The Bet (Law Order SVU)

Chapter 13

Alex scrunched her eyes closed as the alarm on the bedside table began to wail mercilessly. A slow turn of her head showed that it was, in fact, time to get up, and that the stupid clock hadn't reset itself to go off at what felt an ungodly hour of the morning. "Damn," she muttered as she slammed her palm onto the 'off' bar on top of the clock. "Liv, time to get up," she muttered halfheartedly. Even though she was resigned to the fact that it was time to get out of bed, that didn't mean she had to be happy about it.

"Idnwnna," Olivia replied, her words muffled by the pillow she had pulled over her head to block out the noise from the alarm.

"C'mon," Alex sighed as she pushed herself into a sitting position. "We gotta go by Abbie's place and pick up my car."

"You go, I'll just take a cab to work," Olivia groaned. "Oh my god, my head feels like there's an elephant doing a tap-dance on my brain. I hate tequila."

"That's not what you were saying last night," Alex chuckled.

"That's because last night you were doing all sorts of delightful things to me with that tongue of yours," Olivia replied. "Who in the hell would ever hate tequila if it made you do that to them?"

Alex laughed softly. "Touché. I can't believe we did it in a cab."

"You weren't really in a position to take no as an answer right then," Olivia replied. "The movie theater on the other hand..."

"Was kind of fun."

"In an entirely illegal kind of way," Olivia agreed.

"Yes, well," Alex drawled as she climbed out of bed, artfully allowing the sheet that'd been covering her to fall leaving her wearing nothing but a smile. "I am going to go get in the shower, Detective Benson. If your finely tuned detecting skills can help you find it, you are more than welcome to join me."

Unlike the shrill beeping of the despised alarm clock, the thought of joining Alex in the shower encouraged Olivia to get up. Gathering her strength, she lifted her head just in time to see Alex's naked, retreating form as she swayed into the bathroom, obviously aware that she was being watched. Olivia's blurry eyes widened a little, and she swallowed to ease the dryness of her scratchy throat. Now, that was a sight worth opening her eyes for.

With a groan, she sat up and put her feet on the floor, stretching her arms over her head and shivering as the cold air met her naked body. She felt delightfully sore, and she noticed that several parts of her were covered in various marks. Not all of them were from yesterday, but a great deal of them were. She winced. The boys were going to have a lot of fun teasing her at work today. She would have to wear a turtleneck, but some of the marks were too high even for that, like a nice purple specimen on her jawline. Her back was a little sore as well, and she remembered the way Alex had clutched her shoulders tight in the movie theater bathroom, but it had been more than worth it. She wasn't going to complain.

Feeling slightly more energetic, she hurried after Alex into their own bathroom. The naked blonde had already turned on the shower and was climbing in. Once she was behind the shower curtain, she peeked her head back out, extending one forearm and crooking her finger, motioning for Olivia to join her. The detective was more than happy to follow orders.

Stepping under the spray, Olivia let her eyes take in the delicious picture that was Alex Cabot, naked and dripping with water. She suddenly realized that she hadn't gotten a good morning kiss yet. That oversight would need to be corrected immediately. Olivia pulled Alex into her arms, hands curling around her waist and pulling her close. The attorney seemed a little shorter without her trademark heels, but kissing her was still perfect. Warm mouths met, softly at first, then deeper as both women opened and relearned each other. It was moments like this, tender reaffirmations, that made getting out of bed in the morning seem worth it instead of giving up.