Elliot smiled as he saw Olivia emerge from the bedroom. Her eyes were still half-closed and her hair was a mess. She looked only slightly better than when he had put her to bed last night…well, actually, early this morning. He knew she couldn't be feeling well.
Last night, when he had heard her getting sick in the bathroom, he had given her a few minutes of privacy. When it got quiet, he had opened the bathroom door slowly, asking if it was OK to come in. He didn't get any sort of reply, so he had opened the door and was greeted with a pathetic sight. She was hunched over the toilet, gripping on to the sides, still wearing that red sheer bra and nothing else. He instantly felt horrible about the events that had just occurred. She hadn't said anything about feeling sick, and she hadn't seemed that drunk. In hindsight, she was a little tipsy maybe, but perfectly able to comprehend what was going on, and was actively participating. Still, he felt guilty…as if he should have known better.
He reverted his attention back to Olivia as she slumped down on the couch next to him, folding her legs underneath her and pulling at the t-shirt he had dressed her in.
"What time is it?" she mumbled, rubbing her hands up and over her face and back through her hair.
Elliot looked at his watch. "Almost 2."
She got a puzzled look on her face. "In the afternoon?"
Elliot laughed. "Yes, in the afternoon." He gestured towards the windows, pointing out the fact that it was daytime. He leaned forward and put a hand on her knee. "How're you feeling?"
"I'm fine." Olivia gave her standard answer, even though her head was pounding and she felt like she could sleep for another 12 hours.
"Uh-huh." Said Elliot, smiling. He knew that even though she'd thrown up most of whatever she'd had to drink, her head and stomach still had to be hurting. "Just what did you have to drink last night?"
Olivia lay her head on the back of the couch and closed her eyes, not wanting to even think about alcohol. She was never drinking again. "Um." She said, trying to focus her mind. "Champagne, wine, beer…" her voice trailed off. "Some shots. Oh, and some tequila."
"Jesus Liv. It's a wonder you were able to stand at all."
Olivia opened her eyes. "Well, that was spaced out over the night El. And it's not like I had a lot of each."
"It's mixing all the different kinds of alcohol that does you in." He said.
"Thanks Professor." Olivia said snidely. As if she didn't know that.
He lifted his hand from her knee and shrugged his shoulders. "Hey, I'm just saying."
Olivia let out a loud sigh. "Is there coffee?"
Elliot chuckled. "Yes Liv. There's coffee." He stood up. "I bet you could probably use some water and so ibuprofen too." He walked into the kitchen and Olivia could hear him rustling around. He poked his head around the wall. "Do you want something to eat?"
The thought of food made Olivia's stomach start to churn. "God no. Just bring me the coffee." She said irritably.
Elliot smiled inwardly. She was in a charming mood today. He was going to have to be careful not to push her too hard. If he pissed her off, it would easily spiral into an argument. He walked out of the kitchen and handed her the pain reliever and the water.
"Here you go." He set the mug of hot coffee down on the table in front of her and sat back down next to her.
"So. What do you remember about last night? Fill me in on all the parts I missed and I'll fill you in on the parts you missed." He joked, but he got a dirty stare from her.
"I remember everything El. Thank you very much. Dinner, the limo, Posh, Jack, Maureen, you."
"Jack?" Elliot asked, eyebrows furrowed together. "Was Jack there? I didn't see him when I got there."
Olivia closed her eyes. Damn it. In her haste to prove she remembered everything, she had mentioned the one thing she had intended on leaving out. She had already decided she wasn't going to tell Elliot about what happened with Jack. She knew Elliot would go after Jack for what he did, and he didn't want him to end up in jail again.
"Yes, he was there but I didn't talk to him much. He left early. Before you got there."
"Isaac said that Aaron asked him to keep an eye on you…and that he saw you and Jack arguing."
Olivia's head came up off the couch. "Isaac is a nice guy, but I didn't appreciate Aaron assigning someone to babysit me."
"But you and Jack argued?"
"I don't remember." Said Olivia, looking away.
Elliot knew she was lying. He just wasn't sure why. "You can't remember? Or you don't want to tell me?"
Olivia's eyes flashed back to his. Now she was stuck. If she said she didn't remember what she and Jack had fought about, Elliot would go on thinking she'd been too drunk to remember parts of the night. If she said she did remember everything, he push her to tell her what they argued about. The truth was that she had been pleasantly buzzed all night, but she remembered everything.
"I remember Elliot. It's just normal Jack Spencer BS." She closed her eyes again. "It doesn't matter because I'm going to tell Casey that I want out of the wedding." Damn it again. What the hell was she doing? She hadn't wanted to tell him that, at least not yet, because he'd know something had happened. Her hungover brain was not cooperating; she needed to stop talking.
"Why now? What the hell happened Olivia?" Elliot's voice notched up with concern, because if she hadn't dropped out of the wedding after all the BS she'd been through with him, then something bad had to have happened. Something more serious than everything that had happened so far. He reached out and placed a hand on her upper arm, shaking her lightly and forcing her to open her eyes. "Liv."
"It's nothing Elliot. I'm just sick of dealing with him. You know Isaac was watching…he would have told you if he saw anything serious."
Elliot stared at her, his eyes moving back and forth between hers. He considered what she said. There was some truth to it, but he could tell she was holding something back. But he could tell she wasn't going to divulge any more information. He dropped it for now, not wanting to push her when she wasn't feeling well.
He dropped his hand from her arm and leaned away from her slightly as she reached over to pick up the mug of coffee. She took a sip and made a face. Her brain needed the coffee but her stomach was arguing the point.
"So…" Elliot started. "Do you remember the cab ride home and…what happened when we got home?" He was horrified to think that maybe she'd been too drunk. He pictured her looking back at him, pushing her ass into him and telling him to fuck her…and his face flushed with heat.
Olivia must have noticed his reaction and she smiled. "Yes El. I remember." She took another sip of coffee. "I told you that I wasn't that drunk."
"You just took me by surprise. We've had a lot of sex in the past seven weeks…"
Olivia rolled her eyes. "That's an understatement. It's like we're training for the fucking Olympics." She laughed at her inadvertent play on words, and then winced at the pain in her head.
"We've never done it like that…" he continued.
Olivia raised her eyebrows. Ah…the good Catholic boy shows himself again. She waited a moment to see if he was going to say anything else. "If you're not comfortable with that El… you just have to say so."
"I didn't say that. That's not what I'm saying. I just…well, my sex life up to now has been pretty vanilla. Kathy..."
Olivia held up a hand, interrupting him. "I do NOT want to hear about your sex life with Kathy."
"I'm just saying that there's a lot of things that I…" Elliot scrubbed his hands over his face. This shouldn't be that awkward. When you've had sex with someone every day for the past 7 weeks…when you've had your hands and mouth on every part of her body…they should be able to talk about stuff like this. But he was raised a good Catholic boy. Sex was about procreation, not enjoyment. It wasn't discussed.
He tried to focus his thoughts. He was trying to tell her that there were just certain things that Kathy didn't like or that he didn't even consider trying with her. Over time, their sex life had become pretty routine. Sex by the numbers. But Olivia was different…he knew their sex life would be different…more adventurous for sure. He wasn't talking about anything way out there or anything but…
Olivia could see he was struggling and part of her wanted to make him sweat it out. Just to see if he could say what was on his mind. Plus, she was just so hungover that any kind of deep conversation was out of the question.
"Yes?" she said, trying to hold back a smile, but not being very successful.
"I just…" Elliot rubbed his chin with his knuckle and she rolled her eyes. "Forget it." He decided this was a conversation for another day. Or never. He would just let what unfolded.
Olivia's interest was piqued, despite her pounding head.
"So what kinds of things are we talking about?" she asked, putting an innocent expression on her face.
"I don't have a list Liv." He grumbled. "But for example, we've had sex in practically every part of this apartment." He waved his hand around the apartment. "I've never had sex in any room of my house except the bedroom. At least not while I was married." He looked away from her. "And last night. When you were standing there dangling those handcuffs…" Elliot felt a rush of heat just thinking about it. "And then when you…" his voice cracked and trailed off. He was getting worked up just thinking about it. He could picture her standing there with those damn handcuffs and when she remembered what she'd said to him. He swallowed hard.
Olivia smiled. She wanted to let the poor guy off the hook. "Got it El." She leaned forward, wincing slightly. "It's just like anything else El. We both have different experiences. And as we go forward, we just have to agree to be completely honest with each other. I'll tell you if you're doing something I don't like and you do the same." She leaned back. "So far, I've liked everything you've done to me."
Elliot smiled. He didn't know how she could be so incredibly hungover and still be so damn sexy, the words rolling out of her mouth like a come-on. He knew that his desire for her would moderate over time, but right now, he couldn't imagine it. If he didn't know how horrible she was feeling right now, he'd have that t-shirt off so fast she wouldn't even know what was happening.
He grunted, which Olivia took for agreement.
"Now can we please save all of this serious discussion for a day when I'm feeling even just a little bit better?" She closed her eyes again.
"Sure." He stood up and kissed her on the forehead. "Can I get you anything else?"
She slid down on the couch, her t-shirt hiking up over her hips. "Can I just get a blanket?"
Elliot pulled a blanket from the basket on the side of the couch and spread it over her. She closed her eyes and sighed.
"Liv." Elliot ran his hand across her forehead. "Just one more thing before you fall asleep."
Olivia opened her eyes and looked up at him. "Yeah?" she said.
Elliot could see she was already half asleep again. "You know that Maureen knows about us. So I think we need to tell the other kids sooner rather than later. I don't trust Maureen to keep that secret for very long."
"Fine." Olivia mumbled, her eyes slipping closed.
"I made plans to have dinner with the kids. I'd hoped you'd be feeling better." He stroked her forehead again. "Liv. I want you to go with me."
Olivia opened her eyes halfway. "El. I'm not going anywhere today." She closed her eyes again. "Just go."
"Are you sure?" he asked. He wasn't sure if she was thinking clearly, and he wanted to be sure. He didn't know if it was a good idea for her to be there or not, but he had wanted it to be her decision.
"It's fine El." She said softly, never opening her eyes.
He sighed, hoping she wouldn't be mad when she woke up. He wrote a note and left it on the coffee table, along with a bottle of water and some more ibuprofen.
EOEOEOEOEO
Elliot had spoken to Maureen and she had agreed to come along with Elliot when he told Kathleen, Dick and Liz about his relationship with Olivia. Even though Maureen had told him that she and Kathleen had expected it, he was worried about telling the twins. They were only 13, and Dick was already upset with him because he perceived that the divorce was Elliot's fault. He was very protective when it came to his mother.
He picked Maureen up at the university and they drove into Queens. They discussed school and friends and other neutral topics and Elliot was glad that he successfully avoided talking to Maureen about his and Olivia's relationship. Truthfully, he hadn't really thought about what he was going to say to the kids; he hadn't been expecting to tell them so quickly. But after his run-in with Maureen last night, he felt he had to act quickly.
When he pulled up to the house, the kids were waiting and they piled in the car. Elliot saw Kathleen give Maureen a quick, knowing look, and he knew Maureen had already told her.
They pulled up to the kid's favorite pizza place and piled in. They all were talking over each other while trying to agree on pizza and ordering drinks, and Elliot found himself thoroughly enjoying the chaos. He missed this.
They were finishing up the pizza when Maureen cleared her throat. "So Dad, anything new?"
Elliot narrowed his eyes at her, and then looked back at the rest of the kids. They were now staring at him, waiting for him to answer.
"Well, as a matter of fact. There is something I wanted to talk to you guys about." Elliot started, his voice laced with nerves. He looked around the table, seeing four faces staring back at him and he froze for a second.
"Just spit it out Dad." Said Maureen impatiently.
Elliot shot her another look. He looked back at Dick and Liz. "OK. Well, I'm seeing someone." He knew it was blunt, but it really wasn't worth beating around the bush.
"What?" asked Dick. "What do you mean you're seeing someone?"
Elliot just stared at him for a second. Could he say he and Olivia were dating? It was so much more than that. "Well, I mean, I'm seeing Olivia." He swallowed hard again. That really didn't do much to answer the question, or maybe it did. Because seeing Olivia vs. seeing someone new to them were two different things.
Kathleen let out a small squeal. "I knew it!" she said, rather loudly and she turned and looked at Maureen. "I told you!"
Those two started chattering and Elliot turned to look at Dick and Liz. They were both looking down at their plates and Elliot put out a hand towards Kathleen and Maureen. "Girls. Shush."
He kept looking at Dick and Liz, and he could see Dick's jaw tightening. He reached out for Liz, who was sitting next to him. "Liz?"
She looked up at him and he could see where eyes were glassy. "Does Mom know?" she said in a quiet voice.
"Of course she knows dumbass!" Dick yelled. "Why do you think she and Dad were fighting all the time? It was about her." He spat the word out as if it was a swear word. "It's always been about her!" He was clearly angry and his voice was loud in the relatively quiet restaurant.
Elliot saw a tear slip down Liz's face, and he wasn't sure if it was about him and Olivia or about Dick's outburst. As twins, they were connected, but they were polar opposites. Liz was very sensitive and Dick carried all of Elliot's anger.
"Liz. Mom and I talked at Kathleen's birthday party. I haven't formally told her we're seeing each other, but she knows how I feel about Olivia."
"How does she feel about you cheating on her with that…" Dick blurted out but Elliot cut him off before he could say anything else.
"Don't you dare!" He wasn't certain what word Dick was going to use, but it wasn't going to be good. "You do NOT speak about Olivia that way." Elliot said, trying to control his anger. Anger would get him nowhere.
Maureen chimed in. "Dick! You know Dad would never cheat on Mom. And Olivia isn't like that. She wouldn't have let him. You just need to grow up. People get divorced all the time. It's no one's fault, It just happens."
"She made you leave Mom. She's lured you away." Dick muttered.
"Dick. That's not true. Your mom and I got divorced for a number of reasons. Mostly, we just grew apart. We got married very young and we've both changed a lot. My job takes its' toll. And yes, Olivia and I were close. We've been through too much together not to be close." He leaned over and placed a hand on Liz's arm. "So Olivia may be a part of the reason our marriage ended, but it's not just about that. I swear it's not. I tried to work things out with your Mom. Many times. But it just wasn't working anymore. Your Mom deserves to be happy. And I wasn't making her happy."
Elliot could see a few tears streaming down Liz's face and he felt awful. He looked over at Dick, who was stabbing at his leftover pizza with his fork.
Liz sniffled a little and looked up at Elliot. "I like Olivia Dad. It's just going to take some time to get used to the idea." She said. Elliot squeezed her hand.
"Thanks honey."
Elliot looked over at Kathleen and Maureen. Kathleen spoke up. "Dad, we've know you had feelings for Olivia. We've seen how close you two had become. It's not really a big surprise. And we know you never cheated on Mom." She shrugged. "And really, things are a lot less tense at home. I mean, you guys were either fighting, or not talking to each other."
Maureen chimed in. "Dad, we love Olivia. And I know she makes you happy. We want you to be happy Dad." She kicked Dick under the table and he looked up with a scowl on his face. "Don't we?"
Dick didn't respond and he looked back down at his plate. Elliot could tell he was trying hard to keep his anger in check, but he wasn't having much luck. He stood up abruptly and his chair almost fell over.
"I'm going home." He walked out and Elliot watched him go. He knew that if he followed him, it would get ugly. He needed some time to process everything. He was his father's son. The house was less than a mile away, so Elliot wasn't worried about him making it home.
He felt a hand on his shoulder and he looked over and saw Maureen looking at him. "It'll be OK Dad. He just needs time to cool off. We'll talk to him."
"You know he's always protective of Mom." Kathleen said. "He'll be OK."
"Liz?" Elliot asked. He could deal with Dick's anger because he knew it; he understood it. But he was worried about his youngest daughter. She was really quiet and he knew her loyalty was torn between her dad, her mom, and her brother. He took her hand. "Are you OK?" he asked.
She gave him a small smile. "Yeah Dad." She looked serious again. "Are you sure Mom's OK?"
Elliot smiled. Liz was always the caretaker, wanting to make sure everyone was happy. "I'll be honest with you Liz. I know it will be hard for your Mom. It's hard when one person moves on and the other one hasn't. And I know it's strange because it's Olivia. Maybe it would have been easier if it was a stranger. I don't know. But your Mom will find someone to love, and she'll be happy. And I will always love your Mom. Always." He looked back at Kathleen and Maureen. "I mean that girls. Your mom was my first love…and if it hadn't been for her, I wouldn't have you kids. I wouldn't trade any of that for the world."
More to come…I can't believe how fast these chapters go! I'll update soon. Please leave a review or comment!
