Time After Time

This thing called love

I just can't handle it

This thing called love

I must get round to it

I ain't ready

Crazy little thing called love.



"Given up then?" he teased, pulling her close. She leant against him, and was comforted by the pumping of his chest, even though she couldn't help but retort
"Not knackered already are you Dennis? This is gonna be a long night you know..."
"Hmmm, that's what's keeping me going!"
"Oh, so you are knackered?"
He just stared at her without saying a word and pushed her back, straightening her arms. She seemed to understand straightaway and began swinging her hips, pleased to see that as ever, he was countering her every action. Looking like a tit; but having so much fun. She jumped forwards and then back before he'd stolen her hand and spun her round, jumping back and kicking out a leg before pulling her harder against him and revelling in the sensation of her grinding against him, going so low that the ridges of her spine jutted into his navel. Luckily, there was just a split second before he was level with her, although he'd have much preferred to prolong the previous moment and let her go lower.
This thing called love

It cries in a cradle all night

It swings and it jives

It shakes all over like a jellyfish

I kinda like it

Crazy little thing called love
Leaping from the stage in a great spin that made Sharon laugh (and hope that he might stumble just to teach him for being such a show-off) he turned back to her and waited for her to wrap her arms around his neck before swinging her to the floor. Steady, she took up his hands and raised them above their heads, and they both span continually underneath this arch, laughing every time their eyes met, the blood swirling in their heads. When they could take no more, his arms fell around her back once more, pushing her down, the most perfect arc forming in her back as he swung her from left to right. As she straightened her back, Dennis released one of her hands, diving underneath the other, spinning round on one knee as he met the floor. She was definitely impressed, her expression softening into a look of adoration as his lips brushed the back of her hand.
There goes my baby

She knows how to rock n' roll

She drives me crazy

She gives me hot and cold fever

Then she leaves me in a cool, cool sweat
Oh where was the part of her that would have called this corny? She was looking for it and drawing nothing but a blank, too swept up in it. She loved dancing with him too much. Clicking her fingers as she watched his hips, she was suddenly aware of his pulling her into a hold and laughing as they moved into a step sequence, swinging side to side. Sharon span round, his hands on her hips again immediately. As he ground into her, she wrapped her arms around his neck, with a suggestive smile and met him each time, til he lifted her up again, letting go of a throaty laugh as he listened to her squeal in surprise.
I gotta be cool, relax

Get hip, get on my track

Take a back seat, hitchhike

Take a long, long ride on my motorbike

Til I'm ready

Crazy little thing called love.
When she came down again, she did a half turn to his side, clicking her fingers and watching the spell-binding movement of his feet as they swaggered forwards. Then he turned against her, his fingers splayed on her hips, enjoying the movement, pressed hard into her, leaning forwards just past her shoulder and back, his own hips rolling into her, forcing her to step forwards, and round before they leapt apart, Dennis extending his hand and pulling her in, spinning til she came up against his chest, swaying her roughly, her hair swinging wildly about her shoulders.
There goes my baby

She knows how to rock n' roll

She drives me crazy

She gives me hot and cold fever.

Then she leaves me in a cool, cool sweat
Sharon was too close now for Dennis to let go, revelling in the sound of her heaving breaths. He clutched at her hand, feeling her sweat mingle uncomfortably with his, but still not caring enough to continue... to do anything except kiss her, feeling that her lips were cracked and dry, that they needed him...

Sharon pulled Dennis around the rest of the pavillion, laughing everytime they got an odd look off a little kid or their parent. They'd obviously caused a bit of a stir with their little display, and though she noticed him go pink and stare at the floor quite often, she just laughed it softly away, squeezing his hand that little bit tighter. He became determined to win her a teddy bear out of one of the claw machines. She'd shaken her head, trying to make him see that they were designed cons and that he wouldn't manage it. He saw that as a challenge, and spent well over twenty minutes jabbing furiously at the few buttons, cursing under his breath.
So she'd stepped back, leaning against the glass and ignoring his calls for her to get out of the way. She was having too much fun admiring the way his jeans strained over his buttocks as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other.
She was fighting the urge to lean forward and pinch it when a loud clanking just past her knee told her he'd finally done it. He'd won the teddy. He stooped to collect it, smirking at her as he straightened his back and delivered it into her hands.
"Won't manage it eh?"
Sharon snorted a laugh as she stroked the soft glossy bear. "And how much did it cost you to get him hmmm? About a tenner?"
"Did it though didn't I?"
"Yes, alright, you did it." And she stepped up to him, pressing her lips against his. "Thank you."
And she wandered off before he had even realised she was gone, too busy savouring her kiss. When he opened his eyes again however, he caught sight of her almost immediately, pushing her way through the stile into the crazy house. When she turned round, grinning at him, he raced over, jumping over the stile and pushing her against the wall as soon as he had touched her.
"Mmmm!" Sharon squealed, trying to fight off his lips and somehow just not managing it. "Dennis!"
"Wha'?"
"You're a... mmm... show-off, that's what!"
So Dennis pulled back, pushing out his bottom lip just a fraction, toying with the little teddy bear Sharon still held. "Aww honey, don't you love me anymore?"
"You know I do, and that's just my trouble!" she muttered, slipping past him and stepping onto the turntable, gripping the pole and stumbling, creating an amused throaty chuckle from Dennis as he joined her.
"So now I'm not just your boyfriend, I'm your trouble an' all?"
"Got it in one!"
"Oh, you are so looking for a- get back here!"
But Sharon refused, shaking her head and squealing as she bolted up the moving staircase to get away from him. "No! No, Dennis, don't-"
"Too late darlin'!" he called, leaping up the neighbouring immobile stairs three at a time. "You want trouble, I'll give you trouble!"
When she saw that he was barricading her way, or at least he would be when she was within touching distance, she made a quick assessment with darting eyes. She could go to the left and veer into the wall to surrender to him, or she could go to the right, out onto the landing. She quickly chose right, and he realised as much almost immediately, and lunged at her with a laugh, but she wrestled him away, her heels clicking noisely against the floor and screaming in surprise as the air vent began to hiss and the cloud of rising air exploded underneath her.
Dennis leapt back in alarm and watched her as she pressed a hand to her chest, feeling the desperate hammering of her heart underneath. But he laughed and purposely dodged the vents as he rushed at her. She caught his eye and ran quickly, her chest still tight as she pushed her way through the swirling cylinders, the movement of their pattern making her head spin. She realised a second too late that she had stepped onto a moving disc and slumped against the pole, having to drag herself up again. Dragging in a breath, she opened her eyes and realised Dennis was stood right in front of her, his hand pressed lazily around the pole. She almost screamed again, her stomach wriggling as a little smirk crept out across his lips. But instead, she turned, stumbling towards the next pole.
"Uh uh, not so fast Sharon!"
"Leave me alone!" she sang out childishly as she was spun in his direction.
"What, and miss out on the thrill of the chase? No chance, can't wait to see you and Rupert there go flying!"
"Oh, and I love you too!"
"Then why don't you come over here and say that?"
"Oh, so now you want me to say it?"
"Amongst other things, yeah."
She jumped forwards, straightening her back before sliding through the door to the staircase. "Don't think so honey."
The last thing she saw was his gaping mouth, eyes twinkling as mischievously as ever as he leapt across the floor, crying "Right!"

He chased her down the stairs, and she was screaming with laughter as she fought her way past scores of kids turning back and going through the house again without having to pay. Cheap trick, but she didn't exactly have the capacity to be thinking about them, just thinking that she had to run. She didn't know why, after all, she was desperate for him to catch her up, but it was exciting. A buzz zipped through her each time it hit her that it was Dennis chasing her. Chasing her.
She stopped for just a moment, aware that that thought alone had stolen her breath away. She watched, almost hypnotised as the giant hamster wheel clicked rhythmically around, again and again and again...
"Agggh!"
Thud!
Hitting her back uncomfortably against the slats of the wheel, which of course, did not stop moving underneath her, Sharon was immediately crushed by Dennis launching himself on top of her, falling harder and harder with every moment because they were never still, constantly rolling back.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?"
"Causing trouble."
"Dennis, people are staring!"
She wriggled underneath him, trying to point out that people were slowing and giving them dirty looks before ushering their kids away, who were in turn, narked about not being able to have a go on the wheel.
"Let 'em!" he laughed before diving onto her lips. More of her own laughter bubbled as she tried to fight him off, but he was too insistent and too heavy against her. So she gave into him, mashing her mouth with his, battling his tongue as he fought his way past. The vibrations passing through this desperate kiss as they laughed, completely aware that soon they were gonna tumble off the wheel completely, made them break apart, even though Sharon had been desperate to encourage his hands to work up her thighs, not really caring where she was, completely intoxicated by him.
"Ahem!"
Sharon whacked Dennis in the back. He looked expectantly down at her, an eyebrow raised but she shook her head, pulling on his hand. He paused for just a moment as realisation dawned and he slowly looked over his shoulder, slipping. Trying to keep the smirk from his lips, he looked the stony faced woman up and down, but her lips remained tight with disapproval.
"Alright love, fancy joining us?"
"Dennis!"
"Sir.... Madam-"
"Nah, I'm definitely just a Sir darlin', ask her-" He nodded towards Sharon, who, although she was literally dying with embarrassment couldn't stop laughing. So much so, her sides hurt. "-she'll be able to tell you all about it..."
"I would be grateful if you could both remove yourselves from this facility-" she said sternly.
"Yeah, so would I... this thing's a fuckin' death trap." He gasped innocently at the unchanged look on her face."What, you think I haven't been trying? That I like being on top of her? Let me tell ya darlin', that's not the way we do things..."
She cleared her throat and tilted her head, trying to address Sharon, still caught firmly beneath Dennis. "Madam, I'm sure you appreciate, this is a family establishment-"
Somehow standing on Sharon's ankle and only realising as she cried out in pain, Dennis pulled himself up, supporting Sharon and kissing her apologetically as she straightened up.
"I could kill you." she growled, flopping against him.
Dennis didn't say a word in reply, just smiled at the woman, twisting a ring from Sharon's finger behind his back. She began sentences of protest but was too baffled to see them through, and just waited as he slipped back the ring onto her fourth finger, pulling her hand down into his and stepping away.
"Sorry love. Bit overexcited see..."
"I saw."
"We're, er..." Sharon began awkwardly, blushing and quickly giving up.



Swinging her hand for a second, Dennis lifted it, watching triumphantly as the ring glinted. "...but we are family... we're newlyweds. Just got married. On honeymoon." He saw out the corner of his eye that Sharon's jaw had dropped and she was shaking her head, so he pulled her close again, and she rested her head against him, almost in defeat. "Probably should have gone somewhere warmer, Tenerife... Cyprus maybe but no... she wanted to come back here... proposed to her somewhere round here see.." As he craned his neck looking for a place to lay this charge, Sharon cheekily took up the thread.
"Ferris wheel. Poor darlin'... petrified of heights... and he's shaking, wants to get down... so I'm holding his hands... sweating weren't you baby? And I told him to think of something bigger than being scared... something better... I felt awful cos I'd spent about half an hour trying to get him up there. Musta told him I loved him about a hundred times, that I'd look after him... protect him. And he just came out with it when we were right at the top. "Sharon, will you marry me?" He was practically crying, and I still don't know whether that was cos he was mid panic-attack or cos he'd suddenly realised what he'd said and couldn't take it back. Cos I said yes. I mean, not quite the Eiffel Tower is it... or even Blackpool Tower... no offence or anything... but it got me Dennis... so this place is special to us... we're... we're sorry..."
"...and we're getting out of here..." Dennis muttered slowly, pulling her away. "C'mon darlin'!"

Sharon was settled on the sea wall, her feet tucked underneath her, picking at a battered sausage and chips before Dennis, hunched moodily opposite her so much as spoke to her again. She tried to raise a smile out of him, leaning across and pointlessly nicking one of his chips.
"Get off." he muttered, slapping her away. She slumped back, shaking her head.
"Dennis, what's up with you? You've been funny ever since we... bloody hell, if either of us should be having a strop, it's me - my back's killing me and -"
"It's not a strop."
"No?" she quizzed, raising a doubting eyebrow. "Well it looks like one from where I'm sitting and it sounds like one too! I don't understand ya... it was you who jumped on me for Christ's sake!"
"So?"
"So I don't know what's gotten into you all of a sudden because you won't talk to me!" She reached over, her hand curling around his own, just about stopping him stabbing the same chip over and over again viciously with the chip fork. "Darlin', tell me... what is it?"
As he finally met her eye, she saw that his bottom lip was protruding, a grey storm taking over his eyes. He was sulking. "The Ferris Wheel?" he hissed scathingly.
She flinched. "Wha'...?" And then she realised what he was talking about and dropped her gaze laughing. "Is that what all this about? Bloody hell Dennis, I thought it was something serious!"
"If you'd just given me a couple of seconds, I'd have come up with something... something that didn't make me seem so goddamn pathetic."
"Dennis-" Sharon began thickly, "-if you hadn't been all over me like that you wouldn't have had to come up with anything because that woman wouldn't have wanted to chuck us out! You were the one who told her we were newlyweds... what were you thinking? You were the one sticking the ring on my soddin' finger and you were the one who suddenly decided you'd proposed to me on Southend Pier of all places!" She rolled her eyes. "If we were in Paris or somewhere remotely romantic, I wouldn't have minded... besides you were crushing me on that thing... all these little kids walking past with their grans... I was so embarrassed..."
His eyes were suddenly locked on hers again, those beautiful lips twisted, and she felt her stomach less wriggle than squirm. He was looking at her so coldly.
"So that's what I am now is it? An embarrassment?"
"No! That's not what I meant!"
"Isn't it?"
"No! Dennis, why are you being like this? I love it alright? I love being here with you, I love that you can just decide to snog my face off in front of anyone, everyone, and I love you but... I'm thirty four, not four. I'm not used to rolling around on some giant hamster wheel like a little kid - or with a bloke on top of me, basically trying to tear my clothes off in front of a load of kids! If I have to get used to it... then I will, but yes, it was embarrassing. That don't mean to say I don't love it!"
"So why did you make me out to be such a twat?"
Sharon was dumbfounded, shaking her head. "What did I do?"
He scoffed bitterly and then recounted her words in a mockingly high pitched tone, "Poor darlin'... petrified of heights... and he's shaking, wants to get down... so I'm holding his hands..."
She laughed. "Don't be stupid. I'm holding your hand now, does that make you a twat?"
He glared at her, tearing his hand away.
"Oh for God's sake. I was teasing you... thinking of the stupidest things I could and saying them, just... just to get back at you... just like you "marrying" me so you wouldn't get a rollicking!"
"So now it's stupid that I might wanna marry you?"
"Dennis... you're really scaring me now. Why are you attacking me? And why do you... why do you keep talking about marriage?"
"Why d'you think?"
"Oh right, yeah, course." She flung up her hands. "So we manage to sleep together for a couple of nights without one of us fucking off and screwing someone else and that's it, we'll just dance our way up the aisle shall we? Yeah, that's a really clear thought darlin', well done!"
"That was nasty."
"Yeah well, your games are really starting to get on my nerves!"
"My games?" he repeated, sounding undeniably stung. "Sharon, I don't wanna play games anymore... can't you see that's why I..."
"Please-" Sharon heard her voice crack before it had even raised that one word. "-don't ruin this eh? I'm sorry. Whatever I did, whatever I said, I'm sorry. Just don't spoil today. It's been too good to waste and I... I don't want you to be upset... I want you to keep chasing me, I want you to keep falling on top of me and I even want you to mentally scar little kids by ramming your tongue down my throat... I just... I don't want this." And she got up, quickly taking the few steps towards him, framing his beautiful face with her hands, wiping imaginary tears gently away. "Yeah?"
He nodded shakily, nibbling on his lip. "Yeah."
"Good, now shove up." And she pushed the chip papers away, pressing against his knee, pulled up towards him as she settled against his chest, content at feeling his warm breath against her skin. He sighed, defeated, and dropped his arms around her, rocking her gently for a few moments. Sharon still lay there rigid, worried she had offended him, relaxing only as she heard him titter just above her ear as he leant forward, pulling the heap of chips back towards him, the excess vinegar sinking into his fingertips.
"You told her I proposed to you because I was afraid of heights... do you know how twattish that sounded?"
"Would you rather I'd told her what you were really afraid of then Dennis? Oh yeah, he just popped the question cos that donkey over there was looking at him funny and he needed something else to think about!"
"You're not funny."
She smiled warmly up at him, a gentle laugh escaping the corners of her mouth with it. "Do I not get a bite of your sausage then?"

They walked up the prom, hands clasped tightly together. They didn't say much, and neither knew how long they walked. They just knew they were together, arguments and all. Reaching the rather deserted end of the beach, which was less sand and donkeys than rocks and shells, Sharon kicked off her shoes by the wall and, still clinging onto Dennis' hand, heaved herself up onto the rocks and began wobbling across them, pulling him with her.
"What are you doing?"
"Well, I dunno do I?"
"If you fall..."
"Then you're coming with me!"
Dennis shook his head in disbelief. She thought so wrong, but he followed her away, narrowly avoiding disappearing between cracks in the rocks no smaller than the Grand soddin' Canyon! Sharon was flinging out her arms to balance against the extremely uneven surface of the rocks, her pretty painted toes clawing at the jagged edges as she rushed across. Slamming up against the wall, which was actually the side of a cave she had no intention of acknowledging despite Dennis' misguided encouragement, she waited for him to join her.
Peeling off his jacket, he spread it out onto the floor, and Sharon clambered down onto it, grinning up at him and lifting up her arms, suggesting that he accept her embrace. He shook his head again, laughing gently, but did what she was asking anyway, feeling the rise and fall of her chest go right through his back. They were silent, content. He was watching the lapping of the waves, and she was pulling her fingers through his hair again, teasing his messed curls.
Her free hand was wrapped in Dennis' own, and when he brought his gaze away from the shore, he began toying with the jewellery weighing down her hand. Sharon felt her skin tighten as he pulled the ring from her third finger.