Freddie
Sunlight streamed through the window, the beam illuminating Anna's sleeping face. Freddie wanted to reach out and touch her, feel the softness of her skin with his fingertips, brush the hair away from her eyes. She wasn't beautiful while she slept, which somehow made her even more beautiful to him. Her hair was everywhere - splayed over the pillow, covering her eyes and nose, sticking to her lips. A red crease ran across her cheek, presumably from sleeping with her face pressed into the pillow.
Freddie needed to pee, and to change his clothes. They'd both fallen asleep fully dressed. It was the first time he'd brought a girl "home" and didn't once try to get her pants off. Was that growth? Ginny would say it was fate or something stupid like that.
He scooted out from under the covers and tiptoed to the bathroom, head full of Anna and her travels and hopes and dreams. She knew what she wanted, in a way that overwhelmed him. In his experience, British people only assumed an air of confidence. Americans exuded it.
She was still sleeping when he returned, so he grabbed his camera and snapped a few candid shots. It was only fair - she had photos of him. The shutter clicked loudly, though, and she woke startled.
"What're you doing?" she asked, a yawn escaping.
"I wanted a picture of you."
She frowned and rubbed her eyes. "Like this?"
He laid back down beside her. "Like anything. I don't want to forget you when you walk out that door in a few minutes."
She pushed his face. "Brush your teeth and maybe I'll stay longer than a few minutes."
He laughed. "Deal."
Anna
The alarm clock on Freddie's nightstand showed it was after nine - Anna had missed her train. She smiled as she realized she didn't care. Part of her goal for this trip was to learn to be more spontaneous, and until last night, she'd followed her itinerary to the letter. She'd have to call her parents and best friend, Stef, at the first opportunity to let them know she wasn't on her way to Scotland, but they didn't need to know why, exactly. She'd tell Stef, but letting her mother know she slept over at a strange man's apartment instead of the hostel she prepaid for would only lead to an hour-long lecture and she really couldn't afford to use that much data.
She could play the conversation with Stef in her head. Her friend would ask how they met, if Freddie was cute, and if the sex had been good. When Anna explained they'd only talked and fallen asleep fully-clothed, Stef would laugh, refuse to believe her, and then bitch that Anna needed to live a little.
"What's taking a solo trip to Europe if not living a little," Anna said in response to the imagined complaint.
"Beg pardon?" Freddie appeared in the bathroom door, toothbrush in hand. He'd stripped down to his boxers and Anna had to stop herself from licking her lips. The army had done his body good. Biceps and forearms and abs, all completely mouth-watering. She cleared her throat.
"Nothing. Sorry - talking to myself."
"You do that a lot?" he teased.
"Only when I'm waiting for the handsome guy I came home with to offer me a toothbrush so I can also brush my teeth."
"Shite. Where are my manners? Of course you can brush your teeth. Hold a moment." He went back into the bathroom and Anna sat up straighter to watch him bend down and search the cabinet under the sink.
The apartment itself was impeccably neat. Shelves of books were dust-free and organized alphabetically by author. His shoes and boots sat polished in rows on racks just inside the front door. The desk in the corner of the bedroom didn't have a single stray paper anywhere in sight. It made Anna glad her home was thousands of miles away and he'd never be able to compare. Six years in the army must have taught that discipline - she couldn't imagine a twenty-four year old man being this tidy of his own volition.
"Good news and bad news," Freddie said, in the doorway once more. "Good news - I can pop down to the store and be back in ten minutes."
"Bad news is you don't have an extra toothbrush?"
He nodded. "I'm sorry - I usually have some, I don't know what happened to them."
Anna bit back a laugh. She had a pretty good idea what happened to them.
"I'd offer to let you use mine," he continued, "but that just seems gross. For you - not for me! I don't care about your germs. I mean, I wouldn't mind, but I assume you wouldn't want mine or-"
"Don't worry about it. I'll just head back to the hostel and get my stuff. I need to check out anyway."
"But I brushed my teeth." He grinned. "You said you'd stay."
"Why don't you come with? We can grab a bite to eat before I head off."
"Where are you headed to?"
"I was supposed to be on the way to Scotland, but I missed my train."
"Oh, no. I'm sorry."
Anna shook her head. "Not your fault. I think my time was much better spent."
"Will you rebook your ticket?"
She shrugged. That seemed like the right thing to do. Even if there wasn't another train today, she could surely get there tomorrow. Unless...
"Because if you don't have any strict plans, I was meant to go to Oxford last night to spend a few days with my sister. You could come with. My sister would love to have you - she's Britain's best hostess. I could show you around, be your own personal tour guide."
The answer didn't come immediately. It sounded great - straight out of a romantic comedy: the handsome soldier she'd randomly hit it off with offering to show her his country.
He rubbed his neck. "No, that's weird, isn't it?"
"No!" Anna blurted. "It's not weird. Actually, it is, but that's not why I hesitated."
"Are you here with friends? I didn't think... but obviously you can't up and leave them."
She shook her head. "It's not that either. I'd love to spend a few more days with you, but-"
"You've got reservations and plans."
"I do, and," she stood and tried to smooth down her wrinkled shirt - she must look an absolute mess, how could he still want to hang out with her? "And we just met. It's kinda crazy, right? It can't be smart or safe to go off with a man I don't know, right? That's what my mom would say."
"Your mum would probably be right," Freddie conceded. "You have no reason to trust me, nothing but my word, and upon my honor, I swear I would never hurt you or take advantage of you."
His heart had involuntarily, it seemed to Anna, landed on his sleeve. He looked at her earnestly and she believed him. Even if the speech was a little corny.
"Do they teach that in the army?" she asked.
"What? How to be a complete tosser?"
"How to be completely adorable. Let's start with a meal and go from there."
