Chapter 11

Alex

I didn't get much sleep last night. Neither did Olivia Benson. I think we woke one another at least 3 separate times. She's truly amazing and I'm definitely in love with her. I woke up before she did and took a cab to go buy bagels for breakfast. I thought about cooking but I don't know if Olivia's renter's insurance covers housefires. I just didn't want to risk it.

I woke her with breakfast in bed. I'm not sure my efforts are very impressive until she smiles. I swear her whole face changes when she smiles at me. I hope to spend the rest of my life making her smile like that. She sat up and took the plate and I put the cup of coffee on the nightstand next to her. She pulls the sheet over her breasts and proceeds with breakfast.

She finishes her bagel and asks, "What do you have planned for today?"

"Honestly, I finish a few things at the office. It's nothing pressing though. How about you?"

"Some laundry. Nothing exciting. I may feel like cooking dinner though. Would you like to have dinner with me?"

I smile at her, "I would love to have dinner but I don't want you to go through any trouble on my account."

"Alex, it's just dinner."

"I realize it's dinner but when I think about cooking dinner, I have to make sure all of my files are out of my apartment. Also, I have to keep my phone in my pocket and the fire extinguisher has to be close to me."

Olivia laughs, "I'm sorry. I forgot about your...uh...issues with cooking."

"Stoves hate me, Liv. I don't even understand how the fires start. They just do."

"You're adorable, Alex. You really are. If you stop by around 5 this afternoon, I will show you how not to start a house fire."

"Okay, 5pm. I'm going to leave you to your laundry. I will be back for my cooking lesson later," I say as I lean down to kiss her good-bye.

Olivia

I know Alex can't cook. I'm tickled that she brought me breakfast in bed. She just left and I swear I can still her perfume on the pillow she used last night. I wish I didn't really need to do laundry but if I don't do it when I have the time, a case could come up and I may not have clean clothes or time to wash any.

I spend my day washing clothes and cleaning. My apartment never gets very dirty but I do have dusting and straightening that needs to be done. After my last load of clothes find the dryer, I wash my bedding. I haven't decided on dinner yet. I'm thinking about stir fry but I want to impress her. Maybe I will save the impressing for later.

After a shower, I dress casually. The grocery store is within walking distance so I'm walking. My poor car never leaves the garage anymore. I return in time to hear the dryer finish. I put up groceries and then remake my bed. I vacuum the throw rugs in the apartment then sweep and mop all of the hardwood. I'm kind of happy that I chose an easy dinner, now. I'm kind of tired of cleaning. My bathroom needs attention so I head in there finish the details in there. I cleaned most of it before my shower.

Once everything is sparkling and shiny, I wash my hands and sit down. I get comfortable in time to hear the buzzer. I look up at the clock and realize it's 5 o'clock. I run my hands through my hair and walk to the intercom. I just buzz her up without any introductions. I'm excited but tired of cleaning.

Alex

Liv buzzed me in without even hearing my voice over the intercom. She looked so tired when she answered the door. I felt guilty because I know she spent the day doing house chores. Honestly, I have a cleaning lady so I don't ever worry about cleaning. I know how to clean, who doesn't? I officially learned when I was in WPP. I had no choice.

We began cooking dinner after she took the bottle of wine from me. Liv is great at the whole domesticated thing, I think. She heated oil for the vegetables while she explained to me about how extremely hot oil and extremely frozen vegetables can cause the oil to pop. She, also, informed me extremely hot oil catches on fire. She slowly added fresh shrimp and the vegetables to the pan.

The rice seemed simpler. Just boiling water and adding the rice to the boiling water. I kind of tried this once but I didn't read the directions and threw it together without measuring anything. It was bad. I watched her even make a sauce to add to the vegetables but I missed half of it so I won't try to reproduce that. She's just amazing.

"Alex do you think you could handle something like this?"

"Like you? Possibly," I said back with a grin.

"The stir fry, Counselor. Do you think you could make something like this without supervision?"

"Yes, Detective. I can probably even tell you why I start fires. I thought I was supposed to turn the heat as high as I could if I was pressed for time. I understand that wasn't right."

Liv threw her head back and laughed. "Alex, was that really the problem?"

I was so embarrassed, I just hung my head and said, "I think so."

"Tomorrow, cooking class is at your apartment. Decide what you would like for dinner and I will walk you through it."

We ate while sipping wine. We laughed so much that night. When we ended up in her bed that night, we made love for what seemed like hours. Afterwards, she played with the locket I was wearing as she held me. She opened it up and realized there wasn't a picture inside and gave me the strangest look.

"Alex, why would you wear a locket that doesn't have anything inside?"

"My mom gave it to me when I was sixteen. She got it at the same age. I had a picture in it years ago but it was of a high school crush. I only wear it because she gave it to me."

We dozed off shortly after that conversation. I woke up to Olivia sitting next to me playing with my locket. I was a little confused because I was no longer wearing it.

"Why did you take it?" I asked sleepily.

"Because you needed a picture and I had two for it," she explained.

She opened the locket and showed me what she'd put in there. On one side, a small picture of us from a few years ago. On the other side, a small recent picture of her.

"I figure, you could keep whichever one you like best in it. I just thought I would stick them both in there and let you decide. I didn't plan for you to wake up before I got it back around your neck," she told me sheepishly.

I studied the pictures for a moment and then told her,"I would like to keep them both, if you don't mind."

She just smiled and I sat the locket on her nightstand. I pulled her to me and just held her close. We stayed close like that most of the day. We watched tv while snuggling on her couch. I showered and she joined me. We laughed, we kissed, we held each other. We made love frequently. We didn't make to my place for the next cooking lesson. Eventually, she ordered a pizza and we ate it while taking a break from making love. It was just one of those perfect days that don't come around often enough.

Don't know if anybody is still keeping up with this but I thought I would start again.