To Caress My Day

Later on that night after being chauffeured around by Derek to tour as many locations that she and Simone could, Twigs was dropped off within the four private walls of Seth’s garage. Having his own romantic plans with his wife tonight, Derek bid Twigs adiu, oversaw her entry into the mansion, then launched the automatic garage door from the device pinned to his sun visor on the driver’s side and smoothly backed out of the garage.

As soon as Twigs had entered, she heard the sound of a piano playing. The melody was so bewitching she found herself fast-walking to it’s area where she spotted her boyfriend sitting behind the glossy ebony instrument. At the same time a grin spanned across her face, he must have felt her eyes checking him out because he briefly peeped over his shoulder. She watched him glance away, go rigid and then do a double take, only to grin right back at her. “Hey, you.”

Thrilled to see his girlfriend back in his 10,000 square foot mansion, Seth bounded from his piano to sweep her up into his arms. He moaned at the seductive aroma of her perfume stemming from her neck, and immersed his face there to take in the scent of jasmine as her arms came up around him. “Mmm, you smell so good, Pixie. Just like home.”

“So do you, babe.” Twigs whispered against his short silky brown hair, nuzzling her nose against the strands to kick up more of the trace of his shampoo. Her fingers had speared through them and were clinging on just as tightly as her arms were around him even when he lowered her back down to her feet.

Wordlessly, Seth lowered his hands to cup her behind through her acid wash jeans and heaved her up to snake her legs around his waist. Keeping one hand on her bottom and his other arm stretched across the back of her slender torso, he steered them both to his couch where he sat himself down and then leaned back to get a satisfactory look at her elegant face. Feeling his heart enlarge in his chest at her familiar brown Pixie eyes, her full cupid bow lips, her thick youthful brows, dainty nose and the light dusting of freckles across it, Seth framed her face between his hands so she wouldn’t shift even an inch and botch his leisurely perusal of her. It was a long time before he spoke. “God, I missed this stunning face.”

Grinning even wider down at him, Twigs stroked her hands up and down his chest through his gray T-Shirt, soaking in the warmth radiating underneath. “I missed your handsome face too, my love.”

It felt like a year had passed since Seth last saw her in person. It actually was that gravely long. Stroking his thumb over her cheeks, he let himself be overrun by her presence completely, yearning for the day he could see it everyday instead of these few ephemeral moments...and these moments were only gonna become more scarce as time went on. His work was beginning to bury him alive both at the FOX studios and at his own home. Before long he’d be entombed like a mummy and she...well, he didn’t know where she’d be then. His persistent lack of presence in her life both physically and on the phone might take a toll on her. A toll that would end in him never seeing her face again.

Seth didn’t want to even consider such a hardship happening. He trusted this woman that he was in love with that she wouldn’t just throw in the towel and cut him off from being her because work was picking up. She loved him, he could feel it with every breath she drew. Her love was just as robust and consuming as his for her. “I’m sorry I haven’t been able to pick up the phone as much as I used to, Pixie. I’ve been extremely busy lately for...well,work but also for a special kind of reason.”

“A special kind of reason?” Twigs echoed, tilting her head to the side and giving him an inquisitive look. Her hands continued to stroke him, unable to refrain from touching him as if this was all a dream she’d wake up from at any minute. “And what would that special reason be?”

Seth grinned mischievously at her, lowering his hands to rub up and down her upper arms, inflaming more warmth. “Did you forget already?”

“Forget what?” Twigs prodded, having zero clue as to what he was on about. What had she forgotten?

Giving her a look, Seth decided to discipline her by abstaining from answering her question. “Take next week off from the 14th - 18th. Derek will pick you up on Friday night.”

“Wait, why does Derek need to pick me up on Friday night?” Twigs interrogated him, reluctant to give in until she got some answers. Withdrawing her hands from him, she stubbornly crossed her arms over her chest. “What exactly do you have planned here that you’re not telling me, MacFarlane?”

Buckling under her steely brown eyes, Seth reminded her of their previous arrangement. “Before we left Gloucestershire after meeting up with your parents, you promised me you’d take a week off. Do you remember that?”

Barely able to recall the conversation with how hectic her life has been and the stress of Simone moving across the ocean, Twigs shrugged. “Yeah, I think so.”

“Good. So make sure you take next week off for me.” Seth advised her, his large hands kneading the toned muscles of her arms since she was refusing to touch him.

Take the next week off, Twigs recited to herself in her head. She tried to foresee if that was even a request she could implement right now. Since Simone was officially a California Girl living her best life in the home Seth helped in finding her in West Hollywood, Twigs was alone back in London in their old apartment. An apartment that had FULL bills to pay instead of the traditional half. That meant Twigs had to find a way to muster enough money to keep everything afloat on her own. Assembling the money to pay half of the bills before was stressful enough, but to pay in full terrorized her every waking minute.

And now her boyfriend was asking her to take some time off for him?

A shudder of fear spiked through Twigs at the thought of how much money she’d be forfeiting if she took so much as a week off!

Seth’s smile plummeted at the terror on her dazzling face. His brows furrowed together as his brown eyes flitted from one impeccably shaped Pixie eye to the other. “Tahliah, what’s wrong?”

Jolted from her reverie, Twigs blinked several times before answering. “I’m sorry, what?”

Sitting up to press his chest into hers, Seth wrapped his arms around her torso, pulling her closer to him in a hug. “You looked terrified there for a minute. Is something going on that I don’t know about? Do you wanna tell me something?”

“What? Oh, no no, of course not.” Twigs rebuffed with a feeble smile, disbanding the idea with a wave of her hand. “That is, there isn’t anything going on. I’m perfectly fine. I was just...spacing out, you know?”

Definitely not falling for her noticeable lie, Seth reared back enough to inspect her brown eyes for answers on his own. “Is this a bad time to run away with me for a week? Or are you changing your mind on the whole idea entirely?”

“No!” Twigs firmly stated, hoping that would be the outcome of the discussion. Only it was written on Seth’s face that he wasn’t about to let up anytime soon. She supposed he wouldn’t, considering it was his money on the line here and not her own to pay for this little adventure of his. Sighing, she lowered her eyes to his shoulder, and gathered all of her strength to come up with a credible lie rather than to give him the truth. “It’s just...I’m seriously gonna miss having Simone back in the UK with me. I haven’t even returned home yet since and it’s already doing a number on me, Seth. I’m sorry. I don’t want to bring down the mood now that we’re here together again, but...I can’t help it.”

Seth smiled tenderly at her. Internally, he was rejoicing that she hadn’t changed her mind on their plans, but his heart also ached for her grieving. “Hey, I promise anytime you come over here just to see me you can ditch whenever you want to go see her, Pixie. I won’t fly into a jealous rage and tear down all of California if you do.”

“Really?” Twigs inquired faintly, a smile tugging on the corner of her lips. “You don’t mind me ditching you?”

“Hell no.” Seth assured her. “I want you to be happy. Even if that means you have to find it in the company of a tremendous friend.”

“Thank god for you, baby!” Twigs gushed, throwing her arms around his neck and squeezing his face to her breasts. She sprinkled dozens of kisses in his hair. “I was scared your feelings would be hurt.”

“I swear on my kid sister it won’t.” Seth vowed, his voice muffled against her breasts. The sound made her giggle and loosen her hold on him so he could come up for air he didn’t wish he needed so badly. To remain in the warm Jasmine scented valley of her breasts was a place he’d happily die in.