Hey guys!

I hope everyone is doing well and staying safe. I just want to say thank you again for all your support on this fic. It really means a lot to me :)

Here is chapter fourteen!

Someone New - Fourteen

The theater show had been wonderful from start to finish for Olivia, but Jalen wasn't sure if he had paid much attention to the rest of it after Olivia had begun holding his hand with their fingers locked together. The next thing he really registered after that was the fact that the lights came back on as the cast lined the stage, and people were standing and clapping. When he briefly let go of Olivia's hand so that they could join the applause, he tried to ignore the fact that his hand suddenly felt so cold without her fingers locked with his.

The two soon joined the crowd of people who were exiting the theater; Jalen kept his hand on her back as he led her outside into the warm, comfortable night air. Of course, he had to quickly compose himself when she took his hand again, once again linking her fingers with his. They held hands as they quietly walked down the street together, and before long they had reached his truck. Even as they began driving the fifteen minutes back towards Olivia's apartment building, he found himself with his hand resting on her leg, and she had her fingers curled around his as she stared out the window, watching the lights of the city pass her by.

They soon reached Olivia's building, and of course Jalen stepped out to help her out of the truck and walk her back inside. Their hands remained loosely linked together as they headed inside and straight up to Olivia's apartment. Olivia unlocked the door so they could head inside, and Jalen pushed the door shut and locked up behind them. Olivia turned to look up at him while placing her purse on the entryway table.

"I'm gonna get changed, but make yourself at home." she told him, giving his arm a gentle squeeze. Jalen nodded his head and watched her head off down towards her room, and he simply sighed in delight before making his way further into the living room. He draped his blazer across the arm of the couch and rolled up his sleeves a little, before then making his way towards the kitchen. They had a plan to have a quick nightcap before he left, so he pulled a couple beers from the refrigerator before heading back into the living room to relax on the couch. The night was playing on his mind in a loop already, and the fact that it would soon end was something that he was definitely not ready for.

Olivia returned a few minutes later, and Jalen's eyes widened slightly as even though she was incredibly beautiful for their date, she still looked incredibly beautiful - if not more so - as she was back in her normal comfortable wear; she was in a pair of plaid pajama bottoms that hung low on her hips and a fitted white t-shirt, which allowed for a sliver of skin between the hem of her shirt and hem of her pajama bottoms. Jalen fought every urge to not lick his lips at the sight of her, and instead gave her a sweet smile as she came over and sat down beside him. He had already popped the caps on their beers, leading them to knock their bottles together before they each took a sip.

There was silence for a moment, then Olivia spoke up; "I had a really great time tonight; it was a lot of fun."

"I had a great time too, but I always have a great time with you," he gave her that handsome grin, and of course his response was playful and flirty as he continued; "So does that mean I get a second date?"

Olivia smirked back as she turned to face him while her legs were curled under her. She ran her fingers along his arm which was resting along the back of her couch, her fingers lightly tracing over the tattoos on his forearm as she pretended to think. "Hmm…I guess."

Jalen let out a chuckle, his eyes still sparkling as he stared at her; "Come on Captain, don't make me beg." He leaned towards her then, giving her that flirty smirk. Olivia smirked back at him, briefly glancing between his lips and eyes.

"Maybe I like to make you beg."

Jalen's eyes widened while the smirk remained on his lips. "I don't beg, but I'll make sure you beg."

Olivia felt her cheeks instantly heat up, as did another part of her body as she looked at him. She quickly distracted herself by taking a sip of her beer, then she licked her lips before asking;

"And what exactly will I be begging you for?"

He raised an eyebrow, leaned in a little more, and spoke ever so softly; "You'll be begging me to kiss you."

And there it was: the indication that Jalen Shaw did indeed want to kiss her, and the realization for Olivia that she wanted nothing more than to kiss him back. However, she had to match his energy and be playful with him, even though every nerve within her was already on fire.

"Oh yeah?" She leaned in just a little more, giving him that flirty look; "What if I'd rather you be begging me for a kiss?"

Jalen bit his lip, "How about I ask?"

Olivia tilted her head and raised an eyebrow, and Jalen looked from her eyes to her lips and back again before whispering; "Olivia, can I kiss you?"

Her response was soft and breathy; "Please."

With that, Jalen leaned in the rest of the way and pressed his lips to hers. Olivia found herself melting almost instantly, she placed a hand on the side of his neck as she eagerly reciprocated the kiss. Every nerve in their bodies was on fire, all stirred up by this soul snatching kiss. The kiss was unhurried, their lips molding together perfectly as they savored the taste of each other. For Olivia, she felt like she was about to melt on this couch; Jalen Shaw was actually kissing her, and she was actually kissing him back.

And it felt too damn right.

It took a few moments before they pulled back, and they both stared at each other with sparkling eyes as they were breathing heavily. He had one hand cradling her jaw, and he was gazing at her as he whispered; "Wow."

"Wow…" she echoed, her eyes still locked onto his. She licked her lips a little then whispered; "Kiss me again, please."

"Are you begging?"

"Shut up."

Jalen smirked before leaning in again, slanting his lips over hers for yet another kiss. Olivia easily reciprocated the kiss once again, and within moments she found herself with her arms around his neck as he gently tugged her onto his lap. They broke apart briefly for a little smile, before falling into yet another kiss as now that they'd started, they really couldn't get enough of each other.

The two made out for a little while and shared little moments of laughter in between, but eventually they realized that they better calm down a little. They snuggled up on the couch for a little while they finished their beers and watched a show, but they also couldn't stop themselves from sharing little kisses every now and again. Jalen had no idea how he was going to pull himself away from her, and Olivia damn sure had no idea how she was going to pull herself away from him either. They knew the dynamic between them had shifted even further, and as scary as it was, they were leaning into it as now it became very clear - they liked each other a whole lot, and wanted to be around each other.

It was about an hour later when Jalen realized he better get home, and as much as Olivia didn't want him to, she also knew that he had to since they weren't in a position to spend the night together. She walked him to the door, still loosely holding his hand as they did so. She then turned to him, both of them wearing matching smiles as they gazed at each other for a couple moments.

Jalen brushed some of her hair back as he whispered; "Can I get a hug good night?"

Olivia let out an adorable laugh as she stretched her arms up around his neck, hugging him as tightly as possible. Jalen's strong arms slid around her torso, though this time he brushed his hand over her hip and back up again as he hugged her as tight as possible. They then pulled back just enough, and she leaned in and pressed her lips against his for yet another kiss as her hand moved to rest on the back of his head. Jalen found himself smiling against her lips as he reciprocated the kiss while holding her close to him. Olivia nipped at his lip a little before pulling away, now resting her head against his.

"Call me when you get home?"

"You know I will."

"You better…" she smirked and kissed him quickly once again, then brushed her thumb over his cheek; "Goodnight handsome."

"Goodnight beautiful." He whispered back. He kissed her once more, then he headed out of the apartment. She made sure he got to the elevator safely, then locked up for the night. She couldn't bring herself to take another step, however; she remained standing against the door while brushing her fingers over her still tingling lips. Even her shirt still held the faint scent of his cologne, which made her heart beat even faster.

Jalen Shaw had her in a fucking chokehold, and she loved it.

Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!

The incessant buzzing of Olivia's phone interrupted the peaceful slumber she'd been, leading her to jump awake around eight-thirty the following morning. After Jalen had gone home the previous night, he ended up calling her and they talked for a good half hour on the phone about God knows whatever before calling it a night. She had gone to sleep with a smile on her face and had even seen his beautiful face pop up in her dreams, which meant that she was pretty pissed about being woken up so early - and having her dream interrupted.

She blindly reached out and grabbed her phone, and her brow furrowed in confusion when she noticed that it was a FaceTime call from Amanda. Curious (and slightly worried) that something was possibly wrong, she immediately slid her finger across the screen. A smile spread across her face straight away, however, when she was met with the most gorgeous, chubby cheeked, smiling face of her beloved godson baby Nicky; the little boy happily grinning away at the sight of his beloved Auntie Olivia on the phone.

"Say good morning to Auntie Olivia!" she heard Amanda's voice, and she laughed a little especially as baby Nicky let out an adorable squeal.

"Well good morning gorgeous little man!" Olivia happily replied, suddenly not bothered to be woken up. Baby Nicky made an adorable noise as Amanda moved the phone away so that now they were both in the screen, the mother and son duo looking extremely adorable together as they relaxed on the couch.

"We just called to say good morning while we wait for daddy and sisters to return with breakfast." Amanda remarked, wearing a smile that matched her son's. Olivia gave a raised eyebrow; she wondered if this was the real reason for the phone call.

"Mhm, and that's the only reason you called me?"

"I mean yeah, we just wanted to say hi," there was a pause, then Amanda continued with a cheeky smirk; "Okay and maybe we just wanted to know how the date with the detective went."

"And there's the real reason you called." Olivia teased. She pushed herself to sit up against her pillows as she continued; "Alright, what do you want to know?"

"Every damn detail, Liv; duh."

Olivia simply laughed before launching into an animated story about her date; from their incredible dinner to the theater show which happened to be a show she wanted to see for a long time. She also talked about how Jalen came in for a night cap, and how they shared their first kiss which ultimately led to them making out off and on for a good while before he had to leave. She couldn't stop herself from blushing throughout the story, and she swore she could still feel the tingle on her lips that she felt when Jalen kissed her for the first time.

And by the end of the story, Amanda's jaw was on the floor.

"You kissed him?!"

"I did, and I couldn't stop…" Olivia found herself giggling like a young girl again; she couldn't help it. "I was nervous at first last night, but he makes me feel so safe and calm. I don't know what to do with this, but I do know that I want to lean into it. He really is a great guy and I really, really like him, Amanda, like seriously."

"I can tell how happy you are already, and honestly, Shaw really is a good guy," Amanda then went a bit serious as she gave her best friend a look; "Don't you dare sabotage this."

Olivia's eyes widened, and she stuttered out; "Excuse me?"

"You heard what I said, because I absolutely did not stutter here, Liv." Amanda was giving her a serious look now; "I know you; you start to run when things get in too deep. Don't do that, seriously. You deserve so much peace and happiness, and if Jalen is someone who makes you feel calm and safe and happy, then do it; lean into this. He's far different than anyone, and he's a million times better. Shit, he's especially better than that jackass Stabler."

Olivia was stunned into silence for a moment; partly wanting to be offended but also knowing that Amanda was right - she was quick to run when things got too deep as she had a long standing fear of commitment. She knew that Jalen didn't deserve that type of behavior from her, and truthfully, she really didn't want to run from this at all. In fact, she wanted to continue to lean into this and hopefully find some happiness - much like the happiness that she already felt with Jalen.

"I won't mess it up, I swear…" Olivia eventually replied to her friend; "He…he really makes me so happy, and I haven't felt happiness like this in a long time. I'm going to do my best to hold onto this, Amanda; I swear."

"You better, or we'll have a problem." Amanda then looked up and smiled as three voices began talking around her, and the minute she mentioned that she was talking to Olivia, into the camera popped the faces of Jesse and Billie. Both girls were grinning happily as they gave a jumbled greeting of "Hi Auntie Olivia!" while Sonny could be heard in the background; "Hey Liv!"

Olivia happily grinned and spoke to the girls and Sonny, and after a quick promise from Amanda to check in later in the week, the two women hung up. They'd been on FaceTime for a good little while, which meant that Olivia had missed a text message from the man that was on her mind constantly - Jalen Shaw. Her thumb moved rapidly as she instantly tapped the message to read;

'Jalen S: 8:16am - Good morning beautiful. Question - what time are you going to get Noah?'

Olivia almost instantly moved to pull up the thread between herself and Ginny McCann, glancing at the message from the previous day where Ginny had texted to say that they'd be bringing Noah back down in the afternoon and that they'd let her know when they were on the way. She returned to the message thread with Jalen and instantly responded;

'8:33am - Good morning! Well, the McCanns are bringing him back down sometime this afternoon, but not sure what time. What's up?'

The response was instant; 'Jalen S: 8:34am - About time you're awake, I was getting bored ;) lol. Well, I was wondering if you'd have breakfast with me? If you want to, of course. We can either go out or stay in, but I just want to see you.'

'Jalen S: 8:34am - Forgive me if that sounds clingy, but you've got me locked in Captain lol.'

Olivia burst out laughing in an instant, but she also couldn't stop the blush from creeping onto her cheeks. It was good to know that Jalen was equally shaken up about her, because she couldn't even begin to put into words how this man was already starting to consume her - in a good way, of course.

'8:35am - You were actually bored without me? I knew I was entertaining but damn! Anyway, it's definitely not clingy, because I definitely was thinking about a way to ask about seeing you again today. Please come over, we can have breakfast! I'll order it!'

'Jalen S: 8:35am - Nice try, but I'll be buying us breakfast. Be over in about an hour?'

'Jalen S: 8:35am - Begging me to come over? I knew I could make you beg!'

Olivia instantly blushed at the message, especially at the winking emoji at the end; Jalen Shaw was something else and she had truly met her match in the banter stakes. She also was well aware that despite them only having been on one date so far, he was certainly making her feel very different in a number of ways. Amanda's words were playing on a loop in her head still and she was going to listen to those words. She was not going to sabotage whatever this was between her and Jalen.

'8:36am - Stop making me blush so much; you're terrible lol. See you in an hour! I can't wait.'

She put her phone down and instantly jumped out of bed, almost with a spring in her step as she was immediately excited about spending time with Jalen again. Even though it had probably been less than 12 hours since she had seen him, the thought of seeing him again made a smile spread across her face and made her heart skip a beat.

She freshened up with a hot shower and changed into a pair of leggings and a t-shirt, then quickly blow dried her hair before brushing it back into a ponytail. She then made her way through the apartment and did a quick sweep of the living room, which thankfully wasn't messy or anything so didn't require any tidying up. She grabbed a bottle of water before settling down on the couch in an attempt to distract herself with some Saturday morning television as she waited for Jalen to come over.

It was about half an hour later when there was a knock at her door. She immediately made her way over and checked the peephole, and her smile grew wider when she saw him on the other side in a t-shirt and sweats. She instantly undid the locks and tugged the door open, smiling straight away as she looked at him; "Hey you."

Jalen gave her a smile as he stepped inside; "Hey yourself; I come with grub."

"You're a lifesaver." she winked as she shut and locked the door. She then led him through to the living room, where he placed their food and drinks down on the coffee table. Before they sat down however, he reached out and grabbed her arm;

"Hold up."

She turned to him, a curious smile on her face as she looked up at him. The unspoken question was immediately answered however when he gently cupped her face and leaned in, pressing his lips against hers without hesitation. Olivia immediately felt like she was floating; her eyes had fluttered shut and her hand went to rest on his bicep as she eagerly reciprocated the soul stirring kiss.

The pair pulled apart after a few moments, both with eyes sparkling and sweet smiles on their faces. Jalen brushed his thumb over her jaw as he whispered; "Wow."

"Wow is right." Olivia was still smiling as she gazed at him, her eyes having glossed over slightly as she was so enamoured by him. Jalen gave her a smile and pressed one more quick kiss to her lips again, before the two of them then sat down on the couch together. Olivia found herself scooting closer to him as he laid out their breakfast; Olivia's favorite spinach and cheese omelette with toast, and of course his normal steak and eggs combo with toast. They relaxed together as they ate breakfast while watching some morning television and talking every now and then, though it seemed that the moments of silence between them were quite comfortable. They just were enjoying their time together, basking in the peace that came with being together.

Following breakfast, they cleared away the trash and Olivia wiped down the coffee table, then they settled on the sofa again. She had naturally snuggled into Jalen's side, and he slipped his arm around her. His fingers briefly brushed up and down her arm before eventually sliding down to her waist, his thumb rubbing the area where her t-shirt had risen up slightly.

Olivia let out a sigh; she hadn't felt this peaceful in a long time.

"Will Noah be okay with this?"

The question had interrupted her thoughts, leading her to look up at him. Jalen had a slightly concerned look on his face as he looked back at her, and Olivia could see that Noah's approval seemed to be quite important to Jalen. She could understand why, perhaps; Jalen probably did feel some pressure as things were changing between them, and he would no doubt be spending more time in the bubble that Olivia and Noah had built around themselves.

"I think he'll be happy to know that we went out on a date." she replied. Jalen nodded his head, it seemed that that had relaxed him somewhat.

"I just wanted to make sure, I mean fine time to ask right?" He laughed a little; "I just…I know me and him are buds, but I don't want him to think I'm trying to take you away or get in the way or something, you know?"

"Jae, please don't worry about that because I promise you he doesn't think that at all," Olivia reached up and placed a hand on his cheek; "Trust me, I think Noah wanted us to go out before you even asked me out."

Jalen let out a laugh as he heard this; "No way."

"Yes way," Olivia nodded as she moved her arm to drape across his torso, seemingly snuggling into him even more; "He was picking up on things, like picking up on the fact that I liked you and all. I didn't tell him that we were going out, but I'm sure he will be fine with it."

"Seriously, tell me if he's not fine; I'll talk to him."

"Jalen, he will be fine; trust me, the kid was teasing me when he picked up on the fact that I liked you…" Olivia pushed herself to sit up a little, and she moved her hand to the side of his neck; "Stop worrying, okay?"

"I just…I like you a lot and after last night, I know that I want to keep seeing where this between us goes - you know?" Jalen gave her a sincere look, a sense of vulnerability flashing in his eyes; "I know that you and Noah are a packaged deal, so I just want all the bases to be covered."

Olivia felt her heart melt; Jalen was really serious about this between them and in turn, was serious about making sure that Noah was comfortable with it. She found herself nodding her head as she leaned in, pressing a quick kiss to his cheek before pulling back a little.

"You're so cute to be worrying," she snuggled into him again; "Things will be okay, Noah will be okay; believe me, I think he wants you around more than me sometimes."

Jalen laughed as he tightened his grip on her. "He's a cool kid, honestly. I mean you're alright I guess, but that's a cool kid."

Olivia playfully slapped him on his chest as she laughed; "You're so annoying."

"And yet, you still want me around."

Olivia found herself smiling even more, her voice soft as she quietly responded;

"Yeah, I sure do."

Thank you guys for being so kind. I appreciate you all! Until next time xo