could see right through her, and there was no point in saying "I'm fine" when Amanda wouldn't believe it. But she also couldn't tell her the details of the thoughts distracting her.
"Overthinking, huh?" Amanda replied with a half smile. Olivia could tell she was itching to ask Olivia for more details, but didn't want to pry. There was a long pause. "S'okay, Liv," Amanda offered. "We all get like that sometimes, y'know?" She tilted her head back to drink the last sip of her coffee, which made Olivia smile.
"What's funny?" Amanda asked.
Olivia grinned full on. "I think you've become more of a coffee addict than me. You used to agree with me that it was better to leave one sip in the cup to avoid having to drink the grainy sludge that's usually at the bottom. Now you suck down every drop like your life depends on it."
Amanda attempted to scrunch up her face and be offended, but ended up laughing. Her sparkling eyes, crinkled at the corners, made Olivia's breath catch.
"That's how you rate a coffee addiction, Benson?" Amanda drawled, and gestured with her cup at Olivia's own. "I will ignore the fact that you're just trying to change the subject and point out that it doesn't matter if you've left a sip and I didn't, when your cup's four ounces bigger than mine to begin with!" With that, she playfully poked Olivia's forearm, unnecessarily hard.
