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Delia woke up by someone softly shaking her shoulder. When that someone also started to kiss softly along said shoulder and on to her face and trace along her hairline she hummed and opened her eyes.
“Good morning,” she mumbled, grinning.
“Sweetheart, I don’t mean to wash away that smile but look outside.”
Delia focused and before she could see it she could hear the rain that was was actually thundering outside.
“No,” she wined and put a pillow over her head. When you went for a week in Paris with your girlfriend you were supposed to have sunshine and wine everyday, not cold, ear deafening rain.
When she could hear Patsy sigh she thought she’d put on her chipper tone and tell her to brave it but to her surprise Patsy simply lifted the pillow enough to put her own head next to Delia’s on the mattress. Delia giggled.
“You want to stay in bed today?” Patsy whispered as if she was telling Delia a secret. “We could dress and go down for breakfast and then just go back here for today.” Patsy could obviously see Delia’s smile. “The Louvre and Notre Dame will probably be there tomorrow too.”
Delia leaned in and kissed her before getting out of bed to dress, indicating that she very much agreed to today’s plan.
“It’s really thundering down isn’t it.” Patsy frowned while sipping her tea.
“You’d think that if you fled the country you’d escape the rain but-“ Delia looked out the large windows. “Obviously not.” She couldn’t help but giggle and it seemed contagious because soon Patsy was laughing to.
The other guests who had come down to breakfast looked as annoyed as Delia had felt that morning so the two women quickly tried to mute their giggles not to draw attention to themselves. It was a large open spaced room with round tables for the guests and a buffet table laid with croissants, baguettes and toast, coffee and tea. They had marvelled at the quality of the croissants and Delia loved the extra strong coffee. Neither of them had expected much from the rather cheap hotel but they had been lucky with the standard.
Lightning struck and the thunder that followed muted everything else in the breakfast room.
“Are you entirely certain the Notre Dame will still be in one piece after today?” Delia asked sceptically before smiling.
“You know, I think tomorrow will be more beautiful than yesterday,” Patsy finished her tea.
“What do you mean Pats?”
“Well.” Patsy bit into another croissants and chewed thoughtfully. “The rain will clean the streets and get a lot of dust out of the air.” She smiled. “I always like the smell of dust after it has rained.”
Delia wondered how one person could be more adorable. Patsy was serious when it came to cleanliness but obviously there was something more romantic to it as well. Delia tried to supress her smile but then remembered that this week she didn’t have to so instead she let her grin grow as she whispered:
“Should be go upstairs and wait this storm out? Enjoy the view from our window?”
Patsy narrowed her eyes before getting up and thanking the waiter for the meal.
Their room was not a big one but it had huge windows that viewed towards a small park and there was a windowsill wide enough to sit in. Of course they could have stayed in a cupboard as long as they had the one item in the room that they couldn’t enjoy at home. A double bed. The staff in the hotel had been mortified that they had made a mistake in the booking but Patsy and Delia just kept their faces straight and ensured them there was no trouble. That it had been intended all along was a ‘need to know’ business.
As soon as they were through the door another strike of lightning flashed and Delia took Patsy’s hand, both of them simply standing hand in hand, watching the rain hammer on the window, waiting for thunder. After it had quietened down enough for them to hear the rain again Patsy traced her left arm down Delia’s right and took her free hand, walking backwards and gently pulling Delia along.
“Pats?”
Patsy simply smiled and sat down on the bed while pulling Delia close and bring her head down to her level to kiss her lips softly.
Delia was in heaven. The only sounds she could hear were the rain outside and the small sound of their lips parting and meeting again.
“I think I love you,” she said between kisses.
“I love you.” Patsy shuffled back a bit on the bed and pulled Delia with her so that she was now sitting over the redhead’s legs, hands on her neck and feeling Patsy’s hand wander from her waist to her hair.
Patsy’s hands were massaging her scalp, tracing gently over her neck and collarbones before going back to her hair and face, all the time kissing her gently but firmly on the lips.
“Pats?” Delia mumbled, her lips never really leaving Patsy’s.
“Mm?”
“I am quite sure I think.” Delia kissed her more before she explained. “I don’t think I love you. I do love you. So much Patience Mount. I love you.” Delia wrapped her arms around Patsy but didn’t stop kissing her.
They were interrupted only when lightning lit the room up again and thunder filled their ears. At this Delia wrapped her arms tightly around Patsy and put her head on her shoulder, hugging her tightly while still being seated in her lap. She felt Patsy wrap her arms around her and hum quietly, seemingly content.
“There used to be these huge thunderstorms in Singapore,” Patsy started after a minute. “We used to sit out on the terrace and watch when the skies grew dark and the thunder started rolling in.” Delia could feel Patsy’s smile against her cheek so she carefully slipped off her lap and sat next to her on the bed instead, listening to her story. “Father would sometimes bring us coco and we’d sit all four together and watch the rain even though it was past mine and Gracie’s bedtime.”
Patsy smiled and Delia smiled with her, feeling almost tearful at the beautiful image of little Patsy with her family.
“Dad was away a lot on business so it wasn’t often we were all together.” Patsy frowned. “Mum usually sent us to spend the day with our nanny so I actually didn’t spend a lot of time with them on a day to day basis.”
Delia knew Patsy actually got o know her mother properly in the camp. Before that she had been almost like a fairy creature that mostly tuned up in glamorous evening gowns to kiss her goodnight. Delia had many issues with her own mother but she had always been present; she had been there to kiss her scrubbed knees while scolding her for her recklessness.
“But mother and father both loved the storms and so those were the times we would sit together. That actually was one of the things that made it easier in the camp. Many other children were scared of thunder but not me and Gracie. We could be brave then.” Patsy’s smile was full of sadness. She had said once that she would have loved to see what kind of person her sister would have become as an adult and she found herself still missing her, almost twenty years after her death.
Delia took a breath and grabbed Patsy by the hand, pulling her along to the windowsill and sat them both down. Patsy smiled a genuine smile at her before squeezing her hand and looking out the window at the still heavy rain outside.
“One year a farmer’s barn actually collapsed in a thunderstorm and if he didn’t have one he would have nowhere to protect the hay that would soon be taken in from the field.” Delia remembered after a while when she sat infolded in Patsy’s arms.
“Hm?” Patsy indicated she was listening.
“The entire village came to help and after two days of work he had a brand new one,” Delia smiled at the memory. “I was about fourteen I think so actually old enough to help.” She laughed. “That was actually the only time my mum asked me to climb something. She and some other women had prepared tea and sandwiches for the workers and I climbed up to the ones working on the roof to give them their share.”
“I can see that.” Patsy sounded like she smiled. “Teen Deels borrowing a pair of shorts and amazing the village with her climbing skills.”
“How did you know I took my cousin’s shorts? Have I told the story before?” Delia gaped.
“No, darling,” Patsy laughed. “I just can really see you doing that.”
Delia felt a kiss to the top of her head.
“Well it did get me some respect from the boys which was fun. With the other girls they had started to behave different but with me they changed their minds and we could still be friends.” Delia laughed too now. “Much to my mum’s dismay.”
When the thunder had gone past but the rain was still going strong an hour later Delia had decided she’s had enough of starring out the window. She tuned in Patsy’s arms before getting off the windowsill and making a show of pulling her cardigan off her shoulders. Patsy seemed to immediately catch on and she stared at Delia who grinned from ear to ear before putting on a nonchalant expression as she started to unbutton her blouse.
All of a sudden Patsy had apparently been unable to just watch and was in her arms, kissing her deeply and hungrily, making Delia squirm in surprise. She kissed her back though and started tugging at her shirt but was stopped in her tracks when Patsy reached down and lifted her up in surprisingly strong arms. Delia immediately wrapped her legs around Patsy’s waist, still kissing her while Patsy walked with her to the bed where they both fell onto the Matrass.
All the feeling that had been there when they had kissed a few hours earlier was still there but there was more this time. Delia was done with kissing softly and carefully at the moment. She wanted to kiss her harder, to feel her hands firmer on her body and to pull Patsy impossibly closer towards her. Patsy was obviously thinking the same thing because after no more than a few moments neither of them were wearing a stich of clothing and Patsy pushed her into the matrass, following with her body close to Delia’s.
“You are just wonderful; you know that?” Patsy kissed along Delia’s hairline. She was exhausted and only managed a few lazy kisses before resting her head on Delia’s chest, breathing deeply.
“You should talk.” She felt Delia chuckle.
They had been going on and off for what had to be hours; going down already known paths and exploring new ones. Patsy’s lips felt swollen and her body wanted nothing more than to sleep. Her mind was still awake though as she looked at her beautiful Delia who had closed her eyes and was resting against the pillows, cover pulled up. Delia had been adventurous in her desire and Patsy couldn’t help but stroke her cheek fondly as she was falling asleep.
“I love you,” she whispered.
“Mm, you too,” Delia said half into a pillow.
Patsy closed her eyes and revelled in Delia’s presence. They had spent most of the day in bed and neither of them had to leave, they didn’t even have to fear being caught. They had been able to be unrestrained in their physical love and their talk earlier had been only between them. For once Patsy could fall asleep in the same bed as Delia and not worry about oversleeping in fear of being missed.
Patsy woke up at twilight, still hearing the rain. She tried to roll over but Delia was taking up most of the space in the huge bed, arms and legs sprawled.
Patsy chuckled and got out of bed and into a pair of slacks and a shirt.
Delia woke up feeling her stomach growl. As she reached for Patsy she couldn’t find her and she immediately sat up.
“Pats?”
No answer. She didn’t have time to panic though for soon there was a click in the lock and Patsy made her way inside with two cups of coffee and a paper bag.
“Sorry Deels,” Patsy made her way to the bed. “I was just at the bakery and got us some sandwiches and the boy in the lobby was kind enough to make us some coffee.”
“Oh, you are an angel Pats!”
Delia put on some underwear and one of Patsy’s shirts.
“I draw the line at eating naked,” she said making the redhead laugh.
They devoured the sandwiches and drank the coffee with delight, talking about little nothings. Patsy had surprised her with some chocolate biscuits as well and Delia had kissed the crumbs away from Patsy’s mouth and cleavage, causing her girlfriend to giggle.
After everything was eaten Delia had rested her back on the headboard of the bed and Patsy had soon positioned herself in Delia’s arms, resting against her chest. She fought the thought that this was only temporary and tried to instead think about the present, the possibility of a London flat in the future and more holidays to places where it always rained.
“I have a new appreciation of rain I think,” Delia smiled and kissed Patsy’s temple.
The next day they woke up in each other’s arms, kissed some more before going down to breakfast and heading out.
“Look at it Deels,” Patsy breathed out.
Delia briefly took Patsy’s hand, squeezing it before letting go. The streets were waking up and when the sun hit the pavements and windows everything seemed to glitter. The smell that met them were not one of garbage bins and smog but of freshly baked bread and that smell that comes from clean streets after it has rained.
They walked towards the river and had to simply stand and watch for a while.
“I think this might be one of the most beautiful moments ever,” Patsy said seriously before biting her lip at her own silliness.
“I agree.” Delia let her head rest on Patsy’s shoulder briefly before looking at her with adoration. “It’s not as beautiful as you though.”
They both took a moment before bursting out in laughter, clutching their stomachs and gasping for air.
“Come one, let’s go and see if the Notre Dame is still there.” Delia took Patsy by the arm and marched her off towards the underground.