Maybe It's Been You All Along - Alex Turner

70

  "We've got these lights now, these red lights, that sort of beam on and off before we come on stage with that sound from the 'Four Out Of Five' music video," Alex was telling her, "thought it might be cooler than just walking on and expecting everyone to give a damn — but I won't spoil the whole thing for ya."

  Rosanna hadn't so much as attended one show of the new tour, too busy with recording her second album and taking care of the record shop she and Oliver still owned. Now being stuck so far away, Rosanna missed how flexible her schedules used to be where she'd be able to travel entire tours with them and work on the road. Now she was grounded and could only travel now and then.

  "Yer favourite is still on the setlist," Alex mentioned as Rosanna continued to drive back to her townhouse.

  "I'm glad," Rosanna said, breaking a smile.

  "Are y' gonna be there tomorrow night?" Alex asked hopefully, looking over at her as her eyes lingered on the road, her hands resting at the base of the steering wheel.

  "Course I am," Rosanna said, "I've missed too many already." It was somewhere in the late evening when they arrived at Rosanna's doorstep, carrying Alex's gigantic bags into the house and dropping them by the foot of the bed.

"Come here," Alex smiled and grabbed Rosanna's waist, pulling her down and onto the bed with him, lying beneath her as her hair hung like vines over his face. Reaching a hand up, he brushed those few strands behind her ear and pulled them all to sit over one shoulder. "I missed you so much," he hummed as his arms fell back to her waist. Her face had only remained in his memory for the past two months and every time he was separated from her he managed to forget just how beautiful he found her. His memory always tumbling short of reality and photos never did her all justice either. "I thought of you every day."

Rosanna smiled and leaned closer to him, her chest brushing his as her hand ran through the dark locks of his hair. "Well aren't you just a sappy romantic?" she teased him and let her eyes fall to every inch of his face and down to his neck where he was still wearing the silver chain she'd bought him all those years ago.

  Alex let out a soft chuckle and moved his head up to kiss her. His lips starving as he pulled her in so deep he could've swallowed her whole. His tongue searching for something unspoken as it explored her mouth that he knew all too well. Rosanna began giggling as Alex trailed kisses down her neck, hitting all of her ticklish spots and nuzzling into her with a grin on his lips. The bristly hairs of his beard grazed her skin as he slid an arm around her waist and gently spun her so that she was beneath him. Mumbling something incoherent into her neck as he slid both his hands up her arms and interlocked their fingers, holding her hands by her head as he made his way back to her lips.

"I want you," he said onto the corner of her lips, voice breathless and deep.

"Right now?" Rosanna asked, feeling his weight on her body increase.

"Only if you want to," Alex said and looked down at her, studying the wavering pools of coffee that were her eyes. Rosanna bit her lip and felt her stomach flip inside her, one of Alex's legs being situated between her own playing as a heavy influence on her decision.

Rosanna's fingertips grazed over the cold metal of the chain still around Alex's neck, tracing the delicate rings one by one. His collar bone raised up and down with each of his panting breaths, small beads of sweat decorating his pale skin. "I can't believe you still wore this," Rosanna said quietly as she lay propped up on her side beside him as he lay exhausted and satisfied under the covers.

"What do you mean?" Alex asked in a deep, hoarse voice, his hand stroking her hip ever so gently.

"You wore this even when we were apart," Rosanna said even quieter, almost regretting that she brought it up after realising what memories it linked back to.