The Making Of

Foresight

London 2012

'Good morning.'

I was already beginning to stir when Ben's voice chimed from the doorway. I lifted my head from the pillow to see him making his way across the room, a towel wrapped low around his waist, water droplets speckled across his shoulders and bare chest.

I panicked for a moment that I'd slept in, before realising I had nowhere to be and relaxing back with my hands behind my head as I watched him, like a client receiving a private show.

He unwrapped the towel from his waist and brought it up to his head, roughing it through his wet hair. My eyes widened, my cheeks almost flushing at the sight of him standing there in all his glory.

'Ben,' I said with a gasp. 'You're right by the bloody window.'

He stopped what he was doing to look at me, laughing slightly at my stunned expression. 'The blinds are turned in, no one can see me.'

'You better hope not.'

He rolled his eyes with a smile and slung the towel over his shoulder, walking proudly across the room to his dresser.

'You know, if we stayed at your place more often, we wouldn't have to worry about being seen through the windows,' he said. 'Unless someone managed to get hold of a 50ft man lift.'

I laughed. 'Yeah it may be high up, but it's also got neighbours above, below and either side. They might not be able to see anything, but they'd hear everything. Everything.' I dragged out the last word in a whisper, purposely dropping my gaze to his naked body for just a second.

He chuckled, taking a fresh pair of underwear from the drawer. 'Sounds like we need to just buy our own island,' he said as he pulled them on. 'Build a house right in the middle, miles of open sea between us and the rest of the world, bliss.'

'Mm, wouldn't be able to get takeaways delivered though...'

He scoffed, shaking his head at me with a smirk before making his way to the bed and climbing on.

'I propose our own private paradise,' he said, crawling up towards me. 'And you're worried about where you'll get your dinner.'

I laughed as he collapsed beside me, his damp curls tickling my neck.

'What about somewhere outside of London then? Or the Isle of Wight, have you ever been? It's a gorgeous place to live.'

'Ben,' I smiled down at him. 'We've talked about this.'

'I know, I know. It's too soon.'

'It's not that I don't want to. I just don't think we should rush anything.'

'Mm, he replied, swirling his fingers lazily over my stomach.

'We're still denying to the public that we're even together, haven't told most of our friends, we haven't even met each other's families.'

'Actually, I did want to ask you about that.'

'About what?'

'I tried to mention it a couple of months back over the phone but you were busy.'

I remembered exactly what he was talking about; the interrupted call that I'd been desperate to hear the end of. I thought he'd forgotten, or perhaps chickened out of whatever he was going to ask me. But here it was. I sat up slightly, turning to look down at him as his head stayed resting on my shoulder.

'Yes?'

'My parents are having a small get together at their cottage in Gloucestershire. They don't get to do them a lot, like a family and close friend dinner party sort of thing. I was hoping you'd come with me...'