STAY

Thirty Six

It was Christmas Eve. We had walked down the cobblestoned streets, just down from the castle grounds, into the tiny town square. There were maybe five little country shops there. It was great, no one really knew who Jared was and he was so relaxed and at ease. We were sitting at a cafe, perfectly situated alongside a lake having afternoon tea. It was cold but sunny, so we braved the breeze to sit outside. "Do you think it will snow?" I asked excitedly. "I don't know, it feels cold enough though" he said sipping his tea. A ball came rolling over towards us, along with a small child. "Here you go" said Jared smiling and passing it to her. She took it from him shyly, running off. "I hope it does, the castle would look beautiful with snow" I continued. He nodded, "I will be happy to look at it through the window, near the fireplace" he laughed. I laughed, "no we have to go walking" I said. He shook his head shivering. "We'll see" he said dubiously. The ball came over again, he picked it up rolling towards the child. "Sorry, she's just learnt to throw, but her aim is terrible" said the mother, she was sitting with another couple of women with babies. "That's okay" said Jared smiling. I rolled my eyes, quickly looking away. "Did you just roll your eyes at her?" he whispered amused. "No" I lied. "It looked like you did" he said. "We don't all need to know what stage of development her kid is up to" I whispered. He started to laugh. I rolled my eyes again and ignored him, changing the topic quickly. Not long after the ball came flying over yet again, this time I grabbed it, but instead of rolling it back to the child I threw it into the lake. A pack of ducks noisily scattering away. I turned innocently and said, "oh sorry, my aim is terrible" with mock sincerity, trying to stifle my grin. The mother and her friends looked appalled, I just shrugged and ignored the now wailing child who ran back to her. They all whispered looking entirely unimpressed by my actions. I looked up at Jared, who was looking at me, eyebrows raised. "That was really mean, you're mean" he said trying not to laugh, "no it's not, what's mean is imagining your child is entertaining and letting them annoy everyone around you" I hissed. He was still trying to suppress his laughter and I watched him call over the waiter. "Can you please send over the biggest, ice cream or dessert, whatever you have on the menu, with as many candies and whatever else you include with it, oh and please put their tab on mine" he said pointing to the table. The waiter nodded and raced off immediately. Within 5 minutes or so they took over the huge ice cream creation to the table. Explaining to the mother who had send it. The child now clapped in excitement and the mother got up and came over, "thank you that's very kind, it's enormous she'll never finish it" she said to Jared, she ignored me completely as she gazed at him, clearly dazzled by his gorgeous face. I couldn't blame her, he was so damn beautiful. "Well it was the least we could do, after my girlfriend accidentally threw her ball into the lake" he said smiling widely. She glanced at me, barely mustering a smile, I pressed my lips together, looking away. "Well, Merry Christmas" he said, trying to break the awkward silence. "Yes, Merry Christmas to you too" she said walking away. "Gigi, what's the deal? I've never seen you be rude to anybody, why her?" he said once she was out of earshot. I exhaled, "I cant stand women who think the world revolves around their annoying little rugrats" I said finally. "Wait, you don't like babies?" he said in surprise, he looked bewildered. "No, I can't stand them actually, they're annoying and noisy and they make a mess. And everyone has to pay attention to them and pretend everything they do is wonderful" I groaned. "Wow, that's is a surprise" he said. "Why?" I asked. "Well, you're a ... nurse and, I just figured ...." he trailed off. "Just because I'm a nurse and I'm a woman I should like babies? Ah, that's rather old fashioned don't you think?" I sneered. "No, don't get me wrong, it's just, you are so nurturing, in your work, just in general. I guess I just assumed it extended to babies" he said smiling cheekily. I shook my head, "I am nurturing, yes, to you. But to my other patients, I'm nice, but not overly so, it's a job after all. You've only ever seen me look after you" I pointed out, "you were very special, from the beginning, babies are not special" I shrugged. He smiled, that big smile, the one that struck you dumb and made your heart beat a thousand miles a minute. The one that even outshone the sun. "Genevieve, you never fail to surprise me" he said. "Do you like babies?" I asked curiously. "I don't mind when they visit with their parents, then they take them and go" he said laughing. I nodded finally smiling. The child appeared again, she was holding out a candy cane and gave it to Jared. "Well thank you very much" he said smiling, taking it from her, he held out his hand and she shook it. She glanced at me, waiting a beat before holding out a candy cane to me. "Uh, you can keep it" I said, but she held it there, waving it at me until I finally took it. "Thanks" I said stiffly nodding at her. "Merry Christmas" said Jared as she ran off waving. He looked at me smiling, "admit it, that was cute" he said. "She was still annoying" I said sassily. He burst out laughing, "come on you grumpy grinch, let's get you out of the cold" he said, grabbing my hand and pulling me up. I spared the women a glance of sympathy before we left, they were stuck there with their crying bundles of poop and I was heading off for a night beside the fire with the most beautiful man on the planet. As we walked up the country lane, heading back up to the castle grounds he spoke again. "When did you realize you didn't like kids?" he asked. "I don't know, for as long as I can remember" I said casually. "So you'd never want to have any, babies, I mean?" he asked. "No, why would I want to bring a child into the world, I'm kind of selfish and well, that's just, well it's unfair. Why don't you want any?" I asked. "Yeah, look, I believe a parent should be there for their child and like you I am too selfish" he said laughing, I nodded. "Do you think you'd regret it?" he asked. "I don't know, maybe, but at the moment I'm happy with my choice" I said. "Really?" he said surprised. "Yes, really, why are we still talking about this?" I said stopping, I wondered at his insistence on continuing the topic. "No reason, I was just curious that's all, keep walking come on it's freezing now" he said taking off again. I followed him up and was glad to be in the warmth of the cottage again. I came out of the bedroom having changed, to find that dinner had been delivered to us by the main house. I wasn't very hungry, but I went over and had a look at what was on offer. He came over wrapping his arms around me. I turned slipping my arms around his neck. "How are those butterflies?" he whispered against my lips. "Still fluttering" I said smiling. I hadn't actually uttered the words, it felt like such a huge deal to say them out loud. He kissed me softly, so very different from the last night. I shivered as I remembered and briefly felt the sting on my ass. "What is it?" he asked. "My ass is stinging" I grinned. He growled, "tease, that just makes me want to do it all over again" he said. "I bet it does" I said laughing. "Are you going to eat something?" he asked letting me go. I shook my head, "no, I'm not hungry, you go ahead" I said. I walked over to our makeshift bed in front of the fire. I wondered what the housekeeping staff had made of it. I had heard him tell them this morning to leave the room as it was and just give us fresh towels. It was so quiet and peaceful, just the crackling of the fire. I felt him lie down next to me and wrap his arm around my waist, pulling me against his body. "I never thought I'd be spending Christmas like this" I said sighing. "Are you happy we're here?" he asked. "Yes, I couldn't be happier, this is just beautiful. I don't think I ever want to leave" I said wistfully. "Yeah, it'll be depressing going back to real life" he said. I nodded, feeling sad. He turned my face to his and kissed me long and passionately. We broke apart, only to continue once again. Within moments we were naked, our bodies intertwined. He rolled over onto me, holding himself up on his forearms, sliding into me silently. He peppered my cheeks and neck with kisses as he made love to me. Tenderly, unhurriedly. I unraveled beneath him, a small moan escaping me as I tightened my legs around his waist falling over the edge. He was almost as quiet, exhaling as he shuddered in his release. I shivered as I came back from the bathroom. He had just put some more wood into the fire and was holding back the covers so I could get in, I wasted no time snuggling up next to him. "It's cold" I said. "I'll warm you up" he said. Within minutes I was once again warm and relaxed. "I love you" he said. I nodded, my eyes starting to close. "Gigi, say it, say the words" he said sternly. My eyes snapped open, he was looking at me seriously, a frown marring his beautiful face. "You know I do" I said softly. "I need to hear it, please" he said. He looked frustrated and my heart broke a little. Why was it so hard for me to say the words?! I tucked myself into his chest, wrapping my arms and legs around him. "I ... I do, I love you too" I murmured. "Why is it so hard for you to say?" he asked with a sigh. I shrugged not really knowing the answer. "Just know that it's true" I said softly. He nodded, tightening his arms around me. "Sleep or Santa won't come" he said. "Yes sir" I said giggling. "Ooh I like that" he said. "No way, not a chance" I laughed. "Night Genevieve" he said laughing. "Mm, night" I said with a yawn.
Jared's POV -
She was fast asleep in moments. I envied this about her. As I lay there, a dozen thoughts were going through my head. She finally admitted she loved me, it had seemed so hard for her to let down her walls and admit it. Her revelation about her feelings towards children was such a surprise. Not that I wanted any, not wanting a family, had been the breaking point for a past relationship, so I guess I should have been happy that we were on the same page. I was for the first time in a long time, reluctant to get back to real life. I led an extremely busy life, I was always juggling three or four projects at once, at the very least. I was afraid that my life would take over and where would that leave us? I knew I wanted a relationship with her, there was no question of that. I just needed to find a happy medium. How, that was the question.