Hi everyone! I am back!
1. Welcome to my new short story - this will be updated (at this stage unless further notice) weekly until it is finished. I hope that you love it and that you will show me some love in the comments OR ELSE... no, but joking ...sort of. I hope you like it. This will probably be around 5 or 6 chapters in total. (I call it a short story, but itll probably end up being 100k words lol)
2. This is a story born of a private request made from a friend and I really dug the idea.
3. Yes. Yes I am going to finish New York Minute, but I am currently invested in some short stories because its all my brain can cope with and I will get back to the others soon, promise.
Enjoy and dont be scared to tell me what you think (unless youre going to demand me to update with absolutely nothing else to say, and then Ill be big mad, that's so rude).
Trevor glanced at the paperwork on Olivia's dining table and shrugged, looking back at her. "I think it's fine," he said with sincerity, "don't worry so much. Sheila isn't going anywhere, I promise you."
She sighed. "I'm trying not to worry," she added.
He reached across the table and grabbed her hand, curling his fingers around her palm. "I promise, I've already spoken to the program that she's working and she's doing okay but she knows she committed a crime and she is aware that based on the fact that she attempted to kidnap your son, Liv, she will never be allowed access to him again, I promise."
"Thanks," she replied softly, grasping his hand.
It was new and she was liking where things were headed, but getting time together was sometimes hard and not to mention that, but Trevor seemed to have the pace of a snail. "I'm sorry, you were here for a coffee, let me get you one…"
"No, its okay… just relax, we don't have to have every bit of time spent as an event, right?," he told her gently, "can't we just … hang out and talk and enjoy each other's company? I don't need you to entertain me."
The everything yet nothing between them was starting to vex him and needed something to reassure him that things were headed in the right direction. There had been so many dates and standing dinner or coffee invites and still after a few months, physically, not much had transpired.
He was happy to move at her pace and didn't necessarily need her to want to rip his clothes off every time she saw him, but there had to be some intention or some passion for him or else what was the point?
Finally a smile spread across her lips, "I know, I just—" she shrugged, "you just make me a lil nervous still."
Trevor gave a good-natured chuckle, "Look at you," his lips turned in to the makings of a crooked, adoring smile, "you are so sweet," he murmured.
There as no official timeline of things, that wasn't really how either of them conducted things in a relationship — just a lot of casual, low-key time together. And eventually on one of their last dates, by Olivia's sheer will alone, Trevor slipped his hand in to hers while walking her home and motioned to kiss her at the stoop of her apartment.
It had been awkward and clumsy but every bit of her was on fire with feelings. It had been a long time since she had been kissed or since someone had held her hand or shown her any type of affection. He had attempted a second time on the same night to kiss her and it had been perfect.
She stood on the step above his and matched his height. He took both of her hands and leaned in for a soft, warm, kiss and it didn't end there. He pulled away. He didn't try to manipulate her in to inviting him up or even suggesting anything as such. He simply let his hands fall from hers to her waist. She could feel the tips of his fingers caressing the small of her back as he held her, making her feel tiny in his large, gentle hands.
He gave her butterflies and made her feel beautiful with the way that his piercing, pale-green orbs searched her face with that lovely crooked smile that adorned his mouth.
And he was delightfully handsome and proper; so gentlemanly and respectful — something that she had never quite encountered in a romantic sense.
From then on they constantly texted, she invited him for dinner at her apartment during the week sometimes and they talked every night before bed on the phone but despite a few stolen kisses when her son wasn't around, there hadn't been much chance for too much physical action between them and Trevor had started to wonder if maybe they'd both missed the boat, if maybe the timing was off.
Back at the table, he had come over, imposing himself for a coffee, needing to talk. It turned out that she needed to as well.
He threaded his fingers through hers and glanced at her - her cheeks were a little flush and she looked bashful from his compliment, "Liv, I think… we need to get some things out in the open," he spoke directly. She went to withdraw her hand, assuming the worst as always.
He hung on to it. "Can we move away from the table? Maybe somewhere a little more comfortable?"
"Trevor if you're going to tell me someth-"
"Liv," he stopped her knowing that it was within her nature to expect the worst, "I'm not telling you anything bad, I just have something on my mind…"
She wordlessly got up from her chair and guided him in to the living room, motioning for him to sit down. He took a seat on her comfortable, weathered couch that had seen better days since Noah had arrived.
She went to take a seat next to him, but he surprised her and pulled her in to his lap. She sat a little stiffly, unsure of how she could ever possibly relax while simultaneously trying to play like it hadn't been this long since she'd been physically close to someone.
It felt intimate and unfamiliar and it made her heart thud against the cavity of her chest.
He leaned forward in his seat and slid his arms around her waist. "Why are you so… afraid of me?," he wondered, feeling slightly disappointed but mostly concerned. He always felt worried about scaring her off, concerned that he might say the wrong thing or read the room incorrectly, so he refrained from making the first move on most occasions, but was starting to get the sense that she wasn't confident enough to take the first step, to touch him first, to kiss him first, to even hug him at times.
Olivia found it hard to look him in the eye.
"I'm not afraid of you," she replied finally, daring to meet his gaze, "I'm not," she added. "You're the last person I feel like I need to be afraid of."
"So… what's wrong?," he pressed, feeling a little relieved. "Please, just be honest, I'm not going to bite."
"I'm just— it's just been awhile and I'm probably a little skittish in all truth," Olivia confessed, "it's nothing you're doing wrong, its all me," she added.
"Do you want to talk about it?," he asked. She felt his large hand at the small of her back, gently grazing his fingers up and down absently, comforting her, it was the small show of affection that really did her in; it was one of her most intimate spaces on her body, but it felt natural all the same. She almost had to recalibrate her brain to stop it from short circuiting at the feel of his fingertips.
"Not right now," she shook her head. "You wanted to say something…"
"Well firstly, if you're not comfortable here on my lap, you can move, I was honestly just looking for any excuse to hold you," he admitted with a little laugh.
Olivia managed a little laugh and it didn't go unnoticed that she seemed to relax a little almost instantly. "Remember we talked about getting a little closer?," he reminded her, "the other night?"
She nodded.
It was a bunch of text messages that were flirty on the surface but after they went back and forth for awhile, Olivia mentioned how much she missed him and he had texted that he couldn't wait to hold her in his arms. She agreed, reminding him of their first kiss
"Yeah, if I remember… you said you didn't want to leave it so long before kissing me again."
"That's true," Trevor replied. "I don't want to leave it very much longer at all, it's been far too long."
Olivia smiled at him; she felt a little awkward but suddenly there was a little electricity in the air — or maybe it was just her anticipation after waiting impatiently for weeks for him to just bite the bullet and get the courage to kiss her.
He sat forward, his hand still on the small of her back. "You can … lean in to me if you like," he offered, trying his best to break the ice."
She shifted a little, swinging her legs over his "sorry, I hope this is comfortable for you too," she grimaced mockingly.
"It is, very much so," he replied, not taking his eyes off of her, "so don't worry about me, worry about you… get more comfortable if you need."
So she did, she leaned her body in to his broad, rock-hard chest and slid an arm around his shoulder, circling the other one around him too. He pulled her back against him as he relaxed on to her sofa.
He felt relief; it was immediately more comfortable. Olivia was momentarily taken by just how good he smelled and how beautiful his eyes were when she was this close to him. She could smell his skin and see every beautiful line in his chiseled face. He had been growing a short beard and it made him look refined and perhaps a little more mature; sexier than usual.
"That's better," Trevor remarked, leaning his head forward to meet her lips.
She let her eyes fall closed as their mouths met. It was a soft, chaste kiss proceeded by another — a second attempt on his behalf and this time Olivia relished the way their mouths aligned perfectly.
Still, there was no heavy make-out session, but he was trying to be respectful but also, he was aware that her son was due to walk in the door any second. "More of this please," she whispered, "less of the awkwardness."
"We're doing this weird dance," he started, reaching and pushing her thick locks from falling back in to her face, "of being so polite that neither of us are bold enough to initiate any physical contact and it makes me feel like…" he paused, "either you don't like me as much as I like you — or you need me to take the first step because it's a little difficult for you," he suggested.
Olivia could feel his light touch scraping the shell of her ear while he stroked her hair. It made the goosebumps rise to the surface of her flesh. In her plain white shirt and her arms exposed, she thought he might notice and realised how touch-starved she had been and that a simple arm around her and a deliberate show of affection was enough to alight an intense physical response.
She thought about how his mouth was at the perfect angle to make contact with her throat and how it might feel if his hand slipped beneath her shirt at the back, his fingers tracing her spine and causing her back to arch.
Olivia needed to shut it all down. She gave her head a little shake. "I really like you," she hesitated, "but I guess relationships seem like such unfamiliar terrain these days, you know? I have so many things to consider; Noah, most importantly and —" she paused, "getting monumentally hurt," she laughed in spite of herself and she felt his hand snaking around to the back of her neck, caressing the baby hairs at her nape.
She almost shivered.
"I'm not going to hurt you," he replied.
"Ha," she managed a smile, letting her eyes meet with his, lingering over his devastating good looks. "That's what they all say."
He shrugged, "I'm happy to go at your pace, Liv, however long you need to figure that I'm not here to play games, the ball is in your court, but while you do that, I may need to kiss you or hold you from time-to-time because … it feels good to have you in my arms."
"It does feel pretty good, all this talking about it and it never happening, it was starting to wreck my brain a little," Olivia confessed.
"Honestly, I know you have a past and I know things have been hard. I wanted you to set the pace and make the first move, I am trying to be kind and gentle with your heart."
She smiled at the wonderful man; the gentle giant with the heart of gold, "I am the worst at making the first move, that should definitely be left to you and I guess if I need to stop you, I will."
"Okay," he replied simply, "I'll make the moves and you tell me if I'm being too intense or if you need space and I will back off."
"Thank you, Trevor, for being patient and kind…" she let her hand drop to his shoulder and dared herself to reach up, to take his cheek in her palm and caress the salt-and-peppered beard that seemed to be getting longer each time they saw one another.
She swept her thumb across the bristles on his cheek and felt him nestle his face in to her hand with the hint of a smile crossing his lips, grateful for her show off affection. "Of course," he murmured.
Her heart danced when he turned slightly to kiss her palm. It was such a tiny gesture, but a show of his gentleness. He held her gaze until she found herself smiling softly at him. She had really struck gold if he was everything that he presented himself to be.
She took a slow deep breath in and leaned in to him, initiating a kiss, however brief it might have been, it was a step in the right direction and Trevor welcomed it. As she pulled away, he pulled her back in and recaptured it, letting the tip of his tongue taste hers. A throaty moan made its way from the back of her throat sending a bolt of feeling right through to his pelvis.
The front door opened, interrupting them both. Olivia shot up out of Trevor's lap, almost falling back on top of him. Her little boy came bounding down the hall, "Mommmmmmmm!," he called, "Mommy!"
"I'm home, sweetie," she called back, making her way to the end of the hall to come face-to-face with her four-year old who had spent the day with his nanny. Noah threw himself at his Mom and she swept him up in to a hug. "I missed you today, Mommy!," he informed her.
"I missed you so much too, sweetheart," she kissed him on the cheek and gave him a squeeze. "Thank you so much for today, Katja," she thanked her nanny, "I know it was such short notice, you're the best."
"You're welcome," the tall, blond nanny replied with her thick Baltic accent, "we had fun. Tomorrow I'm taking him to school and picking him up, yeah?"
Olivia nodded, "Yeah, and then I'm off, on leave for two weeks, so I probably won't need much help and if I do and you're busy, please feel free to say no."
"It's not a problem, Liv, you have the days I am unavailable, any other time will probably be fine."
"Okay, I'll give you plenty of notice. Noah, what do you say to Katja?," she prompted her son who clung to her.
"Thank you for playing with me today," he told his nanny, resting his head on his mother's shoulders with his arms circled around her neck.
"You're welcome baby, I'll see you tomorrow." Katja waved at the mother and son duo and let herself out.
"Guess what?" Olivia turned to her son after locking the door.
"What?," she smiled and kissed his forehead.
"Trevor is here to see us, would you like to go and say hello?"
"Oooooh!" Noah's big blue eyes lit up and he wriggled down from his mother's hold. He ran in to the dining room looking for the man who was often at their house — the man who had showed him how to draw cats, who sometimes indulged his silliness or watched movies with him and who had given him a baseball glove so that they could play catch at the park sometimes.
"Noah!," she smiled brightly hearing Trevor meet her son's excitement. She knew already Noah would have thrown his little body at Trevor for a hug.
She grabbed Noah's bag that he had dropped at the floor by her feet and took it with her to the kitchen and went to the living room and caught the sight of Noah sitting on Trevor's lap where she had just been excitedly telling him about his day.
Trevor looked up briefly when he noticed Liv and grinned at her. "And then we got an ice cream and I told Katja that I wanted chocolate but there wasn't any chocolate so I had to get rainbow but rainbow isn't my favourite anymore," he rambled. Trevor was nodding emphatically with a smile, listening to how fast Olivia's son could jabber on about his day.
"Honey," she interrupted him, "you're making our heads spin, slow down," she sat beside them both.
"But I liked the rainbow," he continued, slowing his pace a little, "so Katja said next time we can go to an ice cream store that has chocolate and I can eat it that time but for today we had to take the rainbow but its okay, it was good. I had chocolate sprinkles on it and everything."
"Wow, that seems like a very tough situation," Trevor remarked, "you handled it like a trooper, high five!" He held up his hand and Noah slapped it, grateful for the man's approval.
"Thanks Trev!" Noah said, giggling. "Mommy what are we gonna have for dinner? You said I could have a treat tonight because you had to go to work today!," he reminded her.
She wrapped her arms around her son's torso and pulled him in to her lap and blew a raspberry on his cheek, "you never forget, do you!?" He started to expel fits of giggles as Trevor watched Olivia, the most wonderful mother cause her child to laugh loudly and happily, begging for mercy. "You know," she smiled at him, "I wish you would remember to pick up your toys as well as you remember what sometimes foods we might get for dinner."
"But I like when we have a takeout dinner treat…"
"I know you do," she replied, "well, maybe you should ask Trevor if he would like to stay for dinner tonight," she prompted her son, winking at the guy she hoped things would work out with.
"Trev, do you want to have a special take out treat with me tonight?"
Trevor grinned, "Oh, thank you for asking, that would be so great, I would love to. What do you think we might have?," he wondered.
Noah looked at his Mom, "Mommy, what will we have as our treat?"
"Well… we could have Shake Shack or we could have Taco Bell or … McDonalds, I'm going to let you decide tonight, you get to make a big grown up decision for Mommy and Trev."
"Oh wow," Trevor remarked, "Mom's given you all the power, what do you think you'll decide? Burgers? Tacos? What do you like best?"
Noah thought for a moment, smirking at both of the adults giving him their undivided attention, he tapped his chin thoughtfully "hmmm,".
Olivia loved Trevor's interactions with her son, he never spoke to him like he was a baby, he spoke to him like an equal while still managing to be age-appropriate and posing things to him that made him think.
"I want a burger or some nuggets," Noah told Trevor.
"Oh that sounds yummy. Do you prefer McDonalds, Wendys or Shake Shack?"
Noah looked to his Mom, not being able to remember which was which. "You like cheeseburgers, don't you babe?" He nodded. "Yeah, I like cheeseburgers."
"Okay so that leaves McDonalds or Shake Shack," Trevor told him.
"Which one do you like the best?" Noah asked.
"Mmmm I'm not sure, they're both good," Trevor lied. He didn't want to influence Noah's decision-making. "What about Mom, what do you think Mom likes the best?"
"Mom likes Shake Shack," she spoke up.
"Mommy, you always get me what I like to eat so I want to get what you like too. Trevor do you like Shake Shack too?"
Trevor smiled and nodded, "sure Noah. I like Shake Shack."
Olivia could have burst at the seams. Her son was so sweet in all of his short four years. She just loved him with every tiny fibre of her body. She gave him a little squeeze and kissed his temple. "I love you my little sweet heart."
/
"Trevor what animal does my hamburger come from?" Noah asked innocently as he picked at the last quarter of his burger.
"It comes from a cow," Trevor answered him, his arms crossed on top of the table. "Do you know which animal that is?"
Noah nodded, "Yeah, Mooo!" Trevor grinned at the little boy who giggled at his own noise. Trevor always felt lighter for hanging out with Olivia and her son. Noah made him remember how unserious life could be but also how curious and undiscovered life still was and it was getting to see the world through a new lens at times.
Olivia came up behind the tall, handsome man who was answering all the questions that her son usually fielded at her endlessly during dinner time. She placed a drink down in front of him and rested her hands upon his shoulders. "I hope it's okay," she told him, "I mean, the way that you like."
Trevor reached up for Olivia's hand and covered it, tilting his head up to smile at her. "I'm sure it will be fine, love."
She almost couldn't resist him. She let go of his shoulders and placed her hands on either sides of his face. She kissed his forehead, letting her fingers scrape against his scalp as she pulled away reluctantly.
She went back to the kitchen and got herself a glass of red wine and took a seat beside him and together they picked at the fries left over from her dinner.
"Did you know that Trevor owns some cows, honey?," she told her son, "he owns a farm and has some cows and chickens and horses."
"And pigs," Trevor added.
"Really?" Noah asked, "is that pretend?" He looked from his Mom back to Trevor, trying to determine whether or not it was a trick.
"Really, I promise. I can show you some photos after you finish your dinner."
"Oooh, can I see the cowies in real life?" Noah asked. "Is your farm at your house in the city?"
"Trevor's farm is a long way away," Liv explained to her son. "But he lives in apartment in Manhattan near us most of the time."
"Who feeds your animals?" Noah asked, "your kids?"
Trevor chuckled at Noah's innocence and his genuine cluelessness. "No, I don't have any kids, Noah. There are two houses on the farm, one of them belongs to my brother Joey and his wife and their three kids and we have someone who comes in to feed the animals and take care of them when I can't be there."
"Does your brother feed them too?"
"No, they are my animals so they're my responsibility, so I pay someone to help me."
"I have Katja who helps my Mommy, do you have a nanny for your animals?"
Olivia laughed but Trevor shrugged. "Kind of, I guess you could say it's similar." Trevor took a sip of the whisky and rye that she had made him. He reached for her hand as soon as she pushed the plate away. She enclosed hers around his and they shared a smile.
"Maybe you guys should come and visit sometime," he shrugged, "there's plenty of room, there's even a guest house…"
Olivia smiled, "Maybe…"
Noah looked from his mother to Trevor. "I wanna see the cows and Trev, do you ride on your horsies?"
"I do," he nodded.
"Could I ride on the back of one of your horses with you?"
"Sure, if Mom says it's okay."
"Well, maybe one day," Olivia replied, "you should eat up your burger, honey, it's getting late and you still need to have a bath."
Shortly after dinner, Trevor decided it was his cue to go. Noah wouldn't seem to settle down given that there was a visitor in his home; a novelty and he was aware that Olivia had to get up early for work.
She couldn't help but to feel a little deflated that he was going so soon, that he wasn't waiting for time alone with her — but maybe hanging out with her son could be a little too much for him at times. It was those thoughts that made her want to jump two steps back.
She sighed and downed the rest of the liquid in her wine glass and took it to the sink before heading to bed.
/
"Why did you leave last night the second I suggested that I put Noah to bed? Sometimes I feel like either my son freaks you out or you are unsure of being alone with me or unsure if whether or not you want to progress this thing. I wish you would just be blunt and tell me what you want from me because at this point, I am constantly guessing and its starting to upset me. You said all that wonderful stuff yesterday afternoon but you bolted just when I'd put Noah to bed."
Her finger hovered over the send button as she looked up toward her apartment block. She was going to love doing absolutely nothing for two weeks. It was going to be her first holiday in years. She had nothing planned except some time with Noah but she was going to enjoy sleeping in and going to bed late and maybe the chance to see Trevor if that was still a thing.
Fuck it, she thought as she hit send. She had nothing to lose and didn't understand why she was acting so frightened all the time; if he broke her heart, so what? Just another mason jar of jagged smithereens to add to the collection.
She made the rest of the walk home, silencing her phone so and dropping it in her handbag.
She got inside and got changed immediately in to a pair of her most comfortable pyjama pants and poured herself a generous gin. She sat on the couch and enjoyed the silence of not having kids' shows blaring on the TV and the ability to relax since Katja had opted to tidy up without being asked if she minded, Olivia loved her nanny and where often, she loved to help with dinners and laundry and in any way that she could make her bosses life a little easier.
She picked up her phone to have a scroll through and saw that Trevor had tried to call twice. There was also a long text. She opened it up, feeling suddenly very nervous.
"Hi, love. I am genuinely shocked that you're questioning my feelings for you but that's on me, maybe I haven't been clear enough and have left too much room for confusion. I left last night because Noah wasn't settling down and I didn't want to make it harder for you to get him off to sleep, plus you had to start at six… trust me, every minute spent with you is heaven and I really have to tell myself to be fair and responsible when it comes to Noah, so I peel myself away from you with great reluctance… I'm always sad when I have to leave, or when you can't stay. Being around you is always enough and everything at once, I can't believe I made you feel otherwise. So, you're officially on time off, huh? Take some time to yourself and let me know when you feel like talking. Xo"
Olivia grinned to herself and felt like a weight had been removed from her shoulders.
She picked scrolled down to his contact and tapped the button to call him.
After a few rings she heard his deep voice, full of voice greet her. "Here's the voice of my dreams…" he chuckled.
Olivia laughed too, "Sorry for freaking out," she murmured sheepishly.
"Absolutely do not apologise," he insisted, "you were feeling a little insecure and I didn't do well to make you realise that I wasn't leaving to get away from you or Noah, I was just…" he paused, "I don't know, I guess I don't want to overstep any time you have with your son, I can only imagine how precious it is."
She smiled to herself and breathed in deeply, breathing out the swirl of butterflies that filled her up each time they spoke and she heard his sexy, bass-y voice on the other end of the line.
"Its precious of course, but my time with you is also precious and I feel like… there's been so many dates but no real time with us, you know? Dates are so much fun and I love that we can talk, but then there's all that mundane stuff in between, not everything is going to be an experience with me when Noah is involved and …. I do sometimes want you to be part of those moments too — if this is going to work, I guess."
"The deeply mundane, the exciting, the coffee runs, the time spent texting or on the phone — all of that is precious to me, I don't care how we spend our time, as long as I get to hang out with you and I know that Noah comes with you as a package and I'm never put out by him, so please don't ever think that. Your kid is the best."
"Thanks Trev… so since I've got two weeks off, I was wondering if we could spend some time together this week…"
"Uh," he hesitated, "I actually have to go upstate to the farm,"
Olivia's heart dropped — it seemed that despite all of his flowery words, his actions weren't matching up. "Oh, I see."
"No," he said quickly, "I know how that sounds… but I've got some cows ready to calf and there's been an issue with foxes— they keep taking the chickens and its … its really barbaric what they do to them, Liv, but I don't want to chance them getting to my girl when she's trying to give birth, I would be really devastated — they can smell blood from miles away."
"Okay," Olivia said simply, wondering why his brother who lived on the land wasn't able to take care of it."
"I know it sounds like an excuse but Joey is so awful at anything like that and he also just didn't want to have to take responsibility for the animals, that was our deal of me setting up the hobby part of it. He's taking care of the crops and the vegetable patches and … this is my area, my idea — he really didn't want animals…"
"Okay," Olivia said again.
"I was actually thinking," he began, "Noah really was excited by the idea of seeing some cows and piglets, why don't you guys come up?"
"No, I don't think that's a good idea," Olivia said quickly.
"Why not?," he pushed, "you don't even have to stay in my house if that's too weird for you, you can stay in the guest house. My niece and nephews are around Noah's age so he will have other kids to play with and they're really good kids, I can show him around a farm and he could help me feed the animals, we could go swimming in my pool, it's massive and Joey is still modifying it for the kids," he rambled, "I mean, that's if it's hot enough… I just think it'd be a good chance for us to spend some time together — the three of us. When Noah goes to bed, we could hang out and sit outside by a fire and chat… and cuddle."
Olivia was trying very hard to resist how idyllic and wonderful the adventure sounded. Fire side cuddles was really speaking to her.
"And," he continued, "if you needed to spend time just you and Noah, there are a thousand things you can do together. You guys could pick some fruit, go on walks, go swimming on your own, whatever you want…"
There was an air of silence and he could tell that Olivia was starting to reconsider her immediate no.
"Let me show you that I am not just making up a trip away to avoid you. I want to spend time with you. We'll be without distractions, without city noise, in total silence and enjoying nature and each other's company together with Noah. Let me show you, Liv."
She let out a breath and it did not go unnoticed. Trevor listened to the sound of her steady breathing with a smile slowly forming on his lips. "Come on, say yes…" he coaxed her. "If there is any part of you that wants to say yes, say yes. I promise I will make it worth your while."
She chuckled, "Okay," she murmured almost inaudibly. "I guess, sure, why not?"
Trevor grinned. "Wow, seriously? Ok great!" He gave an awkward laugh, "Okay so do you want to come up with me or …?"
She thought for a moment, "Mmm, no I think its better that I bring my own car up if that's okay, just in case Noah doesn't cope well and I can bring him home if he's out of sorts."
"Okay, well I'm heading up tonight, when did you want to come? I'll make sure everything is ready for you."
She couldn't help but to smile, "Umm maybe we'll leave tomorrow, is that okay? Do you need some time to do some stuff there without us buzzing around?"
"No, no," he suddenly felt very antsy and excited, "tomorrow is fine. Its supposed to be kind of hot so make sure you guys bring some summer clothes but it can get cold at night…"
"Okay," Olivia nodded despite knowing that he couldn't see her on the other side of the phone.
"Okay, okay okay," he teased, "you're so sweet, Liv… who would have thought that Captain Olivia Benson is so sweet and so shy!"
She laughed lightly, "stop it…"
"What if I come over and we go through a list of stuff you might like to pack? Or if you're busy, I can text you."
"No, no… come over," she told him, "I am busy with a gin and tonic though, aren't you working?"
"From home today, but I would love to play hooky for the rest of the day and come and have a drink or two with you for a few hours before I come back and head off."
"Sounds good, wear something casual, I wanna see what Trevor Langan wears when he is hanging out at home," she giggled a little girlishly. It made him smile to hear the playfulness in her tone.
"Okay, but I might have to get changed at your place, I don't wear sweats outside of my front door unless I'm running. Is that going to be a problem?"
Olivia laughed at his rigid rules. "Of course, should I put on a dress in case I open my front door and the street might see my casual clothes?," she teased.
Trevor laughed, "ha ha - very funny, quite frankly Benson, you'd look hot in a potato sack, so…"
"Yeah right… okay go grab your casual clothes and for the record I am in mine, so hurry up."
He chuckled, "Firstly, I need to stop imagining you in a casual attire because the level of casualness is left very open to interpretation and secondly, I'll leave in about 15. What time is Noah back from daycare?"
Olivia looked at her watch, "Around four unless Katja takes him to the park which she does sometimes but she will text."
"Okay, see you soon then,"
/
Trevor came down the hall wearing a pair of pair of dusty blue sweats that were on the cusp of looking grey. Olivia glanced at him from his bare feet to the crown of his head; he was beautiful.
He wore a white v-neck undershirt and she couldn't help but to adore the way he'd grown his hair out over the months. It was long and wavy with lines of silver streaking through it and his angled bone structure was covered by his beard that she had noticed he had tidied up and trimmed a little.
He pulled his glasses on and it was all Olivia could do not to openly drool. He made stomach swirl with feeling — she wanted to be closer to him but she knew when he was close that wasn't enough still. It had been months in the making but something ticked over the night before — a step toward something and despite her fears she was hopeful.
"Is this casual enough for you?," he asked holding his hands up in an offering, as if he was only dressing down for her — but the truth was, the idea of getting to hang out casually with Olivia was just another step in the right direction. He let his eyes settle over her beautiful face with a slightly cheeky smile; her long dark hair held together at the back of her head with some kind of flimsy parrot clip. She wore tights that showed off her shapely calves with an old over-sized Led Zeppelin shirt that kept falling off one shoulder.
He could see her bra strap, but he reminded himself he wasn't 16 and he should quit focusing on it.
She still had make up on from the day at work and looked absolutely gorgeous. And, Noah was still at daycare so really, there was not a lot of self-control left within him to stop himself from engulfing her and ravishing her as she reclined back in to the corner of her black low-backed couch which, truthfully wasn't very comfortable for someone as tall as him, but he was sure it wouldn't have mattered once he was able to lay down and stretch out.
"Yes," she looked up at him as he towered over her, "very…" she paused as he felt her eyes appraise him from head to toe and back up to his eyes again before clearing her throat, "very nice…"
He couldn't help but to grin at her, the slight crinkle at the corners of his eyes seemed to make his smile contagious. "Why do I feel so fucking awkward?," she complained as she sat up.
Trevor laughed, "I don't know, nervous energy, maybe?," he offered. "Maybe… I make you nervous?"
"I thiiiiink," she began, "I think that maybe I like you a lot and I don't want to mess anything up."
He knew immediately as she let out a peel of giggles, that she was actually a little tipsy. Her cheeks were a warm hue of rose and she was more forward than she usually was.
"Olivia Benson, tipsy on a Tuesday afternoon," he shook his head slowly with the smile still adorning his thin, pale-pink lips.
"I am very not tipsy," she replied as he took a seat beside her. "I just feel … relaxed."
"Good, I'm glad you feel relaxed," he replied.
She lifted a glass from the tourist coaster from Italy and passed it to him, "here's your gin and seltzer." She had just come from the kitchen, offering to make him a less-liberal drink.
"Thanks," he smiled, taking it from her and letting his fingers brush over her hand that was damp from the condensation that had collected on the outside of the glass.
"No, but really, I should stop drinking now or else I'll be even more annoying than I already am," she smiled back. "Sorry, I should have slowed down," he realised she was becoming a little insecure from his attempt at teasing.
"No, no… I was only teasing. I just don't think I've encountered you this relaxed, I'm sure that this is probably normal Olivia behaviour when your guard is down. It's actually really nice, so please— if you really want to have another few drinks, don't stop yourself." He took a sip of his own and continued, "this is like, your first holiday in goodness knows how long, you need to enjoy yourself and really take a load off."
She sat forward on the edge of the couch and finished off her third drink. She edged a little closer to him and leaned in close, resting her head against his arm, placing a hand on his thigh. He wasn't expecting it, but he most certainly welcomed it. She lifted her head and gazed at him, her smile was a little sloppy and her eyes had become a slightly dilated but the adoring look warmed him right through.
"Hey…" he greeted her in a low, smokey tone. She blinked slowly. He set his drink back down and lifted an arm to circle around her. "You are so beautiful, Olivia Benson," he spoke slowly and softly as he let his fingers smooth the exposed skin from beneath her t-shirt sleeve, pausing briefly to lift it back over her shoulder as it had fallen down.
Olivia could feel every tiny goosebump stand to attention as his soft fingertips grazed her skin. She longed to feel his lips on hers, she enjoyed being close to him and the way that he smelled and how attractive he was - she could barely stand to function any longer with her need for him to stop dancing around physical contact.
"Trev…" she began, "why don't you want to kiss me or touch me?," she pushed the words from her mouth, letting them float between them until he was able to get over his immediate surprise.
"What are you talking about!?," he asked, shocked. Olivia let go of him and sat up straight with a sinking feeling as though she had just entirely ruined what was a sweet moment between them.
"I feel like…" she shook her head and shrugged, "I don't know, I don't know what to tell you, I can't put my finger on it, but… you hugged me when you came in. You hugged me. You are telling me that I'm beautiful, you're touching my arm, we've been dating casually for awhile and you haven't even tried to get to first base."
Trevor let out a peel of laughter at the absurdity of her remark and also because he felt tense. He wanted to tell her the truth without making her feel bad.
"Don't laugh at me," she glowered at him, disappointed by his immediate reaction.
"Sorry," he apologised quickly. He grabbed for both of her hands and put his arm back around her. "Liv, I'm trying to give you all the space in the world, I'm trying to be so respectful and so open to you wanting to take things slow, that's one of the things you said to me when we started hanging out, you wanted to move slowly."
"All I'm saying is, is if you, the tortoise and the hare were having a race, you'd lose."
He couldn't help but to laugh again. "Oooft, okay, okay… so I don't want to fuck this up, Liv. You are the first woman I've had real feelings for in a very fucking long time, I'm a little scared and nervous and out of touch with how to act around you because you make me feel like I have everything to lose."
She stared at him for a moment, surveying his expression. He sounded sincere, there was not part of him that never sounded like he was just saying all the right things… but she couldn't help but to wonder what he was playing at,
"I feel like you're holding something back from me…"
"Okay," he removed his arm and took her hands. "Liv, I defended you in court after what happened with Lewis-"
"Uh-uh," she shook her head, "don't…"
"No wait, let me finish."
Olivia pulled her hands from his, "You look at me different, you think I'm fucking branded by him, you are scared of being with me because of what he did…"
"No!," he exclaimed firmly, frustrated. "Please let me finish, don't cut me off, you wanted me to tell you and to be honest with you—"
She couldn't meet his eyes. She crossed her arms, feeling defensive; feeling like what she was about to hear was something similar to what Cassidy had said before he left her forever. She fell silent, feeling defeated.
"Liv, I defended you after Lewis," he started again, "and you were a shell of a person and you had that dick Cassidy treating you badly for so long afterwards and I know that kind of thing takes awhile to heal. I know you ended up with pain and trauma, I'm not an idiot, but if anyone is going to endure and endure despite all of it, it would be you, but then you had Bryan on top of it and you told me how he treated you in the aftermath; like you were foreign to him."
"Don't make me cry, Trevor, why are you bringing this up?"
"Because I don't want to disrespect everything you've told me, we talk and we talk and we talk and I love that we can communicate so openly, but you told me that it was all a lot and that you don't want to just jump in to something physically because after everything, sometimes it can be overwhelming and sometimes a process."
"Okay,"
"So don't get mad at me for trying my very best to respect everything you've told me," he protested. "If you want me to move a little faster, you just have to say, because it's really, really hard trying to date you without wanting to just-" he paused and tightened his lips, stifling the upward turn at the corners of his mouth.
"…Finish that sentence," she commanded in a small voice, daring him to follow through.
"Its just difficult to be around someone that makes me want to melt each time I look at them and not be able to touch and kiss and … stuff and other things," he couldn't help but to smirk at her.
She let out a sigh. "So just do it, and if I protest or tell you its too much, back off, that's all, it doesn't have to be overthought and I feel like I know you well enough now for us to have that familiarity that I could tell you if I'm not ready for something."
He nodded, "of course you could, I wouldn't want you to ever endure anything with me because you felt like you had to."
"Same for you too," she agreed, "tell me, always. I don't like guessing Trevor, that's more of a trigger to me than anything you just brought up."
He wasn't sure if she was being entirely truthful, she could barely stand to say Lewis' name without her voice sound strangled and the way she winced when Cassidy was mentioned said it all.
"So then… get your very, very delicious backside over here, close to me and allow me to kiss your soft, sweet lips," he implored her, trying to take the edge of seriousness away from the conversation that was a little more frank than it had been the afternoon before.
Olivia sidled up close and took his bearded cheeks in her hands. He wrapped both of his arms around her and kissed her meaningfully, his mouth angled comfortably against hers, grabbing her bottom lip between his.
Finally the talking was over and the silence had replaced it. Well, apart from the sound of them kissing.
He felt her moving back slightly and realising that she was pulling him over the top of her so she could relax in to the corner of the couch.
He parted her mouth with his tongue and let a hand slide around until it settled on her waist while he cupped her cheek the way that she held his. He tried to get his mind out of the gutter as she made space for his body to hover over her between her legs.
She moaned softly as she pulled him in to her. It had been far too long since a mouth was firmly locked on hers, a tongue filling it, massaging the soft tissue of her own. She felt the hand on her waist gripping her, his fingers curling around the curve of her hip over the top of her well-worn, distressed band shirt. She felt his other hand slide slowly through her hair, snapping the clip at the back of her head open, letting her long, brown locks tumble down over her shoulders. She wasn't sure what he did with it, but it certainly felt a lot more comfortable than having the sharp edges of the clasp digging in as her head touched the cushion..
She whimpered softly and arched her body in to him while his thumb brushed over the shell of her ear; a spot that always seemed to set her off.
Trevor didn't miss her thigh at his side, raising up as she linked an ankle behind his. He did everything he could not to move a muscle, very aware of his own pelvis against hers, hoping with all of his might that the quick tightening of his pants wouldn't be evident against her. With her fingers running along each individual node on his spine lightly, sending him a little crazy, he wasn't sure he would be successful.
She may have wanted him to make the first move, but he was sure that it wasn't the time for him to get too physical when he wasn't entirely sure what level of drunk she was. But, he wanted her so bad," he broke apart their lips and recaptured her mouth briefly, kissing and kissing and kissing again, one lingering after the next. He felt her body shifting beneath him, with it her t-shirt raised slightly and his hand at her waist brushed her skin causing another moan to escape.
He couldn't, he thought as the beginnings of an erection began to form and his chest walls drummed loudly, pulsating in his ears as his body reacted involuntarily. He caressed the tiny bit of skin that peeked out of her t-shirt as he broke away one final time.
Olivia stared up at him as he covered her with his own broadness. He couldn't help himself.
He leaned down, kissing her moist, plump lips again — it was almost too hard to resist.
He broke away for good, forcing his hand to leave her waist and concentrate on the soft, delicate skin of her face. He stroked her hair, brushing his forefingers along her cheek. He planted another kiss on the tip of her nose. "I like you so much, Liv," he whispered, "its almost too much…"
"Me too," she replied, allowing him to hear the vulnerability in her voice - the words that she never quite admitted to him in the past.
"I can't wait for you to spend some time with me at the ranch."
She looked as though she was pleased to hear his admission. "Are you sure?"
He nodded slowly. "Yeah, I want to take Noah on a horse and let him play with the piglets and pet the calves and I want to enjoy a fire with you and cozying up with you outside and maybe even going for a long walk."
With her arms now around his neck, she used his body for leverage to pull herself up to kiss his lips again. "Will you make out with me too?"
He chuckled, "of course, I'm not going to lie, I would love to lay in front of the fireplace making out with you maybe after a few drinks or a perfect dessert."
"Stop it, this is getting too dirty for me to handle," she joked.
Trevor laughed and pushed himself up off of her. He took her hands and helped her up. He kissed her again gently on the mouth and then on the cheek, putting an arm around her, drawing her close and kissing the corner of her her beautiful, big, brown eyes.
"Do you feel better?," he wondered, "will me showing you affection like that, making out with you… all of that stuff, will it make you feel at ease?"
"Yes, but only if you're in to it," she nodded, "I'm sorry if it felt left-field but, I have been overthinking it all and I just am so paranoid about someone playing games with me. I know you were trying to protect me, but it kind of just made me wonder what was going on," she explained.
His eyes lingered over hers, laying focus on her, the way she spoke with ease but her tone was tinged with a bold sense of vulnerability and he couldn't have appreciated it more. It was amazing what a little bit of physical contact seemed to do for her confidence.
"I'm really sorry, I guess in my head I was doing the right thing and giving you the time you needed to move at your pace."
"I know that now, but… I just want to feel wanted by you and when I say I want to take things slow, I mean how people jump in to living together, making the guy or the girl part of their child's life in a parental way or … getting engaged, talk about babies, that type of thing."
He smirked, "well, we can table those discussions for maybe next week?" he kidded. "I understand though, Olivia, really, I do… I hate that I haven't provided what you needed from me, I think… I just misunderstood."
She rolled her eyes playfully. "Its okay, I'm glad we're here now, sorting through it and finally being real about it." She could see that he really did understand and she felt satisfied. "Do you want another drink?," she asked.
He shook his head, "no, I gotta drive later, but let me get you one, you just relax, you're the one who is on holidays after working ridiculous hours for the past month."
And she had been. There were very few days off which meant very little time for her son while she had headed a task force operation with another precinct that targeted gang crime including human trafficking of children and women across state borders.
It felt unending and had finally just wrapped up. It had been so successful that her chief had insisted she take some time to spend with Noah and her significant other. It was an unspoken knowledge that she and Trevor were dating.
She let him go, he wanted to get her a drink, so she was going to let him get her a drink. He knew how she liked her gin, he had made her one once while she was cooking dinner for them. Olivia was specific; two ice cubes were perfect, one wasn't enough to chill the highball glass and a third was just getting in the way of the alcohol buzz. She wondered if he'd remember.
"So, I guess I could leave after lunch tomorrow, I'll take Noah to the park to run around in the morning and that way he might have a nap on the drive up to stop him from complaining," she thought out loud.
"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. He might actually like the drive," he remarked from across the room in the kitchen.
He returned a few moments later and placed the glass down on the coaster before her and leaned over to kiss her lips, familiarising himself with the newly discovered terrain. It wasn't that he hadn't kissed her before, it was that he'd never taken her so passionately in an intimate way. So far everything had been polite and each person trying to placate how they thought they other felt.
"Thank you," she told him, taking the glass and taking a long sip. It was perfect right down to the two ice cubes.
"Welcome," he replied. "I guess if you come tomorrow that'll have you at the farm, by what? After lunch? I'll make sure I have something special for you guys."
"Don't go all out, Noah is super picky remember. I'll bring some food for him."
He cocked his head to the side, "Liv, trust me, I know how to make sure I have something for Noah to eat, I promise. I've spent plenty of time with my nieces and nephew and my nephew is a year older than Noah and my nieces are three, I can handle it. I even babysit which I know is shocking-"
"No, it's not shocking. You're really good with Noah, you're very patient and kind to him even when he kills the vibe."
"Noah doesn't kill the vibe. He adds to the vibe," he replied with a shrug. "I guess in a perfect world I would have kids of my own at this stage in my life but it didn't happen for me, so… here we are."
"Thanks for saying that," she remarked, "that means a lot to me that you feel that way, because he and I are actually a package deal, so if you get me, you get a bonus kid but it means I might also get really freaked out about people messing us about."
"I'm not here to play games, I promise you that. I can't know what's in the future, but I can promise that I'm serious about you and I am very conscious of Noah and how quickly children form attachments, so I am not about to jump in to anything if I wasn't sure — especially not going out of my way to forge a relationship of my own with him."
Olivia smiled, "Thanks Trev…"
/
So far her afternoon had certainly been a relaxing one, Trevor thought as Olivia slept beside him. She'd had perhaps a little too much to drink but he didn't mind. He knew it meant he wasn't going to be able to go unless he woke her up and he really couldn't bare to. He knew how exhausted she had been — it was the circles under her eyes that seemed to permanently be there and the fact that when she tried to stay up chatting to him, her eyes were constantly watering.
She had fallen asleep on him on the phone more than once and often relayed how over-tired she was. The taskforce had kept her up late and up early with very few days off.
He knew Noah would be home any minute and he wanted to give her some time to rest.
He decided he would take Noah with him and go and get something for dinner. He wasn't a great cook, he could hold his own in the kitchen, but he wasn't sure Noah would like whatever he put together.
He saw Olivia's phone notification that someone was heading up to the apartment. He went and waited just outside the door. He smiled when he saw the elevator doors open and Noah jump out. His face lit up when he saw Trevor greeting him.
"Hiiiiii Trevor!" He ran at him and flung himself at the tall man who shared his happiness. Trevor swept him up off the ground and gave him a bear hug as the four-year-old wrapped himself around his mother's friend.
"Hi kiddo, Hi Katja," Trevor lifted his hand and waved at the nanny.
"Hi Trevor," she greeted him, "is Liv home?"
"She is, but she's actually asleep and I thought Noah and I might tip-toe inside and put his things away and then go and leave your Mommy a note and go and organise something for dinner." He spoke to Noah, but was really explaining his plans to Katja.
Katja smiled, happy that her boss had found someone that equally had all the time in the world for Noah. "That sounds nice, I am sure she'll appreciate that," she remarked. "Can you let her know to just call me if she needs anything?"
"Of course," Trevor smiled. "Noah, say goodbye to Katja."
"Bye Katja! Love you!," he blew her a kiss the way that his mother showed him.
She chuckled and blew one back. "I love you, see you soon."
/
Olivia was surprised when she woke up just on 9pm. She felt panicked for a moment, finding a blanket covering her and the whole living room was dark save for the TV and a small lamp in the corner.
"Noah?," she called, jumping to her feet.
"Its okay," Trevor called back softly, "he's in bed, Liv."
"What?," she scratched her head, trying to remember what happened earlier.
"Its okay," he came from the kitchen, finding her standing in the middle of the room, looking disoriented. "Its okay," he repeated, "Noah came home at 5, we left you a note and went to get some dinner and I brought you home some food and you were still asleep so I helped him do a quick bath time and then pyjamas and read him a story and now he's soundly sleeping."
She was stunned, she stared at him for a moment, "you did all that?," she asked as though he could have made it up.
"Yep and then I washed the dishes that were in the sink and then you woke up and now you're staring at me like maybe I did the wrong thing." He felt suddenly on edge with her furrowed brow, squinted eyes and a hand running through her hair.
"No…" her voice trailed as she took a step closer to him and again until there was no more space between them. Olivia looked up at him, as his chest pressed against hers. "I can't reach your mouth from down here, you'll need to assist," she murmured, ignoring her slight disorientation.
He silently laughed from the back of his throat, leaning in close, bowing his head over hers. He kissed her gently. "Thank you, for letting me sleep and for pulling out the stops with my son."
"Don't mention it," he replied, "its my pleasure, love. I've got you." He kissed her again. "I just wanted you to rest."
"Aren't you supposed to be leaving tonight? You shouldn't be driving so late."
He shrugged, "s'okay, I'll leave early in the morning, it was more important to me that you were able to catch up on some sleep."
The butterflies caught up in her stomach, swirling around and overwhelming her with a sense of love and appreciation for the tall, gentle, man that she loved to look at and loved even more to kiss and spend her time with. She felt safety when she dwelled within his embrace and the feeling was only cemented further when she knew she could fall back on him to do the most simple of tasks that she wouldn't ever dare ask him to do— such as taking care of her kid while she rested.
She let out a very slow breath, with it, she released any fears and insecurities that were always just below the surface.
"Don't worry," he murmured, feeling her breathe what he felt to be a sigh of relief. He held her for the moment, "I got you, for real."
"You're the best…" she replied, letting his comfort quiet her for a moment. She closed her eyes, enjoying the scent of him in his casual wear. He smelled laundry-fresh and always, always smelled as though he had only just finished putting on aftershave in a way that wasn't sickly, but enough to make her want to breathe him in.
Slowly she disengaged from him, "I'll let you go home so you can get some sleep before you leave, I'm so sorry I fell asleep on you, I wanted us to hang out more."
He shook his head. "No, it's fine. I'll get to see you tomorrow and every day through the week, I'm excited about that."
She definitely liked the idea of that. "But, why don't you go get ready for bed and I'll come and give my favourite girl a hug and a kiss and a cuddle and I'll let myself out."
Olivia laughed, "You're so sweet, you don't have to, I'll be okay."
"I want to. Do you not want me to come and give you a snuggle before you go to sleep?," he wanted to know, a small, tight-lipped smile turning in to a grin.
"I mean, sure if you want to… but I just don't want to hold you up."
He shook his head, "Nah, I'm good. Go do whatever routine you do before bed and let me know when you're getting in to bed… I'll just finish doing the dishes."
"No, Trev, you didn't dirty those dishes, leave them, you don't have to impress me by doing my housework, I promise, I'm just really humbled that you took care of Noah when you could have just woken me up."
He gave her a funny expression and took her shoulders in his hands, "Liv, please stop it. If I want to do something kind, I'm going to do something because I really like you and you are so dog tired, you have been telling me for weeks now that you could spend days sleeping if you had the chance. I'm gonna worry because that's the kind of man I am, so if I want you to rest, you're gonna rest, k?"
"Okay," she replied simply, "but please know how much I appreciate it."
"I do, I know. Now would you go and get ready for bed? Honestly, you're worse than your son!," he kidded. "So much talking and not enough sleeping…"
She shoved him playfully and made her way down the hall to brush her teeth and get changed. The whole time smiling to herself and thinking of how much she liked this man, how much 24 hours had done for their level of affection and stepping over an imaginary threshold that kept them at arms reach.
All of that was gone and suddenly everything felt like it was right and she didn't have to feel paranoid or scared that he wasn't who he was claiming to be.
/
Trevor headed down the hall to Olivia's bedroom — what had been up until now, a forbidden room in apartment - the rule was unspoken but it was a matter of privacy and intimacy that he respected as if a silent agreement.
Neither of them seemed too concerned though. She had texted him from bed telling him she was ready for her snuggle. He felt like something had lifted from her - a protective shield, once he had given her some assurances, her level of comforted seemed to shift in favour of him getting as close as he possibly could.
He really couldn't wait for what he had in store for their time together at his ranch, he had a few ideas and he knew that even though he didn't mention it, it meant a lot that his brother was going to finally meet her and his opinion would mean a lot and so would his sister-in-law's.
He wasn't too worried, Olivia knew warm and charming even when she didn't recognise those traits within herself, he saw it a mile away.
"Hey, you look so sleepy already," he announced. And she did, she looked like she could fall asleep in a hot second.
Her room was a little bigger than he had expected. He glanced around a little curiously at some photos on the walls, mostly of Noah. There were some drawings and things that clearly her son had made, but over-all her room was neat and tidy with no piles of clothes or anything that was remotely messy. He let his eyes fall over the empty spot beside her. "May I sit?," he asked a little privately.
"Can't snuggle me standing," she remarked smartly, "its okay Trev, make yourself at home…" she patted the spot beside her. He slid on to the spot over the top of the blankets. "Aren't you warm?," he asked.
"Not really, the air is on," she replied. "I like to sleep a little cold."
"Woman after my heart…" he remarked. He moved close and wrapped an arm around her and kissed her lips softly. "Okay, get comfortable, I'm gonna stay until you fall asleep and then I'm gonna leave."
"Okay," she agreed, "I'll probably have the most peaceful sleep of my life," she chuckled.
"Good," he murmured. He planted a kiss on her nape as she had rolled away, nesting in against his body.
"Goodnight baby," she purred sleepily.
"Goodnight," he replied as he stroked her hair. "Sweet dreams," he added.