Forever For You 🌷

30th October 2011

Izzy twirled the landline cord around her finger as she leant back against the counter, arms crossed as she listened to the speaker on the other end of the line, eyeing her front window display and trying to work out what would look best in the corner. London was drizzly and fairly miserable that morning and the shop had been quiet, so when the phone rang just after lunch time, she didn't hesitate to answer it and had now been speaking for over half an hour.

"... so tha' was bloodeh delicious... 'n I'm vereh full..." he chuckled, leaning back on his sofa. "Wha' did yeh 'ave?"

"Well, it wasn't a particularly gourmet meal..." she laughed. "A sandwich, some crisps... a coffee."

"Disappointin'..." he mumbled.

Izzy yawned. The two coffees she'd had that day hadn't kept her awake and the deep timbre of his voice was more soothing than it was energising, so when she glanced at the clock and noticed how much time had passed without any actual work being done, she mentally switched her brain back on.

"Look, Al..." she sighed. "I need to go and do some work... There's a couple of orders to make up."

"Ooh, wha' flowers?" he asked enthusiastically, hoping to distract her from leaving if she kept talking. Her voice was soft and quiet and he could hear the patter of raindrops against the both the windows of his flat and of her shop through the phone.

Izzy flicked through the list of orders pinned to a clipboard on the desk with her free hand, listing off the autumnal blooms she'd written down in her tidy handwriting first thing that morning. "Alstroemeria, roses, couple of dahlias..."

"Well I kno' wha' a rose looks like but I'll 'ave teh put the ofers inteh me search engine..." She could hear Alex tapping on his phone screen, probably noting them down and smiled to herself. "'s it joost a gift like a bouquet for a birfdaeh or...?"

"A wedding tomorrow."

Alex chuckled. "Well let's 'ope the rain clears up for their big day. Tha's the risk wif gettin' married in autumn, I s'pose." Izzy was about to respond when he carried on speaking. "Eh, ain't it strange tha' we're in the same citeh? Like we could beh lookin' at the same clouds..." His voice trailed off in deep thought, mumbling as he looked up at the sky. "Can yeh see one tha' looks like a flamingo?"

She laughed, the noise erupting from her lips in a way that made Alex's heart soar, his lips twitching with joy. "A flamingo?" She craned her head to glance through her display and try to spot the shape he was talking about. "I can't see a flamingo, Al. I see one that looks like a train?"

"Maybeh weh're lookin' in opposite directions," he sighed, a little disappointed. "Anehwaehs, 'm sure yeh'll do an excellent job wif the weddin'... yehr arrangements alwaehs look pretteh..."

"Thank you," she hummed, smoothing her hand down the front of her apron. "I'll call you tomorrow?"

"Wait, Izzeh!" Alex called, his voice raised, laughing when he heard her impatient sigh. "Aren't yeh comin' teh meh show tonight?"

"You haven't invited me," she informed him matter-of-factly.

"Well I want teh see yeh," he shrugged.

Izzy stared down at her pastel pink fingernails as she spoke. "I came last night, Al."

"Bored of watchin' meh, eh?" he mumbled, raising his eyebrow though he knew she couldn't see it. He swallowed hard.

"No," she assured him. "I'm just exhausted and I have work tomorrow. Can't keep up with your rockstar lifestyle."

"Yeh lied teh meh..." he pouted, childishly. She could see it though he wasn't there, saw his bottom lip stuck out in the way he spoke, in the forced innocence and persuasion in his voice. "Promised yeh'd come see meh evereh time I were playin' in London... broken me 'eart, Izzeh..."

Izzy sighed, shaking her head. She'd seen him less than twelve hours ago, had watched from side stage at the O2, then laughed and told stories with him until the early hours of the morning. They had shared a bottle together that had made waking up a struggle and she didn't think she could make it through another night of the same without a power nap - but she simply couldn't say no to him.

She didn't know the next time she would see his face, see that killer smile in person, the next time she'd ring her glass against his before a shot from his newest bottle and if this was the only chance she'd have for a while, another night wrapped in his infectious energy and intelligence would be worth the throbbing headache and plague of yawns the next day.

"Fine. Fine," she smirked. "I'll be there."

"Oh, dun't let me force yeh," he teased, laughing when she ignored his comment and continued speaking.

"I'll go home and change after work then I'll come over... my work clothes aren't too flattering for a concert."

"Izzeh, dun't yeh make an effort for meh... yeh look great wifout tryin'..." he drawled. She could tell he was being genuine, that the compliment came from a place of warmth but the smirk she could hear in his lips made her laugh. "I'll 'ave somebodeh meet yeh at the back gate, send meh a text message when yeh're on yehr way."

"I'll see you soon," she hummed. "Get some rest."

"I'm off for a lil' nap now actualleh..." he nodded, yawning. "Need teh prepare meself for yehr presence."

Alex grinned as she ended the call with a short and sweet goodbye, though he wondered if he would ever be prepared to see her, if he'd be able to stop noticing details about her that made his heart pound, if he'd be able to stop himself from falling even deeper.