Legendary | s. harrington (18+)

chapter twenty four

TOMMY'S DRIVE was unfamiliar and Eve wanted it to stay that way. Steve was smirking and Eve laughed sheepishly, shaking her head. She slid her black ballet pumps against the ground and stood, slamming the door behind her.

"You're going to leave your car here?" Eve asks, eyeing the toilet roll thrown out across the lawn and at the discarded cans and bottles.

"Yep." Eve looked over Steve's face and he places an unexpected hand on the low of her back. "Stop." He says, laughing and nodding at the cans in his hands. "We're going to have a great time." Though her face was flushed with the presence of his hand against her spine, Eve began to smile. Looking at Steve's face, his bright smile and the laughter he always pulled from her, she thought she would, in fact, have fun.

"Steve!" Tommy's voice, slurring already from the alcohol in his hand, bellowed through the hallway and above the music blasting loudly from a speaker somewhere in his large living room. He hugged him, his can spilling, and Steve patted his back, leaning back cautiously. "I didn't think you'd actually make it," his drunken stare caught sight of Evelyn. His eyes trailed upwards from the hem of her dress. Emerald satin, tight around her chest and waist, flowing around her thighs. He paused. A lopsided grin and his arm around Steve's shoulders tightened. He looked at Steve and slapped him on the chest, straightening himself up. Eve's eyes were scanning the people at the party. She saw Carol in a red long sleeve top, tied high up her chest, pushing up her bra. She had high waist skinny black pants on and her hair was in curls around her face. She was cheering, stood on what Eve presumed to be a table but she couldn't see from all the people overfilling his house. There were men and woman ready to be sick, she was watching them swerve where they stood. She saw several people kissing on the stairs and two individuals, hand in hand, heading towards the doors at the top of them. She felt very out of place.

"Hi Eve." Eve's attention snapped to Tommy. His eyes were not on her face.

"Hello." He nodded, sipping his beer.

"You look hot." He was grinning, whistling and then his hand was on her left wrist. "Lemme show you something." She didn't want to follow him and her breathy protests were drowned out by the crowd. But then there was a hand splitting up their contact and Eve followed it to Steve's chest.

"How about you keep your hands to yourself, Tommy." Tommy laughs, raising his hand in surrender with a smirk.

"Jesus, Harrington. Didn't realise she meant so much to you." Steve pauses, looking at Eve quickly and stuttering. He was shaking his head but it was jerking.

"I-I don't." Eve let out a small breathy laugh.

"Thank you." She whispered to his turned head and he smiled back to her. She was already wound together with nerves, uncomfortable. There were so many people and so many eyes on her that she wasn't totally sure what to do with herself. Steve plucked a can from the six pack in his hands and passed one to her. Eve stuck to Steve like glue, knowing she looked uncomfortable. He could see her scolding herself for it frequently, her nose scrunching up and her hand rubbing her forehead. It made him smile to himself. He walked over to her each time and made it seem there was something he needed to talk to her about.

When Eve was a little drunk and her brain took time to catch up with her, she found she was now lay on the patio outside Tommy's house. The music was loud and obnoxious and she'd found Steve's hand was so warm and fit so well around hers that she didn't want to let go of it. Her head was now on Steve's coat, which he'd put out for her when she wanted to look at the night sky. Somehow, as they mumbled to each other, she found her cheek on his shoulder and Steve's fingers were playing with the dainty gold bracelet on her wrist. His fingers kept catching hers and tangling with them and they both told themselves it was an accident. But it was hard when her hand was on his stomach and her eyelashes kept brushing his bare skin. Steve closes his eyes, breathing her in while she spoke; she smelt of vanilla and coffee and perfume. It was a pretty, fruity smell that was sat in her hair. She was talking about something, not making much sense, and he was smiling and felt his chest was tight. He wanted to stay here, in this moment, forever. But he couldn't.