Erin woke up to the delicious smell of breakfast. Sitting up, she stretched and looked around, finding Spencer had set everything up on the table near the window in their room. "Good morning. Did you sleep well?"
"Better than I have in months, actually, Erin." He smiled at her and she ran her hand through her hair. "I ordered breakfast for us. I hope you don't mind." She shook her head and slid out of bed, joining him at the table.
"Is there anything on the agenda for today? I mean, you should pick, since I sort of barreled over your choice yesterday."
"I was thinking we could head up to the Casbah. On the way back to the hotel, we could look at the medina, but I heard that the ones in Fez and Marrakesh are much better in terms of what they sell. Tangier really is more of a tourist trap in that respect."
She nodded and looked down at her plate. "This is a thoroughly American breakfast, Spencer. I thought that you would be one to go totally native."
The teasing in her voice worked wonders and he grinned at her. "There is only one way to start the morning, and that is with coffee and eggs."
She nodded and dug into her food, letting a comfortable silence over them. She noticed that he would occasionally look at her and she blushed a little each time they met eyes. "What do you think I should wear?"
"Something tasteful, not that you would have anything offensive in your wardrobe. I would go with a long skirt rather than pants." She nodded and began to eat in earnest, finding herself ravenous.
While Spencer took care of their dishes, setting them outside the door, she pulled out an outfit and went into the bathroom, quickly changing and brushing her hair. Applying a soft pink lipstick, she smiled at herself in the mirror, hoping that he didn't mind her foregoing makeup for the day.
When she went back into the room, she found that he had dressed already and was sitting on the bed, waiting for her. A small smile passed over his lips as he looked at and she found herself blushing a little at his appreciation. "Do you think that this will be okay?"
"Perfect," he breathed out as he stood and came over to her side. "I got your purse ready, too. I hope you don't mind." She shook her head and held out her hand to him. Spencer slipped his hand into hers and led her out of the room. It seemed like no one else was up at that time, as they encountered no one in the hall as they walked to the elevator.
On the ride down, she found herself drifting closer to him, wanting to be closer to him for some reason. Unquestioningly, he wrapped his arm around her waist and she sighed at the contact. "I hope it doesn't make you uncomfortable to hold me so. I've found recently that I relish human contact."
"I'm the same. No one in our team thinks that I need that, but you've unerringly zeroed in on that and asked for it from me." A few tears began to roll down her cheeks and she wiped them away before resting her head on his chest. "I wish that Maeve had lived, that I had been able to hold her like this."
There was such a brokenness to his voice that Erin felt her heart shatter. Turning to him, she threw her arms around his waist and held him tightly, needing to comfort him in that moment. "Oh, Spencer, how you have suffered."
"Suffering builds character," he wryly said and she shook her head. Tenderly, he stroked her hair as the doors opened on the ground floor. They walked out into the bright warm sun and she slipped her sunglasses on, letting Spencer lead her out into the crowd.
It was a long hike up to the Casbah, but she felt her breath catch as she looked out over the view. "It's so beautiful, Spencer. Look at the ocean."
He nodded and rested his hand on the small of her back, rubbing softly. Smiling up at him, she pulled out her camera and took a picture of him. He smiled at her before taking the camera and snapping a few shots of her and then them together. After they had explored and taken pictures of every single inch of the place, he guided her down to the exit. "Let's get lunch before we head out and do some shopping."
"That sounds wonderful," she said lowly, relishing the weight of his arm around her waist. They wandered around until they found a little café that wasn't crowded, and he held out her chair for her. Once she was seated, he took the chair at her right hand and then placed their order with the waiter, requesting the dish that he had forgone last night.
After it had arrived, Erin smiled at him. "This does look delicious," she said before taking a bite. It was somewhat spicier than she had expected and she hurriedly picked up her glass of rose water, taking a long sip.
He nodded as he took another bite. "It is really spicy, isn't it?"
"But it is really good. I'm glad you let me change last night, though. This would have kept me awake with heartburn." He nodded and they finished eating. Once he had settled the bill, they walked out into the bazaar and began to look at all the various offerings. Erin's eyes lit on a pair of soft rose leather slippers and she tugged Spencer over to the stall.
In halting Arabic, she started haggling for them, and was relieved when the vendor switched to English and came down quite a bit on the price. Handing over the requested amount of money, she happily took the shoes and grinned at Spencer. "Those will look really nice with that dress you packed."
"When did you see that?"
"When I was putting away our clothes." She began to blush a little, handing the shoes over to him so that he could put them away in his bag. "Don't worry, you don't have anything embarrassing in your bags." His hand rubbed her back softly and then they continued on.
"Oh, that's so pretty," Erin murmured as they stopped by a stall selling clothing.
"That's the traditional dress of most Moroccan people. It's called a djellaba. Do you really like that one?" he asked, pulling out the light blue outfit. It was beautifully decorated with seed pearls and embroidery, and she felt her heart skip a beat as he held it up against her. "It would look beautiful on you."
His hand brushed against her breast and she tried to ignore the way her nipple stiffened into a tight peak at the soft touch, instead nodding steadily as she looked at herself in the mirror that the merchant held up. "Would your wife like to see some other djellabas, sir?" he asked, and Spencer looked at her, a tender smile on his face.
"Yes, I think she would. Pastels, I think, or jewel tones would work best with her coloring." It was a little odd how easily he fell into the patriarchal role, but a part of her thrilled at the lead he took.
The merchant pulled out several of the garments and she fell in love with each and every one of them, from the light lilac to the sapphire blue. "Spencer, I don't know if I can afford all of these," she whispered in his ear, and he just looked at her.
"This will be my gift to you, Erin. All right?" She nodded a little before snuggling close to his chest, letting him purchase ten of the garments for her. "Now, let's head back to the hotel. I could use a bit of a nap before supper."
"That sounds wonderful," she whispered, accepting the bag from the merchant's hands before letting Spencer lead her back in the direction of their hotel.