AN: Warning...this chapter gets a little hot and heavy at the end. If that's not your thing, no worries, just duck out when Mariah Carey starts to play. ALSO a reminder, this is 1995, and the music is not what I would have chosen for these moments, but it's true to the time period. If you want a fun giggle, though, go look at a top 40's chart for 1995. There are some really cringy love/sex songs. High cringe. LOL
Ch 10
1995
December
Olivia's Apartment
Greenwich Village
Two months had gone by since the end of their case together. The September leaves turned red, orange, brown, and the cold ocean winter breeze took over Manhattan, along with the tourists and the 100 foot tree at Rockefeller Center. Dinners were had. Late-night phone calls were made. Movies were cuddled to. The first kiss turned into heavy make-out sessions, and before either of them could question it, they found themselves sharing apartment keys, work schedules, and even dropping hints of Christmas plans with Elliot's family.
Elliot stood outside of her building with a brown grocery bag and his phone to his ear. He had butterflies in his stomach. The last time he felt this way was High School. With the exception of not living with parents and having intense careers to juggle, the last few months with Olivia had all seemed so high school.
Everything from the movie choices.
"Can we see Clueless," she scrunched her nose up.
"Really," his scrunched up response.
"It's the only comedy. I can't do serious right now, the day was dark."
"Clueless it is," he agreed to, as he opened the Cinema door.
To last minute dates.
"Hey, I'm at a bar with Munch, we're playing pinball. Come join us," he'd find himself asking her after a late shift.
All the way down to their make-out sessions in her 1965 Ford Mustang and the impeccable virgin-like timing she always seemed to have.
"Mmm," she moaned as they kissed across the stick shift. His hand felt her up through three layers of winter clothing.
"El," she spoke through his lips. "I have an early morning."
And it didn't seem to matter that they had been kissing and touching for 3 minutes or 30 minutes, she could stop on a dime. To say he had blue balls was an understatement.
To top it all off, she'd been slammed at work for nearly 3 weeks, and instead of quick dates, they could only call to say goodnight, which led to a phone conversation that could make a porn star blush. He felt it was time. So when they finally made in-person plans, at her apartment, dinner and a blockbuster, she had a day off the next day, he came prepared to level up this relationship.
But her voicemail played again.
"Hey, it's El. Hope you didn't forget I was coming over. I'm at your place. I'm going to head up and start dinner. I'll see you soon."
He fiddled with his keys while juggling the bag and his phone. Whistled Weezer's "Buddy Holly" on his way to the elevator. Red and white roses stuck out of the top of the bag, under the flowers were all the ingredients for chicken marsala, risotto, and his favorite bottle of white wine. His mother was to blame for this dinner that could end in disaster, as he hadn't cooked like this in years. Bernie had called earlier that day and insisted that he cook 'this Olivia' a proper dinner.
"And pair it with a white wine, Elliot. Chicken can't be eaten with a red. It's too heavy."
"Okay, moma."
"And flowers. Every woman likes flowers."
"Eh…I don't know about that," Elliot interrupted her.
"If you aren't confident in your cooking, then you better grab the flowers, Elliot."
"Ahhhokay. Hanging up now."
"Fine. You do what you're going to do," she huffed.
Then as he stood in the grocery store he passed the flowers. Once in contemplation. Twice in frustration. And then-
"Damnit, she better like flowers," he shook his head.
He got to the third floor, still whistling, he turned the keys around in his hand to find the right one, pushed the key in, and opened the door.
There was an immediate rustling sound from inside. Every light in the place was on. There was an open bottle of wine and a half-filled glass next to it.
"Liv?," he called out. "You here?"
Something felt off. He slowly placed the bag on the ground and pulled out his Glock.
"Hello?"
Then from around the corner, where the bedroom was, he heard a woman's voice. Not Olivia's voice.
"Stop. I've got a gun," the voice trembled. "I will use it."
"I…," Elliot quickly turned to look at the number on the front door. It read 10. Which he thought was right. "Am I in the right apartment? "
"No. No, you are not!," she yelled coming out from the bedroom with the gun in her hand. She was about Olivia's age, she had long blonde hair, and glasses on. When she rounded the corner she was met with Elliot and his gun, and she screamed bloody murder, before nearly firing off the the gun in a wild dash back to the bedroom, where she slammed the door, and yelled " Leave now! I'm calling 911."
"Whoa, hey," he shouted through the door. His gun was now lowered. He noticed the suitcase on the floor in the living room, and he started putting things together. "Ma'm, it's okay. I am the police. I'm a friend of Olivia's. This is her apartment. I'm supposed to meet her here. She didn't tell me she had a guest visiting or I would have rang the bell-"
The door opened.
"Elliot?"
Alex Cabot stood there frazzled and still gripping Olivia's bedside pistol.
"That's me," he calmly responded, his heartbeat slowing.
"Oh my god," she sighed and heaved, and then laughed. "You scared the hell out of me!"
The gun still in her hand, she waved it around laughing about the whole situation. Elliot ducked a few times.
"I didn't mean to scare you," he said as he pointed at her hand. "May I…take that," he clinched his face as she waved it over to him.
"Oh yes, please take that. I have no idea what I'm doing with that thing," she laughed again. Her face was flush from the wine and her cortisol levels, which were now at an all time high because of the surprise entrance.
Elliot took it from her and checked the barrel. It was empty. She hadn't loaded it, which was probably best, he thought to himself, as she chattered in the background.
"I can't believe Olivia didn't tell you I was here. We had lunch and she dropped me off. Said she had some work to finish up. But, anyway, I'm meeting the infamous Elliot Stabler in the flesh," she smiled.
"Hi," he blushed and started picking up Olivia's house. The kitchen was a mess.
"It's nice to meet you. Liv, didn't tell me you were in town. You're Alex, right?"
"OH! Geez! I'm a real ding dong today. Hi! Yes! Alex. Cabot. I'm Olivia's best friend from college."
"Yes," he nodded as he pulled the bag of groceries from the floor and started doing Olivia's dishes. "She talks about you often. DC attorney?"
"Yes. That's me. Gosh, I feel terrible ruining your night. I can go to another friend's place tonight if-"
"No! That's not necessary," though he was definitely putting on polite airs. "It's just a little dinner. Nothing…fancy. It will taste better if you're here. We can hide my lack of chef skills with conversation."
Alex laughed. "I'm sure whatever you're making will be great."
"So you're visiting from DC," he asked as he cut vegetables and cheese.
"I was in DC. I'm back. Staying with Liv for hopefully only a week, until my apartment opens up. I took a job with the city. I'm going to be representing the public, and hopefully work my way up to ADA, as I can no longer live with the idea of representing criminals. My soul is turning black," she lifted a brow and sipped her wine.
Elliot immediately hit it off with Alex Cabot, the one and only best friend, they chatted about the politics and the judicial system as he made his way around Olivia's disorganized kitchen.
He opened all the cabinets in search of a baking pan.
"Can I help you," Alex said from the island bar stool.
"Baking pan?"
"Try the oven."
He pulled open the oven, and inside was every single pot and pan pushed in haphazardly.
"Wow…," he ran a hand through his hair.
"Yeah, she doesn't cook. Those were a gift from her mother most likely," Alex watched him struggle.
"Still has the price tag on it," he shook his head.
Alex grinned and sipped her wine. She knew Olivia like the back of her hand, and watching this striking man in her kitchen doing things Olivia would never do, was both amusing and satisfying.
"Eh…," Elliot groaned. "I'm gonna have to redo this entire kitchen just to make a dinner. She can't…live like this. Maybe we just call and get a pizza."
"Are you kidding me?!," Alex chuckled. "This is going to be more entertaining than Broadway," she held back a laugh.
"Ha…glad you think so."
"Here, I can help you," she said, finally getting up and taking pots from the oven. "It's a good thing you caught this while she wasn't home. There is no way she would have let you do this."
"Well, I'm no Martha Stewart, but my pots are in a proper cabinet." He opened a bottom cabinet and found a box of office supplies, and a stack of files inside. "Like this. What is this and why is it in a kitchen cabinet?"
"That's her office. Clearly," Alex joked.
He lifted the heavy stack from the lower cabinet and placed it on the island. His eyes caught a bit of what was in the files. "Open cases."
He opened up the first file and Alex stopped him. "Probably shouldn't be reading her files," she grabbed the stack.
"No wait," he pulled the top file up. "This is our backlog case." He sifted to the next case. "Backlogged." And the next. "Backlogged."
"Yeah, you really shouldn't be looking at this stuff," Alex got handsy and pulled the files back.
"She shouldn't have those files in her apartment."
Alex took them to the bedroom, her voice growing soft and then loud again as she walked back to the kitchen. "Which is exactly why we are not going to look at any of it. What happens in these cabinets….stays in these cabinets."
Elliot agreed to a point, but he didn't like it. He checked his phone and she still hadn't called to check in. "It's almost 7. "
"I'm sure she's on her way," Alex tapped Elliot on the arm. "Let's get this chicken started. What are we making over here? Oh look at this…flowers."
Alex smelled the roses. "She's going to love these."
Elliot let the files slide for now, but he didn't like that she'd been keeping it from him. And she hadn't had a full day off in weeks. The files explained it. He tried to focus on the chicken. "You think she'll like the roses? Couldn't decide. That or daisies. I heard daisies are the friendliest flower"
"Then Roses was the right choice," Alex grinned behind her glasses. She found a vase and fluffed the bouquet. "She loves flowers so much that she might not even be mad that we put her cooking ware in the right place."
As soon as the chicken began to bake, Olivia waltzed through the door. "Hello?"
She was a whirlwind of winter coat, half-fallen hat, messy scarf, paperwork, and an overstuffed briefcase.
"That smell! And it's coming from my apartment. Oh," she looked at the two of them in her kitchen. "I'm so glad to be home," She sighed and dropped everything in the doorway. "You cooked!," she smiled and pulled herself up to kiss Elliot on the cheek. "And you've met Alex!"
"Oh, we met alright," she looked at Olivia from the top of her glasses. "Nearly gave me a heart attack first."
"Oh no, what happened," She froze.
"I used your key," Elliot responded. His face was less than pleased. "A little warning would have been nice."
"I'm so sorry. My phone died and then the subway broke down." She pulled her things off and hung them by the door as she spoke to them frazzled. "I just walked like 20 blocks. I'm sorry for being so late and causing heart attacks."
She hugged Alex.
"It's okay," Alex smiled and hugged her. "Elliot is treating me like a queen. Wine, Chicken, and Flowerssss," she smiled. "Kidding those are for you?"
"Those are for me," she smiled and rushed to hug him and help Elliot find plates.
Her frozen fingers touched his neck. "Oh...you're freezing."
"It got really cold tonight."
"Glad you're home and safe," he kissed her again.
She stopped and smelled the flowers. "You bought me flowers. You're the first man to ever buy me flowers, can you even believe that?"
"Just wanted to surprise you, and no that's crazy. I can't believe I'm the first," he softly curled his lip into a half smile. He looked like a puppy or a sweet teddy bear. Olivia could have squished his cheeks and ravished him right there, if Alex weren't in the room. And then she noticed him check the oven.
"You're cooking…in my stove," she quickly pulled the hot oven open. "My pots."
Alex turned to her ", are now in a proper place. Under the island. We cleaned it out for you."
"Huh!," she panicked and pulled open the cabinet. "Where's the-"
"Files are in your room," Alex finished.
Olivia now stood frozen in the middle of her tiny kitchen with plates in her hand, wondering how much they both knew.
Alex was clearly drunk by this point, and shuffled to the other side of the room to give them space and find a good CD to play on Olivia's old stereo.
She could tell instantly that he knew about the files and he was upset.
"El, I was going to tell you. I just haven't had time," she whispered.
He slowly looked at her with those eyes. So loving and yet so intimidating. She saw the disappointment and immediately felt small and terrible. Like this was what it must feel like to have a father, only it was her lover. The whole thing reeked of childhood trauma. "It was one thing to walk into Alex unexpectedly. I get it. You're phone died. The backlog case files, though. Liv, who are you?"
"Ow, Paul McCartney. Flowers in the Dirt," Alex talked to herself trying to ignore the fight that was brewing.
Olivia put the plates on the island and grabbed his hand. "I meant to call you earlier about Alex, and I got sidetracked. I'm doing too many things at work and it's been a really long week."
"I'm sure you are busy, with all the backlogs you're trying to squeeze in. You can get your shield revoked having those files. I could get in trouble knowing that you have those files."
"El," she whispered. "That's why I didn't tell you. But I couldn't just let them all sit there. It was eating at me. I couldn't sit at my desk on a slow day, knowing they were there. Knowing that someone should be forcing them through."
"Liv, it's not your job to change the system."
"Why not?"
Elliot sucked in his bottom lip in frustration and tried to divert her eyes attempting to avoid a fight in front of her best friend, who just met him. All of which was at the front of his brain. The timer went off and he pulled the chicken from the oven.
"Well," she asked. Stubbornly ignoring Alex. "Why shouldn't I try to change the system? Why shouldn't you? Why is that a bad thing?"
He quickly whispered his thoughts. "Because you don't have the status, Liv. You don't have the time or the money or the resources. You don't have the power to take on such a huge endeavor at this point in your career. And…"
"OH! No- this one," Alex messed with a different CD, she was only half listening.
"...can we talk about this when we don't have an audience," Elliot pleaded with her.
"Are we fighting," Olivia whispered. The side of her body pressed against his. They faced away from Alex, pretending to garnish the plates.
Alex, who suddenly dropped the cd and went to the bathroom, not because she cared about the fight, but because she was drunk. "Be right back."
Elliot tossed the dish towel on his shoulder and waited for the door to the bathroom to close.
"No, we're not fighting, because I don't want to fight with you. I just don't think you thought this through."
Olivia grew flush with anger. "I thought, you of all people would have my back on this. That you would support this."
"I.. eh," he rubbed his face with his hand. "Of course, I support you helping these women. But I think you should be focusing on other things right now. Legal things. You've gone from 0-100. And you don't know what you're doing or who to even call, which could get you in trouble."
"And what legal things do you think I should be focusing on?," she said almost mocking him, his offensive tone to mansplain what she should be doing with her time was not what she signed up for in a man.
His eyes grew wide. "Like trying to get promoted so you can transfer to Manhattan. That was your goal last month. That's an attainable goal. What happened to that goal?"
"I'm doing everything I can to get promoted at work, and I'm constantly being pulled back by your little 'one time' fling and my sloth of a Captain," she hissed.
"Ignore that crap. You're better than that unit! I need you out of there. They're constantly short-staffed and disorganized at that location and I never get to see you because of it. Aren't you tired of it," he tried to say without the anger.
"Ah. Okay," she nodded and pursed her lips. "This isn't about the files. This is about you and your needs. I got busy for 3 weeks and you want me around every day, so you need me to make getting transferred a priority."
"That's not what I said, Liv. Don't be stubborn."
That word though. It was a phrase her mother said to her all of the time and it got the best of her every time she heard it.
"You come in here and rearrange my things, and get upset that I don't give you enough time and tell me I'm not prioritizing my time. Don't tell me what to do," she backed up. The fire in her eyes grew.
Elliot stopped himself and took her in. This was deeper than him, he recognized it right away and calmed himself. "Liv…I'm not here to take away your career and your independence. I'm sorry we touched the files and your things. I only want the best for you, and yes, I missed you. Is that a crime?"
He was too good. It was a quality that made her jealous and mad, and also comforted her at the same time. And dammit she knew he was right. She leaned on the counter. Her fingers gripped the edge of the marble and her mind, so used to fighting, took a minute to let go of the anger. He touched her finger to soften her mood. "I don't want to fight with you. Your heart is in the right place. Impossible or not, it is the right thing to want to fix."
Olivia let the air go from her tight chest and caved in.
"I'm sorry," she nodded.
He nodded back and breathed, and the whole argument ended as quickly as it began.
"Oh," she instantly grew excited. "Nothing's impossible. I have Stacey's finished kit paperwork in my briefcase. That's why I was late. I met up with this woman who does the autopsies. Melinda or Miranda. I think Melinda. She knows a guy at the lab who works on these kits. She pulled some strings and he did it."
He walked over to the briefcase and she quickly showed him the paperwork. "Look at that, a rape kit miracle. How did you get Melinda to pull strings. She is by the Bible stirct."
"Ah, well, I had to take her to a bar and pretend I was single..." she started slow and then quickly. "But I didn't talk to any men. I just needed something to get her out of the lab, and she complained about the dating scene. It was an easy in-"
Elliot enjoyed watching her dig herself out of more dirt. "You're something else, Olivia Benson."
"I know," she smiled. "Are you mad?"
"No," he kissed her. "Good instincts. You got our evidence."
"Now I just have to get Stacey on board before Kirkland moves out of state."
Alex opened the bathroom door. "I'm not long for this world. I drank way too much. Why isn't the music playing?"
"You didn't press play," Olivia grinned.
"Oh," she sat back down by the stereo. "That's because you two were having a moment, and I…needed a moment while you had a moment, so this music is just waiting for me."
Elliot resumed plating the dinner with Olivia leaning next to him. "Will you taste this risotto? I can't tell if it's done."
He blew on the hot rice and placed it on her tongue. It was sexy and she knew it, and slowly licked her lips with a sultry gaze. For three weeks they teased each other over the phone. His pants twitched and he cleared his throat. He had hoped to take things further tonight, but Alex was yet another wrench in the cog.
"Come on you two, stop making love with the risotto and get over here and dance with me," Alex swayed to the R and B beats started and sang along. "Real love. I'm searching for a real love. Someone to make my heart beat. Real loooove."
"How much of that wine did you have, Cabot," Olivia laughed..
"Mmm enough to forget," she smiled with squinted eyes. "You two. Are. So cute," she pointed at them.
Elliot lightly nudged Olivia to go help her friend, while he set up two plates on the island.
"Oh my sweet friend. I'm so glad you're back," Olivia held her hands, and they sang together. "Real love! I'm searching for a real loooove!"
Elliot had yet to meet anyone in Olivia's life. And though he would have done anything to get her alone tonight, he was glad to meet Alex. She was just as fun and smart as Olivia. He watched them dance and laugh, and then the music changed over to a song they didn't know.
"Ohhh," Alex moaned. "That was great. I'm starving."
"Dinner is ready ladies," Elliot presented the plates and a glass of water.
They all sat and Alex leaned her head on Olivia's shoulder. "I missed you."
"I missed you so much, Cabot," Olivia hugged her with one arm.
"Elliot, this dinner smells amazing," Alex breathed in.
"Thanks," he flushed.
"Mmmm…so good," she said with a full mouth. "You're so lucky, to have found each other," she kept talking. "Which, sidenote, I am responsible for all of this. So you can thank me at any point."
Olivia laughed. "She sent the first letter."
"Ah," Elliot smiled. "Well, maybe those flowers were for you after all."
"Well, I do deserve them," she joked. "Dating is so hard, Liv. It's so hard. I hate it so much. I think I'm going to have to throw myself into my career and screw it all. Lawyer Cat Lady is looking good every day. Men suck. No offense, Stabler."
"None taken," he agreed.
"Alex you aren't even 30 yet. You'll fall in love when it's right."
Olivia looked up at Elliot and he winked. She felt lucky sitting here with this much love. Though, Elliot made falling in love seem easy. The only hang up was her own mind. She sometimes felt like an imposter when he did nice things for her. Thoughts that she didn't deserve this dinner or those flowers. A quiet panic would hit her. "How long will this last before he finds out she's not worth the fight? How long before she messes this up."
He'd impressed her over the last 3 months and gained all of her trust…almost. She gave him a key to her apartment, mostly for safety, but he was the only one she trusted with it. All that being said, they still hadn't had sex yet. And she was starting to feel the pressure of it. Is he stalling because he's bad? The kissing was great. Was she adding extra work to her schedule, because she was scared it would be bad? They hadn't talked about anything too serious, like kids or religion. She wasn't ready to introduce him to her mother. Everything was still uncharted. She looked over at Alex, who always seemed to have a long-term boyfriend and a savvy way of gaging what was best for her, now sat in front of her drunk, lost, and holding back tears. "Oh, Alex, what's wrong?"
"Eh, I don't know why I'm crying. It's so embarrassing."
Elliot saw the tears coming before Olivia, he was ready with a napkin. "Here."
"Thank you. Look how sweet he is. And he's still single. He already had the napkin ready," Alex sobbed and then blew her nose.
Elliot felt like he was the odd man out, but Olivia grabbed his hand before he could move away from her, and wouldn't let him get back to the kitchen, where he suddenly felt safe from single female issues. She pulled him next to her and placed his arm around her, like she needed a blanket, and he was just the right thing.
Olivia comforted Alex with the other hand. "Hey now, what are these tears?"
"Eh…remember my boss in DC," Alex was now talking directly to both Elliot and Olivia. Elliot knew very little about Alex, but Olivia had complained about the DC boss to him a few times, and he was kind of caught up. He politely nodded.
"The married guy?"
"Well, I didn't tell you this, but I didn't move to New York to take a job that's going to pay me $100,000 less a year, because I'm a saint."
"What happened," Olivia softly asked as she pushed hair away from Alex's wet cheek.
"My boss. I ended up sleeping with him….and then I…well I hate to say it…I fell for him. He wasn't even my type. Old. Nerdy. Completely unattractive. But he did whatever I said. He gave me everything I needed. And he was so attentive. It was cushy. And I took advantage of him at first, but after a while, I…started to love him. I loved him, Liv. I was in love with my married old man boss. And I stupidly thought that he would leave his wife. And then I did something unthinkable. I proposed to him. Can you believe that? Who does that?"
"You proposed to him," Olivia repeated like a parrot, not because she consciously wanted to sound like a silly girl in a bad sitcom, but the whole thing was so unbelievable.
"Yes, it's crazy. Isn't it, Elliot," Alex now directly asked him. "I mean would that scare you off? If Olivia proposed to you?"
Elliot went cold. How do you react to that in front of two ultra-feminist ballbusters. "I…had never thought about it, but if I loved the woman, I guess it wouldn't matter. It would be flattering….I think? Maybe. I don't know how I would react."
"But would you leave her?"
Olivia gave him a quick stern look.
"No! No. You took the hardest part out of marriage for that guy…the ring shopping and the proposal. That is some…stressful times. I was there once, and it was….something…it was…yeah…"
Olivia squeezed his hand and he stopped stammering.
"Eh," Alex continued. "I knew it was crazy. But I was representing the owner of a jewelry store, and there was this case of rings and he told me it was a trendy thing for women to do right now. Though I'd hadn't heard of any woman proposing to a man, but what do I know. So I bought one…for him. And I proposed a week later. He got freaked out by the whole thing. Stopped calling. Stopped coming over. Then his wife shows up at my apartment. She was part owner of his law firm, and she fired me."
"Oh no!," Olivia gasped. "I didn't realize you were fired."
"Thankfully I still had some friends at the courthouse here. I was able to get a job, and an apartment." She blew her nose one more time. "I've just been a mess though."
Olivia stood up and gave her friend a long hug. "You're not a mess. You're Alex Cabot. You are the strongest woman I know. I look up to you. And you can do better than that slime bucket of a man, you just haven't found him yet. This is a new start. This allows you to keep yourself open."
"You're right. I knew you'd say the right thing." She then looked up at Elliot. "Elliot, this woman right here does some unusual things sometimes, she puts pots in her oven, and she's addicted to her work, but she is a real deal saint. This woman is going to change the world."
"Okay stop," Olivia blushed.
"I'm serious. Olivia Benson you are a real superhero."
That hit Elliot, because he knew Alex was right. He'd witnessed enough to know she was different. She might even be the person to change the system. His mind was being pulled to the backlogs. He was so quick to shut it down, but maybe she had something there.
"Thanks for listening to me whine, Elliot. I'm sure you had a fine evening of risotto and sex planned out, and I ruined it all," Alex joked.
He snapped out of his thoughts. "Ah…you know...I've been told I'm a good listener."
"You are," Olivia touched him again and then tried a piece of chicken. "Mmmm and a great cook. Wow. This is really good."
"Thanks. It goes downhill from here."
The ladies laughed. "You're in good company," Alex smiled through red eyes. "I can change a toilet flange, but don't ask me to bake anything."
"Ah, the old toilet flange. That's a good skill to have," Elliot joked back.
They laughed and told stories until 11 o'clock and Alex yawned. "I hate to say it. I think I need to go to bed."
"Oh," Elliot stood up from the couch. "I'll go."
Olivia had been leaning back on the other side of the couch with her feet in his lap, and she nudged him with her foot. "Alex, I can sleep on the couch. Why don't you take my bed."
"Up to you."
Olivia grabbed Elliot's hand. "Stay a minute. I never sleep in my bed anyway. Alex, take my bed."
Alex said her goodnights and went to the bedroom, put her sound machine on, and all was quiet in Olivia's living room except for the radio that was quietly playing Mariah Carey's "Fantasy".
Elliot sat back down on the couch. In normal conditions he would have left, but he'd thought about this night all week. And Olivia seemed motivated to keep him here. He ignored the niceties. Olivia curled up under his arm.
"Alex is great," Elliot started in, trying to be smooth about it.
"She's the best." her hand traced his hand and then she pulled his fingers to the top of her low-cut sweater. He could feel her soft cleavage and her heart beating. She felt the comfort of his warm hand on her bare skin and tried to transition into the right mood.
"Three weeks…was too long."
He kissed her head. "Agreed."
"I feel like that was my fault," she nuzzled into his chest, and kissed the softest part. She then got up and began turning the lights down low.
"You've been a busy woman," Elliot pulled at his pants and attempted to get more comfortable on the couch. He watched her walk the room in her tight black slacks.
"Yeah," She was giving him a promiscuous stare. Her face was soft. Her mouth ready to be kissed. She straddled his lap, and he pulled her in for another kiss. His hands moved along the curved of her breast and followed the lines of her waist.
Her heart beat faster. "I should have told you Alex was coming in. Dinner and flowers…deserves more than a kiss."
"It's okay," he whispered into her ear and nibbled along her neck.
"I'm not good at this yet."
"Good at what?"
"Relationships. Communication. You and I. Plus one. "
Elliot paused and took her in. Touched her hair. Traced around her cheek and down her neck. He sent a tingle down her entire body.
"I'm not great at it either. We'll get better," he teased her with his eyes.
"Kiss me," she whispered. "I don't think I can wait any more."
He pulled her lips in and they slowly kissed and touched. Her hips rubbed against him.
"Alex is here. You okay with that," he whispered
"She's sleeping," she whispered back. "Touch me."
He moved his lips like he was going to kiss her and instead lay her on the couch and unzipped her pants while he nibbled her hard nipple from under the thin sweater. Her lace bra was unpadded and he could feel all of her underneath it.
She lifted her hips and pulled off her slacks while he rubbed and fondeled her in ways she'd never experienced. A loud gasp exited her throat.
"Shhh," he kissed her mouth and neck as she writhed on his hand and held the moans inside. Her fingers played through his hair and pushed him to go down on her.
Which was what he did best. A trick he'd been waiting to pull out.
"You sure you're ready for this," he softly asked.
"I can't wait any longer."
Dalila the Radio DJ came on after Mariah's song ended. "This is for all of my lovers out there, getting home from a long day of work and needing to reconnect with that one special person in their lives. Get out your candles, light a fire, and make love to the one you're with." Boyz II Men started playing.
"Close your eyes, make a wish
And blow out the candlelight
For tonight is just your night"
She bit her lip at the touch of his tongue on that one area that drove her to orgazim, and when he knew he had her spot he stayed there and suckled and swirled.
"I'll make love to you.
Like you want me too."
"Is this really the song we're going to do this to," Elliot stopped.
"Yes," she pushed him back down. She could have screamed in ecstasy.
Her long legs surrounded him. Her hips rolled with his tongue and he pinched the skin and rubbed and slid his fingers inside slowly until she held her breath and tensed.
"And I will not let go till you tell me tooo," Boyz II Men sweetly sang.
She let out a sigh and they were both shook the moment in, wet and exasperated.
The necessity to remain silent through it all added a layer of thrill that made Olivia dizzy with pleasure. She whipped her head up from the couch pillow and ravenously kissed herself off of his lips and tongue. The feelings she had for him were so overwhelming that she held back tears. Her heart raced.
"You like that," he whispered.
"Sergeant-level work, detective," she teased his ear.
"Only Sergeant?"
She pushed him back onto the couch, his pants were begging to be unzipped, and she wanted more.
"There's only one captain of this ship," she smiled in amusement. He couldn't get enough of her wit, it was even more sexy than her stunning outward appearance.
"So you want to be my captain," he whispered.
She dropped her pants to the floor and ran her fingers up the zipper of his thick work khakis.
"I want to have my way with you," she smiled. She had that youthful beam in her eyes that made her seem delicate, even though she was taking charge. But he knew better, she knew exactly what she wanted to do, and she was going to do it.
He was bigger than she'd expected him to be, and the bar was set high now. His third base skill had far surpassed anyone she'd ever been with. She knew if she dazzled him with her eyes while she made him wet, she could read him like a book.
He held her gaze while she started at the tip and made her way up and down and around. And he didn't flinch. He held her eyes and held back as best as he could, which only made her more excited to do better. She lightly added her hands and he shook, that was when she had him. Her body moved in a slow rhythm and just when he felt like he was going to lose it all, she stopped and kissed him on the mouth.
"I want all of you tonight," she grinned, and walked to her purse, where she had condoms.
"You just have those in there all the time," he said, like he was surprised.
"Spoken like a true Catholic boy," She held back a light laugh. "Yes, I have these in my purse. I'm a sex crimes detective. Don't you have these in your purse," she mocked.
He grinned and shook his head as he grabbed it from her and tossed it to the side. "That little thing won't fit me."
"Ho," she gave a sultry smile. "He knows his size."
"If you look in my inside coat pocket, I have one."
"Oh…," she lifted a judgy sarcastic brow at him. "Look who's walking around with king-sized condoms in his coat pocket. Who's the sinner now?"
She lightly skipped to the coat on the wall and pulled it out and danced with it a bit. She was naked from the waist down. Her shirt was still on in case Alex came out and they had to throw a blanket on to hide their dirty deeds.
He took his sock and tossed it at her for fun. "Get over here, you rule breaker."
He grabbed her and pulled her onto the couch. She held back a giggle.
"Is that how you talk to your Captain," she played.
He ripped the wrapper with his teeth, which was something she'd always wanted a man to do. Something so animalistic about it excited her. She threw her hair back beaming with titillation. "God you're sexy," she said to him, her voice getting louder.
"Captain Benson, I think you like me. May I," knelt over her throbbing and ready as he'd ever be.
"I order you to make love to me-"
He placed a finger on her lips to hush the sound of her voice. They both listened for a moment thinking they heard Alex, but she was just snoring.
Seal could now be heard singing "Kiss from a Rose" on the radio.
"Detective," she whispered even softer than before. "I'm ready."
"There used to be a greying tower alone on the sea
And you became the light on the dark side of me
Love remained a drug that's the high and not the pill"
Elliot held her eyes for one more moment to ensure her this was real. No turning back. He was committed. She lightly blinked. Their uncanny way of communicating without words vibrated between them, and as the violin swelled on the radio, he pushed inside of her, and they both tensed. Exhilarated by each other. She watched his muscular body tighten above her. Rolled her hands down his sides, to the hard part of his ass, and moved with him, feeling every bit of him like electricity. She was going to come again. He held on as long as he could, and she placed her hand on her mouth to stifle the sound that wanted to unearth itself from the depths of her groin.
The couch squeaked and he quickly pumped until he couldn't any longer.
He sighed and fell limp on her soft blue sweater. His face nuzzled between her breasts. They lay in a heap of heavy breathing and limbs.
"Huh," she caught her breath and held his body on top of hers tightly. "I love you."
"I love you too," he said without hesitation. He kissed the tear from her cheek.
"Baby, I compare you to a kiss from a rose on the grey
Ooh, the more I get of you, stranger it feels, yeah
And now that your rose is in bloom
A light hits the gloom on the grey"
The tear that she had held back before. "This was what love felt like," she thought to herself. "Real love." E
ffortless. Limitless. Unconditional. No hesitation. She had grown in that moment. Before this everything was questionable, but he gave her a glimmer of hope. A lighthouse. He made her never want to look back at her jaded past. He was the light on her gloom.
AN: Happy Friday.