Neil had been at the coast all week camping and surfing with his friends - colleagues of both of he and Saoirse separately in the years before they met each other. He collected the keys to Matt's apartment on Friday morning and spent the afternoon with his friends.
After work Saoirse drove along the beautiful coastal road, in sunny, warm weather with blue skies. She was excited to see Neil, to have a break from city life and their busy jobs for the weekend.
Neil's colleague's holiday apartment was in a small development that looked more like individual villas with their own private front doors. Saoirse arrived just as Neil's friends were loading their belongings into their car. She waved and called out to them and they greeted her and waved back. Suddenly she felt awkward, realising it was the first time she'd seen them both in a number of years and now she and Neil were together. Noticing his friends weren't awkward with her, she tried to shrug it off. "Are you guys coming in?" she asked.
"We're heading home now." Jay said, approaching and hugging her. "What a couple!" he said quietly. Saoirse smiled shyly. "I miss working with you since you moved jobs! Now that lucky man gets to see you every day instead of me AND call you his girlfriend!" he laughed, nodding towards the apartment.
Saoirse laughed. "I miss you too!" she nodded. "We haven't really made it public..." she said hesitantly, looking at him.
"You're as odd as Neil!" Jay chuckled. She pursed her lips nervously. He nodded and tapped his nose with his finger, smiling sincerely at her. "I'm happy for you." he said quietly.
"Thank you, Jay." Saoirse smiled. They walked to the front door and Saoirse held it open for them to carry out the rest of their kit.
Mike nudged her as he stepped out the door. "Good to see you Sha-Sha! You still look as old as you did 3 years ago!" he teased. Saoirse laughed and rolled her eyes. "Dude's showering in the boot room." he said. She nodded. "If he gives you any bother just let us know and we'll give him a hiding." he said loud enough for Neil to hear.
"Fuck off home, Mike!" Neil shouted from the boot room.
The three of them laughed, the guys got in the car and she waved them goodbye.
Saoirse closed the front door and walked down the long, bright hallway. The floor was tiled in large, white, shiny tiles and the ceiling was double height with rectangular skylight windows. She passed the boot room, the staircase covered in plush grey carpet, and a small cloak room.
She reached the door at the end of the hallway and walked into a large, luxurious, open- plan living room & kitchen decorated in muted grey tones. She stopped immediately and dropped her bag and her jaw when she saw the view. The entire front wall of glass bi-folding doors led out onto a balcony that looked over the whole coast. The beach, the sea, the houses and coastline were framed perfectly. "Oh wow!" she said out loud to herself. She put the things she was carrying in her hand on the breakfast bar.
She looked round at the velvet sofa, the cosy cuddle chair, the glass dining table and suede chairs in front of the window, the sleek, modern kitchen, and she did a little dance of happiness.
She approached the bi-folding doors and opened them slightly. Right away the sound of the waves, the gulls laughing as they flew overhead and the smell of the sea surrounded her and she felt peaceful. She stepped out onto the balcony and took a deep breath in, looking out onto the beach and leaning on the balcony railing.
"Well?" she heard Neil's voice from indoors. "Exclusive enough for you?" he asked with a chuckle.
Saoirse turned round to see him walking through the living room wearing just a towel round his waist, fresh from the shower. She nodded enthusiastically, a broad smile on her face and her eyes wide with awe.
Neil stepped out onto the balcony and wrapped his arms around her from behind, kissing the top of her head. She sunk back against him, humming in contentment as she clasped her hands over his. "Alright gorgeous,
how are you?" he asked softly in her ear.
Saoirse bit her lip, tingling with goosebumps at the sound of his voice and feel of his breath on her neck. "Pretty great, thanks!" she said, turning round to face him. "Well hello there!" she smiled, standing up on her tiptoes to wrap her arms round his neck and kiss him. "How are you?" she asked. Her heart fluttered in her chest as she looked into his kind, green eyes and watched the water from his curly hair trickle down his face.
Neil smiled. "Fantastic!" he exaggerated, kissing her. Saoirse smiled. "All the better for seeing you!" he hugged and kissed her again. "Did you see round here?" he asked. He took her hand and led her along the balcony. "There's a big outdoor grill so I've bought dinner, it's in the fridge." he showed her the barbecue. "And the pièce de résistance...TA DAH!" he sang quietly as he presented the hot tub, secluded in the corner not overlooked by the other apartments but with an amazing view of the beach.
"Oooooh!" Saoirse gasped. "Very nice!" she said, smiling.
"We can watch the sunset from the hot tub later." he said in a low, soothing voice, smiling at her and swaying as he slid his arms around her waist and kissed her. She looked up at him with a shy smile. "What?" he laughed, hugging her round the waist. "I haven't seen you for a week and you've lost your tongue!" he teased, looking in her eyes and tipping his head.
She shook her head and smiled. "It's just... that's very romantic of you." she said coyly, stroking her hand up his chest as she met his gaze.
He laughed and looked away awkwardly for a moment. "I dunno about that, Saoirse. I was just thinking about getting a good photo for Instagram." he joked, looking at her.
"Oh of course!" she said sarcastically as she shook her head and rolled her eyes, stepping back away from him. She wasn't sure if he was really joking or not.
"We haven't even seen the rest of this place yet." Neil said, leading her back inside. She looked round the kitchen in delight while Neil opened the fridge and listed the food he'd bought to cook on the barbecue. "So...mainly seafood, vegetable skewers, corn with some sort of chilli marinade thing and pineapple," he said, looking round at her with his eyebrows raised.
Saoirse nodded. "All my favourites!" she smiled, stroking his back.
