It was late, and the plans for the engagement tomorrow seemed to have been all worked out. He'd not bothered to check with anyone about anything, because there wasn't any point. 'Imaginary engagement' he thought to himself, smiling grimly, '18 hours and counting down.' Shutting the door to his bedroom, he turned off the harsh overhead light, and stepped into the semi -darkness, towards the large glass doors, overlooking the pool. Discarding his waistcoat, he flung it over the back of the chair, his tie following seconds later, while he began to unbutton his shirt. He was tired, but wide awake, and restless. It had been a long day. Slowly massaging the tense muscles at the back of his neck, he started to settle into a chair, when he was distracted by an odd grating sound out by the pool.
Stepping carefully over to the glass pane, he saw what looked like a giant urn moving slowly past his window. Curious, he watched as the large pot seemed to inch it's way along the path ahead of him, parallel to the window. He also noticed a soft scuffling sound, gasps of breath, and an occasional muttered curse. Continuing to stand there in the shadows he looked on with growing interest, as urn after urn was lined up outside his window, amidst much huffing, and what he could have sworn were curses aimed at his otherwise very feared and respected name. Unable to resist a smile, he stepped back and then through the opening, leading to the pool.
"Why are you here so late?" He snapped enjoying the startled expression which lit up her brilliant eyes.
Recovering quickly, she stood up and placed her hands on her hips, glaring across the urns which separated them "Why do you give people less than 24 hours to plan the perfect engagement party for you?" she snapped back.
Momentarily thrown by her rapid fire response, and unusually harsh tone, he looked at her, careful not to push.
"It's too late for you to be out." He said quietly
"And whose fault is that?" she asked, still glaring
'She looks like a goddess' He thought, watching as the soft lights around the pool danced across her dark silken hair, casting soft shadows across her porcelain face, shimmering across her lips.
'Kissable lips' came the next thought, drifting through his mind as he kept gazing, almost mesmerized.
"If you're done glaring at me, these need to be moved." She said, her voice icy, her hand pointing to the urns. "You're not strong enough to lift them, but you could push them to the other side… I'll help you of course." She smirked, bending down and shoving the urn next to her.
Biting back a retort, he stepped over to the urn, grabbed it around it's neck, and started dragging. Twenty minutes later, having placed the last of goodness know how many giant and extremely heavy urns against the far boundary wall, he was ready to drop, hit his head repeatedly against a wall, and then kill the girl who sat perched prettily on a nearby garden chair, all promises of help forgotten, and STILL issuing orders.
"They need to be perfectly aligned" She called happily, pointing to the last one he had all but thrown into the corner with disgust. 'What the hell were so many giant urns doing at his poolside anyway?' He decided to ask, thought better of it, shut his mouth, and headed over to her.
'Oh you're done, good!" She said, standing up. 'They need to be filled with water now. Do you have a garden hose?" She asked politely, looking around.
He glared.
She grinned back.
He stepped forward.
Her grin faded.
He smirked.
She turned to run.
He grabbed her so fast, she didn't know what hit her. Looking down into those incredible eyes, he started to fall, again, just like he always did. She stiffened, but her eyes, fearless, almost luminous, gazed back at him steadily. "I need to go home." She said, her voice unusually quiet.
"You are home." He said softly
Health and Fitness
