All In Good Time - A Time Travel Beatles Fanfiction

Track 24 - Who Are You When I'm Not Looking

"Fancy a bubble bath?" he suggested the moment the video turned into a Chevrolet commercial.

Lainey laughed. "Breakfast is ready."

Paul stood next to the breakfast bar, his arms stretched over his head, causing his shirt to ride up several inches. A treasure trail of dark hair ran down his lean stomach into his rumpled jeans, unbuttoned at the top. Lainey was pretty sure he wasn't wearing underwear.

"See anything you like?"

She flicked her eyes away. 'Orange juice okay?" She fumbled the bottle of juice, almost dropping it.

He leaned across the counter, grinning at her. "I'll give you a closer look if you fancy. All you gotta do is ask."

"As long as I don't have to stand in line." She gave him a smirk.

"Lainey." He said her name like it was a disappointment to him. "Come back home with me and there won't be a line."

"I'll bet."

He pouted at her for a minute and then sat down, forking a bite of French toast into his mouth. "Mmm. I could get used to you spoiling me."

"I like feeding you," Lainey admitted. "You're very grateful."

He shrugged. "When you lose your mum at fourteen you're always grateful for a home cooked meal."

Lainey sighed. Paul had this quality that made it hard to decide whether she wanted to mother him or strip him naked. It was maddening.

"How do people ever leave the house in this day and age?" he said between bites. "Cor, that picture on your telly, I won't even be able to describe it to John. It's beyond my facility for words."

"People have to leave the house to make money to pay for cable and wifi I guess."

"I don't want to beat a dead horse, but sometimes I understand only about 35% of everything you say.

"S'okay. You'll catch up by 2012. How is John, by the way?"

Paul was midway through a story about John "taking the Mickey" out of a journalist when Lainey's ringtone sounded from inside her purse. She dug it out and frowned at the screen. "It's my Mom," she said to Paul. "I should take this."

He shrugged. "Give her my love."

"Hi Mom." Lainey straightened the kitchen while she listened with the phone trapped between her shoulder and her ear. "Good, I'm glad he likes England." Her Mom had gotten an email from Matt. This was going to be a long conversation.

Ten minutes later, Paul had rinsed his plate and wandered back into the living room to gawk at another girl in a bubble bath being serenaded by a guitarist, when there was a knock at the door. Lainey jumped. Oh hell...it's Tuesday! she realized with a start.

She pressed the phone to her mid-section. "Shit!" she hissed. "Don't answer that!" she said to Paul.

"Mom, I gotta go, Kate is here!" she said to her mother.

"Goodbye, baby girl," her mother said. "Call me tonight?"

Lainey dropped the phone on the counter and ran into the living room. "Oh shit, I forgot about Kate! She cannot see you. You have to go!"

Paul looked up calmly from the guitar he was restringing. "Who's Kate?"

There was another knock at the door, louder.

"Oh god." Lainey scraped her fingers through Paul's hair, shoving it from his face. As soon as she released her hands, his dark locks fell back across his forehead.