Rache ist Fluff

The first stop on the crawl was a cozy Irish bar tucked in a quiet little street in Back Bay, the kind of place with Guinness signs in the windows and dark wood that gleamed under dim, barely there lights. Tobias gallantly held the door open for his wife, his face lighting up as his eyes traced her curves, barely hidden under her burgundy boucle dress. That hadn't gone unnoticed.

“What are you doing, Dr. Carrick?” she asked, lashes fluttering with mock innocence.

“I’m checking out the hottest woman in the bar,” he drawled. “Kind of hoping I’ll get lucky and take her home tonight.”  

“Oh, really?” She teased, running her finger over the stubble on his jaw. “I hear she’s a sure thing. Are you sure you don’t want more of a... challenge? The redhead at the jukebox looks promising, too.”

He glanced over his shoulder, giving a solemn nod. “Not bad,” he admitted, then turned back, voice dropping. “But why go for silver when I’ve already got gold?”

He leaned in, their lips a whisper apart, when a swinging door and a blast of cold air pulled their attention.

“Jesus, are you two at it already?” Ethan groaned, shaking snow from his coat and placing it on the back of a stool. "I knew I should’ve stayed home with my Macallan.”

“Here, here!” Jackie chimed in, biting into a Bavarian pretzel. “But on an up note, these two will make me queasy long before the tequila does – so it could save me some money.”

“Really?” Tobias laughed, motioning to the bartender to bring a fresh round.

“Really,” Sienna grinned. “How about a new rule tonight? You two have to keep it PG for once. PG-13 if you absolutely must, but nothing beyond that.”

“Yeah, right!” Bryce chuckled, lifting a fresh pint to his lips. “They wouldn’t make it an hour.”

“What?” Casey frowned. “You really don’t think we can do it?”

“Oh, I know you can’t,” Jackie declared.

Bryce smirked, peeling a twenty from his wallet. “Let’s put our money where our mouths are. After all, we all know where their mouths will be...”

Tobias raised a brow. “You people act like we’re animals! We’re an old married couple now, have a baby at home... we know a thing or two about restraint.”

Aurora, who had been sipping her beer quietly, laughed. “If you knew a thing or two about restraint, you wouldn’t have a baby at home.”

“Hey,” Ethan deadpanned. “Leave my goddaughter out of this – That’s the only thing Carrick’s ever done right.”

Tobias leaned down to whisper something in Casey’s ear, and she flushed pink – a grin stretching on her lips as her handsome husband kissed her temple – not even her lips - but their friends were groaning.

“Pool’s open,” Bryce reminded. “Twenty bucks says they’ll be making baby number two within the hour.”

“Hopefully not in our line of sight,” Jackie groused.

~~~~~

They headed to bar number two, several blocks away. A loud sports bar with dozens of TVs scattered across the walls, one highlighting every local team and beyond. They squeezed into a wooden booth, shouting to hear each other over the noise.

Casey sipped her drink slowly, aware of the eyes on them and the growing pot of cash – she was determined to keep temptation at bay. But Tobias was less restrained. His arm was draped over her, his thumb tracing patterns under the shoulder of her dress. It only took one more whisky, then his grin turned wolfish.

“You promised to behave,” she reminded him, though the sparkle in her eyes betrayed her amusement.

“I have behaved,” he insisted, his gaze dipping to her neckline before flicking up to meet her eyes again. “But it’s hard, baby. So… hard.”

Casey snorted mid-sip, nearly choking on her beer as Jackie smacked the table. “Christ almighty! Do you two even hear yourselves?”

“You brought this on yourselves,” Casey shot back, laughing. “Trying to stop us from being us—it was always going to lead to pent-up depravity.”

“It’s been an hour!” Jackie wailed. “Not even an hour!”

“Exactly,” Tobias agreed, his eyes glazed over, whisky still lingering on his tongue. “And I won’t stand for this cruel and unusual punishment anymore.”

Casey slammed her empty shot glass on the table, wiping her lip with the back of her hand. “Hear, hear!” she cheered, her grin wide, tipsy delight radiating from her as she wrapped her arms around her husband’s neck.

Before anyone could stop them, Tobias pulled her in, their mouths crashing in a kiss that was far too hungry, far too naughty for public consumption. It wasn’t neat - it was searing, lips crashing, teeth grazing, tongues tangled with an urgency that was only fueled by too many drinks and too many moments pretending they could keep their hands off each other. Casey laughed into his mouth, and he swallowed the sound, one hand sliding into her hair, the other braced against the small of her back. They showed no sign of stopping, deepening until it was less of a kiss and more breathless, shamelessly indulgent claim. Mine – all mine.

When they finally broke apart, both breathless and laughing, the table erupted in groans and scattered applause.

“All right! Pay up,” Bryce beamed, extending a hand. Tobias shoved a bill at him without looking.

Casey pulled back, with a mock scowl. “We lost,” she pouted.  

Tobias shrugged, eyes sparkling. “Well worth it,” he grinned, sliding an arm around her waist and bending her back right there in the booth, kissing her again with drunken abandon.

Their friends groaned in unison.

“God help us,” Jackie muttered. “How many more pubs do we have to hit?”

“Three,” Ethan sighed, lifting his glass. “It’s going to be a very long night.”