“Well, it was pretty extravagant,” I admitted.
The story moved on to the weather, and Blake lifted off me, allowing me to get back up off the chair.
“Would my English rose like a cup of tea?” he asked, standing and making his way to the kitchen area.
I twisted on the sofa to watch him. “I didn’t think you knew how to make a cup of tea,” I asked suspiciously.
“Ah, you see, I’ve had a lot of time on my hands recently,” he said without looking back. “Plus my sister loves the stuff, and as she spent the last few days here with me, I’ve turned into a pro.” He shrugged playfully.
He looked up at me while he placed a teabag each into two separate cups. “See, easy.” He smiled, and the smile on my face continued to grow. “Oh, and while you’re smiling like that, it seems like a good enough time to tell you that we’ve gone viral. Alex called; we’re up to four million hits on YouTube.” He laughed as he turned to place the used teabags into the bin.
I let out a growl and flopped onto the sofa, covering my eyes once more while Blake continued to laugh.
I couldn’t, however, wipe the smile from my face. If I had got on that plane to London yesterday, we would both be alone now, both suffering, both completely broken. But he had stopped me, although he had made a complete show of us and now we were plastered all over the television. But we had found each other again, and if it was at all possible, with every second I spent with Blake, it felt as though every part of me that had been broken before today was slowly being molded back together.
We sat on the terrace and drank our tea whilst eating pastries that Blake had got delivered for us fresh from his favourite bakery.
The sun was beaming down on us; it was going to be a hot day.
“What do you want to do today?” Blake asked before taking another sip from his tea.
“Hide away? Can we do that? Just hide away and not come out until everyone has forgotten who we are?”
“That’s never going to happen.” He stood and placed a quick kiss on my cheek before collecting the empty plates and heading back into the apartment. I followed slowly behind.
“Shouldn’t you be working today?” I asked.
“Tomorrow,” he said as he placed the plates next to the sink. “Today I am all yours.” He walked over to me smiling like a predator about to attack his prey.
He wrapped his arms around me and kissed me gently. “However,” he said carefully, “we have guests for dinner this evening.”
I let out a little moan and pouted. “What about our bubble?”
Blake laughed gently. “Alex said he and Casey want to see us, so I invited them for dinner. If that isn’t okay, they will understand; we will do it another night.”
“It’s okay,” I sighed. “I’ll cook.”
“You don’t have to do that; we can order something in.”
I placed my hands on Blake’s hard chest. “I want to.” I nodded before letting out a little laugh.
“What’s funny?” Blake asked.
I tried to stem my amusement by remembering how painful it actually felt at the time.
“When I came over and your sister answered the door. I thought she was cooking for you.”
“She was cooking for me,” he answered, confused.
“But I thought she was your girlfriend, cooking for you,” I said quietly.
“I don’t get it,” Blake said with a frown.
“I cried to my mum because I had never cooked for you,” I said feeling my cheeks blush with embarrassment. “Before you say anything, I know how ridiculous that has just sounded.”
“No.” Blake shook his head as he laughed lightly. “It isn’t ridiculous; not even close. It is, however, the cutest thing you have ever told me,” he teased.
I pushed him playfully on the chest, struggling to contain my smile. “So tonight, I will cook, and you will enjoy it.”
He leaned in and kissed me again. “Deal.”
“That is, of course, providing you have a fully stocked fridge and cupboard, because I am not going out there today.” I shuddered as I pointed to the front door.
He smirked before heading back to the sink to begin loading the dishwasher. “Jasmine filled them both only yesterday; there should be plenty for you to choose from.”
“Great,” I said as my eyes began to roam the open-plan apartment.
“Do you know where my case is? I could do with a shower and change of clothes.”
“About that,” Blake said, turning to face me as he leaned against the counter. “How would you feel about leaving your case here?”
“Why would you want me to leave my case here?” I asked, confused. “I can store it back at mine; there’s plenty of room.”
“I mean leave it here, along with your clothes,” he clarified.
“But what if I’m not here and there’s something in there that I want?”
Blake couldn’t hide his amusement; he laughed and walked back over to me, pulling me into him. “How is it possible for you to be
that
cute twice within a minute?” he teased, sweeping my hair away from my eyes with his fingers.
“Am I missing something here?” I was so confused and obviously missing the point.
“Move in with me.”
“No,” I said almost immediately.
Blake couldn’t hide his obvious disappointment. “Please.”
“Blake,” I said, slightly frustrated. “Do you not remember everything I told you last night?”
He nodded. “Of course I do. I also remember telling you that I am going to look after you, and protect you.” I opened my mouth to speak but was silenced quickly by Blake as he continued. “I also remember telling you time after time over recent weeks that we are forever, there is no end, we will grow old together” – he sucked in a deep breath – “so why wait?”
After a short while, I replied. “Because if we do have forever, and there is no end … then why rush?” I lifted up onto my toes and placed a lingering kiss on his cheek “It doesn’t mean that I don’t want to, because I do. I really do, Blake. Just not yet, okay?”
Blake sighed heavily. “I’m gonna ask you every day until you give in.”
“And I’m going to say no until I know the time is right. It’s not what you think it is living together, Blake. Things change; we would change.”
“We wouldn’t,” he protested.
“We would,” I argued back, “and I can’t just up and leave Casey right now; that wouldn’t be fair on her, would it?”
“You already left her yesterday,” he teased as his mouth lifted into a smirk. “So technically, you are currently homeless and I am offering you a place to say.”
“I am not homeless,” I laughed, “but soon, I promise you, I will move in. I love you.”
“I love you too.”
“Now, tell me where you have hidden my case; I have a busy day of cooking ahead of me.”
Blake was right; Jasmine had stocked the cupboards, refrigerator, and freezer top to bottom with food. There was enough to survive on for months if the apocalypse were to hit.
After a couple of hours of deliberation I had decided on a pot roast. I had cooked a traditional roast dinner a million times back home, so this seemed a breeze, everything just thrown in together and left to roast in the oven. Perfect.
Blake left me to it for a couple of hours and headed to the gym that he had built at the end of his penthouse. I hadn’t been in there yet, but knowing Blake and how much he loved to look after himself, I didn’t doubt that it would have every latest model of every piece of equipment that money could buy.
He had also told me about his mini cinema room and promised me a night at the pictures with him sometime soon. He said he would reserve us the two seats at the back; that made me smile.
I was beginning to feel so happy and content, but every now and then a feeling of dread would come over me.
There is always a price to pay for being happy.
Every time these words entered my head, I would try my hardest to push them away and think of Blake’s promise to protect me and keep me safe. Surely at some point in my life, happiness could mean exactly that. Surely I could eventually have happiness without the balance of badness appearing.
I needed a distraction, so I took my iPod out of my handbag, placed it into Blake’s docking station, and filled the apartment with my choice of music.
I stood and chopped the onions, carrots, and garlic before browning the meat slowly on the hob. Blake’s kitchen was a dream to work in; if you didn’t need it, he didn’t have it, and vice versa. I began to feel exited that I was finally going to cook for the man I loved and our two closest friends.
Blake appeared an hour later freshly showered, dressed in a fitted white V-neck T-shirt and grey jogging bottoms. My mouth watered at the sight of him as he strolled over and placed his arms around my waist, watching over my shoulder as I placed everything carefully into the roasting tin ready to go into the oven.
“Are you almost done?” he asked every two minutes as I was adding the last few ingredients.
My reply would always be “One more minute.”
“You’re gonna need another shower, and I think it’s only right that after how hard you have worked in here, I should come and scrub your back for you.” His voice was so soft and teasing as his breath tickled my neck, sending all kinds of shivers all over my needy body. Yes, I would definitely need another shower.
“I just need you to switch the oven on,” I said, placing the lid carefully on the pot. “I have no idea what button does what on these things and why there are so many doors; I think we must live in the Stone Age back in England. Give me a traditional stove any day of the week.”
I heard Blake chuckle as he released me and headed to the oven.
“Just a low heat please; this needs to cook slowly.”
“Done,” he said a few moments later. “I’ll go start the shower for you.”
I woke feeling disorientated. It took me a few moments to realize where I was. I turned over to see Blake deep in sleep, his mouth slightly open and his arm resting over his beautiful big eyes. He looked so young and carefree, and happy.
I took a moment to just lie there and look at him, the man whom I felt so safe with, who I knew would keep his promise and protect me. And most of all, he would love me, the way that I loved him. My life felt perfect – maybe a little too perfect, but again I needed to bury that thought somewhere deep and lock the door firmly behind it. I was going to be happy.
I noticed Blake’s alarm clock on his night stand. It was seven p.m.
“Shit!” I jumped out of bed quickly and started pulling clothes from my still-packed case. “Blake! Get up! Casey and Alex will be here in an hour, and we’re not ready! Get up!” I threw a pillow at him, which startled him at first until a lazy grin spread across his face as he stretched his body like a lion out in the sunshine.
“We have plenty of time; come back to bed,” he said, still smiling widely. His eyes were only half open, but the blue shone through like a beacon on a dark night.
I walked back to the bed, having managed only to choose my knickers and bra so far, and whipped the sheets from on top of him, leaving him lying there gloriously naked and highly amused by my outburst. “Get up!” I yelled frantically one more time. Blake was laughing as he slowly climbed out of the bed and headed into his wardrobe to pick his outfit for the evening
“You know,” he yelled to me, “I’ve seen so many sides of you today, and I’m struggling to decide which on turns me on the most.”
“Keep teasing me and I’m going to come in there and strangle that cock that you are so obsessed with using,” I shouted back as I shimmied into my favourite black trousers.
“Ah, Jo, you have no idea how hard it has made me hearing you say that word so politely.” He was laughing now; I could hear him chuckling away to himself, which made me chuckle too. I loved it when he was so playful; it made me feel even more happy, and I didn’t think that was even possible.
“Are you done?” I shouted.
“Yep,” he said as he re-entered the bedroom looking so beautiful that I debated with myself just for a second whether or not we did have time for me to strangle his cock – in a nice way, though.
“Are you drooling?” he observed.
I pulled myself together and grabbed my shoes. “No,” I said firmly. “Can you go and check on the food please? I need to finish getting ready.”
“For you, my beautiful, anything.” He placed a quick kiss on my lips before stepping around me and leaving the bedroom.
I stood in front of the mirror, ready to do my hair and make-up. I studied my face for a short while. I was changing; I was beginning to actually look happy. I hadn’t noticed before, but my face must have shown the world all of my fears before today. There were no worry lines, no frown, nothing; just happiness seeping through the pores. Even my brown eyes glistened back at me like diamonds. I was happy. I smiled and started working on my bed hair.
“Hmm, Jo?” I heard Blake shout. “We have a problem.” All sorts of thoughts started running through my head as I left the bedroom and headed to where Blake was standing in front of the open oven.
“You put the food in the wrong oven,” he said, holding the roasting tin in his hands.
“Don’t be stupid,” I laughed, but Blake’s face remained impassive. “What do you mean wrong oven?” I asked as the smile faded from my lips.
“I turned on oven number one,” he said, nodding to the oven farthest away. “You put the tin in oven number three.” He nodded to the open one that he had removed the pan from.
“Oven one? Oven three?” I said, placing my hands on my hips. “Exactly how many ovens do you have?” I asked sarcastically.
“Three” was his simple answer.
“Why the fuck do you need three ovens!” I yelled, throwing my hands in the air.
“For occasions like this, maybe?” he answered carefully, but I could see that he was highly amused by what had happened.
“Did you not think to tell me that there were three ovens? Did you not think to say, ‘Okay, Jo, my beautiful, I’ve switched on the oven for you, but be sure to place the pan in oven one, not two or three, as I need them for absolutely nothing.’”
Blake started to laugh, and the more he laughed, the angrier I became. The angrier I became, the more he laughed.
“This is not funny!” I yelled, throwing my arms about as I paced the kitchen floor.
“Oh my God, Jo, you have no idea just how funny this is,” he laughed, placing the cold pan down on the counter before leaning back and crossing his arms over his chest. He placed one hand over his mouth to try to hide his amusement.
“I’ve spent all day in this fucking kitchen trying to make everything perfect for tonight, and you,” I said, pointing to him, “you go and turn on the wrong fucking oven!”