Oxygen (Catfish And The Bottlemen/1975)

Bondy

Later, when we were sitting at the table, Saff wrapped up in a white dressing gown, one leg up on the chair, chin resting on her knee as she unwound a cinnamon bun and tore it up, eating it slowly like it was the last she'd ever eat, I did as Blakes had said.

I thought about all the reasons I hadn't told her yet.

Her hair was only almost dry, her dirty honey blonde hair startlingly dark next to her losing its summer tan skin.

"What?" she asked, startling me. When i blinked, realised I'd been starring she was starring at me from under her lashes, sucking the cinnamon off her thumb.

"What?" i tried to play the blissfully unaware.

"You were starring at me," she smiled leaning back in her chair, sucking the cinnamon from each of her fingers in turn, counting down to her pinky which lingered between her lips when she looked between me and the plates of food left going cold. "Aren't you gonna eat anythin?" she frowned then, looking at the feast laid out before her a little confused.

"Its yours..." i shrugged lighting up a cigarette, trying not to linger for too long on her fingers in her mouth. Trying not to linger for too long on her at all because she was beautiful and i was "like a brother," to her.

"What?" she gasped gleeful as she let out a giggle, the most carefree I'd seen her all evening. The most lit up she'd been all day. "Are you takin the piss Bond theres loads?! You ordered fuckin everythin they had!" she wouldnt stop laughing but I didn't mind. I liked the sound of her laughter filling the room. I liked the way she squeezed her eyes shut, grinning up at me when she rested her cheek on her knee, her dressing gown slipping from her shoulder, her hair all thrown to one side like reeds caught in the wind.

"You didn't tell me what you wanted," i smirked.

"So you ordered everythin?" she grinned back, "Johnny don't be a dick, eat somethin, theres no way I'm gonna eat all this," she giggled stretching to push a plate towards me.  "Can I tempt you to a crepe?" she smirked, almost teasing when she picked it up, held it dangling in front of my face from a fork.

She shrieked when I opened my mouth, tried to lower my mouth to catch it before it fell. Only missing it by an inch or two so that part of it tore away, flopped down onto the plate, the other part trapped between my teeth. A trail of cinnamon butter and brown sugar trickling down my chin.

She clapped her hands together, overjoyed by how stupid i must have looked, hugging her knee to her chest, unable to control her laughter when I licked my lips, made a show of stetching my tongue as far it would go to reach the last drops. She giggled, it was contagious. We must have been annoying the neighbours.

When she settled down again she was out of breath and though at first I thought she'd finally stopped, every now and then I'd catch her swallowing down another giggle.

"Thanks," she smiled, reaching across the table to pick another strawberry from the a bowl, "i think i really needed that," she smiled pushing her hair from her face, her lips curving around the berry far more seductive than i think she knew. "Everythings good achey now, not bad," she grinned reaching for another.

"Good," i chuckled, amused by the sweet way she spoke sometimes when it was late and the evening was maturing, when the sun was abandoning the sky in favour of sleep and sticky black night.

"Johnny," she only ever dragged my name out when she wanted something and now as she said my name slowly, stretching up, bending her spine over the back of her chair, arms wiry, hand held high behind her head, I knew she wanted something I wouldn't feel comfortable giving into.

"Saffy?" i dragged her name out to, eyed her up suspiciously. Her chest bone rose and fell slowly as she she exhaled and returned to her slouchy, teenage sitting positon in her chair.