Nothing You've Come To Expect - Alex Turner

5. desire starts to make demands

The week went by pretty fast as I was very busy at work. Thank God, because I couldn't wait to see Alex again. I have no clue how I was able to actually get stuff done with him in my mind. It was definitely challenging. I could still feel his lips on mine, his scent still in my nostrils.
We talked on the phone almost every night, that week, when it was dark out and it felt the most lonely.
Claudia would bump into me in the hallway or in the kitchen, after I desappeared in my room for like an hour, and she would be like: "Let me guess...he called."
"How do you know?" I asked the first time.
"Look at you! You're the definition of 'starry-eyed', girl."
I'm glad that I have at least one person that I can talk to about all this. I would fucking explode, otherwise. I can't really tell anybody can I? I promised I wouldn't.

Friday
Alex, Miles and Ceci decided to come down to San Diego in the early afternoon the day of the concert, so they could relax and play tourists for a while before the gig. Of course, I was gladly going to be their guide. They had to leave right after, unfortunately; the guys were going to be busy all weekend. They had some interview the morning after and they were going to shoot a video on a beach in Malibu the next day.

I was able to sneak out of work early and, since the Museum is inside Balboa Park, we met there.
Alex was once again dressed very casual but still managed to look like a rockstar. When I saw him waiting for me outside, in his tight jeans, boots, a white T-shirt that left little room to imagination, sunglasses and perfect combed hair, my heart flipped.
"Hey guys!" I exclaimed when I got out. I was received like an old friend and that made me feel special.
I greeted Alex with an innocent kiss on the cheek, just enough to smell his scent again, even for just a second; I longed for it all week.

We walked around the beautiful historical park and its Spanish colonial style buildings for a while. Ceci and I would sneak behind the guys and make fun of the weird stuff they would be rambling about, when left alone.

Then I took them to one of the beaches, but not a fancy, touristy one. I guided Ceci, who volunteered as our driver, to a more bohemian, hippy, vibrant type of place, spangled with little shops and weird characters. I knew they would enjoy it more and I was right.
"You know that movie 'Almost Famous'? It opens on this actual street and you can see the pier and all." I explained as we strolled on Newport Avenue. We passed by some buskers with accordions and armonicas playing a frenzied ethnic piece. Alex reached in his pockets and left some bills in their bucket, then took my hand, made me pirouette and led me to jump around like crazy at the rithm of the music. We stopped and, still laughing, kept going on our way. He didn't let my hand go and his touch gave me a fluttery feeling in my stomach. I felt like a teenager hand in hand with her first crush.

Ceci stopped in front of a thrift shop that showed some of the weirdest clothes in its window. "Look at this place! We gotta go in!"
We followed her inside and challenged each other to find the most kitsch piece of clothing.
What caught my attention at first wasn't anything too weird, just a white t-shirt with a funny phrase on it that made me think of someone. I bought it before the others could see it.
"I need to get this!" Miles was all excited trying on a leopard-printed kimono, while Alex showed me a pair of black sailor dress pants. "Look at these! I'm gonna try them on. Looks like they're me size."
"Those are actual sailor's pants! I mean, the real uniform. I know something about that. Remember? My ex was in the Navy."
"Right. Well in that case..." he put them back on the rack. "I don't want to remind you of him."
"No please, try them. I will always have a thing for that uniform and...you know what, it would actually help. You know, positive association."

"This is a fucking crazy amount of buttons!" I hear him from inside the fitting room. "How do I even...?"
"So, you pull up the central flap first, then do the buttons on the sides and then two at the center...or something like that.
"Ooh..ok, got it." he said all satisfied.
"What you think?" He got out and my jaw must have reached the floor.
He looked amazing. He turned around slowly so that I could get the whole picture. Those pants really enfatized his figure, the slim waist and his round, but firm butt. The Alex that I remembered from before, the guy with the leather jacket and the quiff, looked fairly skinny. But I guess someone had been working out in the past couple years. Damn. He had a really amazing body now.
"Oh my God. They're perfect!" And so are you.
I was mesmerized by his beauty.