I open my eyes the next morning to find the bedroom to no longer be so incredibly dark like it was last night, but instead I can see almost everything because of the shades not being drawn over the window flooded with sunlight anymore. I hear a noise and I look up to see Paul sleeping a few inches away from me and he makes a noise again; oh great he's the kind who snores. How did I not notice this before? I yawn and when I move to get comfy I realize that his arm is around my waist and I find his warm hand to be planted at the bottom of my back. I smile to myself and lay my head back down on the pillow and I nervously snuggle up to Paul with my head nuzzled against his warm chest. I close my eyes and the loud noise of booming voices and then footsteps meet my ears. I was just starting to drift off to sleep again when a loud knock on Paul's bedroom door wakes me and I hear Paul groan and he stirs next to me.
"Mm." he mumbles, still asleep as the knocking doesn't cease but instead becomes louder and then Paul really wakes up with a big yawn.
"What'd ya want? We're trying to sleep." he calls as I keep my eyes closed and finally the knocking quits.
"It's almost time we leave for the studio, Paulie, and doesn't Courtney work at the diner today?" John's sharp voice meets us from the other side of the door.
"Oh no." I mumble into his soft t shirt and I feel Paul's hand move higher on my back to choose a spot to rest on.
"Yeah yeah, we're up now go on!"
"You're welcome for the wake up call, you know!" John calls back and Paul groans before letting his head fall back onto the long pillow as I have my eyes open now.
I yawn and move my head to snuggle more into him and I feel his long legs move next to mine, "Court, we should probably get up."
"Do we have to?"
"Unfortunately yeah or else you'll be getting fired and I'm going to be lectured by my manager if I don't show up." he responds and I sigh and I close my eyes.
"Come on, darling, wakey wakey. It's time for work." he comments with his groggy voice. As if I don't find his British accent sexy enough now the attractiveness of his voice is at another whole level.
"I don't like work."
He chuckles softly and his fingers are soon stroking my cheek, "I know you don't and neither do I sometimes, but we don't really have a choice about going." he comments and my eyes leave their darkness to fall upon his round face and I notice his five o'clock shadow that just adds to how handsome he is.
"Well good morning."
"Don't push it." I reply and he laughs and I move away from his heated body that was warming mine to wiggle out of his bed and I grab a red skirt and a short sleeved white t shirt to wear to work as I drag my feet to the bathroom. I hate mornings, can't you tell?
I change out of my wrinkled pajamas as I'm still half of the way asleep and I toss my dirty clothes into the laundry hamper where plenty of guys clothes already are. I find a towel and I lock bathroom door before I turn on the water to the shower and I step in to take a quick in.
"Come on, chop chop! Lets get going!" Paul insists when I walk into the kitchen with my wet hair up in a bun.
"But what about breakfast?" I reply with a puzzled look as Paul leans against the kitchen's doorway now dressed in a sharp but causal outfit of a blue button-down and black dress pants.
"I reckoned that we could get something at the diner for brekky. Would that be alright with you?" he suggests and I nod my head slowly even though I don't want to go back there. I wonder if he remembers me saying that.
After Paul parked at the curb we walk in and he politely holds the door open as he wears some shades as an attempt to hide himself from fans. I wonder how great it'll go.
"Courtney doll, you don't work another hour. Why are you here so early, love?" Pearl who steps out from behind the counter with her red apron on in a way greets.
"We thought we'd have some breakfast here."
"Oh, it'd be my pleasure to seat you and get you menus. Come along then." she replies with a toothy smile showing her white teeth and we follow after with Paul whistling next to me. We're led to a booth where we sit across from each other.
Pearl sets down a menu in front of us both and I pick it up to scan through it, "Now can I get either of you a cup of coffee or tea?"
"Yeah, I'll have tea, thanks." Paul responds without looking up from the menu he stares down at as he still wears the shades.
"I'll have coffee." I respond and she jots that down onto the pad of paper she holds securely in her hand and she walks off after saying she'll be back in a minute with them.
I exhale my breath slowly as my eyes flit back and forth to read the choices of meals they have. I decide on the French Toast meal with a side of sausage links and I set aside my menu and Pearl returns with our hot beverages. I pull the little jar of sugar over to add a few spoonfuls into it as well as some milk from the little jug sitting near the window next to the glass bottle of ketchup and the salt and pepper shakers. I dump a little more sugar into the steaming coffee that emits a hot wave up towards me.
"Do you got enough sugar?" Paul asks and I lift my eyes to see his light pair no longer hidden by the glasses as the diner is rather empty, a pair that are unmistakable to be sitting on me.
"I can't drink it if it doesn't have enough." I comment and he nods with a small smile and glances down to his tea that is in the same mug as me; plain white with a simple handle as well as design.
I look over his black hair that falls over his pale forehead. I look to his dark eyelashes that almost touch his milky skin as he peers into his tea he stirs with the silver spoon. Before I get the chance to admire more of his features for what must be the thousandth time he glances up to catch me looking at him and I catch him grinning before I look away with flushed cheeks. They don't call him The Cute Beatle for nothing.
"Staring at me handsome face, are ya?" he asks and I look away from the empty stretch of counter where I would usually find old men nursing a cup of black coffee as well as lonely teenagers cradling a chocolate milkshake.
"I'm sure you'd be glad to hear it if I said yes to that."
He smirks and shakes his round head and he raises his tea to his pointed lips to drink from the mug. One that must be an exact replica of the two I dropped and broke the last time I was here; when the whole incident with Robbie occurred. I almost shudder at the thought of having to face him again, and the frightening possibility that what happened the last time may just occur again. My head snaps to the door when I hear the bell of the door signaling the arrival of a customer and I notice the man coming in having a medium build with dark hair slicked back; he resembles Robbie quite a lot. I look away back to the table that separates Paul and I.
"You know, I highly doubt Robbie will still be working here. You aren't worrying about that, are you?" Paul interrupts our silence as the jukebox in the back corner plays a current tune that doesn't ring a bell for me. I tear my gaze away from the table to make eye contact with the kind fellow.
"No." I lie and I see him purse his lips as his hands are cupped around the ivory mug.
"You're an awfully bad liar, do you know that?" he remarks and I smile for a second until I think of the way Robbie forcefully pushed me up against the wall and how fear filled my veins and every inch of my body with its paralysis.
I see Paul's small smirk fade after I didn't respond with a witty line or grin at his comment, "It's alright. Nothing is going to happen."
"But what if something does?" I can even hear the edge to my voice, one that is doing a bad job of hiding the anxiety I'm feeling right this moment.
"Alright, loves. Now that you've had some time to think about your options, have you decided on what you'll be getting this morning or should I give you some more time?" Pearl walks up before Paul could say anything and his eyes that aren't so confident and comfortable as they were a few moments ago look up to the head waitress; the manger of this place.
"I reckon that we're ready to order," Paul answers and he grabs his menu to find his choice of meal again. "Uh I'm going with the omelette meal with the side of hash browns and bacon."
She asks him all what he wants in his omelette and he answers after pondering the thought for a moment as it feels as if my thoughts are attempting to swallow me.
"Excuse me, love?" Pearl asks me as I'm almost far away somewhere else.
"Court, time to order." Paul's voice really pulls me out of it and I look to see his high eyebrows dipped in a puzzled expression and Pearl gazing at me with her eyes accentuated with pastel eyeshadow reaching up to her drawn on eyebrows.
"I'm sorry. I'll um have the French Toast meal with the sausage links, please." I comment after I looked away from their waiting expressions and I watch her write that down. She takes our menus and walks off to give the ticket to the chef; I wonder if that chef is Robbie.
"...can tell me, you know." Paul comments and I look away from the light brown infinity of my coffee to his concerned look.
"Did you even hear a word of what I just said to you?" he inquires, not in an angry tone.
I shake my head first before using my words like the big girl I am, "No, sorry." I respond and he glances to the window as a girl on a red bicycle passes by before returning his attention to me in front of him.
"I was wondering what you're thinking. You can trust me, I hope you know that. Yeah I know that we haven't known each other hardly all that long, but still. I know that it's got to do with Robbie and you going back to work here today; actually shortly," he repeats for me. "Tell me, please."
"I just don't want to see him."
"Well I get that. That isn't hard to figure out," he takes a short pause. "He isn't going to hurt you again, you know." he concludes as I look into his deep eyes that I just want to lose myself in for a little while so I don't have to deal with the aspects of my life right now and the things I know that I'll have to face.
"You don't know that. I don't even know that."
"Pearl probably fired him!" he exclaims a little too loud and he looks around and sighs before glancing back over in my direction.
"What I'm trying to say, Court, is that you don't have to do this if you don't want to. Yeah he could've been kicked out of here and you may never see him again, but it's not like you have to keep the job you have here. Pearl seems like a quite understanding lady," we both look over to the cheery waitress filling an old guy's cup of coffee as both of their smiling lips move. "But you're not bound by a bloody contract to stay here and wait tables or pour coffee to strangers you don't even know!"
"Wouldn't that look bad if I just quit?" I respond and he shrugs his shoulder, but then shakes his head.
"Not with what happened, 'cause then it'd be plenty reasonable, I reckon." he comments and I groan at not getting a real clear answer and I cross my arms and lay my head on them that rest on the table.
"Court," his inviting voice meets my ears and I sigh and I lift my head to rest my chin on my laid out arms. I see his sorry look, "I don't want to seem like some coward. Not this time." I tell him softly and he seems to understand my words.
AN: Thoughts? Do you like the direction the story is going in? I haven't heard from you guys on this story for awhile so I'd love to hear some comments from you readers on it to tell me what you think of it and if you have any suggestions or that kind of thing!