Disclaimer: I do not own Law and Order: SVU. It belongs to a genius named Dick Wolf. No profit is being made from this story.

Fortunately, her reflexes were quicker than her speaking abilities. Without thinking about it, she began sprinting after him.

Stupid, stupid, stupid! You're lucky she didn't knee you in the balls, you dumb ass.

He growled angrily as he stalked toward the road. He was, without a doubt, the lowest scum on the face of the earth. This sweet, amazing woman had actually given him a chance at friendship, and he had just fucked it up.

What in God's name had made kiss her? Here he was, spending his entire damn vacation thinking about Kathy, and then he had just kissed Allison Denny.

He couldn't for the life of him figure out which was worse: the fact that he had kissed her… or the fact that since the day he bumped into her, he had wanted to kiss her.

Because, God help him…it had been on his mind every minute of every day.

He had just reached the road when a strong hand suddenly gripped his arm and forced him to stop.

Ally jerked him to a stop desperately and watched him whip around instinctively. She saw defense in his eyes, but the look of hurt on his face was heartbreaking.

. Her lovely hazel eyes were shiny as she looked up at him. He felt her hand gripping his arm tight, almost squeezing. She wore an expression of pure desperation. Elliot's breath caught when he saw the tears trailing down her face, and felt even worse about what he had done.

"Elliot-" she choked, her voice barely audible.

"Ally," he cut her off. "I'm so sorry." The shame in his voice was painful to hear. "I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking….Jesus, I had no right to-"

The panicked rush of words was abruptly cut off when Ally reached up and pulled his face down to meet hers, capturing his lips forcefully. Her tiptoes grazed the sand.

Elliot's desire won over his common sense, and he found himself eagerly returning the kiss, placing his arms around her middle and pressing her closer.

A few minutes later, they were forced to break the moment and gulp in oxygen.

Ally breathed hard, looking up at him pleadingly. Her hands still cradled his face.

He panted, his heart pounding double-time, and gazed down at her.

She looked into his gorgeous eyes and saw something different there than what had been there before. Biting her lip slightly, she trailed her fingers over his lips tenderly as she worked to catch her breath.

Taking a shaky breath, Elliot's hand traveled over her forehead and through her dark ponytail, brushing the wispy strands back from her face. She smiled excitedly, and he felt his heart rate quicken again.

She watched his lips spread to a full, beautiful smile, and his face lit up in an expression that was as excited as her own. He bent down and kissed her again, light and sweet. Her eyes closed against their own volition and she leaned into him willingly.

He pulled back after a quick minute, and gave a shaky, happy sigh. His eyes were bright with delight, as were hers, and they gazed at each other, grinning goofily.

"So," Elliot said softly, slightly breathless. He stepped back a little and traced a lazy line down her cheek, sending a shiver down her spine. He grinned impishly. "You going to teach me how to surf?"

She smiled widely. "Yeah," she said in a husky, playful tone. His eyes lit up mischievously. "I think I'm ready now."

"You done with that file yet?"

Olivia growled out loud, her patience at its breaking point. He had asked her that question at least five times in the last three minutes.

"For God's sake, John!" she snapped, turning her chair around to glare at him. "How many different ways can I say the word no to you!

Munch grinned at her smugly. "Well," he said sagely, pushing his glasses further up his nose. "Let's see…"

She sighed in disgust and dropped her head in her hands as she realized that there would be no stopping him now…he was on a roll.

He kept right on, his tone suggesting just how much he was enjoying himself. "Hmm…Spanish would be…well, "no"…" He tapped his chin thoughtfully. "German….I think that one is "nien"…"

He squinted, sucking on his upper lip, and ignored the death glare she was currently shooting him. "French…" He trailed off, sounding genuinely perplexed. "Huh…actually, I don't know that one." One eye shut as he thought. "'Nunca'? Nope…um… 'nada'? No…."

"Jesus!" Olivia interrupted loudly, slamming her hand on the desk top angrily.

John did a double take, looking at her in surprised amusement. Fin, who had been skillfully tuning them up to that point, looked at her like she was insane.

Snatching the manila file up, she rolled over to Munch and slapped it down hard in front of him. "Take it!" she snapped in annoyance, her eyes blazing. "Just take it!"

With a huff, she slid back to her desk and angrily pulled another file toward her.

John's eyes shone with laughter as he looked at the file and back to Olivia. He met the eyes of his partner, who just looked at him in annoyance and shook his head before returning his attention to his own file. Raising his eyebrows, he shrugged.

"Well….alright," he said. "If you insist."

Olivia's head snapped up again and swiveled toward him with lightning speed. He was suddenly struck with the image of the little girl in the movie The Exorcist…he half-expected to see pea soup come shooting out of her mouth.

"Do yourself a favor, John," she said icily. "Just don't talk for, like, twenty minutes."

It took him a minute to weigh whether or not that had been an insult. By the look in her eyes, which really did seem at the moment to be akin to Satan, he decided that it probably was.

Shaking her head and sighing in disgust, Olivia scanned the file in front of her and found that all that one required was a signature. She scrawled it quickly and placed the file in her outbox.

She looked at the ones still waiting for her attention, and then let her eyes travel over the divide to Elliot's empty chair. Leaning back and stretching, she picked up the phone and dialed a number, cracking her neck and relaxing as she waited for a connection.

After seven rings, she heard a click. She perked up only to discover that it was the voice mail

"Hey, you've reached Elliot Stabler. Leave me a message and I'll get back to you as soon as possible." Beep.

Her face drooped in disappointment. "Hey, Elliot," she said into the receiver. "It's Olivia…I was just calling to see what you're up to. Give me a call when you get a chance. Talk you later….bye."

A muffled ringing sounded from underneath the balled-up t-shirt that was lying in the sand. The combination of the waves crashing and the cries of the seagulls all around made it almost inaudible. It didn't really matter anyway, considering its owner was several hundred yards up the beach and had his mind on other things.

Elliot and Ally had walked back to the boardwalk, and he had followed her into a surf supply shop. Obviously, she was well-known there…he was surprised to hear several of the employees call her by name as soon as they stepped inside.

"Hey, Al!" a man with a Hawaiian accent said. "How's it hanging, girl?" He reached his fist out to hers.

"Pretty good, Drew," she answered with a smile, touching her fist to his. She gestured beside her. "This is my friend Elliot…I need you to hook him up for me."

Drew stepped back and openly sized him up without bothering to hide it. Ally giggled at the look of challenge that Elliot threw at him, obviously uncomfortable with the scrutiny.

After a minute of silent appraisal, Drew shrugged coolly. "Beginner?" he asked Ally, raising an eyebrow toward Elliot.

Elliot bristled at his tone, not quite sure if it had been an insult or not. Ally giggled again.

"Tadpole," she said, laughing. She grinned at Elliot and he looked at her uncomfortably. "I'm thinking long board for now."

Drew nodded and went around the counter, walking away from them. Elliot looked at her, confused. "What's long board?" he asked.

She smiled at him like the cat that had swallowed the canary. "It's usually a practice board," she said. "Some independent surfers use it as their main, but it's good for establishing balance before getting to the real deal."

Before he could reply, Drew came back holding a ridiculously gigantic surfboard over his head. "Here you go," he said, as he came closer.

Elliot looked at Ally incredulously. "Are you kidding me?" he asked, eyeing it. "That thing could fit three people on it."

"Exactly," she said. "Trust me, Elliot…you're going to need the extra space."

Shaking his head in doubt, Elliot nevertheless grabbed the board before she could and hefted it under one arm. She rolled her eyes at the chivalrous act and turned to Drew.

"That's good for now," she said, smiling. She rapped his fist again. "Thanks, Drew. I owe you."

The man grinned. "Let me get some pictures of this surf lesson and we'll call it even."

They both laughed at the uncomfortable look that had crossed Elliot's face again as he once more had to stop and think about what they were implying.

"Come on," she said, still laughing. "See ya, Drew."

"Later," he called out as they walked through the door.

They began walking towards the beach. Ally stepped off of the boardwalk once they had passed the swimming area, and he looked at her in confusion.

"We can surf down here?" he asked. "I thought it was a 'no swimming' zone."

"It is," she said. At his glare, she giggled. "No waves yet. You need to work on balance first."

"Oh, come on!" he said in exasperation.

"Balance, Elliot," she said firmly. She cocked an eyebrow threateningly. "Dry practice first or it's no deal."

He looked at her, standing there glaring at him with one hand sassily planted on her hip, and couldn't argue. She looked too damn cute.

"Okay," he sighed in defeat. "Balance first."

She smiled at his reluctant tone as she led him down the beach a little ways more, stopping them beside a mass of sand dunes that was away from the boardwalk.

"Alright," she said, rubbing her hands together gleefully. "Let's do this."

Elliot stood with the board in his hand, in the dark as to what to do first. She had to laugh at the perplexed look on his face. "Relax," she teased. "It's surfing, not brain surgery."

Smiling, she pointed to the ground. "Drop the board."

He did so, and she stepped up to him. "How's you're upper body strength?" she asked.

Elliot smiled cockily. "Not bad," he said smugly. He raised his eyebrows suggestively. "How's yours?"

He was pleased to see her blush furiously. "Stop that," she said in embarrassment. She whacked his chest with her hand. He grunted dramatically. Rolling her eyes, she stepped around him and got next to the board.

"I want you to start out horizontally," she said, dropping gracefully to her stomach on top of the board. "Straddle the board with your thighs." She demonstrated.

The image of her lying like that made his body react instinctively. Embarrassed, he moved to hide the problem by clasping his hands down in front of him.

"Use your arms to paddle," she continuing, slicing her arms through the air effortlessly. "Long, even strokes...pretend like you're reaching for the sun."

She noticed he was staring at her, and blushed, jumping quickly to her feet. "Your turn," she said.

Shaking himself, Elliot walked over to the board and looked down hesitantly. He met her eyes, the doubt clear in his expression.

"Go on," she urged, grinning. "Lie down."

He dropped to his knees rather clumsily and stretched out on top of the board, trying to do it as gracefully as she had. His face burned and he knew he was nowhere even close. Looking up at her quickly, his face twisted into a defensive scowl.

"Don't you dare laugh at me," he growled, seeing the amusement on her face. "I swear, if you laugh at me…"

"You'll do what?" she taunted, not intimidated in the least. He didn't answer, and she grinned. "Shut up and start paddling."

Sighing in embarrassment, Elliot attempted to paddle in the air. Hearing a guffaw from above him, he jerked his head up again.

"Sorry," Ally choked, biting her lip to contain her laugh when she saw his glare. She walked over beside him and dropped to her knees in the sand. "You're too stiff…relax your arms."

As she spoke, she wrapped her hands around one of his biceps and began pushing his arm forward, forcing him to move with her.

"Stroke, stroke, stroke," she coached, as she demonstrated. "Really use the muscles."

Each time she moved his arm, she felt his muscles bulge beneath her hand. Her breath caught, but she forced herself to concentrate.

Elliot could barely concentrate with her touching him. Her hands were small and delicate, barely wrapping around one of his arms. He risked a glance and saw that her nails were painted a flashy blue.

"There you go," she said encouragingly, dropping her hands. He began mimicking what she had been doing. "Now you've got it." She got up and stepped back.

"This is cake," he said, paddling with vigor. "Where's the challenge?"

Ally just smiled smugly and remained silent, watching.

After a few minutes, he felt his arms start to tremble. "How long do I have to do this?" he asked, looking up at her.

He grew uneasy when she smiled sneakily. "Until I say stop."

Five minutes later, the enthusiastic strokes had become slow, painstaking swipes as each time Elliot's arms grew heavier. She watched him carefully, scrutinizing his reactions and movements as it became increasingly more difficult. She could see by his face that he was ready to give up, but was too stubborn and macho to admit defeat.

Finally, she had pity. "Alright," she said. "Stop."

His arms dropped instantly to the sand and he groaned. "Damn," he panted. "That felt like the chin-up tests I did in the Marines."

She smiled gently. "It was supposed to," she said lightly to his back as he lay face down and rested. "You need to have enough strength to tread water for an unlimited amount of time… once you get a wave, it's too late to back out."

"Whew," he panted again, finally sitting up.

"Let's try some basic balance moves," she said. "Hop up."

He rolled off of the board and struggled to his feet, swinging his arms to get some feeling back in them.

"Hey," she said. She raised an eyebrow when she saw that he wasn't looking at her. "Hey…pay attention."

She waited for him to meet her gaze. "Okay," she said, getting flat on her stomach again. "Get on the ground…on your stomach."

He looked at her doubtfully. She rolled her eyes. "Come on," she said in exasperation. "Just do it."

Sighing reluctantly, he gingerly got down flat again. The sand tickled his nose and he turned his head in annoyance. "I hope there's a legitimate reason for this," he said sourly.

"So you're paddling through the water," she cut in, ignoring him. "There's a wave coming." She saw he had his head turned, looking at something to his left. She smacked the board loudly. "Elliot! Geez…will you pay attention?"

He held his hands up quickly. "Sorry!" he said in exasperation, trying to look at her without dropping his face in the sand. "Sorry. I'm listening."

Shaking her head, she continued, "There's wave coming…you're going to turn around…" She whipped her body around fluidly, yelling over her shoulder to him. "Paddle…go on, paddle."

He looked around in embarrassment before reluctantly beginning to paddle again. His still-sore arms protested immediately.

"From here, you're going to snap up into a squat position," she went on. In one swift move, she was on her feet, her legs spread apart and balanced precisely. She turned around and grinned at him. "Think you can try that?"

He scoffed. "Please," he said haughtily. "Of course I can do that."

She raised an eyebrow. "Okay, Mr. Confident," she said smugly. "Let's see it. On three."

He dug his hands into the sand and pressed up with his arms, bracing himself.

"Ready…and….go! Snap up!"

Elliot tried to jump to his feet like she had. He ended up crashing to his knees as his back and shoulder muscles protested, and groaned aloud in surprise at how much strain he felt.

"Ohh…fuck!" he groaned, falling sideways into the sand.

Ally burst out laughing. "Nice," she giggled. "Very smooth."

"Shut up," he muttered from the ground. His face was red again.

"Come on," she urged. "Try again."

Getting down carefully again, he sucked in a frustrated breath and waited. She got up off the board and went over beside him. "Don't use your back…support your weight and lift from the knees so you don't hurt yourself."

He braced his arms again and nodded that he was ready.

"One….two….three!" she said, clapping her hands encouragingly. "Go, Elliot….up, up!"

Groaning loudly, Elliot pushed off. His back complained once more and he fell again.

"Damn it!" he growled angrily. "Why the hell can't I do this?"

Ally lost her smile, seeing he was getting angry. She looked at him hesitantly and didn't speak.

"Come on," she said quietly after a minute. She crossed over to him and gripped his arm gently. "Don't give up, Elliot….please, don't give up." She massaged the tense bicep gently. "You can do this….just keep trying."

His eyes traveled to her hand on his arm and back up to her face, a soft look crossing his face. He reached out and stroked her cheek.

She was frozen. She stared into his eyes, feeling her heart racing again. Shaking her head, she averted her gaze before she could get lost in his eyes and cleared her throat.

"Come on," she said, tugging him forward. "Try it on the board."

He allowed himself to be pulled over to the board and lay down flat again. When he felt her straddle his back with her thighs, he froze.

Feeling his tension, she blushed. "It's just to center your balance," she said sheepishly. She placed her hands flat on his back. "Do it slowly….I'm going to hold your back. You're still lifting with it." Planting her feet in the sand on either side of the board, she pressed her hands firmly down.

"Slowly," she said again. "Rock backward like you're going to roll on your side." He obeyed. "Now use your thighs and lift up…pretend like you're doing a squat thrust." Elliot followed her instruction, surprised when it was easier and his back didn't hurt this time.

"Okay," she said brightly, squeezing his shoulder. "Again, faster."

Sighing, he dropped down and waited for her to straddle him again. Pressing her hands into his back, she said, "Ready? Go!"

Pushing him up with her hands, she watched him jump to his feet with a yell.

"See?" she cried excitedly, jumping off and getting in front of him. His face was shocked. "I told you!"

The delight on her face boosted his ego. "Come on, again!" she urged, pushing him down once more.

"Oh…" he moaned as his sore muscles complained. He was going to be hurting tonight, for sure. "Ally…."

"Just once more," she urged. "One more time by yourself and we'll call it a night."

She stayed in front of him. "I'm not going to help this time," she said. "Just remember what I said…use your legs, not your back." She eyed him anxiously. "You ready?"

He looked at her uneasily. "I guess," he said.

She nodded, and he waited. At her shout, he instinctively rocked backward and lifted himself up. She gave a cry of delight, and he was shocked when he realized he was standing tall.

"You did it!" she cried excitedly. She ran up to him and hugged him, laughing. "See? I told you!"

It took her a minute to realize what she was doing, and she immediately tensed in his arms.

"Sorry," she mumbled. "I guess I got a little carried away."

He chuckled, tightening his grip to keep her from pulling away. "Thank you," he said softly.

She looked up at him, feeling warmth pooling in her belly. "You're welcome," she replied after a minute.

They both stepped away awkwardly.

"Well…it's getting late," she said, glancing out at the ocean. The sun was barely peeking out, almost completely set. "I guess we should call it a night, what do you think?"

Elliot smiled. "I guess," he said.

Ally bent and picked up the board, and he immediately came over and took it from her. "I'll get it," he insisted. "You have to work tomorrow, right?"

She nodded. "Yep," she confirmed, and groaned. "8 am sharp."

He stuck out his lip sympathetically. "You go on home," he said. "I'll take this back to the shop."

"No," she argued, grabbing the end. "Don't worry about it. I'll keep it…we're not done yet."

At his surprised look, she laughed. "What?" she teased. "You think one lesson is enough?" She nudged his side playfully. "Don't even think about it."

He grabbed at her hands, swinging them playfully between their bodies. "Can I see you again?"

Her wide smile made him giddy inside. "Sure," she answered, shyly biting her lip. She dropped her gaze a minute before looking back up at him. "I'd….I'd love that."

"How about we meet tomorrow when you get off?" he continued.

"Sounds great," she said. "Two o'clock okay?"

He swung their hands again, not wanting to let go. "Yep," he said, bringing one wrist up and kissing it gently. Releasing her hands, he reached down and cupped her face, smoothing over her cheek.

She gazed up at him, her eyes wide and imploring. He cleared his throat, suddenly terrified. "You're wonderful, Allison Denny," he said softly.

The fear on his face was obvious, and it confused her. She wrinkled her brow a minute, but quickly smiled radiantly. Her eyes were shining as she brought her hand up to cup his chin.

"Well…" she said, her voice equally as soft. "Elliot Stabler…." Her eyes twinkled. "You're pretty wonderful yourself."

He grinned widely, making her laugh, and blushed. Dropping his head, he placed a sweet kiss on her mouth, trailing a hand over her lips.

"Meet me at the boardwalk?" he murmured, pressing his forehead to hers.

Her eyes were half-lidded as she had to catch her breath before she could speak. "Count on it," she whispered, pressing her face into his chest. She inhaled his scent, surprised she hadn't noticed it before, wanting to stay there forever.