After spending an hour finishing the unpack, and a large pot of coffee, Tim and Lucy drove to the local farmer market then to Ralph's to pick up supplies for the week. As they pulled into the Ralph's parking lot, Tim handed Lucy a slip of paper. She held it up to read and Tim walked around to her side of the car.
"You have got to be kidding me" Lucy held the slip up to him as he opened her door.
"You lost the bet boot", he looked toward the store holding her door open for her. "It's a comprehensive list, anything on there would be fine". He snuck a peek at her, she sat in the car mouth agape but it was turning into a smile. "You are..." she stopped.
"Helpful"? He turned to face her "Thoughtful"? Sarcastic grin forming on his face.
"Not exactly the words I was thinking". She tossed the note back in the car as she stepped a foot out shaking her head.
Tim noted there were several cars in the parking lot, people loading groceries up.
He reached in and took her hand helping her out of the car. As she stepped down he let go of her hand, reaching around to the small of her back. Leading her around to the rear door of the SUV. Before they had a chance to open it for the reusable grocery bags, he used his hand to turn her to face him, pinning her there between the car and him.
"What's going on" she started to ask, but Tim used his hand against her back to pull her towards him.
Lucy's heart began thudding in her ears. He bent his head down and for a second Lucy thought she he was going to kiss her. A combination of panic and anticipation flooded her senses. Tim looked from her eyes to her lips, but he bent past her lips to her ear. "Cop eyes boot, neighborhood grocery, we've got an audience".
She looked past his shoulder to see there were several other people in the parking lot and 2 women loading their groceries had paused to watch them smiling at the display of affection. Tim began to raise back up, Lucy paused for a second thinking about how she'd be acting if she were standing here with her husband, looking like Tim Bradford. .
She moved both hands to his waist, and he stopped moving. She traced her fingers up to his chest pushing them apart a few inches, they both watched her hands as they reached up further, then her eyes met his. He raised one eyebrow trying to guess her play. One hand stayed at his shoulder, the other up to the side of his face, she used her thumb to trace his bottom lip slowly. His eyes closed at her touch, and she bit her bottom lip remembering the previous night, then reaching around his ear, cradling his head she brought his face down to meet hers.
Tim placed one hand on the back of the SUV, bracing them, the other still on the small of her back. They paused for just a second before she tilted her head further taking his bottom lip between hers. Intending a chaste kiss for the prying eyes of those watching, the heat between them had other ideas, flaming up out of control again. She couldn't help but run just the tip of her tongue across him parting her lips to take his entire bottom lip in sucking on it eliciting a small groan from Tim.
He used the hand on her back to close the space between them again, pressing her into him while he used his other hand to hold them to the SUV, opening his mouth he found her bottom lip, mirroring what she'd done to him, leaning down and lifting her slightly, and when she made a noise halfway between a sigh and a moan, he finally found her tongue with his deepening their kiss. He leaned into her pressing her back into the car. The world fell away for a few moments and they both were lost in that kiss. She brought both hands to his face holding him to her as if he might try to stop.
Lucy came to her senses realizing this was getting dangerously close to inappropriate in public and she slowly pulled her mouth away. Not ready to stop just yet he captured her lips with his again, circling her tongue with his until he made her moan into him again, he couldn't get enough of that sound. Finally he let them part, both of them breathless they just stood there trying to regain control.
Tim met Lucy's eyes, darkened and full of desire, her lips swollen, and he thought this just wrong. Every time they pretend, it turns into something real. He knows he needs to stop it but he doesn't even know if he can anymore. He takes his other hand off the SUV and reaches for her lip, he'd smudged her lipstick and slowly wipes the smudge away, but as he does he can't help touching those lips, Lucy parts them and his thumb briefly touches her tongue she begins to suck lightly on it, closing her eyes again. At this moment all he wants to do is take her back to the house and...
Before he can finish that thought a car pulls up next to them and he pulls away from her. Tim can see in the reflection realize the 2 women across the parking lot had completely stopped and were both staring. He realized they were failing miserably at faking intimacy. Every time they tried, it was turning into something real. He wondered briefly if all UC work was this difficult or was it just he and Lucy. Tim stood straight allowed Lucy to as well, she had to adjust her skirt which had begun to inch up and he cleared his throat.
Lucy stepped away from the Rover and Tim opened the hatch.
"We need to get this under control" she said, smiling at him as he turned.
He hated to talk about this with her, hated to admit it was even happening, most of all hated that she was right. Yes, they were supposed to be a married couple, but this kind of behavior wasn't normal for a couple married 5 years. He should know. He and Isabel were together that long and they would not have acted like they couldn't keep their hands off each other in public.
Grabbing the bags, he shut the hatch, nodded in agreement and put his arm around her shoulder leading her into the store.
