Peaches : L.P

1

"I'm going over to Sarah's." I mutter to Beau.

"Don't be out too late." Beau orders.

I roll my eyes at him and go back to my room to get dressed. I slip on a baby blue dress and my chucks before slinging my bag over my shoulder and skipping down the stairs.

"See you Beau!" I shout to the living room, where I can hear them all shouting.

"Be safe!" He yells back.

I shrug my coat on at the door before stepping outside and closing the door after me. I stride along the sidewalk, hunched into my jacket to escape the cold. It's not snowing, not yet at least, but it's still very cold and I'm already regretting not wearing pants.

Sarah lives a few blocks away from me, a ten minute walk if I hurry, fifteen if I don't. I get there just as Sarah's brother Tom pulls up out the front in his beat up old truck.

"Peaches!" He grins, jogging up to me and pulling me in for a hug.

"Tom, hey." I grin into his shoulder.

"Long time no see." He says. "You here to see Sarah?"

"Yep." I nod as we walk together to the door. "We're going shopping."

"Sounds fun." Tom opens the door and ushers me in.

Sarah bounds up to us, a huge grin on her face and a big yellow handbag dangling from the crook of her elbow.

"Peachy!" She sings as she tugs me in for a hug. I giggle as she jumps up and down. "Shopping! Tom's going to give us a lift."

"Oh, am I?" Tom raises his eyebrows at us.

"Yep." Sarah tugs on his arm, hauling him out the door. I follow, along and we pile into Tom's truck. He drops us off at the plaza and tells us he'll be back whenever we call him.

"So," Sarah grins at me, "how your fit brother?"

I roll my eyes at her. "Fit as ever, apparently."

"Yes he is." Sarah sighs, her eyes becoming unfocused.

"Stop mind perving on my brother." I shove her slightly.

She giggles and we enter the first shop.

Shopping with Sarah is exhausting. Fun, yes, but exhausting. She drags me around for hours and buys numerous things before we finally stop to eat. I contemplate telling her about Liam. Having four brothers, I've met a lot of their friends and some of them have been quite attractive. But none had stuck out to me like Liam does.

But it's not like I'm anything special to him. I'm just Beau's kid sister. And anyway, i just met him. I decide not to say anything.

"I want to go to a club." Sarah announces over a Nando's burger.

"Ok." I shrug. "Go, then."

She rolls her eyes at me. "I mean, I want to go and I want you to come."

My eyes widen, my lips parting. "I can't, Sarah!"

"Oh, come on Peaches." She pleads. "You'll have fun, I promise. Kyle is taking us."

"No." I refuse. "No, no, no." I can't go to a club. I'm sixteen, and even then I barely look it. I hardly go to parties, I can't go to a club. Especially not with Sarah's idiot boyfriend Kyle. He's bad news and he doesn't treat her like he should.

"Whatever." Sarah huffs. "I'll convince you."

"You won't."

Tom comes to pick us up and drops me straight at my house. I wave to Sarah as she yells at me while the car speeds away.

With a sigh I open the front door. Beau's friends are still here - I can hear them in the living room playing call of duty or whatever crap they do. With my arms laden with plastic bags I tiptoe across the hallway. But with my luck before I've even taken two steps I knock over the coat rack.

I cringe as the metal falls to the carpet and the coats sprawl underneath it. Most of my bags fall to the ground as I hastily try to pick the coat rack up.

"Peaches?" Everything goes quiet and Beau's voice yells from the living room.

I cringe. "Yeah, it's me."

Heavy footsteps come closer then Beau emerges from the living room.

"You knocked the coat rack over." He says.

I roll my eyes. "Yeah, I know."

"Is that a Victoria's Secret bag?"

I blush, trying to cover up the black bag in my hand containing the cute light pink lingerie that Sarah convinced me to buy. "Um, no."

"Yes it is!" Beau moves to grab the bag out of my hand and in the process makes me drop it - the pink silk spilling out onto the grey carpet.

"Peaches," Beau's voice drops, "is that lingerie?"

"Oh my god." My face is red as I kneel on the floor and scoop the underwear back in the bag. "It's just underwear."

Beau - once again - snatches the bag from me and digs his hand inside, pulling out the pink material in a fist. "You bought lingerie?"

"It's not a big deal, Beau." I reach for the underwear but Beau jerks his hand away. "It's just underwear." I repeat.

"Who did you buy it for?" Beau grills.

"What?" I yell.

"Who were you going to wear this for, Peaches?!" His voice is calm, frighteningly so.

"No one, Beau. I'm 15. I'm not some sort of slut."

"But - Peaches - you can't - I'm not - your not allowed to have this. I forbid it."

There is silence throughout the whole house, and I'm quite sure that all Beau's friends are listening in. My mind fills with anger at my brothers words. .

"It's just underwear." I roll my eyes. "You have no right to-"

"Just shut up, Peaches." Beau throws the lingerie on the floor at my feet before storming away.

I kneel down, about to pick up the underwear before a big, tanned hand beats me to it.

Liam isn't looking at me. He's staring down at the silky pink material in his hand. Slowly, he unfolds it, travelling the skimpy bottoms.

"You really going to wear this?" He rasps.

"Um," I blush furiously, "I mean, um, I just -"

"Were you?" He interrupts my nervous stuttering.

"I suppose." I answer.

His eyes darken, flicking down my body. I can see his jaw clenching. He takes a step towards me, and I am too shocked to even move.

His arm reaches around me, his big hand sliding into my back pocket, cupping my bum firmly then retreating, leaving the underwear in there.

With that he takes a step back, a sly smirk in his face as he walks back into the living room.