Hello loves! Some of you caught onto the Mat Kearney inspired title and that made me smile. I will say a song that really did inspire this story is Darlene Love's Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home). It's a classic! And if you haven't heard it, I suggest you take a listen!
You guys seemed to like the twist I put on this story, let's see where it goes!
Placing her utensils down next to her plate, Olivia placed her hands in her lap to fidget with the napkin that rested there. Dodds sensed her uneasiness and placed his arm on the back of her chair. "I'm going to head to the bar, can I get you anything?"
Giving him a forced smile, she shook her head. With a nod, Dodds stood and buttoned his suit jacket before heading across the ballroom to the bar. As soon as he was out of ear shot, Olivia let her eyes fall closed as she exhaled a long breath. She was finding it exhausting to feign peace of mind through out this entire evening.
When she opened her eyes, Ed was standing in front her table with his hands in the pockets of his suit pants. "Where's the golden boy?" He asked, nodding towards the empty seat next to her.
"Sergeant Dodds is at the bar." She answered, dodging his sarcastic comments with ease as her stern eyes met his.
He couldn't help the smirk that tugged at the corner of his lips. "Lucky for him, they're not carding." Tilting her head to the side, she gave him a pointed look. That look was all too familiar to him and he held his hands up in surrender, a playful smile on his face. He walked closer and extended his hand. "Dance with me."
Olivia eyed his masculine hand before looking to his face, his blue eyes beckoning her just like they always had. "Ed...", she whispered hesitantly, her eyes softening as she sensed the defeat creeping into his demeanor.
"One dance, Liv", he pleaded softly. "And I'll leave you alone for the rest of the night."
There was no way she could deny those eyes, she never could. In all other aspects of her life, she had a solid resolve but when those eyes came into play all bets were off.
Placing her hand in his, she stood up from her chair and allowed him to lead her to the middle of the dance floor. Her right hand rested in his left while her left hand found its way to the back of his neck.
Falling into a comfortable silence, they swayed to the soft music with a safety net of at least theee inches between their bodies. He shook his head and chuckled lightly causing her eyebrows to knit together in confusion.
"We were together, what, almost five years and this is the first time we've ever danced in public." He explained once he saw her perplexed expression. She gave him a somber smile as his eyes searched her face. As if it had a mind of its own, her hand that was at the back of his neck moved to scratch the gray hair at the back of his head soothingly.
His eyes fell closed as they always did when she used to do that. Noticing the effect of her actions, she quickly stopped and placed her hand back on his shoulder blade.
Looking down between their bodies, the familiar image of their feet moving together made her heart ache.
Sliding his key into the lock, Ed tried to be as quiet as possible as he unlocked the door to his girlfriend's apartment. Upon opening the door, he was surprised to find Olivia sitting on the couch in the living area, the only light emitting from the kitchen.
"What are you doing up?", He asked, hanging his coat on the rack near the front door. "It's after midnight." When he turned around he finally had a chance to take in her appearance. She was sitting on the couch in leggings and an oversized hoodie, her hair in a messy bun with reading glasses perched on her nose, a defeated look marring her beautiful features.
Sitting down on the coffee table in front of her, one of his hands pushed the hair out of the face while the other rested on his thigh. "How are we gonna do this?" She sighed, taking off her reading glasses and laying them on top of the scribbled on note pad. "I mean, we can do it financially but you're fifty and I'm forty-seven..."
"That doesn't matter." He responded sweetly, his warm eyes shining.
"We would have to move..."
"That doesn't matter." He parroted.
Frustration was starting to become evident in her voice. "We'd have to adjust our work schedules."
"That doesn't matter." He retorted.
"How can you be so sure?", she huffed, throwing her hands up in annoyance. "Of any of it?"
Not being able to help the smile that was pulling at the corners of his mouth, Ed took her face between his hands. "Because it's you and me and as long as we're in this together nothing can stand in our way." He confided, his thumb rubbing her flushed cheek. She released a pent up breath, leaning her cheek into his warm palm. "You need to stop thinking so much."
Ed had to try and not laugh at the incredulous look Olivia was giving him. "Thinking is my job." She practically whined.
He shook his head. "Not here, not while you're with me." He assured, standing and offering her his hand. Her brows knitted together in confusion as she looked from his outstretched hand to his handsome face. "Come here."
Placing her hand in his, she eyed him suspiciously as he pulled her up off the couch. "Dance with me", he requested, his bright eyes shining.
"What? You're crazy", she laughed, trying to pull away from him but his strong grip held firm. He positioned one of her hands so it was on his shoulder and the other so it was resting in his palm.
As he began to sway, Olivia looked down at their feet in an attempt to measure and gauge how they would move together. Ed brought his hand to her chin and tilted her head back up so she was looking at him. "Don't think", he whispered, wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her body flush against his. "Just feel."
After several seconds of her eyes searching his face, she finally gave in and allowed her body to relax against his. Closing her eyes, she pressed her face against his as their bodies swayed together. She started to feel the anxiety melt away as she lost herself in the rhythm of their bodies. He moved his head so his lips could lay several kisses along her cheek before finally ending up by her ear.
"Marry me", he breathed, his lips moving against the sensitive skin of her ear. A chill ran through her entire body and she couldn't tell if it was the content of his words or the raspy tone in which he spoke them.
A brief panic washed over him as he felt her stiffen in his arms. Waiting a couple of painfully long seconds, Ed pulled back and dared to look at her face. Her eyes were brimming with tears and her lips were twitching into a watery smile as her fingertips found his chiseled cheek. "I don't want you to think you have to ask because..."
He cut her off by shaking her head. "I'm not", he assured, turning his head to the side and kissing the inside of her palm. "This is what I want, no matter what our circumstances. I want to wake up next you every morning and fall asleep with you every night. I want you as my partner in life and in love." he declared, his hands slipping under her sweatshirt to grip her sides, his thumbs rubbing against her stomach. "There's no one else I'd rather have by my side for this crazy adventure."
Tears were now streaming down her cheeks as a wide smile broke out across her face. Her arms found their way around his shoulders and she pulled him close as her head nodded zealously. Their lips met in a hot kiss and he couldn't help but smile against her mouth and lift her up so her legs wrapped around his waist. They fell onto the couch in a laughing tangle of limbs, any worries they might have had dissipating into night air.
Feeling his fingers lift her chin, she looked into those blue eyes and felt her knees go weak. "Don't think", he whispered, his thumb running along the indent below her lower lip. "Just feel." The familiar words made her heart ache and her eyes fell closed as his nose pressed against her cheek. She wrapped her arms completely around his shoulders, pressing her body against his.
Exhaling through his nose, Ed held her tightly against him as he hummed along with the music. Crowd around them seemed to disappear as they lost themselves in each other. His hands rubbed up and down her back in a soothing manner, his fingers halting as they reached a cut out in her dress. Her breath caught in her throat as his rough fingertips paid special attention to the bare skin of her back.
Feeling the roughness of his cheek against hers, she brought her hand up to rub the silver hair at the back of his head before landing on the nape of his neck and squeezing the reddening skin there.
Hearing a change in the music, Ed opened his eyes slowly open to see all the other couples on the dance floor were starting to disperse. He noticed a pair of eyes on them as everyone continued to scatter. His eyes locked with Dodds', half of him challenging him and the other half pleading for understanding. Dodds brought his drink up to his lips, his eyes swirling with jealousy and confusion as he surveyed the pair.
Moving his hands to the sides of Olivia's waist, he slowly pulled away as he watched her eyes blink open. "Thank you for reminding me", he rasped as his hand tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear.
Before she even had a chance to respond, Ed was gone.
Trying her best to hide her nerves, Olivia wrung her hands together in her lap as she looked over to Mike and tried to give him a convincing smile. He did his best to not give any indication that he saw what transpired between her and Ed but she knew that he had. She had always had a feeling that Dodds was interested in her by the way he acted around the precinct but he was always so professional that he never acted on it.
Giving her a small smile in return, he brushed her hair behind her shoulder and rubbed a thumb softly down the exposed skin of her neck. She saw his eyes flicker to something behind her and she turned, her eyes catching what he was looking at. Ed was a few tables over, his eyes that were trained on them flickered with somber jealousy before looking away.
Taking a deep breath, she tried to calm the swirl of emotions that raced through her. Her body was still vibrating with memory of his hands on her and she could still smell his lingering cologne on her skin. It had taken months for her to erase them from her memory before and she had a feeling it wouldn't be easier this time around.
The sound of everyone clapping tore her from her thoughts. She turned her attention to the special guest singer they has just introduced. The beginning notes of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" filled the air and she could practically feel her heart stop. She could feel his eyes on her again as she willed her eyes to stop welling and her chin to stop quivering.
It was not working, the emotions were too strong and they were crashing over her like waves. Quietly excusing herself, she got up from her chair and made a beeline for the door.
Seeing her abrupt exit, Ed stood and followed her path hastily. When he reached the lobby of the hotel, he looked around and found her leaning up against the far wall with her head hung and her arms crossed over her chest.
Walking towards her briskly, his gait slowed as he reached her. His fingers itched to reach out and touch her, comfort her but he shoved them in his pockets instead. She looked up at him and sniffled as her wet eyes met his. Her shoulders sagged as she gave him a defeated look. "That song was playing when..." She couldn't even finish her sentence. Her hand came up to cover her mouth as a sob escaped her throat, the sound causing Ed to close his eyes.
"I know", he whispered, hanging his head. Her sobs were not subsiding and he could not help himself any longer.
Stepping forward, Ed gathered her in his arms and pulled her body against his. One of his hands wrapped around her shoulders and the other stroked her hair as her body shook with silent sobs. Her arms circled around his body as she buried her face in his chest.
After a couple of minutes, her sobs turned to soft whimpers. She pulled away slowly, her hands wiping away the remaining tears on her cheeks. Taking her wrists in hands, he removed her hands from her face before replacing them with his. Her eyes watched his face intently, his brows furrowing as he concentrated on wiping the make up from under her puffy eyes.
She gently gripped his wrists as his hands moved to rest on the sides of her neck. "I hate this time of year." She sighed, her red eyes meeting his. If she was not mistaken, she could have swore she could see unshed tears in his. Ignoring the nagging feeling in the back of his head, he pressed his lips against her forehead.
"I second that, kid." He rasped against her skin, the old nickname making her heart ache.
Allowing her body to melt into his again, she buried her face in his neck while her hands gripped the muscles of his back. He couldn't help the chill that ran down his spine at the feeling of her hot breath puffing against his neck. Closing his eyes, he savored in the feeling of being whole again.
The sound of a clearing throat brought them back to reality. Pulling away from her ex-husband, Olivia saw Dodds standing next to them with her buzzing cell phone in his hand.
"Oh thank you, Mike." She croaked, taking the phone from him and scrolling through it. While she was looking down at the device, Mike took this opportunity to stare Ed down. "Looks like I got a case, Mercy Hospital." She sighed, locking her phone.
"I'll go get our coats, we can take my car down." He offered.
Olivia laid her hand on his forearm gently to stop him. "You didn't get the call, Sergeant. Stay, enjoy the rest of the evening." She said, giving him a small smile.
Suddenly, Ed's phone began to buzz in the breast pocket of his suit as he reached in and pulled it out. "Looks like I'm going with you." He explained, flashing her his screen before slipping his phone back into his pocket.
"Are you sure you're okay to go alone?" Mike asked, looking between the two of them before his eyes landed on his lieutenant. They all knew that when he said 'alone' he really meant 'with him'.
She gave him another smile, but Ed could see right through it. "I'll be fine, I promise."
Reaching his hand out to touch her arm, Ed urged her forward. "C'mon Liv, go grab your coat and I'll bring my car around." She nodded before heading to the coat check while Ed spared a cold glare back at Mike before heading towards the door.
Not a cliffhanger like the first chapter but there it is! All your lovely reviews have been spurring me on so keep them coming!
