Dressing Up

Chapter 4: The Drive Home

By the time Lizzie had all the make off removed, the rain had turned from a heavy downpour to steady drizzle. People were trickling out of the party and heading to their cars. Tom adjusted the radio and the haunting melody of Georgia by Ray Charles filled the awkward silence. Lizzie didn’t know what to say so she pretended to try to wipe off more non-existent marks from her face. She was too embarrassed to speak. She couldn't believe she had forgotten about the make up. It explained all the strange looks. He wasn't interested in her, he was probably just worried about her mental wellbeing.

Ugh, and who would be interested in someone who looked like that? With blood running down their face? She stifled a sigh and looked out the window.

Tom wiped at the condensation that was gradually getting blasted away by the AC. Chloe and Gaz came into the car, squealing and giggling. They slammed the door and then took in Lizzie’s presence with wide eyes. 

“Ohhhhhh.” Chloe said with excitement, “Are we interrupting?”

Gaz chuckled, “Nice one mate! Didn’t think you had it in you!”

Tom mouthed ‘Sorry’ to Lizzie and then turned to his friends in the back. He put on a jovial voice, as though he was speaking to toddlers, “Gaz, Chloe. You remember Lizzie? I told her we would give her a ride home. Right? Now let’s all be adults.”

Chloe giggled, “Oh consenting adults?”

Gaz burst out laughing, “Give her a ride.”

They collapsed into each other, laughing. Lizzie smirked but Tom shook his head, “Honestly, sorry Lizzie.” He started the car and turned onto the road.

Chloe sat up, “Ohhhh ohh the tree one. What is it?”

Gaz frowned and Chloe held out her finger in thought, “Oh I know, I know- Tom and Lizzie sitting in a tree, K -I- S- S- I- N- G.” She stopped singing, “You know, cause of the tree from the game?” She broke off into hysterics and Gaz chuckled next to her.

Tom shook his head and turned the radio louder, but Lizzie noticed he was smiling. Showed he had a good sense of humour at least. She looked out the window and tried to hide her smile too. Their teasing was cute, but it didn’t mean anything. Tom didn’t see her like that.

After a minute Tom turned down the music, "So where to?"

Lizzie sighed, it was a countdown already, how many minutes she had left with him. "Mount Eden." He nodded as he paused at a roundabout, "Cool. I'll drop these two off first- they're out west, and I'll head back through the city."

Guilt ate at Lizzie, "I hope it's not too far out of your way."

He shrugged, "Not at all. I'm in Northcote."

He turned the music back up and they drove for 20 minutes with the gentle drum of rain on the car roof. Chloe seemed to have fallen asleep and Gaz held her cuddled into his side. Lizzie watched as Tom drove carefully through the city. He didn’t lose his temper when he was cut off. Adam used to all the time. Tom just gave them a wave and drove on calmly.

She liked the playlist he had on his phone too. He gave her free reign, which also impressed her. In the whole time she had been with Adam, he had never handed his phone over to her. Adam had had his phone password protected and guarded it fiercely- always putting his phone away as she entered the room. In hindsight it all made sense, the sneaking around and cheating, but at the time she had just assumed he treasured his privacy. 

As Lizzie scrolled through Tom's music she mused that if she were to get a boyfriend again, she'd have to make sure they were like Tom. She gazed at Tom out of the corner of her eye. Without his coat, his body was on full display. His tight white singlet clung to him and his muscular arms flexed as he changed gears. Before she knew it they pulled up beside an apartment building in Te Atatu Peninsula.  Lizzie whispered her goodbyes to Gaz as he scooped up a snoring Chloe into his arms. Tom got out to open the foyer door for them and the boys fist bumped and spoke in hushed whispers. Lizzie looked off into the distance where there was a faint view of the sky tower peaking in between apartment blocks. A burst of fireworks lit up in the sky. She rolled down her window and stuck half her body out of the car. She angled her phone and attempted to take a photo before she remembered her phone was dead.

Tom got back into the car and glanced at her, "You alright?"

She nodded and slid back into the car, "Yeh sorry, I was just trying to get a photo of the sky tower. There were fireworks."

He started the car, "Oh cool. There's a boat ramp down the road. It's got a good view if you wanna try for a photo there?"

Lizzie nodded, "Sure, thanks, that'd be great." She didn’t know why she didn’t mention that her phone was dead. She chewed her cheek nervously. A normal person would have mentioned that, but then a normal person probably wouldn’t have accepted a ride home with a virtual stranger.

They turned the corner and sure enough there was a little lane, tucked away amongst the trees that went around a corner and then steeply down to the water's edge. There was a picnic area and a parking spot that looked out over the Waitemata Harbour. It was perfect. The rain seemed to have stopped so Lizzie stepped out of the car. The sky tower stood out brightly amongst the dark sky.  Lizzie felt like they were on their own private island, looking at the city across the water. Tom stood by the driver's door, quietly looking at the view. After a few minutes Lizzie smiled at him and got back into the car.

Just as they shut their doors a large burst of fireworks went off. Lizzie jumped with fright and grabbed Tom's arm, then laughed and she apologised. He smiled at her, and they both leaned forward to look out the windscreen. The sky lit up with enormous bursts of silver, pink, red and blue. Lizzie leaned back slightly and watched Tom out of the corner of her eye. He had a huge grin on his face and she couldn't help but match it. The moment was just so perfect. She felt warm and safe and didn't want the night to end.