"and this is andy," max says, gesturing towards him; he's sat between a brightly coloured parrot he calls his best mate and a girl with black extensions beneath her blonde hair, her arm draped across the back of the sofa behind him, and he smiles lazily at the pair of them, glad for the interruption and he's past the point of pretending that he cares what his seat mate has to say. he waits for her to introduce herself, raising his eyebrows at her silence, the pleasantry changing to amusement. "andy," he says, repeating the name that max has given, his voice full of laughter as he points towards his chest. nothing. "tarzan," he points to her. "jane," back at himself. the girl beside him laughs and his eyes roll, still focused on harlowe.
+10
"no, daddy, you're doing it wrong," she protests, peering over the edge of the bowl, her tone exasperated. she pulls it towards her with a serious expression, her brows tightly pressed together and corners of her mouth turning down. "stop kicking the cupboards," she adds, turning to the boy to her left, his long legs swinging out and in, heels knocking into the wooden doors. "mummy likes the other ones," the boy says in agreement, leaning over to dip his fingers into the batter, pulling it out slowly. he raises it to his mouth and licks them clean, laughing as his sister tries to squirm away from his wet hand as he reaches towards her.
-10
she pulls the sheet over her chest, scrambling to cover herself as he walks into the room. marc tosses him a pair of jeans he's picked up from near the door, and he catches them before they reach his face. "sorry, love. he'll call you later. i promise," he says from the foot of the bed, sitting down on it. the pair of them watch her collect her clothing as modestly she can, waving her off with a cheery salute. the door closes behind her with a gentle thud and marc turns. "max invited us to a birthday party he's having for some bird he knows." they've gone out every night since they arrived in los angeles, the time a blur of alcohol and tits and a house party feels -- the hesitation is plain in the wrinkle of his nose. "put your face straight and let's go. the only rule is no fucking the birthday girl, even if she is fit."
+10
"roll over, roll over," the tiniest voice chimes, her mouth full of giggles. she waits for movement, sitting up abruptly as the remaining four lay there instead. "he didn't do it!" she exclaims, looking expectantly at their mother. "tell daddy to roll over cos they all roll over and one falls out." harlowe's arm shifts from behind their daughter's back as she sits up as well, peering over the two small bodies between them to gaze at her husband. "i think he's sleeping," she whispers conspiratorially, touching her forehead against the younger girl's. "let's wake him up." he opens an eye quickly, snapping it shut as he tries to suppress the growing smile. their surprise attack is betrayed by laughter and squeals of delight.
-10
their knees touch as they sit beside each other on the kerb, his long legs turned towards her. she empties another bottle into his cup before doing the same to her own, setting it down beside the rest of their growing collection. this is something he thinks, but he knows better than to hope. in a decade, she'll have returned to being a nobody from east of nowhere and they'll have forgotten each other, but tonight, it's something. "give me your phone."
+10
"bee can get breakfast sorted for the others," he says, his arm wrapping around her waist as he pulls her closer to him, blocking her escape from bed. in the distance they can hear movement, and his voice lowers to a whisper, the fear of being interrupted ever present. with one, the lack of privacy had begun, but rather than doubling and tripling, it had grown exponentially, little fingers beneath doors when they went into the bathroom, visitors as they tried to shower, an extra set of ears in the studio that always seemed to see everything they made as uncool. his fingers run along her arm, dancing towards her hand, and his thumb brushes across the ink that matches his own. a for andy. "marry me?" he asks, eyes meeting hers. she starts to speak, but he interrupts with a kiss, already anticipating the answer. yes. always yes.