“It’ll suck my feet into the mechanisms or I’ll fall down it. They are the worst invention ever, I mean moving stairs, why? They give me hot sweats.” He laughed and I nudged him again.
“Don’t laugh at me, I can’t help my fears. What are you scared of?” I snapped indignantly.
“Nothing.” He shrugged then smiled and kissed me. “Losing you.”
“Aww…now you’re just trying to sweet talk me after ridiculing me!” I joked.
He grinned a wide smug grin then said, “I can’t do anything about heights or escalators but I can get you free of these geese…but…I’m gonna need you to get down then jump on my back, I can’t see where I’m going with you plastered to my face.”
“No way! I’m not going down there.” I cried looking down at the geese circling with their beady eyes and devil beaks.
I tried to crawl around his body from front to back but it was no use and he was laughing too hard at me.
“Fuck!” I snapped and jumped to the floor then screamed and did a little crazy dance on the spot to keep the geese away, scrunching my eyes up so I couldn’t see them closing in.
“Up!” Joe said and bent down so I could jump on his back. “Ella, I know you’re scared but seriously this has been one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen. What the hell was that river dance you just did?”
“I was keeping them away from me.” I sulked and wrapped my legs as high up his waist as I could so no part of my body would be exposed for the geese to get at.
“By doing a Michael Flatley impression? Baby if I wasn’t so busy saving your ass I’d have been videoing it for YouTube.”
“Asshole!” I growled in his ear, then giggled to myself at how ridiculous I must have looked. “I love you, thanks for saving me.” I kissed his neck and squeezed him tight.
“My pleasure, anytime the geese attack you in the city I’m your man.”
“Yes you are.”
Once the devil’s creatures from hell had disappeared from sight I jumped down from Joe’s back and took a deep breath to steady myself. Joe pulled me to him and planted a kiss on the top of my head.
“You’re just too cute Ella.” He said and we walked along together my head resting on him and his arm around my waist. Now it was a perfect Sunday walk.
We made our way along the rocky path and came to a halt at a field overgrown with wild flowers and grass. This was obviously a farmer free zone. There was a small stone wall running across it and up to the top where trees lined the horizon and a lone horse chestnut tree stood in the middle just begging for us to sit under it and take a break.
“Come on let’s have a rest.” I said pulling Joe up the small incline towards the tree that was calling out to me.
We sat taking a breather and staring out at the English countryside. Joe had his arm around me and I was leaning into him, my head on his shoulder.
“I’ve really enjoyed this weekend.” He said surprised. “I thought I woul
dn’t but spending time with you like this is amazing, and your Nan is a pussy cat really.”
I was so glad to hear him say that, it made my life a million times better.
“She really likes you.”
“I told you not to worry of course she likes me, what’s not to like.” He was so cocky.
“You are the most modest man I’ve ever met…not.” I rolled my eyes in sarcasm and he just shrugged.
“I think we need to make one more stop this weekend before we head back home.” I was going to have to broach this idea very very cautiously.
“Home…I like that. Which ‘home’ are we talking about?” He raised his eyebrows at me and I stalled a little by bringing the conversation back round to my first idea.
“You know there’s someone else down here that I really should go and visit, just to say hi and try to make amends for some ‘incidents’ that have happened recently.”
That took his mind of the home situation straight away.
“Over my dead body are you going to see him.” He snapped.