Chapter Seventy Three – Girls' Night

"You would not believe how long it has been since I last went to the theater to see a movie," Olivia said as she, Suvi, and Amanda headed down the street together.

"Probably would. Bet it's been just as long for me," Amanda returned with a smile.

"Too bad it didn't turn out to be a good one."

Both Amanda and Olivia burst into a fit of laughter at the same time. Despite how good the reviews had been and how much they had both wanted to see the show, it had turned out to be terrible. The movie had barely managed to hold either of their attention. At least they were getting a kick out of it now though. It felt incredibly good to laugh even about something so ridiculous. Plus, they'd tried to go out and enjoy themselves like normal people. That had to count for something.

"Do you want to stop for coffee before we call it a night? Might redeem the flop a little."

"Sounds like a plan."

Olivia definitely didn't mind extending the evening. She didn't know when Amanda would have time to get together again after this either. Going to get coffee would give them the chance to talk. It had been a long time since they'd had the chance to do that too.

"So how are you and Ben doin'?"

Olivia groaned and closed her eyes briefly. Maybe she didn't want to have the chance to talk to Amanda. Already the conversation was heading into directions she would rather stay away from. Annoyingly enough that happened quite often.

"Why do we always talk about my love life?"

"'Cause I don't have one."

Amanda didn't appear bothered at all by what she'd just said. It was the truth after all, and Olivia would understand. She'd experienced the same thing during her years at SVU.

"Great. Thanks."

Amanda beamed at her and her blue eyes glittered in the street lights. She was getting a major kick out of this. Olivia had to admit that she was rather amused too.

"You do realize there are other topics out there, right?"

"Sure, but this is a good topic."

"Yeah, for you," Olivia grumbled.

She'd become more comfortable talking about Ben with Amanda, but that didn't mean Ben would be her topic of choice. It would be much better to keep her private life private. Of course as long as she didn't have to get too in depth it was kind of nice to have someone to talk to about Ben. After college she'd never really had a girlfriend to share with.

Olivia used their arrival at the coffee shop to partially deflect the question Amanda had asked. She pulled the door open and answered while Amanda walked through.

"We're great. The last few weeks have been better than great actually."

She couldn't help thinking of the night they'd spent curled in each other's arms and simply enjoying the skin on skin contact. Amanda caught a glimpse of her face and smirked. There was no way she could not know what that look meant.

"Better than great, huh?" Amanda teased as she tipped her head slightly to catch Olivia's eyes.

Immediately Olivia's face flushed rose red, and she turned her eyes away from Amanda's. Despite her embarrassment she was still smiling slightly. It was all the proof Amanda needed (though she hadn't had much doubt in the first place). She wasn't going to comment on it further since she knew Olivia well enough to realize it would make her uncomfortable. Olivia was incredibly grateful for that. She turned her full attention to the menu board, hoping that the mundane task would help reduce the bright pink highlighting her face.

After they ordered and collected their drinks, a coffee for Amanda and a tea for Olivia, they grabbed a table near the wall and away from the window. Suvi curled up on the ground beside Olivia's chair. His tail was spread out behind him, and Olivia had to reach down and move it out of the aisle so it wouldn't accidentally get stepped on. She barely had a chance to return her attention to her tea and take a sip or two before Amanda returned to their discussion. Thankfully she started on a slightly tangent path.

"So are you and Ben doin' anythin' for Valentine's Day?"

"Valentine's Day?"

It was February, so that had to be coming up soon. She hadn't heard Ben mention anything about it yet though. It couldn't be all that close then. Ben would definitely take advantage of the holiday to push her slightly outside of her comfort zone.

"Yeah, Olivia. It's next week."

Olivia's mouth fell open slightly.

"Next week? It can't be coming up that soon, can it?" She checked her phone quickly to confirm the date. "I guess it can be."

That just made the fact that Ben hadn't brought it up yet even stranger. She really didn't think he would ignore Valentine's Day, but it was possible. It was just as possible that he hadn't realized how close the holiday was either.

"Ben hasn't mentioned anythin'?" Amanda asked in surprise.

She'd definitely thought Ben would do something for Olivia that day. He'd come across as romantic enough even if he didn't quite fit the full romantic type category.

"No, he hasn't." She frowned and quickly ran over the last few days in her mind, searching for any hints he might have dropped. "I'm pretty sure he didn't even try to subtly hint at anything."

"You already have plans for that day?"

"No. Nothing that's pre-planned at least and the next speaking gig I have is in March."

She nervously twisted her cup of tea.

"Maybe I should ask him about it. Plan something."

She'd never really gone out on actual Valentine's Day. Everything she'd done had been before or after the fourteenth. There had never been a guy she'd felt she was close enough with to join the throngs of loving couples. Maybe if she didn't have Suvi she would have wanted to go out with Ben when all of the other couples did despite all of the chaos braving the throngs could bring. She really had become incredibly close to him. It had sort of crept up on her. Going out on Valentine's Day was an odd way to judge the closeness of her relationship, but it worked.

"I would if I was you. Can't always trust 'em to get the drift on their own."

Olivia chuckled lightly. That was true, but surprisingly Ben had been very good about remembering special occasions and adding variety to their dating life. It was one of the biggest reasons why she was surprised he hadn't mentioned Valentine's Day.

"I probably should," she agreed.

Was a week long enough to drop hints and suggestions or should she be more obvious than that? More obvious probably. New York City might have more good options than other places, but it was just as hard to get a reservation as anywhere else. Since she'd never been on a date on the actual day before she wasn't sure how bad the reservation nightmare would be.

"I might do it soon, too," Amanda added.

O . o . O . o . O

Olivia ended up taking Amanda's advice and set to discuss Valentine's Day with Ben at the first opportunity she got. Or at least she would have if Ben hadn't come home from work steaming like a kettle ready to pour. It was definitely not the best time to talk about Valentine's Day. He was way too worked up and on too much of a tangent.

"They're assholes. Complete and total idiots," he raged as he chucked his shoes off in the entryway and threw his coat over the back of the couch.

He'd already been going on like this for a little while. Olivia simply picked up his coat and shoes and put them in the right place without a word. Ben hardly even noticed her until she pressed a glass of wine into his hand. She would have gone with a beer if she hadn't been out. When the wineglass touched his hand he stalled out for a moment, giving Olivia the opportunity to break into his rant.

"Who is?"

"These sellers," he grumbled before taking a sip. "They're being totally unreasonable. It was a fantastic offer. Way higher than that place was worth."

He took another few large swallows, nearly draining the glass as he did. Olivia smoothed her hand over his arm, trying to calm him almost in the same way she did Suvi.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

It was kind of a ridiculous question since he obviously wanted to talk about it and was already doing so. Olivia still thought it was the right thing to say though. It was. Ben sat down on the couch so Olivia grabbed her own glass of wine and joined him.

"I hate telling clients their offer has been rejected when I know they can't go higher. They shouldn't have to go higher either. The second offer was already more than the place was worth."

He finished the remainder of his wine and set the glass on the side table with a little more force than Olivia would have liked. She rested her hand on his knee to hopefully calm him again.

"I never lose in negotiations. Never."

"Never?" Olivia asked gently though with a small, teasing smile.

"Well, not very often. I'm really damn good at my job."

"I know," she replied and leaned in to give him a light kiss."

When she pulled away Ben added, "These people are just unrealistic."

Olivia's "Mmhm" was muffled by the second kiss she gave him. Ben let that one silence him. Each of her light kisses was leeching some of the anger out of him. He was totally willing to let that anger go if it meant he could have more kisses.

It wasn't until two days later that Olivia managed to find an opportunity to address her concerns about the upcoming holiday. She and Ben were camped out on his couch watching basketball. Ben was doing more of the actual watching though. Olivia was concentrating more on determining how to bring the topic up. So far she'd only decided that it definitely had to be on a commercial. When the next break in the game came around she decided to just jump right in.

"Hey, Ben?"

"Hmm?"

He might have taken his eyes off of the TV thanks to the commercial, but he still hadn't turned it onto her. Instead he was watching Suvi squirm around on his back as he tried to use the carpet to get rid of an itch. This was already his second round. After he'd gotten up the first time Suvi had shook himself off and promptly flopped back down to try to scratch the itch on his back again. Even though Ben was watching Suvi, he was still listening to Olivia, so she decided to continue.

"Would you like me to make plans for the fourteenth?"

She'd been expecting him to either tell her to go ahead or ask what was on the fourteenth. He didn't end up saying anything of the sort.

"Nope."

"No? Are you sure?"

Suvi stood and shook again. Apparently the itch still wasn't gone because he dropped down halfway and tried to scoot across the floor. Ben laughed and dropped off the couch so he was near Suvi.

"Here, buddy. Let me help you."

He started scratching Suvi's back even though he still hadn't answered Olivia's question. She sighed and scrubbed at her face.

"Ben? Are you sure?"

"Yup."

His eyes flashed up to hers, and he grinned. Olivia felt a flame of curiosity ignite inside of her. He hadn't forgotten about Valentine's Day at all.

"You already have something set up?"

"I do, so don't make plans."

She dropped her elbow onto the couch's arm rest and rested her hand in her palm. A smile danced across her face as she looked at him.

"So what do you have set up?"

"Either you meeting me here or me picking you up at your place. You decide."

"I can meet you. Where are we going after I get there?"

Ben's smile grew.

"You'll find out when you get there."

He had known she would hate that answer, which was why he was smiling so brightly. Her eyes narrowed at him. No matter how much she might hate it though, he wasn't telling her anything more.

"Ah, look! The game's back on."

Ben pulled himself back up onto the couch and effectively shut down the conversation by returning to watching the game. Periodically Olivia tried to drag some answers out of him or even a portion of an answer, but his lips were sealed tight. Not even a few good kisses could loosen them up. He would not be revealing anything.