Ah! More fluff! But a quick update again. Forgive me?

The next day, we go out for dinner again, and I let Olivia choose the place. Italian again, somewhere I've never been before.

This time, I'm ready, and I'm happy to share a half-bottle of Merlot with Olivia. "Just as I suspected," she proclaims. "You know wine."

I smile shyly and raise my glass. She raises hers, too, and they meet in a low pitched kiss. "To you," I say.

She grins and shakes her head. "To you."

"To both of us."

We bring our glasses together again and take a sip.

I smile again, and so does Olivia. "You have the most beautiful smile," she tells me.

I blush. No one has ever said that to me before.

She cups my cheek. "Really. It lights up your whole face and it's like your eyes are dancing. I'm not as good with words as you are, but that's really what it looks like." She takes my hand and gives it a squeeze. "No one ever told you that before?"

I never had anyone to say such things before you, I don't say. Instead, I just shake my head.

She smiles sadly, but not as if she pities me; as if she truly cares about me and wishes someone had told me before how beautiful I am - how beautiful she thinks I am. "Well then, we'll have to remedy that."

Suddenly, I'm kissing her again. I can't help myself. She's a magnet, drawing me close.

Her lips are so soft, so full, so sweet, and all for me, to touch, to taste, to claim. I could kiss her all day long and still hunger for more.

Finally, we break apart, and those beautiful lips turn up into a smile, just for me. She traces the outline of my jaw, my cheekbone. "You are beautiful. Not just your smile, the way it can light up a room. Not just your eyes, the exact colour of the ocean, or the sky. Not just your lips or your hair or your hands. But all of you. You are beautiful."

I close my eyes and let her continue to run her fingers along my lips, my chin, my neck. Having her hands on me feels so natural, so perfect, as if she's a part of me.

She reaches the top of my back and I tense, instinctively. She immediately pulls back. "How could someone hurt my princess?" she whispers, her eyes full of sadness. "How could they?"

I drop my gaze, unsure what to say to that. I'm not used to telling people about that part of me – and I'm not used to them supporting me once I have. I know it disgusts her to think of someone marking my ivory skin, just as it disgusted me, once. And then I got used to rainbows of black and blue, yellow and purple and red marring my pale flesh.

She takes my hand and brings it to her lips, planting upon it a gentle kiss. "It's okay, Alex. I'm here. I won't let anyone hurt you ever again."

I try on a smile, and she smiles weakly back. I'm not used to being with someone like Olivia, who treats me so well and loves me so much. I know she does.

The waiter brings us our food, and I turn my attention to my chicken parmigiana instead of Olivia; an excuse not to meet her eyes. I can't bear the pain I know I'll see in them, on my behalf.

She holds tight to my hand as we eat in silence, and when the waiter comes to take our plates, Olivia asks for the dessert menu. She asks me what I want and I just shrug.

"We can get fondue, or we can get a strawberry cheesecake if you like that better," she says.

"Fondue is good."

"Okay." She calls the waiter over and orders.

I suddenly start to tremble. I don't know exactly why, because it's not particularly cold and I'm not scared of anything right now – or at least, I'm not any more afraid than I usually am.

Olivia comes over to me and wraps her jacket around my shoulders. "You okay?" she asks, gently rubbing my back.

I nod, but allow her to soothe my shivers. She kisses my forehead and goes back to sit across from me.

The waiter comes back with our fondue, and I don't look at Olivia as I delicately dip a strawberry in the chocolate sauce. "It's good," I say quietly.

Olivia smiles. "I'm happy if you are."

I melt again. She's just so sweet.

We finish eating, and I convince Olivia to let me pay the bill (which is no easy feat). As we walk toward the car, she says, "Hey, you want to come over to my place?"

"You mean, to spend the night?"

"Yeah."

I lower my eyes and chew on my bottom lip. "I have nightmares, sometimes."

She lifts my chin, determination in her eyes. "Then I'll help you through them, and hold you until you fall back asleep."

"Okay," I finally agree. Maybe tonight will be an improvement on the last night we spent together.

Review for chapter fifteen!