Cherry Coloured - Alex Turner

11. Lost In Silence

Unlike the previous night they'd spent in each other's company, Alex wasn't the first to wake on the following morning. Instead, he quite rapidly regained consciousness at the sound of clinking objects and running water, remembering he hadn't slept at his own home only seconds after opening his eyes.

  Everything was bright, almost blinding. His muscles ached as he stretched from the one position he'd remained in all night. Each wrinkle of his jeans left dark red imprints on his legs to provide as reminders never to sleep in them again.

  There was a dull pressure on his temples as he rubbed his eyes and adjusted to his surroundings. Those glasses of whisky and that awfully ratioed tequila soda he'd made himself as confidence before he drove to Maeve's hadn't gone undocumented by his body. Alex slowly sat up off the grey settee he'd slept on and let out a yawn. Like a dog, a small sound made its way out of the back of his throat as he did so.

  "I'm impressed."

  Alex looked over the back of the settee and saw Maeve smirking at him from the kitchen. Her hair was damp and pushed back over her head to leave dark marks on the gunmetal grey shirt she had on. Her skin had that fresh out of steam glow and gently reflected the sunlight pouring in from all the open windows.

  She shook her head upon seeing his face. "I was going to make a shagging on the settee joke but that would probably be mean."

  Alex, still a little disoriented, just managed a soft laugh and pulled his legs out from under the brown blanket she'd lent him. "I deserve it."

  "Coffee?" Maeve asked, still standing in the kitchen, filling up a coffee pot with coffee grounds.

  "Uh...yes please," Alex said, cringing at the hoarseness of his voice and cleared his throat.

  Maeve managed a smile and looked down at what she was doing. Alex looked different when he first woke up. Completely off guard and a little dreamy. That deep brown head of hair tousled all around his head in irregular shapes that contradicted the usual groomed cleanliness he kept up. It was just long enough to sit behind his ears save for one lock at the front that hadn't quite grown enough and would constantly fall back into his face or hang over his eyebrow. Now it was impossible to tell the length of any of it at all.

  "Sleep alright?" Maeve asked, screwing on the lid of her espresso maker. She'd been tossing and turning all night. Barely having gotten any sleep at all.

  "Just fine," Alex lied, stretching out his tense back as she turned away to put the coffee on the stove. His body was aching all over but he didn't want to be rude. "Thank you for last night and for letting me stay over."

  Maeve just nodded and tried not to get too hung up on everything he'd said the night before, "you're welcome."

  Alex just sort of stood behind the settee, watching her while she wasn't looking until he quickly caught himself and snapped out of it. Don't stare idiot, he said to himself.

  "You take sugar?" Maeve asked, looking up at him.

  Alex blinked a couple times and cleared his throat, "uh no, no thank you," he said, trying not to flush red and hoping she didn't catch him staring at her.

  Maeve laughed to herself and focused back in on making their hot beverages. Alex swore at himself internally and made his way over to the kitchen, eyes trained on her all the while. Small strands of her damp hair kept falling into her face whenever she looked down. Alex watched as she continuously tried tucking them back behind her ears, never to stick. Her nails were painted the colour of the flesh of black cherries.