It was midweek. To Lee and Lucy's annoyance Tim and Daisy had spent every evening so far in the flat. They'd tried to snatch moments alone here and there, and had almost been caught kissing a few times. This had made them increasingly paranoid, especially as both Tim and Daisy had made comments suggesting they were a bit suspicious.

Tonight, Lee and Lucy were sitting at opposite ends of the sofa, Tim and Daisy between them. This hadn't gone unnoticed,

"Have you two had an argument or something? Usually you're on top of each other on the sofa".

Damn it, perhaps they were trying too hard to put them off the scent. Tim turned to look at Lee and then Lucy, who had both gone red and were shifting awkwardly where they sat. Lee looked like he was trying to sink down into the sofa cushions.

"Errm", Lee opened his mouth as though to speak, but Tim spoke again before he had the chance,

"Go on Lee, surely there's some inappropriate remark you're dying to make about my sister being on top of you".

Lee was tempted to say 'well, she does prefer to be on top' but he thought better of it,

"No...actually there isn't. I wouldn't be so immature", Lee decided to make light of the slightly awkward turn of conversation. After all, that's what the Lee who didn't feel guilty about having a relationship with his best friend's sister behind his back would do.

"Since when? You're losing your touch".

"I don't know what you mean anyway, we don't always sit that close to each other".

"Yes you do, don't think I didn't notice Lucy leaning against your shoulder yesterday. You look far too comfortable. It's not normal for two people of the opposite sex to be that close, if they're not you know…romantically involved".

"Men and women can be close friends you know".

"Lee's right, Tim. Me and Lee are fairly close these days. You don't mind that do you?"

"No, but I don't think he's trying to get you into bed. Lucy on the other hand…".

"Don't be silly Tim. I haven't even got a bed at the moment". That part was true.

"Who wants another glass of wine?", Lucy wanted this conversation to end right now, before her cheeks turned purple and questions would be asked.

"I'll help you", Lee added, getting up and following Lucy into the kitchen, sliding the doors closed behind them.

…..

"I told you they were onto us", Lee whispered.

"They're not. They would have said something. Tim's just being…Tim. He's always been funny about how close we are".

"I suppose. We've got to tell the soon though. I can't keep this up much longer".

"We will…soon…then we can be as close as we want, even in front of Tim".

"Urgh! Don't be digusting. He's your brother".

"You know what I mean".

"Yeah", Lucy sighed as Lee placed his hand over hers, lightly stroking her skin. He wanted to kiss her, so much, but wasn't sure if he dared. The way she was looking at him, longingly, he could tell she was thinking the same thing. He inched close to her, unable to stop his eyes from focusing on her lips, then back to her eyes which he watched flutter closed.

Just as their lips were about to meet at last, they heard the kitchen doors slide open. They separating, lightning fast, and Lucy just caught the wine bottle which Lee had knocked as he turned away from her.

"Is this wine coming any time soon?". It was Daisy.

They breathed a sigh of relief, as it appeared that she hadn't seen them. There was no question though, this pretence was getting more and more difficult to maintain.

…..

Another glass of wine later, Lee and Lucy had both relaxed again after the near miss. So much so that Lee, a little worse for wear now, had an idea.

Lucy's phoned buzzed on the arm of the sofa next to her. She picked it up and saw there was a text message from Lee. She stared at him, confused and trying to read his expression. He looked…mischievous, that was the only way of describing it. She looked at Tim and Daisy, who were both so engrossed in the film they were watching that they had barely flinched when Lucy's phone had made a noise. Seeing that, she opened the text and read it,

'You're too far away'.

Lucy smiled shyly to herself, daring to look across at Lee who was pretending to still be watching the film. He was grinning though.

Shielding what she was doing, Lucy tapped her reply, then put her phone back next to her.

'I know. I'd rather be snuggled up with you'.

Lee's heart melted a bit when he read the text. He could not stop smiling. He composed another message.

'I miss holding your hand and stroking your hair when you lean against my chest'.

'I miss that too'.

'Soon J I love you xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx'

Lucy watched as Lucy looked at the message and beamed widely.

'I love you too. Infinite kisses x'

Tim suddenly looked up,

"You two are so anti-social, constantly on Facebook or Twitter or whatever it is that you're doing".

"Oh yeah, because the conversation's really alive here isn't it? You've not spoken for the past 15 minutes and Daisy's nearly asleep. I'd understand if we were out for a meal or something but why shouldn't we be on our phones in our own flat?".

"It's bad for you too, psychologically. And all those microwaves or whatever they are, they fry your brain you know".

"Alright Doctor Adams. An expert now are we?".

Tim felt a tinge of guilt. He really shouldn't be so rude, especially considering he was their guest. It was just…he'd noticed something. Something just didn't seem normal between Lee and Lucy. Something had changed but he wasn't ready to examine what that might be yet. Besides, he told himself he was probably imagining the slightly tense atmosphere that had hung over them since him and Daisy moved in to the flat.

"Sorry mate if I've been a bit moody recently. I'm just stressed at the moment, what with the flood and everything, sorry".

"That's alright, I understand."

"Look, how about we go to the pub on Saturday night? It's about time we had a proper catch up. I'll buy the drinks".

"Are you sure Daisy won't mind? She might have been hoping for a date".

"She won't mind, she's been saying her and Lucy are long overdue a girly night in without us boys. What do you say?".

Lee knew he couldn't really turn Tim down. They'd only had one pub night since Tim had come back from Germany, and Lee felt guilty for always choosing Lucy over his best friend. He looked at Lucy, seeking permission, and she nodded subtly.

"Okay, it's on".