Heart to Hart ✔️

24. Lovers Pier

The soft touch of his hand stroking my stomach under my top woke me. I lay there, relishing in the feeling of warm fingers drawing lazy circles on my skin. Alec shuffled closer and peppered light kisses on my shoulder.

Before rolling over to face him, I lifted my phone to my face. Catching sight of the time, my nerves kicked in.

07:01. I forgot to set an alarm last night and needed to be in work by twenty to eight.

Kicking the blankets off, I wriggled out of Alec's arms. "No, no, no." I searched for some clean clothes and hurried to the bathroom to change. I splashed water on my face and under my armpits. Toothbrush in mouth, I hopped out of the bathroom while trying to get my socks on.

Alec sat against the headboard of his bed, looking startled. He rubbed his fist into his eyes and yawned. "What's the hurry?"

I popped back into the bathroom and rinsed my mouth out. "New job? I'm late. I didn't set an alarm," I shouted out while smearing moisturiser over my face.

"Oh shit. Right. Let's get going then. I'll drive you." Alec tugged his jeans on and joined me in the bathroom to brush his teeth. I watched him through the mirror as I dotted concealer under my eyes. The shift in our relationship only made me want him more and seeing him in this new light, caused my entire body to come alive.

He grinned as he vigorously brushed. "What?" he chuckled after he spat into the sink.

"Nothing." I returned to covering up any dark circles under my eyes.

"I'll run to the house to grab something you can eat in the car. Meet me down there when you're done." He planted a kiss on my cheek and left me to finish my make-up.

The car engine rumbled as I made my way into the courtyard. I slid into the passenger seat and took the croissant Alec held out. He placed an apple and a water bottle in my lap and drove to The Tea Spot.

Without my morning cup of coffee, I felt like a zombie as I chewed the buttery pastry. Yawning between bites, I closed my eyes for a few minutes.

I swallowed the last morsel and turned to Alec. "So what happened with Ben's girlfriend? You were gone ages."

Alec sighed, "Not his girlfriend." He shook his head. "He brought her to the house, slept with her and then refused to help her home. Poor girl was stranded. No wonder she went crazy. I gave her a cup of tea to calm her down and drove her home."

I raised my eyebrows as I listened to his explanation. "That's so shady. I know Ben's your brother, but he's an A-hole."

"Oh, you can call him worse than that. I did. That's one of the reasons I was so late." Alec parked up outside the Tearooms with two minutes to spare. "I wish she didn't interrupt us last night." He rested his hand over mine and ran his thumb over my knuckles.

"Same." Out the window of the car, I saw Layla unlocking the front door and turning the lights on. "I have to go now."

Mid stroll to the tea shop, I spun around and sprinted back to Alec's car. "Tonight? Make sure it's just the two of us," I said as I leant in through the open car window.

He grinned as he sagged into his seat and ran his hand through his silky brown hair. "Tonight."

Layla was wiping down the glass cake display as I entered the Cafe. She packed the cleaning products away into a bucket and motioned for me to come forward.

"Hi, Nat. Thanks for helping with such short notice. Here's your apron. Pop it on and I'll show you where everything is," she said in a peppy sing-song voice. So Layla was a morning person.