A shitty idea

Thomas turned and gave Wilma his house keys.

"You think you're able to get her inside on your own? I just need a word with Liv and then we'll be right with you."

Wilma nodded complacently but threw Liv a curious look before she started to help Alice out of the car. As soon as the car door slammed behind them Thomas turned to Liv and stifled anger started to roll off of him.

"Want to tell me what you were thinking?"

She looked away from him, fidgeted with her hands. A lecture was not what she was in the mood for. Alice's comments about her father were still echoing inside her head, making her slightly nauseous.

"I wasn't. We weren't. We didn't know those idiots would be there and then everyone kind of left. We had only just gotten there", she muttered. 

"Would you look at me for a second?"

He sounded more concerned than angry.

"I'm not drunk if that's what you want to know", she snapped, "Everything's fine. You really didn't need to come to the rescue. I'm sorry Mel called you."

Had she been looking at him she might have noticed the small flinch.

"You didn't want him to call?"

"God no. Mel did it as a joke."

"I see. So Mel thought it was funny, huh?"

His voice dropped several degrees.

"What?"

"His idea of a joke is leaving you alone with a bunch of wasted, horny college guys, huh? Well, from the looks of it, you found it funny too, considering you wished he hadn't called me."

"Of course I didn't find it funny, Tommy. I'm just saying I'm sorry we had to bother you."

"See that's just the thing. You're not. You're never sorry to bother me in any kind of situation resembling this one. You bother me, Liv, you always bother me with stuff like this. Regardless of what's going on or how you feel about me at the moment. You don't rely on the off-chance that some idiot will call me as a joke. You call me. Every time. Is that clear?"

"Sure."

Red was creeping across her cheeks, red caused by the urgency in his words and she turned her head even further away from him. 

"Liv."

There was frustration in the way he said her name. 

"What?"

"What's going on with you? Why won't you look at me?"

It was only fair, she thought, after all that time during which he wouldn't ever look at her. 

"Is it about what Alice said?", the question was posed softly and carefully. 

"No. She's drunk. I don't care."

That had sounded too defensive and she knew it. 

"Livvy, you can tell me if it...", he started.

"I can't do this right now, Thomas", she interrupted, "Not here. Not with you. Can we please just go inside? I said I'd stop, remember? And you're not fucking helping me right now."

"Stop? Stop what?"

He was searching her gaze eagerly but she would still not let herself look at him. 

"Stop this idiocy. Like you said. It's nonsense and I'm doing my share to stop it. Like I promised. Let's go inside."

"You're… You won't talk to me or look at me because you..?"

"Because it's painful."

"What is painful?"

It was hard for her to believe he was as unknowing as he sounded.

"Because I want to. So bad. All the time. All I want is to talk to you, all the time. I want to be with you, look at you, stare at you, kiss you again, have you touch me aga…"

"Liv!"

He had finally caught on and raised his voice to cut off her heady explanation and she turned to finally look at him. There was so much want and longing in her brown eyes that he lost track of what he had intended to say and so when she leaned closer to kiss him he didn't protest. Then she broke the kiss, stared wide-eyed at him for a split second only to kiss him again, nib with hunger and frustration at his lips and jaw.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry", she breathed in between the urgent kisses which elicited a groan from him in return. A voice inside his head yelled at him to break it off but he found himself eagerly helping her over into his seat instead. The selfish triumph over having her there, safe, in his lap, occupied with kissing him, blocked the voice out. 

"Tommy. God. You look like shit", her fingers ran over his under-eyes and chin.

He really did. Not as bad as that time when his father had just passed, but nearly. 

"Slept bad", he shrugged, not wanting her to connect the dots between her absence from his life and the decay.

Seeming to settle for that momentarily, she went back to trailing kisses over his neck. Thomas moved to create more space for her and she adjusted herself intuitively on top of him. The movement caused her to toss her head back with pleasure and gasp in surprise. He had been caught off guard as well and held her away from himself, shaking his head rapidly. 

"Get inside."

It was exceptionally foolish and reckless, being all over each other like this when her friends were only just a few yards away. With flaming cheeks she disentangled herself from him and slipped out of the car, turning to look at him before heading inside his flat.

"It's a real shitty idea isn't it? This whole thing."