a beautiful lie (continued/ original by winternightz)

A Bottle Of Wine And A Whole Lot Of Awkwardness

I slip my bikini on and grab my towel. I walk downstairs and everyone has their swimming clothes on.
"What took you so long!" Bill says
"Doesn't matter. Im here now though so come on!" We all walk over to the hot tub and put our towels down on the floor before getting in.

"Anyone want wine?" Gustav said while walking over to the conversation pit where the bottles are
"Yeah go on then" we all say in reply.
"Hey, I thought you said Gustav quit drinking?" I ask
"Never said he quit, I said he didn't drink as much" I shrug and let my body relax against the bubbles.

*POP*
"God Gustav! That almost hit me!" Bill said, still ducking down a bit, me and Tom look at each other and laugh under our breaths

"So, howd you find me?"
"It was simple really" Tom starts "All we had to do was find one of Romans men, beat him into telling us where he was, and then find a way to talk to you"
"Right... how simple" I say with a hint of sarcasm
"Oh be grateful! What would you do without us?!"
"Without you? Oh well Id probably be living a normal life somewhere with Ria" Toms smile drops and I can see the guilt in his eyes.
"Oh and, id probably be a lot happier"

It stays silent for a while, the bubbles being the only noise. I snatch the bottle from Georg and take a long sip.
"I was just kidding. No need to get all awkward."
Still, no one speaks.
"Guys seriously." I say now starting to get frustrated with how offended they are

Tom glares at me from the opposite side of the tub with his eyebrows furrowed and his face completely serious.

"I mean, she didn't lie"
"Oh stay out of it Bill" Tom snaps back
"I am grateful that you all saved me. I was just saying."
"Well thats good then isn't it." Toms bluntness is really starting to piss me off.
"But I'm not sorry. I said what I said" Tom scoffs at my bitter reply and then rolls his eye and bites his lip before returning his gaze to me

I decide to carry on, to really push him
"I mean, I might even have a dog. Or a cat. Maybe even a nice rich husband."
Tom glares at me
"I might have my own business. Or maybe Id work at a shop"
He continues to stare. The others take small glances at each other
"I might even have a kid. Maybe even two." Tom looks furious
"But I mean, I couldn't do any of that now. But yeah thanks guys! So very much." I needed to get that off my chest, and it felt good.

"You done?" Tom asks, he's using the same tone that he'd use before he would beat me
"Yeah." I try to avoid his gaze.
"Right, why don't we be calm and drink some wine like nice civilised people." Tom says
Everyone agrees and we drink a few bottles, everyone seems to be quite tipsy.

Gustav finally breaks the silence
"Well fair enough I say! At least were all on the same page" He slurs his words and hiccups every once in a while
"Yeah I agree" Bill says and Georg nods his head.
Tom doesn't do or say anything, he just stares. It feels like he can see right through me, it feels like he can see that I'm growing afraid

"Lighten up Tom! You've been banging on about how much you've missed Taylor, so why don't you make her feel comfortable." Bill can see how uneasy I am
"Alright. But please, for everyones sake, don't do that again" Tom seems calm but his words still send shivers down my spine. I smile at him half heartedly and he turns away to look at Bill. I don't even care that he's hurt. He's done and said much worse I'm certain.

The hot tub has a bluetooth sound system so I recommend that we play some songs to make things less boring and everyone agrees. Gustav puts his playlist on and things become a whole lot less awkward. Everyone sings along to the songs
"Seriously though, were glad to have you back" Bill says to me privately while bringing me into a friendly hug, Tom sees this and bites his tongue trying to stop himself from saying something.

Every time I look at Tom we make eye contact, and the tension between us is growing by the minute. I try to ignore it, but the more I try to distract myself from him, the more I desire him.
My thoughts are interrupted by Gustav almost spilling half a bottle of red wine in the tub and him splashing around trying to keep it from falling.

"Alright Gustav, I think you've had enough" Bill says while trying to snatch the bottle from him
"How would you know?"
"Gustav, give it to Bill. Now." Gustav looks at Tom before slowly handing the bottle to Bill
"Thank you." Gustav makes a phew noise and wipes imaginary sweat off of his forehead

"Please can we go shopping tomorrow?" I say, remembering the 3 in 1 shit I was forced to use
"I seriously cannot live using mens products"
"Yeah, we need to pick up some stuff anyway, may as-well buy you some new things as you had to leave yours behind" I smile at Tom and he smiles back, he still looks frustrated though, but I don't think its anger towards me this time.
Gustav is splashing around trying to swim and every time Tom got a drop of the chlorinated water on his face he grew more angry.
I worry about what might happen
"Bill, I think its time you and Georg take Gustav to bed, Tom looks pretty mad" I whisper while Georg tries to get Gustav under control. Bill nods and gets out before yanking Gustav up by his shirt and dragging him back to the house.

Now its just me and Tom
"Im sorry I got mad." He says
"What? Didn't wana admit that in front of the others huh?" I say with a smirk on my face
"No, I just thought you'd appreciate it more if I said it in private."
"Right, Right, that makes a lot of sense" I say in a sarcastic tone
"You seriously have an attitude problem. You know that right."
"Oh no I didn't actually" I roll my eyes, expecting a reply. But instead he moves to the seat next to me and leans into my ear
"Talk to me with respect."  he whispers. He's just how I remember him
"Oh so you wana talk about respect?" Im about to go off on him but instead he cuts me off
"I mean it. Talk to me with respect." he brushes my hair over my shoulder and kisses my collarbone, I tremble at his touch.
"Mhm. Whatever" I say still trying to get in his head
"You gonna be a good girl?"
"Hmm, not sure. I haven't decided yet"
"Thats not an answer, love." His voice gives me butterflies
"Well, Im gonna say no." I hope I don't regret that.