Valentines in a Trendy London Flat

Mark uncrossed and crossed his legs. He pushed his chest forward and up. One hand was on his knee with his fingers splayed and the palm raised and the other hand played with his hair. "Louise, are you still seeing that child?"

Louise had her legs wide apart and her pelvis thrust towards Mark. Her arms stretched along the top of the comfortable couch so that she appeared to take up the entire three spaces by herself. She half heartedly hid a mocking smile. "He's hardly a child, Mark. He's seventeen. And yes, we are still seeing each other."

Mark tucked his hair behind his ears. The movement of his arms lifted his top several inches and revealed his navel. He caught Louise looking at it and hurriedly pulled his top back down. "Well I think there's something wrong with it, Louise. It makes me very uncomfortable.

Louise scratched her belly slowly and deliberately. She dug a finger into her own navel and poked around in there. "You were the one who wanted an open marriage. You practically begged me for it."

"Well this is hardly what I had in mind, is it?" Mark pointedly shifted on the chair to direct his body away from Louise and pouted.

Louise rolled her eyes and sighed. Mark tried to ignore the all too familiar sound, but his pout slipped. It returned, briefly, but it no longer felt natural. "Mark, what do you want from me? First you want an open marriage, even when I tell you it's only going to cause problems. Now you don't want me to see other people. How am I supposed to keep you happy when you don't even know what you want?"

Mark turned his body back towards Louise and put his hands on his hips. He raised his voice and said "I know what I don't want though."

"Oh yes, you always know that, don't you? Half of London knows what you don't want."

Mark's eyes flashed in the living room light as he opened them wide in surprise and then narrowed them quickly in a controlled display of resentment. He made as if to say something and then markedly stopped and turned his head to the side. He swallowed with force and concentrated hard on not crying.

"Oh god, now you're giving me the silent treatment." Louise sank back into the couch and shook her head slowly. "I don't believe it," she said. After she'd shook her head for long enough and punctuated her disbelief with a few more sighs she slapped a hand hard on to the cushion beside herself. Because the cushion was soft it didn't make much of a sound. Louise stood up, and headed towards the door.

"I have to get out of here," she said. "This is the worst valentines day ever."

When she opened the door Mark clapped enthusiastically. "That was great," he said, a huge grin all over his face. "Now this time I'll be the angry husband and you be the wife."