A/N: To the guest reviewer who didn't understand why Alex put up with her parents. If you read the previous chapter in detail, you would've seen the part about Alex feeling in debt to them for all that they have done for her. You don't stop loving your parents and yearning for their approval just because they can be abrasive. And back to the story...
Despite the tense mood when we first walked into the Cabot's household, things seemed to have eased up a little. We chatted a bit until lunch time before drinking tea and eating mini sandwiches. A few of Caroline Cabot's friends visited, talking to Alex about things like gardening and knitting—she didn't seem too thrilled, much like me.
After hours of torture, Alex managed to convince her parents to leave us alone, allowing us to explore the property a bit. Apparently they live on a fifty acre plot of land with a lake resting at one corner and a meadow at the other. Alex promised me that tomorrow she'd take me out to the lake, one of her favorite places.
Our time together came to an end far too quickly for my taste and we regrouped at the house, cars now filling the roundabout with a couple of men running around trying to move them all.
"Wow, how many people normally come to these things?" I ask her as we wander around the back of the house as per Alex's insistence since then we wouldn't be walking into the party dressed in casual clothing.
"Typically no more than a hundred. My father likes to keep it smaller so that he can kick everyone out before nightfall. I have a feeling that there will probably only be forty or so tonight, though." She grabs onto my wrist, pulling me around the deck and to a side double door. She pauses as she rests her hand on the handle, the shades pulled down so that we can't see into the room that we're entering. With a reassuring smile, she turns to me. "I promise it won't be that bad and if it is, we'll both suffer together, okay?"
"If I have to," I exaggerate, sighing as if spending the rest of the night with her was a tragedy. "Let's go."
She nods as she opens up the door, looking back at me with her hand still on my wrist as she tugs me into the house. I nearly have a heart attack when dozens of voices scream at us, the room filled with guests and alcohol. "SURPRISE!"
Alex freezes in place, suddenly looking like a deer in headlights as she looks around the room. Her mother is in the front of the crowd of guests, a wide smile on her face but her father is off to the side, a frown on his. "Mother," Alex sighs as she drops her hold on my wrist and stares around at mostly familiar faces.
"Oh don't Mother me, Alexandra. Did you really think we weren't going to do anything for your birthday, dear? I'm surprised you didn't figure it out earlier! Your father was being ridiculous and tried to tell you about half a dozen times. I was afraid that all my hard work would go to waste and you wouldn't come visit this weekend," Her mom rambles on as she gestures to the room full of guests dressed far nicer than me.
"Happy birthday, Lexie," A taller gentleman with combed hair calls, one that I immediately recognize as Judge Harriman. He walks over to her, stopping Alex's mother from ranting even more and engulfs Alex in a hug.
"Thank you, Uncle Bill," Alex replies, a smile finally on her face as she gives him a kiss on the cheek. "Were you in on this too?"
"Why else do you think I asked you to humor your mother and visit this weekend?" He teases as he glances over to Caroline before leaning closer to Alex. "You know I dread your father's business dinners as much as you, darling." He smiles as he looks over at me. "Very nice to see you without handcuffs and a gun, Detective Benson. I take it you're Lexie's guest for the weekend?" He wiggles an eyebrow, Alex immediately swatting his chest with the back of her hand.
Before any of us can say anything, Alex is swarmed with random faces, each trying to wish her a happy birthday. I find myself frozen, watching the interactions from afar. Truth be told I had no clue that it was Alex's birthday today and I feel embarrassed and certainly caught off guard. She had never mentioned her birthday before so I can't imagine her being upset with me but I still feel bad.
Soon enough, the alcohol is flowing freely and servers are walking around with an assortment of food. After about half an hour of forcing a smile, Alex returns to me, rolling her eyes as she does so. "I never realized I knew so many people," She quips as she stands next to me, leaning up against the wall. "God, they can talk forever. I'm really sorry about that."
"Don't be sorry, it's your birthday. Speaking of which, happy birthday and thanks for the heads up," I tease her, nudging her side.
"Sorry," She replies with a sheepish grin as she downs the rest of the champagne in her flute before another one is offered to her. "Thank you." She takes the glass and sips on in. "I think we all stop celebrating our birthdays after a certain age."
"Yeah? And what age is that, Ms. Cabot?"
She smirks at me as she shakes her head. "Don't you know it's not polite to ask a woman her age?"
"Oh come on, you're at least five years younger than me, Alex." She rolls her eyes as she sips at her champagne again. "There has to be a reason why your parents decided to throw you this luxurious party this year."
"Thirty," She mumbles into her champagne glass, her cheeks tinting pink.
"Well, welcome to the big three-oh. And trust me, be happy because I'm closer to forty than I am thirty and I'm definitely missing it." She raises an eyebrow as if she doesn't believe me being that old before downing the rest of her champagne.
"Come on, let's at least take advantage of this party and get some fancy food in miniscule portions." I grin as her hand finds its way into mine, pulling me away from the wall and into the crowd.
Almost five hours later, we're both stumbling up the stairs, laughing like two idiots. "Oh god, I don't ever want to see my Aunt dance like that again." Alex giggles as she leans heavily against me, my arm winding around her back to keep her upright. "My family is so embarrassing!"
"They're not that bad," I tell her as I guide her up the stairs, turning down the hallway and looking for the door that we went through earlier that morning. "I think your uncle is my favorite. Especially when he made you dance with him." I grin as I think back to her spinning around on the hardwood floor before being dipped by her uncle. She looked so beautiful with her long blonde hair flowing around freely like a halo around her.
"Oh god, that was the worst part!" She exclaims as she points to a door down the hallway.
"You're a really good dancer, Alex," I assure her as I lead her to her bedroom, only having to keep her from tripping twice.
"Fifteen years of dance lessons and competitive dancing," She grumbles as she grabs onto the door handle, pushing the door open. "I am so ready to lie down." I let go of her and she practically runs over to her bed, jumping onto it and lying on her back. "I'm too lazy to change."
"Oh come on, Alex. I don't want to sleep with you if you're going to be wearing dirty clothes," I tease as I grab my own night clothes, stripping out of my pants. She leans up slightly, propping her head up by her palm as she watches me change. I ignore her gaze and pull on a pair of shorts before removing my shirt. When I notice her eyes still on me, I toss it at her, her reflexes too slow from the alcohol to stop it.
"Hey!" She yells as she pulls the shirt off of her face and tosses it back to me, missing by far. She starts laughing as she lies back down on the bed.
I smirk as I pick up my shirt, placing it to the side before going over to her bag. "Where are your pajamas?"
She frowns as she looks at me. "Can't I just sleep naked?" She questions as she leans up and pulls off her sweater, tossing it next to mine.
I roll my eyes at her. "Not if you expect me to sleep next to you." Because I wouldn't be sleeping…
"You're no fun," She grumbles as she flops back down on the bed, her hands going to the waistline of her jeans. She tugs at the button and zipper before pushing them down her hips, wiggling her way out of them. "Can you toss me a pair of shorts and a sports bra?"
I can feel my face flush as I push through her clothes, finding a pair of cotton shorts easily. I reluctantly dig through her lingerie, more lacy items than I have ever seen in my entire life before I manage to find a sports bra. I bring them over to her, crawling onto the bed and lying down while I wait for her to change.
She stands up, steadying herself on the bed once before she turns her back to me, unhooking her bra and tossing it back onto the bed. I attempt to divert my eyes, unsuccessfully, as she lifts up her arms, pulling on her sports bra while revealing the sides of her breasts.
"There, happy?" I'm surprised when she's looking at me, my eyes now glued to her sports bra covered breasts. I force them up, meeting a smirk on her lips.
"Better than naked," I murmur as I sink down against the large mattress. She jumps back onto the bed, lying down on her stomach next to me as she props herself up on her elbows. "Hey, go turn off the light. You're the last one in the bed," I tease and she pushes me playfully. I open up one eye to look at her. "You never did tell me what your father was talking about earlier this morning."
She laughs in response, shaking her head. "When I was eighteen, I was having a sleepover with one of my friends—or at least my father thought I was having a sleepover." I look at her in confusion. "In truth, the girl sleeping over was my then girlfriend who was six years older than me. My parents thought she was a good role model for me since she already graduated from college and was working for my father's company. He really liked her until he decided to check in on us that night."
"Do I want to know?" I question, feeling like I know where this is going.
"Oh probably not but you asked. Apparently we didn't hear him knock over her moans and he walked in on his little girl between his employee's legs."
"Alex!"
"Oh I was mortified," She continues as she shakes her head, her cheeks turning a brilliant shade of red. "Neither of my parents knew that I liked women nor did they have an inkling. My father was so pissed off, he didn't even leave the room. We were both scramming for covers and luckily I was dressed because he dragged me out of the room by my shirt. Boy did I get the biggest lecture of my life."
"What happened?" I ask hesitantly, a little unsure if I really want to know.
She frowns as she looks at me, maintaining eye contact for a few seconds before averting her eyes. "That was the first and only time my father has ever slapped me. He told me that I was never to see her again or else she'd never be able to get another job in her life. As expected, he fired her the next morning and I didn't want to make things worse for her so I stopped talking to her. I left the following day for college, two months early, lying to my mom by saying that I wanted to get used to being away from home. He never told her and neither did I."
"I'm sorry, Alex," I whisper, suddenly feeling the overwhelming urge to just hug her and hold her in my arms for the rest of the night.
"It's okay," She says softly as she shakes her head. "I was an immature, horny teenager. That's what he meant when he asked if I outgrew my teenage ways. I never talked to him about men or women after that point, he simply asked me about my male suitors and I wasn't going to tell him I still liked women."
I offer her a sympathetic smile as I give in to my urges, reaching up and running my fingers along her temple and pushing her blonde hair out of her eyes. "I don't normally like to talk bad about others but he sounds like a real asshole."
She laughs in response, a smile finally returning to her face. "Sometimes he is," She says as she shakes her head. "Anyway, that turned sad. Thank you for coming with me this weekend, Liv. I can honestly say this was the best birthday I've ever had because you were around to keep me company."
"You weren't too bad of company either," I tease as I play with a lock of her soft hair, twirling it around my finger absentmindedly.
"Oh come on, you know you love me," She quips as she leans a little closer to me, playfully pushing onto my chest. She laughs as she practically falls on me, suddenly losing her balance. She's still laughing as she pushes herself upright and I steady her, one of my hands on her side and the other on her shoulder.
She looks down at me, her smile suddenly fading as her eyes drift shut, her face moving closer to mine. I feel electricity shoot through my body when her lips brush up against mine, my hands instinctively tightening around her side and shoulder as she slides her lips against mine. Her mouth parts ever so slightly, a soft sigh rushing across my skin before she pushes more firmly against my mouth, her hips lowering onto mine.
My eyes shoot open when I realize what is going on, my hands freezing. She pulls back when she notices I'm no longer moving. "Alex," I whisper softly and she suddenly breaks out into a fit of laughter. I can feel my heart plummet.
"I'm so sorry, oh god," She manages to say as she tries to stop laughing. She smiles as she rolls onto her side, her body no longer touching mine. She's still laughing as she shakes her head and I'm entirely confused. "Sorry, it's just the last time I slept in this room I was doing that and we're both drunk, I have no clue why I did that."
I stay quiet as I look over at her, realizing that she hadn't meant to kiss me. "That was stupid," She says as she chuckles. "You know what I mean, right?" She peers over at me expectantly. I can merely nod in response, too afraid to say anything, too afraid to let the hurt be obvious.
Instead, I slip out of her bed and turn off the light, returning beneath the sheets, my back to her. "Thanks for coming with me this weekend, Liv. I meant what I said about this being the best birthday ever."
"Of course, Alex," I whisper as I turn around, looking at her closed eyes and relaxed state. When I hear her breathing even out, it's obvious that she's fast asleep, the alcohol taking its toll on her. "I'd go anywhere with you."