“It's a shame! A shame!”

Ann curled up, wrapped up in a blanket, in the back of the van, with Roger kneeling down beside her. He had put on his white boxers again, after what happened. They managed to get rid of the group of tourists, but Ann was being paranoid because of them. She knew they had recognised Roger, and as they saw her too, she was sure that the press would soon know about it all. Perhaps there would be pictures of the van, or awful comics about them and how they have been discovered. Perhaps they would even be harassed the day after!

Roger wrapped an arm around her shoulders, burying his lips in her hair. He rocked her gently, and stared at her lovingly. Contrary to her, he did not seem much bothered by what had happened: anyway he was used to the press invading his privacy. However, he was deeply worried about her, but tried not to show it. He did not want her to become a tool for the newspapers and he wanted to protect her. Since his career began, he always did his best to hide her from all the mass attention, wanting her to keep living her quiet and peaceful life, being unnoticed. If he had wanted to expose her, he would have dated her.

She buried her face in her hands, trying to refrain from crying. She did not want to be exposed. She did not want people to harass them. She wanted to be alone with Roger, for the first time in what seemed to be ages, and everything was spoiled by a group of curious tourists. Now, she had to get used to journalists knocking at her door and asking her embarrassing questions about Roger, just to feed their articles with unhealthy information.

“Ann” Roger whispered “it's going to be fine, I promise. They did not take any picture, otherwise we would have seen it. And if I find an article about what happened, I'll sue the source. They're breaking a law, technically we would win.”

“I don't want them to knock at my door or be waiting at my window for me to wake up, only to ask me questions about you and me!”

“You know what? Tomorrow, in the morning, I'm going to find a telephone somewhere, and I'll ring Pete, Keith and John. I'll ask them to keep an eye on the press while we're gone, if it can reassure you.”

“How could they tell us if there were articles?” Ann replied. “We're in the middle of nowhere!! They can't call us if there's a problem, because telephones you can carry with you don't exist!”

“Darling, don't be pessimistic like that. We'll find a way to keep an eye on the press. They won't harm you, I promise.”

“It's not about harming, Roger, it's about being harassed everyday and having my face on covers next to yours!”

“Oh, is it that bad? I know that being harassed everyday is hell, I can understand your fear about it, but perhaps the press won't even be informed about what happened! Don't worry much, I'll ring the guys tomorrow in town, and I'll tell them to make sure that such articles won't be published.”

“They can't do much.”

Roger sighed and ran a desperate hand through his golden curls. Ann was stubborn. On the one hand, she was not completely wrong to worry about all the image medias would give of them both, and even expose herself; on the other hand, it was possible to avoid it all, since invading their privacy in such a way was breaking the law. Anyway, who would read anything about Roger Daltrey's sexual life?

Basically everybody.

He heaved a long sigh and faced her, cupping her sweet face in his hands.

“I have an idea. If we discover that the press has been told about what happened, we're not going to end our cool and interesting trip, are we? It's only beginning! And going back to London won't make things go better. So here's the thing: if tomorrow, Pete, John or Keith tell me they saw something about it, we're changing our spot. We'll go on the other side of the Loch Ness, what do you think? The tourists will probably come back to this spot just to see us again, and they won't leave us alone. If we change our spot, they won't be able to.”

Ann looked at him with a puzzled look: she hesistated for a few seconds before nodding with a weak grin. Indeed, changing spot would be better. Roger kissed her temple and patted her thigh gently.

“We should move now. Perhaps they'll come back today. Stay there, I'm driving the van.”

“Okay...”

As she looked down, Roger's slight smile faded away: he tenderly lifted up her chin with a finger and pressed his lips against her for three gentle pecks. She smiled shyly and hugged him tightly, not wanting to let him go. After a few minutes, he reluctantly let go of her and stepped out of the van. He made sure they did not forget anything in the grass, and then went up to the driver's seat to start up the vehicle: then, he drove away from their spot and joined the road that led all around the loch. From time to time, he peeped into the rear-view mirror to catch a glimpse of Ann, who still was curled up in her blanket, holding on to the side of the couch there was in the back. She was resting her chin on the palm of her hand, staring into space.

Although Roger was driving, he wanted to stop the van and keep staring at her for hours. She was stunning. She had the blanket wrapped around her naked body, her hair was a bit messy, and she looked like a gorgeous white dove being bored. Even though she looked annoyed and disturbed by something in her mind, she was still graceful without even realising it. That was one of the many things Roger loved with her.

Ann's colourful Don O'van left the road and followed a narrow path crossing vast green fields and other beautiful landscapes surrounding the loch. From where they were, Roger could see Urquhart Castle, overlooking and almost touching the quiet glimmering water of the Loch Ness. The late afternoon sun was weakening, ready to go to sleep. It got a bit darker, yet Roger did not need to turn on the headlights. A few kilometres away, Roger stopped the van and spun round, crossing his muscular arms on the back of his seat, turning to Ann.

“Do you like this spot, my dear?” he whispered softly, as if he had to wake her up. “If you don't, we still can get further.”

Ann slowly looked up and knelt on the couch, lifting up the corner of the curtain that was in her back. Through one of the back windows, she gazed at the landscape and weakly nodded.

“It'll be alright, I guess.”

“Ann...” he sighed, before clumsily crawling to the back of the van. “Are you still bothered by those tourists?”

“No, no...”

“You are, sweetie.” Roger got closer to her, wrapping his arms around her delicate shoulders. He kissed one of them and let his lips wander on her cheek. He brushed back one of her long locks falling across her face and wedged it carefully behind her ear. “I promise there won't be anything. If there is, I'll protect you as much as I can. I'll sue those bastards, I'll burn their magazines and kick their goddamn arse if it's needed. Anyway I won't let you down.”

Ann nodded and sighed, before looking up at him and pecking him on the lips. She snuggled against his bare chest and stayed there for a moment. Roger was tenderly stroking her arms, careful not to yank her long hair. He rested his head on hers and whispered “Would like to walk awhile with me?”

“No, Rogie, thanks anyway. You can go, I'm staying here, reading a book.”

“Are you sure?”

“Sure” she smiled briefly.

Roger planted a kiss in her hair and stood up to put on some clothes. He grabbed Ann's books that were on an opposite corner and gave them to her, with a peck on the forehead. He opened the side door of the van and got out, closing it behind him. He buried his hands in his pockets, facing the lakefront for a few minutes.

He had something in mind, but simply did not know how to make it work.

Meanwhile, inside the van, Ann was trying to focus on the Scottish legends she brought with her, in order to forget about the incident with the tourists. However, it seemed impossible. She sighed and put her books aside, staring into space again. She was relieved that Roger had gone out for a walk, since tears started to pour on her silky cheeks.

One hour later, Roger's head popped into the van, as his lips stretched into a wide grin. He found Ann drawing on a crumpled piece of paper, her legs curled against her chest. She had wedged her hair behind her ear, and he noticed she had put on her favourite pair of earrings. They were simple small silver rings, but they meant so much to her, since it was a gift from Roger for her twelfth birthday.

He smiled lopsidedly and winked at Ann, who eventually spotted him. With a grin, she put her paper and pencil aside, stretching her back gently. She stared at him and saw the suspiscious glint in his deep blue eyes.

“Hey, love” he said “could you please help me doing something?”

“Sure, what is it?”

“Come over here.”

She shrugged and jumped on her feet, quickly putting on her Chelsea boots. With the help of Roger, she got out of the van and looked all around her, but saw nothing. Roger closed the van and locked it with half a smile.

“What do you have in mind, Rogie?” she asked, frowning.

“Shh, you'll see.”

He pecked her on the nose and took out a blindfold from his pocket. He carefully tied it around her head, trying not to tie her hair with it. He raised four fingers before her eyes.

“How many fingers am I raising?”

“I don't know, I can't see them” she replied honestly.

Roger nodded and took her by the hand, resting his other one on her waist to guide her. They started to walk, and Ann started to laugh, quite confused about what he had prepared for her. Many times while they walked, Roger asked her if she trusted him, to which she nodded every time. As she was wearing a knee-length dress, she could feel the grass tickling her legs as she stepped forward; sometimes it lightly stung her calves, but sometimes it felt like a very soft caress on her shins. She tripped on what she thought was a branch, and held on to Roger's strong hips. He grinned and chuckled, trying to put her back on her feet.

After long and long minutes of crossing tremendous greenery stretches, Roger made her climb what felt like stones, until stopping her at one spot. He removed his hands from her and rested a hand on her shoulder.

“Don't move, okay? Really, don't move! I'm undoing your blindfold in a second.”

A fresh breeze whipped her cheeks and made her shiver lightly. Guessing that she was cold and realising he had not made her take a jacket or anything, Roger removed his own one and covered her shoulders with it. He coughed and undid the knot of the blindfold, whispering in her ear.

“Voilà!”

That is when he eventually removed the piece of fabric and let Ann blink. Her jaw dropped to the ground, as she realised she was facing the sunset on the Loch Ness. A variety of colours shone in the sky, bringing some colours to her cheeks and heart too. She looked down for a moment and noticed she was standing on top of what looked like a small cliff. She covered her mouth with a hand, admiring the breath-taking landscape. She grabbed Roger's hand with her other one, making him chuckle softly. With a lopsided smile, he took hold of her wrist and slowly stretched it backwards, until it touched cold stones. Ann jumped and spun round, her eyes widening.

They were at Urquhart Castle.

Ann's eyes moved on to Roger, whose neck suddenly found itself wrapped up with her arms. She stood on tiptoe and squeezed him against her body, kissing his neck from time to time. She took a deep breath, filling her nose with the delicious and sweet scent of his. Sh lightly pulled away and kissed him fully on the lips, running a gentle hand through his golden hair.

“You're cute, you know that?” she whispered. “Adorable.”

“You're describing yourself, honey.”

“You're wrong.”

“Shh, enjoy the sunset, darling. But you must be used to it, aren't you?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, watching the sunset must feel like watching yourself in a mirror, doesn't it?” he whispered with a grin, while wedging a strand behind her ear. “Usually, the reflection of yourself you see in a mirror is less beautiful than you actually are. And the sunset is less beautiful as you.”

Ann blushed and giggled, pecking him on the lips as a way to thank him for the compliment. Roger sat down on the grass, his long legs hanging from the cliff. Ann sat down beside him, without letting go of his hand, and got closer to him until their thighs touched; then, she rested her head on his shoulder, soon feeling his silky curls tickle her temples, and both watched the sunset, away from all worries.