When she got back to Alex's (because Marissa didn't have to call it home in her head) a silence was spread thick over the furnishings. The aroma of stale beer was still faint in the air and soft breathing came from the over-stuffed couch. She didn't dislike the apartment – but it was different, an adventure just like dating Alex was an adventure.
Marissa cared about Alex and, oh – she wasn't lying in bed, but she didn't feel that way that made the difference. Alex made her head spin, but she didn't ground her. And Marissa needed someone to hold her ankles.
It wasn't cold in the living room but she pulled one of the throws around Alex's sleeping shoulders, tucking it gently under one arm and perching on the edge. Marissa reached out for an open beer that looked vaguely fresh and put the bottle to her lips as warm flesh stirred behind her. The beer was warm too.
Marissa had never really drunk beer before she'd met Alex – but then she'd also never lived in a house with less than five rooms, done her own laundry or gone grocery shopping. It put a whole new spin on the term "shopping" and when Alex had invited her, only for Marissa to find herself outside a discount store she couldn't help but admit she had felt almost cheated. They bought detergent and beer and everybody looked stressed.
Marissa decided that she didn't like grocery shopping.
Spending all day in the mall had been tiring, but the good kind that used to leave her feeling buzzed rather than the lethargic, creeping kind that swept over her now when she had been in the house for thirty-seven hours with nothing but housework she was no good at and drinking which she was tiring of. There was only so much novelty when nobody told you to stop.
It was fun being with Alex, but when she woke up she had to change the bed sheets herself. It was great being able to drink whenever she wanted, but she had to clean up or live in a beer-smelling hovel.
For a day she had felt like her old self – the Marissa who hadn't given a thought to her troubles because they hadn't been on the front page of any paper or running the biggest company in Newport. She had felt part of something, even if she was a third wheel to Seth and Summer, because it wasn't as if she was with Ryan – they were third wheels together.
It was like old times that they had never had the chance to experience the first time around.
Alex shifted onto her back, bleary eyes gazing up at Marissa.
"Hey." She drifted.
"Hey, did I wake you?"
"No…" Alex rubbed an eye, "I was waiting for you to get in…" She gestured vaguely to the cold, discarded take-out.
"We'll eat it for breakfast." Marissa promised, fingers lazily grazing the other girl's arm.
"Okay," she nodded, "I'm just gonna to go bed." Alex stretched out her arms pulling herself up next to Marissa. She hesitated before leaning forward for an awkward kiss that gently ricocheted off Marissa's lips, slipping slightly at the corners.
Marissa offered back a tight smile.
"I'm, I'm just going to take a shower." She apologised. "I'll try be quiet." She planted another chaste kiss on Alex's cheek, pulling her lithe form away from the couch and into the next room.
Slowly – and on her own – Alex made her way to bed, wondering how many inches would be marked out on the mattress between them.