Port in a Storm

"You have high hopes from me," I said quietly.

"No. You're already an ideal wife. Have been for the last few years."

"Really?" I raised an eyebrow. "How?"

"For starters, there's always food in the fridge no matter when I come home," he smiled. "You aren't clingy. You tell it like it is. You can listen without trying to fix things always. You understand my profession. You make me the happiest man ever." He sank lower in the water, spilling soapy water on the floor. "And you think I'm a dime piece."

"I do?" I laughed out.

"Well, if the times I find you checking me out are anything to go by, you do." He ghosted his lips against mine, teasing. "I check you out too. You're the sexiest thing on the face of this planet."

"Liar," I giggled, holding him close.

"That's one thing I'm not." He kissed me properly now, tongue dipping into my mouth, warm lips hard and deep against mine. "You're incredibly brave as well," he said on a breath. "I'm proud of you for everything you've achieved yet, and everything you will. You're the kind of woman I like, strong and fearless."

"Much like you," I kissed a stubbly cheek, tasted soap on my lips.

"I haven't faced challenges in life, Vivienne. You have. I'm strong and fearless in certain situations. You're fearless everywhere." He kissed my forehead, pecked my kiss swollen lips. "I'd have hated it had you not helped the girl. But I'd be gutted if anything happened to you in the process." He swallowed, pulling me in closer. "I'm so proud of you because you went ahead and helped the girl, and kind of thankful because her boyfriend was arrested at the same time."

"Yeah." I looked away, a knot tightening in my chest. I wanted to tell him that Aaron was in prison mainly because of me, that I'd taken Simon's help. But I didn't know how to. There were no secrets between us, and yet...

"What happened?" he asked, breaking into my thoughts. I shook my head, found him smiling.

"You need a shave," I said finally.

"I know...I'll get down to it right away." He kissed me again, like unable to have enough. "Want me to make dinner?"

"It's okay, I'll order in. Would you like Thai?"

"Yum." He laughed, pulling away and sitting up in the bath. "You still look tired though."

I nodded. "Just sleep starved," I shrugged. "Dave?"

"Hmm?"

I crawled to him, put my arms around his strong body. "Thank you," I whispered, my eyes welling up.

"For what?"

"Everything." I closed my eyes, squeezed him tight. Felt arms wrapping around me.

"You'll always have me, darling," he whispered back. "Always."

I nodded and blinked back the tears, felt the truth in those words resonating down to my soul.

*

"This was done, I thought," I said as I followed Simon inside what was supposed to be the club, finding stuff being taken off and broken down, and new things being added. I'd taken a week off, owing to wedding preparations. Cake tasting, decorations, menu, music...there were so many things. Of course, the wedding planner was at the helm, but mum and dad still wanted us to choose some of the things. Since Dave didn't have time, I was the one filling in.

While coming in I'd heard that the rework had been going on for a few days, and I'd been surprised to see Simon himself there, overseeing the work.

"Yes. But we talked about the changes, remember?" He looked over at me, found my mouth agape in wonder. He smiled. "You always knew my tastes."

My eyes moved across the place, found things coming to look like what I'd sketched on the napkin. I hadn't imagined Simon would actually implement my ideas, though. Maybe he'd asked me just to be polite.

He apparently had not. Simon wasn't polite.

"I hope I haven't botched this up completely." I said, feeling a nervous twist of excitement. "You'll be coming for my head if it doesn't work."

"Your ideas have never not worked." He took a sip of water from the bottle in his hands. "The pool is already sorted and there are people working on the suites. Do you want to have a look?"

"Okay." I followed Simon out again, walking down the hallways until we reached the poolside. It was big and swank, with decks and glass tiles. Despite myself, I smiled when I saw my suggestions implemented beautifully.

"Feels great to see your creations coming to life, doesn't it?" Simon asked, looking over at me. I smiled without meaning to, feeling a little bit happy about things being the way I'd envisioned them.

"Michael was telling me the construction milestones thing we've been doing on Twitter is getting great response," he said, turning around, his hands inside his pockets as he walked up to me. "How far are we with the photoshoots?"

"The club photos needs to be redone," I said. "I wasn't happy with them anyway."

"Me neither. Do you need anything else?"

I shook my head, not sure what to say. This was all very flattering, very overwhelming. I kept waiting for Simon to do something, make a move, say he was grateful and stuff, but he seemed completely genuine about the whole thing. He actually seemed to want my input, was certainly spending enough money making my ideas a reality.

"Are you alright?" He asked, already walking back. I shook myself into action, and nodded.

It was a tad difficult, handling work, wedding preparations, and dealing with Aaron's trial all at once. I couldn't imagine the number of people he had cheated. Before this, he used to live somewhere in Dublin and deal in drugs. One of his former girlfriends had committed suicide.

I shuddered to think what would've happened to Amy and her baby if she'd stayed on. She was anyway having complications, had needed to be in and out of hospital a few times. I just hoped she'd be alright.

Simon looked over his shoulder, studying my face.

"Am I pressuring you?" He frowned slightly, his feet slowing. I shook my head, laughing quietly.

"I'm fine," I said. "Where's Michael? We have a meeting with the copywriters. Certain things need to be changed."

"Here you are." Michael was coming up the stairs, had obviously been searching for us everywhere. "Meeting begins in an hour, Vivienne. The club looks classy, Simon."

"I know. She's the one who made it happen, though," he gestured at me, turning to walk away. "Michael, from now on, run over everything with Ms Robinson, please. You can contact me with the final decision."

Simon wished us a good afternoon and left. Michael gaped at his back for a moment, then turned to look at me and smiled.

"You asked them to segregate the photos that have already been shot?" he asked me. I nodded.

"PR and advertising image needs are totally different," I explained. "PR requires images that tell a story, advertising images are all about setting a mood." We started to walk together, Michael handing me the points to be discussed at the meeting. "Has the new YouTube content been prepared?"

"Yes, it's ready," he said. "Come on."

I nodded, falling in step with him.

*

The hotel interiors were completed in the next few weeks. Thanks to the buzz generated by the marketing campaign, every major TV channel and magazine wanted to be the first to present the first look of the property. The face of the building was yet to be complete, and was still hidden from view. But there was no doubt that the property had already become the talk of the town.

Simon was pleased. Really, really pleased. I could tell it from the way he had gone all out to make my ideas a reality. The suites were now swank, modern, and elegant, all clean lines. The club was done in black, gold, and dark purple, with a spacious dance floor. No expense spared, apparently, though I had been picking over budgets for weeks, and it frustrated and excited me at the same time.

I'd redesigned Kingston as well when it had gone for a makeover. But this...felt closer. Felt more personal.

But perhaps nothing felt more personal than having Dave throbbing inside me on a Sunday morning, his heady, masculine aroma filling my senses. He had returned home late at night, snuggled into bed with me, and we'd slept in through most of the morning. We'd woken up not long ago, freshened up and made breakfast, but then the casual kisses had got more earnest, the leftovers had been pushed away, and Dave had been yanking me on top, both of us laughing.

"Oh. Oh god. Oh, Dave..." My hips were moving. Dave growled, biting into the crook of my neck when he felt me get close, my muscles clenching around him. I felt him swelling inside me, his heated seed rising. It had started slow and sweet, but was anything but at that moment.

"Vivienne... I love you..." He gasped, his arms wrapping around me. I felt him tensing, breaths coming in short pants as he squeezed his eyes shut and opened his mouth in an inaudible groan. I whimpered in response, feeling sweat trickle down my back.

"Right there," I clenched my teeth, almost viciously moving now, feeling his shaft hit the spot again and again. It was a beautiful agony, one that seemed to split me apart.

He cried into my mouth suddenly, tensed, and groaned low, fingers digging into my hips. He writhed, his face turning red as he took his release. That look on his face was all that it took. I was on the edge in a minute, clawing at his shoulders, teeth biting down hard on my lip.

"Come for me, love," he growled, holding me close. I did, whining and sobbing. He held me tight, soothing me through it. When my body sagged against his, he rolled us over, pressing languid kisses against my neck. I opened my eyes when the tremors had stopped, found him smiling down at me.

Then I laughed. And he laughed. We both were laughing the next moment, as he rolled on to his back and flopped down on the bed. I pushed myself up on an elbow, bent over him and kissed his lips.

"Hey," he smiled, moving hair out of my face. "Alright?"

"Fantastic." I put my head down on his chest, closed my eyes to the sound of his heartbeats. "You came before me after a long time."

"Yeah." He rolled off the condom with one hand, the other running through my hair. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine. I get so aroused seeing you let go like that." I lifted my head, smiling at him. "It's sexy."

"I'm sexy, thank you very much." He chuckled, pulling me close to him. "Not as sexy as you, though. You could be sexy in your sleep."

"I usually am," I laughed, brushing his nose with mine. "I'm pretty seductive as well."

"Oh, you are. One moment we were having breakfast, and the next moment, our clothes were flying all over the place." He rolled me on to the mattress, raising himself on an elbow. "I've been meaning to tell you," he said, his face turning a little sad. "I'm...I'm sorry about being emotionally unavailable... about leaving you alone when you need me..."

"What are you talking about?" I asked, confused. "You're more available than any doctor is for their partner."

"No. I know I'm not." He sighed, his lips meeting my forehead in a soft kiss. "You had a panic attack, you broke down into tears, both after god knows how long. And I couldn't be there to hold you, comfort you..."

"You did comfort me. You stayed with me on the phone."

"But I know you crave the physical connection. A hug, a touch, a squeeze of the hand. A night of being snuggled up." He caressed my cheek with the back of his fingers, his eyes tender and loving. "I crave that too. And I promise I'm going to give you more time from now on. I'm going to try and make our marriage like any other, not where the wife goes long days waiting for the husband to give her time."

"Dave..." I held the back of his neck and pulled his face down to mine, engulfing him in a kiss. He'd had a haircut, and the neat, short hair somehow made him look younger. "I love you anyway," I smiled. "As long as we belong to each other, I don't care."

"I know. But that's not the point. Distance affects intimacy. You get used to living apart. You get used to handling a problem yourself. And relationships crumble that way."

"You think our relationship will crumble?"

"No. I just want to be there for you. Make you tea when you come home tired, listen to you while you vent about the day... You know, little things." He kissed me again, smiling. I touched his cheek, returning the smile. He held my hand, snuffled into a palm. "I know I can't do it always. But as much as I can. I'll try. I promise."

He reached down, held my right hand. "Yesterday when I saw you crossing the road while I was driving into the house, you were struggling to carry the heavy bag of groceries with your right hand..." His eyes turned moist for an instance as he kissed my hand. "You kept shifting the weight between your hands, and I thought, 'I'm the stronger one, I should be doing the heavy things.'"

My eyes widened in surprise. "So that's why you asked me why I don't get groceries home delivered," I said. He nodded.

"I promised to take care of you." He sighed, leaning in to kiss my neck. I closed my eyes, breathing in.

"You do take care of me. God, stop saying all this." I pushed him back on to the bed, rolling on top of him. "I didn't know you were so sentimental."

"I'm not—"

"Uncle Dave! Are you home?"

We pricked our ears, trying to figure out who the voice belonged to. Then we realised it was Dave's friend's son who lived in the next house. He and his twin sister were the only kids in the neighbourhood who called him uncle. He was also the ring bearer at our wedding.

"Oh, I forgot." He dropped his head back, laughing. "I promised them a game of basketball today."

"Doctor Thompson!" This time it was another boy. "You were supposed to join us!"

"I'll be there, kids," Dave called back. "Give me five minutes, okay?"

"Okay!" The group went away. I laughed, looking down at our bare bodies.

"I'm glad they couldn't see us." I said, lying back again. Dave bent over me.

"Okay, listen. I spoke to management about my leave." He paused, looked at me through lowered lashes while I tries to guess his next words. "It's granted," he said, laughing.

"Really?" I laughed as well. "That's great!"

"It is. I get three days off for the wedding, then I work for eight days, and then we're off for three weeks." He nuzzled my neck, purring. "Happy?"

I nodded quietly, squeezing a smile out of myself. I hadn't yet done anything about my own leave. Didn't know if I should be speaking to my manager at Kingston, or to Michael, or to Simon himself. Speaking to Simon about my wedding made me uncomfortable. I didn't know what to do.

"I'll be back in a couple of hours," he said, rolling off the bed. I nodded, watching him get down and gather his clothes from the floor. I lifted my body on an elbow, clutching the duvet close to my chest, trying my best to cover myself. Dave hummed a tune to himself while putting on his clothes and then gave me a quick kiss on the lips, smiling.

"See ya," he whispered, turning around and walking towards the door. He turned the knob, opened the door slightly, and looked at me to see that I was still holding the duvet close to my body.

"No point in hiding it, is there?" he chuckled. "I've seen everything, and it's beautiful."

I threw a pillow at him but he was quick to duck it. I heard his laughter down the hallway.

"You missed, Vivienne!"

*

I sat in the Hilton restaurant, my eyes wide, throat dry.

"So?"

"This is..." I looked down at the contract in front of me. "It's amazing, Simon, really it is. I'm flattered." The front page was clean except for my name. I traced my fingers over it, still not sure what to say. "Are you sure?"

"I've always been sure about you, kiddo." I shook my head. "Vivienne," Simon amended. We smiled at each other. "It's yours if you want it."

"You're a lunatic."

"I'm very good at what I do." Simon nodded at the contract. "But I think you could be almost as good."

"Part-owner, though." I bit my lip. I'd be lying if I said the last few months hadn't been fun. I'd thought at first maybe Simon was buttering me up, looking for an angle, but he'd been nothing but respectful and honest, had asked for my input and been more than willing to argue when he thought I was wrong. There was a give and take there we'd never had before, and maybe I was starting to realise that Simon wasn't such a bad guy. Maybe, in the end, people really could change.

Or maybe I had just grown up.

"It's yours anyway, really," he commented. "I barely recognise the place myself."

It was true. After those first business lunches, everything had felt inevitable. Simon had handed me the ropes, instructed Michael and others to come to me for everything that they went to him for. I couldn't help thinking back to those years when Simon had taught me business, shown me where I had to be ruthless and where I could be kind.

Now he was handing me an entire hotel, explaining what it took to be an owner, and in a way I thought I knew Simon more than I ever had in my life.

"I'm just a marketing manager."

"You're just a kid who ran errands and distracted my wife while I tossed a twenty-year old chick out a window," Simon pointed out. "You're just a nosey little shit who tried to seduce me."

"I tried to seduce you?" I raised an eyebrow. "Was that how it went?"

"Who remembers anymore?" he shrugged. "I've always had a thing for people who won't put up with my crap, though." I smirked, remembered I'd told Simon to fuck off ten minutes after first meeting him. "The point is, you being just who you were has never been just who you are. The only person who holds you back is you." He tapped the contract. "Sign it or don't, but don't tell me you're not up to it."

I bit my lip, thinking. "I'd need to talk to someone else about it first." It was a big decision, one that required a third person's perspective. I didn't want to agree to anything in a rush.

"Whatever you need." He leaned back. "Dessert?"

"No, thanks." I looked up at him, hesitated a little before saying the next words. "I'm getting married next month," I said quietly. He nodded.

"Congratulations," he smiled warmly. I nodded.

"Umm..." I reached into my bag, fished out a silk envelope. "I'd like you to come to the wedding," I held it in front of him, smiling. Simon leaned forward, took the card from my hand.

"This is gorgeous," he smiled at the ornate invite, then looked up at me. "But I'm afraid I'll be in Miami then. So..."

"Oh." I felt a little disappointed, without meaning to. "It's okay."

"I can have your present sent over."

"No, we aren't taking gifts. In lieu, we're asking guests to make a donation to the children's hospital run by Mr and Mrs Thompson."

"I see." He sat back, reading the card. "What do you want then?"

"Seriously?" I asked. Simon nodded. "I'd like a few weeks off from work after the wedding. We'll be travelling."

"Granted," he said, nodding.

"Thanks." I smiled. "Simon?"

"Yes?"

"You're a self-centred arsehole."

"That's my girl." Simon laughed and picked up his wineglass. I snorted.

I picked up the contract and left Simon ordering his dessert. I figured he'd probably be fine. He had been flirting with the waitress all afternoon anyway.

*

I was on my way to Dave's parents' house when my phone rang. There were last-minute preparations which mum and dad wanted to discuss with me. We kept telling them that we were perfectly okay with a simple wedding, but mum and dad refused to listen.

"Vivienne?" The voice was unfamiliar. "I'm Amy's mother."

"Yes, Mrs Lloyd," I smiled. "What's the matter?"

"Amy's in labour. We're in the ambulance right now."

Labour? But she had just stepped into her seventh month.

"It isn't false labour, right?" I asked nervously.

"Her water broke, so probably no."

"Okay, I'll be right there." I ended the call, then sent mum a quick text to let her know that I wouldn't be able to make it that day. Mum asked back if everything was alright, and I assured her that it was.