Love and Litigation - An Alex Cabot/Law and Order SVU fanfiction

Chapter 28

The next day: 
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It was just after lunchtime, and Alex sat at her desk zooming through paperwork. She had barely touched the fruit salad she'd brought from home. Between her crazy workload and daydreaming about last night, everything else took a backseat.

Just as she flipped to another form, there was a knock at her door. 

"Come in!" She yelled, not even lifting her eyes from what she was doing. 

In came Olivia holding a large bouquet of red roses. 

"Someone has been keeping secrets." Olivia smirked before handing the flowers over to Alex. 

She lifted them to her nose and breathed in their powdery scent. Though the card offered no name, there was no doubt in her mind who had sent them. 

"Why didn't you tell me you were seeing someone? I want some details." 

Alex looked at her friend and fell flush. 

"There's nothing to tell. Just a guy I met at one of the bars downtown." 

Lying, while not her cup of tea, was her only option right now. Oh, I'm just dating one of your detectives and am breaking every moral code of conduct in the book. No big deal. Well, she couldn't say that to her now could she? 

"Geez, must be serious. You'll have to tell me which bar," Olivia marveled. "Every time I go to one the only guys I find are stumbling drunks or adulterers." 

Alex grabbed a vase from the corner of the room and filled it with water. She placed the precut stems in and spread the roses out nicely. They went front-and-center on her desk for all to admire. 

After Olivia left, she lost herself in the beauty of her desk's new centerpiece. She tried and failed to recall the last time a man had sent her flowers. Well, at least just for the sake of sending them and not when he had done something wrong and was seeking forgiveness. She wondered if Luke knew how lucky she felt to be wanted by him. He courted her, pursued her, even after knowing she was there to stay. And a man doing things when he didn't have to? That made him even sexier than he already was. 

Alex finished up her day at work and drove directly over to Luke's apartment. When he answered the door, a smile immediately appeared on his face. 

"Someone sent me flowers today." 

He smirked. 

"Is that right?" 

"Yes, and it's getting pretty serious. I thought you should know." 

"Well, is he a good guy? Smart? Driven? Built like a greek god?" 

"Eh, not really, but he tries." 

Alex yelped playfully as Luke pulled her into his apartment. He had barely shut the door before his lips were all over hers. She slowly pulled away and looked up into his eyes. 

"Thank you." 

"It wasn't much. Just a couple dozen roses." 

"No man has ever sent me flowers unless he had already done something wrong." 

"Are you saying I did something wrong?" He chuckled. 

"No. You're doing everything right." 

He cupped her face in his hands, once again devouring her lips. When he finally released her, they were both breathless. 

"How on earth did we ever wait this long?" She asked, wrapping her arms around him and nuzzling into his chest. 

They walked in unison to his couch and sat down together. 

"Can I tell you something?" He asked, seemingly a bit nervous. 

"Of course." 

"When we first met, you know I was dating Kelsey." 

"Oh, right. I'd forgotten about her. The insurance broker from Queens?" 

Luke nodded. 

"I don't even know why she and I ever got together. We were so different," he continued. "I think we stayed together more out of comfort than pleasure." 

"Why are you telling me this?" 

He hesitated, flicking his eyes between her and the floor. Unable to stay still, he stood up and began to pace. 

"We were happy, at least in the beginning. Then, our relationship just became stale. We were fighting a lot, but neither of us made a move to end it. I can't believe I'm going to tell you this." 

Alex watched him intently. 

"When you starting working with our squad, do you remember how quickly we became friends?" 

"Yes, you made me feel welcome right away," she smiled. "I always appreciated that." 

"You were always so kind to me. And I was missing that at home. Looking back, a lot of the late nights we spent together at work were used as an excuse for me not to go home to Kelsey." 

"What are you saying?" 

Luke returned to the couch and sat down. 

"I broke up with her...it wasn't just because I didn't love her." 

Alex kept her eyes locked on his. 

"It was because I was in love with you." 

All of the air left Alex's lungs. 

"So, you're saying that I'm the reason for your failed relationship?" 

"Of course not," he defended.

"Then why didn't you say anything? You never told me any of this." 

"I was going to...right after I ended things with Kelsey. But I found out you were dating that guy from your hometown." 

Alex flashed back to that former relationship. Darren Anderson. Another mistake in her catalog of wrong men. 

She stood up, turning her back towards him. This was a lot to process in such a short amount of time. 

"You were already with somebody else, and I couldn't bring myself to tell you." 

She paused for a moment before turning around. 

"Did you want to?" 

"Every single day." He answered softly.