Almost Here.
Skins.
One shot. Naomi, Katie & Emily.
The bitter cold breeze immediately hits my face as I step outside, I take a few steps onto the gravel path, take a seat on the nearby bench and search for my cigarettes. I'm successful and place one in my mouth before fumbling around with my lighter, sighing quietly as if I can feel small relief drain from my body. It's my first smoke in four months and it doesn't quite taste the same but something in the back of my head told me I'd cave in today, so in between the mad rush that had occurred earlier in the morning, I sneakily helped myself to two out of Effy's packet. Now, as I tilt my head back and blow some smoke into the air, I'm glad I did.
"Emily will fucking kill you if she sees you with that." Katie Fitch smiled, plonking herself down on the bench next to me. I take one last smoke before I flick my cigarette behind me. Emily would kill me. Four months ago I agreed to give up, Emily hates it & we both agreed it would free up a lot of money for today as well as our future. She was right, she's always right. "You nervous?"
"Shitting myself." I answer honestly, chewing my bottom lip. "You worried I'd done a runner?" I ask, based on the speed she followed me out here, which was pretty damn quick.
"Gay not stupid, babes." She chuckled, I did too. "My Mum actually ordered me out here to get you, she's being a right pain in my arse today."
"Never." My sarcastic tone slips from my lips. For as long as I've known Jenna Fitch, she's always been a right pain in my arse, a big one. As much as that pain had eased off in the last few years, it always had the tendency to pop back whenever it fancied. Today it was in overdrive. Something I could really do without. I peek down at my phone, running my thumb gently over the screensaver picture of me & Emily, in Cyprus, fourteen months ago. It had become one of my favourite pictures of us. A beautiful sunset behind us, on the beach, where we spent the most perfect evening, her arm tightly tucked around my waist, my lips pressed gently against her tanned cheek, her smile was beaming. Gorgeous. My stomach flutters at the mere thought of My beautiful soon-to-be-Wife. "How's Emily?"
"Beautiful." She answered, the flutters in my stomach continuing. Emily always got that reaction out of me, whether it be first thing in the morning, middle of the day or last thing at night, she takes my breath away. "You've landed on your feet with a Fitch!" She nudged me out my thoughts. I jokingly tell her to fuck off and we sit for a few seconds, in complete silence before she finds her voice again. A serious one. "You have nothing to be nervous about, you know? Ems wants this, wants you more than anything."
"I know." I nod in agreement. Ever since I proposed, on that beach in Cyprus, nothing and no one could of removed the smile that plastered across Emily's face. When we got back, she couldn't help herself from telling people, anyone who would listen sometimes but I enjoyed sitting back and look on as she so happily revealed that night to everyone. "I want this too, more than anything."
"So, why the nerves?"
"I have this amazing ability to screw things up." I admit truthfully. I had plenty practise, I was good at it, almost the expert. "Usually when I want something this much, I never get it."
"Not this time." She says with confidence. "Don't think anything is gonna stop Em marrying you. She was like a kid at Christmas this morning."
"Jesus." I laugh, knowing her excitement had been building more & more in recent weeks. I could only imagine what she would of been like this morning. "Did she get my present?"
During the crazy rush of this morning, I sent Effy round to Katie's with the present I'd bought for my girlfriend. Three weeks ago we were shopping in town and a beautiful silver bracelet caught Emily's eye. Just by the look on her face, I could tell she loved it. I decided there and then that I would come back and buy it for today. I wanted it to be her something new.
"She's wearing it." Her sister smiled, continuing. "She said it was expensive."
"She's worth it."
"She really brings out the softy in you, doesn't she?"
"Maybe." I reply, tucking my lip under my tooth. "Emily brings out a lot in me, all of it good."
"You don't need to be nervous,"
"I'll relax when she's here." I reply, glancing at the time on my phone. She'd be due to arrive in ten minutes. "There's still time for her to find someone better." I joke.
"Ha, fuck off Campbell!" Katie laughs at my attempts to forget the nerves sitting in my head. "Emily thinks the sun shines from your fanny, always has, always will."
"Such a way with words Katie."
"You know it's true." She continues. "I knew she loved you, right from the first moment she bloody bumped into you at school. All the way home she talked about you, it got on my tits-"
"Can't help it if I leave that sort of impression on people." I grin, Katie screws her face up in playful disgust. I love how we are now. Friends, like proper friends & in less than an hour, she'd officially be family. She wouldn't like to admit it but I have much more in common with Katie Fitch than she'd ever let anyone believe. Of course, our biggest similarity was our love for Emily. "Katie?"
"Hmm?"
"Thanks."
"What you thanking me for?" She frowned in confusion, vainly checking her appearance in the little pocket mirror she had taken out of her bag. I let her carry on for a few seconds longer, finding it amusing and once she realised I had stopped talking, she clicked shut her reflection.
"Accepting me." I reply simply. "Accepting me with Em."
"Turns out you're alright really." She tried her best to not allow her lips to curve into some kind of smile. I learnt a while ago that Katie didn't do this nice stuff often, so I took any compliment gratefully. Her acceptance meant a lot to me. "You hurt her again and I will kill you though."
I expected no less than that.
"Gay, not stupid remember?" I laughed, mocking her earlier comment. "I won't ever hurt Emily again, you have my word."
"I know. I know you won't." She replied, honestly. "I was always so desperate to pick faults with you, to convince myself that Emily deserved better, in the crazy hope that she would somehow see it too, I was too busy doing that to realise that the sort of person I hoped she'd end up with was right here all along." I opened my mouth to express my shock at what was coming out of her mouth, but before I could find any words, Katie got there first. "Everyone sees the way you look at her. You look at her like she's the only person in the world. You worship the ground she walks on, you make her smile that stupid goofy smile that she's always got on her face. You're the one she never stops talking about, you're the one that's always going to be there, to protect her, to make her happy, to give her the family she wants. You adore her & she adores you, the two of you are sickeningly in love it makes me wanna hurl at times but if I ever end up with half of what you guys have, I'll be happy."
"I paid to have this done!" I half laugh through my teary eyes, dabbing them with a tissue in a desperate attempt not to ruin my make up before Emily had even got here. Katie tuts with a smile and takes the tissue from me, lightly and carefully running her thumb under my eyes to brush any stray tears.
"You were robbed you know, this is fucking awful!" She teases me and once again, I verbally insult her. "I'm joking, Naomi. You look stunning."
"Thanks. But hands off yeah-" I jokingly slap her hand away from my face. "-I'm about to become a married woman."
"You wish, babes!" She laughs aloud, we both do. "So, are you ready to marry into this crazy fucking family or what?"
"Ready as I'll ever be." I step up from the bench & start to walk back down the gravel path, towards the church where everyone is patiently waiting. In just a few minutes, Emily would be here, with me & we'd commit to each other forever, the flutters in my stomach were reappearing when Katie's voice turned my head around just in time to catch whatever it was she had tossed in my direction.
"Mints!" She confirms, catching up with me. "You may look stunning but you stink of fags & like I said, Ems will kill you."