Chapter 12

E's POV:

We slammed our shot glasses down on the table as we all grimaced at the burn of the alcohol. We hadn't planned on drinking much, but we were having such a good time we decided to go with it.

"How about now?" Ben slurred.

"Nope, not drunk yet..." I replied. "...but I am getting pretty buzzed."

He had been asking me if I was drunk after every drink I finished. I had 2 pints of Guinness and about 4 shots of strong Jameson whiskey. Ben and Tom had about 3 more shots than me (we wanted to even it out since they were big strong men, and I was, well, tiny compared to them.)

"I have to say I am impressed. You can hold your own quite well." Ben took another swig of his beer.

It had gotten louder and more crowded as it got later in the night. Tom leaned over putting his mouth to my ear. "How are you doing darling?"

His warm breath on my neck gave me chills. "I'm fantastic. How are you hun?"

"Oh, I am great." He batted his eyes drunkenly and smiled.

"Tom are you drunk?" I chuckled.

"Nope, but I'm getting there." He lifted his beer and took a gulp. I laughed at the foam mustache his beer left on his upper lip.

"What?" He asked.

Ben and I laughed for a minute before I grabbed a napkin and wiped his mouth.

"Oh, thank you dear."

"You're welcome hun." I said.

"I love with when you say that."

"Why?" I giggled.

"Your southern accent comes out when you say hun." Tom said while Ben nodded in agreement.

"It does? Oh god." I said blushing.

"What? I think it's adorable." Tom said kissing the tip of my nose.

"It is very charming." Ben added.

"Oi, watch it bud!" Tom pointed at him and glared then busted out into laughter.

"Oh you guys!" I got excited over what I heard.

Someone started singing Sweet Caroline by Neil Diamond once the Karaoke begun.

"Oh! I love this song!" I said and started singing along.

"Where it began, I can't begin to knowin', But then I know it's growing strong, Was in the spring, And spring became the summer, Who'd have believed you'd come along."
Tom and Ben joined me and we all sang in unison.
"Hands, touchin' hands, Reachin' out, touchin' me touchin' you, Sweet Caroline, Good times never seemed so good, I've been inclined..." Tom wrapped his arm around me and we lifted our drinks in the air. "To believe they never would, But now I, look at the night, And it don't seem so lonely, We fill it up with only two."

We continued to sing at the top of our lungs with the rest of the pub. Once the song was over there was a large round of applause.

"Darling you have a wonderful singing voice." Tom said.

"Yeah right, I think you're drunker than I thought." I said.

"No, I may be a little inebriated, but I can still tell a good singing voice."

"I'm okay I guess. Nothing special." I took another sip of my beer.

"Alright who's up next?" The announcer asked on the small stage.

"SHE IS!" Tom yelled and he lifted his long arm and pointed at me.

"Tom! No! What the hell?" I wasn't sure if I was drunk enough for this.

"Come E! You'll be fantastic!"

I glared at him and he gave me puppy eyes and pouted.

"How can I say no to that face?" I said and quickly finished the remaining half of my beer and got up. Tom patted my ass. I yelped. "Watch it Hiddles!" I leaned in to his ear. "You'll pay for this later."

"Oh I hope so." He said and winked at me. He may have been a bit drunk, but he knew what he was doing. I would never admit it, but that little pat on the butt made me feel sexy and gave me some confidence. I looked through the song selection and immediately knew what I wanted to sing.

Tom's POV:

I couldn't wait to hear her sing. She sang to herself all the time when she thought I couldn't hear.

"You're going to get it later." Ben laughed.

"I certainly hope so." I chuckled.

Ben and I giggled like immature boys for a moment. I pride myself on being a gentlemen 90% of the time, but I'm afraid alcohol made me a bit more open with my less than gentlemanly thoughts and desires. I turned to watch her as I heard a familiar tune. I was surprised that she knew this song. She started singing in her beautiful, jazzy, sweet voice.

"I got some troubles, but they won't last. I'm gonna lay right down here in the grass. And pretty soon all my troubles will pass. Because I'm in Shoo-shoo-shoo, Shoo-shoo-shoo, Shoo-shoo, Shoo-shoo, Shoo-shoo, Sugar Town."

There was an up roar of claps, whistles, whoops and hollers. People were loving it. She looked over the crowd at me and gave me a wink and a sultry grin. I smiled from ear to ear. I even found myself blush a little when people turned around to see who she was smiling at. More whoops and hollers and a few men shouting: "Get it man!"

During the next verse they turned the small spotlight on her. It took my breath away and made my heart swell in my chest. She was positively glowing as her hair lit up making it seem ever brighter than it normally was. She giggled and started to sway from side to side. I think everyone in the pub was completely charmed by her. Even Ben was looking at her like he wanted to take her home. I knew he meant no harm, but it was hard not to tell him to bugger off and stop gawking at her. She finished the song and gave a big and sweet smile to everyone before saying thank you and walking back over to me. Several men stopped her and tried hitting on her. I went from happy to raging jealousy in 1.6 seconds. I felt pretty insecure and a lot of the men that were approaching her were pretty good looking. I saw her smile and say a few things and then left. She turned her gaze to me and smiled. I think she could tell I was jealous. As she made her way to me yet another man got in between us. I looked at Ben in question. E and I had not dealt with this type of thing yet, and I was panicking to be honest.

"Let her take care of it." He whispered to me. I stayed next to the table and tried to listen to what they were saying. The pub was still loud, but I managed to tune out everything but their conversation.

"Hi there." He said trying to be suave.

"Oh, hello there." She replied.

"Oh you're American."

"Yes I am."

"What part are you from?"

Are you not even going to ask her for her name you tit?

"Atlanta Georgia." She said. There was that adorable yet subtle southern drawl.

"Oh a southern belle eh?"

"Ha, yeah." She seemed to be trying hard to be nice. It made me feel a little better.

"So what's your name?" He asked.

"I'm Eleanor."

"I'm Dave. Nice to meet you Eleanor." He shook her hand.

How long is this going to go on?

"So Eleanor, can I buy you a drink?" He asked. My jaw clenched and my fist balled up in my pockets.

"Oh um, thank you for the offer, but no thanks." She started fidgeting.

"Oh come on!" He grabbed her hand and tried to lead her to the bar. I moved to get up, but Ben grabbed my arm to stop me.

"No really, I'm fine." She said firmly pulling her arm away. This caught the attention of people. They started to watch from the corner of their eyes.

"Alright, alright." He tried to recover from his embarrassment. "So what beings you to England?"

"I'm here visiting my boyfriend." She said proudly. I started to un tense.

"Oh. Um is he here?" He looked around uncomfortably.

"No, I came all the way from America to visit my boyfriend, but I decided to leave him at home so I could come to a bar by myself." She said in a snarky tone. Ben and I couldn't help but chuckle.

Dave looked confused. This guy must've not been too bright, because he did not catch the hint. "Oh so, is he expecting you back any time soon?" He took a step closer to her. "We could go somewhere where we can be alone." Alright, now I wanted to slug this asshole.

E started to laugh. She put her hand on his shoulder. "No Dave. I'd rather stick my hand in a blender." She gave him a smartass smile and patted his shoulder and left him there with his jaw on the floor and his buddies making fun of him. Needless to say I instantly felt better. I even started to laugh myself as I stood up. Ben was almost in hysterics. Everyone watched her as she walked over to me.

"There's my handsome fella." She said wrapping her arms around my neck and giving me a deep kiss. I wrapped my arms around her waist and held her tight. She still held me after our kiss broke.

Neither of us were big on PDAs besides a hug and a chaste kiss every now and then, but with both of us rather intoxicated our unspoken rules didn't seem that important.

"You know everyone is watching us E." I said softly.

"Good. I want them to know I'm yours." She said sweetly.

Oh god, this wonderful woman. My jealously and uneasiness I was feeling just moments ago were banished with those words. She gave me one more kiss (we kept it tasteful, I swear!) and sat back down.

"Nicely done E." Ben said raising his glass to her.

She raised her glass in response. "Thank you Ben."

"On singing and telling that guy off." He added.

"He made it easy. That guy was a creep." She said making a disgusted face.

"Mmm-hmm." Ben and I mumbled in agreement.

"Sorry about that." She said to me.

"You have nothing to be sorry about. You can't help it that all those men were fawning over you after you charmed them with your dazzling looks and talent."

She smiled and blushed. "Tom you are way too nice to me."

"No, I mean every word darling." I kissed her cheek.

"Bawwwwww." Ben chuckled.

"Oh shut up Ben." E teased.

Under the cover of the table she placed her hand on my knee and slowly moved up my thigh. She moved her hand more inward and stopped on the inside of my thigh, right next to my crotch. She gave me a light but firm squeeze causing me to shudder and my pants to tighten.

We stayed and talked for at least an additional 2 hours. Her and Ben were really getting along. I had a feeling that the three of us would become really close. I hadn't been saying much since she still hadn't taken her hand away. Every few minutes she would caress my leg, sometimes grazing my crotch. I was almost positive that she was doing it on purpose since every time my breath caught she would smile to herself.

"Okay guys, it's getting late. How about we call it a night?"

"Yeah, I'm getting tired." E said taking her hair down and running her fingers through her long hair. God she looked sexy when she did that. The top buttons on her shirt were undone and with her hair out of the way I caught of glimpse of her pronounced collarbone. I bit my lip imagining kissing my way from there to her lips.

"Tom, are you okay?" She asked with a smirk. She knew exactly what she was doing to me.

"Yes darling, I'm fantastic." I replied giving her a mischievous grin. She smiled and bit her lip. Oh god, I wanted her so bad.

"Welp, we better get going then." She said slipping on her blazer. We paid our bill and walked with Ben outside. We stayed with Ben so he could have a cigarette while waiting on a cab. I was still rather buzzed, who was I kidding? Those last few shots had just decided to kick in as we stood up to leave. I was drunk. E seemed to be fine besides being tired, but it was hard to tell. The prick Dave from earlier was outside with his mates. He saw us and glared, but didn't say anything. E talked about Ben coming over for dinner some night while she was in town. I was only half paying attention. My arm was around E and I was shamelessly using her to keep my balance. She didn't seem to mind. Ben's cab pulled up.

"Well, I had a wonderful night you two." Ben said slightly slurring.

"Ah! Come here you!" I said giving him a big manly bear hug.

"Oh I just love the bromance going on right now." E laughed.

"E come here you lovely little thing!" Ben said picking her off the ground when he hugged her.

E's POV:

Ben squeezed me tightly before setting me back down on the ground. Both Ben and Tom smiled at me. It was painfully obvious how drunk they both were. I was sill buzzed, but nothing close to where they were.

Ben leaned in to whisper in my ear. "You take care of ol' Tom here. He just loves you so much. I don't want him hurt and upset."

Wow, Ben was definitely wasted. "I promise." I said placing my hand on my heart.

"Good." He patted my head drunkenly and got into his cab. I waved bye and looked up at Tom who was already staring at me.

"What are you lookin' at buddy?" I asked.

"You're just so beautiful and cool." He tried to lean closer (I assume to kiss me) but stumbled and almost fell over.

"Okay let's get you home. You are wasted." I chuckled.

"Wasted or not..." He managed to stoop down to get even with my eye level and cup my face in his hands. "...you are the most beautiful woman I've ever seen in my whole life."

My heart melted. How could he do that? Charm me with words when he was drunk off his ass.

I gently caressed his flushed cheek and gave him a quick kiss. "You are too sweet..." He hiccuped. Oh my god that was the most adorable thing I think I ever did see. "...and drunk."

I haled us a cab and got us back at Tom's place. I helped up to the front door.

"Keys Tom." I said.

"They're in my pocket..." He started to kiss my neck. "...why don't you get them."

I chortled and turned to look him in the eyes. Without breaking eye contact I reached into his pocket. I instantly felt the keys, but I rubbed his crotch before grabbing them and slipping my hand out. I smiled and wiggled the keys next to my face.

"Found them." I leaned in and let my lips barely graze his. I hovered there for a moment before turning away to open the door.

"Tease." Tom growled, his hands clenching at my hips.

I opened the door and guided him inside. "Why don't you go lay down and I'll lock up." I suggested.

"Yes ma'am." He said saluting me before stumbling to the bedroom. I giggled to myself. Even drunk he was still funny and charming. I locked up downstairs and turned out the lights. I entered the bedroom to see Tom taking off his shirt. His jeans were low on his hips, dangerously low. He turned around mid tug revealing his defined muscular back. The way they flexed when he raised his arms was so sexy. I felt myself ache for him. I wasn't big on drunk sex, but that smile that he gave me once he turned around made me consider changing my mind.

"Darling?" He said with a smug grin.

"Just enjoying the view hun." I said before plopping on the foot of the bed to take off my shoes. Tom crawled up behind me and moved my hair to one side. He rested his chin on my shoulder and traced little patterns on my back with his fingers.

"Mmm, that feels nice." I said closing my eyes and leaning my head back. Tom planted some soft kisses on my neck. He reached around and started to undo the buttons on my shirt.

"I love those boots by the way." He whispered.

I gasped as he ran his finger along my collarbone so gently I barely felt it. "Thank you, They're my favorite pair." I manged to say.

"You were so wonderful today. Helping that little boy. Singing in the pub. Telling off that prick." He wrapped his arms around me. "You're just amazing love."

I turned around to face him. "You were wonderful today too." I cupped his face in my hands and gave him a deep kiss. "Thank you for everything. Yesterday was perfect and so was today. I've never been happier Tom."

He swooped me up in his arms and laid me down on the bed. He climbed on top of me as his lips crashed into mine. A small moan escaped me has he worked my shirt off of me. He ran one hand down my side while holding himself up with the other. After a while of making out I wanted to speed things up. I flipped us over so I was on top of him. I undid his jeans and slid them off. I looked up to see him holding his hands over his eyes and wincing.

"Tom are you okay?" I asked crawling up to him.

"I'm just a bit dizzy darling."

I laughed and shook my head. "You're just a bit drunk darling." I said mimicking him.

He chuckled. "Yes, more than I would care to admit."

"Alright then it's settled." I said giving his chest a light pat.

"What is?"

"You need to go to sleep hun."

Tom took his hands away from his face. "But I want you." He pouted.

I smiled and gave him a kiss. "You already have me."

Tom's pout turned into a soft sweet smile. He put his hand over his heart. "Oh darling."

"Okay, get under the covers and go to bed." I said pulling back the blankets on his side of the bed. He did as instructed and snuggled into bed.

"Where are you going?" He asked as I got out of bed.

"I'll be right back. I'm putting on my pjs." I went to the dresser and got out a oversized star wars teeshirt. I shimmied out of my jeans and felt eyes on me.

"Enjoying the view?" I asked without turning around.

"Yes thank you." Tom said smugly.

I laughed and took off my bra, my back still facing him.

"Mmm. You're back is so sexy."

"Oh really?" I asked folding up my jeans before putting on my shirt. I liked it when he stared at me. Nobody had ever looked at me the way he does.

"Yes, the dimples on you lower back drive me crazy."

I blushed and giggled as I slipped my shirt on.

"Come here. " Tom said as he gestured next to him.

I got into bed, snuggled up to him and wrapped my arm around him. I planted a few soft kisses on his chest before laying down my head.

Tom murmured something.

"What's that?" I asked quietly.

"I lo..." His voice trailed off and he was out.

He did say what I think he just said?