"Maine, wake up. We're almost there."
Maine slowly opened her eyes to the picturesque sight of Füssen. They were on a tour group to visit the Neuschwanstein Castle and the town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber. They were on a train ride from Frankfurt to Füssen with Richard just letting her sleep the rest of the way.
Yesterday was pretty much uneventful for the two of them as Richard slept most of the morning 'til early afternoon. Maine stayed with him the whole day, sitting beside him on the bed while she read from her Kindle that she brought with her and just letting him sleep. He kept hold of her hand as he snored softly beside her, an indication of how tired he was from their flight. She only extricated her hand when she left him for a few minutes to buy food at the nearest restaurant from the hotel. She went back to his room to see Richard still sleeping soundly. When Richard finally woke up, they've just decided to stay in the rest of the day, watching whatever movie was available on TV, only leaving to buy take out for their dinner, then coming back to his room to continue their movie marathon. Their day ended when Martin texted Richard that they were back from sight-seeing.
"Sorry," Richard said, pulling her out of her reverie. "This is the only trip I can take you. I'll do better next time."
"Are you kidding?" Maine remarked. "What could be a better trip than seeing the castle that inspired the castle of Disney's Sleeping Beauty? I have always wanted to see it up close. Have you been here before?"
"No," he replied. "I rarely get assigned to Frankfurt. I usually get either Hamburg or Berlin."
"So," she said. "This is your first time too?"
"Yup," he answered. "So, let's both enjoy this tour."
They disembarked the train and got on a bus that would take them to the castle. The tourist guide upfront narrated the history and culture of the place. Maine and Richard listened attentively as they watch the landmarks being pointed out to them. Maine was a bit disappointed that Richard wasn't whispering in her ear. She was used to hearing his own version of trivia about the places they went to. But Richard's hand didn't leave hers the whole time. Hands clasped with their fingers intertwined, he assured her with that gesture that she was safe with him. He pointed to her the places that fascinated him, telling her that they can try to come back in their own time.
When Neuschwanstein Castle was close, Richard heard Maine gasped at the sight. The castle was magnificent. The tourist guide told them about the history and the short biography of its builder, King Ludwig II of Bavaria. Vehicles were not allowed on the castle grounds so the tour group trekked the rest of the way. When they came upon the castle, the structure was magnificent on the outside and when they went inside the castle, they were in awe. They have maintained the castle very well and have made sure it was well kept. They were toured inside the castle and on the castle grounds. The tourist guide provided them with bits of trivia and information concerning the castle and its builder.
The tour group then had lunch at the local restaurant found on the castle grounds. Richard sat beside Maine at a table as they ate, when two French girls who were a part of their tour group, asked if they could sit with them. Richard begrudgingly obliged and felt Maine stiffen beside him. She was eyeing the two women discreetly. They were very beautiful women and they were chatting up Richard, ignoring Maine completely. They were speaking in French, with Richard giving short but polite replies in the language.
As Maine watched the exchange of conversation between Richard and the French, one of the women said something that looked to have startled Richard. He said something in French and the other one nodded. There were more exchanges before Richard closed his eyes and sighed.
Suddenly, Richard brought his arm around her shoulders pulling her close to him. He suddenly kissed her temple. He then whispered to her ear that only she could hear, "please forgive me for what I'm about to do."
He suddenly reached out with his other hand and held Maine's chin, turning her to face him. He suddenly brought his lips to hers in a kiss that once more assaulted her senses. It took a few moments before she responded to that kiss. He slid his hand from her chin to her neck with his thumb caressing her cheek, as he deepened the kiss. His kiss this time was far more passionate as she felt his tongue slip into her mouth exploring her. Maine's arm crept up to his chest, fisting her hand on the lapel of his jacket, her other hand rested on Richard's thigh grabbing on to it tightly to steady herself. She heard him groan as she moaned in pleasure, forgetting they had an audience until she heard one of them giggle while the other clapped her hands with glee.
Richard reluctantly ended the kiss with a few more nips on her lips before finally withdrawing. While Maine tried to compose herself after what happened, Richard cleared his throat and spoke to the two French ladies once more, his arm still draped over her shoulders, holding her closer than before. One of the women said something and smiled.
"Je vous remercie," Richard said with a smile. "Oui, nous sommes très heureux." (Thank you. Yes, we are very happy.)
They continued with their lunch with Richard being extra observant to Maine's needs. The French ladies were now minding their own business but once in a while would make small talks in French that Richard would translate for Maine. When their tour group were being called to assemble so that they would head to their next destination, which was Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Richard kept their pace slow so that the two French ladies would go ahead. He held Maine's hand tightly, their fingers intertwined.
"Sorry for what happened awhile back," Richard said softly as he tightened his hold on her, as if afraid that she might let go.
"For the kiss?"
"I'm never sorry for kissing you," he remarked looking at her as they walked towards the bus. "I'd do it again, if you'll permit me. I'm just sorry about the circumstance."
"So what was that all about?" Maine asked curiously.
Richard looked at the two French ladies who were getting on the bus. He muttered, "I was just marking my territory."
Maine looked at the two women and then back to him. She said, "shouldn't I be the one marking my territory? They barely talked to me while we were eating."
Richard chuckled and replied, "they were softening me up so that I can formally introduce you to them. They found you very cute and was wondering if you'd be open for a threesome. They thought you were a politician's daughter or a princess and I was your bodyguard. So, I had to show them that you weren't interested and I am not just your bodyguard."
They got on the bus with Maine still trying to absorb what she just heard. She looked up and saw the two ladies looking at her and were waving at her seductively. She just smiled uneasily at them as she turned to their seat and sat, with Richard immediately following, his arm draping over her shoulders once more. She found comfort there, so she snuggled closer to him, her head resting on his chest.
"Told you they were interested in you," he remarked as Maine got settled in his arm. "I would have to double my efforts to woo you. I have competition on all sides apparently."
"There's no competition, RJ," she replied softly. "I just need more time to get to know you more."
"I'm sorry if I seem like I'm pushing too hard," Richard sighed as he loosened his hold on her.
But Maine would have none of it. She brought her arms around his waist as she continued to lean her head on his chest and snuggled closer.
"Really?" She replied. "I think you're not pushing hard enough."
"Oh how you test my willpower, Maine," he muttered under his breath. She giggled at his statement.
"How long can you hold back, Captain?"
"Not long enough, honestly," Richard replied with gritted teeth. "You have no idea what I really want to do to you right now."
"And what would that be?"
"Something I would rather do in the privacy of my hotel room," he whispered so that she alone could hear.
Maine felt herself blush at his statement. As they listened to the tour guide giving a brief history of the town that they were headed, Richard's arm was around her once more, his finger drawing random shapes on her upper arm near her shoulder.
They have reached the town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber and it very much looked like it was taken from a fairy tale. The town had a medieval feel to it and to add authenticity to the place, the people inside the shops and pubs were also dressed in clothing fit for the century. It was a walking tour of the town, so they disembarked from the bus and once more Richard held Maine's hand and kept her close. He kept an eye on the two French ladies and made sure that they wouldn't come close to them.
Richard saw how Maine enjoyed the tour immensely as she absorbed all the sights and information that was given to her. But as they ended the tour and were heading back to the bus, he noticed Maine stopped and looked at two bikers who stopped by the town to rest. He saw a look of longing in her eyes that he had never seen before.
When they were settled on their seats, he asked, "tired?"
Maine shook her head and replied, "I just realized that I haven't ridden on a bike since Alden died."
"Do you miss it?"
Maine gave a small smile and nodded. She added, "Alden used to take me to this tree in the park where we used to do our homework. I wonder if the tree is still there?"
She had a faraway look again and Richard just let the silence fill them. After a few more moments, he said, "would you like me to teach you how to bike?"
"What?"
"I've been thinking of what we could do together in between flights whenever we're back in Laguna," he explained. "I thought I'd take you biking. There's an old BMX at home that I could fix for you to use."
"Really?" She asked. "You'd teach me?"
"Yes," he replied. "If you want to. We could make fixing the old bike our first project together."
"Oh my God!" She exclaimed a little to loudly. "Yes!"
Suddenly they heard a round of applause from the rest of their touring group, which startled them both. Some of the people were cheering. What shocked the both them the most was the tour guide who approached them and said, "well, I guess we should properly congratulate these two newly engaged couple! Can we get your names?"
Richard and Maine looked at each other, both their faces were red with embarrassment. Caught off guard, Maine did the only thing that she could think of. She replied hesitantly, "Hi. I'm Maine and this is my new fiancé, Richard."
Richard's eyes widen in shock but only Maine could see his reaction as his back was turned from everyone. Maine just smiled so he turned to face the tour guide with a tight smile on his face.
"Well congratulations to the both of you!" Said their tour guide cheerfully. "What a magical way of ending this fairy tale-like tour!"
Another round of applause was heard from everyone on the bus, then suddenly someone from behind shouted for them to kiss, which was encouraged by the rest of the people on the bus including the tour guide, who could be heard the loudest as she was holding a mic. Richard once again looked at Maine asking for permission which she answered by discreetly nodding her head.
Richard took a deep breath and let it out slowly as he slowly leaned forward and once more captured her lips in a short but sweet kiss. They heard hoots and whistles and cheers of approval from their companions as their kiss ended. The tour guide congratulated them once more and headed back to the front of the bus.
Richard slid his arm over Maine's shoulders and pulled her to him. Maine once again had her head resting comfortably on Richard's chest.
"How you test my willpower, Maine," he whispered in her ear as the bus continued to travel to train station that would bring them back to Frankfurt.
-oo-
Author's Note:
A bit of a disclaimer. I have not gone to Germany yet. I saw this tour package via google and just read up on what was in store. I added some stuff for added flavor. So please do not take my word if you guys decide to do the double package tour of Neuschwanstein Castle and the town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber.
Also for people who really knows French, again I'm sorry if I have bastardized the language. I only copy/pasted the sentence from Google Translate.