Always Coming Back to You

Chapter Three

Chapter Three

Miles woke before Alex, the next morning. The silence of the countryside always made it hard for him to settle. He was used to London and its twenty-four hour noise.

He rolled over and looked at Alex. He was asleep on his back, his arm above his head, his leg sticking out of the covers. Miles had woken up next to that sight on and off for the past sixteen years. Alex had hurt him more than anyone on this planet, their fights had been vicious. Every insult imaginable had been shouted at each other. But he adored him. And he knew whatever Alex had planned, he would do out of his love for him. Miles had a whole album ready to go, some of the songs touching on their reconciliation. Would he be able to perform knowing they had split for good?

He got up and showered, smiling to himself when he thought about their game last night. It had been great fun and really sexy; but even that....quite often Arabella would come out if Alex was anxious about something, because becoming her would take his mind off it.

Alex was still asleep when Miles left the bathroom. He put on his jeans and went down to the kitchen. He grabbed one of the pastries that had been laid out, and he made himself a cup of coffee. Luckily for him, there was a proper Italian coffee maker.

He was just waiting for it to boil when he heard Alex enter the kitchen.

"Morning Bunny," he croaked, slipping his arm around Miles' waist.

"Morning sweetheart."

Alex shuffled out into the garden. He was wearing his pyjama bottoms and aviators, and he hadn't brushed that mad scientist hair. Alex wasn't his best in the morning, so it was easier to approach him carefully. He opened the French doors and walked out onto the decking. He sat at the table and lit a cigarette. He usually brightened up a bit after his first fag of the day.

Miles took his coffee and joined Alex outside. He sat opposite him and lit a cigarette for himself. They sat in companiable silence. Miles doing his hardest to ignore his phone, which was vibrating in his back pocket. People were still desperate to know what was going on.

"What do you want to do today?" he asked Alex.

Alex looked at him and smiled.

"What do you want to do? It's your weekend. But, on saying that..."

"Yeah?" Miles laughed. He knew Alex couldn't go a whole weekend without getting his own way.

"Louis did say we could borrow one of this cars and go for a drive. Shall we do that tomorrow afternoon?"

"Sounds like a plan."

"But today is yours. Anything you want to do."

Miles didn't know what to say. Part of him wanted to spend the day in bed with Alex, holding him and kissing him and making love and creating memories because he feared that was all he would have left, soon. But in some ways that would make it more painful. It would be better to move forward. Start plans for his new life.

"I'm gonna sound sad if I tell you," he laughed.

Alex reached across the table and grasped his hand.

"What is it? I don't mind."

"We passed a really big garden centre on the way here. I want to get a bay tree for the garden. That's lame, I know."

"You wanna go to the garden centre?"

"Yeah. You can stay here if you want."

"We're supposed to be spending the weekend together. Let's go to the garden centre."