Take Me Out and Take Me Home (Forever and Ever)
~oOo~
Chapter 2
Olivia can feel Elliot's hand on her arm. Her mind is rushing a little. Should she accept it? She feels awkward. She's trying to figure out how to word this. She knows that Elliot is expecting her to explain, but when she stares into his beautiful blue eyes her mind quiets a little. Then she finds her voice. "Elliot, um, your kids think we should talk so they got us reservations to Il Gattopardo. Offered to look after my son while we just…" She pauses to take a breath. She exhales, "...talk."
Kathleen eagerly corrects, "Just say that we want you two to date. It's okay."
Elliot cannot believe Kathleen's statement and looks at every one of his kids to confirm it.
Then he averts his eyes in embarrassment and responds, "I don't know what to say."
Olivia looks at him, knowing that he will not do anything unless she's okay with it. She decides to make the decision for him, so she turns toward Noah to remind him of his manners and to stay with Kathleen. The siblings and Noah walk toward the M&M World down the street
Olivia takes a breath and turns to Elliot, who says, "Liv, we don't have to do this."
"No, I want this. I want to try it."
He sighs with relief and says, "Not that there's anything wrong with their plan, but I'm more excited to eat pizza and ice cream."
Oliva smiles. She looks down at the reservations. "I think we should cancel and give them the refund. Let's go to that pizza place you want."
Elliot smiles and says, "I like how you think."
Olivia smiles back and takes a breath. She takes a step and intertwines his hand with hers. Elliot looks down in shock. He smiles as she pulls him to follow her in the opposite direction heading toward their favorite pizza place.
They sit side by side at the booth, and Olivia melts a little at how he remembers their go-to order for their medium size pizza. She cannot believe how easy this feels while waiting for their order, and he makes her laugh as he shares a story about how Jet explains Tik Tok. She feels his hand on her thigh. It's so warm, she can feel it searing through it. She looks down and looks back up, flustered.
He asks if this is okay, and she nods.
They stare at each other's eyes, and Olivia can't tell if he's going to kiss her, but their waitress interrupts their moment. She laughs awkwardly while Elliot lets go of her to reach for a slice. Olivia starts to tell him how her son is into Tik Tok as well. They allow themselves to lean against each other throughout the dinner.
While finishing the pizza, Elliot suggests that they should go somewhere to get the dessert. She shares that she wants to include the kids in the ice cream trip he'd insisted on. Elliot sends them a text message. It turns out that the kids are not far from that area. Olivia manages to get a reservation for Serendipity on her phone. Elliot pays for the meal, and they head toward Serendipity.
Noah is high on sugar and says that it is the best s'mores frozen hot chocolate ever. Olivia laughs. Kathleen smiles at how Elliot has his arm behind Olivia, who feeds him a bite of their shared sundae.
The kids are so absorbed in their own debate that they don't notice the heated looks Olivia and Elliot give each other.
Olivia shivers a little, watching Elliot's blue eyes darken. He announces that they are going to go and talk more.
The kids say their goodbyes as they leave.
When outside, Olivia has her hands on his waist. He asks her if she'd like to walk for a bit. Olivia feels warm all over as he holds her.
They are completely wrapped up in each other as they silently walk further down the street before it feels too cold.
"Um, Liv, I want to make sure this is what you want. I don't want this night to end. I really want to kiss you and just hold you all night."
"We have a lot to talk about, but I like the sound of that."
"So, your place or mine?" Elliot asks.
"I think my place would be better because your mom is in yours."
"Right. My mother. I forgot about her," he chuckles.
Olivia laughs and smiles. He shifts a little to hail for a cab, but his other arm is trapped by Olivia's hands.
She stares at him. She admires his bicep and unconsciously caresses it. He has gotten strong. She feels embarrassed as he winks at her. It dawns on her that she can finally look at him that way.
When they get to her place, her living area is dark except for Christmas tree lights. She takes off her jacket and asks him to take off his shoes. She notices how he looks so good under Christmas tree lights. She feels the warm bloom in her chest. As soon as he takes off his jacket and starts to say something, she grabs his shirt to passionately kiss him and is engulfed by his equal intensity in his kisses.
Elliot's hand threads through her hair and his other hand around her waist. Then, he gently pushes her down to lie together on her couch, moving from her lips to suck at her pulse.
She yelps, "Elliot!"
"Just wear a turtleneck," he smugly says.
Olivia rolls her eyes but stops resisting. She feels his hands palming over her clothed breast. Her hip bucks against his growing erection.
Elliot pants, "God, I need to stop before this gets any further."
Olivia obliges and lets him go.
They both sit up on the couch, catching their breaths.
She touches her swollen lips and smiles, looking over to see him trying to calm himself down.
She speaks first, "El, we still need to talk at some point. But, right now, I just want to be held by you."
Elliot nods and puts his arm around her as she lays her head on his shoulder. After he has brought up how he admires the Christmas tree decorations, she shares how she and her son would just sit there mesmerized by the Christmas lights. For a moment they just are, silently soaking in each other's warmth.
Olivia reflects that Elliot has put an end to their near foreplay and she's glad that they are taking it slow since they haven't really talked. For now, she mentally plans to treat his kids with a night out as a "thank you".