A Beautiful Forever(30)

“I’ll just leave you both to get settled then,” Beattie says as she lays some pamphlets on a little table by the door and closes it softly behind her.

Elliot looks at me and grins, then drops our bag and somehow manages to go from standing next to me to lying on the bed before I’ve had the chance to blink twice.

“Oh my god! This is amazing!” he moans. “I have missed having a decent mattress sooooo much!”

“I’ve never had a great mattress, but I agree. This bed is divine,” I say as I climb on the bed and lie next to him.

Resting my head on his chest, we lay together quietly. I run my fingers gently up and down his side while he plays with my hair, it feels so nice that my own hand slowly stills, and I drift off to sleep.





Elliot


“Thanks so much for organising this weekend, Paige,” I say after a while, “Paige?” I say again when she doesn’t respond. When I lift my head so I can look at her face, she stirs a little, shifting even closer to me in her sleep.

I'm filled with so much emotion for her right now, I want to tell her that I love her this weekend, but I don’t want her to think that I’m only doing it because I’m about to go and there’s no real consequence to me saying it. I want her to know that I want to be with her. I want her to know that if she doesn’t want to return to Australia then I want to come back to her as soon as I can get a new working Visa.

There’s so much we need to say, but it’s hard finding the right time to say it. We both agreed not to talk about what’s going to happen when I leave, but my leaving is just around the corner. We have to face it sometime.

After a while, I close my eyes, feeling tired after the drive and drift off with her in my arms, fully aware that this is one less time I’ll get to do it in, I don’t know how long.





Paige


It’s almost dark when I wake up, still wrapped around Elliot. I love having my head on his chest, listening to the deep rhythmic breathing as he sleeps. I tilt my head up and kiss his jawline; he never shaves on the weekends and after a full day, he almost has half a beard.

“Hey, baby,” I coo at him to rouse him awake.

His eyes flutter open, and he looks down at me smiling. “Hey, what time is it?” he croaks, taking a deep breath as he stretches his body out to wake himself fully.

“Almost 5:30,” I tell him softly. “You want to go and get some dinner?”

Springing to life, he rolls on top of me, sending excited butterflies dancing through my body as he kisses me passionately. “I’d rather stay here and feed off you,” he murmurs, slowly undoing the buttons on my shirt as he trails kisses down my chest until he reaches the apex of my cleavage, flicking his tongue against my skin as his hand cups my breast, squeezing it as I gasp, arching myself beneath him. Pulling the lace of my bra to the side, he kneads my flesh and swirls his tongue over my already erect nipple. I start to pull at his shirt as he works me into a frenzy while he worships my breasts, crying out in loss when he moves his mouth back up to my neck and buttons up my shirt one handed.

“But I think we’ll need food,” he murmurs against my skin. “I’m planning on keeping you up all night.”

Shivers run through me as I think about what’s in store later. As I watch him stand I lay there immobile, a quivering mess after being worked up moments before. Holding out his hand, he pulls me up off the bed, kissing me once more before tugging me towards the door and grabbing our things to go in search of somewhere to eat.

He holds the door of the car open for me, his eyes dark and seductive as he watches my movement. A groan escapes his mouth as I slide my hand down his body as I enter the car – I may or may not have let my hand trail over what felt like a very firm rod in his pants. I give him a slight squeeze – just to be sure - as I grin wickedly at him.

“Cheeky,” he chuckles as he adjusts himself slightly and closes the door, walking calmly over to the driver’s side to slide behind the wheel. “Do you know what you want to eat?” he asks, reversing us out of our parking space and pulling onto the road.

“Well, I did, but you put a stop to that,” I pout, earning myself a beautiful grin in response.

“We’ll just see what we find then huh?”

“Can’t we skip dinner and just go back? Finish what you started?”

“What I started? Paige, you started this whole thing the moment you laid those gorgeous amber eyes on me in the plane. I haven't stopped wanting you for a moment since.”

“Amber eyes huh? I’ve never thought of them like that. You were pretty hot on the plane yourself, you know,” I admit.

“Yeah? Well, you were pretty indifferent for a girl who thought I was ‘hot’.”

“Indifference and disinterest are two very different things Elliot,” I tell him plainly.

“Care to elaborate on that,” he asks, flicking me a glance as he concentrates on the road. I feel like saying ‘not really', but I find myself actually answering his question instead.

“I’d been on my own for a long-time Elliot, and I’d given up on men at that point. I didn’t think I could ever have something like this – someone like you… so, I guess I wasn’t really letting myself look at you like that.”

We sit and study each other for a moment as he pulls the car into a parking space outside a restaurant that’s overlooking the water. I can see the questions running through his mind and hold my breath while I wait to see what he says next, I think I just shared a bit too much information.

“I’m glad you gave us a chance then,” he says finally, surprising me by not pushing for more answers. “Come on, let’s go eat,” he suggests, inclining his head towards the restaurant as he opens his door, unfolding his long lean body before walking around to my door to help me out.

“Thank you,” I say taking his hand. I can see a small sparkle in his eyes as he smiles down at me, and I’m reminded of the plane when he held his hand out to steady me, but I refused to take it.

Slipping my arms around his neck I rise on my tip toes and press my lips against his, breathing him in deeply as his mouth responds to mine, kissing me fervently, his arms wrapping tightly around me as he pulls me against him.

Humming as I pull away, I run my fingers through his growing hair as I gaze into his eyes. “Thank you for not giving up on me,” I murmur softly.

“You’re worth it,” he tells me smiling as he pulls me close to him and guides me into the restaurant. The moment the doors open the smell of cooked fish, and vegetables collide with my nose, and I'm suddenly starving.

We both select the catch of the day, served on a bed of steamed vegetables, drizzled with a lemon and dill sauce. Each mouthful is amazing as we talk easily with each other about anything and everything, being careful to avoid any more relationship talk, both knowing that we were straying a little too close to talking about his leaving. We can’t let his imminent departure ruin what little time we have left.

After dinner, we take a walk along The Cobb, this big brick ocean wall that stretches out into the sea like a pier. Huddling together, as the cold wind comes off the water and whips my hair about so it attacks us both in the face.

Laughing I twist it with my hand and try to hold it to one side. “Don’t look in my eyes! I think I just became Medusa!” I joke as whisps break free and blow straight back into Elliot’s face.

He takes hold of my shoulders and guides me, so I’m standing with the wind blowing towards me. “Then I’ll be turned to stone,” he says seriously as he pulls me toward him and captures my mouth in his, sliding his tongue against my own as my toes curl from the electricity that courses through my body each time we connect. “We need photos,” he tells me, pulling his phone from his pocket and readying the camera.

We lean into each other, smiling as he holds the phone out, snapping picture after picture as we smile, kiss and laugh. As he scrolls through the photos, and we admire his handiwork, it’s hard to ignore that voice inside that’s telling me these photos are to remember our last weekend together. This is it – there are no more.





Elliot


Returning to the B&B the car trip is virtually silent, as we both become lost in our own thoughts. Gone is the playfulness we started with before dinner, instead there’s this elephant hanging around, refusing to be spoken about.

As soon as we shut the door to the room, Paige flings herself against me and wraps her arms tightly around me as she buries her face in my chest, her breath shaky as she sighs against me. I wrap my arms around her body and plant a soft kiss on the top of her head, letting out a long sigh myself.

“What are we going to do Paige?” I venture.

Lifting her head, we make eye contact before she speaks, her eyes swimming with tears and worry that she’s refusing to let go of. “Make love,” she answers, stepping away from me and slowly undoing the buttons of her shirt while at the same time kicking off her shoes.