They pulled up to Alex's apartment building several minutes later. Alex groaned as she slowly and regretfully pushed herself up from Olivia. She immediately grabbed her head, the world spinning just a bit.
"18.50" the cabbie said.
"Sorry, we said two stops. Next is the Upper East Side" Olivia replied, leaning up to the partition.
"No, no, off duty" the cabbie said aggressively.
"We said two stops when we got in" Olivia argued. She was drunk and a bit wired from having Alex so close to her. The dynamic made her eager for a fight, for some outlet.
"Off duty" he reported again, refusing to turn around.
Alex could sense the tension within Olivia almost immediately.
"Come on, Olivia, we'll get you another one, let's go" Alex said, putting her hand gently on Olivia's knee and giving a squeeze.
The touch momentarily distracted Olivia. But instead of calming her, it somehow made her angrier. She was annoyed the night was coming to an end and irritated that she had let herself become so invested in this woman that she could clearly never have.
"Fucker" Olivia muttered under her breath, handing him a twenty.
Olivia climbed out and offered Alex her hand, helping her through the door. Alex stepped toward the curb as Olivia shut the door but let her fingers linger on the detective's for a moment.
As the cab started to speed away, Olivia kicked the tire, almost losing her balance in the process. She heard the laugh behind her before she turned around.
"You think that is funny?" she asked rhetorically, calming down and realizing what a lunatic she must look like.
"Actually, I do, yes" Alex said, smiling.
Olivia narrowed her eyes at her in mock anger before turning back to the street to scan for cabs.
Alex felt herself grow uncharacteristically sad as she watched her. She knew she was drunk and would probably pass out quickly once she got to her apartment but she didn't want Olivia to go. There was something about being with her that made her feel…
… She couldn't complete the thought. Olivia just made her feel.
"Alex, you go in, I'll get the next cab or grab the bus" Olivia said after a few moments.
"Why don't you just crash at my place?" Alex offered quickly before she could even think about it herself.
Olivia looked back, surprised. "Are you sure?" she asked.
"Yes, come on, this is silly, I don't see any cabs and my couch is really quite comfortable" she said, happy with her quick reasoning.
Olivia scanned the street once more as Alex prayed no cabs would emerge.
Olivia looked back at her. It made her heart hurt… how beautiful she looked. Something inside her said this was a bad idea. Why was she tormenting herself by prolonging this inevitable conclusion? It was only going to hurt more.
"Come on, I'm getting cold, let's go" Alex said softly, her eyes holding Olivia's gaze.
There was something in Olivia's face that Alex couldn't quite place or make sense of. She seemed like she was battling herself, on edge, and Alex didn't know why.