Sweet Somethings 4

I stood on the sidewalk in front of Fred Wells Gardens, anxiously looking from the left and right for Tom. Looking down at my phone, I saw that it was fifteen minutes after ten. I bit my lip, wondering silently if he'd forgotten about our plans. No, he wouldn't do that to a lady, I thought. I inwardly debated whether I should text him or not, to ask if he was on his way. I quickly decided that doing that would seem weird, so I merely sat on the brick wall at the entrance of the gardens. For the next ten minutes, I entertained myself with my iPhone, going to Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to check if I had any new messages or likes.

"Alexa?" My head snapped up, and there stood Tom. He looked a bit stressed; his auburn hair was messy, like he'd been running his hand through it. Yet, he still looked amazing in a pair of black jeans (did he own another color?) and a light blue button up, the first three buttons undone. "I am SO very sorry," he said, blue eyes apologetic. "My meeting lasted longer than I expected."

I couldn't help but smile; how did anyone ever get mad with this man? I shook my head, the loneliness of the past twenty five minutes melting away. "It's okay." I looked down at my feet, chuckling. "You don't have to apologize."

"Oh, but I do. It would be quite rude not to," he said, a small 'ehe' escaping his lips. My head popped up at the adorable sound, and our eyes met again. Then, he glanced around. "Where's Kathryn?"

I shook my head, smiling. "She got asked on a date already."

"Well, looks like it's just the two of us then." He offered his hand to me, raising an eyebrow. "Are we ready?"

I hesitantly took his hand, looking around. I half expected a number of sleazy paparazzi photographers to jump out of the bushes and fire questions at Tom about me. "Sure..."I trailed off, not as enthusiastic as it should've been. He stopped walking me to wherever we'd been heading to, eyebrows furrowed.

"What's wrong, darling?" Tom looked disappointed; it hurt my heart. He reminded me of a sad puppy, but cuter.

I shook my head, chuckling. "I'm sorry. I'm a bit paranoid that some photographers are gonna follow us or something."

Tom smiled, his face lighting up in a flash. "Oh, I already took care of that." There was a mischievous tone to his voice, which reminded me of Loki.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked, eager to hear how he'd managed to avoid tons of paparazzi.

His smile widened, making me laugh. "I may have tweeted about wanting to go to see the new exhibit at the museum downtown." He squeezed my hand, making a wave of butterflies alight in my stomach. "Now all of them will be waiting for me to appear there for the rest of the day."

I pointed at him. "Nicely done, Tom. That's brilliant." I tried to ignore the 'more than friends' feelings by bringing up something else. I also pulled my hand away, thinking that it was the smartest thing to do. "So where are we going first, then?"

Tom continued walking, and we stopped in front of a rather plain looking, black Ford Focus. I'd definitely expected him to have an expensive BMW or some other sports car. "I'll give you a hint...it's quite tall and has a face with numbers on it." He opened my door for me, smiling.

"Ah, Big Ben. Sounds good." I said, nodding. He closed my door and swiftly made his way to the driver's side, strapping on his seatbelt and turning on the ignition. I watched his fluid movements closely, his long hands making it graceful to witness. He turned to look at me, making me whip my head back to look out the window.

"I know what you're thinking," Tom said, making my stomach drop. His blue eyes flicked to me, then back to the road.

I looked at him with my best innocent face, raising an eyebrow. "Oh really? You're a mind reader too?" I chuckled, crossing my arms over my chest. "Try me."

The pause he took killed me on the inside; I never was a patient person. So when he finally spoke, my insides did a mini flip."You're wondering why I drive a Ford Focus when I could easily own a sports car, right?"

I nodded; it wasn't what I had been thinking at the moment, but the thought had definitely crossed my mind. "Yeah, why is that? More inconspicuous?"

Tom nodded. "And I have no need for a sports car. I don't drive very much at all."

I smiled, enjoying our comfortable conversation. I looked out the window, enjoying the sights as Tom pointed them out. I chuckled slightly at his tour guide voice; it was obvious he'd lived in the city his entire life. He knew absolutely everything there was to know about the famous buildings and places. Within fifteen minutes, we were parked near Big Ben, but on the riverside. As I got out of the car, I looked up, realizing it was so much taller in person. "Wow. It's huge!" I exclaimed.

Tom grinned, coming to stand beside me. "It is magnificent. How would you like to see the inside?"

I furrowed my brows. "But I thought it was only for UK residents?"

"How good is your English accent, Alexa?" Tom asked, a mischievous glint in his blue eyes.

I laughed. "Are you serious? Noooo way. That would be humiliating."

Tom gave me a pointed look. "Being the Anglophile that you are, I'm sure it's not that bad." He nudged my shoulder. "Come on, let me hear it."

I blushed. "Don't laugh at me if it's completely terrible." He shook his head in response, putting on a serious face. "What do you want me to say?"

Tom shrugged. "Anything you'd like."

I took a deep breath. "I'm not sure exactly what to say, Tom," I said in my best English accent, placing enunciation and stress on certain letters and words.

Tom smiled, making my cheeks go hot again. "Don't laugh at me, Mr. Hiddleston." Now that I was in the mode, I couldn't stop speaking with the accent.

"You, my dear, sound very English," Tom replied, offering his arm. "Now are we ready?"

I nodded, smiling. "I believe so." I took his arm, allowing him to lead me into the main entrance, which was named the Portcullis House. After we went through security, a blonde lady that appeared to be thirty or so greeted us.

"Hello, what can I do for the two of you today?" she asked, smiling warmly. Her accent was pleasant and proper, very similar to Tom's.

Tom extended his hand, stepping forward slightly. "My name is Tom. I made arrangements yesterday afternoon for a private tour of the Elizabeth Tower with my friend here."

The woman's green eyes lit up in recognition as she shook Tom's hand excitedly. "Oh, Mr. Hiddleston! You are most welcome." She then took my hand as well, shaking it softly. "My name is Lana Peterson, how do you do?"

"Alexa, it's a pleasure," I said, the accent slipping easily off of my tongue.

Lana smiled widely, nodding. "Allow me to go and get your your guide." She walked away then, her heeled shoes clacking as she practically bounced away.

I laughed, looking up at Tom. "I can already tell that today is going to be awesome."

Within a few minutes, Lana returned with Stanley, the older man who took us on a wonderful tour of the Elizabeth Tower, which was the name of the famous Tower of Parliament. I learned that Big Ben was actually the nickname of the bell housed in the tower, though its actual name was the Great Bell. The tour was quite enlightening, and Stanley was pretty funny. He constantly made dry and witty remarks that Tom and I couldn't help but laugh it. And he seemed to believe my accent, which made me feel proud. "Perhaps you should be English, Alexa," Tom whispered in my ear as we ascended the stairs. I giggled, blushing as I noticed his hand at the small of my back.

"So," I said as we walked back to Tom's car. "What's next on Hiddleston's Grand Tour?"

Tom chuckled, opening the passenger door for me. "It's up to you now, Alexa. Whatever you'd like."

I put my hand on my chin as he closed the door, thinking as he walked around the car and opened the driver's side. "I've always wanted to go on the London Eye."

Smiling, Tom sat in front of the wheel, shutting his door. "That sounds fantastic."

_____________________________________________________________________________

Five hours later, Tom and I had seen loads of sites; the London Eye was just the beginning. We went to eat lunch at a rather nice place called The Wolseley and then headed back to sight-seeing. I told Tom that he could choose where we went next, and he decided on the Tower of London. When we walked into the place, I looked down at my purse, pulling out my wallet. However, Tom had already walked over to the ticket counter. I sighed, walking up behind him as he handed the man his card. "Tom...you've paid for everything so far. At least let me pay for my own ticket," I said.

Tom's eyebrows raised in surprise, and he nodded. "Of course, Alexa." He stepped out of the way, motioning for me to approach the desk. I smiled, stepping up to purchase my ticket. Then, I waited for Tom. As I waited, I read a brochure that have an overview of all of the things to see at the Tower. I smiled in excitement at the idea of seeing the Crown Jewels, a guided tour by a Yeoman, live re-enactments, and of course, access to the Tower itself. "So, where to first, milady?" Tom asked, coming up beside me.

I grinned up at him. "I have no idea. There are so many things to see!" I looked over the pamphlet once more, trying to decide. "Let's just walk around, see whatever comes around the corner."

Tom opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by a small voice behind him. "Tom Hiddleston?"

We both looked down to see an adorable little girl, her red hair put into pigtails. She looked about six, and her cheeks flushed as she smiled. Tom knelt down in front of her, drawing her closer to him. "Hello there. What's your name?" His voice became softer, and even sweeter.

"Isabella. Can I take a picture with you?" she asked, her hazel eyes not able to look up at him.

Tom chuckled. "Of course, darling. Where is your mum?"

For the next fifteen minutes or so, Tom took photos and signed autographs for fans that came up to him. He was incredibly sweet and genuine with them; it was interesting watching him interact with them. "I'm sorry, Alexa," he apologized, walking back over to me.

I smiled, shaking my head. "There is nothing to be sorry for, Tom. Your fans are everything to you; I know that." I chuckled as we began walking. "You really do apologize for everything."

Tom laughed, rubbing the back of his neck. "I would rather apologize than seem snobbish."

I looked up at him, my eyes locking with his blue ones. "Don't worry, it's actually kind of cute."