After a beautiful dinner, we have to say good bye and make our way back to our house in Versailles. We walk down to a local pharmacy before calling a car. The journey is a little bit easier at the beginning, much less rushed but as the forecasted rain starts to pour, the drive becomes scarier than the previous. We are sliding along the stone streets, rounding corners with reckless abandon and zooming through roundabouts at alarming rates. I feel as if I'm going to shake apart by the time we make it up the driveway and through the front door. We turn on the lights leading up to our room and change out of our wet clothes. I see lightning striking everywhere, dark clouds over head, a torrential downpour most likely flooding the little creeks and streams nearby. Thunder shakes the windows and for the first time in my life, I'm a little nervous. I twist my frizzy hair into a clip then go about taking this pregnancy test and removing my makeup.
"I'm going to gather up some of our clothes from the hamper for the laundry service" Lindsey tells me. "Are you okay here by yourself?"
"Of course I am. Why wouldn't I be?" I ask. His eyes land on the counter and I nod. "It's nothing, remember?"
"Alright." He kisses my hair and leaves the room. I smile, smoothing on moisturizer. Just as I've finished my skincare routine, all of the lights go out with a crack of lightening. I jump a mile, shrieking loudly. Lindsey comes running up the stairs and into the room. "Was that you?" he asks and I nod.
"I didn't mean to scare you, I just..."
"I know, it was loud and it shook the entire house."
"Uh-huh" I say, catching my breath.
"And you're sure you're okay?"
"Yes, maybe we should try to find some candles" I close up the last of my creams and swipe my hands on a towel, going to search for all the candles I could gather up. Lindsey finds a box of matches and we sit by the window briefly to see.
"Perfect." he says, lighting as many as he can.
"Wanna go upstairs since there's nothing else to do?" I ask and he immediately understands what I'm insinuating.
"Oh yeah" he tells me. I pick up a small lantern and hurry up the stairs, giggling as he chases me. He takes the candle from me and places it on the desk opposite our bed. The lightning is still visible outside the large doors leading to a balcony and thunder crashes in the distances. He strips off my robe and begins to kiss my neck and chest. His body hovers above mine and our combined body heat with the lit candles makes us break out in a sweat. His skin is sticky and warm. My fingernails dig at his back and he groans, moving to my mouth and kissing me deeply. His tongue lazily dances with mine as he pulls my panties down my thighs. Gripping his sides, I tug at the waistband of his boxers. We are soon completely free of our clothes, his eyes glow as if illuminated by flame themselves and our bodies crash into each other. His weight on my chest, my sighs and whimpers from beneath are an aphrodisiac. Each movement or sound encouraging the other to meet thrust for thrust. My silk robe is splayed out beneath us and the softness juxtaposes the roughness of our lovemaking. His fingers dig into my skin sending delicious sensations through my body. My mouth tastes the saltiness of the skin on his firm arms as I plant sloppy open mouthed kisses over every inch of him I can reach. We climax together, each whispering words of love and each others' name. Our voices are soft and raspy like sleepy secrets. He collapses on top of me, still joined and I am enveloped in his arms. I'm comforted and I know I'm safe. His lips find the crook of my neck and he kisses me repeatedly.
"I love you" I manage and I can feel the corners of his lips curling.
"I love you too" he replies. Finally, he withdraws and lays beside me. My eyelids droop almost closed from ecstasy and sheer travel exhaustion but something playing at the back of my mind sobers me. "What?" he asks, noticing movement beside him. I get up, dropping my robe into the hamper in the bedroom then walk into our big, beautiful bathroom. Some of the renovations I wish had been left original while others, I don't mind. This is one I absolutely loved. It was spacious and pink with a chaise lounge in one corner beneath a large golden mirror. "Steph?" he asks, getting up as well. I'm standing, staring at the counter and he looks at expectantly. "Is that?"
"Yeah."
"Well?" I look up at him in tears. "Honey?"
"It's negative." I say softly and his face falls. "I really thought--"
"I know, me too, but we can keep trying" Lindsey takes my hand and leads me back to our bedroom where he cradles me like a child as I cry into his chest, completely devastated. "We have to think of all of our blessings. We have a beautiful house back home in California, amazing careers, we're getting married...I need you to stay positive. I will do the same." I simply nod, continuing to cry until my body succumbs to sleep. Some time during the night, the electricity comes back on. All the candles are burnt down and Lindsey has brought me breakfast in bed. I sit up, rubbing my eyes as he places the tray down on my lap. "I know it's not much" he tells me but it's more than enough.
"I'm not worthy" I say sadly and he shakes his head, sitting down next to me as carefully as possible as not to disturb the tray.
"Don't say that. I love you, Stevie. I don't want us to look back on this trip and be sad. We are getting married in 48 hours. How crazy is that?" He manages to get a small smile from me and he kisses my temple. "Do you need anything else?"
"No, I'm fine. Thank you, Lindsey."
"No problem, angel." I hear his footsteps fall away as I stare into the plate of food he had brought me. He did an amazing job and is trying his hardest to lift my spirits. With a man like that, I have no reason to be sad.
