A/N: Part two of their date night.
Despite the women having shared many meals together in the past, this felt different. While Amanda believed herself to be an ardent feminist, and knew Olivia proudly shared that label, she still felt a little glow of warmth when the senior detective pulled out the chair in the restaurant for her. The restaurant itself was also a step up both from the takeouts they'd shared in one another's apartments and the food they'd eaten with the rest of the squad at the police precinct.
It was unmistakably a date restaurant. The room was bathed in a soft red glow, intimate tables for two spread far enough apart to provide the illusion of privacy, even though the place was busy and there were people nearby who could eavesdrop if they so chose to. But no one seemed interested in listening to what other couples were saying. They were all too focused on the one person opposite them. The space was brimming with the excitement and promise of new relationships, interspersed with the more muted but stronger and more enduring passions which came from several tables where older couples appeared to be celebrating anniversaries or other occasions.
"It's not too much?" Olivia had asked when she saw Amanda's expression as the younger woman caught sight of the menu. She wasn't referring to the prices so much as the slightly pretentious way the meals were named and described. The prices she would be worrying about. She'd already told Amanda that she wanted to pay. This was something Olivia had discovered needed to be spelt out in same sex relationships more so than during the early days of heterosexual courtings. There goes another feminist notion.
"I'm sure the food is great. Just give me ten minutes and a French dictionary to work out what everything is," Amanda had joked.
But in fact they had deciphered the menu without too many problems, mostly thanks to Olivia's excellent knowledge of European languages, and soon were enjoying their starters over a bottle of wine which Olivia had chosen. Amanda mock bowed to the woman's superior knowledge of wines and had not been disappointed in the choice.
It was one of those restaurants which thought that because their food was so amazing, they only needed to serve a teaspoonful of each amount. Amanda wolfed down her starter and started picking at the bread basket. Olivia held off, not wanting to spoil her main. But that was annoyingly small too. True, the flavours were rich and the food was delicious but she didn't feel exactly full as she finished the last forkfull. At that point, she reached out and picked up one of the remaining slices of rye, using it to mop up the remaining sauce on her plate. Amanda did the same before leaning back in her chair and patting her flat stomach in satisfaction.
"Delicious," Amanda declared.
"It was. Are you full?" Olivia asked as their plates were cleared.
"Stuffed," the blonde nodded.
"Would you like to see the dessert menu?" the waiter asked, a Parisian lilt to his words.
Amanda hesitated for a moment, prompting Olivia to answer for her. "Yes please."
The younger woman grinned and Olivia matched her expression. Those grins only widened when the chocolate torte with raspberry coulis arrived with two spoons.
"Ok, now I'm stuffed," Amanda declared as they stepped out of the restaurant into the cold night air. Snow had stopped falling, leaving a delicate dusting across the sidewalks and roads, marked only by the footfalls of passersby and the tyres of New York cabs.
"Well, you did eat most of that torte to yourself," Olivia pointed out, wrapping her scarf more firmly around her neck before holding out her arm to Amanda who happily looped her hand through the offered gap and snuggled herself into the taller woman's side as they set off down the street.
Olivia chuckled. "I don't mind. I really was full. And it was so rich. I don't know how you could possibly have eaten more than a couple of bites."
"I've got a sweet tooth," Amanda replied. "I can always make room for chocolate."
"I'll bear that in mind," Olivia said. She filed the information away with everything else she'd learned about her date that evening. "So, you liked the food. You enjoyed ice skating, I think. How is this date going so far?"
Amanda looked up at the woman beside her as they walked. "I think it's going pretty damn well. I've sure got a lot to live up to for the next one. Assuming you want a next date, that is?"
The woman posed the question not with trepidation but with hope. Amanda's intuition had always been good and nothing she had picked up on that night had made her worry that Olivia was regretting asking the blonde out. Nevertheless, it was always good to confirm.
"I'd love another date with you, Amanda," Olivia confirmed at once.
"Good, cos I've got a great idea. It doesn't involve a fancy restaurant like that though. Is that ok?"
"Of course. I'm not a fancy restaurant type of person usually."
"Then why choose that restaurant to take me on our first date? Do I give off a fancy restaurant vibe? Cos if I do, please tell me; I gotta stop doing that and get back to my Georgia roots. I'm a rustic gal at heart."
Olivia laughed. "No, don't worry. You've still got plenty of rustic Georgia in you. But I'd heard good things about that place. I wanted to try it and I thought you'd like the food. Plus I wanted to take you somewhere special, somewhere different. I wanted there to be a clear difference between our date tonight and the other evening meals we've spent together."
"Well, you definitely managed that," Amanda confirmed. "And that restaurant was amazing. I loved it. I'm just not used to going to spaces like that. I don't always feel comfortable somewhere so posh."
"I'm sorry," Olivia said at once.
"No, I felt comfortable tonight. I felt like I belonged there, even though half the menu was in French."
"Well, good, I'm glad. But can I ask why you felt comfortable tonight if you wouldn't usually?"
Amanda snuggled even closer to her date. "You know for a senior detective in the NYPD, you sure are dense sometimes," she teased. "You made me feel comfortable, Liv. And not just comfortable. You made me feel special. You made me feel like someone who deserves to be taken to fancy restaurants and drinking amazing wine and eating food which I've never heard of before."
"You are special, Amanda," Olivia whispered.
They stopped in the street. No words passed between them. They didn't need words. Amanda turned into Olivia's body, unhooking her hand from the woman's arm and instead reaching up to loop both glove-enclosed hands behind the woman's neck. "Well, you're pretty damn amazing yourself, Olivia Benson," Amanda replied, before reaching up to kiss her date.
Olivia wrapped her arms around the shorter woman, pulling the coated figure closer into her own body. The cold night should have deterred them but it didn't. They just stayed there, locked in a slow, lazy kiss, pressed tightly against one another. It was only when a car sped by, splattering sludgy snow from a puddle across the women's feet and lower calves that they broke apart.
"Great," Olivia groaned, looking down at her wet and cold feet.
"Let's get an Uber," Amanda suggested. "I don't think I want to walk back in wet shoes and the subway will be hell at this time on a Saturday."
"Good idea," Olivia said, pulling out her phone and opening the app. As she tapped away at the screen, the two of them moved back from the edge of the sidewalk and huddled in the shadows of a building, just beyond the edge of the glow from the nearest street light.
"What are you doing?" Amanda asked as she watched Olivia tap the plus sign to add a stop.
"Putting your address in," Olivia replied. "Why?"
"Oh, I kinda thought … never mind."
Olivia paused what she was doing when the blonde tailed off. "You thought what?" she asked, suspecting she knew the assumption the woman had made but wanting her to say it before she jumped to any conclusions.
"Nothing, don't worry. Two stops is good. Sensible."
Or maybe she'd have to say it, Olivia thought to herself. "Did you think we'd be staying the night together?"
Through the darkness, Olivia could see the woman beside her blush. "Well, I mean, it's not like we've not stayed at each other's apartments before," she justified.
"I know but that was when we were just friends," Olivia replied. "If we're going to date and build a relationship, I figured we'd want to take things slowly at first, particularly given we work together."
"Right, sure," Amanda nodded, recognising Olivia's reasons. "But, you know, it's not like we're strangers. This might have been a first date but it's not like we're starting from scratch. We know each other. Hell, we've made out in my kitchen and on my couch. I think we've already gone past what would usually happen on a first date."
"That may be true but I still think we should have two stops on this Uber journey," Olivia replied.
"Oh, ok."
Amanda fell silent again but this time her words and tone made Olivia lock her phone and turn her attention fully to her date. "For the record, I do want to come back to yours," she said, using her finger to guide Amanda's crestfallen face up to look at her. "I want to come back with you more than anything, believe me."
"And I want you to come back, so what's the problem?" Amanda asked.
Olivia hesitated, searching for the right words. "I just think we should wait. Not for long. Just a few dates. I need us both to be sure this is what we want, Amanda. I can't face the thought of having you and then losing you but still having to work alongside you every day. At least, not because we rushed into something we aren't ready for. Let's just give ourselves to adjust to what are some pretty huge changes in our relationship, ok? I really think it'll be better for us in the long run."
"Ok," Amanda agreed reluctantly. "I get your point and you're probably right. But, for your record, there is nothing I want more than for you to come back to mine right now and stay the night in my bed. I even put on my favourite matching lace underwear for you."
The brunette suddenly forgot how to swallow. After stuttering for a few seconds, a consequence Amanda felt extremely proud of, Olivia found her voice once more. "I, um, errr, I mean ..."
Ok, she found her voice, not her words. But words weren't necessary. Amanda just winked salaciously before sliding Olivia's phone from her hands, unlocking it (she knew Liv's passcode) and finishing off the Uber order with a few taps, including adding her own to Olivia's list of 'saved places'.
"Three minutes," she informed her date as she handed the phone over and moved even closer into Olivia's personal space. "And while I completely respect your decision to not stay at mine tonight, even though you'd be more than welcome, there's nothing to stop us making out until our ride gets here, right?"
Again, no words were needed. Olivia just wrapped her arms around the shorter woman and sealed their lips together once more. The embrace was afforded a modicum of privacy in the shadows of the building on the relatively quiet street so both parties felt no need to hold back. Despite the bulk of the older woman's coat, Amanda found her hands trailing up and down her shapely curves, mapping the body beneath her fingers as their tongues danced. Olivia pulled her even closer, pressing themselves tightly against one another as she tasted the lingering red wine on the woman's mouth.
Only when Olivia's cell, which was still in her hand, vibrated to announce that her Uber was arriving did they break apart. Through the shadows, Olivia could see Amanda's pink cheeks, dark eyes and hear her shallow breathing. "Come on," she said, reaching for the woman's hand. "Before we get arrested for indecent exposure."
Laughing, Amanda willingly followed her date over to the car which had pulled up at the sidewalk. After confirming that the driver was indeed there to pick up an Olivia Margaret Benson, "Margaret? Who puts their middle name into their Uber profile?" Amanda had exclaimed, they slid into the comfortable warmth of the rear seat.
"So, where were we?" Amanda asked after Olivia had confirmed the two addresses with the driver.
"We were in a relatively private street and we're now in the back of this nice young gentleman's car," Olivia replied pointedly as the blonde slid towards her and made moves as if she wanted to pick up where they left off.
Amanda pouted but returned to her side of the vehicle, buckled up and then made do with grasping Olivia's hand on the older woman's thigh. Olivia smiled as she turned her palm upwards and their fingers interlaced.
"So, how many dates do you have in mind before I should wear this underwear again?" Amanda asked.
The older detective groaned quietly. "Do you have to be so blunt?"
Amanda shrugged. "I'm just getting straight to the point. Not that the point of this is sex for me," she quickly caveated. "But I can't deny that I am going to be disappointed when I get into my big, cold bed alone this evening. And I'd like to have something to look forward to. So are we talking three dates? Ten? Twenty? Oh god, please don't say twenty."
The horror in Amanda's voice made Olivia laugh. "Don't worry, I don't think I could wait twenty dates either. How about we see how we're going at five? I feel weird putting a number on it like this but I do think we need to be cautious. We don't want to rush into something and then realise we've made a mistake. Does five dates sound like something you can deal with without buying yourself a vibrator to get you through?"
That last line shocked Amanda into silence, causing Olivia to smirk in triumph. She had been a little annoyed at herself for reacting as she had towards Amanda's comment about her underwear. It was an empowering feeling to know she could have the same effect on the younger woman. And make no mistake, Olivia Benson struggled not to think about their age difference when thoughts of being intimate with Amanda surfaced. Knowing that Amanda was as attracted to her as she was to the petite, young blonde gave Olivia's self esteem a little boost.
Olivia's self-satisfaction didn't last long however because Amanda recovered and managed to find words which quite possibly short circuited not only Olivia's brain but also that of the poor Uber driver who was trying desperately to not overhear his passengers.
"Oh darlin', I've already got a collection of vibrators to choose from. And trust me, they'll be well used every night from this evening until our fifth date."
A/N: Just upping the ante for our ladies!