Oliver
A few months passed. I went to therapy, nearly stopped going a couple of times because I hated it so much. I felt the same way I had done years ago; as if they were trying to open me up and turn me inside out, sectioning me like a lab rat. I felt vulnerable, and I didn't like that feeling, certainly not during the hard times in my life. But I promised Alison, so I went, but I didn't have the click with my psychiatrist now as I had with doctor Baker in the end of my time in the clinic.
It was the end of July now, and the world had opened up some more. We had celebrated Alison's thirty first birthday with a private party in Church, the lads and I had been working hard on our next album. I felt pretty okay lately, with some bad days every now and then. But at least I talked to Alison about it now, and I was able to see my family and friends. Life wasn't so dark anymore, especially not now Alison and Chloe kept to their word and had planned a ten day vacation to Malta for the whole band and Tom and Lizzy. We could all use some sunshine, since we had been having a real wet, Yorkshire summer here thusfar. Luckily we were due to fly out tomorrow morning, and Alison was having last minute packing stress.
'Oli? Have you seen my bikini?,' she called from the bedroom. I looked up from my computer and frowned.
'The fuck should I know where your bikini is?,' I hollered back. She didn't respond and I got up to find her sitting on the bedroom floor, clothes scattering around her, and her in the middle of it with her opened suitcase. I chuckled at her distressed face.
'For once it's not me having last minute issues,' I said. She scrunched her face and sighed, getting up.
'All this planning I did, and I can't even get my suitcase together,' she complained, picking up a dress and folding it. I sat down on the end of the bed and watched her gather a few clothes, folding and packing them.
'Do you think I can wear this again?,' she asked, pulling a little white dress from her closet. I smiled at her holding the dress she had worn when we got married again last year.
'Are you planning on getting married then?,' I joked. Alison chuckled and looked back at me.
'No, one problematic husband is more than enough,' she threw back. I gasped, put my hand on my heart and let myself fall back on the bed, playfully offended. 'I still love you, though.' Alison crawled up to me and kissed me.
'You'd better,' I muttered, pulling her on me. She smiled and kissed me again while she obviously forgot about packing for a moment. Her lips trailed over my jaw to my neck, and I let my hands find her hips.
'Ali?,' I muttered, not wanting her to stop but also not wanting her to stress even more about packing after we would finish our making out.
'Hmm?'
'Weren't you packing?' To my regret, she stopped trailing her lips over the sensitive skin in my neck and sat up, looking down on me.
'I'm overwhelmed,' she whined. I laughed and pushed myself half up on my elbows.
'I'll help you. Sit down.' Alison slid off my lap and sat down at the bed. I gathered all her clothes from the ground and threw them on the bed, picking them up one by one for her to judge them and decide whether she wanted to pack them or not. Fifteen minutes later, her suitcase was packed – including two bikinis - except for her toiletry bag and some other daily necessities. She fussed about some other things, made sure we had all our documents and papers ready to grab, cleaned up the house and finally came to bed around midnight.
The next morning we dropped the dogs off at my parents, met up with Tom and Lizzy who dropped off their dog too, and got down to Heathrow Airport in my car. We were all looking forward to this vacation, and the vibe was on when we gathered with the rest of our big group before checking in. Jordan and Emma, and Lee and Deni had their kids with them, and Jordan's son ran up to me.
'Ey bud,' I said, smiling and kneeling down to his height.
'Oli, are we gonna play in the pool again?,' Elliot asked me with big eyes. I smiled at him and nodded, thinking back of how we had done so in LA when recording Amo.
'Sure we are.' I ruffled his hair with my hand. Elliot grinned and went back to his mother, who was holding his baby sister Eden. I got up and saw Alison stare at me with a loving look in her eyes.
'What?'
'Nothing,' she shook her head with a smile. 'It's just cute how you handle Elliot.' Then she pulled her eyes away from me and got in line to check in. I pulled my suitcase with me and got behind her, wrapping my arm around her waist and kissing her temple. We all checked in, went through security, the girls went shopping tax-free and did a coffee run when we were waiting at the gate.
'No sex in the lavatory!,' Lee hollered after me and Alison when we boarded the plane and sat down two rows behind him, Deni and their daughter Evalyn. We both laughed and I gave him my middle finger, making him do the same.
'Elliot, no!,' Jordan said from across the aisle. I looked back and chuckled when I saw him pull down his son's held out middle finger. 'Oli, please, watch your language and gestures coming time?' I promised Jordan, but winked at Elliot, who giggled.
The plane wasn't filled completely, so Alison and I had our row to ourselves. Alison was reading a book to stay distracted from the flight, and I was scrolling my phone. After about an hour and a half, Elliot got bored and started talking to me from across the aisle.
'Come sit here, bud,' I told him, pointing at the empty seat next to me. He looked at his parents and Emma nodded at him, and he happily crossed the aisle and sat down next to me. Alison looked at us for a moment and got that sweet, loving look on her face again. Jordan handed me a note block and some crayons, and Elliot and I drew animals and dinosaurs for a while. Then he got bored again and sat back in his chair, eventually falling asleep against my side.
'I can take him if you want to,' Jordan offered. I shook my head and put my arm around the boy, sliding back in my chair a bit and closing my eyes too.
Elliot and I both woke up when we landed, and he went back to his parents. We all got off the plane, welcoming the warmth of the sun, gathering our luggage and walking out to our rental cars.
'Almost feels like tour,' Alison said as we collected our keys and got up to the SUV we shared with Tom and Lizzy.
'Almost,' I chuckled, thinking of how much more relaxed I already was then I would be when going on tour.
The fifteen person Airbnb Chloe and Alison had rented was located on a rocky hill, overlooking the turquoise water of the Mediterranean way below. It was an old, traditional farmhouse that had been renovated to meet beyond today's luxury standards; it had a pool and a big backyard with olive trees and a fire pit, seven bedrooms all with their own bathroom, and a huge kitchen and living room, all modern and light.
'Oh my God, girls, this is amazing!,' Tilly, Kean's wife let out while looking around. Everyone agreed, and Alison and Chloe high fived each other with a grin.
'Now I know why we paid so much,' Nicholls joked. Chloe whacked his chest. We agreed to get installed, and afterwards Alison, Chloe, Emma, Kean, Lee and Lizzy decided to go out for grocery shopping. They asked everyone to make a list, and it took them a long while to get back.
I was in the pool with Elliot – as promised -, and Jordan when they came back. Alison smiled and sat down on the edge of the pool, taking her sandals off and putting her feet in the water. She closed her eyes and put her face up to the sun, enjoying the moment until Nicholls crept up behind her.
'Mat, don't – ,' I started, but he had already shoved her in. Alison let out a high-pitched yelp before she went under, still yelling when she resurfaced with wide eyes.
'You,' she just grunted, her eyes shooting daggers at Nicholls. He laughed and quickly ran off when she pulled herself out of the pool, going after him. I chuckled and shook my head when they ran through the yard, around a few olive trees, until a dripping Alison jumped at him and pulled him down on the grass. Their loud yelling got the attention of everyone outside, and we all laughed a bit when Alison dragged a struggling Nicholls towards the pool.
'Karma is a fucking bitch,' she said, pushing him in. He laughed and let himself fall backwards, arms spread as if excepting his fate as he fell into the water.
'Fucking bitch,' Elliot let out. Everyone looked at him for a second, then we all started laughing.
'You can't say that, El!,' Emma let out from her sunbed.
'Alison did!,' he told his mother. Alison smothered her laugh with her hands in front of her mouth.
'Sorry,' she told Emma, who chuckled. She sat down on the edge of the pool again and I swam up to her. Alison smiled and kissed me when I leaned my arms on her legs.
'I knew Malta held some nice, spicy memories for you, but I didn't expect you to be this dripping wet again upon arrival already,' I teased her. Alison gasped a bit and held in a laugh.
'Oli!,' she let out quietly. I chuckled and she pushed my shoulder. 'Behave!'
'Oh, I sure will,' I said innocently. I pulled myself out of the water and sat down next to her, shaking my hair and making her squeal. Then I looked at her as her eyes trailed around the group of people that we both loved so dearly. 'This was a great idea,' I told her.
'Hmhm,' she just hummed, still happily looking around. She seemed relaxed, for the first time in ages. I felt exactly the same, as if all my problems of the past months had fallen off my shoulder.
*
Alison
Just as when we were on tour, everyone found their place within the group, and we all just got along casually. We enjoyed spending time together, but everyone was also free to do their own thing and it just worked.
I liked to take care of breakfast with Kean and Emma every morning before the rest started their day, and Oliver, Tom, Tilly and Deni took care of dinner often. I loved watching Oliver and Tom cook together, talking, joking and bashing around like only brothers could. My favourite thing to do was to sit on the other side of the kitchen island with Lizzy, sipping some wine as we watched them cook. We praised ourselves lucky – or not – that we were stuck with those Sykes brothers. I loved having Tom and Lizzy around too, and although Lizzy had hardly spend time with the whole band before, she fitted just right in. And after years of knowing each other, she didn't mind me and Tom hanging out as best friends anymore.
'Ali?,' he asked me three days after we had arrived. 'Can I talk to you for a moment?' I looked up from my book and shielded my eyes against the sun.
'Sure,' I said, getting up from my sunbed. Tom looked a bit nervous, and I frowned when I followed him into the yard, away from everyone at the pool. He looked around suspiciously and pulled me behind a big olive tree. 'What's going on?,' I asked.
'I eh...' He smiled and looked at his feet while he put his hands in his pockets. 'I want to ask you a favour.' His bright blue eyes looked back up to me.
'Sure, anything,' I told him.
'I need you to take some photos of me and Lizzy.'
'Okay...,' I agreed, frowning a bit now, not knowing why. Tom still looked nervous.
'I'm going to propose to her –' At that, I let out a yelp and quickly put my hands in front of my mouth, my eyes wide. 'Ssshht!,' he hushed, chuckling now.
'Tom!,' I whisper-shouted at him. 'What?!'
'I'll take her on a walk to see the sunset on top of the hill tonight, and I would like for you to come with us and capture the moment. Will you do that for me?' His eyes looked almost pleading.
'Yes, of course!,' I told him immediately. 'Oh my God, yes!' I laughed happily and pulled a goofily smirking Tom into my arms, hugging him tightly. 'I am so happy for you!'
'Thank you.' I let go of him and beamed up at him, making him laugh. 'I love her so much,' he said, almost getting emotional.
'I know you do.' I smiled and kissed his cheek, and after a short briefing of his plans, we got back to the rest. Oliver's eyes caught us and he stared at us until I came up to him.
'What was that about?,' he asked, sounding a bit weirded out.
'Oh, nothing,' I waved him away. Oliver threw me a side look and went back to scrolling his phone. I spent the rest of the afternoon a bit restless but happy, looking at Tom and Lizzy every now and then. The girl had no idea what she was in for tonight, and the more time passed, the more Tom seemed to get nervous. He wasn't focused on cooking dinner at all, almost burned the roasted paprika in the oven, and was shooed away from the kitchen by Deni when he tipped over an open wine bottle. He gave me a troubled look and I chuckled, hoping he wouldn't stumble around this much when he would propose to Lizzy.
We had a lovely dinner all together at the patio. Everyone was merry and in a good mood, the kids behaved, the sun was still warm and bright.
An hour before it would set, I quietly told Tom to get ready to leave, and I went to grab my backpack, putting my camera in it.
'Lizzy, Tom and I are going for a walk, care to join us?,' I asked Oliver. My question pulled him from his discussion with Jordan about a track they were working on on Jordan's laptop.
'Eh... now?,' he asked. 'We're finally getting somewhere with this.'
'Come on, love. We're on a vacation,' I pressed. Jordan looked up at that and sighed.
'You're right,' he said, closing his laptop and stretching.
'Come on,' I told Oliver, holding out my hand to him. He got up and put on his shoes before we got outside. Tom and Lizzy were already walking the path up the hill that went from front yard of the house.
'Why are we going on a walk?,' Oliver complained.
'Good for your mental health,' I told him.
'My mental health is good,' he just said. I let out a short laugh and looked at him. He cocked an eyebrow at me. 'Lately.' I took his hand in mine and pulled him in for a kiss.
'I know. And I am happy for you.' We followed the path up the hill and took some photos of the view over the sea for the fun of it.
'That's a whole different view than the hill around Sheffield,' Oliver muttered as we stood on a cliff, watching the waves crash around the rocks far beneath us as a salty breeze blew my hair in my face. The sun was getting low now; it was almost golden hour, the perfect setting for Tom's proposal. I looked back to Tom and Lizzy, but they had went out of sight.
'Shit,' I muttered. I started walking again, and Oliver caught up with me.
'Why so fast all of a sudden?,' he asked.
'I need to keep them in sight,' I said, nearly running up the hill. I was getting out of breath and sweating, since it was still warm, but I didn't stop until I got on top of the hill and saw Tom and Lizzy stand at the edge. I smiled and got my camera out, adjusting the settings a bit and giving Tom a small nod when I was ready. They were about fifteen meters away from me, so I wasn't disturbing the atmosphere. Oliver caught up with me again, frowning at the scene. I started snapping some pictures when Tom started talking to Lizzy.
'What is happening here?,' he asked.
'Ssshht!,' I hushed him, taking another picture.
'What is he doing?'
'Oli! Shut up!'
'Is he going to – Oh. My. God,' Oliver let out when Tom went down on one knee. I let my camera work frantically, taking multiple photos of Tom proposing to Lizzy while the golden sunlight was just perfect.
'No fucking way,' Oliver whispered behind me. I didn't let myself get distracted by him, but my heart was fluttering and a warm feeling washed over me when Lizzy nodded yes, her hands in front of her mouth, and then jumped in Tom's arms. I bit my lip to keep my eyes from tearing up, snapped a last few photos for now and then got up to them.
'That was fucking perfect!,' I said. 'Congratulations, guys!' Oliver and I hugged them and Lizzy was all over the place. She showed me her ring – a white gold one with a pear-shaped diamond – and I took another few photos of them kissing while she held out her hand to show her ring. Only when the sun set into the sea, we went down the path back to the house. Lizzy couldn't stop talking about what had just overcome her, and Tom just grinned happily while he held her hand. Oliver and I just trailed after them, smiling to ourselves and catching each other's gaze every now and then.
It was already dark when we got back to the house, and Lizzy and Tom went over to the rest to tell them about their engagement. Oliver told me he was tired and wanted to go to bed, so we went to our bedroom and embraced the silence when I closed the door behind us. Without another word, Oliver pulled me in his arms and kissed me, softly pressing me into the wall with his body. The loving tension that had been simmering between us all the way back to the house was finally coming out, and I sighed deeply when he kissed my neck. He took both my hands and put them up above my head, pinning me stuck even more while his mouth trailed from my neck down to my chest. I was wearing a summer dress and no bra, and Oliver soon found a way to pull it down and kiss his way across my breast until I gasped a little. He smirked and came back up, locking his lips one mine as he finally let go of my hands and cupped my breast. His touches had me turned on already, the way he pinned me down against the wall set my body on fire. His hands slid down to my waist and he kissed his way down again, until he was on his knees and reached my belly, pulling my dress up. I closed my eyes when he pulled my panties down and grabbed my hips, bringing his hot mouth between my legs and making me let out a soft whimper when he caressed me with his tongue. My fingers ran through his hair, tugging it a bit when he hit the right spot and my knees started trembling because of it.
'Oli, please,' I whispered, looking down on him. He pulled away and smirked, getting back up and pushing me in the wall again with his entire body while he kissed me deeply. I could feel his excitement through my dress, and I brought my hands down to open his trousers. He directed me to the bed and I sank down on it, looking at him in awe when he pulled his shirt off and pushed his trousers down, stepping out of them. Then he crawled up to me. I laughed a bit and he smirked, biting his lip before pushing me over and hoovering over me. My hands cupped his face and I stroked his cheek, then softly pulled him closer before kissing him tenderly. Oliver's fingers made their way up my inner thigh, and I let out a soft moan when they entered me. He knew his manners to drive me crazy, and it didn't take long before I was a melting mess and almost pleaded for him to just do me. I knew he loved it when he got me so far, and I did so too.
Without another word he pushed himself inside me, and I inhaled deeply to relax a little more. Oliver leant with his forehead against mine and stared into my eyes before he closed his and started picking up a slow pace.
'Fuck,' I muttered quietly, my eyes closed, my lip between my teeth from sheer pleasure. I let my legs entangle with his, my hands on his upper arms while he determined the rhythm of our hips. He slowly got it up as he got more aroused, his breath getting more ragged and his voice softly muttering my name in my ear. I knew he was getting there, and so was I, so it wasn't hard to give in to the explosion of pleasure that erupted from my core at the same time as he came. Oliver hid his face in my neck and stayed that way for another moment after his orgasm, trying to catch his breath before he kissed me and pulled away. I looked at him as he laid down next to me, his head on his arm, his eyes staring back at me. His hand carefully pulled the top of my dress back up, covering my breasts again, and I chuckled, turning on my side too so I could look at him. He was so hot when he was lying next to me like this, his naked, heavily tattooed body stretched out over the clean white sheets of the bed. The look in his warm eyes was soft, loving, admiring towards me. Then he let his fingers softly trail over my cheek.
'I love you so much,' he mumbled quietly. I smiled and took his hand, kissing his palm and then putting it on my chest.
'Can you feel my heart?,' I asked softly. Oliver smiled and nodded. 'It only beats for you.' Our eyes found each other again and Oliver shoved closer to me, his lips locking on mine again as the start of him taking over my body for a second time that night.