“Not everything. We’d like to make a few changes in the house.”
“We don’t know what we’re doing yet, but I do know it won’t be looking at someone else’s old and unwanted shit.”
Indie laughs and slaps my arm with the back of her hand. “You’re such an arsehole.”
“Go back to America and leave us with Indie,” Mum teases. “I’ll clean up here. You two go and do whatever you’re going to do.”
Indie tries to object but we’re promptly kicked out of the house. They’re giving us time alone. We stand outside the front door, and I scowl. “What if we wanted to spend the day vegging in front of the TV?”
“Where is your sense of adventure, Hollywood? The day is ours. We could do anything.”
“All right, Bear Grylls, what do you have in mind?”
“Well, I’m not going into the jungle and eating anything funky, so we’ll head into the city and see what we find.”
With my heart racing in my chest, I say, “I’ve missed that.” Missed wandering somewhere without a purpose, painting ceramics at some shit hybrid café or trying new cuisines… some that made us gag. Neither of us are fans of oysters or haggis.
Her shy smile makes me want to kiss her. It’s been a long time since I was allowed to do that. I’ll never forget the softness of her lips or the pressure she applied after a few seconds, switching from shy to feisty with one brush of my tongue.
“I’ve missed it, too.”
Other times, when we were bored, we’d drive somewhere new and see what we found. I’d follow her random directions. It’s how I know that I’m bad at indoor snowboarding, and that I can’t escape a locked room. But I can still ice skate, and thanks to an Italian cooking class, I can also make pasta from scratch.
“We’re taking my car. Yours will probably break down.”
“It will not.”
I frown. We might have to take hers, actually, although I don’t fancy dying in that little, rusty roller-skate of a car. “I hope mine starts; I’ve not driven it for over a year.”
“Your dad starts it for you. I’ve seen him a couple of times. He always looks petrified. I’m sure he thinks it’s going to drive off by itself.”
Opening the passenger door for her, I reply, “I told you to use it.”
“I appreciate it, Spence, but I like my own. Besides, I would feel like a twat driving around in your massive, black, drug dealer Range Rover.”
“Wow.” I close her door, chuckling, and I get behind the steering wheel. “I find it hard to believe that you prefer your rusty roller skate.”
“Well, I do. It’s grown on me, and it’s dependable.”
It has yet to break down, I’ll give her that. I start the ignition of my Range Rover—the only thing of any real value I’ve bought, so far—and we drive.
There are a lot of zeroes in my bank account that I should really start spending. Seems pointless to spend it by myself. Why buy a house to rattle around in alone?
“The rust has probably welded every part together, making it impossible to break.”
“Your car might be nice, Spence, but is it indestructible?” She looks behind us. “Where are you going? You missed the exit.”
“We’re not going to the city.”
“Then where are we going?”
“The beach.”
“It’s November. I know you’ve been in California for a while now, but you surely remember it gets cold here. One year we went to the beach in the middle of winter and our lips turned blue.”
I remember that day vividly. We’d been together a few days, and we kissed our blue lips away. It’s the first time I felt that, if I didn’t have her, I might actually die. It was all very dramatic. In the end, she dumped me before we had sex.
“So?”
“So, it’s cold.”
“You have a coat. As do I. I’ll buy you chips, doughnuts, and hot chocolate.”
She purses her lips, considering. “Will you win me a teddy?”
“Even if it costs thirty pounds… which it sometimes has done.”
Thirty-two pounds is what a Minnie Mouse soft toy cost me the last time. It’s the most I’ve ever spent on something worthless. Her smile made it worth double that amount.
“You’d think you’d improve over time.”
“Wow, kick me when I’m down.”
“You’re not down, Hollywood.”
No, I’m not. Right now, I’m on top of the world.
She folds her arms, trying to pretend that she’s not on board with this plan. “If it rains, I’m going to kick you.”
“Violent, Indie.”
“It’s like you’ve never been away,” she says on a content sigh. I’m watching the road, but I can hear the smile in her voice.
It feels like I’ve never been away.
Seven
Indie
It’s getting frostbite cold out. I wish my lips were blue so he would kiss me.
I shiver as icy wind stabs at my skin. I’m going to take my socks off later and find toes still inside them.
Spencer and I walk along the mostly deserted seafront from the car park towards the arcades. He’s wearing a pair of aviator sunglasses. If he’s trying to be inconspicuous, he’s going to need a hat. His mop of dark wavy hair is a dead giveaway.
I love his curls. His hair is the colour of chocolate—almost identical to mine—with shorter sides but long on top. It’s thick, and I’ve only felt it once when he was unwell, and I was playing nurse. I would give anything to slide my fingers through it now.
It really is unfair that he should have such nice hair.
Wrapping my arms around my body, I shiver and scowl up at him. He’s almost a foot taller than me.
Spencer laughs and wraps his arm around my waist, pulling me to his side. “It’s not that cold, Indie.”
“I’ll probably get hyperthermia and die out here.”
“At least you’re not overreacting,” he replies sarcastically. “It feels good to walk down the street and not be stopped.”
“All that will be over here, too, once the movie comes out. You know that, right?”
He nods. “I’m
