This is the second to last one reader. I'm going to make it a grand total of sixty chapters. So enjoy!
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"And we end our tour at the mess hall." Mark tried to sound like a tour guide and she let him think he was succeeding. But she still laughed. "Actually you don't want to eat there. Do you want to get something at the lodge?"
She shrugged. "I'm craving camembert."
"As in cheese? I don't think that's on the menu."
"No, but the probably sell it at the grocery store. You want to head back and get room service – by the time I've gone to the store our meals will have arrived."
"Sure. I'll see you soon." He kissed her and let his hand trail from her cheek to her waist before he walked away. She smiled watching him go and then made for the store.
There were tourist guides and maps all over the wall. There was so much to see but Mark knew it all. She wanted to do something to surprise him. Something he wouldn't have done before. So far everything had been his gift to her. She paid for the cheese and looked at the map behind the clerk.
"Where are you from?"
"Chicago. But my husband grew up here. Thanks." She took the change, "Actually, I want to surprise him but I don't know my way around hardly and he lived here for years. Any ideas?"
The clerk shrugged. "I dunno. I mean a lot of the locals don't do a lot of the touristy stuff, but then that might not appeal."
"No, probably not."
"I mean there's a few new tracks – to beaches that have been isolated until recently." The clerk looked through a selection of fliers on the wall, picking out a few and handing them to Susan.
"Thanks. Yeah, good idea. Thank you." She left the shop, hanging the bag from her wrist and skim-reading the first flier. It looked very over done and touristy. They all did. Except for the last one. It was just a black and white photocopy on normal fax paper. It was poor quality with a type-written blurb. There was a cell-phone number and travel directions but no postal address. Susan laughed at the quaintness. Mark was hardly a back-to-nature kind of guy but she had an idea.
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"Where are we going?" Mark strapped himself into the passenger seat, not sure if he'd put Susan's name on the forms at the rental car place, but he had a feeling that bringing up car insurance might not be as romantic as the prospect of her whisking him off for… who knew what the hell she was up to.
"Here hold this." She handed him her soda and started the engine. "You'll see."
He watched her face, trying to bore the truth out of her with insistent eyes but she wouldn't give in.
"Will you stop that?" she flicked on the radio, avoiding his eyes. "Find some Beach Boys or something equally atmospheric." She teased, focussing on the dark unfamiliar road. She turned off the main road onto a gravel track.
"Where are we going?" he asked as though he hadn't said it before.
"I'm not going to tell you." She met his eyes and instantly regretted it. Fortunately driving took most of her attention.
They stopped with the back of the truck facing a cliff. Mark went to look over at the dark waves over a hundred feet down. "I hope you're not about to reveal an affinity for extreme sports." He joked. He turned back when he got no response and found her pulling the cover off the back of the Ute.
"Here." He unhooked the rope on the other side and it immediately loosened.
"Thanks."
"So what's going on?" he wrapped his arms around her waist, turning her to him though she tried to keep working away.
"Well." She could do the speech now. Cause if he kept looking at her like that then she wasn't going to get much talking down later. "I was thinking… about our vows, you know, in sickness and in health, check. Check. And then there's the for better for worse, and I think we've pretty much covered that too. And then there's the loving and cherishing until death yadda yadda yadda. And I don't see any problem there, but we haven't really tried the for richer for poorer thing." She stepped away and pulled the cover right off the back, letting it fall on the ground at the end.
Mark laughed at the quilted queen mattress sitting in the back of the ute, not sure if she was serious. Not sure if he minded if she was.
"We're not millionaires and I don't mind that we never will be but we're hardly poor. Except tonight we'll have to keep warm the old fashioned way." She grinned.
He laughed and walked over to her. She unlocked the tailgate and let it fall down so she could sit on the tray at the end of the mattress. The lodge had leant her a whole lot of spare bedding and the bed looked like it had been given to the poor but then that was the idea.
"Nice surprise." He stepped between her legs and took her hands chastely.
"Well, you're hard to beat." She rested her forehead on his. "But just you wait till dawn." She pulled back, pointing behind him.
He sat beside her on the tray and undid his laces, kicking his shoes to the ground. He didn't feel like looking at scenery. She was more stunning.
She'd slipped hers off before and sat on the edge of the mattress, looking out into the sky and darkness, just enjoying the moment, trying to take it all in.
He took her fingers in his hand and tugged her toward the array of pillows the lodge had been able to lend them. "The out-doors thing is great but I'm not stripping off until I'm under the covers. It's not summer you know."
"We'll have to do this in summer as well then." She cheekily crawled toward him as he laughed at her. It wasn't a dark night – stars and moon danced on his face as he watched her undress, mesmerized by the similar light on her body.
She wasn't quite up to it though. It wasn't summer and she joined him under the many covers before she could bear to remove another layer. But then she got some eager help.
He was wide-awake an hour later, holding her as she tried not to sleep. She didn't want to miss a moment of this. "It's not fair. You're brilliant and beautiful." He kissed her forehead as she smiled sleepily.
"I love you Mark. More than anything."
He looked at her incredulous. That was the mere thing that never ceased to amaze him.
"I could die like this."
"Not tonight." He kissed her and rested his head on the pillow beside her. She was tired and he should let her sleep. He wanted to do the same but he was alert as ever. The prospect of waking up like this was something he anticipated earnestly. But sleep refused to transport him to morning with its usual speed.
Still, if he must be insomniac then at least he could not-sleep beside this adorable creature. He could watch her smile and know that he was part of the reason for it. Damn, of all the places not to be able to sleep this was pretty much up-there.
Okay, now you have to review and tell me what to put in the last chapter. I've never asked for reviews before but this is your last chance. What do you want to know??? It's reader's choice. If anyone's still reading this...
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"And we end our tour at the mess hall." Mark tried to sound like a tour guide and she let him think he was succeeding. But she still laughed. "Actually you don't want to eat there. Do you want to get something at the lodge?"
She shrugged. "I'm craving camembert."
"As in cheese? I don't think that's on the menu."
"No, but the probably sell it at the grocery store. You want to head back and get room service – by the time I've gone to the store our meals will have arrived."
"Sure. I'll see you soon." He kissed her and let his hand trail from her cheek to her waist before he walked away. She smiled watching him go and then made for the store.
There were tourist guides and maps all over the wall. There was so much to see but Mark knew it all. She wanted to do something to surprise him. Something he wouldn't have done before. So far everything had been his gift to her. She paid for the cheese and looked at the map behind the clerk.
"Where are you from?"
"Chicago. But my husband grew up here. Thanks." She took the change, "Actually, I want to surprise him but I don't know my way around hardly and he lived here for years. Any ideas?"
The clerk shrugged. "I dunno. I mean a lot of the locals don't do a lot of the touristy stuff, but then that might not appeal."
"No, probably not."
"I mean there's a few new tracks – to beaches that have been isolated until recently." The clerk looked through a selection of fliers on the wall, picking out a few and handing them to Susan.
"Thanks. Yeah, good idea. Thank you." She left the shop, hanging the bag from her wrist and skim-reading the first flier. It looked very over done and touristy. They all did. Except for the last one. It was just a black and white photocopy on normal fax paper. It was poor quality with a type-written blurb. There was a cell-phone number and travel directions but no postal address. Susan laughed at the quaintness. Mark was hardly a back-to-nature kind of guy but she had an idea.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Where are we going?" Mark strapped himself into the passenger seat, not sure if he'd put Susan's name on the forms at the rental car place, but he had a feeling that bringing up car insurance might not be as romantic as the prospect of her whisking him off for… who knew what the hell she was up to.
"Here hold this." She handed him her soda and started the engine. "You'll see."
He watched her face, trying to bore the truth out of her with insistent eyes but she wouldn't give in.
"Will you stop that?" she flicked on the radio, avoiding his eyes. "Find some Beach Boys or something equally atmospheric." She teased, focussing on the dark unfamiliar road. She turned off the main road onto a gravel track.
"Where are we going?" he asked as though he hadn't said it before.
"I'm not going to tell you." She met his eyes and instantly regretted it. Fortunately driving took most of her attention.
They stopped with the back of the truck facing a cliff. Mark went to look over at the dark waves over a hundred feet down. "I hope you're not about to reveal an affinity for extreme sports." He joked. He turned back when he got no response and found her pulling the cover off the back of the Ute.
"Here." He unhooked the rope on the other side and it immediately loosened.
"Thanks."
"So what's going on?" he wrapped his arms around her waist, turning her to him though she tried to keep working away.
"Well." She could do the speech now. Cause if he kept looking at her like that then she wasn't going to get much talking down later. "I was thinking… about our vows, you know, in sickness and in health, check. Check. And then there's the for better for worse, and I think we've pretty much covered that too. And then there's the loving and cherishing until death yadda yadda yadda. And I don't see any problem there, but we haven't really tried the for richer for poorer thing." She stepped away and pulled the cover right off the back, letting it fall on the ground at the end.
Mark laughed at the quilted queen mattress sitting in the back of the ute, not sure if she was serious. Not sure if he minded if she was.
"We're not millionaires and I don't mind that we never will be but we're hardly poor. Except tonight we'll have to keep warm the old fashioned way." She grinned.
He laughed and walked over to her. She unlocked the tailgate and let it fall down so she could sit on the tray at the end of the mattress. The lodge had leant her a whole lot of spare bedding and the bed looked like it had been given to the poor but then that was the idea.
"Nice surprise." He stepped between her legs and took her hands chastely.
"Well, you're hard to beat." She rested her forehead on his. "But just you wait till dawn." She pulled back, pointing behind him.
He sat beside her on the tray and undid his laces, kicking his shoes to the ground. He didn't feel like looking at scenery. She was more stunning.
She'd slipped hers off before and sat on the edge of the mattress, looking out into the sky and darkness, just enjoying the moment, trying to take it all in.
He took her fingers in his hand and tugged her toward the array of pillows the lodge had been able to lend them. "The out-doors thing is great but I'm not stripping off until I'm under the covers. It's not summer you know."
"We'll have to do this in summer as well then." She cheekily crawled toward him as he laughed at her. It wasn't a dark night – stars and moon danced on his face as he watched her undress, mesmerized by the similar light on her body.
She wasn't quite up to it though. It wasn't summer and she joined him under the many covers before she could bear to remove another layer. But then she got some eager help.
He was wide-awake an hour later, holding her as she tried not to sleep. She didn't want to miss a moment of this. "It's not fair. You're brilliant and beautiful." He kissed her forehead as she smiled sleepily.
"I love you Mark. More than anything."
He looked at her incredulous. That was the mere thing that never ceased to amaze him.
"I could die like this."
"Not tonight." He kissed her and rested his head on the pillow beside her. She was tired and he should let her sleep. He wanted to do the same but he was alert as ever. The prospect of waking up like this was something he anticipated earnestly. But sleep refused to transport him to morning with its usual speed.
Still, if he must be insomniac then at least he could not-sleep beside this adorable creature. He could watch her smile and know that he was part of the reason for it. Damn, of all the places not to be able to sleep this was pretty much up-there.
Okay, now you have to review and tell me what to put in the last chapter. I've never asked for reviews before but this is your last chance. What do you want to know??? It's reader's choice. If anyone's still reading this...