Since I Saw Him Last: A Gary Barlow Fanfic

Chapter Eighteen

I opened my eyes to see the sun shining brightly through the blinds in my bedroom. I started smiling as I rolled myself over to feel an empty space in the bed next to me. Gary was gone but I could hear water running in the background. Last night, Gary and I finished off the bottle of rosé; needless to say we were both fairly tipsy by this stage. It was great to see the fun and silly side of Gary; he gives off an air of being responsible and serious but he was comfortable enough to show his carefree side. We were talking and joking with each other until about 3am when his libido set sail again and we had passionate sex with each other before falling asleep in each other's arms. I always thought that the reality of dating your idol would lead to a lot of high expectations being destroyed, fantasies crashing and burning. Gary was everything I envisioned him to be and more. I knew he suffered from occasional mood swings and abruptness, I'd witnessed this even in the short time I'd known him but that made him all the more genuine. His mood swings contrasted with the loving side I saw last night, Gary had depth and that's what was keeping me hooked.

Gary walked in from the bathroom, stark naked! "Morning beautiful," his grin was wide as he kissed me. I closed my eyes. "You're not going back to sleep. Get up. I've made us a bath." Luckily my bath wasn't a standard sized one; we'd both fit in quite snug. I loved my baths, when I moved into my house I made sure I upgraded to one of those enormous tubs. It took up the majority of the bathroom but I didn't care, it was my space to relax and unwind. Now, I was going to relax and unwind in it with Gary.

I rose from my bed slowly, I yawned as I ambled to the bathroom. Gary was in the bath already, his body was surrounded by bubbles. I had never seen a more adorable sight. He grinned boyishly at me; "Get in, get in!" I slid myself in; I lay back in the tub and closed my eyes. "What are you like? Don't fall back to sleep." Gary scoffed at me. "I'm not, just leave me be. How did you know to make me a bath?" I smiled. My eyes were still closed. "All girls love baths don't they? I can't remember the last time I had one. Never have the time." I opened my eyes and pulled a sad face. "Baths are the best. They're so soothing." I said with a relaxed expression. "I can tell!" Gary laughed. I lifted some bubbles from the water and spread them across my face. "Gary, how do I look? Fancy me now?" I tried not to giggle. "Who said I fancy you? " he feigned a stern look. I tried not to move my face but I opened my eyes wide to glare at him. "I'm joking!" I kept the white bubble beard on. "So what do you have planned today?" I wondered if Gary was hinting to spend the day with me. "Unfortunately, the girls are coming round. You do realise I have a life away from you. If you want to come around unannounced then you might not get to spend your time with me as you wish." "That's me told," Gary raised his eyebrows. He wet his hair and started washing his face. "So what you doing with the girls?" he asked, trying not to sound disheartened. "They'll be coming around this afternoon, we'll cook, drink and get the karaoke out." I replied. "Karaoke, eh? Any of my tunes?" he smiled cheekily. "Well, that's a stupid question. Of course, I've got a disc that's made up solely of Take That songs." I grinned at him like I was teacher's pet. "I'd love to be a fly on the wall for that!" "And you won't Gary will you!" We laughed heartily. He grabbed my ankles and pulled me closer to him, he kissed me in that sensual way that I never tire of. "Gary, do you know what the time is?" I was too caught up in Gary to have checked the time. "I don't know. We've been in here for about 20 minutes. I think it was 12.30pm when I called you in." "Shit!" I yelped. "What's wrong?" he was baffled by my reaction. "The girls are coming at 1pm! Shit!" I jumped out of the bath, wrapped myself in a towel and threw another on the bath mat. "That one's for you!" I walked quickly out of the bathroom; Gary didn't stir. I looked through my wardrobe to find something decent to wear and started applying my make up. Gary eventually sauntered from the bath, he had a towel wrapped around his waist and stood in front of me with his hands on his hips; why does this man have to look so God damn sexy all the bloody time! *RING* Oh shit, the girls are here! I stopped applying my mascara. I looked up to see that Gary had already walked downstairs. He's not going to open the door dressed like that is he? I ran down the stairs and stopped half way to see the door being opened by Gary. The girls were stood outside of my front door; I saw Victoria staring at Gary whilst Zoe's mouth was gaping open. Sophia didn't know where to look and Charlotte started giggling, she looked up at me on the stairs and looked back down to Gary "Gaz, I prefer this look on you!" Charlotte started cackling. "You alright Charlie? Girls." He smiled politely at them. "Come in." Gary stepped back to let them in. The girls gathered in the living room. Gary whispered, "I'm gonna go get changed." I didn't reply, I just pouted at him. "Cheer up," he said as he gave me a kiss on my forehead.

I walked into the living room; the girls were gawping at me. "What the hell was that about?" Victoria asked; she was still in shock. Charlotte laughed, "Now I see why you like him so much. I didn't realise how fit he looks with his clothes off!" "Sorry about that," I sighed. "Don't be sorry Tasha, I wouldn't mind waking up to that everyday!" Zoe's eyes lit up. "I can't wait to hear the gossip Tasha!" Sophia squealed. I ignored their remarks. I couldn't think about anything else with Gary still upstairs. I wanted to introduce the girls to him properly. The girls may have loved the meeting but I felt like I was rubbing it in their faces. The last thing I wanted to do was to wind them up. The girls only found out on Thursday that I was seeing Gary and were upset with me for not telling them. "Can I have a dougnut?" Zoe asked as she looked in the box and saw four lonely doughnuts. "Go ahead. They're all yours." I smiled at Zoe, there was something so endearing and childlike about her. The girls crowded around the box and each picked a doughnut. "You scoffed a whole load last night then?" Charlotte said with her mouth full, she winked at me. "Burn these off did you?" Victoria teased. I heard Gary making his way down; I walked to meet him at the bottom of the stairs. Gary peered into the living room, "It was nice to meet you girls. Might see each other again," he said as he lifted his hand up to wave. "See you Gaz." Charlotte said. Sophia and Victoria smiled whilst Zoe waved back. Gary turned his attention to me. He placed his hands on my upper arms, "I'll give you a call." He bowed his head a little as he looked intently at me. I could tell he meant it; he would call me this time. He gave me a quick peck on the lips; opened the door and walked out. He turned around as he walked up the path towards his car, blew a kiss and winked at me. This man drives me insane; I miss him already.