Atonement

•35•

After packing my bags for the trip, Haz helps me carry them down to the car. I can't believe he actually convinced me to do this.. this isn't like me at all. Tom walks out the door and shoves his bags in the trunk next to mine, throwing his sunglasses on with a wide smile.
"California time baby!" He says.
"Never say that again mate." Haz says.
"You're just mad you have to work while we get a vacation." Tom teases.
"No I'm mad my girlfriend is going to the states with my best friend and not me." Haz corrects him.
I laugh at their bickering, throwing my phone on the backseat and looking to Tom.
"Get in a need a big goodbye with my boyfriend." I say to him.
"He's my boyfriend too!" Tom frowns over dramatically as he wraps his arms around Haz.
"Love you boyfriend." Haz plays along.
"Love you too boyfriend." Tom plants a big fat kiss to Haz's cheek which Haz is quick to wipe away, pushing Tom off of him.
I absolutely love their friendship.
"Goodbye Thomas." Haz says.
"Bye mate." Tom hops into the backseat of the car, leaving just me and my boy.
"Now you are going to call me every night so I know you're okay." I start. "Be safe, please."
"Darling I'm amazing at what I do, there's no reason for you to worry." He grins.
"Well I'm going to, so be careful." I warn.
"I always am." He says.
"And don't think for a second I forgot your birthday is coming up, I'm going to do lots of gift shopping in California." I say.
"You seriously haven't forgotten that yet?" He groans.
"Nope. We're going to do gifts and cake and maybe even cute little party hats." I joke.
He gives me a warm smile, pulling me into his arms. I let his warmth calm me, listening to his heartbeat as I rest my head on his chest.
"I love you." He says.
"I love you too." I smile.
After a minuet, we pull away and he gives me a soft sweet kiss goodbye.
"See you in three days." I wave, getting into the car next to Tom.
"See you, Darlin." He says, shutting my door for me and the driver takes off. I wave out the window to him until he's out of my sight, turning to face forward. Toms shows me his phone, and I read the text he sent to Haz.
Tom: miss you already baby xoxo
"Stop trying to steal my boyfriend." I laugh.
"He was my boyfriend first!" He exclaims.
This is going to be a long trip filled with Tom pestering me, and normally that would annoy me but right now I could really use some normalcy.
We get to the hangar where my private jet is parked, and get out of the car. The driver carries our bags over and I see Jerry's smiling face.
"Back again so soon Mrs. Alderidge." He says.
"Bosses orders." I roll my eyes. "But always good to see you Jerry. This is Tom, not apart of the mob just a bum that lives with us."
"Excuse me!" Tom gasps.
"Do you have a better explanation?" I ask.
"Hi, Tom Holland, Bosses best friend." He introduces himself, putting his hand out to Jerry.
"Nice to meet you Mr. Holland." Jerry nods.
We get on the jet, and I take a seat in my normal spot. I hate not having Haz here with me.. Im not as scared of flying when he's by my side.
Jerry gets situated and Tom sits down next to me, grabbing my hand in his.
"Squeeze away." He says.
"What?" I ask.
"Haz told me you're deathly afraid of flying and that you like to practically squeeze his hand off." He says. "So squeeze away."
I smile at the gesture. I think that even after having a bit of a fight we're going to be great friends.
____
"Wake up drool monster." Tom says, waking me up.
"I don't drool." I mumble, sitting up.
"You definitely drool." He laughs.
I look out the window to see the sun shining and blue skies.
"Oh my god!" I say excitedly, jumping up from my seat and walking off the jet.
The heat from the blazing sun hits my skin, making me warm up instantly. I've only been to California one other time when I was much younger, I love it here. It's not gloomy like London.
"Mrs. Alderidge."
I see a tall dark haired man walk towards me, dressed very nicely. "I'm William, Mr. Osterfield hired me to take care of your transportation and anything else you may need on this trip."
"Haz hired someone for us? Sick!" Tom says and I roll my eyes.
"Nice to meet you, William." I smile.
He takes our bags to the car and Tom pops his shades on, looking like he's going to fit in well here.
"Lets go sweetheart." Tom says, playfully slinging his arm over my shoulders.
"Yeah don't call me that." I say, pushing his arm off me.
We get in the car and quickly roll down the windows so we don't die from the heat.
"Where would you like to go?" William asks.
"A good pub." Tom says.
"The hotel please." I say, making Tom frown at me.
"You're going to be no fun!" He groans.
"We just got here and you already want to get shit faced?! We should at least get settled in first!" I laugh.
"Then get shit faced!" He cheers.
We drive to the hotel, and its huge and beautiful. The ceilings are high and the floors are marble. Haz really booked the most gorgeous place.
"Hello, welcome." The woman at the front desk smiles.
"Hello, two rooms reserved for Osterfield." I say.
She types into the computer, and turns to grab two keys for us.
"Here you go." She hands them to us. "Rooms 384 and 385 on the fifth floor."
"Thank you." I nod.
Tom and I get on the elevator, and I think back to the first time I got on an elevator with Haz, laughing at the memory. I love his sweet little fear of elevators. It's little things like that, that makes him so special.
I unlock the door to my room, and when I open it my jaw drops.
"Oh my god.." I breath out.
The room is gigantic, with a wall of glass looking over the ocean. The bed is the biggest one I've ever seen, filled with fluffy white pillows and blankets. A fresh bouquet of roses sit in a vase on the glass table that displays in the middle of the room.
"Sick! Mini bar!" I hear Tom exclaim from the room next to me.
I walk over to his room, walking through the door to see he's already opened a bottle of beer.
"How about we just drink here instead of going out?" I suggest.
He responds by throwing me a beer, and we drink.