Believe in This

“Ben, I have to go. As much as I know you enjoy me running about in your shirts and pants I can’t very well go to Los Angeles in them.”

The pleading and pouting from any other person would have been annoying but one look at Benedict’s delicious pout had me wanting to drop my things and run back into his arms. Yet as tempting as that was our plane for Los Angeles was leaving in eight hours and while Ben’s sweats, pants, and t-shirts had sufficed for the past four days we had spent locked up in his flat I didn’t think they qualified as a wardrobe fit for a movie premiere.

“I’ll be gone for an hour at the most I just need to pack and grab my dress. I just need to call a taxi.”

Finally relinquishing his hold on me, Ben grabbed a set of keys off the kitchen counter, “Nonsense, take my car.”

A quick glance down at the keychain had my eyes bulging as I realized what car he was allowing me to drive.

“Ben, I can’t drive your Jag. It has to cost well over a hundred thousand.”

“You can and you will. Besides, it was a gift from the company for doing their adverts. Now, the quicker you leave the quicker you can return. We might just have enough time for another romp in the sheets before we have to leave for Heathrow.”

Wrapping my arms around his neck I stood on my tiptoes, giving me just the right amount of height to press my lips to his.

“You haven’t tired of me yet?”

“Oh no, my dear Charlotte, I will never, ever tire of you.” He replied.

Twenty minutes later, after a small snogging session in the hallway, I entered my flat making a mental list of what I needed to do while I was there. First things first, I set about packing up my suitcase for our trip. We would be gone for five days, putting us back in London just in time for Christmas which I would be spending with my aunt and uncle.

Carefully placing my dress on the top of my clothes, I zipped up my suitcase and lugged it downstairs to the front door before getting started on the rest of my list. I put in a load of laundry I hadn’t had time to do the day of the premiere, checked my messages and emails before packing up my Mac in my carry on purse along with my Kindle, and chargers. I tidied up a bit before managing a quick shower, stepping out just as the dryer sounded from the upstairs closet.

I arrived back at Benedict’s just over an hour and fifteen minutes later and was thankful when he met me in the garage to help carry my suitcase upstairs because I was already tired of its heaviness.

“I ordered in lunch so it should be here soon. My trainers going to kill me for all of this food I’ve eaten in the last week.”

“Well I think you’ve worked most of it off in the bedroom.”

“I probably have what with trying to keep up with your insatiable appetite.”

“My insatiable appetite? I believe it was you Mr. Cumberbatch who ambushed me in the shower last night.”

“What can I say? The sight of you all wet did things to me.”

“And what about the sight of me yesterday morning with my hair a mess drinking a glass of orange juice?”

“Yeah, I haven’t got an explanation for that one.”

“That’s what I thought. Have you packed?”

Ben nodded from his position on the couch, pulling me down into his lap.

“I forced myself to do so while you were gone. It was a difficult task but I persevered.”

“I must be having some good effect on you since you usually wait until the last minute to pack.”

“I got bored. It’s not much fun undressing or talking to yourself.”

“So what would you like for Christmas? I need to try to do some shopping while we’re in the States.”

“If I said, ‘You in my bed’ would that be too cheesy?”

“You already have me in your bed so choose something else.”

“Honestly, I don’t want nor need anything. I have an amazing family, the best friends, the career I always hoped for, the most dedicated fans, and the woman I’ve been dreaming of finding for years in my arms. What else is there to pine for?”

“Well I’ll still have to find or make something for you. I knitted Tom a beanie, have printed Martin and Amanda passes for free babysitting services offered by the both of us and gotten them vouchers to their favorite restaurant, and I made Grace a knockoff version of an Alexander McQueen dress she’s always complaining about not having enough money to buy.”

“Why didn’t I get a beanie?”

“Because you, mister, seldom wear hats and if you must know I’m diligently working on a scarf just for you. Sometimes I feel like a grandmother, giving people knitted things as gifts.”

“I’ll have you know, my grandmother never gave me a single knitted item her entire life.”

“That makes me feel a little better.”

Leaning up and pressing a kiss to my lips, Ben rubbed his nose against mine as we parted.

“I think it’s adorable that you knit. You can knit our kids little booties and hats.”

Smiling at his words I couldn’t help but question them, “Our kids?”

Looking a bit startled, like he hadn’t registered the words that had come from his mouth, Ben tried to backtrack, “I didn’t mean to insinuate . . . . not that I wouldn’t wan to have kids with you . . . . or that we’ll have kids . . . I just.”

Pressing my lips to his effectively shut him up and gave me a chance to speak.

“I would love to knit our babies booties and little onesies.” I whispered, waiting only seconds before a smile that could make any woman swoon lit Benedict’s face and he tackled me down onto the couch.

Fifteen minutes later, the two of us were a mess of sweaty limbs, half of our clothes scattered on the floor but bits of them still hanging to our bodies. Ben’s head rose and fell with the rise and fall of my chest, my hands idly running through his hair as he pressed random kisses to my neck.

“I’m sorry, I just got carried away. Something about hearing you say ‘our children’ got to me. I’m pretty sure the whole world knows how much I want them and you didn’t just shrug it off as some far fetched dream or idea.”

“Don’t be sorry love, I know you’re dying to have children of your own. Just the sight of you with Joe and Grace is enough to have me conjuring up images of my own. I’m not saying I want them right this moment but I’ve always pictured myself sitting in a backyard with a baby in my lap and two others chasing each other about.”

Ben grinned like he had just won an Academy Award and looked like he was about to speak when the sound of the doorbell sounded from downstairs.

“That must be lunch. I’ll go get it.”

Almost falling as he attempted to pull up his pants while walking to the door, I couldn’t help but laugh before righting my own outfit and heading into the kitchen. I filled two glasses with water and got a set of silverware out just as Ben sat our food down at the table.

It amazed me how quickly we fell into a routine with each other and I knew that to the outsider we probably looked as if we had been together for years when in reality it had only been a few weeks. I knew that for some our relationship might have appeared to be moving to fast but everything we did felt right and for the first time in my life I had a boyfriend I could picture myself marrying, raising a family, and growing old with.