Part 32/?
A Broken Sixpence
Part 32, like the day in December the Libertines wrote about.
Sheffield
Something Alex hadn’t expected was to look through into Emma’s kitchen and see a brunette sat with her back to him, cradling a mug of coffee. She moved her head slightly and her hair swung to reveal the profile. Fran.
‘Look, I don’t know. I’m really short on time. I..I’ but it was too late for Alex. Emma had started to select bread slices, and Fran was coolly eyeing him. Time for some guts, Alex me lad He told himself.
Best meet and greet smile on, he approached Fran. ‘Nice to see you again’ He lied. Fran had only seen Alex just over 24 hours ago, yet he seemed…she couldn’t quite figure what, but it was as though this was his identical twin. His aura was not the one she was used to with Alex. His contempt for her was the same though, she noticed.
’Alright ?’ she mumbled, letting Emma have the conversation back. She flicked her eyes between them as they held a really dull conversation. God, doesn’t she see how demeaning this is ? He’s barely listening to her. Mind you, she is pretty annoying.
’Marmite ?’ Emma was already unscrewing the jar. ‘Do you have jam ?’
‘Branching out, are we ? Apricot or raspberry, or…..this unopened strawberry ?’
‘Raspberry’ The same as he’d smeared on Miles this morning.
Miles.
Alex took the toast, and the first bite was Miles lining up the different jams in stripes on his favourite undercooked granary. The second was Alex streaking the jam up Miles’s neck and greedily licking it off, the toast forgotten. The third..
‘Tea with that, is it ?’ Emma was asking him, already filling the kettle.
‘I can’t, remember I have to be off.’ The last thing he wanted was a reason to spend more time with this sorry tart.
‘Where you off to ?’ Asked Fran.
‘Just back home but I promised to make the other’s a mix of the new stuff for tomorrow. And I’m knackered. He was trying to make it sound as if a half hour task merited his rudeness to her friend.
‘Nice one. I can drop you on the way.’ Fran waved her car keys at him.
Oh fuckit, let’s be having it And Alex gave a nod in confirmation.
Emma wasn’t jealous of her friend, Fran and her went back to infant school together. But given Alex’s reputation and wandering eyes, it was unlikely her stunning friend would remain unscathed. Alex always preferred the dark haired, dark eyed girls. Smoky haired and brooding eyes, he said. He’d laughed though when she tried dyeing her hair. Yet something was different about Alex. He felt more unpredictable, the little she’d ever gleaned about him seemed irrelevant now. I bet he’ll try to fuck her She thought. And more than ever she wanted him for herself.