Thank you guys for the sweet reviews :) And yep, you've rightly assessed that it's going to be a slow burner - but in a good way, I hope.
Chapter 6
Clara sank deeper into the bathtub and sighed happily as the warm water engulfed her body. Her year seven kids had been particularly unruly today, so Clara decided to dedicate her afternoon to treating herself – starting with a nice, long bath. And then her phone vibrated next to her tub.
With a groan, Clara reached for the device, but her annoyance faded as soon as she saw the message that had popped up on her screen. Jason the Italian chef had finally replied. A big grin spread across her face as she opened the app.
Jace5000
Hello Clara,
I'm sorry it took me a while to reply. I'm new to this and still trying to figure out how this app works. How are you?
Clara smiled at her phone before she typed out a reply.
ClaraOswald86
The rules are pretty simple. Just reply to the nice girls and ignore the mean ones ;) I'm very well, just a little tired from trying to reign in twenty 13-year-olds. How was your day?
Did you cook anything tasty?
His reply was almost instant.
Jace5000
I have yet to go to work. I'm on the late shift this week, but on today's menu is a mushroom risotto. You're a teacher, right? That must be a wonderful job – at least as long as they behave.
They had only exchanged a few messages, but Clara had already decided that she liked him. He was good-looking, he could cook, seemed nice and instead of just talking about himself like some other guys she had met online, he asked about her day as well. Clara was determined to meet him already.
ClaraOswald86
It is a wonderful job and most of the time, they behave. Today. . . not so much. One of my students told me that my face was too wide :/
Mushroom risotto, yeah? Don't tempt me to have dinner at your restaurant because right now I'm quite hungry and I'm afraid I'm not much of a cook.
Jace5000
I could give you the recipe if you like? Or show you how it's made? It's not as difficult as it sounds. As for your face, I can assure you that you have nothing to worry about. I think you're very pretty.
Her heart skipped a beat when she read his last message. Jason had said that he found her pretty and he was asking her out on a date. Clara instantly set out to type a reply, yet the doorbell interrupted her before she had a chance.
The Doctor shifted his weight from one foot to the other, waiting impatiently for Clara to open the door. He had a surprise for her and he couldn't wait to give her the good news. Then his phone buzzed in his pocket. The Doctor pulled it out and read Clara's message.
If that is you in front of my door, come in. I'm in the tub and not eager to leave right now.
Clara
The Doctor frowned at the display of his phone.
How?
The Doctor
Key?
Clara
Sometimes, he really was a little thick and he wanted to smack his forehead when he remembered the key Clara had given him so he could water her plants while she had been staying with her family over Christmas and New Year's Eve. He had forgotten about the plants as well until two days before her return, but luckily for him, they had survived and Clara had never found out.
The Doctor reached into his pocket and drew out the keys, balancing the food he had brought in the other hand before he stepped into Clara's flat. Whenever he came here, the Doctor was instantly overwhelmed by an air of warmth and homeliness. He just loved her little apartment in all its unorganized glory because it reminded him so much of Clara. It was as if every piece of furniture, every little knick-knack was a part of her, telling the story of her life. There was her favourite Jane Austen novel on the coffee table next to an empty teacup, the little figurine she had bought on their holiday in Rome and the shelf they had bought together at IKEA last year. The Doctor was still trying to figure out why on earth she had needed his help for that, but he guessed that the true reason for his presence there had been to carry all the other stuff she hadn't actually planned on buying.
"Doctor?! Where are you?!" Clara's voice came from the bathroom.
He spun around and walked back into the hall. "I'm here! I'll just wait until you've finished. Shall I make a cup of coffee?"
"I like the sound of that!"
The Doctor continued along the hall and entered Clara's kitchen which was small and crammed, but no less homely than the rest of her place. He switched on the coffee maker and waited for the dark brew to fill the room with its marvellous scent.
"Is there a problem?!" Clara called from the bathroom.
"No! Why do you think that?!"
"Well, come in if you're finished!"
The Doctor froze in an instant. She couldn't possibly have meant it like that, could she?
"Uhm, into the bathroom?!" he asked, just to be sure.
"That's where I currently am!" she replied. "Please, I'm tired of shouting and I assume so are my neighbours."
The Doctor picked up the mugs and the small package he had brought from the bakery and made his way towards the bathroom door. However, once he had reached it, he came to a halt. Did Clara really want him to come in?
"Are you sure you want me to come inside? I mean, you're in the tub."
He couldn't be entirely sure, but he thought he heard her utter a groan on the other side of the door. "Doctor, I know you're uncomfortable with nudity, but I promise my body is covered with bubbles. I won't blind you."
It wasn't so much that he was uncomfortable with nudity in general, but whenever he saw Clara in a little less than her normal everyday clothes, he found himself conflicted. He wanted to look and he knew he shouldn't want it, so he usually resorted to staring at a safe spot on the wall or the floor, prompting Clara to assume he had a problem with nudity when really, he was torn between really wanting to look and trying to be a gentleman.
Reluctantly, the Doctor stepped inside and to his relief, he discovered that Clara had told him the truth. The only things sticking out of the bubbles were her head and feet and he quickly went ahead to set down the mugs and package.
"Thank you," Clara said sincerely and then nodded towards the rim of the tub. "Sit down."
The Doctor sank down to sit on the rim and sipped his coffee. Even though the bubbles seemed quite safe, he decided that the coffee mug was safer still.
"You went to the bakery?" she asked and when the Doctor heard a splashing sound, he watched her unfold the paper wrapping out of the corner of his eye. "Okay, I have no idea what this is, but it smells amazing."
Finally, the Doctor turned to look at her and smiled. "I've actually got a little surprise for you and that's part of it."
A tiny frown lined her pretty face. "What's the surprise?"
His smiled turned into a grin. "Well, I've been looking around online for holiday offers and I found a really good one for a city we haven't been to. Four days during the Summer holidays."
Her face lit up in an instant. "Sounds like an excellent plan. Where will we go?" she asked excitedly.
The Doctor chuckled. "You have to guess. That's why I brought these," he said and nodded towards the baked goods. "The recipe is from the country we're going to visit and the city is the capital of it."
He had been to no less than eight different bakeries before he had found one that sold canelés and he was sure that Clara would love them. He certainly did.
"Alright," Clara remarked and reached for one of the little cakes. She lifted it to her mouth and took a careful bite. "Mhhhhh."
"Good?" he asked hopefully.
"Extremely good," she replied, still chewing. "I taste vanilla. And rum. This is excellent. I definitely wanna go where they make these things, though I'm afraid I have no idea where that is."
"Okay, one more hint. The cake thing you're eating is called a canelé."
Clara's eyes widened in a matter of seconds as the realisation was beginning to dawn on her and she put the little cake down in an instant. "We're going to Paris?!"
The Doctor grinned at her when he saw the excitement on Clara's face. He loved that look on her.
"I would hug you right now but-," she broke off and looked down at herself, "slightly wet and naked."
He smiled to himself, that sad, slightly defeated smile. "I'll take a rain check."
"Good, cause I'll definitely hug you later," she replied and leaned back into the tub, still smiling happily.
The Doctor looked at her for a moment and couldn't help but think that he loved her. Yet maybe it was time to stop thinking about the things he couldn't have and enjoy what he did have with Clara – a wonderful friendship that, sadly, would never turn into more.