ALONE AT LAST

Joe's apartment was above the pub. It was small and simple…a bedroom, a small bathroom, a kitchen with a small living room. He didn't mind the size so much, because he spent so much time out on the pitch. The way he looked at it, was that his apartment was simply a place to sleep. And besides, the rent was part of his pub pay. Now with his larger salary starting to come in, and with the impending access to his grandfather's inheritance, he was considering getting something larger. But for now, it was fine.

Jess, had never seen this part of Joe's life. When she walked through the door, it was if she opened a new door on her life. It was decorated simply…and one could tell it was definitely a man that lived here. But she liked it. It was small and quiet, unlike the chaotic dormitory she lived in in America. Jess decided that the first moment she got to move off campus, she'd take it.

"Welcome to my humble abode Jess."

"I like it…it's nice…and quiet. I wish I had a place like this in America."

"Yeah, I like it. It's nice having a place to yourself. While I dearly love my family, my first task when I moved to London permanently was get a place of my own. Growing up in that house of my parents, I felt like I could never get away from them all."

"I know what you mean…that's one thing I like about my room at my parent's house…it's an attic room, so I feel like I have a corner of the house to myself. But even then, it always seems like family is always there."

"Here, give me your coat, and I'll give you the grand tour of my mansion." Joe took Jess' coat, and tossed on the back of the couch, and then proceeded to remove the already loosened tie he was still wearing from last night.

"Well, as you can see, this is the living room…I don't spend much time living here, so I don't know why I call it that. And here is the kitchen. Once again, another room of mine that I don't use much, and since your mom is such a good cook, I've had even fewer reasons to use it. Bathroom is here. And then of course, the room I use the most…the bedroom."

Joe tossed the discarded tie on to his bed. The two of them stood there in Joe's bedroom for an awkward moment or two, neither of them knowing what to say. However, their eyes were locked on each others…and their looks did all the talking for them. Jess knew at that moment that she wanted to be kissed, but was suddenly too shy to get that kiss for herself. Joe simply reached out his hand to her, and she took it. Joe pulled her into his arms, and kissed her in such a way that spoke volumes. Suddenly, Jess was on fire, and before she knew it, she was on Joe's bed. Joe's passion matched Jess', and couldn't help but feed the fire.

When their joined passion was spent, Joe held Jess tightly to him. He thought to himself that marriage to Jess was going to be the best thing to happen to him. He could imagine many more moments like this one. He didn't know if he could wait for Jess to finish school…he wanted to be with her always. "I'll just have to savor these moments to get me through these next few years." he thought to himself as he gently stroked her hair.

"Jess?" he whispered quietly.

"Hmmm?" Jess answered contentedly.

"As much as I would like to stay right where we are, we probably should get up and make ourselves presentable. I need to take a shower, get dressed, and check on the books from last night. And I promised to take you out today."

"Do we have to?"

"While I like your answer love, and share the sentiments, I'm afraid we do. Get dressed, and I'll be out in a jiffy." He kissed her quickly, and went to get himself put together. Jess continued to lie in the bed, and think of what just happened. She wondered if maybe her parents would let them get married before she finished school, because she really didn't want to wait for more moments like these.

"Jess…I don't hear you moving. Get up now." Joe called from the bathroom.

"You're no fun."

"Oh really…I'll show you real fun later. Now get dressed."

Intrigued at the prospects, she quickly put her clothes back on, and smoothed out her hair. By the time Joe was ready, she was putting her shoes back on.

"Jess, you're not too speedy today are you. I took a shower, dressed, put my shoes on, and you're still putting yourself together. Don't tell me I'm going to have a lazy wife." Joe teased with a wink.

Jess responded by throwing a pillow at him, which he dodged. In retaliation for the thrown pillow, he tackled her on the bed and kissed her some more. When she couldn't take it anymore, Joe abruptly stopped.

"Come, we have things to do. No more time for silliness."

"Oh, Joe…that's not fair." Jess said out of breath.

"Well, that's your punishment for seducing me, then taking too much time getting redressed, and then for throwing a pillow at my head."

All Jess could do in response was smile. Life with Joe would never be boring, that's for sure. They grabbed their coats, and went down the stairs to the pub below. They were greeted by one of Joe's employees.

"Ah, Joe…good morning to you. The books and deposits are over there for you. Did you have a nice time last night?"

"Marvelous…oh, hey Andrew, this is my fiance Jess. Jess, this is Andrew. I had him in charge last night."

"Nice to meet you miss. You're a brave woman, to take this one on." Andrew said as he pointed to Joe.

"Yeah, I'm starting to get that feeling."

"Jess…you're torturing me again. Here, pour yourself something to drink. I have to look over the books real quick from last night, and then we'll be on our way."

Jess poured herself a Coke, and found herself a deck of cards. She occupied herself for about an hour, while the two men talked business. By the time she was done with her multiple games of Solitaire, Joe was ready to go. They decided to take the train into London instead of dealing with parking. They didn't do much while in London…they pretty much just walked around and enjoyed the sites. The advantage with walking around in a large city, is that one can feel rather anonymous even though many people are surrounding you.

At 3, they headed back to Joe's apartment. They were tired, but they enjoyed the time they were able to spend with each other. Prior to today, they had felt as if they were distracted by others. But today they belonged to each other. When they got to Joe's place, all they wanted to do was sleep. They both had been awakened earlier than they planned on, and the only thing they could think of was sleep. Without a second thought, they both walked into Joe's bedroom and went to sleep. Joe set the alarm, so they wouldn't sleep too long. And the minute their heads hit the pillow, they were peacefully asleep in each others arms.