You're My Number One

Chapter Seven

Hi all

Thank you so much for all of your votes and comments about my reworking of this story.  I hope you have enjoyed reading it - I know that I really enjoyed working on it.  Here is the final chapter (sob!)  It's set a few years after the previous chapter so forms an epilogue.  I'd be open to writing some other bits linked to the time in between if anyone is interested.  Just pop me a message and I'll see what I can do.

Thank you again.  Lots of love xx

It's so hot I can't sleep. I've been tossing and turning for what seems like hours. Oh, enough is enough! I can't just lie here all night. I'll have to get out of this bed.

It's no cooler downstairs so I venture into the back garden. It's gorgeous out there.  I feel so much more comfortable moving around, feeling the soft grass between my toes. It's lovely. So quiet and still.

I sit down on the hammock and study the photo I found earlier whilst tidying up the spare room. I can't help but smile. Just looking at it brings back so many memories. Memories of our first UK tour all those years ago. And I'm glad to see that Paul and I haven't changed that much!

I hear footsteps behind me and the patio doors slide open. I turn around to see Paul doing that cute stretch thing which he always does when he first wakes up. As he runs his fingers through his hair, his ring catches the morning sun and shines brightly through his glasses, causing him to squint.  My heart skips a beat and the coil at the pit of my stomach returns. Yes, 8 years on and I still feel like that whenever I see him semi-naked. He's only wearing a pair of boxers.

"What are you doing out here baby?" he asks, yawning widely.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up. It's too hot and I can't sleep. Your child seems to be having a party tonight."

He smiles at that and joins me in the hammock. We lay there together, and trying not to sound like a hopeless romantic, it's absolute heaven. I've not felt this comfortable all night.

The hammock is one of my favourite places in the whole house. We moved here four years ago - two years after S Club split. From the day our estate agent brought us here to view it, a sunny day in April, I fell in love with it. It had a charm that appealed to me and a huge garden to match! It reminds me of my parent's house in Norfolk.
When we got back to our rented flat that evening, we talked a lot about the house and we agreed that it would be perfect to raise a family in. That night was the first night that we discussed our future in detail. We'd talked about it in umbrella terms before but this time was different. We talked in specifics about marriage, children and even pets! It didn't scare me, didn't freak me out at all. I knew it was what I wanted.  I remember lying there knowing for sure that Paul was The One. Admittedly I knew that already, but something changed that night. It was like we both came to a realisation that this was it. We were together for the long run. Forever.

Paul must have felt it too...Six weeks later, whilst having dinner with my parents, he asked my father for permission to marry me.  Mum and I were in the kitchen at the time but when we returned, I knew something had happened. Paul seemed pleased with himself and although I didn't know why, I was glad. He'd always worried about making the right impression despite me trying to reassure him that my parents loved him nearly as much as I did. For the rest of the evening, he seemed more relaxed than I'd seen him for days. I squeezed his thigh and smiled. He laced my fingers with his and winked in response.

Two months later, during a sunset cruise in Tenerife, Paul got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. Suddenly everything clicked into place: the atmosphere that night at dinner, the frequent trips out with Neil (which I later found out was ring shopping!) and his inability to relax on the holiday despite me trying to use my womanly charms on him... Apparently he was terrified that I'd say no. I didn't need to hesitate - I knew that I wanted to spend the rest of my life as Mrs Cattermole.

That night, Paul and I made love for the first time without protection. I was still on the pill so we didn't need to worry about falling pregnant. It felt incredible to feel Paul moving inside me, and when I felt him climax, it was enough to send me spiralling into my third orgasm of the night.

We married on a sunny Saturday in April at a small service in Bath. The day was perfect, and as I stood at the front of the church listening to Paul recite his vows, I felt like I might burst. I was finally marrying my best friend.  The man who had owned my heart since I was 20.

Our reception was held at the same country house that we'd spent time at as part of S Club 7. It just seemed right. After all, it was there that we moved from friends to a couple. The rest of the band came and we arranged for them to stay in the same rooms as they stayed in all those years ago. The only differences were Jon and us.

As one of Paul's best men, Jon - and his partner Anton - stayed in one of the best suites in the house. It overlooked the gardens and lake.  It was also the nearest room to ours - The Honeymoon Suite. Our room was beautiful and my wonderful maid-of-honour (my older sister Tanya) decorated it before we went to bed. Despite what people expect, we didn't make love on our wedding night. Apparently this is actually quite common! We were both so exhausted and emotional after the day (not to mention being a little tipsy), that we fell asleep fully clothed and slept until the morning. It reminded me of our very first night together all those years ago, although this time I didn't need to sneak out before Paul woke.

That night seems so long ago as we lie there in the hammock.  I feel Paul shift and place one arm around me whilst drawing lazy circles on my stomach with the other.  At 7 months pregnant, the current heatwave England is experiencing is not welcomed in the Cattermole house.  After a few minutes, our unborn child stops wriggling and settles down to sleep. Daddy always seems to have the magic touch. I reason that we must be having a daughter and she's a Daddy's girl already. Paul disagrees. He's convinced that he saw a 'tiddler' on the ultrasound.

I glance up at Paul and smile. I notice that he's looking at the photograph I'd found earlier.

"When was this taken?" he asks.
"Our first tour," I say fondly, "2001."
"Oh yeah," he replies with a smile, "and what a great tour it was."
"Yeah - when we finally got together," I say.
"Did we?"
I hit him playfully on the stomach. "You know we did."
"Of course I know. I just like winding you up." he replies, laughing.
"Yeah, and you're so good at it!"  He laughs and kisses my head, pulling me closer to him.  "Remember Michelle?" I ask with a wry smile.
He looks blank for a minute before grinning. "Yeah - she was alright she was."
"Don't push it Cattermole..." I warn.
"Come on Han, you know I'm joking. You're the only one I've ever wanted, even then."

I don't know how to reply so I turn on to my side and snuggle into his chest. This is my favourite place to be. Safe in Paul's arms. The gentle strokes of his hand on my back and the warmth of his body are lulling me to sleep at last.

"I love you Moley," I mutter sleepily.
"I love you too Spun. You and our baby."

I'm still holding the photograph from the tour, lost in the memories it's brought back. From what I say next, I think I must be half-asleep, dreaming of that special time in 2001.

"Paul..."
"Hmmm?"
"You're my number one..."

He laughs but tells me I will always be his number one as well. Then he kisses me on the head and tells me he loves me as I finally drift off to sleep.

My life may have changed a lot over the past 8 years, and some great things may have happened, but lying here, I know the best is still to come. In a matter of weeks I will give birth to our child and our little family will be even more perfect than it already is.  I can't wait for the next chapter in our lives to begin. With Paul by my side, I know we can get through anything life throws our way. Just like we always have.