{"id":503,"date":"2011-07-05T06:00:08","date_gmt":"2011-07-04T19:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/?p=503"},"modified":"2013-09-27T16:35:20","modified_gmt":"2013-09-27T23:35:20","slug":"the-coldest-day-the-hottest-chocolate-and-an-indoor-garden","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/?p=503","title":{"rendered":"Season 3: Episode 5"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Tom ran his hands down her back, his face buried in the crook of her neck and inhaled deeply again. A hint of that Channel perfume that she always wore intermingled with her Aesop shampoo and underneath it all was a smell that he could never have described even if he wanted to. It was pure, unadulterated Ana. His Ana.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou didn\u2019t really let me go,\u201d he whispered in her ear. \u201cWe let each other go. Never again though, OK?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ana nodded, her head buried in Tom\u2019s shoulder, tears smudging her mascara and rubbing off onto his shirt. She didn\u2019t care though. She was so happy. Tom loved her. He wanted to make this work.<\/p>\n

They stood locked in the embrace for what felt like forever, but still not long enough. Eventually, they wandered slowly back to Tom\u2019s apartment, unable to take their hands off each other for even a second. He poured her a glass of red wine and they sat on the couch, legs intertwined, looking shyly at each other like two teenagers who had the house to themselves for the first time. Tom stroked Ana\u2019s hair and she sighed contentedly as she sipped her wine. For the first time in ages, she could actually feel herself relaxing. Her shoulders, which had been a permanent fixture up around her ears for weeks now, slowly dropped a few inches, and the headache that she\u2019d just taken for granted as a significant part of her life, magically disappeared. Tom, unable to wipe the goofy smile off his face, kept leaning forward and kissing her.<\/p>\n

They talked for hours about absolutely everything. The discussed the affair for the first time and Tom told her about Lilly. Once it was all out in the open, it felt good, like they had nothing left to hide from each other. Sure, there would still be moments when the memory of these events would surface again, bringing with them feelings that they\u2019d rather forget, but that was life and together they would deal with it.<\/p>\n

Outside it was pitch black and the traffic had died down. They could hear the wind howling and snuggled closer together for warmth, even though there was a blazing open fire. They\u2019d finished off two bottles of red and the rest of the cauliflower cheese that Tom had made earlier.<\/p>\n

Ana yawned and looked at her watch. \u201cHow did it get to be 4:30am?\u201d<\/p>\n

She glanced over at Tom, who looked about as exhausted as she felt. It had been a very long couple of weeks for both of them.<\/p>\n

\u201cBed?\u201d He asked, stretching his limbs.<\/p>\n

She nodded and peeled herself off the couch. He held her hand as they padded into his bedroom and curled up in the bed, too tired to even undress.<\/p>\n

They both woke up at 6am, still groggy from the lack of sleep and managed to undress each other slowly \u2013 a few times \u2013 before falling back asleep, wrapped in each other\u2019s arms, until midday.<\/p>\n

**<\/p>\n

Ana finally returned home around four that afternoon. Willow was sitting in the kitchen having a special Willow-made hot chocolate and reading one of the glossy magazines that she liked to indulge in every once in a while. The weather hadn\u2019t cleared and outside, dark storm clouds were gathering. The wind was whipping the streets into a frenzy of leaves and inner city debris. The house felt snug and warm and Ana felt a pang of sadness that she would be leaving here.<\/p>\n

That was one of the other things that she and Tom had discussed last night. They\u2019d decided that she would move in with him as soon as Mia and Willow had found a suitable housemate. Even though Ana owned the house that the three girls lived in, she didn\u2019t want to kick them out when Tom had a perfectly good apartment for her to move to. Besides, they would probably look at buying somewhere else in the next few years that was a bit bigger anyway.<\/p>\n

\u201cGood night?\u201d asked Willow, putting down the magazine. She noticed that Ana hadn\u2019t come home last night after leaving in the afternoon to go and see Tom. She hoped that meant it was all back on track. Tom and Ana were a perfect couple in her opinion.<\/p>\n

Ana smiled secretively. She would tell Willow everything, of course, but for a while she wanted to just keep it to herself. It felt more special that way.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat smells amazing,\u201d she said, leaning in and taking a whiff of the hot chocolate. She caught a hint of nutmeg, dark chocolate and… chili?<\/p>\n

\u201cHave a seat and I\u2019ll make you one,\u201d said Willow.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet me just get changed quickly. I\u2019ll be back in a sec.\u201d<\/p>\n

Willow put the stove back on as Ana went upstairs. She stirred the rich, milky chocolate gently so that it didn\u2019t burn.<\/p>\n

Rain started falling, smashing into the window pain so ferociously that Willow almost didn\u2019t hear her mobile ringing. It was a blocked number.<\/p>\n

\u201cHello?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWillow?\u201d It was a man\u2019s voice, familiar but she couldn\u2019t place it.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is Robert Fortescue.\u201d<\/p>\n

Willow inhaled sharply. Robert Fortescue! The man who had nearly run her down in his car, insulted her in front of her boss and then had the audacity to ask her out on a date. How did he even get her number? She sure as hell didn\u2019t give it to him.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat can I do for you?\u201d she managed to say once she\u2019d regained her composure.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d like to take you out for dinner.\u201d<\/p>\n

She could tell by the tone in his voice that he was used to getting his own way. Not this time though. There was absolutely no way that she was going out with this cantankerous, demanding, selfish excuse for a human being.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry, but I\u2019m busy,\u201d she said coolly.<\/p>\n

He uttered a throaty laugh. \u201cI haven\u2019t even suggested a day yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m busy\u2026 everyday,\u201d said Willow, inwardly kicking herself for not thinking of something cleverer to say. Even though she didn\u2019t want to go out with him, she didn\u2019t want him thinking she was an idiot.<\/p>\n

She heard him sigh. \u201cI thought that\u2019s what you\u2019d say.\u201d<\/p>\n

He cut the line suddenly and was gone.<\/p>\n

Willow was still staring at her phone, furious, when Ana came back downstairs.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou OK?\u201d Ana asked, concerned about this rapid change in demeanour.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, you are never going to believe what just happened\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Willow didn\u2019t even get to finish her sentence, because the doorbell rang.<\/p>\n

She looked at Ana inquisitively, who shrugged. She wasn\u2019t expecting anyone.<\/p>\n

Willow opened the door. Standing there, drenched from the rain, was a young man carrying a large bouquet of beautiful Irises.<\/p>\n

\u201cDelivery for Willow,\u201d he said, panting from his dash to the front door.<\/p>\n

Willow accepted the flowers speechlessly.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll just get the rest,\u201d the deliveryman said, bracing himself for the dash back to the car.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do you mean, the rest?\u201d called Willow after him, her voice swallowed up in the storm.<\/p>\n

There were another six trips from the van to the house, each time with a different and more extravagant bunch of flowers. Roses, Lilies, Orchids, and then some flowers that Willow didn\u2019t even recognise.<\/p>\n

\u201cSign here please.\u201d<\/p>\n

Willow signed and shut the door, turning to survey the front hall, which had been transformed into a wonderful indoor garden. Ana walked out and her mouth dropped.<\/p>\n

\u201cWho are they from?\u201d asked Ana, leaning down to smell the beautiful velvety-red roses.<\/p>\n

There was no card, but Willow suspected she knew. Her mobile phone rang again.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, will you have dinner with me?\u201d<\/p>\n

She could hear the laugher in Robert\u2019s voice.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re from you, aren\u2019t they?\u201d Willow tried to keep her voice calm.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t know what you\u2019re favourite flowers were, so I just got everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat am I meant to do with them all?\u201d Her voice was getting a bit hysterical.<\/p>\n

\u201cHave dinner with me and I\u2019ll buy you a vase as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

She had to give him one thing. He was persistent. The scent of jasmine filled her nose and reminded her of wonderful summer evenings drinking white wine in the back garden. She faltered briefly, but Willow wasn\u2019t going to cave to some guy\u2019s demands, even if he did buy her an entire florist.<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you for the flowers, but I am going to have to decline your offer.\u201d<\/p>\n

This time she hung up the phone first.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tom ran his hands down her back, his face buried in the crook of her neck and inhaled deeply again. A hint of that Channel perfume that she always wore intermingled with her Aesop shampoo and underneath it all was a smell that he could never have described even if he wanted to. It was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":"yes"},"categories":[199],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/503"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=503"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/503\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1219,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/503\/revisions\/1219"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=503"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=503"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=503"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}