Becca’s Reviews > Daybreak > Status Update

She swats my hand like it's a fly. "Is this how you usually treat the staff in restaurants?"
I give her my most charming smile. "Only the sexy, grumpy redheads."
"You better tip well."
“Oh, I have a tip you can have," I whisper, watching her bury her face in her hands.
She's blushing when she emerges, the very corners of her mouth turned up. "You're a terrible flirt."
ALEX STOPPPP

“Fuck you for having a birthday. Fuck steak. Fuck lunch as a concept. Fuck frying pans. Fuck recipe websites. Why do I have to read about your uncle's fucking gallstones to read how long to cook a steak for? And fuck the stove, too. It's lying about being on medium. It's on high."
I lean against the doorway, a fond warmth spreading its way through my blood. This is what I want. This is what I want forever.

OPHELIA TRYING TO MAKE ALEX A SPECIAL BIRTHDAY DRINK BUT SHE PUTS TOO MUCH LEMON IN IT AND ALEX TRIES TO PRETEND THAT HE LIKES IT

“You want me to finish so we can go upstairs and fuck."
He looks like he's been caught red-handed, the faintest blush kissing his cheeks. "Do you wanna?"
I fold the entire second slice of toast into my mouth like a piece of bead-based origami, hoping that's answer enough, and he lets out the most wonderful laugh, tossing me over his shoulder, carrying me out of the kitchen, and taking the stairs three at a time.

“Do you want anything for your birthday?" I ask, sitting on the stool at the kitchen island, watching Alex put four slices of bread in the toaster and push the button down.
“You. Backward. Forward. Sideways. In the shower. On my desk."
On his desk. Fuck. My knees press together. “Alex.”
"You're present enough for the next hundred birthdays, Ophelia."

“You're just grumpy, though. I'm depressed. It's a different beast. Depression is exhausting to be around. Grumpiness isn’t.”
“I know it's a different beast, but it's the same love.”
Finally, he meets my eyes. His are full of worry, but I don't need a mirror to know that mine are full of certainty.
“The same love,” he repeats, like it's an unfamiliar concept.

The painting is on the ceiling above Alex's bed. My painting. The mess of fingers and handprints I made while he fucked me in London.
Ophelia: Nice view from the bed
Alex: Something's got to make the lonely nights less lonely
IM SCREMAINGNGG

Ophelia: Damn it. Never mind, then. Gonna shower and take a nap.
Alex: Send pic
That stupid emoji pings through, with the big watery eyes. I laugh, snapping a pic where the towel only just covers me.
Alex: You're so hot, baby.
Ophelia: This shower is definitely big enough for
two.

“She's going to be disappointed," I say, staring at myself in the small mirror above the sink in the examination room.
Alex appears behind me, hands settling on my waist. "She's going to see what I see.”
“Which is?"
“The greatest thing that ever could've happened to me.”
I spin away from the sink to face him. "My dad would've loved you.
This makes him smile.

SHE BROUGHT HIM JELLY BABIES AND HE PULLED HER ONTO HIS LAP