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EPISODE SEVEN: Coupling

CHAPTER ONE

Laurel shot a look towards the door of the diner for what felt like the hundredth time. She cursed herself for her weakness. She was the one that had suggested to Thayer that they meet there. So far, they'd only met up at her place or his place, usually when Ted and especially Rebecca (who Laurel had no desire to have a conversation with) were out of the way. Their time together had largely consisted of takeaway meals, DVDs and a fair amount of time in the bedroom. But she'd challenged him to take her on a date, to be a couple with her in public. Except now she was worrying that he wouldn't show.

She turned away with a sigh, looking towards the waitress. "Can I have a shake, please?"

"I'll get that,"Thayer said as he suddenly appeared alongside her.

Laurel smiled, pleased at his presence, then suddenly felt self-conscious. Drinking a milkshake would make her look like a child. "Make that a coffee,"she told the waitress.

"Two coffees,"Thayer amended.

"I wasn't sure you'd show up,"Laurel remarked as he slid into the seat next to her.

"Why wouldn't I? I haven't stood you up yet."

"Yeah, I know. But I just thought, well, you might think that being seen in public with a sixteen-year-old was a bit weird."

"What, you thought I'd be embarassed? To be seen with a hot girl like you?" Thayer leaned over and gave her a lingering kiss. "I am definitely not embarassed."

Laurel gave him a shy smile. "I stand corrected."

The waitress placed two coffees on the counter in front of them. Thayer nodded towards a pool table. "You want to shoot some pool?"

Laurel gathered up her cup. "Well, if you don't mind getting whipped by a sophomore…"

As they headed towards the table, neither of them knew that Rebecca was sat in her car outside the diner, looking in through the window. She saw the two of them jostling each other playfully, sharing grins, and scowled. She'd been watching Thayer around the girl for some time now and it was clear he wasn't just pretending: He enjoyed her company. And that wasn't part of the plan. She considered ordering him to stay away from Laurel but, even if he listened, the girl was still their best opening with the Mercers. She needed Thayer to stay close to Laurel while remaining loyal to her. And she knew the perfect way to do it…

Ted still wasn't sure what the protocol was for visiting a house that he technically owned but didn't live in anymore. He rested a hand on the door frame and stuck his head through the doorway. "Knock knock?" he called out cautiously.

The call was enough to attract Kristin's attention as she came through from another room. "Ted,"she greeted him with a polite smile. "What can I do for you?"

"I was wondering if Sutton and Emma fancied having lunch with me."

"Oh, I'm sorry, they're round at Mads' place. Is Laurel not with you?"

Ted shook his head. "She's out with Thayer. You know about that?"

Kristin nodded. "I'm surprised you agreed to it."

"Well, it took me by surprise but I don't think I'm really at the stage where I can start dictating about her relationships. What about you?"

"There's an age gap. But I guess there are worse things that can happen than your sixteen-year-old daughter having an older boyfriend."

Ted nodded, hesitating. "How about the two of us have lunch instead?" He noticed the look of concern in Kristin's eyes and held up his hands placatingly. "It's okay, I'm not going to read anything into it or think we're getting back together. But if we're going to do this shared custody thing, then we need to be able to talk to each other."

Kristin seemed to think about it for a long time, then nodded and picked up her handbag. "All right. Lunch it is."

Jordan brought a tray of drinks through to the sitting area where Emma, Sutton and Mads were all perched on chairs. "One for you, one for you and one for you,"he noted, handing them out. He paused, seeing the girls looking at him expectantly. "And now I think there's going to be something urgent for me to do in the other room,"he concluded, leaving them to it.

"Your boyfriend is very obliging,"Emma noted.

Mads looked after him fondly. "He is, isn't he?" She turned back to her friends. "So what did you want?"

Emma looked at Sutton, trying to prompt her to start the conversation rolling, but Sutton just returned the look. Emma sighed then turned back to Mads. "You've heard about Laurel and Thayer?"

Mads nodded. "Yeah. Wouldn't have thought she was his type. Or him hers."

"It took us by surprise too,"Emma confirmed. "Thing is…"

"We know Thayer's not your favourite person at the moment,"Sutton explained. "What with him telling the world that your dad's a murderer and everything. But…"

"It's this gathering at Ethan's tonight,"Emma continued. "Laurel really wants to bring Thayer with her but if you two are going to clash…"

Mads shrugged. "Well, I think we can manage for Laurel's sake."

"Any chance that you two will make up for your own sake?"Emma suggested.

Mads sighed. "I get that Dad treated us differently. But the man he described, the way Dad's going to be remembered, that's not the man I knew."

"He did some pretty shocking stuff,"Sutton pointed out. "Splitting us up, getting Annie Hobbes locked up, driving Eduardo out of town…Maybe Thayer's description isn't that far off the truth."

Mads looked at Emma for support but she could only offer an awkward smile. "Do you think Thayer and Laurel are serious about each other?"Mads asked at last.

Emma nodded. "Really serious."

Thayer arrived back at the house and dumped his bag on the couch. Rebecca stepped out of the kitchen, looking at him expectantly. "Well? Is Ted going to be home alone while you're all out in the desert?"

"No. He's got a night shift at the hospital."

Rebecca mulled the information over. "I can work with that." She sauntered over to Thayer, taking careful, meticulously elegant strides. "So, that's this evening covered. What are we going to do until then?" She grabbed Thayer's shirt in one hand and pulled him down towards her, kissing him full on the lips.

Thayer pulled away. "What was that for?"

"You want me to spell it out?" Rebecca raised an eyebrow imperiously. "Sleeping with Alec's wife in Alec's bed. The perfect way to stick it to him. Don't tell me you haven't dreamed about it."

Thayer stared at her for a moment, thinking about how attractive she was, how appealing what she'd just suggested was. Then he grabbed her and kissed her roughly, long and hard. He felt her hands gripping his hair and he groped her body hungrily, both of them overcome by lustful impulses, feeling the anticipation of release as they headed upstairs.