She was woken by a thin blade of light streaming in through the curtains, for a split second she gazed around the room, the surroundings were unfamiliar as was the silence only broken by the faint breathing of the captain still asleep on the pillow next to her. She sat up in bed as slowly as she could, glancing to make sure she hadn't disturbed him and slid out from under the covers moving toward the window and peeping out through the gap in the curtains. the room looked out onto a beautiful terraced garden that was bathed in the early morning light, she stood for a little while watching birds flitting between the trees and the feeding table it all seemed a bit surreal like she hadn't woken up and it was a dream, she padded her feet into the plush carpet as a way of double checking she was in fact here, with him, in Bath, in a house that felt like it was the size of The West Ham stadium next door to the little second floor flat that she had lived in for most of her life. It should bother her that they come from such different worlds but she loved him so totally and couldn't imagine life without him, he made her feel so safe and special that any doubts just melted away.
She hadn't noticed that he had woken up and been watching her gazing out of the window, her beautiful curves framed by her long hair sillouhetted by the light, God she was so beautiful, he moved swiftly across the room to stand behind her and kissed her on the side of her neck "morning gorgeous" as he moved his hands around her waist and rested his chest against her. She responded by leaning into him and then flipping herself around gave him a peck on the lips and then reached over for the t shirt at the end of the bed. she pulled it over her head "right boss what's the plan for today then?" He flashed her a smile "well number one is for you to stop calling me boss" she squirmed a bit "well much as I love Charles I can't quite get used to it just yet, how about Chas for now?" he shook his head and smiled again, reluctantly agreeing "for now I suppose Molls"
He pulled on some boxers and a t shirt and they made their way down the stairs to the kitchen, she perched on one of the stools near the breakfast bar and watched him move around the kitchen rustling up a pot of tea for her, his usual espresso and toasted bagels for them both. He brought it over on a tray and sat opposite her "wasn't expecting you for a few days Molls so no Coco Pops until we go shopping later" "Shopping" she nearly spat out the tea she had just taken a gulp of "We ain't an old married couple just yet popping down to Sainsburys to stock up on frozen peas" realising what she had just said she flushed a little which he found very amusing "just a matter of time" he said looking at her intently and smiling. She grabbed one of the bagels and tucked in to it, there was not witty retort came to mind to counter that one so she decided to keep quiet before her mouth got the better of her yet again.
After breakfast they both got showered and dressed and decided they would go for a walk into town and agreed maybe, just maybe, to pick up some supplies of food along the way for later.
He put on a navy wool coat over his jeans and grey chunky polo neck jumper Molly thought how seriously handsome he looked and linked into his arm as they made their way out of the front door and down the steps onto the street. They strolled arm in arm chatting away, small clouds of breath forming as they met the cold air. They had reached the main area of the city in what seemed like super quick time but had no idea how long it had really taken because they had been lost in their own little world again. They walked past the Roman Baths, Molly couldn't believe that it hadn't been built specially for tourists and that actual Romans had hung out there to which Charles could only resort to letting out a small chuckle and shake of the head. "Might gonna need to give you a history lesson Molls" he couldn't resist...she responded by bashing him in the ribs "p**s off you posh tw*t we didn't all go to Eton ! I'll shove that silver spoon you have in your gob where the sun don't shine if you are not careful" she was laughing as she said it so he knew that she wasn't really offended at him teasing her.
They found a cool little coffee shop near the abbey and settled into one of the huge comfy leather sofas they had and ordered a hot chocolate each. He put his arm across the back of the sofa and played with her hair, just happy to be in her company in such a normal situation, feeling like a proper couple at last. Reality came crashing back when after taking the final gulp of her hot chocolate she turned to him "I came straight to you from Brize, I haven't been home yet, I texted mum, but her and my nan are gonna want to see me pretty soon, I probably should be going back to London tomorrow sometime" there she had said it more out of needing to do the right thing than what she really wanted to do. What she really wanted to do was stay with him in this perfect bubble for ever. His heart sank, now he had her here he didn't want her to ever go back but at the same time couldn't be the one to be selfish and stand in the way of her seeing her family again for the first time in months. She could see the sadness sweep across his eyes as he tried to force out a smile. "Let's enjoy the rest of the day Molls and we can talk later" trying to change the subject for now and with that he pulled her up from the deep squishy sofa and they headed down the street towards Waitrose to get some groceries. "I'm going to cook you dinner tonight, what's your favourite?" She thought for a minute "Steak and Chips" "OK your wish is my command Miss Molly Dawes" she giggled "will you be wearing your apron again?" He gave her wink "well that's for me to know and you to wish for"
They scooted around Waitrose with Charles in full captain planning mode picking up supplies and Molly trying to keep up with the route march up and down the aisles, the basket filling up with ingredients that looked like the steak and chips was going to be "a la Charles" she loved him for going to all this trouble. Along the way he even picked up a large box of coco pops and she laughed to herself and blushed a little , thinking of her comment in the kitchen earlier as they walked past the freezer cabinet and she spotted piles of frozen peas.
They started the walk back, taking a shopping bag each so that they could walk arm in arm all the way. As they made their way up the steps he turned before he put the key in the door, grabbed both of her hands, and just said "stay"
