Chapter 4

Barry wanted to have fun, all right- and while it wasn't yet the kind Lindsay had ultimately been hoping for, it didn't matter- she was still having a great time.

Barry had always been a smartass and a bit of a prankster, and his eyes twinkled when he suggested to Lindsay a few ridiculous ways that the two of them could mess with the other partygoers. He rationalized it to her by saying it wasn't as though they'd be making fun of the guests using a ventriloquist dummy like his brother did half a decade ago. Neal had sounded almost deranged that night- but it was a minor footnote to an otherwise spectacular evening. Lindsay smiled at the memory, shrugged her shoulders, and said that whatever Barry was planning sounded fine with her.

First, Barry decided to go to Melvin Latz directly instead of waiting for the prying older gentleman's inevitable approach with nosy questions regarding his future. However, there was a twist- Barry's self-imposed challenge was to incorporate as many dentistry terms into the dialogue as he could think of, just to mess with him. Lindsay stood by his side as a counter and a witness and attempted not to burst out laughing as Barry rattled them off.

"Well, yes, I'd like to think that there was a cavity that was once in my soul," Barry began passionately in response to Dr. Latz's first question, which was indeed about the subspecialties of law Barry that was considering, "And that tort law has been filling it up." Barry managed to keep a serious expression though next to him Lindsay was unsuccessfully cracking up, forcing herself to cover her mouth and fake a cough instead. "It's been a great amalgam of civil and criminal law," he continued. "And while I know I'll have to brace myself for a lot of hard work, I plan to charge a high retainer."

Melvin Latz's expression was absolutely priceless- he had a look of utter confusion, though he was smiling at Barry at the same time in an attempt to cover it up and pretend like it was a normal interaction. Lindsay stifled more laughter and pretended to have a coughing fit, which prompted Barry to tug on Lindsay's shoulder and excuse them both, leaving the dentist befuddled and therefore temporarily unable to ask any more probing questions.

"How'd I do?" Barry asked as soon as they were out of earshot, his hand moving to Lindsay's back. It seemed like he couldn't tell if she was still coughing and had his hand ready in case, but it was now full-on laughter escaping Lindsay's lips. Barry's fingertips lingered a moment, which sent shivers down Lindsay's spine.

"Great," she replied, grinning. "I counted eight- three in the intro and five in the answer to his question, in-," she looked at her watch, "Thirty-five seconds."

"All right, not bad," he agreed. "Your turn. What are you going to do?"

Lindsay racked her brain to come up with something. After a few seconds, an idea occurred to her. If she hadn't already been slightly tipsy, she would have immediately dismissed it, but as it stood, the drink and a half she had consumed had lowered her inhibitions just enough. "Okay, this next one is for your brother," she began. And kinda for me, I guess, she thought to herself, since it would be a huge ego boost, which is part of the reason that I came here. "I already told Neal hello once, looking like this," she gestured to her outfit as it currently was, "And I got a pretty good reaction- he tripped up the stairs looking at me. So let's say I say hi to him two more times and observe his response. For the first, I'll button this one," she gestured to the single unbuttoned button on her sweater, "And for the other," she clasped the edge of her sweater at the neckline just next to the second button, preparing to pull on it, "I'll un-b-"

"Wait," Barry protested, quickly shooting a hand out to clasp his fingers gently, yet firmly, around Lindsay's wrist, the wrist that was just about to unbutton her shirt even further. A bit alarmed, Lindsay made eye contact with him, but in doing so she paused, and as soon as Barry realized that she wasn't going to move forward with her idea he gradually loosened his grip. "I'm sorry. But- don't do that," he said. "Look, I can tell you right now that there's no way my brother would be able to handle you showing any more of your chest," he explained. "And besides, um-," he was blushing now, "I don't want him seeing it anyway. So please don't?"

Well, now wasn't that interesting, Lindsay thought. While she normally might have left it at that, contemplating his objection in silence, the alcohol in the bloodstream supplying her normally over-analytical brain caused her to press further.

"Why not?" Lindsay asked him teasingly, giving him her sexiest pout. The last thing she wanted was to sound too accusatory. She hoped Barry didn't want her undressing a bit for Neal for the same reason that she was thinking. Say, it, Barry, Lindsay pleaded to herself, say 'I only want you to unbutton your sweater for me, Lindsay'.

"Why don't you think?" Barry countered softly instead, raising an eyebrow and turning the question back around on her for the moment. He was good.

Now, what to say in response? Lindsay wondered if maybe it was too early to push the issue. She was ready to get Barry somewhere private and start shedding her clothes for him immediately, but she was really hoping Barry would be the one to initiate it, which in her mind started with a flirtatious yet honest answer to her question, not a deflection.

Yet- Lindsay wondered how much their history and age difference might have been a factor in Barry's response. Perhaps she needed to give Barry a not-so subtle reminder that she was twenty-two, not seventeen like the last time they had kissed.

Lindsay eventually just shrugged. "Don't know," she replied, adding teasingly, "Maybe you're trying to protect your naïve and innocent younger brother from an older and more experienced woman." Barry good-naturedly snorted at that one, though Lindsay couldn't tell if his reaction was to the fact that she referred to herself as older and more experienced or Neal as naïve and innocent.

Lindsay suddenly decided, in her now slightly less inhibited-than-normal state, that this was the perfect time to go for it. Someone needed to get the ball rolling. "Or maybe-" she added, giving Barry a classic 'come here' motion with her finger. Barry leaned in, cocking his head so that his ear was inches from her lips. Dropping her voice to a whisper, grabbing the collar of his shirt, Lindsay added, "Or maybe you're just hoping for your own private show later." With that, she winked at him and gave him a coy little smile. Her smile grew wider when she caught the expression on Barry's face when she pulled back- dumbfounded with distinct red spots forming on his cheeks. He had definitely gotten the hint. Looking completely flustered, Barry changed the subject and told her, stumbling over his words and stuttering, that he had to go to the bathroom and would be right back. Lindsay wasn't insulted. Barry still looked entirely too shocked to respond to her appropriately.

Good, she thought to herself. Let him think about it for a little bit. She was amazed at how much she had managed to throw him off-guard, how much her little come-on had affected him. His reaction, though not a 'yes, let's go somewhere alone so you can do it now', was still pretty awesome. It made her feel powerful.

But when Barry returned a short while later, he appeared to have gotten himself together a little bit, and instead asked Lindsay nervously if she was ready to continue their game of 'let's see who can one-up the other in messing with the minds of these boring old people'. Lindsay was a little disappointed but tried to shrug it off as they carried out some more of Barry's hilarious schemes.

Lindsay observed as Barry struck up a conversation with one of his mother's friends from their Temple. Mrs. Blumenkrantz's adoration of Barry quickly turned to shock and disdain the moment he nonchalantly popped a bacon-wrapped scallop into his mouth. Lindsay had to hold back her laughter because Barry had predicted just moments before precisely the look that Mrs. Blumenkrantz would give him. Lindsay then gave her parents a subtle sobriety test, asking them some standard questions (Are you guys having fun tonight? Are you enjoying the champagne?) before Barry jumped into the conversation with the ultimate prognosticator of Harold Weir's blood alcohol level- a dentist joke ("At what time of day do most people go to the dentist?" Barry asked them with a grin, before delivering the punchline, "Tooth-hurty"). Based on how much her mom slurred her speech when she responded to Lindsay's questions and how much her dad laughed at Barry's joke, Lindsay realized that her parents, while hilarious, were failing their sobriety test miserably- so she needed to make sure Sam was limiting his drinking since he was now the de facto designated driver. A quick glance in Sam's direction was all it took- Sam made eye contact with her and exasperatedly rolled his eyes towards their parents. He was drinking a Coke and was obviously stone-cold sober, though not at all happy about it.

Just when Lindsay started to worry that Barry would never get his fill of entertainment at the other guests' expense, Barry asked her if she wanted to talk as he gestured to a quieter corner of the living room (away from the kitchen this time) where the seats hadn't already been taken. Anxious to be in semi-privacy, Lindsay agreed right away. When Barry gently placed his hand on her lower back as he followed her, she shivered. But he only held it there a moment before pulling it away again.

They got settled, sitting next to one other on Barry's living room couch. In the last hour of playing tricks on guests at the party, it was easier to forget that she sort of came on to him, but now that they were a little bit isolated, she could feel that things had shifted, that there was more tension in the air. Barry looked distinctly uncomfortable. But Lindsay had finished her second vodka/cranberry and started a third and after two and a half drinks she was feeling perfect. She didn't know why Barry looked so awkward since her comment to him but she was determined to get to the bottom of it. She knew it wasn't that he didn't like what she said, but she couldn't figure out what else it could be.

When Barry started rambling about the law firm where he planned to work starting this summer, Lindsay was only half-listening. She just couldn't figure out his reaction to her 'private show' comment- so with alcohol on her side, she figured that maybe she needed to make her point a little more clearly, observe his reaction again. So she decided to do something else to get his attention. Inching closer to him, pretending to be intent on what he was saying, she tentatively put her hand on Barry's thigh.

Barry stopped midsentence and immediately shifted slightly, looking more uncomfortable than ever. His breathing got noticeably heavier and it was several seconds before he spoke again. His voice came out in a tense whisper. "Lindsay, you are making it really hard for me here," he said eventually.

For a second, she thought Barry was talking dirty to her and she clasped her hand over her mouth- but then she quickly realized that wasn't it at all. She coughed instead to cover up her initial shocked hand-slap, and then after a moment, asked, "Hard for you how?"

Barry cleared his throat before looking her in the eye. "Hard to be a good guy," he said matter-of-factly. "Look, I keep thinking about the last party my parents had where we were both single, where we kissed. As soon as I saw you tonight, I knew I wanted it to happen again. But then-" Barry fidgeted, looked down again, putting his hand on top of hers, clasping her fingers underneath his, "then- you told me everything that you've been through this week. And- it's not right, you know? You're miserable, and drinking. I shouldn't take advantage of that- I shouldn't take advantage of you," he admonished himself, shaking his head which was still bowed in shame. "But then when you say stuff- or- or touch me like that, I-,"at a loss for words, Barry simply lifted Lindsay's hand with his and put it back onto her leg before pulling his own hand away.

Aahhh. Now it made sense, Lindsay thought. This was easy to clarify. "Look at me," Lindsay said sternly. He didn't budge, so she repeated herself. "Barry, look at me."

Barry obliged and met her eyes. He looked- almost scared.

Lindsay softened. "I'm all grown up now," she said quietly. "Don't I look grown up?"

Barry looked her up and down, appraising her for a few moments before finally giving her a half-grin. "Yeah. You look grown-up."

"And since I'm grown up, I can make my own decisions. And one of the decisions I made was to come to this party tonight. Do you know why?" Barry shook his head and shrugged in response.

She continued. "Well, to be honest, after one of the worst weeks of my life, I wanted to come here because I knew if I could see you I would feel better. My ego took a real hit this week- and, I dunno, for some reason when I'm with you, you just always make me feel- ," she hesitated, shrugging her shoulders, before continuing with a barrage of words, "Good. Pretty. Even- hot. And, um, sexy. And I um- I really needed that tonight. More than you'll know."

A look of understanding washed over Barry. It had a noticeable effect on him- his shoulders and mouth visibly relaxed, the tense look vanished from his face. And suddenly- the awkwardness and nervousness just seemed to melt away from him. And what was left- was heat. The look that was suddenly in Barry's eyes was scorching.

This time, Barry gave her the come-hither motion with his pointer finger. She leaned closer and she could feel his hot breath in her ear when he whispered, "Lindsay, that's because you are pretty. Beautiful, actually. And you're so much more than that- brilliant, driven, funny. And smokin' hot. And very, very, sexy. And if that ex of yours can't see it, then he's a fucking idiot. But I can see it. I can see you. And I love what I see." After a few moments, he added softly, "So, you wanna get out of here? Want to go for a walk?"

The words were music to Lindsay's ears. The first part was exactly what she needed to hear- she knew she was beaming and grinning like an idiot. And yet the second part made her heart flutter and made her dizzy, nervous with anticipation. Based on what happened between them five years ago, she knew precisely what Barry was really asking. If he could get her alone.

She nodded and grinned. "Yeah, okay."