A/N: OK, so I've opened this up again because this idea wouldn't leave me until I wrote it. If anything, it's to fulfill my writing needs . I hope you enjoy.

Feelings Growing Stronger

Olivia heard her cell phone ringing in the kitchen and continued to towel-dry her short locks as she moved down the hallway to its location. She removed the towel and then let the fingers of her left hand tousle through her still-damp locks. Reaching for the cell, she saw the name Alex and smiled.

She had been friends with the blonde attorney for nine months now and while they had simply been friends, the brunette couldn't help but see her as a potential more. At least that was what her body wanted. They had connected on a cerebral level—of that there was no doubt—but there was no denying what Alex did to her physically.

Little did her friend know.

Olivia slid the screen and put it to her ear, still smiling. "Hey, Counselor…"

"Hey, Liv…"

"What's up?"

"My apartment—"

"You mean your penthouse?" Olivia interrupted, smirking.

"Yes, my penthouse…has just been painted today. The fumes are really strong and I could rent a hotel room for the evening, but I thought…"

Olivia felt her expression drop now. Although they had already spent the night at each other's abodes—strictly platonically, one on the sofa and the other in bed—every time they did the brunette detective had been barely able to sleep, unable to keep her mind off of the blonde in the next room, imagining what she was doing, what she looked like, what position she was in. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

"I thought…" Alex continued.

"You wanna come stay here for the night?" Olivia's smile grew with each passing second.

"Yeah…if it's OK…I'm starting to get a little delirious from the fumes…"

"It's OK, Alex…mi casa es su casa. You know that…" Olivia moved into the kitchen now and opened the refrigerator in search of what she could nibble on." There was absolutely nothing. Three beers, a wilted, brown salad from a week ago, and a half a bottle of ketchup.

"We could order in, watch some bad TV…talk…" Alex's voice was sweet, convincing.

"Sounds good, Al. I'll be here. No frills. I'm in my sweats and a t-shirt so don't expect the royal treatment," Olivia smirked.

"I don't expect anything, Liv. I just thank you for opening your home to me…yet again…"

Olivia could hear her friend smile through the phone. "OK. Anytime, Al. Come on over."

"I'll be there in about half an hour."

"I'll have the Dom Perignon ready," Olivia chided.

"Ha, ha, ha. You're so funny. See you soon."

The line disconnected and Olivia placed her phone back on the counter and put her hands on her hips. She nodded as she stared at no spot in particular in the direction of the pantry across the kitchen.

Alex was coming over to stay the night. Again.

She smiled again and couldn't help the giddiness that rose in her entire being. She needed to straighten, to clean a little, to make her abode ready. And so she got to work as soon as possible.

Eleven-thirty that evening, Alex looked at Olivia from the corner of her eye and saw that the brunette's eyes were drooping, intermittent long blinks signaling only one thing. The detective took a deep breath and then yawned, covering it with her hand.

"Hey, Liv. Don't let me keep you from going to sleep." Alex's gaze remained on Olivia.

They had ordered Japanese takeout, killed a bottle of Chardonnay, and were nearing the end of a second movie—Sophie's Choice on the Bravo channel. Alex's attention had been on her brunette friend almost the entire duration of the films and was happy to see that she hadn't noticed. At least she thought she hadn't noticed.

Olivia was casual in a pair of baggy gray sweat pants and a gray, V-neck t-shirt and the blonde was in a similar ensemble of black leggings and a pale pink, crew-neck tee. Both relaxed and ready to slumber whenever it so took them. But the femininity of Olivia's ample breasts hadn't gone unnoticed by the blonde.

Their friendship had been so easy. So casual. They had discussed anything and everything in their lives and it was like talking to your best friend for hours on end. But Alex couldn't deny her physical feelings.

Olivia was the sexiest, most intelligent, most determined woman that the blonde had ever come across and in the time that they had been friends and gotten to know each other, her feelings for the brunette detective had only grown stronger.

But that was, and would remain, just below the surface.

At least for now.

Olivia smiled and shook her head before her gaze moved to her own. "No. I am tired though…"

"Then you should go to sleep," Alex offered.

"You're taking my bed, Alex. I insist. Fresh sheets today."

Alex opened her mouth to argue.

"Every time you've stayed here, you've slept on the sofa and, as a good hostess, I will take the sofa tonight. No arguments. It's what a good hostess does." Olivia smirked.

"Well, a good guest is happy anywhere, but…OK…if you insist." Alex smiled.

Besides, Alex wanted to be in Olivia's bed in more ways than one. She longed to turn her head into the pillow and take in the whiffs of the brunette's scent. To lose herself in how she would smell so close. What perfume and shampoo and other smells she put on her body that were embedded into the fabrics of the place she slept every night. She wouldn't mind that at all.

Olivia watched Alex at her pedestal sink, leaning forward, rubbing soap suds onto her face and she couldn't keep her eyes from letting them roam up and down those long legs and that tight ass in her black leggings. She moved closer, watching as Alex looked at her in the reflection, watching her smile.

"This soap is great, Liv…smells really good and it lathers so well. What is it?" Alex continued rubbing the foam into her cheeks, forehead, and chin."

"Triple milled, milk soap, French lavender…it feels amazing…don't you think?" Olivia stepped closer now.

"Mmmm…it's nice."

Olivia watched as she leaned forward and splashed water on her face, eyes closed, smiling. She continued to wash as she got every last bit of the cleanser off of that perfect, porcelain complexion.

Alex then moved to the toothbrush that she had set on the ledge—her own from home. She lifted the tube of toothpaste and eyed Olivia in the reflection. "May I?" she smiled.

Olivia nodded. "Absolutely, Alex." She moved closer now and grabbed her own brush from her holder and then layered her own toothbrush with the same paste. She stuck it into her mouth, the two standing next to each other now. They eyed each other in the mirror, smiling.

And then Alex bumped hips with her, the action taking the brunette's breath away momentarily. Olivia gasped and then smiled, trying to hide the giddiness that arose in her entire being.

They both continued to brush, Alex closing her eyes now, and Olivia could only watch her—that mouth, her focus as she brushed her own teeth, before leaning forward and spitting—even that turning the brunette on.

"All yours…" Alex offered, stepping away from the sink now and leaving Olivia to her own rituals.

All mine. I wish, Olivia mused.

The blondes' voice now as it moved further away, "I wish you'd let me stay on the sofa, Liv. I feel wrong taking your bed."

Olivia shook her head now. "Don't, Alex. I've slept on the sofa many a night and it's actually comfortable," Olivia tried around her toothbrush.

"Well…" Alex began turning down the comforter and sheet from the bed, "…I feel like you should sleep in your own bed. I feel wrong taking it from you."

Olivia eyed the blonde as she slipped onto the bed and placed the covers over her.

One day, Alex. You'll be in my bed with no questions asked, Olivia mused, smiling.

Olivia spit and finished washing her face before blotting it with her face towel—the same face towel Alex had used—and she couldn't help but let her nose linger, closing her eyes, attempting to smell the scent of the blonde. She stood erect and then turned and shut the light off, watching as Alex lay in bed, the sheets pulled up to her mid-chest.

Olivia couldn't help but smile. "Snug as a bug?"

"In a rug," Alex finished, smiling.

"Well…" Olivia moved closer, "…goodnight, Alex. Sleep well…OK?"

Alex only nodded, that beautiful smile evident, even with the dimness of the small lamp illuminated to her right.

Olivia turned and exited the room, closing the door and leaving it open a crack, before she ventured into the living room to the awaiting sheet, pillow, and lonely sofa.

A car alarm a few blocks away. Insistent blaring that seemed never-ending. The couple above them yelling about something above her unit. Then silence. Then, the insistent moans of said couple in the throes of passion. The bright lights of the parted vertical blinds hinting to a full moon. Olivia brought the pillow from underneath her head to the top and smothered herself, looking for some sort of solace from the outlying racquet and brightness.

Olivia couldn't sleep. Of that there was no doubt.

She took a deep breath and then let it out in frustration, removing the pillow from her still-closed eyes.

Alex was in the next room, probably sleeping like the proverbial baby, and Olivia just couldn't seem to relax her mind and body enough to let sleep take her.

Alex.

Lying in bed.

That lithe body in full sleep mode. Those pert breasts covered by her own sheets. Her scent permeating the brunette's linens.

Olivia closed her eyes tighter, feeling a familiar twitching pull in her lower half, wondering if Alex normally slept in the nude, if she was without underwear this evening, and how she'd like to find out, personally.

She felt her body growing warm with the thoughts as she shifted to her left side, facing the darkened living area. Letting out a groan of frustration, she adjusted her pillow and let out an exasperated sigh.

She had noticed, though. The blonde attorney had been without a bra that evening as they stay on the sofa watching the movies. Any warm-blooded human would be able to notice that. Those hardened nipples through the soft fabric of her t-shirt so inviting. Those casually crossed legs that went on for days on display so nicely.

And Olivia could only intermittently look, only let her gaze wash over her blonde friend when she was sure that she was unaware of her glances. But Olivia longed to lean over, closer to her, and slip her hand beneath the cotton fabric of her thin shirt, let her hand clutch to softness beneath her palm, let her mouth go to her milky neck, let her tongue…

"Liv?"

Olivia's eyes shot open. "Yeah?"

"Can you sleep?"

"Uh…I…uh…can you?"

"I'm OK. But I hear a lot of noise coming from…this area of the apartment…sounds like maybe above us?" Alex's voice was close now and Olivia let her eyes adjust in the darkness to the tall, shadowy form now standing in front of her.

"Yeah…my upstairs neighbors can be loud…" Olivia admitted propping herself up on her left elbow, "...and there was a car alarm that finally stopped."

"I wanted a glass of water, too," Alex said softly. "Too much soy sauce..."

She was so cute. A glass of water. Olivia moved the sheet away from her body now and sat up, placing her feet on the floor, eyeing Alex in front of her.

"Don't get up, Liv. I know where everything is. I just…I also think that you should sleep in your own bed."

Olivia's gaze went to the coffee table now. She let her eyes focus on the darkened magazines, the stacked coasters, the extinguished candle. "I…Alex…really...it's..." Olivia was at a loss for words. Sleeping in the same bed as the attorney for a whole night would be something new, some uncharted territory.

"We're both grown adults. I think you need to come and sleep in the bed, too. I promise…" she heard the smile in Alex's voice, "…I'll be a complete lady…"

Olivia could only smile back in the dimness of the night. She shook her head and stood before making her way to follow her friend, hoping she would be able to control herself as they lay in the same bed together for the first time.

Alex watched Olivia's body shake with laughter now, the blonde joining in, as the two lay in the darkness. "You know he's got a lot of women on the side," Alex admitted.

"I have a feeling," Olivia said softly, "…he's smooth, that Fin…never reveals anything, though…"

"Well…" Alex turned onto her right side now, "…certain things should be censored in the work place. At least, that's what I've always thought."

"Mmmmm," Olivia moaned contentedly, "…you're right. Work is work and private is…" she turned to her now, that undeterred gaze, even in the dimness of the room, intense, "…private…"

"Exactly," Alex agreed, smiling.

Alex felt so comfortable with Olivia. True, there was that underlying sexual tension but, as long as she'd known her, there had always been that physical attraction, one that had never been breached. "He's a player and we all know it." Alex moved her gaze just beyond the brunette to the parting of the vertical blinds in the bedroom, watching the top portion of the glass as the blinking red light of a plane coasted by.

Alex returned her gaze to the brunette's form. The brunette detective was on her back, black sleep camisole on, staring up at the ceiling and casually stroking her short, chestnut locks backward, the blonde wondering for the fifty-millionth time just what it would feel like to stroke it with her own fingertips.

And her neck. That smooth caramel expanse just above her breasts, waiting to be touched, licked, kissed. Then there was the curve of those beautiful globes, so outwardly full, even as she lay horizontal. She imagined herself moving on top of her, pulling down the fabric of her sheer top, and letting her mouth envelop a nipple. And from what the blonde could vaguely see in the dimness of the bedroom, Olivia was already aroused and pert from the situation they had found themselves in.

Or am I imagining things?

Alex moved onto her back once more and made the conscious effort to return her focus to the simple reality that was.

After a few moments of just lying together, both of their breathing evening out, the blonde smiled. "See?" Alex began. "This isn't so bad…" she uttered gently.

She turned her head and watched Olivia shake her head. "No, Alex. It's not so bad, at all."

Olivia yawned, took a deep breath, and moaned. The comfort level she felt with Alex was unlike any other. Yet, there was that part of her that couldn't deny that she wanted to rip every inch of clothing off of her and have her way with the beautiful attorney.

The pebbled nipples in that t-shirt were now more than apparent, even in the warm temperature of the heating system of the apartment. The evening was warm, no need to let the body react to a chill or coldness that wasn't there, and so Olivia had gotten a certain thrill, a certain excitement, assuming that Alex had the same thoughts as she.

Alex smelled amazing, as well. Even two feet away, there was a hint of perfume, of soap, of shampoo, possibly fresh-cut, green apples or wisteria, that permeated the entire bedroom once she had made herself comfortable, and Olivia couldn't help but let that inviting, intoxicating scent overtake her as she lay, closing her eyes and relishing in the aroma of her friend.

Olivia longed to move closer. She wanted to hike her leg over the blonde's and ravage her completely, letting her know just how much she was attracted to her physically.

But, their friendship was too valuable to Olivia and had been since they had begun. She didn't want to ruin anything, even in a situation like this one, with any cheap moves, ones that were unanticipated or unannounced or unwarranted.

And so she lay, only fantasizing of what could and might be in the future.

Olivia smiled now and couldn't help but toy with the blonde a little, chide her as she had grown to love doing. "Hey Al?"

"Hmmm?"

Olivia began giggling. "You're not cold, are you?"

A silence.

Olivia's smile grew broader now.

No…just incredibly turned on, Alex mused. "No, Olivia. I'm not cold." Alex shoved Olivia playfully. "Pervert."

Olivia's chuckles faded and after a few moments she whispered, "Come here, Alex…let's warm you up..." Olivia offered.

Come here, Alex.

Come here, Alex.

Come here, Alex.

Those words echoed in the attorney's mind as she inched her way closer and she placed her right temple on the brunette's shoulder. She felt strong arms envelop her now and she closed her eyes, smiling and taking in a deep breath.

She heard Olivia let out a slow, contented exhale as they cuddled and Alex knew that Olivia felt the same as she did—warm, comfortable, with the underlying sensation that this would, and could, be so much more in the future.