Part 4

Three hours later Ephram finally finished telling his father the whole story. From the day he and Liv met, to the game of Truth or Dare (leaving out that it was a drinking game, of course). He told him about movie night, and the decision to live together. And finally about the decision to propose, and the wedding plans they had made so far. He even told his dad that Liv wanted to ask Delia to be a bridesmaid.

Andy sent Ephram to bed shortly after he finished his story. He had finally agreed they could sleep in the same room…mostly because he was too tired to argue. Of course, logically Andy knew he didn't really have a say in the situation. If they wanted to sleep together he really couldn't stop them. They would either sneak into the same room after he went to sleep, or just leave and go to a hotel.

The only reason Andy had protested in the first place was Delia. However, according to Ephram, he and Delia spoke fairly often, and Ephram said that he had explained to her that living with Olivia included sharing a room and a bed. Andy did however insist on one condition: they couldn't have sex while Delia was in the house. Ephram completely agreed; nobody wanted Delia to walk in on something she definitely shouldn't see.

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Andy suddenly opened his eyes, not sure what had woken him up. Then he realized it was the sound of someone opening kitchen cabinets. Sleepily he looked at the clock, and was surprised to discover it was only two o'clock in the morning. He had only been asleep for about an hour. After sending Ephram to bed he had sat up thinking, and although he still wasn't sure about them getting married, he had decided not to pass judgment until he had gotten to know Olivia, and spent some time with them together.

Finally awake now, he got out of bed and headed downstairs to see who else was awake. Andy entered the kitchen and wasn't surprised to see Olivia sitting at the kitchen table. She had changed clothes and was wearing a black v-neck t-shirt and black and white striped shorts; her hair was still pulled back into a braid. She had some sheet music in front of her, as well as a mug of tea, and she was singing softly. Ephram was right; she did have a beautiful voice.

Liv stopped singing and made some marks on the pages in front of her, then looked up as she turned the page, and jumped when she saw Dr. Brown standing in the doorway.

"I'm sorry, did I wake you?" Liv asked, feeling guilty.

"Not really," Andy answered shaking his head. He walked over to the stove and fixed himself a cup of tea before sitting across from his future daughter-in-law. "What are you doing?"

Liv smiled. "Learning. The school is putting on a production in August. I'm the female lead."

"What show?"

"Uh…sort of a tribute to Andrew Lloyd Webber. You know, Phantom of the Opera, Cats, Starlight Express…"

Andy nodded, and Liv was silent for a few minutes. "I'm sorry if we surprised you. Ephram wanted to tell you in person, not over the phone."

"Well, how did your parents take the news?" he asked.

Liv shrugged. "Actually, they were pretty happy for us. But then they think Ephram and I are a lot like them."

"How so?"

"Well, they met when they were 19, and they got married six months after they met," she explained. "They've been married for 26 years. In fact, they're happy that we'll be together longer than they were when we get married."

Liv started gathering up her sheet music. "Can I ask you a question?" Andy nodded, thinking. "What bothers you so much about us? Is it how long we've been together? Is it me?"

Andy took a deep breath and looked at his mug. "I guess…I feel like you're being a little impulsive," he finally answered.

Liv snorted and laughed. "Impulsive? Ephram? Ephram has to be one of the least impulsive people I know."

"I don't know about that. Ephram has done some pretty impulsive things."

"Like what?" she asked.

"Well, I think going to Europe was pretty impulsive. And everything he did after Madison told him about the baby," he replied.

Liv smiled and stood up, and finished gathering her papers. "Let me fill you in on a little secret about your son, Dr. Brown. He's not as impulsive as he appears. Ephram thinks things through, but he doesn't tell you he's thinking about it. The first time you hear about it is when he makes his decision, so it appears impulsive."

"Liv?"

Liv glanced at Ephram who was standing at the bottom of the stairs. He was rubbing his eyes like the light was bothering him.

"Come back to bed," he said sleepily.

"I'm coming," she replied, and looked back at Andy. "Goodnight, Dr. Brown."

"Goodnight Olivia," he responded as he thought about what she had said.

Liv stopped and turned to look at him again, and smiled. "Dr. Brown? Call me Liv. All my family and friends do." She turned and walked towards Ephram.

Andy watched as Ephram held out his hand to her. Liv took his hand and smiled as he took her books and papers and led her up the stairs. Andy leaned back in his seat and thought about what he had just seen. Even half asleep Ephram had looked at Liv like she was the only other person in the world…And she had looked at him the same way…Maybe things weren't as bad as he had thought…

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Ephram led Liv into his bedroom and set the books on the desk before sitting on the bed against the headboard. "I am impulsive occasionally, you know," he said teasingly.

Liv stood in front of the mirror and began unbraiding her hair. "You were listening? How long?"

Ephram shrugged. "A while."

Liv finished unbraiding her hair and sat on the edge of the bed. "So, tell me when you were impulsive," she teased.

"I thought kissing you was fairly impulsive," he answered. "So was sleeping with you."

"Ephram, we almost slept together twice before we actually slept together."

"Yeah," he said quietly, and then looked at her curiously. "Do you think we would've had sex that night, in the closet, if Maggie hadn't interrupted us?"

Liv sighed and turned so she was sitting on her feet. "I don't know. I…I don't think so. I think we would've stopped," she finally answered, although she wasn't really sure. Until Maggie had knocked they both had been completely oblivious to their surroundings. She hoped they would've stopped. A closet was not where she had wanted to make love to Ephram for the first time.

Ephram nodded. "What about later that night? At your apartment? If Amy hadn't called…"

Liv shook her head. "I don't think we would've stopped." Actually, she was positive they wouldn't have stopped. "But, I don't think it was very impulsive when we did sleep together."

"Yes, it was," Ephram insisted. "I had every intention of following through on that whole 'friend' thing."

Liv moved closer to him so their knees were touching. "So, what happened?" she asked quietly.

Ephram leaned forward and took her hands in his. "You smiled at me."

"What?"

"You smiled at me," he repeated. "I was sitting next to you, pretending to watch the movie, and I realized that I was the biggest idiot on the planet."

Liv laughed.

"I'm serious. I realized that I was completely in love with you, and I was a moron for thinking that being just friends was more important," he explained.

"How come you never told me this before?" she asked.

Ephram shook his head, confused. "I tell you I love you all the time."

Liv shook her head, too. "Not like that."

"Okay." Ephram shifted on the bed, tightened his hold on her hands, and gazed into her eyes. "Liv, I am completely and totally out of my mind in love with you…and when you smile at me, my only thought is that forever isn't going to be nearly long enough."

Liv gazed back at him with tears in her eyes. That was the most wonderful thing anyone had ever said to her. There were no words to describe how he made her feel. Speechless, she got up on her knees and moved so she was straddling him before leaning down and kissing him. Ephram reached up and rested his hands on her hips. Liv ran her tongue along his lips, and he opened his mouth granting her access. They gently explored each other's mouth. And although they had shared a million kisses, this one was different… It was deeper…it was…more… After a few minutes, Liv slowly pulled away, and Ephram's hands remained on her hips, not allowing her to move from his lap.

"Wow," Ephram whispered, stunned. After almost a year together that was by far the most amazing kiss they had ever shared.

"Yeah," Liv replied, trying to catch her breath.

Ephram gazed into her eyes and smiled. "I wish I had told you that a year ago."

Liv laughed and leaned down to kiss him again. Ephram deepened the kiss immediately and moved his hands from her hips, sliding them up her back under her shirt. Running his hands along her bare back, he slowly pushed her t-shirt higher, and then started to lift it over her head.

Liv pushed away from him. "Ephram, wait." She pushed his hands down. "We can't."

Ephram pulled her close again, raised his eyebrows, and smiled mischievously. "Sure we can."

"You promised your dad we wouldn't," she reminded him as she moved off his lap to lie down next to him.

Ephram groaned and lay down on his side next to her. He thought back to that conversation with his father, and desperately wished he hadn't made that agreement with him. Then he smiled again as something occurred to him. "Actually, we promised we wouldn't with Delia in the house. And she won't be home until tomorrow," he replied, and then leaned over to kiss her again.

Liv put a hand on his chest to stop him. Ephram reached up and took her hand in his. He brought their joined hands down to his waist before leaning over and placing light kisses on Liv's neck.

"You dad's room is right across the hall," she protested weakly as she released his hand and placed her hand on the back of his neck, pulling his closer.

"So, we'll be quiet," Ephram explained in between kisses. He moved from her neck to the skin that was exposed by her v-neck shirt, and ran his hands along her bare back again.

Liv moaned trying to remember why she was protesting as she reached down and pulled Ephram's shirt over his head. She gently ran her fingernails down his chest, causing him to moan. Ephram's mouth found hers again and he gently started pulling her shirt up. Suddenly, Liv came to her senses and realized what they were doing, and pushed Ephram away…and right off the bed.

"Ow! Damnit!" he exclaimed as he hit his elbow on the nightstand.

Liv gasped and put her hand over her mouth. She hadn't meant to push him so hard, and certainly hadn't meant to hurt him. "Oh! Sweetie, I'm sorry."

"What the hell did you do that for?" he asked angrily as he stood up.

"I didn't mean to."

Ephram rubbed his elbow. "That really hurt!"

Liv cringed. "I'm sorry." She gestured for him to sit on the bed. "I didn't mean to push you that hard." She took his arm and rubbed his elbow, as she looked at him. They were both silent for a few minutes, giving themselves time to calm down a little.

"So, what…" Ephram said, shaking his head. "We can't have sex until we get home?"

Liv shook her head, too. "I didn't say that. I just… Not when your dad and Delia are in the house. I don't particularly want an audience."

Ephram sighed and shook his in disbelief. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. How often did she think they were going to have the house to themselves? Most likely, they would have to wait until they got back to London.

"Oh, don't give me that look. It's not like a said we couldn't until after the wedding," she said frustrated.

Ephram narrowed his eyes. This conversation just kept getting worse.

Liv looked at Ephram, and saw the disbelief on his face. "Oh, be serious. I don't think I could hold out for that long any more than you could," she whispered loudly. She really didn't want his father to overhear them. For some reason, having Andy overhear them arguing about having sex seemed so much worse than him hearing them have sex.

Ephram stopped rubbing his elbow and looked at her. He couldn't believe this. Were they actually arguing about whether or not they could refrain from having sex? "What makes you think I couldn't keep my hands off you until after the wedding?" he whispered angrily.

Liv stood up and gave him a look. That look that said she was really getting annoyed with him. The look that made him want to run for his life. "I'm sorry, that wasn't you in the shower with me this morning?" she asked sarcastically.

Ephram groaned and fell back onto the bed. This had been the longest day. "This is stupid," he replied, sounding tired. He glanced over at Liv standing in the middle of the room with her arms crossed over her stomach. "I can't believe we're actually arguing about this."

Ephram got up and walked over to stand in front of her. He reached out and ran his hands up and down her arms. "You're right," he stated. "I can't keep my hands off of you. I want you all the time."

Liv sighed and uncrossed her arms. "Well, I'm not any better than you. Do you have any idea how hard it was to push you away? I've never done that before," she laughed softly. She raised her hands and rested them on Ephram's hips. "I'm not saying we can't until we get home. I'm just saying that I don't want to…"

"I know," he whispered. Ephram took a deep breath and gazed into her eyes. "Fight over?"

Liv smiled. "Yeah, fight over." She leaned closer and gently kissed him. After she pulled back, she reached down and took his hand, and walked towards the bed. "It's late. Let's go to bed."