Hey everyone!
Sorry this update took a little while, Ive been super busy back at work - but I figured that we've all been busy in this new year, getting things organised. But anyway - this is new beginnings for Noah and Olivia and maybe a sign of what is or is not to come! Let me know what you think of this little, sweet, domestic Langson flufff!
Olivia was a little overwhelmed but was enjoying herself. Trevor's sister was gorgeous and sweet and as excited and dizzy about meeting her as his Mom was. She arrived with her two daughters and her husband who immediately said hello and took a six pack of beer down to the pool to hang out with the boys.
"I'm really sorry, Liv, I'll calm down," Raia laughed when she realised Trevor's girlfriend was a little bewildered. "I'm sure he's told you all about it, but I'm just really, really happy that you've made him smile and given him hope again."
"Oh," Liv chuckled, "let's not get crazy… I don't think that's entirely me."
"No, it's your son too," Georgie added, "Trevor adores him, I can see that."
Olivia couldn't entirely see in pool area super clearly, but she glanced over and could see Noah and Trevor sitting side by side on the edge, chatting and laughing.
She smiled, "Yeah, Noah adores him too…" she conceded.
"Well, its really nice. Trevor and I talk every day and when I went to his apartment a few weeks back, he was just lighter." She held out a bottle of wine as if in offering.
"Sure, thanks," Olivia smiled. She picked up an empty wine glass that she had brought outside for the three of them and watched her pour three generous glasses. "I think Trevor was also ready to start living for a future. We couldn't be in this position if it wasn't equal parts him, opening his heart again."
"True," Raia replied, "but he really liked you the second he met you, all I'm saying is I'm excited to see my brother smile and for you to be everything that he promised you were."
"Ray!" Georgie scolded her daughter, "stop it, leave her alone, she's hardly had a second of peace since she walked in between me and your father."
Olivia was a little amused but focused in on the toddler that Georgie was holding who quietly stared at the new person in her grandparent's home. "It's fine…" she replied, smiling at Chloe the oldest who stared, looking weary. "It's nice to have finally met you all, I have such a tiny mash-mash of not-really family, so… it's kind of — refreshing to see the dynamic you guys all have." She turned to the toddler, "and you…" she leaned over and touched her tiny little swimsuit. "I love your bathing suit, are you going to have a swim with Uncle Trevor?"
Chloe said nothing and stared right back at her. Olivia turned back to Raia, "she has the most beautiful eyes… I can't with that little face."
"Oh, Chlo-chlo, you're tricking Olivia with your sad eyes, aren't you?," she asked her daughter, "but really, your Mommy's little monster, aren't you?"
"No," Chloe shook her head, giving her mother a pout.
"That's her favourite word," she laughed.
"Aww leave my baby alone, don't listen to mean Mommy, Chloe, Grandma's got you."
"Don't worry Liv, my daughter will be harassing you in no time at all. She just likes to stare for awhile to figure things out."
"That's fine, I'll be very happy to be friends with you when you're ready to be my friend, sweetheart," she spoke warmly to Trevor's niece. Raia was so happy, Olivia was kind, warm and beautiful and if anything a little shy since Trevor had basically thrust her in to the middle of it all.
"I should actually get Noah to come and say hello, it's pretty rude of him to not have-"
"Oh no, it's totally fine," she said quickly, "he's enjoying boy time, let him have that. He doesn't care about me."
"Well, I'm sure he would care, but you're right, he really is eating up that boy time, poor thing, only gets to hang out with his Mom at home and he hates me being an emotional sap."
Both Georgie and Raia laughed. "Trevor kept telling us that Noah reminded him of himself when he was younger and I think that's why he has such a deep, soft spot for him."
"I didn't know Trevor as a teen, clearly, but I think when he first said that to me, I didn't quite understand, but there are a lot of similarities between Noah and Trevor's nature. At the moment I'm trying to teach Noah to how to treat women. He has it in his nature to be kind, but I want him to always think before he acts, because teenage boys can be … awful."
"Mom's don't do that enough," Raia told Olivia, watching her take a big sip of wine, internally wishing it was something a bit stronger.
"Heeeey!" Trevor greeted Raia, still dripping wet. He wrapped his arms around his sister while she struggled to push him away. He grinned, too strong for her, bear hugging her.
"You prick," she spat at him when he let go. She motioned down at her wet shirt and face. Trevor laughed evilly.
"Aww don't be like that, I just missed my big sister."
Olivia shook her head and smiled at him, noticing Noah coming up behind her. "Noah, my sister said when she meets you, she cant wait for a hug…"
"Noah looked around awkwardly.
Raia couldn't help but to laugh at her brother's lightness and silliness. "Hi Noah," she greeted him, "you don't have to hug me, but if you do, I promise not to name-call."
Noah laughed shyly. "I won't hug you right now, but it's nice to meet you."
"You too." Trevor grabbed his towel and wiped himself down. Olivia couldn't help but admire his tall, muscular form, droplets of water traveling down his frame. He caught her looking and gave her a wink. He leaned over and kissed her cheek. "Let me take this…" he told her, grabbing her glass of wine.
"Wait! Why!?"
"Because— I know it's not the type of glass you like to drink out of-"
"Trevor, it's fine," she protested but he was already inside with Noah following after him. They were going to get some light up discs that he and Noah had bought earlier in the afternoon and a small speaker so that they could listen to music and throw the discs in the water.
Trevor paused in the kitchen and poured Olivia's drink in to a glass. "Do you want to go grab the things out of the bag?," he asked Noah.
"Sure. What are you doing with Mom's wine?" Noah asked curiously, watching Trevor take the vodka bottle from the cupboard.
"I'm making your Mom the drink that she wants because she's too polite to say anything and I'll get you a can of coke from the bar fridge."
"Maybe that's the drink that I want too," he joked.
"In your dreams, kid." Trevor replied in monotone as he added a shot and a half to Olivia's stemless wineglass, plonking a few bits of ice in since it was a warm night and he knew how much tepid drinks disgusted her.
Noah disappeared to get the stuff from his room to meet Trevor back outside. "Here you go, sweetheart," he placed the drink down in front of her. "I added some ice."
"You can't add ice to wine!" Raia protested.
Trevor glared at her playfully. "I can do whatever I want," he poked his tongue out.
Olivia was a little suspicious and realised that he'd added vodka for her. She felt so relieved. "Thanks. Where's Noah? Is he having a shower?"
"Nope, he's getting the speaker and the discs."
"I hope you aren't planning on having a rager down there tonight. Gav promised me that I could sleep in tomorrow and I'm not letting you throw a spanner in the works."
"But don't you want your little brother to have a nice, social time?"
Raia rolled her eyes. "Does this guy drive you as crazy as he drives me?"
"No," she laughed, "but he doesn't do that to me, he knows better." She loved getting to see Trevor's much sillier side. "Thanks for my drink."
"What did you do to her drink?" Raia asked, "I feel like you're being sketchy."
"I just know how my love likes her alcohol and I improved it a little."
"How?" Raia demanded to know as Georgie watched on with amusement. She glanced at Olivia, "so I can make it next time."
"Olivia likes red wine and or a sav blanc-"
"Trevor!" Olivia stopped him. She turned to Raia, "the wine is perfect."
"Perfect now," he added under his breath, "I added vodka to it," he winked at his sister, "Olivia's drink is vodka and lime."
"But the wine is great," she added again, "Trevor stop being so rude," she warned him, a little more seriously.
He knew she was serious. "Okay, okay…" he held up his hands as Noah came back out. "Sorry, but the drink is good, yeah?"
"Trevor spiked your drink Mom, I watched him," Noah came in hearing the end of the conversation. Olivia looked up and reached out for her son. He came to her side and gave her a hug. Olivia didn't mind that he was still a little wet. She was warm and half wished she could swim with them too.
"Awww, you are the sweetest, make sure you always rat my brother out, Noah, he needs to be kept in line."
Noah laughed. "No, Trevor is way more fun outside of school," he glanced at Trevor, "no offence, but you can be so stern at school."
He laughed, messing his curls up. "Yeah but if I showed everyone that I'm fun, no one would behave. Don't you go telling anyone."
"Eww, as if I'm gonna tell anyone that my Mom's boyfriend is my teacher."
"Yeah, we might have to discuss that at a later date," Trevor replied carefully. "But not now, now is for fun. He glanced over at Chloe, "and little missy, shouldn't you be in bed asleep?"
"Chlo-chloe was adamant she didn't want to go to bed, she wanted to stay up like a big girl and swim with Uncle Trevor and Noah, but now she's so shy she won't leave grandma…" Raia told him, she turned to her daughter, "baby, do you want to say hello to Noah? Noah is Trevor and Olivia's friend."
Chloe lifted her head and inspected Noah. She glanced around at all the adults and stared at Noah for a moment. She pulled her pointer finger from her mouth and pointed at Noah. "Hair 'ma 'ma," she remarked softly.
"What was that honey?," Georgie pushed. Chloe repeated herself.
"Ohh, I think Chloe likes your hair, Noah," she smiled at him.
Noah laughed, "aww that's so nice, I like your hair too Chloe." He got a little closer to the toddler and reached out to her, "would you like to give me a high-five?"
A small smile spread across her mouth and after a moment of hesitation she gave him a high five. Noah squatted down on his haunches and began to chat to her.
Olivia couldn't help but to grin, feeling Trevor's hands on her shoulders. He slid his arms down around her neck and held her close to him, loving that his neice was easily won over. "Baby, why don't you put your bathers on and come in the pool with Noah and I," he suggested.
"Oh yeah, if you want to do that, I'll even come in," Raia promised. "What about you, Mom?"
"Not for me, but I'll come down with Dad and little miss here, but maybe Sadie needs someone close by."
"If everyone can promise not to splash too much, I can bring her out on her little couch bed," Raia suggested, "she sleeps better with noise, anyway, that little crazy."
"Okay, how does that sound?," Trevor asked Liv, catching Chloe reaching up to be picked up by Noah.
"Okay," Olivia agreed. She saw Noah lifting Chloe from Georgie and smiled.
"Good luck getting her to leave you alone, now Noah, you'll never know peace again."
"I always wanted a sibling, this is fine," he smiled.
Olivia was surprised by Noah's admission. She didn't say anything but shared a look with Trevor, just another reminder of something Elliot had falsely promised them.
"You guys get changed and I can go get Sadie and the little sofa and a blanket," Trevor opted.
"No," Raia replied, "you can just help Mom take our drinks and stuff down if Noah is ok with Chloe. I can organise Sadie and her things after I get changed."
Trevor kissed Olivia on the lips and let her go inside.
/
"Awwww Noah, you're the flavour of the day!" Patrick told Noah. Noah grinned at the baby in his arms who joined them in the pool and was clinging to him. He kept putting her up on the pool's edge and allowed her to jump happily back in so that he would catch her.
"I never knew my kid was so good with the little ones except Levi…." Olivia whispered to Trevor from behind. She had her arms circled around his neck and her legs around his waist. Trevor smiled. "This is nice right? Its so nice to see everyone getting along."
"Yeah… everyone is so nice," she smiled. He reached around and pulled her around to the front of him.
"Can you say, Uncle Trevor is gross?" Noah asked his niece, eyeing Trevor who was attempting to kiss his mother.
Olivia threw her head back and laughed just as their lips met. "Stop it, Noah…"
Noah couldn't help but to laugh as Chloe giggled too.
Olivia let go of Trevor and swam over to the pool side and picked up her drink, finishing the vodka wine hybrid Trevor had made up for her. He swam after her. "I'll go get us another drink, k?"
"Just one more," she told him, "I don't want everyone to think I'm an alcoholic."
"Too late for that," Raia joked. She saw the surprise on Olivia's face and reached out to touch her arm, "I'm kidding… I could probably stand to have a vodka soda too actually if you're making them up."
Trevor rolled his eyes and and smiled. He turned to Olivia and kissed her lips softly. "I'll be back."
"Noah is such a sweetheart…" Raia told Olivia the second that her brother disappeared. "I'm glad he and Trevor get along so well…"
"Me too, this wouldn't have worked if he didn't, but they had a connection before I came along. I met Trevor because of Noah so… I'm lucky."
"I think we're all lucky," she smiled, "I said it before and I can't stress to you enough how nice it is to have my brother back… I know he still hurts— sorry-"
"No," Olivia said firmly, "do not be sorry for that, Raia, you can't erase a person from your history, especially not when the circumstances were tragic. I don't want Trevor to forget Lana, not ever. Nor do I want him to be scared to grieve her with me…"
Raia cocked her head and Olivia could see her eyes full of tears. She reached out to her and touched her arm. "Its okay, that extends to you too, I know we don't know each other, but I don't want you to ever feel bad to bring Lana up… I know you guys were so close too."
"Thank you Liv, that's the sweetest. Trevor did tell me you were the absolute sweetest… and I guess your son learned from the best."
Olivia glanced over at Noah who was talking to Raia's daughter and politely chatting with Gavin. "Thank you, that's so kind of you guys."
"No but I feel like I know you, based on the level of info that Trevor has given me," she paused, "oh my gosh, I hope you don't mind…"
Olivia smiled, realising Trevor's sister was already a little drunk. "No, its fine, I want him to have been able to be open about me and Noah with you guys, it's nice…"
"Yeah… I feel like I know you and I really want to have a good friendship with you, that's so important to me."
"Me too, Raia," Liv replied, "Whoever is important to Trevor is important to me."
"That's so sweet, Liv, your reputation really does proceed both you and Noah."
"I think that Noah and I have been through our fair share of bullshit and we're ready for a fresh start at trusting and letting people in to our lives," she replied.
"Good… I want you to know that— not to get too sentimental, but… I'm gonna be the best sister-in-law you could ever ask for, you might even have to tell me to piss off if I'm too overbearing," she smiled at Olivia.
Olivia laughed, "Never… I want Trevor to have the best relationships with his family and I want the absolute best for my son and I want the best for me too."
"You guys deserve it, honestly look how sweet and patient your boy is with Chloe, is he always like that?"
Olivia grinned at Noah, hearing his name he looked up and flashed them a smile.
"Yeah… he's really good with his younger cousins. We don't really have any real family but we've made family with our friends— he thinks of my bestfriends Mom as his grandma and she's been in his life since he was a baby and then theres their kids — his cousins, he's just so patient and kind to them… and I couldn't have asked for a sweeter kid. I'm so lucky."
Raia watched Noah longingly for a few moments before turning back to Olivia. "I love this… I terribly miss Lana, but like Trevor, I am ready to move on."
"Well, I am always here for you too. Moving on never means forgetting or not honoring Lana's memory, I hope you and Trevor both know that."
"Im sure you being around will help us understand that, Liv, I already know you have a fantastic heart and I can't tell you how happy that makes me."
Trevor appeared back with three drinks and popped them down in front of both his sister and Raia side by side at the pool edge. He plonked down back in the water. He kissed Liv on the cheek. "All good? Raia not harassing you?"
"Nah, we're good baby," Olivia replied with a smile. "But, I'm getting a bit cold, I might get out in a moment."
"Okay," he replied, kissing her again. "I'm gonna tell Noah the news now…"
Olivia smiled at him.
"Hey Noah…"
Noah looked up away from Patrick who sat on the edge of the pool dangling his legs. "Yeah?"
"I have a surprise for you…"
"Yeah? What is it?" Noah smiled.
"So tomorrow, this good man over here…" he slowly made his way to Gavin, "Gav, got us box seats to see the NY Bills play in the afternoon — it'll be a boys day out. What do you think?"
Noah glanced at his Mom to find her smiling adoringly. "Seriously?"
"Yeah," Trevor told him, "we will get the best seats in the house, right Gav?"
"Its a promise, these seats are amazing, Noah… Trev told us how amazing you've been playing… so we thought we better start taking you to some games so you can watch the greats."
"Tomorrow?" Noah confirmed, "this isn't like a thing you say and it doesn't happen?"
Trevor felt a pang of irritation for Noah's son, knowing that broken promises was a thing of his past. "Absolute promise," Trevor told him. "We're leaving about 2pm and Mom can come if she wants, but otherwise she might stay back and relax on her own."
"Oh my gosh, that's so cool!," he looked at Gavin with absolute awe, "thank you so much, Gavin! When Trevor said he had tickets I didn't think he was lying but… I dunno, I just thought maybe he'd rather take someone else."
"You're welcome, Noah and honestly Trevor was really excited to be able to take you. He said you'd never been to a football game."
Noah smiled, "Football really wasn't on my radar til I met Trev… but I love it now, I've been looking at all the stats of each team carefully, when NFL season officially begins, I'll pick a team."
"Educated and methodical, that's my man!" Trevor grinned at him. "We're gonna have the best time…"
"Mom, did you know that?" Noah asked his Mom, "that Trevor and I are going to the football tomorrow? I mean… is that okay?"
Olivia turned, glancing at him over her shoulder. "Of course it's okay babe, I want you to go and have the best time."
"Oh," he said, suddenly deflated, "but Kaci's gift…"
"Don't worry, I'll take you to go get her a gift in the morning," Trevor opted, "we're gonna give Mom this weekend to rest a little."
Olivia regarded them both with a smile. She needed a sleep-in and she needed to give Noah some time to develop his relationship with Trevor. "Well, I'm sure Patrick and Georgie don't want me lounging all over the house-"
"Don't be crazy, Olivia, you work very long hours, it would be our pleasure for you to feel comfortable enough to find relaxation here."
"I'll come and take you to lunch," Raia promised with a smile. "I might have to bring the girls, but would you like to do that?"
"Sure," Olivia smiled, "thanks."
They all got out of the pool as it got a little later and moved back up the yard to the back decking. It was well-lit and a place where they were clearly used to doing some entertaining.
Raia showed Noah up to the bathroom and got him some towels so he could get showered and in to some pajamas, deciding that she and Gavin would stay the night too as they often did when they came for dinner — it was easier than having to get the kids home especially if they'd both been drinking a little.
"You seem a little quiet, is all this okay, sweetheart?" Trevor asked Olivia quietly. She had a towel wrapped around her, still a little damp from the water; Trevor too.
"Yeah, it's just been a big day — day shift, the drive, a lot of meeting new people, it's been great though," she smiled at him. He reached for her hand and pulled her close to him until she sat on his knee. He wrapped his arms around her, hugging her close.
"I love you…" he murmured. "Mom and Dad told me they love you and Noah already and Raia who I thought might be a bit tougher told me that she really wants to hang out with you and get to know you."
A slow smile spread across Olivia's face. "Yeah?"
"Uhuh," he smiled.
"I'm relieved. Promise me they said that?"
"Sweetie, I'd never lie to you about something like that… they really love you, I promise. It'd be hard not to be in love with you…"
She chuckled and wrapped her arms around him, letting him cuddle her. "I love you too, by the way…"
"Aww, you two are so sweet," Raia remarked letting herself back out. She put another vodka and soda down for Olivia and took up the chair that Olivia had been sitting in.
"You should take a hint," Trevor teased her.
"I'd prefer not," she replied with a little smug smile as Olivia pulled away from him. She went to get up to move to the chair beside him but he circled her waist, "stay here, don't let my sister scare you off…"
"Yeah, I don't care, just don't start making out because I'll probably vomit," she replied, she nodded toward the vodka, "I got you another drink because I thought you might be too polite to ask Trevor for one."
Olivia smiled, feeling a little awkward sitting on Trevor's lap. She got up, despite both of their remarks and sat beside him, letting him pull the chair right up to his side. "Thanks for the drink."
"Of course…" She turned to her brother, "When you told me you'd all but befriended a kid who was going through something at school, I thought it was a bit weird— but from a grief perspective and a perspective of someone who'd been through some shit himself, I kind of understood the pull to help others, but now that I've met Noah, I see how gorgeous natured he is and sweet too, Liv, wow, I hope my girls will be that sweet and that well-mannered when they grow up…"
She blushed, "If I've done one thing right in my life as a Mom, its the way Noah responds to others…I used to have to teach him that fine balance between being kind and being taken advantage of, but he worked it out pretty quickly — we had a lot of talks about setting boundaries but his heart used to get broken all the time, now that he's a teen he tries to act all macho, but he is so sensitive and his heart is fragile and I love that, but I worry about him getting his feelings hurt."
"That's a perfect way to describe him, actually," Trevor regarded Olivia with a smile. "He's incredibly sensitive and his heart is gentle and fragile and when he gets hurt now, rather than crying, he resorts to anger, but that's a teenage boy's response."
"Yeah, only cos boys have a societal issue with being told that crying is girlish or wimpy…" Raia replied.
Olivia nodded in agreement. "Which he had in his own home," Olivia added, "for a few years longer than should have been and I shouldn't have ever let it get to that."
She sipped her drink and it was as bitter as the pill she had to swallow with the truth that she hadn't chosen the right things during her relationship with Noah.
"Yeah but, sweetheart, it wasn't just Noah's self-esteem he was eroding-" Olivia snapped back to glance at Trevor, his words hitting her in the stomach with a sense of overwhelming awareness. Trevor saw it, the flicker of shock; that he had just told her something that perhaps she had never considered.
Thankfully, Raia spoke, slicing through the emotional response that she thought she may have had. "Olivia, I don't think it matters, you have an incredible kid and I can tell that from just spending a few hours around him."
"Thanks," she replied, letting it go.
Trevor still stared at her, understanding that it wasn't the right moment to address what he'd just said, but still not wanting it to slip away. He reached up pushed a lock of hair out of her face and took her hand, lifting it and kissing it. "Raia's right…"
"OK… will we bring dessert out?" Georgie asked them.
"Not yet Mom, Liv wants to have a quick shower-"
"No, its fine, I can have one after," she said quickly.
"Liv, go have your shower, its alright," Georgie said with a smile. "You'll feel better getting all the pool chemicals out of your gorgeous hair."
She was about to protest again when Noah came back out in a pair of pajama pants and a t-shirt. "Ok, I'll show you where the bathroom is and where all the things are." Trevor jumped up, grabbing for her hand again.
"Well, I guess we'll be waiting for Trevor too," Raia rolled her eyes. Noah made a visibly repulsed face. "Don't worry, Noah, I'm on your side, seeing my Dad or Mom get all mushy makes me wanna vomit too."
"No one is getting mushy, I'm just having a quick shower. Five minutes."
"Uhuh," Gavin grinned, plopping some crackers in to his mouth, finding a seat beside his wife. "I'm counting down."
Noah was trying to block it out as he watched them go back inside. He had his phone with him which was something Olivia frowned upon when they were out, but he had been good most of the night without it that she told him he could have some time after his shower to catch up with Kaci and Adam and whoever was in their chat group.
"Is everyone okay if I just use my phone to text my friends for a few minutes? I don't want to be rude."
"Oh my gosh," Raia reached over and grabbed Noah and gave him a little shake, "you are so sweet, Noah! Of course that's okay, sweetie, go ahead! Use your phone, be social with your friends, its more interesting than the crap we're talking about."
"Nah you guys are fun," he replied with a little smile, "a little less jokes about my Mom and Trevor being … romantic… but still fun." They laughed with him. He was only kidding, he didn't really mind - he loved to see his Mom happy and he loved that Trevor seemed to genuinely care for her and wasn't feeding her line after line of false promises. It was realistic, sweet and a relief to him and also, nice was also the way Trevor treated him too.
"Of course that's fine, Noah," Georgie told him, "would you like a piece of cake and some ice cream? We have a lemon meringue pie or a baked cheesecake."
"Oooh, thank you that would be amazing."
"Which would you like?," Georgie pressed. Raia watched her mother dote over Noah, charmed by the teen's immaculate behaviour. She hoped Olivia and Noah would stay in their lives because she could already tell her mother was smitten by both and more than anything else, was basking in the glow of her son's happiness after all the years of him being depressed and stuck in life.
When Noah hesitated, "you can have a slice of both if you like-"
"No, no, I'll take the lemon meringue — would you like some help in the kitchen?"
"Noooo," she said quickly, "and if I did, I'd make Raia help me, you're our guest."
"No, its okay," he jumped up, putting his phone down. "Let me help you, it's the same as what I do at home." Before Georgie could get another word out, he was in front of her, holding open the door for her.
"That kid is just like Trevor when he was a teenager," Patrick remarked watching the young man follow his wife inside.
"A little bit. I don't think Trevor was that helpful and sweet," Raia made a face.
"Yes he was, you and your friends, you all hard-wired that boy to be a gentleman and he's never changed."
"We didn't hard-wire anything, we just told him he could never be embarrassed to buy sanitary items for his girlfriends, that he should hold open doors always, that he should pay for dates regardless of the circumstances and that he should make sure he isn't selfish-" she lowered her voice, "in the bedroom."
Patrick gave her a look as Gavin began to laugh.
Raia shrugged, "if that translated in to him being an absolute king of a man, I'll take it!"
"Nah, that was all Mom and my parenting…"
"And what about me? All this lifting Trevor up," Raia complained, taking a sip of her drink, rolling her eyes, feeling the alcohol hitting her, "why did I get the shit end of the stick in this conversation?"
"Oh, Ray, we never had to worry about you and you know it. Top of the class, top of the grade, good at sport, good at every subject, super popular, super kind and nice to everyone, somehow fitting your part time job in to your ridiculous routine…"
She smiled smugly, "some might say I was a teenage marvel."
"Or a giant over achieving nerd," Gavin joked, nudging her.
"Joke's on you, you married the nerd." He leaned in and kissed her temple, grinning at his wife.
/
"Baby, before you go in to the bathroom can we talk for a minute?" Trevor asked Olivia, taking her arm gently.
"About what?," she asked, pretending as though she didn't know exactly what he wanted to discuss.
"Just about what happened down there, what we were talking about — I wanted to address it in private."
"Oh, its okay," Olivia replied, foraging through her bag for her pajama pants and t-shirt, looking for clean underwear and a new bra too.
"Liv," he spoke her name with a little more seriousness, taking a seat on the edge of the bed, gently wrapping his fingers around her wrist to garner her full attention. "Stop for a second…"
She paused and stared ahead at the window and took a deep breath, "sweetie," he tried, "please…"
"I don't want to have an emotional conversation at your parents house," she spoke softly given that there were any number of people floating around. He got up and closed his bedroom door.
"Come here," he commanded firmly but but in a way that still felt gentle. She cocked her head to the side but could feel herself giving in to his sweet demands. He guided her on to his lap and circled his arms around you. "You don't have to say anything, but I want to say something."
He rested his hands on her damp waist, half-dressed and still in the bikini that he'd had hardly any time to take great stock of. It was just a simple black one, with full cups and an underwire. With it she wore a high waist bottom to hide the tummy she was so self conscious about in front of him.
"Okay…"
"You hold so much guilt over what Elliot did to Noah, but you give almost little to no regard for your own trauma and for what Elliot did to you that led you to ultimately feel like you were going crazy for wanting to end things, the behaviours that allowed him to stay. Men do this all the time, even when they don't realise they're doing it—" he spoke slow and dipped his head down low to try to meet her eyes. She looked down, barely able to stand it.
"Day-by-day, fight-by-fight this man eroded your self-esteem until you had nothing left within you, you had no fight. He may not have ever raised a hand to you, but he did scare you, it was a constant fear of him leaving and every day he told you you were weaker than you let on, that you didn't give enough of yourself and he continued with that until you had nothing left to give, Olivia-"
"Stop it—" she raised her hands to her face, trying to hold her overwhelming emotions within. "Stop, please stop-"
Immediately, Trevor realised he may have gone too far. "Okay, okay—" he said quickly, "I'm sorry, I just…" he slid his arms around her and drew her head against his shoulder. "I just love you so much and am tired of seeing you consumed and wracked with guilt over Noah when you did nothing wrong."
"I can't do this right now," she choked on a sob, getting up off his knees. She wiped her eyes with the backs of her hands. "I'm sorry—"
"No, its okay. You're right… I shouldn't have brought it up." He began to fold all the clothes she threw out of her bag looking for her underwear.
"Its okay," she whispered, sniffing. She couldn't wait to get under the shower so she could let her tears go. Trevor knew it too, but he had to accept that he'd picked an awful time to discuss things.
She finally found her underwear and took the towel he found for her. She didn't say anything, she simply turned and headed to the bathroom.
/
"Mom, you look sad?" Noah told his Mom as she came in to the kitchen. Noah was alone for a second, having just hung up from a quick conversation with Kaci. "Are you okay?"
She plastered on a smile. "I'm fine, sweetheart."
"No, seriously, is everything okay? We don't have to stay if something is wrong, we can go. I'll tell Trevor he has to take us home."
"Honey," Olivia started, resting her hands on his shoulders, "I love you and I promise you I'm okay. Trevor and I just talked a little about Elliot and it made me a little sad for a moment and a bit angry too — not with anyone but myself, so its okay."
"Wait, why are you angry with yourself? You didn't make Elliot act like a dick."
"Let's not talk about it right now, but … I think we should talk about it later, maybe after the weekend. This weekend is for fun."
Noah paused and gave his Mom a pout. "I hate it when you're sad, Mom," he sighed, "I just want you to be happy. Do you want to come with us tomorrow? Trevor said you could."
"No babe, you enjoy your game with Trevor. I'm going to get to know Trevor's sister — unless you feel weird and want me to come," she spoke softly so no one could hear them.
"No, I never feel weird with Trevor. I feel super comfortable when he's around and I even like when he's hugging you a lot — you deserve all those hugs, Mom, you havent had enough and I don't hug you enough."
"No?," she was able to smile at her young son's sweetness. "Well… you should hug me more, that would make me so happy."
Noah grinned at her and embraced his Mom close. "I love you, Mom. Thanks for helping me with Kaci this weekend."
"I thought Trevor was helping you," she chuckled, reciprocating his hug. She saw Trevor walk in the kitchen sliding door. They exchanged smiles.
"He is, but you should tell him what to buy because I don't know if he knows," Noah murmured.
Trevor grinned. "Oh, Trevor will know, don't worry about that, he's got good taste and he also knows, Kaci so that's a bonus, right?"
"Oh that's so weird," he groaned. Noah pulled away and kissed his Mom on the forehead as he liked to do to assert his dominance jokingly.
"You don't think I can pick a gift?" Trevor asked, leaning on the kitchen counter. Noah blushed.
"Its not that its just—"
Trevor laughed, "its okay kiddo, Mom and I will discuss some things and we'll have her on speed dial for advice."
"Thanks," Noah replied. Trevor grabbed a soda from the refrigerator and handed it to Noah. "Here you go, I know you're too polite to help yourself like my Mom told you…"
Olivia smiled. "Noah, we really need to look at how much soda you've been drinking lately," she remarked, "because dental work is expensive and painful."
Noah just flashed her a grin and escaped outside. Trevor helped himself to a beer and took Olivia's hand. "Come on, I cut you a nice big fat piece of cheesecake."
"Thanks," she smiled, letting him lead her back outdoors.
/
Trevor almost regretted opening his mouth to help with Kaci's gift. Noah was incredibly indecisive and was getting frustrated with himself for not being able to pick something special. He wanted it to be perfect. "Okay," Trevor announced, looking down at his phone - "Mom asked, does Kaci have a favourite colour? Maybe you could buy her a gemstone bracelet — or just a nice, simple delicate silver bracelet… because, she says, sometimes less is more."
"Mmmm but that's boring, something boring from some boring guy at school," he sighed.
"Noah," Trevor rested his hand on the teen's back, "stop it, you're overthinking this. Kaci really likes you and do you know how I know that?"
"How?" He grumbled as he looked over the glass box full of bracelets in the jeweller.
"Because it's all I ever hear about when she and Katie are in my gym class and I have to separate them, but you didn't hear that from me."
"Really?" Noah asked, looking up with a smile.
"Really." Trevor replied. "When you like someone, you will appreciate and love anything they give you as a gift because it's come from the heart."
"So what do you think I should do?" Noah asked, "because I don't like anything here, it's all … basic."
"Well if you're not happy, we'll go to another store and have a look for something there. We'll try to find a store that isn't a chain and they might have more individualistic items," Trevor suggested.
Noah just nodded. They walked along side-by-side, "Come on, cheer up, we'll find something for her. I didn't realise quite how much you liked this girl."
"She's just really nice and kind and she always does kind stuff for everyone and no one ever does kind stuff for her…"
"Sounds like you're talking about yourself at school too, you're so kind to others at school and you're helpful and in return some of your team mates are still bullying you."
Noah said nothing, hating that Trevor realised. He had said nothing for so long about the way that Peter and Ryan still had stupid things to say about him. "Yeah, but I have people in my life that do kind things for me. I have Mom and … you taking me to the football and letting me pretend Ruby is mine— Adam does nice things for me too, Kaci doesn't have that. She just has me."
"What about at home?" Trevor prompted him, "she has her Mom and Dad."
Noah shrugged. "I dunno, I don't think her Dad is very nice to her or her Mom."
"Do you think anyone at home is hurting her or her Mom?"
"No, I don't think so…." He paused, "if I thought she was getting hurt at home, I'd be telling Mom."
"Good…"
"Okay kiddo what about here," he pointed to another store."
/
Trevor was so relieved when Noah finally chose a fine silver bracelet with three rose quartz beads with an adjustable securement. "That's really beautiful, Noah," he remarked. "I think she'll love it."
"Promise?" Noah asked, looking up at the man that he was starting to get used to as a solid foundation in his life — or at least what he hoped would be.
Trevor saw the self-consciousness cross Noah's face and put an arm around him and smiled at the store clerk who thought the interaction between the father-and-son was very sweet. "I promise, kiddo."
"A gift for Mom?," the clerk asked as she carefully boxed up his item.
"No," Noah replied, "for my friend."
"Ohh, that's so sweet, I am sure she will adore it."
"Thanks," Noah replied.
Trevor took his wallet out of his back pocket knowing that it was over the budget that Noah had in mind and realised very quickly that Noah had mistaken the price tag offer that didn't apply to the particular set of bracelets but it was worth it to see his satisfaction with the item, he didn't mind helping him with the cost.
"That'll be 68.95 plus tax," the clerk told him.
"Oh-" Noah had his own wallet out, his mouth fell open and immediately his cheeks heated up.
"It's okay," Trevor told him, "I've got you-"
"But Mom-"
"Its okay, Noah," Trevor said a little more gently, "You know what? I told you, I've got your Mom and I've got you. You don't have to worry about it. I'm just happy that you found something that you think is special. It's only $18.95 over budget," he smiled.
The clerk watched them squabble for a moment before Noah relented and let Trevor pay and handed him the cash that he had from his own wallet.
"Hold on to your cash, kiddo, we can talk about the terms of you paying me back later. A whole lot of Ruby babysitting and walking, I think."
Noah didn't say a word but to thank both Trevor and the store clerk. "Good luck with your girl friend," she told him. "Good job Dad," she winked conspiratorially at Trevor.
Noah cringed but noticed Trevor didn't correct her. They both made their way to the car, wordless. Trevor wondered if maybe he'd been upset with the store clerk or if he was upset with him. "Why don't you take a pic of the bracelet and send it to Mom?," Trevor suggested once they got to his car.
"Okay," he murmured.
"Noah what's up?" Trevor asked, looking over at him. "We're going to head straight to the game, but I don't want you to be in a sad mood, I'm trying really hard to cheer you up and show you that it's not just me and your Mom, but it's you and I too…"
"I just feel so bad," he finally looked up, catching Trevor's piercing eyes. "It's nothing you did wrong or Mom did wrong — I feel bad when you are so nice to me, it's so stupid," his voice cracked and his eyes filled with tears. "Fuck!" He growled out loud in to the air, "I'm such a fucking crybaby!," he snapped in frustration with himself.
"Take a deep breath, a nice big one and let it go…"
Noah did as he was told, hating that he was turning what was supposed to be a nice, fun day out with Trevor in to something so dramatic and stupid. "I'm sorry," he apologised.
"Don't be sorry," Trevor replied evenly, concerned. "Take another breath," he commanded.
"You sound like Mom…"
"Humour me," Trevor retorted— he would have never let on that Olivia had once mentioned that breathing exercises worked perfectly on Noah as a child and even better on him as a teen. A way to focus when he was losing his temper.
Noah did it again, breathing deeply before letting it out.
"Okay, now— its okay to cry in front of me, Noah, I've already told you that, I don't think it's weak or wimpy, I encourage you to be emotional and get it out of your system. So … talk to me, what's going on?"
He wiped his face with his hands. Trevor opened the centre console and pulled out some Kleenex and handed him a couple. "Take your time…" he encouraged him.
"I didn't know what to do back there," he finally said softly, "and I felt so embarrassed and you paid for me and I don't know why but it made me so sad because Mom-" he paused, trying to get a hold of himself, "because Mom is the only person that ever cares for me like that."
"Oh," Trevor murmured. "Let me guess, Elliot wasn't great at gift giving or having your back?"
"Not really, not when it mattered. He was good if he could show his muscles and flex his aggressive side at someone and suddenly he was the most protective… but it's not even about Elliot, I just don't know how to show that I appreciate you because I'm too young old to give you a hug and tell you I love you and I don't want to make it weird but its a weird feeling of never having a guy in my life who likes me and doesn't want me to be something else."
"Wait, why can't you give me a hug and tell me you love me?" Trevor asked. "I know we started this off as your teacher, but I'm not just your teacher anymore but we are way past that and I love that you can rely on me, Noah, I'm not your Dad and I'm not trying to be, but I'm so in love with your Mom and I'm sorry if that makes you uncomfortable and when I look at how much she and you are alike, my love for her extends to you too and I will always be here for as long as your Mom will allow and I will always try my absolute best to never let either of you down."
"You make Mom really happy…" Noah admitted. "I know I was younger when she was with Elliot, but there was always something — always a fight, always this element of him disappearing for days at a time, just a reason that she was always crying and I haven't seen her sad over you one single time, you just make her happy and she's at home more, she's not working as much and it's made things better between her and I…"
"That's wonderful Noah, that makes me so happy too because the both of you make my heart feel really full and I love both of you, I hope you realise that and it's gonna take a real hard go to get rid of me."
Noah managed a little laugh through his tears. He wiped his eyes again with the balled up Kleenex.
"I love you too, thanks for helping me out."
"It's my pleasure, you can always ask me for help Noah, for whatever the occasion, I'm always here for you."
"Thanks," he murmured.
"Okay, where are we on a football game and a hot dog or some nachos?"
"I'm starving and I'm ready to watch the football."
"Good man, I was hoping you'd say that," Trevor smiled, finally getting one in return.
/
"Sorry," Liv apologised to Raia, picking up Trevor's text.
"Its ok, go ahead…" Raia smiled at her.
"Noah had a little bit of a melt down at the store because he didn't realise the cost of the bracelet was a little more than he had. He kind of froze because she'd already wrapped it for him, I covered him which I was more than happy to do, but he got very sensitive and upset about it… He's fine and I'm fine but we had a talk and he wasn't sure how to cope with the realisation that I'm not just about you, love, but also about him… that my love for you extends to him. We hugged it out and your kid told me he loved me and I almost choked on my own tears. We both recovered. I just wanted you to know that he's super sensitive today. He's been waiting for things to go wrong… but I'm not going anywhere sweetheart, not from you or from Noah. I'm here to stay. I love you."
Olivia felt her eyes filming over and drew in a deep breath. "Your brother is so…"
"Over the top?" Raia finished for her with a little smirk.
"He just knows how to get a reaction from me—" she looked up and Raia noticed her tears.
"Wait, in what way? Is he picking a fight with you?" She looked at the lengthy text.
"No," she smiled with a little laugh at her own silly emotions, "just… he has a beautiful heart."
She passed the phone across so his sister could read. "Awwwwww, Liv, that's so fucking sweet. He really does love your son, Dad and I commented on it last night. Noah's like his little side-kick and I know you're not looking for a Dad, but he will honestly be the kindest and best role-model to Noah."
"I know… its just a bit scary for me and for Noah too. We're just used to seeing everyone's back as they're walking away from us."
She replied quickly, "I fucking love you. Thank you for always assuring us- both of us. Xo" She put the phone back face-down and concentrated back on Trevor's sister.
"You're a very raw person, Liv, it's refreshing," Raia commented, finishing off her coffee.
Olivia raised her eyebrow, unsure what she meant by her comment.
"I just mean, you say things that… just roll off your tongue that I don't think you realise are an incredible insight as to who you are as a person, and you tell it like it's nothing. Like, seeing nothing but everyone's back-"
Olivia's face filled pink, "ouch."
"Oh no, no, I didn't mean it as an insult, please—" she spoke quickly, "I just mean— you're honest and I love that. We all get so used to hiding things and you're not hiding anything, it's admirable and it's so much like Trevor."
"To be honest, I probably am being so frank because I feel like you and y our family are an extension of Trev… I probably wouldn't be that blunt if I was around work colleagues or even some friends."
"Well," Raia watched Olivia push around some food, "that's a shame, because there's something so special about being so open…"
"Maybe it's you," Liv smiled, "you have a trustworthy face, maybe it's the nurse in you."
Raia smiled, "I'm sure you get the same in your line of work — people being open and forthcoming — maybe not the criminals," she added with a laugh.
Liv laughed too. "Yeah… I hear a lot of wild things, but some of it can be quite harrowing too and I think it's hardened me to an extent."
"I don't believe that — but I believe that you learn to put up a boundary between home self and work self, that's what I had to do at least," she explained. "People tell me crazy shit too. And I've seen some crazy shit," she laughed.
"Is it true people put a lot of stupid shit in their asses?" Olivia asked curiously.
Raia laughed out loud. Olivia grinned, taking in just how gorgeous she was and just how much alike she and Trevor seemed to be. Perhaps Raia was a little more no-nonsense than he was, in that she probably had less patience than Trevor. "Yeah, it actually is… people are fucking strange, Olivia— the kinks that they have."
"Oh, I know about that. I've heard about things that I didn't even realise were things until that point."
Raia laughed, agreeing with her.
"Do you like being a nurse?," she wondered, "it seems so exhausting."
"Wee-lll, if I'm honest, I'm only just warming back up to it again. I almost considered resigning and finding a new skill after Lana died… I'm not sure how much you know, but she was my best friend. I had a lot of friends growing up but Lana was that one special person that comes along who is just so inherently good," she explained, "and we just kept getting closer and closer as we got older and when she passed I felt like my world just bottomed out… I was at work when she came in, I was with her when she passed, she was in … the worst way and I'm incredibly glad Trevor didn't see her as much as that hurt him."
"I didn't realise you were on shift…. I'm so sorry, that must have been so traumatising."
Raia nodded slowly, biting her lip to keep from tearing up. "Yeah…" she murmured. "I just really never wanted to go back to work after that. I resigned from St Catherine's and Gav and I moved home. I thought Trevor might too… but yeah… he had other stuff going on."
"I know about all of that…" Liv told her gently. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring the conversation down."
"No, no… its okay. I just get sad because of how it affected my relationship with Trevor… it's really only been these last few months that bridges have been mended — maybe that's to do with you and Noah…"
"Maybe," Liv replied. "I ran in to him at a bar on his own on Lana's anniversary — I was questioning a bar owner about a customer and I'd met him once or twice before, we'd been sending a few texts about Noah and… he was sad and ended up asking me to stay for a drink. He ended up back at my place," Liv paused with a little laugh, "not that jeez, we just talked and went drink-for-drink until about 2:30 in the morning. He just needed to talk— and probably a hug… and maybe I did too… and we've been really seeing each other ever since."
Raia smiled, "I am so happy he met you. When I was at his apartment a few weeks back, I was so shocked by how adamant he was about wanting to move on— about letting go. He got rid of a lot of things and honestly I think a lot of that stuff was weighing him down, Liv. I keep my things from Lana, but my home isn't a shrine and his was… but I think he genuinely realised it wasn't helping him move forward."
"Yeah… but I understand. Some people are just very hard to let go of."
"Yeah, but look at him now. He's in love again and not just with you but also with belonging to what might be a little family."
Olivia found herself smiling. "I hope so… he'll fit right in and the best part is that I already know he'll do the right thing by Noah, he already was before I stepped in on the scene."
"Trevor is a good teacher, he is gonna be on speed dial when my kids get to school age. Did he tell you his first teaching gig was a first grade teacher at an elementary school?"
Olivia's mouth dropped open in surprise, "no! He did not! Oh, please tell me you have a class photo or something to show me… I bet he was so good at that job, I could only imagine how much fun he would have had."
"Yeah, he loved it!" Raia exclaimed, "he was embarrassed of telling his college friends though so he told them he taught fifth grade or something, but there he was, just absolutely invested in all these tiny babies and their annoying Mom's who weren't ready to cut the cord — the kind of Mom I'll be."
"The kind of Mom I was," Olivia laughed. "That's so sweet, I can't wait to ask him about it. See if I get the fifth grade lie or the truth."
They both laughed. After lunch, they headed back to Trevor's parents house. "I have some things to do with the girls this afternoon and promised that Gav can have some time to watch the game-"
"Wait, why didn't he go with Trevor and Noah?"
Raia smiled at Olivia as they paused at a traffic light, "No, he really wanted it to just be him and Noah for a bit of bonding and Gav didn't want to hone in on that."
"Oh, that's sweet… but Noah wouldn't have minded."
"It's okay. I just promised I'd keep the girls off his back for a few hours, but I can come and hang out later if you like. Hopefully Mom will give you some space."
"Your Mom is so sweet, Raia. I don't mind, you have much better things to do than to come and keep me company. I'm thinking that I might see if your Mom wants me to make dinner or do something so that she can relax with your Dad."
Raia laughed, "Oh, Liv, Mom would never let that happen, she adores you and honestly if she isn't overstepping and insisting Noah calls her Nana or Gran by the end of the weekend."
Olivia laughed too, "And my son would oblige and enjoy it, I know it," she replied, "he calls the mother of one of my friends' Grandma, but granted, she's known him since he was a baby… we've created our own family, it's been nice."
"Well, now you're part of another as soon as you're ready to embrace it, but don't worry, we can wait."
"Thanks, you guys are so kind…"
/
"Noah grinned as he watched the players celebrating their win on-field. He turned to Trevor, "this was the best, Trev… thank you so much."
Trevor grinned at him, "You are so very welcome," he replied, putting an arm over his shoulder and bringing Noah close, giving him a little squeeze. Happy that they had bonded so well over the game. It brought him joy to see just how much Noah had picked up after having known nothing about the game coming in to the team at school. His joy was genuine and he seemed to be just as passionate about Trevor's favourite team.
"Should we go? What do we do?"
"Well, we could just wait a little," he looked around their box seats and noticed that nobody was making any effort to leave. "It'll take forever to get the car out of here anyway so we should wait…"
"Yeah, okay." Noah agreed, "So I think I picked my favourite team today."
"Yeah?," Trevor pressed, "don't you dare say the losers," he warned him jokingly.
Noah laughed, "Oh yeah, as if I want to say the Bears are my favourite team," he chuckled. "It's definitely the Bills."
"Man after my heart!," Trevor smiled at him with a little laugh. "Okay so after the game we'll get you a jersey and we can make this a habit if you like, coming to the games?"
"Seriously?" Noah asked, "Maybe I'll wait for another time to get a jersey, I think Mom might be mad that you wouldn't take the $50-"
"No, silly," Trevor replied, "I'll buy you a jersey, it'll be a gift to welcome you to football, it's a special day for me too, I've converted someone to be a Bills fan — and now I have a football buddy."
"How come you never go with Gavin? He seems like he could get tickets all the time."
Trevor shrugged, "I used to go sometimes with my wife before she passed, but after she passed I wasn't really interested anymore— and I didn't see a lot of my family, in truth — but now, I told you, I got you. I want us to have some fun things that are just for us if that's cool with you."
"Only if you don't leave," Noah replied.
"I don't have any plans on that. I hope that your Mom and I will only grow stronger and closer as time goes by."
"I hope so too," he admitted.
He gave Noah a little pat on the back.
/
"Oh welcome back! Looks like you enjoyed yourself!" Patrick greeted Noah and Trevor, giving the teen an amused once-over. He was now wearing a Bills jersey and both he and Trevor wore matching caps turned backward. Trevor gave his Dad a grin. "We had a great time, didn't we?"
"Oh my gosh, yes," Noah remarked, "I loved it! I love the Bills!"
"I'm a Giants fan myself," Patrick told Noah, "it broke my heart when this big guy chose to support a team that was so far upstate that it may as well not have even been a part of New York anymore."
"Oh, Pop, don't be like that," Trevor laughed, "I was in to the players, or else why bother? You're just barracking for a jersey with a logo." He turned to Noah, "if you wanna switch up your teams when you're not really in to the players, that's fine too…"
Noah grinned at both of the men giving him their opinions. "I like the Bills right now. Maybe that'll change, but for now it's cool. Where's Mom? Is she upstairs resting?"
"No," Patrick smiled, "she's out by the pool reading a book. I hope she's not asleep, she'll be burned."
"We'll go out and see her," Trevor told his father. "What about Mom? Where's she? The car's gone?"
"She wanted to go to the store to buy some hamburger rolls and some potatoes for dinner."
"Oh, that's nice," Noah smiled, "Mom and I could have cooked dinner…"
"Don't be silly, your Mom said the same thing!" Patrick smiled, "Georgie would never allow it."
"Okay we're gonna go see Liv…"
/
Olivia laid on the pool float with her eyes closed, every now and then dipping her legs in to the water when she needed to cool off. It felt nice in the sun with her warm skin.
"Hey Mom!" Noah greeted her. She sat up, opening her eyes and finding her son with Trevor trailing behind him. She couldn't help but to smile to see both her boys. "Hey! How was the game, babe?"
"Great, it was so cool!"
"You look great in your new jersey," she remarked before glancing at Trevor with a little smile. They both matched and she couldn't help but to feel a certain gooey way about it. It kind of solidified for her that they were coming together in an organic way to create their own bond and she loved it. She loved that he had all the time in the world for Noah and didn't act at any point as though he was encroaching on their privacy.
Noah looked down almost sheepishly, but Trevor jumped in, "I couldn't let him leave a Bills game after deciding his favourite team and not having a jersey."
Olivia grinned at him. "Thanks Trevor, that was kind of you."
"Well, I'm gonna go inside and get changed, maybe we can jump in the pool with Mom, what do you think, kiddo?"
"Good idea," Noah replied.
"Would you like me to bring you a beer, Liv?," Trevor asked kindly.
"Sure, thanks…"
/
Olivia was tired from spending most of her afternoon into the night in the sun. She'd said an early goodnight to everyone. Trevor promised he wouldn't be far behind. She was glad for the decision to leave on Sunday afternoon; she hadn't felt much like leaving the warm cosiness of Trevor's family's upstate home. She had been wearing Trevor's shirt to bed since she had forgotten her own pajama top.
"Sweetie, are you in here?" Trevor knocked softly on the door.
"Yeah, I'm in here, don't come in unless you're on your own," she chuckled.
"I'm on my own, sweetie," he told her as he opened the door and let himself in. "Noah's gone to be- hellooo…" he rose an eyebrow as she stood next to him naked from the waist up, holding her arms over her chest, "what's happening here?"
Olivia laughed and her face reddened. "I can't find your shirt that I was wearing last night…"
"Oh," he smiled, "just go in to my closet, there's so many things in there you can grab."
"Thanks…" she murmured, turning her back.
"But hold up-" he gently took her by the waist from behind, pulling her closer, "why are you suddenly so shy? It's not like I haven't seen your glorious boobs," he joked, sliding his arms around her.
"I don't know… shame comes back when the lights go on," she joked.
"Are you serious?," he wondered. She had never really given him insecure vibes before. "You've never been insecure with me, really…"
She turned to face him and looked up at his face. She gave a little shrug and let go of herself, pressing herself in to him. "I dunno, just having a weird insecure moment, but I'm okay."
"Well," he breathed in, smirking just slightly at her. "Can I tell you something?"
"Uhuh?," she looked up at him, her brown eyes piercing his, almost desperate to have her silly feelings allayed. She knew it was stupid, she had willingly exposed herself to him the first time they slept together and thought nothing of it, but suddenly she felt a little on show.
"If they were handing out awards for the best boobs in all of Manhattan and the state of New York - you would win, hands down, no contest."
Olivia couldn't help but to laugh. He smiled at the warm sound of her laughter. "Seriously, you are so beautiful honey, and so wonderful and I get lost in your eyes, and your smile makes me feel so good inside — and your body is a great, appreciated, added bonus."
"Yeah?"
"Uhuh, promise. You're so wonderful and I am very lucky to have you and you have slotted in so well with my family this weekend, Noah too. Raia told me earlier she said that Mom would be trying to get Noah to call him Gran before the day was out and … she was right."
Olivia laughed, "that's so funny, did Noah buy in to it or was he just embarrassed?"
"Oh no, your child ate it up," he laughed, "what teenage boy doesn't love being fawned over by an elderly woman who wants to feed him and do everything for him?"
"Oh jeez," she murmured, "I hope he was using his manners and wasn't being a lazy little thing."
"Nah, Noah got up with her and followed her around cleaning up after her whenever she wanted to get things for him… and he even sat through all the annoying photos of me during my football days."
She smiled, "I hope I get to see those pictures tomorrow."
"You will…" he replied. "Now, back to you… you can go in to my closet and find something to wear to bed if you like. I'm just going to brush my teeth and I'll be right with you. If you decide you want to sleep without a top, I'd be okay with that too."
She laughed, "maybe not in your parents house."
"Can't blame me for trying," he chuckled, letting go of her after kissing her softly on the lips.
/
Trevor came back to his room and sat on the bed, noticing Olivia foraging around with the door pulled ajar as she found something to wear. He went through his phone, checking work emails and realising Raia had sent him a message; "Mom, Dad and I love LOVE Olivia and Noah, really had a great time. I hate that you guys have to go tomorrow afternoon. Love you."
He smiled and replied telling her he loved her too.
Olivia appeared with a cheeky little smile on her face. "Coach Langan?" Her head peeped out from behind the door.
"Yeah?," he looked up from the bed and grinned at her. "What are you doing?"
"Just wondered… is this okay for me to wear to bed?"
She took a step out and chuckled to reveal an almost perfect-fitting football jersey.
Trevor grinned at her and shook his head, "Oh come on now, Olivia, that is a dirty little game, you're wearing my college jersey… get over here…" she slowly made her way toward him sitting on the edge of the bed. He grabbed her wrist and guided her to the space between his legs. She glanced down at him, taking his face in her hands. "I don't know if this makes me sound weird, but you in this is … incredibly sexy…"
"Yeah?" She felt his soft hands on the back of her thighs slowly making their way up to her backside. She loved the feel of his hands on her. "Didn't you get enough of this kind of treatment of cheerleaders wanting to get you in to bed?"
"Nah…" he laughed, "I was a bit of a loser in college, I have to admit… this was my sophomore dream, having a hot, sweet girl wearing my jersey, letting me take her to my bed…"
"Too bad your parents are home," she winked.
"We could be quiet," he murmured, letting his fingertips dance around the soft lace of her sexy underwear. "Like… really quiet, it could be a challenge for both of us,"
"Maybe…" she replied in a whisper. "Would hate for your college dreams to go unfulfilled…"
"Me too…" he responded, his throat dry as she leaned over to kiss him, her mouth aligning with his, pushing her tongue in to his mouth briefly to show him she wasn't playing about.
He gripped the elastic at her waist and slowly pushed her underwear down and held on to them for a minute as they kissed. He eventually tossed them to the other side of his bed as he pulled away. "Hold on, let's get a little more comfortable…" he suggested.
She watched him ease up to the the head of the bed and lift his own backside to take down his pants once he was beneath the covers. "Wow, keen huh?"
"Just making things a little easier," he replied with a chuckle. He grabbed her hand and pulled her closer until she climbed on top of him, straddling him, resting herself just above his pelvis, being very careful not to rest against his fast erection.
"Mmhmm, I'll bet… so tell me, who was the college crush— the one that got away?," she asked taking his hands, lacing her fingers through his, teasing and a little mischievous. In truth, it was an incredible turn on and he could barely think about much else but how her breasts filled out the chest of his jersey; the points of her nipples protruding and making his brain turn cartwheels, struggling to think clearly.
"There wasn't any one girl that I had a crush on," he admitted, "I just wished that someone would turn up who was sweet, kind and who liked me."
"I would have liked you in college. I could have done with a Trevor Langson in college… would have been a lot healthier than my other experiences."
"I can be your college Trevor Langan right now…" he told her.
"And I can be that adoring, quiet, girl that has been sitting at every game, trying to get a glimpse of star quarterback, Langan, just hoping he'll pay her if only a second of his attention…" Olivia spoke slowly and with intention, holding his eye contact.
"I'd like that, I think she'd look exactly like you," he replied, "I'd have noticed you after we won, all the guys would have been celebrating with the cheerleaders, most of them belonging to each other and I'd have smiled and found some courage to come and say hello… I think we would have hit it off."
She smiled, trying hard not to grin, even his fantasies made her heart feel happy. "Yeah, and even though I'd have been a good girl, always being careful, we would have somehow made it back to your dorm… and made out a little…I'd have been so adoring and nervous-"
"Yeah? Adoring? Quiet? Shy? You think you have that in you?"
She laughed, "I guess there's only one way to find out…"
"Just focus mostly on the quiet part," he whispered, lifting his chest to meet her lips, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and rolling her on to her back. They both laughed quietly beneath their breath.
He caressed her cheek softly with the bend of his fingers sending waves of warmth throughout her body. His touch was always so delicate and gentle and she knew that whether she was with Trevor as a college student or adult, teacher Trevor, he would have been every bit as thoughtful as the other. A hush fell over the room as they exchanged adoring glances and soft smiles in the dim light of the bedside lamps.
"I love you…" he murmured, leaning in to kiss her briefly.
"I love you," she replied, wondering how it was that her feelings toward him had shifted s fast without any warning of what was happening. She just accepted it and that was something she wasn't used to doing so fast.
She relished the feeling of his soft lips against hers; feeling the fluttering feeling in the pit of her stomach as it spread out over her body. She was always amazed by just how natural things felt between them— how alighting his touch was— the sensation that he caused her just by running his fingers across her collarbone or down the dip of her spine, it was almost just a little too much. It left her back arching with longing and a stirring in her lower stomach that was readying her for him to consume her with everything that he had.
"Do you want me to take this off?," she asked, referring to the jersey.
"Nope… leave it on," he winked, sliding a hand beneath it, covering her breast. "I can still access these amazing, award-winning breasts," he grinned.
They both chuckled, politely ignoring the arch of her back as his thumb circled the hard bead of her chest. "Mmmm" she let her eyes fall closed. "College Trevor is really good with his hands," she whispered.
"He's probably spent way too much time thinking about how he'd love to please a woman…" he murmured against her lips as he kissed her, slowly caressing her beneath the jersey. "A lot of time to perfect things," he added between another kiss.
She loved to feel the way he built up the tension— she almost knew what to expect and she looked forward to it; soft kisses, soft caresses, starting at her chest and slowly easing his way down, down, down south while she gripped his flesh, letting her fingers bite in to his skin, begging more of him silently with her touch and her desperate kisses, bordering on urgent and passionate.
She pulled him beside her, on to his side to allow her some better access to his naked, muscular body. His kiss deepened, holding her face in the arch of his pointer and thumb while his other hand explored her curves.
Olivia began to find her way around his body too; she could tell immediately as he tried to get more of her that he longed for her to touch him. When she felt the makings of his erection against her thigh, she didn't need any further invitations. He felt her hand gripping his erection and he could barely breathe as she stroked his shaft bringing everything that he was doing to a halt except the kissing — the kissing was intense and there was no stopping. It was the only way she could keep the sounds of pleasure extinguished as she spent time on his body, giving him all the attention he deserved.
She felt the rise and fall of his chest as he quickly reached between them and pulled her hand away. "Stop…" he told her, with a smile, "please…just… give a moment to spend on you…"
"I'm ready," she whispered.
He knew that it was sometimes more comfortable for her to start things on top of him and true to her word, she wasn't interested in foreplay, she wanted to climb on to him. She took charge and it was sexy to him as she angled her hips just so and sank down on top of him.
"Fuck…" he hissed as her hips began to roll against his. He held her waist for a few moments allowing her to get used to him before he flipped her the way she liked, on to her back with him straddling her, kissing her in a rhythmic pattern as he thrusted slowly within her.
Olivia loved it when he became more passionate and his strong thrusts began to lift her off the mattress; he filled her body up and moved with such strength and urgency that he couldn't help himself. She knew that his tank was running low as he became faster and more forceful and she began to lose her breath trying to keep up.
She spurred him on with some soft dirty talk as he plunged in to her over and over again until he could barely take it and Olivia's walls began to close around him as he edged in deeper with each thrust. It was everything to not moan out loud with pleasure as she felt him finally release; his body quivering within her, rigid and then jolting as if a current was moving through him.
"Fuck," she whispered.
"Sorry," he apologised, "fuck, I'm so sorry…" he apologised.
"Don't be sorry…" she murmured, "that was so fucking satisfying," she added with a content sigh.
"Wait, you didn't come…"
"I don't care, there's other times to come," she told him with a weary smile. "But I'm kind of hot so I need to get rid of this…" she tugged at the jersey.
"So take it off…" he commanded her.
She sat up and pulled it over her head. She carefully folded it up and put it on the nightstand.
She flopped back down and smiled at him. "I love you."
He caressed her body tenderly. She turned toward him wrapping an around him, giggling softly as he covered her neck with his mouth, laying some soft, wet kisses down to her collarbone, working on her skin almost as if he loved her so much that it was everything not to just take a bite from her.
She closed her eyes and enjoyed the feel of her mouth on her skin; exhausted from making love and appreciative of his tender caresses as he spent time with his tongue all over her. She was genuinely okay with not coming to an orgasm because she knew he hadn't forgotten her and she knew next time he'd even the score — he was fair like that.
"Trevor…" she whispered, not wanting anyone outside of the hall or elsewhere to hear.
"Yes baby?"
"I think I'm ready to start a life with you— I was maybe a bit slower to get there than you, but.. this weekend has been … everything. I love your Mom and Dad and sister…"
"They love you too," he replied. He pulled away from her, resting his head on his pillow, enjoying their legs entangled within one another's. "I can't wait to show you off… to tell everyone that you're my girlfriend."
She smiled at him. "We have to figure out what's best for Noah at school… is he allowed to say anything or will that jeopardise the football team?"
"Maybe, but if anyone dares say a word to Noah, they can answer to me…but I don't think Adam will have much to say, he's a sweet kid, Liv, he will never treat Noah different."
She kissed him. "I wish we didn't have to go home tomorrow."
"Mmmm what if you got Monday off work and Noah and I bumped off monday too?"
She chuckled, "you're crazy."
"No, for real. We could hang out all day tomorrow, it's supposed to be super hot. We could swim all day and we could cook a later afternoon dinner?"
"Don't tempt me, honey…"
"Well— think about it, maybe sleep on it, but we could…"
"We could…." Olivia's voice trailed off. "Will you promise to make me come when we wake up?"
He laughed, "Yes, I absolutely will make you come when you wake up…"
"Excellent…. I will give you my answer when we get up."
He drew her near, "why don't you turn out your light, sweetheart, its been a big day."
Olivia reached over, turning it off. "Love you," she told him, facing back to him. She curled in to his body as soon as he was ready and waited to hold her.
Olivia knew already that she would be calling Amanda or Fin in the office to find out whether not she could take another day. Her eyes fell closed as she rested her hand upon Trevor's arm that wrapped around her waist.
"I love you," he murmured sleepily.
"Love you too," she replied mid-yawn. "I love you for everything you did for Noah today too, love, that will never go unnoticed. You made his day."
She felt his lips on her temple. "Don't thank me for that. That's just part of me falling in love with the woman of my dreams and her amazing kid."
Olivia fell asleep with a warm smile upon her lips.
/
