Chapter 7

Calm

The hot shower poured over Liz's body, melting her tension away. She knew she couldn't carry on ignoring Red. Especially in such close quarters. His proximity was suffocating. This had to stop. She was just going to have to play nice with him. Being mad at him made him more moody and if she was going to be stuck with him for a while, she would just have to learn to get along. She made a mental note how soft talking him earlier had changed his mood from angry to calm. Maybe she had more control then she thought? After all, he was a just like any other man deep down. Maybe being soft and needy and making him feel in control was the way for her to gain back some control? The constant pushing back at him wasn't working, so she would try giving in and receiving instead.

Liz turned off the shower and toweled herself off. She picked out a soft pair of jogging pants and a t-shirt and slipped them on after her panties and bra. The bathroom was small with very little air circulation. She didn't want to open the door but knew she needed to to defog the mirror. She cracked the door a little to let some of the steam out. She could hear Red and Dembe speaking but couldn't make out what they were saying. After the room cleared out, she wiped the mirror off and started to comb through her hair dark brown hair.

Stepping out into the other room once she was finished, Liz looked over at Red. He had moved over to the couch and was talking to Dembe about some house. Hopefully this meant that they were leaving the cabin. She didn't know how many more nights she could stand sleeping on that bumpy couch. Every time she moved at night she could feel the springs stabbing beneath her. She was almost willing to sleep next to Red in that bed, if she hadn't of been so mad at him. She still didn't understand why he hadn't offered to take the couch instead of her. It would of been the gentlemanly thing to do. It was almost like he was playing chicken with her. Seeing if she would give in and sleep next to him.

She still remembered waking up on the jet laying next to him, her upper thigh pressed intimately between his legs. She blushed as she remembered him groan deep in his chest as she had rocked against him. Not comprehending in her sleepy state that it was his hard length she was pressed against. She had sat up rather quickly and tried to act like she hadn't noticed he had a hard-on.

"Lizzy?" Red's voice cut through her memory. "Are you ready?"

Liz looked at Red and noticed he had risen and was slipping on his jacket. Then he grabbed his glass of newly poured scotch and opened the door.

"Oh. Right. The walk." Liz sat down and slipped on her shoes and then walked over to the door where Red was waiting patiently.

Outside the sun was setting a beautiful shade of pink. The April air was cool and crisp. "Let's go this way." Red put a hand to the small of her back , lightly guiding her off the porch. "I want to walk by the pond. There is a bench over there we can sit on as well. "

"How do you find all these safe houses? Who owns them?" Liz asked, making small talk to break the tension.

"They come from everywhere; business associates, people I have killed, friends of friends of friends... I never stay one place for too long. We are leaving tomorrow morning. Dembe has secured us something in Ibiza, something far better then this. "

"Good. I want to set fire to that God awful couch. "

Red turned to look at Liz then. "You don't have to sleep there Liz. The bed is big enough for the both of us. "

"Then why is Dembe sleeping on the floor?" Liz joked.

"I don't sleep with men Lizzie." Red stated .

"But the bed is big enough for two people." Liz said, feeling more relaxed now.

"You can sleep on the spring infested couch or you can sleep with me. Your choice. I will stay on my side of the bed and wont touch you. " Red said seriously.

So much for trying to lighten the mood. Why was he so moody lately, Liz wondered to herself? "No thanks. It's just one more night anyways."

Liz and Red walked along the dirt path and came up to the pond . The water was glistening and reflecting the now darker sky. The stars were starting to become more visible. They walked along the water's edge for a while and then came upon the metal bench Red had mentioned earlier. They both sat down and silently looked out at the water in front of them. Red sipping on his scotch.

Liz decided to be the first to break the silence. "So there isn't any word on Tom?"

Red didn't turn to her, just kept his staring out at the water. "No."

"Are there any clues to where he might of went?"

Red shock his head. Reaching over , he took Liz's hand in his and lightly stroked her palm. "Let's not talk about Tom. When we do, we fight. Right now I want to relax. "

Liz looked over at Red and saw his calm demeanor. Wishing she had brought a scotch with her as well to calm herself. Noticing Red was resting his glass on the opposite leg from her, Liz slipped her hand out of Red's fingers and reached over and circled her hand around it. Her fingers lightly brushing his.

"Can I have a drink?" Liz asked.

Red let her take the glass and watched as she took a big drink. He smiled when he saw her eyes squeeze shut at the strong taste burning down her throat. He thought she would give him the glass back but instead she continued taking more sips, smaller ones this time.

"Sorry I don't have anything less strong. I love the taste of scotch. "

"It's OK. I'm getting used to it. " Liz said. She felt the scotch start to warm her belly and she liked the feeling. It helped calm her nerves. "Can I have the rest of it?"

"Yes. I think I had enough anyways." Red said, as he slid a little closer to Liz on the bench. "It's getting a little chilly. Are you OK? "

Liz looked out at the water and knew that she didn't want to go back to that dirty cabin so soon. "I'm fine. The scotch is warming me up."

Red slipped his arm around her shoulders and drew her closer to him. He was glad that she didn't flinch out of his grasp this time. Instead, she leaned her head back to rest on the arm stretched over her shoulders. He wondered why she was being nice to him all of a sudden but he wasn't going to ask. He didn't want to jinx it. Her sitting there with him felt like an unspoken truce.

After what felt like an hour, Red looked down at Liz and noticed her eyes were closed. He could tell she wasn't sleeping, just very relaxed. She had a slight smile on her lips and he noticed she had drank the last of the scotch.

"This feels so good Red. I could almost just fall asleep right here. I haven't slept a good night's sleep in a long time."

"We will fix that tonight. You're sleeping in the bed with me. There's no sense in sleeping on that old couch when there is plenty of room next to me."

"What happens when I scoot next to you and sleep on you like I did on the jet? Liz asked softly. Her eyes still closed.

Red began to lightly stroke down her arm with the hand that was around her shoulders. "Is that why you've been avoiding me? Because of what happened on the jet? There is nothing wrong with cuddling, Lizzie. I will be the perfect gentleman. You don't have to worry. I'm not going to do anything you don't want me to do. "

"I didn't know I was sleeping that way. That close. You should of moved me over. It was too intimate."

"I liked it." Red stated. "Like I said , there isn't anything wrong with cuddling. You didn't want to be alone and I like holding you. "

"But it turned you on." There. Liz blurted out what she was trying to sidestep. " I didn't want to lead you on. I don't want to be intimate . I just wanted to cuddle. "

Red stopped stroking Liz's arm and instead cupped her chin with his other free hand. He then turned her chin up to have her look into his eyes. "That was an involuntary reaction Lizzie. Any man not related to you would of been turned on. Just because I got hard doesn't mean I'm going to do anything about it. So don't worry about leading me on. I'm a big boy, I can take care of myself."

With that Red got up from the bench and turned around and held out his hand. "As much as I love it out here talking with you, we need to get back. It's getting cold and late, and I need a shower before bed. " Liz placed her hand in his and he helped her up.

Slowly they walked back to the cabin with her hand still clutched in his. The whole time he kept thinking of her statement that she didn't want to be intimate. She didn't realize how much he liked a challenge.