~~
I watch him carefully, watch as he analyzes every move that my little sister makes as she kicks the ball into the net. As she walks over, I keep my eyes trained to his face, which remains expressionless. "How did I do, coach?" She asks tentatively.
"You..." He begins, leaving both me and her hanging onto his words. Well, for different reasons, but still, we're fixated on what he would say next. "...were absolutely great there, kid! Keep it up, you'll do great at the game next week!" He reaches down, high fiving her as he grins widely. I smile, watching her as she breaks into a relieved grin.
"Y/n, did you see how I tripped him?" She says with an accomplished grin.
I nod, high fiving her as well. "Yeah, I did. Good job," I say looking up at Thomas with a grin. He rolls his eyes playfully, before I look back to her. "Hey, go get your bag, alright? I need to ask Thomas something real quick." She nods, walking over to the bleachers.
I look back over to him, smiling. "She did trip you pretty hard," I say with a laugh, bringing my thumb up to his face, rubbing away the dirt on his cheek.
He laughs. "Yeah, she did. I fell face first, Jesus." We stand in a comfortable silence before he speaks up again. "What did you need to ask me?"
"Right. Mom wants to invite you and your family over for dinner, since dad's home early tonight too. Are you free?" I ask.
"Yeah, pretty sure. I'll have my mom call yours." He grins cheekily. "It feels like we're in primary school again."
I laugh, thinking about the fond memories that we shared from elementary. "Remember when--"
I get cut off by Y/s/n, who runs towards us. "Can we get ice cream on the way back home?"
I furrow my eyebrows. "Why?"
"Because I tripped coach."
"Is that an accomplishment now?" Thomas laughs.
"You know what?" I say, smirking at him. "Yeah, sure. He's right - it is an accomplishment."
Thomas laughs again. "Always so charming. I'll see you tonight, Y/n."
**
"What do you mean I have dish duty again?" I scowl at my mother before pointing at my sister. "I had it last time, its her turn!"
"Well, you're the oldest." She says. "Case closed."
Well, that's unreasonable. "Fine," I hiss. Just as she leaves, I turn and glare at Y/s/n. "It's gonna be you next time, I swear." She gives me a shit-eating grin, but just before I can say anything else, the doorbell rings.
I go to open the door, and smile as Thomas stands on the doorstep, parents standing behind him. "Y/n," he says with a smile, and I take in his dress shirt - the top few buttons unbuttoned.
"Hi," I say, raising my eyebrows. He lets himself in - as he had many times before - and I smile, greeting his family. I turn to see as he's disappeared, and when I walk over to the kitchen to grab my phone, I watch as he takes a cookie from the pantry, shoving it into his mouth. "Sangster!"
He freezes, before grinning at me as he turns, mouth full of cookie. "Hello again," He muffles through the food in his mouth.
I close my eyes with a laugh. "Oh my god."
He swallows, grinning at me and walking with me out of the kitchen. "I was hungry."
"I can see that," I laugh.
He pauses in the middle of the hallway, standing in front of me. "You look wonderful," he says, over the chatter of the adults and our siblings in the living room.
I glance down at my simple black dress. "Thanks," I say, cheeks tinting slightly. From all of our conversations, not once had he complimented me on my appearance.
He grins, seeing the effect it took on me. "There's lipstick on your cheek, though."
My cheeks flame. "Are you serious? Fuck--" I reach up. "Where?"
He pulls away my hand with one of his own gently, stepping closer and rubbing it away with the other. I blush again at the familiar gesture. "Gone." He whispers, before tilting his head slightly. "Somehow you made it look good," he says with a small chuckle.
At first, I think that he's going to kiss me, but then I hear the adults about to file into the hallway to head to the dining table and I move to pull away. Before I can, though he presses a fleeting kiss to my temple before moving away, cheekily walking over to my mother and complimenting her on the how good the house looked.
My eyes widen, and I only move when my sister pushes me into the kitchen.
**
After bearing through an exhausting dinner littered with talks of news, Trump, and Thomas's constant tapping of his toe into my shin, I stand, nodding to my mother to signify that dinner was over. She glances at me, before leading the guests out of the dining room. However, Thomas hangs back. "Do you need any help?" He asks nonchalantly.
I nod, not meeting his gaze for fear that I would turn the color of a tomato for the fifth time that night. "Go ahead, make yourself useful." I say, stacking the used plates.
He complies, taking plates of the food and following behind me into the kitchen. As he continues to bring plates, I begin to wash them, tossing him the towel that hung from the oven door. "Dry them, please?"
"Sure." He catches the towel, standing next to me. We stand there in silence, water running as I wash the dishes. I sigh quietly with relief as they empty from the drying rack, turning and leaning back against the counter as I watch Thomas's fingers, partially hidden by the towel as he wipes the last of the plates.
I look down at my feet as he finishes, before I see his sneakers come into my line of view. I look up at him, studying his face which was inches away from my own. "I like you," he states bluntly. "A lot."
When he sees my stunned reaction, he elaborates. "Ever since you offered me a ride last year and I found you in your car jamming out to Queen, I've liked you."
I laugh at the memory. "Don't Stop Me Now was my favorite song. Don't stop me now, I'm having such a good time..." I hum softly, and he grins, singing softly.
"I'm having a ball," he murmurs, smiling, before leaning in slightly. "Don't stop me," he says, and I'm not sure if he was saying the lyric, or he was actually telling me not to stop him, but I don't get a chance to process, because the next thing I know, his lips are on mine.
I freeze for a moment, before kissing him back, his hands resting on my waist and my arms going around his neck. He pulls back for a moment before diving in again, less conservative this time as he moves closer against me, hips carefully slotting against my own. I let my hands wander up to his hair, and he sighs against my now-open mouth softly as I pull on the roots. His hand begins to move up my side, finally cupping my face and pressing a sweet kiss to the corner of my lips before resting his forehead against my own.
He closes his eyes for a moment, then opens them again, looking at me. "Hmm."
"We can totally make this work," I say with a small smile, and he grins, pulling me close to him again and attaching his lips to mine.
~~~
