A/N:
Omg I am overwhelemd by how many people are reading this and the comments are GIVING ME LIFE you guys! Please dont stop because I live for it! I hope that you love this chapter! Ava is quickly becoming my favourite girl in the world. Her sass and sarcasm is everything to me. What do you guys think? Do you have any suggestions? What would you like to see happen next? TELL ME EVERYTHING! hahaaahhaa.
Sincerely thnak you to everyone who has left a comment i genuinely cant tell you how much it means to me when I can see thaqt you are enjoying this. It makes me want to update faster! Love you guys xo
"Wow, how would you like to quit school and come and live with Noah and I and become our personal chef?" Olivia asked Ava as she stared in to her beautifully prepared spaghetti carbonara. She was impressed, it was presented so beautifully and so cleanly that it was hard to believe that a young teen had done it all.
"Absolutely not!" Trevor snapped, jokingly.
Ava laughed, her cheeks pink. "I just like to cook and I think Carbonara is my best," she shrugged, "and Noah helped do the garlic bread and salad too, didn't you?," she questioned Olivia's son.
"Yeah, I helped Ava make the garlic butter and I spread it on the bread, didn't I?," he asked his new friend happily.
"You did! And I showed Noah how to make everything look super clean when we serve it like in the restaurant," she smiled, taking stock of Olivia's son and how much fun they'd had together.
"Well you both did a fantastic job, we're proud of you both, thank you so much for cooking for us," Trevor interjected. "I think we should eat," he nodded at them. Noah knew better than to dig in before anyone else and so did Ava.
At Trevor's encouragement, the kids began first. He exchanged a look with Olivia, they both smiled. She twisted some spaghetti on her fork and tried it. It really was good. She had been a little worried that it wouldn't taste nearly as good as it smelled or looked, but it definitely did.
"Mmmm, that's so good, Ava!," she took another bite and gave the two kids a thumbs up. "Yeah, you can move in with us, right Noah?"
He giggled and nodded, "Yeah, we can practice dance every day," he replied.
Ava smiled at him.
"So Ava, your Dad told me that you're thinking about giving up band this year, are you gonna take up something else?" Olivia wondered.
She shrugged, "No, if I quit band I don't think I will, I don't have a lot of spare time so I might just concentrate on my homework, it's kind of hard to fit it all in."
"Oh yeah, are you 8th grade or 9th grade?" Olivia wondered.
Trevor listened to his daughter talk about her study load and while he had been a little uneasy about letting her quit an activity, he didn't realise that it was becoming harder. He made the decision to allow her to quit.
"8th grade but I'm in advanced math and advanced English and I really want to make sure I keep getting good grades."
"Wow," Olivia smiled, "you're a very impressive girl, Ava, just remember to have fun too, your younger years fly by and before you know it, you're all grown up."
She nodded, "How come you chose to become a police officer, Olivia?" Ava asked curiously as she finally took a bite of her spaghetti.
"Well…" she started, very conscious of Noah sitting beside her and Trevor watching her intently, "that's a big question," she added.
"Maybe one for another night," Trevor interrupted.
"I just have to think about it, there are a lot of reasons, but mostly I think that I wanted to help people," Olivia simplified her reasoning. There was a lot more to it, reasons that she knew she wasn't even comfortable with Trevor know yet.
Ava nodded thoughtfully, "that's really nice, I want to help people too but I don't know what I want yet."
Trevor smiled.
"I always tell Noah that as long as you keep focused on school and you keep kind in your heart, you'll always be able to help people in way you want, right, Noah?" Liv looked to her son.
Noah nodded, "I wanna be a policeman like you Mom," he told her. She smiled, it wasn't the first time he'd said it.
Trevor watched on with his daughter and Noah interacting with Olivia and couldn't help but feel himself filling up with affection for them all. Olivia was especially engaging and so gentle with her son who clearly had been raised right with great manners and boundaries and not testing them despite being outside of his home environment.
"Why are you so quiet, Dad?" Ava asked, glancing at her father who had barely touched his food. He peeled his eyes away from Olivia and noticed his daughter had risen her eyebrow and was smirking just a little. He picked up that she was stirring him. He took a forkful of spaghetti and shook his head.
"I'm just letting you guys chat and listening," he replied with an innocent smiling that his daughter read as a sign for her to shut up. She almost laughed but she was very excited to have Olivia at their table and Noah was cute, too.
"Sooooo," Ava began, "Liv, I have a dance recital on Wednesday night, would you and Noah come?"
"OH! Mom, can we?!" Noah forgot himself in the excitement.
"Ava! Olivia probably has things that she needs to do with work, she's super busy you know?"
"Uhhh…" Olivia glanced at Trevor and then back at Ava and Noah. She laughed, "I'm not that busy," she said, but she was unsure if Trevor even wanted her around his daughter to that degree. Ava looked hopeful. She turned to her father, "is that okay Dad? If Liv wanted to come?"
"If Olivia and Noah want to come then yes absolutely, of course, but don't put Olivia on the spot honey, she might have work or other plans."
"I work until about 5pm, so… sure I think we could swing it, right Noah?," she asked her son. He grinned and nodded.
"Oh I know!," Noah exclaimed, "Mommy, I have my dance recital Monday night, maybe Trevor and Ava can come to that."
Before Olivia could give them a way out, Trevor answered, "I guess we're going to see both of you dance this week," he replied, winking at Olivia, "do you have anything on, Ava?," he double-checked.
"No, I wouldn't miss your dance recital, Noah," she told Olivia's little boy kindly and raised a hand for him to high five. "I can't wait!"
Trevor and Olivia exchanged smiles, wondering what they were getting themselves in to.
/
"Honey, I think you've had a little too much sugar, it's time to calm down," Olivia told Noah a little quietly, "okay?"
He turned serious and nodded. She smiled at him, "it doesn't mean you can't have fun, my love, it just means I need you to quiet down and just be … calm."
Olivia sat down on the couch and Noah sat next to her. She felt a little bad, like she had just taken the wind from his sails but he was getting a little loud and she really didn't want him to keep bugging Ava.
She put an arm around him and kissed his temple.
"Its okay," Trevor told her, sitting on the other side of her, "its been an exciting night, hey champ?," he winked at Noah.
Noah nodded.
Olivia kissed her son again and gave him a little squeeze. "You did soooo good with dessert, babe, I am so proud of you and Ava," she told him, "I bet you could help me cook more and we could learn together, what do you think?"
He nodded again, this time he smiled. He glanced at Trevor who was smiling at him. "Mom's right," he added, "those chocolate crepes were the best I've ever had and the garlic bread…" he gave a chef's kiss that finally made Noah giggle.
Ava had been upstairs and had come down pulling two large things behind her, they could hear them scraping on the tiles.
"Hey look what I've got, Noah, my special hang out bean bags, do you wanna use one with me?," she asked.
Trevor beamed at her, so happy and proud of all the effort his daughter was going to to appease the nine year old and make the night fun for him.
"Oh cool!," he exclaimed as Ava set the two bean bags in front of Trevor and Olivia on the floor before the TV. "What movie are we gonna watch?," he asked, forgetting that he was a little bummed by Olivia asking him to be calm.
"You can choose if you like, what's your favourite Pixar movie?" Ava asked him.
Olivia watched them both begin to discuss movies as Ava took control of the remote and turned the Disney app on. She turned to Trevor and gave him a grin that spread wide across her face. He grinned right back at her and their silent communication was that they were both overwhelmed by just how wonderfully the night was turning out.
As the movie began and the kids settled in, Trevor felt Olivia reaching for his hand. He was surprised but not put off. He felt her fingers slide between his own. He felt her resting her head upon his shoulder and liked her little show of affection.
He knew Olivia was tired but was enduring the movie for Noah's sake. He knew she probably needed to go home and catch up on a little bit of sleep but he really didn't want her to go. They'd hardly been able to talk at all with the kids taking up every bit of conversation.
He almost sighed out loud at the realisation that it wasn't going to be the night for them to get to know each other more; it was going to have to be another day when the kids weren't around but he had no idea when that might be.
Noah turned around to check that his Mom was still there.
He saw her with her head rested on Trevor's shoulder and smiled at her with his beautiful wide-blue-eyed stare.
He turned back to his movie and looked at Ava. "Ava, you are the coolest person I've ever met," he told her.
"Awwww!," she exclaimed, "and you're the coolest 9 year old I know too, we're gonna become great friends, I just know it," she assured him, grabbing his hand and giving it a little squeeze.
Olivia squeezed Trevor's hand too as she stared directly at the TV, unable to wipe the growing smile from her face. She felt a firm squeeze of her hand back.
The kids became absorbed in the movie and Olivia began to dread having to carry Noah home the few blocks. She knew he would fall asleep pretty fast, his bedtime was fast growing near and he had been so energetic all night.
She turned to Trevor and smiled at him. He returned it and winked at her. He let go of her hand and slipped an arm around her shoulder and Olivia leaned in to it, scooting closer. His hand rested on her upper arm and she felt his fingertips running back and forth along her skin. She let go of a sigh very slowly so that it was inaudible. With it, her body relaxed — she hadn't realised how tense she was around him; nervous and full of desire.
Her hands were still tingling and her skin felt like it was heating beneath his touch.
They concentrated on the movie as best they could but Trevor was having a hard time keeping focused and felt relieved when he could see the tell-tale signs of sleeping children. Ava had turned to her side and was breathing heavily in almost a snore and Noah's little arm flailed limply over the edge of the beanbag.
"They're sleeping," he whispered.
"I know, oh my goodness they're so adorable!," she replied, leaning forward to make sure they were right. She looked back at Trevor and grinned.
"Come on, let's go in to my office and let them rest and we can talk…" he suggested, his voice soft still, not wanting to chance waking either of them.
She agreed and both of them crept out of the living room and in to the next room which she had discovered after their first date was his office and relaxing area. Trevor closed a set of bi-fold doors behind him, leaving it open just a tiny bit so that they could listen out for any kids waking.
"Alone at last…" she murmured nervously.
He smiled at her and took a seat on the couch. He reached for her hand, sensing her nervousness. "Come over here…"
His hands were warm and soft and she let him pull her on to his lap. It was strange for her — she had never really been the kind of woman who would have sat herself comfortably in any man's lap — but Trevor was tall and broad and he didn't bat an eyelid when she hesitated. He didn't allow her a choice. She sat a little stiffly, unsure of her own weight upon him.
"Are you comfortable?," he asked, picking up on her how tense she seemed.
"Yeah, are you?," she wondered.
He slipped his arms around her waist and glanced over her body from her ankles to her eyes and smiled, "Yeah, very comfortable, I've been really waiting for this moment to hold you all night," he admitted.
She leaned against him, allowing him to pull her backwards until he was resting against the back of the couch. She circled her arms around her neck. "No one has ever made me feel this nervous before…" she murmured.
Trevor reached one hand up and caressed her soft waves of hair with a slight smile. "I don't want you to be nervous, why are you nervous around me?"
She took his hand and rested it just above her chest, realising as his touch reached her just how intimate the spot was. She pretended that she hadn't jolted with a spark the second his hand connected with her. "Feel my heart, it's absolutely hammering," she seemed amused and Trevor took it to be a good sign.
"Are you … scared of me?," he wondered, just to be on the safe side.
She chuckled, "No… not at all, it's the opposite, I think. I like you so much and I'm so nervous about fucking this up somehow."
"How are you gonna fuck this up?," he asked with an amused smile. They were almost at eye level, Olivia just slightly looking down in to his beautiful pale green eyes. He lifted his chin, waiting for her to answer, adoring the face that he was gazing at.
"I don't know," she shrugged, her eyes averting from his. "I just always have a way of driving men away."
He shook his head and shrugged, "not me… I won't let you go without a fight," he replied. He wasn't used to seeing her showing her insecurities and it was a little endearing if not a little concerning.
"Its too early for you to start making promises," she chuckled.
He shrugged, "well, that's fair, but I'm a man of my word and look, our kids already like each other…that's half the battle right, getting that part to work?"
"Yeah, but…" she paused.
Trevor went back to caressing her tresses. His face showed a little concern and seriousness; he didn't want to be dismissive. "You're already trying to come up with excuses as to why you shouldn't trust me or let me make my own decisions about you," he told her. "I can see it."
"No, it's not that," she shook her head, how could she tell him? It was only their second date; she wanted it to be light and fluffy but sometimes her mind flicked to darkness and she found it hard to communicate her feelings and she liked him so much and didn't want it to be a disappointment and she wasn't sure that she could end up three, four, five more dates in when their kids liked each other to have Trevor decide that he wasn't interested anymore.
The abandonment for both her and Noah had hurt so many times before.
"It's new and it's scary," Trevor interjected, "I get it, but I like you and I think you like me too, so let's just…" he just paused, "take it all date-by-date," he glanced at her pink lips and kissed her, "you might think I'm a jack ass after a couple more dates," he smiled.
She was able to laugh. "I don't think so, that's why maybe it feels like such high stakes."
It was words that he was happy to hear and impressed that she admitted it out loud.
"Mmmm," he hummed seductively, his good looks disarming her, "talk more about that,"
She laughed bashfully. "Do you know how gorgeous you are?," she asked rhetorically, "I mean, you are so good looking that I am afraid that I'll turn to stone if I don't stop looking at you — like staring in to the sun."
He threw his head back and laughed lightly, excited by her words, not losing sight of the fact that she had very quickly changed the subject.
"Liv, do you know how beautiful you are?" Olivia laughed dismissively and waved her hands as though she were waving away his compliment. "No!" Trevor chuckled, grabbing her arms and pulling them out of the way, "really, I really don't think you know, you're so beautiful! You know what I love the most? Your eyes and smile — when you grin at me, your eyes sparkle and you get this cute little scrunch…" he brushed his fingers over the bridge of her nose, "right here.."
He watched her face turn beet-red and the most adorable, shy smile that filled him with joy. "You know what I just noticed tonight?"
"What?," she asked, flattered, intoxicated by his charm and playful teasing that made her feel gooey in the pit of her stomach.
"I noticed this beautiful sprinkle of freckles across your nose and your cheeks and I love them, you are an absolute natural stunner, Olivia Benson. I need to constantly pinch myself to make sure you're really here."
"Okay, okay stop — you're being so cheesy and using all those lines on me, I hate that," she said seriously.
He rose his eyebrow, still smiling. "Oh what, you think I have a little book of lines that I think women like to hear and I pull it out of my pocket to study it so I can reel you in?"
"Sounds like it," she shrugged nonchalantly. There was an air of a joke between them, but he picked up some seriousness and new as most jokes; they came from an element of truthfulness. He tried not to feel hurt, he knew some of what she had been through in the past so he knew it wasn't personal.
"Oooft, that's cold, Olivia. The truth is, I really haven't dated that much in ages and I'm a hopeless romantic and I just love to see you smiling, so… if I'm being cheesy, I'm sorry," he turned seriously, "but, I do genuinely mean the words that I'm saying."
"Sorry," she apologised, "that was a little mean of me, I can be a little cynical — see, what a catch, a cynical ageing detective,"
"Stop that," he said firmly, "I don't want to hear you bad mouthing yourself, ever," he added.
"Sorry," she said again.
He shook his head, "don't apologise-" he said kindly, "it's okay." He paused to kiss her lips again; despite how brief his kisses were, they felt intimate and meaningful - they weren't empty, they were full of intention and gentleness; not as eager or as passionate as earlier, but that was okay too, she thought.
"So… are you really okay with Ava and I coming to Noah's dance thing on Monday?"
Olivia shrugged, "yeah, I kind of think based on how tonight went? I think it'll be okay," she replied. "And you? With us coming to Ava's recital?"
"I'm okay with that, of course… you know, when the time is right, I am going to do that thing that I told you I would do for you-"
She rose an eyebrow, she wasn't sure if he had told her he wanted to do something a little more adult with her. He started to laugh knowing exactly what she was getting at. "No, no… Liv, jeez, get your mind out of the gutter!"
She flushed a little but managed to see the humour in the fact that getting naked with him was clearly crossing her mind at some point or another.
"What I was referring to was when I told you that I would come to your apartment when you have some days off and I would take Noah and Ava and spend the day with them both so you can sleep in, wear pyjamas all day and eat in bed — or whatever it is to make sure you're well rested."
She grinned at him. "That's a total boss romance gesture," she agreed, "I hope you know I'd do the same for you — time alone is sometimes such a thrill when you don't get a lot of it."
"I know you would do something like that for me," he told her confidently, "because you have the heart of an angel, but you work so hard and I think you deserve the rest so you just say the word and I'll do it."
"Maybe when Noah knows you better, he's still pretty shy."
He nodded in agreement, "I can see that, but he's so polite and sweet," he added.
"Remember how you said that you wished that I was beside you last night? So that you could cuddle up to me? No funny stuff?," she asked.
"Yes," he replied unflinchingly.
"I kinda want that…" she admitted, "I really craved it since our last date, but… I know I should get Noah and go home…"
"I can help you get Noah home if you like," he suggested, "you're only two or so blocks away, I don't mind."
She wasn't sure she had the physical strength to carry her son for 2 blocks. She knew if she woke him he would be dragging his feet the whole way home. "What about Ava?" She asked.
"Ava will be fine, I'll wake her and tell her to go up to bed."
"Okay," Olivia agreed, "thanks, I appreciate that."
"Of course," Trevor replied. He was a little disappointed that she wasn't bursting at the seams to make out with him, but he understood — it was going to take a few dates and he was already falling over his own feet around her. He needed to find his footing and go a little slower and remind his daughter to calm down too. There was every chance that it could fizzle out and his own heart-ache he could take; dealing with his daughter's was another story.
"Would you like to go now?," he asked, just about ready to get up.
"In a sec…" she hesitated for a moment before she made the first move. She slid her arms around his neck and closed the distance, "I can't leave without kissing you or else I feel like it'd be a wasted opportunity."
"We wouldn't want that…" he murmured, staring at her heavenly pink lips.
Her lips grazed Trevor's softly and he knew immediately that allowing to her to kiss him in the dim light so late was inviting him to give in to the temptation of wanting more and more from her. He could feel every tiny curve of her body as she pushed herself in to him.
He desperately wanted to touch her.
As if she understood his feelings, she tried to pull away but Trevor's magnetism was just too much. She fell against him and felt his arms around her, pulling her close. She climbed up to her knees, straddling his legs, getting as close to him as she could; now taller than him, bowing over his broad frame, kissing his lips with fervour and passion.
"Wow…" he murmured, a little awe-struck by her initiative once she pulled away a little. He smoothed his hands through her wavy hair that fell down over her shoulders. He let his fingertips drag through her scalp to the ends of her strands of hair.
She visibly shivered; turned on by his gentle and sensuous touch.
"This feels incredibly sexy," he whispered, "you're incredibly sexy."
Without allowing her to answer, he recaptured the kiss; this time for longer, open-mouthed, allowing her tongue to taste his.
"Get closer," he whispered between kisses; urgent. He could feel his pants tightening as her hips rested against his. It was not lost on Olivia that the hard mound between them was a product of his arousal. It was a turn on for her too — flattered and eager to get as much of him as she could because it felt so good.
Her hands rested on his thick neck while their tongues explored one another's; a soft whimper extricating from the back of her throat made his erection more than prominent but Olivia didn't seemed perturbed.
He could see through her silk shirt just a hint of her own arousal, tiny stiff peaks only just showing. He caressed his hands down her bare shoulders to her wrists and back up again, trying to be good, trying not to touch her too intimately without reading the signs wrong.
"Trevor…" she murmured, resting her forehead against his.
"Yeah…"
Their breathing was heavy; laboured from the kissing. "We need to stop…" her voice dropped to a whisper, "because I really want to have sex with you right now," she said it as if saying it louder would make it more inappropriate.
"Oooft," he remarked, light laughter spilled out of his mouth. He leaned back in to the couch and sighed, "we can't…" he said as if it was a curse, "I mean we could, but we shouldn't."
"We could…" her voice trailed off but she knew it was a bad idea and that it was just her late night arousal talking. It had been far too long for her. "But… maybe not tonight, another night."
He nodded, "Another night," he repeated. He leaned back in and kissed her gently, not wanting her to feel rejected. "I know that you'll be grateful that we didn't sleep together when you wake up in the morning," he told her.
"I know…" and she did know. She appreciated him for not starting to pull at her clothes.
"But, I'm not going not lie, Olivia, it's totally sexy that you just admitted that out loud to me," he beamed— his beautiful smile made her feel appreciated and adored and she wanted; craved more of that from him.
"I appreciate how much you make me feel wanted and its so early…" she blurted out.
"Love," he smiled at her, tracing the frame of her face with his hands, "I want you, don't make any mistake there."
"I know, but it's nice to have physical assurance of that, it's been awhile and this is only our second official date, but… I like that neither of us are playing games here."
"My priority is making you feel beautiful and desired. I can tell you right now… that this…" he gave a playful tug of her silk blue top, "I wish you weren't wearing this…" he ran his hand along her thick thighs that he longed to see bare, "and these could come off too…in fact, they're making me a bit crazy, your ass and your thighs…" he sighed.
"I really want your hands on me…" her breath became shallow as Trevor let his hands fall to her sides, resting on her hips. She kissed his mouth again. He wrapped a hand around her waist and let it fall to her backside and pulled her against him, squeezing her flesh in his hand. Her back arched and a moan came with it. His other hand traveled from the other side of her waist up between them until it covered the curve of her breast.
Olivia's fingers were through his hair, her fingers grazing behind his ears causing gooseflesh to rise upon the surface of his skin. He wanted her to know just how much he desired her but was also trying so hard to keep himself in check.
He felt her break the kiss and sigh softly as he squeezed her breast softly, taking the handful of her, swiping his thumb across the hard bead that he could only faintly feel. He took the chance to plant kisses down her jaw to her neck. "Shit…" she whispered; her voice full of intention and desire and he realised that they were both almost ready to give in to how much their bodies craved one another — with the children within earshot.
A sobering thought was awaking his daughter with one of Olivia's sexy moans or the sound of kissing — or worse.
He rested his mouth on her throat, letting his tongue swipe at the skin.
"Shit indeed…" he whispered against her skin. He released his grasp on her joy of an ass and caressed her flesh absently, catching his breath. "We need to take it down a notch…"
Olivia sat up a little straighter looking a little disheveled but she laughed when she saw Trevor's hair; he had bed hair and it was sweet. She gave him one last lingering kiss— a book end to what they'd been doing.
"You are torture," he told her with a cheeky smile.
"You're not so innocent yourself," she smiled back at him, her heart still racing.
"I can't wait to undress you," he surveyed her body with a little shake of his head, as if he were amazed by her and it was both confronting and intoxicating to hear. He watched her already-pink cheeks flush.
"Yeah?," she challenged him, "you think it's going to come that easy to you?"
He started to laugh, "you literally told me before that you wanted to have sex, you."
She laughed too, knowing that he had her there.
"Okay, so can we count Monday night as date three?," he wondered.
Olivia shrugged, "Sure, afterwards I usually take Noah to eat something, you guys can join us if you like."
"Great… as long as Ava doesn't have homework, I'd love for us to."
"I need to go home and have a long sleep…" she told him, "and truthfully, I'll probably be able to sleep even better now that I've seen you and kissed you and held you," she told him.
"Olivia Benson, who knew you were such a sweet romantic," he teased.
She rolled her eyes with a smile and gave his shoulder a shove. She got up from him and waited for him to get up too. She couldn't help but to notice his slight erection. Both of them pretended not to see it.
They went to the kitchen together and took their drinks. "Shit, this is a mess, Trev, I can't leave you with this mess, let's clean up," she told him noticing the state of the kitchen after the kids had cooked.
"No," he smiled, "its fine, Ava and I had a deal, she was gonna cook and I am gonna clean. I am not letting you help me."
"Please-"
"No," he said firmly, "I don't want your help." He softened, "but thank you for offering. Now let's go wake the kids."
Olivia guided her bleary-eyed son in to the light of the kitchen while Trevor tried to rouse his daughter up. She told him three times to go away until finally he lifted her up. She was limp, passed out without any hope of waking her.
Olivia had picked up Noah who fell in and out of an interrupted sleep.
"Oh my gosh," Olivia remarked in a hushed voice, "are you kidding me? She is so sweet."
"Yeah right, 14 years old and still a freaking baby. I'll be right back," he flashed her a smile and went and put his daughter in her room.
/
"Dad… what's the time?" Trevor heard Ava ask as he was just about to sneak out of her room.
"It's almost midnight honey, I'm just walking Olivia home with Noah and I'll be right back, okay? Call me if you need me."
He blew her a kiss, "love you," he added.
"Daddy, wait…" she called out.
He turned back to her, patient, waiting for her to say what she needed to. "Dad, I didn't get to say goodnight to Olivia, can I say goodnight?"
He smiled faintly, "Honey, its okay, just go to sleep…I'll tell her you said goodnight."
Ava went to get back up. "Okay okay!" He held up his hands, "I'll ask her to come and say goodnight to you, just stay put."
"Love you, goodnight."
Ava smiled and waved.
/
"Baby," Trevor greeted Liv, "I'm so sorry, Ava won't go back to sleep until she gets to say goodnight to you — could you just go up, its the third door on the left."
Olivia smiled, feeling a little bit important. She tried to see if Noah was asleep. He seemed to be by how heavy he suddenly became.
"I can carry Noah," he opted, realising what she was thinking. She allowed him to scoop up her son from her. Noah was getting bigger but he was still a little small for his age and almost waif-thin. It was with ease that Trevor held him. Trevor climbed the stairs slowly behind Olivia holding on to her son, remembering how warm and comforting it was to have a child who wasn't against a hug or some physical affection.
"Hey Ava…" Olivia used a soft hush, taking a step in to her bedroom.
"I just wanted to say goodnight," she told her father's new love interest.
Trevor did not miss how soft Olivia became as she went to his daughter's bedside. Ava held her arms up and reminded him of when she was a tiny little girl, needy for her parent's affections. Maybe. Not much had changed. Olivia obliged and gave Trevor's daughter a hug.
"Sweet dreams, kiddo. Thank you so much for such a wonderful dinner and for being so sweet to Noah."
"I meant it…" she murmured. "Goodnight Olivia, I can't wait to see you again."
"Me too, sweetheart," she kissed Ava's forehead and watched the young girl close her eyes with. Satisfied smile. Olivia pulled the covers up around her and backed out of the room, meeting Trevor in the hall.
Olivia couldn't wipe the smile off of her face as she led Trevor down the hall and down the steps. She picked up her handbag and put it over her shoulder and took Noah's shoes, not bothering to put them back on him.
She slipped her own shoes on and Trevor grabbed his phone and keys from the mantlepiece at the front door and they left for her apartment.
/
"I had a really nice night," she informed him as they neared her apartment building. "Thank you for inviting us both, I know Noah loved it too."
"It was honestly my pleasure. I know we've basically got date 3 and four planned, but what if I planned a date 5 for just us, do you think you'd be able to swing that?," he asked, "I know Ava will hate me, but Casi can come and stay at my place — and if your babysitter is around—"
Olivia nodded. "I'm on days next week from Tuesday and unless there are any problems with any cases, I am free on Saturday night and Sunday and I start nights again the following Monday."
"Okay great, let me organise something for us," he smiled. He followed Olivia up the stairs to her apartment door.
"That sounds like a wonderful plan," she replied as she opened the door. She turned and went to take Noah after setting her bag and his shoes down in the inside of the doorway.
"I can put him in bed if you like…" he offered.
"Okay, thanks…" she held the door and Trevor stepped in waiting for her to close it behind him. She felt a little self-conscious. Her apartment wasn't exactly messy, but it was untidy with toys and books and clues of a 9 year old boy all over the place.
"Sorry about the mess," she felt she had to apologise.
Trevor looked around and then back at Olivia and gave her a funny look. "This isn't messy, come on… show me to his room so we can put this little one to bed," he smiled and she loved how he allayed all of her insecurities without any fanfare. She appreciated it and he never seemed bothered to do so either.
He followed Olivia to Noah's room. She pulled back his covers and watched Trevor gently place him in to bed. She grabbed his batman plushie and slipped it under his arm and pulled the covers up around him. Noah stirred a little.
She leaned over and kissed his cheek. "Sweet dreams, babe. I love you," she whispered.
She and Trevor left his room, she pulled the door ajar and together they went back downstairs.
"I'd ask you to stay for a drink but I know Ava is home and we should probably take things a little slower," she broke it to him gently, thinking that there might have been more to his offer of putting Noah to bed for her.
"I agree, I don't like to leave Ava home alone, especially not at night," he replied, heading toward the door. She liked that he didn't try to advance toward her; saying one thing and attempting another. He genuinely just wanted to put Noah to bed for her. Something else about him to appreciate, she thought.
She followed him to the door. "I hope you both manage to have a wonderful sleep and a late sleep in," he added.
"Thanks, you too, Trevor. Thank you for being such a perfect gentleman," she was serious and he loved that she was generous with her compliments. He hesitated in the doorway for a moment, playing with his keys in his hands.
"I just want to make you happy, I think you deserve that," he replied. "And…" he looked at her, "it's my most favourite thing to see you smile."
She couldn't hold it back as she smiled as if on demand, but it was genuine and she felt giddy from his sweetness. She took a step toward him and stood on her tip-toes. He got the hint and leaned over her, shoving his keys in his pocket. He took her cheeks in his large, warm hands and kissed her mouth softly, tasting the tip of her tongue ever-so-briefly.
"Goodnight, love," he kissed her again and broke away.
"Goodnight…" her voice trailed. He let go of her and turned to leave.
He turned back as he got to the steps and gave her a wave. She waved back and closed the door, locking it behind her.
She stood against the door and closed her eyes for a minute. It was a lot to process.
Was it happening?, she asked herself, was Trevor Langan going to fall in love with her? She was trying so hard with all of her might not to place expectations on things, to know that sometimes men did and said all the right things and turned out to be everything they said they were not. She had fallen for it countlessly.
But….
Trevor seemed different; genuine, sincere and such a doting father — supportive and loving and at the mercy of his sweet daughter who was clearly going through a formidable time in her life.
Still, the way she felt about him was starting to scare her. Time with him felt right but the second she was alone she began to freak out.
It was her own MO.
She was exhausted — from the week, from the adrenalin rush that he gave her, from her brain overthinking everything that ever transpired in her day-to-day life.
She stood up straight and took herself upstairs and had a shower and got in to bed.
A text came through right as she closed her eyes. She picked up her phone and found a bunch of hearts and a few set of lip emojis. "Good night woman of my dreams…"
The rush of giddiness flooded her again. Olivia was flattered and loved his thoughtfulness. She replied similarly, with a flood of hearts and kisses and roses cheeks.
/
"Mommmm," Noah whispered, climbing in to bed beside his mother. She stirred a little. He gently shook her shoulder, "Mommy," he tried again.
Olivia opened her eyes. Her son was still dressed in the same clothes from the night before. She felt a little disoriented. "Hey babe, what time is it?"
"9:30," he told her, "I was hungry but I didn't want to wake you up.
She smiled at him, "You're such a sweetheart, I'm sorry, you should have just woken me anyway, I wouldn't have minded at all."
Noah shrugged, "I know you were tired, Mommy," he smiled back at her.
She reached for his arms and snatched him close to her and covered his little face in kisses. "I love you, my sweetheart!"
Noah giggled and struggled, but he loved Olivia and the mother and son had a close bond. She always let him be, make his own choices within reason and never pushed him in to doing things that he didn't want to do nor was she ever trying to fit him in to a mould of which he didn't belong.
"I love you too, Mom," he replied, "but you're choking meeeee," he told her dramatically.
She laughed and released him, "Okay babe, what do you want for breakfast? Anything you want."
"Anything?," he asked, making a show of thinking.
"Yes. Anything. I can make some waffles or some pancakes or if you can have a shower really fast while I get ready, I can take you somewhere special for breakfast, how about that?," she asked, making it sound like a treat, when in fact she didn't really feel much like cooking.
"Oooh yeah, I wanna do that!," he jumped off her bed.
"Okay honey, go get in the shower and I'll bring you a fresh towel and I'll put some clothes out for you, k?"
"Okay!," he yelled over his shoulder.
/
"Are you up, honey?" Trevor asked his daughter through her closed bedroom door. He didn't want to wake her — Sundays were for sleeping in and he wanted her to get enough rest.
"Yeah," she called back out.
"Can I come in?," he called back. She agreed again. He twisted the door handle and let himself inside.
She had changed at some point in to her pyjamas after he'd put her to bed the previous night. She was laying on her back on her queen sized bed scrolling through her phone. She peeled her eyes away long enough to bare her father a glance.
"Morning kiddo," he greeted her.
"What's so good about it?," she grumbled.
"Ava, I think maybe rather than picking up your phone as soon as you wake up, you should think about breakfast or a shower or something first," he suggested, knowing that whatever drama was happening on social media could dictate his daughter's mood for the entire day. "I think Instagram could be put off for a little bit."
"I'm not even looking at Instagram," she told him, tossing her phone in the empty spot beside her. "I texted Mom to tell her about my swim meet last night."
"And?," he prompted her, "she would have been so excited for you."
"Oh yeahhhh," Ava rolled her eyes, rolling over so that her back was facing him, "so excited that she didn't bother herself to answer me until this morning."
Trevor took made his way over to her bed and took a seat on the edge. "What did she say?," he asked with a sinking feeling, knowing it was something he wasn't going to like.
"She sent me a thumbs up… a single emoji… I asked her if she was mad at me for something," he heard his daughter's voice break and knew she was trying so hard not to break down. "She just replied with a 'no'"
"Let me talk to Mom for you, honey, maybe something is going on with her new job, she's not mad at you, you haven't done anything wrong, you are perfect," he placed his hand on her arm, "we both love you exactly as you are."
Ava sighed heavily.
"Why don't you invite Rhiannon over today?," he suggested, "have a girls day."
"Are you too busy to hang out with me?," she wondered.
"No honey, of course not — I just thought you'd want to spend time with your friends," he replied, troubled by the fact that she hadn't mentioned her best friend for over two weeks. When she'd moved in, Rhiannon was all she talked about and they'd fought over how often the two girls were texting.
"They're busy," she replied. He wasn't an idiot, he knew something had happened.
"Ava, what happened between you and Rhiannon? Did you have a fight?"
"No, we didn't have a fight," she sighed, seeming annoyed by his questioning. He decided that she would talk in her own time.
"Okay, well, you want to hang out with your boring old Dad, that makes me pretty happy, what do you want to do?," he asked. He had planned on some work, but he knew he had to seize the moments with his daughter because she was growing up fast and he desperately knew she would cease being his child to become a young woman very quickly.
He wasn't really prepared for that, so he took it for what it was.
"I don't know…" she shrugged, "whatever… I'll help you do the dishes from last night."
"Wait, is Ava Langan actually offering to help clean? Did I just witness history?!," he teased her good-naturedly.
He heard her begin to giggle. "Shut uppppp, I'll rescind my offer, don't make me do that."
He laughed, "I would love for you to help me clean that mess downstairs," he smiled, "but then I think we could do something fun. Wanna help me do something super cheesy?"
"I absolutely do," she replied without flinching, knowing it would have something to do with Olivia, "what is it?"
"I'm gonna send some flowers to Olivia, what do you think about that?," he asked as his daughter yawned and rolled flat on her back.
"I love it," she smiled, "Olivia will love it too, I bet she'd be the sort of woman that loves romantic gestures."
Trevor furrowed his brow. "How would you know that?," he wondered, thinking that maybe it was some in-built female thing, a second nature maybe.
"Duh, Dad. Olivia has to be really tough all the time at work and when she is around you, she doesn't have to be tough, she gets to be herself and if I know anything, it's that women are sensitive and like that kind of stuff."
"You're a smart kid, Langan," he smiled at her. "Okay so, maybe you can help me pick out some flowers and if you like we can go to the NY Public Library."
Her eyes lit up. He knew how much she loved to pursue the old books and take in the very, very quiet of the biggest public library in the city. She liked to sit on the tiled floor and remove books at random and read little bits and pieces and passages of old literature and poetry.
Her love of books was passed down from both her mother and him. By the time Ava was 11 she had finished all of the classic children's novels and her mother allowed her to delve a little deeper in to teen fiction and Trevor had urged her toward poetry and other literature that inspired her will to research classic authors. Ava developed an uncanny ability to spill out random facts about the English language and her favourite author, Jack Kourac.
He knew his daughter was smart, but sometimes it frightened him with just how much she knew at her young age. She had threatened to go to college and study Linguistics. It was a nothing career, she knew, years and years of studying to become an author or a teacher or a researcher. She didn't really want to do that, but it was fun watching her Dad try to smile and nod and act like he was fine with it.
He looked at the stack of books on her bedside table. "What's this?," he asked, a little amused.
She forced herself up and glanced at her father leafing through the thick book. "It's a book of real life accounts of alien sightings and apparent abductions."
He laughed, "Really?"
"Hey, leave me alone. Would you rather I sneak trashy romance novels that I know you'd hate me reading? This is my guilty pleasure."
"You know they're always made up by some crazy pot-smoking person who probably had their dope laced with something more, right?"
Ava laughed at her father's inability to have an open-mind about things that were all but unknown. "Actually you don't know that. There's a whole universe out there, do you really thing in this entire universe that this tiny little blip is the only existence of life?"
He had to admit that his remark was nothing more than an opinion.
"Why haven't we all seen aliens, then?," he wondered with a little laugh.
"They're probably scared of us, we've all but wrecked our own planet, they're probably scared we'll come for them next." Trevor closed the book and chuckled at his daughter's cynicism.
"Okay, okay… well, you're right, I'd rather you read this than a trashy adult romance novel, I'm gonna go down and start cleaning up— come down when you're ready," he smiled.
"Okay, thanks Dad…"
He left her room without a word and made his way downstairs to text a good morning to Olivia.
/
Olivia was a little pooped. She grabbed a second coffee for herself and got comfortable on a chair and watched Noah excitedly bounce from foam mat to trampoline and in to a sponge pit. At first he was eager for his Mom to watch every single 'trick' that he performed, but as usual, Noah made friends with other kids flying solo. He was now having bounce races and shouting loudly with another little boy who had a younger sister. Olivia smiled and acknowledged the other kid's mother politely.
She was too tired to engage and was happy to just catch up on some emails and get some coffee in.
The first sip was always pure relief and the second sip gave her an excited rush that made her want to chug it all down and go immediately for another. Instead, she took a slower, fuller sip and let the warm liquid slide down her throat with satisfaction.
She saw a message from Trevor pop up and couldn't contain her smile.
Good afternoon Liv, just checking in — feel free to tell me to go away if I'm annoying you. Just was curious as to how your day is going. Ava expressed that she would like to hang out with her dear old Dad today so we've just been to the public library, a book store and I'm being a pushover and waiting in a diner a few shops away from Zara and I've let her have my card… is that an okay thing to do? I don't know!"
Olivia smiled, flicking her eyes up to check on Noah. He was still bouncing happily. She took another sip of her coffee. She saw the other mother coming her way from across the large expanse of the indoor trampoline park and interiorly groaned.
She pretended not to notice and picked up her phone and hit the call button and pressed it to her ear.
Two rings in, Trevor picked it up. "Hello-hello," he greeted her with a voice so rich with bass that she felt herself swooning instantly.
"Hello yourself," she replied, grinning. "I just got your text and I kinda just wanted to hear your voice."
"I would have called you but I didn't want to interrupt your day with Noah," he replied. "Where are you? It's very loud."
She chuckled, "I'm at an indoor trampoline place — Noah has so much energy today, I need him to get it out of his system. He has not stopped raving about Ava and how fun his night was last night, anyone would think it was all a carefully curated event in his honour," she laughed.
Trevor laughed too, "I mean, we wanted to make you both feel special. I'm glad he had a wonderful time and that he loved Ava too. We're both excited to see him dance."
Olivia smiled, "I know Moms and Dads love to boast, but I think he's really good… so hopefully it'll be a nice little event." She took another sip of her coffee. "So, you've given Ava your card to go buy some clothes?"
"Yeah… I'm kind of second-guessing that right now. What if she buys stuff that's too suggestive? That's usually a mother's job to make the rules about clothes, right?"
"Have you ever seen her wear anything that you've felt weird about?" Olivia asked him.
"No," Trevor replied. "I don't think I've seen her in much else besides jeans, tights, band t-shirts and oversized tanks."
Olivia smiled, "well, there you go, I think it'll be okay. Maybe ask her what she bought. If she gets weird about it, then maybe there's a reason."
"Thanks Liv," he replied sincerely. "She's at this weird age where she's still my baby girl but she's also becoming a woman and I don't know what's right and what's wrong and what the boundaries are. Sarah didn't exactly leave me with a handbook."
She felt for him, she knew he was struggling with his new full time role as a father with very little support it seemed, from her mother. There was no second parent to fall back on, to help with the things that he couldn't.
"If you ever need some support—" she thought, "as a friend to Ava or someone she can trust if her Mom can't be around or isn't available, you know you can ask me right? I won't overstep but if it's something that she won't talk to you about, I can try to help."
Trevor's heart warmed with her kindness. "Thank you, Olivia, I appreciate that like you wouldn't believe."
"You're welcome," she murmured. She glanced up and saw Noah waving at her. She smiled and waved back enthusiastically.
"So, the trampoline park, huh? Sounds fun."
"Yeah if you're a 9 year old boy," she laughed.
"Maybe we can join you next time, we can jump together, I'll even hold your hand," she could almost hear the smile on his face and she couldn't wipe the one from hers. "Yeah right, grown women don't jump at these things," she replied.
He laughed, "Maybe you should all get better chest support," he couldn't help but to remark cockily.
"Oh yeah?," she managed a laugh given that he had no idea exactly why women of her age wasn't exploding at the seams to go jumping on a trampoline.
"Yeah…" he replied, sure of himself. Olivia just laughed.
"Okay, Ava is coming, I wonder if I should brace myself for my credit card damage," he chuckled.
"I'm sure she's responsible enough not to push it," she replied.
"Alright Liv, I am glad to hear your voice. I am looking forward to seeing you and Noah tomorrow night and know that I'm thinking about you."
"I'm thinking about you too," she murmured. "Can't wait to see you."
"I'll text you later, love. Have a nice afternoon."
Olivia smiled and said goodbye.
/
"Mom what are we gonna do when we get home?" Noah asked as they neared their apartment.
"We're gonna get your stuff ready for school in the morning, we're gonna make your lunch and you're going to show me your homework book to make sure you've finished everything," she replied. "Annnnd, I'll prepare dinner and we can relax for the rest of the afternoon, how's that?"
He dragged his feet. "I don't wanna go to school while you get to be home all day, Mommmm," he whined.
"As much as I would love for you to spend your entire day with me tomorrow, I need to rest tomorrow and you need to get your education," she told him, scruffing his curls upon his head. "And you have your dance recital. Do you need to practice?"
"No, I practiced this morning in my room when I waited for you to wake up," he replied. She knew he wasn't making it up — he loved to dance so much that she would find him absently performing routines around the house while concentrating on other things.
"Okay," she replied as they greeted the doorman and went up to the apartment.
/
Trevor picked waited til he heard the water running in the bathroom and picked up his phone to call his ex-wife. He had almost resigned her to ignoring it when Sarah finally picked up.
"Hello Trevor," she greeted him, her voice already terse and he knew just from her tone that this was not going to be a pleasant conversation. "How are you?" She forced the words.
"Fine, yourself?," the force of the question was reciprocated.
"Good. What is it?," she asked to-the-point.
"I just wanted to let you know that Ava came out to me the other day and I wanted to talk to you about that for a moment," he tried to be respectful and kept a neutral tone because the last thing he wanted was a fight.
He heard the unmistakable sigh of annoyance. "She came out and told you what, Trevor? That it's the trendy thing this week to think a girl is attractive? Give me a break."
Since Ava had given him her news, things began to fall in to place and he wondered how he hadn't pieced it together sooner. She'd never had a crush on a boy, she never talked about boys. She had once as a little girl even told him she had a crush on Joan Jett when she was around Noah's age after he'd introduced her to a rock-and-roll album.
There were other hints too, its just that none of them glared him in the face.
"Sarah, I don't actually think this is what you think it is. I think our daughter is discovering her identity and I think this is her truth," he replied gently. "But-"
"Trevor with all due respect, we might have had shared custody with Ava but she was with me 90% of the time and you're not suddenly a fucking expert because you're finally being a present parent after a month," she snapped. "I know our daughter better than you."
"I am not looking for a fight," he had to choke his words out one-by-one so he didn't lose his temper. "I am worried about her because all she is worried about is how you think of her. She thinks you don't love her anymore. You don't call her, you can barely respond to this child's text messages, don't lecture me about being a present parent."
"I spent the past fourteen years doing nothing but being a mother and I lost my identity and you got to live your life-"
"Fuck!" He exploded, "not this shit again." He shook his head. "I wasn't out living my fucking life, Sarah, I was out working around the clock to put my kid into the the best school in the city and support her and her mother to give them everything, don't you dare." She went to say something but he cut her off, "you dumped our daughter when shit got hard and now you are blaming her and me and everyone else but yourself. If you needed help, all you had to do was ask! Do not treat our daughter like an inconvenience, reply to her fucking messages! Call her! Don't be so fucking selfish."
"You think you're the fucking expert, that you know everything," Sarah retreated, "you've been a parent for a month-"
"I've been a parent for fourteen fucking years, don't you downplay my role in Ava's life," he spat out with disgust.
"Yeah, well you're not an expert Trevor, our daughter is a Chameleon. Next week she'll be identifying as something else depending on what circle of friends she has."
"And if in ten years, she's still in to women? What are you going to do then?," he asked her.
"I'll be happy that she finally committed to something. By the way, don't you dare let her quit band. Do you know how fucking much that clarinet was?," she told him.
"Of course I know, I fucking paid for it! Even though you've lived with Ava predominantly, I think you've just not been listening to her this whole time. Maybe you're too close to have an objective opinion about who she is as a person — or you just don't notice anyone but yourself. If Ava wants to quit band, Ava is going to quit band."
"Fuck you, Trevor, you live your life and I'll live mine. I don't need this shit from you."
"I don't really give a fuck what you think of me, Sarah, but you make sure that that kid knows she is loved by her mother because what you are doing is selfish and cruel."
He didn't wait for her to say another word.
He glanced up and saw his daughter standing in the doorway and he felt his insides tighten up. He could tell by the way her face crumpled that she had probably heard most of the conversation.
"Oh honey, you're supposed to be having a shower…" he told her gently, making his way over to her.
"I forgot my towel— I heard you yelling," she stifled a sob as Trevor pulled her close to him. He wrapped his arms around his daughter tightly. "She doesn't love me anymore, does she?"
"She does, honey, I promise she does, she's just… going through her own personal crisis and it has nothing to you."
"Don't lie to me," she began to cry, "she hates me, I can hear it when she talks to me and she doesn't even reply to me."
He didn't know what to say so he held her tight, heartbroken for her. "I love you," he murmured. "I love you so much and you'll always be my baby and I don't care what I've got going on, you are always going to be my number one priority."
He stroked her hair and let her cry. He wasn't really sure what to make of Sarah's behaviour but he knew that it was ugly and he could foresee Ava living with him for the long-term and not temporarily anymore. Not if he had anything to do with it.
He kissed her again. "Guess what the best part about Mom being weird is?" He tried to joke.
"What?" Ava asked tearfully.
"You and I get to know each other better than ever and even though I already thought that my daughter was the most amazing person in the world, now I know just how amazing she truly is and it is an absolute joy that I get you all to myself."
She stifled a laugh and a sob at the same time. "I love you… I like living here. You listen to me and don't treat me like a child."
He gave her a regretful smile. "Honey, you will always be my little girl, but regardless of how I feel, you are your own person and I only hope that I can contribute to who you are in a positive way. I don't ever want you to feel ashamed of anything. I'm here for you always through the good and the bad and the ugly, like when you spend $250 on my AMEX," he joked.
She laughed but he knew she was deeply sad but what she'd over heard.
"Go have your shower, honey, we can make dinner together and wait for Olivia to receive her flowers and we can continue on with our black and white horror movies."
"K… Love you…" she broke away.
"Love you," he repeated after her.
/
Olivia got an alert from her phone around 5pm that she had a package. She went to the front door and rang the doorman from the intercom.
"Hi Mr Bevan, I just got an alert saying that I have a package. It's sunday?," she said with a laugh.
"Ah, yes Ms Benson, you have a beautiful package, I will bring it right up to your door right now!"
"I can send Noah down," she opted, not wanting to leave her apartment in her pyjamas.
"No, no, it'll be my pleasure, I will leave it at your door, have a wonderful evening."
Less than ten minutes later, Olivia heard a knock at her door. She yelled out thanks and opened the door and saw Mr. Bevan's back as he headed down the stairs. Her eyes were drawn to a huge box of pink flowers — roses, dahlias, crysanthemums, daisies and more — all of the different tones of pink all pieced together so beautifully. Her stomach flip-flopped with an overwhelming feeling of adoration for the wonderful man who had only shown he such a gentlemanly respect.
She picked up the flowers hearing Noah's steps behind her. "Mommy, you got some beautiful flowers!," he remarked.
"I did!," she grinned.
"Are they from Trevor?," he asked curiously as she closed the front door and set them on the table. She plucked out the card and read the note;
"He stepped down, trying not to look long at her, as if she were the sun, yet he saw her, like the sun, even without looking."
She thought for a second about the familiar quote. "Yes, they're from Trevor, babe," she murmured thoughtfully.
It finally dawned on her. The night Trevor had asked her out to the gala, she had mentioned reading Anna Kerenina by Leo Tolstoy. The Tolstoy quote finally hit her hard and she beamed almost with tears in her eyes as she read the rest.
"Your smile warms me like the sun Olivia Benson and all I can think about is the next time I am going to get to experience the wonderfulness that is you.
xx Trev"
"Mommy has a boyyyyyfriend," Noah teased her, poking her in the side.
Olivia couldn't help but to let go of some laughter. "He's not my boyfriend, Noah."
"Yes he is, he likes you and you like him, I could tell," Noah giggled. "The flowers are so pretty Mom and Trevor and Ava are so nice!"
Olivia put an arm around Noah and gave him a squeeze. "I'm glad you like them, babe. This was really nice of Trevor, wasn't it?"
"Yeah," he smiled, "you look really happy, Mommy," she looked down at her son who smiled and stared at her with his big, blue eyes.
"I am, honey… Mom's very happy. Why don't you go and set the table for dinner and I'll find somewhere for these flowers and Ill send Trevor a quick text to say thank you."
"Okay," he replied.