Famous Most Wanted

Just like that, Johnny was back to normal the following day. Any distance he had put between them, he quickly closed again with that wolfish smile and that cheeky glint to his eyes, or a raise of his eyebrows and suggestive comment. Taylor was grateful to have him back to normal. She strangely liked these things about him that she once hated. He was just so likeable.

'Do you want kids?' He asked her randomly. Taylor looked up from the guest book she had been reading through.

'Yeah, one day, I guess,' she answered with a shrug. Johnny nodded and watched the guest book in her lap, like it would grow legs and leap away. 'It depends really on the relationship though,' she added, hoping she didn't sound obvious.

'Huh?' Johnny grunted. Taylor tucked some hair behind her ear and lowered her eyes. Suddenly she felt strangely shy as Johnny's eyes traced her face.

'Well, If I'm with a man who doesn't want children, then I wont have any.' Johnny scoffed and smirked.

'As if. You women get all broody. It's written in your DNA. You reach a certain age and then have this want to raise a family.' Taylor frowned at Johnny.

'I don't have to have children if I don't want to,' she disagreed.

'But you surely will. Women are destined to be mothers.'

'Don't be so bloody ridiculous. Women are more than just mothers, Johnny. Some women don't have children and are completely fine with it.'

'Yeah, and some crack by age 26 and pump out babies,' he smirked.

'Well, I wont,' argued Taylor through her teeth. 'I don't want children.'

'Don't you?' tested Johnny.

'No. I don't. Okay? I don't want kids.'

'Good,' Johnny grinned, dropping the conversation completely. Taylor felt startled and confused, the way you would when you think there's an extra step at the top of the stairs when really there isn't.

He'd just mind fucked her into choosing the same lifestyle as him? He wound her up into believing she didn't want children and that was her choice, when really he had pushed his own opinion on her. But why? She asked herself with a light frown. Why would Johnny Carolina possibly want Taylor to not want kids?
So she could not want kids with him. So they could not have kids together.

Johnny didn't want them, he'd made that clear. But he wanted Taylor, and in order to have Taylor, she needed to not want kids, for that was the one thing he would never give her.
She wasn't sure that was an exchange she was too happy about, but the thought of being in Johnny's future as more than just a bodyguard made her giddy inside.

She turned back to the guest book and flicked to the next page. A lot of people had stayed in the cottage and most of the messages were pretty much the same.

Had a lovely week here. Secluded and peaceful. We recommend a walk up the mountain behind at sunrise. The view is beautiful. We will return.
Jack and Sue from Croydon.

Taylor couldn't disagree there. The view really was beautiful. The day after Jack and Sue left, another family stayed at the cottage.

Wonderful weekend away from the the kids. Very relaxing. Cute and homely cottage and very inviting. Will definitely be back.
Robert and Linda Baker. Stoke.

Another family took residence the same afternoon the Baker's left back for Stoke.

We had a great time here and would love to come back. Enjoyable walking routes, great for wearing out the kids, and lovely cosy cottage and romantic firelight evenings for the adults when the kids conk out. Interesting rock pool and mini waterfall around other side of the mountain that occupied Matthew (6) and Tamsin (4) for hours. Also the ideal place for dog walking as we found out with Bernard (the Border Collie).
Had a fantastic time.
Mike, Liz, Matt, Tami and Bernard from Louth.

Taylor frowned and wondered why they felt the need to state the age of their children, or the breed of their dog for that matter.
Good god, a Collie stayed here, this place must be good, thought Taylor sarcastically.
But as it turned out. Nearly every resident of the cottage who took a dog, named it and shared it's breed. Why? It made no difference in the great scheme of things. It just took up writing space in which they could write something useful like, bathroom mat slippy, be careful, As Taylor discovered one late night in the dark while she was half asleep. Or Radiator downstairs not working, wrap up warm. That would be a good one.
But no. It was all German Shepard's and King Charles Spaniel's and Labrador's. Taylor wondered if it was really that necessary for her to know whether Bret was a Pekingese or a Pomeranian.

'Why do these people feel the need to share what type of dog they have?' she asked out loud to Johnny. He was lounging across the sofa, one arm folded behind his head. He cracked open an eye and shrugged, shutting it again. His legs came up and, not looking away from the guest book, Taylor lifted the book from her lap just as Johnny's legs sprawled across her lap. She lowered the book again and continued to read through it, unfazed by the space invasion. She glanced sideways at Johnny, his eyes still shut. There was a slight frown on his handsome face and Taylor acknowledged how gorgeous he was with a small smile.

***

Once again, Taylor wished she had a camera. That afternoon, to stop Johnny falling asleep on her, she suggested they take a walk to the other side of the mountain to check out the waterfall and rock pool the family from Louth liked so much. It had taken just over an hour to get to the other side.
Now they sat, on flat but jagged cliff rocks, staring at the mini waterfall. It really was mini, maybe 8 feet tall, but it was pretty. Worthy of a postcard, Taylor noted.

Taylor was sat on her hands, flinching every time they got a little splashback. Johnny sat beside her, closest to the falls. He picked up a rock and lobbed it into the waterfall. They both watched as it got pushed downstream to the rock pool. Johnny grinned and got up. Taylor watched him carefully pick his way down the cliff, getting so far before jumping the rest of the way down. He picked up rocks as he went. He bent down at the rock pool and positioned the rocks he'd picked up at the entrance of the rock pool. He collected more and continued to stack them. Taylor frowned and stood. She slowly made her way down the cliff, already deciding she wasn't going to jump it like Johnny had.

'What are you doing?' she asked as she watched him with folded arms.

'Making a dam,' he confirmed.

'Why?' Taylor wondered, looking around.

'Cause it'll be fun,' he said like it were obvious. 'Y'see, If we dam up this pool from the waterfall, eventually in time the stream will create it's own pool, a new one. Cause the flow of water will have no where to go, so it'll have to find somewhere else to go. If we begin a little flood spillway for it here,' with a rock he dug out a small section of dirt which immediately filled with water, 'the stream can begin to meander it's way to forming a new rock pool.' He looked up at Taylor and smiled. 'C'mon, Tex, it'll be fun.' Taylor gathered some rocks and set them down in front of Johnny. He removed his leather jacket so not to get the sleeves wet and began to arrange the rocks into a dam.

'So how do you know so much about rivers?' Taylor asked, standing to find more rocks. Johnny shrugged.

'I read books . . sometimes.' Taylor dropped a dozen more rocks down.

'I didn't know any of that about rivers. Y'know, you're actually really clever,' mused Taylor. Johnny flashed her that boyish grin of his.

'Don't sound too surprised then.'

'No, I just mean . . ' Taylor added quickly but not knowing exactly what she meant. She shrugged. 'I've just never considered you to be . . intellectual, I guess.'

'No,' Johnny agreed as he stood, brushing his muddy hands together. 'No one ever does.' He paced away, eyes on the ground for larger rocks. 'The reason I couldn't get a job as a kid was because I was a druggie, not cause I lacked qualifications.' He came back with a large rock in both hands. Taylor had never even considered that. And saying that, how many qualifications did Johnny have, and for what? How truly clever was he?

'Stand back,' he instructed. Taylor took a few steps back and Johnny plunged the rock into the pool. It hit the water with an impressive plop and splashed. He crouched down and pushed the rock up against the smaller ones.

'That should do it,' he heaved himself to his feet. He stood beside Taylor and they stared down at their dam.

'Will it really work?' she asked. Johnny shrugged.

'Maybe. Or just overflow. But in theory the water should erode the sides of the flood spillway and extend the stream. Then eventually, the part we've dammed up will just close off and create river disposition. What should be left will be a stream and a random rock pool, not even attached to the stream. It'll just be like the dot of a lower case I.'

'Wow, Johnny. I'm actually impressed with your knowledge of rivers,' Taylor smiled up at him.

'I told you, Tex. I'm more than just a pretty face.' He was smiling back at her in a way she didn't often see. It was soft, sweet. They watched each other, listening to the sound of rushing water. Johnny slowly declined his head. He was going in for the kill. Yet, Taylor wasn't sure if she was ready to kiss him. To kiss him would be to give in to him completely. She couldn't bring herself to do that not two months into the assignment. But since then, Johnny had proved himself to be more than just an assignment.

His face was inches from hers when she finally snapped back to action.

'Johnny, no!' she jumped back from him and lost her footing.

'Texas!' Johnny yelled, lunging forward to catch her. It could have been quite a romantic moment. He would have caught her, mid-fall and then kissed her over the rock pool. Yeah, could have been quite romantic . . had Johnny not lost his footing as well. Instead they'd both fallen into the rock pool. It was only a couple feet deep, but it only took a couple feet to soak you through to the bones.
After a few startled seconds of panic and splashing around, they calmed and sat looking at each other. Smiles ripped at their faces and they burst out laughing.

'Jesus Christ,' giggled Taylor. 'You honestly couldn't script it.'

'Bugger me,' Johnny laughed. 'I'm fucking soaked. What were you thinking Tex? You shouldda just let me kiss you,' he smiled crookedly at her and she rolled her eyes. She stood and helped Johnny out the rock pool.

'You okay? Not hurt?'

'I'm a big boy, Tex. I've taking worse falls stage diving.'

'We should get back before it gets dark and cold. We'll catch hypothermia.'

'You worry too much,' Johnny sighed, but walked back up the mountain with her nonetheless.

They got back to the cottage just as the sunset. They were drenched and frozen and their teeth were chattering.

'G-g-get the f-fire going, Johnny.' Taylor wrapped her arms around herself and shivered.

'L-later. We need t-to change.' Johnny urged Taylor upstairs and into her room. In their separate rooms, they hurriedly but carefully peeled their clothes off before drying themselves with their towels. They dressed in fresh, dry clothes and both rubbed the towel over their hair, only Johnny's towel now had slight black stains from his running hair dye.

When he went into Taylor's room and dropped himself on her bed, she was stood, still towel drying her hair. Her eyes met his and they shared a smile. Johnny shook his head.

'It's nice,' he mused.

'What is?'

'Falling over and not having someone there taking pictures and selling them on.' He shrugged. 'Not that I care. I mean, I get hammered plenty and fall over me own feet and never give a shit who sees. I fall over on stage in front of thousands and never give a shit, but it's nice, for once, to fall over and no one be the wiser.'

Taylor was once again reminded of her situation. She was here, in Wales with the most famous and most wanted man in the world, and no one even knew.

'What's up?' Johnny asked. Something must have shown on her face. She shrugged and folded the towel on the wicker chair by the window.

'I guess . . ' she began as she pulled back her covers and sat in bed, pulling the covers over her knees. 'When it's just us, I guess I forget you're Johnny Carolina.' Johnny leant back on his elbows and watched her. 'I forget you belong to the world and that everyone's out there looking for you.' She lowered her eyes shyly and smoothed out her duvet. 'This just feels like a long holiday, don't you think?' She looked back up at him and he nodded. Taylor looked him over.

'Are you cold still?' she asked.

'Yeah, a bit,' he said, rubbing his arms.

'Don't get any ideas, okay?' Taylor warned. 'But do you want to get in?' She pulled back the duvet on the other side and looked back at Johnny.

'Don't need to ask me twice,' he grinned, shuffling forward into the empty space. Taylor raised her eyebrows at him and he rolled his eyes.

'You really think I'm gonna try something?'

'Ha, erm, yeah?' Taylor laughed.

'And you'd probably be right,' agreed Johnny, pulling the duvet over him and edging closer to Taylor.

'Well don't, Johnny. I'm warning you.' He merely smiled in response. She smiled back and finally felt warm again.

'I've really enjoyed this,' Johnny said, getting comfy. 'I didn't think I would, y'know? Thought I was gonna have the shittiest time ever. But I've really enjoyed it.' Taylor got comfy too, laying her head down on her pillow, looking up at Johnny.

'Same,' she agreed. 'I thought this was going to be a disaster and I'd end up killing you myself.' Johnny smiled and settled his head on the pillow too. Taylor sighed.

'We shouldn't be sharing a bed really,' sighed Taylor.

'Do you want me to go?' he asked, softly. He looked like he meant it. Like he'd actually leave if she told him to. Instead Taylor shook her head.

'No.' They were quiet as they looked at each other. Physically, he was so perfect. At moments like these, Taylor totally disregarded the fact that he was an alcoholic, drug-abusing rock star.

'Is it selfish that I don't want you to go back?' she whispered. Johnny brushed his thumb across her chin.

'Only if I wanted to go back.'

'And do you?'
Johnny blinked and shook his head.