Thank you so much for all your lovely reviews; I love reading them & I wouldn't bother to write if it weren't for you guys.
Also, exciting news! Chapter thirty one (according to my calculations/ story plan) means that this story is officially at the half way point! Yay! Well, that is, presuming I don't keep adding in more chapters as per usual… The main plot is still to begin guys- I just end up waffling in chapters, which is why it's not begun yet, so sorry for that! Anyway, I hope you like this fluff-filled chapter and continue to enjoy the story- I so want to get it finished this summer!
31:
"I'm sorry, sweetheart, but I'm not free until seven because I've got this meeting, and I can't cancel now. We could go out for dinner afterwards, though, if you fancied that?" He asked, fiddling with a strand of my hair, which he then looped around my ear.
"It's all taken care of, Mr Benedict." Pam piped up through the open doorway. I'd completely forgotten she was there- the poor woman had had a front row seat for our kiss. I blushed to the roots of my hair. How embarrassing!
"Oh?" He questioned, turning to face her, while still keeping his arm around my waist.
"Alexis and I worked together to clear your schedule. You're free tonight, Saturday afternoon, all day Sunday, and Monday morning." She said with a grin.
"Really?" He looked at me for confirmation.
"Really." I agreed with a smile. A bright camera flash interrupted our moment, and I blinked in shock.
"Sorry, boss. I couldn't resist." Pam grinned.
"It's fine. Just make sure you get me a copy."
"It'll be on your desk tomorrow." She promised.
"It can go next to my other one of you." He whispered into my hair. I looked over at his desk to see what he meant. In a silver frame, was a photo of me grinning triumphantly at the netball match he'd come to watch. I hadn't even realised he'd taken it. Thankfully, I didn't look too sweaty. Instead, I just had rosy cheeks. It was nestled next to a photo of us two and Monty on the top of the mountain we'd climbed last weekend, and a photo of his family. I'd have to get a photo of him for my desk- I didn't have any on mine at the minute.
"So, I'm free now, Pam?" Will asked, turning his attention back to his PA, who was grinning madly at us both. She nodded.
"Perfect. Let's go." He said, grabbing his jacket and laptop, before going over to thank Pam. She waved off his thanks, and wished us both a good weekend.
"How long are you here for?" Will questioned as we held hands to the lift. He insisted on wheeling my suitcase for me, even though the pink case didn't exactly complement his pristine suit.
"My train leaves at 3.30 on Monday." Well, that was presuming Mrs Lee didn't ring, demanding I came back a day early. Although I'd escaped school without incident today, I was in no way home clean and dry.
"So you're all mine until then?"
"Yep." I agreed, pulling on his tie gently to bring his head to my level and our lips together again. Kissing him was addictive. He hummed in response, only pulling away when the lift jerked to a stop at the next floor. His thumb stroked my waist gently as the lift lurched downwards once the other passengers had got in. We reached the foyer not long after, exiting the building and crossing the street. I wasn't quite sure where we were going, so I let Will lead us.
"What do you want to do this weekend then, Lex?" He asked as he swung our joined hands.
"I've got it all planned out, Benedict." I replied smugly. "You'll just have to wait and see."
"Do I get a clue?"
"Maybe. It depends if you behave yourself or not." I winked at him
"I'll be on my best behaviour then." He promised, squeezing my hand reassuringly. We turned off down a side street, popping out on another busy main road.
"So where are you staying?" Well this was awkward. I didn't quite know how to explain that I was staying with him. It felt ruder than I'd first thought- inviting myself round at Pam's insistence for the weekend.
"Well, I had a bit of an issue there. Pam said I had to stay with you, so I haven't booked anywhere. I would have done, but she said she'd tell you I was coming if I did, and I didn't want to ruin the surprise. Crystal said it would be fine, and that there's a spare room and a sofa bed, but I can just get a hotel-" He put a finger over my lips to stop my ramblings.
"Don't be silly. I'm ecstatically happy that Pam banned you from getting a hotel. In fact, I'm going to have to give her a rise for insisting on that detail, and helping you to arrange all of this. There's a spare room made up in the flat- it's yours for the weekend, and any other time you come up and see me."
"Next time?" I said, grinning. A large weight was lifted off my shoulders- he must like me being here if he wanted me to come back again.
"Yep." He squeezed my hand again.
"You're getting a bit ahead of yourself, aren't you, Benedict?" I teased, secretly loving the fact that he was encouraging me to come and spend more time with him.
"No, I don't think so, Miss Anderson. If I was, I'd have said you'd be staying in my bed in future, not the spare room." I blushed at that. He was so naughty! One look at my red cheeks was enough to make him laugh, and I slapped him lightly on the chest in response, which made him laugh more.
"Come on, Lex. It's not much further. I thought we could grab a coffee or something on the south bank, and than head to my apartment to drop your suitcase off."
"Sounds good." I agreed. "We've got a reservation at 8.30, though, so we'll need to make sure we're back in time to get ready and get there." As I'd only booked the table on Wednesday, 8.30 was the best time I could get.
"Oh! Do I get to know where?"
"Nope."
"Not even a little clue?" He begged, dropping my hand to wrap an arm around my waist instead. He pulled me closer and pressed a kiss to my head.
"Is this your way of getting information out of me?" I giggled, liking his tactics.
"I don't know. Is it working?" He sounded hopeful.
"Maybe. I might give you a clue nearer the time, but I'm not sure. I like keeping you in suspense, so I'm keeping quiet for now." I teased.
"You're an evil woman at times you know, Alexis." I shrugged at him, and he pouted. Like, actually pouted. I kissed it away without thinking, going up on my tip-toes to reach his lips.
"Okay, fine: it's a restaurant. And that's all you're getting." I acquiesced, enjoying being in control too much to tell him anymore. His enthusiasm was infectious- he was like a child on Christmas Day that couldn't wait to open his presents. He didn't quiz me anymore on this evening's activities after that.
We ended up in a quaint little café on the South Bank, which was, apparently, not far from Will's flat. Since the weather was pretty fair, we sat outside on one of the brightly painted picnic benches in front of the café. They all seemed slightly dilapidated, and worse for wear, but with the garishly gaudy colours the look worked well- it was very trendy… very London. I ordered a hot chocolate with extra whipped cream, whilst Will had gone for a coffee and a scone. Apparently, he'd starve if he had to wait until 8.30 without having something to eat. My suitcase lay underneath our table, its shade nearly matching the colour of the bench.
"You're really okay with me being here, aren't you?" I asked him. "I mean, you're not upset that Pam and I changed your schedule?" I still felt bad for letting Pam re-arrange the important meeting he had this afternoon, even though she'd insisted he wouldn't mind.
"I couldn't be happier. You can come up every weekend, if you like- I'm glad you want to spend time with me." He smiled, and I smiled back, leaning against him as we watched the boats winding their way down the river.
We made it to the flat an hour later after walking slowly down the south bank and admiring the street performers. Well, I admired the street performers. Will, used to seeing them nearly every day, laughed at my excitement, and took pictures of me as they interacted with me once I'd given them some money.
The flat, I now learned, was of sentimental value to the Benedict family, as it was where Yves stayed when he found Phoenix. It had been Victor's friend's at the time, but Yves had managed to buy it off him for a considerable sum, and it was now the Benedict family base whenever they came to London.
Following Will through the door, I saw that it had an impressive interior. Everything was high end and sleek, equipped with all mod-cons you could possibly need and more. Will led me through the hall way, to the spare room, where he placed my suitcase on the bed for me.
"Will this be okay for you?" He asked.
"It's perfect, thanks." I said, looking over the room in awe- it was nicer than my room at home!
"Good. I'll grab you some clean towels from the cupboard. The bathroom's just through here." I followed him out the door, taking the towels he gave me.
"Thanks. Are you okay if I take a shower now?" I felt a bit grotty still stood in my work clothes, and wanted to freshen up a bit before we went for dinner.
"Sure. How long until we need to leave for dinner?" It was seven now, and I wanted to leave half an hour to allow us to get to the restaurant on time.
"About an hour, I think." I responded.
"You sure? I mean, if you tell me where we're going I could look it up, and book a taxi."
"Nice try." I laughed, wandering into my room to grab my toiletries. "But I'm pretty it'll take us less than half an hour. We'll take the tube- there's a station down the road."
"Are you sure, we could book a taxi. I just need to know where we're going. I mean, the tubes can be quite confusing…" He trailed off when I turned to look at him. He was resting against the door frame, arms crossed, watching me unpack.
"Will, Jack came to London for his degree. I can assure you I've been here enough times to know how the tubes work." Mum and Dad had been thrilled when Jack was accepted by the Royal Veterinary College to study veterinary medicine, and we'd spent a lot of time down here visiting him, as a result. It meant I'd come to know London fairly well, but I hadn't been down here since he graduated a couple of years ago. I picked up my towel, underwear and toiletries and wandered to the bathroom. "You'll just have to wait and see where we're going, Will."
"Okay, fine." He held up his hands in acceptance. "I won't ask you anymore. But, just tell me, what's the dress code." I thought of The Wolseley, the restaurant we were frequenting tonight. It had been where we'd gone to celebrate Jack graduating, and I'd really liked it. This weekend seemed like the perfect chance to re-visit it, and see if it was as good as I remembered it being.
"Fairly fancy."
"That's all your giving me?"
"Yep." I replied with a grin, enjoying keeping tonight's plans a secret.
"Alright, I'll see what I can do. Give me a shout when you're done in the shower, and I'll head in myself. I'll be in the kitchen finishing off some work if you need me."
I showered fairly quickly, but still took the opportunity to enjoy the warm water running over me, ridding me of the day's dirt. I washed my hair thoroughly, watching as the suds ran down my legs before being sucked into the drain. I'd wanted to wear it down tonight, and as I'd had it in a ponytail all day for school, I didn't want a kink. Even though my hair was curly, it didn't mean I never got kinks. Drying myself off, I slipped on my underwear and wrapped my towel around my midsection, before padding back to my room to get ready.
"I'm done." I shouted to Will as I left. I would have gone and told him, but I didn't really want to greet him in my towel.
"Thanks. I'll be in in a minute." He hollered back.
I'd chosen a twenties style, knee-length, dress for tonight, which I'd paired with my trusty strappy black heels. I could just about walk in them, but I'd be fine if Will allowed me to use him as a support. My dress was also black, although it was adorned with sequins and other embellishments. I'd had to be careful when I packed it to make sure none of them fell off. Thankfully, it had made it here unscathed, much to my relief.
Hearing the shower start, I grabbed the hair dryer on the dresser and began to get ready. I had forty five minutes until I had to leave, and my curly mane took forever to dry!
I was just putting on my shoes, when Will knocked at the door. He'd obviously remembered not to come charging in, as the door handle didn't even twitch.
"It's five to eight, Lex. Are you ready?"
"Yeah, just a sec!" I replied, fastening the clasp of my right shoe. Picking up my clutch I opened the door to see Will looking handsome in a smart suit.
"You look beautiful." He said almost reverently, and I blushed. I was nothing compared to him.
"And you look very handsome." I smiled at him. "Would you be able to zip me up, please?" My dress had a thin zip that ran all the way along my bag. As I wasn't able to reach it easily, I always had to ask someone to help me into it.
"Sure." He agreed. I swept my hair over my shoulder, holding it out of his way as I felt his fingertips graze my back. He zipped me in slowly, careful not to catch my skin, before fastening the button at the top.
"There, all done." I let my hair fall back into place, shaking my head to allow the curls to fall as they wished.
"Oh, before I forget." Will said, dashing off into the kitchen as he spoke. He returned a moment later, and pressed a key and fob into my hand.
"Pam had these made for you. She rang me to tell me while you were in the shower. You can let yourself in if you need to this way."
"Thanks. Just remind me to give them back to you on Monday- I don't want to take them home with me by accident." I hadn't thought about needing a set of keys for myself this weekend, even though I planned to wander round London myself for a while whilst Will was at work.
"Sure." He promised, but his eyes said something different.
"Right, should we head off?" I asked, not wanting to press the issue.
"Indeed we shall m'lady." He said, pretending to tip his hap at me, like they used to in the old black and white movies. It would have worked if he was wearing a hat. But instead, it just made me giggle. He extended his arm for me to take, and I nestled my arm into the crook of his elbow.
"We shall Sir." I agreed with a laugh as we headed out the door.
Taking the tube with Will proved to be an eventful experience to say the least. More used to taking taxis, he was unfamiliar with the conventions that came with public transport. He was bewildered by the fact that, on escalators, you stood on a specific side, depending on whether or not you wanted to remain stationary. He'd enjoyed it though, and we'd managed to make it to 'The Woolseley', my restaurant of choice, by 8.25.
The rest of our evening was just as enjoyable. 'The Woolseley' definitely lived up to my expectations: the food was as good, if not better, than when I'd last visited for Jack's graduation.
Will went for the steak, whilst I went for their hamburger, although we both tried each other's. Afterwards we shared a banana split. Well, I say shared, but in actual fact Will ate most of it. I was too full from my burger to eat more than a few mouthfuls, but Will soon demolished the rest of it, not that I was surprised. I didn't know where the boy put it!
The only slight disagreement came when we asked for the bill. Will, as per usual, insisted on paying for my meal, even though I wanted to go halves. Despite the fact I wanted to split it, I didn't put up much of a fight, as I'd already pre-paid for our tickets for the rest of the weekend using Alice's vouchers and some of my own money. He wouldn't even get the chance to offer to pay for those attractions, so I figured that by the end of the weekend we'd be even. As a compromise, Will let me leave the tip for our waitress, a charmingly attentive student studying geology at UCL.
We headed back to the flat slowly once we'd paid, enjoying the ambience of London at night. I'd never been in London this late before. As a family, we'd only ever visited Jack for a day. It was strange how a city could look so different in the dark.
Roaming the streets, I was pretty sure we looked like typical tourists, awed by the sight of the capital. When my shoes got too painful for me to keep up with our previous pace, Will hoiked me onto his back, and gave me a piggy back back to the flat.
"Do you want something to drink?" Will asked, as he helped me out of his blazer in the hallway. Stupidly, I'd forgotten to take a coat with me- it was warm when we'd set off, and I hadn't taken into account the fact that the temperature would drop as the night progressed. Luckily, Will had saved the day, offering me his blazer. With his jacket round my shoulders, and his arm around my waist I hadn't felt the chill.
"A cup of tea would be lovely." I replied, bending over to unfasten my shoes. Not hearing any movement, I glanced behind me to see Will's eyes firmly fixed on my backside. I coughed, drawing his attention back to my face.
"Right. Tea." He mumbled, heading off to the kitchen. Snickering, I finished unfastening my shoes, sighing in relief when they touched the hardwood floor. Why did us women bother to wear such torture devices?
Picking up my shoes, I dropped them back into my room, and went to find Will. Walking through into the kitchen I saw him busying himself at the counter, grabbing mugs from the cupboard and setting the kettle to boil.
Taking a seat at one of the stools by the counter, silently I watched him work, admiring the way his muscles flexed through his shirt. Watching Will make the drinks was certainly a surreal experience. I watched in awe as the fridge opened by itself, the milk flying out into his open hand. The tea bags lifted out of the mugs of their own accord, hovering for a moment to allow the mugs to catch the dregs, before flying into the bin.
I was amazed by his skills. I, on the other hand, lived my day to day life as if I wasn't savant. Sometimes, I forgot I even was a savant. My gift was too dark, too powerful- I preferred to hide it away, and pretend it didn't exist. As a result, I kept my other savant abilities under wraps too; I hardly ever used telekinesis or mind-linking. It seemed better to shut it all out, but watching Will move things effortlessly around the kitchen made me wonder if maybe I'd been wrong. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to start using telekinesis and mind-linking after all. It would certainly save on phone bills.
"Penny for your thoughts?" Will asked, bringing me out of my daze, and sliding a steaming cup of tea in front of me.
"Nothing. I was just thinking how good you were with telekinesis. I never use it myself."
"It comes with having six brothers." He replied modestly, picking up his own mug, and coming to sit next to me, our shoulders touching. "We were always fighting using it- it drove Mom mad. I could teach you some time, if you wanted?" I smiled at the image of seven boys running riot in the kitchen, whilst his Mum tried her best to dodge flying implements and get them to stop.
"Really?" I was sure Will had better things to do than teaching me how to levitate household objects.
"Sure. Although lessons with me are very expensive- I'm an excellent teacher."
"Oh?" I wasn't expecting him to charge me for his services.
"Yep. It's a kiss per half hour." He grinned cheekily at me, and I laughed.
"I see. I hope you don't use those rates on all your clientele."
"No, you're my only client. Well, if you'll have me as your teacher, that is." He smiled.
"I think I'll be able to manage your rates. I'll definitely take you up on your offer sometime."
"See that you do. It's not often I get the opportunity to teach a teacher."
After drinking our teas, we made out way into the lounge, snuggling up together on the sofa whilst the latest episode of 'Breaking Bad' played in the background. We'd both changed into our pyjamas and cleaned our teeth, so we were ready to head to bed as soon as the episode finished. Will was in a loose pair of trackie bottoms and a t-shirt, whilst I was in shorts and a vest. Apparently, he usually slept in nothing but a pair of boxers, but he'd put on some clothes on while we were slobbing around.
"What's the plan for tomorrow?" Will asked me as the opening credits rolled. We were both laid horizontally on the couch, me practically lying on top of Will's chest, using his bicep as a cushion while he played with my hair.
"You'll have to wait and see." I mumbled. His fingers were soothing- running all the way through my hair from the roots to the very ends. It made me feel sleepy; my eyes were shutting against my will, and I was powerless to stop them.
"Okay." He agreed, obviously sensing that I wasn't going to say anything more. "What are you going to do while I'm out? You could have a lie-in if you liked? There's a gym and a pool downstairs as part of the complex. You could use them either, if you fancied? I could meet you here and we could go from there?" They had a pool? Woah! This was definitely a step- up from my flat. In fact, it was a whole flight of stairs up from my flat, if that was even a saying. It didn't matter- it worked in this context.
"Mmmm. I was thinking of doing some shopping, actually." I couldn't resist going into the massive H&M on Oxford Street whenever I was in London, not to mention the enormous Waterstones. I was a book fiend; I just couldn't seem to buy enough! My bookshelves were already bursting at the seams, but I couldn't help myself from buying more, even if I didn't really have the money.
"How about I meet you at the café we went to this evening? The one on the south bank at about 2.30. Pam's cleared your schedule from two, so we could get a late lunch there, and move onto our first activity from there."
"Sounds good to me." He agreed, still fiddling with my hair. He liked stretching my curls, and watching them spring back into place.
"Is there anything in particular I should be wearing, or not wearing?"
"Casual clothes." I said after a moment's thought. "We're not going anywhere fancy, so just wear something you're comfortable in. Oh, and make sure you're wearing comfy shoes- I think we'll be walking a lot."
"So jeans and sneakers?"
"Yeah. That'll do." I agreed, thinking of the outfit I'd packed for the day. I was planning on wearing a dress and sandals, as the forecast had predicted good weather, and it was always hotter in the capital than back home.
"Did you suspect anything?" I asked moments later, changing the subject of our conversation.
"What do you mean?"
"When I spoke to you on the phone; did you suspect anything?"
"Oh then, yeah. I did think something was up, but I didn't know quite what. It was why I was in a bad mood when you knocked on my door."
"I thought so."
"What? That I was in a bad mood?"
"Well, yes, but that wasn't what I meant. I'm a terrible liar, so I thought you might have suspected something. I was scared Pam would somehow blab to you."
"Yeah, you're not the best liar, Lex." He confirmed. "God knows how you managed to convince Rachel we met at a family funeral."
"Hey, it was the cover story I used at school! I didn't want to get my stories mixed up- I'd have been in even more of a mess if I had!"
"Just as long as she doesn't think we're related"
"Don't worry, she knows that." I replied, turning my attention back to the screen, desperate to keep my eyes open for the remainder of the episode.
Predictably, that didn't happen. Will was forced to rouse me not long after. I'd fallen asleep with five minutes left to go. With me lying on top of him, he couldn't get out until I'd moved. Sleepily, I rose, allowing Will the space to get up too.
"Come on, sleepyhead." He murmured, wrapping his arm around my shoulder to guide me.
"Let's get you into bed." He steered me into my room, helping me under the covers and tucking me in. He crouched next to me, brushing my hair away from my face.
"Now, if I'm out when you wake up, I'll see you at 2.30 in the café, okay? Help yourself to anything in the cupboards or the fridge for breakfast."
"Okay." I yawned.
"If you go out, you've got your key, haven't you? Just remember to lock up after yourself, and ring me if you need me- I'll keep my phone on."
"Mmmm" I mumbled, rolling over and turning away from him. He was so noisy when I was trying to sleep. He laughed in response to my actions.
"Alright, message received, sweetheart. Night." He kissed my forehead, and turned too leave, flicking the lights off as he went. I was asleep before he had chance to shut the door.
Please leave a review! Also, I'm not from London and don't know it so well, so please forgive all my inaccuracies!