The Arch of Love ~ Paul McCartney

37. Arcade

St. John's Wood, 5 October '67, 9:28 AM

It was the first Thursday of October when the temperature finally dropped. The garden was white with frost and I could see my breath fog up in front of me with every exhale. It wasn't early anymore and that was obvious with the flock of girls that had gathered in front of the gate of Paul's St John's Wood home. Some of the girls were actually in school uniform, but had decided to take the detour on their way to their education. I shook my at them as I unlocked the gate. The difference between upbringing was striking. Ma would've had my head, had I even thought about doing something like that.

Because I had been on night shifts all week and knowing that I probably wasn't going to get a lot of sleep at the Cavendish, I had stayed my own flat for those days. But now that the week of sleep deprivation had ended, I made my way back to Paul's, as that was exactly where I wanted to be. With him.

Paul himself had only finished in the studio at four and had waited up for me with a cup of warm tea which was more than welcome. After we had drunk our tea, he took me to bed.

What started as a sweet and soft goodnight kiss, quickly turned into something much more. A deep, loving kiss that was heavy and lustful and filled with desire. We had been apart for six days, only able to talk to each other on one hasty phone call.

It was making love, it wasn't just sex anymore. That was something I was more sure of than that my name was Archie. His touch had been so sweet and loving. He had made sure I had felt over the moon and I did. Man, I was over Mars. I loved him and was happy it was Paul taking me to nirvana and back. I was sure that I didn't want it to be anyone else. No, the only person that could do that to me, was Paul.

He held me close as I regained my breath. Paul wasn't quiet, however. He talked in short intervals, kissing the side of my head every now and then. We took the time to catch each other up with our lives, not that a lot had happened to either in the past days.

'Shall I make us some beans on toast for supper?' he offered and I agreed with a chuckle. It was absurd how off cycle we were compared to the rest of the world. I had been on the bus home from work with people who had just started their morning commute. We were having dinner at half nine in the morning, when people would have their first tea break of the day.

What was even crazier was that it somehow worked for us. Dating anyone had always been a tough one for me, as I could have night shifts for weeks on end and I wouldn't be able to see the other one for so long. But Paul was on the same messed-up cycle as I was; recording in the studio at all hours of the day, whenever it felt right. It matched with each other.

'Sounds perfect. But I'm going to take a shower real quick, first,' I told him as I untangled myself from him. 'I'll be down in a bit.' I made a beeline for the bathroom, only stopping at my overnight bag in the corner to take out some clothes. The chilly morning air sent shivers down my bare backside as I moved around the room.

It was warmer in the bathroom, where Paul hadn't left the window open. I don't know what it was, but somehow he found it a good idea to keep the bedroom window open for the bigger part of the year. Only when the temperature dipped below zero, did he finally shut it and because that hadn't happened yet, it was freezing cold in the bedroom.

I hummed softly, not any song in particular, as I stood under the warm stream of water. My mind wasn't with anything worth mentioning as I slowly washed the sweat off me. The warm water relaxed my muscles in a way nothing else could. Okay, maybe Paul could make me relax like that.

Downstairs, the front door opened and then closed again. I didn't think anything of it at first; Paul had probably just stepped outside to retrieve the post or the paper or something. But when I heard shouting and someone running up the stairs, I realised something else was going on.