Temperature and traffic
During the London rush hour, it can take much longer to get anywhere. What is normally a ten minute car journey can take an hour and God help you if you want to cross the city. Driving the best he could, Stephen could make it from one side of the city to another in 30 minutes, 45 tops. But now he had hit the rush hour. He had been driving for an hour and was only half way home. He had contemplated putting the sirens on to get through faster but that might bring out any more police nearby and he couldn't exactly tell them that there wasn't an emergency other than he wanted to get home. At yet another red light, he let his head fall back against the seat. They had had a heatwave that summer and it was finally tapering off. But today was boiling and Stephen thought he was going to melt. He wasn't used to hot weather. Even with the window open, it was too hot. There was no breeze to speak of. To top it off, the heat was making his new scar itch and he desperately wanted to bathe in cold water just to make it stop.
He thought wearily of his upcoming trip to Louisiana. He had promised Rory he would come and see her family with her. And he wanted to go, he really did. But he had never flown before so that was a little unnerving and he wasn't sure if he'd survive the heat. If today was too hot, Louisiana might well kill him. He had felt Louisiana heat before, in the underworld, but he wasn't sure how that could compare with this world. Rory had said it was pretty spot on. That had made him groan. He took a little solace in the fact that they were going mid November and Rory said that it was like England; cooler in the winter. But he had looked that up. A November day in Louisiana could still reach Celsius temperatures in the mid 20s. A cold day in Louisiana was a hot day in England. It really was no wonder that Rory struggled with the English cold. And it really was no wonder that she had never seen snow until she came to England. He groaned as he thought about the heat and drummed his fingers on the wheel. All he wanted to do was get home, kiss his wife and collapse in a heap. Maybe he would drag himself into a cold shower. Yes. That sounded good. He'd invite Rory. A cold shower with his wife. Yes. That sounded very good. Now, if he could just get home at some point that evening, that would be marvellous.
It took another hours worth of driving to get back to Goodwin's Court. By the time he had typed in the number, walked upstairs and went through the front door, it was 7pm. He walked through into the living room and threw his keys down on the table. "Rory?" He called her name, loud enough to be heard through the whole flat. He sat down on the couch and let his head fall back. He waited for an answer but none came. He called again. "Rory?"
Her voice was merry. "In the bathroom!"
He rubbed his eyes and stood, walking down the corridor to the bathroom door. He knocked. "Can I come in?"
He heard her giggling on the other side of the door. "Of course!"
He opened the door and smiled warmly. Rory sat in the bath, bubbles surrounding her. "Hey," she said.
"Hey, sweetheart."
"You're in quite late."
"Traffic."
"You look tired."
"I've had a long day. And the temperature out there is unbearable."
She chuckled. "God help you in Louisiana."
"Eurgh, don't even mention it." He smiled at her before opening the shower cubicle. "What I need is a cold shower."
"Don't bother. Just jump in here with me. The waters quite cool now. It's really nice. And there's still plenty of bubbles." She splashed playfully.
He looked over his shoulder and smiled at her, closing the shower cubicle as he did. "Actually, that sounds wonderful."
He peeled off his uniform, very aware that Rory was smirking as he undressed himself. He took his shoes and socks off first, then his trousers, and his shirt last. Rory's smirk fell into a sad look as she saw the scar he now bore on the side of his abdomen. He glanced down at it before looking aback to her. "Sweetheart?"
"Hmmm?" She turned her attention back to him.
"Are you ok?"
"Yeah..." She smiled at him. "Yeah." Her smirk returned. "Get in here."
He chuckled. "Avec plaisir, ma cherie."
"I forgot you spoke French."
He pulled off his boxers and gently lay down his glasses before he stepped into the bathtub opposite Rory.
"I didn't know you ever knew I could."
"It was on your intake form. Also, you could always pronounce Deveaux better than I could."
He chuckled as he slid down into the bubbles, sighing happily at the cold water. "I think I'll need to take a lot of cold showers in Louisiana just to regulate my temperature."
"I may join you." She winked at him and he smiled at her.
"I would like that very much, my love."
They sat, gazing at each other happily, for a few minutes before Rory playfully ran her foot over his chest. "Do you remember the last bubble bath we had together?"
He grinned as he stroked her leg. "Our wedding night. We had champagne as well."
"Do you remember what we did when we finished our champagne?"
"I think it was something like this." He leant forward as she did and they met halfway, lips coming together in a gentle kiss. He ran his tongue along her bottom lip and she parted her lips, sighing into his mouth as his tongue slipped into hers. She scooted herself forward and repositioned herself so that she was straddling him. He wrapped his arms around her middle as she wrapped hers around his neck. She spoke breathlessly. "It was something exactly like this."
He laughed softly before kissing her again, small kisses that came one after another. He brought one hand to her face to gently tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. He spoke against her lips. "You don't mind having sex in cold water do you? Because, I gotta tell you, I'm very comfortable right now."
Her voice was low and lustful, and she grinned darkly as she ran one hand into his hair. "Not even a little bit."