Me & Mine

35. Nothing To Be Done

"Good morning sunshine!" I smile as Harley stumbles into the kitchen. Her hair is tied up in a towel and she wears last night's dress, her face stuck in a constant surge of pain. She sits down on one of the bar stools and lets her head fall into her arms.

"There's nothing good about this morning," she mumbles. Max smiles and lifts me off the counter. I laugh and hand her a cup of coffee. "Drink this," I say, "it helps."

"I'm going to check on Richie," Max says, planting a kiss on my hair, "be right down."

I scoot over to Harley and hoist myself on the island. I reach over to the fruit basket and offer a banana. "You should eat something too," I say softly, but Harley just mumbles. She looks up to me, her eyes still half closed. "What the hell happened last night?" She groans and I chuckle.

"Nothing much, actually. We danced, laughed, had great fun, and then you and Richie kinda passed out," I smile, "so we brought you back here."

She buries her face in her hands and rubs her eyes. "I have trouble remembering," she groans. "It'll come back to you. Drink," I say, shoving the coffee closer to her, "and eat." I hit her on the head with the banana and she grunts in protest.

But it helps. It always helps. Around noon the both of them are feeling a lot better. The boys are playing some game that involves lots of shooting and Harley and I are laying on the sofa, just chatting about nothing in particular. She has her head on my lap and the rest of her body hidden under a blanket. She looks up at me and smiles.

"I think we should go on a roadtrip together," she says. I smirk.

"Yes! We can go in my car, with the roof rolled down and good music blasting through the speakers."

"And we should wear those fifties Hollywood headscarves and big round sunglasses."

"Some good eighties classic rock," I muse, "the good stuff we can sing along too."

"We can drive all the way to the West Coast, sleep in those horror motels and dine with truckers at those road restaurant."

"And we'll dance in the desert and gaze at the stars at night."

"Oh, and we'll see the sea!"

"I want to see everything!"

I look down at that precious little face and smile. "I want to see everything with you," I say.

Richie turns to us and grins. "Can I join?" Harley and I both shake our heads. "No boys allowed!" She sticks out her tongue and I chuckle. Richie pouts and Max crosses his arms. "Is there booze allowed?" He smirks.

"Always," I smirk. He jumps up and kisses my forehead. "Beer everyone?"

Richie and I nod, but Harley seems hesitant. "I should go home," she says softly, "I haven't done any of my reading for tomorrow."

I shrug. "I'll give you my notes," I suggest, "it saved Max' ass before, plus I already covered most of what we're doing now last year."

"I don't know," Harley hoists herself up and leans against the sofa, "I want to stay but I've never actually not done my homework before."

I smile and shake my head. "Bless your soul, sunshine," I chuckle and get up to follow Max to the kitchen, "the offer stands, but do what makes you feel better!"

Richie follows me and Max to the kitchen and we clink our cold beers together.

"I really hope I can stomach this after the night I've had," Richie mumbles and Max pats him on the back. "Just don't throw up over my stuff."