Hey everyone thank you for being so patient for this update. I have been super busy with work and the lead up to Christmas. Updates may be a little less frequent as I have a vacation coming up until new year, but we'll see how I go :) As always, let me know what you think!
"What's going on Noah? You're being funny with me…" Trevor remarked, pulling him aside. "I can't afford you to be giving off attitude right before you get on that field this afternoon."
Noah glared at him. "I don't have anything to say to you. Give me coach directions, that'd be helpful right now because at this stage I'm going on to the field absolutely blind and I'm gonna make an idiot of myself."
"OK, time out. Spit it out, you've got something to say and I want you to say it because you're going to play a terrible game today if you have all this pent up anger… say it."
"I don't like that you're taking my Mom on a date!," he told him bluntly. "I think it's weird and I don't want to have to deal with her when it doesn't work out. You have no idea what thats been like for me since Elliot."
"I do know, Noah," Trevor told him gently, "I do know. And, I promise I'm not gonna do that. I understand why you feel the way you do and that you want to protect your Mom's heart, that shows you care. I want to protect her heart too, but I do feel a certain way for her — I know that's probably strange for you,"
"Strange?" Noah gave him a look, "no it's gross to even think about." He knew he was descending in to childishness but he couldn't help it, he hated that his teacher-turned-friend was making too much sense.
"Noah, I've gotten to know your Mom quite well over the past month or so and I can see the way you can that she's very special and I have been through a lot of heartbreak myself, I've levelled with you and told you that, your Mom is the only person that I've felt okay about dating since my wife passed and that makes her … incredibly wonderful and-"
"A rebound," Noah supplied, "don't make my Mom your rebound. I will never talk to you again."
"No, not a rebound. If I'm honest, I've had a rebound or two and it isn't your Mom, trust me. And Noah, I'm not here to make you feel bad or feel left out or like the relationship that you and I have is no longer a thing — I'm not leaving your side and I'm not leaving your Mom's side. You just have to please try to trust me. Have I broken any single promise to you yet?"
Noah thought about it, "No," he sighed.
"Okay, well I'm not going to break any promises to you and your Mom in the future. I am not Elliot. I will prove it if you give me the chance."
Noah slumped against the door of Trevor's office. "I need game prep. I'm really scared that I don't know what I'm doing."
"It's your first game, I know how daunting that must be, but it's gonna go fine, I promise."
They went through a bunch of plays and Trevor seemed relieved that Noah had let go of his tension and anger and seemed to want to focus on the game.
/
Noah felt nervous as he lined up behind the centre in shotgun formation.
"Ready! Set! HIKE!," he yelled to one of his team mates; the centre snapped him the ball and the play that Trevor had spent time working with him on began. Using all the speed that he could muster, he held on to the ball tightly, rolling to the left on the look out for his wide-receiver down the field. He knew if he messed up his throw he would end up with a whole of his team mates laughing at him and questioning his place on the team, even Trevor — and some how, it really mattered to him whether or not he was good enough.
He wanted to make everyone proud of him and to prove that his place on the team wasn't just out of pity from Coach Langan. He saw Adam wide open as he threaded past Blasko who he knew was just looking for a chance to cream him to the ground as hard as possible.
Noah threw the ball toward his friend and teammate in a thirty yard pass; Adam jumped up to catch it against his chest and Noah continued to make his way up field, ducking and flinching from the opposing team. Noah could hardly believe it, he'd successfully won their team the first down.
Trevor's jaw was on the floor, shocked and impressed by Noah's agility and his incredible improvement on his passing techniques. He knew not only he had been getting better at practice, but he and Adam had been passing the football a lot outside of school and also sometimes during their lunch breaks. He knew he wasn't supposed to pick a team that he wanted to win out of his entire football team, but he hoped Noah would do well for the rest of the game.
He had warned Peter Blasko and Ryan earlier to lay off him, but he knew that there was no way if given the chance, that Peter wouldn't attempt to tackle him to the ground.
He clapped happily for the The Knights Red, tucking his clipboard beneath his arm. He turned to his coaching assistant and smiled, "did you get that?"
The assistant nodded, videoing the game for Trevor so he could go over it later to see who needed some improvement and to use it in training to help the team with morale and also encouragement.
/
"I am so proud of you, Noah, I really want you to know that. You did so good out there. You worked really well with the team and you were so great at dodging the Blue Knights. You got them so frustrated that they lost their focus and that's half the battle, kiddo…"
"Thanks," Noah couldn't wipe the smile off his face. He was happy and excited. "Do you want to go and celebrate? I'll take you somewhere for dinner if you like."
"Really?" Noah was surprised, "No inviting Mom?"
"Well… you can invite her if you want, but I thought we could talk about the game and what we could work on next week in training and anything else you might like to ask me about that you don't necessarily want your Mom to know we've talked about."
"Like about you guys dating?" Noah asked, curiously. He was a little thrilled to have Trevor taking a genuine interest in him.
"Yeah, or … your chance to get to know me as a person and not your coach or teacher, some guys dating women might have to answer to a Dad or a male friend that wants the best for her — it makes sense that you might want to ask things or get some reassurance, I dunno, no pressure, kiddo, it's up to you."
"I should text Mom and ask," he said with a little smile. "Thanks Trev, that'll be fun. I hope Mom won't be upset."
"Well, I did hint to her that I might ask you to eat afterwards, so she might be expecting it," he told Noah.
Noah glanced at Trevor and realised that he genuinely admired him and liked how smart and nice he was and how accepting he had been even when he knew Noah's behaviour had been terrible. "I might call Mom, actually — so I can tell her about the game."
"You make sure you tell her how good you did," Trevor grinned at him, reaching over and pushing the beak of his baseball cap down playfully.
Noah chuckled and adjusted it. "Hi Mom," he greeted Olivia when she answered.
"Hi sweetheart! How are you?," she asked, "how'd your game go?"
"My team won, I'm just in the car with Trevor now. How are you?"
"Good! Are you coming home now?"
"Is it okay if I go have dinner with Trevor?," he wondered, "if want me to come home, I can, or you could come…"
"No babe, you go and have dinner with Trevor, I can get something later. Can you put me on speakerphone?"
"Sure," he smiled. He turned to Trevor, "Mom wants me to put her on speakerphone."
He saw the way Trevor's face changed; it softened immediately, not that he was tense, but there was something in his expression that gave Noah some reassurance. "K Mom, you're on speakerphone."
"Hi Trevor," she greeted him.
"Hi Bab-Olivia,"
"Oh man…" Noah groaned. Trevor couldn't help but to laugh.
"Sorry, Noah, I'm sorry."
"Ok new rule," Noah said firmly, "I don't want to hear all that romance junk, it's weird and gross," he visibly shuddered. "And I definitely don't want to see it."
"Yes sir," Olivia replied with a little chuckle, hoping that Noah also saw some humour in it.
"Totally fair," Trevor agreed, "Anyway, Liv, your son got out on that field and within three minutes got a first down and then he set up a touch down for his team mate, I can't believe how amazing he was, you would have been incredibly proud!"
"Oh my goodness, well done, babe," and Noah couldn't help but to grin with pride. "You deserve the celebration dinner, I knew you would smash it, we had so much faith in you."
"Thanks Mom," he replied, "I wish you were able to see, I think I surprised myself."
"Actually, I may have recorded it," Trevor said with a little laugh, "my assistant recorded the game so I can make sure you get to see it."
"Oh that's great. Will I be allowed to come to see the first real game?" Olivia asked Noah.
"We'll talk about it," Noah replied with a laugh knowing that he would let her come along. "You might need to come along to see how the great Coach Langan took a bunch of social misfits to a cohesive team," he joked.
They laughed.
"Okay well, enjoy your dinner, you guys."
"Thanks… hey why don't we bring you some food back?" Trevor suggested, "we can get you a burger and some fries or something else if you'd like."
"Oh, no its okay, I'll find something here."
"Don't be silly, I'll text you the menu when we arrive, just tell me what you'd like and we'll be your Uber for the evening."
Noah smiled, loving to see how gently Trevor spoke to his mother; his tone changed, he smiled the entire time and his Mom seemed to be genuinely comfortable around him. He didn't want to let on, but he couldn't deny that he really wanted things to go well.
"Aww, thanks Trev," she replied appreciative of his thoughtfulness.
"You don't need to thank me for keeping you in mind. I'll see you later on."
"Okay Mom, I'm hanging up now before you both start getting gross. Love you," Noah announced.
"Love you too, babe, congratulations again."
/
Noah was famished by the time his cheeseburger arrived. "This looks so freaking amazing," he murmured, picking up his burger and taking a huge bite out of it.
Trevor smiled at him. Noah swallowed the mouthful a little guiltily. "Oh, sorry, was that rude?" He wanted to know.
Trevor laughed at his sudden self-awareness, "No, it's just nice to see you so happy. That makes me really happy."
"Are you gonna be weird cos you're dating my Mom?" Noah asked him point-blank.
Trevor laughed, but tried not to be dismissive. "No Noah, I am capable of maintaining a relationship with you and your mother separately and together if necessary."
"Hm," he looked at his food and ate some fries, dipping them in the ketchup first.
Trevor took a bite of his own burger. "Why do you put so much effort in to me? I don't see you doing this for any other students…" Noah questioned, "I know you've helped out some other kids and you take your job pretty seriously which is nice, but… why me?"
Trevor took a sip of his soda and set it down. "I think I can be honest with you now that we know each other and respect each other, right?"
Noah nodded. "I remember you when you were around 11ish, you were in my baby economics class, do you remember that?"
He nodded again. "That was right after Lana, my wife died and I'm not going to go in to any great details about it, but I was not doing very well."
"With grief?" Noah pressed.
"Yes," Trevor nodded, "I was barely showing up to work and I was sad all the time and everyone treated me like an alien. So I was sad and felt almost like I wished that I could just go and be with my wife wherever she was… and then you were this tiny bright light," he smiled, "you were so happy and kind and so wonderful to everyone in the class. You were so sweet," Trevor smiled, "you helped other kids when I wasn't able to get to everyone at once— and I needed to see some humanity in order to keep me going and … that was you, little Noah Benson, one of the sweetest kids I'd ever taught."
"Hmm," Noah smiled, "that's really nice, thanks for telling me that."
"That's why when I was told you were flunking out and you'd been up to all these crazy pranks and very nearly got expelled, I had to step in, I knew something had to be wrong, it's not even been three years since I taught you…"
"Mom was with Elliot during that time, I remember because he used to sometimes pick me up and I think your class was the last one for the day but we ran like five minutes over and I heard about it all the way home…" Noah muttered.
"I hate that he made you feel like you couldn't be yourself," Trevor admitted to Noah. "You're a dream kid, Noah, even though you said you struggle with your emotions, you are an incredible kid who is still at 14, as kind and as sweet as you were at 11."
"Thank you…I hate seeing people sad. You did a good job of hiding that you were sad, Trevor, I would have wanted to help you feel better."
"But you did," Trevor smiled at him, "even if you didn't realise it." He paused, "but I do worry sometimes that you struggle with a lot and you keep a lot inside that you won't discuss when it comes to the hard things… like talking about Elliot, you get really tense."
"I think you get like that too when your wife comes up…"
"Maybe," Trevor nodded, watching Noah eat his fries. "But I'm also more open to talking about her these days and talking about the struggles I had after she passed."
"I've told you more about Elliot than I think I've ever told anyone including Uncle Sonny— I was always scared he'd tell Aunt Amanda and she was already mad at Mom about her being with Elliot."
"If you take your Mom out of the situation, take away her hurt and don't think about that for a moment — why do you think you're so angry with him? Is it the way he left? Or his behaviour when he was around?"
"He made me feel on edge all the time," Noah replied. "And I was too scared to tell Mom because she was already struggling and crying a lot about all the stupid things he did or wasn't doing. He wanted me to stop everything that made me happy and I did because I desperately wanted to make him happy…and it was just never enough. I always irritated him."
Trevor shook his head with disbelief. "I just can't fathom what you could have done to make him feel that way…"
Noah shrugged. "I guess I wasn't his kid. I think he used to say things to Mom about me to push her buttons and it worked every time. In the end, I was actually kind of scared of him so I stayed out of his way."
"He didn't hurt you did he?" Trevor asked him.
"No, but… I remember feeling unsafe at night when he and Mom would start fighting. I used to go to sleep with my headphones on every night so I couldn't hear and then a few times I woke up to him screaming at her and I hated that she just wouldn't make him leave but I understand, he had a way of making me feel like when he yelled at me, it was my own fault and I guess he did the same to Mom."
"Can I promise you something?"
Noah nodded.
"If your Mom and I date for awhile and things get a bit more serious, I promise you will never ever hear arguments in your apartment like that. I will never ever get in to a screaming match with either you or your Mom- I'll never let her feel unsafe and I would never ever let you feel unsafe. You both will be able to rely on me, that's for real."
Noah looked at his plate and took a few deep breaths and sniffed. He looked back up at Trevor with glassy, tear-filmed eyes and nodded in response because he was too scared to open his mouth to say anything.
Trevor gave him a little smile. "Its okay," he said softly, "it's okay to be sad that you had a guy in your life that didn't allow you to feel protected or safe. And its okay if your Mom feels sad about that too…"
Noah reached up and wiped his eyes. He took a napkin and held it against his eyes for a minute. Trevor reached over and put on his the fourteen year old's shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "And Noah, I'm sorry that no one has ever told you that it was okay to be upset or angry about it."
"Stop it," Noah murmured. "I feel so stupid."
"Its not stupid, its alright."
"Elliot would hate this," he muttered with a laugh, "I wasn't allowed to cry."
"You're allowed to cry with me. I told your Mom the same thing, I don't want her to hide her feelings or her tears — I want her to always be honest with me, and I want that from you too, kiddo, that honesty that you Bensons do so well."
Noah held his eyes again until he was sure he was composed. "Thanks Trev…"
"You don't have to thank me…"
"I'm scared of the kids at school talking shit, Peter is already making gross jokes about me being the coach's pet." Noah explained.
"Peter is an idiot," Trevor snapped. "That kid has more problems than you will ever know, Noah. He just has nobody who will help him out of that situation. You don't have to tell anyone anything but you can just say that you've known me outside of school for a long time…"
Noah smiled. "Thanks for bringing me to dinner and for being honest with me about what's going on with Mom and you."
"You're welcome," he smiled at Noah.
"I have one other question…"
"Go for it…" Trevor replied.
"Is it going to be hard for you to date my Mom if you still miss your wife? You told me not that long ago that you miss her terribly… what if you decide you miss your wife too much to date someone else."
"Well… I've never actually met anyone who takes away the guilt I've felt in the past for dating. Then I met your Mom and I don't feel guilt. She and my wife are similar in a lot of ways — I used to spend time looking for women who were so different from my wife and it was always terrible but I didn't go searching for your Mom, it kind of … just happened without either of us realising that we were developing something between us," he tried to explain, "and when I'm talking to your Mom, I don't feel guilty and she allows me the space to talk about Lana without getting weird or upset and I think that helps. I think Lana would think your Mom is kick-ass."
Noah smiled. "She is. What did your wife do? Did you guys want kids?"
"Yeah… we wanted kids. We were really excited to have a family. My wife was a nurse. She, like your Mom spent a lot of hours at work trying to help anyone and everyone and despite how rude or awful some patients were, she had a deep compassion for everyone."
"That is like my Mom," Noah agreed, "I've heard victims yell and scream and be giant jerks to my Mom because they're upset and she never takes it to heart. I would be so mad if someone I was trying to help was rude to me."
"Me too," Trevor chuckled, "but some people are built different, I'd have to at least walk away and get some perspective and come back before I could face that person again, but your Mom and my wife, they just want to be there for them."
"I was kind of rude to you at first," Noah admitted, "I'm sorry for that. And I'm sorry about Lana and I'm sorry that you didn't get to have kids. You probably would have been an amazing Dad— maybe its why you're a really good and caring teacher," Noah told him thoughtfully.
"Thanks Noah, maybe you're right. That could be maybe why I care a lot."
"Do you still miss your wife a lot with Mom around?" Noah asked, finishing off his fries.
"Yeah, but its different. I feel hope rather than hopelessness now and I can see a future. Before it felt like just a cloud overhanging me," he told Noah honestly, "I just felt like I was going and going and at times I'd have to sit and ask why was I trying when the person I wanted to be with wasn't here anymore… it's an empty feeling— that's why I had to get Ruby, I can't resist her and she keeps me getting up every day, going for walks, getting out of the house…. And now you and your Mom, there's even more reason."
Noah felt satisfied in all his reasoning and knew he couldn't be frustrated by both his Mom and Trevor dating. "So, in a way, you and my Mom both kind of have had your hearts broken in a huge way and are both trying again together but carefully…"
"Exactly, but Noah if this is something that makes you so furious with your Mom or changes the way you feel about your Mom, then I will take a step back. I don't want to cause problems between the two of you, that's absolutely the last thing I want."
"No… my Mom deserves to be happy and so do you. Even if it's weird for me, I'll get used to it. It will be nice to have you around at my apartment more, I think. Does that mean more Ruby for me?"
Trevor laughed, "Yeah, of course. Full access to Ruby."
Noah grinned, "So Mom knows if she potentially marries you, we're gonna have a dog."
"Wait wait, let's not get too crazy, your Mom and I have to figure things out for awhile but yeah, Ruby is part of my life as is you, part of your Mom's and hopefully overtime I can prove that I'm not here to hurt anyone."
"I think that's kind of obvious," Noah replied.
"Well…" Trevor began, "I actually asked your Mom the other day if she minded if I hung out with you a little too, outside of school, take away school work and football and got to know you in a different setting — she said it was okay because you are always going to be our priority… I want to make that clear." Noah listened, feeling chuffed by his words. At no point in knowing Trevor, did he ever feel as though he was insincere and his actions always matched with everything he said. "So, I heard you talking to Adam the other day and you mentioned that… you went to see the Knicks a few times with your Uncle Sonny, but you'd never been to a Yankees game or a Bills football game…"
"True. Elliot once told me he would take me to a Yankees game. We had this … really nice afternoon together and I asked him what his favourite thing to do was and he said he liked going to the baseball and he used to go with his Dad. I wanted to ask if he'd take me, but I got scared and told him he should take his son… and he said his son didn't like baseball and said maybe he and I could go together and that he'd get tickets."
"And he didn't?"
"I don't know, he told me he got them and we were supposed to go to the first game of the season but he held it over my head. You didn't go to bed the first time I asked, you really mustn't want to see that game, stop whining Noah, how badly do you want to go to this game? I'm not going to take a whiny kid to a game…"
Trevor felt his annoyance grow. "Well, I'm telling you, I got us tickets to see the Bills and there are zero conditions that come along with it."
"What?" A smile spread across Noah's mouth, "seriously?"
"Yeah for real. My brother in law is a mechanic and the brother of a player takes his car to his shop and promised to hook him up with tickets. I let my brother-in-law know I was gonna buy some tickets to a game for you and I and he told me to hold off — so now we are in possession of, what I'm told, are very good seats close to the field."
"Oh my gosh, yeah?! For real?" He grinned, his whole face lit up. "Trevor, don't mess with me…"
"I'm not messing with you, I promise. We're going next weekend — saturday afternoon, so don't make any plans ok?"
"Even if I had plans they're cancelled for this," Noah laughed in disbelief, "wow, thank you! That's so nice! I don't know what to say…"
"You don't have to say anything. We'll go and enjoy the game and get some dirty football food and have a great afternoon and then you won't be able to say you haven't been to see the NFL."
"Wow. This is actually the nicest, coolest thing anyone's done for me. Besides Mom, she's always doing cool and nice things for me," he smiled. "And Trevor thanks for not forgetting about me just because you have some romantic feelings toward my Mom… It was really hard to deal with that with Elliot."
"Of course, kiddo. I won't forget you because I like spending time with you too. You are good, valuable person to know, Noah Benson, even for an old guy like me, you make me want to be a kinder person just like your Mom does too."
Noah tried not to get emotional but appreciated Trevor leaning over again and giving him a sign of affection without making him uncomfortable, gripping his shoulder firmly. "You're a good kid."
/
"Heyyyy Mom, we're back!" Noah exclaimed. He was excited. On the way back they stopped at Trevor's apartment to pick up Ruby so that she wasn't alone.
"Hey! My two favourite people," Liv called back as Ruby bounded toward the source of the voice. They heard Olivia begin to laugh. "I was not expecting to see you, sweet floof!" Trevor grinned to see Olivia cuddling his dog. When she looked up he held up her dinner. "Here, your dinner, baby…" he didn't even care that Noah made a face.
"Oh, thank you…" she got up off the couch, still in her clothes from work just without the black blazer. She paused to grin at Noah, "hey honey, how's my football star?" She held her arms open to give him a hug. Noah tried to play off his accomplishment, but leaned in to his Mom. He gave her a little squeeze and kissed her cheek.
She was surprised but nevertheless acted like his show of affection was usual and didn't make a big deal of it. "How was dinner?"
"It was good," Noah smiled, "the burgers were great, right Trev?"
"Bingo, they're pretty amazing, that's one of the only places I'll go for a burger. Hopefully it doesn't disappoint you," he smiled at Liv. Noah let go of her knowing that she probably wanted to greet Trevor.
"I'm gonna go have a shower and get changed," Noah told them, "thanks for dinner Trev."
"You're welcome, thanks for coming with me."
/
"How'd it go?" Olivia asked him the second they heard the water running.
Trevor grinned, sliding his arms around Olivia while she put her burger and fries on a plate. Towering over her, he kissed her cheek. She smiled to herself. "It went really well, we had a really good talk. Your son is amazing, Liv, he really is…he got really excited about the football game next weekend… he actually even suggested that if I were to go home and get Ruby I could stay late and hang out with you while he cuddles with Ruby and plays Nintendo in his room or 'stay the night or whatever'."
Olivia whirled around and rose her eyebrow, "are you fucking kidding me? Where is my son? What did you do with him?" She joked.
Trevor laughed, "we levelled with each other about expectations and I made him a few promises that … if I'm honest right now should stay between the two of us." He pressed his lips against hers. "But its okay, I don't expect to stay the night, but I did think it would be nice if I could hang out with you for awhile… maybe we could watch a movie with Noah or something?"
"I love that idea…," she kissed him back.
"Okay baby, why don't you sit and eat your dinner and why don't I do these dishes for you?"
Olivia laughed, "you don't have to do any dishes, you didn't make that mess…"
"I know, but it'll give me something to do while you eat because right now all I want to do is kiss you and you need to eat."
She grinned at him, the way he looked at her, his eyes swept over her face, adoring. "Okay?"
"You don't have to do the dishes, its actually Noah's job anyway."
Trevor shrugged, "if it's okay with you that I come around here a little more when Noah is home, maybe it can be our job together while Mom relaxes with a wine."
"Ooft you're playing a dangerous game with my heart, Coach Langan," she murmured as their lips aligned again. He gave her a little tap on the butt which he'd never done before. It made her jump a mile. "Go eat your dinner…"
He reluctantly let go of her and watched her take the food to the table. "Would you like me to make you a drink up? A wine or gin or something?"
"Mmm yeah, do you think gin pairs well with a cheeseburger?" Olivia asked as she sat at the table and watched him finding is way through her kitchen up high until he found her liquor cupboard. He flashed her a smile, "yes, of course it does."
"Help yourself to whatever you want too, baby," she told him, glancing at him as she took a bite from her burger, patting her mouth with a napkin.
"Sure, thanks."
He made them both a drink with some ice and came and sat at the table with her. "How's dinner?"
"Amazing, thank you, I was so hungry. I almost caved, but then Noah texted and said you were on your way back," she took another bite and then a sip of her drink.
"You're welcome. So, I was thinking, thursday night, I'd love for you to come and stay at my apartment like we talked about last night. I'm gonna do a little bit of a clean up over the weekend."
"Okay, are you sure you're going to feel comfortable with that?," she wondered gently, "because if that's hard for you, I totally understand."
"No, I think it's going to be alright," he replied, "when I got home last night I got a second wind and started doing some rearranging in my apartment. It's time and both you and my sister have helped me feel like now is a good time to just let go of things that me feel unhappy."
"Like what?" She asked curiously.
"Well, I had just this big wall of photos of Lana and a wall table full of trinkets and things that belonged to her that I felt like I had to look at and … for some reason I thought it was the right thing to do, when to be honest, it just made me so bereft to look at. Most nights I couldn't concentrate on the TV because I'd end up making myself depressed. Raia and I talked about it the other day and as Lana's very best friend, she advised me it was time to take it all down and just keep one photo that I liked the most. Which I have…"
"So you did all that after you left last night?"
He nodded. "I saw you last night and I felt…" he held her gaze for a moment, "whole again…"
Olivia's eyes welled up immediately and Trevor quickly followed. "Sorry," she half-laughed, choking on a sob. "Sorry Trev, I didn't mean to get so emotional."
"Hey," he assured her, reaching out for her hand. "Hey remember its okay to be emotional," he smiled. "And I know we said we'd move slowly but I think I know what I want. I'm happy around you and I'm happy around Noah."
She curled her fingers around his. "I feel good about this too."
He learned over and kissed her, "Nice kiss, burger breath," he teased her.
She began to laugh, "you can't talk, you had a burger earlier…"
He just smiled and winked one of his beautiful light green eyes at her. "You smell beautiful, always. I was only kidding." He took a sip of his own gin and let his eyes linger over her.
"What?," she asked, holding her burger with two hands poised to take a bite.
He shrugged, "nothing, you just look beautiful and I keep trying to pinch myself because you just make me feel so happy."
She let out a sigh of contentment, her shoulder's dropping. "Wait til you know me…you'll think I'm a slob."
"Will not," he challenged her. Once she swallowed her bite he got up and leaned over her, kissing her again. He made his way back to the kitchen just as Noah was coming out.
"Hey Babe, Trevor and I thought we might watch a movie," Olivia suggested.
"Okay," he shrugged, "I can take Ruby with me and watch something on my iPad in my room."
"No," Trevor said quickly, "with you."
"Not if you're both going to be gross and kissy," he told Trevor.
"Noah-" Liv warned him.
Trevor didn't mind, he just laughed. "Okay I'll try my best not to make any kissy faces, Liv, can you try to keep those faces to yourself, I know it may be hard, I'm super handsome…"
"Oh yeah," she rolled her eyes dramatically, "just try to stop me," she chuckled.
Noah appreciated that they weren't trying to push him out of their way. "So, we've got that sorted, why don't you choose a movie?"
"Are you sure? I don't mind going to my room," Noah said diplomatically.
"Honey, come sit with me for a second," Olivia told her son. He dragged his feet and flopped down in the chair. He leaned over and stole one of her fries. She swatted his hand away. "I really need you to understand that this is your home and at no point do you ever need to make yourself scarce."
"Okay," he replied simply.
"This is not a repeat of Elliot-"
"Mom it's okay," he replied, "we don't have to talk about it. I'm not a little kid anymore. It's fine. You're allowed to have some privacy sometimes."
"Yes maybe but that privacy isn't going to be me or even Trevor making you feel like you have to clear out."
Trevor finished filling the sink with water to wash the dishes. He paused what he was doing and came over to the dining table and leaned on an empty chair. "Honestly, it was my idea to watch a movie, I thought it could be nice if we all hung out together. I'm gonna order some dessert for us when I'm done with the dishes."
"Wait," Noah said, "why are you doing the dishes?" A little smile spread across his face, "you're trying to impress Mom. You know that's my job right?" He tapped a lip with a mischievous smirk. "I actually have some other jobs that you might like to do to impress Mom," he joked.
Trevor laughed and Olivia shook her head. "Actually, honey, I'd prefer if you washed those dishes."
"Its okay, I said I'd do it," Trevor said quickly.
"Can we just get the dishwasher fixed?" Noah asked.
"What's wrong with the dishwasher?" Trevor asked. He had noticed that one was beneath the sink but didn't question why they weren't using it.
"Oh, I don't know… it's just not cleaning things properly."
"I'll take a look at it for you guys over the weekend. My brother-in-law might be able to walk me through it if I can't figure it out."
"Its okay, I've been meaning to get someone out, I just haven't had the time to stay and wait for someone to turn up," Olivia replied to him.
"Let me look at it first before you go paying anyone," Trevor replied. "Noah, go choose a movie," he took charge "and think about what you want for dessert."
/
"This feels so nice," Trevor murmured quietly. Olivia sat in the middle of the couch with both of her boys on either side of her. He got comfortable with his arm around her and Noah made himself comfortable after the slight awkwardness at first. Olivia felt so content and happy as Noah flanked himself against her. He often did that on the couch, it was the last bit of boyishness that she had to hold on to— he still liked cuddling up to her, something that he was a little reluctant to do since Elliot left.
"My two favourites cuddled up against me, I honestly couldn't ask for a more perfect night," she replied, turning to look at him, hearing her son snoring softly by her side. "Me either… I feel like I belong and I haven't felt like a part of a family or a situation for a long, long time, not even my own family."
"You definitely fit in right here with us and I really think that despite Noah's little comments, he secretly likes it too."
Trevor smiled. "As much as I don't want to, I should let you get master Noah up and to bed, and I should get going…"
"Do you have to? Can you just hang out a little bit longer?," she asked.
He grinned at her, caressing her hair. "Ok, only because I don't know how to say no to you."
"I could use that to my advantage." She chuckled. She turned to her son. "Noah, honey…" she rubbed his back gently, "honey wake up…"
Noah grumbled for a second and opened his eyes. "Honey its time to go to bed, come on…"
Finally he sighed and sat up. He clocked Trevor and rubbed his eyes, forgetting that he was there with them. Becoming a little self aware her stood up and almost stumbled back down half-asleep.
"Careful, sweetheart." Olivia got up, "Come on, let's get you to bed."
"G'nite Noah, have a good sleep." Trevor gave him a little smile.
"Can Ruby come with me?" Noah asked sleepily. He looked at Trevor, "are you gonna stay here or…?"
"No, I'm not staying here, but if Mom says its okay, Ruby can have a sleep over if you want."
Noah gave a half smile. "C'mon Ruby, Mom says its okay, right Mom?"
"Oh, suddenly you're awake," Olivia gave a laugh. "OK, come on, in to bed…"
Olivia waited for him to get settled in his bed and leaned over and kissed him. "Love you, sweetheart."
"Love you too, Mom…" he lowered his voice, "Trevor can stay here if he wants but don't be gross."
She let a smile spread across her lips. "Trevor isn't staying here, honey but he'll leave Ruby with us tonight if you want her to stay with you."
Noah smiled and patted the space beside him on the bed. Ruby threaded past Olivia, bumping her with her backside, causing Noah to chuckle as she jumped up beside him.
"Thanks for that, little miss." Olivia petted her and turned to Noah. "Sweet dreams. Remember I'm working tomorrow night so I can either call Michelle to come across or you can go to hang out with Amanda and the girls."
"Are you sure I can't stay on my own?"
"Absolutely. Goodnight babe."
/
"When is it okay to leave him on his own?" Olivia asked Trevor as she sat back down on the couch, "15? 16?"
"I think Noah is pretty mature but fourteen is probably a bit young if it's the entire night," Trevor replied thoughtfully. "Why? Is he upset with you about not allowing him?"
"No, I think he gets it. It's not him I don't trust, it's just… the job, you know?" She paused, "you know what? Come down to my bedroom with me-" he rose his eyebrow. "Nothing funny," she told him with a little smile, "just… I really want to lay with you and cuddle up to you. You're too big for my living room."
Trevor laughed. It was true, he was uncomfortable on the couch. There had been barely enough room for him with both Liv and Noah on there despite how much he enjoyed being part of the family time.
"Okay," he replied, letting her get up first. He took her hand and followed her down the opposite way, toward the front door. He made note that her room was at the other end of the apartment. It rendered them slightly more privacy if he ever began to stay the night for real.
"Make yourself comfortable," she told him as she left the door slightly ajar.
"You get comfortable first," he challenged her, "and then I'll fit where you don't lay," he was gentle and kind and didn't want to overstep her usual routine. She did as he said, getting comfortable on her usual side. Trevor could help but smile adoringly as he circled the bed and got on top of the covers on the other side.
"Mmm your bed is really comfortable," he murmured, inching closer. "Come here,"
Olivia faced him and felt him slip his arm around her, holding her. She stared in to his gorgeous, piercing eyes. "When you said before about being afraid to let him stay on his own because of your job, what did you mean?," Trevor wondered, his hands stroking her upper arms, drawing patterns on her skin with his fingertips.
"Just … I've had situations where people have found out where I live and have broken in — while this might be the most secure building I've ever lived in, I still feel full of anxiety about something happening when I'm not here to protect Noah."
"Has that happened before, I mean, with Noah here? Someone's broken in?"
"Yeah, once… he was so brave. He ran with my phone and laid beneath his bed and rang 911 and gave them my name and badge number which I made him memorise when he was 5."
"Good thinking, were you okay?," he wondered.
"Mmm yeah I managed to wrestle him to the ground and incapacitate him. It was after a significant work event so I wasn't ever letting anyone win overpower me again," she explained. "I had so much rage in me that he didn't stand a chance, but the police turned up and I had a gun to his head and I honestly wouldn't have thought twice about pulling the trigger if I had to."
He stroked her hair softly. "You know I've got you right, I could keep you safe."
"I know you could," she replied and she meant it. She may have had the reactionary skills of a person who was not to be fucked with on a whim, but she knew he would keep her safe if something was to happen that might have caught her unaware.
"Can we talk more about that situation, the one the one that made you feel so angered?"
"Not right now," she replied, "it's a big conversation, similar to the one you told me, about things that happened after Lana's passing, it's just—" she paused to look for the right words, "its one of those conversations that I know is going to be very hard for me to have and I don't think I've told anyone the details of what happened, so…"
"No one?"
"I mean… there's the mechanical story that I had to tell in court and then there's the truth and the heart of what happened which—" she drew in a breath, "I can't even let my brain go there right now. I still struggle a little with it all and I just have to lock it away or else nothing would get done."
"Okay," he nodded, accepting that based on speaking about it just on the surface, she was already having difficulties. "I understand. But one day, and maybe not too distant, we can share our dark stories and it might bring us a little closer."
Olivia nodded but she wasn't sure if she was capable of ever getting in to it with him. "Maybe…"
He leaned over and kissed her. "I was thinking about our date next week…" he changed the subject, realising that it made her a little uncomfortable to talk about the past.
"Yeah?"
"I was thinking that we could go to dinner, somewhere really nice— but I need to know what Olivia Benson's favourite cuisine is?"
"Uhmmm I like Japanese food or Korean food. Thai… Italian, whatever, Trevor, I'll be happy with whatever."
"Nah, I can do better than just whatever," he smiled. "I have an idea for after dinner, but I think we can play it by ear and if it doesn't seem like it's your thing we can do something else."
"What is it?"
He stared at her for a second, "well, actually, I thought that it might be a surprise, is that okay?" It occurred to him that maybe she didn't enjoy surprises.
"Yeah," she replied. She reached up, running her fingers through his hair. "Did I ever tell you… I really love your hair? I like that its got this beautiful wave through it, it's so sexy, actually," she admitted.
Trevor laughed. "No one has ever told me I have sexy hair."
"Well… you do."
"So do you, it's just so fucking soft!," he exclaimed, "I just can't stop touching it, and it smells so good, shit, you always smell so fucking good."
He leaned close and buried his nose in to her neck playfully and took an exaggerated sniff before retreating, leaving her laughing, tickled by his closeness. "You can't do that to me!," she hissed at him.
"Why not?," he asked, motioning jokingly to do it again.
"Because," she laughed, "it feels a little too nice. A woman's neck is very, very sensitive, Mr. Langan, surely you know this."
"I didn't know that, but I will note that, thank you," he smirked. "But anyway, just as I thought, you smell amazing."
"You always smell good too…" her voice trailed off, eyeing him, hoping that he would make the very short distance between them to kiss her. His beautiful eyes shimmered beneath the glow of her dim lamp.
His presence was always so magnetic leaving her wanting him in more ways than she could imagine trying to explain to him. "I really like you," he whispered in to the air.
"Me too," she replied, her voice dry, bringing along with them, an invitation that hung in the air, suspended between them, daring him to make the first move.
He inched closer, his mouth hovering over hers as his breath mingled with her own. He let his lips graze along hers teasingly until he finally applied some pressure. The longing that Olivia felt for him seemed to ease slightly as he eased himself over her, getting more comfortable. She brushed her fingers along his arm, allowing him to know that she didn't want him to end things between them too soon.
He, like Olivia, craved something deeper than just a physical connection. It felt good, the kisses and the caresses, and his tongue plunging in to her mouth, chasing hers. The warmth between them ascended higher than just the usual lust that she felt for someone on the occasional date and Trevor got the sense that just like for him, it had been a long time since Olivia had shared more than sex with anyone else and now yearned for intimacy from him; the electricity they shared was hard to ignore, but the intimacy that was building between them was something else altogether.
He felt a stirring in his lower stomach at the sound of her whimpering softly beneath him as their kisses formed a rhythm and he rested his large hand upon her shoulder, squeezing it softly, trying to keep himself at bay so that he didn't read things wrong.
His fingers slowly searched until they found the dip of her collarbone and suddenly he noticed the gooseflesh upon her arms as she whimpered again at his light touch. He broke the kiss and concentrated on planting soft kisses along her jaw. She let out of a puff of air and turned her head, allowing him the room to continue his trail of short, wet kisses. When his lips met the peak of her jaw just below her ear, he seemed to settle there, his tongue grazing her skin, sending a shiver throughout her body, a soft chuckle escaping.
"Is this okay?" Trevor asked, lifting his head for a moment, meeting her eyes.
She gazed at him seriously and nodded, "yeah… yeah its okay."
He smiled and planted a kiss upon her lips and went right back to working his kisses toward her neck. His fingers continued their light touch and caresses over her collarbone, exploring their way lower toward her chest. He concentrated on her signals, and took it as an enthusiastic one as she pressed her chest toward the sky, trying to get him to reach her breasts before he was ready.
She could barely keep quiet, quelling the urge to ask him to touch her while those deft hands sought out her generous curves. Finally, she thought, a soft moan evaporated in to the air as quickly as it had sounded as he made his way to the prized treasure, covering her breast with his entire hand, taking in to account how perfect and soft she felt.
He was breathless and turned on and was glad that only his top half was covering hers, his own arousal awoken. He caressed her ample flesh, pausing briefly when he found the small bead that hardened beneath his palm. He ran his thumb back and forth ever-so-slowly until she could barely take it.
"Fuck…" he cursed, "Olivia Benson… you feel perfect," he said with a sigh, whispering in to her ear so that the reverberations of his word sent her hair standing up straight at the back of her neck and on the surface of her arms.
Her eyes fell shut, gripping his waist tightly, feeling her hips involuntarily trying to get some attention, hoping to ease him further down south, but she knew that they needed to slow things down especially given that her teenage son was sleeping just down the hall. She wasn't sure that she had the strength to pull away so she was glad when he broke away from the space on her neck that drove her a little crazy. His hand didn't leave her breast though, that wasn't lost on her. She reached up and covered his hand.
"We should slow this down," he whispered.
She nodded, even though her mind was clearly somewhere else. "I'm sorry-" he apologised, pulling away.
She gave him a weary smile, "please don't be sorry, this is nice, we have to stop, I agree, my kid is down the hall and if anything happens between us, I don't want you to have to leave immediately afterward."
"Yeah, I'm not going to make love to you and leave, that's not my vibe…" he admitted, feeling his cheeks flush. He became aware of her holding on to his hand over the top of her chest. She inched close again. "I want you to be able to lay with you all night and enjoy your company when we get to that stage."
She chuckled, "I like how its not 'if' but 'when'," she replied.
"Sorry, that was maybe an assumption?," he offered.
"A fairly accurate one," she shrugged. She slowly let go of his hand as he let his hand travel just beneath her chest, pulling her body against his. He brushed her hair out of the way and enjoyed the feel of her body against his. He kissed her lips and then her cheek and her temple.
"I can't keep my hands and my lips to myself," he joked.
"Again, totally fine with me," she replied to him. "I could get used to this — falling asleep with your arms around me, hands all over me," she added as he spooned her.
"Oh stop," he chuckled, "don't make this more difficult than it is."
Olivia laughed with him, "Sorry, it's just… been awhile since I've had any affection like this and … I promised myself I'd never accept it again unless the man was one hundred percent worth my while."
"Am I?," he wondered.
"Yeah…" she glanced over her shoulder at him, "I think you are… even … letting you touch me-" she paused, "intimately, that's… a lot."
"Thanks for telling me that, maybe it was a little overstep."
She shook her head, "No, no overstep, your hands on my chest do make it very hard not to want more though…"
Trevor smiled, kissing her lips. "Thank you for being honest…" he murmured. She sank back down on to her pillow and laced her fingers through his, wrapping his arm around her.
"Of course," she replied, letting her eyes shut.
"I should go, you look ready to sleep…" he remarked, his fingers through her soft locks.
"Can you stay?," she asked softly, "just til I fall asleep?"
A smile adorned his lips. He couldn't resist her. "Of course… when you're asleep, I'll sneak out and lock the door behind me."
Olivia grinned at him, "Thanks baby."
He kissed her temple. "Sweet dreams."
/
"Mom, howcome Trevor didn't stay?" Noah asked Olivia, coming in to her bedroom, hearing her stirring. He laid on the bed beside her.
"Because, honey, it's a little inappropriate," she replied as Ruby jumped up too, almost sheepish, knowing that she usually had to wait til invited.
"But he left Ruby here. I thought for sure he wouldn't leave without her."
Olivia smiled wearily, "he did leave her here but he did that for you, he knows how much you love her and he cares about making you happy too and he doesn't want to stay here unless he and I become serious."
"You're not serious yet?" Noah asked, "how long does that kind of thing take?"
She laughed at him, "Honey come on, I told you— we're still figuring things out. Trevor still has a lot of feelings about being involved with another person again after his wife's passing, it's not always easy."
"Okay," he replied, "but I had such a good night with him last night… he let me ask any question that I needed to and then we talked about football and I'm really excited to go to the Bills game."
"I'm so glad," she replied, "you're going to be our priority, Noah, if at any point things don't work out, Trevor and I go back to being friends. You aren't to be dragged in the middle of any of this."
"Thanks Mom, but I really like Trevor… my only worry is what people at school will say."
"We don't have to announce it, just let your friends know that Trevor is my friend if asked." Olivia replied with a smile. "I love you babe, Trevor and I will keep your reputation in mind."
"Yeah, so no stupid stuff when you come to my games," he told her, "Adam knows you guys are friends, he knows I've been hanging out with him and Ruby, I trust him with that kind of stuff."
"Wait, back up a minute! Does that mean I'm allowed to come to your football games?!" Olivia asked, excited.
"As if you're not going to. You'll probably be sitting in the car from the sidelines with binoculars if I don't say you can."
"Yeah, you're right about that," Olivia agreed with him, patting the dog.
"Is Trevor coming to pick up Ruby this morning?" Noah asked.
"We didn't actually talk about it, maybe you can text and ask. Did you want to do anything in particular?"
"I thought that maybe I could call Adam because we talked about going trampolining but we might have to take his little sister."
"Okay, well do you want to ask him if that's still on? If it is, maybe we can go pick them up and I can take you kids and keep an eye on the little one."
"Yeah!" Noah smiled, "that'd be great."
/
"Come on guys, be careful, she's only little," Olivia warned Adam and Noah who continually double bounced his little sister until she began whining.
Olivia had spoken to Adam's mother, a gorgeous woman who felt bad but gratefully accepted the invitation on behalf of the youngest as well. Seven-year-old Alice looked over at Olivia and gave her a little pouty look of recognition.
Olivia smiled warmly back. She sat back down and sipped at her coffee and dialled Trevor.
"Hello, woman of my dreams…" he greeted her.
She chuckled, "Hi baby, what are you up to?"
"I woke up in a panic because I couldn't find my fur baby," he admitted with a little laugh, "but I just had a coffee so I'm feeling okay, slept in for far too long."
Olivia smiled at the sound of his bass-y tone, still sleepy, she could tell. "What are you up to?"
"I'm at the trampoline park with Noah and Adam and Adam's little sister, Alice," she replied, "these boys are way too rough for this tiny little thing. I'm tempted to get up there and jump with her but… I'm probably not that fit."
"Can I come and join you or is that too weird with Adam there?"
"Mmmm…I'd love to say yes, but better not— I don't want to make it weird for Noah in front of his friend. But, we are gonna be home about 3:30 if you want to come around? I have to leave for work at 6, but you could hang out for a little while."
"I'm going to propose something but feel free to say no, it's just an idea…"
"Okay," she listened.
"Noah didn't want to go to Amanda's did he? He wanted to stay on his own, but he's not so thrilled about having a nanny either, right?"
"Right," she agreed.
"What if I came and sat with him tonight? We could have pizza and I could chill out if he just wants to go to his room and do his own thing."
"Trevor I won't be off work til around 6 in the morning, that's a long time."
"You don't have a guest bed?," he pressed.
"Are you sure that's what you want to do?," she asked.
"I don't have a great lot of other plans," he smiled.
Olivia laughed. "Okay well… I'll run it by him but come over regardless. Come get your dog, I am sure you really miss her."
"I do miss her, but I love that she means so much to Noah too. I told him that if you and I get together it meant joint custody of her if that was all good by you and I think honestly, he likes the dog more than me."
She started to laugh. "Nah, he actually really likes you…goodness knows why!," she teased.
"Oh it's like that, then, huh?," he chuckled. She heard a cry and looked up.
"Shit Trev, sorry baby I gotta go, these kids are too rough with the little one. I'll let you know when we are on our way home and what Noah things of the idea."
"Ok bye baby!"
/
"Guys!" Olivia exclaimed, "come on now… She took her shoes off and hoisted herself up on to the trampoline mats. She picked Alice up who had started to cry. She turned to the boys. "Seriously… I know you think it's just a bit of fun, but she's a little girl, you need to be more gentle."
"Sorry," Adam quickly murmured. "Sorry Mom," Noah replied too, sheepish.
"Don't say sorry to me, say sorry to Alice," she turned to the little girl in her arms who reminded her so much of Billie.
They both apologised to Adam's little sister. She pushed her hair out of her face and accepted their apology. "Would you like to come and sit with me for a few minutes, sweetheart?" Liv asked her.
She nodded.
"Okay, I'm gonna put you down and I'll get back on the ground and I'll get you down." Alice nodded. They got to the ground and Olivia sat with her. "Are you excited to see your grandparents tonight?," she asked the seven year old.
Alice nodded, "Grandma and Grandpa take me to pick fruit," she told Liv, "we cook together," she told Liv.
"Oh, that sounds like so much fun. You know when Noah was little, he used to cook with his grandma too, Grandparents are fun."
"Mommy is at work all day today until we go, but she said I am gonna stay with you and my big brother."
Olivia nodded. "Your Mom is a special person, did you know that? She helps people every day at the hospital. It must be tough when she's very busy but you know what?"
"What?" Alice asked, giving Olivia her undivided attention.
"When Mommy gets to spend time with you and your brothers and y our grandparents altogether, its just that extra bit special, right?"
Alice nodded, showing Olivia her adorable smile.
"C'mon let's leave these boys to being crazy, we'll go get a drink and then if you like, we can have a little jump together."
"Yeah!" Alice grinned, "thank you!"
"You're welcome, sweetheart." Olivia smiled.
/
"Okay so we're all set," Olivia told Noah, "I'm going to work at 6. Trevor will be here any minute but I really want you to be on your best behaviour Noah, please don't give him any attitude."
Noah cocked his head to the side, "As if I'm gonna do that. It'll be nice to hang out with Trev rather than having to stay the night with all those girls."
Liv laughed as she heard the buzz of the doorbell knowing it would be Trevor. She made her way down the hall and opened the door to Trevor. He immediately slipped his hands over her hips. "Ooooft, so good to see your face," he told her softly. She took a step back and allowed him to come in inside.
She reached up, taking his cheeks in her soft hands, gazing at him. "You're so cute, how can I resist a greeting like that?"
He grinned at her and leaned over and kissed her lips softly and lingeringly.
"GROSS!" Noah announced loudly as he averted his eyes on the way to his room.
Trevor jumped away, startled by Noah noticing them kiss. "Shit, sorry," he whispered.
"Its okay, he's half-teasing us. Come on, Ruby is dying to see her Daddy," she took his hand and guiding him to the living room.
"Hello Noah," Trevor greeted him, poking his head in the teen's room.
Noah glanced up from his desk and smiled. "Hi Trev! Thanks for coming to hang out with me tonight."
"You're welcome buddy, I actually have the replay of the game on friday if you want to watch it later,"
"Sweet!"
Trevor picked up Ruby who was pawing at him. "Helllooooo sweetheart," he greeted her, hugging her close to him. Olivia couldn't help but to grin at the way he held the dog like a baby. Both of her paws on his shoulders. She wasn't a small dog, but she looked small against his frame.
He put her back down and followed Olivia to the living room. "How was your afternoon?," he asked.
"Good, Adam's Mom is so sweet, I really like her. And you know what? I've never had another Mom friend before, but Hannah, Adam's Mom — we talked about potentially getting together for a drink one night."
Trevor couldn't wipe the smile from his face. He loved how excited Olivia seemed at the prospect of making a new friend. He was getting the sense that outside of her job, she didn't find social interactions to come very easily to her.
"That's so wonderful, baby," he replied.
"Thanks," she replied. "Honey, I'm so sorry, I really have to go get ready for work. Can you please just help yourself to whatever you want. I put some towels out for the bathroom if you wanted to shower or whatever— Noah can show you where everything is."
"Okay baby, don't worry about me, I'll figure it out." She went to make her way up the other end of the apartment but he gently took her wrist. She turned back and let him guide her back to him. "Hey…"
She glanced at him expectantly, "yeah?"
"My sister and I talked today and she told me that I need to tell you every day how special you are so that you might not forget… and since she's older and wiser than me, I know that she's right and I'm sorry that I haven't told you enough — but you're incredibly special - not only to me but to so many others and I'm so thankful to be exploring this thing with you."
She felt herself soften, "Oh, Trev," she murmured. "Thank you for saying that. I'm excited to be exploring this too and also, you're so special to me too."
He kissed her again. "K…" he replied, kissing her another time. "Go get ready… I've got you and I've got Noah. You can trust me to take care of things when you're busy with work," he assured her. And she appreciated it. The extra support meant the world to her and she knew that as soon as she got home from work, she would probably slide in to bed with him for a cuddle and she was really looking forward to that.
