Sorry it's taking longer for me to post chapters. I started back school and I'm swamped with homework. I'm REALLY happy you guys are enjoying this story. There is LOTS more to come =]
p.s. Thank you so much for the reviews. They really keep me motivated.
Chapter 7
Tom's POV:
He awoke early the next morning, E still in his arms. He gazed down at her. She looked so peaceful. Even though she was still sleeping, a soft smile graced her face. The sun was up and lit her red hair on fire as it shown through the curtains. He wanted to kiss her, but feared that he would wake her from her peaceful sleep. He reached over to move a lock of hair away from her face, she stirred. She didn't wake, but turned over onto her side, facing away from him. The strap of her tank top had fallen off her shoulder. Tom gently moved back into place, then started to run his fingers along her soft, ivory skin. He traced her figure from her legs to her hips, all the way to her neck. He then ran his fingertips down her spine until he reached the small of her back. Her shirt had ridden up, exposing more of her skin. As he examined her closer, he noticed she had dimples on her lower back. He moaned quietly and bit his lower lip. It was a trait that he had always found incredibly sexy.
He moved closer and cuddled up against her, spooning her. She fit perfectly into him. He wrapped his arm around her searching for her hand. He accidentally grazed her breast. She wasn't wearing a bra and her shirt was thin. He wanted to feel her more. He was hungry for her. His inner gentleman took over. It was a internal battle that wasn't easily won. He did his best to ignore the growing bulge in his boxers.
His phone started ringing. He jolted up to answer it before it woke E.
"Hello?" Tom whispered as his tip-toed out of the room.
"What's up buddy? Why are you so quiet?" Robert was on the other end. Tom had a pretty good idea of why he was calling.
"Uh, no reason." His voice returned to normal volume once he reached the living room. "What's up?"
"Well I was calling to see if you did what we were talking about last night." He spoke as a farther talking to his son about chores.
Tom laughed "Yes, I asked her. Are you happy?"
"Well I'm assuming that she said yes since you aren't crying or anything." Robert really was Stark 90% of the time.
"Yeah she said yes. And quite happy about the whole thing." Tom thought back to the night before. A smug smile overcame his face.
"You slept over didn't you?" Robert said as a matter of fact rather than a question.
"I-uh, what?" Tom didn't quite know how to respond. He didn't want people to get the wrong idea. Although if anyone found him walking around her place in the morning with nothing but boxers, they would assume little else.
"Well you two didn't waste any time huh?" Robert chuckled.
"No, no. We didn't-not yet. Just-we didn't..." Out of respect for E, he didn't want to blabber about what they did do.
"Okay, okay. I believe you. Of course nobody would blame you. She is pretty awesome."
"And hot!" A voice yelled in the background. It sounded like Chris Evans.
"Oh god, exactly how many people are listening to this?" Tom asked rubbing his brow.
"Uh...not that many..." Robert replied "It's just Me, Chris, Chris, Mark, Sam, Jeramy. Oh and I'm texting Joss later. He couldn't make it to brunch."
"Ugh, I hate you all." Tom joked.
"What did you expect? She's Scarlett's best friend, you've been seeing her almost everyday, and you won't shut up about her." Robert said.
"Your own fault dude!" Hemsworth yelled in the background.
"Just think about when Scarlett finds out." Jeramy said. They were obviously huddled around the phone.
"Oh god." Tom's eyes grew wide. "That'll be intense."
"Yes it will." Tom felt E's arms wrap around him from behind. He had not heard her creep up behind him. She squeezed him lightly as she planted soft kisses around his spine. They gave him goosebumps all over.
"Was that E?" Robert asked
"Yes." She called towards the phone. She didn't seem to mind that he was talking to them. She slunked around him, and pulled him closer to her. She had a mischievous glint as she looked him in the eye.
"HI E!" A chorus of male voices called from the phone.
She gently took the phone from his hand and placed it to her ear. "I'm sorry boys. Tom will have to call you back. He has something to take care of."
Whoops and hollers echoed from the phone before she hung up. Silencing them.
"I hope you don't mind that I did that." She said quietly as she started to nibble on his color bone.
Tom moaned "No, it's fine. I don't mind at all." his hands moved to her sides, then to her hips.
She stood on her tip-toes in attempt to give herself as much height as possible. She was still barely 5'5''. He chuckled as her efforts.
"What?" She asked still loving on him.
"Even on you tip-toes you're still tiny." He chuckled as he enjoyed her ongoing adorations.
"Not my fault I'm dating a Frost Giant." She jested.
"Fair enough." Tom said before hunching over to kiss her. His hands moved down and grabbed her shapely ass. Giving her cheeks a firm squeeze.
"Mmm-mm, damn..." Tom said in delight. "I will never ever get tired of that."
E giggled.
Tom lifted her up and allowed her legs to wrap around him. His hands still gripping her cheeks. He started to twirl around, making her grip him tighter with her arms and legs. She squealed then laughed. He stopped and kissed her. Their interactions were more playful than sexual. Their kisses became faster and deeper until Tom's phone rang. He could tell by the ringtone it was Luke.
"Ugh. It's Luke. I'm so sorry, but I'm going to have to take it." Tom apologized.
She let out a short whimper "Okay. I understand." She hopped down from his arms and headed to the kitchen. He watched her walk away, he curvacious hips slightly swaying side to side with each step. He balled his fist and bit his lip in frustration and he picked up the phone.
"Hey Luke. What's up?" He tried to sound as normal as he could.
"Hey Tom. How are you doing?" Luke asked sounding cheery.
"I'm good thanks." Tom replied.
"So as you know it's time to start doing some press for the Avengers. So we have several interviews set up for next week out here."
Tom feared what Luke was going to say next.
"And after that we'll be spending the next five weeks in New York, Europe, Australia and a few other places."
Tom's heart sank. "Five weeks?" He asked, his voice becoming quiet.
"Yup. Then after that you start shooting Hollow Crown. Then after that all the Avengers premieres." Luke said proud of how on the ball he was.
Tom was completely silent until he let out a heavy sigh.
"What's up Tom?" Luke picked up that something was wrong.
"I just don't know how I'm going to tell E. We made things official last night." Tom admitted.
"Oh shit. Um, well we can always have her come with you to some of the premieres. But I'm not sure how that would help your image."
"Luke you know I don't give a rats ass about that." He snapped, his emotions getting the best of him.
"Alright, alright. Well we can arrange that, and I'll see if I can find anytime where you could fly back to California or fly her to you. I'll take care of it." Luke said in a reassuring tone.
"Yeah, that sounds good. Thanks man, I really appreciate this." Tom said. He was incredibly thankful for Luke at this time.
"No problem Tom. I know how much you like her, and I want things to work out with you two. I'll help anyway I can." Luke said.
"Luke I can't thank you enough." Tom said.
"It's okay man. Alright, I have some calls to make. I'll keep you posted." Luke hung up.
Tom put down his phone and buried his face in his hands.
How was he going to tell her this?
E's POV:
I was in the kitchen munching on a apple while waiting on the coffee to finish brewing. I heard bits of Tom's conversation with Luke from the living room. His voice was quiet, but I felt no urge to eavesdrop. If it concerned me or was important I'm sure he would tell me. After a few minutes he joined me in the kitchen. I turned to him and smiled.
"Hey, coffee is almost done if you want some." My smile faded the longer I looked at him. He was sad and distant. "What's wrong?"
He continued to stare at the floor. He was silent for a few moments, but it felt like ages. He gulped then looked up at me.
"So I have to start doing some press for The Avengers." He said, his voice was quiet.
"Naturally." I responded, trying to be as reassuring and understanding as possible.
"My interviews start next week, here in California..." his voice started to trail off. I knew what was coming. "...then I have to go to New York. And then Europe, and a few other places."
My heart sank with each location his listed. I nodded.
"That will take about five weeks." He said rather grimly.
"Well, it's your job and it's important. Five weeks isn't so bad." I said trying not to choke up.
"Well, that's not all I'm afraid." Tom said as he hung his head. Oh god. I braced myself.
"After those five weeks are over, I'm going back to England to shoot another movie. And then I have all the Avengers premieres." He walked over to me seemingly to get a better look of my reactions.
"Wow. That sounds like it's adding up to several months." I said, hoping I wasn't right.
Tom frowned and nodded.
"Well fuck me." I said trying to lighten up the situation, but I felt heartbroken. Would he want to call it off? All these thoughts were making me want to cry, but I managed to hold back tears. How could I be so upset over someone I've only known about 2 months?
"Yeah, this really sucks." Tom said bringing me into his arms and holding me tightly. I couldn't tell if he was comforting me or if I was comforting him. It took me a few minutes to ask the question I was horrified to ask.
"So what do we do?"
Tom sighed "Well I talked to Luke and he said he'd try to arrange some time for me to fly back to visit you..." Tom lifted my chin so I was looking at him "...or you fly out to visit me." His voice was hopeful. "I know you have a lot of work, but if you're able to get some time off I would love for you to come and visit me."
"Of course. That sounds wonderful." This information gave me more hope. I didn't think I would ever want to not be busy, but I also wanted to travel and visit Tom.
Tom smiled and kisses my forehead. "Oh and one other thing..."
I whined, expecting more bad news.
"Only good news darling, I promise." He smiled at me, raised his eyebrows and stroked my hair.
"Ha, alright." I said.
"Now this is only if you're comfortable with it." He paused and took a deep breath. "Would you please come to the American premieres with me?" He bit his lower lip wait for my answer.
I was not expecting this. "I-uh me? At a premiere? Like in public?"
Tom laughed at me "Is that a yes because I can't really tell."
"What about you image and marketability?" I asked. Tom looked surprised. "What? My best friend was married to a 'heart throb' for a bit. I know a little bit about these things."
A smirk grew on Tom's face "You think I'm a heart throb?"
I laughed and blushed. "Oh shut up you cocky bastard."
He laughed "Soooo yes?"
"If I can get off of work I would love to." I smiled happily at him.
"Great." He said before kissing me. "Okay, let's forget about everything else for now and just enjoy our day together."
The week past and the day came where Tom had to leave. He had convinced Luke to let me see him off at the airport. I knew there would most likely be paparazzi there, Tom being a rising star and all. But I was mostly focused on how it would be the last time I saw him for several months. Tears came to my eyes just thinking about it. I swallowed the lump in my throat and got up to take a shower. I was careful not to disturb Tom since he was still asleep. He had decided to sleep over the night before. We couldn't bare saying goodbye to each other.
As I let the hot water rain down on me I thought about how quickly we had connected. I heard the bathroom door open a crack.
"E?" Tom said in a sleepy voice.
I poked my head around the shower curtain. "Hey, sleep well?"
He leaned on the door frame rubbing his eyes and yawning. He was like a adorable puppy waking from a nap. "Yeah, you wore me out last night." He smiled.
"Ha, you're welcome." I said. We had fooled around the night before, but I made it all about him. Much to his protest of course. "Want a shower?"
"Yeah, that would be great. Let me know when your done." He said rubbing his neck.
I disappeared behind the curtain. "You mean you don't want to join me?"
I could tell his eyebrows raised even though I couldn't see him. I could hear him take a few steps towards the shower, then some light fabric falling to the floor. He stepped in, nuzzled up behind me whilst wrapping me in his arms. He leaned down and kissed my shoulder. We switched places so he could get most of the water. He leaned his head back to wet his hair, and water trickled down his chest then to his legs. He was so beautiful naked. He brought his head up and caught me taking in his appearance. He smiled and shook his hair, splashing me with water.
"Hey, no fair! How am I supposed to retaliate?" I said wiping the water from my eyes.
"You're not supposed to. That's why I'm hogging all the water." Tom chuckled, flicking more water at me. I wrung out a part of my hair and let the water pool in my palm. I splashed him.
"Ah! Clever girl!" He laughed and grabbed me. He turned my back to him and pulled me close. I leaned back and rested my head on his chest. We stood there in silence for several minutes, soaking up the steam and each other's presence. He slowly left a trail of kisses from cheek to my neck. He then rested his head on mine and hugged me tightly. My arms covered his, and my hands gripped his strong arms.
My happiness turned to sadness as I remembered that he was leaving me today.
"I don't want to go." He said directly in my ear.
"I don't want you to go either." I said trying my best to keep my voice from breaking. I didn't know how much longer I could keep it up. Today was going to be rough.
We eventually got out of the shower when we heard the alarm going off in the bedroom. We were deathly quiet whilst getting ready, something that was completely out of character for us. We did, however, manged to force a silly face here and there to make the other smile. I dressed myself in skinny jeans tucked into my knee high black boots, along with a nice blouse and a sport coat. I wanted to look extra nice for several reasons. The first was that this was going to be the last time Tom saw me in person for a while, and second I didn't want to look homeless if the paparazzi took photos of us. I was fixing my hair in the mirror and I heard Tom sigh. I turned to the side to see Tom staring at me with a soft smile on his face. I looked back at him, losing myself in his blue eyes.
"You look stunning darling." He said in that gorgeous deep voice of his.
My heart melted "Thanks hun." I gazed at him a little longer. His hair was getting longer and his face was scruffy. I walked up to him and and cupped his face with my hands.
"Ugh, you need to cut that out Hiddleston. Seriously, it's getting ridiculous." I said shaking my head.
Tom looked confused "What? What did I do?" he asked
"You're just standing over here being too handsome. Tom, you're going to cause an accident if you're not careful."
Tom smiled, his skin turning pink under the beard. "Bless you for saying that." He placed his hand on my side and brought me in for a deep kiss.
There was a loud knock at the door. "Hey you two! Ready to go?" Luke yelled through the door.
"Ugh, why?" I groaned as our kiss broke.
Tom laughed at me and went to open the door.
Luke stood there looking chipper "Hey guys, are you ready?"
"As ready as we'll ever be I think." Tom replied.
"Okay cool. I have your stuff in the car." Luke said checking his phone "We got to get going."
"Alright then." Tom said grabbing his carry on bag. He put his arm around my shoulders and we walked out to the car.
"Hey E. You look really nice." Luke said with a smile.
"Thank you. So do you." I replied. I was still getting to know Luke, but I already liked him a lot. I could tell it was important to Tom that we got along. Since Luke was a great person, it wasn't hard. We had been exchanging emails the past week trying to coordinate our schedules in order to plan a trip for me.
Tom leaned down and kissed my cheek and nibbled at my ear. I giggled and tickled his side.
"Oh my god, you guys are adorable." Luke said in a mock teenage girl voice.
Tom and I both stuck out our tongues at him.
Luke got into the front passenger seat leaving the back for Tom and I. I wasn't expecting a driver.
"This is Hank. He'll drive you home after you see us off." Luke informed me.
"Oh wow. I could've just grabbed a cab or something, but thank you."
On the way to the airport Luke and Tom told me all of the places Tom was going, and what shows he was going to do. I was excited for him. It was going to kill me being away from him for such a long time, but it made me feel better that he would be doing a lot of fun things. My mind wandered for a moment. I was going to have to find more things to do to keep myself busy outside work. I needed another hobby or something.
"You okay E?" Tom asked looking concerned.
"Yeah, sorry. I was trying to figure out what I was going to do with myself when you're gone." I said
Tom grinned and leaned in and whispered "I can think of a few things." He then nipped my ear lobe.
I wanted nothing more but to take him right there. I bit my lip and glared at his smug little face.
"I hate you so much." I said.
Tom bucked his head back and laughed his 'ehehehehehe' laugh.
I couldn't help but to laugh with him. "You're such a smug little shit."
Tom just laughed harder and Luke chuckled.
We arrived at the airport and got Tom and Luke's bags all sorted. Luke was able to convince the airline to let me escort them to the gate and wait with them. Tom and I sat down and double checked our email and Skype information.
"Okay so I'll call you when we land to let you know everything's alright. Then tomorrow I have several interviews that will take all day, so we can maybe talk tomorrow night. I'll have to make sure I check the time difference. And once we leave for London it'll be a what? Eight hour time difference? That sounds about right. So figuring out when to talk will be challenging." Tom was so flustered. I hadn't seen him like this. He was fidgeting with his bag and bouncing his leg. I started to feel sick with sadness. I didn't think he would be this bothered with leaving, I hated that he was feeling the way he was. I placed my hand gently on his face and slowly ran my fingers through his hair from root to tip. My touch seemed to calm him down. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. I then rested my hand on the nape of his neck and traced a part of his jawline with my thumb. He then turned to me. The look he gave me broke my heart. In his eyes I could see the worry, sadness, and fright. I was instantly fighting back tears.
"Hey, it'll be alright." My words were forced and choked up.
"I'm just going to miss you so so much." Tom said placing his hand on my knee.
"I'm going to miss you too." I replied.
The intercom echoed that the plane was ready for boarding. We both reluctantly stood up. A few tears had escaped my eyes and trickled down my cheeks.
"Oh no, darling." Tom said reaching out and pulling me into his arms. I wrapped my arms around his waist and held him. He squeezed me hard and stroked my hair. He rested his head atop of mine and sighed. "This is becoming much more difficult than I thought it would be."
"What is?" I asked, my head buried in his chest.
"Leaving here..." He paused and stroked my hair again. "...leaving you."
I looked up at him "You didn't expect me to let you get that easy did you?" I said in a cheesy villainy voice.
Tom laughed "You're so crazy and weird. I love it."
Luke walked passed us. "I'm going to board, I'll give you guys a minute. Bye E."
"Bye Luke." I said still clenching to Tom.
"Thanks man." Tom said as he looked at me. We looked into each others eyes with heavy hearts.
"I really don't want to say goodbye." Tom said. "I met you only a few months ago but-"
I waited for him to say something. "But what?" I asked.
"I don't know. We just seem to fit together nicely..." he paused and swallowed a lump in his throat "...maybe even perfectly."
My heart fluttered "What do you mean by that?" I asked.
"I uh, um, I'm not sure yet." He chuckled a little. "Look I'm not making sense now. I'm not really in my right mind."
"Understandable." I said as a few more tears rolled down my cheeks.
Tom's forced smile collapsed. "Oh E, please don't cry. You're making me want to as well."
"I'm sorry, I'm trying not to." I said with a sniffle.
He wiped the tears from my cheeks with his thumbs. He held my head in his hands. His long fingers entangled in my hair. I let myself drown in his beautiful bright eyes as he pulled me closer to him. Sparks flew through my body as our lips met in a deeply adoring kiss. As our lips moved in sync, and the tips of our tongues danced, the world around us seemed to fade away. In that moment, there was no one else but Tom and I. Once we finally parted he placed another gentle kiss upon my bottom lip. Almost like a signature. We hugged each other tightly for a few more moments.
The airport speakers announced again that his plane was leaving.
As we pulled apart I felt like part of my being was being ripped from my body and my chest put into a compactor. I inhaled sharply and crossed my arms. It was the closest I could get to hugging myself in public.
"Goodbye darling. I'm already missing you terribly." Tom said not yet stepping away.
"Then let's make it easier. I'm not going to say goodbye." I said.
"What will you say?" He asked.
"See you later." I said and smiled.
Tom smiled "See you later."
I watched him as he boarded his flight. Just before he was out of my sight he turned around and blew me a kiss. My eyes drank up the image and branded it into my brain. I sat back down as more tears fell.
After sitting there for a while I managed to pull myself together and head back to the car. I felt sorry that Hank had been waiting the whole time. I must've been in there for an hour. I was able to find the car and I crawled into the back.
"Home Miss?" Hank asked.
"Uh yeah. Yes. Yes please." I said. I wasn't used to this. "Sorry about keeping you waiting. I wasn't expecting it to take that long."
Hank looked at me in the rearview mirror. His eyes were sympathetic. "It's alright. I understand. Saying goodbye is never easy."
The rest of the ride was silent besides me sniffling quietly. Hank dropped me off and I went inside. I trudged to my bedroom and slammed down on my bed. I saw that Tom has left his shirt from the night before on his side of the bed. I inhaled deeply. My whole bed smelt like him. I lost it. I curled up, grabbed a pillow and cried until I exhausted. Red faced, and puffy eyed, I fell asleep.