Wuthering Dormice (aka Bike) Part 706 by Angharad

“Do you know it’s two years?” I said to Simon.

“What, since we had sex?” he replied his hand moving upwards from my tummy towards my breast. I didn’t say anything in response, treating it with the contempt it deserved. “I didn’t think it was quite that long, though it felt like it,” his one track mind was still in good working order.

“Since your loving sister knocked me off my bike, and you fell for me in such a big way.”

“If I remember correctly, it was you who fell for me–or rather, on top of me. That shirt was ruined by the way.”

“I’ll buy you another,” I cooed.

“I’ll give you the address of my tailors in Saville Row, they made those shirts for me.”

“Why can’t you buy them in Marks & Spencers like normal people do?”

“I’ve bought undies in there, what more do you want, blood?”

“They don’t do blood, Simon.”

“I was speaking rhetorically.”

“You do that a lot.”

“Do what?”

“Talk through your rectum, you did say rectally, didn’t you?”

“You cheeky mare,” he said and started to tickle me. After some giggling and wrestling, all in and all out varieties, we did make love. Afterwards, he was lying with me when he said, “Dunno what I saw in you two years ago.”

“I know what I saw in you,” I smirked.

“You did? What was that, then?”

“Someone who was clumsy around women and who had no confidence except in a silly bravado sort of way. You’ve changed since.”

“It’s funny, because, I do know what I saw in you–potential. Here was this gauche, painfully shy, and nervous young woman, that I wanted to protect and nurture, and look what happened to her.”

“What was that?” I asked.

“She turned into a confident and beautiful woman.”

“Thank you,” I kissed him. “You’ve changed too.”

“Yes, I’ve got my jarmies on now.”

“No, you fool,” I slapped him playfully, “ I mean you’ve changed since we first met.”

“I had to, you poured red wine over my other stuff, if you remember?”

“Simon, I’m trying to be sensible.”

“Oh, okay,” he lay quietly.

“You were always very generous and kind, and thankfully, that has remained. I don’t only mean with your money, sometimes that would be the easy option, but instead you give your time. You have with the girls and with me, and I’m grateful. You were very brave to take on someone with my particular problems, especially as it could have rebounded so badly on you. Furthermore, you convinced your family to accept me for what I wanted to be rather than for whom I currently was. That was so generous and so brave.”

“Yeah it was, wasn’t it–can I remind you of all this next time you’re having a go at me?”

“If you like.” I kissed him again. “I love you, Simon Cameron.”

“I think you were brave too, it takes a lot of courage to do what you did.”

“What agree to marry you?”

“Yeah, that and have your bits modified–I couldn’t do it.”

“I’m glad to hear that, Si. I’ve got one sister, it’s men we’re short of around here.”

“I didn’t mean it like that, you silly bugger. I meant, for most men losing those bits would be almost like losing their lives. Some might actually feel they’d prefer to die.”

“Ah, fundamental mistake, Si. I’m not man, nor ever was except in a legal sense. So I wasn’t losing anything, I was getting rid of something I didn’t want in the first place. It wasn’t a loss, it was riddance of an excrescence.”

“Okay, let’s not dwell on that, it’s making me sweat already.” I chuckled, and he poked me. “It’s alright for you and your excrescences, but for us pukka blokes, it’s tantamount to the ultimate humiliation and pain.”

I kissed him, “Okay, let’s move on to modern times–still wanna marry me?”

“You askin’?”

“Yeah, I’m askin’, why?”

“Why do I want to marry you?”

“No, you numpty, you’ve spoilt the film quotations now.”

“Which one is that, then?”

“Oh I don’t know, do I? Probably Clint Eastwood, he’s the only one who could get away with such awful dialogue.”

“What, the good, the bad and the mayor of Carmel?”

“Yeah, something like that, it’s not Cartmel, is it?” I asked.

“No, that’s up in Cumbria, I’ve been to the races there, nice priory there.”

“I don’t know Cumbria very well, only bits of the Lake District.”

“Where d’you think all that is?”

“Oh, must go again some time.”

“Next time we go up to Stanebury, we could call through there, maybe spend a day or two.”

“That would be nice–um–I’m not that sure I’m in a big hurry to go to Scotland again.”

“Why not?”

“Well, there was rather a lot of violence if you remember?”

“Yeah, but that’s been resolved now.”

“Has it? I hope so. I mean I wasn’t even called to an inquest.”

“I think the authorities took care of that. Dad embarrassed them, and besides, most of the damage was done by a group of commandos if I recall correctly.”

“I dunno, and I’m not sure I want to know.”

“I’ll check with Dad sometime, but I think all that was sorted.”

“I don’t think I’d want to go up there again unless it was.”

“So does that mean you would otherwise?” I could hear some enthusiasm in his voice.

“Dunno, can’t say I’m that happy in castles, prefer small houses.”

“This place isn’t exactly small, is it? Not with six bedrooms.”

“No, I suppose not, but then there are a few of us in here.”

“True, and with Puddin’ and Trish eventually needing their own rooms, it ain’t gonna be big enough.”

“Goodness, I hadn’t thought of it like that.” How come I’d never considered it? Maybe I was just too much in the moment and not forward-looking enough towards the future.

“Anyway, that’s some time off and it’s rather late.”

“Crikey, Si, it’s after one, I’ll be knackered in the morning.”

“Well go to bloody sleep then and stop talking.”