"Need a hand?"
Emily's skin got goose bumps as the familiar voice came from behind her
"There you are" said Spencer who also had her back to the voice
Both women started to turn around
"Em this is my cousin..."
"Harley" Emily finished Spencer's sentence
Harley and Emily's eyes locked onto each other as a shy smile spread across both their faces.
"You two know each other?" Spencer looked stunned as she looked from her best-friend to her cousin
"Yeah" they both said in unison
"I…er...helped Emily change a flat tire" Harley said as she looked back to her cousin scratching the back of her neck as she spoke.
Flashback to the day before
Emily was staring down the road when she spotted a tall pale woman walking along
"Em!" Hanna yelled
"Shit" Emily cursed but it was too late, she tried to swerve the pothole but hit it with the rear back tire of the car.
Thud, Thud.
"Damn it. I think it's flat..." Emily sighed, she pulled the vehicle over.
"Well maybe if you weren't checking out that girl walking along back there and watching the road instead" Hanna said
"I know, I know" Emily sighed again
"How long has it been?" Hanna asked
"How long has what been?" Emily said as she unclipped her seatbelt getting ready to get out and check the tire
"Sex" Hanna said bluntly
"I don't want to talk about that right now. I have to get out and check if we need a tow truck" Emily snapped
"Fine" Hanna said putting her hands up as if surrendering
Emily shot her friend a glance as she got out of the car 'I know Hanna means well' she thought to herself as she walked around the back of the car to inspect the damage."Damn it" She said as she kicked some dirt "Great, just what I needed..." she said to herself
"Need a hand?"
Emily looked to where the voice had come from. It was the pale woman she was checking out before. Emily felt her checks grow warm as she blushed. The woman smiled and started to blush too.
"Umm..." Emily managed to finally get out
"Do you know how to change a tire? Cause I'd say that one's stuffed" the mousey brown haired woman asked Emily
This time Emily realised she had an accent. Emily blinked at the woman then realised she had just been staring, she looked back at the flat tire.
"What's taking so long?" Hanna moaned as she got out of the car
Emily snapped back to reality finally on hearing Hanna's voice,"It's flat" she replied
Hanna looked up and saw the woman standing next to her best-friend, she looked between the two of them and then Hanna smirked at Emily.
"So do you want me to call Travis?" Hanna looked at Emily
"Umm…?" Emily started blushing again at Hanna's smirk
"I can change it, if you like?" the woman offered looking first at Emily then Hanna
"Well you did cause it" Hanna said as she looked at Emily with a glint in her eye
The woman was hot from walking, so she decided to pour her water bottle all over her face and head just as a car went past. She looked up and saw the car swerve, then heard the bang as it hit the pothole.
"Are you trying to win a wet tee-shirt competition?"
"Hanna!" Emily said as she blushed even more
Hanna burst out laughing causing both women to blush even more. They locked eyes and a smile started to form across both their faces.
"So...Um…Do you have a spare in the boot?" the woman choked out trying to break the awkwardness
Hanna and Emily looked at each other then back at the woman.
"Boot?" Hanna asked puzzled
"Umm what do you guys call it here?...The trunk?" the woman said
"So where are you from?" Hanna asked
"Australia" the woman replied "I thought you could tell from my accent"
"I thought that but I wasn't sure" Hanna said "I'm Hanna and this is Emily"
"Harley" the woman replied, this time holding her hand out to shake both women's hands.
As Emily took the woman's hand and shook it, butterflies started flapping wildly in her stomach. She coughed trying to hide her blush behind her other hand covering her mouth.
"Right the trunk. I will just go pop it now"
Hanna watched Emily walk around to the front of the car, she noticed Harley staring at her best-friend.
"She is single" Hanna whispered to the Australian
"Yer…Um..." Harley mumbled looking down at her shoes
Pop. They heard the trunk latch release.
Harley opened the trunk "I'll er get the spare out..." she said into the trunk, hoping to hide her blushing.
Emily stood near the driver's door as she looked over at Hanna who smiled then winked at her.
"Have you put the handbrake on?" Harley asked Emily
"Handbrake?" Emily looked puzzled again
"Oh umm what is it called?...Parking brake?"
"Oh yeah. Just a sec, I'll put it on now"
Harley looked between Hanna and Emily as she put the spare tire on the ground. "I take it neither of you know how to do this?"
Hanna shrugged "I have never needed to. My boyfriend has always done it for me or I just ring Travis to bring his tow truck"
Emily just blushed again and looked down at her feet. She was so grateful for her tan skin and hoped the Australian didn't notice her cheeks turning red again
Hanna's phone started ringing "Excuse me" she said as she answered it and walked away from the two other women.
"Do you want me to show you how you do it? So you know for next time?" Harley offered looking at Emily
"Sure" Emily said "Are you a mechanic?"
"No, there is just a lot of potholes in Australia. I've had a lot of practice" the Australian chuckled
Emily smiled then nodded
"Hand me the wheel brace?" Harley asked as she went about removing the hub cap
Emily finally took the time to really look at the Australians features. They were familiar but she couldn't place them.
"The metal cross thingy?" Harley asked again
"Oh right" Emily stepped forward and gave it to her "Sorry"
"It's cool" Harley said "Come stand next to me, but first get the jack out, it should be in where the wheel was"
"Got it" Emily handed it to the familiar looking woman "Don't you jack it up first?"
"No its best to start undoing the lugs while the wheel won't move" Harley said as she put the brace over one of the lugs. "Lefty loosey. Righty tighty"
"What?" Emily asked
"Oh sorry, it's my way of remembering which way to turn it" the Australian blushed
"That makes sense" Emily replied and shrugged
"I've loosened the first one, now it's your turn"
"Okay" Emily said as she took a step forward "Lefty loose?" she looked at the pale woman
"Yep, just do it so it comes loose"
"Hey this isn't that so hard" Emily said as the wheel brace moved
"Well you do the rest then, if you need any help just ask" Harley said as she laughed
'That laugh' Emily thought 'it's so familiar' "Have you been in Rosewood long?" she asked as she moved to the next lug
"No. I came to visit some family." the Australian said quickly as she watched Emily
Emily could sense her last question must have hit a nerve so she just went about what she was doing. She was struggling with the last lug, Harley reached over Emily placing her pale hands over the tanner woman's and they turned the brace together. Emily's breath hitched as she felt the other woman's breath on her neck and the warmth of her body behind her own. This time the butterflies started to head south from her stomach.
"Ur…um….sorry" Harley said as she stepped back "You were struggling so I thought I would help. I didn't mean to get in your personal space" She gave Emily a crooked smile.
"It's…it's…fine" Emily stuttered out. 'Pull yourself together' she thought to herself.
Hanna was still talking on the phone but she noticed the two other women's awkward interaction and smiled to herself. She then went back to her phone conversation but kept watching the pair.
"Now they are loose we need to put the jack under the car in the right spot" Harley said as she looked at Emily "I don't want you to ruin your um nice clothes for this" she took off the button up plaid shirt she was wearing and laid it on the ground leaving her wearing a still wet figure hugging white tee-shirt on.
Emily blushed "Thanks" 'Who said chivalry was dead?' she thought to herself
"See that spot under there, where those groves are?"
"Yeah?" Emily said not really sounding convincing
"You need to um get right on the ground. Just lay on my shirt so you don't get dirty" she looked into the raven haired woman's brown eyes
Emily could swear she knew this girl 'But I don't know any Australians' she thought.
They both laid down till they were shoulder to shoulder on their backs half under the car. When their skin brushed together Emily felt a tingle all over her body. She shook off the feeling and tried really hard to listen to what the other woman was saying.
Hanna looked over again. She had finished talking on the phone and saw the two women under the car. She quietly snapped a photo of them and sent it to Aria with the caption 'Someone is finally going to get laid tonight' with a wink face.
She chuckled to herself.
Aria wrote straight back
-Who is that?-Ar
-Emily and her knight in shining cargo shorts. She is Australian –H
-Why are they under the car?-Ar
-Her Knight is showing her how to fix a flat tire. Must be a lesbian thing-H
-How do you know she is gay?-Ar
-Duh her clothes. Plus she is totally checking Em out-H
-Clothes don't mean she is gay Hanna-Ar
-Yeah but taking off your shirt so quote 'you don't ruin your nice clothes' is-H
-What! She has no top on?-Ar
-She has a t-shirt on, but she looks totally buff under it-H
-Maybe… Just don't blow it for Em it's been awhile-Ar
-I know that's why we got the flat in the first place. Em was totally checking her out and hit a stupid pothole. I told Cargo shorts Em is single, she blushed pretty bad-H
-Be nice Han. I'll tell Spencer you guys are running late and why-Ar
-Oh shit. Yeah the party. Thanks I'll try get these love birds out from under the car and back on the road-H
-Ok. Good luck :)-Ar
Hanna looked up from her phone. Both woman were staring into each other's eyes, but had somehow managed to get the flat tire off and the spare tire on. They were busy in the process of talking and taking the jack out.
"Em remember we have a party to get to"
Emily spun her head round towards Hanna "Shit" she said as she looked at her watch
"It's all good" Harley said "5 minutes and you will be back on the road" She smiled
Emily and Harley finished with the spare. They then put the flat tire, wheel brace and jack into the trunk
"That wasn't so hard was it?" the Australian asked Emily
"No, next time I can probably do it myself" Emily gushed "Thankyou" 'Jeeze I know this girl' she thought 'Her mannerisms, her looks, her laugh' she shook the thought when the Australian spoke again
"No worries, just doing my good turn for the day" Harley smiled at Emily then she looked over towards Hanna "Well you had better get going, it looks like Hanna is getting impatient and is ready to go to that party" she said as she turned back to look at Emily
"Thanks again" Emily said taking the paler woman's hand in her own and shaking it.
Harley gave Emily's hand a slight squeeze before letting go. The butterflies went crazy again in Emily's stomach. Emily smiled and Harley smiled back.
"See you round" the Australian said as she picked up her shirt off the ground, flicked it before putting in her bag, she gave a small wave, then started walking down the road.
Emily put the car into drive and started heading towards the Hastings. She looked at the time "Shit, Spencer is going to kill us"
Hanna laughed "It's cool, I texted Aria and told her about the situation"
"Oh good" Emily breathed a sigh of relief
"Plus we are not that late. If Cargo shorts hadn't been so helpful we would have missed the party altogether"
"Cargo shorts?" Emily raised an eyebrow and looked at Hanna
"What?" Hanna said trying to sound innocent "She was totally into you Em"
"She was not. She was just doing her good turn for the day" Emily huffed back
"Oh My God" Hanna said "You need to get your gay-dar fixed. She was SO... hitting on you"
"Was she?" Emily asked not so convinced
"I told her you are single and she went really, really red" Hanna said "You can thank me later"
"You did WHAT?" Emily said raising her voice "Hanna not every woman in cargo shorts is gay"
"Yeah well how many stare at you all googly eyed and blush every 5 seconds if they are not?" Hanna shot back
"I…ar….I…" Emily sputtered out
"Yeah as I said, you can thank me later" Hanna turned folded her arms across her chest and looked out the window
Emily thought about the woman that had helped her. She was so patient and caring showing and explaining every step till Emily understood, never once making her feel stupid or patronising her. The butterflies came back when she started thinking about Harley's pale hands on her tan ones. She shivered when she thought about the Australians breath on her neck.
It was silent till they got to the Hastings residence
Emily quickly snapped out of her thoughts when Hanna started talking
"You did get her number, right Em?"
"I…ar…Shit, no"
"Em seriously? No wonder it's been so long" Hanna rolled her eyes
"Damn it" Emily said as she shut her car door, then trudged up to the front door
"Hey" Spencer said as she opened the door
"Hey" Emily and Hanna replied in unison
"Em can you go help Aria, she is in the den?" Spencer asked
"Sure" Emily said with a tone of disappointment in her voice, she walked off to find Aria.
"What's got her so down?" Spencer asked Hanna as she watched her friend walk off hunched over
"She forgot to ask for the Knights number" Hanna said as she too watched Emily shuffle off
"Knight's number?" Spencer raised an eyebrow in question
"Yeah, long story" Hanna said "Don't ask. Anyway, what are we doing here? I thought you said this was a party. Where are all the people?"
"I said could you help set up a party tonight, the party isn't until tomorrow" Spencer said stressing out help and set up
"Oh..." Hanna said "But we still get to come right?"
"Sure, if you want to" Spencer said "Come help me out the back, I need these tables set up"
"Okay" Hanna groaned "This better be a good party Spence..."
Emily found Aria in the den. She was trying to attach balloons to the ceiling, she was standing on a chair and was on tippy toes reaching her full length. Emily started to giggle at her shorter best-friend.
Aria heard her and said "How about instead of laughing you get up here and do this? You're taller"
"Alright, alright" Emily stopped laughing and went to help Aria
"So…" Aria said as she handed Emily some more balloons and sticky tape "How's your Knight in cargo shorts?" She wagged her eyebrows
"Hanna" Emily sighed "Good but I will probably never see her again..."
"What? Why?" Aria asked shocked
"I forgot to get her number..." Emily said to her shoes
"Oh..." Aria said as she nodded slowly "You never know, fate might bring you together again. I mean it must have been fate that put that pothole there, right Em?"
"I guess" Emily said as she stuck more balloons to ceiling "How did we get roped into helping Spencer again?" She asked slightly puzzled
"I am still trying to work that out" laughed Aria
End Flashback
Emily got to the party late Saturday.
"Em I am so glad you are here, there is someone I want you to meet" Spencer said as she gave her best-friend a hug. Spencer grabbed the tan woman's hand and led her through the mass of people.
"SPENCER" Mrs Hastings yelled out, getting her daughter's attention"Can you go get some more platters out please?"
"Sure Mom" Spencer yelled back "Come help me?" She turned to Emily
"Sure" Emily replied
Both women were busy looking in the fridge when the voice said
"Need a hand?"
"So you are the Knight in cargo shorts" Spencer laughed "I should have realised" she shook her head
"What?" Harley blushed and shot her cousin a look
'Of course' Emily thought, she looked from Spencer to Harley and back again. 'Now I see it.' Both women were similar height and build although Harley had more muscle and height than Spencer. They had the same shape eyes but Harley's were blue not brown like Spencers. They had a similar side profile. Their hair was a different colour, Spencer's had a wave but Harley's was straight.
"You, the BIG HERO come to save the day, for two damsels in distress" Spencer exaggerated
Emily snapped out of her thoughts when she heard Spencers mocking tone
"What was I supposed to do?" Harley snapped at her cousin "They needed help, I helped"
The two cousins glared at each other.
'Yep they definitely are alike' Emily thought to herself
"Hey Cargo shorts, what are you doing here?" Hanna's voice broke the staring competition between the cousins
"Wow Spence, I didn't know you had a twin?" Aria said as she too came into the kitchen behind Hanna
"A WHAT?" both cousins said at the same time then looked at each other, then at the shorter woman.
Hanna, Aria and Emily all started laughing, the cousins looked at each other again before they too were laughing.
"I don't know if we look that similar" Spencer finally said after they had stopped laughing
"Must be the good genes on your mum's side, hey Spence?" Harley playfully elbowed her cousin
"Must be" Spencer elbowed her back
"Speaking of your mom, she wants those platters NOW" Aria stressed
"Shit" Spencer said and looked at her blonde and brunette best-friend with a knowing look.
Spencer, Hanna and Aria each grabbed one, winked at each other, and took off out of the kitchen, leaving Emily and Harley alone.
"Subtlety doesn't suit any of them" Emily laughed
"Yeah" Harley laughed in agreement
"So…" Emily started "I am glad I ran into you again..."
"You are?" Harley raised an eyebrow
"Yeah" Emily said "I forgot to ask you for your number" she looked into the Australian's blue eyes
"Oh..." Harley said "When Hanna said you were single, I thought she was just trying to mess with you" She gave a small smile
Emily blushed "She means well, she is just…" she trailed off trying to find the right words
"As blunt as a hammer?" Harley finished her sentence for her
"Yeah that" Emily agreed
They both lightly chuckled