Life is Stranger

A Sudden Storm

"You won't be able to resist. I am going to literally sweep you off your tiny feet."

"We'll see. Put your belt on."

"Who are you? My mom? Life's too short to waste time on stuff like that."

"Yours certainly will be if you don't do as I tell you, Price."

"Seriously Max, we're not going very far. The chances of us having an accident are a million-to-one."

"Million-to-one chances always crop up. Well-known fact. But I wasn't really referring to that. What I probably should have said is put your belt on or it will be me that kills you."

"Uhoh. There's that look. Alright. Okay. There. Satisfied?"

"Yep."

"You will be later, I assure you."

"I hope you're talking about food."

"Nope, I so was not, but I will sort you out in the belly department as well."

"You'd better. I haven't eaten since lunch. I could eat a horse."

"You're not going to eat me, are you? But then again..." said Chloe, nudging Max in the ribs.

"Chloe Price! I swear to dog. Frank can hear you, you know."

"Trust me Max, I've heard far worse things come out of her mouth. That was nothing. Quite tame by Chloe's standards, in fact."

"I can well imagine."

"That's rich coming from you, Maxo, especially after you basically molested me in full view of the entire bar the other night."

"I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about. You must have been high. Or was it just wishful thinking on your part?"

"How can you look so pure, sweet and innocent whilst lying your ass off? You should go for a career in politics."

"No thanks. I'd much rather be a photographer."

"What am I going to be doing whilst you're taking pictures?"

"Posing for me and my camera."

"Oooooo. Saucy. I like it. Do you want me to be naked? 'cos I'm totally cool with that."

"Frank, please stop the car. I need you to help me throw Chloe into the harbour."

"Now you want to get me wet? You're out of control."

"I'm just going to pretend that you never said any of that. Why are we at the harbour anyway?"

"Why do you think? Come on Max Sparrow, our ship awaits." Chloe left the car and held the door open for her companion.

"We're going on a boat?"

"Yep. Our very own cabin cruiser. This one right here. Frank will do the driving whilst we chill and watch the sun go down."

"Jesus Chloe! That one?"

"Yep."

"That must have cost a lot too. How did you manage to get all this organised so quickly? This all sure does sound super, but I might get cold out there."

"Way ahead of you. I've thought of everything. I have sweaters and a blanket. Plus this baby has built-in heating. And it's not as if a storm is suddenly going to come from out of a clear blue sky, is it? It's a gorgeous, calm evening - plain sailing. We all set Franky boy?"

"Aye aye Captain Bulldog. Climb aboard ladies and take a pew. The SS Normandy is about to set sail for distant shores."

"Chloe this is wonderful. Thanks so much."

"This is just the start. I have something really awesome planned for you later on - something you've never experienced before. It'll blow you away. It sure did me."

"Will you please get your mind out of the gutter?"

"Actually, I meant something else entirely. But I'll blow your mind in that way too."

"Chloe?"

"Yes beautiful?"

"Now that we have some privacy, I need to talk with you about...you know...that."

"I'm sure you have hella questions, but don't try to run before you can walk. I'll take care of everything. You can learn as we go along. For tonight, all you have to do is simply soak it all in and enjoy it. No pressure at all."

"That's exactly the thing though, Chloe – I feel under an awful lot of pressure."

"Are things going too fast for you? I don't want you to feel like I'm pressuring you. We don't have to do anything. Like I said, this is a giant step for us, and you should be completely sure."

"I know you would never pressure me, and you haven't. I want to do this. I really do. What I mean is I'm frightened that I won't be good enough for you. You've done this before and I'm a total newbie. What if I do the wrong thing and ruin it? I'll never forgive myself – I want it to be so special. I'm terribly nervous. And then there's...her. She's way sexier and prettier than I ever will be. I don't think that I can measure up to her in any way, but especially when it comes to...erm...sex."

Chloe's visage was now one of extreme annoyance. "Why the fuck did you have to go and bring her up for? What the hell is wrong with you? What in the fuck made you possibly think that I'd want to talk about her tonight? Way to kill the mood. Thanks a fucking lot Max. You were worried about screwing up and ruining everything? Well guess what genius – you just fucking did."