Chapter Nine

Naomi

I hadn't meant to open up to Emily like that. I hadn't meant to go running to her like a child running to it's mother, after my row with mum. I hadn't meant to tell her about my father. But I had. I had done all of that. She had learned more about me in one morning than I had ever really shared with anyone.

That's not me. I don't let people in. Cook is the closest I have to a best friend, but he doesn't really know me. We get drunk together, we fuck people, we compare notes about it. That was the extent of our relationship. We bitch about our fuck-up parents to each other, but we never exchange details.

I don't even know why my row with mum had got me so upset. It hadn't been anything out of the ordinary. I can't remember what started it but like all our disagreements, it ended the same way. With me yelling at her that she only cared about money. Like always, she yelled back that it wasn't true. As if she could convince me, when I knew her better than anyone.

The argument wasn't even as bad as the one we had last year. After that one, she had vowed to me that if I disliked Malcolm's money so much, I would get nothing more from either of them. That was the reason I had started working at Fitch Fitness in the first place. In a bid to show them both that I didn't need their money. Cook already worked there, and put in a good word for me with Rob. Of course, the job hadn't lasted long, but I hadn't bothered to get another one yet. Mum and Malcolm were still paying for my living costs without grumbling. And they must have forgotten that they're still paying for my car insurance.

But sharing myself with Emily like that had really shaken me up when I thought about it later. It was very unlike me. I was really beginning to enjoy her company. Of course I fancied her - Jesus, when she stripped down to her underwear at the lake, I had trouble stopping myself from just grabbing her right then - but she was great fun to be around as well. That was something pretty new to me. To be honest, it scared the crap out of me. The sooner I got her into bed the better.

Today, I was once again at the gym. I was meeting Emily for lunch. As I walked into reception, two people sprang apart at the sound of the doors opening. Cook and Katie both looked around at me guiltily, before relaxing when they saw it was me.

"Fuck, Naomi! I thought you were a proper customer or something!" said Katie, clutching at her heart. I rolled my eyes at her.

"Aren't I? I mean, I am a member of this gym!"

"Yeah, but you're not going to go running to tell my dad that we're making out instead of working though!"

I giggled. She was right about that. I was trying to avoid any and all conversations with Rob for the foreseeable future. Katie glanced at her watch.

"Fuck. Sorry, Cook. My lunch break is up - I'd better get back to the office. Ted promised to show me how to update the purchase ledger. Should be fun." She yawned elaborately, in case we missed the sarcasm in her voice. She flashed Cook a smile and left the reception, giving us both a little wave.

Cook gave me his biggest, shit-eating grin.

"I'm making progress! She has just invited me to be her 'plus one' at Panda's wedding! It's gonna be a big posh do at some big country estate hotel. Aaaand..." he wiggled his eyebrows for emphasis. "...We're gonna stay there overnight!" He beamed at me looking for all the world like the cat who'd got the cream. Not yet, you haven't Cook. When he saw I wasn't as impressed with this as he expected, he added "In the same room. Me. And Katie. In the same room."

I raised my eyebrows at him. He obviously thought I didn't see what he was getting at.

"She'll be riding my fuckstick before the night is out!"

I rolled my eyes to hide my displeasure at this news. He was definitely gaining ground over me. Panda had only invited me to the evening do, not the whole wedding. Besides, Emily was going with Gary. She had already told me that the two of them had booked a room to stay overnight. Cook knew that, and decided to rub it in.

"So, there'll be me and Katie, fucking like rabbits in one room, Gary and Emily, fucking like rabbits in another room. I hope this hotel has strong foundations!"

"Fuck off, Cook." I flipped him the finger. It was the best retort I could come up with. Cook's words had stung me in a way that I knew he hadn't intended. He was only trying to rile me about the bet, but the thought of Gary and Emily going at it was now stuck in my mind's eye. It sent a bolt of pain into my stomach. What the fuck was wrong with me? I knew from the start that Emily was fucking Gary. Why was the thought of it suddenly making me feel sick? I had to get a grip over myself.

"Hi, Katie said you were here."

There she was, standing in front of me looking so pleased to see me. I cast my eyes over her. How Emily managed to make the gym outfits look sexy, I'll never know. I grinned back at her, and followed her along the corridor.

We reached the canteen, and stared at the choices. As usual, there was a selection of very uninspiring sandwiches on offer. We each chose from amongst the least offensive looking. As we paid for them, Emily suggested that we take them to the staff room. I agreed. The staff room wasn't particularly great, but it was more comfortable than the pokey canteen. It would be quieter too. With a bit of luck, we may get to spend some time alone together.

We walked into the mercifully empty staff room, and I glanced around. It hadn't changed much since I was last there. My eyes went to a frame on the wall. It contained a supposedly inspirational message to the staff:

Dance like no one's watching,

Work like you don't have to, and

Love like you've never been hurt

I remembered Rob putting it up, thinking that bullshit instructive sentiments like that would create a good staff morale. I realised with a small chuckle, that the graffiti was still there. Someone, I seem to remember it being Cook, had changed one of the lines with felt-tip to read 'work like no one's watching'. Rob must never have noticed.

I sat down next to Emily on the little sofa. I pulled my rather pathetic looking sandwich from it's carton and peered at it, trying to decide what on earth was in it. It was probably something very healthy and therefore mostly inedible. I took a tentative bite and discovered I was wrong. It was in fact completely inedible. Thank god I was here for the company and not the food.

The door to the staff room opened, and Panda practically bounced into the room. She grinned ridiculously at us both. She had her hair pulled up into lopsided bunches, and she wore so many colours she looked like she had been vomited out of a rainbow.

"Hi Emily, Hi Naomi" she gushed. I gave her a small smile.

"Hi Panda. Everything set for the wedding?" Asked Emily. Panda immediately began an avalanche of words, describing details about her upcoming wedding. I just sat there, trying to pretend I was listening intently. Christ, where was the off switch on this girl?

As her words eventually faded away, both Panda and Emily looked expectantly at me. Shit, had I just been asked a question?

"Huh?" It was the best I could manage.

"I said you will come, won't you?" Panda looked at me with a look of hope fixed on her features. Fuck, I never did think of a suitable excuse. What the hell can I be doing that Saturday, that means I can't go to the wedding?

"Come on, Naoms. It'll be fun." Now Emily was looking at me hopefully. For a moment, I was silent. I was too busy processing the casual way that Emily had shortened my name. Normally, I hated people giving me a nickname. But coming from Emily, I decided that 'Naoms' had a lovely ring to it.

Okay, they were still needing an answer to a question here. Think! There must be a million suitable excuses to avoid a wedding! I glanced back to Emily, and saw the anticipation in her eyes.

"Yes, I'll be there." Fuck. In what way did that resemble a pretext for avoiding Panda's nuptials? Panda clapped her hands together and jumped up and down on the spot. What kind of shit was this girl on? And did she have any to share?

"Great! the evening do starts at seven. Emily can give you the address. See you there!" With that, she picked up her bag, waved to us both and left the room.

Emily beamed at me. Well, at least she was happy I was going. I wasn't too sure that a whole evening spent watching Gary dancing with Emily was going to be very entertaining. At least Cook would be there, but he would probably spend most of the evening dribbling into Katie's ear.

"I printed off some photos from the lake." Emily reached into her bag, and brought out a small folder. She brought some photos from it, and we both leaned closer to look through them.

"Wow, Emily these are really good." Of course, I would have praised them even if they were shit, but the photos were really good. I don't know much about photography, but I could tell that Emily had a real talent. My heart melted a little when I saw her blush. She clearly wasn't used to getting compliments.

"I mean it. You're really talented." She gave me a small smile, and we went back to looking through the photos. The difference between the ones I had taken and the ones she had taken was palpable. I preferred the ones I had taken though, simply because Emily was in them instead of me. I picked out a couple of my favourites.

"Can I keep these?"

"Keep whichever ones you want. I can print out more."

I also picked out a couple that Emily had taken without me in, of the lake.

"This one's my favourite." Emily pulled a photo from the pile of me sitting, looking out over the lake. "You look really...nice." Her last word was barely above a whisper. I turned my body on the sofa to face her, but she was staring intently down at the picture, avoiding my eyes.

"Emily." Still she wouldn't raise her eyes. I placed my hand on the side of her face, stroking my thumb gently along her cheekbone. At last, her eyes met mine, and I heard her breath catch in her throat. I leaned closer to her. My eyes drifted to her lips for a second, before returning once again to her eyes. She stared back at me, not moving a muscle, barely even breathing. I watched her eyes do a similar dance, flicking down to my lips, before raising again to meet my gaze. It was all the invitation I needed. I leaned closer again, bringing my lips to hers. The kiss was so soft.

After a moment or two of our lips moving against each other's, I felt Emily's hand on my waist. Before I knew what was happening, her tongue pressed gently against my lips. I opened them, and felt Emily's tongue stretching to meet mine. She moaned, and the sound sent a burst of longing through my body.

In another second, it was over. I had to stop myself from toppling forward as Emily leapt away from me, getting to her feet.

"Emily..."

"No! I shouldn't have... I didn't mean to..."

As she rambled on, I rose to my feet. I tried to put my hands on her shoulders, but she shrank back from my grasp.

"Don't!" She said in alarm, practically shouting. She took a deep breath, then spoke again, this time quieter. "Naomi, I'm straight okay?"

I took a step towards her. I wanted to wrap my arms around her, to pull her close to me, but for every step I took, she retreated one away from me.

"I like guys." She stared at me with her eyes wide, willing me to understand and believe her. "I like sex with guys. I like their broad shoulders, their bums, hairy chests, stubble. I like...cocks and balls, you know?"

Before I could do anything more, she snatched up her bag and turned to leave. She left her half eaten sandwich. She left the photos, that had spilled over the floor when she stood up. As she wrenched open the door, it revealed a very amused looking Cook on the other side. The sight of him gave her a moment's hesitation, before she pushed her way past him and along the corridor away from me.

"Emily!" I darted after her, but by the time I reached the corridor, she was already well ahead of me. I decided instead to give her some space. I returned to the staff room to find Cook sprawled out over the sofa, grinning ridiculously at me. I narrowed my eyes at him.

"How long were you stood there?" I asked with suspicion. Cook shrugged at me.

"When I reached the door, I heard 'I like sex with guys'. Sounds like you've struck out there Naomikins! Your luck is out, because that girl only wants to willy-waggle, and you don't have the credentials!"

I scowled at him.

"The lady doth protest too much, methinks."

"Huh?"