The Adventure Continues

[abrightboy]

For thatsfascinating.



The villa Malcolm rented was in the Languedoc, not far from Marseilles, south of Avignon. It was a very historic region, though Malcolm was particularly not interested in visiting Marseilles again. There was a charming village nearby the villa and if they were going to go to an historic city for a day, he'd rather make the trip over to Montpellier, where he'd never been at all, much less with Dr Whitly.

The villa had six bedrooms. As the driver brought their luggage inside the bright and spacious main room, Malcolm handed him some folded Euros and thanked him and shut the door behind him.

"First choice of a room is yours," he told Edrisa with a smile. "But you might want to explore first."

Comments

[abrightboy]

"I've arranged for a cook from the village to come in tonight and prepare a private meal," he told her after kissing her back. "And maybe tomorrow we can go down into the village and check it out."

[thatsfascinating]

"That sounds so wonderful!" she said, and kissed him again. "When do you want to give the pool a try?"

[abrightboy]

"Whenever you want," he said with a grin, pressing his forehead to hers. Then he lifted his head and glanced at the bags. "Well, I guess we should put our things away first." He looked at her. "Six bedrooms. There could be four between us and you might actually get a good night's rest," he pointed out.

[thatsfascinating]

"I don't want to be too far away from you," she said, pulling his head down to press her forehead to his. "What if you need me? Or I need you?"

She hadn't had any more nightmares since leaving the hospital, but that was barely a week ago.

[abrightboy]

His expression warmed.

"I figured I had to disturb you with all the screaming and... thrashing. Thought you might like a break."

[thatsfascinating]

"I'm used to it," she said, and kissed him again. "I like being close."

It was as close as they would come to sharing a bed, after all.

[abrightboy]

"Then you pick any one you want and I'll stay next door," he told her, pressing a kiss to her lips.

[thatsfascinating]

"Deal!" she said cheerfully. She gave him one last quick kiss, then pulled away and took his hand.

"Let's explore!"

[abrightboy]

He laughed as she led the way, holding on to her hand as she moved through the villa.

"It's a farm house conversion," he told her excitedly. "It was built in the 18th century."

[thatsfascinating]

"A farm house? Is that a vineyard out there?"

She gestures to the window.

"Is it still working? Do they make wine? Can we have the wine from our vineyard?"

She's bubbling with excitement at this point.

[abrightboy]

"It is a vineyard; I don't think they make wine here, but one of the surrounding vintners probably harvests them. There are a ton of wineries in this area; it's known for wine."

[thatsfascinating]

"We should get some! I want to try the local wine."

She walked with him to the first bedroom door and peeked in. "Oh my god, that bed is huge!" She walked in, taking a breath of the air coming in through the French windows that opened out onto a patio.

"It's sunny...and it has a fireplace," she observed. "This is going to be hard to beat."

[abrightboy]

He grinned. "It is pretty regal," he agreed. He looked at her. "Fit for a queen."

[thatsfascinating]

She smiled wide, so extremely happy, so completely loved.

"We can build a fire tonight...snuggle in bed..." She tugged him toward it and sat on the edge, bouncing a little to test the mattress. "I'll be careful to kick you out before we fall asleep."

[abrightboy]

He wrapped his arms around her, brushing his nose against her cheekbone.

"And I'll be careful to leave when you kick me out," he promised, pressing a kiss to her cheek.

[thatsfascinating]

She wrapped her arms him as well, kissing him back then pressing her forehead to his with a happy sigh.

"I'm so glad I'm here with you," she whispered.

[abrightboy]

"Me too," he told her. He smiled. "Now you have to choose my room," he said.

[thatsfascinating]

"Yep!" She stood up and offered him her hand. "I think there's one next to this one and one across the hall."

[abrightboy]

He took her hand, letting her lead again as they made there way out of the spectacular master bedroom and into the hall. "Both nice and close. Which one is nicer?"

[thatsfascinating]

"Let's see!"

The room across the hall was narrow, with a double bed taking up most of it. The one next to Edrisa's room was more spacious, with a double bed set under a sloped skylight.

"This one is nice!"

[abrightboy]

He looked around with a wide smile, then pointed up at the skylight with his cast. "Hey! I'll be able to see the sky!" he exclaimed. "That's nice when you're wide awake for most of the night; that's why I put my bed in front of the window at home."

[thatsfascinating]

She squeezed his hand and kissed his cheek. "Perfect! And there's enough room in bed for me on the nights I stay with you while you fall asleep. Or fall back to sleep."

[abrightboy]

"Mm. We've made that work in smaller beds, but this is more comfortable," he admitted.

The hospital wasn't ideal in a lot of ways. The size of the bed was the least of it. That she was willing to crawl in there beside him was everything.

"I'll grab my stuff and get my restraints installed here, if you want to bring your bag to your room. Then we can go for a swim?"

[thatsfascinating]

The hospital had been difficult in so many ways, including the complications of being in bed with him, but there had been no way she wouldn't be physically there for him when he needed her so much. Not to mention she needed him, too.

"Oooh, yes!" She headed into the entryway to retrieve her bag.

[abrightboy]

He was pleased that she liked it. It wasn't like the modern luxury villas his parents used to rent. He liked that it was full of character and history and hoped that she would too.

He slid the strap between the restraints under his mattress and dug his swimsuit out of his bad, then flopped back on the bed, looking up through the skylight. Fluffy little clouds floated by, breaking up the otherwise pure blue of the sunny day.

"Edrisa!" he called, fully expecting her answer to also come in a shout through the walls. "How do you feel about cycling to the village tomorrow morning to get fresh croissants for breakfast?"