33. Right
Olivia had thought she wouldn't sleep a wink after her tryst with Elliot, but when she wakes up the next morning, she realizes she's slept like a log the entire night. It must have something to do with how content her body had been once she had slipped under the covers ... Right now, her bladder is almost exploding and she has trouble getting out of bed without having a little accident, but it's definitely worth the good night's sleep she's had.
She rushes to the bathroom and barely notices Elliot in the kitchen. While she is in the bathroom, her brain starts kicking into gear. Will it be awkward to see Elliot again? She can't avoid him today. They both have the weekend off and Elliot isn't on call for emergencies until Sunday. She thinks he's already making them breakfast and she wonders what time it is. It's completely light outside already and it's still January, so it can't be very early anymore.
She takes her time washing her hands and splashing some water in her face, and brushes her hair before emerging from the bathroom.
"Good morning," Elliot greets her cheerfully and she can't help but return his happy smile. He's wearing jeans and a faded a t-shirt and she likes how his weekend mode looks on him.
"Hey," she says quietly.
She stands next to him to see what he's making and Elliot immediately slips his arm around her waist. He kisses her temple and mumbles against her skin,
"I'm guessing you slept well."
Olivia is shocked at how natural this feels. She knows she gave Elliot permission to kiss her again but she hadn't expected it to feel this right. Exhilarating, but also very normal. She remembers his words from last night.
'This is right, Liv. I know it is, and I know you can feel it too.'
"I did," she responds, looking up at her partner. Her roommate. Her best friend. She wonders if he gained another label last night. "You?"
Elliot grins and Olivia bites her lip, remembering how utterly unsatisfied she'd left him the night before.
"I did too," Elliot tells her and then he adds suggestively, "eventually."
She wonders if he helped himself to a release but isn't sure if she can ask. Does she really want to know anyway?
"I would have helped," she blurts out but Elliot silences her with a quick peck on the lips.
"And I said I was fine. Now how about these scrambled eggs? Anything else I should add?"
Elliot releases her and focuses on their breakfast and she admires his capacity to put her mind at ease. She watches him work and has to admit he is becoming a better cook each week.
"Looks perfect to me," she tells him. "The smell is making me hungry."
"Good. You gotta eat. Set the table for us?"
Olivia nods and goes to work. Anyone who would see them now, would think they were just an ordinary, happy couple enjoying their Saturday morning together. She isn't sure about the couple thing yet, but decides that she is going to enjoy their morning.
…
"How do you feel about assembling that bookcase you bought at long last?" Elliot suggest after they've had breakfast and Olivia has gotten dressed. "Then you can finally unpack your books and get those boxes in tater boy's bedroom out of the way."
Olivia thinks it's a great idea. She wants to get started on her baby's room and assembling the bookcase together is also a way to get to know each other in a different setting. She definitely gets to know a different side of him when assembling the case proves more tricky than Elliot had expected.
"Dammit!"
"What now El?"
"Where did that screw go now? I just had it!"
Olivia chuckles. She is standing and Elliot is sitting up on his knees, his hands resting on his thighs.
"It's not funny Liv. I'm doing this for you, remember?" Elliot says very seriously while looking up at her.
"I know," she says quickly, trying not to laugh. "And I appreciate it."
"No, you're not. You're laughing at me," Elliot huffs.
"I'm not laughing! Why don't you just get another screw from that little bag and we'll find the other one later."
"I don't want to step on it and make a hole in the floor. Or my foot."
The more serious Elliot gets about that lost screw, the giddier Olivia becomes. She is trying very hard not to laugh out loud but when Elliot groans again when he finally finds the screw, only to learn that he needs a different size, she can't hold it in any longer.
Elliot drops the screw, the screwdriver and the shelf he'd been holding and stares at her for a moment. Olivia covers her mouth with a hand but it's too late. Elliot stands up and she takes a quick step back when he steps over the half-assembled bookcase towards her.
"I'm sorry El, but it's just too funny," she tells him, still chuckling.
"There is nothing funny about it," Elliot barks but she can already see his eyes light up a little.
He is only half serious anymore. She moves back further, until she feels the couch behind her and an evil grin spreads on Elliot's face while he approaches her. What is he up to now?
"I will not be laughed at in my own home," he says menacingly.
"It's my home too," Olivia counters.
"And that's why we need to set a few ground rules," Elliot growls.
He is in her face now and gives her shoulders a gentle push, making her plop down on the couch.
"Hey!" she protests, but it's just for show. She can't wait to see what he is going to do next.
Elliot leans over her, resting his fists on the back of the couch. If she didn't know him so well, this might actually be intimidating. She can see how it would work on a suspect or even a disobedient child, but she just looks up at him, one eyebrow raised, as if to say, you don't scare me.
"There will be no laughing at your roommate when he's trying to help you," Elliot stipulates.
"Or?" she challenges.
Her heart rate is going up a little. She already knows where this is going. A smug smile spreads across Elliot's face and she can see that he is contemplating several options for a suitable punishment. She is getting a few ideas of her own, and when Elliot peruses her body without any shame, she thinks they are thinking along the same lines.
"How about … paying for dinner?" Elliot says.
Olivia huffs and actually feels disappointed, but then she sees Elliot's triumphant grin above her.
"Or do you have a better idea?" he asks her, and his soft, low voice definitely gives her better ideas. She isn't going to voice them though. This is his game, not hers.
"Nope. Sounds like a great rule," she says quickly, managing not to smile this time. "I get to laugh at you and decide what we're having for dinner. I like it."
Elliot squints and she can see him hesitate. He must have been gunning for a kiss and he doesn't know how to proceed.
"Why don't you move so I can get up and we can get that bookcase ready," she suggests.
Elliot straightens up and holds out a hand to help her up. Normally, she would have swatted it away but her pregnancy is beginning to impair her movements at last. And so she grabs his hand and pulls herself up until she's standing chest to chest with Elliot. Or belly to belly in their case.
"I'll try not to laugh again," she promises, but Elliot shakes his head. He knows she won't be able to hold that promise.
"If you do, we may have to think of additional punishments."
"Oooh. I'm shaking already," she jokes.
"Don't taunt me, woman," Elliot admonishes, almost making her laugh again.
"But it's fun."
"New rule. There will be no taunting your roommate unless you're ready to face the consequences."
"I'm always ready to face the consequences of my actions," Olivia states firmly.
"You sure about that?" Elliot says, inching closer to her until their noses are almost touching.
"I am," she says confidently. "You'd better make sure you can handle me."
She knows she's surprised him but she isn't about to back down. She's never backed down from an challenge and she feels strangely comfortable in this suggestive game they're playing today.
"Is that a threat or a promise?" Elliot says, and she swears she hears a waver in his voice.
She is actually getting to him and his breathing is a little uneven.
"That all depends on what you do, doesn't it?" she asks huskily and she can see the exact moment when his restraint breaks.
He expels a harsh breath and then wraps one arm around her waist, placing his other hand against her cheek and holding her close while he kisses her. Olivia had been kind of ready for his reaction and she has to admit this is what she was gunning for as well. As strange as it is to kiss her best friend, she finds herself getting used to it fast, in a very good way. The effect he has on her body is even stronger than in her dreams, and she has had some hot dreams about him over time. He tastes like Elliot and it would make sense that he doesn't remind her of anything or anyone else. It's just him. His big hand finds its way down to her butt and Olivia groans softly. It's frustrating that she can't get as close to him as she'd want to because of her belly but Elliot makes up for it with his slow, deep kiss. He doesn't overpower her but she is getting weak in the knees. The feeling of his tongue caressing her own causes jolts of electricity shoot through her entire body. She wraps one arm around his neck to make sure she stays upright and then Elliot breaks off the kiss to look at her.
"Wow," she sighs. "What did I do to deserve that kind of punishment?"
Elliot grins and her heart skips a beat. My God, he's handsome. And still so very close. The scent of Elliot encompasses her.
"You taunted me," he says, and his voice sounds hoarse and tense, but it a good way.
"I should do that more often," she says softly, almost whispering.
"I think you should sit down," Elliot says, and she frowns. He's ruining the moment, she thinks. Elliot chuckles.
"I can barely keep you up Liv."
That's when she realizes she's practically hanging in his arms. She straightens up quickly and then agrees to sit down on the couch. She's relieved when Elliot sits down close to her and wraps his arms around her again, one behind her around her shoulders, and one across her lap. He kisses her temple and she turns her head to capture his lips with her own once more.
"I'm making you lightheaded?" Elliot asks, and Olivia rolls her eyes since he's clearly fishing for a compliment.
"Don't tell me the big, strong Detective needs his manliness confirmed," she says jokingly.
Elliot chuckles and moves his hand from her thigh to her belly. It's becoming quite impressive at 27 weeks.
"I guess you just can't take on two guys at a time."
"What?!" Olivia gasps, her eyes widening with shock.
She realizes instantly that her mind took an incredibly stupid turn but the damage has already been done. Elliot knows what she was thinking for a split second and he laughs out loud.
"Wow, you have a dirty mind, Detective!" he exclaims, still laughing. "You don't think for a second that I'd share you with anyone else, do you? Tater boy and me are the only men who can come near you, just remember that."
Olivia feels her cheeks flush. She can't believe she even let her mind go there and she wants to blame her hormones. She can't switch from an intense kiss back to baby fluff that fast in her current state. Her heart is still pounding because she and Elliot seem to be starting a new habit called making out spontaneously. When Elliot had asked her last night if he could kiss her again today, she hadn't expected this much kissing. Then again, she's encouraging him. Now that she knows what it feels like, it's as if her hormones have doubled their efforts to get her laid.
She bites her lip and places her hand over Elliot's on her belly.
"I think tater boy's asleep now, so it's just us," Elliot says softly.
The tenderness in his voice makes her shiver and she keeps her eyes focused on their hands on her belly.
"I know what I want Liv," Elliot states and Olivia holds her breath. "We'll go at your pace but you gotta understand … once that door is open, I'm just a man."
She shakes her head then. It's automatic. She will always defend her partner. Her best friend. Even from himself, it seems.
"You're not just a man El," she says quietly. "You're a wonderful man. I'm lucky to have you as a friend."
Elliot leans over until his lips skim her temple again. It's such a loving gesture that she is gladly getting used to.
"Just a friend, Liv?" he asks before pressing a kiss to her skin."A friend with a few benefits?"
He makes it sound so cheap while she thinks that the connection they share is anything but cheap. The physical part is new but it doesn't make their bond less special.
"That's not what this is, El," she tells him. "You're not … it's not just my hormones."
She blushes again at her own admission.
Elliot doesn't say anything and she appreciates it a lot. He isn't trying to embarrass her. She turns her head and kisses him softly on the lips. It's becoming something of an addiction fast. Elliot smiles and caresses her belly while he kisses her once more, nipping at her lips until she parts them for him. Olivia moans softly when he deepens the kiss and she closes her eyes, surrendering to the moment. Elliot is right. This is right.
...
A/N: I typed fast to get this chapter ready today, so I hope there aren't too many typos and it doesn't seem rushed. More as soon as I find the time to write again! Please review.