“Kai told me,” he replies with a smile.
We grab a coffee each, one mocha for me, and a caramel latte for Teddy. We head out the doors and we’re met with a wonderful sight. The Eden Project is a massive crater in the ground, with a beautiful garden of gorgeous plants that are all different shapes and colours. At the very bottom, are these massive glass domes, that house different biomes. There are hundreds of people walking around, admiring the flowers. I smile, then face my boyfriend.
“Thanks for taking me out today, especially to here. The last time I was here was with Mum,” I tell him without my smiling fading.
“I wish I could have met her, to thank her.”
“Why?” I laugh, scrunching my face a little.
“Because she raised the wonderful person I now get to call my boyfriend,” he says and I instantly melt. I think Mum would have liked Teddy. It’s times like this I wish she was still alive. I wish I could have introduced them.
After a dayof exploring the glorious gardens and biomes, we decide to sit down for a dinner in the Mediterranean biome. The heat is fake, made to replicate an actual place in the Mediterranean. I can’t help but feel like I’m abroad though. The building housing the kitchen and bar definitelylookforeign. It’s as if we’ve got on a plane to get here when in reality, we’re still in Cornwall.
We order some white wine and clink our glasses together.
I enjoy Teddy’s company, he makes me feel comfortable and safe. It feels natural. I’m falling for him faster than a bullet train. But this is a train I never want to get off of.
“This place is gorgeous. It almost feels like another world,” Teddy begins as he sips on his wine. “How often did you come here with your Mum?” he asks, placing his glass down on the wooden table.
“We went multiple times a week. She always thought this place was magical,” I explain dreamily. It’s a little bittersweet walking around the biomes without her. I know she’s somewhere in the universe watching over me.
Is she happy with what she sees? I hope she is. I hope I’m making her proud. All she ever wanted was for me to be happy, it was the most important thing to her.
“I suppose in a way it is magical,” Teddy replies, taking another drink of his wine. His arms are tanned like we’ve been abroad for a couple of weeks. I wonder if one day we could travel together? I can imagine the two of us setting off for places we’ve never seen before. I’d like to visit Amsterdam for the beautiful streets and coffee shops. Or the Italian Riviera for the gorgeoustowns and good food. Or even New York at Christmas. I want to do all that and more with Teddy. I can see it fresh in my brain and it makes me explode with happiness. When I’m with Teddy, I feel like the muscles in my face are holding me back from putting on a smile wide enough to show how happy I really am.
“How do you feel about travelling the world?”
“What, me and you?” he says, pointing between us. I nod as he continues. “I’ve always wanted to travel, but I never wanted to do it alone. I think it would get pretty lonely.”
“Yeah I guess it would, although, I guess some people just like their own company,” I say, sipping on my wine some more. I swirl it around as Teddy comes out with a profound thought.
“I feel like I’m by myself when I’m with you. Like, you know the calmness that comes with being on your own, the no worries about being social and normal? I feel like that with you. I don’t know if that makes any sense.” I nod quickly.
“No, I understand. Like, you feel at ease with me?” I assume, to which Teddy nods. “Definitely. I surrounded myself with books because they allow you to shut off from the world. I get really tired being around people all day. But with you, I don’t feel like that,” he explains as a fire burns inside me I can’t contain. I feel my cheeks go red.
“I feel that way around you, too,” I tell him, gripping my wine glass and leaning forward in my chair to get closer to him.
“But yeah, I would love to travel the world with you. Any excuse to spend more time with my favourite boy,” he grins as he clinks my glass and downs the rest of his glass.
“I mean, we only have forever to do that,” I tell him as he puts his glass down.
“Forever, eh?” he says, a thousand words hidden within the grin he gives me. I down the rest of my wine.
“Another?” he asks.
“We have no where else to be, do we? Let’s get a bottle.”
“Or two?” he proposes.
It’sa wonder how on earth we manage to get home. I stumble through Teddy’s gate, it opens with a bang, which alerts literally everyone in the flat. Elijah comes out first with the worst shit-eating grin I’ve ever seen and it makes me want to strangle him.
“Guys, you didn’t! No way. Are you two drunk?” He asks us. We stumble towards him, laughing hysterically.
“We misjudged… a few things. But me and my boyfriend are allowed to have fun once in a while,” Teddy says, hiccuping throughout the sentence. I only thought people hiccuped when they were drunk in TV Shows. Turns out it’s another one of Teddy’s quirks.
“I didn’t even know they had a bar at the Eden Project,” Elijah notes, but we ignore him and look into each other’s eyes.
“You know how much I like you? Like your fucking awesome Noah and I’m just head over heels for you and like you’re so cool. Sometimes I think I don’t deserve someone as good as you,” Teddy slurs, going in for a cuddle.
