Can Tom Commit? - Chapter One
"He's your what?" Tom asked as Liz sunk into the enormous beanbag chair shaped like a lion's head. The beanbag was in front of the zebra striped couch in Tom's "play room." A pinball machine and jukebox stood glowing on the opposite wall.
"He's. My. Boyfriend. Kind of." She said slowly, enunciating each word. She adjusted her bra strap and wiggled her toes on the fuzzy shag carpet that covered the floor. "Why did you get shag carpet?"
"Liz, he's your boyfriend, kind of?" He stood there in his heart printed boxers, with his hands on his hips.
"Why do you look so shocked? It's not like you and I exclusive. In fact, I remember you saying exactly the opposite. You said we were going to see other people because with you being gone all the time it would just be easier." Liz curled her feet up under herself and asked again, "Why did you get shag carpet?"
"Because it goes with everything else." He said quickly, taking a couple steps into the room.
"No, it's doesn't! It's green." She glanced around the room.
"It does because it's a jungle theme and..." he sighed and stopped. "Come on Liz, you don't really mean you're seeing this guy, do you?" He said softly as he sat on the floor in front of her and ran his hand up her thigh.
"He and I go out." She smiled and shrugged as he peppered her thigh with butterfly kisses all the way up to her hipbone. He circled his tongue at the edge of her pink lace panties and smiled up at her.
"Yeah but do you and he... well, you know." He trailed his tongue up Liz's bare tummy to the bottom of her bra, supporting himself on his hands placed close to her head. The beans in the beanbag shifted under his weight as he brought his mouth up to hers. He nibbled on her bottom lip for a second before she reached up and pulled him closer for the kiss she had been anticipating.
"Not all the time." Liz said as she gently tugged on one of strands of cornrowed hair dangling merely inches above her. It was beginning to get longer and braids were looking a little frayed.
"Whoa, wait! Not all the time?" He stopped and held his face a few inches above hers.
"Exactly." She nodded and brushed her bangs off her forehead. He didn't say anything for a minute. He just stared at her with a look of shock and amazement. "Oh come on, Tom. You can't sit here and honestly tell me you don't see other girls while you're out on the road. I was one of those girls, remember?"
"Yeah but, Liz..."
She cut him off mid sentence, "But Liz what? It's different? Please." She rolled her eyes and scooted out from under him. She leaned back against the couch and played with the shag carpeting. "It doesn't bother me that I'm just someone you come home and have sex with. You know that. I've told you that." She kept her eyes on the carpet, not completely meaning what she said.
"Liz, you know it's not like that." He scooted over and sat beside her, lacing his fingers through hers.
"It is like that." Liz said forcefully. "And that's okay. But you wanted us to see other people and so I am."
"Yeah but..." He trailed off.
"You hook up with girls, Tom." She kept her eyes from his, and studied the zebra print on the couch.
"Like, less than once a week. Maybe."
"So? I hook up with Matt less than once a week."
"Yeah, but I don't go out with those girls."
"You don't go out clubbing with a dozen different girls?" She laughed.
"How does that compare?"
"Tom." She sighed. "I like you a lot. I do but we don't have a relationship outside of sex."
"Liz..."
"No, but that's okay." She shook her head.
"That kind of makes you sound like a slut."
"That kind of makes both of us sound like sluts." She smiled. "But Tom, that's fine. We get what we need from each other."
"And then some..." He pouted.
"Hey now, I haven't asked you for anything." She poked him in the side.
"That just gives me the creeps that you're out with another guy all the time."
"Well, it gives me the creeps that you're out with other girls all the time."
"Yeah, but it's not like I go out with them alone. I'm with the other guys."
"Tom, that doesn't change anything." She explained.
"I don't know." He paused and played with the carpet. "I guess I just... I don't know. I just liked the thought of you waiting here for me."
Liz couldn't help herself, she laughed out loud, "Tom, I don't wait here for you, just like you don't wait around for me."
"I know." He sighed.
"I don't know how you could think that I, or any girl for that matter, would sit around waiting for you while you're out livin' it up with other girls." The moment she said it, she wanted to take it back. The flash of pain in his eyes proved she had touched an exposed nerve.
"But Liz, I thought it would be different with you. You're much more than just a one night stand."
"I'm just an extended one night stand. If you want things to be different, then you have to make some serious changes."
"Like what?"
She looked him in the eye and said, "Like stop hooking up with girls on the road."
"And?"
"Stay faithful to the girl back home." She motioned toward herself.
"While you're out livin' it up with Matt?"
"If you want a relationship, a real relationship with me, I'll stop seeing Matt."
"You would?" He brushed her bangs off her forehead with his finger and let a smile creep slowly across his lips.
"If you quit playing the field." He didn't respond for a second. "See?" She laughed. "There's no way you can do it."
"I can so." He said defensively. He leaned over and nibbled her neck playfully. "I can be faithful." He moved his way up to her ear lobe as she wrapped her arms around his neck and laughed.
"This I've got to see. Germany's infamous playboy committed to one girl." She giggled.
"I'll show you." He growled with a laugh and pulled her hips so she was flat on her back on the ugly green shag carpeting.
Three weeks later, Tom and his band were in the middle of a United States tour, getting ready to head out for a night on the town with Bill and Georg. He was standing in the bathroom of his small hotel room putting gel on his hair to smooth down his braids.
He was putting on his deodorant as Bill knocked on the door. "Just a sec!" Tom shouted as he dropped the deodorant on the counter and grabbed a white and black jacket off the bed. He threw the door open and joined Bill in the hall. "Where are the others?"
"Gustav's not coming. He'd rather stay in tonight. Georg's meeting us there, he's got um, company." Bill smiled.
"Go Georg!" Tom laughed as they stepped onto the elevator and rode down to the basement. They wove their way through the maze of halls to the door to freedom. Bill pushed it open and Tom followed him across the dark parking lot to where a taxi waited with a big guy standing beside it.
"Hey guys. Where's Georg?" The man asked as he pulled the door open.
"Hey, he's gonna meet us there. He's 'busy' at the moment." Bill said as he scooted into the backseat.
"Have you cased the joint yet?" Tom asked as their bodyguard got in beside them and shut the door.
"I did a drive by, it looks good. As far as we know, no one even knows you're in town yet, we weren't expected till tomorrow." He said.
"Sweet." Tom nodded and bounced his head to a beat only he could hear.
They got to the club and entered through the busy front door. Tom immediately headed for the bar to get a drink while Bill went to the edge of the dance floor to get a feel for the crowd and music before he jumped in.
"Jack on the rocks." Tom said as he leaned against the bar. A moment later his drink was set in front of him. Tom slammed it down then placed $10 on the bar. "Thanks man." He took the empty glass and turned away from the bar. He brought the glass to his lips and took a piece of ice in his mouth to suck on as he surveyed the crowd.
That's when he spotted her. A cute little blonde dancing alone near the edge of the dance floor, in front of the DJ. Her short hair swayed from side to side as she moved her body to the music. She was the one tonight. He smiled and chewed the piece of ice in his mouth before he set his glass down on the bar and danced his way over to her. He was a good 5 feet away when Bill suddenly appeared at her side. He leaned in and said something in her ear that made her laugh. She followed him to the center of the floor.
"Damn it, Bill." Tom smiled and shook his head, now he needed a replacement. He stood back and kept his eyes open.
"Who's the blonde with Bill?" Georg asked, startling Tom who hadn't seen him walk up.
"My date." Tom smirked.
"He's dancing with your girl?" Georg asked, watching Bill and the blonde dance.
"Well, he got to her first. But she could have been mine." Tom laughed and patted Georg on the back. He smiled. "C'mon, we gotta get out there."
"Hey, wait up. Some girl called my room tonight. Saying she was your friend or something like that?"
"Yeah. Right." Tom laughed and rolled his eyes.
"I'm telling you, she called me looking for you. If you gave some girl your number here, you gave her the wrong room number. Whomever she is, she's looking for you."
"You know I don't give out numbers. Who was it?" Tom asked, trying to be heard over the music.
"I don't remember! I don't know man. Do you care though?"
"I don't." Tom shook his head and headed out to the dance floor, Georg and the mysterious caller forgotten.
It was after three in the morning when the three party boys returned to the hotel alone.
The next morning Liz phoned the hotel again looking for Tom. "Speak." The dead sounding voice answered the phone.
"Tom?" She asked.
"Huh?" The voice grumbled.
"Is this Tom?"
"No. Who is this?"
"This is Liz. Who's this?" She asked.
"That doesn't matter. I'm not Tom. You got the wrong room and it's fuckin' six in the morning. What do you want?"
"I'd like to speak with Tom. When you see him, can you please tell him I called?"
"Sure." The voice said before hanging up.
They had to be up and at breakfast by 8:30 that morning and amazingly they all made it on time. They weren't all awake, but they were all there. Gustav was asleep standing up, propped against the wall by the breakfast table. Bill was curled up in a ball on one of the couches and Tom was going through the motions of eating cereal, dripping milk up his chest in the process.
"You got a hole in your spoon?" Georg smiled as Tom dropped a Cheerio on his shirt.
"Hmm? I didn't get much sleep last night so I'm not asleep." Tom mumbled. "Awake, I mean. I'm not awake. See?" He smiled and took another bite successfully.
"Tom." The creature on the couch growled.
"It speaks!" Georg cheered.
"Tom." Bill repeated.
"What?"
"That girl that called Georg's room last night called again this morning."
"What girl?"
"The one Georg was telling you about last night. Man, she's got balls to call at 6 in the morning."
"I have no idea who you're talking about."
"Damn it, Tom." Bill sat up and ran his hands through his hair. "Last night Georg told you she called."
"I don't know who she is."
"Well, she called me this morning."
"What do you want me to do about it?"
"Make her stop." He grumbled, then curled up in a ball again.
"I don't know who she is." Tom said, mostly to himself.
They finished up breakfast, woke the sleepers then practiced for a couple of hours. They had a full schedule that day; a radio interview, a team meeting, a new venue to prepare and a meet and greet before the sound check and show.
Halfway through the meet and greet, Georg leaned forward on the table and tapped Tom's arm. "Liz." He said.
"No, I'm Tom." Tom said as he signed his name on glossy photo placed in front of him. He smiled at the fan and passed the photo go Georg.
"The girl who keeps calling for you."
"Liz?" Tom's eyes flew open. "Oh! Liz! Yeah, I know her."
"Well, she obviously wants you to call." Bill offered into the conversation as he smiled for a picture and took the teddy bear the fan offered, signing it's butt. He then passed it along to Tom.
"Okay, I will."
"And give her your number. If she calls me at 6 in the morning again, I don't care who she is, I'm gonna choke her." Bill smiled sweetly at the next fan in line and said, "How are you? Having fun?"
When they got back to the bus, Tom shut himself in the back room to have some privacy. He opened his cell phone and scrolled down until he found her name. He stared at it for a minute and smiled before he pressed the button to call.
Liz heard the phone start to ring as she turned the key in the lock of her front door. She pushed the door open and dropped her purse on the floor as she dove for the phone hanging on the wall in the kitchen. "Hello?" She asked, half out of breath.
"Hi, Liz?" Tom asked.
"That's me." She smiled. "Tom?"
"Yeah. Hey! How are you? I heard you called." He smiled and pulled a string on the hem of one of his t-shirts.
"Yeah. Who was that who answered this morning? Do you know?" Liz asked.
"Um, that was Bill." Tom laughed. "He's not a morning person."
"I can tell." She smiled. "But when I called the hotel and asked for you they rang his room." She smiled and pulled the phone cord around so she could sit on the counter. She kicked her flip flops to the floor and said, "So maybe something's backwards there."
"He and I switched rooms. He liked the lighting in my room better so ..." He trailed off. "So yeah. How did you know where we were staying?"
"Because you talk a lot, Tom." She smiled and twisted the phone cord around her finger. "You told me you guys always stay at the Marriott or the Hilton. I tried your cell but the number you gave me goes to a McDonald's downtown." She opened the cupboard by her head and pulled out a box of animal crackers. "So I figured either you were trying to ditch me or I have phone retardation. One things for sure, no one named Tom works at the McDonald's."
He laughed and said, "No, I think I know what happened. I gave you the wrong area code. My cell is in 321." He said.
"Yep, that might help." She popped an animal cracker in her mouth.
"So, I was right." She stated although she meant it as more of a question.
"Right? About what?"
"You can't do it." She looked down at her bright pink painted toenails.
"I can't do what?" He asked, genuinely confused.
"Have a real relationship."
"I can so have a real relationship." He said defensively.
"Yeah?" She smirked. "Well, prove it. Take me on a date when you get back here."
"A date will prove I can actually have a relationship?"
"It's a start." She took one more animal cracker out, put the box away and hopped off the counter. She kicked her shoes out of the way and stretched the cord to the dining room table and sat. "Are you accepting this mission? To be faithful to me: the lonely girl back home?"
"I accept the mission. That means I can't hook up right?"
"Or go out."
"I don't go out with girls." He stated smugly.
"I meant like go clubbing."
"But I like to dance." He pouted.
"That's fine. Just know that you officially have a girlfriend now."
"That sounds so weird."
"Get used to it." Liz laughed. "How long should I torture you? Your tour ends in two months, right?"
"Yeah. September 29th is our final show." He said.
"Okay. October 31st. Halloween. Let's see if you can be a faithful boyfriend until then."
"And then what?"
"We'll have to see how it goes." She laughed. "Don't get ahead of yourself!"
"You're going to be surprised." He said softly.
"I think you will too." She grinned and played with the tie on the cushion of the chair.
"No more Matt?" He asked a second later.
"No." She shook her head. Matt had been history for a while.
"Okay. I've got to get going, we've got a thousand more things to do today before the show."
"Okay." She nodded. "Um, I guess I'll talk to you later."
"Yeah." He smiled. "Just don't call the hotel, Bill will shit kittens if you call his room again at 6 in the morning."
"Deal." She laughed and they hung up. "Whoa." She thought to herself. " I am officially the girlfriend of the famously known playboy, Tom Kaulitz."
"Was that the girl?" Bill asked as Tom walked out to the front of the bus where the others were relaxing.
"Hmm? Yeah." Tom said slowly as he gave Bill a look and sat on the couch across from Gustav, who was wearing his iPod and tuning everyone out.
They traveled and played all of the next week and ended up in Arizona. It was close to 100º and the guys were cranky and hot. As soon as they checked in they got security clearance and headed to the pool. They knew they'd only have a short amount of time before the fans found them out there or the paparazzi would catch wind of their arrival and they'd be hustled back inside.
"AAAHHHHHH!" Tom yelled as he ran through the opened gates of the pool and did a cannon ball into the deep end.
"How's the water?" Gustav asked as he walked up with the other two guys.
"It's great! Come on in." Tom wiped the water from his face and eyes.
"Nu-uh. No way! People pee in public pools." Bill laughed and took his book to a shade covered table.
"Sorry, I can't discuss that with you right now. I'm peeing in the pool and I can't concentrate on peeing while someone's talking to me." Tom paused waiting for a laugh. Bill just rolled his eyes and opened his book to begin reading. "Does he think I really pee in the pool?" Tom asked Georg and Gustav. "I was only kidding." He laughed.
"No, he just has to protect his albino skin." Georg laughed and jumped in beside Tom. Two girls giggled and came in through the open gate. They headed for a couple lounge chairs in the corner and sat their stuff down. Tom watched them the whole time.
Gustav joined them in the pool and they played around for a little bit before Tom noticed Gustav resting his arms on the edge of the pool chatting with the girls. Tom swam over slowly and came up beside him, "Hey, G. What's up?" He and smiled at the girls, "Hi, I'm Tom."
"Hi." They giggled.
"I'm Claire." Said the blonde in the tiny red bikini.
"And I'm Kassie." Said the brunette with the black mesh one piece.
"Claire and Kassie, is it? Are you going to get in the pool and cool off, or not?" Tom gave them his best flirtatious smile and they melted.
They all played in the pool for almost an hour. Fans started lining up outside the gate, shouting and taking pictures. The guys waved to the fans over their shoulders before they headed in, followed by a Claire and Kassie.
"So what are you guys doing tonight?" Claire asked.
"We're going to try to try and find a good club to go to. Do you know of anywhere near here?" Georg asked.
"Yeah, I know a few places." Kassie nodded.
"Okay. Why don't you go get cleaned up and meet us back here around 9?" Tom offered.
"Okay!" They beamed.
"All right. We'll meet you in the lobby." Tom smiled and pulled them each in for a hug before they left.
"Tom, you amaze me sometimes." Bill laughed as they all squeezed into an elevator to go back to their rooms.
Tom stood in his bathroom a few hours later getting ready to go out. He was in the process of zipping his pants when he heard his cell phone in the other room. He zipped them up and pulled a white T-shirt over his head as he made his way around the luggage obstacle course to the bed. He sat on the corner of the bed and picked up his cell phone. "Hallo?" He cradled it between his ear and shoulder as he reached for a pair of socks.
"Hey there, sexy." Liz smiled and smoothed down her hair. She was happy to hear Tom's voice.
"Hey! How are you?" He asked as he pulled one sock on.
"Good. I had one hell of a day yesterday at work. And you?"
"It was a good day. It's hotter than hell, but we got to spend some time in the pool and everything."
"Where are you?" She asked as she opened the fridge and pulled out the milk. She got a glass from the cabinet and filled it halfway with the milk before putting the gallon back in the fridge.
"Arizona. I think we're in Phoenix actually." He dropped the phone as he reached for his shoes in a nearby suitcase. "Sorry, I dropped you."
"Ouch." She laughed and sat down on the couch. "So I heard you were coming back to Germany for a weekend?"
"Yeah, next Thursday, I think. We get in that afternoon and we leave again on Saturday morning." He explained, trying to get his other sock on.
"Would you like a ride from the airport or something?"
"No. You don't have to do that." He said distractedly.
"I know I don't have to." She said softly. "I want to."
"You would?" He asked, he dropped his shoe to the floor. He wasn't expecting that.
"Absolutely." She smiled.
"I've never had anyone meet me at the airport before. Well, except for fans." He smiled and reached for the dropped shoe.
"That's one of the pros of having a girlfriend." She laughed softly and drew figure eights all over her little scratch pad.
"One of them? What are the others?"
"I guess you'll just have to wait and see." She smiled and thought of how she could show him the 'pros.' "When does your flight come in?"
"Um, hang on, let me my itinerary."
She waited patiently while Tom put the phone down and rummaged through his bags, looking for the printed itinerary. He found it, and told her the time and flight number for his arrival the next week. "Alright. I'll be there." She smiled and wrote it on her scratch paper with circles drawn around it so she would be sure not to miss it. She made a mental note to set an alarm on her phone also as a reminder.
"If you can't make it, let me know."
"I can make it." She smiled.
There was a knock on Tom's door, so he took the phone with him to answer, "Hang on, there's someone at my door." He said to Liz. He pulled the door open and saw Gustav and Georg standing there all dressed and ready to go.
"Come on Tom. The girls are waiting in the lobby." Gustav said as a way of a greeting.
"Oh." Tom said slowly. He had promised Liz he wouldn't go out with any girls, and she was on the phone hearing it all. "That's okay guys. You go ahead and go." He said, gesturing to the phone in his hands with a 'just do it and don't ask me questions' look.
"You sure?" Georg asked.
"Yeah, I'm just gonna stay in tonight." He said slowly.
"All right, but you don't know what you're missing." Gustav shrugged and headed toward the elevator.
"Hi, Tom's girlfriend!" Georg shouted in the general direction of the phone in Tom's hand before he followed Gustav
"Who was that?" Liz laughed when Tom came back on the line.
"Um, Georg and Gustav." He said.
"They sound fun." She smiled.
"Yeah. They try." He nodded and sat down to take his shoes off.
"Are they going out tonight?" She asked cautiously.
"Yeah, I guess." Tom said. "With the girls I found." He thought to himself. He was having second thoughts about this whole girlfriend thing. "Why can't I just have both?" He knew just how ridiculous that sounded. He wanted Liz, but he also wanted the thrill of the chase. He sighed softly into the phone.
"What was that sigh for?" She asked with a smile.
"Nothing." He said. "It's just been one of those weeks."
"Oh yeah?" She asked as he tossed his shoes to the floor at the foot of the bed.
"Yeah." He fell back on the bed and draped his arm over his eyes. "We've just been busy."
"You'll be home soon. You can relax then." Liz smiled.
"I know." He said in a soft scratchy voice. "What are you doing?"
"Nothing. I had one hell of a day at work. This guy came in and was yelling at me because I wouldn't let his kid return a pair of Adidas sneakers that were clearly worn." Liz sighed and continued, "Then this horrible woman wanted to file a complaint against me because we don't carry Donna Karan in size 28."
"Hmmm." He said.
"I'm sure you don't want to hear about all of that. Boring details of my life." Liz pulled off the couch before she clicked the lights off and walked through her apartment to her room in the back. "I just wanted to say hi and see what you were doing before I went to bed."
"You're going to bed?" He asked, as he stifled a yawn. "When did I get so tired?" He asked himself.
"Yeah, well, I'm going back to bed. I got up just to call you. It's 6 in the morning here." Liz said as she crawled back into her soft warm bed.
"Did you go out after work?" Tom asked as he took his socks off.
"No, I don't have the time or energy to go out when I get off. I have to get up at 8:30 tomorrow, well technically today, and do it all over again." She explained.
"What hours do you work?" Tom asked with a frown.
"I work from 9:30 till 3:30 at Saks and then from 6 to 11 at Brewer's Pub."
"How do you not die?"
"I need the money if I'm ever going to go back to school. That's what motivates me."
"Yeah, but if you keep going like that you won't make it."
"It's not that bad really. I only work at Saks 5 days a week and at Brewer's for 3. I got it covered."
"If it's just money you need, you know I can help you." Tom cleared his throat, trying not to think about the guys out at the club.
"No, I know." Liz said, the topic always made her a little uncomfortable.
"I can send you some money."
"I know you could." She smiled. "But I don't need it from you. Don't worry about me. I'm a big girl. I can do this."
"Isn't that what boyfriends are supposed to do?" He cracked a small smile.
"I suppose." She laughed. "You catch on quick."
"Yeah, I do."
Liz smile and pulled the covers up around her. "So what are you doing tonight?"
"Nothing." Tom stood up and stretched his arms over his head. "We have tonight off. I thought about going out but I guess I'm just going to go to bed and stuff."
"And stuff?" She smiled.
"Yeah. Stuff like talk to you on the phone and check my e-mail and stuff." He smiled and walked across the room to the little table where his laptop was set up.
"Sounds like fun." Liz yawned and snuggled deeper into the covers. She turned the bedside light off.
"Yeah, well." He shrugged and turned the computer on.
"Well." Liz said a minute later, "I can barely keep my eyes open, so I'm going to go back to sleep for another hour or so."
"Okay." Tom said softly as he maneuvered the mouse and clicked to get on the internet.
"I'll talk to you later then?" She asked.
"Yeah, I'll call before we come home." He nodded to himself.
"Okay." She said slowly. "Have a good night."
"Thanks. You too." He said as he turned the phone off. He clicked the icon to check for new e-mail. He had none.
Liz hung up the phone and opened the calendar on her phone to set an alarm to remind her of when to pick Tom up from the airport. She then closed her eyes and drifted back to sleep.
Thursday afternoon Liz was standing at the gate of the airport waiting for Tom. She fidgeted with her blouse and tucked her hair behind her ear. She had never been to the airport to pick up a boyfriend before and Tom wasn't just any boyfriend.
Liz checked her watch for the third time in five minutes then took a deep breath. She let it out slowly and decided to check out the little gift shop to kill some time. She had more than twenty minutes before Tom's flight was supposed to land. She getting more nervous as the minutes passed.
She picked up a magazine and began to flip through it. She couldn't really focus on the pages. She did this for a few minutes before a story caught her attention "It happened to me: Christina M. age 24 has spent the last 15 years in a mental hospital; put there by her parents." Liz leaned against the book rack becoming instantly interested in the story. She was so absorbed in the article that, twenty minutes later, she didn't hear Tom come up behind her. She felt the presence behind her, but didn't know who it was. Whoever it was, they were standing a little too close for comfort so she stepped forward two steps without taking her eyes off the page of the magazine.
Tom grinned and put his duffel bag on the floor beside Liz's feet. He took another step forward. He felt Liz lean away from him. She let out an annoyed sigh. "If you move any closer you'll be standing in the rack." Tom whispered dangerously close to her ear.
This startled Liz. She jumped and dropped the magazine. As she bent to pick it up she heard Tom laugh lightly behind her. "Oh my God! I missed your flight!" She exclaimed with a laugh and threw her arms around him.
"It's okay." He smiled. He held her close and caught a whiff of her perfume. He had almost forgotten what it was like to be greeted by someone who was truly happy to see him. "We were on our way out. Thankfully I saw you standing in here." He still hadn't let go.
"How was your flight?" She asked, finally taking a step back.
"It was okay." He shrugged. He noticed he couldn't stop smiling. He leaned down and kissed her lips softly with his hand on her lower back. "I'm happy to be home."
"Me too." She smiled and kissed him back. She reached to grab his duffel bag. "Let's go. I can imagine you must be tired."
"You have no idea." He laughed and followed her out of the gift shop. He reached for her hand as they stepped onto the escalator going down to the lower level of the airport. Before they walked outside he pulled a cap out of his bag. He did his best to disguise himself and covered his eyes with dark black sunglasses. Liz led the way to her car across the parking lot and opened the trunk. She tossed the duffel bag in and slammed it shut. Tom just stood there watching her. "What was I thinking? She has to be the one." Tom thought to himself.
"What?" She asked. She gave him a look. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Nothing." He said as he smiled and reached out to her. He pulled her into another hug and sighed by her ear. "I've missed you." He said said hoarsely.
"I've missed you too." Liz said as she felt him hug her a little tighter. When they parted, she opened the driver's side door and hit the mechanical button to unlock the passenger's door. Tom hopped in beside her as she started the car and backed out of the parking space.
Tom leaned his head against the window. Before long he had dozed off during the long drive back to his house. Liz pulled up to the gate. She entered the code and waited as the gate swung open. She pulled her little Mazda up the paved pathway to the garage and parked just outside the garage door. She turned the car off and sighed. Tom was sound asleep and snoring lightly. She smiled and just stared at him for a few minutes. His mouth was open a fraction of an inch and there was a small black piece of fuzz stuck on his chin. She reached over and lightly plucked it off. He opened his eyes.
"We're at your house." She said softly.
"Good." He rubbed his eyes and stretched. They got his bag out of the trunk and she followed him up to the front door. He dropped his duffel bag just inside the door and disarmed the alarm system.
"I'm gonna go so you can get back to your nap." Liz said as she held the front door open.
"No. Don't leave." He said as he pulled her into his arms. "Stay, please?" He whispered before he kissed her. That made her knees go weak.
"No." She said as she regained her footing. "You've need some time for planning our date tomorrow."
"Our date?" He asked thoughtfully.
"Yes. Our date. Our first date." She laughed, "You forgot, didn't you?" She smiled daring him to admit it.
"No, I didn't forget! I just thought you'd like to, you know, stay in tonight."
"I have every intention of staying in tonight." She laughed and took a step back. "But you need some sleep and to visit with your family. And of course to make some plans."
"I can visit my family tomorrow." He said, pulling her close again.
"Tom." She frowned at him playfully, "You can't visit with your family tomorrow because you're taking me out. Stop arguing."
"Okay, fine. But will you come lay down with me until I fall asleep?" He wasn't giving up very easily.
"No, because it won't lead to you sleeping." She laughed. Liz took a step out the front door.
"So that's it?" He followed her out onto the porch. "You're just going to drop me off? I don't get anything else?" He smiled and squinted into the setting sun.
She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him softly on the lips, then said, "Basically."
"Playing hard to get doesn't work with me." He said and put his hands on his hips.
She raised her eyebrow at him. "I wouldn't really call myself hard to get."
"You know what I mean." He smiled and tried to kiss her again.
She stopped him with her finger. "Tom, if you want to have a real relationship there has to be more than just sex."
"There is more than just sex! I just want you to come lay beside me. I won't try anything! I promise!" He aimed a kiss for her neck as she stepped away. "What? You trust me?"
"It's not you I don't trust." She laughed. "I want this to work just as much as you do, but it can't all be all about sex. I've known you for how long? 7 or 8 months? I don't really know the first thing about you. I've never met your friends or your band mates. You've never met my friends. I've never even seen what you do for a living."
"You want to know that stuff?" He asked.
"I do." She laughed.
"Okay." He nodded. "So you sure you're not coming back in?"
She shook her head and smiled, "Nope. Go take a nap. You look like you could use a good 10 to 12 hours of sleep. I'll come over in the morning with breakfast. How does that sound?"
"Really good actually." He smiled and tried to cover a yawn.
She smiled and pulled him in for a hug. "If you're awake later call me."
He nodded and kissed her one last time before she got in her car and headed home. Liz took a deep breath as she drove down the driveway. It took every ounce of her self-control to not join Tom in bed. She wanted a relationship with him, but she wanted him as well.
Tom watched Liz's car drive away as the gate to his driveway shut. He sighed, shut the front door and headed down the hall to his bedroom. He tossed his shirt on the floor and flopped face down on the cool blankets on his bed. He folded one of the two pillows on the bed in half and tucked it under his head. He was extremely tired and 10-12 hours would be just enough for him. It didn't change the fact that he wanted Liz there, to hold if nothing else. But he knew there would have been more going on if she had stayed. If that was all he wanted, he could pick up the phone and within a half hour get that with no strings attached. But he wanted Liz and that was that. He could do this whole 'boyfriend' thing! He was determined! He would prove it to her and to himself!
Early the next morning Liz stood on Tom's porch with a small bag of groceries filled with things to make breakfast. She set the bag down long enough to ring the doorbell and waited patiently. She heard someone shuffling around inside. She heard a thud and a swear before Tom pulled the door open to the sound of the alarm beeping urgently near his shoulder.
"Damn it!" He grumbled as punched the code in quickly. He sighed as he turned to Liz and smiled. "Morning."
"Good morning to you too." She smiled and stepped into the entryway. "Did I wake you?"
"Yeah." He yawned and shut the door behind her. He followed slowly behind her as she headed down the tiled hall to the kitchen. She set the bag of groceries on the counter and turned around to face Tom. He was leaning against the doorway of the kitchen scratching his jaw.
"What time is it?" He asked as he yawned.
"It's almost nine." Liz said as she walked over to him. She wrapped her arms around his waist and pulled him close. "You're pretty hot when you're tired." She leaned up and kissed him softly.
"I have nasty morning breath." He said and kissed her forehead.
"Why don't you go shower. By the time you're done breakfast will be ready." She said as she took a step back. "I'm making waffles. How does that sound?"
"A lot better than bagels or cold cereal." He smiled and stretched his arms over his head before he hitched up his boxers and shuffled down the hall. "Hey Liz?" He asked from the foot of the stairs.
"Yeah?" She opened the box of waffle mix.
"Wanna join me?" He smiled.
Liz laughed quietly, "No, I have to make the waffles."
"You sure? I'll make it fun."
"I'm sure you will, but you want breakfast don't you?"
"Do I have a choice?" He laughed.
"No!" Liz laughed and continued. "Go shower! I'm dying to hear what you've got planned for our date."
"Okay, but you don't know what you're missing."
He walked up a few steps before Liz said, "Yes, I do!"
Liz stood alone in the kitchen and mixed up the batter as the waffle iron warmed up. She poured the batter into the iron and before long she had made a large stack of waffles. While waiting for the waffles to cook, she had cut up some fresh fruit she had brought with her. She could still hear the water running upstairs so she piled the waffles onto a plate and placed them into the oven to keep warm. Liz wiped her hands on a clean kitchen towel and made her way upstairs.
As she walked into the familiar master bedroom, she could hear Tom singing in the shower, "SWEET HOME ALABAMA!!!" Liz smiled and slowly pushed the bathroom door open. She leaned against the counter and watched him do a little dance through the almost transparent glass bricks.
"Aren't you finished yet?" Liz asked as she crossed her arms over her chest.
"Almost." He said loud enough to be heard over the running water. She watched as his arms went up to rinse the shampoo out of his hair. "You absolutely sure you don't want to join me?" He said as he smiled and let the water run over his face.
"Your breakfast is going to get cold and yucky." She said as she grabbed the towel sitting on the counter closest to the shower. She unfolded it then refolded it out of habit.
"That doesn't answer my question." He ran a bar of soap over his chest and waited for her response.
"No, I'm not sure I don't want to join you." She smiled and thought, Let him figure that one out."
"Is that a yes or a no? I'm confused." He asked a second later.
"It's a no." She smiled. "Not because I don't want to though."
"You can be such a girl sometimes. Say what you mean!" He placed the soap back in the soap dish and turned his back to the water.
"I am a girl, moron! I do want to join you, but I'm not going to because I've made you a nice breakfast and it's time to eat." She stood closer to the shower door as he turned the water off. He shook his head to get rid of any excess water and opened the shower door where Liz stood with a towel.
Tom wrapped the large towel around his waist and looped his finger through the belt loop on her jeans. He pulled her close to him and gave her a wet hug, "We can always heat up the breakfast later." He said softly as he nibbled her neck. Liz could smell the soap on his skin and thought what he said was a great idea.
"No, Tom." She smiled but didn't move away as he kissed his way up to her mouth. He turned her around so that she was leaned against the counter and kissed her again. His breath had quickened and her heart began to pound. A drop of water fell from his hair to her chest as she pushed him away. "Okay, okay. Down boy. Let's go eat."
"I'm not hungry now. At least not for food." He grinned devilishly.
"Yes, you are." She slid away from the counter and took a deep breath. This was going to be as hard for her as it was for him. "Besides, I want to know what you have planned for today."
"Can I eat in my towel?" He asked and raised an eyebrow at her.
"I don't care what you eat in." She smiled.
He laughed and said, "Okay, lead the way." He motioned with his arm. She turned and left the bathroom heading for the stairs. "What would you say if all I had planned for the rest of the day was some good sex and then kung-fu movies?"
"Please tell me you're kidding. I can think of a thousand things better than that. That's really not a good idea for a first date." Liz smiled over her shoulder as she began to descend the stairs into the kitchen.
"Yes, it is." He laughed as they both reached the kitchen. He leaned against the tile counter top, picked up a grape and ate it slowly.
"No, it's not. Seriously, you better have something better than that in mind." Liz reached into the oven with the oven mitts and placed the plate of waffles on the table.
"Mmmm, lecker lecker waffeln!" Tom said as he tightened the towel around his waist and sat at the little table by the window.
"Thanks." Liz smiled and sat across from him. She stabbed a piece of melon with her fork and ate it while she pulled her hair back in a ponytail.
Tom helped himself to a couple pancakes and drizzled syrup over the top. He took a bite and smiled, "This is really good. Thank you."
"You're easy to please. It's just a little Bisquick and some syrup." Liz laughed and placed two waffles on her plate. "So, what are we doing today?"
"We're going boating." He said slowly as he cut his waffles into bite sized pieces.
"Really?" Liz said surprised. He had really made plans!
"Yes." He said as he concentrated on cutting. "Did you bring a jacket?" He looked up at her in a T-shirt and jeans.
"No, it's not really that cold out there." She said.
"It'll be cold on the water. I think I have something you can wear." He smiled.
"Okay." She nodded and took a bite. "How are we going boating? You don't have a boat."
"No, I don't. But one of Gustav's friends does. I've been out on it before so he's going to let me take it out today."
"What kind of boat is it?"
"It's a speedboat type. We usually go water skiing on it or tubing." He explained with a full mouth.
"I am not water skiing." She said as stopped her fork halfway to her mouth.
"No, we're not water skiing today. We're just going to take it out." He speared a piece of cantaloupe and ate it.
"Sounds fun."
He nodded and chewed slowly. "And then -"
"There's more?"
"This is a date right?" He smiled.
"Yes."
"Okay! Then we're going to go to Rendezvous because you can dock the boat there where the outside dining area is." He was enjoying the surprised look on Liz's face. "You didn't think I could do it, did you?"
"I'm not sure what I thought but I never expected this." She smiled.
"What did you expect?"
"Some good sex and then kung-fu movies." She laughed.
"You know me better than that." He smiled and blushed.
"Actually, I don't."
"We'll just have to work on that, won't we?" Tom said softly with a smile.
"Yes, we will." Liz smiled. They continued with their breakfast. When they were through, Liz took the dishes to the sink and began to wipe them off.
Tom came and stood beside her. "You know, there's a dishwasher right there." He pointed to the dishwasher beside the sink, then tightened the towel around his waist.
"I know, but you're supposed to rinse the dishes off before you stick them in there you know." She explained as she reached for the sponge.
"No, you don't." He frowned. "I never do."
"You're supposed to."
He shrugged and reached for the mixing bowl she had used. He opened the dishwasher and stuck the bowl in the middle of the top rack still coated with waffle batter.
"Tom, no! Gross!" Liz shook her head and reached for the bowl.
"Live on the edge. Don't rinse first." He laughed and grabbed her wrist before she could touch the bowl.
"You can leave it in there un-rinsed, I don't care, it's not my dishwasher but you can't just shove it in the middle of the top rack." She wrestled with him for a minute trying to get to reach the bowl. His towel became loose during the mini-struggle so he used the other hand to hold it together.
"I can." He said as he held her back with his body. He let go of her wrist then shut the dishwasher door before starting the cycle.
"Tom, the bowl is the only thing in there!" Liz argued.
"So?" He adjusted the towel.
"So that's wasteful." She frowned.
"So?"
"At least let me put the other dishes in there." She sighed and switched the dishwasher off before she opened the door.
"Fine." He laughed and reached for the other dishes.
"No! Just let me do it. You can't just shove them in here." She laughed and took the bowl off the top shelf. Liz arranged the dishes in the dishwasher correctly then added soap and started it. "There! I could have had them all washed by hand by now."
"You're a little OCD, did you know that?" Tom smiled.
She frowned and kissed him quickly. "So how are things going out on the road?"
"We're busy as usual. But things are okay." He shrugged and hopped up to sit on the counter. She stood between his legs and rested her hands on his hips.
She looked up at him and smiled, "Are they getting on your nerves?"
"They?"
"The other guys." Liz shrugged.
"Oh, no. They don't get on my nerves much. I think I'm the one who gets on their nerves." He laughed.
"You?! Never!" She laughed.
Tom pretended to pout. "I'm not that bad."
"No, you're not." She smiled and kissed him again. "What are they doing this weekend while you guys have some time off?"
"I'm not sure." Tom said slowly. "Why?"
"I'm just asking. Making conversation." Liz shrugged. "When do we leave for the beach?"
"Whenever you want." He smiled as he hopped off the counter. "Are you ready now?"
"Yes." She looked him over from his bare feet to his wet hair and asked, "Are you?"
"Oh. No. I guess I'm not." He laughed and headed for the stairs. When he was half way up he turned around, "Last chance for a quickie." He smiled.
Liz laughed, "As tempting as that is, I have to pass. I don't sleep with guys on the first date." She smiled sweetly.
"I hadn't planned on sleeping." He grinned evilly.
"Go get dressed!" She waved him off as she laughed.
Tom came down a few minutes later wearing dark jeans and a white T-shirt. He tossed a soft gray hooded sweatshirt to Liz and said, "There you go. It's gonna be cold."
She nodded and draped it over her arm.
He smiled. "Ready?"
"Let's go!" Liz laughed and took his outstretched hand. They loaded up into Tom's car and he drove them to the beach. They parked at the dock and got out to stretch. "It's a perfect day to be out here." Liz smiled as she stretched her arms above her head.
"I agree." Tom smiled and wrapped his arms around her waist. "There's the boat." He pointed to an off-white boat with a broad blue stripe down the side.
"Awesome." She trotted down the loose planked ramp to where the boat stood almost motionless. "Can I board?"
"Sure! He said he'd leave the key in the cuddy for us." Tom said as he took Liz's arm to steady her as she climbed onto the boat. He hopped in after her and opened the small door to the expose a small room in the hull of the boat. There were two cushioned benches and a ice chest down there. Tom ducked his head and stepped inside. He opened the ice chest and smiled, "We've got enough food here to last a couple days."
"I don't plan to be on this thing for days." Liz dropped herself into the driver's seat and crossed her legs. "You do know how to drive this thing, right?" She asked.
"Yes." He laughed from below. "You think the owner would let me take it out if I didn't?"
"Good point." She laughed and leaned back in the chair, letting the sun hit her face.
He came out a second later holding the boat key triumphantly. Liz stood up and moved from the driver's seat to the passenger seat so that Tom could start the boat. He started it and turned the fans on to get rid of the fumes in the engine.
"Is that a CD player?" Liz asked and pointed to the dash.
"Yeah." Tom nodded and switched it on. Jimmy Buffet blared from the speakers, "Wasting away again in Margaritaville-"
"Nice choice of music." Liz smiled and turned in her seat to face forward. After a few minutes of warming up the engine, Tom untied the boat from the dock and they pushed off. He kept it slow in the "no wake" zone as they pretty much coasted out to the open water.
"It's going to be a little rough getting out to the ocean. Once we're out there it should be nice." Tom said over the hum of the engine.
"Okay." Liz nodded as she brushed her hair out of her eyes. When they left the "no wake" zone Tom opened it up and took off at almost 40 miles per hour. Liz giggled and held on to the edge of her seat. They made it out to the open water within a matter of minutes. There were very few other boats out on the water but most of them were sailboats that were miles out.
Tom slowed it down and cruised out toward the horizon. "Do you want to drive?" He asked Liz.
"Oh, no, that's fine." She smiled and shaded her eyes. Tom looked like a natural sitting behind the wheel.
They went out until they could just barely see the shoreline before Tom cut the engine and let the boat sway in place. "How do you like this?" He asked.
"It's pretty cool." Liz smiled. "I don't think I've ever been out this far. I mean, I've been on jet skis, but never this far."
"Yeah, I like it out here. It's so quiet." He said softly as Liz dropped her feet in his lap and leaned back against the side of the boat. "It's so calm out here."
"Calm is good, huh?" She smiled.
"Yeah, sometimes." He laughed and placed his hand on her calf.
"What is it like out on the road?"
"What do you mean? It's like how it looks."
"From a fan's point of view I supposed it looks like non-stop fun; doing shows and having meet and greets and signing and things like that."
"Yeah, and a trillion interviews where you answer the same questions over and over. Or fans screaming so loud your ears ring for days. There's also the cramped buses, cranky band mates, lots of people kissing your ass and not doing anything to hide it, endless hours on airplanes, working on no more than 4 hours of sleep at a time and having to look happy in the middle of all of that." He sighed. "But yeah, it's fun."
"How do you guys manage to have lives outside that?"
"We don't. It's that easy." Tom shrugged.
"You get to go out sometimes,right? You weren't sleeping or working when we met."
"No, we usually get a couple nights a month where we can actually do what we want." He explained.
"That's better than nothing, I guess."
"Yeah. I wouldn't give it up for anything." He smiled and licked his lips quickly. "But still-"
"Still?"
"It's hard to have anything that resembles a real life."
"Is that because you don't have a home on the road and you can't see your family?"
"Yeah. There are times I'll go a week and not talk to my mom only because I haven't had enough time to sit down and dial her number." He shrugged. "But I'm not complaining. I have my brother Bill with me. He's the singer. Like I said, I wouldn't do anything different."
"It's good you have your brother with you. Family means a lot. What about girlfriends?" Liz asked quietly.
Tom gave a short laugh, "I think that's the hardest part."
"Is that why you don't do it?" She smirked.
"No." He laughed and continued. "Georg has had a girlfriend since we started pretty much. She got to see everything happen as it happened, so she has a better understanding for how it goes. But for the rest of us, girls just won't get it." He shrugged. "I haven't done it because I'm just not boyfriend material."
"I think you can be boyfriend material."
"I'm trying." He laughed.
"What about the other guys?"
"Gustav dated a girl for a while but he had a really busy schedule so they literally never got to see or talk to each other. Bill was dating a girl from home, but that didn't work out. Probably because of all the time we're gone."
Liz frowned.
"Are you re-thinking all of this?" He smiled and pulled her sandals off her feet and tossed them on the floor between the seats behind him.
"Not yet." She smiled, "Are you?"
"No." He shook his head and looked out at the water.
"Are you being truthful?"
"Yes." He looked her straight in the eye. "I was a little doubtful at the beginning." He said. "But not now."
"What changed your mind?"
"When you picked me up at the airport yesterday." He smiled shyly.
"Really?" She asked quietly.
"Well, before that really. I knew I wanted to do this but yesterday was the first time I actually thought it would work."
She smiled and removed her feet from his lap to stand up. She climbed into the little cuddy and opened the ice chest. "Do you want something to drink?" She asked over her shoulder.
"Sure. Is there any water?"
"Yeah." She grabbed two bottles and came back out. She handed one to Tom. He stood up and moved to the back of the boat and stretched out on the bench seat. He opened the bottle and took a swallow before Liz positioned herself on his lap and leaned back against him. He kissed her neck softly.
"So, how has it been back here? I mean with your boyfriend gone for months at a time?" Tom smiled and reached for her empty hand to hold.
"It's different." She thought for a minute. "But it's worth it."
"I think so too." He kissed her jaw line gently as she settled into his lap more. "So what have you been doing?"
"Just work. I work too much." Liz sighed. "This working 2 jobs thing is shit. I feel like all I'm doing is working. But that's how it goes."
"I told you if you need anyth-"
"I know and I don't." She forced a smile and squeezed his hand. "I'm just venting. It's really not that bad."
"You know you don't have to."
"I do have to. For me, it builds character." She laughed. "You know, work hard to get what you want. To earn it yourself."
"You sound like my step-father." Tom smiled.
"He's a smart man." She sighed. "Other than work I haven't done much. I did however buy a magazine and read up on you guys."
"Great." Tom rolled his eyes and laughed. "So now you know my favorite color and my birthday and my favorite food?"
"No, I don't. I'm sure I probably read it but I didn't retain any of it." She laughed. "I just bought it for the pictures."
"You did not!" He laughed out loud.
"Yes, I did! I don't have any pictures of you so I bought the magazine and cut one out. I'm lame, I know." She laughed.
"Oh, that is ridiculously sad." He laughed again.
"What did you want me to do?"
"I'll get you a real picture."
They continued chatting on the back of the boat for a couple hours before they agree they were hungry. "There's stuff for lunch in the ice chest, right?" She asked as she walked towards the cuddy.
"Yeah, there should be." Tom yawned and stood up, stretching his arms over his head. He sat in the driver's seat and played with the CD player, putting in one of his own.
Liz sat below deck and opened the ice chest. She pulled out the bread and luncheon meat and put together some sandwiches. She grabbed a bag of chips and came back out. They sat in the front seats and ate quietly. Tom threw his crust into the water and watched the seagulls swoop down to eat it.
"If you could be invisible for one day what would you do?" Liz asked, out of nowhere.
"Um, I don't know. I'd probably hang around with the guys to see what they say about me when I'm not around." He laughed. "Or sneak onto an airplane going to Japan that way when I became visible again, I'd already be there."
"Tokyo, Japan?" Liz asked.
"Yeah, I've never been there but it looks like a cool place to visit."
"Hmm, I would have thought with a name like Tokio Hotel you would have already visited Tokyo, Japan." She smiled.
He laughed. "What about you? What would you do?"
"I'd like to follow my favorite celebrity around for the day." She laughed.
"You can follow me around for a day. You don't have to be invisible."
"Oh so you think you're my favorite celebrity, huh?" She raised her eyebrow at him and smiled.
"I'm not?!" He acted shocked.
"You're in my top 5." She laughed.
"Ouch! What a way to kill my ego!" He reached over and pulled her onto his lap. "Top 5, huh?"
"Yeah." She teased him.
"I'll show you top 5!" He bit her gently on her collarbone then worked his way up to her ear lobe with tiny bites.
"That's not going to work, you know?" She laughed knowing full well it would work.
"That's what you think." He ran his hand up her side and cupped her breast as he kissed her solidly on the mouth.
"Okay, you're number 2." She smiled and kissed him again.
"Wow, all the way to number 2?" He asked as he tucked her hair behind her ear and kissed her neck.
"Well, you started at number 3." She laughed.
"Who's ahead of me?" He smiled.
"David Boreanaz."
"The guy from Bones?" Tom frowned.
"Absolutely!" Liz explained.
Tom gave her a disgusted look and laughed, "He's number one?!"
"He's hot!" Liz said in his defense.
"Yeah, but he's like 50." Tom laughed and leaned back.
"No, he's not! He's not even 40 yet! Plus, I didn't say I wanted to marry him, I just said he's my favorite celebrity." Liz laughed and stood up. "Relax. You're the best in bed."
"You bet I am. Wait, how would you know?!"
"So far you're the only one of the top 5 that I've slept with."
"Really? And in your top 10?"
"You're the only one."
"And in your top 100?" Tom smiled and stood up beside her.
"You're the only one." She laughed as he wrapped his arms around her waist.
"Yeah. That's what I thought." He kissed her lips quickly.
"But if David Boreanaz ever asks, I'm gonna have to do it." She shook her finger at him.
"Okay, it's a deal. If David Boreanaz ever propositions you for sex, I give you permission to do him." He laughed. "But I'd rather not know about it."
"Deal." She laughed and held him close, "Thank you for bringing me out here today, Tom. This is the best first date I've ever been on."
"I'm glad you're having fun." He sighed and inhaled the coconut scent of her hair. "I wish I didn't have to leave tomorrow."
"I wish you didn't either." Liz said softly as the boat swayed from side to side. "But I have to work tomorrow too."
"You do?"
"Yeah, but not till noon." She explained. "What time do you have to leave?"
"We have to be at the airport at 8:00."
"In the morning?"
"Yeah." He nodded.
"Okay." She nodded and took a step back. She sat on the bench in the back and smiled up at Tom, "Were you able to visit with your family?"
"No, I crashed as soon as you left last night. You woke me up this morning."
"Damn, that was like 14 hours of sleep!" She exclaimed.
"Yeah and it was just what I needed."
"I don't think I've ever slept that long in my entire life."
"It's been a busy week. I've been running on empty since Monday." He came and sat beside her. "Do you want to stay tonight?" He asked a minute later.
"Maybe." She smiled.
"Don't tease me, please! It's been too long." He moaned.
"Oh, please." Liz laughed. "It's only been 5 weeks. Damn, you're right. That is a long time."
"Don't remind me." He closed his eyes and leaned his head back.
"How about here?"
"Here?" His eyes shot opened and focused on her.
"Sure." She nodded, looking around at the flat empty water.
"Are you serious?" He sat up.
"It's not like someone's gonna walk by." She shrugged.
"Yeah but-"
"We don't have to if you don't want to. I just thought it'd be fun."
"No, it's not that!" He pulled her to her feet and kissed her. "I'm all for it!"
"I figured you would be." She laughed and pulled her shirt over her head, "Come on, slow poke. Get naked!" She laughed and reached for the zipper of his jeans. He threw his shirt on the driver's seat and pulled Liz towards him by the hips.
Tom walked Liz backwards toward the back of the boat and sat her down on the bench seat. He reached behind her and unclasped her bra. Liz ran her fingers up his spine and giggled as he shivered and kissed her softly.
They somehow managed to keep balance on the narrow bench for the amount of time it took for them both to reach climax. By the time they were finished, the cushions from the bench were on the floor in a heap.
"Ouch." Liz pushed herself into a sitting position.
"What?" Tom asked as he reached for his jeans.
"I think I have a bruise on my butt from being on the edge of this bench." She stood up and turned to examine her cheeks.
"It looks fine from here." He smirked and patted her lightly on the bum.
"Thanks." She laughed and pulled her T-shirt back on.
"I think I have a splinter in my knee though." He buttoned his jeans and hiked up his pant leg above his knee to look.
"It's a plastic bench." Liz laughed.
"I scraped the shit out of it." He aimed his knee at Liz. She pulled her jeans on and looked at his knee.
"Yeah. You scraped it pretty good. Poor baby." She kissed the scratch and said, "All better?"
"Thank you." He laughed and went back to the driver's seat.
"So now do I have to stay at your house tonight?" Liz pretended to pout.
"No, you don't have to." Tom smiled as she sat in the seat beside him. "But if you want to I'd be okay with that." He started the engine and let the fans run.
She nodded.
"Are you staying over?" He smiled.
"Maybe. If you have to be up at the ass crack of dawn, I may just go back to my house where I can sleep in."
"What kind of girlfriend are you? I'm leaving in the morning for like 3 weeks."
"You're right." She smiled and reached for his hand. He held her hand tight as he maneuvered the boat forward, heading away from the horizon and back to the shore.
Liz and Tom cruised up and down the coast for a while longer, killing time before their 5:30 reservations at Rendezvous. When they docked, Liz put the sweatshirt on over her T-shirt and followed Tom up the ramp to the restaurant.
"Hi. Two for Tom Kaulitz." Tom said quietly to the hostess.
She blushed a bit and examined the reservation book. "A table for two outside." She glanced up quickly and smiled. "This way, please." She picked up two menus and led the way down the four wooden steps to the deck overlooking the docks. "Have a pleasant meal." She smiled broadly as Liz and Tom took their seats.
The hostess lingered for a moment and just stared at Tom. She was dying to ask for an autograph, but knew how unprofessional it would look. Tom smiled up at her and said, "Hi."
"I'm sorry." She blushed even deeper and said, "Excuse me." She shoved her hands in her pockets and turned quickly to leave.
"How sweet." Liz said sarcastically.
"What?"
"She was excited to see you." Liz smiled.
"Did you get her name?"
"Kaitlyn." Liz smiled and opened the menu in front of her. Tom took one of the napkins and scribbled a note on it. A bus boy walked by a minute later and Tom handed him the note with instructions to give it to Kaitlyn. The kid took the napkin and put it in his pocket.
"You're such a good little celebrity." Liz laughed.
"That's my job and giddy fans like that are the reason I'm even here." He said, almost seriously.
"I know, I know." Liz smiled and reached across the table to hold Tom's hand. "It was my giddy friend Misty who forced me to help her 'stalk' your band to the club where we met."
"Misty hunted us down?" He smiled.
"Yeah. I'd never heard of you before. No offense." Liz laughed and took a sip of her water.
They enjoyed their dinner outside and sat around for another hour just talking. By the time they left it was dark and quite a bit colder out. Liz hugged herself tightly in the soft sweatshirt as Tom steered the boat back to the original dock. They tied the boat down and walked arm in arm up the ramp back to the car.
"That was a lot of fun." Tom said, almost sounding surprised.
"It was. I had a nice time." Liz smiled and slid in the passenger seat of the car. Tom got in and drove back to his house, where Liz's car was waiting. He pulled into the garage and turned the engine off. He flicked dome light on and saw Liz sound asleep with her head resting on the window. He watched her for a few seconds and felt his stomach fill with butterflies. He had such a fun day and he wanted to stay another few days with her. Just the thought of getting on a plane and leaving the next morning made his smile rearrange into a frown. He never felt like this about any of the girls he had been with. They had been little one-nighters, maybe he'd see them twice, but not more than twice. And they certainly were not allowed an entire day of attention from him. Liz was different and he hoped he wouldn't screw it up.
He reached out to touch her face just as she opened her eyes. He diverted is hand quickly back to the dome light and switched it off, "Ready to go in?" He asked.
"Yeah. Sorry I fell asleep. It must have been all that fresh air from being out on the water." She laughed and climbed out of the car.
"You can stay here you know."
"Yeah. I know." She smiled and raised her eyebrow at him.
"I actually mean sleep this time." He lowered his eyes and unlocked the front door. "You can even take the guest room if want."
"Thanks. I think I'm gonna stay. I'm too tired to drive home. And I don't plan to sleep in the guest room either." She smiled and walked past him as he held the door open for her.
He smiled like a schoolboy. The butterflies in his stomach were doing somersaults. He shut the door behind them and followed her up the stairs to the master bedroom. She flipped the light on and took the sweatshirt he'd let her borrow off as she crossed the room.
Tom watched her toss her jeans into the heap where her T-shirt and his sweatshirt now lay. She turned the shower on and stepped inside.
He yawned and stripped down to his boxers. He flipped the TV on and loaded the DVD player with a movie. Tom sat through the previews while listening to Liz in the shower. When she was through she got out and wrapped herself in a towel and used another towel to dry her hair before she came back out to the bedroom area.
"Do you have something I can sleep in?" She asked as she sat on the edge of the bed.
"Like a T-shirt or something?"
"Yeah." She smiled.
He leaned over to the dresser beside his bed and pulled out an over-sized blue T-shirt. She pulled it over her head and towel dried her hair a little more. She headed back to the bathroom to throw the towel into the dirty clothes hamper and brush her hair.
"I feel completely exhausted." She yawned and curled up beside him on the bed as the movie started.
"Me too." He said softly. She rested her head on his chest and sighed. He reached down and put his hand on her back and rubbed slowly. He continued to rub her back until she fell asleep. Tom usually would have taken full advantage of the situation and would suggest sex, but this time he just felt content. He wrapped his arm protectively around her and fell asleep smiling.
The next morning Tom's alarm went off at 7:00, he had an hour to be ready to go. He carefully scooted off the bed, resting Liz's head on the pillow he'd been using and quietly showered. When he stepped out of the shower the bed was empty. For a second that old relieved feeling crept in. The feeling where he hoped the girl would be gone when he got out of the shower just to avoid the funky morning after scene. He quickly ignored that and felt relieved when he heard movement down stairs. He quickly threw on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt and trotted down to the kitchen with his shoes in his hand.
"What time do you have to leave here?" Liz asked as she took two pieces of toast out of the toaster.
"I think the guys are picking me up around 8." Tom cleared his throat and sat to put his shoes on. "You know, you didn't have to make breakfast."
"I didn't make breakfast." She smiled and took a bite of toast. "The fruit is left over from yesterday and I wouldn't necessarily call a piece of toast breakfast."
"It'll do." He stood up and took a bite of her piece. "You make a mean piece of toast." He smiled and kissed her quickly.
"Whatever." She rolled her eyes and laughed. She had changed back into the clothes she wore the day before.
"So you have to work today?" He asked as he sat down to tie his shoes.
"Yes." She sighed and sat across from him, helping herself to some of the fruit on the table between them.
"Cool." Tom said through a yawn. He stood up and kissed her quickly before heading back upstairs to grab his bag. When he came back downstairs Liz was sliding her flip flops on in the entryway with her keys in one hand and the left over fruit in a bag in the other. "You leaving already?"
"Yeah. Aren't you leaving too?"
"The guys won't be here for a few more minutes." Tom stood close to her and wished neither of them had to leave. At that moment there was a beep from a car horn just outside the front door. "Or maybe they're already here!" Liz smiled and stood up straight. "You ready?"
He nodded and picked up his bag. He began to get nervous as she reached for the front door and turned the handle. Tom closed his eyes as she pushed the door open and stepped out onto the porch, "What on earth were the guys going to think seeing a girl come out of my house?" He knew exactly what they were going to think. "How am I going to say goodbye to Liz with them staring on?" He wouldn't have a one-nighter leave with him in the morning, and he certainly wouldn't give her the goodbye he wanted to give Liz.
He licked his lips quickly as he set the alarm and followed Liz outside. Tom trotted over to the van and threw his bags in the open back door. "Hey Tom, who's that?" Georg asked as he watched Liz open her car door.
"That's, um, Liz."
"The girl who called me at sunrise?" Bill's eyebrows shot up and he turned to face Tom.
"Yeah." Tom cleared his throat and glanced over at Liz. She was standing patiently by her open car door.
"So, what is this exactly? That early morning phone call was like 3 weeks ago." Bill gave him a look.
"I know." Tom nodded and ignored Bill's question. He took a deep breath before walking over to where Liz stood. "I have to go."
She nodded and looked over his shoulder at the three other young men sitting in the van. "Friends of yours?" She asked as she waved.
He quickly glanced over his shoulder to see Georg, Bill and Gustav waving at them through the windshield. "Yeah. That's Bill, Georg and Gustav. They're my band mates."
"Cool." She said nervously and fidgeted with her keys.
"I'll give you a call later" Tom smiled and raised her chin with his finger.
"Okay." She smiled slowly.
"All right. Hopefully I'll be back out this way again real soon."
"Okay. Just call and let me know."
"I will." He pulled her in for a tight hug. At that moment he no longer cared that the others were watching. He leaned down and gave her a sweet kiss on her soft lips.
"You'd better miss me." She smiled as she slid into the driver's seat. She waved as she pulled out of the driveway.
"I already do." Tom smiled and walked back to the van. He was dying to hear the remarks he was sure were waiting.
"Well?" Georg asked as Tom jumped in the van and slammed the door.
"Well what?" Tom smiled and fastened his seat belt.
"Oh, come on." Bill smiled and leaned back in his seat.
"Oh, come on wh- Bill, what did you do to your head?"
"Mohawk." Bill laughed.
"I can see that." Tom gave him a look and laughed. He slowly reached out and touched Bill's head. "I just don't know why."
"Yeah, okay braid boy." Bill rolled his eyes. "Don't change the subject. Who was that?"
"I told you that was Liz." Tom yawned.
"Liz who?"
"Liz Schultz." Tom searched through his bag for some gum. He folded a stick in half and stuck it in his mouth before offering a piece to the others.
They refused as Gustav asked, "Yeah, but come on Tom. If me and Bill talked to her like a month ago and she's at your house now. Is she like a girlfriend?"
"Yes." Tom didn't think he'd be able to say it out loud.
"She's your girlfriend?" Bill asked with a 'yeah right' tone to it.
"Yes." He nodded and tried not to laugh at everyone's facial expressions.
"Seriously?" Gustav asked.
"Yes." Tom shrugged.
"How long have you known her?" Georg asked.
"Like, 8 months. I met her when we were at that club. Remember that place where Bill got sick off the margaritas?"
"Oh yeah." Georg nodded. "Who could forget that?"
"That's when I met her."
"You've been seeing her since then?" Bill asked.
"Not really but kind of, I guess." Tom shrugged.
"In 'Tominese' that means yes." Bill explained to the other two.
"No, I've seen her a few times since then, if you get what I mean. But it's only been official since we started the tour."
"Damn" Georg laughed and shook his head. "You of all people."
"Yeah, well. It happens." Tom shrugged again. "Why do you guys sound so shocked?" He asked with a smile.
"Oh please, German playboy? The player man and pimp daddy is committing?" Gustav laughed.
"I'm giving it a shot."
"Did she dare you or something?" Bill asked as he stared out the window. "Because we know you can't pass up a dare."
Tom laughed. "Actually, yeah. She challenged me."
"That explains it." Bill laughed.
"That doesn't mean anything. I really like her." Tom said in his defense.
"You like them all." Georg laughed.
"No, I don't." Tom shook his head.
"We'll see." Gustav smirked and the others laughed.
They drove in to the airport. Bill was surprised to hear the news of Tom's girlfriend, but he wished Tom luck.
Liz worked steadily for the next week or and was looking forward to her two days off to recuperate. She spent those two days researching anything regarding Tokio Hotel. She found tons of information and loads of pictures. There were a few forums or Facebook and MySpace accounts out there with people claiming to be Tokio Hotel. Tom had warned her that there were posers out there. At one point, someone logged into a Tokio Hotel chat as TKaultiz89 claiming to be Tom. Liz laughed and decided to play along.
DizzieLizzie: Hey Tom! It's Liz. Aren't you a little busy to be online?
TKaultiz89: Hi Liz. Actually we have a break right now. We're just kicking back in the hotel.
DizzieLizzie: Really? Since you have a few minutes, why don't you call me?
TKaultiz89: I can't. I'm using my phone line as a modem for my laptop. This way I can talk to a lot of people at once.
DizzieLizzie: Okay, I can call your cell then. I haven't talked to you in almost a week!
When he didn't respond, Liz picked up her phone and dialed Tom's cell phone number.
He picked up on the second ring, "Hallo?"
"Hi there! Are you online right now?" She smiled.
"No, I'm on the way to an interview. Why?" He asked.
"First off, hi." She smiled. "And I'm online and I'm talking to a guy who's claiming he's you."
"It's not me." Tom seemed distracted.
"Are the guys with you?"
"Yeah." Tom held the phone away from his mouth and coughed.
"Are you feeling okay?"
"No, I'm not feeling well at all. I think it's a cold."
"Oh. I hope you feel better. You'll be home in a week right?"
"Nine days actually."
"You're counting down, huh?"
"Yeah." He coughed again.
"I thought you were coming home for three days?"
"I thought so too. We get in Friday morning but we have to leave again Saturday afternoon." He sneezed. "Sorry."
"It's okay. Call me later if you're feeling okay."
"Okay. Have a g'night."
"You too." Liz said softly.
"I miss you." Tom whispered.
"I miss you too." Liz whispered back with a smile.
"I'll talk to you soon."
She smiled and hung up. She thought about confronting the impostor in the chat room, but she decided against it. She logged off and thought about Tom as she got dressed for bed. This was a bit harder than she thought it was going to be. Having him gone all the time she could definitely see how the other girlfriends couldn't deal with it and why relationships for any of the guys would be hard.
Liz wanted this to work. She really liked Tom and she could tell he liked her too. He saw her as more than just another notch in his belt. That had been her main goal with his mission. She was beginning to realize that her main goal had changed a since the start. Now she wanted Tom to be her boyfriend. It was no longer a mission to her but a relationship.
Three days later, Liz entered into her apartment and threw her keys across the room. She pulled the headband out of her hair and tossed it in the general direction of the her bedroom. She had had the worst day at work and she wasn't in a very good mood.
She removed her work clothes as she walked the length of the apartment to her bedroom. She took a long hot shower to try and wash away the bitterness of the day. She stood under the water until it ran cold. She got out and wrapped herself in her extra large pink robe. She sighed and curled up on the couch. Liz flipped through the channels until she came across an interview where she saw a snippet of a Tokio Hotel performance. Reaching for the phone, she dialed Tom's cell phone number but there was no answer. She looked through the itinerary he'd given her and tried the hotel number he was supposed to be staying in.
"Hello?" A male voice answered, which Liz knew by now wasn't Tom.
"Hi. I pretty sure I have the wrong room. This is Liz. Do you know which room Tom is in?" She sighed.
"Hi Liz. He's in, uh, 325 I think." Bill said softly. She had obviously woken him up.
"Thanks, I'll try that room. I'm sorry I woke you, um... ?"
"Bill." He said as he rubbed his hands over his eyes.
"I'm sorry I woke you, Bill." She whispered.
"It's all right. Tom's not in his room though. Went me to tell him you called?"
"Yes, if you wouldn't mind." She sighed and stood up. She needed some kind of sustenance.
"No problem." He yawned and rolled over in bed facing the nightstand and grabbed some paper and a pen. He switched on the light and asked, "When's the latest he can call?"
"He can call whenever. Do you know when he'll be back?"
"I don't know. He headed out about an hour or so ago, so he'll probably not be back for a while. I won't be able to get the message to him until tomorrow anyway." He yawned again.
"Again, I'm sorry I woke you." She opened the fridge and took out soda. "I'll just try him again tomorrow."
"Did you try his cell phone?"
"Yeah. He didn't answer." She sat at her dining room table. She sighed and said, "Oh well."
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah. I'm all right. Work sucks, but I guess you know how that goes."
"Yeah, I do." He laughed as he switched the light back off. "Where do you work?"
"I work at Saks and I just got fired today from my other job. I was just calling to whine to Tom about it." She smiled as tears welled up in her eyes.
"I understand." Bill smiled and said, "If you want to whine to me about it, go right ahead."
"No, that's okay." She wiped her eyes. "I'm just being a big baby. You don't need to listen to me pout."
"I don't mind, really. I can't promise I'll remember any of this in the morning." He smiled as he fluffed the pillow under his head and pulled the blanket up to his chin. "Whine all you want. I'm listening."
She wiped her nose and started, "Okay, my boss is a total asshole. I worked at a pub. Well, this one guy was making all these comments that were really rude. Stuff like, 'Hey baby, how much for a piece of that ass?' And he wouldn't leave me alone. I asked this guy Byron if he'd switch with me so that I wouldn't have to go by the asshole's table any more and Kevin, the boss, got mad saying that I can't just switch because I may 'disagree' with a customer. He made it sound as if I was arguing with the guy or something." Liz paused for a second and blew her nose. "Sorry. Anyway, I refused to switch back to this guy's table because the guy was still making these comments toward me even from across the room. So Kevin came out and said, 'Liz get back to your table NOW!!' So instead of telling him and the guy to go to hell I went back to the asshole's table and finished his order."
"Uh huh." Bill nodded as his eyelids drooped.
"The guy eventually leaves but not only does he not leave a tip... he shorts me on the bill! I took it to Kevin and he had the nerve to say that if I had been a little nicer that all this wouldn't have happened. Then, get this, he said he was going to take the difference out of my tip share!"
"What?! That's not fair." Bill said softly.
"I know! So I left his office upset, but I still had like another hour or two to go on my shift. Then, as if things weren't already bad enough, the last customer who came in, vomited on the table. He was completely drunk. Kevin came over to me and said 'That's your table, Liz'."
"Gross! Did you have to clean it?"
"Yes! I told him that it was that disgusting and it wasn't even my table. He was two tables over from my section. Kevin then tells me that if I'm not going to follow his orders then I could take my 'whiney ass' out of the restaurant. So I did. And now I don't have a job." Liz finished.
"But you said you work at Saks."
"Yeah, I do but that's not going to pay all my bills." She said as a fresh set of tears rose in her eyes.
"I see." Bill said slowly. "I'm sure Tom can help you out if you need it."
"I know he can. I just wouldn't feel comfortable doing that."
"So basically you'd rather have your bills be unpaid and you be miserable?" Bill asked with a smile.
"No." She smiled and sniffed.
"I can help you out if you'd rather not ask Tom."
"You don't have to do that. I don't even know you." Liz stood and threw the soda can away.
"I know I don't have to. If I can help at all all you have to do is say the word."
"Thanks, Bill." She smiled and blew her nose one last time. "I'm going to let you go to bed now."
"Okay." He laughed quietly.
"You don't have to tell Tom I called. I'll just talk to him tomorrow." She said. "Again I'm sorry I woke you."
"It's okay. G'night, Liz. I hope you feel better soon."
"Thank you. And Bill?" She asked quietly.
"Hmm?" His eyes were shut and he was drifting off already.
"Thanks for listening to me whine."
"Anytime." He smiled to himself, feeling a strange flutter in his heart.
"G'night." She smiled and hung up the phone. She was going to have to meet Bill in person one day. He seems like a nice guy.
Liz reached Tom on his cell the next day. She gave him the shorter version of what she told Bill about the incident at the pub. He was sympathetic but seemed distracted. He wasn't feeling any better than the last time he'd spoken with her. He just couldn't seem to shake this cold.
"What did you end up doing last night?" Tom asked as he pulled the curtains closed at the back of the bus to block out the sun. They were heading for another city. Tom didn't even bother to ask where they were headed. All he knew is that they had at least 4 more hours of driving ahead of them.
"Nothing really. I whined a lot and had some chocolate." Liz said as she opened her laptop. She logged into her bank account and clicked the link for Online Bill Payments. She skimmed over the bills waiting to be paid. "What'd you do?"
"Nothing much. I basically just hung out with the guys around the hotel." He thought back to the club he and Georg had gone to and the assortment of girls he'd danced with knowing he couldn't tell Liz.
"Really? Around the hotel with the guys?" Liz asked suspiciously.
"Yeah, we pretty much just hung out."
"At the hotel with the guys?" She had been entering the payment amounts in the tiny blocks next to each unpaid bill. She clicked Pay All.
"Yes. Why?" Tom yawned and draped his arm over his eyes.
"I was just wondering because Bill said you went out."
"Bill?" Tom pushed himself up into a sitting position.
"Yes. Bill. I called to talk to you last night and rang Bill's room by mistake." Liz explained.
"You didn't call my cell?"
"Yes, I did, but there was no answer."
Tom hadn't noticed the 'missed call' message when he fell into bed last night or this morning rather. "Oh. Well, we were at the hotel, but then we went out dancing."
"We?" She asked raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah. Me and Georg." Tom tried hard to sound nonchalant.
"Sounds fun." Liz said softly as she maneuvered the mouse to check her email.
"Yeah. It was okay. A little boring." Tom said a second later. "Are you ready for Friday?" He added, trying to change the subject.
"Yeah, I am." Liz said as she deleted some spam mail from her inbox. "I can't wait."
"I'm excited to see you." Tom smiled. He'd successfully changed the subject. "I wish I could be there longer than just the day though."
"Me too, but I have to work Saturday morning so I guess it kind of works out" Liz sighed.
"Can you get out of it?"
"No, we're having a sale so I have to be there."
"Can you take a vacation or something?"
"I wish I could. It's not that easy, Tom."
"That sucks." Tom's mood turned sour.
"It's not like I can help it." Liz became defensive.
"Can't you call in sick?"
"There'd be no point. They're gonna say no and you're leaving that afternoon anyways."
"I know, but we'd have at least a few more hours."
"No, I can't." She shook her head and pressed her temples. "I can't call in sick or take a vacation or play hookie."
"Fine." Tom sighed.
"What exactly would you like me to do, Tom? Get fired from the only job I have left?" This conversation was starting to give her a headache.
"Of course I don't want you do get fired. I'm just saying that I'm only gonna be in town for the day and I want to spend as much time with you as I can."
"I understand that. I want to spend all the time with you too, but I can't get out of this."
"Can you get another shift or something? Like go in later in the day? Or explain it to your boss?"
"What am I supposed to tell my boss? 'Hi! I know I'm supposed to be working today but my boyfriend is in the band Tokio Hotel and he'd rather me stay home and sleep with him so I'm just gonna take the day off work'." She asked sarcastically but smiled at the thought of her boss' reaction. "Tom, I just can't do that."
"I know, I know." He sighed.
"What time are you leaving Saturday? I get off at 11 so maybe we can hang out before you leave." She was hopeful.
"We have to leave at noon."
"Oh, okay." Liz nodded making a mental note of that. They talked for a while longer about unimportant stuff before Tom had to go. Liz hung up and sighed, "Hopefully seeing him on Friday will make me feel better." She thought.
That Friday Liz met Tom at the gate of the airport with about 2 dozen other fans. Liz looked around nervously. She had never been put in a situation like this with his fans. The same fans who had no idea she was his girlfriend.
Liz stood off to the side near a coffee cart and waited patiently Tom's plane. When the plane landed the airline let the guys leave the plane first. The bodyguards held the fans back for the few minutes they paused to sign autographs and smile for pictures. They were then ushered through the security checkpoint and towards baggage claim. Liz followed a few feet behind the crowd of fan. As they reached baggage claim the fans were kept out by airport security. All of the fans, including Liz.
Liz decided to stand near the escalators. They would have to pass them to get into the parking lot. It was almost 20 minutes later when the sea of fans parted and Tokio Hotel stepped through. Fans were stretching out their arms to touch the guys and screaming their names. Liz smiled nervously as she stepped forward to get Tom's attention. A guard stuck his arm out preventing her from touching Tom.
"Tom!" She finally shouted.
He turned slowly as he wiped his nose on the back of his sleeve. Their eyes met and Liz's face lit up with a smile. She followed them out into the late morning sun. "She's with us." Tom said loudly to be heard over the screaming fans outside.
One of the guards signaled for Liz to follow. He gently grabbed her arm and moved her into the center of the guard ring as they walked out to the parking lot. "Wow. This is like herding cattle." She commented to Tom. He laughed and nodded. "Yeah, pretty much."
"Hey, can we take my car?" Liz asked as she held on to Tom's shirt as to not get lost in the shuffle.
"Yeah." He said as he looked over his shoulder at her.
"How? The fans are following us." She looked back at the fans.
"Just come with us to the van. We'll drive around to your car." Tom explained as he concentrated on following the guys ahead of him.
"Okay." She never expected this type of reaction from the fans and she wasn't sure she liked it.
They all made it to the van safely and piled in. Tom spoke up to the driver, "Hey, can you take us to Liz's car?" Tom asked as the doors shut causing the screaming outside become muffled.
"Sure, where's she at?"
"14B right over there." Liz said as she pointed to the back of the lot.
The van and slowly pulled away from the curb. One of the guys held out his hand to her. "Hi. I'm Georg."
"Hi. I'm Liz." She shook his hand.
"You look kind of familiar." Another guy said.
"I met you at a club. The same night I met Tom." Liz smiled and shook his hand as well.
"Oh okay." Gustav frowned. Meeting a girl in a club wasn't anything he'd normally remember.
"Remember? That was the time when Bill vomited up like $40 worth of margaritas?" Tom laughed.
"Oh, yeah!" Gustav laughed. "That's right."
"Can we please stop talking about that night?" Bill said as he blushed. He held his hand out to Liz. "I'm Bill." He smiled warmly at Liz as she shook his hand. "Nice to finally meet you."
"And the other one is Gustav, by the way." Tom said to Liz as the van turned down aisle 14.
"Which car is yours?" The driver asked.
"Up there on the left. The Mazda." Liz pointed her car out. The driver rolled to a stop behind her car and Tom opened the door.
"It was nice meeting you guys." Liz smiled at the guys back in the van.
"You too." They said in unison.
"Jinx." Gustav said as he pulled a Nintendo DS out of his backpack. "Now none of you can't talk till I say your name 3 times."
"Whatever." Georg said as he rolled his eyes.
"Hey!" Gustav shouted as Tom grabbed his bag and slammed the door to the van. He waved at the guys through the window and walked to the passenger side of Liz's car. She unlocked the doors and they slid in.
"Let's get going." Tom said as he looked back toward the airport. The fans were making their way out to the parking lot and headed straight for Liz's car.
"Just a second." Liz smiled and leaned over for a kiss. "Now we can go."
"I've missed you." Tom smiled and licked his lips as she pulled out of the parking space.
She drove to Tom's house and parked just outside his garage. "Do you have any plans for tonight?" Tom asked as he tossed his bag over his shoulder and stepped onto is porch.
"Yes." Liz smiled as he turned the key in the door.
"Yeah? What are they?" Tom pushed the door open and disarmed the alarm system.
"To curl up in bed with you and watch a movie or something."
"A movie?"
"Yeah, or something." She smiled as she shut the door behind them. Tom made his way down the hall toward the kitchen. He dropped his bag in the hall and turned the light on.
"Sounds good to me." He said and then yawned as he pulled the refrigerator door open. "This cold is really kicking my ass."
"Some sleep may do you some good." Liz came up behind him and hugged him tightly. Her cheek rested firmly against his shoulder blade. She moved her hands up under his shirt and rested her hands on his stomach. "How was your show last night?" She asked quietly.
"Very tiring." He said as he opened a bottled water and tipped it back for a long drink.
"Was there anything in particular you wanted to do today?"
"You're doing it." He said softly with a smile. He shut the refrigerator door and turned around to face Liz. "I'm sorry I was such a shit this week." He leaned down and touched his forehead to hers.
"This being away from one another has been harder than I thought."
"I know." Tom nodded. "It's not fun, huh?"
"It's seems like work almost." Liz smiled and kissed him quickly. "But I think we're doing a great job."
"Yeah." He smiled and kissed her again slowly. He turned his head and yawned again. "I wanna just lay in bed all day."
"Sounds good to me." Liz smiled.
"You don't have to work today?"
"No, not today." She reached for his hand. "We can turn on the TV and just chill out all day." She pulled him toward the stairs.
"That's a waste of a perfectly good day." Tom complained.
"Really?" Liz cocked an eyebrow at him.
"Just laying around and watching movies?"
"With me, your girlfriend. One would thing that anything that includes spending all day with your girlfriend is far from being a waste." Liz smirked over her shoulder as they started up the stairs.
"You're right." Tom sighed and Liz stopped in front of him.
"Look, if you don't want to just say so. I can go home." She said sharply.
"No, no. It's fine." Tom took a few steps toward her as she entered his room.
"What then?" Liz turned to face him.
"I just haven't seen you in what seems like forever. Movies aren't exactly what I had in mind."
"Tom, having a relationship that's more than just sex."
"I know that, Liz." He closed his eyes and leaned his head back. "But it's been like three weeks. No matter how sweet a girl is, she is gonna get it more than once a month."
"Real nice, Tom." She flopped herself down on the overstuffed zebra striped couch and sighed.
"Come on." Tom sat beside her on the couch. "You know exactly where I'm coming from. I'm not the commitment type so I'm still not used to this, you know."
"I'm not asking for you to sign your life away."
"I know, but if I'm only going to see you once a month or so I would kind of like to have sex."
Liz sighed again, "I'm not saying that we're not going to have sex, Tom, I'm just saying that can't always be the way it is. It's been the same amount of time for me too, you know?"
"Yes, but-"
"But nothing." Liz looked him in the eyes. "Would it make you feel better knowing I have every intention of having sex with you tonight?" She smiled slowly.
He smiled and sat next to her. He pulled her legs across his as he pulled her into a tight hug. "That's not all I'm about, you know." He whispered softly near her hear.
She nodded.
"I can be a better boyfriend as soon as I get off tour." He kissed her ear slowly and let his hand travel up her thigh to her hip.
"I hope so."
"Good." He smiled and playfully bit her neck. "Now what movie are we gonna watch first?"
"Wanted." Liz said softly as Tom continued to kiss her neck.
"Excellent choice." He said between nibbles.
Liz closed her eyes and lost herself in Tom's kisses.
They ended up watching 'Wanted' that afternoon, as well as 'Clerks' and 'Twister'. They ordered some pizza which they ate warm for lunch and cold for dinner. They didn't move very far from the couch the entire day. Finally near 10 that night, Liz decided it was time to move to the bedroom. She still had to get up early and she wanted to make sure she'd be close enough to Tom's alarm to hear it go off in the morning.
"C'mon." Liz said as she pushed herself into a sitting position on the couch and softly kissed Tom's sleepy lips.
He kissed her deeply as he ran his fingers through her hair. "What?" He asked a moment later.
"Bedroom time." She whispered as she stood up beside the couch. She reached for the remote and turned the TV off. Liz adjusted her t-shirt and reached for Tom's hand to pull him upright.
"Let's just stay here." He said as he pulled her down onto his lap and kissed her again. He reached under her shirt to unclasp her bra.
"Tom, come on. I have to get up early." She stood again and pulled him to his feet. They walked down the hall to the bedroom. Tom immediately stripped and crawled beneath the soft sheets.
Liz took off her clothes and left them on the floor beside the bed before she climbed in beside Tom. He reached over and pulled him to her.
"I love you." He mumbled as he supported himself over her. He leaned forward and licked his lips before kissing her.
Tom's words shocked her speechless. She couldn't respond. Instead she just kissed him again and held him close. She desperately tried to block those three words from her mind.
"Oh my God, Tom! Did you turn the alarm off?" Liz asked as she stood beside the bed the next morning, She held her shirt in one hand and her pants in the other. "Tom!" She smacked him on the arm lightly with her hand.
"Huh?" He jerked slightly awake. "Yeah, it started buzzing at like 5 in the fucking morning." He grumbled as he closed his eyes again and pulled the blanket up to his chin.
"Of course it went off at 5! You wanna know why it went off at 5? Because I was due to be at work at 6:30."
"Christ, Liz, it's Saturday."
"Yes, I know it's Saturday." She growled as she yanked her right leg through her pants. "Where's my damn bra?"
"Huh?" Tom rolled over to face her.
"My bra, Tom. Where did I put it? Do you remember?" She asked as she bent over to jerk her socks on quickly.
"I'm not sure." He lifted the blankets to see if it had ended up in the bed with them.
"Fuck." Liz spat as she trotted into the bathroom with one shoe on and the other in her hand. She yanked off the tank top she was wearing and tossed it on the dirty clothes hamper as she plucked her shirt off the bed. She sat on the edge of the bed and pulled her other shoe on before bolting towards the door.
"I found it. I found your bra." Tom said as he leaned halfway off the bed with a black bra in his hand.
Liz sighed and grabbed it from him. "I'll be back a little after 11. Will you be up?"
"Yeah." He pulled the blanket over his head as she shut the bedroom door behind her.
She ran down the stairs and out the front door to her car. She checked the clock as she started the engine. It was already five minutes after 7. She was late and still had a 10 minute drive ahead of her.
She got to work and her boss was waiting with a mouthful of complaints about how late Liz was. Her day seemed to go downhill from there. By 11, she was beyond ready to go home. Her weekend was blown. All she really wanted to do was to lay in her bathtub with peony scented bubbles and just let the day melt off of her.
She was a little over halfway to her house when she remembered Tom was waiting at his house. She sighed as she turned the car around and headed toward the other side of town. She pulled up to the gate and reached out to enter the gate code. As she punched in the code, she noticed that Tom's car wasn't in the driveway. It looked as though he had already left. She sighed as the gate swung open. She drove up the driveway and parked in front of the garage. She left her purse in the car and walked up to the front door. She didn't have a key so she sat on the porch steps with her chin in her hands and her elbows on her knees. She felt so defeated.
She sat there for a few minutes before a van pulled up and opened the front gate. Liz watched with confusion as it drove up the driveway and stopped in front of the house. The driver gave the horn a short beep as Bill opened his door and asked, "Where's Tom?"
"I dunno. I thought he was with you." She said as he hopped out of the van.
"No, we just came by to get him." Bill said with a laugh. He smoothed out his shirt and smiled shyly. "So you're Liz." He stated.
"Yeah, that's me." She said softly.
"So you're the one who called and woke me up that one morning." He smiled. "And, if I remember correctly, you also called one night and we discussed the horrible boss who fired you."
"Yes. Guilty." Liz laughed and extended her hand. "Thanks for that, by the way."
"I'm surprised I remembered at all."
"I'm sorry." Liz smiled and looked around the empty courtyard. "I shouldn't have bothered you with my boring life."
"I don't think you're boring. I was happy to listen to a beautiful girl vent."
"You're sweet." She blushed.
"I try." Bill laughed and tucked his hands in his pockets as Tom came around the side of the house. "Tom! There you are!" Bill smiled as Tom walked over.
"Sorry, I had to wash the car and put it in the garage. It was covered in bird shit and I've heard that's not good for the paint." Tom explained as he walked up and threw his bag in the back of the van. "So what were you guys talking about?" Tom asked.
Liz felt a pang of guilt. She swallowed hard as Bill said, "Nothing really."
"You just barely made it." Tom said as he turned to Liz.
"I was almost to my house when I remembered you were waiting. I had a hard day at work." She looked over at Bill and then back at Tom.
"You forgot about me?" Tom pretended to pout.
"I could never forget you." She said as she pulled him in for a hug and brushed her lips over his. "I hope you have a safe trip. I'll see you back here when all this is over."
"I'll give you a call later on."
Liz nodded. "Call me when you get to the hotel so I know you made it there safely."
"We have a show tonight. We'll be on the bus tonight and we'll get a hotel sometime tomorrow." Tom frowned.
"You have your cell, don't you?"
"If we don't make it in one piece I'm sure it'll be on the news." Bill said as he got back into the van.
"True." Liz shrugged. "But please call anyway so I'll feel better."
"I will." Tom kissed her again and whispered, "I'm really sorry about this morning."
"It's okay." She said. "But you owe me."
He laughed and climbed into the van. He and Bill waved as they slammed the door shut.
Liz stood and watched the van pull down the driveway before she sat back on the porch. She began to cry and she had no idea why. Was it because she missed Tom already? Or was it because she didn't say 'I love you' back to Tom? She wiped her eyes and stood to walk to her car. She definitely needed that bubble bath.
Chapter Two