13.
"Carrie!" Alex exclaimed peaking inside the large white shopping bag Carrie had brought over.
"Do you like it?"
Alex pulled out the royal blue Givenchy handbag. "Oh my God! I love it! You shouldn't have!"
"Yes, I should have! They give this shit to me! I am ridiculously spoiled. Besides, I saw it and I thought it would look amazing with those ridiculously blue, eyes of yours."
Alex hugged Carrie.
"It feels like Christmas. Actually, this is better than Christmas!"
"Well, I probably have been called a Ho Ho Ho before." Carried joked as Alex laughed heartily.
"Alex I love your dress!" Carrie said, as she eyed the white, knee length, spaghetti strapped dress. "So perfect for a night like tonight."
"Thank you, Liv actually picked it out for me. I could live in it, it's so comfortable."
"Well, she does have great taste. She actually has a great eye for fashion. You know I remember what she was wearing when we first met. She had on this exceptional emerald green dress, that fit her perfectly. And when we were introduced and they told me she was a detective with SVU, I was a bit taken aback."
"Not exactly what you had pictured."
"Not at all!"
"You know she's full of surprises like that," Alex smiled.
Carrie returned the smile, "she really is. I love that she's this badass with a girly side."
"She definitely can be more girly than me sometimes."
"So where is our beloved crime fighter? She's been relatively quiet this week."
"She caught a case Monday afternoon and I've seen her once since then," Alex frowned. "But she actually should be here any minute, she said she was walking out of the station so I'm hoping for the best."
"I have a hard enough time tracking her down, I don't know how the two of you ever see each other."
"Some days it's not always easy, but luckily we understand each other's jobs. Hard to be too critical when I have to do the same thing."
"Another reason you two are perfect together," Carrie said playfully rolling her eyes.
Alex laughed.
"Glass of wine while we wait on Liv?"
"Yes please!"
Alex poured 3 glasses of wine, hoping Olivia would be there any minute.
Before she and Carrie could get well into their next topic of choice Olivia walked through the door frazzled.
"Guys, I'm so sorry I'm late!" Olivia said dropping the contents of her arms by the door.
Olivia made a beeline for Alex and kissed her, making sure to take a moment to capture her eyes. "You look beautiful," Olivia said softly.
Alex gave her a shy smile, mouthing a 'thank you'.
Olivia turned to hug Carrie.
"I can't believe you still realized I was here!"
"You look beautiful too." Olivia grinned.
"Yeah, yeah," Carrie said playfully.
"So is the rooftop still the plan?"
"Yep, we were just waiting on you."
"Can I just change real quick?" Olivia said eyeing their relaxed attire.
"Of course babe," Alex said as Olivia made her way back to Alex's bedroom.
"Whoa! That bag!" Olivia said stopping in her tracks.
"Paws off Benson! It's Cabot's!" Carrie chimed in.
Olivia turned looking at Carrie.
"Don't be jealous. You'll get the next one, but I have to share the love now. You brought her into our lives. Now you have to share!" Carrie teased.
"Fine, fine!" Olivia grinned, already heading down the hall, and more than pleased that Carrie had thought of Alex.
AOAOAOAOAOAO
Olivia had returned in a pair of skinny jeans and a flowy top, and a pair of Alex's flip flops. They made their way to the rooftop deck, their wine, a bottle to spare and a charcuterie plate Alex had prepared for them to snack on.
Olivia sat down close to Alex, practically in her lap as Alex welcomed her with open arms.
"I didn't know you two hadn't seen each other very much this week. You could have canceled on me." Carrie said observing Alex and Olivia's inability to keep their hands off of each other.
"No, we're happy you're here!" Alex spoke up, "Sorry if we're a little obnoxious."
"You're not obnoxious, you're both so stinking cute."
Olivia looked at Alex.
She was glad Carrie was there, but she definitely was having a hard time not ravishing Alex.
Seeing her, being right next to her only made the week that much longer and made her miss her more.
"So Liv, how's the case?"
"Sort of at a dead end."
Alex listened, she too was curious.
"We had an initial lead, but he turned out to have an airtight alibi. I left Fin and Carisi tonight with nothing." Olivia said, clearly disappointed.
"I know that's so frustrating babe," Alex said her hand on Olivia's arm. "You'll get em'."
Carrie had learned over the years Olivia couldn't divulge too much information about a case, and she really didn't want to know the heinous things people did that was related to Olivia's job. She preferred the shallow and dramatization that was the fashion industry.
"I'm thinking about having a baby," Carrie blurted, abruptly changing the subject.
Olivia almost spit out her drink, choking a bit on the wine she had just swallowed.
"What are you talking about?" Olivia asked.
"I'm getting old!"
"And this makes you think you should have a baby?" Olivia asked questioningly.
"Well, I mean everything may be dried up in there who knows…"
"Care, you don't like children!"
"Well no, but surely I would like my own."
Alex watched the two of them go at it, a bit enthralled by their dynamic.
"Alex, what do you think?" Carrie asked, clearly not getting the reaction from Olivia she wanted.
Alex looked directly at Olivia. "Um well, there's nothing wrong with thinking about it. I mean you're right, none of us are getting any younger."
Olivia's eyes widened, surprised Alex is so receptive to thinking about it, much less entertaining this discussion.
"Okay, I'm not sure what's happening here, because you two are the last two I thought would be talking about having babies. And I have yet to understand where this is coming from."
Carrie sunk further into her lounge chair, taking another sip of wine. "Another editor at Vogue had a baby, and she brought her into the office. She was all pudgy and cute…" Carrie sighed. "And I don't know, I guess I felt something."
"I know you getting the feels about something doesn't happen very often, BUT…" Olivia teased.
"Ha ha, Benson! I'm serious that baby left me with this warm tingly feeling and yes, I hated it!"
"Oh, God! She's softening in her old age!" Olivia poked.
"Ok, ok but can you really blame me for thinking about it? And besides there are major designer baby clothes, actually, maybe I should get a toddler…"
"Ok," Olivia said shaking her head. "No baby for you!"
Carrie made a face. "I would bore of it wouldn't I?" Carrie paused to ponder for a moment. "Actually, you two should have a baby. Liv, you've always wanted one!"
Olivia's eyes widened, all the attention suddenly on her.
"Jesus Carrie!" Olivia scolded. "AND we've only been together for a few months!"
"Yeah, that hasn't quite come up for discussion yet." Alex chimed in, trying to help her girlfriend whose body had tensed the split second Carrie said that.
"Oh come on, you two have mentally been together for what twenty-five, thirty years?"
Alex couldn't help but snicker.
"Don't encourage her!" Olivia said, playfully swatting at Alex.
"Alright, fine we'll hold off on the tiny humans. I guess it just caught me off guard."
"That's not a bad thing. Life is full of surprises." Olivia said running her hand gently across Alex's exposed knee.
They spent the rest of the evening gossiping and laughing. Carrie enquiring more about Alex with of course no subject off limits.
Alex couldn't help but revel in the fact that she was welcomed into Carrie and Olivia's little circle.
Over the last few years, in D.C. Alex hadn't had a lot of friends, much less any she would consider her close friends.
Sitting there with the two of them, just assured Alex even more that she right where she needed to be, and who she needed to be with in her life.
"Ok, I just summoned my Uber." Carrie said gathering her things, "besides you two should have sex or something. You are grotesquely into each other tonight."
And with that, they hugged, said their goodbyes.
AOAOAOAOAOAO
Back downstairs, Olivia was in the kitchen putting things away, washing wine glasses, when Alex reappeared, sitting on a bar stool on the opposite side of the counter.
"Tonight was fun," Alex grinned.
"Carrie was in full form."
"She's funny," Alex said still amused.
"She just blurts things… pretty much why it took so long for me to introduce the two of you, to mentally prepare."
"I know she's harmless. And it's kind of refreshing the way she just says what's on her mind."
"Yeah, she has no filter," Olivia said making her way to the counter across from Alex and reaching for her hand. "I guess I just have this fear she's going freak you out."
"You mean like bringing up that we should have a baby."
"Yeah, you took that well."
"I think," Alex said, playing with Olivia's fingers, "that I took it better than you did."
"I shouldn't have been caught off guard, but Carrie knows…"
"Carrie knows what?"
"That it's…" Alex could tell Olivia was choosing her words wisely. "That it's a sensitive subject."
"I understand. But I think you're the one one that said tonight, that life is full of surprises. We don't know what's next."
"I didn't even think you would want to have this conversation. I know you like kids. I've seen you with kids, you're good with them, but I've actually heard you say, they weren't for you…"
"I know I've said that, and I know I truly believed that at one point." Alex took a breath, trying not to hesitate, "If I'm honest, I have thought about what it would be like to have a baby with you..."
Alex paused, waiting to see Olivia's reaction.
"You have?" Olivia asked surprised.
"I mean obviously I haven't made some plan, but I have wondered what it would be like."
"I guess I just assumed you weren't interested, period."
"I'm not sure I was interested, but I didn't know that scenario could include having a kid with you. It's different. The thought of fulfilling something that I know you've wanted…"
"Alex, I wouldn't ask you to have a baby with me knowing you weren't completely on the same page."
"Liv, it would be different. Knowing we could be connected in that way, and knowing I could be a part of making you happy."
"You already make me happy."
"I want to you to have everything you want," Alex countered.
Olivia was silent for a moment, then pulled her hand away from Alex.
She stood up from straight.
"Al, I kind of feel like that ship has sailed."
"Why would you think that?"
"Alex, I'm… we're, I don't know, I just… the conversation has kind of come and gone for me."
Alex studied Olivia's face. She had suddenly become stoic, her eyes distancing...
"Ok. But just so you know, honey, we don't have to make any decisions about this right now. We can talk about this in the future, OR, we never have to talk about it again. But now you know, that I'm open to the conversation. Whatever the conversation is," Alex assured.
Olivia nodded her head, with no rebuttal.
Alex then smiled, reaching again for Olivia's hand, guiding her around the corner of the counter and to her.
She ran her hands up the back of Olivia's thighs, squeezing her butt with both hands. Alex changed her octave, "now, if you don't get those clothes off and into my bed in the next 2 minutes..."
Olivia grinned.
Her beautiful, sexy girlfriend.
"Mmmm, I've missed bossy Alex!" Olivia said, leaning in to nip at her lips.
Their bodies met and Alex reached to unbutton Olivia's jeans, reaching inside the waistband to palm Olivia's hips.
"It's been a long week baby," Alex said her eyes darkening.
Olivia bit her bottom lip.
Alex tugged Olivia's jeans and her panties down a bit and leaned in, placing kisses the now bare skin of her lower belly. "I can't wait any longer," Alex growled.
Olivia pulled Alex from the bar stool, and against her as they stood there for a moment sizing each other up, synchronizing their breath.
Alex slipped her hand into Olivia's panties feeling how wet she was.
She raised her brow looking intently at Olivia.
"You're not the only one who has been waiting," Olivia grinned devilishly.
"God," Alex whispered, guiding Olivia back to her bed.