January 1970
My heart sank as I saw Robert's van pull up to my house. My wish had come true, Jonesy had decided not to go on the trip. I wanted to be around Robert as much as I didn't want to be around him; being in his presence was like an acid trip, it could make you feel so many wonderful, warm things, but make you see things that weren't there, causing you to be nervous. For example, Robert is not one to judge, however, when you feel the way I do about him you tend to feel judged, as if you're trying to impress him when he likes you well enough. The sound of the doorbell interrupted me from my thoughts, I grabbed my cargo and went to answer it. There he was, standing in his six-foot-one glory, gold curls and all.
"Morning, Jimmy," Robert said,
"Good morning," I replied confidently, with a smile. We headed out to the van to load it and then we hit the road.
"You any good at maps, Jim?" Robert asked, handing me a handful of them, one of the Pangbourne region and a few of different Welsh counties. In reality, I was horrible at navigating, but I'd learn anything to impress Robert.
"Yeah, I'm alright with them," I claimed, nonchalantly opening a map, I figured we'd get to the motorway, I'd look at the map and just follow the signs for places that the map had labeled along our route.
Three Hours Later
Somehow we were headed in the right direction! Unfortunately I had run out of map,
"Ermh, Robert, we've exhausted all the maps," I said, folding and piling them,
"It's alright, I'm quite familiar with this last hour, my father used to take me to the Welsh rugby games up this way," he said, changing the radio program. I leaned my head back and looked at Robert, I inhaled deeply, catching his fragrance. He smelled like Dr. Bronner's almond soap and lavender. I sat there peacefully and admired him.
"What's on your mind, Jimmy? You're a bit quiet, I bet you're thinking about a girl," Robert said, I snapped out of my thoughts, my cheeks turned bright burning red, I wasn't thinking about a girl at all!
"Yeah, I am, Charlotte has been on my mind all day," I lied. Charlotte was my long time girlfriend, I had been hiding from her since I had discovered feelings for Robert, I felt guilty, almost as if I was lying to her, even though I still loved her.
"I forget what it's like to miss someone, never get married, Jimmy, it ruins everything," Robert said, with a slight chuckle, I gave a small laugh as to blend in. The rest of the car ride was quiet, the sun was setting a deep shade of orange and the sound of Robert's breathing was enough to calm anyone's thoughts. Finally we had arrived, the little cottage with a blue door, stood waiting for our arrival. We entered to a dark cold space,
"It's freezing in here," I said,
"Not for long," Robert replied, materializing a candle from the darkness. This was going to be one long trip.
YOU ARE READING
Loving Robert Plant
FanfictionA Jimbert story: An intimate account of Jimmy Page's struggle with his sexual identity and attraction to his band mate and best friend, Robert Plant.
