In Denial | Alex Turner

LI

I swung my leather jacket over my shoulders and grabbed my keys and phone, confused as to what he had in mind that time. My boots clicked against the red carpet laid down on the corridors of the hotel, until they reached the marble staircase and I rushed down until the ground floor, where I greeted the woman behind the front desk with a 'good morning'  and walked out of the double glass doors, where a motorcycle was now stopping in front of me.

"Fuck off," I snorted a laugh as the helmet came off and revealed a cheerful Alex with messy hair.

"Hop on, darlin'," he smirked, throwing me the extra helmet and gesturing me to sit behind him with a nod of his head.

"You hid this for way too long," I smiled, putting on the helmet and clipping it underneath my chin. He chuckled and put on his, also clipping it underneath before sliding down the clear plastic over his eyes like me.

"Where are you taking me?" I half-joked as I hopped on the back, hesitant as to whether I should wrap my arms around him. He handed me the backpack he had behind his back before, telling me to put it behind mine so I could hold onto him better.

"It's a surprise, I told you," he huffed a laugh, starting the engine of the motorcycle again before I gave in and wrapped my arms around his waist tightly, feeling the bike setting off with great speed.

The drive was fast, through the streets of LA and under the September sun, which burnt once the bike came to a stop during a red light. He'd ask me how I was doing each time it came to a halt, but I kept saying I was fine, tightening my arms each time. So in no time, we were already driving through Santa Monica, and towards the familiar part of the beach, the one we'd visited long ago.

The motorcycle came to its final stop for the next few hours, and we immediately took our helmets off, taking in the fresh air as our heads had started sweating under the hot helmets. I got off the bike first, gazing around the almost-full beach and getting a strong sense of déjà-vu as I heard his voice behind me.

"Should had expected it," I looked back at him to find him with a smirk on his lips as he balanced the helmet on the leather seats to fix his unruly hair.

"Surprised how you didn't, honestly," he shrugged before he gave up on his hair, deciding it was impossible due to the wind getting them messy anyway.

I huffed a laugh at him, causing him to flash me his big smile as he slid his arm through his helmet like me and took the backpack off my shoulders as we walked down at the beach. Kids were running around, while their parents yelled at them to come back. One pair of toddlers almost knocked us over, making their mother apologize dramatically at us. We just shrugged it off, walking a bit closer to the sea, and deciding to settle there.

"That's why you told me to bring a swimsuit," I snorted a laugh, looking at him as he unzipped the backpack and pulled out two towels. He laughed and threw me one, settling his down.

"Wouldn't want yer to get inside with yer underwear like last time," he smirked, looking down at me as I settled the second towel next to his. 

"Very thoughtful," I rolled my eyes playfully, sitting down on the towel after kicking off my boots. He soon joined me, laying down on the towel as I was still sat looking around the beach.

I looked back at him, only to find him asleep. I'd guessed he was pretty tired, considering he had fallen asleep in a matter of minutes, and decided not to wake him up. He lay there peacefully, with his messy hair all over his forehead and his lips curved up into a smile as his tired eyes had been closed.

Alex's POV:

My eyes flattered open, facing something dark that was warming my face. I grabbed it and looked at it, seeing it was Monica's shirt. I raised an eyebrow and smiled, looking around the beach to find her figure since she wasn't beside me like when I had fallen asleep. 

She was contemplating getting in the water just a few metres away from me, looking around the sea with her hands balancing on her hips as her head turned left to right, inspecting the seemingly-calm water. Her head turned around, facing me as her hand covered her eyes from the sun. A smile found its way on her lips as she locked eyes with me and made a gesture that indicated 'Come in'.

I just smiled back, watching her turn around again, seeming more confident about getting in the water that time. I quickly took my clothes off, smoothing down my swimming trunks before checking our things one last time and walking towards her direction.

"It's not goin' to get less cold if you keep starin' at it, love," I whispered in her ear, startling at first but then earning a soft laugh from her.

"You get in first, then, if you dare," she raised an eyebrow, not having turned her body to face me fully, just her head.

"Nah, I'm takin' yer with me," I shook my head with a jokingly sad smile before I put out my hand for her to hold onto.

"Very determined, I see," she teased with a smirk, slowly interwining her fingers with mine. I let out a chuckle and led her closer into the sea, leaving the place where the sea only crushed, and getting up until where our knees were covered by the sea.

"We'll dive when I say 'three', alright?" I turned my head to look at her, seperating our hands as I stood beside her, earning an 'I'm cold' look for her. "Come on!" I urged, laughing at how she was faking her misery.

"Fine, okay," she nodded, her expression changing.

I counted painfully slow up until "two and a half" before she had enough of me and had mumbled a 'fuck off', getting in the water on her own as a laugh escaped my lips. She dived in the water so gracefully, her hair flying behind her, until they sank in the water with her, and came back up stuck on the back of her head.

I dived in the water after her, feeling the coldness of the sea sliding to every part of my body, until I came back up on the surface and felt the burning sun on my face after I slicked my hair back and opened my eyes, finding her floating right across me, just a couple of metres away.

"Not so bad after all," she smiled widely, swimming closer to me slowly.

"You say that, I'm freezin'," I snorted a laugh, making her chuckle as a response. "What d'you want to do after?" I questioned once she'd stopped swimming, making the previous two metres one.

"I can't believe you don't have something already planned," she shook her head in fake disbelief, covering her eyes with her hand so the sun didn't bother her eyesight. Her hair turned a lighter shade under the sun's light.

"I do 'ave summat already planned," I confessed. "Just want to see what you would like to do afterwards," I added, smoothly swimming to her other side so she didn't have to face the sun but I did.

"Of course you have something planned," she snorted a laugh and swum a bit closer than before, maybe without realising. "But I could really use some food," she confessed with a small smile.

"I knew it," I mumbled before splashing some water at her. She gasped loudly, faking her offence before she splashed quite a lot of water at me too, washing me over completely. And the saga went on.