Lori... and her nectar got this shizzle done.
She'd always harbored some intensely romanticized notion of kissing in the snow. Gentle flakes fluttering down to land upon her eyelashes as someone kiss, kiss, kissed her warm. It was one of those things she kept huddled close to her heart, a pseudo fantasy she'd never made good on.
This kiss wasn't what she had expected; wasn't the nice, pretty, watercolor fantasy she'd imagined for as long as she could remember. Out of nowhere, he'd slung an arm around her hip and pulled her back to him, pressing his lips to hers firmly. Just as she was about to sink into the languid nature of his lips, Elliot planted a snowball directly on top of her head.
Olivia took a shocked step back, clumps of snow falling down the back of her coat, cold rivulets tracing the knobs of her spine. A dirty, guilty smile played upon Elliot's lips and eyes sparkled with mischief. As her mouth guppied open and closed attempting to find words, he debated whether or not to kiss her again. If he did, if he chose to, it would be the fifth kiss they had shared.
The second had taken place the week before. Elliot had invited her to his place for Thanksgiving dinner. Maureen had offered to cook for her father knowing full well that Elliot couldn't cook to save his soul. Olivia had rejected the offer initially, not wanting to intrude on what was sure to be a family gathering. Elliot had assured her that it wasn't going to be; Maureen was bringing her boyfriend David as well as a friend who couldn't afford the plane ticket home that month.
"Not if Elyse wants to go back to Quebec for Christmas, please daddy?" she'd begged and he'd eventually caved.
She was still hesitant after he'd filled her in on all of the details. So to ply her, he'd said, "Besides, I really want you there." That had clinched the deal.
So she went, bringing with her a green bean casserole and sweet potatoes and herself; dressed casually and comfortably in a beige wrap-around skirt and brown sweater. Elliot had met her at the door and unloaded her arms of the food, placing it on the table near the door, trailing a hand down her arms as he did so, standing behind her. "Thanks," she'd hurried and brushed the hair out of her eyes just as he was wrapping his strong fingers around her biceps in order to spin her around and kiss her.
It was light, just a slight brush of lips on lips. Still, it took her by surprise and her eyes widened for a moment, staring right into his before slipping shut to immerse herself in the sensation.
"Ewwww!" had come the chorus from behind them, the younger kids genuinely disgusted while the three older were trying not to laugh too hard, but failing miserably. Elliot had been mortified at the reaction while Olivia had simply clapped a hand on his chest once and pushed him away.
"Hey guys," she greeted and made her way into the kitchen, Elliot bringing up the rear with the food.
He had paused in the entryway to the kitchen and had taken in the sight before him. They were all talking, bustling around with such energy. They were intermingling in such a way that had him amazed. The house had never felt so alive, so ready to burst at the seams. A feeling of contentment, of thorough happiness coursed into his veins, through and through… it threatened to nearly swallow him completely.
Dinner took hours to prepare and Olivia, Maureen, David and Elyse had kept mostly to the kitchen. At increments, the boyfriend had strayed away from the women to watch part of the Cowboys/Redskins game with Dickie and Elliot. At first, the father in him had made Elliot eye the other man skeptically. But when he cheered for the Cowboys, most of Elliot's gripes melted away. Dave had shrugged, "I'm from Houston..."
Intermittently, Elliot would stray into the kitchen to find Olivia chopping vegetables or checking the turkey or arguing with Elyse about the wine. His two youngest were busying themselves attempting to conquer a 3-D puzzle, their laughter filtering back to him and mixing with the sounds coming from the kitchen. Whole, that's what he felt, standing there; that was the exact word, the exact feeling. It was an odd rush of emotion, having been sure three months previous that he would be left with a deep void of nothingness.
Dinner had been more than any of them had expected, a true feast. The food, the combined whole of it wouldn't fit on the table.
Somewhere in between his second and third helping of cranberry sauce, Kathleen had asked "Are you and Livia dating?" His gaze immediately shot across the table to catch her eyes, even as he choked a bit on the food in his mouth.
Olivia was amused and made no move to hide it; her smile stood out from the crest of her wine glass. She went to say something but immediately paused, smiling even wider, giving him the cue to speak. "I, uh... no, we're not there yet."
That was when Maureen had chosen to perk up. "You're kissing her, inviting her to dinner and having her put up with us," she stated, waving her fork around at all of the people seated at the table.
"And?" Elliot asked, grabbing his own glass of wine and taking a hearty gulp.
"You're dating," Maureen returned, pointing her fork at her father and then at Olivia. "I, for one, am happy about this."
Elliot wanted to ask 'What about your mother?' but his daughter continued. "I mean I love mom, but you two were... and besides, she's dating too."
"Daniel," Dickie piped up. "I don't like him, he's boring. And he likes golf." That made his father smile a little more, but he quickly quelled the rise of lips with a forkful of mashed potatoes.
That night as she was shrugging on her coat, stomach filled with turkey and pie, he came up behind her and lightly slipped his arms around her waist. They just stood and breathed there at the door for a bit. His breath came slow and easy over her shoulder as she gazed out the door, eyes hovering on the slush at the curb. For some reason, she couldn't help but think of her gun, and wonder why it wasn't on her hip. She wondered why his arms felt like such a staple, like something that should remain there, keeping her safe in some intangible way.
They breathed, slowly and in sync, falling in time with one another. She turned to him when she was sure her gaze would melt the snow outside. Her head lifted and two fingers, his middle and forefinger trailed down her cheek while he stared into her eyes. His lips met hers with an urgency and slipped open easily, her tongue teasing out to stroke over his.
Heart beating fast, beating so strong as she pressed her breasts to his chest, wrapping her arms around his neck, moaning as he kissed her harder, held her tighter.
In college, she'd decided to take up smoking. Even with a part time job, she couldn't support the habit and eventually resorted to grabbing half-smoked butts off the street, picking them up and lighting them to satisfy her addiction. And that was how she felt in that moment, so addicted, so willing for him to keep kissing her that she would do just about anything.
But he had pulled back, trailing his fingers down her cheek. "You gotta leave before-"
"Yeah," she agreed quickly, "Yeah." Smiling brightly, before she threw open the door and skipped down the steps.
"Tomorrow, see you!" she called and was gone, nearly skipping down the sidewalk to her car. He'd watched her until she turned the corner and had spun back into the house, light on his feet. As he dropped his head and walked towards the kitchen, he nearly ran directly into Maureen.
"We're leaving," she'd said, shouldering her bag before dropping a kiss on his cheek as her friends passed by them.
"It's good to see you smile like that again, daddy."
That had been a week ago, and the need was flaring anew as he held her arm, watching the snow melt in her hair as she cringed at the temperature. A laugh burst from him and he doubled over with the power of it, successfully terminating the moment that was about to culminate.
"Hey!" she yelled, mock angry though she was smiling too. He was bent in half, laughing as hard as she had ever heard him laugh. It was a nice sound, a filling sound that made her want to share in the elation. After a few seconds, she began tapping her foot; when he didn't stop after that, she turned on her heel and began clicking down the sidewalk, hands turned into her sides.
When he lifted her head, she was gone, halfway up the block and walking quickly. Elliot jumped up and jogged to catch up with her. Sure, she was smiling, but her eyes held a danger that he didn't want to provoke. "Sorry, I'm sorry."
Olivia rolled her eyes and nudged him with her elbow. "Come on, you're really not."
He thought for a moment before nodding, "You ever think you know me too well?"
She stopped and turned to him. "What's with all of the questions, with the 'you ever thinks'?" Cocking her head to the side and leaning in, she took a moment to breathe his scent and asked once more, "Really? What's up?"
Sighing, he shook his head as a chuckle rose up. "You know, this time I really just… I don't know."
Pursing her lips, she scuffed her shoes on the ground and then looked up at him, "Yeah, okay…" And again, she leaned in. "Just remember," her voice rasped out in a whisper as she looked both ways back and forth down the avenue. "We're not dating."
Winking at him, she began to walk away as he stood there, smiling in confusion and delight before he started off after her.
It had been a good lunch break…