Forever and ever 2. The adventure starts now.

Part 31.

I was late.

The ten minutes quickly turned into fifteen, and fifteen turned into twenty when Nikki couldn't stop talking about the girl-friends brunch she had last week. But I didn't want to be rude either, so I listened to every sentence until the end. Was finally done when Sam needed her help in the kitchen.

As I made my way down the aisle, the murmuring in the background became increasingly muffled.

There were still family pictures of the Holland family hanging on the walls.
Harry on a swing when he was five, Paddy as a toddler on the beach with shovel in hand, and even one of Tom when he was about six, sleeping on a table, with his head resting on his delicate arms.
Tom had never shown me many pictures of himself when he was a child, sure... maybe once at the beginning of the relationship, but that was also already quite a few years ago.

I knocked twice when I reached Paddy's door, opened it shortly afterwards when there was no answer.

It creaked open, with a loud sound, the old wood definitely letting Tom know I was coming in. From the corner of his eye he took in the outline of my figure entering the room, but his head remained bowed, bent to Paddy's desk.

He stood right in front of it, flicking through what looked like a sketchpad full of pencil drawings. Couldn't make a single line out though.
"Did you know Paddy can draw?" Tom asked, turning to the next page.
"No." I simply answered, shaking my head. I used my body weight to close the door behind me, not wanting to look away.

"Neither did I." He answered, closing the book again afterwards. Then he looked up, checking out my body. "Where were you?" He asked. His eyebrows furrowed, like he was genuinely curious.

"Still with your mother." I shrugged my shoulders, and he hummed, then came towards me. One step after the other, not once taking his eyes off me.
Even his suit still fit him like a glove, not a single hair nor stain spoiling the look of the black fabric.

He stopped a metre in front of me, leaving enough space to get a proper look of my lips. But that was also enough space for my body to crave for more of him.

"Are you just going to stare at them?" I asked with a little giggle that followed, then he smiled and shook his head.

One more step and he was standing in front of me, the tip of his nose brushing mine, eyes still staring at me with that soft smile of his. He brought his hand to my cheek, gently stroking the skin below my eye with his thumb.

"May I?" He whispered, hinting at a kiss, which I was only waiting to get.
"Yeah." I whispered back. Then he brought his lips to mine and the moment felt like it had stopped. He was so soft and gentle. Carefully as he brought his tongue into play, running it over my lower lip. Filling my mouth with the delicate tongue of his.

I had to smile so bad, I was afraid to mess up the kiss. The butterflies not able to stay still. I brought my hands to his chest, the thin fabric of the shirt the only thing covering his hard chest. Somehow I felt the need to unbutton the buttons to touch his warm chest. But then again, it was the wrong place...

The kiss lasted quite a long time, quickly turning into a make out session. Both our tongues tangled in each other's while our breaths became erratic.

He still tasted the same as always. Breath fresh with a hint of cinnamon, now mixed with the berry juice he had drunken earlier. I freaking loved it... loved him! That's what I wanted to tell him, but at the same time didn't want to interrupt the kiss.

What however interrupted the kiss a moment later was the histeric jiggling of the door handle in my back.

Someone was on the other side, frantically trying to get in.
"The fuck-" The by now deep voice cursed under his breath. It was Paddy. He tried to push the door open again, thinking it was stuck, this time leaning against the door with his whole body weight until Tom and I both stumbled backwards and the door flew open.
"What the- Tom?!" He yelled, didn't even want to notice me with his eyebrows drawn together and lips in a straight line. "Why the fuck are you in my room?" He questioned.

"We're so sorry!" I immediately apologised, feeling a bit caught and therefore deeply ashamed. But Tom seemed to feel differently. He furrowed his eyebrows, tightening his grip around my waist.
"Calm down mate." He said. "Not like we did anything."

Paddy took a heavy breath through his nostrils, keeping his eyes on his big brother instead of me. "Well, then leave!" He replied. I immediately bowed my head, not wanting to look Paddy in the eye as I scurried past him out of the room. But Tom stayed a moment longer. He stared deep into his brother's eyes, definitely wanting to win the starring contest, whatever it was about... Then, he eventually broke eye contact when he found mine instead. Approached Paddy, patted his shoulder and then came out too.

"What was that?" I whisper yelled as we made our way back down the corridor.
"What?" He asked.
"That stare?! Were you trying to scare him?" He stayed quiet, not answering me at first, until I noticed he was just shaking his head. As if what I'd said was nonsensical.
"Of course not." He scolded. We reached the living room again, but it felt somehow emptier, which was because it was starting to get afternoon and most people had already gone home or were going just now.

Parker, however, was sitting on the couch, playing with uncle Harry and the action figures I had allowed him to take. After all, he had insisted on bringing them to uncle Paddy's since he got a couple of them at his own birthday party just recently.
And on top of that is he spending the night with Nikki and Dom. Not here, of course, since the party is taking place here, but at Sam's. Because Sam hadn't found a babysitter for his daughter either and Lea well- seemed like she hadn't had time. But that was no problem for Dom and Nikki.
I had already packed Parker's bag for him and the rest, like snacks and entertainment, was Sam surely having at home too.

"Are you having fun pretty boy?" I asked, sitting down on the couch with Parker.
"Meh- Not really." Harry replied sarcastically and stifled a grin.
"Oh freak off!" I playfully slapped Harry's arm, giggling a little. Not only because of the bad joke he had made, but also because of the habit of changing my vocabulary from fuck to freak.

"By the way, was everything alright here? Paddy looked kind of down just now."

I understood that he might have been angry because Tom and I were in his room without permission, but normally he wouldn't get angry if I was in his room, unless something before that had already bothered him.

"Paddy? No, he was in a good mood." Strange... wether it was because of Tom... I peeked into the kitchen where he was talking to one of his cousins again. He seemed pretty relaxed to me, though. Not like he was worried about his relationship to his brothers. But then again, it was Tom. It was hard for him to show any kind of love to anyone other than Parker and me. Especially to his family.

And Paddy? Well, maybe he had just had a bad moment. Tonight at the latest, the truth will come out when the alcohol flows...

~God my writing has gotten so bad lately... I've even considered writing from the narrative perspective, but I'm not a fan of changing the writing in the middle of the book.
So... anyways-
I know, quite a short chapter...~