Thomas's door.
"Come in!" sang Thomas's voice as the doorbell rang.
He was busy in the open kitchen and was waiting for Tom. He frowned when he saw the red-headed girl in the hallway instead of the blond-haired man.
"Hello, handsome!" exclaimed Gwen. "Happy birthday!"
"What the hell are you doing here?" he asked and looked behind her to see if Tom was there too.
"Well, I'm glad to see you too," she said, smacking a kiss on his cheek.
"I wasn't expecting anyone but Tom. You're alone?"
"Sybil is at Tom's," she stated, depositing her gifts on the sofa.
Thomas's eyebrow tilted up.
"They know we know?"
"Nope. But I wanted to have a little bit of fun. So I purposely rang at the wrong door. You should have seen Syb's face. She was mortified! But, I have to hand it to Tom- he handled the situation pretty well. I almost missed the surprise on his face."
"But why is she still over there?"
"Well, the poor baby had cut his hand while cooking apparently," she smiled while putting chips in her mouth. "So, since Syb is a nurse, I proposed she help him with it."
"You devious woman," laughed Thomas playfully slapping her bottom. "I can imagine Sybil's red face! But you know, they're probably shagging already as we speak. Listening to Tom rambling about her, they're pretty much at it all the time. It's almost disgusting."
"Don't pout," answered Gwen patting his back. "You'll find your own 'Sybil' one day."
Thomas rolled his eyes and went back to what he was doing earlier while Gwen went to the wall separating Thomas and Tom's flats. She put her ear against it.
"What are you doing?" he asked, putting the last of the ingredients on the pizza he was making.
"I'm trying to estimate how much longer we have before they come…here," she added with a chuckle at seeing Thomas's expression at her double entendre. "I guess the walls are pretty thin."
"Just come and help me. Leave them alone, they seem so happy."
"Doesn't mean we can't have some fun with the whole situation," pouted Gwen while joining him.
"You still haven't forgiven Sybil for not telling you about him, have you?"
Gwen shrugged.
"I'm happy for her, truly" she stated. "But yes, as her best friend, I would have liked to know."
"They'll tell us when they're ready."
"So, in the meantime, maybe we can have some fun."
"You're scaring me, here."
"They don't know we know, right? So what if I hit on Tom tonight. Just for fun. To see how they react?"
"You really want to spoil my birthday…" moaned Thomas.
"Oh come on! Don't be a spoil sport!" she exclaimed, slapping his shoulder.
"Alright. It could be fun to see Tom miserably trying to avoid your advances because I know how you can be. But please, promise me that you'll stop as soon as you see that Sybil can't take it anymore. I don't want to hurt either of them."
"Me neither. I promise," she said, crossing her fingers.
She just finished her sentence when the doorbell rang.
"Let the show begin!" laughed Gwen adjusting her cleavage and biting her lips.
Thomas rolled his eyes and went to the door. He opened it to see Tom and Sybil standing on the other side with a suspiciously wide distance between them. Thomas laughed at it internally and already felt sorry for Tom who didn't know what was about to hit him.
"Hello, guys."
"Happy birthday, Thomas," they said in unison.
They hugged and went to the main room where Gwen was seated, Sybil leading the way as Thomas was enquiring about Tom's injury. When they appeared, Gwen rose up and went to Tom directly. She took him by the arm and almost dragged him back to the sofa to sit him beside her.
"With all the blood you lost, surely you can't stand up much longer," she said, patting his thigh.
Thomas suppressed a chuckle at seeing Tom's mortified face. Sybil just stared at them, taken aback by Gwen's behavior but regrouped and said nothing and just went to sit in the armchair on the other side of the coffee table. Thomas cleared his voice.
"What are you drinking?" he asked trying to dissipate the heavy air.
They all answered and as soon as the drinks were ready, they started a friendly chat. Both Tom and Sybil, although they didn't speak together directly, were surprised that neither Thomas nor Gwen had commented about the time it took them to arrive, nor did they joke about them.
But the more alcohol they consumed, the more Gwen's hands became adventurous on Tom. Sybil was doing her best to stop herself from slapping her friend's hands away from her boyfriend while Tom was doing his best to stay calm and seemed to wish the sofa could swallow him.
Gwen's hand finally stopped on his bicep.
"Wow, have you been working out?"
"Well, I'm trying, anyway," answered Tom, unsure.
Gwen started to laugh like he just said the funniest joke in the world while slapping his chest and he looked at her, stunned.
"Are you ok?" he asked, tentatively.
"I am but…you know…I just haven't been with a guy for so long…" she said, leaning into him so the two others couldn't hear her. "And sometimes you're looking for something and it's right there…in front of you, sipping beer."
Tom's eyes went wide when he realized she was talking about him.
"Oh no! Have I said too much? Well, just something to think about. I know I will," she finished, drinking a large gulp of her beer.
Seeing that Sybil was about to explode, Thomas proposed to Gwen to go out on the balcony to smoke. At last, it would give his friends some time alone and for him, a way to try and calm down Gwen's ardor.
"I think we should dance when we come back," she said to Tom with a lascivious voice. "I'll let the two of you choose the music," she added, winking at Sybil before disappearing outside.
Sybil rose up and let herself fall down next to Tom who seemed to relax a bit.
"It's strange," stated Sybil, looking at her two friends laughing outside. "She almost threw me in your arms earlier and now, she's all over you…"
"I'm sorry. I promise, I didn't do anything to…"
"I know," interrupted Sybil.
She frowned.
"Unless…"
"Unless what?"
"Unless they know…"
"About us, you mean?"
Sybil nodded.
"That's the only way…I've never seen Gwen act like this. They know and they're trying to freak us out. Plus, no offense, but you're not her type at all."
"Really? And I thought I was irresistible…" pouted Tom.
"But we could have some fun," she said, looking expectantly and excitedly at him.
"How's that?" he asked, fear clearly in his voice as he suspected what was coming.
"They don't know we know they know…"
"Oh, come on, Love," moaned Tom. "Can't you just drop the whole thing and kiss me madly when they come back. That way they'll know for sure!"
"And let Gwen get away with it so easily. No way!"
Tom let his head drop behind him on the sofa and closed his eyes.
"What do you have in mind, then?" he sighed dramatically.
"Return Gwen's interest…"
Tom stared at her with wide eyes.
"What?!"
"I'm giving you the green light." She patted his thigh, making sure Thomas and Gwen weren't looking in their direction. "Let your Irish Charm speak."
"But how far would I have to go with her?"
"Don't worry. She'll give in way before you do."
"How do you know that?"
"Because you're on my team and my team always wins."
"At this?" asked Tom.
"Just be you and it will work."
She smiled and rose again to take her place back on the other side. She was just seated when the door opened and the two smokers were back.
"So?" Gwen asked Tom. "Did you make your choice?"
Tom nodded and rose up.
"I was thinking that a little bit of salsa could be fun. Do you have that in stock, Barrow?"
Thomas went to his CD shelf, took out a CD and handed it to Tom.
"Suit yourself."
Tom put it in the player as Thomas sat next to Sybil, ready to enjoy the show.
"I don't know how to dance that," Gwen finally said, becoming uneasy at how close to Tom this dance would bring her.
"Then I'll show you," Tom answered softly with a charming smile, taking her hand in his as the music began to play.
He suddenly pulled at her hand and her body almost crashed against his. He started to move his hips and feet, Gwen trying to match his steps and way of moving. From the sofa, Thomas and Sybil suppressed a smile but not for the same reasons. The dance was very suggestive but Sybil knew it was all for a show so she didn't mind. And to be honest, she was enjoying the fact that Gwen seemed anything but comfortable with the situation. Thomas finally asked her to try it and they joined the other couple, Thomas purposely avoiding Gwen's eyes that were silently asking him to save her from this. Tom was all over Gwen, one hand firmly gripping her waist, the other one holding her hand and sticking it to his chest, meaning her body was glued to his, his hips moving suggestively against hers. At last, the piece came to an end and Gwen quickly stepped away from Tom after he said something softly against her ear, making her blush furiously.
She cleared her voice and looked at the two others.
"Wow, this dance left me thirsty. I'll go and get us something to drink. Thomas, come and help me, please?"
It was more an order than a request and Thomas obeyed, leaving Tom and Sybil in the living area.
"I didn't know you knew how to dance the salsa," breathed Sybil to Tom as they were heading to the sofa.
"There are so many things you don't know about me, yet," he breathed back in her ear from behind.
Sybil reddened furiously and turned around to slap him away from her as he was laughing. They didn't need for the two others to catch them flirting.
In the meantime, in the kitchen area, Gwen and Thomas were at the fridge. Or rather, they were almost in the fridge as they were hiding to debrief just what had happened.
"I can't believe it!" exclaimed Gwen who was enjoying the fresh air coming from the fridge on her red cheeks.
Thomas was laughing.
"Hey, don't groan. It was your idea to have fun. Seems like it all plays against you now."
"No! What I mean is that after the dance, Tom told me he wanted to kiss me!"
Thomas's eyes went wide.
"What?"
"He said to me: 'I wish I could kiss you'."
"Ok, now that's weird. I've known Tom for a while now and he has never been the cheating type. He wouldn't do that to Sybil surely. Not after the way he talked about her."
"My point exactly. So, it only could mean one thing…"
"Oh, I'm afraid I see what you mean…"
"Yes. They know we know."
"At last. We can finally have a normal night," sighed Thomas with relief.
"But…they don't know that we know that they know that we know…"
"Oh…come on!"
"Look at the artist and enjoy the show," she said with a Machiavellian smile, taking two beers from the fridge and leaving Thomas to take another two for Sybil and himself.
They went back to the sitting room, Gwen's steps a little bit more cheerful than Thomas's ones. Tom and Sybil were quietly chatting as if nothing was out of place. Gwen took her place back next to Tom but sat very close to him. She handed him the beer and lightly kissed his cheek while batting her eyelashes at him. Tom gulped and looked quickly over to Sybil to check her mood but she nodded so slightly to him than he wasn't even sure he saw it correctly. But he decided to go along with their initial plan so, as if it was the most natural thing in the world, he put his arm around Gwen's shoulder and brought her closer to him.
"Thank you," he smiled at her before kissing her hair.
Thomas almost choked on his beer as Sybil looked away, tore between jealousy and fun. The air was thick and awkwardness fell upon room. Ignoring the tense climate, Sybil started a conversation about a movie she saw earlier in the week (with Tom), and the chatting took off again. At some point, and eager to see the whole thing move along (and in turn come to an end), Thomas asked Sybil to come with him to his bookshelf at the other end of the room to check on some book, leaving Tom and Gwen cuddling on the sofa.
Once they were out of earshot, Gwen turned to Tom who still had his arm around her and smiled at him.
"So…you wanted to kiss me?" she breathed, her face just inches from his.
"I sure wanted…and still want to," gulped Tom, trying his best to sound confident.
Gwen briefly looked over to Thomas and Sybil whose backs were turned to them.
"Then, maybe now is the right time if we don't want to make a fuss about it," she murmured, coming even closer.
Tom could feel her breath on his face, her freckles seeming to dazzle him.
"Maybe you're right," he answered.
"You know, when you said that to me after the dance, I just wanted to rip that shirt right off."
"Really? Then why we don't move on this then?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you not want to?"
"Oh I want to. But before, maybe I can…do this."
Gwen's hand went to his collar and opened the two top buttons of Tom's shirt.
From the other side of the room, Thomas and Sybil were looking at them, each of them wondering who was going to back down first.
Their lips were now almost touching and Gwen had closed her eyes, waiting for him to take the final step.
"I'm gonna kiss you now," he said.
"Not if I kiss you first," she answered.
"Our first kiss."
But instead of feeling Tom's lips on hers, she was shoved away as Tom quickly rose up.
"Ok, ok, you win! I can't kiss you!" he shouted out.
The whole commotion made Thomas and Sybil come back over.
"And why can't you?" asked Gwen, now standing up with her arms crossed on her chest, a satisfied look on her face.
"Because…."
Tom sent a panicked look over to Sybil then looked back at Gwen.
"Because…?" she encouraged him, now a soft look on her face.
"Because I'm in love with Sybil," he blurted out.
"You…you're what?" she asked surprised as Sybil and Thomas looked stunned.
"That's right! I love her!"
Sybil went to him, a silly smile on her face and Tom took her in his arms.
"It's true. I love you, Sybil."
"I love you too, Tom," she answered.
They then kissed tenderly, forgetting their friends who were looking at each other with big smiles on their faces.
"I didn't know you were in love," said Gwen when they finally parted. "I just thought you were fucking around."
Tom held Sybil closer to him, smiling foolishly.
"Dude!" exclaimed Thomas. "I didn't know you two were so serious."
Tom nodded then turned to Gwen.
"Hats off to Gwen. Quite a competitor."
They shook hands.
"So that's it finally!" said Thomas. "Everybody knows, so we can get back to normal."
"We need to celebrate!" cheered Gwen.
They all sat back down, this time with Tom and Sybil cuddling, and clanged their beer bottles together.
"So now," said Tom, "I want to know how you knew."
They all laughed at this and the party went on until late in the night.
The end