Cherry Coloured - Alex Turner

31. Love is a Losing Game

"Hold still," Maeve said.

"I am," Alex chuckled beneath her. A smile crept onto his lips when she leaned in closer, raising the shining metal razor to his cheek.

"Stop fucking smiling!" Maeve said and smacked his arm. This only made him laugh. "I don't want to cut you. Hold still."

Ceasing his laughter, Alex pursed his lips together and froze the muscles in his body for her as she carefully began scraping away at the stubble on the lower half of his face. She'd been jittery and nervous until now, whining about how she was too scared she'd cut him. Now all of a sudden she was determined, holding his chin gently with one hand and shaving his cheek with the razor in the other.

"Fucks sake," she kept whispering under her breath. She would only take short strokes and then shake the razor into the filled sink beside them.

"You can do more than that," Alex said to her.

"Shut up," Maeve said, shuffling closer to him and leaning her face down until all she could see were the small strokes she was making into the fluffy white layer of shaving cream she'd applied to his face. The corners of Alex's lips began to curl. "I said stop smiling!"

"I'm sorry," he laughed unapologetically, "yer just cute when you're all focused."

"Stop it," she groaned, swishing the razor around in the sink again. "You're so annoying you know?" she said, scooching up closer on his lap, her legs either side of his body and hanging off the seat they were sharing.

Alex glanced at himself in the mirror and smirked at her. "Yer doing a good job," he said with his arms hugged around her waist.

"Just shush and let me do what I need to do," Maeve said and returned to shaving his face. "Fuck's sake," she hissed and sat back, swiftly removing the razor from his face.

"What now?" Alex moaned.

"I don't want to hurt you."

"You're not going to," Alex said and rubbed a hand up her side.

"You don't know that," Maeve said.

"I do," Alex said. "I've cut meself a thousand times, I'm used to it. I promise. You won't hurt me unless you try to." Maeve inhaled a deep breath and held it as she returned to shaving his face.

"Why are you letting me do this?"

"I trust you," Alex smiled and squeezed her thigh reassuringly. "Come on, we've got somewhere to be."

"Exactly! So I don't want to fuck your pretty face up!" Maeve exclaimed childishly. She traced her eyes over his jaw to make sure there were no red dots.

"My face will be fine, honey," Alex chuckled. "If you want me to take over I can."

"No, I'm gonna do it," Maeve said.

"That's my girl," Alex chuckled. Maeve failed to suppress a grin, feeling her stomach get all giddy. Alex smiled wide and lifted his hands to her face. He brought her lips down onto his, unable to stop grinning as she laughed into their kiss, squealing that the shaving cream was getting all over her face.

"Fucker!" Maeve laughed, pulling back and wiping the white off her cheeks. "Stuff tastes awful," she said and spat into the sink, ridding her tongue of the bitter taste of shaving cream.

"Oi," Alex said. He grabbed her jaw and faced her to him. Looking at her lips he spotted a small speck of spit still on her bottom lip and licked it off before kissing her hard once more.

"You're fucking foul," Maeve giggled, giving into his kiss. "Alright stop it now or we're gonna make ourselves late."

  As the weight of the evening increased, the two of them pulled themselves into unusually formal attire and groomed until they were near unrecognisable. Contrary to what she expected, Alex was more invested in his appearance than she was. Adjusting his tie and readjusting it only seconds later. She watched him through the mirror, fixing his hair over and over. Swept to the left, swept to the right, swept back, tousled forward.