Do I Ever Cross Your Mind
This is set any time between her birthday party in And the Moonbeams Kissed the Sea and when they finally "officially" hooked up. I lean towards thinking closer to when they hooked up.
Earlier today I was listening to my Robbie & Laura playlist (don't judge) and this song (you'll find out at the end) came into rotation. It was all it took to plant a seed for this story. Just a little drabble, one shot. Enjoy!
Robbie drove through the quiet, darkened streets of Oxford. He wasn't alone and he wasn't headed to his home. Glancing to the passenger seat, he smiled at his sleeping passenger.
He reflected on the evening and how he'd ended up here. She'd come to him in the early afternoon and informed him he was taking her to dinner, pick her up at 7:00 PM, they would be dining at The Randolph and he was driving. Then as quickly as she'd appeared she'd left.
Others might have taken exception to being bossed around in such a manner. And he might have had it been anyone other than Laura Hobson. In those rare moments when he was truly honest with himself, he was quite positive being bossed around her was a complete pleasure.
He'd been late to pick her up. Partially on purpose, he might not mind being bossed around but he couldn't let her know. And partially because he was nervous and had changed clothes twice and his tie four times.
Laura had opened the door the minute he pulled into her drive. With a mischievous grin on her face she informed him since he was late he'd miss pre-dinner drinks, that she had consumed his and he would now have to make do with whatever he could order at the restaurant.
He'd only heard a small fraction of what she'd said because he was too busy looking at her. She was wearing a red dress he'd never seen before. It hugged every curve of her body leaving very little to his imagination. As he helped her into the car he had a bird's eye view down her dress. He tried to look away but found he couldn't. It was only Laura trying to pull the door closed which broke his gaze. Luckily she seemed to be hazy enough from her pre-dinner drinks to notice.
She'd chatted happily as they drove to the restaurant. The details of her day, things she had upcoming, nothing which really required him to do more than say yes or no. This was probably for the best as all he could think about was her dress and what may or may not be on underneath it.
All through dinner, after dinner drinks, and several pubs she had been ebullient, charming, all of the things he associated with her. She'd teased him, flirted a bit and laughed. He'd enjoyed himself, relaxing into the evening even as a small piece of him wondered what this evening was about.
It wasn't as if they didn't go out together. They often had drinks after work. Drinks often became a casual dinner. They met for lunch or tea quite frequently. But all of those were under the casual guise of friends, colleagues, nothing more. This evening had a feeling of more and yet there still seemed to be an arm's length between them.
As they left the third pub, on their way to a fourth, all of the alcohol she'd consumed hit her. She'd laughed, giddily, as he wrapped his arms around her waist. It had taken all of his persuasive power to convince her it was time to go home. They walked to the car, him half carrying her.
Within seconds of sitting down in his car, she curled into herself and went to sleep. Exhaustion crept over him. To stay awake he turned on the radio, forgetting his iPod, a gift from his daughter, was playing. The songs were some of his favorites from when he was younger. Lyn had bought him the iPod after he'd complained about scratching a CD. He'd thought it was a foolish gift at first, but now he loved it.
The volume was low, just background noise to keep him alert. At stop lights he watched his sleeping passenger. She was lovely, her lips slightly pursed. He wondered again what had prompted this evening out. Now that she was asleep he might never know. It didn't matter, he'd thoroughly enjoyed himself and was almost certain she had as well.
The song changed, he risked turning it up just a bit, it was one of his favorites. She'd shuffled in her seat, changing position then settled again. He drove on, pulling into her drive a minute later.
Turning the car off, he set the parking brake then went around to her side of the car. He opened the door then kneeled beside her to wake her, "Laura…Laura."
Her eyes opened, she smiled sleepily, "Hi Robbie."
"Hi, we're home. Will you let me help you inside?"
She shook her head, "No, I'm fine." She moved to stand and once again all of the alcohol she'd consumed during the evening hit her.
Robbie reached out and caught her before she fell, "I can see you're fine but if you don't mind I think I will come inside. I could use the bathroom before I drive home."
Smiling up at him she giggled, "Sure, perhaps you could have that pre-dinner drink now."
She was lovely when she was drunk. For a single moment he thought about kissing her. He shook the thought away, if he ever kissed her, it wouldn't be when she was too drunk to remember.
He helped her to the door and watched as she attempted to unlock the door. Finally he wrapped his hand around hers, guiding it into the lock. She turned in his arms, smiling up at him, "See told you I was fine."
He nodded, "Yes, you made it look so easy. Let's get you inside pet."
They entered the house, "Come on Robbie, have another drink."
He knew he didn't need a drink and she didn't either. But he was afraid she might argue with him, "If you will get ready for bed, I will have a drink."
"Are you trying to get me in bed Robbie Lewis?" He froze for a moment, before her laughter relaxed him. "I was just teasing Robbie. I'll go up now. Fix us a drink."
He watched her climb the stairs then returned to the kitchen. He made each of them a cup of tea then brought them to the sitting room. He sat down and waited. When she didn't return ten minutes later he went upstairs.
He stood outside her door, listening for movement. When he didn't hear anything he tapped lightly on the door, "Laura."
He pushed open the door and smiled. Laura was sprawled across the bed, still fully clothed. He leaned on the doorframe watching her for a moment. Crossing into the bedroom he went into the en suite, filled a glass of water. He opened the medicine cabinet and took out a bottle of paracetemol. Shaking four into his hand he picked up the glass and returned to the bedroom. He placed the glass on the nightstand before sitting next to her on the bed.
Gently stroking her cheek he said her name, "Laura."
"Hmmm."
"Can you sit up a bit? I have your drink." She smiled, attempting to push herself up. He helped her sit up then placed two of the tablets in her hand, "Take these."
She popped the pills into her mouth then took the glass from him draining it, "Where's your drink?"
Robbie pushed her hair from her face, "I already had it. Why don't I get you settled into bed? I put two more tablets on your nightstand. I'll fix you another drink. If you wake up tonight drink it and take the tablets, ok?"
She nodded compliantly before slumping back in the bed. Robbie pulled the blanket from the foot of the bed and placed it over her. He returned to the bathroom, filled the glass and took it back to the bedroom.
He watched her sleep for a few moments. He was about to leave when she opened her eyes, "Do I Robbie?"
He looked at her quizzically, "Do you what Laura?"
With one last sleepy smile Laura rolled over and fell asleep. He waited for another minute to see if she would wake again. When she only snuggled deeper into the covers, he left.
He cleaned up the cups of tea then let himself out of her house, carefully locking the door behind him. He walked quickly to his car and climbed in. He looked up to the window he knew was her bedroom and stared at it, still curious about her last words. Shaking his head, thinking he would never know.
He started the car and music filled it. As he pulled onto the road, the words registered in his brain,
Do I ever cross your mind?
Oh, uninvited
Or, when you're lonely
Or does it only happen to me
He smiled as he finally understood her question. A small part of him was thankful she'd fallen asleep. He wasn't ready for her to know how frequently she did cross his mind, not just when he was lonely and while it might be uninvited it was never unwelcome.