"When will I see you again?" Kevin asked his girlfriend Saturday morning, pulling her in for another hug. They'd had a nice few days together in Brighton, and they'd hung out with her friends last night, but it had been a few weeks since she'd come down to Broadstairs to see him.
"I've got Tuesday off," Stephanie started to answer, giggling when he kissed her neck and pulled her in closer.
"I can't, I have korfball," he said with a disappointed groan.
She gave him a smile before she pulled him up to kiss him on the lips. "That's a shame," she said sympathetically, kissing him again.
"You can say that again," her boyfriend agreed. It was bad enough he was about to head home now after two days together, but to miss out on seeing her on a day off during the week was torture.
"I've got Saturday off as well with a late on Sunday, you could come over then?" Stephanie suggested now, in between kisses, her fingers running through his hair.
"So, I have to travel again?" Kevin couldn't help asking a little annoyed, pulling away from her now. So far, she'd only come down to Broadstairs twice and he'd made all other trips to Brighton. He didn't mind the travelling itself, but it was starting to bug him that he was having to pay for all the train tickets while he didn't have a job yet, and she did.
"I'm sorry baby," she said as alluring as she could, pressing kisses to his cheek and lips. "You know I would if I could, but with my shifts..."
"Yeah, I know. But it's… it's costing me a fortune," he finally came out with what the problem was, sighing deeply.
Stephanie stopped kissing him as she leaned away from him slightly. "Okay, so… I'll pay for your travel next weekend," she offered, not entirely sure what the big deal was.
"Okay… thank you," Kevin nodded. He still felt a little awkward having to raise the topic and he hoped he wouldn't have to again, any time soon.
"Of course," his girlfriend smiled, going through his hair again, hoping to recover the moment. He gave her a small smile in response, trying to shake off the awkwardness as well. "We'll be fine," Stephanie assured him, leaning in to kiss him again.
He returned them tentatively at first, but then more enthusiastically, wanting to make the most of the time they still had before he wouldn't see her for a week.
The next two weeks the group met up another couple of times. Even though they knew Kevin and Heather normally on training on Tuesday, Bianca planned a small barbecue at the beach for the first Tuesday. Because Heather still wasn't sure about going back to korfball and face Kevin with none of their other friends as back up or distraction, she decided to join the group on the beach.
They then went to the cinema on Thursday, and this time Heather made sure she was sat between Bianca and Mikey. She was perfectly civil to her ex-boyfriend as they met up outside of the cinema and after when they went for an ice cream at Morellis, but she needed to have her distance from him while they were sat in the dark. And Kevin didn't object too much either, giving her the space she needed. It didn't stop him from glancing over at her, to see how she was doing, his thoughts more on her than on the film.
Kevin went to Brighton on Friday night until Sunday morning, and the others went to Canterbury for the day on Saturday. It was getting easier for Heather to be normal around their friends, with her thoughts lingering on her ex a little less sadly every time. As a group they decided they needed another old-fashioned house party on a Friday and, as it happened, Bianca's parents, and neighbours, would be on holiday from next week Thursday, giving them almost two weeks to plan it properly. Bianca made sure to text everyone in their group the date, so she wouldn't forget, and they could have no excuse not to come or make that evening.
As they only had little over one day together, Kevin and Stephanie tried to plan their next few visits ahead a little more, to see who would have to travel and when. And he was pleasantly surprised that she would actually be able to come over to Broadstairs that Wednesday and Thursday.