The Art of Loving

[41] Romance on Skye

Ellie was woken by an obnoxious but quiet beeping. She tried to move, but first she had to move a heavy arm and leg from her body. Brian was still fast asleep - understandably so. It was still too early to really be awake, but they had agreed they would take the first ferry, and that left at 8:25 a.m. The only had to drive onto the ferry, Brian didn't even necessarily have to get dressed, but they did have to be awake. And now at least Ellie was. She turned off the alarm - it was before 8 a.m. - and took a moment to breathe, squinting in the bright light of the day.

"Bri?" She questioned quietly, looking for her clothes. She didn't want to drive naked. "Bri, we have to get going," she added, shaking him gently.

Brian started to stir, groaning slightly. "You can drive on your own, can't you?"

Ellie chuckled. "Yes, but you're sleeping on my seat."

Brian sighed and sat up. "Alright, I see why that involves me. What do we need to do?" He asked, sleepily rubbing his eyes.

"Get the driver's seat back to normal and preferably get dressed. At least I will come home because I'm going to have to buy the ticket for the ferry."

"I was about to say no, don't get dressed, but if you're going to talk to people, then at least throw on some underwear."

"I'm working on it," she told him, finally locating her clothes. "Can you give me a hand with the seats?"

"Mhm," he muttered and got up. He got dressed as well before he helped Ellie with the seats.

When the van was drivable again, Ellie reached for her jacket and her wallet. "I'm going to try to be quick, okay?"

"Where are you going?" Brian asked confused. He still seemed to be partly asleep.

"I still have to get the ticket, remember?" Ellie said amused and kissed cheek. "I'm going to leave the key here so you can move the van if you have to, okay?"

"Mhm," Brian mumbled and yawned. "Alright."

Ellie smiled to herself. "Try to stay awake," she teased and got out of the van. It wasn't cold, but the wind added a little chill. It seemed to have rain during the night because the tarmac was wet.

It wasn't far to the little shop that sold tickets among various other things. There were few other people there who greeted Ellie with a nod. She had to wait a few minutes but when it was her turn, she bought the ferry tickets and a few other things.

With her hands full, she returned to the van and knocked clumsily with her elbow. It took a few moments before Brian open the door, looking a little confused before he saw everything she was carrying.

"I thought you just wanted to get the tickets?" He asked, taking a few things from her so she could get in.

"I did, but I also going to have breakfast. I thought some tea would be nice, and I got some croissants because they looked good. And some chocolate because I'm in the mood for that."

"Oh wow, that's sweet of you, thanks. I'm actually really hungry so the croissants are more than welcome." He helped her in and closed the door of the van. "Did they tell you where we have to be and when?"

"Yes, and we have to get going," she told him and got in the driver's seat. "We can brush our teeth and everything on the ferry, it takes 50 minutes."

Brian sat beside her with the tea and a croissant. "That sounds good to me." He just looked at her and smiled. "I like how... I don't know, I like how you're doing this."

Ellie looked at him confused for a second before she drove the van to where they had to be. "How I'm doing what?"

"How you're handling this. I don't know, I'm weird, but I like it. You take things in your own hands."