Hey!
What can I say... I'm a happy woman. Your reviews, man, those reviews! They tug at my heart and make me want to hug you all! So consider yourselves hugged. Big time.
Oh and to my puppy killing Liverpool friend, wasup girl?
Chapter time.
"You'll be fine without me for the rest of the afternoon?" I tease, putting on my coat. Naomi's watching me, arms folded as she leans against the employees' room's doorway.
"We might bankrupt without you here for a few hours." She replies, cheeky smile firmly in place. "Please, come back as soon as you can."
I stick out my tongue, wrapping a scarf around my neck. "Whatever. I know you'll miss me."
"Of course I will."
I smile. "That's better."
It's Saturday afternoon and Naomi told me I could leave if I wanted to get ready for tonight's cocktail. Not that I'm particularly eager about it.
"So, are you excited?" She asks as if on cue, gathering her hair up in a bun. "About tonight?"
I shrug. "Not really. Those cocktails are kind of all the same- it gets boring after a while."
"Yeah, I can understand that." She lets out a small chuckle. "Not that I've ever been to anything as fancy as that. I'd probably look pretty out of place." She gestures to her tattoos, smiling.
"Are you kidding? I'm sure you'd look gorgeous." I reply, distractedly checking my phone.
Really Emily?
Naomi clears her throat and I've never been this happy to see Cook when he enters the room, popping the collar of his jeans jacket. "Red, your sister's just arrived. And fuck me if she doesn't look hotter than in my memories." He whispers not so subtly, earning him an eye roll from Naomi.
"You saw me like two days ago dipshit." Katie's familiar lip fills the room as she makes her appearance, smacking him behind the head but I can see she's fighting a grin. "You ready Em? We need to do something with your hair."
"The fuck? My hair's just fine Katie." I reply defensively, playfully glaring at Naomi when she lets out a giggle.
"Whatever. Let's move bitch. We want Richard to find you irresistible, don't we?"
Cook gives me an intrigued look as Naomi looks down, frowning.
"Who's Richard, Red?"
I don't have time to open my mouth before Katie starts talking again. "It's her boss but the sneaky little bitch here has been sleeping with him for the past year. Way to go sis!"
Oh my God.
I feel myself blushing profusely, realizing this makes me sound like a horrible slut.
"Shut up Katie."
Cook doesn't let it go, wriggling his eyebrows. "Wow Red, didn't know you had it in you."
"Yeah, well..." I answer awkwardly, fidgeting with my gloves.
I lock eyes with Naomi but she looks away, stuffing her hands in her jeans pocket.
I feel like punching Katie for blurting that stuff out in front of Naomi and Cook.
Instead, I quickly walk towards her, grabbing her by the elbow.
"Come on big mouth." I mumble through gritted teeth. "Let's go."
"Gee, someone's impatient." Katie wriggles her arm out before smoothing the front of her jacket. "Ok losers, we're leaving."
She waves at Naomi and Cook, the latter making a disgusting thrusting motion with his pelvis, winking at Katie.
"Well...um, I'm going to go now... See you tomorrow?" It comes out much more hopeful than I intended it to and for an odd reason, I almost feel like apologizing to Naomi for what Katie said.
Cook engulfs me in one of his famous hugs. "Have fun Red. Say hi to Richard for me." He adds, winking again.
I nod stiffly, waiting for Naomi to look up.
When she does, she's smiling, but I can tell it's forced by the way her eyes are not lighting up like they usually do. To be honest, it completely confuses me.
"Bye Emily. Have fun."
I furrow my eyebrows, hesitantly grinning back. "Bye."
Katie's waiting for me to leave the restaurant and as I walk out the door, I have the nagging feeling I just did something wrong.
OOOOOO
The limo pulls out in front of the Waldorf, the chauffeur quickly getting out of the car to open my door.
I gather my dress in one hand, grabbing my clutch with the other as I step into the cold air.
"Thank you Ben."
He smiles and I notice for the first time how green his eyes are. "You're welcome miss Fitch-"
"I've told you a million times to call me Emily."
He just nods with another gentle smile, silently letting me know that as much as I tell him, he'll always call me miss Fitch anyway, "- and Mr. Richard told me to let you know he'd already be there when you arrived."
"Ok. Have a nice evening Ben."
He tips his hat. "You too miss."
As I enter the lobby, I quickly make a right, perfectly knowing my way around the hotel- we've had countless cocktails and formal events here.
I can hear voices and echoes of classical music grow louder as I approach two huge golden double doors. Just as I'm about to get inside, a guy with the hotel's uniform seemingly magically appears at my side.
"Excuse me miss, can I help you? This is a private event. If you're looking for the dining room, it's on the other side of the lobby."
His tone is overly condescending and I scoff, mustering my best bitch look. "First", I pause, checking his name tag, "Henry, do you think I'd really be looking for the dining room and its cheap buffet whilst wearing that dress?"
His eyes nervously flicker down to my dress before meeting mine again.
"And second, I'm here with Richard Johnston." His expression instantly changes into a respectful albeit slightly fearful one. "So you might as well just let me in."
"Yes, yes, sure, I'm very sorry for the misunderstanding miss." He opens the door for me, going as far as making a ridiculous bow.
I smirk, walking past him as I take in how, once more, the huge reception room has been beautifully decorated for the cocktail. A bit too much for me but still, it always remains very tasteful.
There's a clear 'autumn' theme to the whole thing, swirl of orange and red ribbons run along the wall, the floor covered in what appear to be synthetic leaves in the same warm colors.
There are at least a hundred people there, most of them gathered in small groups as waiters make their way among them, offering champagne and hors-d'oeuvres.
The event- collecting funds for a children's hospital, if I recall correctly- doesn't really have anything to do with our company but Richard got himself invited so he could have a word with a man he had been trying to get a hold of in the past weeks.
And, of course, he insisted that I'd come along, arguing that it would be more believable and wouldn't look too much like a set-up if I was there too.
I figured this would be a great opportunity for free drinks and amazing food- you have to give the Waldorf's chefs some credit- and that I would be able to leave before Richard would get too tipsy and try to bring me back to his place. Or worst, come to mine.
I haven't been in the mood to see him in the last week. It had never really bothered me before but now I can't seem to ignore the fact that what I've been doing is wrong. On so many levels.
I slightly shake my head to get rid of those thoughts when a guy wearing a smoking comes behind me, taking the small fur coat off of my shoulders.
I slip a tip in his hand and he nods, bringing my coat to the cloakroom I know to be at the far end of the reception room.
The dress I'm wearing is long and black, strapless, very simple but Richard had it custom made so it really fits me beautifully, if I dare say so myself. To top it all, I'm wearing the diamond necklace he gave me and Katie went for a very dramatic red lipstick.
I take a quick look around, recognizing here and there some people I've met before, but Richard is nowhere to be seen.
I grab a champagne glass from a tray nearby, taking small sips as I observe the crowd.
Mostly women with outrageously flashy jewellery and men with gray temples and big wallets.
But then again, I think as I let one of my hands trail on the diamonds resting above my collar bones, I'm one of them. I'm one of those women.
The thought, for the first time in my life, fills me with a profound sense of uneasiness but, like before, I don't have much time to dwell on it because a deep voice is suddenly calling my name from somewhere on my left.
"Emily!" I turn my head, sighing when I see Richard waving with a grin, surrounded by at least a dozen other people.
I make my way towards them, pulling out my best business smile.
Richard introduces me to everyone, mostly people he's work with before or people he met back in college, and I shake their hands, instinctually knowing when to throw a little comment to stroke their egos.
Richard gives me a discrete, satisfied smile when the man our whole presence here revolves around laughs loudly at something I just told him.
I look away, uncomfortable with his approbation.
The rest of the evening is, unsurprisingly, pretty boring and after countless mundane conversations, I find myself sitting at the bar, distractedly checking my cell phone, a dry Martini in hands.
A woman beside me has been ranting on and on about all the amazing trips she made to Europe or whatnot, and I can't help but smile to myself when I think of Naomi who has probably seen much more than this woman ever will.
I down the rest of my drink, deciding I've had enough of those people for one night.
Getting off my stool, I notice Richard talking with a small group of men.
His tie is loose and just by the redness of his nose, I know he's probably a bit more than tipsy.
Fucking hell.
I start to make my way towards him, intent on telling him I'm leaving, but he sees me first, his eyes instantly lighting up as he motions for me to come to his side.
I reluctantly oblige, surprised when he roughly grabs me by the waist.
"Emily, meet everyone." He slurs some names. "Mostly guys I play poker with."
They all nod, the ice in their drinks clinking and I vaguely wonder how many they've all had already.
"Everyone, this is Emily. She... works for me."
I hate the pause he makes in the middle of his sentence. I have the feeling all of his little buddies perfectly know what it means. I try to get away from him but he just takes a sip of his drink, pulling me closer to his side.
"Richard, I just wanted to tell you I'm leaving."
"Already? But we didn't even get to have fun yet." He replies with a sly smile. I can't believe he's doing this in front of all those people.
"Richard, you're clearly drunk. Just let me go. We'll talk tomorrow."
"Oh, so this is the feisty redhead you told us about, uh?" A man with blond hair chips in, earning some dirty chuckles from the others.
"She's even hotter than you described her." Another one adds, eyeing me with appreciative eyes. "Jackpot Rick, jackpot."
They all look at me as if I'm nothing but a piece of meat and I feel a lump rising in my throat.
I've never felt this humiliated.
I will Richard to defend me because I can't seem to be able to utter a word but instead, he gives my bum a small slap. "Doesn't she look amazing in that dress? I knew it would make her ass look incredible."
"It sure does." The same blond man replies, quickly licking his lips.
I feel myself burning under their prying eyes and I muster the last ounce of dignity I have left, straightening my back as I practically rip Richard's hand off my waist.
"Fuck you Richard."
I turn on my heels, willing myself not to cry in front of those pigs. Fuck them.
"Baby, come back, we were just joking..."
I ignore him, heading straight to the door.
In the lobby, I keep my head low, desperately holding on to my clutch as I feel my eyes welling up.
Fuck him.
When I get outside, I realize I forgot to grab my coat and instantly start shivering. The snow melted fast after Wednesday but the cold air didn't disappear.
The tears in my eyes blur the city lights as I look for a cab but they all seem to be already taken.
The humiliation is still burning and before I know it, hot tears are silently streaming down my face.
I wipe them furiously, grabbing my phone in my bag.
I think of calling Effy or Katie but I know they were busy tonight.
After scrolling through my contacts for a moment, knowing deep down I don't have anyone else I'm close to, my eyes land on a name.
Naomi.
I click on it, an address appearing on the screen of my phone. Her apartment's address. She gave it to me earlier this week saying that every employees of the restaurant had it. Since she doesn't have a cell phone, she at least wants us to be able to contact her in case of emergency.
I step closer to the street, insistently waving for a cab until one stops in front of me, the driver rolling down the passenger seat's window.
His eyes widen a bit when he takes in my state but he doesn't question further.
"Where to?"
Giving him the address, I wince when I hear how husky my voice got.
The ride is awkward; I can feel the driver's eyes on me as I try to hide my tears and I almost ask him to stop at least ten times, wondering why I'm even heading to Naomi's apartment in the first place. She acted coldly when I left the restaurant earlier today. I can't help but hope she's not mad at me even though I know I would gladly apologize for anything I might have done wrong.
Nonetheless, the cab comes to a halt in front of a small building.
"We're here love."
The driver gives me a sympathetic look as I hand him the money.
"You can keep the change."
I get out of the car, its engine quickly fading in the night as I stand in front of a barely lit door. A dog barks somewhere and I shiver again, taking the few stairs up to a blue door.
There isn't even a lock so I push it, checking my cell phone to see that Naomi lives in apartment 2C.
I start climbing another flight of stairs, smells of food and laundry surrounding me along with loud voices, I think it's Spanish, coming from an apartment somewhere up.
Finally, I arrive on the second floor, immediately spotting the door with the chipped blue paint and the silver 2C.
I take a deep breath, feebly knocking on the door.
God, what am I even doing here?
After a few seconds, the door opens, a blue eye peaking from the other side of it.
"Emily? What are you doing here?"
I hear the chain being taken off before the door opens completely, revealing Naomi in black sweatpants and a gray t-shirt, hair up in a ponytail. She's wearing black, thick rimmed glasses I've never seen on her.
They make her look... beautiful.
"H-hi." I whisper, suddenly feeling very self-conscious.
"Are you crying?" Naomi asks immediately, her blue eyes filling with concern. "Emily, are you ok?"
I nod, the lump in my throat making me choke on my words. "I'm-I'm sorry. I shouldn't have come here... It's stupid really..."
"What happened?" She asks, taking a step towards me, eyes searching my face as I make one final effort to keep the tears at bay.
"I- It's...I mean..." I fail to say anything else, tears spilling on my cheeks.
"Hey, hey, come here Em." Naomi murmurs softly, opening her arms.
Instantly, I close the gap between us, stumbling into her arms with a small sob.
"Naomi..."
I wrap my arms around her neck, burying my face in its crook as her arms gently circle my waist.
She smells nice, mostly soap and something I guess is just her, and I find it even harder to stifle my sobs when she starts whispering sweet nothings in my hair.
"It was just so humiliating... They were all looking at me and I...I..."
It feels like I'm reliving the whole scene; their lustful looks, their rude comments, how they all congratulated Richard on his "choice", his slap on my bum.
"It's ok, you're safe here, it's ok."
"And Richard just...he didn't say a word..." I feel Naomi stiffen a bit.
I don't know how long I stay like that, wrapped in Naomi's arms as she lets me cry, caressing my hair.
I think I hear the door clicking shut behind us at some point, Naomi probably having closed it with her free hand.
Finally, the tears subside enough for me to slightly pull away, wiping at my nose. I keep my other hand on her shoulder, Naomi not letting go of me.
I look up, meeting her eyes.
"Hi." She smiles softly, slightly tilting her head to the side.
The corners of my lips lift up a bit as I sniffle loudly. "Hi."
"Follow me."
She takes my hand, gently tugging me with her.
Her apartment is painted in a soft yellow, and it's small but as bright as I would have expected it to be.
Pictures of Naomi and various other people seemingly from all over the world are hanging off the walls and a rather large bookcase is taking up one of the walls.
Naomi sits me down on an old-looking brown couch, never letting go of my hand. Her thumb is rubbing small circles on the inside of my wrist and I find it oddly soothing.
"Just stay there. I'm going to get you a cup of tea. My mom used to say tea could solve a lot of things." She adds, smiling down at me.
I chuckle, sniffling again. "I would love that."
"I'm going to need my hand back though."
I realize I'm still tightly holding her hand in mine so I let it go hastily, blushing.
"God, sorry."
She grins again, eyes twinkling playfully. "Gimme a sec."
When Naomi disappears in the kitchen, I look around, noticing with a smile the Nikon camera resting on top of the tiny television.
Apart from that, there's a coffee table along with a lamp and a 'Keep calm and carry on' poster.
I spot a couple of brown boxes in the corner of the room and I wonder what they're doing there since I recall Naomi telling me she moved here almost two years ago.
I make a mental note to ask her later when I hear her coming back, carrying two steaming mugs and a blanket under her arm.
"There you go." She hands me one of the mugs, settling the other on the table as she gently wraps the blanket around my shoulders.
"You looked cold." She explains, sitting beside me before grabbing her own mug.
I realize I was indeed shivering and instantly feel very grateful for the thick wool against my skin.
I take a sip of my tea, watching as Naomi folds a leg under her.
"You probably wonder why I'm here..." I start, keeping my eyes down, a finger trailing along the rim of my mug.
"Of course I do, but you don't have to tell me if you don't want to." Naomi replies softly, tightening the blanket around me before gently lifting up my chin to get me to meet her eyes. "You know I'm here for you, right?"
I feel a flutter somewhere in my stomach. "I know."
My answer comes in a whisper and we just stare at each other for a moment. I'm the first one to look away, clearing my throat.
I take a deep breath, knowing I trust Naomi enough to tell her what happened earlier.
"A few of Richard's friends made... rude comments on me tonight."
Naomi frowns, putting her mug back on the table. "What do you mean?"
"They just... kept telling Richard how much of a good catch I was and the way they were looking at me..." I swallow, trying to prevent my voice from shaking "I was so embarrassed... I've never felt this ashamed in my entire life..."
I'm aware what I'm saying probably doesn't make a lot of sense but Naomi seems to get the essential of it, probably connecting this with some of the things Katie mentioned this morning.
"You have absolutely no reason to be ashamed of yourself Emily." There's an edge to her voice, one I've never heard before and I'm surprised to see her jaw clenching. "Whatever those people have told you, I want you to forget it."
I nod, my heart pounding hard in my chest when Naomi leans in, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear, never looking away. "You're worth so much more than them. Never, ever doubt that again."
Her tone is so passionate I feel myself flushing under her intense gaze.
"You think I can do it?" I ask in a quiet voice, not sure what I'm referring to.
Hesitantly, I grab her hand, fascinated by how hers and mine seem to fit together. It's not perfect- her fingers are much longer than my own and one of my rings is big and kind of gets in the way- but it feels comforting, familiar even.
"I think you can do anything." Naomi replies, eyes trained on our hands.
It makes me grin, a warmness steadily spreading through my body.
We stay in silence for a moment and I find myself getting less and less upset about what happened earlier. Much calmer in the cosiness of Naomi's apartment.
"Do you know what we should do?" Naomi asks me, grabbing the remote control on the coffee table.
I smile, lifting my eyebrows. "I have the strong feeling you're about to tell me."
"We should watch trash t.v. That's usually what I do when I need to change my mind."
"Trash t.v?"
"I'm sure you'll find it pretty therapeutic." She's looking at me, blue eyes expectant, and I can't really refuse.
"Works for me."
Her smile grows bigger, mine mirroring it as she turns on the t.v.
I shift a little on the couch, careful to keep our hands intertwined between us.
After a little zapping, we stumble upon reruns of Jersey Shore and Naomi turns her head towards me, squeezing my hand. "This is what you need at the moment."
OOOOOO
It turns out Jersey Shore has never been as funny as it is now, watching it with Naomi.
"Oh God, she took him back!"
I chuckle. "Yeah, that girl really has no back bone." I watch as Snookie then throws up in the hot tub. "And no class."
Naomi bumps our shoulders together, snorting before covering her mouth with her hand. "I don't even want to think about how much they're paid for this..."
"Fucking too much if you want my opinion." I pull on the blanket, bringing it over my knees. Somewhere between the first and the second episode, Naomi scooted closer to me, pulling the blanket over our knees. "Quit hogging the blanket Campbell."
She raises an eyebrow, biting her bottom a lip but I know she's trying not to smile. "You're the one pulling at it like a mad woman."
I gasp exaggeratedly. "What? That's so unfair. I had the blanket first."
"And it's my blanket."
"I- Well..." I start, unable to find a quick argument. "Damn it, you win."
"You're a winner in my heart too, Emily." Naomi replies in an overly sappy voice, putting a hand on her chest.
I shove her playfully. "Oh, shut up."
We both giggle.
Naomi stretches herself, arms above her head and my eyes are, as usual, immediately drawn to her tattoos. Her shirt slightly rises up and I think I catch a glimpse of ink on her hip too.
"Jesus, what time is it?"
I grab my phone. "Eleven thirty." I didn't realize it was that late and I suddenly feel bad for monopolizing Naomi's time for so long. "Shit, I didn't mean to stay that long. I should probably go."
"You can spend the night if you want." Naomi mumbles, a blush covering her cheeks. "I mean, you don't have a coat. Plus, it's late and you had a bad evening and-"
"I'd love to."
Naomi abruptly stops her rambling, lifting up her eyes. "Yeah?"
I nod. "Yeah."
Her grin is so big I feel like I just made the best decision in the entire world.
"Plus, the Jersey Shore marathon doesn't end for another hour. I couldn't possibly miss that, now could I?"
She shakes her head. "It would be a real sin."
"Can I just... borrow some clothes?" I look down at the dress I'm still wearing, the one Richard gave me, and I know I'm going to throw it away first thing in the morning.
"Sure. They're probably going to be a bit too big for you though..."
"It's fine, I'm the one who invited myself over after all."
"You did not. I invited you." Naomi gets up, clapping her hands together. "Now, here's the plan: you change into comfy clothes, I make us some popcorn and we go back to being couch potatoes."
I chuckle; I love how Naomi's so simple and spontaneous. It's a welcome change.
"Sounds perfect to me."
She smiles, grabbing our empty mugs on the table. "Awesome. Now let me get you some clothes."
Naomi's back after a few minutes, handing me a pair of gray sweatpants and a red hoodie.
"I hope this will do."
"I'm sure it will."
"Good. If you need anything, just tell me."
She goes to make her way back to the kitchen but I call out her name, waiting before she's facing me again.
"Thank you for...everything. I'm grateful to have someone like you in my life." I trail off, eyes flickering down then back up. I've never been good with expressing feelings with words so I hope Naomi knows how she just made everything better after tonight's events.
"The feeling's mutual."
We smile, Naomi turning around again but before I know it, words stumble out of my mouth.
"You look great with your glasses on."
Once more, she spins on her heels but this time, she's rubbing the back of her neck, grinning bashfully as her other hand self-consciously touches her glasses. "Thank you."
I nod, inwardly cursing myself for how random that sounded. I'm about to start making my way to the bathroom but it's Naomi's turn to call my name.
"Yes?"
She fidgets with her bangles, eyes not meeting mine. "For what it's worth, you looked beautiful tonight. Not just because of your dress but because...well, you just looked great..."
I blush, heart skipping a beat at Naomi's clumsy compliment.
We stand awkwardly in front of each other for a moment before I gesture to the bathroom's door.
"I'm gonna..."
"Yes, god, sorry. Please, go ahead."
Locking the door behind me I quickly take off my dress, roughly gathering it in my hands before dropping it beside the sink.
I slip into Naomi's clothes, not even bothering to roll up the sleeves. I love how soft her hoodie is; you can tell it has been washed countless times before.
Sounds are coming to me from the kitchen and I realize that here, in Naomi's apartment, about to watch bad t.v and eat pop corn, despite all the shit that happened tonight, I'm the happiest I've been in a while.
I'm still aware I'll have to face Richard when Monday comes but for now, I smile to myself in the mirror, deciding things could definitely be much worst.
So... yeah.
How was it? I felt like it was... boring? I don't know. I'm not entirely satisfied but at the same time, I don't think I could have done better.
Next chapter: Naomi joins the Glee club. (...) AND, it's Emily's farewell party from all The Bengal Tiger's crew! Woop. What could possibly happen? I wonder...
Mucho lovin' from Canada. I'm off to shovel some snow now. (Yeah, we do live up to some stereotypes.)
