Love's Not A Competion

Sleeping Beauty

A.N: Just a quick one as I've been pretty ill recently.

Hope you're all still enjoying it!

Charlie 😚

....

Ricky was still asleep when I woke up. He was lying on his side with his mouth open and dribbling on the pillow. It always made me giggle when I woke to see him sleeping with his mouth open. He didn't look his most handsome when he slept but that proved he's human and I wanted to wake up next to that funny face every morning.

I was quite sore when I got up. I had bruises scattered around on my chest, arms, legs, hips and a few little ones on my face. The grazes on my arms were almost gone thanks to mum taking care of me. I hadn't felt like it hurt at the time but maybe the shock had taken over. I must have been pushed against the tree pretty hard.

If I looked like this Jim must have been worse. Ricky thought I'd broken Jim's nose, I'd certain given him a nose bleed like Niagara Falls. We'd both hit him with a lot of force. I hoped he was in agony.

I was running a bath when Ricky woke. I was stood in the bathroom and looking over my naked, bruised body in the mirror when I saw him out of the corner of my eye. He smiled sleepily at me from the doorway.

"Hey beautiful." he smiled.

"Hi." I smiled.

"Those bruises look painful." he grimaced as he came closer.

"I'm a bit sore." I sighed.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked as he pulled me into a gentle hug.

"Not really." I said in a small voice.

"I understand but you know I'm here to listen when you want to talk." he told me.

"I'm so lucky to have you. If you hadn't been there it would have been much worse. You saved me." I sighed into his neck. "I love you."

"I love you too." he said and kissed my cheek.

I leant in and kissed him softly on the lips. I was nervous this time, what if Jim was right and Ricky wouldn't want to be with me after it.

I had no reason to be nervous, Ricky made it clear he still wanted me. He was starting to get a bit passionate with a hand wandering to my bottom when he suddenly pulled away.

"Sorry, I got a bit carried away." he frowned.

"Don't you want me after what happened?" I asked feeling vulnerable.

"Oh I want you so much!" he laughed softly. "So much so it's a struggle but I don't want to hurt you when you're already hurt."

"He said you wouldn't want me when he was finished." I said.

"Well, he's wrong. Nothing can keep me away from you emotionally or physically." he sighed. "I'm too madly in love with you to stay away."

I felt ridiculously loved up as we bathed and got dressed. I held onto his hand tightly as we headed downstairs to the main dining room for breakfast. I had scrambled eggs and smoked salmon to eat while Ricky had sausage, meatballs and bacon with a fried egg.

"You look happy." my dad said to him as he ate.

"He's always that smug when he eats meat in front of me cose I'll only cook it on very special occasions like his birthday." I explained to dad. "I'd rather have grilled peppers and humus instead of bacon but Rick thinks that's weird."

"That's cose you're a bit weird." Ricky shrugged.

I was so glad we were back to our playful banter already. Nothing and no one could come between us.

Dad filled us in on what had happened last night after we left. Jim had tried to cause another scene but my dad and brother had escorted him back to the hotel where they'd packed his bags and put him in a taxi for the airport. Before he'd left he'd threatened to sue me and Ricky for assault. Dad explained he was only telling me this so that if in the unlikely event of it actually happening I wouldn't get a nasty surprise.

"He doesn't have a leg to stand on. Yes, he's got a broken nose and a few hurt ribs but self defence is very different to assault." Dad said.

I wasn't really in the mood to hear this. I understood why dad was telling me but I didn't want to hear about the man who assaulted me in a forest when my brother was getting married in a few hours. I looked out the window instead and listened to the rain. Rain lashed down the windows and didn't fill me with much hope for an outdoor ceremony.

"Okay?" Ricky asked as he joined me while I got some fruit and little sweet buns from the buffet.

"We're going to need umbrellas." I sighed.

"I didn't mean the weather." he asked.

"I know." I replied. "Today is about my brother. I'm only going to think about getting through today and then I'll deal with what Jim did. Are you going for a run today?"

"I agreed I'd go for a run with Mike later. A pre wedding run." he replied.

We spent the morning doing last minuet things for the wedding like setting out the chairs for the ceremony. It would take place on the viewing platform on top of a mountain near where my sister in law grew up. When we managed to get breaks from the rain we'd run out from the shelter of nearby trees and put chairs out as fast as we could before another downpour.

"I hope it clears up later. This is awful weather." I sighed.

Ricky put his arms around me and hugged me as we watched the giant rain drops crash down to the ground.

We went back to the hotel for lunch and to get ready for the afternoon. When my brother arrived he headed off for a run around the hotel grounds with Ricky. I thought they were both crazy to run in this weather but I wasn't going to question them today.

When they returned soaked through but laughing they sandwiched me between them in a big wet hug.

"Ew!" I squealed with giggles. "You're all sweaty and wet!"

"I'm going for a shower." Mike said as he headed to use our parents bathroom.

"You won't need to use the shower. Just stand on the balcony and lather up. It's hail stones out there!" I told Ricky and gestured to the window.

"I think I might get a bit cold!" he laughed. "I hope it stops raining for the wedding."

"Me too." I agreed.