Free 7 Years Bad Sex by Nicky Wells Page B

cup. Sitting at the kitchen table, he was surrounded by sheet music and pens, and his laptop was perched on a stack of books with his favourite music transcription program open and waiting. Alex was working. Casey smiled to herself. If Alex was working, he was happy. And that was good.
    She was happy, too. Semi-delirious, in fact. The unexpected release of the previous evening had been gratifying in more than one respect. Casey felt immensely reassured to know all her bits were still in perfect working order. There was nothing wrong with either of them. They had gone to sleep happier and more relaxed than they had for days, even if perhaps their union hadn’t been strictly speaking of the marital kind. Who cared?
    In fact, Casey felt so buoyed by happy hormones that she had concocted a new plan. One that was inspired by a combination of trying on her black lacy underwear the other day and watching that porn flick. One that she would never previously have considered but was now totally hooked on. However, she didn’t want to give herself away, so she took care to arrange her face in a neutral expression.
    ‘You going to be working for some time?’ she asked innocently.
    ‘Huh?’ Alex looked up, clearly distracted, then computed her question. ‘Oh, yeah. If you don’t mind. I feel inspired today.’
    ‘I bet,’ Casey whispered to herself. Aloud, she said, ‘Do you want another cup of tea?’
    ‘Yes, please. If you’re making one.’
    ‘Have you had breakfast at all?’
    ‘Huh?’
    Casey laughed. Alex in working mode was like the proverbial genius, all distracted and in faraway places. She was reasonably sure that he hadn’t eaten. Nor had he got dressed or shaved.
    ‘Toast? Bacon?’ she suggested cheerfully.
    ‘Err yeah, why not.’ Alex waggled his fingers in a ‘go for it’ gesture.
    Casey busied herself making breakfast. All the while her mind was formulating her plan, and she couldn’t wait to get out of the house. Actually, she couldn’t wait to get back into the house and see the look on Alex’s face.
    ‘I’m off,’ she announced at last. ‘I’m going for a quick trip to outer space. You don’t mind?’
    ‘What? No, of course not. Have a great day.’
    Alex hadn’t listened to a word she said, but it didn’t matter. The surprise would be awesome.
     
    ~Alex~
     
    The front door slammed, and Alex gave a start. He hadn’t stopped working since six a.m., and he had only a vague recollection of Casey getting up, fixing him breakfast, and then rushing out. It appeared she was back, although it was only—he checked the time on his laptop—noon. It wasn’t like Casey to be back so soon. She normally took ages to do whatever it was she did. Besides, hadn’t she said something about checking out a space? He had assumed she was looking at new venues for their private music teaching business.
    In their spare time, when they weren’t practicing, recording, or performing, they gave singing and drumming lessons to bolster the unpredictable and relatively slim income they received from the royalties for Blue Heart’s music. While the band was destined for great things, they couldn’t quite make a living out of it yet, and they didn’t want to have to rely on cover gigs at the weekend for much longer. Hence the lessons business. Anyway, that was what he thought Casey had been up to. But she was back already. Maybe it hadn’t gone well.
    ‘Everything all right?’ he called out.
    ‘Perfect.’ Casey didn’t stop to talk to him but raced up the stairs instead.
    Alex shrugged and read through his most recent composition. He was calling it ‘Twisted Love’, and it was a fast song with a pounding beat. A love song, but not of the traditional kind. He wondered what Casey and the rest of the band would make of it.
    He was tapping at the keyboard to make some adjustments to his arrangements when Casey stepped into the kitchen.
    ‘Hello, gorgeous,’ she murmured. ‘I hear you’ve been