Annie got up early. She didn't want Rohan to be left waiting for her this time. She was going to catch an earlier bus and have plenty of time to spare. She got dressed in her multicoloured sun dress, put on her sandals, and then tied her hair on top of her head leaving some strands hanging here and there.

She had finished putting on her lipstick she looked at herself in the mirror, neat and casual. Not bad. Annie grinned at her image and grabbed her small handbag. It had long straps so she could put it across her body in case she needed to keep both of her hands free.

When she got off the bus at the terminal near the museum, she looked around for somewhere to wait for Rohan and decided to sit on a set of stairs, which ran up the side of the building to the Sciencentre entry. They were shaded by a tree and she'd be sure to see him coming.

Annie wondered if he would wear his tatty old jumper or the one, he'd worn to the movies. Even though the weather was getting cooler it was still too hot in the sun to be wearing a jumper.

She saw him walking hurriedly along the footpath. It was only nine thirty so they were both early. Annie couldn't help but giggle at the thought that they were both keen to be on time. She stood up and waved.

Rohan was wearing a long-sleeved purple button up shirt which had a green pocket. She grinned thinking, he certainly had crappy taste in clothing but, she didn't care because it wouldn't matter what he wore she still liked him.

"You're early." He put his hands in his back pockets.

"I didn't want to risk getting caught in another traffic jam so I caught an earlier bus. Plus, I wasn't sure where it was so I thought I might have needed the time to find it."

"You look nice, Annie."

"Thanks, Rohan. So do you."

He laughed and shook his head. "No, I don't, Annie. I don't have nice clothes or any idea about fashion."

Annie laughed with him and shrugged. "I told you if you wanted me to come shopping with you to just ask." She looked at his shirt and grinned. "You do have pretty crappy taste but purples not so bad. Not sure about the green pocket but I guess some famous designer thought it was a good idea." She grinned some more before saying, "Do you want to go in now? I read it can take a whole day if you try everything."

Rohan nodded so Annie held her hand out to him. He smiled, took it, and then led her up the stairs to the entry. Annie grabbed a map. They started at the 'Think Science' section then moved into the 'Show Zone'.

The show was about living and travelling in space. Annie had a great time at the action stations and hadn't realised how much science was used in everyday things which she took for granted.

Because she liked to paint, Annie really enjoyed creating patterns with the curly tiles. She had a go at the spinning chair and was glad she hadn't eaten beforehand.

Rohan hadn't stopped smiling. Annie was like a little kid wanting to have a go at everything. She pulled him excitedly from one thing to the next and when they succeeded in lifting a fridge together, she laughed and threw her arms around his neck.

"We are so... strong."

A barrage of thoughts rushed through Rohan's mind. He held his breath. Should he put his arms around her or shouldn't he. Numb Skull wanted him to. Maybe he should kiss her but there were a lot of people around. Rohan didn't have a clue and before he could decide she let him go and grabbed his hand.

"Come on. Let's go and get some lunch. It's one o'clock already and I'm starving." Annie had hoped he would put his arms around her but he didn't. She wondered why he was like he was and thought maybe he didn't like her as much as she thought he did. She pushed the why's aside and put it all down to his shyness.

As they ate Annie babbled on about how wonderful it all was.

Rohan couldn't keep his eyes off her.

"I can see why you like science so much," she said. "It's pretty exciting stuff." Annie looked at the map. "Do you want to go to the Museum Zoo?" She looked up at him in question. "It's on the third level." Annie looked at the map again and contemplated more before saying, "Or we could stay on this level it has lots of different stuff. Something called 'Moving wheels, wings and water' or there's a marine animals display." Annie looked up again and caught Rohan grinning at her. "What?" she said with a curious expression on her face.

He shook his head and chuckled.

"What?" Annie repeated. When he continued to laugh, she said. "Rohan, what's so funny?"

"I'm just happy, Annie. I'm really glad you like it. I wasn't sure you would but watching you have a good time has made me happy." He really wanted to say he had never been so happy in his whole life but that would lead to a more complicated explanation.

"So, what do you want to do?" she said, smiling at him.

"You choose. I don't mind. I've been here before."

"Alright. We'll work our way through this level and see how far we get. It closes at five. What time do you want to leave?"

Rohan jerked his shoulders in an, I'll let you decide fashion as he said, "I don't mind but I don't want you to catch the bus by yourself in the dark."

"You sound like my father." Annie grinned. "He's always telling me not to walk in the dark. Do your parents do that to you? It drives me crazy sometimes." She realised his facial expression changed immediately. "Oh, I didn't mean I didn't like you telling me not to walk in the dark. I was just saying how parents can sometimes drive a person crazy with all their lecturing. Don't your parents do that to you?"

He quickly shook his head and though he grinned Annie could sense his change in mood. She cursed herself remembering he'd said something about not having any.

He stood up, took her by the hand and led her down the hall as he said, "We better hurry up if we want to see as much as we can before it closes."

Mm, Annie thought. She had definitely hit on a raw point. As he continued to stride forward, she trotted a little so he didn't pull her arm out of its socket. "You're being a marathon runner again. Slow up." When Annie heard him chuckle, she grinned and decided to take a chance so she took hold of his bicep with her free hand and put her head against his arm. "I'm so glad I wore my sandals. Imagine doing this in high heels like I saw some women wearing."

Rohan looked down to see Annie staring up at him, her blue eyes wide and shiny. He sucked in a deep breath, and then quickly looked away.

Deciding to confront what was going on, Annie said, "Have I said something that's upset you?"

"No." He shook his head. "You just look real pretty and I'm glad you came."

His answer didn't match his body language but Annie accepted it. "I'm glad I came too. Thanks for asking me. I've had a great time."

Glancing at her again, Rohan nodded as he led her to the next display. They didn't talk much. Annie chatted about the different displays. Rohan mostly listened.

At closing he walked her to the bus station. Annie turned to face him. "I really did have a great time, Rohan. Science is interesting when you see it like that. You don't think about science when you turn on a light switch you just take it for granted. Did you come to a museum like this when you were a kid? Is that why you decided to become a scientist?"

Folding his arms across his chest, Rohan lowered his head and smirked. If only she knew.

"No," he said as he lifted his head and looked back at her. "I was interested in the way things happen."

"Oh... so you never came to a place like this when you were a kid? Did you grow up here?"

Rohan swallowed the lump in his throat and shook his head but he didn't give her an answer.

The signals Annie was getting told her to back off so she changed the subject. "Do you want to come and sit over there against the wall? My feet are killing me from all that walking."

"Yes... okay."

When they sat down Rohan leant forward with his elbows on his thighs and clasped his hands together. He'd had the best day of his life being with Annie and watching her get excited. He wished he could make conversation easily and hoped he hadn't spoilt her day but she'd said she had a good time.

"Is something wrong, Rohan?"

Feeling her hand on his back, Rohan leaned against the wall so she couldn't touch him there. He didn't know how to answer her. How do you tell someone you don't want the day to end? Rohan looked at her worried face and instead of saying anything he touched her cheek with his fingers, and then moved them gently to her mouth to run them lightly across her lips. When his eyes met hers, Rohan sighed, pushed his hand into her hair and put his lips on hers.

Annie exhaled against his mouth and closed her eyes. Wow.

Rohan didn't pull away when Numb Skull reared his ugly head. He'd been doing it all day. Instead, he concentrated on the sensation of the kiss. His heart pounded. He found it difficult to breathe.

When Annie slipped her arms around his neck and pulled herself closer Rohan groaned. He could feel her breasts pressing against his chest. Oh, sweet Jesus. Rohan dragged her up to straddle his lap. She came willingly and moulded herself against him. You can do this Numb Skull, just relax. He grasped her hip and pulled her closer. Rohan opened his palm and ran it over her backside. Her. Warm. Round. Firm. Backside. Holy fuck. He was on fire. His hand blistered, his throat scorched. His skin flared and his penis burnt like a welding rod. Annie's weight settled against him. A throaty growl worked its way from somewhere deep. Every muscle had a claim on her. He gripped her tighter and jerked her closer because he wanted to bury himself between her thighs and pound backwards and forwards. When she whimpered his Warrior Gene fired on all pistons. He was gonna blow.

Rohan pulled away, lifted his head to the sky and rasped loudly. He sucked in a huge breath of air. Fuck. He put Annie back on the bench and quickly shoved himself away. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Rohan's heart beat like a crash cymbal. He gripped his head and focused on the ground. "Sorry, Annie!" He took in another lungful of air. "I shouldn't have done that."

Annie sat stunned. Her eyelids blinked intermittently. She gulped short sharp gasps. What the hell had just happened? One minute he was like a Viking combatant staking his claim and next he was rejecting her. She hadn't meant to respond so readily. Maybe he didn't like it. Maybe he thought she was a slut like the girl Sally, but holy hell, what was a girl supposed to do when he displayed such raw animal instinct. Annie wondered what was going on in his head. He didn't look happy. He'd said he was old fashioned. Maybe he felt he'd over stepped the bounds. Annie moved closer. He looked so ashamed.

"Hey," she whispered and touched his cheek. "I'm not complaining."

He gave her a forlorn grin. "I'm not good at this..."

Before he could go on Annie stopped his speech by touching his lips. How could he think he wasn't good at this? "You're doing fine."

Looking into her eyes, Rohan said, "I like you a lot, Annie. I've had the best day and I've ruined it for you. I'm sorry; I hope I didn't hurt you."

Oh, it hurt alright. Hurt to stop, but Annie wasn't going to tell him that. She'd never felt what he'd incited in her before. He was so strong. He'd lifted her up like a doll and made her want him even more. When he'd pushed against her, she'd opened like a flower. Annie smiled and touched his cheek again. "Me too. I've had a great day too."

A horn tooted so they looked up to see her bus was parked and people lining up to get on board. "There's my bus." She waited a moment to see if he would ask her to stay but he didn't. He looked like he'd been hit by a truck. Annie kissed him lightly on the cheek and stood up. "Thanks, Rohan. It was a wonderful day. I'll see you on Monday."

He nodded, remained with his elbows on his knees and sighed heavily as he watched her go and climb the stairs into the coach. He saw her sit down at a window and hold her hand up in a wave. Rohan waved back. When the bus drove away, he felt completely lost. Like some part of him was missing.

Leaning back against the wall, he let out a heavy breath and looked down at himself. Jesus. It looked like he'd pissed his pants. "Fuck!" Rohan thumped his thighs, stood up and put his hands in his pockets. Everybody would notice but who gave a shit. Let them look. He wasn't a kid anymore and no one was going to rub his face in it. The only person's opinion he cared about was Annie's.

Rohan ambled along the road towards the train station wondering how he was going to get through tomorrow without seeing her. Wondering what she thought of him.

My oh my. I think I have to go and take a cold shower after Rohan's display of affection. xo

Photo - libby-loves-layla