It's All In My Head
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Chapter 5
At the end of her shift Alex hurried back to the flat to shower and change, opting for a mustard yellow cable knit jumper with the jeans that she had worn that day. The jumper was snug and she was almost worried that it did her breasts too much justice, like she was purposely trying to make them look bloody amazing! Gazing at her reflection in the mirror, she gave a gentle sigh; things were moving fast and she wasn't sure that it was appropriate. Gene Hunt wasn't what she would call her type; he was rough and rugged and had a presence she couldn't remember ever seeing in a man before. He was her boss here in this world, whatever this world may be, but she felt drawn to him, like no matter what else happened this man would be a constant, whilst the rest of the world became a confusing blur he could be the thing that stopped her falling.
The Railway Arms was already filled with the usual suspects by the time Alex arrived there; she gave Nelson a friendly smile and ordered a glass of wine. Not even a minute after the glass had been placed in front of her, Gene was beside her.
"Are you sure you should be drinking? I was surprised you weren't still pissed this morning" Gene joked.
"I wasn't even pissed last night" she lied, chewing her lip briefly before taking a sip of her drink "I was just merry"
"Of course you were love, that's why you invited me in with the promise of coffee, whatever that means these days"
"Coffee means coffee, nothing more"
He smirked, shaking his head as they made their way over to an empty table to sit down "Do you know what a prick tease is Bolls? I'm getting the feeling that the dictionary has a photo of you next to the word"
"Don't be disgusting!" she was trying to keep her face straight, but there was a giggle dying to escape and a grin trying to wriggle its way to her lips.
"No, you are! Wiggling your arse in your fancy jeans…"
Her eyebrows shot up "You've been looking at my arse?"
"Trying to act all professional at work whilst you're secretly giving me the eye…"
"I have not!"
"Face it Bolls, I know a come on when I see one"
"Even if I was trying it on with you, which I am clearly not, you're married anyway"
There it was, she'd done it again and brought up the fact that he had a wife. So far he liked Alex Drake, she was gorgeous and smart and he knew that once she had warmed to the whole team and was one of the gang that she'd have a cracking sense of humour, but she was starting to get on his nerves with the reminders.
"Yeah, you're right, I am married" He stood up, finishing the last mouthful of his pint and heading over to the bar to where Sam was stood.
Alex watched him, fiddling with the stem of her wine glass. Nice going Alex, she thought as he started a conversation with Sam, she had a feeling that she'd pissed him off but there was nothing she could do about it now.
Alex had later been joined by Annie and Sam, and Gene returned to the table a little while after. The night had been spent talking about work; telling each other stories from earlier times in their careers. It was at eleven o'clock that Alex decided to call it a night, she'd drank enough wine to make her a little unsteady on her feet but not enough that she would regret it the next day.
"I suppose I've got to walk you home again then?" Gene asked, sounding like a child that had been asked to take the rubbish out.
She simply nodded, too tired to play another game of flirtatious verbal foreplay with him. After standing, pulling on his coat and necking the last mouthful of his pint, they left The Railway Arms and began to make the short walk to Alexs building, a repeat of the previous night's journey. Two drunken men turned the corner and began heading towards them, Alexs hand instinctively looped around Genes arm like he was a safety blanket. A smile tugged at his lips, even more so when her hand remained where it was when the men had passed by.
"Do you want me to walk you up?" he asked as the stopped outside the door of her building.
She nodded, smiling "That would be nice"
He reached to open the door for her, his free hand resting at the bottom of her back as they went inside. Her skin tingled as she felt the warmth of him through her blouse, and it stayed there the entire way to her door. She thought better than to invite him inside, he'd only politely decline anyway.
"Thank-you for walking me back again" she was smiling sweetly, even as she reached up to cup one cheek with her hand and to lightly kiss the other, not bothering to wipe away the lipstick she'd left on him "Goodnight Gene Hunt"
His mouth twitched into a half smile "Night Alex"
He waited until her door was unlocked and she was inside before he walked away, hands in pockets and shoulder back proudly.
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Gene pulled up outside his house, switching off the engine but not getting out of the car. He wanted a moment of silence before his night went one of two ways, ending one was that he went inside and Ruth was already in bed, he could have another beer and stick the television on for a bit before sleeping on the sofa, whereas ending two was that Ruth would still be awake and would do his head in for a while. The curtains twitched and he turned his head to see Ruth looking out of the living room window at him.
"Bollocks…" he sighed, ending two it was then.
He opened the driver's side door and hauled himself out, heading up the garden path and using his keys to let himself in, and he was surprised that Ruth hadn't put the chain and bolt across just to spite him. He took off his coat and hung it up on one of the hooks in the hallway, going through to the living room and sitting down on the sofa, half a space between himself and his wife.
"You stink of beer" Ruth grimaced and shuffled further down the sofa, shaking her head in disgust when she caught a glimpse at the lipstick mark on his cheek.
He shrugged "Well I have been to the pub, what do you expect?"
"I expect you to be home at a normal time, not swanning off to drink your wages before you've even got them!"
"What would you rather me do, eh?" he snapped, shifting sideways to look at her full on "Do you want me to come straight back here after work and sit in silence with you whilst you watch the soaps? Or would you prefer to just row like we usually do?"
"Piss of Gene!" she was off the sofa, gathering her magazines and cigarettes off the coffee table.
"No Ruth, you can piss off! Why don't you go to your mothers or something? I paid for this house and I'm hardly ever bloody here because I can't stand being around you!"
She dropped the magazines and span around to slap Gene hard across the face. He stayed silent, trying to bite his tongue and not say something even more hurtful than he already had done. He listened to her heavy breathing, having used every ounce of strength in her body to wallop him. It was only once she had recollected her things and made a retreat upstairs that he grabbed his coat and left the house. There was only one place he had in mind to go; he just hoped that she was still awake.
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This August is a crazy month for me, so I might not get a lot of time to write in between work, doing wedding photography, visiting family and fulfilling bridesmaid/wedding planner duties! The next chapter will be up as soon as I can get it done! TPAS x