Sorry, Not Sorry

- 48

It felt like the best sleep I've had in years. It was almost a chore to have to get out of the warmth of his bed. Max was already gone, in the bathroom brushing his teeth. I guess he has to get ready earlier so he's wide awake for driving. I roll over in the bed, accidentally falling straight off the edge. Max dashes over at the sound. "Are you okay?" He asks,  looking down at me. I groan, covering my eyes with my arm. "Yeah..." I mumble, sitting up. He smirks, holding out a hand to help me up. I take it, and he pulls me straight up. "Now that you're awake, reckon you could make the bed?" I nod, turning around to start fixing the covers. 

"How long until we hit the road?" I ask. He pouts, gazing out the window as he thinks. His finger taps the window sill. "We have plenty of time, probably an just under an hour." I finish fixing the bed up and head over to my bag on the floor. "How about..." I struggle to pull the little bottles out. "Ugh- How about we refresh this?" I hold up the two nail polish bottles, and he smiles, looking down at his bare fingers. Truthfully, I just want to be close to him, but I wouldn't admit that. 

I take the seat opposite him at the tiny dining table, grabbing his hand and laying it flat in front of him. "Don't move." I say, as I put the first stroke of teal polish on his nails. The whole time I stare down at his fingers, and he watches too, a small smile teasing the corner of his mouth. "You're so perfect at this." Max says once I've finished, flexing his fingers. "I feel like when I do yours its so messy and ugly."

"Nothing  to do with you is ugly." I say, "your turn." I pass him the brown polish. And he quickly begins painting my nails. It is messy, and it is imperfect. but it could never be ugly. The trace of polish left on my skin is only a reminder that he was here, not of his failure. I smile, and he pauses, looking up at me with his beautiful eyes. "What? Is it that bad?" He asks. I shake my head, "No. It's perfect actually." He dips the brush into the bottle again, his eyes downturned. "Y'know, I'll never forget the first time I saw you smile." He says, as if it means nothing. I feel like I'm going to melt. "Yeah? When was it then?" He tilts his head to ensure he's getting all of my nail. "It wasn't too long after we met, and I think you still hated me then- but we went to Kitty's place after club." He says, and I stare into his downturned glittering eyes as he speaks. To me. Out of everyone, I'm the one he's with right now. "I made us all sausage sizzle." He explains, "And I asked you what you thought about them. You said, 'reminds me of bunnings' and I said, 'my sausage is not comparable to a bunnings sausage!'" He chuckles smally, stroking my knuckle with his thumb. "I could tell you really found it funny, your smile was so genuine." I  keep looking up at him, my free hand rested beneath my chin. "I remember that." I say. "I thought you were so stupid, but I also started to realise you were amazing."

He finishes painting the final nail and looks up at me, his eyes widening as he meets my gaze. "Staring." He muttered quietly. We sit there in the quiet as we wait for our nails to dry, and I finally pull myself up out of the chair. "I'm going to get changed." I say. 

"Alright." Max says. 

-

We hop into the car, driving for only ten minutes before stopping at a service station for breakfast. We sit opposite each other at the table, the leather seats stickly and probably dirty.  I pull a fry out of the bag and chew on it, resting my cheek on the table. "Get your face off the table, Xay." Max says, chewing on one of his own fries "That's gross."

I drag my eyes up to him, "Why do you care where my face has been?" I ask jokingly, screwing up my nose. He grins, kicking me under the table. "Oi!" I hiss, sitting up. 

"That was a good reference, but you can't honestly feel nice having your face there." 

"I don't." I say with a shrug, "But seeing from different angles is fun sometimes." I tilt my head to the side, looking at him. He tilts his head too, "Regardless, the tables gross. I thought you cared about germs."