I Need You Here Tonight

Have you ever woken up and thought the previous day was a dream? Well, I have, because that's exactly what I did Sunday morning. My eyes flickered open and adjusted to the dim light in the room. January's were always bleak, but I did enjoy winter more than any other season. This morning felt different though.

My mind reeled through the previous day's events and I was reminded of the fact that I had a boyfriend now. He was definitely my boyfriend, right? Yesterday wasn't a dream, was it? I sat up and took a nervous breath. What would happen now?

Having never been with a guy before I was struggling to think of what would happen next. What was deemed appropriate in a relationship? Do we hold hands? We already hold hands so that wasn't a problem. Would there be public displays of affection because that made me nervous.

I could hear loud voices from the lounge and I was tempted to ask Shay for advice, but I wanted to work this out on my own. My phone buzzed, making me jump. I grabbed it off the side and opened the text.

Morning babe, sleep well? ;) xx

I paused and smiled a little. Nicknames. We were allowed to nickname each other. It made my cheeks feel warm. He had got up and thought of me. That made me smile even more. Should I reply straight away. Yeah, I definitely should.

Good morning. I slept well. What about you? x

Was that too formal? I guessed I was nervous about being a little more flirty, knowing we were now a couple. I stared at my phone, but didn't have to wait long for another text to come through.

Yeah, I slept well. Do you want to meet up today? ;) xx

We usually met up on Sunday's so that was normal, but I realised that we could see each other more often now.

Yeah, that would be great. Can I see you more often now? :)

I really just wanted to confirm it. To have proof that we were in fact together. That yesterday hadn't been a dream.

You can see me as often as you want, babe ;) xx

I let out a giggle that I didn't realise I'd been holding back. I felt like I wanted to see him everyday for the foreseeable future.

Awesome, so we meeting by the café?

I slipped out of bed and opened my wardrobe. I dug out a pair of jeans and a jumper. My jumpers were always overly large on my small frame. I grabbed my brush and attempted to get my hair under control. My phone buzzed and I rushed over, dropping my brush.

Need to go to the shop. You can meet me there if you want. Will text address xx

The shop? He must mean the tattoo place he worked at. I texted back, agreeing to meet him. I left to brush my teeth and then walked to the lounge. Shay was sitting on the couch. She was flicking through her phone and glanced up when she saw me.

"Hey gorgeous." She beamed, then noticed my bag slung over my shoulder. "Where are you going?"

"Going to town to meet Jake." I replied, and her frown deepened.

"Is he still with that girl?" She snapped.

I took a nervous breath and shook my head. Shay seemed especially protective over me where Jake was concerned.

"We're together now." I murmured.

I waited for her to yell and become enraged, but her eyes widened and she smiled. Clearly, she had been waiting for this moment for a long time.

"Finally," She grinned. "Just be careful though. Don't let him treat you badly."

She stood and hugged me. Her phone started playing Rihanna's Bitch better Have My Money and she let go of me to check her phone. She looked annoyed for a moment.

"What's wrong?" I frowned. I hated seeing her annoyed.

"Ash and I are having a disagreement." She huffed.

I stepped back, not wanting to interfere in their relationship. Shay and Ashley were both quite strong-willed so it would be inevitable they would disagree sometimes.

"Is it serious?" I asked.

She shrugged, but smiled a little. It was obviously not an urgent matter. I sighed and hugged her. I was quite nervous about going to the shop. I left Shay to it and as I left I saw her answer her phone.

I walked to the underground station and got off at Oxford Street. It was a very short walk to the shop. I paused at the door and checked the address again. Masquerade Tattoos. I peeked through the glass into the shop.

The 'closed' sign was up, but I could see a light on in a back room. I stepped back, tapping on the glass gently. There was a movement and I saw Jake. He smiled when he saw me and the door was unlocked. I hadn't thought about how'd I'd greet him.

"Hey." I blurted out.

He pulled me into a hug, arms wrapping round my waist. We pulled apart and I followed him into the shop.

"Make yourself at home," He rounded the counter. "I'm nearly done."

"What are you up to?" I followed him, hesitating before rounding the counter.

"Sending a design to someone." Jake replied. He motioned for me to walk round.

I leaned over to look at the computer. There was a large image of a dragon and skull. It looked very intricate and I jumped when it disappeared from the screen.

"Did you draw that?" I glanced at Jake.

"Yeah, it's my job." He grinned.

I had no idea he was able to draw so well and it must have shown on my face because he laughed.

"Don't look so surprised."

I quickly rearranged my face to look less shocked. Of course, he could draw. There were things I was still learning about Jake.

"I have something to show you." He grinned, shutting down the computer.

I watched him walk past me then and lock the front door again. He motioned for me to follow him past all the small rooms and towards the exit.

We paused at the door and he grabbed his leather jacket off a hook. I followed Jake into a small courtyard and my eyes widened at what I saw. Leaning across the way was a large, black motorbike.

A look of horror must have flitted across my face because he chuckled and wrapped an arm round my shoulder, making sure escape wasn't an option.

"Are we leaving on that?" I blurted out.

"Yeah, we are." He replied, letting me go and grabbing a helmet off the top of the bike.

Jake held the helmet to me and I, somewhat meekly, accepted. Sure, I had seen bikes round London and they did look kind of fun, but what if the person fell off? What if a car hit us?

I decided to push all those worries to the side, buttoning up my coat and tightening my scarf round my neck. I lifted the helmet and lowered it over my hair until my head was covered. Jake had already put his helmet on and sauntered over to me.

"Do you want help getting on?" I couldn't see his mouth, but I knew he probably found this hilarious.

"I'm not that short." I snapped, and stepped towards the bike.

I did manage to get on, but nearly fell off a few times. Jake managed to make getting on the bike look like the easiest thing in the world.

"You might want to hold on." He warned me.

I wrapped my arms round his middle and felt my face heat up under the helmet. The engine roared to life and we moved slowly down the small alley and paused at the top of the alley, waiting for oncoming traffic.

A blue Peugeot sped by and we took off into street, weaving amongst the cars and buses with ease. I kept my eyes closed at first and then peeked out to watch the traffic go by. The bike went by shops and I realised we were leaving the city.

We drove for what felt like ages and the shops became houses and then they became cottages. Soon there were only a few houses or cottages every so often. I was tempted to ask where we were going, but the engine made that very difficult.

I peeked round and could see something in the distance. A sign that read Bexhill-On-Sea. We sped by and drove for a few more minutes, pulling into a parking space at the back of some shops. Jake cut the engine and removed his helmet. He glanced back at me.

"You alright, babe?" He smiled.

"Y-yeah, just a bit dizzy after the journey. Where are we?" I glanced round and then back to him.

"Bexhill. I used to come here a lot when I was younger." He climbed off the bike.

My legs felt like jelly and I was grateful when he helped me. We walked hand in hand onto the main street. Bexhill was a small town and from where I stood I could see something blue across the way. We were by the sea. My eyes widened. I loved the seaside.

"We're at the beach." I breathed.

I had wanted to ask Jake more about this place and what kind of significance it held for him, but he started walking and I followed. We ended up in a little café, over-looking the beach.

"This place is awesome." I smiled.

"See, if you hadn't got on the bike then we couldn't have come here." He chuckled.

"It was scary, ok." I pouted.

"I drove slow. I don't normally get passengers on the bike," He rolled his dark eyes.

I parted my lips to offer a witty retort, but I realised, again, that I was privileged. He had just stated that he didn't let people on the motorbike, but he had let me.

"So no one else has been on the death machine?" I giggled.

"Nope, you are the first." Jake laughed.

My assumption had been correct. I couldn't help but feel really lucky, even though the bike scared me a little.

"Why me?" I asked.

Jake frowned then and I hoped I hadn't annoyed him, "You're my girlfriend."

Just hearing it made me insanely happy for some reason. It was a confirmation that yesterday hadn't been a dream.

We ordered food and once we'd finished we left the café and looked round the small selection of shops. The sun was starting to dip below the clouds. I wanted to go run along the beach, but it seemed like the temperature was dropping.

Luckily, there were little pavilions that ran along the street above the beach that faced the sand and the sea. We stood in one of them, looking at the ocean and watching the sun set, staining the evening sky red, then pink.

"I love it here." I grinned.

We stayed cuddled up together in the pavillion. It felt like our own private world. I never wanted this moment to end.

Notes

Sorry for vanishing for a bit. Been super busy with work lol.