How Many Times
July 3rd, 2009
"Tell me why I am here again, Alex?" Olivia asked as they removed their bags from the back of Alex's car. They had just pulled up in front of one of the largest homes Olivia had ever seen. They were in the Hamptons at the home of Alex's friends from Harvard Nancy and Anthony. She knew that Nancy was in cooperate law and that Anthony was an investment banker, both very successful based on the outside of their summer home.
"You are here to relax and have fun Liv, and maybe meet someone." Alex explained her annoyance growing at her friend.
"It's going to be a weekend full of lawyers and I don't date lawyers remember." Olivia pointed out.
"Well, maybe it's time you reexamined that standard, besides Anthony is an investment banker, I'm sure he will have a few work friends here." Alex laughed.
"Oh joy." Olivia muttered dryly.
"Alex, welcome!" A woman called from the front door.
"Nancy!" Alex replies moving quickly to hug her old friend.
"You must be Olivia, I am so glad you could join us this weekend." Nancy greeted her shaking her hand.
"Thank you so much for the invitation." Olivia replied hoping she sounded sincere.
Nancy showed them to their rooms, "Please make yourself completely at home, Anthony is out on the boat and I need to make a quick run into town but please let one of the staff know if you need anything. We are having a low country boil at seven, until then relax and enjoy."
They both thanked their hostess and walked into their rooms, "You heard the woman relax and enjoy yourself Liv, I think I'm going to take a much needed nap, see you in a little while." Alex told her before heading into her room.
Olivia nodded as she looked around her room for the weekend that was larger than her first apartment. She made her way in set her bag on the bed and made her way to the window. She was pleasantly surprised to find a small balcony overlooking the beach. She breathed in the fresh salty air and decided that this was in fact better than spending the holiday weekend in the hot and crowded city. There was a pool between the house and the beach so she decided she would change and relax in the sun for a bit.
She had been sitting by the pool for a little while half way reading a book when she heard to male voices coming up from the beach. She looked up from behind her book when she noticed they were speaking Spanish, she recognized the taller of the two men from pictures in the house as her host for the weekend. The second man was slightly shorter, probably about her height she would guess, he was wearing crisp khaki shorts and a salmon colored polo shirt, but still looked somewhat wind-blown from the boat. The men must have sensed her watching them because they stopped their conversation and looked in her direction.
"Hi, you must be Alex's friend, welcome I am Anthony." He greeted her walking over to her chair.
Olivia stood up from her chair hoping her black swimsuit moved properly in the process, meeting people in a swimsuit for the first time was a bit awkward.
"Hi, I am Olivia, it's nice to meet you." She said shaking his hand, "Thank you so much for having me this weekend."
"It's our pleasure, I'm glad to see you enjoying yourself." He told her.
Olivia turned her attention to the other man who was standing before her, he was in fact her height and more well-built than she had initially assessed. Things grew momentarily uncomfortable when they both realized the other was looking them over. He offered her a slight smirk and she could not tell was embarrassment or cockiness before removing his sunglasses revealing the most piercing green eyes that Olivia had ever seen.
"Hi, I am Rafael." He introduced himself offering her his hand.
"Olivia" Was all she was able to say as she found herself completely memorized by his eyes and the surge of electricity that passed between their hands. Eventually she regained her composure and removed her hand from his. "I should go get ready for dinner."
"See you then" Rafael told her with a smile.
BarsonBarsonBarsonBarson
"Liv, you ready?" Alex asked coming through the bathroom that separated their bedrooms.
Olivia was checking her reflection in the mirror she was wearing a white sundress that stopped a couple of inched above her knees, she had pulled her hair back but left a few pieces falling around her face. As she looked at herself in the mirror she could almost see Rafael's green eyes staring back at her.
"Yes, I think so." She responded. "Hey Alex, do you know Anthony's friend Rafael?" She asked trying to appear casual.
Alex looked at her friend in disbelief for a minute, "Rafael Barba?" She asked
Olivia shrugged, "I guess so, I didn't catch his last name."
Alex smiled, "Sure, he and Anthony grew up together in the Bronx and we were all at Harvard at the same time,"
Olivia nodded, "So he and Anthony were in business school together?"
Alex smirked, "No, he was in law school with me and Nancy. Liv he's an ADA in Brooklyn."
"Damn, of course he is." Olivia shook her head.
"Like I said before, maybe it's time to reexamine your rule." Alex reminded her.
The two women joined their hosts and the rest of the guest under a large tent just off the beach where music played softly and everyone was mingling. They were walking towards the bar when they heard a voice Olivia recognize from earlier.
"Alex Cabot!" Rafael called out.
"Rafael, how are you? How is Brooklyn?" She asked.
"You know, probably the same as Manhattan, just without Jack McCoy." Rafael replied.
"I hear you and Olivia met earlier." Alex said with a smirk.
There was no missing the slight bit of pleasure in his smile this time as Olivia silently cursed her friend.
"We did, but not completely, Rafael Barba, and as you have probably already gathered Assistant District Attorney in Brooklyn." He said with an out stretched hand.
"Olivia Benson" She said purposefully avoiding what she did but Alex was having none of it.
"That's Detective Olivia Benson, Manhattan SVU." She filled in.
Barba nodded, "Well then Olivia, I can assume that you don't want to spend your Fourth of July weekend talking about work anymore than I do."
Olivia was drawn in by the sound of her name on his lips and she felt herself relax slightly, "No, definitely not."
"How about a drink then?" He offered, "If I can kick the bartender out I make a pretty decent mojito."
"That sounds nice, thank you." She agreed, taking the offer of his arm casting a glance back at Alex who already moving on to catch up with some other friends.
When they reached the bar Rafael spoke in Spanish to the bartender and made quick work behind the bar preparing their drinks. He handed Olivia one with a smile, "Enjoy"
She took a tentative sip, "Wow, that's really good. Did you work your way through Harvard as a bartender?"
Rafael laughed, "No, my grandparents came from Cuba I've been making these since before I could legally drink them."
Olivia nodded, "Well they taught you well."
"Ok, so far you know far more about me than I do you. Where did you grow up? He asked her.
"Actually in Manhattan, my mother was an English professor." She offered thankful when he didn't ask further.
"And where did you got to school before the Academy?"
"Siena College, I actually thought briefly about law school but wanted to actually work for a living," She teased.
"Ouch, we just met and that's how you treat me?" He feigned being insulted but his eyes were smiling.
Rafael was a perfect companion for the evening, he seemed to know most of the other guest and introduced her and saved her from more than one uncomfortable conversation when people learned that she was with SVU. At one point when another guy would not take the hint that she didn't want to discuss it she felt his hand on her back.
"Excuse us, Olivia promised me a dance." He said not waiting for anyone to reply as he gently wrapped an arm around her waist and led her to the dance floor.
"Thank you" She told him as placed one hand on his shoulder and the other inside his free hand and he drew it back to his chest, he held her softly but at a distance that didn't impose on her.
"Do you get that a lot?" He asked her.
"Too much, I love what I do because it is important but I have too much respect for the victims to talk about them for entertainment purposes."
"Completely understandable." He agreed and a comfortable silence fell between them as they slowly swayed to the music.
A pretty decent eighties cover band was playing on the stage near the dance floor much to the delight of the crowd who were happily reliving their high school and early college years. Olivia found herself unusually relaxed in Rafael's arms and made no attempt at moving when the first song ended and a new one began, allowing him to hold her slightly closer as the song began.
So long
I've been looking too hard, I've waiting too long
Sometimes I don't know what I will find
I only know it's a matter of time
When you love someone
When you love someone
It feels so right, so warm and true
I need to know if you feel it too
Maybe I'm wrong
Won't you tell me if I'm coming on too strong
This heart of mine has been hurt before
This time I want be sure
He moved back slightly and looked at her, "Would you like to go sailing tomorrow?" Suddenly he realized that he might sound to forward, "I mean you and Alex both if you want."
Olivia smiled realizing that he wasn't quiet as sure of himself as he pretended, "That sounds nice."
As the second song ended they realized that they were some of the last few in the tent.
"I didn't realize that it had gotten so late, you want to head back to the house?" He asked her.
"We probably should before Alex gets the wrong idea and I never hear the end of it." Olivia laughed.
Olivia slipped her shoes off as they walked along the beach back to the house continuing their casual conversation with the sound of the waves behind them. They paused as they reached the bottom of the stairs that led back up to the house.
"I am really glad you came this weekend Olivia." Rafael said before placing a soft kiss on her check, "I'll see you tomorrow."
"See you tomorrow." Olivia managed to say as she watched walk off in the direction of his room.
Olivia opened her bedroom door to find Alex sitting on her bed waiting for her. "Details, now" she demanded.
"Hi Alex, how are you?" Olivia replied.
"Don't even try that with me Olivia Margaret Benson, I want to know everything you two talked about and what you plan to do next." Alex insisted.
Olivia shrugged, "We talked about a lot of things, and really nothing at all, it was nice." Olivia told her and Alex couldn't help but smile at unusual tone to Olivia's voice.
"So are you going to see him again?" She asked.
"Well, we are staying in the same house all weekend so I would say, yes." She answered coyly.
"You know what I mean, Liv." She pushed.
"If fact he invited us both to go sailing tomorrow." Olivia told her and raised an eyebrow when Alex laughed out loud.
"Rafael Barba knows all too well that I do not sail, they tried to take me a hundred times when we were in school and I got sick each and every time." She informed her friend. "You are on your own with the Counselor tomorrow, have fun." She said as she walked back to her room.
"Alex," Olivia paused waiting for her friend to turn back and she didn't have to finish her question.
"You can trust him Liv, I had plenty of friends who dated Rafael in college, he never pushed or pressured anyone, he's a good guy." She told her hugging her before walking back to her room.
BarsonBarsonBarson
Olivia and Rafael met in the same place where they said good night shortly before lunch time the next day. Rafael was dressed much the same way he had been the day before when Olivia had first seen him khaki shorts, and polo shorts. After much deliberation Olivia had decided to wear a black swimsuit with a matching cover up.
"Is Alex joining us?" Rafael asked innocently.
Olivia rolled her eyes, "No, but I'm pretty sure you already knew that."
Rafael simply shrugged, "Oh that's right she has a slight aversion to the water." He suddenly remembered with a grin. "I packed us lunch." He said in attempt to change the subject.
Olivia laughed, "Are we planning on being back before the fireworks tonight?"
"Only if you want to be." He said his looking into her eyes to gauge her reaction, then smiling his pleasant smile at her again, "Come on let's go."
Rafael proved to be very good at sailing and they had a pleasant afternoon on the water. Rafael telling her about growing up in the Bronx and how different his life was once he went to Harvard. Olivia told him about the challenges about being a woman in the NYPD.
"How long have you been with SVU?" He asked her at one point and was shocked when she told him ten years, "Do you ever think about asking for a different assignment?"
Olivia nodded, "At some point in almost every case I tell myself, this is the last one, but I know I am good at it and the victims deserve someone who is going to fight for them. Why did you go to the DA's office instead of private practice or corporate law?"
Rafael looked at her for a minute, "It would probably sound good to say justice and dong good, but the truth is at first I saw it as an entry into the political world."
"And now?" She asked him pleasantly surprised at his honesty.
"I'm still deciding, like you I am good at what I do and the victims deserve that, but sometimea I do wonder if there is something else, somewhere that I could have more influence." He explained.
"How many partners have you had?" He asked her/
"Excuse me?" Olivia responded surprised by his question then turning red with embarrassment when she realized what he meant.
"Work partners." He said with a laugh, "But hey if we want to get into that I'm game too." He teased.
"Two" She said half hiding her face still.
"You must be a pretty good partner then." He told her with a grin fully implying the double meaning in his words.
Olivia suddenly recovered, smiled at him sweetly before leaning a little closer and whispering, "I am a great partner."
Rafael was more than willing to play this game with her and he leaned in even closer, "Well maybe one day I will get to find out for myself." He paused for a moment before backing away slightly and adding, "Professionally speaking of course."
Olivia swallowed hard, "Is it time for lunch?" She asked in effort to change the subject.
Rafael smiled at her, "Yes, I think it is."
They arrived back at the shore late in the afternoon Rafael held his hand out to Olivia to help her down from the boat, then resting it on her hip as she stood in front of him in her bare feet slightly shorter than him.
"I had a really nice time today Olivia, thank you for coming with me." He told her as his free hand brushed her windswept hair from her face.
"I did too, it was one of the nicest days I have had in a long time." She told him suddenly unable to make eye contact with him until she felt him tilt her chin up his green eyes searching her face.
"Olivia…" He said in almost a question smiling when he saw the slight nod of her head before he gently pressed his lips against hers, pressing them a little more firmly when he felt her hand move to the side of his face.
They pulled apart and smiled at each other for a minute before Rafael spoke up. "We should probably get changed before dinner and fireworks."
Olivia nodded in agreement and with her sandals in one hand she slipped her fingers through his as they walked back to the house. She stopped short of the steps when she felt him pull on her hand he pulled her closer and kissed her again this time a little longer.
"See you back here in a little while?" He asked half afraid she would run away.
"I promise." She said placing another kiss on his lips.
An hour later she was walking down the stairs in a red sundress that tied around her neck leaving the back open and showing her newly acquired tan from a day in the sun. Rafael was waiting for her at the bottom and he lost his breath when he saw her.
"You look amazing." He told her kissing her check and offering her his arm as they walked towards dinner.
They talked with the other guest throughout the evening occasionally being separated by other people who wanted their attention. They kept their eyes on each other making eye contact frequently from across the room. At one point Rafael spotted Olivia trapped in another dance with someone when he noticed the song from the night before begin.
"Excuse me this is our song." He said politely but firmly waiting for the other man to step aside before taking Olivia's hand.
She smiled at him gratefully, "I thought you had abandoned me."
"Hardly." He said pulling her in closer than he had the night before his hand resting against the bare skin of her back.
The song ended and she pulled back slightly and smiled at him, "You want to go for a walk?" She asked him.
He responded by taking her hand and pulling her though the crowd stopping at the bar long enough to grab a bottle of wine and two glasses. Once they hit the sand Olivia slipped out of her shoes again this time leaving them behind as she and Rafael walked toward the coastline hand in hand the waves splashing against their feet.
"There are some chairs over that way where we could watch the fireworks." He told her as they made their way up the shore. Olivia sat down on one of the lounge chairs first and motioned for him to join her, he sat down behind her and wrapped his arms around her. She leaned her head back against his shoulder closing her eyes when he placed the kiss she had been thinking about since that afternoon on her lips. It did not take long for the kiss to grow as they ran their hands through each other's hair and down their backs. Rafael used all the self-control he had to keep his hands from roaming further. Her bare legs were so inviting but in that dress he knew he should stay away.
"We are going to miss the fireworks." He said breathlessly when he heard the first one explode overhead. Olivia let out a slight giggle as she turned back to rest against him as they watched the colors erupt above them. Drinking the wine Rafael had picked up and leaning in for soft kisses as they watched.
"What happens after this weekend Liv?" He asked her moving her hair away from her neck and placing kisses along it until he reached her mouth finding her lips again.
"Let's talk about that tomorrow." She whispered kissing him harder trying to silence the voices in her head.
After he walked her back to the house and kissed her goodnight though the voices grew too loud. The voices that told her that she would not be enough for him, that he would want more than she could give. The voices that told her that when he learned the truth about her he would be repulsed and not want her. The voices that told her to run and so that's what she did. In the middle of the night she called for a car to drive her back to the city, leaving a note for Alex. The next morning all Rafael had left of her was a pair of red sandals that she had left on the beach the night before.
TBC
