Just keep breathing

Chapter 40

"Urgh, I definitely preferred the private plane,"

I complain to Harry as we are climbing down the stairs of the rather large British Airways plane that we've spent the last eleven and a half hours on.

Despite my reservations about this trip, I couldn't bear to disappoint Harry again as I did at Christmas. Thankfully Mark agreed that I could have the first two weeks of the year off work, as its always ridiculously quiet in the pub anyway, so here we are, on December thirtieth, preparing to spend our first New Years eve together, in the city of Angels.

"So did I, especially the trip back from Copenhagen." He winks back at me playfully pulling on a strand of my hair

"Har Har. You aren't so funny after a transatlantic flight, you know." I grumble.

Ninety minutes later we finally pull up the driveway to Harry's LA house, actually 'house' isn't the right word, this place is more like a mansion, nestled away high in the Hollywood hills. Just looking at the beautiful stark white building from the driveway, I can already feel my heart rate increasing as my anxiety kicks in, I don't belong in a place like this. I hope I don't break anything...

"Would you like the tour?" Harry asks, depositing our suitcases in the hallway of the stately home.

"Honestly? The only room I am interested in right now is the bedroom" I grumble sleepily.

"Really? Well wonderful! Let's go!" Harry smirks at me.

"How are you so... energetic? I'm exhausted, Harry. All I want at the moment is a bath and a comfy place to sleep. It doesn't even have to be a bed, just point me in the direction of a comfortable corner where I won't be in the way." I say sleepily, suppressing a giant yawn.

Thanks to the turbulence during our flight, I didn't manage to sleep much on the plane, my body is still very much on London time, and although it's just ten past five in the evening in LA, it feels like gone one in the morning to me.

"Sorry baby, just excited to have you here that's all," Harry says, kissing the top of my head gently "The sunshine always puts me in a good mood too. I know you're tired, but trust me, the quickest way to beat jet-lag is to push through it. How about some Tea?"

He takes my hand and leads me through the large entrance hall into a huge kitchen, all-white walls and black granite worktops, and settles me on to one of the low backed black leather bar stools as he sets off to make the tea.

Once the kettle has boiled, and he's finished, he hands me a glossy black mug full of steaming hot tea.

"C'mon, let me show you around."

I take his outstretched hand in my free one and follow him back out into the entrance hall, and up a flight of wooden stairs.

"Traditionally, one starts a tour on the ground floor," I grumble as I follow him, trying not to spill my tea as I climb the polished wood.

"Trust me. This is worth seeing first." He replies, turning back to flash me his megawatt smile.

By the time we turn in to the room that is clearly Harry's destination, my tea has cooled enough for me to start taking small sips, at first I am so concerned with getting some caffeine in my system that I barely register my surroundings until I catch sight of the view...

In a nanosecond, the hazy fog that has been swimming around my head since somewhere over the Atlantic lifts, and I feel my jaw drop open. We are in what is obviously the master bedroom. There is a large low bed dominating most of the room, a single chair, and a mirror propped up against one wall.