midori lemonade & mild mannered love

[lucas connor o'shea]

It would be a lie to say that Luke thought that he would enjoy the wedding when the invitation had come in the mail. It was white, frilly, lacy and it's origins came from people with the same kind of description. White colored. Frilly, pretentious taste. Lacy, innocent, naive sort of outlook. The promise of an open bar at the bottom of the card seemed to be the only thing tempting about taking the soon-to-be-wed couple up on their offer for the occasion...until of course he had heard that Sophie had received the same invite. It was upon her phone call that the grease-monkey had hung up his tool set and pulled out his best dress clothes. If there was one person in the world that he knew everything about, it was his Ophie. He knew all too well that if she was going, he was going too. And no excuse would get him out of it otherwise.

With that being said, it would be a lie to say that he hadn't thoroughly enjoyed himself at the shindig so many months later. Arriving with low expectations meant there was nothing for him to really lose, but what was ahead for him was alot more enjoyable then expected. With Sophie at his side, the reception for the wedding seemed to offer him more then just an open bar, but a chance to reconnect with the people of his past. Reconnect with them. Hug them. Update them. Reminice with them. And then proceed to dance and get drunk with them. It was how all great receptions went in his book. Sophie even went as his date - a feet that he had never accomplished in High School dances. Thanks to his brother's hectic work schedule, Nate couldn't make it (something that Luke would never admit to being happy about out loud) and his woman (yes, his. His woman) was all his for the night. It was almost alarming at how many people actually thought about it in the same light.

If he had a dollar for every time some one thought the pair of them were just the "best damn couple they had ever seen," he could have paid off his rent. Admittedly, it warmed his heart to hear about how it warmed Sophie's family members to know that the pair of them had "finally gotten together after all these years." And on the same hand, completely crushing to have to tell them that it wasn't him that had won Ms. Flemming, but his brother. And that they had a kid together. And that they were happily married together. And that him and Sophie were still just friends. It was this kind of bipolar elation in between dance sessions that caused Lucas to beat a world record with the rate he decided to slam down his favorite alcoholic bevarage - white russians. And he wasn't the only one. Sophie seemed to be doing the same.

Whether it was for the same reason as him or just for once she took the opportunity to let herself go, Ms. Flemming had gotten herself pink in the cheeks and a brand new liquor-lisp. It almost seemed out of character to see the motherly woman a little out of her mind, but it was adorable to say the least...the way she blurted out random things that were meant to stay in her head and giggle at bad jokes while stumbling around in her high heels. It was the reason that Luke had taken the liberty of taking her home (after a particularly bad slip of the lip or two on Sophie's part). There was a slight numb at his face as he could feel his muscles more relaxed as usual as they pulled up in front of his apartment complex - driving drunk not necessarily the most valiant of things to do, but his only viable option. There was a faint smell of vodka and Midori in the car as he fumbled to pull the keys from the ignition of the Jeep Wrangler. "See?" He said sloppily with a smile, pulling them out and turning towards his worse off cohort, letting his head rest on the headrest of the drivers seat. She looked beautiful all done up like this, "I told you I'd get us home fine. Don't you doubt my mildly intoxicated driving skills, woman."

[sophie esther o'shea]

Drunk. She wasn’t.. Was she? Sophie frowned to herself. She was, wasn’t she? Huh. How did that even happen? The brunet tried to replay her evening. She couldn’t remember having that much to drink really. Some champagne. One or two glasses. Oh.. And the Midori Hm. Still, that wasn’t that much. Luke had consumed almost twice as much and he was holding up just fine! Oh.. Luke. She remembered him. The pout that had been on her lips shifted into a smile. She’d had a lovely night with him. To be honest, she secretly adored the fact her husband hadn’t been able to attend. It meant she could let loose. Drinking wasn’t exactly something Nate liked to do a lot of- had to be responsible and all that. And it wasn’t as though Sophie wanted to drink often.. It was just nice, when she didn’t have Holly, to let her hair down.

She’d slipped off her heals before she even made it to Luke’s car. They weren’t exactly the most practical of shoes when you were tottling around, trying not to fall. In fact, the whole journey to the parking-lot had been rather tricky. It was the only reason really, she had let Luke get behind the wheel. There was no way she’d make it walking home. Normally she’d have forbidden him to drive and hidden his keys. For once though, Sophie O’Shea wasn’t on mother duty. She did voice her concerns though. Albeit in a giggly fashion, still though. She had to admit though, he wasn’t that bad. She supposed it was natural driving ability that helped. He was such a lovely driver.. The way his arms stretched out to the steering wheel- Oh. He’d stopped the car, and was talking.

Offering him a warm smile, the brunette giggled. “Fine. Fiine. You’re an amazing drunk driver. I will never doubt you again. Ever ever.” She leaned forward, and pressed her finger softly to his nose. She wasn’t exactly sure why, nor was she ashamed about it. She just... felt like touching him in some way. That was the thing about being drunk, your brain didn’t filter your actions for you. It was nice. Not having so many thoughts buzzing around. These days her brain seemed to go on overload when Luke was around. Letting her finger drop away, she leant back into her seat, attempting to undo her seatbelt. Thing was, she couldn’t exactly get it to work. Since when did these things get so complicated? Frowning, she tried to suppress the urge to giggle.

“Ukie. I think your car is in love with me. It won’t let me get out..” She bit her lip, turning to look at the man beside her. Brown eyes took him in. Had she already told him how good he looked in that suit? Hm, she was sure she had. So instead, she simply giggled. Everything seemed so amusing to the girl right now. Even the idea of being stuck inside Luke’s car forever.

[lucas connor o'shea]

God, that laugh. Feeling the color in his cheeks rise as she pressed her finger against his nose, he squinted his eyes and riggled his face around childishly. She was the adorable one. And here she was making him do adorable things. He scowled, or well, at least tried to scowl. Which was a pretty fail attempt considering his lips had other plans so he proceeded to fight off smiling instead. It was infectious. That laugh was infectious. Every time she did it her face lit up more beautifully then the last time and it felt like her was seeing her for the first time. It made genuinely happy to see her happy like this and his clouded judgment made the man think that this whole going out and drinking thing with Sophie should become a regular deal. Even though it couldn't of course. But one could dream, right?

"Well that makes two of us then," he said with out a thought, the flirtateous words seeming so natural coming off of his lips like they were spoken without a care in the world, "Except he's smarter, y'see?" Smiling, Luke unbuckled himself and and tucked his keys into his pocket. Some where deep down he knew he would kick himself for saying all of this if he remembered in the morning, but for now, the lubrication was strong on his judgement. "Because unlike me. He's not letting you go," the statement was ended with a laugh to cover up the little bit of heart break that came with the reality of it all, his hand sliding over to rest on her buckle. There was a small debate on whether he wanted to just keep her trapped in his car for a while and just sit here, or if he'd set her free before there was a soft click of the fastener and she was loose.

[sophie esther o'shea]

Somewhere, in the back of her mind, Sophie knew that these words were inappropriate. That her husband’s brother shouldn’t be in love with her, nor should his car either really. However the only thing Sophie could bring herself to do was smile and blush a soft pink. His words sent a warm sensation through Sophie. One that had nothing to do with her intoxicated state. It wasn’t a surprise to Sophie either. Somewhere in her heart, she knew. She’d always known. That’s what made being around him so bitter-sweet sometimes. She liked this, not caring or worrying that they’d cross the wordless boundaries that seemed to exist between them. She watched as he undid his own belt, Slightly jealous. Now why couldn’t she do that? Stupid boy, being all clever with his opposable thumbs.

She continued to watch as he moved for her seatbelt. Giving her own little laugh at his words. It was easy to assume he meant ‘letting you go’ just in terms of undoing her belt. It didn’t have to hold any deeper meaning, and tonight she wasn’t even going to consider. Her eyes held his as he paused. She was patiently waiting for him to let her free from the restraint. Maybe he was having problems too? It didn’t occur to her that he may have been deliberating about letting her go. Once she heard the click, Sophie wiggled herself free from the belt, Flinging her arms around Luke’s neck for a moment. “My herroo,” she slurred. Before letting him go and opening the car-door. Which, was actually a lot harder then it needed to be too. “Ukie....” she whined, pouting slightly.

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[lucas connor o'shea]

There was a warm feeling in his stomach as she flung her arms around him and called him her hero. Childhood dream? Check. It wasn't like he hadn't swooped in to save her many of occasions prior to this, and saving her from a grabby seatbelt was the least amount of danger she'd ever be in. But it was still a nice reminder. The warm feeling in his stomach went fuzzy when her sentiments turned physical and her arms had been placed around his neck, his heart skipping a beat she hugged him. His eyes admired the landscape or her back as the heat from her silky skin prickled against his all ready fuzzy-feeling face. Happy that she was the one that pulled back from the hug first (fully knowing that he would have been fine awkwardly sitting in theposition), he just took to laughing at her feeble attempt at the door handle.

"You're fucking adorable," his eyes lit up as he continued to laugh at her with the best of heart - an adoring laugh, not an offensive one. Luke would have paid money to be able to record Sophie when she was like this, drunk and acting like the little girl he used to know her as. It didn't matter how bad of a day he was having, it would cheer him up. Even if she was hopelessly needy at these stages. "Seriously. Adorable..." Giving her one final laugh before swinging open his own door and getting out of the car, he began to speak to himself unaware of if she could hear him or not (and not really caring either way), "So adorable that it hurts me because all I wanna do is kiss you when you're this adorable and it's so hard not to that it pains me. Reaaalllly."

At the end of his rant, he found himself outside of Sophie's door, swinging it open for her and stumbled around it's opposite side. With one hand, he grabbed her purse, swinging it over his shoulder which, if he were fully sober, he would have realized how metro it looked - but just drunkenly figuring it would help her be less cumbersome on her journey to his room. The other hand lay outstretched towards her own, offering her his services on trnasport. If she couldn't get through a car door, the treck to the room was going to be a pilgramage with out his help. "Come on, Miss Midori, we've got a flight of stairs to conquer."

[sophie esther o'shea]

Turning her lips downward, Sophie frowned at the young man. “No swearing. It’s very not polite mister.” She took a breath, about to continue but was stopped by the fact he was getting out of the car. What? Was he just going to leave her in there? Sophie pouted. Was he upset at her swearing comment? He had to have known it was meant out of teasing. It wasn’t the first time she had said something about his language, and usually he had a cute remark to say in return. Oh no, she hoped he wasn’t upset! And who was he talking to? Her frown grew as she made sure to be very still, listening to his words. She was so adorable it hurt? Oh no! That was terrible! She didn’t want him to be in pain.

And-oh.. He wanted to kiss her. Sophie bit the inside of her lip. She... didn’t know quite what to think about that. Did he still think he could hear her? Owe. This was all too much for her head. She looked down, closing her eyes for a moment. When she looked up though, she realised that her door was open, her purse was on his shoulder, and his hand out-stretched. Huh. And he was talking about stairs. Groaning slightly, Sophie shook her head. “Nope. Didn’t you know. You live on the first floor for just now. I think that may just might be safer for everyone involved.” Well, she sure did use a lot of useless words when she was drunk. “Oh and my name isn’t Miss Midori. It’s Miss. I mean Mrs. Mrs.. Yours.” She knew what she had meant, that her last name was the same as his. However it hadn’t exactly come out that way.

Oh well. Instead of dwelling on it, she slipped her dainty hand into his, and attempted to pull herself out of the car. Oh.. That was a bad idea. She was rather dizzy, really. And over-balanced. Without thinking, she let herself fall into him. Clutching at his jacket and resting her head against his shoulder. Without thinking, or considering if he’d know what she was thinking about, she mumbled into his chest. “Sorry I hurt you and you want to kiss me.”

[lucas connor o'shea]

Mrs...His? He knew what she was going for. Mrs. O'Shea. She started with Miss though - fruedian slip maybe? He hoped. Or at least his heart did. If her and Nate did have a divorce though and him and Sophie got married...it'd be less paperwork. At least he had one thing going for him. As she took his hand, he took the liberty of sneaking a peek down the front of her shirt, hopefully gone unnoticed, savored by the man seeing as it wasn't every day that you got to see Sophie Flemming in full dress attire. Before he could punish his sexdrive mentally for having the front of his jeans stir in interest, her body was against him (almost as if his wish had come true). Except alot clumsier then in his dreams...

As she crashed upon him, the liquored up as well Luke had trouble finding his footing - stumbling backwards himself then forward to counter act the weight. His hands held her for support (or so he told himself) as this happened, and as he pushed into his chest, he encourage it by softly pulling her against him. This wasn't the first time that he was able to feel the landscape of Sophie Flemming's body against his own, but it was the first time he didn't have a sober mind to stop himself from enjoying it. The touch of his hands found their way to the small of her back, her waist, her hips, to her shoulders, then back again, his head ducked down to listen as she spoke to him and apologized. With out much thought, he replied, still holding her flawless frame against him in an obligatorily unplatonic manner, "No, Ophie. I'm sorry. That I didn't get you when I had the chance."

[sophie esther o'shea]

Once she felt more balanced, Sophie let her grip loosen on his jacket. Instead, she pressed her palm to his chest. Stroking softly with her finger-tips. Though he was wearing at least two layers, she could still feel his chest beneath her hand. Or at least, imagine how it felt. She wasn’t so sure right now and she wasn’t sure it even mattered. There had been so many times. So many.. When she had watched him. Watched him fix a car, or un-clog her sink, and all she could do was watch the way his chest moved- the way his muscles flexed as he worked. Those sort of thoughts caused sober, demure Sophie to blush and hurriedly think of more appropriate things. Drunk Sophie? She was un-ashamed. Probed on by the hands that moved from spot on her own body. Places that were usually left for more intimate contact.

Closing her eyes, she shook her head. Too many words. Words that meant things. That made her sad. She didn’t want to feel sad right now. Moving her free hand up, she gently placed her index finger to his lips. Leaving it there for a moment until she was sure her message was clear. She then let her finger trail away from his lips. Dancing across his jaw-bone, to his ear, then neck. Where her other fingers joined in the unabashed exploration of his warm skin. Giggling to herself softly, she pressed her face further into his neck. Exposing her own neck to the night air, and anything else that may be lingering.

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[lucas connor o'shea]

Her reaction was the best one he could have thought of. And she was right. It didn't matter. Or at least it didn't matter right now in this moment. This moment was theirs. Their moment of that could either be called clouded judgement or act of true love. As her fingers pressed against his chest his heart raced a little faster, Luke wanted to take off his jacket and button down to have her touch on his skin. Pressing into him. His mind went to other places where her hand would press up against his chest. In the shower, in his bedroom. Here. It wasn't a hard taste to get a man aroused when he's had a few in him. Even a man of great fortitude like Luke. The fact that his dilligence had to deal with the girl he had been in love with and lusted for his whole life, it went beyond his own control with what came next.

With one amazingly smooth motion, he pulled her backwards, slammed the car door shut, pressed her up against it once more and found his hands on her hips. They ran over the curve of her ass, enjoying their shape before picking her up by the backs of her thighs and placing her on the hood of the car. Stepping forward so his stomach pressed against the car, he slid between her legs so that they draped on either side of him, her dress riding up in a way that made his hands that now sat on either side of her waist on the car shake. All he wanted was her. And he couldn't have her. Or at least, not all of her. But it didnt mean he couldnt enjoy the small parts that she offered. With the car hood low enough for her to still nestle into his chest and neck, his hands had replaced themselves onto different parts of her fit figure - his right, running he landscape of her bare back as the other rested upon her thigh.

There were so many words he could have said in that moment to seduce her. How great her dress was. How amazing she looked tonight. How he had to bite his own tongue when she got into the car for fear of making her feel uncomfortable for how in awe of her he was today. How was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen in his life. Instead, he took to pressing himself softly up against the woman, the hand on her back softly running up the ranks to sit on the bare part of neck that was offered slowly, tracing it softly. "I love you, Opie," his voice was low and almost out of breath, strained and almost animalistic but sincere...like a man who had crossed the sahara speaking to an island oasis.

[sophie esther o'shea]

It was all words. All the things he could say to her- that might seduce her and sway her into crossing a line with him. They were just meaningless words. Sophie didn’t need him to say any of them. She knew it all already. Every time he looked at her she could see how pretty he thought she was. How in awe she was. Sophie didn’t need him to utter sweet nothings for her to want Luke. She already did. It was why such careful lines between them existed in the first place. She barely trusted herself with him. And why should she? They’d blurred lines before. Dipped in a toe. About the only thing they hadn’t done was plunged themselves past the point of no return.

Sophie made no move to stop Luke as she felt his hands curve lower, Tucking themselves around her buttocks (not without taking a moment to enjoy themselves first) and settling on her thighs. On impulse, she wrapped her legs around him slightly as he lifted. A thrill rushing through her. Starting in her spine and spreading fast. There was something so... Primal about the way he was touching her. Placing her on the hood of his car and easing himself between her. Nate had never touched her like that. Not even when it was new and exciting between them. She would have felt bad for thinking that thought, but she was drunk, she wanted to be close to her soul-mate... And nothing else mattered at all.

A slight whimper passed her lips as one of his hands settled on her thigh. She felt like her skin was on fire. His touch both igniting the flame, and the only way to sooth her. It wasn’t enough though. It would never be enough. They could never.. Shuddering, she pressed herself closer to him. Tears forming in her eyes. Emotions always seemed to bubble at the surface when you are drunk. “I love you too, Ukie. With every part of me..” While she spoke, the brunette made a bold move. Letting her hands slowly fold his jacket away from his chest, so it fell down his arms. Maybe she’d regret all of this in the morning. But tonight, nothing else felt right.

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