Chapter 20
The next morning, when she tried to roll onto her side, Kate awakened by the pain in her ribs bruised from the incident the previous night.
She moaned and as she did, Dylan woke up too.
"Hey, good morning, sweetie", he greeted her.
Kate smiled faintly, "Good morning darling, but I'm not really feeling well. My whole body aches. And you, how do you feel?"
"Hmm, I think it's not over yet. No games today, sweetie", he mumbled making a face.
"Maybe,…maybe a good shower will work a miracle", she said.
"There are towels on the shelf in the bathroom. Unfortunately, I don't have a ladies' shower gel", he said.
"Don't worry buddy, I'll manage", she said, patting him on the shoulder.
"I'll make you some breakfast. Do you like pancakes?"
"Yes, but uh… I don't have the ingredients here to make them", he replied in an embarrassed tone.
"I brought some. I thought it might be useful, didn't I?", she replied with a cheeky grin.
He shook his head, "you're incorrigible!".
She took underwear from her bag and headed for the bathroom.
After the shower, Kate checked her dress in satisfaction when she saw that the stains were gone. She unhooked it from the washing line, but her bra was snagged on the back of the dress and fell to the floor.
"Shit!"
She picked it up and noticed it was dirty again. "Damn! Dylan, have you ever heard of cleaning the garage floor?", she cursed and suddenly realised that she was also standing barefoot in the dust. She closed her eyes and sighed.
Is it also going to be Disaster Day Two? My bra is good for the dirty laundry basket again and I can also wash my feet.
In the bedroom she pulled on the dress and patted his shoulder, "It's your turn".
In the kitchen she took the ingredients out of her bag and started to make the dough. She heated the fat and wanted to take the plates.
The mixing bowl stood in front of her on the kitchen counter and the cupboard with the crockery was above it.
Damn, why is it always so high? My dishes are in the lowest cupboard. That's the problem with tall ones! They don't think about short people.
She tiptoed to take the plates, but unfortunately she hit the sugar bowl that fell into the pancake dough and splashed her from head to toe.
"SHIT!", she exclaimed.
She put the dishes down, as the dough dripped from her face.
"DAMN! Damn, damn!", she cursed when she saw her dress full of dough.
Dylan poked his head into the kitchen. He had heard unusual sounds and wanted to know what was going on. He had to leave the bathroom in a hurry as he was only wearing a towel around his waist. "What happened?"
Kate turned to him, "This!", she said angrily.
He started laughing, "Honey, the dough is intended to land in the frying pan, not on you!"
"Oooh! That's really not funny!", she replied, looking daggers at him.
"It's just an observation", he said deadpan.
"Come here, I'll help you", he said, putting his hands out.
"What are you going to do?", Kate asked hesitantly.
"Helping you take off your dress".
"I…uh…", she stuttered.
"What do you mean?", he asked, grabbing the hem of her dress.
"Maybe….it's…I….uh…", Kate stuttered again.
"We have to put it back in the washing machine. You can't walk around like that", he said, pulling the dress over her head.
"Ouch!", he said when he saw her bare chest.
"My bra fell on the floor and is dirty again. You have to clean your garage, buddy!"
"I see…uh… now what?", he mumbled holding the dress and staring at Kate.
"Maybe you could give me back your blue shirt back, please?", she asked with wry smile.
"Yeah, of course! I'll get it for you. Don't move", he answered and he left the kitchen.
"Was that supposed to be funny?", she grumbled.
It is now officially Disaster Day Two!
Moments later he was back with the shirt.
Kate wanted to take it, but he put it aside, "Ho! I have to do this first. You're sticky", he said.
Kate touched her face and saw dough on her fingers, "Shit! I just had a shower! Now, I can start over!"
He took a tissue and started to clean her face, but suddenly he chuckled.
"What?", Kate asked.
"Look at us. We're half naked and I'm cleaning your face", he said.
Kate sighed, "If I tell Nikki that, she'll die laughing. This can only happen to me!"
She looked at his towel and at herself, "Hmm, we've been a lot better already", she mumbled.
He lowered his head and she lifted her face to kiss him. Kate put her hand on his chest.
"You're wet!"
"I was having a shower and heard you curse. So, I came right away to see what was going on", he said.
"Dry off before you catch a cold", she said.
"Here, in the tropics?"
"With me, you'll never know", she smirked, grabbing the shirt and pulled it over her head.
"Uhm, what do I do with this?", he asked, holding the dress.
"I'll put it back in the washing machine", she said.
Later.
"They are delicious. Thank you", he said before taking another bite of pancake.
"With pleasure. Do you feel a little better now?", she asked.
He waggled with his hand "It's still a bit sore, but I'll manage. How about you?"
"I feel like I went under a freight train. I have a bump on my head and bruises all over", Kate replied, putting one leg on the chair to show a big bruise.
"Nice".
"WHAT? Do you like the bruises?", she exclaimed indignantly.
"No, you silly. Your leg! Do you have bruises on the other leg?", he asked deadpan.
"Yeah, here", she said. She stood up, raised the shirt and showed another on the upper part of her thigh.
"Very nice", he said with a grin and then she realised that he set up her.
"Oh, you bugger!", she said, patting him on the shoulder.
"Hmm, it certainly wasn't our best performance", he said with a grin.
"No, surely not!"
"Hmm, darling, you're still going to have to do something for me", she asked.
"And it is?"
"You're going to have to get spare clothes and underwear from my house".
"Okay and where do I find them?"
"Darling, don't be daft! You've been there before and I didn't change anything".
He chuckled, "Yeah, okay".
After breakfast he took her keys and left. Kate wandered around the house curious about how her boyfriend lived.
Well, I'm pleased. He's tidier than I thought. Everything has its place and I don't see any rubbish or dust. Although it's spartan, it's definitely a man's house. Hmm, he has style.
She made the bed, washed the dishes and suddenly slapped her forehead.
Shit! I forgot to tell him what kind of clothes I wanted. For sure he'll inspect my wardrobe to pick the shortest or the most low-cut thing I have. It'll be great with these damn bruises everywhere. Jeez, what a start of relationship!
Quite annoyed she plopped down on his couch and waited.
Ten minutes later, she heard the front door open.
"Hey honey, I got something for you", he said.
"Yeah!", she replied, standing up.
I hold my breath…
He entered the living room with a sport bag she recognised as her own.
"I found something for you and you must be adorable in it", he said with a huge smile, putting the bag on the table. He took a pair of jeans from the bag that she recognised as her favourite one and a denim shirt.
"You did hide this one well, right underneath the pile", he said with a wink.
"Gosh! I forgot this one", Kate said, holding the shirt in front of her.
"And I brought these. I thought they could match perfectly with it", he said, setting a pair of block heel mules.
Kate couldn't hide her smile, "You had to dig deep, because it was tucked away in my wardrobe, but it's okay. It's a good choice, thank you", she said.
He grinned at her, "Surely you thought I was going to bring you the shortest, sexiest piece of clothing in your wardrobe, didn't you?"
She looked down, "Did you find it?"
His smile widened, "Of course I did, that denim miniskirt. One day I would like you to wear it".
Kate blushed and bit her lip.
I bought it to go to Tahiti, but it never came true.
He chuckled and kissed her on the forehead, "You keep surprising me McGregor!"
"How about a drink to celebrate the start of our relationship?"
"Darling, I'd love to, but it's a bit dangerous, isn't it? What if someone sees us? We're on the same ship", she said.
"Therefore, we can go to Trinity Beach. It's not too far, but far enough. What do you think?"
She nodded, "Sounds good to me. Give me a minute. I'll be right back", Kate said taking the clothes and underwear.
A few minutes later, she was back.
"Wow!", he said looking at her.
She patted his chest, "Let's go before it gets too hot to walk".
End of Flashback
Maddie plopped down on the sand again and roared with laughter, holding her belly. "Oh mum, no. Are you kidding me, right? Did that really happen?"
"Yes", Kate simply said.
"It must be a joke. It's something for a soap opera. Oh my God! At the ultimate moment, he trips over a cushion and screw up a steamy sexual adventure", Maddie said, wiping tears from her cheeks.
"Maddie! A steamy sexual adventure? Watch your syntax", Kate replied, rolling her eyes.
"Mum, come on, what else were you going to do? Busy looking at his stamp collection?", Maddie grinned.
"Uh…well…..you know", Kate mumbled.
"But, we decided that our relationship would start from that moment. Officially, we were a couple", Kate said proudly.
"Yeah, but how! And I bet no one believed you, did they? I guess that Aunt Nikki and Uncle Pete didn't have that kind of trouble", Maddie said.
Kate frowned, "No! And I wish they had!"
To be continued