Hey guys!
This is dedicated to Rebecca, and was inspired by writingdawn.
I hope you
Enjoy!
"Please!" Mara grinned, literally bursting in the passenger's seat of their camper van. They had been travelling around the Mediterranean on their holiday for three days now. "Jerome!"
Jerome laughed, pulling the large vehicle to a stop, and Mara burst out with her camera, and started clicking the shutter. The cool summers evening breeze ruffled her white dress, and Jerome leaned against the car, arms crossed, and watched her happily, more relaxed than he had ever been in his life. She looked beautiful against the background of the red setting sun, she turned, and smiled at him, and his heart almost broke. She was looking at him the way she used to look at Mick, but much more intense. She loved him.
She raised the camera and took a picture of him, before turning and racing down to the water's edge, kicking off her shoes against the pale sand, the cold water rushed over her ankles. "Come on!" she called, laughing, letting the camera fall, it was strapped around her neck, and so hung safely.
Jerome shook his head "I'd rather admire the view," he said cheekily. Mara kicked the water towards him, but of course the droplets didn't even make it half way. "Please?" she pouted. Jerome shook his head, the idea of getting the bottom of his trousers wet not really appealing to him. Mara sighed, taking the camera and throwing it, surprisingly, it made it to him, and he caught it with both hands, arching an eyebrow.
Then Mara dived into the waves, and completely disappeared from sight. Jerome dropped the camera and stepped forward in alarm, blue eyes glittering as he scanned the water for any sign of her. Ten seconds went by and she didn't come up.
Jerome was sprinting across the sand, not bothering to take off his shoes as he too dived into the cool water. He spotted her immediately, and he gripped her waist, hauling her up to the surface. And she laughed, wiping her wet hair back "Blooming heck Jaffray!" he cried breathless "Does a day go by when you don't pretend to be dead to give me a heart attack?"
Mara smiled, wrapping her arms around his torso, hugging him tightly "Sorry," she grinned "But you're so…picky about water,"
"I am not," Jerome replied stubbornly. Mara lifted her hands, and mussed up his hair, he grimaced, but refused to recoil and fix it like his instincts screamed. "Fine, I like having good hair,"
"Oh?" Mara took a deep breath and dunked down, coming up, her wet hair plastered down her back "So I must look pretty terrible right now?" she whispered with a grin.
Jerome rolled his eyes "Of course not, you're a vision," he whispered, tugging them back towards the shore.
"And so are you," she grinned, he ran his hands through his hair, so it slicked back "Quite handsome Mr Jaffray,"
He laughed, and the two were back on the beach, soaked through. "Brilliant, Mrs Clarke, are we driving back to the hotel in wet clothes?" The sun beat down on them, and Jerome pulled her to him, hugging her tightly "I never want this honeymoon to end," he whispered into her hair.
Mara laughed, then pulled back, her face focused "Does it have too?"
"What?"
"Why don't we…I mean," she pulled away, wringing her hands together almost nervously "We saw that house, we could afford that-"
"Live here?" Jerome laughed at the idea "What really? With the beach at our front door?" then he sobered slightly, and he looked down at her "Really?" he reached down for her hand, still thrilled at the fact he could "We live on this island? This tropical island and be on a never ending honeymoon?"
"Why not?" she whispered.
Jerome pulled her down with him, so they were on the warm sand, drying their clothes from both sides. "My Jaffray, the smartest person I know, how taken you get with things."
Mara nuzzled into his neck "We could do it,"
Line Break
"It's beautiful," Mara whispered the next morning, they had hiked up a small mountain, and were admiring the green hills, and the oceans. "How could you not want to live here?" she pulled off her rucksack, reclaiming her breath
Jerome wiped his forehead of sweat and took a sip of water, refastening the bottle after offering Mara some. "I want too, but we'd get bored,"
"Bored?" she scoffed "With endless mountains to climb? Beaches to visit? Lakes to swim across? Forests to explore, paths to walk together, how could we get bored?"
"And how would we afford it?" Jerome managed, trying not to get taken by the idea of doing all of those things with her.
"I would be a photographer, it's so scenic. And you could be a writer, a journalist. You've got the skill,"
Jerome smiled, wrapping his arms around her "In a perfect world Jaffray,"
Line Break
"Mara," Jerome shook her shoulders gently, Mara rolled over in the hotel build, rolling herself into a cocoon in the white blankets. Jerome laughed "Mara, wake up,"
Mara groaned, blinking, the stars twinkling through the window "Jerome, it's still dark,"
"I wanna show you something," Mara managed to escape the blankets, and stretched, her shirt rode up and Jerome groaned.
"Mara let's go before you distract me,"
She smiled shyly, picking up her silk purple robe and tying it around her waist, following him out into the warm night. They walked across the entire beach, before coming to some grassy path, which Jerome insisted they followed, and he stopped he ran front of a quaint little house.
"So we're here to wake up some other people too?"
"Jaffray," he nudged her, sliding his hands into his pockets "I bought this house,"
Mara's mouth dropped open, and she turned to him in realisation "You what?"
"I bought it,"
"W-why?" she exclaimed "Jerome! I thought you said we were being completely unrealistic, that there was no way-"
"I already got a job as a journalist for the daily news paper," he gave her a half smile, "And who wouldn't hire you?"
Mara's hair was stroked back by the wind and she stared at him in complete wonder "Jerome Clarke," she whispered, gazing at the house "You are…my soul mate,"
Jerome's shoulders slumped in pure relief "I thought you were gonna call me stupid," he grinned, wrapping his arms around her from behind, and kissing her neck. "A never ending honeymoon,"
"A completely ridiculous idea,"
"Only we could make that work," he smiled.
Line Break
ONE YEAR LATER
"I don't know how you stand it." Amber shrugged, pulling at the sand in her hair "All this sand, and this heat. Ugh, it's making my hair stand on end,"
"There's a salon in the town," Mara offered with a smile "They give you a full facial, do your nails and-" she looked up to realise Amber was almost half out the door. She laughed.
Jerome waltzed in "Hey Jaffray, you've gotta see the sandcastle Alfie and I made, it's so great," he grinned at her, and Mara rolled her eyes at his childishness
"It was a good idea to invite Amber and Alfie over," she smiled "Fabian and Nina are due next week, right?"
"Mara!" Jerome whined "The sandcastle!" he gripped her hand and dragged her outside, where she was greeted with the sight of a sandcastle, a truly spectacular one, where grabs were already beginning to gather in wonder.
"Isn't it cool Mara?" Alfie grinned
"Very cool," she agreed with a smile. Alfie smiled, turning to Jerome who was blinking up at the sun.
"Hey Jerome," Alfie frowned "How come you've been living in the Mediterranean for a year, and you're still paler than Edward Cullen?"
Jerome frowned, but Mara burst out laughing.
Line Break
"Don't you dare," Mara warned, Mara was dangling off a hill, a large deep blue lake glistened underneath her "Don't…" Jerome smiled, letting go of her hand, she splashed into the water, resurfacing to the sound of Jerome's laughter.
"Ready?" he called, his voice echoed down to her
"Ready!"
Jerome jumped off the hill, tumbling brilliantly, and crashing beneath the surface. He swam up, laughing as a swan floated by them. He coughed, choking on his laughter.
"Man, this is brilliant," he flicked water at the swan, which relished in it droplets, as a way to cool down from the heat. And so turned back, swimming towards him.
"Made a new friend huh Jerome?" Mara laughed, Jerome chuckled, collecting a hand full of water, and dropping it on the swans wings, it squawked with joy.
Mara sighed in content, floating on her back and staring up at the clouds. "This is the life, right Jerome? This is like…an endless wonder,"
"Being with you makes my life heaven," he responded truthfully "It doesn't matter where we are,"
"You old sweet heart," she grinned.
"Hey guys! Watch out!" a voice echoed down. The couple and the swan looked up to see the face of the America who lived next door to them.
Jerome groaned. They had met Eddie and his wife Patricia a few months after moving in, apparently Eddie had been born and raised in America, and moved to the Mediterranean and met Patricia, who he fell head over heels with. Mara and Patricia had hit it off, and though he liked to deny it, Jerome liked Eddie too.
Eddie yelled as he came crashing down, the swan buried itself into Jerome's side at the noise. "What up 'Ara?" he grinned, kissing Mara's forehead, "Hey Jerry!"
"Eddie," Jerome groaned "Mara and I were actually having some private time,"
Eddie arched an eyebrow "Do you mean you and the swan were having some private time?" he turned to Mara "You don't mind if the Yacker and I crash this party?"
"You're more than welcome to join us, aren't they Jerome?"
"I guess," Jerome grumbled, laughing as Eddie tried to perform a rollie pollie under water.
A blur of red appeared out of nowhere, as Patricia cannon balled into the cold water. She recovered quickly, the best swimmer of the bunch, and rolled her eyes at Eddie and Jerome, instead swimming over to Mara. "Hey," she grinned "They being stupid?"
Mara laughed, "Hey," she dropped her voice slightly "Are you and Eddie…"
Patricia smiled "We're trying,"
Mara beamed, "You guys are gonna be happy!"
"Mara!" Jerome cried "The swan is biting me!"
"Patricia!" Eddie screamed "The swan is evil!"
Both the girls turned, to see the swan swimming away gracefully. Jerome and Eddie looked at each other
"Well…" they started lamely
Patricia splashed Eddie in annoyance. "Hey Mara," Eddie grinned, spiking his hair back up "The honeymoon thing still going strong?"
Jerome's muscles gleamed as he swam over to her "Yeah," she whispered, biting her lip "I don't think it'll ever weaken,"
Jerome kissed her shoulder "It's a Clarke thing,"
Hope you have a fabulous birthday Rebecca!
xxxxxxx