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I travelled up to the airport with the boys one morning, dissatisfied, crestfallen. Richard and the others was leaving me to go away filming for a while, a long while. They didn’t need me there, but how I wished I could come. I sat in the back of the Land Rover with Richard, the whole time he constantly asked if I was okay, my voice dropped into a low whisper when he asked me the third time.
“You leaving me for ages, do you think I’m okay?” I confessed. I frowned and look at my feet, twiddling with my fingers.
Richard placed a hand on mine, and I instantly felt comforted, something I wouldn’t have when he was away.
“Darling Brooke, I will be back sooner than you think” He said for the 100th time today.
“Yeah Brooke stop moaning that you’ll miss your boyfriend, he’ll be back soon” Jeremy cooed.
“Jeremy for the last time, he’s not my boyfriend!” I giggled and my face flushed red.
“Yeah, yeah, you both say that” James butted in sarcastically.
Me and Richard rolled our eyes, and Richard pulled a funny face to represent Jeremy and I burst out laughing.
“See what I mean? You make me laugh, smile, everything, and I’m not gonna have that while you’re over there” I said.
“I’m gonna miss you just as much, but I promise I will always think of you every day, there will not be a second that goes by where I wish that you were there with me” Richard said. “But we will both have to accept it for now” He smiled.
“Yeah, I will think of you too…” I averted my eyes to look out the window for the rest of the journey, while Richards hand cradled my knee.
We arrived at the terminal, and I insisted I didn’t leave until they were going through to board the plane. When the time came, I gave Jeremy and James a hug and a kiss and told them to have fun, and they went to go board, giving me and Richard some privacy before he left. We swung our arms around each other, holding on tightly. I refused to cry until tears escaped my eyes at this moment, and when Richard sensed my tears and muffled sobs against his shoulder, he started to cry silently too.
“Be safe okay? And have fun baby” I said without even thinking.
“I will sweetheart, I will I promise” He sniffed and wiped away his tears, desperate for me not to see him crying. “Keep my house clean and safe won’t you” He giggled momentarily.
“Of course” I giggled back.
We parted but our hands stayed attached, we looked deeply into each other’s eyes, and slowly his grip loosened as he started to walk away.
“I love you” He said as he walked, he turned on his heels and gave in his ticket, he turned to look at me briefly, standing in the doorway.
“I love you too” I whispered. He must have saw what I said because he smiled and I saw more tears escape his eyes.
I waved and he waved back before turning around and walking onto the plane. I stood, heartbroken at the fact he was leaving, but happy because of the smile he gave me before he walked away. I wiped my tears away, and walked towards the exit of the airport, with no Richard by my side. I ordered a taxi and I was driven to Richards house, where I would be staying while he was gone. I promised I would keep his house safe and clean while he was away, I could understand that where he lived was expensive, so it needed to be within my safekeeping.
I arrived at his house and paid the taxi fare, the cab drove away and left me in front of Richard Hammonds doorstep. I breathed a sigh and took his keys out of my pocket, another thing I was to keep safe while he was gone. I opened the door and closed it behind me. His house smelled of mint and cologne, a perfect smell to come in to. I placed the keys on the table beside me, and took off my coat, placing it on one of the coat hooks by the door, which was brimmed full of Richard’s various selection of coats. I buried my face in them and smelled nothing but him.
‘God I miss him already’ I huffed in frustration with myself.
I walked into the kitchen and eyed a note on the kitchen counter, I picked it up and read it slowly:
Hello sweetheart,
Just a few things, I’ve left some money for you in my top draw in my room upstairs just beside my bed, you can use it to stock up on some essentials while you stay here and for use in emergencies. I’ve left a few things for you on my bed, just to get you settled in here so you enjoy yourself of course. Enjoy your stay in the Hammond household!
Oh, how sweet of him! I jogged upstairs to his room and saw a basket on his bed, I stepped closer to have a look and I rummaged through the basket with a huge smile upon my face. A fluffy throw, some sweet-smelling bath soaps, chocolate, wine, some films to watch, followed by a new jacket to wear.
“What a sweetheart!” I said and tears started to flow down my cheeks again. “I can’t believe this man” I giggled. If only I could tell him how much I appreciated it right now.
I pulled out another note hidden in the basket:
Enjoy yourself, and I’ll see you soon darling.
Lots of love
R xx
I held the note close against my chest and sighed happily.
For the first night at Richard’s, I watched a film with my new furry throw and a glass of wine. Luckily Richard had picked a range of comedy films to watch, so I could laugh even when he wasn’t here with me. I walked upstairs afterwards, and debated where I slept. The guest room? Or Richards room? Would he mind if I slept in his room? I chose Richards room because I felt it would be more comforting to me, I got homesick quite easily, and the closest I had to home was Richards musky scent. It has only been the last few months when me and Richard have grown more accustom to each other. Me and him have spent a lot of time together, and some nights I would end up falling asleep in his arms, and that is what I called home.
I climbed into his bed, and bought the sheets up to my nose, breathing the scent he had left behind. I closed my eyes and easily drifted away from consciousness within a matter of minutes.
I woke up the next morning, keen to be happier, and to take my mind off Richards absence. I went for a long walk, to try and clear my head, but it didn’t do much. I was half expecting Richard to just stroll up beside me, catching up with me, but he never did. I looked behind me continuously just to check if he was there, but he wasn’t. I went back to the house and instead decided to sit down with a coffee and relax. I looked through Twitter and replied to some tweets to show the fans I was still active, and not morning over Richard not being here with me. I wanted to make things as normal as possible.
The past few days were getting worse, I felt that each hour that passed, I missed him more. It had now been two weeks since I last saw Richard, and the fact I was counting the days made it all the worse. I trotted downstairs, the throw Richard gave me around my shoulders keeping me warm from the cold of the morning. It was 1:00pm, how did I manage to sleep that long?
‘Come on Brooke pull yourself together, just a few more days and he’ll be back’ I thought.
I cooked myself some lunch, a simple bacon sandwich was all that could fill my appetite for the moment. I ate it painfully slow and slumped on the sofa, flicking lazily through TV channels. After a few hours, I got dressed, and headed outside in the garden, I decided watering the plants might take my mind off everything. I grabbed the hose and started to water the plants, the sun came out and shone brightly. By the time I was finished the sky was darkening and it was approaching 6:00pm. I leaned against a wall, and watched the sun go down over the hills in front. I was secretly jealous of where Richard lived, and the beautiful scenery he was surrounded by day in, day out. I admired the view in all its beauty in that moment, and I was mesmerised.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” I heard a voice. My head turned so quick my neck could have snapped, but there he was, Richard, in all his glory was stood in the doorway. The corners of my mouth raised higher.
“Richard!” I said as he scooped me up and held me in his arms.
“Hello sweetheart” He said as he kissed my forehead multiple times.
“You’re early!” I said. “And I’m not disappointed either! You scrub up well!” I looked him up and down. He was wearing a clean white shirt with grey skinny jeans and grey converse, a goatee growing upon his face.
“I did it just for you of course, because we’re going out!”
“What?!”
“I’m taking you out for dinner, to make up for the time that we’ve lost” He smiled. “You can wear that lovely new jacket of yours” He winked.
“Richard darling, you didn’t have to do all this!”
“Yes I did” He smiled. “Bloody hell I’ve really missed you Brooke, it was harder than I first thought to go a few weeks without you” He confessed and threw his arms around me.
“God I’ve missed you too sweetheart” I breathed in his scent, and smiled.
“Righto, first I need a shave, and you need to get dressed, then we can go” He flashed a smile, and lead me into the house by the hand.
While Richard was in the bathroom, I put on an outfit, completing it with the jacket he bought me. I knocked on the bathroom door and I entered. I brushed my hair and Richard was drying his face off, I approached him and he smiled again. He lowered the towel on the side, and I let my hand brush against his now smooth cheek, rubbing my thumb along his chin.
“Lovely and soft now” I giggled.
“Yep, just for your benefit of course, you shall be the one kissing this face tonight” He leaned forwards slowly and his tongue grazed my bottom lip.
“Is that so?” I breathed heavily, unable to control every surge of emotion trailing through me in this moment.
His lips suddenly collided with mine, and all of the days we had spent apart had tipped us far over the edge, where our feelings for each other have slipped out into one heat filled moment. His body pushed me up against the wall, taking our kiss deeper but not rushing, he was taking his time, going slow but kissing hard, his hands dancing around my waist. His tongue reached in my mouth, taking the kiss even deeper, it was lustful, passionate, desperate but he took his time, his lips slowly moulding in time with mine, his eyes closed blissfully, taking in each and every second of the wonderful moment. We parted and we couldn’t help but grin.
“I’ve seriously missed you, but God that was worth waiting for” I said, playing with his hair in between my fingers.
“It really was darling” He said. “What I said at the airport before I left, I meant it, but not in a friend way…” Richard continued.
“Really?...” I asked.
“Most definitely yes, I love you sweetheart” He said.
I couldn’t help but grin wider.
“I love you too” I said, Richards grin also becoming wider.
We hugged and kissed again, before realising we had a dinner to attend to.
“Right, dinner of course” Richard said, opening the door.
“All ready?” He asked.
“Ready as I’ll ever be darling…”