Chapter 4

James and I talked about everything, again, as we made our way down the M4 towards Bristol. He told me about his childhood, and I told him about mine, and what it was like growing up in the states.

Before I knew it, we were to our first stop, it was about noon. “Just have to pick something up real quick, then we’ll be off again,” James said as we pulled up to a lovely house. He put the car in park, got out and made is way to the front door. I, meanwhile, looked over the interior of the car. It was so beautiful. The seats were quite comfy; the dash was a lovely shade of grey with a hint of blue, a bit like the paintjob. The top of the dash was black and so were the carpets.  I was so busy admiring all the little buttons and knobs that I hadn’t even noticed James had returned, until I heard the hood shut.

I jumped and looked up. He opened the door, got in and said “Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you.” I shook my head, “its ok. I was just admiring how the inner beauty of this car,” I gestured toward the paddles behind the steering wheel, “I thought all you guys hated the flappy paddle gearbox.” He chuckled as he buckled his seatbelt and put the car in reverse, “Its best in this car though. Makes the gear changes so smooth, you don’t have to worry about the clutch with one. Maybe the rest of the way to our destination I’ll open her up so you can see what she can do.”  I giggled like a little kid. This was perfect.

We got back out on the highway, and kept heading to our destination. The roads were surprisingly clear; it must have been a couple hours later when I realized we weren’t on the main highway anymore. Looking at my watch, sure enough it was almost two in the afternoon. The view here was amazing. We were somewhere in the country, but that’s about all I could tell. James pulled off on the side of the road. “Something wrong?” I asked, a bit worried. “Oh no, I just wanted to tell you that we were almost there and this is about 6 miles of straight road. Would you like to drive?” I looked at him wide eyed and  I got a bit giddy. “Oh no, James. I better not. I’ll crash into a tree and we’ll die. Plus I’ve never driven anything but an automatic.”

“Oh, well then, Sit back and prepare yourself, I’m going to let her rip.”

“Ok, go for it,” I said excitedly. He pulled back out onto the road and turns a little switch on the wheel. He looked at me and revved the engine. That noise was amazing. Then he let up off the break and we were off like a shot. “60,” he said after a few seconds. Still gaining speed, “100” was the next speed he called out. “120” I’ve never gone this fast in car before. “140” He had a huge grin on his face, as did I. The noise coming from behind us was absolutely intoxicating. “This is incredible,” I half shouted to him. He nodded and began to slow down. Gradually he came down from about 160 to a reasonable 80. I’ve never seen James drive like this. He was like a little boy.

It was great seeing this side of him. On TV he’s all logic and ‘Captain Slow’ but here he was a whole other man. He smiled a glanced over at me, still smiling, “How’d you like that?” I couldn’t think of anything to say. “How do you describe something like that? It was thrilling and terrifying and intoxicating and electrifying all at once. I’ve never felt anything like that. I could feel the rumble of the engine in my seat, not to mention the sound coming from that monstrous V8.” He giggled and slowed even more, we were coming into a small town.

There were some cute little shops around, mostly nautical themed it seemed. It was late September, had he brought me to a beach? It is far too cold out for something like that. He pulled into a nearly empty car park and found a spot. Turning off the engine, he turned to me and said, “Now, It’s a bit of a walk, do ya mind?” I shook my head, “No, fine with me. Where are we anyway?”  Getting out of the car, he opened the bonnet and extracted a basket and blanket, “We are in Broad Haven, Wales.” He gently shut the hood and gestured for me to follow him. “That didn’t tell me anything, James,” I said coming up beside him. He looked at me, then back toward the horizon, “Don’t worry, dear, you’ll see soon enough.”

We walked a bit, I heard waves crashing, but I didn’t see any water. Walked a bit more, I saw a vast blue ocean, but not much more. Finally he stopped and looked toward the sea. “Stay here,” he said as he walked toward the never ending blueness that stretched out before us. I was glad I had worn my jacket, the one I had bought just for this trip. It was light brown leather, like the one James wore. I hadn’t noticed before, but he was wearing that very jacket today.

I waited for what seemed like a very long time, when James came back toward me. “Ready to see what almost 5 hours in a bloody car with me was for?” I nodded my head and added, “I’m not complaining about the car ride. Brilliant car and a brilliant man.”  He smiled and turned a bit red in the face and said, “Come on.” He held out his hand and I took it. As we walked toward the blanket he had set up he stopped me, let go of my hand and covered my eyes again. I let out an annoyed sigh, “This again?” He laughed and said, “Yes, I want it to be a surprise. Don’t worry, I’m not going to let you fall.” I simply said, “Ok. I trust you.” We started forward, I couldn’t see a thing but his hands. After some walking, and wobbling, we stopped and he said, “Ready?”  

“Yes,” was all I could mutter. He removed his hands and I was taken aback by what I saw. The most sight I had ever seen. We were perched on top of a cliff, covered in the greenest grass I had ever seen facing the most beautiful beach. I never thought rocks could be so lovely, but when the sea crashed into them it was amazing. I took a step back and bumped into James. Turning around I put my arms around him and said into his ear, “than you”. He returned my hug and said “you’re so welcome.”

He pulled back from me and gestured toward the blanket lying on the ground. We made our way over to it and had a seat. I lay back and look up into the surprisingly blue sky. Then I look over to James, who had done the same. I propped myself up on an elbow and looked down at him. Our eyes met and for a moment I got lost in his the amazing pools of blue. I then said gently, “A picnic with James May in the most beautiful place I’ve ever been, after riding in a Ferrari. What more could a girl ask for?” He gave me a little laugh, “An Aston Martin and someplace besides Wales and a more handsome man than I” He mimicked me, and propped himself up on an elbow. I pushed small piece of hair out of his face and said quietly, “No. The Ferrari was amazing, this place is stunning, and you are very handsome.” He blushed again, “Thanks for that. Not many people think this place is as awesome as it is. I’m glad you got to see it and that I’m the one who got to show you. This place is beautiful, but I think it’s jealous”

I looked at him confused, “Jealous of what?” He looked down at his hands, fiddling with his fingers, turning a bit redder “Of you.” I was stunned. He thought I was beautiful? “You think I’m beautiful? Really?” I asked, now I was turning a bright shade of pink. Our eyes met again and he just said, “Well, yes.” I melted. All I could do was smile at him. After just lying there smiling at each other I leaned over to him and planted a gentle kiss on his cheek.