What am I to you exactly?

They had told Mary and Tom they were dating after two weeks' struggle to keep it secret. It had been fun and exhilarating when only they knew, but really difficult not to let their eyes and little touches betray them and, in the end, they thought it better to tell than get caught. The news were received with enthusiasm by everyone though Tom was more surprised than the perceptive Mary. The children were most excited of all, asking if this meant that uncle Sidney would marry Charlotte and stay with them forever, which was equally amusing and embarrassing as it was so early days.

Even if their budding relationship was well received, Charlotte was conscious of the fact that she had come to this house as an employee and she wanted to maintain a certain degree of professionalism during her stay. If she came back another time, invited as Sidney's girlfriend, it would be a different story, but for now she preferred to keep their physical contact limited to holding hands and chaste kisses when the family was around, and they had not shared bed. Sidney had suggested no one would notice if one of them changed bedroom during the night but had understood fully why Charlotte was not comfortable doing so. For this reason, they had not made it further than making out on the beach and during cliff top walks, something they had become quite fond of. They had also spent much time swimming, appreciating the cover the water provided.

Even if they tried to sneak away like this every now and then, the secret caresses felt like the longest foreplay ever and the sexual tension had steadily built up between them. It had now reached a point when neither of them was sure how much longer they could hold back. Luckily, it was the beginning of August and Charlotte's contract as a summer nanny for the Parker children had ended the day before. Mary had asked if they would not consider staying another week only to enjoy the beach, but they insisted that they wanted to return to London and spend some time there before the semester started; Charlotte's third university year and Sidney's new job as philosophy teacher at a different university. Both were silently thinking that they would not mind spending that entire time in bed with the other.

Now Charlotte pretended she did not understand what Sidney was eluding to, ignoring the physical evidence. She was not usually shy when it came to talking about sex, but it was something different to talk about it with a boyfriend one had not yet slept with.

"Have you had enough of the beach for one summer? Is that what you find so frustrating?" she teased and let her fingers trace over the ridges of his abs, the same ones she had not dared to look at their first day on the beach.

He caught her hand, brought it to his lips and kissed her palm.

"I think you know what is. Barely having any alone-time with you is eating away on me."

"At least we live in the same house. We won't in London. You realise I won't be able to bring you to my student room?"

She answered lightly, circling around the true topic, as she did not dare to tell him how much she longed for him too, how she wanted him with every sensory cell in her body. She could talk to him freely about almost anything by now, but when it came to sex or calling him her boyfriend, words failed her. Neither had they discussed much how everyday life would be when they returned home, they had been too busy enjoying the present.

"Of course, I know, but luckily I have quite a big house so I think I can squeeze you in there."

"You have a house? You never said."

He shrugged his shoulders like it was no big deal, even if it in reality was a rare thing that a twenty-six-year-old philosophy teacher would own a house in London.

"It's actually mine, Tom's, Diana's and Arthur's together but since Tom prefers to stay here, Diana has moved to Germany with her doctor fiancée and Arthur lives with his boyfriend, I have the London house to myself. The house here also belongs to all of us, but as you know Tom has pretty much occupied it."