I Want Your Heaven and Your Oceans Too

The River Lea

London was gray, like a washed out painting. It was a bustling metropolis to be sure, the center of culture and of art but she couldn't help but feel intense waves of melancholy whenever she had to be there. Bradley compared it to New York but they both knew his comparison was a feeble attempt to lift her spirits. It didn't help matters that it seemed to rain, almost constantly and the drenched streets were a sea of black umbrellas. She supposed the rush of people, dodging into cafes and shops and onto buses and downstairs to the tube made it easier for them to walk around with their own umbrellas, fairly inconspicuously but all of the dreariness seeped into her soul until she'd absorbed it. Their hotel suite was home base and she loathed to leave it, even with gentle coaxing on Bradley's part.

It was Bradley himself who brought out just the tiniest inkling of color. The premiere of A Star is Born there had only been bearable because he'd been around to hold her hand, to lead her seamlessly through it as he'd done every step of the way thus far. The parade of interviews and press obligations and parties had served as a distraction from the dreariness but she couldn't hide anything from him, never could. He had sensed the shift in her mood after all was said and done.

"London isn't my favorite place," she'd explained, almost dismissively. She hadn't expected him to understand, after all, it was of the greatest cities in the world and he'd spent quite some time there, doing Elephant Man. Despite their closeness, it wasn't a notion she thought he'd share but he had nodded, his eyes finding hers.

"Totally. It all gets to you, after a while. The weather, the whole atmosphere. I felt the same way."

And he'd brought her to go get fish and chips at the most unassuming hole in the wall pub where they'd laughed until their sides ached and afterward, she'd felt decidedly more human.

"Hey," his voice shook her back to the present. "It's not raining today. Do you want to go exploring?"

They'd arrived three days ago and it had done scarcely little but downpour. It had been fine at first; they'd holed up in the suite, in between the press he had to do, existing on room service and watching classic cinema and making love. But gradually, the desolation had kicked in and she could sense the tension settling into her hips, the base of her spine.

It was the last thing she needed. Bradley's film premiere was the following evening and it was all about him, how proud she was that they would be celebrating his second directorial endeavor. He was by her side through every one of her artistic pursuits and she'd be damned if anything was going to prevent her from reveling in his achievements.

She glanced up from her phone, taking in the man before her. He was well-rested and chipper, the blue of his sweater making his eyes appear almost electric. After years of being together, he could still make her pulse quicken with a single word, a look, a miniscule brush of his knuckles against hers.

She smiled, gratefully accepting the takeaway cup of coffee. "Mmm," she murmured appreciatively, taking a careful sip, "this is heavenly." Her eyes grew soft. "Thank you."

He moved to sit next to her, leaning to sweep his lips across her cheek. "You're welcome."

"How long have you been up? I didn't even hear you leave."

Kicking his shoes off, he slid in bed, adjacent to where she was laying. "For awhile. Didn't want to wake you. You look like an angel when you're asleep."

"Mmhmm," she grinned, unable to resist ribbing him lightly, "as opposed to a devil when I'm awake?"

"Hey, I didn't say it," he joked back, taking the cup from her to rest it on the nightstand. His lips found hers, soft and slow, his thumb trailing errantly down over the slope of her jaw, the swell of her collarbone, fingers skidding over her shoulders, tracing ink.