A Storm Is Brewing

Just Us

Leah and I were inseparable for the rest of the day; she struggled to fall asleep that night, partially due to the excitement but mostly because she said, I'm scared to fall asleep in case I wake up and this has been a dream. We were more in love than we had ever been, and despite knowing that Lorraine was going to absolutely kill me, everything felt perfect. I woke the next morning to Leah drawing circles on the skin of my back, her other hand placed underneath her head like a pillow, and the same smile from yesterday still plastered all over her face.

"Morning." I croaked, opening my eyes to meet her gaze.
"You're still here."
"I told you I would be."
"I know, but I kept waking up to check." Leah chuckled.
"You're too cute."
"What time are you going to work?" She sad-faced.
"Wait - do you have training?"
"Not today." She smiled.
"Then I'm not going to work; we're having a date day. Just us."
"We are? All day?"
"All day, Le." I changed position to lay my head on her chest, her lips pressing against my forehead.
"What are you going to do about Lorraine?"
"Tell her that I have a wedding to plan, and I can't do that from another country." I chuckled.
"You haven't changed your mind, then?"
"Of course not, silly."

We stayed in bed for the next hour, talking over our plans for the future and our plans for the rest of the day. Leah got ready first, leaving me to shower second. It wasn't until I arrived downstairs that I realised why she had been so intent on being the first to get ready. Entering the kitchen, I watched on from the doorway as Leah plated up breakfast. She was singing along to the music that played from the speakers, moving her body to the rhythm; she was happy, and it cemented in my mind that this decision had been the right one. As she turned to bring our plates to the table, her eyes caught mine, a slight blush filling her face before she let out a giggle and shook her head.

"What's all this?" I asked.
"Breakfast - for you." She smiled.
"What did I do to deserve this?"

Leah walked closer to me, slipping her hands into mine to pull me into her and placing a delicate kiss on my lips before moving her head back and smiling down at me.

"I don't remember a time when I've ever felt so light. Yesterday - this morning - all the weight I normally feel on my shoulders feels nonexistent. You don't understand how you make me feel." Leah poured her heart out.
"I'm really glad I didn't go, you know."
"Are you? I don't want you to regret it." She sighed, I knew this was in her head.
"This feels right. Waiting to board that plane didn't feel right. So yes, I am sure that I don't regret it and that I won't ever regret it."

Leah's eyes glazed over at my words, her emotion making my heart warm. As much as she tried to pretend that she was stern, aggressive, and unromantic, I got to see a side to her that no one else did. A side that simply wanted to be loved.

"Let's eat before I cry again." She chuckled.

The atmosphere at the table was unlike any atmosphere we had ever had before; it was simply love. This was the time that the lady spoke of yesterday. Not long after we finished our meal, the noise of keys jingling in the front door made Leah's head dart up.

"That'll be my mum." She smiled.

She tilted her head to the side before speaking again.

"Wait - did you tell her you didn't go?"
"No, I thought you would've."
"No, I thought you would've." She chuckled.

Amanda paced down the hallway, speaking before she had entered the room.

"Something smells good, Bubba. Have you spoken to - Sophie!" She stopped in her tracks.
"Hi Amanda." I chuckled nervously.
"What're you doing here? What's happened?"
"I decided not to go; I'm sorry. I should've called you to exp -"
"I knew it." She squinted her eyes at me playfully.
"Knew what?" Leah and I said together.
"That something was going on. Leah didn't show up last night crying like she has done when you've gone home for visits to Ireland." She chuckled.
"Oh my God! Shut up!" Leah cringed.
"What made you change your mind, then?"
"If I told you, you wouldn't even believe me." I chuckled.
"Well - I was only calling to check in on her to make sure she wasn't crying in the corner, but by the looks of that smile on her face, she's perfectly happy. I'm proud of you, Sophie." Amanda smiled.
"Thanks, Amanda. That means a lot."
"I am always proud of my two girls. I'll leave you both to it."

After Amanda left, Leah and I tidied up the breakfast mess, despite her constant pleas of innocence about the need for so many dishes. Not wanting to be posted across social media before I met with Lorraine tomorrow, Leah and I opted to go for a walk with Buddy as part of our date day, deciding there was nothing better than walking hand in hand in the crisp air. As we walked, I discussed my concerns about work, with Leah listening intently and offering her opinions and advice—one piece of advice that would change the life of one of our friends forever.

"I know you don't regret staying for me, but you must regret that you missed out on such an opportunity, Soph?"
"I don't see it as missing out; I suppose for the others it'll be disappointing. Paula kept banging on about how she would consider moving to the US once things were up and running. I regret that they'll miss out, but everyone has to be selfish sometimes, and yesterday was my turn."
"So is that it? Lorraine just removes the offer?"
"I think so. It had to be me, your mum, or the office manager that went. And, well, we sacked Peter, so." I chuckled.
"Didn't you replace him?"
"No, we didn't need to. I don't like having too many managers around; it knocks off the atmosphere in the office. I prefer them all to get the same wage, you know?"
"Wait - so - if you did have an office manager and they were to be - say unavailable - you wouldn't be left short?" Leah questioned.
"Where are you going with this, Le?" I giggled.
"What does Lorraine know right now? About the running of the London office?"
"Just that it's owned by your mum and me."
"So she doesn't know that you don't have an office manager?"
"No."
"Soo..." Leah widened her eyes at me.
"So?"
"God, Soph!" She chuckled.
"I know, I'm slow."
"Make Paula one. If she already wants to go, you still get to expand, and Paula gets her dream too."

Why didn't I think of that?

"Or maybe it's a silly idea, I don't know." Leah shrugged.
"Hey?" I said softly, pulling her into me by her jacket.
"Mhmm?"
"None of your ideas are silly. Especially not that one." I placed a kiss on her lips.

By the time we got home, neither of us wanted to leave the house again, leaving us to spend the afternoon looking at wedding venues online and trying to decide on a date. Leah wanted a winter wedding, but I knew I had to convince her that a summer one would be best if I was going to pull my idea off. The thing was, I already had a venue in mind, and it wasn't a traditional one. We decided to settle our argument over a game of Fifa, with my argument that Leah had an unfair advantage being overlooked. Things became intense when Leah lost the game that was meant to be the decider, her competitive streak coming through as she came up with reasons that we had to rematch.

"You cheated." I didn't.
"That was offside." It wasn't.
"My controller is lagging." Okay, Leah.
"Best of three, loser?" I grinned.
"Yeah, but give me that controller." Leah rolled her eyes, making us both giggle.

The second game was even more intense than the first, Leah was determined to pull back her earlier failure and managed to win in the last few minutes. She jumped off her seat and began exaggerating her celebration. It was really hard not to let her win the whole challenge at this point; she was just too cute. We began the third match with Leah scoring early and developing a sense of cockiness until I equalised just before halftime. The second half was close, much to Leah's disappointment, and eventually she gave away a penalty in the 76th minute, moving her body in front of the TV to distract me as I tried to take it; neither of us were really taking it seriously at this point, and our laughter was echoing through the room as we both tried to distract one another. The match finished 2-1. I took the opportunity to inform Leah that we were having a summer wedding, and I think she knew at this point she had no more reasons to argue. Now I just had to work out how to get the 'venue' to agree to my idea, if I could ever find out who owned it.

"Why don't you get Paula around? Discuss the idea with her; see what she thinks." Leah said, coming back in from the kitchen.
"Not tonight." I smiled, opening my arms for her.
"Why not? Are you tired?"
"No, but I like it when it's just us."
"I like that too, Soph."
"Wait - if I say I'm tired, do we get to have an early night?" I smirked.
"Well, if that's the case, then I am also exhausted." Leah bit her lip.
"Me too. Like super tired. Like should we go now, tired."
"Or maybe I'm too tired to make it all the way upstairs, Soph." She chuckled, climbing onto my lap.

Who said an early night had to be boring?