FicWad

Slowly Gerard’s eyes fluttered open and he found himself staring into the most breathtaking icy blue eyes he’d ever seen. “You were watching me sleep.”

“Yes” Anna confirmed. “I do not know what you were dreaming of but you were smiling.” She reached out and gently touched his cheek, “You have a beautiful smile.”

Gerard laughed, “Men do not have beautiful smiles.”

“Oh yes, there is no other way to describe your smile. It is beautiful.” She told him for once not worrying if she’d said the wrong thing.

“How long have you been awake?” He asked.

“For hours” She answered honestly.

Gerard’s brow furrowed. He could tell by the morning light just beginning to stream through the window that it was still early, “Then you haven’t slept much.”

“I do not require much sleep.” Anna answered truthfully.

Gerard stretched, “Man, I do.” He laughed. He moved his arm to pull her nude body closer to his, “But I’m not tired now.” There was no mistaking what he had in mind.

Anna laid her head against his chest, “Really?” She played along. “If you are not tired what is it you would like to do?”

His fingers gently caressed her arm, “It depends on how you feel.” He whispered.

Anna understood he was concerned she would be sore from their lovemaking. “I feel wonderful and very happy.” She whispered back.

He moved slightly so he could look into her eyes, “No regrets about last night?” He needed to know where her head was about what had happened between them. It was his greatest fear that last night at some point she may have been afraid because of what had happened in her past. He hoped with all his heart he had gone slowly and had been gentle enough.

“Gee” Anna said softly, “Last night was beautiful.” She looked down slightly embarrassed, “Thank you.”

“Anna don’t thank me for last night. I’m the one who should be thanking you. What happened between us is something I truly believed would never happen again in my life.”

She blinked in surprise and he smiled.

“We made love, Anna. That wasn’t merely sex.” He couldn’t believe he was opening up like this to a woman he’d known for such a short time but for some reason his heart made him speak the truth. “At least to me that’s what it was.” There was uncertainty in his voice.

Anna felt that all her hopes and dreams were coming true, “It was love.” She whispered looking deeply into his eyes.




Bob rolled over and gently pulled his arm out from under a still sleeping Claire. It was early and yet he found himself awake. Last night had been very emotional and now he was worried she would regret that she’d opened up to him about her past. He hoped with all his heart that wasn’t the case. There was so much about this woman he didn’t understand, so many things about her that confused him and yet he wanted that to change. He was drawn to her like he’d never been drawn to another woman.

In her sleep Claire mumbled something and rolled over. Bob watched a moment then slid out of bed. He quickly grabbed his things and headed towards the bathroom. Several minutes later when he emerged he saw that she was still sleeping. Grabbing his jacket he took one last look at her then slipped quietly from the room.

As soon as the door closed Claire’s eyes snapped open. For a moment she was disoriented but then the memories from last night flooded her mind. Embarrassment filled her as she remembered how she’d told Bob about her fear of storms and how she’d shown him her scars. What did he think? A sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach told her that now he understood she was a broken soul and that he would distance himself from her. Why wouldn’t he? A tear escaped her eye as she reached up to touch the scars on her chest. She wished she hadn’t told him, she wished Anna hadn’t demanded she tell him.




“Hey” Frank’s voice greeted Bob as she walked into the hotel’s dining area. “What are you doing up so early?”

Bob joined him at the breakfast bar. “Couldn’t sleep any longer.” Bob answered eyes the breakfast spread. “What are you doing up so early?”

Frank shrugged, “Dunno, didn’t sleep all that well last night because of the storm.” He poured a cup of coffee then looked over at his friend, “So how did it go with Claire?”

Bob tried not to be annoyed by the question but he was feeling very protective, “Just fine.” He mumbled.

“Just fine.” Frank repeated with a smile, “Come on Dude. What does that mean?”

Bob glared at him. “What kind of a question was that?”

Frank realized he was treading on dangerous territory, “I didn’t mean anything bad. I just know from last night that Claire was sorta reluctant to share a room with you.” He tried to lighten the mood, “Can’t say as if I blame her, you are kinda scary.”

“Oh ha ha.” Bob said grabbing a cup of coffee.

“I really didn’t mean anything bad.” Frank said softly, “Claire really seems nice but sorta shy I guess. I’ve watched her around the others and she kinda looks uneasy.”

Bob thought a moment, “She is shy.” He confirmed. “And I didn’t mean to get all pissy with you.”

Frank looked at him closely, “You really like her, don’t you?”

Bob sighed, “Yeah, I really do.”

Frank gave him a confused look, “You say that like it’s bad.”

“Not bad.” Bob said trying to explain, “I’m just not sure how she really feels about me.”

“Oh” Frank gave him a slap on the shoulder. “Well from what I’ve observed she seems to like you. Give it some time.”

Bob nodded hoping his friend was right.




Claire looked up when she heard the door open.

Bob was surprised to see she was dressed and sitting on her bed.

“Hey, you’re not supposed to be awake.” He said walking in and setting the tray he held down on the dresser.

“No?” Confusion showed on her face.

“No, you’re not. I snuck out to get you breakfast. I was going to serve it to you in bed.”

Suddenly all her earlier fears evaporated. “Oh.”

It came to him why she looked like she did. “Did you think I snuck out on you?”

Claire blushed. “Well, I was not sure.” She mumbled looking down unable to meet his gaze.

The sound of his laughter filled the room. “Oh woman how could you think that?” He walked over to the bed and held out his hand. Claire took it and stood. “I wouldn’t do that.” He whispered gently.

Claire gazed into his blue eyes and saw the truth. Suddenly she smiled and pulled her hand from his. While he watched she slipped out of her jeans and still wearing her tee shirt she climbed back into bed.

Bob’s smiled and headed back towards the dresser. He carefully picked it up and moved over to set it on her lap. “Breakfast is served.”

Claire felt ridiculously happy. “This is breakfast for two.” She said eyeing the coffee and Danishes.

Bob, who was wearing his sweats and a tee nodded, “So it is.” He moved to the other side of the bed and careful not to spill the coffee slid into bed beside her.

As Claire munched on her Danish she realized this was the best breakfast she had ever enjoyed.




Gerard was sitting waiting for Anna to finish dressing when he realized he was grinning like an idiot. A small chuckle escaped his lips at the thought. He knew the only reason wasn’t that they’d made love again this morning. He knew the happiness he was feeling was much more than that. Anna was making all the fears, which had haunted him since his divorce, disappear. She was bringing him into the light.

“I will be ready in a minute.” She called out.

“No hurry.” He answered. He took out his phone and soon was making reservations for tonight. They would be staying at one of his favorite hotels in Dallas.

Anna was surprised when she walked into the main room of the suite to see a frown on his face. “Is something wrong?” She asked walked towards him.

Gerard sighed, “No, just a stupid headache.” He really hoped it wouldn’t last long. He wanted this day with Anna to be perfect.

She sat down beside him with a look of concern on her face. “I am sorry.”

“It’s nothing.” He tired to brush away her concern, ‘I took a couple of aspirins.”

Anna paused only a moment then gently reached out to place her fingers on his temples.

“Hey, I remember you doing this in New York.”

She gave him a shocked look then regained her composure. It had momentarily surprised her that he seemed to only remember that incident. He obviously didn’t remember she had done this since that night. “Yes.” She whispered. “Close your eyes a moment.” When he did she gently began to massage this sides of his forehead, “The pain is receding.” Her voice was hypnotic her fingertips grew warm. “You will have no memory of the headache. When you open your eyes we will be ready to be on our way.” She sat back and waited.

Slowly his eyes opened. For a moment he looked confused but when he saw Anna sitting next to him he smiled, “Hey, I called and made reservations for tonight. Have you ever stayed at The Adolphus?”

“I have never been to Dallas.” Anna answered softly.

Gerard grinned, “It’s my favorite hotel in Dallas. You’re gonna love it.” He got up and stretched, “Man, I feel great today. You ready to go?”

Anna stood feeling slightly weak, a fact she coved quickly. “Yes, I am ready.” She took his outstretched hand as they headed towards the door.




It was lunchtime before the bus was repaired and ready to go. Bob and Claire walked towards the RV while the others headed towards the bus. As they neared their destination Bob reached down and took Claire’s hand in his. She smiled up at him.

“So who’s driving?” He asked.

Claire grinned, “I will unless you want to drive.”

“Do you want to drive?” He asked hating how she never seemed to make a decision; she always let someone else decide for her.

Claire heard a note of annoyance in his voice. So far today had been perfect and she was afraid she’d done something to upset him. Before she could change her mind she blurted out, “Why are you upset with me?”

Bob halted and looked down at her, “Claire I’m not upset with you. I just wonder why you never say what you want. It’s like you’re always trying to please everyone else and not yourself.”

Claire was surprised by his words. “Is that how I seem?”

He needed her to understand how he felt, “Yeah, it is. I asked who was driving and you automatically said you would unless I wanted to. What do you want? Do you want to drive?”

Claire frowned, “Not really.”

Bob smiled, “Then just say you want me to.”

“But I do not want you to if it is not what you want.” She explained.

“Look.” Bob said trying to soften his words, “I don’t want you to try to please me because you think you have to. You don’t work for me.”

Claire pulled her hand from his, “Oh, you mean Anna. You think I spend all of my time trying to please her because I work for her.”

He could tell he had said something to upset her. “This isn’t about Anna.”

“Yes it is.” Claire said shaking her head, “But you do not understand.”

He was sorry he’d said anything because he knew he’d upset her. “Okay I’ll admit I don’t understand exactly the relationship between you two. One minute it seems like you are just her employee and the next it seems like you two have a very close bond.”

Once again Claire wished with all her heart he could understand but she knew there was no way he would ever know, he couldn’t. She stood looking at the ground.

Bob saw the others had boarded the tour bus and it was preparing to leave. He held out his hand, “Give me the keys. I’m driving.”

“No.” Claire shook her head.

He had a sinking feeling she wanted him to ride on the tour bus. “You want me to ride with the others?”

Claire looked up into his eyes, “No.”

“Then what do you want, Claire?” He whispered.

Tears sprung to her eyes, “I just want to be like everyone else.” Her words were so soft at first he thought he had misunderstood.

“What?”

Claire knew she had to get a hold of her emotions. She pulled the keys from her pocket and thrust them towards him. “Here.”

Bob looked down at the keys in her hand, “So I’m driving?’ he was totally confused.

“Yes, because I do not want to drive.” Claire said in a strong voice. “I want you to drive.”

“What the hell are you two doing?” Frank’s voice called out.

Claire and Bob both realized that the others had been watching their exchange.

Bob turned and shot him a dirty look. A moment later however as Claire spoke he grinned.

“Bob was bringing difficult.” Claire said smiling, “He wanted me to drive but I told him he has to.”

“Well Bob stop being difficult.” Frank laughed, “Shit, trying to make the poor girl drive.”

Bob turned back to Claire and looked into her eyes, “Just answer one question.”

Claire nodded waiting.

“Tonight will you go out with me?”

A smiled covered Claire’s face. “I would like that very much.”