Total fluff. Hope you enjoy it!

--

"Alex?"

"Hmmmm?"

"Maybe you should move that thing lower."

She giggled, her tongue continuing its assault on his flesh. He'd woken with his face in her hair and her lips on his chest, the tip of her tongue darting out between kisses. After licking her way to the base of his throat she teased slowly over his neck, his chin, moaning as her body pressed against his. Suddenly aware of his neck in a completely new way he reached for her hand, moving it between them, sliding it over his full hard length.

"Come on, Alex. Wake me up like this, hope you've got more in mind."

"I don't know Gene. I'd hate you to think I'm only interested in your cock." She laughed and pulled her hand away as she rolled to the other side of the bed.

Gene grabbed her arm, pulling her back to him before she could jump out of bed. "Wondered when you were gonna throw that back at me." He covered her mouth with his.

Alex broke the kiss. "You know, we don't have to have sex all the time, Gene."

"Not all the time, no." He moved his hand between her legs, listening to her breath hitch as he slid his fingers inside. "But now would be good." Alex squealed as he rolled her onto her back, catching one leg between his knees.

Looking up at him, Alex but her lip in anticipation, stifling a giggle. Melting under his gaze, she wanted him, all of him. She watched the corners of his mouth turn up, barely smiling at her, and the pulse between her legs beat harder.

"But if you're sure, Alex" Gene growled, his wet mouth kissing below her ear, slowly down her neck. "We could give it a miss this morning." She tilted her chin up as he returned the favour, licking slowly over her throat down her collarbone until his mouth covered her breast.

"Uuuhhhh" Alex writhed under him, feeling his hard weight against her leg. "Yes, Gene" she whispered, almost breathless. "Maybe we should, oh god, give it up for a while." She moved her hands over his waist, down to his arse, her nails digging in.

He shifted his weight and she shifted with him, his cock meeting her slick entry. "Want me to stop?" he asked, his voice gravelly but still playful, "Just tell me to stop. We c'n go an'ave breakfast." He entered her slowly as he spoke, pulling out just as slowly as Alex sighed objections. "Give me a minute" He thrust inside her with a groan, "or two. And I'll stop."

"Ooooh, Gene" She moved with him, hips in rhythm, hands clawing, caressing "No hurry. Unnnnghh!" They moved together, grunting , groaning, mouths and tongues together as they approached their peak. Gene came first, thrusting hard into her as he finished, staying with her, whispering in her ear "Never want to stop, Alex. Love you, I love you" over and over as she climaxed, moaning his name.

--

"Want to take the boat out again today?" They were heading down the stairs to breakfast, and Gene hoped they hadn't missed it entirely.

"Would you mind if we didn't today? I was really hoping we could a walk around town, maybe explore it a bit." Alex took his hand as they hit the bottom of the stairs, avoiding two yapping Jack Russell terriers on their way to the dining room.

"Is that you, Mr. Hunt?"

Alex peered around the corner to see a tiny plump woman squinting back at her, teapot in hand.

"Wasn't sure you'd be down for breakfast today, but I put a bite out anyway. Is this your young lady? Mr. Hunt told me all about you when he checked in. Said you'd be joining him. Couldn't stop talking about you that first night. Sat up for hours drinking my tea going on and on." She gave Alex a sweet smile.

Alex glanced at Gene who managed to uncomfortably avoid her eyes and look deliciously like a boy caught with his hand in the biscuit tin at the same time.

"I did have my flask" he muttered under his breath. He recovered reluctantly. "Good morning Mrs. Rowe. This is Alex."

"Lovely to meet you" Alex said as she sat down, helping herself to a slice of toast from a plate on the table as Mrs. Rowe poured tea for both of them.

"My you are pretty, just like 'e said. Well, 'e said beautiful, but you know what I mean." She gave Alex a conspiratorial wink.

Alex looked wide eyed. "Oh, of course. What else did Mr. Hunt say?"

"Said 'e couldn't believe how lucky he was. To have such a smart, pretty young lady. 'Course 'e didn't say young lady. Men never do these days. Luckiest man alive, 'e said. Oh! Forgot the milk!" Mrs. Rowe wandered into the kitchen.

She risked a glance at Gene, who was viciously buttering a slice of toast, mouth set in a scowl. "I'd had a few pints before I got 'ere" he explained quietly.

"You don't need to be embarrassed Gene" Alex offered, just as quietly. "It's very sweet."

He took a deep breath, staring at the table in his own silent suffering as he went back to his toast.

"Here you go" Mrs. Rowe set a small jug of milk on the table as she shuffled back into the dining room. "Anything else I can get for the two of you?"

Alex wanted to ask more about Gene's confession, but caught his warning stare and thought better of it. She couldn't help smiling anyway.

"I think that's enough, love. Thank you" Gene answered. "Just having a quick bite then we're out for the day." He managed to smile at Mrs. Rowe at the same time he glowered at Alex.

"Alright then, I'll leave you to it." She smiled, nodding at them as she shuffled back into her kitchen.

"Gene - "

"Alex, don't." He bit into his breakfast

She smiled at him softly. "OK" She buttered her toast and bit into it, following it with tea.

"It's only...I'd had a few pints, and I missed you. And then she offered me some tea, and she asked me if I was on holiday by meself and I told her you'd be joinin' me." He gulped some tea. "And she reminded me of me mam and I just started tellin' her about you. I mean, she's not around to tell anymore..." he let the sentence end in the air.

Alex reached for his hand, squeezing it lightly. "Finish eating. We should be off."

He nodded, thanking her for not saying more.

--

Gene wrapped his arm around Alex's shoulder as they walked the short distance to the main part of town. A cigarette dangled from his lips. Alex happily slipped her arm around his waist.

"Gene?"

"Hmm?" He grunted.

"Do you think your mother would have liked me?" She wasn't sure why she'd asked. It certainly didn't matter as both his parents were long gone. But when he didn't answer right away she couldn't help but feel a knot grow in her stomach.

He took a deep drag off his cigarette, plucking it from his mouth as he exhaled.

"Well, she'd never believe you could be in love with me. Reckon that's why it's so hard fer me sometimes."

"Why not?"

"Too bloody good fer me is what she would've said, an' that you couldn't be serious 'bout me. Don't get me wrong Alex, she was good to me. She didn't want me to get hurt, but she saw what she saw in me." He shrugged. "I wasn't always that good to women, you know."

"So I've heard." She squeezed his waist.

"But I do think she'd have liked you. Probably would have chased you off with stories 'bout what a lousy bloke I was." He glanced at her, smiling a little.

"They would never have worked on me." Alex assured him, stopping to put her arms around his neck, tilting her face to his.

"Sure they would've. But I didn't really need her to help me chase you off, did I?" He rolled his head back, looking at the sky. "I'm tryin', Alex. I am."

"We're both trying." She kissed him gently. "And every day it gets better. Every relationship has rough patches Gene, we get through them. I love you." He pulled her tighter, kissing her back.

--

They walked hand in hand the rest of the way, and Alex smiled at the artists and artisans that appeared increasingly on the street as they approached the shopping seafront.

"I'd love to visit some of the galleries, Gene. Do you think we can squeeze them in?"

"It's a bit early in the morning for modern art, isn't it? I haven't even had a drink yet."

She slapped his arm playfully. "Nothing's open until after lunch. I'd like to do a bit of shopping this morning anyway. I didn't bring much with me to wear, and this is my last dress."

"Well, if you've run out off clothes we can just lie naked up in our room." He flashed a grin. "Lovely way to spend a holiday if you ask me."

Alex feigned annoyance. "I didn't." She smirked. "Besides, I think you could use some new things as well."

Gene sighed. "Shopping and art. I must bloody love you."

Alex laughed, tugging his hand as they walked along the streets. Having decided yesterday that his wardrobe could use some updating, she was hoping to find a shop that would sell her jeans and maybe a few new shirts. She popped in and out of shops as they walked through the streets, leaving Gene outside to smoke more often than dragging him in with her.

An hour later, after digging through the souvenir shops filled with wood carvings and surf shops full of surf boards, Alex had become frustrated. Gene seemed to take the whole thing in stride, however, and kept urging her on to the next shop. Finally, at the end of one particularly winding street they found a few clothes shops that looked promising.

The first was a charity shop. "This could be something" she mumbled to herself. "Would you like to come in?"

He looked up from the cigarette he'd just lit.

"Never mind," she shook her head. "I won't be long." She watched him lean against the storefront, free hand stuck in his pocket.

Inside the shop Alex was delighted to find a vintage cardigan she could wrap around herself in the evenings, which had got much colder than she'd prepared for. Pawing through the mens rack, she even found a shirt for Gene, but put it back with the realization that while he might give in to her buying him clothes, he'd likely object to anything previously worn by an unidentifiable bloke. She suspected his acceptance of vintage went only as far as his clothes rail.

"So have I escaped the revamping of my wardrobe?" Gene asked, putting his cigarette out with the toe of his shoe. He'd pretended to be tetchy all morning, but more than once she caught him smiling at her as he watched her go from shop to shop.

"So far." She looked at him, shielding her eyes from the midday sun. "Just a few more then we can stop for lunch."

"Can't wait" he grimaced, but it turned into a smile the minute she looked away.

A few shops later Gene was waiting outside, trying not to light up another cigarette when Alex stepped into the doorway. "Gene, would you mind coming in here?"

"Would it matter if I did?"

"Not really. Come on. Want you to try a few things on."

"What? Why would I need to try anything on?" He followed her in and she handed him two pairs of jeans.

"What's this?" He looked at them. "I don't wear jeans, Alex. I'm not seventeen."

"You could, Gene. Adult men wear jeans. It's not 1962."

"Unfortunately." He glared at her.

"Oh come on. They make your arse look great. But you should try them on. You don't want them too baggy, but they shouldn't be too tight. Don't want them pinching anywhere."

"My arse already looks great. And what the 'ell d'you mean pinch? Pinch where!" Alex shoved him into the changing room at the back of the shop.

While she was waiting for him to come out, she went through a pile of linen shirts, picking out a white, a grey and a navy blue one and setting them on the counter. He couldn't object to shirts, could he?

"They're a bit stiff" he complained, stepping out into the small shop. He and Alex were the only customers.

Alex wiggled her eyebrows at him, but thought better of asking him exactly how stiff in front of the two shop girls. "You have to break them in. Put them in the wash a few times. They'll get softer. Trust me, you'll love them."

"I will not love them." He pretended not to notice the approving stares coming from the much younger women. "But I will wear them. For you."

Alex looked him up and down appraisingly and thought she could let him keep his black polo shirt. At least for today. "Can he wear them out?" she asked the girl. When she said yes, Alex walked around Gene, ripping tags and stickers off his jeans.

"I'm feeling a bit like a piece of meat here" he objected.

"You're looking a bit like one too" she whispered into his ear before kissing him on the cheek.

--

"I need a drink. Can we get some bloody lunch?" Gene walked stiffly up the hill as they left the shop, Alex dragging him along by his arm.

They stopped for a quick lunch, Gene drinking twice the amount of alcohol as Alex. "If you're going to drag me to art galleries all bloody afternoon, I would like to be pissed. If you don't mind."

"So long as you behave yourself, Gene."

She giggled when he put his hand over his heart. "I promise to save all of my misbehaving for later tonight, when I get out of these bloody jeans. That is, is there's any blood at all left in my - "

"Alright Gene, I believe you. Let's go."

--

By 7:30 Alex could tell Gene had been as patient as he was capable of. He'd dutifully followed her through four galleries, kept the grumbling to a minimum and had even stood and stared at a few paintings as if he were looking at them. Alex couldn't tell if he was confused, joking or bored, but she could tell that the slightly drunk Gene she'd started with was becoming rapidly less drunk, and it seemed like a good time to move on to a new activity.

She gathered him from his perch in front of a Ben Nicholson painting he'd been staring at for twenty minutes.

"What the hell is that?" he asked as she tugged his arm.

"It's abstract, Gene. Non-representational...oh never mind. I'm ready to go."

"Me too. I could use a bloody drink. And a good meal. Lunch was a bit light."

They settled on a quiet restaurant on their way to their lodging. Sharing their dishes and several bottles of wine Gene told Alex stories about policing in Manchester, sprinkling in a few of his more pleasant memories of growing up. He'd grown to like telling her about the old days, and she seemed to like listening to him. At least he thought she did. It was easier than asking her about her past. He knew about her daughter, and that her parents had died when she was a child, but she never revealed very much at a time. He tried a few times, but by the time they opened their third bottle of wine, he'd forgotten what he had asked.

--

"Shhhh!" Alex stumbled into the house after Gene, who'd managed to crash into a small table by the front door. "Musn't wake Mrs. Rowe."

"Shit!" He whispered. "I may 'ave 'ad too much t'drink."

"Quite possibly. Me too" Alex covered her mouth with her hand. "Let's get upstairs before we do any real damage."

She thought he nodded at her, but she was on the third step before she realized he wasn't following. "Gene!" She whispered as loudly as she could.

"In 'ere!" He called out, a bit too loudly.

"Gene!" She found him in the kitchen, jeans around his ankles. "What are you doing?!"

He pointed to the washing machine. "Y'said they'd soften up. S'like wearin' a cardboard box." He kicked them off, picking them up off the floor and shoving them through the open door of the appliance.

"Where are your shoes?"

He turned in a complete circle. "Huh. Dunno." He shrugged.

"Christ" Alex staggered out of the kitchen and through the dining room, finding Gene's slip ons near the front door. "OK. I've got them. What're you doing?" She wavered slightly as she stared at him.

Gene had pulled his shirt off and was standing almost naked in the kitchen. "What d'you mean?"

"Your clothes!"

"Oh. Put them in the machine." He looked down at himself. "Guess you should take yours off too. Come'ere" He reached towards her pulling her around the waist, grinning as he pulled at her dress.

"Gene stop! What're you doing?" She fumbled a slap at his chest, but couldn't stop him from pulling her dress over her head. "Thisisn' our kitchen. Gene!"

He pulled her face close, covering her with sloppy wet, drunken kisses.

"Oh come on." He tugged at her knickers, his fingers covering her arse as he pulled her against him. "She won' 'ear." He lost his balance, bumping into a rolling tray covered with teacups. "Shit!"

"Gene!" Alex giggled and pulled away getting on all fours on the floor so she could look at the tray. "I don't think you broke anything."

"Good. Comeback 'ere." He bent over and grabbed her around the waist but stumbled and fell on top of her, both of them landing on the floor. She could feel him hard against her and suddenly wanted him to take her there in the kitchen. On the floor. She was just drunk enough.

"Gene, we could...upstairs" she breathed, hoping he'd ignore her.

"Yeah. OK." He pulled her hips towards him, pulling her knickers off, freeing himself. "Later." He felt between her legs. She gasped as his fingers thrust, groaned as his hard cock filled her easily. Already so close, she couldn't wait. "Oh god, Gene, oh. Fuck."

"Won't last Alex. Please god, want you. God I want you." He groaned as he thrust into her, short, fast strokes. "I'm coming, Alex, god, can't stop." He groaned, Alex opening her mouth in a silent cry as they climaxed together, Gene holding her tight against him.

After a minute, Gene sat back, panting, pulling Alex up off the floor. "Jesus Christ Gene. We're naked in a stranger's kitchen."

"Yeah" he ran a hand through his hair, looking around. "How'd that happen?"

"I think it was the wine" she offered, pulling her knickers on. "Pull up your underwear."

"Oh, yeah. OK."

They crept up the stairs as quietly as they could manage, hoping not to make more noise than they already had.

"Why didn't the dogs bark at us?" Alex whispered.

"Lucky?" Gene shook his head. "Dunno. Maybe we were quieter than we think.

Alex snorted.

--

When they'd crawled into bed Gene wrapped his arms around her, tucked his face into her neck.

"Gene?" She ran her hands through his hair. "Thanks for a lovely day."

"Glad you enjoyed yerself." he mumbled.

"I did. It was perfect." She kissed the top of his head. "You're perfect."

"Y'know, I'm not so drunk I won' remember you said that."

"I hope that's true."