Chapter 50: Happy New Year

Olivia and Rae got back to Liv's place about fifteen minute before midnight. They changed their clothes and Olivia got in bed while Araeyah went over to her drawer and pulled out the two gifts she'd gotten for Olivia. She went over and crawled on the bed and sat in front of Olivia who was already laying down with her eyes closed.

"Hey" she said tapping her on the shoulder. Olivia opened her eyes and saw Rae was sitting there with two packages in Santa Claus wrapping paper. She sat up and leaned back against the headboard. "You really got me something?" she asked surprised. "Of course I did" Rae said a little offended that Olivia thought she hadn't. "I just...I know you don't do Christmas so I thought...I didn't think you would get me anything" she explained. "I told you, whatever you celebrate I want to celebrate with you. So...", she pushed the gifts towards Olivia, "open them. This one first" she said handing her a long rectangular box. She tore of the wrapping and opened the plain white box to see two plane tickets laying on top of brochures. Rae waited nervously for a reaction from her girlfriend. Olivia picked up one of the tickets and read the destination, Florence, Italy. Then she picked up the other, Dubai, India.

"You said you couldn't decide which you'd rather go to so I thought you could go to both" Rae said explaining the two different tickets. Olivia didn't know what to say. Rae had asked her a few weeks ago where she would want to go on a dream vacation and she'd said either one of these places. She never thought Rae would actually pay for her to go. She pulled out the brochures and looked through them. Everything looked so beautiful and incredibly expensive. "Uh, Rae, this is...this is way too much. I mean it's going to cost you..." Rae stopped her mid sentence, "Not nearly as much as you think" she said. "Anyway, I don't want you to worry about that. This is my gift to you. It's what I want to give to you, ok?" Olivia looked at Rae and smiled, "Ok" she said softly. "Good. Now open the other one" she said pushing the smaller square box closer to her. Olivia picked up the box and hoped that it wasn't anything expensive. She didn't even want to know how much her trip was going to cost Rae and for her to buy her another expensive gift on top of that would drive her insane. "What is it?" she asked shaking the box next to her ear. "Open it" Rae said laughing. Olivia ripped off the wrapping, took the top off the box and unfolded the tissue paper inside to find a single silver key. Olivia's eyes shot up to meet Rae's, "Is this a key to your apartment?" she asked. Rae nodded silently. She was a little nervous about giving Olivia a key. She didn't know if she'd think it was too soon but it just felt right. "For if you have a day off and you want to wait for me at my place while I'm in class or working. You know I turned in my application to be a tutor at the high school for Ms. Page. Still can't believe I did that" she said with a laugh. "Or for when you're working late and you want to come over after, this way you don't have to call anymore. You can just come right in" she said explaining her decision to give Olivia a key to her place. Olivia didn't give any kind of reaction, good or bad, so Rae decided to give her out if she didn't want to take the key. "It's ok if you think it's too soon. I understand. You don't..." Olivia silenced Rae with a kiss. "It's not too soon. It's not too soon at all". Rae smiled and kissed her again. "I can give you a key to my place too" Olivia said in between kisses, "you know, so we're even" she finished placing more kisses on Rae's lips. "I'd like that" she said. Olivia sat forward forcing Rae to lay down on her back and got between her legs. "Yeah?" she asked finding her favorite spot behind Rae's ear and sucking. Rae moaned, "Yeah".

Olivia continued to kiss down Rae's body. She lifted her shirt over her breasts and moved her bra out of the way, taking one into her mouth and sucking. She flicked and swirled around her nipple with her tongue. Rae pulled her shirt and bra over her head giving Olivia better access. She paid the same attention to her other breast before continuing down with a trail of kisses. Her fingers slipped under the waist band of her yoga pants and pulled them down over her hips, down her legs and discarding them off of the bed. She looked down and saw that Rae wasn't wearing any underwear. She smiled and laid down on her belly, lifting Rae's hips to her mouth and plunging her tongue as deep into her wetness as it would go. Rae bucked her hips into Olivia's face, surprised by her sudden entry. Olivia gripped Rae's hips harder she feasted on her center. "Ungh...oh god". Rae gripped the sheets on either side her and dug her heels into the bed. Olivia let her hips down and kissed her way up to her mouth. Rae moaned at the taste of herself on Olivia's tongue. She flipped them over and sat up, pulling Olivia up with her. She reached down and pulled Liv's shirt over her head and reclaimed her lips while she took off her bra and threw it to the side. She pushed her down on the bed and pinned her arms above her head as she licked and sucked on her neck and chest and breasts. She moved down on her body and took off her shorts, tossing them to the side with the rest of their clothes. She settled between Olivia's legs and sucked and nibbled on her thighs, getting closer and closer to where she wanted to be. Just as she was about to reach her destination, Olivia pulled her up and crashed their lips together, flipping them over again.

She reached her hand between them and let two fingers slip into Rae's depths, starting a steady rhythm. Rae matched Olivia's pace with her hips. Olivia slowed downed and slipped a third finger inside her. "Ungh fuck" Rae arched her back and gripped the sheets as Olivia pushed her fingers slowly deeper, stretching her walls. She waited until Rae started to move her hips again, telling her that she was ready. She picked up her pace, pushing her fingers in and out as Rae writhed beneath her. "Faster" she said speeding up the rhythm of her hips. Olivia thrust in and out faster and faster, occasionally curling her fingers to hit her g spot. "Oh god...harder" she whimpered. Olivia thrust her fingers into Rae, slamming her hips forward with each movement. "Shit. Oh fuck. I'm gonna come...fuck...don't stop". Olivia slammed into her as hard and fast as she could until she came, screaming her name. She curled her fingers and massaged the rough patch of skin inside her, making her come longer and harder, causing her to scream louder and louder. She kept massaging that spot until Rae squirted all over her hand and the bed but even then she kept going. Rae's entire body was shaking and she couldn't stop herself from screaming expletives at Olivia. She tried to close her legs but Olivia put a hand on knee forcing them to stay apart as she continued to put pressure on her g spot. Rae arched her back and pressed her hips into the bed as hard as she could and Olivia used it as leverage to push her fingers deeper and press down harder. Rae grabbed a pillow from beside her and put it over her face to muffle her screams. She didn't know how much longer she could take what Liv was doing to her body but she wanted to ride it out for as long as she could.

Olivia couldn't get enough of hearing Rae scream out in ecstasy because of what she was doing to her. She could keep doing this all night long if Rae could take it. She laughed to herself when she saw Rae put the pillow over her face but thought it was probably for the best. She'd probably already woken up the entire floor with how loud she was screaming. She finally let up and leaned down to lick Rae clean. She swirled her tongue around her clit then surrounded it with her mouth and sucked while starting to thrust her fingers in and out. Suddenly, they were interrupted by banging on the front door. Olivia tried to ignore it and focus on pleasuring Rae who was still covering her face with a pillow to keep the volume down. The knocking persisted and Olivia couldn't concentrate so she removed her fingers and moved up Rae's body. She moved the pillow from her face and brought their lips together, "Somebody probably thinks I'm trying to kill you" she placing soft kisses on her lips. "Oh, I might have to agree" Rae said still trying to catch her breath. She took Olivia's hand and licked her cum off of her fingers before kissing her girlfriend again. Olivia groaned and broke their kiss when she heard more pounding on the door. "Don't go anywhere. We're not done yet" she whispered. Rae collapsed back on the bed and put the pillow over her face again getting a laugh from Olivia as she climbed off the bed and put her shirt and shorts back on to go answer the door.

As she got closer, she could hear a male's voice yelling through the door, "NYPD open up!". She rolled her eyes and figured someone must've called and complained that she and Rae were being too loud. She couldn't really be upset because it was true, they were being really loud, or at least Rae was. She opened the door to find two male officers standing there with annoyed looks on their faces. "Yes, officers" she said politely, "how can I help you?". They tried to look past her into the apartment but she wouldn't open the door enough for them to see inside. "We got a complaint about a woman's screams coming from your apartment" the officer explained, "Is everyone on the premises alright, ma'am?" he asked. Olivia nodded her head, "Yes" she said simply.

"I take it you're not here alone?" the other officer asked. Olivia shook her head, "No" she said. The officers were clearly annoyed by her one word answers. "Do you mind if we step inside for a minute, just to make sure everyone's fine?". Olivia opened the door and allowed the officers to walk past her into the apartment and shut the door behind them. They looked around the apartment and saw that nothing looked out of place. Rae was wondering what was taking Olivia so long to come back. Then she heard extra footsteps and the front door close. She wrapped herself up in a sheet and climbed out of bed. She went over and opened the bedroom door and leaned against the door frame. The two officers turned and saw her standing there in just her bedsheet, skin glowing, hair fallen lazily around her shoulders. They couldn't help but stare at her until Olivia went over and stood next to her, placing a possessive arm around her waist. One of the officers cleared his throat and addressed Rae, "Ma'am, we received a noise complaint about this apartment; a woman screaming. We need to make sure that everyone in the apartment is alright" he explained. She looked up and Olivia and then back at the officer, "Oh, we're more than alright here" she said causing the officer to blush. The other officer stepped forward, "Miss, how old are you?" he asked.

"Old enough" Rae said with a bit more attitude than she intended. The officer was about to say something else but Olivia interjected, "She's eighteen" she said, "Now, you've seen us. We're both fine so you can go now". The blushing officer started to move towards the door but his partner obviously had a problem with the two of them. "Do you mind if I check the bedroom?" he asked. "Yeah, I do" Olivia said bluntly. "Listen ma'am..." he started but Olivia had enough of him being in her apartment, "It's detective" she said forcefully, "You've done your job. You checked on us, we're fine, so again, you can leave now". He looked back at Rae and stared for longer than Olivia liked she so dropped her arm from around her waist and moved to stand in front of her blocking the officer's view. "Try and keep it down". He finally turned and headed towards the door with his partner. Olivia opened the door for them then closed and locked it back when they'd left. She walked back into the bedroom to see Rae laying down waiting for her. She crawled on top of her straddling her waist, "Now, where were we?" she asked leaning down to kiss her lover. She started to move her hand back in between Rae's legs but she stopped her, lifting her hips and flipping them over, pinning her arms to the bed. "No, no. It's my turn now" she said seductively. They continued to pleasure each other for hours. Their bodies finally gave way to exhaustion around four in the morning. Olivia woke up and saw that she'd moved away from Araeyah during the night. She scooted over closer to her and spooned her from behind. She inhaled the scent of her hair and let her lips caress the soft skin of her shoulder. "I love you" she whispered into the darkness. Little did she know, Rae was awake and heard her confession. She turned over in her arms and laid her head down on her chest, "I love you too" she said softly. She closed her eyes and let sound of Olivia's heartbeat put her back to sleep.

The next few days after Christmas went by fairly quickly. Olivia was still suspended from work but she wasn't at all bored. She was spending a lot of her time off with Rae. She met up with John and Fin for drinks after their shifts while Rae met up with the new friends she'd met at Fordham and she'd met Alex for lunch while Rae went to rehearse with the band. But no matter how much time she spent with the team, it wasn't the same as going to work everyday. She continued talking to her GOAL rep and they'd contacted the cheif of d's to tell him their plan of action if he didn't reinstate her. They gave him a deadline and now were waiting for his decision. Olivia missed her job but she fought hard not let Rae see. She didn't want her to think she'd rather be at work than with her. She told Fin, John, Alex, Melinda, and George what her GOAL rep had told her: the more support she had from her colleagues the better. Of course they all said they had her back. They relayed the message to Elliot who, unknown to Olivia, was on board. He was making good on his word to work on getting Liv's suspension lifted but he'd yet to talk to her or Rae and apologize. Today was New Years Eve and since he would be seeing them both at Rae's parent's house, he told himself that he would talk to them there.

After spending over a week at Olivia's place, they decided to switch and go back to Rae's. When they got there, Olivia used her key for the first time to go into the apartment. They settled down in the living room to relax for a few hours before they had to get ready for the party at Rae's parents house. Rae took a phone call in the bedroom while Olivia watched some weird alien movie on the sci-fi channel. She came out and sat next to Olivia on the couch. Olivia could tell without her having to say anything that she wanted to talk to her about something. She turned off the tv and faced her, "What's up?" she asked casually. "You remember that cabin I told you about? The one that Ashley's parents used to rent during winter break and take her and brothers to go skiing and sledding and whatever?" Olivia nodded her head. "Ok, well they stopped doing that after Ashley's mom died because you know, they moved to Europe and all. Anyways, its free this weekend and a group of us thought it'd be nice to go up there, kind of a last getaway before the semester starts" she explained. Olivia just stared at her, saying nothing. "I'm sorry, were you asking me something?" she said confused. Rae rolled her eyes, "I want us to go" she said. "There's four bedrooms and eight of us are going. Well, seven unless you agree to come with me".

"This is a little sudden, no?" Olivia said caught off guard by this impromptu trip. "Well, kind of but there's not much to it. We pack, drive up on Friday morning, spend the weekend, have a great time, drive back on sunday, wind down and I get ready for spring semester and hopefully you'll be going back to work. It's the last chance we have to spend time together before things get really crazy" she said making it sound so simple. "Who's all going?" Liv asked. "Julia and Kensie, they're both in the pre-health program at Fordham, Ashley and Scott, Maureen and Jake, and you and me". Rae didn't understand why Olivia was so hesitant to agree to go on this trip. "Come on, Liv. If you don't go then I'll be the seventh wheel. You don't want that do you?" she said moving closer to her on the couch. "Not to mention, I got us the best room". She leaned forward on her knees and kissed Liv on the lips. "There's a king sized bed, a mini bar, a rain shower, and a hot tub" she said placing kisses along her jaw line, "Just think of all the things we could do in that hot tub" she whispered in her ear. "Ok, ok. You've convinced me" she said giving in, "I'll go". Rae kissed Olivia sweetly on the lips, "Good. We're gonna have soooo much fun" she said seductively. She kissed Olivia again before turning around and settling down in her lap. She grabbed the remote and turned the tv back on to the awful movie Olivia had been watching.

They both fell asleep watching the movie and when they woke up it was time for them to get ready for the party. They showered together to save time and then got dressed. Olivia wore black slacks, a purple sweater that hung loosely off of her shoulders, and black boots. Rae wore white jeans and a red halter top with black uggs. Olivia did her hair and make up while Rae just ran her fingers through her long locks and put her glasses on, deciding to go without any make up tonight. She went in the living room and waited for Olivia to finish getting ready. She walked out of the bedroom ten minutes later and went over to sit next to Rae on the couch. She was engrossed in some puzzle game on her phone. She beat level after level in no time at all. Olivia laughed and shook her head getting Rae's attention.

"What?" she asked confused about why Olivia was laughing.

"You're such a nerd" she said teasing her girlfriend. Rae rolled her eyes and exited the game, "Whatever" she said getting up from the couch. "You ready?". Olivia nodded her head and stood up and turned towards the door. They put on their coats and left the apartment for Rae's parent's house. When they got there, they saw Fin's and Alex's cars and of course Rae's parents' car. Rae used her key to open the door for them to go inside. Fin, John, and Alex were in the living room alone.

"Hey" Rae said taking her coat off and hanging it up with Olivia's on the coat rack. They walked over hand in hand, parting to greet the other party guests. "Where's my mom or Charles or Jimmy?" Rae asked. She'd expect Charles or Jimmy to leave their guests to fend for themselves but not her mother.

"I think I saw Charles go downstairs, your mother just went upstairs a minute ago and I haven't seen your brother at all" Fin said. Rae rolled her eyes when Fin said that Charles was downstairs. It was just like him to be working when he had guests in his house. "I'll be right back" she said turning to head for the stairs. Just as she was beginning to walk away, the door bell rang. She stopped and turned around to go answer it. She pulled the door open to see Ashley, Scott, Melinda, George and Don had arrived. "Hey, come on in" she said giving each of them a hug as walked through the door. "Make yourselves at home. I will be right back" she said heading for the stairs again. She turned and backpeddled her way to the stairs, "Liv, if the bell rings could you..."

"Yeah babe. I got it" she said not waiting for her to finish her question. "Thanks". She turned back around to watch where she was going and went upstairs to find her mother. She knocked on her mom's bedroom door and waited for her to tell her to come in. She opened the door and went inside, shutting it behind her. "Hey, why aren't you downstairs?" Rae asked. She went over and sat next to her mom on the bed. Soraya looked up at her and she could tell that she'd been crying. "Maaman. What's wrong?" she asked concerned. "I'm fine. It's just been a long day preparing everything for the party and..." she paused and looked down at her hands. "And?" Rae asked prompting her to go on. "Charles and I had a fight about who to invite and who not to invite but it's nothing. I'll be fine in a minute. I don't want you to worry about me" she said touching the side of Rae's face. "Who did he want to invite?" she asked wanting to know why this had upset her mother so much. "Or who didn't he want to invite?" Soraya just sat silently ignoring her daughter's question. "Mom" she said getting Soraya to look at her, "tell me".

"Your aunt surprised me today" she said softly. Araeyah's breath caught in her throat. Her father had an older sister, Ashira, who'd moved back to Iran when she graduated college. She was an activist, strong and fearless, and they rarely got to visit each other because she traveled so much. "She called me at my practice. She's going to be here in New York for a week. I invited her to come tonight. When I told Charles he got so angry, said he didn't want "that radical" in his house". Rae had seen her Aunt Ashira only twice, once when she was five and then again at her father's funeral. Still, she had made quite an impression on Rae and she knew how much her mother loved her sister in law, like they were sisters from birth. She knew well the work her aunt did from the postcards and letters they'd exchanged over the years. She would love to see her aunt again, to show her the woman she'd become. There was no way she was going to let Charles keep her away from the house. "Maaman, cheer up ok. She will be here" Rae said firmly. "I will talk to Charles and I will see to it that she makes it here, even if I have to go and get her myself". Soraya looked up at her daughter and smiled. She'd promised that she would step up and be more of a mother and yet here she was again letting her daughter take care of her. "Do you know where she's staying?" Soraya nodded her head and got up from the bed. She went over to the dresser and got a piece of paper with a hotel and a phone number on it. Rae took it from her, "Don't worry. I'll take care of it. So pull yourself together and come downstairs. Your guests are arriving". She kissed her mother on one cheek and then the other before leaving the room.

She looked over the balcony and saw that Jimmy had come out of his room and was downstairs entertaining the people that had already arrived. He looked really good, wearing jeans and blue sweater. Rae was proud of how well he was doing. He'd told her that there was a spot for him in the rehab program he wanted and that he'd talk to his father tonight about sending him. She walked down the stairs and went over to him. "Hey" she said pulling him into a hug. "You look great" she said. "Thanks" he said smiling. "So, tonight's the night huh? Are you sure you don't want me to be there?" Jimmy nodded his head, "Yeah, I'm sure. I need to do this on my own" he said confidently. "Ok, well I'm here if you need me" she said. "I know". She gave him another hug before turning to head downstairs to have a conversation of her own with Charles. She barged into his office without knocking and slammed the door behind her.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" she asked angrily. Charles looked up at her with a confused expression on his face. "You told my mother that her sister isn't welcome here" she said.

"Ah, yes. Ashira. Your father's sister" he said correcting her. "She's not" he said looking back down at his paperwork.

"Like hell she isn't. I am so sick and tired of you treating everyone around you like shit; like you're more important the everyone else. My mother might put up with it and Jimmy might put up with it and the people you work with might put up with it but I won't! You don't scare me Charles. I'm not intimidated the least bit. I've known many man who are far better than you ever will be. Ashira will be here. If you have a problem with that, I suggest you make yourself scarce for the night". Before Charles could say anything back to her, she turned around and walked out of his office. She went back upstairs to see that Elliot and Kathy had arrived with all of their kids. Rae's mother was in the living room with everyone, talking and laughing as if she hadn't been upstairs crying ten minutes earlier. Rae went over and said hi to Kathy, Kathleen, Dickey and Elizabeth and then went to say hi to Maureen who'd found her way over to Ashley and Scott. The door bell rang again and Soraya went over to open it. Four teenagers walked in past her and Jimmy went over to greet them. Rae noticed he was extra friendly with one girl in particular and went over to see who this girl was.

"Abby, this is my sister Rae. Rae, this is Abby" he said introducing them. "Nice to meet you" she said shaking her hand. The girl walked over to stand by her other friends, leaving Jimmy and Rae alone. "She's cute" she teased. Jimmy rolled his eyes, "Shut up" he said walking over to his friends. Rae laughed and went over to her coat to get her phone from her pocket. She dialed the number on the paper her mother had given her and waited for an answer. She heard a woman's voice and confirmed it was her aunt. They talked for a minute before Rae told her that she was sending a car to pick her up and bring her to the house. It made her happy to hear how excited her aunt got when she told her. After she hung up with her aunt she called the car service she'd used before for some of Charles' client and gave them the hotel her aunt was staying in. Once everything was arranged she went back over and joined the party.

Everyone was having a good time, talking and laughing and eating. Jimmy and his friends, along with Kathleen, Dickey and Elizabeth, had turned on the wii and were playing games while everyone else sat and watched. Rae's mom had made some finger foods and set out chips and dip. There was beer and wine and soda for those who were underage. The door bell rang again and Rae went over to answer, hoping it was her aunt. She opened the door and saw Robert Winter, the client of Charles' that had come to Thanksgiving dinner. She rolled her eyes, "What are you doing here?" she asked. He cleared his throat, "I'm here to see Charles" he said explaining his presence. She gestured for him to come in and shut the door behind him. "He's downstairs in his office. I'm sure you remember where it is?" He nodded uncomfortably and made his way downstairs. Rae looked at her phone to check the time. It was almost ten thirty and she was starting to wonder where her aunt was. She'd call the car service to go get her almost an hour earlier. She was about to call to see what was going on when the bell rang again. She took a deep breath and opened the door to see a woman, about her mother's age and complection, standing at the door.

"Auntie!" Rae said excited. She threw herself into her arms, hugging her tight. After a moment, they pulled away from each other. Araeyah stared at her aunt in amazement. She couldn't believe how much she looked like her father. "Havayakh zadeh" her aunt said with a laugh. Rae snapped back to reality and realized that she was keeping her aunt out in the cold. "Bebakhshid. Bia too" she said stepping back so she could walk inside. She closed the door behind them and her aunt turned to look at her.

"Khodaye man" she said taking Rae's face in her hands. "Just as beautiful as I remember". Rae smiled and blushed slightly at her aunt's compliment. "I'm so glad you're here" Rae said taking her hands. "Me too, love. Me too. I've kept all of your letters and it's good to finally see your face, how you've grown. Ah, you look so much like your father" she said sadly but still with a smile. She stepped closer to her and whispered, "Your mother tells me that you're dating and that it's getting pretty serious. She also told me that she is quite a bit older than you". Rae looked down at her hands embarrassed. Ashira put her hand under Rae's chin and lifted her head to look at her, "I'll want to meet this woman, give my seal of approval, yeh?" she said smiling at her niece. Rae relaxed immediately hearing that her aunt wasn't phased by her dating a woman. "Of course" she said smiling. She wrapped her arm around her aunt's and led her over to where her mother was.

"Mom" Rae said getting her attention. Soraya's face lit up when she turned around and saw Ashira standing there with her daughter. They embraced each and her mother started crying again. Something told Rae that the tears were more about how much she looked like her father than how happy she was to see her. Everyone watched the heartfelt reunion with smiles on their faces. Olivia saw Rae getting emotional and went over to her, putting a supportive arm around her shoulder. Rae looked at her and smiled, quickly regaining her composure. Olivia worried sometimes about Rae holding everything in. She wanted to show her that she was there for her and she didn't always have to be so strong. Soraya and Ashira finally parted and whispered to each other in Farsi before Soraya introduced Ashira to everyone as her sister. Everyone welcomed her and she fit into the festivities with ease. Some had gone up to the game room while others stayed downstairs. Everyone was having a great time. It was just a couple of minutes until midnight so they turned off the game and turned it on regular television so they could watch the ball drop. Soraya called for everyone to come downstairs and they all gathered in the living room. Rae pushed her way through everyone to stand in front of Olivia. The countdown started and everyone counted aloud, screaming Happy New Year in unison. Olivia wrapped her arms around Rae's waist and leaned down to whisper in her ear.

"Happy New Year baby". Rae turned around to face Olivia and put her arms around her neck. "Happy New Year" she said back. "I love you". Rae smiled, "I love you back". Olivia leaned down and kissed her on the lips. Rae had heard about people sharing a kiss at midnight on New Years, even if it was a random somebody, but she had never done it. She was happy that the first time she did it was with someone she loved. Everyone was in a good mood, still eating, drinking, talking and laughing. Jimmy hooked his laptop up to the tv, put on the playlist he'd made for tonight and hit shuffle. Music filled the house and they continued to drink and dance the night away.

Persian- English Translation

Havayakh zadeh- It's freezing

Bebahkshid. Bia too- I'm sorry. Come in

Khodaye man- My god