Major feels in this chapter, and on a side note, I think I could maybe work for the Dubai tourist board!
Monday
For the first time since they arrived Elsie has to wake Charles. She's showered, dressed and ready to go and he's still snoring. Clearly last night's activities really took it out of him.
She shakes his shoulder, "Charles, you have to get up." She bends by his ear, her voice teasing, "Charlie… Baby…"
He huffs and complains as he flops over onto his back.
"What's happening?"
"It's ten past eight, the coach leaves at nine. We need to go and get a least a croissant before we go, and tea, it's going to be at around an hour and a half before we get to Dubai."
"I think I'm dead," he complains, ruffling his hair, his eyes heavy as he watches her tidying away clothes from the floor.
She's hanging his shirt when he recalls last night's events, and recalling just why their clothes are on the floor, and a grin of both pleasure and pride fills his face.
"What's that for?" She asks seeing his face. "You look like you've just won a marathon."
"Better," he admits. "Much better." He folds his arms beneath his head.
"Don't get big-headed," she warns, throwing his sock at him. "And get up, or I'm going without you."
He throws the sheets back and groans exaggeratedly, "You've changed me Elsie Hughes, I've never slept in late in my life."
"It's hardly late, you better shower and change in about 5 minutes."
"Yes sir!" He mock salutes.
She shakes her head at him, sitting at the vanity to fix her makeup; he can hardly believe his behaviour neither, he's high on something.
"Morning," he says leaning down to kiss her, more serious now.
She returns it, "Good morning. Look you're going brown."
"So I am," he wanders naked into the bathroom. "Looking good old boy," he says to the mirror.
"Shower!" She calls.
He sleeps again on the bus ride to Dubai and she thinks how angry he'll be with himself for missing it. She unhooks his camera from his arm and takes pictures of things she thinks he'll like before digging the iPod out of her bag that Anna gave her before the trip – an Easter gift - she's preloaded it and Elsie didn't bother to change any of the tracks before travelling, simply shoved it into her handbag.
She glances at the screen as one of her favourite oldies comes on, 'Rescue Me' and taps the beat out on her leg as she sings along in her mind.
Charles shifts against her and she feels his weight press against her arm. She reaches up to shift his head to her shoulder and brushes his face. When she thinks of the fact they're half-way through their trip there's a strange sensation in her stomach – she keeps pushing it down, suppressing whatever it is she feels. And just as she's at a point where she might explore that feeling she pushes it away again, runs in the other direction.
In time she's lulled by the journey and the music and as they reach the outskirts of the city the roads grow much busier, the skyline alters resembling other grand cities of the world - New York, Sydney - and she cranes her neck back to look up the towers. Everything is bright and shiny and bustling – a far cry from the peace of yesterday's museum.
There's a song on that pounds in her chest, the beat travelling through her as she listens to the words, 'Your face is all that I see, I'll give you everything, baby love me lights out.' She's never heard it before but clearly Anna thought she'd like it and the music is transporting her. She takes out her phone, quickly typing a text, 'Just on bus to Dubai, listening to your music – love it! Hope the revision is going well! Thinking of you as a lie in the sunshine…ha ha! Love you, mum xx'.
She takes out her headphones and puts them away, squeezing Charles' arm, "We're almost there." She pushes back the curl from his forehead, "Are you going to wake up?"
He grunts a little but eventually opens his eyes, "Sorry," he mumbles, "Never very good on buses."
"It's okay." Her phone bleeps in her hand and she slides her finger across it to read the message, 'Thanks for rubbing it in! Enjoyed your pictures of the beach too, maybe you can take me back there when I ace my exams! Hope Charles is well and treating you right! ? X'
"Who's that?" He asks, noticing her gentle smile.
"Anna, I wanted to check in, she's deep in revision. I'd like to treat her in the summer, take her somewhere nice to celebrate finishing."
"What do you think she'll do next?" He asks, rubbing his eyes.
She slips her phone away, "She's started applying to galleries and museums, we'll see where it leads. It'll be nice to have her back for a few weeks though."
"She's going to stay with you?"
"For a while, when she leaves Warwick and decides what to do next. I'm not sure how she'll cope living with mum again."
He's intrigued by the mother/daughter relationship they have. His mother was kind and supportive but never soft and loving, as he suspects Elsie is, he can imagine Anna being the benefactor of many cuddles as a young child, Violet was never a cuddler. And his relationship with his father has never been easy.
The air feels even hotter after two hours on an air-conditioned coach and Elsie takes the sun cream out of her bag and applies some to her arms. Charles is busy snapping pictures of the Burj Khalifa, and she's amazed at his enthusiasm after spending most of the morning asleep.
"Here," she says, pouring cream onto her hand and rubbing it into his bare arms, "Don't want you burning again."
"Thank you darling," he forgets himself and kisses her head. "We have about twenty minutes before the car picks us up," he states glancing at his watch. "Shall we use the facilities in this vast place before we go?" He turns, gesturing to the giant mall before them.
"It's shopper's heaven," she says gleefully. "Are you getting nervous yet?"
"About shopping?"
"You know what I mean…" She steps before him onto the escalator.
"I'm trying not to think about the helicopter…"
She leaves it at that, grateful he hasn't changed his mind about joining her. Truth be told she's a little nervous herself but the adrenaline seems to be overriding the fear.
Two hours later and Charles is waxing lyrical over lunch. He conveniently seems to have forgotten that he nearly abandoned his seat three minutes before take-off and she feared he'd have heart failure he was breathing so heavily as they were strapped in.
But five minutes in and his fear was forgotten. He was so engrossed in taking pictures of everything that she had to take his camera from him, "Just look at it," she'd insisted.
"Once in a lifetime," he said again as he sipped his wine, "Did I say thank you for forcing me to go?"
"I hardly think I forced," she said, running her fingertip around the rim of her glass, "just encouraged."
"And thank god for you for that, it was just amazing." He opened his camera bag again and started flicking through the shots.
"You need to send me all these when we get home." She said.
"Let's not talk of getting home."
"Put the camera away now and let's enjoy our tea, you've paid a lot of money for this. In fact," she leant forward slightly, "I think I should pay half, it's only fair."
"Absolutely not," he stated forcefully.
"Charles, it's expensive…"
"And I wanted to do it for you, let me."
The waiter arrived with their 'tea' bringing an end to their discussion and she stared open mouthed at him through the tower of sandwiches and cakes. "Do you think we'll ever need to eat again after this?" She asked, fiddling with the napkin in her lap. "In fact, do you think we'll even manage all of this?"
"Well, I'm happy to give it a go."
"Wait, before you start." She took a quick picture on her phone and returned Anna's text with it attached, 'Charles is treating me very well – afternoon tea at the Burj Al Arab, wish you could see the view! X'
Ever the gentleman he let her choose first before taking his own sandwiches, insisting on giving her a running commentary on which were his favourites and why.
It was almost three by the time they'd finished eating and drinking tea and Elsie wondered if she'd ever walk again. She was glad she'd worn a dress that day and felt for Charles struggling with the belt on his trousers.
"This is why I'm getting podgy," he said as they took the elevator back to ground level, "I can't say no to cake."
She squeezed his hand as her phone buzzed again, 'WOWWWW! I wonder what you're treating him to in return…!'
She shook her head and shoved her phone away.
"What's that?"
"My daughter being rude. How long do we have for shopping?"
He glanced at his watch, "Coach doesn't leave until 8 so a good few hours here. You know this mall has an aquarium." He said suggestively.
"Yes, I read about it, a giant crocodile I believe too." She smiled at his attempt to ask her something, in most things he was so direct, in others so very slow. "We can go you know, I read it takes about an hour and I'd like to see it too. And I thank you, I know these kinds of places go entirely against your sensibilities."
"Willing to make sacrifices…" He shrugged.
It was turning into another wonderfully glorious day and Charles couldn't remember being happier. Even from childhood, Christmases and family holidays, nothing compared to the peace and joy he felt at the moment.
He hadn't even minded shopping; Elsie had made extravagant purchases for her daughter – getting her a pair of Prada sunglasses as a 'well done you've finished uni' gift and a silly stuffed crocodile from the aquarium and, knowing how much Charles feared frogs, got him a pen with a frog on top - it's head rolled back and it ribbeted at him as he wrote. She'd bought a bright, elaborate necklace for her friend Beryl – a woman who Charles thought sounded very loud and very elaborate so it was clearly an appropriate choice in his book.
She'd also succeeded in convincing him to go ahead and buy the navy blue dress shirt he'd seen in Hugo Boss and not worry too much about the price – it was a treat after all. And unbeknown to him she'd nipped back in whilst he went to use the bathroom and got him the tie that went with it.
With armfuls of bags they went for coffee (neither needed more cake) and rested their feet.
"It's a good job I never shop," he said eyeing their purchases, "I'd be poor within a month."
"Think of it as a holiday treat."
"I am." He sipped his coffee, sighed heavily and stretched back in the chair, his long legs brushing against hers beneath the table. "Anymore from Anna?" He asked, his eyes closed.
"No, I don't want to bother her too much. She's busy, has her own life."
"A boyfriend?" He asked.
"No, not for a while now." She shrugged, "Though I'm assuming she'd tell me, you know how secretive you can be with your parents when you 'grow up'."
"Yes but my relationship with my mother was quite different from yours and Anna's. I'd like to see her again, it was only a brief meeting last time."Charles was taking Elsie to the theatre one night just before Christmas and had met Anna in her flat, they'd shared a quick hello and that was it. The only time in eight months of dating.
"I think she'd like that too," Elsie finally said, she didn't want to be rude and she knew that by not letting him really meet her daughter she was being difficult. It just meant that if he did things were different, serious.
"To the fountains?" She said, changing the topic.
He glanced at his watch again and she smirked, he was always so precise with things.
"Almost 7:05, next showing should be half past so if we go now we should get a good spot and be done in time to get back for the coach."
"You should be a scout leader, always so organised."
He carried the bags and they forced their way through a very crowded section of the mall, Elsie was in front and Charles kept his eyes fixed on the back of her head, terrified they'd lose each other in the crowds.
She led them over the bridge without pausing and managed to secure a spot in the middle.
"Nice work," he said, coming to stand behind her.
The sun had just about set and the sky was lit up before them, the water flat below and crowd upon crowd of people lined the edge waiting for the water show. Elsie stood up on a ridge, their shopping bags between her feet, and Charles behind lining his camera up and snapping away at the horizon line of buildings and flashing lights.
There was a warm breeze and her hair blew behind her tickling his face, her scent surrounding him even then, in public, in a place crammed with other humans.
She turned her head briefly and watched him taking photos before putting her hand over the lens.
"Enough." She said. "We can set my phone here," she said pointing to the stone she leant on, "and leave it to record, then take snaps from that." She pulled his camera from his hand. "Just watch hey."
As always he accepted and let her set up the video function on her phone. As it turned out he was more than grateful, it meant he could simply enjoy it with her, and as they stood pressed so close together watching the breathtaking display he realised he couldn't be more in love.
Maybe it was the swelling music, the play of lights over the water, the sheer excitement and coordination of it all… And the fact he had his arm around her, his chin on her shoulder, the breeze in his face and her hand folded with his, stroking his fingers so tenderly as they watched.
It felt like a wonderful dream he never wanted to wake from.
When it finished, and she turned to look at him, he kissed her, right there on the bridge in full view, and she pushed him back quickly, "Later," she whispered.
The moment was over too quickly and then she was pushing bags into his hands and they joined the throngs battling through the door and back into the mall. It took ten minutes to walk from one side to the other and out to the bus bay for their coach.
He was exhausted but jubilant and found he couldn't sleep on the coach, nor relax, his mind was racing with all he'd seen and experienced. And all because of her annoyance with January frost.
She did sleep, pressed against his arm, and he decided he'd tell her tonight, just do it. It seemed the right time. He had a gift for her too, he'd wanted to give it to her that morning but there hadn't been time, nor the previous night. Instead he'd kept the box tucked up in his drawer at the villa, hidden in one of his socks.
She took the transport back to the villa when they reached the hotel and he went inside to get drinks and reserve sun loungers for the following day.
When he'd walked back she was already in bed reading the news on her iPad. "According to this there are children living in Victorian conditions," she snapped, "coming to school without even having socks on. Can you believe that's going on in our country, it's disgusting."
"It is," he replied, he didn't really want to get into a discussion on who was to blame – no doubt she'd think the Tories and he didn't want politics intruding on their day.
"Here you go Els," he said handing her a glass of chilled white wine. He licked his lip as he watched her drink, never a better time, he decided. "And, I have something else for you too."
"Oh? Have you booked me another surprise?"
"No, I'm afraid we're out of them."
She chuckled, locking her tablet and putting it aside. She watched as he fussed in the top drawer of the dresser then almost had heart failure when he produced a small black box. 'Oh, fuck?' Was all that went through her head, 'Don't do this…'
She had no choice but to open it, and she carefully put her wine glass on the bedside table keenly aware of Charles' nerves as he sat on the bed by her legs watching her.
"If they're wrong…" He said and she hung onto the word 'they're' like a life raft. "…I won't mind if you change them, I'm not always good at picking."
She eased open the box and found a small pair of dangling pearl earrings.
She let out a ragged breath, 'thank god.' She'd not even told her colleagues at work she was dating, let alone contemplate getting married again, if she ever would.
"Do you like them?" He asked nervously and she was aware of how her silence must have seemed.
"Charles, they're beautiful, really, just what I would have picked, you chose well…"
"Don't say you can't accept them," he interrupted. "I want you to have them, a reminder of how wonderful this trip has been, thanks to you choosing it."
"Well, and you booking special treats." She lifted one of the earrings out of the box and held it to her ear, "Good?"
"Beautiful." She put the box aside and leant forward to kiss him thanks, resting her hand heavily on his shoulder.
"They really are a lovely gift, you're very kind."
"Elsie…" He breathed her name, his heart pounding in anticipation, his brain searching through his vocabulary for options.
She smiled warmly, and it took him a moment to realise she was unfastening the buttons on his shirt. "Yes, Charles?"
Then her mouth was on his chest, her tongue circling his nipple and his brain wouldn't work. She had him naked within seconds and they were tangled together in the bedsheets kissing.
She pulled back after long minutes and got out of bed, tripping over his shoes as she went to turn the lights off. She opened the drapes and let in the moonlight and, remembering his request from the previous night, made sure she stood at the foot of the bed as she drew her nightgown up and over her head, taking her time to lay it neatly over a chair, making sure he was transfixed by every movement.
"Els," he said again as she crawled up the bed to him, running her hands along his legs, over his erection, up his stomach. His eyes were closed, he felt the soft weight of her body as she sat in his lap and his hands went instinctively to her legs, drawing them around his waist. "Elsie, I…"
"Shh," her fingertips were on his mouth and then dipping inside; he sucked on her index finger, enjoying the sensation of that compared to what her hips were doing as she moved against him.
She reached between them, lifting herself up before delicately taking him inside her. Their stifled moans filled the room as they became one again and he had the wondrous feeling of flying as she moved on top of him.
She leant forward, their mouths meeting in searing yet delicate kisses. This wasn't like the previous night, this was slow and deep, and somehow – it seemed to him – so very emotional. His heart was hers, entirely, and his body was showing her that.
As much as he enjoyed her being on top he wanted to prove the depth of his feelings and gently manoeuvred them back, lying her down so he could move above her, sliding deep inside her, so slowly, his face so close to hers he could feel her breath on his skin, her eyelashes brushing his cheek.
He thought of all he'd seen with her, all he'd felt that day, that moment at the water fountain – that joyous moment of complete realisation. He wanted to spend his life with her. Only her. Always.
She was panting his name, wrapping her legs high around his hips to drive him into her, yet he maintained that slow, steady rhythm, giving her just enough, feeling her body tighten around his.
She reached for his hands where they lay on the pillow beside her head and they locked fingers, palm-to-palm, gripping onto each other as the sweetly intense orgasm built.
It seemed to her that every fibre in her body was on fire, flooded with him, filled with him.
She frantically moved to meet his mouth, lifting her head to his, their lips stroking and caressing and then she felt extreme heat swim from her stomach to between her legs, somewhere deep inside. It washed through her, down her legs until they felt weak, along her arms like pins-and-needles and she called his name repeatedly as she bucked against him, unable to stop, it felt like it went on for a lifetime.
When she'd come down from her high she realised his face was pressed against her chest, his mouth on her breasts, and their hands still locked together – so tight now as if stuck in that position. She was overwhelmed, and it wasn't often she felt like that, and she couldn't quite figure out why – she was loathe to admit it to herself, but really when she thought about it later, it was the best orgasm she'd ever had. The most intense. The kind people in films speak about that she always doubted existed.
Shaking she untangled her hands from his, stretched her fingers and felt him do the same, he kissed her neck, shifted from on top of her body to the side of her and she turned over, her back to his chest. There's a current of electricity still passing through their bodies and she feels that pleasure resurfacing deep inside every time his lips touch her neck.
In time his head stills on the pillow behind hers and his arm rests over her waist. Her body is languid and she finds she can't keep her eyes open any longer.
His breathing has settled, deep and even by her ear, and his fingers have stopped stroking her skin. She rests her hand on top of his, happy to have him holding her, and she lets her mind go, allowing sleep to take over.
In the still, silence of the room the sound of the ocean can be heard. Relentless and lulling. And their breathing – equally relentless and lulling. And whilst holding her to him, whilst filled with nothing more than pure joy, Charles whispers, "I love you." It's the first time he's said it to anybody in his entire life, and then he falls to sleep - blissful, at peace.
Beside him, Elsie catches her breath and her eyes fly open. Suddenly she doesn't find sleep so easy anymore.
Well, I feel like I should include dramatic music here. I'm flying home tomorrow (sad face) which means the next update may be later depending when I get Internet coverage again. But it also means I have a good 7 hours of writing time ahead of me. Thank you again for all the lovely, supportive reviews - it's so nice to feel people are really engaging with my interpretation of the characters and this alternate universe. And thanks for all the tumblr love too! X