Hey everyone! Sorry its been so long. Life stuff gets in the way and I've been busy with work and family and everything in between. I hope you enjoy this chapter, feel free to leave some feed back... :) thank you and I appreciate your patience.
"What's wrong?" Trevor asked gently as Olivia slid in to bed. "You've been so quiet all night long…" he remarked. He hoped she wasn't coming down with anything. He had a full date day and night planned for the following day.
"I'm okay," she replied giving him a forced smile. "I guess I'm just tired," she added.
"Okay," Trevor shrugged. He went to brush his teeth. As he scrubbed at his teeth and briefly and glanced at himself in the mirror he wondered if maybe he was making something out of nothing. It wasn't that Liv was snappy or mean or anything but her sweet self, it was that she seemed apathetic.
He wondered why she wouldn't talk to him.
He was starting to feel like she was avoiding him. She allowed Noah to have a friend stay the night before at her apartment so she had spent the night in her own bed with Lucy looking after the kids til she got home. She had a brief sleep and took the kids to do some activities during the day while Trevor took Ava to swimming.
Even when he had asked if she was coming to stay, or if he could come to stay she had seemed reluctant to say yes, but she did and she had at least expressed that she missed him and the kids acted like they'd been apart for years.
Trevor rinsed his toothbrush and wiped his face and joined Liv in bed. Without a word she switched the lamp off as soon as he settled beside her. He did find it harder to sleep at her apartment.
"Are you sure everything is fine between us?," he pushed, inching closer to the woman he loved, resting a hand on her upper arm. The body language was all off, he thought. She lay upon her side, her back facing him. He kissed her shoulder blade and she didn't move, she didn't turn to face him, she didn't give him anything.
"Yeah… I guess I'm just tired or something."
"Olivia…" he whispered in to the dark, gently, pulling her backward so that she was laying on her back.
"Don't Trev," she shrugged him away, "I want to go to sleep."
"How am I supposed to sleep when I feel like you don't want me here?," he asked, "I mean, is that it?," he wondered, "should I go home to my apartment and come back to get Ava in the morning?"
Finally she turned, "No, no…I don't want you to go," she said softly.
He stared at her for a moment, unconvinced. "Olivia, please, what's going on? Just tell me, nothing can be as bad as what I'm thinking in my head."
He rolled over and turned his bed side light on. He immediately saw tears in Liv's eyes. Embarrassed, she rolled back over.
"Olivia…" his voice trailed off, "please…"
He sidled up to her and wrapped an arm around her. He kissed her temple. "Did I upset you somehow?"
She shook her head. "No, no… I'm sorry I'm crying, I'm just overwhelmed…"
"With what?, you know you can tell me anything," he pushed.
Olivia wiped her eyes. Trevor released her and she sat up, scooting herself back against her bedhead. He sat up too and turned to face her. "If you want to break up with me or-"
"No," she said quickly, "No, it's nothing like that."
He smiled and rested his hand against his chest and made a dramatic gesture that made her scoff with a laugh and a sob at the same time. "Well, nothing you can say to me will upset me or make me angry, so please…"
She stared in to his piercing eyes for a second. He took her face in his large, warm hands and kissed her forehead and followed it with another on the tip of her nose and then her lips. She felt the tips of his fingers brushing against the back as his thumbs smoothed her tears away.
"I just feel… like…" she averted her eyes, struggling to say it, "I feel like I'm just here…"
He glanced at her for more explanation. "As in you feel… stagnate? Or just a bit worthless?"
"Maybe," she sniffed, "but more like… you and I, in the beginning things felt so exciting and passionate and I didn't know what it was gonna be like to have a relationship with a child and its hard… I feel guilty when I'm not with him because I work so much and I feel like he might resent me."
"Do you think that maybe we are too comfortable, is that what you mean?"
"Not too comfortable, I wouldn't want to be uncomfortable, I want to feel secure and I do… I just am scared that you are luke warm about me compared to how you felt when we started dating."
"I am definitely not luke warm about you, love," he replied instantly, "I hate that you think that or you've been feeling that…" he sighed, "Its a new curve for me too, having a kid around 24/7 with needs that are so different to when she was a little girl….I am so sorry, by the way, for making you feel like that."
"No, its okay, life gets in the way, I know…"
"I know, but if I'm honest, I felt similarly when stuff happened with the kids at school, I recognised that we've both just smoothly assumed roles in both the kids lives and it sometimes leaves little room for one another."
"I just felt like you haven't tried to have sex with me… I kind of expected that we'd be doing that a lot more than we are…" she flushed.
Trevor chuckled. "Oh honey, don't you dare think I haven't had it on my mind," he smiled.
Olivia laughed lightly too. He continued, "I think sometimes I try to read your mood and if you seem tired I don't want to keep you up or I get worried that you might just be saying yes because I ask… and then there's the kids, Ava is at this weird age where she knows we're having sex and in my head, I'm scared that I'm scarring her mentally by her possibly overhearing or even knowing its happening."
"You know if Ava heard us, she'd probably roast us forever just to take the sting out of it for her," Olivia joked and already she felt better. "But for the record, I don't know that I'll ever be too tired for you to love me."
A little smile crossed Trevor's mouth. "Okay, I'll keep that in mind." He kissed her lips again, "You know, I think I've kind of dropped the ball so I'm glad you told me. I'm usually a goofy romantic but this whole thing with Ava kind of … preoccupied me."
"Love, I'm not mad. All of your focus needs to make sure Ava is safe and I don't need you to go over the top but… I dunno… I guess I have created a drama in my head that wasn't there. Work doesn't help, there are so many things that I see or that happen that really, I find it hard to decompress but I don't want to get in to that too much with you because its too harrowing."
"I know that you don't like to bring your cases to our relationship, but you can," he told her, "you forget the things that I saw or had to deal with during the old defence days, I can handle it with you if you can't handle it on your own."
"Thanks… it just makes me feel alone because I know I could talk about it with you but its a lot and I can't help but feel like society gets more depraved each day…" she sighed. "Thanks for not getting weird for my mood."
"Weird? Baby, I'm not going to resent you for having feelings," he smiled, stroking her hair and tucking a lock behind her ear. "I love you so much and I hate that you have been keeping this to yourself. I'm glad you told me though because I need to do better to make you feel wanted."
"Its okay, I don't need you to do anything different except… maybe kiss me more at the very least…" she managed a smile.
Trevor chuckled. "I will kiss you so much that I'm happy to gross the kids out."
She laughed too. "Good, I can't wait."
"I was gonna keep this to myself, but… actually organised for Lucy to take the kids tomorrow after breakfast. They're going to my apartment for the night and you and I are going to have date night. I have a couple of fun things planned and then I'm gonna make you breakfast on Monday morning and Lucy will drop Noah off to school and help Ava with her school assignments until I get back or we get back, depending on what you want."
"Oh, really? You already had that on the down low?" A more vibrant smile spread across her face.
He grinned at her, "yeah, we needed some alone time, no kid talk, no work talk, just you and I and some fun activities like our last date and some time where we'll be too busy concentrating on each other than everything else…"
"I can't wait… what are the activities?," she asked, feeling a huge weight suddenly lifted from her knowing that he didn't have to be prompted that he meant it when he said that he had genuinely been distracted by Ava's issues and it was completely fair. She had been distracted and had been putting more effort in to his daughter than him.
"The activities are a secret, but I'll tell you enough in the morning so you'll know what to wear," he smiled.
She eased back down under the covers. Trevor followed suit and had a little surge of excitement jolt through him when Olivia looked back at him with a look of recognition and happiness. He leaned over her and kissed her, resting his hand on her hip over the top of her underwear. He let his tongue taste hers and let his hand travel down to her thigh. He felt her immediately shift and knew she wanted to feel some affection.
He drew away and eyed her, letting his stare fall over the freckles across her nose, lingering his eyes over her sweet, pink lips. "I love you," he murmured.
"I love you," she replied. He watched her expression change as his hand slipped between her legs.
"Did you miss this feeling?," he asked, his throat almost dry from the immediate flushing of Olivia's cheeks.
She nodded and let out a little whimper as he allowed his hand to graze over the fabric of her underwear. He touched her just softly at first, enough to get a reaction and used a little more pressure when she got used to him. "Does that feel okay?," he asked.
"Y-yes…" she nodded, briefly looking in to his eyes. He kissed her lips again, tasting her tongue and letting her want for more.
He removed his hand and Olivia felt frustrated. She wondered what he was doing but quickly realised he was shutting the bedroom door the whole way and turning the lock quietly and delicately so that neither child would hear.
He lay back down beside her and kissed her. "I have a couple little fun things set up for when we get back here tomorrow night too…" he smiled slyly at her.
"Yeah?"
"Uhuh," he grinned playfully. "I'm gonna rock your world…"
"You already do," she replied, sucking her stomach in as his hand crept its way back down her tummy and beneath the waist of her underwear. He wasted no time in caressing her smooth skin between her legs, making sure she was aroused. He drew himself in closer and kissed her neck, letting his mouth cover a spot behind her ear, his tongue massaging against her skin as she felt his fingers inside of her.
She let out a little gasp of pleasure.
"You wanna hear what I'm gonna do to you tomorrow night?," he asked.
"Yes…" she nodded fast, wanting to know everything.
He lowered his voice to a whisper, letting his tongue explore the shell of her ear. "I'm going to make love to you softly and then I'm going to fuck you, Benson, I am going to put a blind fold over these pretty eyes and I'm going to feed you ice cream and eat the rest of it from your body…"
She let out a soft moan of pleasure, feeling his fingers curing inside of her as they slowly moved in and out, pushing further each time.
"I've got you the sexiest vibrator and I plan on teasing you with it for hours and making you come as many times as you've got stored up for me…" he tugged at her earlobe with his teeth, "how does that sound?"
"Mmmm why can't it be tonight, right now?," she asked, feeling chills spread across her body with his frank words.
"Tonight is just a preview…" he replied, "because I want you to realise how much I love to please you and how hot it is for me when you come… you look so fucking sexy and you make me so hard."
"You can fuck me if you like…" she murmured, opening her eyes to look at him, she looked weary but happy and almost intoxicated. "Or I can put my mouth on you and suck you dry…"
It was Trevor's turn to swallow hard at her bluntness. He smiled, "I won't say no to that, I'd be crazy not to…"
They both chuckled. "But," he continued, "not until you come,"
"Mmmm…" she closed let her eyes close and smiled, "sounds good…" she told him.
"You look like you're enjoying it…" he was so happy to see her smile. "I'm enjoying it…" he added, planting a few soft kisses on her neck.
"Yeah?," she asked, softly moaning the word from the back of her throat.
"Yeah baby, I love the way you feel and I love how you react," he murmured in to her ear. "Those little whimpers and moans and the look on your face…" he moved deeper inside of her and felt her angling her hips so she could get more of him. She writhed around a little, turning her head to look at him.
He kissed her lips. "I will do anything you want, Liv, there's nothing off-limits," he told here sincerely and because she knew his words to be true, she felt the goosebumps spread over her body and heat filling her core. She caught his lips with hers and kissed him passionately as she rolled her hips to meet his fingers reaching deep inside of her, hitting her centre.
"Anything?," she questioned in a shaky voice.
"Anything," he replied.
She chuckled against his mouth as he filled hers with his tongue and kissed her again passionately. She felt his thumb tuck beneath the fold of her skin just above her opening and knew what was about to happen. She could already feel herself building in the base of her lower stomach. The pad of his thumb circled her bundle of nerves until it became swollen and engorged and he could tell she was close.
"Let go…" he whispered in to her ear, letting the words vibrate against her. "Just come, forget everything else…" he coaxed her, "think of tomorrow when I'm gonna fuck you in the living room as soon as we're alone, and maybe as we walk out the door," he continued, "I might have to stop you and bury my cock inside of you before we go on our date because I don't know if I can deal with you in those hot little date outfits you wear…" he murmured.
She whispered his name a little urgently in to the room, gripping his wrist with her hand before letting it go again. He felt her body begin to tense and twitch beneath him. He moved in and out of her faster, hearing her moan out a little louder than she realised. He didn't mind, he tried not to laugh or even worry about it.
"That's it, baby…" he said feeling her tightening around him, coming hard, her arousal evident. "Fuck, you look so hot…" he whispered. She felt more confident with his assurances, his bluntness seemed to be a turn on and she couldn't help but to enjoy his dirty talk. She felt it building, bubbling inside her until the feeling boiled over and she began to writhe around, biting her lip to keep from making a sound.
"Fuccckkkkkkkkkkkkk" the word erupted in a whisper, slow, tortured and full of lust.
Her hips jutted and jolted for a few seconds as the feeling wore. Trevor slowed down but didn't stop entirely until he knew the orgasm was done.
"What are you doing?" She asked as her body began to calm down from the orgasm that rippled through her, filling her brain full of dizziness and a wish that it would never end.
He smiled at her, climbing over her and pushing his own white-shirt up over her hips that she loved to wear. He pulled her damp black underwear down over her legs and tossed them aside. She grinned at him, her face flush and her hips still trembling. He planted a kiss above her stomach and glanced back up at her. "I just really need to put my mouth on you…" he informed her, "I wanna taste you."
Her eyes rolled back in her head from his words alone and even though she knew she was sensitive, she anticipated his mouth upon her flesh.
"I love you," she blurted out.
"I love you too, beauty," he told her, briefly lifting his head to look at her. "Are you ready to feel my mouth on you?"
She just chuckled and grabbed his pillow and pulled it over her face.
She felt his mouth cover her, his tongue swiping her and enjoying the glistening remnants of her orgasm as he legs twitched a little. He grabbed her ass cheeks, squeezing both in either hand, drawing her closer to his face. He buried his tongue inside her flesh, tasting her and enjoying that he was the one who was able to bring her so much pleasure.
He could read her body, he knew when he needed to stop, he knew she was too sensitive for him to continue. Instead, he laid a few kisses over her, moving outward to her thighs, dragging his lips slightly over her skin.
He buried his head momentarily beneath the t-shirt and kissed the supple skin on her belly that she wished she wasn't as soft as it was. Trevor didn't care, he didn't even notice. He just loved her; every single bit of her and even though he hadn't forgotten his feelings, he'd somehow forgotten to let her know that.
"I love you baby," he told her, reappearing from beneath the white cotton material.
"I love you too," she replied, "that was so good," she sighed.
"Baby, you know you can always initiate sex too," he told her with a little smile, "you don't always have to wait for me, you can either tell me or touch me or give me a hint," he assured her.
"Too many weird hang ups," she replied, "which now is not the time to get in to th-" both of them stopped, hearing the door handle rattle.
"Oh no," Liv murmured, sitting up, looking around as if fresh underwear was going to appear. It was closely followed by Noah's voice.
Trevor held up his hands, "pretend you're asleep, I'll go and make sure he's okay."
"Mommmyyy," he called, rattling the door again.
Trevor jumped up and made his way quickly to the door. He unlocked it and opened it up. "Hey, shhh," he whispered, "Mom's sleeping, are you okay?," Trevor asked.
"I want Mommy, I had a bad dream…"
"Mom's asleep, buddy, come on, let's go back to your room and turn the lamp on and I'll get you your water bottle, okay?"
Noah glanced at his Mom beneath the covers, wanting to make a break past Trevor to get in to bed, but instead he did as he was asked, Trevor was right behind him.
"I have my water bottle…" he told Trevor nodding to the half-empty bottle as Trevor guided him back in his room, clicking the bedside night light on. Noah pouted and reluctantly got back in to bed. "I want my Mom…" he said quietly.
"Come on, bud, Mom's been so tired and needs to sleep. Would you like me to read to you for a little while?," he asked. He knew he was not getting what Olivia had promised back in her bedroom.
The little boy slowly nodded.
"Okay, cuddle in with your Optimus Prime," he gave him a little smile. He loved Noah's soft Transformer plushie. Noah loved it too and didn't sleep a single night without it. Trevor heard Noah sigh. "I'll be back in a minute and while I'm gone I want you to think about what book we should start reading," he told him. Trevor had bought Noah a few books when he and Ava had visited the bookstore during the week with the promise that they could read them together.
"Okay," Noah replied.
Trevor went back to Liv's bedroom and closed the door behind him. "Is he okay?," she whispered.
"Yeah," Trevor smiled, "rain check on our plans?," he offered regretfully. "He had a bad dream so I told him I'd read to him for a little while, I'm sure he'll be back out like a light in a few seconds."
"If there is one thing that Noah has come to resent about you being here," Liv sat up as he came to her side, "is that he is used to just climbing in to bed with me whenever he feels like it. I'm trying to ween it out but…. It's hard."
"I get it," Trevor shrugged giving her a soft kiss. "This is his house and it's the way it's always been for him, of course he'll be out of sorts. I don't mind him coming in sometimes, but… his timing was hardly appropriate.
"Better go and read the story," he let go of her and disappeared in to the bathroom to clean up.
"I can go," she said as he came back out.
"No, you stay right there, you're very tired, Olivia, you need to sleep. Noah and I will be fine and I am sure I'll be gone for ten minutes tops. You sleep, baby."
Noah was half sitting up when Trevor came back and slid on to the bed beside the boy. Noah nodded to the bedside table, "The Harry Potter one?," he asked, "Ava loved these books when she was your age."
Noah nodded sleepily. "Do you want to talk about your bad dream?" He asked, knowing that it used to help Ava to tell him about it.
He shook his head but shrugged, glancing up at Trevor.
"It might help to say it out loud, sometimes dreams are so silly and saying them out loud helps us realise they're untrue and won't happen," he explained. "And if you think it might happen, Mom and I are here to assure you and protect you."
"I dreamed that the boys kept hurting Ava and I couldn't run to get help because my legs were really slow and I couldn't move fast."
"Ah," Trevor smiled tersely to himself. He was still angry about what had happened and it wasn't the first bad dream he'd had about it. "Firstly, I absolutely love how much you and Ava look out for one another, it makes Mom and I so happy, but its not your job to protect Ava that's my job and Mom's job. I know she got hurt last week but she's okay now and no one will hurt her like that again so you don't have to worry."
"Okay," Noah replied.
"Is there anything else you want to talk about?" Trevor asked Noah.
He shook his head. "Okay, let's read the book…"
/
"What are we gonna do today?" Noah asked, climbing in to bed next to Olivia on top of the covers while Trevor had got up to take a shower.
"Welllllll, Lucy is coming over and she's gonna pick you and Ava up and you're both gonna go and hang out at Trevor's apartment and I think Lucy has something fun planned and probably an early night because you've got school."
Noah sighed, "What are you doing? Are you working?"
"No," Olivia shook her head, "Trevor has a surprise for me and him."
"Why can't Ava and I come too?," he pouted, "I don't wanna stay with Lucy."
She sighed, Noah wasn't exactly jealous, he just didn't like being left out.
"You know how much I love you, right?," she asked. Noah nodded.
"Sometimes work gets really, really tough and it makes me sad," she levelled with him, "and when I get sad sometimes I get tired and sometimes that sadness is hard to make go away and you and Ava and Trevor, the three of you always cheer me up. Before Ava and Trevor came along, your little face…" she reached up and smiled at her young son and caressed his hair, "you cheer me up and make my heart happy every day, but sometimes me, or grown ups in general need to be around other adults because there's things that I can't talk to you about."
"Why not?," he asked curiously.
"Because you're so young and you're so sweet and I'm not ready for you to have grown up conversations about the kind of things that I have to see and talk about at my job."
"Oh," he shrugged, "but I know about some grown up stuff," he replied.
Olivia smiled and ran her fingers through his curls. "I know, but its just a little bit different and its really hard for me to explain. I just sometimes need to have some time with Trevor all on my own so we can talk about grown up stuff and go places that I wouldn't be allowed to take you."
"Plus she really wants to make out with my Dad," Ava smirked from the doorway, letting herself in the way she had grown comfortable enough to do.
Noah screwed up his face, "Kissing? Yuuuuuckk!"
"Thanks for that, Ava," Olivia replied wryly.
Ava shrugged and smiled happily, "You're welcome. Lucy told me she is going to take us to a fun dinner and we might do something special," she winked at Noah conspiratorially.
"Oh, I think I know something about that," Olivia told added.
"Can you tell me?" Noah asked with a half smile. "I wanna know the secret."
"Welllllll," Olivia began, "maybe we'll let Lucy tell you when she arrives. Now get over here, both of you and give me cuddles and then I'll need some privacy to get up."
"Mommy you're naked!" Noah exclaimed giggling, "that's rude."
Ava made a grossed out face.
"Firstly," Olivia told him, "I am not naked, I have underwear on and secondly, it isn't rude to be naked. It's my body and I don't feel bad about it and neither should either of you."
Ava gave Olivia a hug and let Noah wedge himself between them. "Should I start making some pancakes or crepes?" Ava asked as she pulled away.
"Mmm that sounds like a great Sunday morning breakfast," Olivia grinned, "I think I have all the things for it, use whatever you need."
"What time is Lucy coming?" Ava asked with a yawn.
"I don't know actually, you should ask your Dad at breakfast," Olivia replied.
"Can I help make breakfast?" Noah asked.
"Sure, let's leave your Mom and my Dad to put some clothes on, they'll probably wanna kiss more too, grosssss."
"Yeahhhh gross!" Noah shadowed her wrinkling his nose, showing the similar disgust for the idea. Olivia just laughed and decided not to play in to either of their teasing.
As soon as the they left Olivia saw the bathroom door open just a peak, Trevor stuck his head out. "Is it safe to come out?"
Olivia grinned at him, "Yeah…"
"I forgot to take my underwear," he flashed her a grin, standing in the doorway dressed only in a towel. He made his way over to Olivia and straddled her, making her giggle. He kissed her softly and nuzzled his nose behind her ear, letting his lips catch her jawline.
His towel had half-slipped off over his backside. "Stop it, the kids are just down stairs…" she hissed though not being able to resist letting her hands reach his behind, giving his cheek squeeze pulling him close.
He chuckled against her skin and lifted his face. He covered himself and got up off of her. "I suppose there's some time for that later… Lucy is coming about 9:30 ish, so… I'll get up and go keep on eye on the kids and make coffee. You lay in if you like, baby…"
"Really?," she asked, her eyes lighting up. "No, I should get up…"
"No, I've got it, I can call you when breakfast is ready…" He plucked out some underwear from a drawer beside her bed that she had given him to put some things. "You hang out in bed and enjoy a quiet relax, and after the kids go I figured we can laze about until the early afternoon…" he pulled his underwear on and came back to her side and kissed her lips again. "I love you so much."
Olivia smiled, "I love you too baby, I'm excited for our date though."
/
"Fi-na-lly!," Trevor fell in to the couch beside Olivia. "I feel mean saying this, but how good is it to not have the kids around," he chuckled.
Olivia laughed too. She sidled up to him and settled in to the crook of his arm. She felt his fingers raking through her hair and smiled to herself with contentment. "Thanks for organising some time alone, I appreciate it and I know I'll miss my kid and parent guilt will visit me later, but I really am glad to be alone with you."
"Me too," he replied, planting a kiss on her forehead. "What would you like to do?," he asked, "we can hang out here on the couch for awhile? I've ordered something for us to arrive in about an hour…"
"Ooooh, what is it?," she wondered.
"It's a surprise, just…. Relax, enjoy the lazy morning." He caressed the silk of the the midnight blue robe covering her shoulder.
"I am relaxing. This is actually the best lazy Sunday I've had in months, thank you for that…" she tipped her head up to see his face. He registered her gratitude and met her lips with his own.
"You are very welcome…"
Interrupting their moment was a shrill bell from her door. Olivia groaned with frustration. "Seriously, who the hell is that?" She peeled herself up and made her way to the door and lifted the phone intercom. "Hello?"
"Hi Miss Olivia, I have a delivery for you should I bring it up?"" The door man was sounded as polite and as cheerful as always.
"Thank you, that'd be great, if you could just leave it by my door I'll get it. I appreciate that," she smiled. She couldn't remember ordering anything online but she could only imagine what one of her late night's from work left her with. "I've got mail…" she told Trevor when she hung up. "Can you get it?, I am not appropriately dressed to step out," she smirked at Trevor.
He chuckled and lifted himself off the couch. "Of course… go back to the living room, I've got this."
She passed him and stood on her tiptoes for a kiss. He obliged her and watched her head back in to the living room.
With a smile, Trevor intercepted the gift that he had ordered for Olivia. He thanked the doorman and closed the door. He made his way to the living room. "Strangest thing…" he began as if he was a little confused, "someone must love you so very, very much…" he finished entering the room with a huge bouquet of colourful wildflowers.
Olivia did a double take and he watched her mouth fall open as he placed the flowers upon the coffee table so that she could look at them properly. They were in a box which allowed them to stay upright.
"Oh my goodness," she grinned, jumping to her feet, "thank you so much! They are so, so beautiful!," She felt flooded with joy and gratitude for the gift and for the proof that he was trying to do the things that he had told her he normally liked to do, but the situation with the kids had overtaken. "They're amazing…" she breathed. She leaned forward and smelled them, closing her eyes with contentment. She stood up straight and took a step closer to her man.
"Thank you so much…" she told him, "I love you, this was so incredibly kind."
He grinned back at her, "I had of known you loved flowers this much, love, I would have bought you a bouquet every day!" He exclaimed. He leaned over to kiss her lips. "I am glad you like them, but you didn't even read the card!"
She kissed him back and turned back to the flowers, kneeling on the carpet before the coffee table so she could look at them and smell them closer. Trevor took a seat on the couch just behind her and rested his hands on her shoulders as she took the small card and let herself fall back against the couch between his long legs. He gathered her long, wavy brown hair and pushed it over one shoulder and watched her read the card with a little smile.
My dearest, loveliest, Olivia,
You are the real deal and every morning when I wake up I am so thankful that you are mine and I am yours and that the two that we have between us will one day be ours.
'You should be kissed and often, by someone who knows how…'
Always yours,
Trevor."
She couldn't help but to feel a little teary-eyed. She put the card back in to the envelope. "Now I know you're for real…" she chuckled blinking back the film of water in her eyes as she turned to face him. "You're quoting Margaret Mitchell…"
"I love that you get my book references," he grinned back at her.
"Of course, thank you, love, they are so beautiful and thanks for being so thoughtful."
"You're welcome," he replied.
She rested her arms on his thighs, kneeling against him. He kissed her lips gently, lifting the shoulder of her robe back over her skin. It had slipped down her from her collarbone. He pulled it back up and secured it in place.
He wrapped his arms around her and drew her close to him. Olivia embraced him back, kneeling higher, slipping her arms around his torso. She closed her eyes for a moment and enjoyed the embrace. "How are you feeling?" He wanted to know, "do you want to go hang out and lay in for while?"
She pulled away and looked up at him, trying to determine whether or not he wanted to initiate sex but he looked completely innocent without intent.
"I don't want to be lazy," she replied, but she really was tired and she knew that shift work was to blame.
"You're not lazy, you've just worked a big week, love, you need to rest, that's partially why I made sure Lucy was coming right after breakfast, so we could laze about, I don't have anything planned until late afternoon, we are going out to do something and we can be semi casual and then I'm taking you out for a special dinner after that, but we can come home to get changed," he explained.
"Oh, I love you, does that mean I can lay in bed beside you and cuddle you and watch a movie that isn't a children's movie or teen coming of age drama?," she chuckled.
Trevor laughed, "Sure, we can go and lay in bed and watch an interesting, intellectual movie."
"Hey wait, I didn't say intellectual, I'm tired, I want to be able to follow the plot," she chuckled.
She used his knees to elevate herself to her feet and reached out for his hands. "Guess we're going back to bed for awhile," he confirmed the plan, helping her to her feet.
Trevor led the way back to bed and disrobed down to his underpants and watched as she freely discarded her robe which left very little to the imagination. She wore a tiny black thong and absolutely nothing on top.
He loved it when she felt comfortable and free around him.
"Nice pants…" he remarked with a little smile. "Cute,"
"Do you want me to put on more clothes? Is that going to help you concentrate on the movie?"
"No," he smiled. "I am more than capable of concentrating on other things besides you, you know," he rolled his eyes as if he wasn't really that bothered by her amazing breasts bare and just inches away from pressing against him. "I'm fine," he replied and he meant it. "I'm just happy that we get to lay about in nothing and hang out uninterrupted, it's heaven to me, actually."
Olivia laughed, "this morning Ava made a comment that I was naked beneath the covers and then Noah teased me and told me it was gross," she rolled her eyes.
"Brats," Trevor scoffed, "always being brats and feeding off each other. We're gonna have a 9 year old with the attitude of a 14 year old and a 14 year old with the smooshiness of a nine year old," he joked.
"I'm actually kinda okay with that," she smiled at him, "I have noticed that Ava's become very affectionate with her dad."
"She has and I love it," he agreed. He got comfortable in bed and slid his arm beneath her head. She smiled to herself, adjusting her hair so that it wasn't in the way. She turned to him, content yet exhausted and he could tell too, she had dark circles beneath her eyes the way she always seemed to when she came off night shift.
He leaned over and kissed her lips softly. "I love you," he murmured.
"I love you too," she replied, kissing him back. She felt an arm wrapping around her bare waist as he pulled her closer in to his body, turning himself as well so that he could concentrate on her. "I missed you," she added, as his kisses traveled away from her mouth to her jaw, finding their way to her neck.
"Me too," he mumbled, letting his hands brush along the soft skin of her shoulder, "so fucking much…"
"Babe…" she murmured, lifting her head to kiss him.
"Yeah?"
"I really want you…" she told him bluntly, "but I'm so tired that I feel like if I let my eyes close, I might fall asleep."
"Oh, that's okay, I wasn't trying to-"
"No its fine, please don't apologize, I just didn't want to start something I may not be able to finish," she admitted.
He stared in to her beautiful chocolate eyes with a little smile. Finally, he leaned in and brushed his lips along hers. "I'm just happy to be close to you and have some uninterrupted time, baby."
"I'm sorry," she apologised, feeling bad.
"No," he said firmly, "I was just trying to kiss you, Liv, I wasn't trying to start anything, I know you're tired, I can see it… me climbing over you and kissing you never has to lead to anything… I dont always want it to be that…" he told her, stroking her hair.
"Okay," she nodded, her eyes sweeping over the beautiful angles of his face. She loved him so much for always showing her kindness. "Thanks… I don't want you to think I don't want to because I really," she paused and let her eyes close with a soft smile spreading across her face, "really do…"
"I know, we have plenty of time, just rest, love," he moved beside her and pulled the covers up over her. "If you're too tired, I can even cancel our afternoon activity and let you catch up on uninterrupted sleep and we can just do the dinner instead," he offered.
"No, baby, no… I want the activity. I want to spend time with you… wake me up whenever you want," she told him. She cuddled in close and enjoyed how good it felt to be in his arms. She let him pull her close. She closed her eyes, hearing him turn the TV on.
He thought about how nice it was to just be able to be with her, how he enjoyed her presence even if she was just snoring ever-so-slightly beside him. He knew she was in a deep sleep by the slow rise and fall of her chest. He stroked her hair absently as he flipped through the channels of the TV. He knew he wouldn't be able to go back to sleep.
He could hear Olivia's phone buzzing beside the bed. He thought about picking it up, but decided it wasn't his place. It eventually stopped. He went back to going through the TV channels until he eventually found something to watch.
Her phone started to ring again.
It was an annoying buzzing sound that he was frequently used to hearing — despite it being on silent he knew it had the potential to wake Olivia up and he didn't want that, he wanted her to be able to sleep.
He slid out from beneath her and circled the bed to her side. He picked up the phone which looked like there was no stopping it. It was Fin. He felt irate that they were disturbing on her first day off. He left the bedroom and began down the hall, answering the phone on the way. "Hello?"
"Where's Liv?," he heard panic immediately within Fin's tone and he understood why.
"Its okay, she's fine, she's just asleep," Trevor replied quickly, not wanting anyone to think that she was in a precarious situation.
"Who is this?," the detective demanded to know.
"I am a … a friend," he replied, "I'll leave it up to Liv as to whether or not she wants to tell you who I am."
"Right, I need to speak with her, can you put her on the phone, smart guy?" Trevor was instantly irate..
"No," he said slowly, "as I said, she's asleep and I don't plan on waking her up."
"If you don't wake her up I'm coming to her apartment to check on things."
"For fuck sake," Trevor snapped, "it's Trevor Langan, Olivia is fine, she is exhausted and she needs to sleep."
"What the fuck? Langan?" Fin groaned, "its important, she told me to call if she was needed and she's needed, just put her on the phone, Langan."
"Who is it?" Liv's soft voice came from the bedroom doorway. Trevor felt angry that they always asked a lot of her. He understood it was her job but even she deserved a break.
"Its Fin, do you want to take it? Or do you want to go back to sleep?" Trevor asked kindly, his voice calming to a gentle tone, feeling sorry that she'd been disturbed.
With a sigh and a drop of her shoulders, Olivia, she made her way toward him and held out her hand for the phone. "Hi Fin," she began. Trevor could hear the senior detective ranting. Olivia shut her eyes and shook her head with frustration, "yeah, that's nothing to do with you, Detective, what do you need?"
She leaned back against the hallway wall and glanced at Trevor. "Okay…" she said, "why, what happened?"
Olivia sighed. "Yeah, I guess…" she paused, "Fin, let's not lose sight, no I'm not happy about it, I'm fucking tired, but I don't have a choice, do I? I guess I'll be there in an hour or so…"
Trevor felt his own mood instantly shift. He couldn't help but be frustrated with Olivia for giving in so easily. She said a few more things before hanging up and turning to Trevor with a look of regret on her face. "I'm so sorry, I have to go to work."
"Why?," he asked, "you worked six nights in a row, Olivia, I know you, you barely sleep when you're on nights because you're trying to be present for us and Noah too."
"Sonny's plane got canceled so he got stranded in LA, he wont be back til tomorrow so…"
"Okay," Trevor swallowed his irritation. "I'll go ahead and cancel our plans," he couldn't help telling her with disappointment. "Maybe another day. I might go collect the kids, you obviously need me to take Noah again."
"You don't have to," she said, feeling almost like he was angry with her, "Lucy is with him, she can bring him back here if its a problem," she had been ready to cuddle him but instead his frustration with her made her internally put a wall up.
"No, its fine… I'm sorry, I'm just sad that you have to go to work when I can see how exhausted you are. You could barely keep your eyes open before baby, it frustrates me that you're the Captain and you are working like you're a junior detective."
"Its okay, I like being in the field still…" her voice trailed off.
"I know and that's fine," he stepped closer and stroked her hair again, "but not when you're exhausted, you're no good to anyone."
"I just… don't have a choice," she replied. She sighed and let him pull her in to his arms for a moment. She let her eyes close, she did feel so tired that she was on the edge of feeling intoxicated. She pulled herself away knowing that if she stayed in his arms longer, she would have a problem.
She felt Trevor kiss her forehead as she pulled away. "I'm sorry again, I know you had a nice afternoon planned."
"Its okay, theres always next time."
"Thanks for not hating me," she murmured.
He grabbed her arm as she was about to peel herself away. "Sweetheart, come back here…" he pulled her close again and took her face in his hands, tilting her head slightly to look in to his eyes. "I don't want to hear you say that again, I will never hate you and you don't have to thank me for understanding. I really don't like that you have to go back to work, but I also understand that you have an important role and sometimes things like this may happen."
"Thanks…" she breathed, afraid she might cry. He kissed her lips. "Go have a shower and I'll make you a giant coffee."
"I love you,"
"I love you too…"
/
Olivia felt sick in her stomach; a mixture of anger and frustration and a little bit of hormonal sadness too. She just wanted time with Trevor and the thought of it being taken from her on the only day that it could be made possible made her want to sob — she knew she felt that way only because she was so exhausted. She knew once she managed to pull herself out of the shower, back in to work clothes and back to the precinct she would be alright, but she was barely holding it together.
She tied her hair back so it didn't get wet and splashed some water to dilute her tears. She hated to cry and she hated even more when Trevor saw her cry.
She couldn't help but to feel like she was disappointing him.
She turned the taps off and grabbed a towel and wrapped it around her. She sighed deeply and glanced at her make-up free face in the mirror. She looked truly terrible. Her skin was red in patches and the bags under her eyes were not pretty. She wiped a way a tear that escaped but it was followed by another and another.
She wiped them and went to her bedroom to sit and collect herself for a moment. She took a few deep breaths and tried to rationalise the situation. Work needed her, there was no one else to take-
She stopped. She hadn't bothered asking but surely Fin had contacted Amanda or her newbie, Joe… Surely. She wondered why none of them could take the shifts, Joe had been on three days off and was due back at work the following day. Amanda had been on five days off— none of them had worked as many days as she had.
"Oh, love…" Trevor felt a pang of sadness hit him when he found Olivia sitting at the foot of her bed wiping away tears that streamed silently down her face. "What's wrong?"
"I feel like I'm having a 13 year old girl, I-dont-want-to-go-to-school meltdown," she complained with a slight chuckle.
"You're tired, Liv." He shook his head, "Nope, I don't like this… you're not going to work, you are the Captain, you are not going. I'm taking charge — for your safety. You are slow to react, you are sluggish, what happens if you need to discharge your weapon? No."
She weakly protested, but there was a tiny part of her that relished his passion for her, to protect her and to see to it that she wasn't being taken advantage of. "Do you really think if anyone else was Captain that this would be expected of them?" He asked, "that they'd have the second in charge calling up and demanding you to be woken up and made to come in after 5 nights?"
He didn't wait for her answer, "no, Liv, it wouldn't."
"I'm a woman, its automatically different."
"Yeah, I agree, and its not acceptable. You're not going to work, let Fin call your rookie, I bet he didn't even try. Sorry Liv, but I don't like this, its not going to fly while I'm with you. I am not letting them do this to you."
He grabbed for her phone and flicked through the contacts until he reached Fin. Olivia didn't bother protesting. All she wanted to do was to dry off and climb in to bed.
After a few rings, Fin answered. "Hi its Trevor," he told Fin, "Liv is not fit for work. She's not coming in, can you just call the rookie or Amanda?"
"Dude who the fuck are you to tell me what to do?" Fin snapped.
"I'm her man and I'm taking care of her and I am telling you that she is the Captain here, not you and you need to call everyone else before you call her after five damn nights on. She needs time to sleep and she needs time for her family." Trevor was furious with the detective on the other end for his lack of compassion.
He felt Olivia's hands on his hip. She reached for the phone. She took a deep breath and composed herself.
"Fin, its me," she cut him off mid-tangent.
"Liv, your has got a lot of damn nerve coming at me like that-" he stopped when he heard her choke on a sob that she was trying too hard to stifle.
Trevor's arms wrapped around her. "Did you call Joe or Amanda?," she asked after she took a second to compose her trembling voice.
Fin knew though and had immediately retreated. Despite his annoyance, he knew if someone he loved and cared about was struggling, he'd be doing the same as Trevor. Perhaps if nothing else, he was a little blindsided by him and Liv together.
"No, I called you."
"I need you to follow protocol," she said, finding a little more strength in her voice. "I need to know that when Ive got a few days off, you really have got this, Fin, I can barely keep my eyes open and I'm tired and emotional and I haven't seen my child or my boyfriend or his kid in five days and protocol is that you call in someone who's been on the longest time off unless they're away. Call Joe or call Amanda. If you're stuck after that, you need to contact the Chief and he will transfer a detective across from another precinct. We all need our breaks, detective."
"You told me to call you if I needed something," she could hear the irritation in his voice — he never liked to be told off and sometimes his push back could be rude and would throw back something hurtful. "Im not a roster manager, Olivia, you're the Captain as you just said."
"Don't be cute, Fin, this is something that you couldn't handle on your own. Don't bother calling Joe or Amanda, I'll organise someone myself. You just sit back and do what you do, Fin," she snapped.
She hung up the phone and took a deep breath. "I'm proud of you, baby," Trevor remarked, "you had to stand up to him."
"I know… thanks for being a good support."
He kissed her. "Of course," he murmured.
"I just have to call Joe."
"K, just give me a yell when you're done."
/
Trevor turned a TV show on, wanting Olivia to be able to relax. He waited for her to get in to bed wearing one of his t-shirts and a pair of underwear. He took her pillow and placed it on his lap. "Lay down here, I'lll stroke your hair and hopefully you'll be able to sleep."
"I'm so irritated after all that," she breathed, "he could have called Valesco from the start… I feel like sometimes he's …" she paused to find the word, "to use Ava's term, he's trolling me."
Trevor managed a laugh. "Maybe you need to have a professional word to him. I heard the way he spoke to you, there is a distinct lack of respect."
"Its really hard because we've been coworkers forever and now I'm above his pay grade and I know he struggles with it, but truthfully so do I," she sighed, laying her head down.
"Its done, love," he said gently, leaning back on to the bed head as he let his fingertips graze along her scalp, raking through her dark brown locks with the tones of gold just when the lighting was right. "Just relax, close your eyes…"
She did as he said and breathed in a deep breath and let it all go. She repeated it a few times before finally feeling okay. She closed her eyes and relished the feel of him stroking her locks.
/
Trevor began to wonder if he should cancel his plans anyway. He held his finger over the call button. It was just after 1 in the afternoon. Olivia had been asleep since just before 9am. He was glad she was getting rest.
He wondered if he could reschedule or if he should just do a rain check and forget about it.
A text popped up on his phone with a heart and a yawn and a face surrounded in hearts. He grinned and put his phone down and made his way to Liv's bedroom.
She was cuddled warmly beneath the blanket with it tucked beneath her chin. She smiled wearily at him, dreamy still. "Hey sleepy head," he greeted her.
"I feel so much better…" she sighed, "thank you…"
"No, don't thank me love, you needed the rest" He sat down beside her. "Its 1, would you like me to cancel our plan and just hang out here, or what do you think?"
"What time was it?"
"2:30 is the first activity, you tell me."
"Let's do the activity. I might just need to go and splash my face and eat something light, like some fruit. How fancy is it?"
"Not very fancy, in fact, we are encouraged to wear clothes that we don't mind getting a bit messy."
Olivia rose an eyebrow, "interesting… okay. So what are you wearing so I can get an idea?" She wondered.
"I'll just wear some cargo pants and a t-shirt. We will be given aprons."
"Oh is it a cooking class?" She wondered with a smile.
Trevor laughed, "its a surprise, something just light hearted and fun… so I suggest maybe you wear something comfortable."
"Okay, is it worth it to put make up on or—?"
Trevor let his eyes travel over her smooth skin. "No, I like it when you are natural…" he said sincerely, worried though that he could cause offence. "I like it when you dress up too, don't get me wrong, but I love how naturally beautiful you are most," he admitted. He let his thumb sweep across her cheek as he kissed her on the lips. "I love it when I can see your freckles."
Olivia grinned at him. "K, you twisted my arm. No make up. It won't take me long to get ready, promise."
"Mhm, I've heard that before," he smirked. She rose up on her tip-toes and kissed him patronisingly on the tip of his nose causing laughter between them.
"How about I make you something to eat and you go get dressed and ready?" Trevor asked.
"I love you, thank you!," she called over her shoulder.
/
"Is this okay, do you think?," Olivia asked as she emerged. She wore a pair of old jeans and an old Knicks sweatshirt.
Trevor smiled, "how do you dress down in to casual clothes and still manage to be the hottest?" He asked. Her hair was pulled back off her face in a messy pony tail at the back of her head.
She chuckled. "I don't know… I guess you're just a very lucky man," she winked at him. They both shared a laugh.
"Here… I made you a melted cheese panini…" he nodded to the toasted sandwich on the counter. "I'm gonna go get dressed and I'll be right back."
/
"Ok what is this place?" Olivia asked as Trevor pulled her to a halt just outside of a building. He checked his phone and looked up and looked around as if he was unsure. "This is it…"
He spotted the sign and smiled with relief, "stop asking so many questions, you're starting to sound like Ava," he replied, taking her hand. He pushed open the building door and motioned for Olivia to step through the threshold first.
They took an elevator to the roof top and watched it unfold in to a massive art space. "Are we in the right place?" Olivia whispered, confused.
"We are," he replied as a woman dressed in a colourful jumpsuit came to greet them. "Hi! You must be Olivia and Trevor," she shook both of their hands, "Come on through, you are our last couple!"
"Hi, thanks, what was your name?" Olivia asked, plastering a grin on her face, unsure of whatever they were about to do.
"Imogen," she replied. "Follow me this way…" she walked with purpose as Olivia and Trevor trailed her. She glanced up at her boyfriend quizzically. "Is this a swinging party?" She joked in a hiss.
Trevor laughed, "No, we are going to do some art…" he told her at last, "I thought it might be fun and therapeutic."
"You would be right," Imogen motioned for them to walk in to a small area which was set up with old repurposed industrialised work benches. There were 8 benches in total, two spots at each for every couple or friend set. At the front of the room was a pottery wheel and ceramic kilns for baking their creations at the end.
Olivia couldn't help but to grin at how off-the-cuff the activity was; it was spontaneous and light-hearted and she couldn't have loved him any more. She would have never have thought to book a date so out of their depth.
"Is this okay?" He asked.
She nodded, pressing her lips together and nodding. He put an arm around her and guided her to the bench that the instructor had motioned for them to sit at.
Olivia realised that at each table was a small version of a pottery wheel.
The instructor went over some simple house keeping rules. "We are gonna start simple today, we are going to all have a turn at throwing some clay," she smiled, "the first step is to mould your clay, it will take some strength and elbow grease and a little bit of water that is provided on the tables," she motioned to two bowls of Luke warm water.
"Please don't use too much water, we want it to keep form and not turn in to mud; a little tiny bit at a time and if you're unsure please ask," she smiled warmly at everyone.
Olivia glanced at Trevor and watched him paying very close attention. She couldn't help but to grin at him. He felt her eyes and turned his head to meet her stare, when he realised she was treating him with an absolute starry-eyed grin, he couldn't help but to return it. He put an arm around her and drew her stool a little closer with his free hand.
"It might take awhile to get your clay thinned out and pliable enough to work with. You want it soft enough not to break apart but not so soft that its been overworked. And none of this is hard, if any of you have ever played with play dough or clay as a child, it's the exact same process, mould your way in to the shape of a bowl or a mug or, really, if you plan to go rogue, then that's your choice too, the sky is the limit and your creativity should know no bounds!"
Imogen talked a lot with her hands, she made large gestures as if there was a lot of air surrounding her. Trevor wasn't really sure how to take it, but he smiled and went with it and so did Olivia — she seemed to be enjoying the lightness of their activity and he felt glad — he had wondered if it was a silly idea at first, but after the stress of the morning, he felt like fun could be had even if it was a little silly.
"So," Imogen began, "I am going to come around and give you all some name tags and I encourage you to mix with each other, have a chat, I will be pouring glasses of wine for those who can stand to loosen up a little and something a bit stronger for a small honesty donation of what you think hard liquor is worth— or if you prefer, we have a tea, coffee and soda table at the back of the room so please help yourselves!"
"Of what you think its worth?!" Trevor hissed with a laugh to Olivia. She smirked.
"I think its worth -$10, do I get to take something from the honesty donation box?," she joked right back, not missing a beat.
They laughed together. "Not gonna lie, I could totally handle hard liquor right now to loosen up a bit," she admitted.
"I think I can offer a donation to make that happen, love," he kissed her temple.
"So, with no further adieu, I'll go pour some drinks, feel free to refill however, lets just remember that we are working with hot and cold and I reserve the right to cut anyone off or eject anyone who gets a little rowdy, so let's keep ourselves in check but most importantly, have a little fun!"
There was a murmur of thanks as she headed to the back to pour the drinks.
"So what do you think? Is this okay?" Trevor asked.
Olivia slid off of the stool and took a step closer to him, wrapping her arms around his waist, standing between his legs, pressing her head against his chest. "I love you so much, you are the most special."
She felt the reverberation of his laughter against her ear. She felt the reciprocation of his arms sliding around her. She pulled away briefly and tilted her head to look up at him. "I love you," he said sincerely. He pushed a little wisp of hair that had escaped her rare top knot behind her ear and aligned his lips lingeringly with hers. "You are the most special."
She drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. She smiled and gave him a squeeze before drawing away from him. "How do you feel after this morning?" Trevor wondered as they waited for Imogen to pour the drinks and begin writing out name tags.
"Good, thank you for helping me stand up for myself… I know I should already be doing that …but my first instinct is to jump through whatever hoop someone is holding out if it means helping out a victim."
"I know, but you are no use to anyone if you are too tired to do your job properly and I know you'd tell that to any other member of your squad."
A slight smile crossed her mouth because she knew he was right.
"Annnnd our last two, Olivia and Trevor," Imogen circled the table, writing their names on a white label and peeling it off the adhesive sheet. "For you, Olivia and you, Trevor you tall, tall, drink of water!"
Olivia chuckled and took the sticker, Trevor found himself blushing, chuckling a little. Under any other circumstances, Liv would have felt a streak of jealousy, but she felt secure with the man beside her and felt proud that he chose her and no one else. They put their name tags on over the aprons that had been supplied. "Go and get a drink, guys!"
They both thanked her and Trevor stood up and patiently waited for Olivia to slide off her chair. "Wine or spirits?" Trevor asked her as he took her hand and threaded his fingers through hers.
"Red wine, maybe a spirit later depending how good or bad this goes. I don't want to end up drunk before dinner."
Trevor laughed. They politely said hello to what Olivia presumed was a mother-daughter pair. "Here, love…" he passed her a red wine glass and spotted a whisky decanter and pulled a ten dollar bill out and left in the honesty box beside the other spirits and poured himself a whisky, neat.
"Thank you," she smiled, taking a sip. The first sip always felt so good. Slowly they made their way back to their bench. Trevor briefly said hello to some other couples and Olivia smiled tensely. Socialising outside of work sometimes felt out of her depth, or perhaps she used up so much of herself at work that she couldn't bare to give much of herself off shift unless it was for her family.
"Okay let's go get started working on our clay masterpieces."
"This is such an awesome date idea," Olivia told him, "you are so thoughtful like that — I don't think I would have ever considered anything like this," she smiled.
"Well… I just thought it was something that we could enjoy together, its so different and we don't have to walk away with a new business plan, its just something fun. Like," he paused, "didn't you ever do this kind of thing in high school and the whole process was so lighthearted and it was one of those lessons after lunch where you didn't have to think for a few hours?," he wondered.
"Yeah," she nodded, "I loved doing art stuff, I was never great at it though."
Trevor shrugged as they took a seat, "it doesn't have to be great, we're not looking to be the next ….whoever is the boss of pottery," he chuckled in spite of himself, "its just about the making of it and the fun and the fact that I get to see you with these precious, soft hands, all dirty…" he winked at her and kissed her palms.
"Oh, everybody!" Imogen announced, sweeping her arms toward Olivia and Trevor, "we have a shameless romantic among us! What a delight! If there are any other couples in here, feel free to share your love and your feelings, we're a safe, open space here! We all need a little bit of love!"
Again, Trevor felt his face redden, his neck became hot and he glanced at Olivia who was trying not to laugh at the airy-fairy art teacher. She gave his hand a squeeze and chuckled under her breath.
Trevor gave her a little poke as if to tell her to shut up; he could tell she was teasing, she was good at teasing him when he received attention from other women. At least she never seemed to get jealous though, he was always thankful that Olivia was at least secure in that regard.
"Better get creating!" Olivia told him picking up her slab of clay and a chunk of it to begin warming in her hands. It was rock-hard and cold to the touch and she knew it would take some time.
"Here goes nothing!," he agreed, following her actions.