Hey guys!

Thank you for being so supportive with me as I've been writing this. Again, it just feels so good to be writing again. I just want to make a quick comment though: If you happen to click on this fic and find that you aren't interested, there's literally no need to read/comment. No need to respond to tweets regarding my updates of this fic. None of that. I recognize that this does not appeal to everyone and that's fine.

For the people that are enjoying it though, thank you and I appreciate you.

Now here's chapter thirteen. Enjoy xo

Someone New - Thirteen

The rest of the week passed by torturously slow for Olivia.

Following the incident from the other day, and especially following the conversation that she and Jalen had afterwards, Olivia ended up feeling even more confident in her decision to proceed with Jalen. Her anxious thoughts had actually calmed down, and she found herself feeling increasingly excited as the week moved along. She'd even found some time to talk with Amanda, where she updated her on things with Jalen and admitted that Jalen had finally asked her out. Of course Amanda was extremely happy for her, and immediately the girls made a plan for Amanda to come over on Saturday to help Olivia get ready.

She took Noah up to Woodstock on Friday night to spend the weekend with his half brother, and the McCanns of course shared that they would bring Noah back home on Sunday afternoon. Olivia spent pretty much the remainder of Friday night just tidying up, and Saturday morning she was up early - finishing her laundry, followed by a hair appointment, and a manicure and pedicure appointment. She had also been texting Jalen throughout the day; he had revealed to her that they were going to dinner and to the theater, though he wouldn't tell her what they were seeing, just that it was a surprise. She found herself feeling a little nervous as the day ticked on, but she knew that she would be fine - at least, she hoped.

Jalen told her that he would be over around six to pick her up, so by four, Amanda had come over with a bottle of wine. Olivia had showered and all, so then she and Amanda were settled in her room with music playing and glasses of wine. Amanda was over for moral support, and to straighten her hair for her while she did her makeup.

"So what are we wearing? Have we decided?" Amanda asked as she lounged back on Olivia's bed, watching as she rummaged through her closet. Olivia shrugged as she continued to rummage through the massive bunch of clothes that she had.

"I mean I was going to do skinnys and a top but if we're going to the theater, maybe something else," she remarked as she pushed some clothes out of the way; "I have a shit ton of dresses back here that I've never had a reason to wear, and I have no idea if they still fit."

"Ooh, let me help!" Amanda took a quick gulp of wine before jumping off of the bed. She stepped into the closet, and she peered over the dresses in the back of the closet. "I'm trying to figure out why I've never seen some of these dresses."

"Because when is there ever an appropriate opportunity to wear them, Amanda?"

"Fair, but damn Liv," she pulled a fitted little black dress from the hanger, eyeing the thin straps as she did so; "Wear this, I promise Jalen won't keep his hands off of you."

"Amanda…" Olivia groaned, playfully nudging her before grabbing another dress; "Maybe this one." The dress was sleeveless and low cut, a little deep blue dress.

"That's cute too," Amanda then paused for a second, and a slight smirk was on her lips; "What's Jalen's favorite color?"

"Dark green." Olivia even shocked herself with how fast she answered that, leading her to start blushing as Amanda started laughing.

"The fact that you answered that so fast; you're whipped…" she teased, before pulling yet another sleeveless dress from the back of Olivia's closet. It was a dark green color as well, leading her to smirk as she held it up; "This one? It's his favorite color, and it's not too long but not too short either, and it's good for the warm weather tonight."

"Amanda…" Olivia sighed as she eyed the dress, then looked at her friend; "You sure? You don't think it's too much, or too flashy?"

"Liv, it's perfect trust me," Amanda smiled as she walked out of the closet with the dress in hand; "Jalen won't be able to take his eyes off you…or your boobs."

"Amanda!"

"I'm kidding, but it really is so nice and perfect for the occasion…" Amanda giggled as she laid the dress on the bed. She then turned to her friend, the cheesy grin still present on her face; "Now come on, we have a date to get ready for." She grabbed Olivia's hand and immediately tugged her over to the vanity in the corner of the room, and immediately pushed her friend to sit down.

It was a short while later where the girls were sipping wine as Olivia worked on her rather natural makeup for the night, while Amanda straightened her hair so that it would be bone straight. They were in a comfortable silence of course, but Amanda also could tell by the look in Olivia's eyes that she was most likely feeling nervous about this whole thing.

"You okay?" Amanda quietly asked as she brushed her fingers through Olivia's hair. Olivia nodded slightly before applying some eye liner. She and Amanda stared at each other in the mirror for a minute, then she sighed;

"Okay so maybe I'm nervous."

"I figured," Amanda worked to straighten another section of Olivia's hair as she continued; "You wanna tell me what's making you nervous?"

"Well, a first date with a very handsome man who happens to be my friend and who also happens to be younger than me, which…the fact that a man that's like, seven years younger than me has me this shook up is insane in my opinion." Olivia then paused for a second before looking up at her friend again through the mirror; "I just hope that I don't make a fool of myself, because I actually really do like him, and this is the first time I've actually really liked someone in a long time."

"You sound like a teenager going on your first date, this is so cute." Amanda joked as she pinched her cheek, only to laugh when Olivia swatted her hand away. She then went back to straightening another part of her hair as she continued; "Liv, everything will be fine. You two have already hung out before anyway so just think of it that way. Sure, with the 'date' label attached to it, it does put this pressure on y'all - but it's unnecessary pressure. Just be yourself and hang out with him like you have done before, and lean into your well deserved happiness. You deserve this so much, Liv, and I'm sure that man is just as shook up about you as you are about him."

"You think so?"

"I know so…" Amanda paused for a second, concentrating as she straightened the last bit of Olivia's hair. She then put the hair straightener down as she continued; "Besides, you're hot; he'd be crazy to not be shook up about you."

Olivia laughed a little before looking up at her friend; "Thanks blondie; I love you very much."

"I love you more." Amanda quickly leaned down and pecked her cheek, then squeezed her shoulder; "Now finish your makeup so you can get dressed and send Jalen Shaw to his knees."

Olivia let out a laugh as she quickly finished applying some lip gloss, before finally standing up. She slipped into the dress, and Amanda stood behind her to zip the dress up. Amanda then looked her over, smiling as she remarked, "Holy shit Liv, this looks amazing."

Olivia turned and looked in the mirror, and even she herself was taken aback by how the sleeveless, v-neck dress fit her like a glove and stopped at her knees, and the dark green color contrasted perfectly against her skin. The dress was a little low cut but not too bad, and with her makeup and hair, she looked perfect.

"You think he'll like it?"

"I know he will," Amanda then held up the nude colored stiletto pumps in her hand. "And these will go perfect with it."

Olivia hummed in agreement as she stepped into the heels. She then took a moment to admire herself in the mirror, and then turned to Amanda; "Okay, I think I look good."

"You look hot; I told ya!" Amanda smirked, giving her a friend a high five before giving her a much needed hug as well.

The two added a couple accessories; like a thin gold bracelet and a small, gold heart pendant, as well as a pair of gold hooped earrings. Just as they'd finished up on making sure Olivia was ready, Jalen had text to say that he was about fifteen minutes away. Amanda took that as her cue to get going, and after another quick pep talk from her and a promise from Olivia to check in tomorrow with details of the date, the two shared another hug before Amanda was out the door. Olivia busied herself with putting the wine glasses in the sink and then grabbing her small shoulder purse which held her essentials such as her phone, credit cards, extra make up for quick touch ups, and spearmint gum. Just as she was quickly looking over her appearance again in the mirror, there was a knock at the door.

She swallowed the nerves before making her way to the door, her heels thudding softly against the carpet as she did so. She took another breath, then undid the locks and tugged the door open.

And there he was standing before her in perfectly fitted black slacks, a white button down shirt with a couple buttons undone, a black blazer, and a handsome smile - Jalen Shaw.

"Hi." She greeted him, her voice soft as she found herself slightly mesmerized by him. She stepped aside to let him in; his eyes were trailing over every inch of her as she shut the door before looking up at him again.

"Wow, you look…wow…" he stared at her for a minute, then cleared his throat as he held out a half dozen peonies; "Um…these are for you."

Olivia's fingers curled around the small bouquet, her heart hammering in her chest and a smile spreading across her face; "You remembered that these were my favorite?"

"I listen when you talk." He winked, earning a laugh from her as she turned to go towards the kitchen to place them in water. Jalen unashamedly watched her walk, biting his lip at the sight of her ass in that damn dress she was wearing.

She returned a couple moments later and grabbed her purse from the entryway table. Jalen gave her that smile as he quietly asked; "You ready?"

"I am."

Jalen nodded and held his arm out, which she took as they made their way out of the apartment. Before long they were outside, and of course he was a perfect gentleman as he helped her into his truck. He slipped into the driver's side and started the engine, then he looked over at her with a smile on his face.

"You really do look so incredibly beautiful, Olivia, so I apologize if I stare at you all night."

Olivia felt her cheeks heat up right away as she looked at him, her brown eyes sparkling in the evening summer sun. She reached over and squeezed his hand as she responded; "You look very handsome too, so I guess we'll just spend the night staring at each other."

Jalen let out a laugh as he nodded his head, and before long he was pulling into the city traffic while Olivia looked out the window.

This was the start of an absolutely magical night.

The jazz-inspired hole in the wall restaurant in the Midtown area wasn't too packed but certainly wasn't empty as Jalen and Olivia made their way towards the entrance. They had parked in the parking deck across the street, and the theater they were going to was about a block over so it worked out anyway. Jalen of course was a perfect gentleman as he held the door open to let her in; she quietly thanked him and stepped inside as he fell into step behind her. He placed his hand on his back as they approached the hostess stand, where a friendly, dark skinned young woman with braids greeted them with a bright smile.

"Hi, table for two?"

"Actually, reservation under the last name Shaw." Jalen responded. The young woman quickly scanned through the list before nodding her head and looking up with a smile.

"I got you. Right this way, please." She grabbed two menus, then gestured for them to follow. Jalen kept his hand on Olivia's back as they made their way through the restaurant behind the hostess, and before long they reached their table in a cozy corner of the restaurant. She put the menus down and told them the waiter would be with them shortly, before heading off to tend to the hostess stand. Of course Jalen was a perfect gentleman as he pulled Olivia's chair out for her to sit, and he rubbed his hands over her arms briefly before going over to sit across from her. They both gave each other a sweet smile before picking up their menus to have a look.

"Are we drinking tonight?" he asked.

"You're driving, so you tell me."

Jalen laughed a little while looking up; "Must you always come back with some smartass response?"

"Yes."

Jalen simply laughed again while shaking his head; Olivia Benson was a force to be reckoned with and he knew he had truly met his match with someone like her. He took a moment to look at her again, and he let out a little breath as he smiled softly to himself.

He felt like the luckiest man on the planet to be here with her.

Eventually the two settled on having a cocktail each - just one since they were going to the theater after this and Jalen would drive them back - and they settled on their main courses; Olivia settled on a pasta dish while Jalen settled on mini tacos with a sauce. After the waiter took their orders and walked away, Jalen found gazing at Olivia for a moment, just taking a moment to admire her while she was looking around the restaurant. It wasn't lost on him that she was wearing one of his favorite colors, and the color contrasted so perfectly against her olive skin tone. Her eyes sparkled in the lighting of the restaurant. He longed to drown in the pools of brown as they calmed him and brought him so much joy all at once.

And that smile, that damn megawatt smile. God, her smile slayed him every single time.

Olivia suddenly felt his burning gaze, leading her to turn her head to look at him again. She felt her cheeks heat up, the smile not leaving her face as she quietly asked; "What?"

"Nothing, I'm just admiring my beautiful view for tonight," Jalen smirked, his own smile matching hers; "I'm glad you agreed to a date with me."

"I'm glad too…" she blushed a little more, a hint of shyness flashing across her face as she quietly continued; "And I'm uh…I'm glad you actually wanted to go out with me."

"No one else I'd rather be with." he winked at her, and she almost melted into a damn puddle.

Before long, they were engaging in conversation over their food and drinks. It seemed that no matter how much they already talked or how much they already knew about each other, they never seemed to run out of things to talk about or even learn about each other. They shared the smallest details about one another, they laughed at things that no one else would probably find funny; they just truly enjoyed each other. Jalen especially couldn't keep his eyes off of her, nor could he miss the way her voice and laughter made his heart skip a beat.

Olivia Benson had him in a damn chokehold, and he loved it.

After their dinner, Jalen of course paid their bill and left a hefty tip for their water, and before long they were headed out of the restaurant. Olivia held onto Jalen's arm as they made their way to the next block over where the theater was since Jalen had gotten them tickets to see a show tonight. Olivia rubbed her fingers against his arm as she asked him; "Are you going to tell me what we're seeing?"

Jalen glanced at her, the smile still present on his face; "You'll find out in a bit."

"So it's a surprise?" she groaned a little, the playful glint still in her eye; "I don't like surprises, Detective."

"Well you'll like this surprise, I promise you, Captain." he smirked. Olivia laughed a little and leaned into him, briefly nuzzling her head against his arm as she held onto it while they walked. They reached the theater within moments, and Jalen moved his hand to her back as they slipped inside the space. They approached the stand where the attendant was collecting tickets; the friendly older man having looked up with a smile on his face.

"Hi there; here for the show?"

"Yes sir, we sure are," Jalen then briefly moved his hand from Olivia's back, long enough to reach into the inner pocket of his blazer, fishing the two tickets; "Two tickets for The Notebook on Broadway." He handed the tickets over, ignoring the way Olivia looked up at him with clearly an excited and shocked look on her face.

The attendant took the tickets and handed them their playbills, before the two were then allowed to head into the theater. They found their seats quickly and sat down, and Olivia almost immediately whacked him on the arm; "What the hell, Jalen? How did you score tickets for this? I've been wanting to see this!"

"A buddy of mine works here at the theater, managed to get the tickets for me since I never have time with work going on," Jalen replied with a simple shrug; "I remembered that you wanted to see it, so here we are, seeing it tonight."

Olivia felt like her heart was about to take flight. This was the second time tonight that Jalen had proven that he actually listened to her and cared about things she liked, and that made her heart skip a beat. She bit her lip and quickly leaned towards him, briefly pecking his cheek before whispering to him; "Thank you."

Jalen felt like he wanted to melt, but he kept his composure as he softly replied to her with that beautiful smile; "You're welcome, Liv; you deserve it."

It wasn't too long before the lights dimmed and the show began, and of course Olivia's eyes were glued to the stage the whole time. Jalen usually wasn't one for theater shows, but even he found himself enjoying the show as they watched. Of course what he enjoyed more than anything was the fact that he was with Olivia, their whole date having been perfect so far and being a night that he truly didn't want to end. What really made his heart almost take flight, however, was when after he reached over and put his hand over hers, she instantly turned her smaller hand into his and threaded her fingers through his own. She rubbed her thumb over his hand, and he felt like he wanted to take off like a rocket at the fact that he was actually, properly holding her hand.

This night was too perfect for words, and once again, he felt like the happiest, most blessed man on the planet.

Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! :) Until next time xo