He removed the glass from her hand with surgical precision only thirty minutes into the movie, smiling as she grumbled something incoherently. She had fallen asleep with her head lolled back against the cushions and he took the opportunity to blatantly stare at her.
He already knew every blemish and line from almost ten years of subtle studying but he relished this chance to look at her with a fresh perspective and without her squirming in her seat at the extra attention.
Her skin was smooth, and she looked so peaceful with a small smile on her face. He briefly wondered what she could be dreaming about before he carried on his study.
She had always been the serious, no nonsense one between them. Her job always came first and he loved watching her brow furrow as she concentrated solely on her patients. Her eyes had laser precision focus and he had felt them boring into him more than once when she thought he didn't know she was looking.
Smiling to himself, he settled in and watched the movie to the end. He left the news playing in the background afterwards as he cleared away the glasses and the empty pretzel packets and on climbing back into bed, he picked up the remote and switched the television off.
"I was watching that" Audrey mumbled as the room went dark.
"Hardly" Neil chuckled. "Go back to sleep."
"Hhmmpph" came the nonsense reply.
"Yeah, night to you too" Neil smiled, settling down and closing his eyes.
X
Next morning, he woke with a smile as Audreys voice from his dream filtered through into real life and he remembered where he was. He stretched and let out a groan as he took a moment to appreciate how amazingly comfortable the bed was and how lucky he was to be sharing it with someone in particular.
Lifting his head up from his pillow a little, he saw Audrey gently shake her head as she glanced down at him before looking back to her screen. She was wrapped in one of the hotel's fluffy white robes looking very at home while she replied to the person on screen.
Letting his head drop back onto the pillow, he draped his arm out over her thighs finding the edge of the robe and gently running his fingers over the bare skin he found at the hem. The action caused her to shiver and the reaction was picked up by her caller.
"It's he there?" he heard expectantly from the handset.
"Of course he is Kev" she replied with an incredulous shake of her head. "Where else would he be?"
"Maybe in the bathroom considering you answered the call and you're keeping him top secret" Kevin replied with a chuckle.
"No" Audrey replied. "He's been right here the whole time, he's just woken up" she said absent-mindedly running her fingers through his hair. His eyes closed involuntary as he enjoyed the sensation of her nails scratching on his scalp every now and then.
"I would have insisted on a sneak peek if I'd known that. Check that your mystery man is hot enough for you" he teased.
Neil struggled not to laugh out loud, knowing that Audrey would have rolled her eyes at Kevin before heading her tell him to "shut up."
"I'd best let you go then" Kevin said with a smile. "Jo was worried that he might have bumped you off but she didn't want to look clingy and keep calling you. My work here is done."
"Thanks, I think" Audrey laughed as Kevin blew her a goodbye kiss. "See you soon."
"Yes, we'll both be over to check on you as soon as we can arrange it. Watch this space" he said before signing off.
Checking that the call was terminated, she put her phone back on the nightstand and looked down at him dozing next to her with an amused smile on his face.
"You okay there? Enjoying the free head massage?" she asked and his eyes snapped open.
"More than okay" he grinned up at her. "What do you want to do today?"
"We could just stay here" Audrey said suggestively. "Get room service for breakfast?"
"I like the room service idea, but we're going out remember. That's why we're here" he said sitting up.
"Let's take a hike?"
"No way" he answered bluntly, shaking his head in disbelief. "Why?"
"Why not?" she replied. "There are some great trails around here. I picked up a pamphlet in the lobby yesterday."
"We're not taking a hike" he reiterated. "You're meant to be resting. Hiking isn't resting."
"There are some easy trails, one that kids do. I'll be fine."
"No" he repeated. "It's not a good idea. Something else?"
"Well you just crapped on my two best ideas" she snapped. "What else is there?"
"I don't know" he said shrugging. "I'm going to take a shower, so you've got time to have a look" he said rolling out of bed and heading into the bathroom.
"Gives me a good half hour then, you shower like a girl" she yelled after him, hearing him chuckle before he closed the door.
X
Ten minutes later, she heard the door open again and she purposely avoided looking up, instead studying the screen of her cell phone.
"All the whale watching tours are full" she said flatly. "The woman on reception almost laughed at me when I called down. Said I should have booked one when I booked the room. She was a delight" she said sarcastically.
"Okaaay" he replied, while he sat on the edge of the bed to pull on his pants. "Find anything else?"
"The aquarium?" she suggested. "Public enough for you?"
He sighed and shook his head taking a moment before answering. He didn't want to snap back at her straight away.
"Yes" he replied.
"Good."
"Can we talk about this?" he asked cautiously.
"About what? About you babysitting me and acting like my doctor instead of..."
"For real? That's what you think?" he said in disbelief, turning to face her to see her shrug with her lips set straight.
"Sure, I want to make sure you rest so you nail your assessment on Monday. I want you back at back at the hospital doing what you love" he said with vigour. She opened her mouth to respond and he held up his hand. He wasn't done.
"And the trip to the aquarium? Yes it's public, but we're over an hour from San Jose. Nobody will see us. I know what your thinking. Nobody in their right mind would live here and commute. It's midweek and not a public holiday. It's crazy busy with tourists, we'll blend right in, nobody will be looking at us. Nobody cares will care about us. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea" he said shaking his head. "I'm sorry."
"I'm sorry" he heard her say quietly. "It's difficult working this out in my head" she said gesturing between them. "Going from friends and competitors to whatever we are now is blowing my mind a bit. Let's go to the aquarium, it'll be fine."
"Sure?" he asked.
Before she could answer there was as knock at the door with a call of 'Room Service'.
"I ordered breakfast" she shrugged. "Leave your shirt off to answer the door, save on a tip" she smirked resisting her eyebrows and he couldn't help but laugh.
X
After a big breakfast, they finished dressing ready for the day they first walked down to Carmel by the Sea and strolled along the boardwalk taking in the spectacular Pacific Ocean. They admired the extravagant local architecture and grabbed a sandwich to go while they waited for a bus into Monterey.
"This is all very domestic" Audrey teased as they saw the bus pulling in to the kerb.
They sat in a comfortable silence, eating their lunch for the fifteen minute trip and when they arrived in Monterey they headed straight to the aquarium. There was quite a long line for admission but luckily, it seemed to be moving quickly and they were inside soon enough.
Despite the long line, the inside did not feel overcrowded as they made their way around the exhibits. They were both stood with their noses almost touching the glass watching the jellyfish moving around inside the tank when he felt her slip her hand into his.
Feeling brave, he looked at her but before he could say anything she pulled on his hand, leading him away.
"Come on, they are feeding the sea otters in ten minutes, I want a good view" she said over her shoulder as she'd pulled through the crowds.
She found them a space with a good view and they waited patiently, watching the otters play and swim. A good crowd was gathering and suddenly Neil felt a little a little shove on the back of his thigh. Looking around and then down he saw a young child trying to push through for a better view. The parents apologised profusely but Neil brushed it off and graciously moved behind Audrey to allow the child in front into the prime spot.
He stood so close behind her, she could feel his breath on the back of her neck. She smiled as she felt him reach forward a little and link his fingers with hers.
"This okay" he asked quietly and she nodded mutely. "Good" he whispered, dropping a kiss in the crook of her neck.
Once the talk was over, they headed over to the 90ft deep sea tank and stood a while watching the shoals of fish whizzing by and the sharks gliding through them totally unfazed by their presence. Before they realised the time, they heard an announcement over the PA that the exhibits would be closing in fifteen minutes so they headed to the exit and back out into the fresh air.
"That was better than I thought it would be" Audrey said as they sat waiting for the bus back to Carmel. "Definitely relaxing, especially that last tank. I could have stood and watched that all day" she smiled fondly.
"Good" he replied. "Want to finish off with an earlier dinner," he asked.
"I do! I could eat a horse" she replied.
"We'll see what we can do" he laughed as they stood to board the bus.
As they disembarked Neil asked the driver for a dinner recommendation and they thanked him graciously when he sent them in the direction of Brophys Tavern.
The Tavern was quiet and they both sat on the same side of a booth with a view of the nearest television screen. Neither of then were paying attention to the sports game that was showing but were sat heads close together looking over the menu.
Once they had ordered they sat and talked about the day they'd had until their food arrived. Audrey let out a low whistle when the server placed her bacon cheeseburger in front of her and her smile grew even more when the side order of truffle fries was placed between them. She promptly slid the bowl slightly closer to her much to Neil's amusement and he served himself a handful before she devoured them all.
They finished their burgers and beers, paid the bill and tipped the server well. They were both on a high after a great day together and they felt they were walking on air on their way back to the Inn. After another beer at the bar, they headed up to their room with Audrey swearing blind that she would be able to stay awake a little longer this evening.
Audrey changed quickly into something more comfortable while Neil got in with making them a coffee, she was determined to stay awake a little longer tonight, maybe even to the end credits of the movie that he got to choose tonight.
He heard her step up behind him despite her best efforts at being stealthy and smiled as she began to untuck his shirt from the waistband of his trousers. She snaked her arms around his front and started to undo his shirt slowly, scraping her nails gently against his skin as her hands moved lower button by button. As he turned to face her, she pushed the material from his shoulders while kissing him soundly. His hands came to rest on her hips as hers slid back up his arms to meet behind his head pulling him closer.
"Not tired then?" he smiled when they broke for air.
"Not tired" she replied smiling right back as she pushed him gently back to sit on the edge of the bed. "Not tonight" she said smiling as she moved to capture his lips again.
