Carla's Flat
8:12 am
"We can't keep doing this, Peter." Carla sighed, she was completely and utterly exhausted.
"Of course we can," He insisted. "I can't give this up, not now. It's just too damn good."
"But it isn't right." She reasoned, trying to make him see sense.
"Who cares?" Peter argued, his nonchalance rather endearing – but foolish nonetheless.
"I do!" Carla exclaimed, putting down her fork and pushing the plate of food away. "I'm starting to get fat!"
"Don't be daft! You're gorgeous." He said, leaning over to kiss her softly on the lips – the smell of chocolate on his breath a welcome change from tobacco.
"And you're biased," She grinned, waving him off playfully as he tried to shove another forkful of cake in her mouth. "I never should have taken you to that bakery."
"But boy am I glad you did," Peter smiled, he'd been doing a lot of that lately. "I like to think of it as 'our' place."
"Yeah, well we don't need to go to 'our' place every time we see each other ya know."
"I didn't hear you complaining last night when you polished off that custard tart…"
"Oy! Watch it, you." Carla chuckled, walloping him on the head with a pillow. She loved moments like this. They were few and far between which only made her cherish their time together even more. Soon he would have to leave her – to go home to his wife and son. But for now, Peter Barlow was all hers and Carla was determined to enjoy every last second they had together.
"Let's go on holiday." Peter suggested, a wistful expression on his face.
"Are you mad?" Carla laughed.
"Probably," He agreed, putting his plate down on the coffee table and reaching over to pull her into his lap. "But I don't care. I want to be with you, Carla. I want to take you away from all this."
"You know I can't leave now," Carla sighed, burrowing her face in his sweater. "Frank's trial is next week."
"And that is exactly why you need to get away," Peter reasoned, gently running his fingers through her hair. "I hate seeing you so stressed."
"And what about Leanne?" Carla asked, for what seemed like the millionth time since their affair had begun. She couldn't wait for the day when she no longer had to consider another woman's feelings when making plans to spend time with the man she loved.
"Don't worry about her," Peter said reassuringly. "At this point, she'll probably be glad to see the back of me."
"What are you on about?" Carla asked, sitting up to face him. Was there trouble in paradise?
"I haven't exactly been the ideal husband lately," He confessed, reaching out to stroke her cheek. "It's hard playing happy family with Leanne when all I can think about it being with you."
"Where do you want to go then?" Carla asked, trying to hide her excitement. She knew planning a holiday with Peter was risky right now – to say the least. But at the moment, she really didn't care.
"Anywhere," He replied, obviously pleased to see that she was on board. "You said LA was nice. Maybe I could get spotted by one of them talent scouts myself…"
"I don't think Hollywood is ready for you, Peter." She teased. "Besides, it's too crowded. If we're really going to do this, I want to go somewhere quiet where I can have you all to meself."
"I couldn't agree more." Peter sighed, leaning forward to kiss her deeply – her lips parting eagerly in anticipation.
"How about Dubai?" He asked when they finally came up for air. "I'd love to take you to one of them six star hotels…"
"Do you have any idea how much those resorts cost?" Carla asked, trying to bring him back down to reality.
"Only the best for the love of me life." He replied, nuzzling his nose against her's.
"I'm touched," She said honestly, resisting the urge to kiss him again. "But I'd be more than satisfied with a weekend away in Blackpool, as long as I was with you."
"And here I thought you were going to be high maintenance." He teased.
"I'm not as big of a snob as everyone thinks I am ya know." Carla replied rather defensively. She thought after all this time, Peter knew her better than that.
"I know, Love. I was only kidding." He rushed to explain, not wanting to ruin the mood. "Blackpool it is then. You better start packing."
"Oy, not so fast!" Carla reasoned. "I need to see if Michelle will be okay running the factory while I'm gone."
"Alright. And I'll think of something to tell Leanne." He declared confidently. He was getting far too good at this whole adultery thing.
"We've got to be careful ya know. If Frank gets wind of this…"
"Don't worry about him," Peter reassured her, leaning forward to press his forehead against her's. "He's got more important things to be concerned about."
"Are we really going to do this?" Carla asked, insecurity evident in her tone of voice.
"Yes, we are." Peter replied, taking her in his arms and holding her close. "You do whatever it is you need to do and I will meet you back here in a few hours."
"Now where have I heard that before…" Carla sighed, afraid of being let down yet again.
"Look at me," Peter demanded, lifting her chin until her eyes met his. "I swear on me son's life that nothing is going to stop me from going on holiday with you."
She refused to think about all of the reasons why this was such a bad idea. All that mattered to Carla at that moment was getting to spend a weekend away with the man she loved.
"Right then," She smiled, eyes filled with excitement. "Let's get this show on the road!"
Carla's Flat
1:23 pm
She was all packed and ready to go. After ringing Michelle on her mobile and briefly explaining that she needed to go out of town on business for a few days, Carla had quickly thrown some clothes in her smallest Louis Vuitton bag and made sure everything in the flat was in order.
In the bathroom, she had hesitated a bit. A brand new box of tampons sat in her medicine cabinet. She'd been so wrapped up with work, Peter and Frank's upcoming trial that Carla couldn't remember if her period was due soon or not. It seemed like ages since she'd last needed to use the annoying little things.
Was she late?
Carla couldn't be certain. In the end, she threw the box of tampons in with the rest of her things – just in case.
She felt rather foolish sitting on the couch, waiting patiently for Peter to arrive. Carla desperately hoped that he hadn't changed his mind again. She knew that leaving Leanne and Simon was difficult for Peter, but going on holiday had been his idea. Carla could only hope that Peter would stick to his word this time – she didn't know if she could bare another rejection.
As if on cue, there was a knock on her door – someone must have let him into the building.
"I was beginning to think you'd changed your mind." Carla said loudly enough for Peter to hear as she unlocked the door to let him in.
Her eyes widened in terror as Frank Foster shoved his way into her flat, slamming the door shut behind him.
"Hello, Carla." He grinned, glancing over her shoulder at the luggage sitting beside her couch. "Going Somewhere?"
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