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Pia wanted fish and chips. That’s all she wanted. Frustrated and unwilling to give money to this establishment she was going to go find somewhere else. What she found was a whole new life.
Pia was only in London for a short time. Just long enough to see her cousin get married to his horrible girlfriend. Pia’d rather be out on a ship tracking marine life so that she could help protect them. Alas, most people lived on land. Her cousin lived in this dirty and noisy city. Apparently, love made it worth it. She doubted that.
Andrea had captured her attention nearly immediately with her beauty. She recognized the power this woman had, despite the submission she seemed to be displaying.
Pia hadn’t looked at a woman since Celeste broke up with her. Something about Pia being married to her work. The last couple of years she’d focused more on research. She’d published more papers and books in two years than the previous seven. But this woman was pretty. And posh. She liked pretty and posh. Even if just for a night.
But it wasn’t just a night. Well, it wasn’t a night at all that weekend. Andrea had work plans that evening and the rest of Pia’s trip was booked up with wedding plans.
They exchanged email addresses. Email was easier for Andrea, she’d said. Pia didn’t have a problem with that, as she had plans to be in Germany next week and then back out to sea the week after that. Email was perfect.
Over the next three months, the emails were surface, getting-to-know-you things. Andrea told her about growing up with an older brother she loved, a younger sister she despised though now got on with, and the boarding school she hated. They talked about their time at Uni, how they chose their specialties, their professions, etc. Andrea mentioned being an admin assistant to a civil servant in the transportation department. It didn’t necessarily track with the posh upbringing or the posh person she was now, but the former could explain the latter. But something was a little off.
“You’re observant,” Andrea said with a smirk during a picnic at a park outside when Pia brought it up.
Andrea’s boss had to be at a convention and wanted Andrea in town, but she didn’t need to actually be there, just near.
“One day, we’ll talk more about my job. When will you be in London again?”
Pia purchased a ticket that night for the next month to spend a couple of nights at Andrea’s.
When they arrived at the beautiful flat not far from London proper, Pia wasted no time getting Andrea in bed. Well. Table. They had sex on top of the paperwork Pia signed which would complete their declaration of relationship that Andrea had to hand in which was the last thing Andrea needed to see before she could truly open up.
Pia loved hearing stories about Andrea’s boss. How he put on a fierce front but was actually a very sweet man. That he’s a very good boss to his subordinates but will adamantly deny it to anyone who “accuses him of such folly.” How much he loves his brother and partner. How much good he does for their country.
She also learns what Andrea really went to school for, how much work she’s put into her career, and how much she loves her job.
After London the content of their emails is deep. The phone calls start and are frequent. Pia makes it to London as often as she can. Pia’s friends don’t like that she’s always the one traveling to see the girlfriend. They don’t know about the secret trips to countries that just happen to have the same transportation and marine life conferences at the same time.
Pia starts speaking at conferences. She spends less time on the water. She doesn’t mind so much. People are interested in her research and she likes to talk about it.
Less time on the water means more time on land. Even if it is in a dirty and stinky city like London.
Pia plans another trip to the UK. This time Andrea’s actually asking for a weekend off. They’re driving to the country. There’s an inn in a tiny town called Tadfield where no one will know them from Adam.
“There’s nothing special about this place except for nice weather.” Andrea had told her. It was exactly what they wanted. A village with a corner shop and an inn, but no one around to call Andrea in the middle of the night about some work emergency or other.
Pia packed her carry-all and left her flat in Berlin. One she’d been secretly packing up for the last couple of weeks. She grabbed the ring and set out for the UK one last time as a tourist.