LONDON BOY

18. Safe to Fall

Listen to this song on repeat to get in this chapter's mood:
CH18: The 1 - Taylor Swift

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After spending a week off in Los Angeles, spending most days with Tom, Haz, Bri, and Rose on the beach or sightseeing, it was time to go back to home. Boarding the company jet headed towards New York, you felt quite sad to leave behind the L.A. sun. The past week had been one of the best in your life. You were utterly happy on the Santa Monica pier and Malibu beaches, enjoying every moment with your best friends and boyfriend. You were glad that the girls clicked with Tom, and you were growing closer to Haz every day.

Not to mention how happy being with Tom for real made you. It was delightfully carefree, walking hand in hand just simply because you wanted it, knowing there wasn't some ulterior motive hidden behind it. The kisses you shared on Hollywood Hill hikes, the laughs you shared about jokes of getting a summer house in Malibu, the late nights intertwined in each other. It was really something; all your wishes coming true.

The flight would have a layover in New York City, to drop off Tom and Harrison, before making its way to Amsterdam. You had to go home to check on the Valey Girls store in Amsterdam, and having Bri and Rose along with you on the eight-hour flight from NYC, made you feel relieved. The fact that you could use the jet, instead of flying commercial, also really didn't hurt.

You were glad to go home for a couple of days; you'd missed your mom and especially Esra. You had FaceTimed with them almost everyday since leaving for London with Tom, but the time difference always made it a mathematical sum figuring out the best times... So, you were incredibly excited to finally be able to cuddle them again.

Still, you were kind of nervous about leaving Tom's company for the first time in weeks. Sure, you would often spend some time apart, but ever since getting the apartment, you'd only spent one night away from him, staying at the hotel with Bri and Rose. All of the other nights, you'd come home to Tom's embrace.

You'd spent most nights with his hands up in your hair and his body close to yours. Every time either of you had to leave early, you wished you could just stay in bed with him all day. You didn't want to share him with the world, and he felt the same way about you. However, Tom had work obligations; interviews, auditions, meetings, and you were busy planning the Valey Girls flagship store with Kayla.

She had found the perfect location at one of the streets off Broadway in SoHo. The industrial space looked so cool! The plans you made with designers to basically create a pink cloud, to contrast the masculine feeling the space had, made you super excited to open the store. The opening was planned for just four weeks from then, so you would be working long days. Waking up early, having Zoom-meetings with James who was basically running everything back in Amsterdam. To working late hours, discussing the plans for the opening party with Kayla.

Tom had been incredibly supportive, though it was clear he wouldn't mind having you around more often. He gave you all his free weekends and every spare moment he had; he'd help you wherever he could. This varied from reaching out to the guestlist, inviting them for opening night, to actually putting up shelves on-site. It surprised you that he was actually quite handy and he looked extremely hot, lifting heavy stuff bare chested. Not once did you fight, putting together the construction kits. Sure, you got into discussions about following the manuals, but it always turned into teasing and laughter.

You were feeling truly fortunate to have him as your sidekick through it all. In return, you accompanied him to business dinners, interviews, and shootings, whenever you could. The mornings you'd spent walking the High Line together, the stolen kisses in Washington Square Park, and late nights in downtown bars, had become your new favourite memories. So, leaving him for Amsterdam, felt like not taking your stuffed animal with you on vacation for the first time. The notion of slipping into an empty bed and waking up alone, felt daunting. You'd grown so fond of waking up snuggled up against his body, hearing his soft snores.