. international baby

[theo lovett]

"I promise it's not that hot a uniform!" He rubs his arm where she's punched it, feigning pain. He pulls up a chair, batting a balloon out of the way to reach for a marshmallow and chewing this thoughtfully. "Come on, then give me an insight on the dates you're used to. Helicopter flights, private dining in the hottest restaurants, surprise trips to Fuji, I'm sure it's all a lot more impressive than a few bowls of candy and some confetti."

[dolly weathers]

There was something about pizza that made it good even when it was a little cold. "Do you want a surprise trip to Fiji?" She plops down in a chair and crosses her legs, "I can't do Fiji now but maybe a pool with some palm tree floaties?" The vodka to fruit punch ratio is off and when she takes a sip, her face wrinkles. "Maybe I just like this because it's you."

[theo lovett]

"I'm good with LA for now," he says, "I don't think I'm ready to be your sugar baby just yet." His brow furrows at her next statement, his full lip protruding into a pout. "You don't think this is an objectively good idea? I don't want you to be blindsided by my devilish good looks Dolly, I want you to want me for me."

[dolly weathers]

She takes a handful of candy floss and shoves it into her mouth, "that's good. I wanted to be the sugar baby anyway." She laughs at him and shakes her head, "I mean. I think it's a good idea, but my dentist might have another idea." Her tongue has turned blue from all the candy she's eaten and even though her tongue is raw with sugar, she doesn't stop shoving it in her mouth. "I want you for you. But you want me for my stupid wine cellar and hot tub."

[theo lovett]

Theo squishes a Skittle between thumb and forefinger before he eats it, a habit carried through from childhood. "Well, sugar I can manage," he says, taking a long swig of the punch and forcing himself not to flinch. "Yeah, duh. I mean look at you," he gestures at her, "what else could I be after?"

[dolly weathers]

Dolly chew off each end of a Twizzler and sticks it in her drink to sip like a straw, "yeah, just look at me." The bitter vodka feels like it's punching her in the throat and she coughs, "your brother is the bartender?"

[theo lovett]

He laughs watching her slurp through a Twizzler. It was bizarre to see her do things he had done as a kid, when he could only imagine her childhood as one filled with caviar and foie gras. Even rich people had Twizzlers. "Yeah, his would be stronger, promise," he grins, taking another swig and resisting the urge to retch. "You didn't answer my question, tell me about your best and worst dates."

[dolly weathers]

She laughs and takes another big sip. She shrugs when she thinks about her best and worst dates. At her age, she thought she hadn't had too many dates. There was Damien as well as a few inbetween, and they'd all made her roll her eyes. "Once I came home and there was like a million roses in here," she spreads her arms and looks at the room, "I hate roses. I hate their smell and how they wilt so quickly." She unwraps a lollipop and sticks it in her mouth, "and then one time I took myself to get this little cat. Little Willie. And that was a pretty good date with just me."

[theo lovett]

"Good to know," he says, though he has never given a girl flowers in his life, much less filled their house with them. "Oh yeah, where is he?" he asks, looking over his shoulder to see if he could catch a glimpse of the cat. No such luck. His eyes fall to the lollipop between her lips, and he has to clear his throat. "What do you wanna do now?"

[dolly weathers]

"Upstairs in bed," she pulls the cherry flavoured lollipop from her lips and finishes her drink. It wasn't even supper time, there was so much time to do anything. She bites the hard candy and pushes it between her cheek and molars, "so many things. I want to tear open the pinata, but I also want to make out."

[theo lovett]

The lollipop leaves a red tinted sheen across her lips and it's too much for him to resist, he leans over and kisses her, the plastic lollipop stick pressing into his cheek as he does so. He licks his lips after, grinning at the faint cherry taste. "Making out sounds fun. Wanna make out in the bouncy castle? I should have gotten a ball pit."

[dolly weathers]

She presses her lips to his and smiles up at him, "I wanna make out in the bouncy castle." Dolly pushes herself off the chair and refills her drink, only to swallow it down with a single gulp. "Here, turn around," she demands and clumsily anchors herself on his back when he does so. Her knees press into his side and she points her lollipop forward, "to the castle, steed."

[theo lovett]

He does as he's told, getting up and turning around, crouching slightly to give her a better chance of clambering up. "Oof," he says, pretending to struggle under her weight for a moment, only to straighten up and follow the direction of the lollipop. She hardly feels like anything on his back, and he squeezes her legs against himself, enjoying the closeness. Eventually he reluctantly lets her down, holding the net curtain that acted as a door open for her. "M'lady."

[dolly weathers]

She rests her chin on top of his fluffy head and fixes herself with the widest smile. She feels so happy. A bit buzzed with the world's worst fruit punch... but so happy. She gives his chest a pat and leans forward to peck him on the cheek before she slides off his back, "ohh, such a good horsey." Inside she bounces a little with the lollipop in her mouth, jumping off one foot and landing on the next. "My nanny would yell at me for this," she says, pulling the candy from her mouth, "'Dolly Margaret! You get that lolly from your mouth or you'll choke."

[theo lovett]

"As a medical professional, your nanny would be right," he says, swiping the lolly from her and popping it into his own mouth. "Sharing saliva in a pandemic is also a no no, but I'm giving us an exemption for that." Eye wateringly sweet fake cherry flavour spreads across his tongue, mingling with the aftertaste from that lethal punch. He feels buzzed but aware, hyper aware even, loving every second of this day. He falls onto his back on the floor of the inflatable, staring up at the ceiling again. "Tell me about your classes this morning, college girl. What did you learn?"