She wasn’t sure what he did to fill his days whilst she was working but, honestly, she didn’t care as long as he stayed.
Opening the front door the now familiar smell of a home cooked meal wafted down the hallway to greet her. It was a revelation how easily she had adjusted to this cohabiting lark. Disappointment hit her when he didn’t rush out to meet her. It was his way ofwelcoming her home everyday – hug, kiss and a glass of wine while he finished dishing out their meal. Wandering further into the flat she peeked around the lounge door. She was rewarded with the sight of her man sprawled out on the sofa, a bottle of beer in the hand that was resting on the floor. Sneaking over to surprise him she hadn’t realised he was asleep until she heard the gentle snoring. Kneeling beside him she took in every inch of his face before she gave him a gentle kiss on the lips.
“Hey, babe.” Smiling against her mouth he spoke through the kiss.
“Hey, lightweight! So this is what you do all day whilst I slave to keep a roof over our heads!” Teasing him she giggled while he tickled her ribs. “So what’re you feeding me tonight? I am starving.”
“Lemon chicken. Not sleeping, I was just resting my eyes. You did keep me up most of last night making unreasonable demands on my body.” He dragged her from the floor, laying her on top of him on the couch, somewhere she was more than happy to be.
“Well, you know what they say; practise makes perfect!” Although he was damned near perfect already.
Alex roared with laughter at her comment. “I love practising with you.” He sniggered.
Grace sat on the kitchen counter top as Alex finished cooking dinner; she loved to watch him in the kitchen.
“So what’s this surprise you have planned for me tomorrow? You know I hate surprises, it makes me tetchy.” She nibbled on raw veggies as he busied himself with pots and pans.
“You will love this one, I promise. But no clues so stop asking me.” Leaning into her he bit the end of the carrot stick she held in her hands before nipping the end of her nose gently with his teeth.
They spent the rest of the evening playing Guitar Hero on the new games console he’d had delivered earlier in the day. Alex was very competitive as he tried to make sure he won every round.
As the sun broke through the crack in the curtains Grace’s eyes fluttered open to find Alex propped up on one elbow with a smile on his face. “Are you watching me sleep? That’s a bit freaky.” She yawned as she spoke.
“I like to watch you sleep, and snore, of course. Are you ready for your big surprise?” Reaching out he dragged her across the bed and into his chest, holding her close.
“It had better be a good one, Carter. It’s too early to be awake on my day off if it isn’t!”
“Quit your whinging. Get dressed and I’ll get us some breakfast.” He dragged her out of bed with him. He refused to leave the room until she was in the en suite and he could hear the shower running. A huge grin cracked across his face as he reached into his jacket pocket, making sure the small black leather box was safely still ensconced inside. He lifted the lid taking one last peek at its contents before stashing it away again.
Alex lifted the helmet onto her head fastening the chin strap snugly for her before he zipped up her jacket the rest of the way. Her leathers had been another recent purchase after he had complained she didn’t take her safety seriously enough when riding the bikes. According to his standards she had to have one with level 3 Kevlar for better protection, not to mention the gloves he was now holding out for her to slide her hands into. It didn’t matter that she had been riding for years and had not come off once in that time. When he was sure she was well zipped and covered he slid his own helmet on and mounted the bike. Knocking it off the kick stand he waited for Grace to take her position behind him as he pulled back on the throttle, feeling the full power of the bike. He loved to ride; the anonymity that the helmet provided was also a huge draw for him. It made him feel free.
Sitting behind him Grace had to admit that she loved to ride pillion with him. Snuggling in behind him, her arms wrapped around his waist, was another kind of heaven. As he pulled the bike out into the stream of traffic she relaxed around him, feeling the thrill of racing through the streets with him.
She hadn’t expected to end up at the aquarium. Of all the places he could have taken her this was the last place she would have guessed. She had wanted to visit here ever since it had opened but somehow had never found the time. She loved these places. Smiling up at him she knew instantly he’d had help in picking the destination. “Sasha?” she asked.
He beamed at her as he nodded. “You like it? She said you loved this sort of thing. I rang her a couple of weeks ago. Am I in trouble for getting help? I know boyfriends are supposed to know exactly what their women like but I wanted to get it right this time. I wanted today to be perfect for you.” He came to a standstill on the pavement, dragging her into his embrace.
“How could I be cross at you? This is perfect butyou know it will be busy. I’m sure they do school visits during the week.” She still worried about his anxiety although he did seem much more relaxed now. The commotion had died down once the press realised that he wasn’t showing up at any of his properties. Once the rental board had gone back up at the lighthouse they had packed up and left there too. She knew he still didn’t feel comfortable walking around town and very rarely left her flat unless it was under the cover of his bike gear. She had to work on getting him back out in the land of the living but the baby steps they were taking seemed to be working so far.
“Not today it won’t be. I rented the whole place for you. We won’t be bothered at all. C’mon.” He laughed as her jaw fell open in astonishment as she fell into step beside him. Gripping her hand tightly he led her inside through the huge glass doors.
She watched him as he spoke to the reception staff who explained the layout and the feeding times for the sharks. It was the mention of a shark cage dive that dragged her from her wanton lusting of him. “Did she say shark dive? Are you going in the shark tank?” she asked. The amazed look was instantly replaced with one of delight when he shook his head.
“Not me – us. We are going in the tank together. Cool or what?”
That was way beyond cool. She had longed to do a shark dive since her parents had taken her on some glass bottomed boat on holiday years ago. Alex laughed as she skipped up and down in excitement next to him.
“You are a real adrenalin junkie. Most girls would have freaked at that but not you.” Chucking his arm around her shoulder he consulted his guide map before pulling her in the direction of the main display area. “C’mon. The dive isn’t ‘til four so we can see everything else first.”
They spent the next two hours wandering around the huge display tanks, with Alex taking her photo at every conceivable opportunity. They even had a go at feeding the stingrays. Grace giggled madly as they nibbled the food from her palm, all the time whispering to the damn fish, telling them they were beautiful. He couldn’t see it himself but the way their mouths made them look like they were permanently smiling was quite cool, even he had to admit. As they stood watching the baby sharks wriggling inside the purses the attendant arrived to tell him that dinner was ready for them in the educational suite. As they followed behind their guide she whispered in Alex’s ear, careful not to offend the man. “We could have brought food with us. This must be costing a fortune.You really didn’t need to go to this extent to make my day off special.”
“Grace, I didn’t do it to make your day off special. I did it because you’re special. Anyway this isn’t your main surprise; you don’t get that ‘til later.” Winking he held the door open for to enter before him.
They sat down to three courses which were all hand delivered to them by their own waiter. The food was delicious. She had heartily tucked into it, clearing her plate at each course. Their eyes rounded like saucers when the waiter brought out their dessert. A huge glass bowl filled with chocolate ice cream, decorated with different toppings and white chocolate buttons, all topped off with three strategically placed sparklers that spit bright lights across the dish. Placing it between them he left two spoons on the table. “Enjoy!”
After lunch they headed outside to the seal enclosure. It had been redeveloped to assist with the rescue programme they now ran for seals found along the shore line. The guide told them all about the work they carried out with the pups, ensuring their return to health before they were then released back out to sea.
They helped to feed the seals and the penguins before it was time to change into wetsuits as the instructor ran through all the safety procedures withthem. He informed them they would only be just below the surface of the tank and the cage wasn’t really necessary unless they wanted to use it. Both of them immediately made their choice, giggling like school children as they uttered the same words at the same time. “No cage.”
