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]

Malcolm got dressed in a t-shirt and sweatpants and padded over to Edrisa's room, poking his head around the doorway again.

"Hi."

[thatsfascinating]

Edrisa pulled on a tshirt and sweats, then fell back on the bed, arms open wide. It was incredibly comfortable. When Malcolm peeked in, Edrisa turned her head and grinned.

"Hi there." She patted the mattress next to her. "Come join me."

[abrightboy]

Malcolm smiled and accepted the invitation, walking in and sliding onto the bed beside her, turning onto his side and draping his cast over her stomach.

[thatsfascinating]

She put her arm over his, cast and all, and tilted her head to rest against his forehead.

"I love it here," she sighed.

[abrightboy]

"If we have to not go to work, this is the way to do it," he agreed. "I'm excited to take you to see the village tomorrow." A pause. "And to find out how... remote we are, exactly," he added, giving her a sly sidelong glance.

[thatsfascinating]

"I'm looking forward to it!" She gave him an equally sly sidelong glance. "To both things. I've never had sex outdoors. Have you?"

[abrightboy]

"No," he said, not adding 'of course I haven't', because he hadn't done a lot of things and he felt enough like barely more than a virgin for one day. He gave her a little kiss. "I can see why people find it exciting, though."

[thatsfascinating]

She didn't want to assume. She smiled and kissed him back. "It seems like it would feel...freeing," she agreed.

[abrightboy]

"Like... the garden of Eden?" he suggested. "The original sin?"

[thatsfascinating]

"Oh, that wasn't the original sin. The original sin was eating the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil. The sex was just a side benefit." She grinned.

[abrightboy]

"Well, true. But eating an apple outside is somehow less... alluring. And I'm pretty sure I already 80% know the difference between good and evil," he teased.

[thatsfascinating]

She laughed and rolled a little closer to kiss him. "I'd put you way over 80%," she said, teasing and assuring at the same time.

[abrightboy]

He returned the kiss and grinned. "Eighty-six percent?" he joked, his arm tightening around her.

[thatsfascinating]

She moved a little closer and pretended to consider that.

"How about...ninety-eight percent?"

[abrightboy]

"That's more credit than I usually get," he admitted, setting a little kiss on the tip of her nose. "I like it."

[thatsfascinating]

"Good!" She nuzzled him affectionately. "You deserve way more credit than you usually get."

[abrightboy]

He reached up with his casted hand, pushing her hair behind her ear with just his finger tips.

"Thank you," he told her sincerely. "I've...been conditioned not to think so, but I'm working on it."

[thatsfascinating]

She smiled fondly and mirrored his action, tucking a lock of hair behind his ear.

"I'm here to remind you whenever you need."

[abrightboy]

He smiled. "I'm working on getting used to that, too," he told her. "Someone I can count on? All the time? No matter what? Unheard of."

[thatsfascinating]

She shrugged. "What can I say?" she said playfully. "I'm like a unicorn."

She kissed him, taking her time, while her thoughts returned to one idea that had been playing in her mind for weeks now...that urge to just propose to him right then and there. She really, really wanted to, and it was so hard not to just blurt it out.

She made sure the kiss lasted longer than the urge.

[abrightboy]

He leaned into the kiss, unaware of the turn her thoughts had taken. He was slowly formulating a plan for that. She'd promised not to steal his thunder. That she still wanted to do it herself wouldn't occur to him.

"I best hold on to you, then," he murmured.

[thatsfascinating]

She would keep that promise, but it was still hard. She was eager to make it official, to definitively pledge her intention to be with him for the rest of her life. But she would hold back and let him take the lead.

"You best," she replied, smiling. "But don't worry. I'm not going anywhere."

[abrightboy]

He started to smile brightly at that remark, but suddenly she was dead, her skin pale, her eyes sunken and empty. He jolted backwards, tumbling off the bed, then scrambled back towards the wall and squeezed his eyes shut.

"It's not real," he muttered under his breath to himself. "It's not real. It's not real."

It had been a week since the last incident, in the shower. He'd begun to think it was a fluke. Her presence, her calm perseverance, her genuine unconditional love was a balm, always, and it seemed to calm down some of the tumbling and racing and churning of his mind, but he wasn't cured and he hadn't really faced the aftermath of his own kidnapping or hers, either.

He tried to take deep breaths, but they were shaky. He was afraid to open his eyes in case she still looked like that.

What if he'd fallen asleep and that was the truth?

His breath got more erratic instead of less.

"IT'S NOT REAL!" he shouted at himself.

[thatsfascinating]

"Bright!" she cried out as he fell off the bed. She scrambled after him, onto the floor, but stopped before touching him, hanging back. She remembered when this happened a week ago, remembered that he had seen her as if she was dead. She didn't want to touch him and have it feel cold and clammy to him.

She flinched when he shouted, but didn't withdraw. "It's okay it's okay," she said. "Bright, it's okay. I'm here and I'm safe. You saved me. Everything's okay."

[abrightboy]

Shaking, he hesitated, but after a second he warily opened his eyes. She was, indeed, right there. Healthy and warm, full of colour and life. He swallowed hard and reached for her, his expression on the verge of crumbling.