Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Running towards the centre of the emerald glade of the park, Lola felt the cool wind whipping through her brunette tresses. She cast a quick glance over her shoulder and saw that Alex was by no means as far away as she had anticipated. Gaining on her, he wrapped an arm around her torso and placed one under her knees, whisking her off of her feet. She yelped slightly at the shock of hurtling across the grass one second, and being swept in Alex's arms the next. The two skidded to a halt.
"You cheated your way into a head start, Kissinger, and you still lost," Alex teased.
Scoffing, Lola replied, "You're kidding? You sabotaged me at the last minute! You don't see Usain Bolt picking up his competition."
Smiling at the girl in his arms, Alex tucked a strand of hair behind her ear that the race had dislodged. "It's sweet that you think you compare to Usain Bolt."
As Alex had touched her hair, Lola decided to return the favour and ruffled his quiff, teasingly. "It's sweet you think there would even be a comparison. I am superior in every respect, especially speed." She now stood up, and holding out the bottom of her coat with her hands, gave a twirl. "I am supposed to be a cheetah, after all."
Grinning at each other, the pair strolled across the vast expanse of emerald grass, until they reached an area bordered by towering trees, dressed with fruit and flowers. Under a darkened sky, illuminated by starlight, it looked beautiful. Walking over to a large oak, Lola and Alex sat beneath it, obscuring themselves in the shadow it cast. There was a light dew on the ground and the soft scent of petrichor, after the rainfall, which seemed to be England's perpetual weather.
"You know," Alex commented, "In that coat you look more like a prostitute than a cheetah."
Lola, who had been sipping on a bottle of water, now spluttered out the mouthful of her drink. "A prostitute?" She laughed. "Being such a smooth talker with pick-up lines like that, it's a miracle you don't have a girlfriend."
Immediately after saying the word 'girlfriend', Lola flinched. That was not something she wanted to bring up around Alex. They couldn't date. They were from two different worlds. They just couldn't. She sensed that Alex had similarly tensed up, and had parted his lips, as if ready to say something. Dreading what it might be, Lola continued with a nonchalant smile, "If I was a prostitute, you wouldn't be able to afford me anyway. My price would be higher than a Greggs sausage roll."
With an amused smile, Alex shook his head. "You know, Lola, I don't think anybody's every made me laugh so much in my life, as you've made me in these last months."
"I hope that's laughing with, Turner, not laughing at. With me throwing up on my own skirt in front of you and now parading about Sheffield dressed like a prostitute," - he went to apologise again, but she just grinned ("hey, your words not mine!") - "I think I've probably given you more for the second category than the first."
