HELLO!
Happy new year blahblahblah I'm home from my vacation and I think this is my first update of the year (who knows? i cant keep track lol) ... give yourself a pat on the head if you are still reading this, if you got here by mistake, keep on moving... this isnt the story for you. Otherwise, keep reading and lemme know what you think in the comment section. And please dont flood me with demands saying shit like UPDAT ENOWWWW HURRY UP AND UPDATE! bc its annoying and it makes me annoyed and its also a bit rude and also i am not a machine. lol.
Thank you for reading so much and I will update this is as soon as I can. If you have any ideas or thoughts be sure to let me know.
Past
There was the bittersweet moment Noah felt when he awoke to find Nick Amaro talking softly to his Mom in the kitchen but Elliot still missing. He remembered the strangeness from the night before; from waking to the sound of his Mom sobbing in bed in the very early hours of the morning. He cuddled in to her and felt her clinging on to him, apologising for being so sad.
He climbed out of bed, still worried about Elliot and made the short distance from the hall until he saw his Mom sitting at the kitchen breakfast bar while Nick made them coffee. He glanced up; his face familiar and kind and although it had been a long time since he'd seen his mother's former partner, he still felt that happiness and warmth from him.
"Hey big guy!," he greeted Noah with a grin, "wow, you're so big!," he exclaimed. He made a beeline for him and held up his hand. "High five or hug?," he asked.
Noah grinned, "hug!," he exclaimed.
"Oh my gosh you haven't changed a bit!" He turned back to Liv and smiled at her before lifting Noah for a big squeezy, long-lasting cuddle. "Its so nice to see you, kiddo."
"You too." Noah replied, "did you come from California?" He asked, pulling back a little.
"Yeah, I flew here to see you and your Mom, I'm gonna stay here for a few days, is that gonna be okay with you?"
Noah nodded. He turned to his Mom, "is Elliot gonna be okay with Nick here, Mommy? Did you find him yet?"
Nick set Noah down in the barstool beside his Mom. Olivia put on a brave face. "I think Elliot will be fine," she forced the words out.
"Forget about Elliot," Nick suggested, "how's dance?"
"Oh," Noah looked at his Mom, "I don't do dance anymore, Elliot and I decided I'd do Little League…"
A look of darkness crossed Olivia's friend's face. "No? No dance? You loved ballet and the cool modern stuff you used to do!"
"I know but… I wanted to try something else because…" Noah shrugged, "I'm bigger and the boys at school started saying things or Elliot explained that they would."
"That's a shame, it's a shame to give up stuff that you really love because someone might say something stupid. Do you still like to watch dance?"
"Yeah!" Noah exclaimed.
"Well I have good news, Zara is at her grandmas this weekend and there's a dance thing on downtown, I thought I might take you both so Mom can catch up on some sleep."
Noah glanced at Olivia who took a sip of a coffee that Nick put in front of her. "Uh… Mom? I don't want to leave you alone."
"Oh, sweetheart—" Olivia smiled at him as best as she could, "I'll be okay. No matter what happens between Elliot and I, I will always be okay and you don't have to worry. I might be a little sad, but it'll be okay, I promise. Nick is just visiting to cheer Mom up and to help me figure out what happened with El and as soon as I find out, you and I will talk more about it, but I think it'll be ok for today if you go and have a wonderful day at dance."
"Mommy," he began, pouting, "we're not gonna go on our big holiday are we?"
Olivia felt a pang of hurt wash over her with the realisation that her son had been so, so excited about it. "Maybe we won't go to Italy, my sweetheart, but I promise, we'll go on a wonderful vacation this summer, it might just be you and I, but that's okay, right?"
Noah nodded. "Yeah…"
"Okay," she smiled, running her fingers through his curls. She kissed his cheek. "Uncle Nick is ordering breakfast for us, would you like some caramel pancakes from Mr Hangry On 85th?"
He nodded again. "Mommy, can I go to my room and play with my iPad til food gets here?"
"Of course… I'll let you know when it's coming."
Noah slid off the chair and stole away to the bathroom, closing the door. He knew from his Mom's red-eyes, her shaky hands and her fake smiles that Elliot was gone forever. He felt a rush of relief but also, sadness because maybe he could have had a Dad and he wasn't perfect but he had been trying so hard… Noah did often find it scary that Elliot could slip up any day and start arguing again with his Mom and making the house unliveable, but he thought maybe Elliot had changed for the better.
He guessed not, because Elliot making his Mom act in a way he'd never ever seen her act before was something he couldn't help but to hate. He knew hate was wrong, but his Mom loved Elliot with everything she had, even when he was a jerk, and she was not at fault. He felt for her.
He began to cry, he knew it was selfish which was why he didn't want his Mom to see, but looking forward to the summer vacation had been on his mind every single day and he couldn't aptly convey how sad he was that it wasn't going to happen.
/
"I have to figure out a holiday for Noah," Olivia sighed, "I can't fucking believe he did this to us… what kind of a person gets a child's hopes up, talks endlessly about a trip he is never prepared to take."
"You should go, Liv, you and Noah should still go to Italy…"
"It's not really something I budgeted for on one income," she admitted. "It was something we were both putting an amount toward-" she paused, "well I guess only one of us was ever planning on putting money toward it," she sighed, "where the fuck do I take an 11 year old boy?"
"Why don't you guys come and stay with us in Malibu? You can stay at our place: the house is on the beach, I get Zara for two weeks, we could take them to Disney and Knotts Berry Farm or California Adventures… there's a lot to do."
"I wouldn't impose on you both…" she murmured.
"Let me talk to Dani, I'm sure it'll be fine. She really wants to know you too, Liv…"
"Well, I don't expect to stay at your place, but the Disney thing sounds good. Noah will try to act like a big kid, but I know he would go crazy for Disney."
"I will figure it out. You should take your coffee, take your ambien and have a good sleep. I'll figure things out with Noah today…"
"I don't know what I would do without you Nick, thanks for coming…"
"Please don't mention it. As soon as I spoke to Amanda, Dani was like, go, go, go… what a psychopath."
"Thank you," she murmured. She swallowed the pill he had metered out to her.
"Come on, go to bed… I'll have a chat to a few people and see what I can find out about what Elliot got up to in the last few days and to see if he's already left."
"I'm guessing Kathy will know and I feel betrayed by her too, why wouldn't she have given me a heads up?"
Nick shrugged. "I guess you know where her loyalties are, Liv… they're with her kid's Dad…"
Liv nodded. She got up and made her way down the hall. "Thank you. You can tell Noah he can come in and give me a cuddle before he goes. I know he's trying to be brave, he's so sad too. He really has been a victim through all of this."
"I know… what an ass."
/
Present
"What do you think?" Trevor asked with a little smile as he leaned over, wiping a tiny little bit of chocolate custard off the corner of Olivia's mouth. "10/10, or…?"
"100/10," she replied, "it's amazing… don't tell Noah I had chocolate for breakfast."
Trevor laughed. "Wouldn't dare. Kids will use that shit against you for the rest of your life."
"Tell me about it," she commiserated. She reached for his hand on the tabletop and flicked her eyes up at him as he ate a spinach and cheese pastry. "Trev, I've had the best time, thank you for taking me out last night. Dinner was amazing, laying in bed with you talking… that was amazing too, I love finding out all this stuff about you."
"Me too, even if some of it did make me feel a little furious and overprotective."
She gave him a wry smile. "I love that you love me enough to feel my pain in that scenario."
"Of course… I'm still so shocked that someone could do something like that…" he shrugged, "I will never. Even if we didn't work out, I'm not the sort of person who gets vindictive or cruel. I always want things to be fair and just."
"I know and maybe that's why I've fallen in love with you, but… I do sometimes have a freak out."
"I get that, you just have to communicate that to me and I'll put you at ease."
She leaned over and kissed his mouth lingeringly. "So… I'm throwing it out there, I wanna be exclusively dating you, is that cool?"
A grin spread across her mouth, "Really? Are you sure you can deal with the responsibility of dating a sex detective."
He laughed, "Absolutely."
"My hours are a bit fucked up and so is my brain after work, but if you are okay with sometimes dealing with zombie Olivia, I would like to be exclusive with you too."
"Fine by me," he shrugged, "and maybe in time you'll feel comfortable enough to just get in from work and find solace that your man's got you and it's not for show. I've got dinner, I've got lunch, you don't have to worry about Noah, I'm it Liv, you can lean on me."
She breathed a content sigh. "That sounds so nice."
"It sounds nice but its also a real thing," he told her, "and you know I'm going to want to take you and Noah upstate with me at some stage like now to meet my family…"
"Yeah? You're that confident about me?"
"Absolutely, yes."
"So much for not rushing," she laughed. "I guess now if Noah asks me again what's going on I can answer him."
"And maybe he won't be mad at me anymore," Trevor smiled. "He really just wanted me to be sure about everything and was mad that we had to figure things out, poor kid. He must really be traumatised by Elliot. I can understand now why he said what he said to me the other day."
Olivia nodded. "I saw him watching this ballet thing on YouTube the other night and he sent a link to Kaci and I guess she thought it was a little silly because he said it was his Mom's favourite ballet," she laughed, "but I hate that he's dishonest about the stuff he really likes. He is a dance fanatic. He still practices in his room and I know he'd never ever let anyone know that."
"That's really sad… maybe we can encourage him to pick it back up if that's what he wants."
Olivia shrugged, "I don't know…"
"So did you end up going to California for vacation with your friend?"
"Yeah…" Olivia smiled, "I'm glad we did that, it was the nicest vacation we had and gave me some space to let go as best as I could… Nick's fiancé, Dani, she was so kind and welcoming and she really went out of her way to make Noah's time very special. She didn't have any kids of her own at that point and Zara, Nick's little girl was still trying to scope her out…"
"Ah," Trevor nodded. "I'm glad you had a friend in Nick."
"He asks about you a lot," Olivia told him. "We talk almost daily— he sometimes would have a word with Noah for me and when needed to, would tell him to pull his head in when he was getting too far out of line with me."
Trevor laughed, "I can't imagine Noah would have enjoyed that."
"Getting told off by your Mom's friend across the country? Nah, not so much… but we're all good."
Olivia dusted off her hands and picked up her coffee for a sip. "So what's the plan?," she asked, "do you have anything you need to take care of today?"
"Nope, not really, I'm all yours. What about you? What do you have to do today?"
"Nothing much, maybe some groceries and a little laundry, but I'll probably do that on the way home later," she told him with a shrug.
"How about when you decide you need to go, I'll take you grocery shopping and help you get it home and put it all away and then I'll give you and Noah a night to yourselves."
"Okay," she smiled, thinking that it might have been a good thing to have a night alone with her son. "Sounds good. After breakfast can we go back at your apartment and find something useless on television and lay around all day?"
A smile spread across his lips, "Yes… without pants of course…"
"A man after my heart…" she smiled back at him.
"Let's just stop by the pharmacy and make sure we're both better prepared for next time, yeah?"
She couldn't help but feel the flush of her cheeks. "Sure… thanks. I love that you're so sure there will be a next time-" she teased.
He rose an eyebrow, "Oh, okay," he replied, swallowing the last bite of his breakfast, "I guess I'm being presumptuous… maybe we should wait and if there happens to be a next time, we can p ss pause and one of us can dip down to the pharmacy-"
"Oh yeah, we'll place everything on pause, that seems sexy…" she chuckled. "I want there to be lots of times, so maybe you better get a big pack…"
She made him laugh out loud. "I am as enthusiastic about that as you are… let's do that. A super-sized family pack?," he joked.
"Super sized? Come on now, let's not get too much of an ego…"
He rolled his eyes and laughed, "that's not what I meant Olivia, and you know it," but both of them were smiling.
"Well…" she leaned in quietly, "you're a definite couple inches of improvement compared to anyone I've been with in the past so…it is what it is," she gave him a little wink and stayed close so he could oblige her sweetened sugary lips with a lingering kiss.
/
"Noah, your Mom got some overtime," Amanda told him as she put a glass of orange juice down in front of him, "Uncle Sonny is dropping you off at school and I've packed you some lunch."
"Oh," he looked up and then gave a little smile. "Its okay Aunty," he said smugly, "I know she's with Trevor…"
"How do you know that? She told me she's at work."
"Well then you're gullible. She left her snapchat location on, she thinks she's so smooth trying to pretend that she's got a realllllll big shift," he giggled.
"Wow would ya look at that, we have a detective in the making," Sonny remarked with a good natured smile. "Lucky you though, you got to hang out with us."
"I know, its rare that you're both off work on the same night," Noah replied, nonplussed about his mother staying the night with another guy. "Anyway, I just texted Mom before, I'm going to my friend, Adam's house— his Mom said I can stay there with him til Mom gets home. We're gonna play an NFL game on his Xbox."
"Okay cool," Amanda replied, trying not to pay any mind to his comments about his Mom. "Well, I've got some of Grandma's lasagne in your lunch box, are you gonna be able to heat it?"
"Yeah and if there are too many kids lined up, I'd happily eat it cold, thank you!," he smiled happily.
"OK and I've just cut some bread up for you and Jessie, I put peanut butter on yours, Jess, is that okay?," she asked her.
"Yeah Mom, thanks…" she replied, looking up from her book.
"Jessie, put your book away," Sonny told her, "we're about to eat breakfast together, it's really rude."
With a little sigh and a roll of her eyes she snapped the novel shut. "And without the sass," Amanda added. Noah hid a smile. "Billie, hurry up!," she called down the hall as Sonny put Levi in his booster chair, putting a piece of toast and putting it down in front of him.
Noah liked mornings with the Carisi's especially when both Amanda and Sonny were home. It felt nice to see their morning routine. It was different to when Elliot lived with them. It was always his Mom running around after him and Elliot, being the one to make sure food was on the table. Elliot never helped, he sat down and waited like it was his entitlement - as if his mother didn't work long hours too.
He liked that Sonny helped Amanda either by cooking or by making sure the kids were ready for school, that he made sure they all had their lunches, or vice-versa. It was equal parts work in the morning for both of them and once everyone was organised there was always a fun discussion at the table. It wasn't to say he didn't enjoy time with his own Mom over breakfast, but it was always a fun novelty to be involved in the Carisi's family routine.
Billie came from the hall sulking as usual. She hated going to school and both parents hated the fight of having to get her motivated. "Billie come and sit beside me," Noah smiled at her, patting the spare space.
She put her school bag down and pulled the chair out. "Are you going to stay here again tonight?," she asked Noah, enjoying his company. He played with her and Levi and together they were reading Harry Potter and read it aloud to each other whenever he stayed.
"Not tonight, not unless my Mom really wants to go to 'work' again," he made air quotes over his head, making Jessie snicker conspiratorially.
Amanda tried not to laugh. "Noah is going home tonight," she told Billie, "but remember you're going to stay with Auntie Liv and Noah next week."
"Oh yeah," Billie smiled.
"Okay guys, we have to eat a little faster this morning because Daddy's gotta drop Noah off too, so let's not drag our feet anymore."
Noah was just about done with his grilled cheese sandwich that he insisted on making for himself so Amanda didn't have to go to any extra effort.
Sonny said goodbye to his wife for the day, leaving her with their toddler as he got all the kids in the car and began to drop them off one-by-one.
"So tell me, how do you feel about your Mom and Trevor?" Sonny asked Noah point blank when the girls had been dropped off.
"Mmm, back and forth about it," he replied, "but I really like Trevor, I just get scared that if it doesn't work out, Trevor won't care about me anymore."
"Oh," Sonny nodded with understanding, "that's fair… but kiddo, what if it goes really well, what if your Mom finally finds true love— I know you won't remember much of this, but if we put Elliot aside, there was a guy called Ed…"
"I remember Eddie," Noah replied. "I remember really liking him, he was fun and he was kind to Mom and I. I have super vague memories of him taking us to Paris."
"Yeah, that's true, he did take you guys to Paris… there was Ed and another guy who was around just before you were born, and if I'm honest Noah, your Mom's had her heart broken many, many times and it's not through anything she's done wrong, your Mom's heart is too good for too many men and she gets hurt… but I've met Trevor, I think he's the real deal. I don't know why I feel like that, I just have a very good feeling about him that I didn't get from anyone else she's been with since I've known her."
"Trevor has been so good to me and … I don't know why but I like that I can talk to him and tell him stuff I can't tell anyone else."
"Even me?" Sonny questioned him, feeling slightly put out.
Noah thought for a second, "I don't know, it's different with you, Uncle Sonny. It's just a different dynamic. Before he didn't know anyone attached to my life so I could be brutally honest but now I'm worried that that's going to change."
"I don't think it will, kiddo…" Sonny told him sincerely.
"I hope not." Noah had a weird thought and glanced at his uncle. "Sonny, Mom's not sleeping with him, is she?"
Sonny nearly spat his coffee out. Instead he choked it down. "I'm uh… I don't know, Noah, it's probably not something she's going to be forthcoming about, that'll be between her and Trevor."
"Gross," he sighed, making a face. "I don't want to think about that, I'll be so mad after the lecture she gave me about things moving too fast with Kaci."
"Well, your Mom is a grown woman with this, sorry to say, but it's none of your business or mine so you need to just keep your feelings to yourself."
Noah sighed as they slowed to a stop outside his school. "Okay, thanks Uncle Sonny, I'll see you later," he opened the car door and got out, giving him a wave.
Sonny smiled and waved back.
/
"You're the best…" Kaci told Noah as he waited for her by her classroom so that he could walk her to her Science class. She grinned at him and held her hand out. He laced his fingers through hers.
"You're the best," Noah replied, "sorry I didn't call you back last night but I was at my Aunt and Uncle's cos Mom had to work, I was playing with my baby cousins so I didn't get a chance to use my phone."
"Its okay," Kaci replied, "I get it. I know your family is really strict about the phone stuff."
Noah lifted her hand and kissed the back of it and gave her a smile. "Did you know you and Adam are my absolute best friends?"
Kaci grinned, smitten by him. "Noah, do you like me?"
"Of course," he laughed, "is it not obvious?"
"No, I mean like like me…" she asked slowly as they neared her next lesson.
"Kace, yes, I thought that was clear…" his voice trailed off, staring in to her own blue-eyes. "I really like like you," he smiled. "Do you like me?"
It wasn't any secret that Noah thought Kaci was the cutest, prettiest girl he'd ever seen and he did like her, he even felt attracted to her, he liked kissing her and receiving the affection that they shared. He wanted so bad to make her his girlfriend.
"Yes," she nodded as they stood out the front of his class. "You're my favourite person, Noah Benson."
He grinned at her. "Well… I better leave you to your science class. Mr. Hart hates me, I don't want you to get in to any trouble."
"Okay," she lingered a second. "Are you gonna come here and meet me after school?"
He nodded, "I'm going to Adam's but we'll walk you and Kate home… then I have to go see my Mom, she's had a big night out," he smiled.
"Oh, like a date or something?"
Noah nodded again, a little smile crossing his lips. "Well, she told me she was working, but I'm sure she was on a date. I'm proud of her, I know she's scared of getting hurt, but she's trying, she's the best."
Kaci grinned too, touched by how much he cared about his Mom. Her brother was a little older and was always yelling and screaming at their Mom. "Okay I better go, I'll see you after school," she quickly leaned forward and kissed his cheek.
/
Olivia and Trevor got back to his apartment and were met by Ruby who was running in circles — a habit Trevor knew better than to ignore. "Sorry sweetheart," he apologised, "You gotta go do your business, huh?"
The dog started jumping excitedly. "Make yourself at home," he told Olivia kissing her forehead, "I'll go take her downstairs to pee or go number 2s, I'll be right back."
"Okay, I'm going back to bed, is that okay?"
"Only if you're just going to be wearing nothing but a pair of cute little panties," he joked. She rolled her eyes and laughed, disappearing down the hall as he grabbed Ruby's lead and left out the door with her.
Olivia went through her phone and smiled when she saw Nick's text. "Hey Bella," he greeted her, "how's my favourite girl (besides my wife and kids, haha) going? How was the date with prince charming? I'm going to be in NYC for my Mom's 70th bday next month. We are throwing her a huge surprise party according to my sister. I would love to invite you and Noah and a plus one for the man because I won't be leaving NYC until I've met him."
Olivia replied straight away. "Had a great time on our date. I'm still at his apartment. I'll go home in time for Noah but I'm thinking of taking a nap," she replied, "Would love to come and see you guys and catch up with your Mom and I'll definitely invite Trevor if everything is good there by then."
Immediately Nick replied, "Still!? Mega date! Give me a number out of 10. You know what I'm talking about."
She laughed at her screen. "100. Yes. I know what you're talking about. No one else has ever come close. Maybe this is supposed to be what it's like. It's what I've missed out on with any other guy who I've stupidly let in to my life. I'm very happy and I hope Noah will be too. Remind me to send you a little video of him killing it on the field at his first in-team game."
"What are you smirking about?" Trevor asked when he found Olivia laying down on her side, reading her screen. He disrobed down to his briefs and slid beneath the covers beside her. "Oooh you really did take it all off…"
She was wearing black bikini briefs that made her smooth ass cheeks peek out from the fabric and she was topless which he loved.
He considered that perhaps she would be less forward about her nudity and it would be hard to get her to show her vulnerable side; but it hadn't been difficult to get her to trust him in that respect which made it easier for him to be vulnerable too.
"I'm not smug," Olivia replied, "I'm just texting with my friend, Nick…"
"Telling him all the juicy details of our date?," he teased, getting closer to her.
"Kind of," she replied, "He asked me to rate you out of ten and I told him 100," she admitted, giggling.
Trevor raised an eyebrow, "seriously? You talk with him about that kind of stuff?," he didn't feel jealous, just surprised that she was that open with a male friend.
"Yeah… we're close, but … you don't have to worry about it, if that's what you're concerned about."
"I'm not concerned," he replied with a shrug, "I think that it's just not that common that men and women are close in that way, but if you are, I think that's a good thing and I'm glad you have a good friend in Nick."
"Mmm feels suspicious, I guess no one has ever questioned it. Be honest, does it it bother you? You can tell me."
"No," he said firmly, "I am very supportive of you having good friends, Olivia, I believe you deserve and need them. If you and Nick are very close, then I am very happy for that."
"Thanks," her smile softened. "He's married and his wife and I are friends too. It's okay if it makes you feel funny, when you meet him you'll understand. He invited me to his mother's 70th next month, Noah too and told me that I should invite you if you uh…." Olivia spoke softer, feeling a little embarrassed to ask. She ran her fingers over his collarbone, "if you want to come with me as my… plus one."
Trevor grinned at her, "Ooooh, really? You want to introduce me to your friends?"
"Yes, I want to introduce you to everyone. I love you… I haven't felt this gooey over anyone in … well… you know, awhile."
He kissed her lips. "I would be glad to meet all the people that you love and care about," he spoke his words just a micron away from the soft tissue oft her lips. "I love you too."
Olivia's phone chimed again and Trevor pulled away. Olivia got in close, resting in the crook of his arm as she looked back at her screen and laughed to see a text from Noah. "What a little brat," she muttered to him, showing him the text.
"Hi Mom, how was your big night at "work", hopefully "work" treated you well and you had a nice dinner with "work", I'll be home at 5:30. Hope you'll be home from "work" by then, I need your help with something."
"Oh shit, does he know you spent the night with me?"
Olivia grimaced, "I guess so, shit," she sighed, "don't worry baby, I think now that you and I have a better idea of what's going on, he'll probably be okay with it. I'm curious with what he needs my help with. "Hi babe, yes work has been fine and I'll be home before you. What do you need my help with? Is everything okay?"
She could see Noah typing and both she and Trevor waited nervously for his reply. "It's nothing serious. I just need to find an odd job or something because I need to make some money to buy Kaci a gift for her birthday. I want it to be special. I'll tell you my ideas later. Say hi to Trevor for me :)"
"Oh my gosh…" Trevor covered his face with his hands, "your kid is gonna hate me if he knows you spent the night here."
"Don't worry Trev, he knew I spent the night in the guest bed with you at our apartment. He didn't really mind. I don't think he would have been so nice if he had an issue with it, but I'll talk to him tonight."
"Nick…" Trevor nodded at her phone as she stared at him taking in his reaction to Noah. She ignored the text for a moment, "Its kind of sweet he wants to treat his little girlfriend to a nice gift, right?"
"It is, you've certainly taught him how to treat others well. Just… just dont let him get taken advantage of, Liv, Noah is really sensitive and really cares about what people think to a fault of his own, I don't want any of these little girls to treat him badly."
"Do you think that Kaci has the potential to do that? To hurt my kid? Does she have another side?"
He shook his head, "No, I don't think so. She's a very smart, sweet girl with very strict parents, I've had to deal with them once before — not over something she did, but someone that was giving her a hard time. Her Dad was a little much but her Mom was sweet."
"Hmmm okay, thanks." She looked a her phone to see the last text from Nick. "100 out of ten!? You are crazy but I'm very happy for you. I just relayed that back to Dani and she asked if he has a friend that she can trade me for, so kind… she said to say that she can't wait to meet him and see you. Don't forget to send me the video of Noah. Maybe if I'm lucky I'll be able to catch up at one of his games while I'm in NY. Love you. Have a good day."
Olivia rolled over and put the phone up and turned back to Trevor and wrapped her arms around him. She pressed her chest against his and circled his neck. Trevor pulled her thick thigh over his, letting his hand caress her soft skin, up and down the outside of her leg until he finally rested his hand over her ass cheek. "I absolutely love this closeness," she murmured between kisses.
"Me too," he murmured kissing her back giving her backside a squeeze. "I love that you're good to lay here basically naked beside me, it's so sexy and such a fucking turn on, if I'm completely honest."
She sighed with contentment, pulling away, gazing at him, stroking his hair. "Sorry that I keep saying it, but I love you and I also hate myself a little for being this weak around you."
"What?" He stroked her hair too, grazing his finger tips around the frame of her face, relaxing her, slowing down her panic of being so brazen with him. "No, Liv, you're not weak, you're communicating your feelings and every time you tell me you love me, I feel so light and so happy," he admitted, "do you feel like I'm being weak when I tell you I love you?"
"No, but… after everything I've been through I feel like I could be walking in to a trap."
"I know that's not about me, but I can't help but to feel angry with Elliot and any other guy who's made you feel like you have to hold any bit of yourself back. I know time will heal your heart and it will make you trust me fully over time, but I promise you — this… you and I, you and me and Noah, that's what I want and it really hasn't taken me as long as I thought it might to get to that resolve, baby, I mean that and I hope that you'll let me be involved with Noah too."
She seemed to process it for a moment before finding his beautiful pale green eyes staring back at her, waiting for her response, "I said once to Elliot that I am not looking for anyone to be Noah's Dad, I am just looking for someone that while with me, my son will feel comfortable with you. You are not allowed to give any parenting directions or have a say in my parenting or anything like that unless you one-hundred percent accept my child for who he is entirely. I will not have anyone breaking his spirit ever again."
"You know that's not me, right? You know I would never want Noah to be anything but himself. I would only ever encourage good behaviour, respect, everything you have already instilled in to him. My style of discipline with kids is to hate the behaviour but never the child — I like to find out what makes them misbehave and encourage them to talk and communicate above all else — it usually shows up and we talk about how we can do better… I don't raise my voice, I don't throw orders… that's not me."
"I know," she smiled. "I think you've shown that already with the wonders you've worked with Noah. I hope that you and I being together won't change things between the two of you."
"I hope not either…" he paused, "so Liv… does this mean that you and I are now currently official, is that what you want? Cos let me be weak, it's totally what I want."
She let her laughter erupt in to the room, "Yeah," she kissed his lips, "yes it's what I want."
"Great," he rolled her on to her back, "you won't regret it…."
She chuckled, cuddling him close. "No? Maybe I might need a reminder of how you will make sure I don't forget…"
Trevor didn't need any further encouragement in allowing his hands to search her body, to give her a reason to need a short, after lunch nap.
/
Olivia had dinner in the oven for Noah by the time he arrived home. She decided to do better in the kitchen - there was a time she always cooked and her love for all the things that she felt obliged to do for Elliot went out the window — but Noah deserved better than ordering food every night and she had slowly been getting back in to cooking, and had decided to try something new.
She worked on his roast potatoes and had, with Trevor's direction over the phone, marinated some chicken legs and wings and baked them and created a quick savoury rice to eat with it. She threw together a salad to put on the table.
"Wow, Mom, did you cook?" Noah asked, smelling the roast potatoes in the oven. He paused to kiss her cheek hello. "It smells good."
"I cooked, Trevor gave me a recipe, hopefully it'll be good."
"You sure you didn't get that recipe from work," he teased.
"Excuse me, you're getting a little too big for your boots," she grinned at her adorable son, who looked happier than she had expected him to look. "Go have your shower and get changed, I'm going to wash my face and get in to some pajamas while I wait for things to finish up baking."
"Okay, it's nice to see you happier Mom," he remarked.
She smiled lovingly at her son. "Thanks, my sweetheart."
"I hoped to get home and have Ruby here…and maybe even Trevor too."
"I thought maybe it was time for just you and I to hang out, Trevor and Ruby can come another time," she shrugged, "You've got fifteen or so minutes babe so make it snappy, okay?"
"Okaaaay!," he called over his shoulder.
/
"Mom, I need help with a gift for Kaci, I want to ask her to be my girlfriend on her birthday, is that dumb?"
"Mmmm," Olivia thought about it while she moved around the kitchen. "Wanna hear my thoughts about big proposals on holidays and birthdays and things?"
"I'm not proposing," Noah chuckled.
"No, I know honey, just… you know, you're asking her something important. You might be her first boyfriend, do you know?"
"Yeah she hasn't had a boyfriend before," he told her. Olivia handed him a utensil to scoop out his own food. "Oh man this looks amazing," he remarked, causing her to smile. He heaped up his plate and waited for his Mom before he went to sit down. Olivia poured herself a glass of red wine and gave Noah a can of his favourite soda.
"So anything that guys do on birthdays or Christmas or major dates of importance, I always feel is a little selfish because it takes attention from the reason for the celebration. I know it's not intended to be selfish, but it can be — remember when Elliot proposed to me on my birthday?"
Noah nodded, instantly scowling at the thought of him.
"In front of all my friends at the surprise party Amanda and Sonny threw for me. I didn't expect it and even if I wanted to say no, I couldn't have in front of everyone… and sometimes when I'm struggling on my birthday, I think about it, it's created a bad memory that I associate with that day. And I'm not saying that you'll break Kaci's heart and she might have a bad memory but-"
"No, I get it," Noah replied, "And you're right, it was selfish of me, but I thought it would make her happy."
Olivia smiled at him and motioned for him to eat. "It will make her happy on any other day too, sweetie. But tell me this and be honest, is it going to make you happy too?"
Noah glanced at his Mom and nodded. "Yeah, I really like her, she's so sweet and kind and she's easy to talk to and I can talk to her about stuff I can't talk to Adam about," he explained, "and I dunno, she's just so tiny and adorable and cute. I like holding her hand and walking her to class and hugging her."
A small smile spread across Olivia's face. "Aww Noah, you have your first girlfriend—" she felt herself beginning to tear up. She placed her hand over her chest and took a deep breath, "and you're talking to me about it. I couldn't be happier, babe."
"Okay, well, don't cry or I'll change the subject," he warned her with a little smile.
Olivia laughed too. "Okay so we have to find her a nice birthday gift. When is her birthday?"
"Monday. Do you think we can find something over the weekend? I'm happy to do any kind of odd job or whatever to earn some money to pay for it."
"Weeee-eeelllll," she began slowly, "Trevor invited you and I to go upstate with him this weekend to meet his family. How do you feel about that?"
"Wow…" Noah was surprised, "Seriously?"
"If you're not comfortable Noah, we don't have to, this is totally up to you. We can wait for a couple months if you need time to adjust-"
"Wait, what am I adjusting to? I feel like you skipped a step here, Mom…." His voice trailed off, feeling a little torn between his feelings.
"Trevor and I went on a date, I know you figured that out…" she told him, "we really like each other, sweetheart."
"Did he ask you to be official with him yet? Or is he still not sure," Noah asked, stabbing some potato with his fork, knowing he would be angry if Trevor still hadn't given his Mom anything solid to work with.
"We both needed to talk about our pasts a little to figure out what we need in the present and to figure out if we are on the same page, babe, I don't need you to be hard on him. It was something that both of us needed to do — we had a very long talk last night and a very, very nice dinner out at a wonderful Greek restaurant that I'll take you to soon…"
"And?" Noah pressed.
"And I really have deep feelings for him and he has deep feelings for me and I hope that's okay with you."
"Do you love him?" Noah asked, "you can be honest, I won't be mad."
"Yeah, I think over the last few months I have developed very strong feelings for him for all that he has done for you, for the fun he shows me, for the kind things he does for both of us and because he is a very good, kind and generous person who I don't believe is anything like any other man I've been involved with in, maybe my life."
"Thanks for being honest," he replied. He fell silent, filling his mouth with food.
"Talk to me, babe, tell me how it makes you feel?"
He shrugged. "I'm just scared I'm gonna be left behind," he replied.
"That's not going to happen. I promise. We just need to be open with each other babe, I won't let anything happen to you and if you ever feel like something is wrong, you need to tell me straight away." She paused, "if it bothers you a lot, I can keep my relationship with Trevor to myself and keep him out of your life-"
"No," he said quickly. "Does Trevor know you love him?"
"Yes," she replied.
"And do you think he loves you too?," he continued.
"Yes," she repeated.
"Then we should go and meet his family on the weekend, but we have to find Kaci's gift too."
"Its a deal babe," she replied as relief washed over her. "As for odd jobs, I mentioned to Trev you were looking to earn a little bit of money and he said if you want to go and wash Ruby for him tomorrow afternoon, he will give you $10."
"I don't want a pity job," he replied with a little laugh.
"It's not and don't start that. Trevor has always wanted to help you, well before he and I met and that's not going to change, alright?"
"Okay," Noah agreed.
"Let's just worry about finding a lovely gift for Kaci and then whatever it costs, you can work it off by an agreed amount of chores or odd jobs, how does that sound?"
"Thanks Mom, that sounds fair," he agreed.
"And if you want her to be your girlfriend, you should ask her either the day before or after her birthday and you should give her a bunch of flowers which I will buy for you to give to her."
Noah grinned, "thanks Mom…"
Olivia smiled back. "I love you," she told him. "I want you to be happy."
"I love you too," he replied. "Adam thought I was crazy for asking for your help, but I knew you'd help me. I'm lucky to have a Mom as cool as you."
Olivia felt chuffed by her son's compliments.
"So, Mom… does this mean Trevor will be sleeping over a lot?"
"Mmmm not necessarily, but it might mean we need less of Michelle if you're fine with Trevor hanging out with you when I'm on nights."
He smiled, "That is more than okay, especially if Ruby comes too. Mom I'm okay with Trevor staying here more, it's kind of nice if I'm honest. I know it should gross me out and there's a part of it that does, but I just got so sick of seeing you sad that I'm happy if you're happy."
"Aww babe," she reached for his hand and gave it a squeeze. "What did I do to get so lucky to have you?"
Noah smiled. "And if you're going to cook more like this, this is a great bonus," he added, digging in to his rice and chicken, hardly able to remember a time where his mother had cooked something so amazing. "How did Trevor manage to teach you to do this so fast? I'm suspicious."
Olivia widened her eyes and scoffed in shock at her teenager, "Noah! That's so mean," she was able to laugh. "I'm not an idiot, I know how to cook — I used to cook for you and Elliot all the time if you remember."
"Why did you stop?," he asked, taking a sip of his drink and pushing around some of his food. "Can I be honest with you?," he asked before she was able to answer. A lump began to form in his throat, he hated talking about the aftermath of Elliot, but there had been questions for years that he was too afraid to hear the answer to and unsure if his mother would have ever been honest about it.
"Of course, honey, please…"
"I don't want to make you feel bad but … why did you do all those things for Elliot — cooking, cleaning up after him - you worked just as hard as he did and yet you still made sure we had a home cooked meal even if you were on nightshift. Elliot only cooked once a week and he really acted like an ass about it."
Olivia thought about his question for a moment but he continued. "At Uncle Sonny & Auntie Amanda's today, it hit me that Uncle Sonny never lets her do anything on her own. He helps get Billie and Levi up when he's there. He helps with breakfast and I know he cooks dinner without ever being prompted. Sometimes he brings aunt Amanda a wine on the couch and asks her to leave him alone with the kids… Elliot never did anything like that for you and you gave him so much and then after he left, you didn't do it anymore…"
She was unsure of what he was getting at but she could tell that he was getting a little misty-eyed.
"But I was still here, Mom," he said gently, swallowing hard, "it just made me realise you were only putting in effort for him not for me. You didn't care if I had a home cooked meal or not and it made me so angry with you because you loved him more than you loved me."
Olivia marvelled at how quickly she went from laughter to tears. "No…" she said softly, a whisper of a voice. "No, I did not love you less than Elliot, that's not true."
"It felt it. You shut me out. You worked more hours. I was with Michelle more. I felt like I was just a pain in the butt that you had to put up with… it made me resent you, Mom, and I hate myself for feeling that way."
The tears found their way down her face and it wasn't long til Noah began to cry too. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything. I hate seeing you so upset."
"Noah," she sniffed, finding her voice, giving him her best smile despite the pain the physically wracked her body. "Noah, I can't even verbalise how much I love you. You are the only thing that has ever ever kept me going. I can't…" she wiped her eyes and tried again. She reached for his hand and gave it a squeeze. "I stopped doing those things because I was exhausted from what he did to us, it was taking too long to get over him. I knew that if I didn't do those things for him, he would find me even less useful. I know you will always love me no matter what. I could stop cooking for months, years even — I could stop doing your laundry, or be absent for a little til I got my brain more focused again — and you wouldn't hate me forever, Elliot would have left a lot faster if I had nothing to offer. My son, your love has always been unconditional — do you know what that means?"
He nodded sniffing. He knew she was right. It wouldn't have mattered if she never cooked again, he would never have minded.
"Elliot's love came with conditions and I was too stupid in the moment to see it. But for you, Noah, if you had of said a word — if you had of said to me, Mommy, please can we have a roast dinner or can you make me spaghetti, I would have done it in a heart beat. I would have stopped work. I will do anything for you, my love."
Noah nodded again. It was true, Olivia never ever allowed him to want for a single thing.
"But you were just a little boy and you should have never had to ask, Noah and I am so sorry if I seemed absent or not the same after Elliot left us… he left a big, ugly wound in me and I didn't know how to fix it. I just tried to be strong and I know you're not silly enough to have missed the problems it caused Amanda and I, so I was doubly hurt and it was easier to lock everyone out of my heart and maybe unintentionally I locked you out a little too."
"It's okay," Noah replied, "Maybe Elliot made me lock my heart up a little too. He made me angry enough to stop caring about a lot of things that made me happy. I used to love having lots of friends and doing nice things for everyone and it just made me angry. He gave me nightmares Mom," Noah admitted, choking back a little sob. "He gave me nightmares because of the way he would scream at you and throw things and I hated it. I've only just stopped sleeping with headphones."
Olivia wiped her wet cheeks and got up to go to the kitchen counter for the box of Kleenex.
She set it down on the table and took one for herself. "I'm so sorry that you felt like that, Noah, I blame myself and I wish so much, knowing you felt like that, I could go back and fix it."
Noah got up and circled the table and wrapped his arms around his Mom and hugged her tightly. "I love you, you did the best you could," he murmured, kissing her forehead. "You're by far the best Mom and I'm just sorry you struggled and you couldn't tell anyone. I wish I was old enough, you could have told me."
She squeezed him tight. "I never wanted you to feel my pain."
"Maybe I didn't want you to feel mine either… I hope Trevor is different," he told her, pulling away slow. "Do you think he is?"
Noah wiped his eyes with the heels of his hands and sat back down. He took a tissue and wiped his face, balling it up and putting it in his pocket.
Olivia composed herself and nodded slow. "I don't think we will ever know for sure and time will tell, but it feels different already."
"How?" Noah questioned, digging around his rice again. He nibbled at the chicken, hating that they'd cried over such a great meal.
"He wants to include you in everything. That's already different. He understands that you come first and is already prioritising you and he genuinely has grown to love you too. You really were our bridge that brought he and I together and I think if Trevor didn't see in you what I see in you to some degree, he and I wouldn't have clicked the same."
"So you're both obsessed with me," he joked, giving her a small smile, "that's kind of creepy of you both."
Olivia gave a soft chuckle, weary from the conversation.
"He really wants you to be involved in meeting his family," Olivia added. "We decided if you weren't ready then I wouldn't be ready so it's totally your call and I will respect whatever you want — if you want to wait or if you're happy."
"As long as his Mom doesn't want me to call him Grandma," he half-joked.
She finally laughed, "That would be weird," Olivia smiled at him, "but Noah if you feel uncomfortable at any point, you just pull me aside. I don't want you to hide your feelings from me anymore, okay? Please."
"Okay," he agreed. "Are there any other kids or is it just gonna be me taking my Nintendo and playing games."
"Well, there's Trevor's baby nieces but I doubt that will entertain you for too long, but Trevor's parents have a pool and I think Trevor has something else organised for us to do so we won't be too bored. At this stage we'll leave after you get home from school tomorrow and come home saturday afternoon unless it's such a good time and you're comfortable staying another night."
"Okay, I'm cool with that."
"Great and we will make time to visit the mall and buy something really nice for Kaci. What are you thinking you might like to buy?"
He thought for a second and shrugged. "I don't know… it can't be over the top but it cant be understated either, what do you think?"
Olivia sipped her wine, her food had gone lukewarm but it was still good. "Why can't you be a little over-the-top? Do you know how much it means to someone when you really make their birthday special? It makes you feel so warm and grateful. I think if you genuinely like her as your friend and maybe girlfriend, then you should go over-the-top."
"Well, then what should I buy her?"
"You could get her a pair of cute earrings or… maybe a necklace or a bracelet… or, I don't know? What other things is she interested in? Does she like anything in particular?"
"I know that she loves anything Hello Kitty and Zelda. She loves Zelda comics — that's a video game."
"Okay, you could get her maybe a small Hello Kitty Plushie and maybe a comic and a pair of earrings and a nice card? How about that? Does she have pierced ears?"
"No, her Dad won't let her… maybe a bracelet."
"Okay," Olivia smiled. "Let's do that."
"Thanks Mom, for helping me and for this talk."
/
"What if your Mom and Dad don't like me or Mom?" Noah asked, patting Ruby who's head rested on his lap. She hated the car ride, she always got a little out of sorts.
"My Mom and Dad and are going to love you both," Trevor told him over his shoulder, "I promise."
"You don't know that…" Noah began, looking out the car window.
"I do. I know my sister and brother-in-law are gonna love you guys too. And when we get there, we're gonna get changed and jump in the pool, right?"
"Yeah, it's hot enough for it…"
"See, that'll make my Dad really happy, he complains about the upkeep but if he got rid of it, Id have no reason to go there in summer."
Both Noah and Trevor laughed. "Mom, are you gonna swim with us?" Noah prompted. Trevor glanced at Olivia and realised she was asleep with her head against the window. "She's out like a light kiddo… we're almost there though."
"Cool, seriously though, I hope your parents like us. I'm really nervous."
"Don't be," he glanced at him in the reviewer mirror, "I promise it'll be fine and my sister will be there and she's a lot of fun and so is her husband."
"I trust you," Noah told him slowly. Trevor smiled at him, appreciating his words as he pulled in to his parents street; the old two and a half storey home built on a large portion of land that had been levelled out to a sprawling expanse.
"It's just this house here…" he pointed.
"Do your parents know we're all coming?"
"Yes, I promise Noah, it'll be okay. They're just going to be so happy to meet you and your Mom." He pulled the car to a slow stop. He leaned over and woke Olivia gently. Noah couldn't help but appreciate the kindness he showed toward his Mom. He shook her gently and spoke in quiet, even tones until she woke.
Olivia's eyes opened he kissed her lips. "Hey sleeping beauty, we're here…"
"Oh…" she smiled, "okay." She sat up straight and yawned. Trevor got out of the car and opened the passenger door for both Noah and Olivia, asking Noah to take Ruby to do her business on the grass while he unpacked their bags from the car.
Noah did his best to stand behind Trevor and noticed his Mom was doing the same as he let Ruby in to his parent's house first. It was just on dinner time and he was starving but was too polite to say anything.
Olivia reached out for his hand behind her, pulling him close to her. Trevor turned around and smiled at the mother and son duo that he loved so much, knowing that they were both nervous. "Heeeeeeeey Mama," he greeted his Mom.
His Mom was tiny and no where near her son's height. She was small and thin and looked younger than the 68 years that Trevor had told Olivia she was. She had a kind face and eyes that were as piercing as his. "Hi sweetheart! Oh I'm so happy you came and you brought Olivia and Noah with you!," she grinned at both of them angled a little behind her son, looking shy and a little awkward.
She absently gave Ruby a pat. "Mom, this is Olivia as you know and her son and my star student, Noah Benson."
"Liv, Noah, this is my Mom Georgina but she goes by Georgie," he introduced them.
"Lovely to meet you," Liv stepped from behind Trevor, reaching her hand out, but Georgie took her by both arms and appraised her with a big, warm smile. "It's lovely to meet you, my daughter has been telling me all about you — second hand of course, because Trevor doesn't tell me anything."
Olivia glanced up at her man with a little cheeky grin, "I'll change that," she promised her. "I hope you're a hugger, gorgeous girl, because we are a little over the top in this family," she pulled Olivia close for a hug as Trevor stepped back with Noah, putting an arm around him, giving him a re-assuring little squeeze. Noah felt grateful for it.
"I'm all about hugs," Liv replied as she felt Trevor's Mom give her a little squeeze. Eventually she pulled away, so happy that after all the years, her son had finally met someone he was very serious about. "And Noah… look at those beautiful eyes and those gorgeous curls!"
Noah blushed, "Nice to meet you," he murmured shyly.
She grinned back at him and placed a hand on his shoulder, "Nice to meet you too, I've been really excited to meet you and your Mom, so has Trevor's Dad…" she glanced up at her son, "Dad's gone to get something take out for dinner." She turned back to Noah, "so Noah, are you hungry? I have some cookies that I baked for you guys today…"
Noah glanced at his Mom for her encouragement. "Its okay babe, you can go and get yourself some cookies, just… use your manners," she smiled.
"Thanks," he said to Trevor's Mom.
"Go take your bags upstairs, Trevor, I've set up the guest room for Noah and…" she paused, not wanting to assume that he was sleeping in the same room as her son. "Raia's room is made up too, but I'll let you guys organise the sleeping arrangements." She turned to Noah, "Follow me, young man, you look like you're in need of a snack."
Noah laughed slipping off his backpack and handing it to Olivia, relieved to be able to eat something after the almost 2 hour drive.
"Are you doing okay?" Trevor asked Olivia, putting their bags down in his childhood room. She glanced around at all the trophies and things that remained untouched since he was at school. She smiled and faced him, "Yeah… this is so cute, all young Trevor stuff," she remarked.
He laughed. "I know… Mom didn't want to change anything…" he came up behind her as she glanced at all the trophies on a shelf above his desk. He slipped his arms around her waist. "My Mom was so happy, did you see how much her face lit up. She is going to loooooove Noah, poor kid. She will drive him crazy. She will probably start trying to give him all of my stuff from storage, lots of useless shit she doesn't understand she can throw away now."
Olivia laughed, resting her arms on top of his, leaning back in to him. "Your Mom just wants you to be happy, baby, that's all it is… I bet despite not discussing it, seeing you in pain and knowing her baby has been in pain these past few years has exhausted her and I'm sure she's felt that pain too and tasted the salt of your tears….," she let her voice trail, thinking about the conversation she'd had with Noah. "Mothers feel every bit of our children's pain…" she turned to face him and reached up, taking his face in her hands.
"I love you…" he murmured, "thank you for the reminder of how much I should appreciate her."
He leaned in and kissed her lips.
"Oh! Sorry!—" Georgie stepped in to Trevor's room with Noah trailing behind her.
"Ew," Noah made a face, "don't worry," he told Trevor's Mom, chewing on a perfect crunchy-on-the-outside gooey-in-the-middle cookie, "this happens all the time, you can't leave them alone for more than three seconds."
"Noah!" Olivia scolded him while both he and Georgie shared a little conspiring laugh. "I'm so sorry-"
"Don't be sorry, you are both so sweet and in love!," she exclaimed despite Trevor never telling her that.
"Could you guys be in love a little more discreetly."
"No," Trevor replied, kissing Olivia's temple. "Come on Noah, come with me, I'll show you where you are sleeping and then you can get changed in to something to swim in and as soon as dinner is done, we can jump in the pool."
"Wait, you can't you'll get tummy cramps."
Trevor gave his Mom a quizzical look and laughed, "Yeah okay Mom, we'll get "cramps"," he told her smartly.
"Trevor! Don't be rude!" Olivia scolded him too, "don't speak to your Mom like that." Trevor laughed and motioned toward his Mom, wrapping his arms around her, "it's ok Mom's used to me teasing, aren't you?"
"Yes," she gave him a squeeze back, "but I'd sooner appreciate you without all the fun being made at my expense."
"Don't be silly, you wouldn't know yourself if I didn't give you a hard time." He kissed her temple and let go of her, "come on Cookie Monster, let me show you where you'll be staying," he told Noah, leaving Olivia alone with his Mom.
/
"Thank you for dinner," Noah jumped up quicker than Trevor's Mom could. "Let me help you with the dishes and the cleaning up," he said quickly.
"No, no, you sit down, sweetheart," Georgie told him, beaming at him, "there's dessert and we have a dish washer, don't you worry about cleaning up."
"It's so kind of you but you and Trev wanted to swim, right?" Patrick, Trevor's father pitched in. He smiled at the young teen. Spending time watching and playing football with Trevor when he was young was something he deeply missed. It was nice to have another boy around and he could see, in the same way he enjoyed boy time with his own son, Trevor was thoroughly enjoying a somewhat doting parental experience too.
"Yeah but it's ok. I can help clean up."
"It's Noah's job at home to clean up after dinner," Olivia told Trevor's father.
"Not here it's not," he retorted. "Raia and Gav and the girls are coming over with cheesecake and cupcakes soon, there's no point cleaning up with whirlwind Chloe…" he smiled.
"It's okay," Trevor told both Olivia and Noah. "I'll stack the dishwasher and that's all that needs doing. I didn't bring you guys here to do all the odd jobs for Mom and Dad."
Olivia cocked her head at Trevor. "Oh, my darling, Trevor is right," Georgie said to her. "Raia is bringing over a lovely bottle of wine and the boys can do their own thing and we can enjoy some time on the deck."
"Okay," Olivia let go, smiling at the woman who had been nothing but incredibly sweet and hospitable toward her and especially sweet to Noah who had eaten endless treats of home made cookies and sweet tea and enjoyed having both Trevor's parents giving him all of their undivided attention.
"Thank you," she smiled at Georgie, she turned to Patrick, "My son doesn't get a free ride at home….I think that's really important, but…. This is your house and your rules, but I don't want Noah to have a free ride in life so he has responsibilities no matter where he goes. I'll let tonight slide, but I think he'll be helping with breakfast, right babe?"
"I can do that," he smiled.
"Well, Noah, Mom's the boss," Patrick winked at him, "but maybe your help can be coming with me and Trev to get some meat for a good old fashioned breakfast bbq."
Noah's eyes widened with excitement. Olivia couldn't help but to smile at all the concessions they were making for her son. "Of course, I can help with whatever."
"Noah has been so good at helping me with Ruby. He looks after her over night and takes her for walks and this afternoon after school he came to bathe her for me to earn some extra dollars, right?"
Noah smiled.
"That's admirable, Noah, doing odd jobs to save some money," Patrick remarked. "Are you saving for something?"
"Yeah," he smiled, his cheeks turning a shade of pink, "I want to buy something nice for the birthday of a girl I like at school."
"Ohhhhhh! That's so sweet! What's her name!" Georgie wanted to know. "Do you have a picture?"
Noah started to laugh at Trevor's Mom's excitement. "Uh… sure. Her name is Kaci…" he pulled his phone from his pocket and scrolled through until he found a picture of himself and her from school the day before.
"Ohhhh wow, she's so cute, Mom," Georgie looked at Olivia who was smiling. "She has pretty eyes, Noah. Is she your girlfriend?"
"Not yet… maybe if things go well…" he took the phone back and stared at her for a moment and smiled.
"Show me," Trevor held his hand out for Noah's phone.
"OKay but don't get teacher weird," he told him, "OK? Promise?"
"What do you mean!?" Trevor laughed, glancing from Olivia back to Noah. He noticed his parents were laughing too. "I'm not being teacher weird, I just wanna see the picture." Noah reluctantly handed the phone over.
"I don't know… Kaci doesn't know you the same way I do, I don't want it to feel weird," he admitted.
"Well I think Kaci's actually a really, really lovely girl, Noah, so I'm not weird about it." He looked at the photo and smiled and showed Liv who stifled a grin. "They're both so cute," Trevor remarked. He smiled at Noah. "Good stuff, kiddo, you chose well. I'm sure there's other odd jobs you can do to earn a little bit of money for something nice."
"Weee-lll, Mom and I have an agreement, so I guess we'll see. But her birthday is Monday."
"You could ask Trevor to show you how to use the ride-on lawn mower in the morning and if you mowed the entire back lawn I will give you fifty dollars."
"No, that's not necessary," Olivia said quickly, "fifty dollars is too much money for something Noah would be happy to help you with for free."
"Liv hasn't seen how big the backyard is," Trevor chuckled, "clearly she wants you to do hard labor, Noah," he joked with a wink.
"No absolutely not, I wouldn't expect anyone to do that yard for zero dollars. I will pay what it's worth for either Trevor or Noah to do it and I'll let them scrap over who gets the money."
Olivia sighed dramatically, "I hope you realise how grateful I am that I don't have any lawn, Noah," she told him with a laugh, "I'd be broke…"
He laughed. "No but $50 is too much, that's crazy money, I would do it because I like to help," he replied to Patrick.
"I like to help too, but not for free… Mom has to bake me a week worth of food for me to do my chores here," Trevor joked. "Okay," he began, changing the subject, "do you want to wait 30 minutes or do you want to swim now?," he asked Noah.
"Mmmm now." Noah smiled excitedly.
"Okay… I'll go and turn the lights on outside and maybe my Dad can show you where to get some towels."
"Of course," Patrick got up, leaving Olivia to start gathering plates, ignoring Georgie's protests.
"I'm just getting changed, I'll be back in a second," he told Noah. He looked at Liv, "Are you all good, sweetie?," he asked.
"Yep," she smiled, seeming genuine. He kissed her lips. "Are you gonna come for a swim too?"
"Not sure, I'll see how I feel after my food settles… I'll come out and see you guys in a bit though."
"Okay, let us know when Raia get's here or tell her lazy butt to come and make herself known."
