She's Electric | Sam Fender

26 - Sam

"Hey," I whisper when Cass wakes up in my arms, pressing a kiss to her nose as she looks up at me with a smile, "You sleep okay?"

I didn't manage to drift off myself, wavering in and out of consciousness before giving up on sleep.

"Lovely, thank you." She returns the kiss, only managing to reach my chin, "I'm still tired though. Somehow."

I tuck her hair behind her ear so I can see her better, "Go back to sleep, I'm ain't going anywhere."

"I wanna talk to you," She hums, trying her best to fight a yawn but failing miserably, "Do you wanna get dinner? Or are you leaving tonight?"

"I'm meant to be on the train now," I shrug, "Don't really matter; there's no one waiting for us at home."

She frowns, "No one?"

"I mean, there's me mam, I s'ppose but I think she's away with my stepdad. Me friends all have their own lives, partners, spouses, kids some of them. I barely see me brother, he's always busy, or me dad who lives in France. Just an empty flat and probably a stack of post."

All this fame and fortune and at the end of the day, deep down someplace where I won't admit, I'm lonely. Despite spending my days in rooms filled with people, all paying attention to me and most of the time only me, I've still never felt more alone. But with Cass, it's different. I feel like the whole world is on my side. All Is On My Side was written long before I ever met her, but songs change over time, and who you sing them with. It's her song. Our song.

She plants another small peck to my bare skin, this time on my neck, "I'm sorry."

"S'alright darlin'." I run my hands gently over her shoulders, "Cannit complain really, can I?"

Cass looks up at me again, "Do you mind if we swap places? I wanna cuddle you."

"Um," I hesitate, feeling heat rise to my cheeks, unsure why but I know thought of it makes me embarrassed.

She shrugs, mumbling, "We don't have to, it's okay."

"It's just...I've never really been cuddled before," I breathe, shifting positions so that I'm laid on Cass and her arms wrap gently around me.

She tangles her fingers in my hair and kisses my forehead, "I thinks that's something we need to fix. Just relax and let me hold you."

"This is nice," I whisper, more too myself than anything, "Thank you."

Her thumb brushes over my cheek, "Hey, none of that. We take care of each other from now on, alright?"

Normally, I show love with my own affection, trying my best to make the girl in my arms feel safe and happy. It's strange but pleasant to be on the other end for the first time.

"Alright," I nod, snuggling into her to get comfortable. "Y'kna, this is the happiest I've been in ages. Just lying here with you. S'like theres nowt to worry about."

She smiles, "See? Cuddles are great!"

"Only problem is, I cannit see your gorgeous face from down here," I say, looking up at her with a silly grin. "We're gonna have to make up for that later. Over dinner, like."

Cass reaches for her phone, typing in a quick search for places to eat in the local area, "So, what'd you fancy? Italian? Chinese? Indian? French? Vietnamese? Thai? Lebanese? Turkish? Cajun? There's meant to be a really nice Mexican place that's only like, a 10 minute walk from here."

"Owt," I shrug, "I'm easy, I'll just have what you're having."

She rolls her eyes playfully, "God forbid you make a decision, Fender."

"Hey, I decided to show up here didn't I?" I scowl, "That was a very good decision, probably one of my best."

"I can't imagine there's a lot of competition," She teases.

I fake offence, "The cheek!"

"Child," She mutters.

I shrug again, "Call me what you like, I ended up in bed with a very pretty girl."

"Oh shush," I'm not even looking at her and I can tell she's blushing. The light pink that dusts her cheeks is always adorable, so I try my best to sneak a look at her. Cass catches on, her gaze meeting mine, "What?"

"Nowt, nowt. Just thinking about how bonny you are, s'all," I grin.

She goes back to playing with my hair, "Stop being such a flirt."

"Tonight is technically our first date, gotta try and impress you," I say, rolling off Cass and out of bed, "I'll be back in a sec, there's just somethings I need out of my case."

I left my suitcase in the hall, it was quickly discarded after the welcome I got, and it contains what were meant to be apology presents. The flowers have probably wilted by now but every else should be okay. My expert packing skills mean the bouquet is not only dying but also fairly crushed under my shoes. After raking through a seemingly endless mass of t shirts and a singular pair of jeans, I finally find the box I was searching for.

I run back up stairs, the box in my pocket and the flowers in a vase of water, before stopping just outside the door. Is this too much? I don't want to overdo it on our first date. Condemning the voice in my head that tells me this is an awful idea, I open the door with a sheepish smile.

"Flowers," I mumble, unsure of what to say. "Sorry they're a bit, well, manky, but they were stuffed in my bag for longer than I was expecting. Got a bit... distracted."

Her face lights up, "They're beautiful, Sam, thank you. I love them."

I set the flowers down on her bedside table, "Close your eyes."

She hesitates but closes them, placing her hands over her face as well.

I take the box out and remove the lid, placing it down in front of her.

"You can open 'em now," I whisper, studying her face carefully as she looks at the necklace in front of her.

She takes it out, whispering, "Cassiopeia."

"I'd give you the real stars if I could, but this was the next best thing," I utter, "Do you wanna just get a takeaway and stay here and cuddle?"

She smiles as I close the clasp at the back of the necklace around her neck, "Sounds like a dream."