As the door closed behind Elliot, Olivia wrapped her arms around herself and sighed deeply. She was so God damned tired but, at the same time, was flooded with a strange disappointment and tinge of regret. Her apartment and her body had felt so warm while he was here. As she turned to take their wine glasses from the coffee table, she caught a glimpse of his dark gray coat folded over the back of her couch.
She smiled at his forgetfulness and scooped up the coat, slyly inhaling his scent from the garment. Even though there was no one around to see her do it, she still felt like a schoolgirl with a crush on a quarterback. His scent meant a lot of things to her. On a primal level, he smelled like a man and she found it sexy. But he also smelled like protection and comfort, like a scented candle glowing on a holiday evening.
She'd spent so much time reveling in this piece of Elliot and what it meant to her, she had forgotten that he was out there on this cold February night without his coat. She grabbed her cell phone from the table by the door and dialed his number from her recent calls menu. He answered on the second ring.
"What's up Liv?" he answered.
"Are you almost home?"
"Just about to the Queensboro Bridge. Got another 20 minutes or so."
"You … um … left your coat here," she told him, still holding the coat against herself. "Hope you aren't freezing."
"Damn, looks like I did. Ah … would you mind bringing it tomorrow? I've got the heater kicking right now so I'm okay."
She wasn't sure what she'd wanted him to say, but somehow she felt disappointed by his proposed resolution to this problem.
"No problem."
"Thanks Liv." Then silence. "Goodnight."
"Night." Then she was flooded with panic. Just before he hung up, she managed to catch him. "El …?"
"Yep."
"I can bring it tomorrow." Several beats of silence as she mustered the courage to deliver the weighted words. "Or … um … maybe you could come back for it tonight …"
"Olivia …" he offered, her name laced with a sense of warning.
"The door is open, El."
Then she hung up before she lost her nerve.