He shrugged, a little confused but satisfied with her explanation, "Sure, c'mon in and make yourself at home. I might start a game if you want to play, I have an extra controller. Otherwise, make yourself at home." He opened the door further for her and motioned for her to come inside, trying not to focus on just how good that dress looked on her. Thomas closed the door once she came in and disappeared to his room for a moment as he grabbed a shirt and pulled it on. He could at least be polite and not walk around without a shirt. Once it was on he came back out though and sat down on the couch once more.
She slipped inside, smiling sweetly at him as she passed. When he returned, Essie was already on the couch, spinning her engagement ring around her finger as she watched it almost blankly. She glanced up, eyes brightening slightly as she 'returned to earth', pulling her bottom lip between her teeth.
Why was she almost disappointed at the sight of him wearing a shirt?
It's because this might all work better if he's already half naked. Sure. Right. Though, she really couldn't deny that he was good looking….
"Do you have any wine?" She asked, smiling up at him. Her multicolored eyes sparkled slightly, and one could probably attribute that brightness to the alcohol.
"I think I do," Thomas replied, really not wanting to get up once again but doing so anyway. He always had multiple forms of alcohol in his fridge, and most likely wine. The thing he didn't have was fancy glasses for the wine, meaning he came back with two whiskey glasses full of deep red wine. "Hope this works." As he handed her the wine, he caught himself checking her out once again and forced himself to look away. Damn it was hard though, even as he scolded himself over and over again.
Essie was Lukas' fiancee, not some girl he should be checking out.
Once she had her glass, he sat down to keep his eyes to himself and took a sip of his own wine. "So what happened between you two? How bad was this disagreement?"
Essie thanked him, taking a decent sized drink of the wine. "It works just fine." When he asked what had happened, she stilled, eyes dropping to her cup as she carefully swirled the wine, pulling her legs up onto the couch with her. "It was….not small, for sure. I'm not sure where it leaves us, though." She said, carefully dodging the question about what, and instead focusing on the 'what now'. She wasn't going to marry Lukas, obviously. In fact, she had left before he could even come up with an excuse, not even willing to listen to anything he had to say. That was one more heartbreak on the list, and Essie wasn't stupid. She wasn't putting up with that ass anymore. "I don't want to talk about that, though. You aren't out doing anything tonight? That's a bit surprising."
Thomas laughed and shook his head, still sipping at his wine, "Nope, nothing going on, don't usually have a lot going on. What about you? You're dressed like you were going to go out somewhere." Essie didn't seem like the type of girl to wear dresses around casually, at least in Tom's opinion. Especially that nice of a dress. It made him wonder even more about just how bad they had fought if they hadn't even tried to talk it out at least on the way to wherever they were going. He didn't even notice as he continued drinking away, even as his original plan was to only drink some to seem polite.
"I decided to go out." There was something about the way she said that that made it not quite clear whether or not she was lying. In actuality, she had had plans to go out tonight, with Lukas, of course. He didn't really let her go anywhere without him. But after what she'd seen, she decided a bar suited what she needed better than a fancy restaurant. And she was right, since it was the bar that reminded her of what her mother had said to her years ago. Admittedly, likely in a joking way. But oh well. She was here now.
And a De Vos never quit, that was for sure. Essie drank the rest of her wine maybe a bit too quickly, turning to face Thomas. She rested her arm on the back of the couch, eyes flickering over his form, looking him over, before finally finding his face again. "Realized that was a mistake, and decided that since you and I don't know each other as well as we could…" She shifted a bit closer to him, the corner of her mouth tilting up into a small and sly smile. "I figured we could change that."
He nodded as he finished his wine down to the last few sips, her explanation once again good enough for him. The fact that she still came her without Lukas though still made him curious, something he forgot about as he watched Essie finish the rest of her wine and turn to him. Thomas watched her eyes as they flicked over his body and he suddenly felt the conversation change a little. Either way, he drank the last of his wine though and shook his empty glass. "Want any more?" He asked, "Before we continue this conversation about getting to know each other better?" It was his last idea to keep himself from focusing too intently and letting his eyes flick over Essie, even if it meant his mind got a little fuzzier than it probably should be.
"I'm always down for another glass of wine." She said with a soft laugh, the shaking of her shoulders causing a few pieces of hair to fall into her face. She didn't bother moving them, just smiled up at him. "I can go get it this time, if you don't want to get up." Essie offered, her hand shifting. It just nearly touched him, brushing against his shoulder briefly before resting so close she could feel the warmth from his body. Somehow, the more she drank, the more she found herself looking at him. That jaw could cut glass…
"Thanks for the offer, I'll go get it though," He said, smiling at her and reaching over for a brief moment. Thomas was just going to grab the glass, but found himself brushing some of the stray hairs out of her face gently. There was no explanation for what he just did, and he grabbed her glass before standing again to bring the focus off of what just happened. "Be right back." It didn't take long for him to grab his glass as well and fill them up again with wine, bring them back relatively fast and sitting back on the couch a few fractions closer to Essie.
The action surprised her, that much was obvious, and Essie was left sitting on the couch, blinking a few times. He was so gentle when doing that. She wasn't even ware that someone could have a touch that gentle. It took her a few moments to shake off the strange flutter in her heart, but she managed before he returned.
Essie didn't miss the way Thomas sat closer than he had been when he'd gotten up, and she found a smile tugging at her lips as she accepted her glass, scooting a tiny bit closer to him herself as she took a drink. Then another. Then another. Each time she took a drink, she got a bit closer, until she was nearly in his lap, leaned forward so that the front of her shoulder almost brushed his. "You want to know a secret?" She asked, leaning in closer.
Thomas watched with an unreadable smile as she scooted closer, not taking as much time to savor this glass and instead finishing it by the time she was almost sitting on his lap. "I like secrets, tell away," He replied, the smile staying on his face as he watched her somehow lean closer. There was no denying that he may have leaned in slightly as well, but he continued to scold himself as he thought about even just making out with Essie. She was his best friend's fiancee.
Not anymore. But he didn't know that.
With her shoulder now pressed to his, Essie shifted so that she was stage whispering near his ear, lips maybe closer to his jaw than his actual ear. "I think…" She said, her hand finding his chest and trailing lightly along. "That I want you to kiss me." There. There was that. And now, she would just have to make her way from there. Something told her he wouldn't be too opposed to kissing her though, not with the way he was looking at her. Even if Lukas was his best friend.
"You want me to kiss you?" He asked slowly, his voice becoming slightly deeper. At this point it was becoming a struggle to keep himself in check, the wine making his thinking a little fuzzy and both her hand on his chest and her lips so close to his jaw making it even more difficult. Thomas found himself moving his head so that their lips were much closer than before as he groaned, "Essie..Shit…I..Lukas would kill me, I shouldn't kiss you." Stopping himself at this point was a victory of its own, even as his hand reached up and gently ran along the length of her arm from her shoulder to fingertips.
"I do. I want you to kiss me." Her eyes flickered down to his lips, and she shuddered slightly at the feeling of his hand on her arm. And God, that voice. "He won't find out. Nobody but us has to know what happens here." She murmured, shifting even closer. Now there really was nowhere to go but his lap, so that's what she did. Moved to sit on his lap, still trailing her hand long his chest. "Please?"
"Essie…he's gonna find out..then we're both screwed.." He said in the same deep and thick voice as before. He had really been trying to fight what he wanted as she talked and tried to get him to give in, when she saw on his lap though; that was his breaking point. Fine. One little kiss. Thomas was fairly certain what he told himself was a lie though as he moved until he was sitting normally on his couch, almost hoping she would take it as permission to move until she was straddling him. His eyes flicked to her lips and he cursed internally before closing his eyes and brushing his lips against hers.
She did. In no time, she was straddling his lap, hand pausing so that she could grip the front of his shirt. Of course she was banking on Lukas finding out eventually. Though, for some reason, she found that thought further and further from her mind as she leaned in, pressing her lips to his gently at first. Like she was wary. Not a few seconds into the kiss had her tilting her head, deepening the kiss as she pressed into it.
Thomas snaked an arm around her side, resting it on her lower back as he gave in and kissed her roughly. He could hear Lukas yelling at him already, but he forgot about it just as quickly as the thought came. It was only a kiss, though one that seemed like both of them were willing to take a little further even if it was a bad idea. This kiss had already gone on for longer than he planned it too, but he didn't stop as he ran his other hand up her arm and rested it on her shoulder.
((when should we hop this over to pms?))
Essie's hand, the one that wasn't gripping the front of Tom's shirt, came up, trailing along his jaw before threading her fingers into his hair. She shifted on his lap, pressing herself flush against him as she released his shirt. Instead, her arm snaked around his neck, holding him close as she kissed him. God. Lukas had never kissed her like this. Thomas kissed her like he wanted her, leaving her addicted to that feeling. To this. Reluctantly, she broke the kiss to breathe, eyes still closed and cheeks now flushed as her lips brushed his with every breath. "I don't want to stop."
(Probs soon, I'll post my part quick and then we can bring it over there if you want to)
His voice was unusually deep and had an edge that showed how much he wanted to continue, "This is a stupid idea to keep kissing you..but good lord I want to so bad." Her soft lips brushed his with every word and it just made it harder to not claim her lips with his as he started to rub circles on her lower back with his thumb. Thomas could feel her chest pressed against him and just the sheer amount of contact made him start to kiss Essie again, this time not staying confined to her lips as he kissed a trail down to her jaw and then her neck.
Essie hadn't seen Tom for weeks. That had been her plan, of course, so everything was going right. She needed to focus on herself, having already given that much attention to revenge. Now, she was focusing on her career, wedding planning. And with that, finding a date for her best friend's wedding.
Every wedding she had ever planned, she'd been invited to. Her clients loved her, and she considered it sort of a duty, watching the thing she'd put so much effort into unfurl into something beautiful. Having her there was good in case of hiccups, and her clients knew that. They also may have just liked her in general, but she had a hard time admitting that.
It was too bad Lukas had always fought against her going to them. He didn't like that he wasn't invited, that there were men there that might 'steal her away'.
Now, though, his opinions didn't matter. She was finally free. Free, and shopping for a bridesmaid dress with her best friend, Tori, in a wedding-apparel shop. Somehow, she'd never seen the guest list. Maybe if she had, she would have noticed that one of her friends had Tom down as a plus one. Maybe she'd have been more careful out and about. But it was too late for that.
Essie had been on Tom's mind for weeks. He had one of the best nights of his life with her and then she just..disappeared. Lukas had called him only two days after they had slept together, drunk and telling him all about how he had hooked up with Essie's sister and she had caught them. It didn't take him three seconds to put two and two together and soon he knew he was the revenge rebound. As much as he was pissed at her for that, he didn't say anything to his best friend.
Now weeks had gone by and yet he still found himself thinking about her, even as a girl he had been talking to invited him to be her plus one to a wedding she was going to. Tom wasn't really the type to do weddings, but she had begged him, and so here he was, walking into a wedding apparel shop to try on a tux. If he had the choice, he would have probably just stuck with a nice pair of pants and a button-down shirt, but he had been strictly told to go for a suit. And so he complied.
He hadn't expected to see anyone he knew at the shop, and so even as he walked in, he didn't notice Essie right away.
Essie didn't notice Tom at first, too busy arguing with Tori over the colors of the dresses Tori had been suggesting to her. Despite having near everything chosen and planned out, her friend still hadn't decided on a color for bridesmaid dresses, telling Essie she 'would go with whatever you choose'.
"You have a color scheme, Tor. You can't just randomly decide on a color that doesn't fit. Well, you could, but with how important the aesthetic of your wedding is to you, it's a no." Essie told her, flipping through dresses on racks. She pulled out a couple different ones, slipping into a dressing room as they continued to talk. "It's fall, and we already picked a fall palette. So, we're picking from fall colors. Oranges, reds, browns. Though, I recommend something everyone's going to feel good wearing. Otherwise, you're going to end up with photos featuring women who look like they'd rather be anywhere else. And that's not good for the photos, or them."
Stepping back out wearing a burnt orange dress, she arched an eyebrow. Tori, a woman with dark brown hair and a curvy physique, nodded. "That makes sense. Still, though. I have no clue what to pick. All I know right now is that burnt orange doesn't look good on like, anyo-hey, Essie, isn't that the bastard's best friend?"
"Hi, I'm here for getting a tux fitted?" Tom said, making his way up to a counter and leaning against it as the employee he was talking to nodded.
"I'll be with you in about ten minutes if that works? I'm finishing up with another client at the moment." The employee replied, tapping something into one of the computers before motioning around the shop, "Feel free to look around as you wait."
Thomas nodded, taking the employee's advice and starting to wander around the store. He still didn't realize Essie was here, or at least until he heard her voice coming from the directions of the dressing rooms. Most likely, he told himself, it would be some random girl who sounded like her, but he decided it wouldn't hurt to check as he wandered over in that direction and pretended to be looking at some of the different dress and suit combinations on display nearby. Slowly he glanced over, seeing Essie in a burnt orange dress as well as a dark-haired woman he didn't know sitting nearby.
As soon as Tori said something, Essie's demeanor changed, her face closing off just enough to be noticeable as she turned back into the dressing room. "Who? You mean Tom? I don't see him. Can you not think of any more colors?" She was changing the subject, and badly. But there was something about the way she did it that made Tori pause, brow furrowed as she looked over at Tom, who'd moved closer.
"Hm…what about a more yellow? That could be a pretty good one, honestly." Tori said, as her friend stepped out in the clothes she'd worn there. A cropped tank top with a floral design, and black shorts. Both things that Lukas hadn't liked her wearing too much.
Tori's color suggestion, of course, was based entirely on the fact that Tom was near where the yellow dresses had been sorted into a space. Whatever she picked up from her friend, it as going to be dealt with through forced interaction. Essie sighed, nodding as she made her way over to the dresses her friend pointed out. Still ignoring Tom hard enough that she had her head bowed a bit too low to be looking at the dresses.
Just her luck, though. Because that brought her to bumping into him suddenly, as they both moved in the same direction.
It was hard not to overhear their conversations as Tom continued to browse, the look on his face a perfect replica of someone who was just shopping and didn't know anyone. He ran his hand over a soft yellow dress, perking up ever so slightly when he heard Essie's friend suggest yellow. She seemed to be wanting them to run into each other, or at least acknowledge the other's presence. He could easily do that. So as his best friend's former fiancee rounded the rack, he made a strategic move and 'accidentally' move where she was about to, making them bump into each other enough to stop for a moment.
"Sorry, my fault," Tom started, very well aware of exactly who it was even as he pretended not to until he glanced up at her and a tiny smile flashed on his face, "Essie, nice seeing you again. Got tired of trying to ignore me?"
Essie had let out a small squeak as she'd run into Tom, her cheeks flushing a pink that grew deeper as he spoke to her. All of her attempts at avoiding him, foiled by her best friend. Oh, was she going to get back at Tori for this.
"Ignore you? Is there a particular way I'm supposed to act with my ex-fiance's best friend otherwise?" She asked, straightening her back and crossing her arms. Even visibly embarrassed, she met his eyes, far from willing to back down in the face of someone else's mockery. "The point of a breakup is to leave behind the person you left behind, including the people surrounding them. My apologies, for not actively seeking you out. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to work."
"Ah, good to know that showing up to my home looking for distraction wasn't actively seeking me out," He replied, somehow flashing a tiny smile, even if it was a more mocking than anything, "Good to know I wasn't anything more than that." Thomas watched Essie for a minute, then simply tapped the yellow dress he had been long at before. "Try this one, it looks like a good choice."
There was so much more that Tom wanted to say, but he kept his mouth shut, just watching his best friend's former fiancee. Nothing he would say would do him any good based on what she had already said about her opinion of him.
With a huff, she grabbed the dress he pointed out, then a shimmery looking gold dress off the rack near it. "It's a fall wedding. Not summer. This is a summer yellow." Despite Essie's words, she had to admit, it was a pretty looking dress. If it looked nice on her, she might just end up buying it anyway. There was always an occasion to wear a nice dress, even if it was just out grocery shopping.
"I was drunk. I was drunk, and had just found my fiance in bed with my little sister." She muttered, eyes lowered to the dresses in her arms as she spoke. "I don't regret it. But it's not going to happen again, and nothing else is going to come out of it. Have fun shopping, And…I'd go with a modern tailored cut. Stick to slim notch lapels if you can. And don't match with your date, it's weird. Wear a tie or bow in a color that enhances."
With that, she was gone, back to the dressing rooms. In any normal situation, that would have been the end of it, as she had every intention of spending as much time as possible in there, to clear her mind of the encounter. But Tori had other ideas. The brunette waved to Tom, then gestured for him to come sit with her, smiling invitingly.
"So I was just a way to get back at Lukas? Nice to know that I'm not worth regretting at least." His words were calm but held a hint of hurt if she had bothered to listen. As she turned away though, Tom knew she hadn't bothered to either reply or listen. Normally he would've just walked away when she had, taking her information and opinion with him, but as the brunette that was with Essie waved him over, he decided staying couldn't hurt. He smiled back at the girl, walking over and taking a seat near her. "So, I take it you're a friend of Essie's? What's your name?"
"Call me Tori." Tori said, holding out a bag of some sort of dried fruit. "Saladito? They're dried apricots. My current obsession, for whatever reason." Looking back at the dressing room door, she shook her head, a fond but exasperated smile on her face. "You're Tom, aren't you? It was her mother, who told her to sleep with a guy's best friend when he broke her heart. I hope you know she never actually thought she'd do it." Settling into her seat, she made a face.
"Wedding planning is an absolute pain in the ass. Are you married? If you ever do get married, I'm warning you now, it's hell to get to the actual wedding. So much about stationary and food. Though, I don't mind the food bit. Anyway, I've never actually gotten to meet you, so tell me a bit about yourself." She talked quickly, words falling from her mouth like she couldn't keep up with them, and was afraid she wouldn't get all her thoughts out.
