The gentle orange light of the spring dawn cast an eerily glow across the silent bedroom. In the single bed two bodies lay still, the gentle rise and fall of their chests the only sign of life. Their limbs were entangled in an intricate knot, so neither would topple from the mattress on which they were balanced. Suddenly the alarm clock screamed, rudely waking the boys from their peaceful slumber.
Jackson groaned as Aaron's knee came into contact with his groin as the younger jumped. He looked at Jackson sheepishly,
"Sorry." He murmured and Jackson brushed it aside, gently pecking him on the lips.
"Mornin'" The older man said gently as he untangled himself from the mesh of duvet cover and Aaron. "You know what today is?" he asked his boyfriend. Aaron looked at him in confusion and shook his head. "A year since I first kissed you" They both smiled.
"Oh yeah" Aaron replied, it didn't seem like so long, so much had happened in the past year, Aaron's slow acceptance of himself, the court case, their first holiday and the car crash. Aaron tried not to think about the last in the list. He was brought out of his musings as he realised Jackson was speaking to him.
"So, I was thinking," He stopped as he dumped two holdalls on the bed at Aaron's feet. "what about we go away again, I've got a friend who works at a hotel, she's got me a good deal and it'll give us chance to get away from here, be on our own again, sleep in a double bed." Even after the best part of the year sharing a bed, they still hadn't bought a larger one, a fact that rather annoyed Jackson.
Aaron was dumbstruck and blindly nodded until he found his voice.
"Eh, yeah that sounds that good, um where are you thinking?" He asked.
"Well it's this little island, off the west of Scotland, we used to go there when I was a kid, really friendly, loads of deserted beaches we can get reasonable accommodation." He stopped for breath and then added, more quietly, "and I've already booked it, we gotta be at the ferry port by one tomorrow afternoon" He smiled innocently at Aaron, hoping he would agree.
Aaron sighed and then smiled, "fine, sounds good, but you can be the one who speaks to Cain about me gettin' time off."
"Oh, I already sorted that, and I've spoken to Paddy and every thing's all set, and I've even packed" Jackson gestured to the bags in front of him. "So we just need to get dressed and get goin'."
Aaron laughed "You really organised all this, for me to celebrate one tiny peck on the lips?" He smiled.
"Well, I thought we needed to have an anniversary, and a year is quite a milestone..." Aaron cut him off with a kiss. Jackson was always so confident and seeing him nervous and searching for words was a side of him Aaron found very attractive. After a rather heated session of heavy petting, the boys or rather Jackson decided it was tome they got dressed and ready to go. They would be stopping in Glasgow over night. And heading over to Islay the next morning as the journey was too long to do in one day.
They set off later that day, Paddy and pearl waved them off from the surgery door. The sky was cloudless and blue and Aaron dozed lightly in the passenger's seat, having gone to bed late and awoken early. When he woke up again they were not far from Glasgow. Jackson noticed he was awake.
"'Ey up sleepy head" He smiled as he reached over and squeezed Aaron's thigh, he smiled in return.
"Hi" He arched his back, stretching out the stiffness that came from sleeping upright for several hours. "Are we almost there yet, I'm bursting for a piss" He asked.
Jackson laughed, "Not surprised, you've been asleep for almost five hours." Yeah, we're almost there."
About fifteen minutes later they arrived at the Travelodge. Much to Aaron's surprise and relief the receptionist didn't bat an eyelid when they checked in. They trudged up to their room, where Jackson and Aaron went to the bathroom.
"So," Jackson began when Aaron emerged, "What you wanna do for the rest of the evenin'?" He asked.
"Dunno, get some food I 'spose" Aaron replied.
"Well we'll head over to the xscape and fins some food, maybe catch a film?"
"Yeah, sounds good to me." Aaron replied.
After getting some food and watching a generic yet entertaining action film, the boys headed back to their room.
The next morning they had a quick breakfast before heading out towards the west coast. They reached the ferry terminal at midday and checked in. They filled the tome with easy banter and a long phone conversation with paddy. Yes, they were having a nice time, yes, they were on schedule and no, Aaron hadn't had a strop.
They boarded the ferry and headed straight to the canteen, Jackson remembering from his childhood holiday's that it was difficult to get a seat, as the area filled up quickly. They ate their lunch and then decided as it was a nice day to go outside, the wind hit them suddenly as they climbed onto the bow of the boat. It was deserted, they were the only ones brave enough to face the cold wind. They sat on the red plastic seats and Jackson slipped his arm around Aaron's shoulders. In the year that had passed since their first kiss, the younger had slowly become more comfortable with public displays of affection. To Jackson's surprise however Aaron Leaded in to him and did not jump away when another couple emerged from inside.
After the two hour journey, they finally docked. Once again in the van, Jackson drove the familiar road from his childhood. Around half an hour later the pulled up in front of the hotel where Jackson's friend worked. It was in the middle of Port Charlotte and was aptly named The Port Charlotte Hotel.
They exited the van and headed in the door. The lounge reception area was rather posh, the desk a dark oak and a friendly looking woman with a strawberry blonde bob sat behind it. She smiled warmly.
"Good Afternoon sirs, welcome to the Port Charlotte Hotel, what can I do for you?" Her accent revealed her to be from Birmingham. They checked in and were shown to their room, it was a nice size, with a large double bed in the middle. Facing the bed was a large window that looked out to sea. The view was beautiful, even Aaron had to admit. The receptionist left the room, and the boys fell together on the bed.
"Like it?" Jackson asked smiling. Aaron hummed his agreement as he placed his lips on top of his boyfriends. Two hours later the headed down to the bar, having booked a meal there. They were shown to the table by a Yorkshire Barman who, they found out was from a village not too far from Emmerdale. He took their order and soon a waitress appeared with their cutlery.
"Well, well, well Jackson Walsh, how are ya?" She asked. He stood and hugged her.
"Ali, it's so good to see you" he laughed. Aaron deduced from the exchange that this must have been Jackson's friend who got them the good deal. Ali left the table soon after as she was busy, but Jackson had made arrangements with her to visit the beach the next day to go dune sledging. He had also introduced Aaron and she had proceeded to hug him as well, stating it was so good that Jackson had found a decent one this time. She reminded Aaron of Hazel.
They ate their meal, exchanging small talk and eventually after a few drinks with Ali headed back to their room. Aaron then proceeded to thank Jackson for the anniversary surprise. They settled down for a comfortable nights sleep. Looking forward to the few days ahead.