They made love twice more in her bed, and shared her Prosecco, and he wouldn't stop kissing her, as if tasting it on her lips, and as tired as she was, she just couldn't stop running her fingers through his quickly drying hair, and over his shoulders, and cupping his jaw, and rubbing his beard with her palms. And then they ate the sushi, and he kept trying to feed more to her than to eat himself, lying through his teeth that he'd eaten on the way, and she laughed and told him they needed to order him food or he'd shrivel from all the exertion - and she got up to find her phone, and when she was back, he was already asleep. She slid under the duvet, curled into him, and fell asleep in less than three seconds.

***

She opened her eyes and stared outside. It wasn't fully dark, she could see streaks of light dancing in the charcoal clouds. She'd slept through the night! With him wrapped around her, his heavy hairy leg pressing hers into the sheets! Without nightmares, quite comfortably, perhaps slightly too hot, but nonetheless! She blindly found her phone on the bedside table and looked at it. 7:34. That can't be right!

"Go to sleep, Vi," Rhys grumbled, pulling her even closer into him. Viola closed her eyes and relaxed into his embrace, when he suddenly muttered, "I'm hungry."

She wondered if he was talking in his sleep. A cosy noise rumbled in his throat, and he dug his nose into her hair insistently.

"You smell nice. Like a satsuma," he added and gently brushed his lips to her earlobe.

Most of her products - including her shower gel, the matching body lotion, her hand cream, and her foot cream, as well as her shampoo, conditioner, and her hair mask - all had citrus smells, yuzu being her favourite, closely followed by red grapefruit. She had always been very particular about the cosmetics she used, choosing, when possible, organic, cruelty-free, sustainable, and fair trade.

"Are you craving marmalade toast then?" she couldn't help but quip. All that effort and consideration - and the man compares her to the most boring of the fruit family!

He groaned and scrunched his face, probably trying to open his eyes. Viola took mercy of the ridiculous man.

"Sleep, love," she murmured and kissed his cheekbone.

"I can't," he said in the same grumpy tone. "I woke up, because you moved... and now I want you."

Viola gave him an amused look.

"I moved, and now you want me," she repeated with a chuckle, and he hummed confirming. "Maybe I should go make coffee," she said, "and let you sleep, since–"

She was interrupted by him squeezing her a bear hug - and a certain part of his anatomy demandingly poking into her hip. He normally didn't enjoy sleeping starkers - hadn't enjoyed all those years ago - but the previous night they surely hadn't bothered with laundry. His clothes were still on the floor of her bathroom, in a crumpled heap.

"Well, have me then," she said with a soft laugh.

He slowly opened his eyes, and gave her a surprisingly sober sharp look.

"Are you– alright with it?" he asked, frowning.

"With what?"

Viola studied his dark face. He didn't answer, and she kissed the tip of his nose.

"With me– having you." He drew his eyebrows even closer. "Yesterday, I lost control. When I just came in, and you had that soft thing on you, I just– It was so bloody sexy– and you jumped on me. I know I can be rough sometimes," he said, his face shameful. "You yelled like a banshee. I thought I hurt something."

"You didn't hurt anything," Viola said and moved a soft curl off his cheek. "And I apologise for yelling like a banshee," she said with a snort.

"Vi, I'm serious," he said in an exasperated tone.

"I can see that, and I don't understand why you would be, because it's just a laughable idea. If I didn't like something, I'd just say so. I wouldn't yell like a banshee if–" And that's when she understood. "Did one of your exes say something?"

His face set in harsh lines, and she knew she was right.

"Rhys?"

"Yeah."

"What did she say?" Viola asked.

He pressed his lips in the familiar stubborn line and looked away. She thought he even tried to retreat, and she grabbed his shoulder.

"Rhys, it obviously bothers you. Why don't you just ask me?" she said. "I'm right here. And sex is just another part of our relationship where we shouldn't hold on to old assumptions. So, what's this all about?"

"She just said that I was–" he choked on his words. She saw knots dance on his jaw. "She said, I was like a tup. Like it's never enough for me. And that when I'd come over, and we– you know– that she'd just let me." He gritted his teeth. "Made me feel sick."

"Bitch," Viola spat out.

For a second his face relaxed, and he gave her an amused look. She understood his surprise - she almost never swore - but at the moment she was too enraged to care. Viola grabbed his ear and made him look at her.

"You listen to me, Rhys Holyoake. If some frigid idiot had you in her bed and chose to just lie there like a log letting you shag her, she needs her head checked. You're a great shag, and if she wasn't up for it, she should've said so and sod off!" Viola decided a bit of physical demonstration needed to be added to this lecture. She pressed her hand into his shoulder, pushed him forcefully, rolling him on his back, and straddled him. His eyes widened. "And you can be rough, but only 'good rough.' Like yesterday. It was so good that I actually don't remember half of what we did, and only how amazing it felt! And I never let go enough to yell like that! So, yes," she said and ground her hips into him. He gulped air with an open mouth. "You can have me," she said. "Sometimes, the soft and slow, like we had in bed after the shower, is good too - but right now I request the banshee treatment. Do you think you fancy something of the sort at the moment?"

His hands firmly lay on her waist, almost encircling it, and he pushed her on her back. She threw her legs around him, squeezed, and jerked him down onto her. He gave her a feral grin that looked almost like a scowl, and caught her lips in an intense hard kiss. Perfect, Viola thought - and then she wasn't thinking anything at all.

***

"What do you normally do on Saturdays?" she asked, without opening her eyes.

She lay on her stomach, her hands folded under her cheek. He was facing her, on his side, drawing circles and spirals with the tips of his fingers on her back.

"I check on the cottages. Tenants always need something," he said. "I visit Nana, get her groceries, and there's always something to fix in her cottage. And then there are the books for the firm, and the rentals. We rent out our machines," he explained, and then yawned. "And there's always shopping to be done, for the office, or for some renovations. And–" Another yawn interrupted his list. "And the swimming classes, but that's on Sunday, and I volunteer in a couple of spots in town." He paused. "What do you do on Saturdays?"

"Laundry," Viola answered - and then burst into merry laughter. She opened her eyes, and gave him a wide grin. "I do laundry on Saturdays. I have a lot of clothes that need delicate treatment."

He was watching her, slightly confused, clearly suspecting she was joking, and she started laughing even harder.

"And on Sundays I do nothing," she said. She moved closer to him, sliding under his arm, and he embraced her readily. She quickly kissed his lips. "Do you need me to let you go to do all your important chores?"

"No," he answered firmly. "I'd rather have some of your wicked coffee, and stay in bed all day."

She kissed him again and then stroked his moustache with the tips of her fingers. It had been fascinating her since that day in Nana's kitchen.

"Rhys," she said softly, and he immediately frowned. "I think it would be best if we're open with each other," she continued, pushing through the discomfort of seeing his defensive face. "We're two adults with separate, established lives. So, how about I go first?" she said. His face was still guarded, but he nodded. "I do want to make you my coffee and spend the whole day in bed," she said. "I want to order food, and watch something, and I assume we'll mostly just keep having sex. And then I'd like to go for a walk, but that can be discussed because I don't know what your opinion on 'just walks' is these days. And I'm not going to make any assumptions," she added teasingly. "And maybe we can have coffee and some sweets later. And stop by a couple of shops. So, this is my idea. And then, if one of us decides they want to be alone for the rest of the weekend, it should be OK if they just say so. What do you think?"

He watched her face, and some sort of mischievous smile fluttered in the corners of his lips. Ah, right, that would be her 'professorial tone' he used to joke about.

"Alright," he said, and this time it was he who leaned forward to brush his lips to hers.

"Alright," Viola repeated and snorted. "I quite enjoy this new openness of ours," she murmured and wrapped her hand at the back of his neck. "So, what would you like right now? Coffee, or–"

Clearly, it wasn't coffee he was in the mood for - but fortunately, neither was she.