SAFE BET

See you soon, yeah?

"Rosieeee" Duke shrieks from the bathroom and I jolt in shock
"What...?!!!" I yell back, wrenching the oven mitts off my hands and dropping them on the counter as I lean back and try and see through the bedroom door. It's only open a crack but I can see a glow from the bathroom so I shout again
"You alive Duke..?" And he moans loudly as I hear a clatter.
"Duke honey do you need something!?" I huff and he shrieks again
"Yea!! Yeah can you bring me a glass and a birthday card or something? Theres a spider on the floor and it's SCUTTLING!! It's fucking scuttling everywhere OHH ROSIE QUICKLYYYYY"
I snatch a glass off the draining board and one of my birthdays cards off the top of the fridge, then I sprint into the bathroom and see Duke standing totally naked, dripping and soapy. He's perched 6 foot tall on the toilet seat, a towel in his hand and a huge hairy brown spider scurrying about on the floor under the sink.
I use his sneaker to back it into the corner where the shower tile meets the wall, and then lower the glass on top of it. Then I drag the whole thing out, slide the card underneath and hold it at arms length.
"Well..!! Open a window for me or something don't just stand there gaping at me!" I laugh and he hops down and backs out of the room as I follow him to the dining table and he cracks the window a little. I drop the spider onto the card and toss the whole thing out of the window as Duke slams it shut and shudders. I glance down at his dripping wet body and he self consciously covers his dick with his hands. I go to place the glass into the sink and he follows me over to snatch a can from the fridge. He offers it to me and I take it, cracking it open and sipping as he reaches for another one, pulls on his new sweats that are draped over the back of a dining chair and I pass him a hand towel from the kitchen draw for his still dripping hair. He rubs it dry and then brushes it back off his forehead. Our eyes meet and we start giggling, pressing our cans together as he winks at me
"My hero" he snorts and I flex my muscles. His eyes flicker over my body and he licks his lips.
I'm not wearing my pyjama bottoms because they're still a little damp from the laundry and all my other clothes are packed in bags and boxes.
I am going on a two month vacation to England with a family from Washington. I'll be looking after two 11 year old girls. Helping them acclimatise to life in the UK. They'll be starting school and will need setting up at a doctors and a dentist and there will be forms to fill in.
Their Dad is sweet but clueless and their mum is having issues with her Visa and can't travel with them. So I'm going in her place. I'm really looking forward to it but I'm dreading leaving Duke for such a long stretch.
It'll be ok. That's what we keep telling each other. We will call every day and FaceTime whenever we can. I have promised many-many times that I won't want to stay... that LA is my home and I will come back to him.
My renewed Blue UK passport is sitting on the counter next to my charger and my metal water bottle. The oven is still on and I peek inside at the salmon gently sizzling and then shut the door again.
"10 more minutes I'd think... grab that bag of salad for me yeah?" I say softly and Duke rustles in a shopping bag on the table. He hands it to me and then links his arm round my back as he softly kisses me, then a little more purposefully.
"I'm really going to miss you Rosie Jones" he whispers sadly against my lips. I smile and lean my head on his bare chest and he draws both long arms round my back and I look up at him
"What will you miss?" I grin and he sighs
"Your smile. Your fluffy hair. Your sweet, flowery, powdery smell..."
I scrunch my nose and say
"That's an easy one. Waft some of my talcum powder about in the bedroom and it'll be like I'm here".
He gazes into my eyes and I realise that his eyes have filled with tears.
"No it won't"
His voice cracks slightly and I tighten my grip on him.
"Come on now. It's two months, that's nothing. Nothing at all... I'll be back before you've even realised I'm gone and then you'll immediately forget. It's going to be great! You'll have so much time for yourself... huh?" I smile warmly and he shrugs a little.
"Guess so"

He leans back onto the counter and I watch his abs ripple a little bit as he lifts himself up and sits on the edge of the sink, his knees apart and his hands round his neck as he clicks it, groaning and sighing.
I stand between his knees and lace my hands round his shoulders and rub circles up his neck and underneath the base of his skull.
"Oh fuck that's better!" He smiles and I laugh. I drop my hands down and breathe out hard into his shoulder, kissing his collarbone and then playfully biting it. Then we just stand there... wordless and motionless.
We feel each other breathing. I kiss his chest again, tasting him. He kisses my hair. Our arms flex as we hold onto one another.

The oven timer trills and we break apart. I see Duke rubbing his eyes as he takes two bowls out of the dishwasher and tips salad into them. Then I lift the salmon out of the oven and drop a piece each into the bowls and we sit on the couch, our legs wound together and the TV flickering as we put on a movie that neither one of us particularly want to watch.
Then we get into bed. Duke flicks the light off and I roll into his waiting embrace.
He is tender and slow. Our breath trembles, our bodies in perfect synchronisation. Afterwards we both lie there pretending to sleep and then what feels like a few minutes, but was probably more like 5 hours, my alarm goes off and we roll out of bed. Duke carries all my bags and we drive to the airport as the sun comes up over LA.
We park in short stay and as I yank my earphones from the door pocket, one of the buds cracks and falls apart. The wire dangles from my fist and I stare at them in utter disbelief as Duke pats my knee.
"Never mind baby. They're old as fuck just buy some new ones when you're there"
I nod and force a smile. As we head across the road I shade my eyes from the sun and he strokes my hair back with his free hand.

We go in through the main doors, head to the British Airways desk and he checks my bags in for me.
He hoists Louis V onto his shoulder and takes my hand. I grip it tight and he smiles. It doesn't reach his eyes.
We walk hand in hand as far as security and then he hands me my bag and I loop it round my shoulder. Then he kisses me softly, slowly and for a long time.
"Be good Rosie... behave yourself with all these Londoners...They can't be trusted." He pokes my shoulder and I grab his finger.
"It's not London! I told you. It's Beaconsfield ! There's one pub, no clubs and only one train a day. Oh and there's a model village... it's a party town. Just sex drugs and rock and roll" I drop his hand and take a deep breath.
"So I'll call you when I land. Then when I get my room sorted. Then when I go to bed. Then when I wake up... and every moment I possibly can"
He doesn't reply he just looks at me
"I'll miss you, actually" I joke but he doesn't smile
"I love you, Duke Moose" I choke and then tears fall from the corners of my eyes. I hurriedly brush them away and he lifts his cap off and plops it on my head. Then he reaches into his pocket and hands me his AirPods.
"I love you too Rosie... you take these, and I'll get some more. I've been meaning to get the Pro anyway."
I put them into the pocket of my jeans and adjust the cap. Then I swallow hard, kiss him fleetingly and then I just walk away.
I plonk my bag down on the conveyor and walk through the scanner.
Then I turn and he is gone.
I can't see him.
I feel flickering panic and then I harden myself and head to the departure lounge, tears pricking in my eyes.
Suddenly my phone rings and I pick it up, swiping the call and seeing Dukes face immediately pop up on the screen.
He's in the Tesla and it's crawling at a snail pace.
"Hi Baby..." his voice comes clear and crisp through the AirPods as I shove them into my ears and beam at my phone.
"I didn't say goodbye Rosie... so...Goodbye" his grin is wide and cheeky and I return his smile as another tear pricks.
"Goodbye then!" I wave and he kisses the camera.
"I'll see you soon yeah?" He says in the most cringe fake English accent and I return with my absolute best Cali Barbie voice.
"Yeah! See you soon"

The screen goes black and all I see is my reflection.
After a while my flight is called and I walk slowly down the ramp and hand my ticket to the air hostess. She smiles a bright red lipstick smile and ushers me through a curtain. I look at her puzzled and she hands me my ticket and then a glass of orange juice.
"This is a business class ticket... just through the curtain there"
Then her attention is shifted and I duck through the curtain and make my way to 5B, sit down and take a selfie which I immediately sent to Duke.
His reply is immediate.
"Nice!!! Get all the freebies you can"
I laugh and turn my phone to Airplane mode, lean back in my seat and take a few steadying breaths.
Il be fine. It'll be alright.

It'll be fine.