* once prodigy !

               There’s a delay before Nancy joins in the cheering, wondering how he can stand to sit on the sidelines when he clearly wants to be up there playing with the rest, “School has been one of the things I can deal with at the moment if I’m honest.”

      at  his  questions  ,  shoulders  raise  and  lower  in  a  shrug   ‘   i’ll  be  honest   ——   i  have  no  idea   .   i  just  know  every  time  i  crank  it  up  ,  it  sounds  like  a  horse  dying   .     that’s   BAD   right   ?    ’

                ‘     what’s this look for, huh?     ’     peering up from under a fan of pale lashes     ;     there’s that famous dimpled smile   (  pink lipstick long since been rubbed away on the rim of a half empty wine glass  ).   the tip of her finger traces over the line of his jaw   ;   keenly aware of how CLOSE they are on the couch   (  like HIGH SCHOOL SWEETHEARTS   ;   no space between them  )   .   his arm tossed carelessly around her shoulders and she’s curled in close to his side  ;  a picture of INTIMACY.    HEAT breaks across her cheeks. ‘     i say something FUNNY?     ’   accent THICK beneath the warm fog of alcohol. 

*     @batbeaten