CHAPTER 4
Morning rose from the sea with a pale glow, casting its rose coloured
light about the room. The two figures in the bed were still entwined, and
as the light made its way into the room, one of them stirred. He dropped
a kiss on the forehead of the woman next to him, and gently disentangled
himself, tucking the sheet back around her as he got out of bed.
For once unselfconscious of his nakedness, he strolled to the French
windows and looked out at the sun rising over the calm sea. A cool breeze
played over his skin and he yet again marvelled at being able to feel it.
Stood in front of the window, silhouetted in the rising sun, long and
lean and toned and tanned, he had every reason to feel content. The
nervousness he had felt on reaching this place had totally evaporated,
and he felt better than he ever had before. A new confidence was starting
to show through in his hazel eyes, a confidence that had much to do with
being loved and making love so successfully. He smiled wryly, thinking
that twenty-four hours ago he'd have snorted with laughter at his new
attitude, whilst trembling inwardly at the thought of actually being
asked to 'perform' sexually. Now, he felt at peace, and yet filled with
an excitement that he'd never before experienced. He knew that soon he'd
have to think about returning to Red Dwarf and 'real life', but for the
moment he was more than content to stay in this paradise, wherever it
was.
"Arnold?" Yvonne murmured sleepily. "Are you OK?"
Rimmer smiled. "Oh yes," he replied softly. "Never been better." He
turned back around to face the woman in bed and felt his breath hitch
again in his throat as he saw her. He knew that his breathing wasn't the
only thing that gave his desire for her away. He'd never been truly
comfortable in his own body; he'd always felt that his skin never truly
fitted the man inside. For the first time in his life, he felt totally at
ease. He wandered back to join her.
"How about a swim?" Yvonne murmured, still sleepy. "I could do with
waking up a bit."
Rimmer laughed gently, an older, more mature sound, far away from his
usual snigger. In fact, more than a little like his alter ego Ace would
have laughed. He didn't stop to question that change too closely. "OK,
after all, I do have a silver swimming certificate somewhere!"
"So that's what SSC stands for!" giggled Yvonne "Well, I hope you'll save
me if I need you to."
Her words were lost as Rimmer captured her mouth with a kiss. "Don't take
the piss." he murmured, not minding one little bit.
A little later, after another rather pleasurable interlude in bed, Rimmer
and Yvonne wandered out to the shore. Yvonne had insisted they didn't
need to wear costumes, after all, this was a private beach, but Rimmer's
newfound confidence didn't quite extend as far as walking naked on the
sand where Lister could happen upon them, so he'd thrown on the red
speedos that Holly had conjured and had a towel slung around his hips.
Yvonne had tied a matching red sarong around her, but had balked at the
idea of a swimsuit. The thought of her body underneath the flimsy
material of the sarong was already beginning to make Rimmer's choice of
clothing a little impractical, and indecent, so he wasted little time in
dropping the towel and splashing through the water.
"Come on Evie.the water's.ohhhhhhh.my.god." Rimmer trailed off as Yvonne
dropped her sarong and strode into the water. He would never get tired of
that sight coming towards him. He kicked off the speedos as he realised
there was absolutely no point in keeping them on-they were no disguise.
"Well then?" Yvonne said playfully. "Are we going to swim or what?" She
struck out strongly and splashed him on the way past. She was a strong
swimmer, and Rimmer plunged into the water after her, struggling to keep
up. The water was cool and refreshing and blew some of his cobwebs away.
He caught her up and they swam side by side for a little while, keeping
up with each other easily.
Eventually, Rimmer stopped and trod water. "I think I'm just about done-
shall I go and whip us up some brekkie?"
"OK, I'll just do another few metres and I'll join you," Yvonne replied,
kissing him briefly.
"Don't be long!" Rimmer called as he headed back to the shore. He jogged
along the sand and retrieved his towel, and then wandered back to the
villa. He could see Yvonne's dark head bobbing in and out of the water
and smiled. He wondered what Lister was going to say about all this-but
stopped the thought in its tracks. There was plenty of time to sort all
that out later.
He headed to the small kitchen in the villa and began to raid the fridge.
He was definitely in the mood for some eggs Benedict. Rooting through the
fridge he found the ingredients and began to cook, hoping the Yvonne
wasn't going to be too long. It had been a long time since he'd tasted
anything, and only in the past few weeks had he begun to appreciate real
food again. How he could eat was still a mystery to him, but he wasn't
going to worry about that too closely.
Soon, Rimmer was engrossed in the cooking process, and had cooked a mean plate of eggs. He laid the plates out on the small kitchen table and arranged everything just so. Pausing, he went through to the French windows in the bedroom and scanned the horizon for Yvonne. With a jolt that made him momentarily sick, he realised she was nowhere to be seen.
Author's Note: *I'm in two minds about where to go with this one-if you have any preference about whether it should be angst or happy ending-please let me know! (I might just write both for the fun of it!!*)* Thank you for the lovely feedback-that's what inspired this next section!
Morning rose from the sea with a pale glow, casting its rose coloured
light about the room. The two figures in the bed were still entwined, and
as the light made its way into the room, one of them stirred. He dropped
a kiss on the forehead of the woman next to him, and gently disentangled
himself, tucking the sheet back around her as he got out of bed.
For once unselfconscious of his nakedness, he strolled to the French
windows and looked out at the sun rising over the calm sea. A cool breeze
played over his skin and he yet again marvelled at being able to feel it.
Stood in front of the window, silhouetted in the rising sun, long and
lean and toned and tanned, he had every reason to feel content. The
nervousness he had felt on reaching this place had totally evaporated,
and he felt better than he ever had before. A new confidence was starting
to show through in his hazel eyes, a confidence that had much to do with
being loved and making love so successfully. He smiled wryly, thinking
that twenty-four hours ago he'd have snorted with laughter at his new
attitude, whilst trembling inwardly at the thought of actually being
asked to 'perform' sexually. Now, he felt at peace, and yet filled with
an excitement that he'd never before experienced. He knew that soon he'd
have to think about returning to Red Dwarf and 'real life', but for the
moment he was more than content to stay in this paradise, wherever it
was.
"Arnold?" Yvonne murmured sleepily. "Are you OK?"
Rimmer smiled. "Oh yes," he replied softly. "Never been better." He
turned back around to face the woman in bed and felt his breath hitch
again in his throat as he saw her. He knew that his breathing wasn't the
only thing that gave his desire for her away. He'd never been truly
comfortable in his own body; he'd always felt that his skin never truly
fitted the man inside. For the first time in his life, he felt totally at
ease. He wandered back to join her.
"How about a swim?" Yvonne murmured, still sleepy. "I could do with
waking up a bit."
Rimmer laughed gently, an older, more mature sound, far away from his
usual snigger. In fact, more than a little like his alter ego Ace would
have laughed. He didn't stop to question that change too closely. "OK,
after all, I do have a silver swimming certificate somewhere!"
"So that's what SSC stands for!" giggled Yvonne "Well, I hope you'll save
me if I need you to."
Her words were lost as Rimmer captured her mouth with a kiss. "Don't take
the piss." he murmured, not minding one little bit.
A little later, after another rather pleasurable interlude in bed, Rimmer
and Yvonne wandered out to the shore. Yvonne had insisted they didn't
need to wear costumes, after all, this was a private beach, but Rimmer's
newfound confidence didn't quite extend as far as walking naked on the
sand where Lister could happen upon them, so he'd thrown on the red
speedos that Holly had conjured and had a towel slung around his hips.
Yvonne had tied a matching red sarong around her, but had balked at the
idea of a swimsuit. The thought of her body underneath the flimsy
material of the sarong was already beginning to make Rimmer's choice of
clothing a little impractical, and indecent, so he wasted little time in
dropping the towel and splashing through the water.
"Come on Evie.the water's.ohhhhhhh.my.god." Rimmer trailed off as Yvonne
dropped her sarong and strode into the water. He would never get tired of
that sight coming towards him. He kicked off the speedos as he realised
there was absolutely no point in keeping them on-they were no disguise.
"Well then?" Yvonne said playfully. "Are we going to swim or what?" She
struck out strongly and splashed him on the way past. She was a strong
swimmer, and Rimmer plunged into the water after her, struggling to keep
up. The water was cool and refreshing and blew some of his cobwebs away.
He caught her up and they swam side by side for a little while, keeping
up with each other easily.
Eventually, Rimmer stopped and trod water. "I think I'm just about done-
shall I go and whip us up some brekkie?"
"OK, I'll just do another few metres and I'll join you," Yvonne replied,
kissing him briefly.
"Don't be long!" Rimmer called as he headed back to the shore. He jogged
along the sand and retrieved his towel, and then wandered back to the
villa. He could see Yvonne's dark head bobbing in and out of the water
and smiled. He wondered what Lister was going to say about all this-but
stopped the thought in its tracks. There was plenty of time to sort all
that out later.
He headed to the small kitchen in the villa and began to raid the fridge.
He was definitely in the mood for some eggs Benedict. Rooting through the
fridge he found the ingredients and began to cook, hoping the Yvonne
wasn't going to be too long. It had been a long time since he'd tasted
anything, and only in the past few weeks had he begun to appreciate real
food again. How he could eat was still a mystery to him, but he wasn't
going to worry about that too closely.
Soon, Rimmer was engrossed in the cooking process, and had cooked a mean plate of eggs. He laid the plates out on the small kitchen table and arranged everything just so. Pausing, he went through to the French windows in the bedroom and scanned the horizon for Yvonne. With a jolt that made him momentarily sick, he realised she was nowhere to be seen.
Author's Note: *I'm in two minds about where to go with this one-if you have any preference about whether it should be angst or happy ending-please let me know! (I might just write both for the fun of it!!*)* Thank you for the lovely feedback-that's what inspired this next section!
