He was now a shade of what I would call ‘Ferrari
Red’. The only thing I could do is smile shyly at him. After a few minutes of just
looking into each other’s eyes, and the color in our faces dismissing a bit I
spoke, “Not many people tell me I’m beautiful. Unless you count my mom and dad,
which I don’t because they’re your parents, they have to say stuff like that.”
James gave me a sincere smile, “I mean it, you are
so beautiful. I honestly think the mountain and the ocean and the beach are
jealous of you. I’m so grateful that the sky decided to be kind today and clear
up. I’m sure you’ve heard of our English weather. Rain, Rain, and more Rain.
But sometimes, not often, we get a clear day.” I lay back down and looked up at
the sky. It was amazingly clear. Not a cloud in sight. I closed my eyes and basked
in the warm sunlight. Then the light was gone.
I opened my eyes to see why the warmth had gone to
see James hovering over me. “Hello,” I said looking at him. “Hello,” he
replied. I giggled and so did he. “Would you like some lunch?” he asked. He
moved back and I sat up, “I’m famished.” He opened the basket and took out two
wine glasses and a bottle of red wine. “I hope you like wine,” He stated as he
uncorked the bottle and poured it into the glasses. He handed one to me and I
looked at it, “Well, I’ve never really had wine. I mean I’ve had a bit at
family dinners and such but never enough to know if I like it or not.” He
smiled and held his glass up, I did the same, “A toast to a wonderful day with
an amazing woman.” I added, “And an amazing man.” We both take a drink, and
James keeps his eyes trained on me.
I make a bit of a funny face, and James cracks up.
“It’s…um….different….I think I like it…..sort of,” I say after a bit. “It’s an
acquired taste, you seem like you may like a sweet wine more,” He says after
composing himself. He then pulls 2 small plates out of the basket and places
them on the blanket in front of us. He then removes a small try with several
cheeses on it, and then a small container is revealed containing slices of
French bread. “I hope you like cheese,” He says getting everything situated on
the blanket. “I love cheese. Wine and Cheese, seems a bit French,” I said
watching him. He nodded, “Yes, a bit. But so good.” Once he had finished he
took a small slice of cheese and placed it on top of a piece of bread. “Try
this, Brie. A soft cheese has an interesting taste.” He held out the morsel and
I leaned in and took a bite. I don’t think he was expecting that, but he went
with it. As I ate, he watched me. I made a funny face as I swallowed then said,
“Well that was, um, interesting.” He chuckled.
We ate more of the cheese, I loved finding out what I
liked and what I didn't After we had finished, he lied back and asked, “So, do
you, um, have a, um, boyfriend or anything like that back home?” I laughed and
shook my head, “No, that’s not to say I haven’t had a boyfriend. None of them
have really worked out. They all think I’m strange. But I’m ok with that. I won’t
change who I am for some guy.” He sat up and looked at me, placing his hand
over mine, “You shouldn't have to. If someone can’t accept you for whom you
really are, well, to hell with em.” This made me smile. Then I had to ask, “Do you
have anyone?” He looked out to the vast blue ocean glittering before us, “No, I
did have someone for a while, but it didn't work out. I suspect she got tired
of me working in my shop all the time, my OCD, and me cleaning motorbike parts
in the kitchen sink.” I had to let out a snicker. I shifted so my back was
toward the sea, but I was facing James. “Well, why didn't she just join you in
the shop? Unless it’s one of those ‘no girls allowed’ kind of things. And as
for your OCD and cleaning your motorbike parts in the kitchen sink,” I paused
and shrugged, “It’s just you. I would help you clean them actually. I’ve always
wanted to fiddle with things like that. I’ve never had the chance though.”
James listened to me and sipped his wine, now on his
second glass, while I was still nursing my first. “Why?” he asked. “Well,” I started,
“My dad wasn’t around much as I was growing up, and my grandfather wasn’t much
of a car guy. I never had anyone to teach me, and I never thought to teach
myself because I would end up covered in grease head to toe and still have no
clue what I was doing. My uncle is a mechanic, but wouldn’t teach me because I’m
a girl, and fixing cars and bikes isn’t something girls do. So I just never learned,
but, I think you’re never too old to learn something new.” James smiled at
this. He sat up and put a hand on my knee, it sent goose bumps up my spine, “Well,
I would be happy to teach you, given the time. My shop is usually ‘no girls or
Clarkson’s allowed’ but for you I could make an exception. I think its rubbish
that mending and tinkering with cars isn’t for girls. That’s like saying that
girls can’t do Airfix.” He paused a moment then looked at me quizzically, “Do you
have Airfix in the US?” I took a sip of my wine, made a funny face, then said, “No, but I know what you’re
talking about. Remember, I’ve seen Toy Stories.” He laughed and nodded his
head, “Ah yes. That was a fun project. Maybe we’ll have to put together a
Spitfire while we’re at it.”
He finished his glass then got out a can of Coke and
offered it to me. I gladly took it, thankful that I wouldn’t have to drink
anymore of that wine. Although I enjoy trying new things, that was not one of
them. He took my glass, “I’ll finish the rest of it. You don’t seem to like it
much,” he cucked as he spoke. I handed over my glass and stated, “Not really.
Like you said, it’s an acquired taste.” Smiling he took a sip as I open my can
of soda, taking a drink as well.
We talked for hours more. I could talk to him
forever. It started getting dark and James looked at his watch. “Wow, it’s
already 8 o’clock. It’ll be past midnight by the time we get back to London.” I
sighed, sad our time here was coming to an end. I helped him gather everything
back up, as we stood he wobbled a bit, “Ah. I seem to be a bit pissed.” I
laughed, “You can’t drive in this state, and I don’t have a license over here.
Now what?” He put an arm around my shoulder and said, “Well, we’ll have to get
a room here for the night. If you don’t mind that is. There is a bed and
breakfast in the town. I’ve stayed there before when I was testing a car, um, I
don’t remember which one at the moment, but it was nice.” I nodded helping to
steady him, “You sure you can manage the walk back?” We laughed together before
he said, “I may have had too much to drive, but I can still manage a walk. Just
the standing made me a bid dizzy. I’m ok now.” He removed his arm and I was a
bit disappointed at that. He picked up the basket and I the blanket. “Right then. Onward?” I nodded
and we set out back to the tiny town.
We walked, and after a while I looked out toward the
ocean, “My God, it’s so beautiful.” James stopped, as did I. He put the basket
down and took the blanket from me. Spreading it out on the ground he sat, then
patted the ground next to him as a sign for me to join him. I sat beside him
and he put an arm around my back, moving closer to me. He looked to me, and our
eyes met. He spoke softly, gently rubbing my back, “A perfect end to a perfect
day.” We both smiled and I looked back to the sunset, “When watching a sunset,
it’s hard to imagine anything more lovely.” James was still watching me, but I hadn’t
noticed until he said, “I can think of at least one thing.”
I didn’t look at him I just answered “What?” I felt
a gentle hand on my cheek turning my head toward him. Our blue eyes met, he
held my gaze for a moment without speaking. After several moments he spoke, “An
American I met in a pub only yesterday, but feel like I’ve known for years.” I
couldn’t help but smile. I ran my hand through his hair and whispered, “I would
love to meet her.” This earned a giggle from the man, “She is lovely, and I can’t
wait to spend the next 3 weeks with her. Hopefully more than that if she
decides to stay in England longer.” I hummed at the thought of spending the
next 3 weeks with James. Getting to know him and getting to know England. And the fact that he wants me to stay longer
makes me smile like a fool. Just as I was about to speak he pulls me toward him
and places a gentle kiss on his lips.
I was a taken back for just a second until I realized
what he was doing, then returned his kiss, my hand still in his hair. He pulled
back, looking deep in my eyes as he spoke softly, “I’ve been wanting to do that
all day.” I giggled and smiled at him. “I know what you mean,” I retorted
shifting closer to him and resting my head on his shoulder. I looked out
towards the sunset, it was getting dark now.
James looked at his watch and tutted, “we best be
getting back before dark.” I nodded and got up. He folded the blanket and I took
it from him deciding I would carry it back. He shot me a glare and I just
smiled, causing him to crack one as well. He took my hand and led me back to
the village. We deposited the basket and blanket in the car, and I grabbed my
bag. I may not have brought a change of clothes with my but I had some basics,
toothbrush and so on, just in case.
We made our way to a small building and James held the
door for me to walk in first. It was quite a charming little place, with an old
woman sitting at the desk. “Hello dearies!” she called cheerfully. I couldn’t
help but smile.
James and I approached the desk and he said “Hello,”
the looked at me as if knowing what he was going to ask I nodded, “We’d like a
room please.” I smiled as he pulled me close and kissed the top of my head. “Ah,
a bit of a weekend getaway?” She asked as she pulled out our room key. James
paid the woman and took our key. He held my hand and guided me up the steps.
When we had reached our room James stopped “Ah, room
6,” and unlocked the door.
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