Page 116 of Euphoria
Morgan met her stare and held it. “Me too.” She leaned forward and chanced a quick kiss. “What you said earlier about it being not even three weeks, I feel so—” She smiled. “I know technically it’s been longer. Your hospital visit was months ago, but it’s like I’ve always known you.”
“I know. It could be three months, three years, I just…” Alex breathed deeply. “I want this. When we get back, I really wantthis.” She emphasised the last word. “Being able to just wander a high street and go for a coffee, and kiss, without being bothered by anyone.” She was about to say something else when a raindrop hit her face, and then another. “Come on, we’ll have to run, or we’ll get drenched.”
“Oh, I dunno, I quite like it when you’re wet,” Morgan teased before her hand was grabbed and she was pulled at speed along the street, both of them laughing like teenagers until finally the café appeared and Alex pushed the door open, and they both stumbled inside. “Grab that table. I’ll get the drinks.”
“And cake,” Alex reminded with a grin before she turned and headed across the room to nab the only table still available. A moment later, Mack entered, looked around to ensure there were no potential issues and then stepped back outside, where he stood on guard in the rain. Alex couldn’t decide between rolling her eyes or chuckling at the absurdity of it all. She couldn’t wait for this part of her life to be over with.
Pulling her coat off, Alex hung it around the back of the chair before sitting down and taking off the hat. She looked around at the paintings hanging on the wall, art for sale. Most were drawings and paintings of the cathedral from various angles. Others were a more scenic landscape of the Fens. Turning back to the queue to see how much longer Morgan would be, she found a pair of eyes trained on her.
An older woman, her mother’s age, she guessed. Half hidden behind a pair of glasses and a woolly hat. She smiled in that way people did when they recognised her but weren’t going to make a big deal of it. Alex was grateful for that and smiled back. The woman raised a finger to her lips and made a shushing face before she picked up her cup and continued to drink.
Everyone else was too busy chatting, or just hadn’t noticed her, or didn’t know who she was, which happened more often than not. People don’t expect a celebrity to be sitting in their local café.
Alex watched as Morgan paid with her card, then picked up the tray and casually made her way through, past the sticking-out chairs. She was smiling, looking happy, and Alex considered that it might be the most beautiful she’d ever looked. Her hair was haphazardly pulled into a ponytail of curls, little wayward ringlets snagging free and hanging around her face.
“They didn’t have any cream cakes, so I got you a rather large slab of lemon meringue,” Morgan said, feeling pleased with herself. She sat down, passed the plate across, and held up two forks. “I thought we could share.”
“Share?” Alex said, her eyes sparkling with a playfulness that Morgan found enticing. “I suppose I could let you have that end piece.”
Morgan thought for a moment before she leaned forward and whispered, “You could do that, and you could suffer the consequences.”
“Hm, interesting point.” Alex reached for the pot of tea and lifted the lid to stir the pot. “What kind of consequences?”
Picking up her mug of milky coffee, Morgan took a sip before she said, “I would have to consider how much of this body I’d want to share later.”
“Hardly the same thing.” Alex chuckled. “But I see your point.” She pushed the plate to the centre of the table. “I was thinking about later and thought we could lounge on the sofa and watch a film. I’ll get Francine to get us some popcorn and—”
“Hotdogs,” Morgan insisted. “With mustard and onions. Can we have those?”
“I’m sure we can. What do you want to watch?” she asked, realising they didn’t know many basic things about each other. “What kind of films do you like?”
“Comedy, romance, I don’t mind really, anything that has a good story. You?”
“Spy thrillers, not horror though. I’m too much of a scaredy cat for that.” Alex laughed and cut the side of her forkinto the cake before she shovelled the mouthful onto the tines and held it up to feed Morgan.
Morgan leaned in, opened her mouth slowly and accepted the offering. “Mm, that’s so good,” she said halfway through as it melted in her mouth.
“We should get another slice for later,” Alex suggested.
“I can get on board with that.” Morgan smiled. “So, murder mysteries?”
“Hm?” Alex asked, her eyes locked on Morgan. “You look so beautiful. Did I tell you that?”
Subconsciously, Morgan reached for her hair and tried to smooth it down somewhat. “Thank you. I’m pretty sure I’ve looked better.”
“Is there a limit on how often you can look beautiful to me?” Alex smiled and dug in for another mouthful, this time for herself. “And yes, murder sounds fun.”
“What kind of music do you listen to? I assume you like music, of course.”
“I like music,” Morgan answered, grinning as she plunged her fork into the soft meringue. “I have a confession though.” She sat back and watched Alex.
“You had no idea who I was?”
“Not quite. I’d heard of you, and knew why you were famous but… I’d never really listened to your music, not until after I got home that day from treating you at the hospital. I sat on the balcony with a glass of Ribena and let the smart speaker play your greatest hits, while I read all about you online.”
“Oh, so you stalked me,” Alex said playfully.
“Of course.” Morgan winked. “I was hoping you’d call me, and I’d need to have reference points to continue the conversation.”