Tomorrow's Blues

25. Recklessness

I stumbled into the house, still in only my bra and pants, trying to be as quiet as possible. That didn't really work. I walked into multiple things on my way into the kitchen, muttering curses under my breath. I rifled around the cupboards, probably rather loudly, grabbing various food. The Moore house always had an abundance of snacks.

"Lily?"

I dropped everything in shock and swore. I turned and in the process, whacked my hand on the counter. "Ow! Shit!"

Joseph was standing in the kitchen, arms crossed, an amused look on his face. He was also shirtless. Then I saw his eyes run down my body before snapping back up to my face. "Lily, what are you doing? Why are you..." he gestured to my lack of clothing, then rubbed his jaw and looked away.

It took me a while to comprehend what he said. "Because..." I frowned to myself. "Because I am very. Drunk." My sentence was a little disjointed, my words struggling to come out.

"I can see that." His mouth twitched. "You should probably put on some clothes, though."

I shook my head slowly, pouting. "I don't think so." I attempted to move towards him gracefully, but nearly fell over on my way. Joseph took hold of my arm to keep me upright. "Why? Do you find this..." I seductively – or so I thought – motioned to my body. "...distracting?"

Joseph's jaw was clenched, his hand still on my arm, but his touch was light. "No."

I laughed drunkenly. "Oh come on, Joseph, I thought... that we were being honest with each other, now?"

"Fine," he said quietly. "Your lack of clothes is... slightly distracting."

I smiled smugly. I mean, to be fair, my underwear was pretty cute – a matching red set, with some lace detail. And I'd been running and working out a fair amount, so I was pretty toned, if a little thinner than I used to be. "And I could say the same about you." Without thinking, I lifted a hand and placed it on his bare chest, running it down his toned stomach. I could feel his muscles tensing under my touch, and suddenly he grabbed my wrist, pulling my hand away.

"Lily," he said, his voice so low it was practically a growl.

I smiled slyly. Although it could have been more of a grimace – I didn't seem to have much control over my facial muscles at this point in time. "Come on, Joseph. I know you like me."

He didn't answer, but his eyes were dark and intense. Drunk me always tended to be a lot bolder than sober me, so I went on tiptoes and pressed a kiss to his cheek, dangerously close to his lips. "I think... that I make your heart race." To demonstrate my point, I pulled my wrist from his grasp and pressed my palm on his chest, over his heart. "I think... that I make you nervous."

A choked laugh escaped Joseph's mouth. "I'm not a nervous person, Lily."

"Maybe not usually." My hand trailed up his chest to his face, gently touching the side of his face. "But I'm special. And I definitely have that effect on you." The words were just pouring out – it was like I didn't have a filter. I was also being very overconfident. My eyes flickered up to Joseph's.

All he said was, "how much have you had to drink?"

I frowned at him, pouting slightly as I dropped my hand. "Stop bossing me about. You're not my brother and we both know it."

Joseph chuckled slightly. "Trust me, I know. I just want to know the probability of you throwing up."

I scrunched my face up. "Mm... like a solid, ninety-two percent. Maybe ninety-three. I'm not too sure." The world span around me slightly. "Why – stop spinning."