Chapter Seventy Four – The Early Bird is Annoying

Olivia's curiosity was driving her crazy. After Ben had given her the tiniest taste of what they would be doing for Valentine's Day she'd been desperate for more. She'd been trying to wheedle information out of him for days but to no avail. All he'd kept telling her was not to make plans from six o'clock on. It was getting to be exceedingly frustrating. She could pry information out of anybody. At least she could normally. Somehow Ben was managing to resist all of her efforts this time. He was telling her absolutely nothing, and she wanted to strangle him.

Ben was simply getting a kick out of her constant questioning and frustration. He'd long ago lost count of how many times he'd told her, "Just don't make plans." Each time he'd said it, it got funnier. She glared at him like she was going to eat him for breakfast. Or lunch or dinner depending on the time of day. Even so, it hadn't tempted Ben to reveal anything at all. His lips were zipped, and she would simply have to deal with that.

The morning of the fourteenth moved by at the speed of a glacier. She'd still been attempting to pester Ben about his plans, but he hadn't been answering texts after the first one. It only ramped her up higher. Unable to sit down for a second, Olivia spent most of her time walking Suvi. They wandered the city endlessly, and every time they passed a nice restaurant Olivia couldn't help wondering if that was the one Ben was taking her to that evening. Her stomach was in such a knot of anticipation that she was barely able to eat anything for lunch. By two o'clock Olivia gave up on her wandering and headed for home. It would give her nearly four hours to get ready, which was a rather ridiculous amount of time, but she couldn't stand waiting any longer.

When she got home she filled Suvi's water bowl and headed into her closet. She'd been so worried about where Ben was taking her that she hadn't even considered what to wear. Maybe it was a good thing that she'd given herself so much time to get ready. She started pulling dresses out of the closet and laying them across the bed. By the time Suvi came in to see what she was doing there were five dresses draped over her quilt. Olivia turned from her contemplation of the outfits to smile at Suvi.

"Which one do you like?"

He yawned and plopped down on the ground, apparently unimpressed.

"Gee, thanks."

She didn't think any of her options were that bad. In fact, she was pretty sure they were all good options. The question was which one was the best. Wanting to wear something that fit with Valentine's colors, she decided on the red dress. Once she had it one however, she scowled, pulled it back off, and tossed it in a heap on the floor. The same thing happened to the floral print and the pale pink one, though she at least put the pink one back on the bed for further consideration. Olivia couldn't help feeling slightly frustrated. Maybe if she knew where they were going it would help her decide. Only Ben wasn't likely to tell her even if he did answer his texts this time. There was the possibility he could help her decide anyway though. She grabbed her phone and typed in the text.

Since you won't tell me where we are going, will you at least help me decide what I should be wearing?

Obviously he was still reading all of her texts even if he wasn't answering them because she received a reply almost right away. It said, "This should help" and was accompanied by a song. Why did she get the feeling it was not going to help? She had to play it anyway just in case she might be wrong. Bruno Mars' "Just the Way You Are" was exactly what she'd expected in terms of help. It wasn't. At all. Despite its lack of helpfulness it was a rather sweet song. If she hadn't been so annoyed with not being able to decide what to wear she would have enjoyed it a lot more. She shot him back a quick message.

If that was meant to tell me that anything is fine then you are incredibly unhelpful.

Ben replied with a laughing face emoticon. It definitely didn't make Olivia laugh. Rather it made her even more pissed off. She seriously wanted to strangle him. Since that wasn't an option she searched through her phone for the right icon to respond with. It took a while, but she finally found one that looked dead and sent it to him. If he wasn't going to help, she would have to go back to her dresses and figure it out herself. Olivia looked back down at the light pink dress and considered putting it back on again. That wasn't necessary however. Before going back to the one she'd already tried she pulled her last Valentine's colored choice over her head and zipped it up. She smoothed the magenta dress down and immediately knew it was the one. It fit beautifully, and she loved how it made her feel. When she looked in the mirror she felt worthy of going out on a date for Valentine's Day.

Well, at least that was one thing accomplished. It was the hardest part done too. Doing her hair and make-up would take longer, but wouldn't require as much difficult decision making. Choosing accessories, while potentially challenging, shouldn't be as hard as the dress. She would be fine.

Despite the rather drawn out process thanks to difficult decisions Olivia finished getting ready early. She stood in front of the mirror evaluating the final result. For the first time since her accident she'd curled her hair. It had finally been long enough, and she couldn't help lightly running her fingers through the loose curls. With one final touch of gold hoop earrings she stepped into the kitchen to check on Suvi. He was almost done with his dinner, and by the time she was ready to go he would be too. She would still get to Ben's place early, but that was fine. Getting ready had kept her occupied, but now that she was done eager anticipation had returned.

When Ben heard the knock on his apartment door he swore. He'd guessed that Olivia would arrive early but he hadn't figured it would be this early. Nothing was completely ready, and he wasn't even dressed yet. Swearing again, he hurried to the door and attempted to come up with a way to hold her off. When he opened the door he carefully positioned himself so she wouldn't be able to see inside.

"I'm pretty sure our reservation was a six not a little after five."

And by a little he meant three minutes.

"It was. I'm a little early," she admitted.

"You should go take Suvi for a walk then so I can get dressed."

"I don't mind sitting on your couch and waiting."

Ben managed not to growl, but just barely. He couldn't let her in yet, and she wasn't making it easy.

"You wouldn't mind, but I bet Suvi would much rather go for a walk."

"That's what we've been doing all day. He's fine."

"Humor me, Olivia. Please?" Ben pleaded.

Olivia eyed him curiously and eventually nodded her agreement. The second she closed the door, Ben raced off. They wouldn't be going out but staying in for Valentine's Day dinner. While the meal didn't need to be completely finished when she came back, the set up did need to be done. Done and perfect. He got dressed as quickly as possible and hurriedly set the table. China plates, cloth napkins, candles, and a vase of pink and yellow roses. When he was done with the table he checked the food quickly. After turning the heat down on the vegetables he stirred the sauce. Everything still looked good. He was still working on the food when Olivia knocked again. Once more he wasn't ready, but at least this time there wasn't as much to do.

"Coming!" he called out.

Instead of going to the door though he scrambled to light the candles and turn on music. Finally done he darted to the door and pulled it open.

"Sorry."

"It's okay," Olivia said with a smile. "You just better not keep me waiting much longer. I don't think I could stand it."

She frowned and suddenly realized she had all of the information she needed. Soft music was playing, and a fantastic mouth-watering aroma filled the air. They weren't going out anywhere at all; they were staying in for a private dinner. Ben saw it in her eyes when everything clicked.

"What are you cooking? It smells amazing."

"Because it is amazing. Come in and see."

Olivia followed him inside and hung up her coat. Ben had already returned to the kitchen and had his back turned while she released Suvi from his leash and vest. With Suvi content Olivia headed into the kitchen to join Ben and get a better look at the source of the delicious smell. She poked her head over the stove and took a deep breath.

"What smells so good?"

"The sau…" He had turned to face her as he'd answered and had gotten a full glimpse of her for the first time that night. "Wow…"

"Ben, wow is not a food."

His mouth dropped open but no words came out. He floundered briefly like a fish out of water.

"Just wow."

Olivia smiled. A touch of warmth came to her cheeks and glittering light danced through her eyes. Wow was pretty much the response she'd been hoping for when she'd gotten ready. Apparently she'd chosen the right dress.

"We've been over this."

"You look… amazing. No, that's not even a good enough word. Fabulous. Gorgeous. Like you fell from heaven. Only, you know, better since you don't look wind-blown."

"You're terrible."

"Totally awful," he confirmed as he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her.

Olivia returned the kiss and then lightly kissed his cheek. It put her lips closer to his ear, which was perfect.

"You still haven't answered my question," she whispered.

"Steak with mushroom sauce. We're also having mashed potatoes, broccoli and cauliflower, and wine."

"It looks amazing."

"It'll taste amazing too. Now, how do you like your steak?"

O . o . O . o . O

Ben had been right. The entire meal had tasted even better than it had smelled. Every bite had nearly melted in her mouth, and there had been such a mix of flavors. She had no idea how he'd managed to coax all of that out. Everything had been perfect, right down to the napkins.

Olivia set her fork down on her plate and smiled softly at him.

"Your ability to cook still surprises me. That's the best meal I've had outside of a restaurant."

"I'm glad you liked it."

"I liked everything. Tonight was perfect."

"It's not over yet either."

She tipped her head to the side causing her hair to fall away from her face and wave gently. It only made her more gorgeous. Ben wanted to reach out and run his fingers through it, but he was too far away. Olivia noticed his distraction and gently called him back.

"Ben."

"Hm?"

"You said it wasn't over yet."

"Oh, right. We still have dessert, and you're going to help me make it."

Olivia's eyes widened.

"I'm what? Oh on. Don't go ruining the evening by making me cook something."

"Come on, Detective. Don't tell me you don't want to light something on fire."

He stood and pulled open a cabinet to get a lighter. When he turned back around he waggled the lighter at her and grinned. Olivia snatched it out of his hand with a smirk. She had no idea what a lighter had to do with dessert, but it didn't matter.

"What are we setting on fire?"

"Dessert."

Olivia looked confused and could only watch as Ben pulled out a few bowls from the fridge and ice cream from the freezer. He followed those up with a bottle of brandy.

"Flaming cherries jubilee," he explained when she still looked confused.

Olivia laughed. She'd heard of the dessert before but had never eaten it. As far as she knew it was a rather high class dessert, definitely not something she would expect Ben to make.

"You know how to make flaming cherries jubilee?" she asked skeptically.

"I didn't. Thankfully I have two brothers with bottomless stomachs. They were more than willing to eat every failed attempt I made no matter how bad it was."

"I'm sure they enjoyed that."

"They did, and I got what I needed out of it. A perfect dessert recipe for the end of a perfect night with my perfect girlfriend. And don't contradict me about the perfect thing. To me you are perfect."

"Okay. I won't."

Today, for him, she could pretend that she was perfect.