Bing's sex life just went from thrill to nil.
"What the f**k, Gram?!" Bing yells, his hands in the air.
"Watch it, lad, or the Spongebob ones will join em!" Gram threatens with a waggle of her finger.
"I don't have any Spongebob pants!"
"The good citizens of Lilac Bay don't know that though, do they?" Gram snickers evilly.
I put my hand to my mouth and laugh silently. At least I know what she bought in Primark yesterday.
"Gram, are you out to ruin my life?" Bing sighs.
"No, dear, just your far too promiscuous reputation. Why, in my day, if I did what you do, my father would have slapped my ass - twenty years old or not!" Gram winks at me as she turns back inside.
"I..." Bing runs his forehead. "I don't want to know."
I laugh out loud but stop when he glares at me. I follow Gram into the kitchen.
"How did you get them up there?" I whisper over her shoulder.
"I didn't," she giggles. "Your father put it up. I blackmailed him."
"Oh no, you said no papers for a week, didn't you?"
"You bet your pretty little face I did." Grammy giggles again and opens the fridge. She pours a glass of milk, takes a brown bottle from the cupboard and extracts two tablets. I frown.
"What are they for?"
"Heartburn," she answers without turning around. "Hence the milk. It helps."
"Oh." I shrug it off and get myself a glass of orange.
"Are you seeing your fancy boy today?"
"If you mean Alec." I reach into the cupboard for the Cheerios, "then yes. He thinks he's gonna get me on a surfboard again. I think he's training to be a comedian."
"He just wants to share that part of his life with you," Gram advises. "Go along with it. He goes shopping with you, doesn't he?"
"Once." I point my spoon at her. "I surfed once. He shopped once. Even Stevens."
She shakes her head. "You kids."
"What?" I say through a mouthful of cereal and shrug one shoulder.
"In my day we did things together because we could..."
"In your day, Grammy, to be seen touching a boy or raising your skirt above your ankles meant you were a slut." I put my empty bowl in the sink, rinsing it out.
"Alexis Mae Edwards! I was not born in the 1800's!"
"Could have been." I grin cheekily and scoot past her into the hallway. "When Alec shows up.."
Knock knock.
"Never mind!" I call back and open the door, barely glancing at him. "Hi, come in, goodbye."
I take the stairs two at a time. Brush, mascara, dress. I'm ready in record time - maybe Devon really is changing me from a spoilt city girl to a carefree young woman.
I stop by my mirror and study my reflection. Soft, dark brown curls that reach my waist, large, cappuccino-coloured eyes, a smattering of freckles across my nose and rosebud lips. The same girl as always stares back at me.
Or does she?
I look closer and she's different - I'm different. There's a light in my eyes, a sparkle in my smile, and a bounce in my hair. I smile at my reflection.
For the first time since leaving here when I was twelve, I'm starting to feel like myself again. I look the same and I sound the same.. But there's a softness in my eyes and a brightness in my smile that wasn't there before.
I grab my phone and head back downstairs. Alec is leaning against the kitchen side, his polo shirt whiter than white against his sun-kissed skin. Not to mention it looks good with his muscles. Ahem.
I beam at him and skip across the kitchen, pressing a kiss to his lips.
"Good morning!" I sing.
"Good morning, Princess." He smirks at me, amused, and wraps his arms round my waist. "You're happy today."
"I'm always happy." I lean back and pout slightly.
"Unless you're on your period," Gram calls from the front room where she's glued to Jeremy Kyle. I can hear him telling someone to use protection, like normal.
"Yep, thanks for that one Gram." I cringe slightly.
Alec chuckles and kisses my forehead. "It's a good job I've known her for years. If you were any other girl, I'd be running after that comment."
"Oh, so you're here for my Gram, hmm?" I raise an eyebrow at him.
"No," he laughs. "I heard there's this amazing, beautiful, sweet girl living here. Do you know where I can find her?"
"Yeah, she ran away, sorry." I shrug one shoulder. "Looks like you're stuck with me."
"Good," he says. "I'm pretty sure you'd kick her ass anyway."
"You bet I would,. I grin and stand on my tiptoes, kissing him again.
"Sick," Bing mutters and opens the fridge.
"Nice boxers, Bing," Alec comments. I bury my face into his neck.
"Don't you start it, pretty boy. I happen to like you. That could change very quickly and you wouldn't want that, considering you're going out with my sister." Bing narrows his eyes.
Alec crooks his finger and Bing steps forward. "Mate, if I were you, when Vi visits the post office later, I'd search this place top to bottom."
"Why?" Bing asks in the same hushed voice Alec used.
"Because my mum saw her in Primark yesterday in Barnstaple buying some Spongebob boxers, and I'd say they weren't for your Dad."
"Holy mother..." Bing shakes his head and turns around. "Bloody woman will kill me."
I bite my lip, smiling, and watch him go. Alec puts his thumb on my lip and gently teases it from between my teeth.
"Please don't bite your lip," he whispers in a lower, husky voice.
I glance up and his eyes are focused on my mouth. "Why not?"
"Because... Ah." He closes his eyes. "When you do it, it's goddamn sexy, Princess."
"What, so don't do this?" I bite my lip again, more of it this time, and look at him innocently.
"Yep," he says in an almost strangled voice and stands up straight. "Definitely don't do that."
I raise my eyebrows. "Okay. I won't."
I turn my face away from him. He exhales and I tilt my face back, biting the other side of my lip.
"Lexy," he growls.
Oh. I'm in trouble.
"Alec?" I smile sweetly and move back.
"What did I just say?"
"I.. I can't remember." I back into the wall, looking up at him. Somehow I still have a straight face.
He puts his hands against the wall, one either side of my head and bends his face down to mine.