Rachel smirked, there it was, her name. she could never get bored of this man; it was so easy to be happy around Eddie Lawson. "I tell you what though, isn't he boring."

CHAPTER 3

She couldn't stop herself even if she tried. The laughter escaped her lungs so quickly and fiercely it cut through the awkwardness like a knife. In that second her heart leaped; she could feel it in the back of her throat, on the corners of her lips as her mouth pushed upwards. She was smiling. Properly smiling; hitting her eyes and the cherry of her cheeks.

Rachel had no clue how the next 24 hours were going to plan out and if she was being completely honest with herself, she didn't really care. For the first time in 8 years, she was where she wanted to be, with the one person she wanted to be there with more than anyone else in the world. Well, maybe one other person, but that was different.

"Yeh, he's not the best, is he?" still laughing Rachel took the opportunity to look at the man in front of her; he hadn't changed at all. Maybe a few extra lines around his eyes, and maybe a few more grey hairs but to Rachel everything about Eddie Lawson was just perfect. Besides, she was no spring chicken herself and the last 8 years of her life had taken a major toll on her happiness, that alone can make a person look 10 years older. She had changed a lot since they had last saw each other last, standing outside their knocked down school, with what felt like their whole world literally falling down around them. She wasn't the same woman he once knew. This Rachel, the one standing in front of him had been beaten down, told she was not good enough, that her place was at home washing dishes and ironing clothes, all while her husband would be out all hours of the day and night with not even an explanation when she dared ask where he had been.

"So, where were you going?" Eddie's question made Rachel stop, she knew where she was going. Well, she knew where she was trying to get to at least, she just couldn't make her feet move; there was no way she could tell Eddie that. She also couldn't tell him that when she saw him again her whole world had come crashing down around her and the only option she had was to run. To get away from the man who had held her heart for a whole decade, to run from the man who, even after all this time still had the ability to make her lose control in the most beautiful way; in a way she had never felt freer. Because if she didn't leave, everything she had built for herself outside those hotel walls would have been for nothing. All that time spent worrying, all those sleepless nights and stressed mornings, just so she could get to where she is now, she would lose it all. Everything! It would all be gone.

But would that be a bad thing? Really?

" I erm. I needed to get some air." 'That will do' Rachel thought to herself, a quick, easy simple answer leaving no room for questioning. "That man nearly made me fall asleep in there."

She noticed him chuckle, his shoulders move slightly as he stepped forward, balancing himself. "Yeh, i noticed that little doodle. Is that a new style of teaching i don't know about?" He smirked. He actually smirked at her. 'You cheeky little... Of course you'd notice.' Rachel couldn't help but return the expression, raising her eyebrow higher the more she smirked. "Hmm, watching me, were you?" oh gosh, and there it was, those butterflies that would rise every time she would catch Eddie looking at her all those years ago. They were still there, still fluttering around, making her belly flipflop, making her begin to lose control of her senses all over again.

The sense of intoxication ran through Rachel's veins the more she scanned her old deputies face. Looking for anything, any type of tell-tale sign that this wasn't one-sided. That this feeling that was taking over every part of her being was reciprocated by the man standing Infront of her.

She had to know! Know that despite everything; their past and their present, that being there, together, at the same time was the right thing to do. She couldn't go any further if there was any indication from the man she loved that this wasn't a good idea. She had a whole life outside those old brick walls, one she had worked hard to keep together since being married. Any flutter of the wrong emotion on Eddies face and that would be it, Rachel would be in her car driving away as quickly as possible in order to not shatter her heart any more than it already was.

Watching Eddie as he spoke, Rachel noticed a sparkle leap into his eyes, how his hands smoothly slid into his jean pockets, the repositioning of his feet, bringing him inches closer to her. She could still read him, like a book matter of fact. Rachel may not have seen Eddie in a very long 8 years, but she still knew everything about him. Every expression, every movement, every habit. She knew them all. He was happy, comfortable; he wanted to be there, with her, stood at the bottom of the steps of a ridiculous hotel, holding a silly conference miles away from home in the middle of nowhere.

Eddie leant forward to whisper softly to her " I saw you straight away," and it was then that Rachel realised she couldn't breathe properly, her nose tingled, her fingers itched and for the first time since she had saw Eddie half an hour ago, she felt the urge to move her feet, it may have been to step closer to the addictive man standing in front of her, but she finally had control over them none the less.

It took everything in Rachel's power to not take those final steps; to be completely surrounded by Eddie Lawson. She knew she couldn't, even for her that was too fast. She was finally coming to her senses and in the best way possible.

Looking up at the gentle giant, Rachel smiled as she pulled her handbag further up her shoulder, tucking her hair behind her ear before putting her hand in her back pocket. It was like her subconscious knew that however out of control she was feeling, in this one moment she had never felt more in control in her life. Rachel knew that she would be spending the next 24 hours in this hotel, she also knew that Eddie would be staying there too, and that when it came to tomorrow's seminars, the only thought that would be running through her mind would be Eddie Lawson

She had no clue how she would deal with the end of those 24 hours, no idea how she would be able to get into her car alone and drive all the way back to Manchester, back to her unhappy life after spending a day and a half with the man who completed her whole heartedly. At that moment Rachel didn't care, she wasn't ready to think about leaving Eddie at the hotel tomorrow and she wasn't prepared to ruin the rest of the time she had left with him worrying about something that was inevitable, something she couldn't control. She would have to leave Eddie and she would have to go home, but until then she had time.

Smiling, Rachel extended her arm, gently touching the sleeve of Eddie's jacket. "Do you fancy getting a drink?" a small tilt of the head towards the hotel reiterating her question. "I could do with one after listening to that man for two hours."

She noticed the small nod of the head as Eddie smiled at her, watching him step to the side and stretch out his arm, guiding the way for the woman who could make his head spin a mile a minute and cause his heart bounce around inside his chest.

"After you, Ms. Mason, guide the way."

...

Hi everyone! Thank you for reading the next chapter! Don't worry! I do know that Rachel is being referred to as Ms. Mason even though so is married. Its intentional 😊 all will be revealed real soon. After this chapter we really are going to dive into the story of Eddie and Rachel.