AM

Knee Socks

Arabella had come to her senses and left the thug behind. What Alex hadn't anticipated, however, was the fact that she would not immediately bounce back into his arms. Instead, she seemed to retreat from the world for a few months. Alex was concerned for her when the whole ordeal began but became even more worried as time passed on. He'd made the decision to go to her house a few times. There was never any reply.

It was the middle of the afternoon but the sun was starting to set already. Winter had crept up on Alex without warning. He thought that nobody should be alone during December so he, expecting nothing, visited her house.

Arabella's lights were on already when he knocked on the door. He was surprised when the door opened, Arabella standing there. She was skinnier and paler since he last saw her. She let him inside before immediately kissing him hard on the lips. She tasted like a cough drop.

"Please," she whispered. When Alex nodded, she took his hand and walked with him to her bedroom.

Alex rolled off of her, sweating despite the cold. Arabella fell asleep a few moments later. Only then did Alex notice how messy her bedroom was. There was a pile on worn coats piled high in the corner and he thought they probably hadn't been washed. He turned onto his side, not wanting to look at the disordered remnants of Arabella's once-wild life. He fell asleep.

The sound of rain pattering against the window woke Alex up. He looked at the clock. 00:00. It was Tuesday now, he thought to himself. The rain was loud so he probably wouldn't be asleep for a while. Alex stretched and pulled on his boxers before getting out of bed to get some water.

He didn't notice that Arabella was out of bed until he saw her in the living room. Taking in her appearance, Alex smiled inadvertently. She was wearing his sky blue Lacoste t-shirt and a pair of grey knee socks. She was beautiful.

"Hello," he said, sitting next to her.

Arabella looked up at him and smiled softly. "You make everything alright, Alex. You know that?"

He wasn't expecting such a touching sentence from Arabella and he wrapped her arm around her shoulders. She snuggled into him. Alex got the feeling that perhaps he had lit something in her that she hadn't wanted lit. When they were still getting to know each other, she had loved to remind him that she was never one for being emotionally open. But here she was. Maybe it was the unusual cold or something else she didn't want to reveal. Either way, Arabella was actually talking about her feelings and it made Alex feel warmer.

"Why you wearin' my top?" he asked, picking at a loose thread on her knee socks.

"It reminds me of you. It's nice. None of my other boys would let me wear their clothes, especially the latest one," she said, a slight scowl on her face. "He would have a fit if he knew where I was."

Alex smirked. "Part of the fun, darlin'."

He stopped playing with the thread and moved to pull off her socks instead, before moving his hand further up her legs. Arabella kissed him.

When they finished, Alex picked her up, bridal style, and carried her back to bed. Lying there, Alex thought about all the time they had wasted. The two of them could've been a team, together. He had a brief thought about them riding one of those vintage motorcycles with two seats, her hands wrapped around his leather-clad waist.

"Sweet dreams, baby," Alex murmured, kissing Arabella on her forehead.

Images of Arabella wandering around the house wearing his Lacoste and her knee socks floated through his mind as he closed his eyes. He slept well, for the first time in a long time.