With Love, From Italy

After her shower Leigh had gone about preparing herself for the date ahead. She had stuck with simple and natural given the circumstances, figuring dressing up properly could wait until they were back in London. Given the heat, and the fact that they would be sitting in the middle of a field she had chosen a simple pair of shorts and a singlet, make up barely discernible. As soon as she was done she was waving a threatening Belle off and making her way to Tom’s room where she had arranged to meet him. She had barely knocked on the door when it swung open and a grinning face was revealed, she returned it as he held up a picnic basket and he stepped into the corridor, allowing the door to swing shut behind him.

“Shall we?” he urged, offering her an arm and she took it with a shy nod. Leigh wasn’t sure why she was feeling like a little school girl all of a sudden; she had spent the last week in his company with barely a falter and now she was getting jittery? Even after their kiss last night, and again this morning she had taken it all in her stride. But then again, this was officially a date and by the time they returned she had no doubt that the whole family would know.

Nevertheless she scolded herself silently; this wasn’t the time to grow timid and shy away, and so as they stepped into the Italian sun she took a deep breath and willed the tightening of her stomach to ease. Unfortunately though, it seemed her actions hadn’t gone unnoticed and Tom tugged at her arm gently, looking down at her with a creased brow.

“Are you okay? Do you not want to do this? I understand if you’ve changed your mind.”

“No, no it’s not that. I’m just… well I’m a little nervous actually. I don’t even know why, though I think part of it might be because when we get back everyone will know and I’ll have to answer a hundred and one questions from Belle,” she admitted and Tom unhooked his arm from hers, reaching for her hand instead to give it a squeeze.

“Relax darling, you have the added bonus of my family loving you already. Besides,” he trailed off, a mischievous glint appearing in his eyes. “Just tell Belle that you don’t kiss and tell.”

Leigh let out a strangled burst of laughter, pushing the man away playfully. He laughed loudly, but refused to be phased by her actions, instead pulling her close to him and wrapping an arm around her shoulder. This time she didn’t fight it, settling in to his grasp with a feeling of contentment. “She’d never let me get away with that. I’m going to have to tell her everything.”

“Even if you said it got too sordid for details?” he asked, a cheeky smile now added and Leigh rolled her eyes. Muttering something about the god of mischief under her breath, she shook her head. Belle knew her far better than to think that she’d become an exhibitionist on the first date. Leigh just hoped the novelty would wear off quickly.

By the time the pair reached the field they were covered in a sheen of sweat and Leigh was glad that she wasn’t any more dressed up. Leading the way across the grass she chose a tree that was situated a short distance from the base of the hill and turned to Tom with a thumbs up. He grinned at her again and she became once more aware of the fact that over the last few days that smile had begun to cause her stomach to flip. With great care he placed the basket down and extracted a picnic blanket from within.

“May I?” the redhead asked, holding out an expectant hand and he opened his mouth, no doubt to deny her request, causing her to prematurely roll her eyes. “Gentleman or no, I feel the need to do something, so give me the damn blanket.”

With a chuckle Tom relinquished the blanket and she thanked him, grabbing one end and allowing it to unfurl. With a flick of her wrists she attempted to spread it out, failing miserably as it landed half tucked under itself. With a small grunt of frustration she tried again, only to get the same result as Tom tried hard to contain a fit of laughter. After the third try he stepped in, grabbing the opposite end and together they spread the blanket out over the ground. Tom was still trying to control his amusement as he grabbed the basket and they both took a seat.

“Oh yeah, laugh up the fact that your arms are ten metres long and can lay blankets with ease,” Leigh jokingly chided and he shook his head as if to deny it, rummaging through the basket. A few moments later he pulled out two paper plates and an array of breakfast pastries, laying them out in front of the pair. With a small thanks she reached out and plucked one of them up, taking a bite. She was thankful for the few moments of silence it rendered as she tried to think of something to talk about so that she didn’t just end up sitting there staring at him dumbly. “So I’m gonna have to ask. What made you choose Italy, given how you’re a mountain boy and all?”

“You make me sound like I should be living in a log cabin and wearing Lederhosen, darling,” he started, taking a mouthful of the wine he had poured both of them. Then he leant back and shrugged. “We had a mountainous destination a couple of trips back. Besides, the weather’s been miserable enough in England this year that I thought the family deserved some warmth and sunshine. Is this the part of the first date where we play the question game? Why did you come to England?”

“The ex. He got a transfer with work and seeing as we had been together for a while it made sense that I follow him over. As you know now, that worked out brilliantly,” she informed, trying to talk as lightly as possible so as not to make him feel awkward about any of it. “But honestly, I don’t mind. I mean yeah the past couple of months have been shit, but I wouldn’t be here otherwise.”

Tom nodded as she spoke, the crease between his brows appearing again as he furrowed them. He bit down on his lip, before taking a bite of his pastry and looking at her rather guiltily. “Is it terrible of me that I’m almost glad it happened? It is, isn’t it? Oh dear, that’s really quite bad of me.”

Leigh chuckled, shaking her head and shifting a little closer to him. “I’ll let you in on a little secret. If our situations were reversed I’d probably be thinking the same thing. And what have I said before about thinking too hard?” Leaning in she pressed a finger between his brows and just like several days ago down on the beachfront he relaxed with the touch.

“You’re very good at relaxing a man.”

“I’ve been told I have talented fingers,” she replied, causing him to smirk. He leant back a little and closed his eyes, leaving her with the perfect opportunity for her gaze to roam over him. The sunlight raining down on them caught the stubble covering his jaw, giving it a ginger hue. The definitive angles of his face that could almost be called his trademark captured her and she fought the urge to reach out and trace them. After a moment Tom’s brows rose, though his eyes stayed shut.

“Are you picturing how to undress me?” he voiced a moment later and Leigh let out a snort, reaching for another pastry and shoving it against his mouth. With the action his eyes shot open and he sat upright, the bread sitting between his teeth and he ripped at a chunk of it, turning to gaze at her. “Well you know how to ruin a mood, don’t you darling?”

“I know how to do a great many things. Keeping boys in line is one of them,” she grinned at him, plucking the leftover half of the pastry from his hands and taking a bite from it. Tom chuckled at her, shaking his head.

“Who are you calling a boy, hmm?”

“Oh my mistake, that was for my other date this evening,” she started, gasping as he snatched back the food once more. Reaching for her wine instead, she took a sip, before placing the glass down. “Anyway, weren’t we playing the question game? I believe it’s my turn there Mr. Hiddleston.”

Biting down on her lip she contemplated what to ask him next. In truth there were a million thoughts running through her mind and none of them stood out long enough for her to grasp onto. She wanted to know more about him; his life, his past, how he felt about his career and fame. She wanted to know what it was all like, and she wanted to know what the end of this holiday would mean for them. It wasn’t entirely that she didn’t trust him; admittedly there was the part of her that Matt had bruised which made her think you could never truly know a person. But she trusted Belle, and the girl had said Tom wasn’t the type of guy to up and drop her on her backside. So surely that mean this wasn’t just some Vegas type of whirlwind romance?

“Are you okay?” he asked, breaking her from his thoughts and she found him staring at her with that intense look he was so famous for. She nodded, reaching to scratch the base of her skull sheepishly. “You don’t have to ask everything, or even anything now. It can be a working progress. We can eat and drink and if you have a question when we’re done, that’s okay. If you have a question when we get back to the villa, that’s okay. Even if you have a question for me at three o’clock in the morning, that’s okay too.”

“Alright, but it’s a deal. I’ll save all my questions for three am,” she said and he rolled his eyes. Picking up another one of the pastries she smiled at him, pulling it apart and offering him one half. Hopefully soon, her tongue would unravel a few of the things she was looking forward to knowing.