With Love

Chapter 13

"Good morning, beautiful."

Beau's hoarse voice wakes me, my eyes flutter open and see that he's holding a cup of what smells like coffee in one hand and he's balancing a tray of food in the other, mmm. The smell is tantalising - I can see the scrambled eggs, baked tomatoes, mushrooms and bacon laying seductively on the plate. "You looked so peaceful when I woke I didn't want to disturb you, it's midday now." He says. Midday! I sit up abruptly, "Hey, hey - it's alright. I know you probably have writing to do, here's my old laptop. It's connected to the Internet - use it as you please." He nods his head towards the open space next to me on the bed, the MacBook is open and running beside me. So sweet.

"Thank you," I blush, adjusting myself to sit up right now that my anxiety over the time of day has been subsided by his gestures of kindness.

"I'm going to be in my office, it's to the right as you walk out of here - the fourth door on your left, if you need me." He places the tray on the floor beside the bed and passes me the cup of brew, it's warm against my cold hands. "I'll just be replying to emails and making phone calls, I shouldn't be more than an hour. Write until your hearts content." He smiles down at me and I thank him again before he disappears like a dream. Is this even real? Breakfast and coffee in bed and a laptop to continue my writing? It's not real, it can't be. Oh, but it is! My subconscious stretches her arms with a yawn.

I take the last forkful of eggs and stuff it into my mouth, washing it down with the remainder of my coffee before opening up the Microsoft Word tab on his laptop and continuing my final chapter. The fears I had during my breakfast of having stagnant writing due to not being in my own home with my own laptop subside as the words begin to flow beneath my fingers, click, click, click, every sentence bursting with description, romance, passion - feeling inspired, I get lost within the final chapter. Every now and then thoughts of Beau's night terrors last night creep to my frontal lobe, go away, I think to myself - this is a romance novel, not a thriller.

-

Send! I email myself the 7000 or so words I managed to write in bed, I have a quick shower and shimmy into my jeans from last night - I'm relieved to see the white top I was wearing has been laundered and dried, Beau leaving it on a hanger in the en-suite. I pull it over my head before making my way down the ominous hall, searching for my Navy-Novice. I patter softly, nearing closer to the door I desire - I'm stopped in my tracks when I hear him shout.

"What the fuck do you mean?" His voice is strained. "You've got to be fucking kidding me, no - Dad!" He curses and I hear a slam. He must be on the phone to his father! I quickly turn on my heal and attempt my escape. "Sophia?" I hear him behind me. Fuck it!

"Sorry I-," I stutter. "I was coming to find you, I didn't mean to eavesdrop." I blush.

"That's alright, I was coming to check up on you," he gives me a devilish smile. That smile. "How'd your writing go?"

"Really good," I admit, he nears closer to me and his hands lap around my waist as he plants a soft kiss on my lips. Oh my. "I better get going soon, it's almost three-thirty and I need to pack for Portland." I tell him. A part of me wishes I didn't have to leave him, a part of me also knows that if I don't go, I'll be wearing the same Macy's top and eBay-score jeans for four days in Portland.

"I'll drop you off, just give me a fe-,"

I cut him off. "I'll get an Uber, seriously - you've done enough." His expression is almost a pout, I can tell he wants to resist my offer but I think he knows it's in his better interests if he doesn't - you're not his concubine after all! My subconscious coughs under her breath.