''Sorry.''
He looks at the door then back at me. He jumps back onto the bed and grabs the quilt, unravelling me. He straddles me and I raise a questioning eyebrow.
''I'm pretty sure the shower will still be there in half an hour.''
~
''It was nice of Alec to stop by and pick you up some clothes,'' Grammy says across the table. ''You must have got caught in that rain last night pretty bad if they still weren't dry this morning.''
''Something like that.'' I smile at her and I know she's caught me out.
''I sure hope he looked after you.'' Grammy goes on. ''I'd hate for you to get a cold.''
I hand her the packet of seeds and fight my smile. ''He's pretty good at looking after me.''
''Oh.'' She waggles her eyebrows once. ''I bet he's really good at looking after you.''
I stick my tongue out the side of my mouth and smile. ''He heats a mean can of tomato soup.''
''Did he get it hot enough?'' she enquires innocently.
''Yep.'' I look at her seriously. ''And he got just the right amount of butter on my bread.''
Grammy's eyes widen and she half-gasps, half-laughs at me. ''Alexis Mae Edwards!'' she manages, her hand to her chest.
''What?'' I twirl my hair around my finger and pass her another pack of seeds. ''You asked, Grammy. I was just letting you know he looked after me fine. You know I like butter on my bread.''
She studies me for a second before her pale pink lips break into a grin.
''I bet he really rocks it in the bedroom, huh? Fred Flintstone, move on over. Hubba hubba!'' Grammy wiggles her body in the seat and I do a double-take.
''Well, just come right on out with it, Grammy,'' I sputter. ''It's a good job Mum's not around. She'd go into cardiac arrest. She thinks I was at Jen's.''
''No, Lexy girl. She thinks you think she thinks you were at Jen's. Really, she doesn't want you to know that she knows that you were practising for the creation of the next generation at Alec's. But now you know she knows we can all live peacefully.''
''There were way too many thinks and knows in that, Gram.'' I shake my head. ''But I'm not creating anything.''
''Oh, I bet you are, darling.'' Grammy carries on potting absently. ''I might be sixty-eight, but I can tell you when a guy is a looker and on a scale of one to ten, Alec has broken the chart. Phew.'' She fans her face. ''And that's just when he walks into a room. He's like a walking radiator he's so damn hot.''
''I don't know if I should be agreeing with you, or smiling and nodding while pretending I'm not incredibly disturbed by this conversation,'' I state.
''Probably both,'' Grammy admits.
''Yeah, that's kinda what I was thinking.''
Grammy holds her hand out for more seeds. ''Anyway, as I was saying..''
''I'm just a poor boy, nobody loves meeeee!'' Bing sings at the top of his voice, walking into the kitchen.
''Shut up, boy!'' Gram throws a winter flower bulb at the back of his head and it bounces off.
''What was that for?'' My brother turns with an indignant look. ''You, Grammy, dearest, are looking at next year's Xfactor winner.''
''The only thing you're likely to win is a trip to the dump wi' my broken windows!'' She cackles. ''You might be a looker, my boy, but you sure as hell ain't a singer.''
''You know, some people might take offence to your words, Gram.'' He pours a glass of orange juice.
I get up and cross the kitchen. ''Yeah, but since you know it's true, you won't.'' I smirk and grab the glass before he can. ''Thanks for the juice, by the way.''
Bing glares at me and I smile sweetly.
''I hear a certain little lady didn't come home last night.'' He pours another glass.
''What's it to you? I'm an adult now.'' I retort.
''I just wanna know if I need to kick ass.''
''Why?'' I sit back at the table. ''Are you not getting any?'' I look at Gram. ''It was the boxers. Good shout, Grammy.''
She holds her hand up and I high-five her.
''I'm still getting some,'' Bing grumbles.
''Yeah, but how far are you travelling for it?'' I raise my eyebrows.
''You know, Bing, you could do with finding yourself a nice young girl to settle down with. Would it kill you, really? You can't live the 'wham, bam thank you ma'am' lifestyle forever. I know you might fancy yourself it, but you ain't no Hugh Hefner,'' Gram mentions. I snort and look at my brother's shocked face.
''Any idea when the men in white coats are coming?'' he asks me.
''Not a clue,'' I respond without missing a beat. ''But they're coming to take you to nympho rehab, not for Grammy.''
Grammy holds her hand up one more and I high-five her again.
''She got my wit, boyo, so you're better off quitting while you're still ten miles behind,'' she chuckles. ''If you ever manage to catch up, bring Vino.''
I duck my head as I smile and I hear Bing make a 'pfft' sound. He puts the glass on the side and leaves the room.
''I love winding him up,'' Grammy sniggers. ''It's so easy to do.''
I grin over at her and she claps her hands off, standing up. ''Let's go and put these pots in the garden.''
~
Rain beats down for two days solid. Grammy's happy because her garden is getting a good watering, and I'm happy because last night's storm got rid of the horrible muggy air that was hanging around. I'm not happy because I've been cooped up inside for those two days and I'm going stir crazy.
It's testament to how much six weeks in Devon has changed me. I'm craving the outdoors, the fresh, salty air. Hell, I'm even craving the hideous smell of cow poo.
Yeah, it's like that now.
I scroll down my Facebook news feed, boredom emanating from me. I never realised how full of bullshit my life was in London. All it was was partying, shopping and probably way too much bitching. A part of me.. Doesn't want to go back.
I sigh and shut down the laptop, wondering if there's any way I can transfer universities. I know there's one in Exeter and one in Plymouth. I'd love to spend more time with Grammy.. And it would mean I wouldn't have to really leave Alec.
I sigh again as Dad walks in.
''What's up, sweetheart?'' he asks, stopping by the table.
''Just thinking.'' I smile up at him and look outside. The rain has stopped now. ''Dad?''
''Hello?'' He puts the kettle on.
''What if I changed unis? Could I go to Exeter or Plymouth?''
He narrows his eyes thoughtfully. ''Of course you could. But, Lexy, why? Is it because of Alec?''
I twist some hair between my fingers and examine it for split ends. ''Mostly for Grammy, but yeah, a bit, I guess.''
''I didn't realise it was that serious,'' he folds his arms.
''How did you and Mum do it?'' I look at him. ''You went to uni, right? How did you make it work?''
He smiles fondly and I can see the love shining from his eyes. ''She followed me. Even if she didn't, I would have followed her to where she wanted to go. We were so in love, still are, that we would have followed each other to the ends of the earth and back a million times.''