All Over You

In His Praise

In the morning, I decide to make a conceited effort. I wake up much earlier than usual, bound out of bed and shave my legs in the shower so I seem sleek and perfect for Liam who I will be spending most of the day with. I squeeze into a tight red dress which has always been one of my favourites. It clings to me in all the right places and extenuates all the things I love about my body. I curl my hair and spend ages perfecting my makeup to once again highlight my better features. I only hope it's worth it as I wander down the corridors to my office, feeling much less self assured than I did when I left the house.

After pulling out all the stops for him, I make a silent prayer in my head that Liam is in his office like usual. I also hope he calls me in, as the last few days I've been the one going to him. The power shift is unwelcome. I miss hearing him shout out for me while I wonder how he can possibly tell I'm near.

As if reading my mind, I hear a northern accent call out my surname as I stroll past his office door. I briefly stop to consider if the obnoxious sound my heels make give me away to him every time. It's ironic as I only started wearing heels to impress him. Gone are the days I'd stroll in with my beaten up trainers. Liam is the only reason I started caring in the first place. 

I can't hide my smile as I gently step inside his office like every other morning. He is typing a text out on his phone when I enter, but closes the app when he acknowledges me. I think about who he's texting and wonder how he sounds over text when he's being informal. I've never had that pleasure.

He finally looks up at me, dragging his eyes away from the desk that he chucked his phone on. His reaction takes my breath away. I hoped he'd notice the extra effort I'd made, though the way his expression changes makes my heart leap. His deep blue eyes slowly trail up from my toes to my head, his smirk growing wider with every passing second. I blush instantly, nibbling my nail and fighting the urge to wrap my arms around myself for comfort. No man has ever looked at me the way Liam does and I was so unaware I could ever cause such a reaction.

"Wow..." He whispers, evidently as breathless as me.

I begin searching for any words to diffuse the heat rising in my cheeks. I come up with nothing, resisting everything inside me which tells me to shy away from him. This isn't the old Tiffany anymore, the new Tiffany dresses up for men and makes them swoon - as Liam is currently doing. 

"You look gorgeous." He admits.

"Gorgeous". The word coming from his mouth sounds so blissful, his accent emphasising the right syllables. Hearing him use the word to describe me is even more perfect. His tongue caresses every letter and I revel in his praise, thanking him sheepishly. A moment of silence follows as birds sing gloriously in the distance. The windows must be thin, or we must be completely mute to hear it. His eyes can't be stripped off me and I don't dare speak to ruin it. I struggle to believe that this is really happening. A man is impressed by me. That man being the handsome and witty Liam Natward, who actually just called me gorgeous.

"I should take a picture to commemorate!" Liam adds, grabbing his phone once more. The device looks shrunken in his sizeable hands, 

"Absolutely not!" I laugh heartily, leaping up to where he's sitting and attempting to grab the phone off him. He dodges my lunge and throws his phone into a desk drawer, slamming it shut briskly. Within a split second, he's grabbing my wrists roughly so I don't attempt to turn my aggression on to him.

His strong grip on my skin makes my stomach clench, and I have to resist the urge to climb on top of his lap. We wrestle for a few moments more but I'm not even close to being as strong as him, so it isn't much of a battle. I wriggle my wrists but his palms begin burning into my skin from the friction.