A/N Thank you so much for letting me know there's still interest in this story, you made my face do this :) and it was unexpected considering how long a gap there was between updates. Will be back with another chapter as soon as possible. Merci beaucoup again!

Before I had the chance to throttle my meddling sister, I received a call from Tony about a couple of upcoming events that he needed to run by me. Katie's lucky because the time I've spent talking to him has calmed me down just a little. Not all the way, but enough that she should be thankful.

I laugh to myself as I walk back inside the suite. The thought of Katie ever being scared of me is hilarious and completely farfetched. She's always been the one that's been quicker to anger and, subsequently, violence than me. I'm not saying she's some kind of psychotic violent person, far from it, but if you get on Katie Fitch's bad side, I feel sorry for you.

Growing up, Katie was always the centre of attention, while I stayed more in the background and let her gladly have the spotlight. People used to say that I allowed Katie to walk all over me, but they just didn't get the dynamic of our relationship. I never resented that she got noticed more than me; I actually liked being in the background.

It was an interesting change in the dynamic of our relationship when my poker career took off. Suddenly I was the one everybody was talking about and I was the one being noticed. I admit it did feel nice to get recognized for the hard work I had put into doing something I love, but it was hard for Katie. Don't get me wrong, she loves me something fierce, but that doesn't mean she was happy about me having all this new-found attention.

Same thing happened when I finally decided to tell my sister that I fancied girls. At first Katie refused to believe me, she thought it was just a phase. With my mum's brilliant parenting and despite the fact that we both rebelled against our identical wardrobes, she didn't want us to be so different.

I could spend hours delving into why I think that it, but it's not important. What is important is when my mum decided that I was going to always be a gigantic disappointment to her, Katie came around. It was one thing for her to have an issue with me; we are sisters after all, fighting is a natural part of our relationship. Getting rejected by my mum was enough for Katie to overlook any issue she had regarding who I want to date.

If I had any good thoughts about my mum, I'd be sort of grateful that she's full of hate and judgment because that aspect to her awful personality gave me my sister back. Our relationship isn't full of sappy moments and bonding sessions, but being someone that Katie Fitch loves and wants to protect, means I'm one lucky person.

Once I close the door behind me, I'm greeted by the sight of Katie giving me the smuggest of looks, while Effy's face registers very little emotion. I'm used to that though. Effy is the one who should be the poker star, she's that unreadable. They're sitting on the sofa and I know they're waiting for me to say something about Naomi.

Instead, I decide to flip my sister off.

"Oh stop being such a sensitive lezzer," Katie remarks as I walk over to the bar to fix myself a drink. I better make it a strong one because I have no idea how this night out is going to go. I smell disaster. "You should be thanking me."

"Thanking you?" I say, the exasperation in my tone is impossible to miss. "For what? Being a nosy cow?"

There's no malice behind my words, really. Even though I am a little pissed about Katie's antics, this is just how we work together. Katie doesn't do sappy or touchy feely and neither do I.

"Stop acting like a tit!" Katie orders while Effy just watches on in what I think is amusement. Like I said, she's hard to read. "Tell us all about your girlfriend."

"She's not my…" I don't bother finishing the sentence because I know that I'm not going to win right now. Katie's not about to let this subject go so it's probably easier just to tell her about Naomi in the least amount of detail possible. That way I can hopefully get out of this conversation quickly and then I can figure out what I will be wearing later.

Just because I'm a little bothered that Katie set this night up that doesn't mean I'm not going to try and impress the girl I can't stop thinking about.

I nick a smoke from Effy and then I tell the two of them about Naomi and what's happened over the last few days. Well, I do give them an edited version of events because there are certain things I do not discuss with Katie, no matter how close we are.

"Her sister sounds like an uptight bitch," Katie correctly observes. "I swear if she messes with you I will…"

"Leave it, Katie," I say even though I really appreciate her standing up for me. I really don't need any more drama in my life where Darcy is concerned. I'd much rather put my energy into Naomi and when I can get her alone again.

That sounds so sleazy, but I don't mean it like that. Well, if I'm being honest I am looking forward to snogging her again. Mostly though I really want to continue on this path of getting to know her. The more time I spend with Naomi, the more time I want to spend with her.

Funny that.

"Fuck, fine, whatever," Katie huffs. I'm almost certain she isn't going to leave well enough alone, but I have to hope that she will not cause any kind of scene if she ever meets Darcy. It could potentially lead to World War III. "You're so gay sometimes."

"That's what it says in my pants," I quip back.

"You should see your face when you say Naomi's name," Katie says, ignoring my witty remark. "It lights up like a fucking Christmas tree."

"No, it doesn't!" I protest. "You're making that up."

"She's not, actually," Effy states and I can almost see a hint of a smile on her face. "It's actually quite adorable, Emily."

"Fuck off, both of you," I pout indignantly. I never would have agreed to let them stay in my room if I would have known that I'd get picked on so unfairly.

Katie starts laughing while Effy does actually break out into a full on grin. The two of them are such wankers!

"Aw, don't be such a spoil sport, Ems, you can't help that you're completely smitten by this girl." Katie replies so triumphantly that I nearly want to smack her. "Like Effy said, it really is rather cute."

I'm not going to sit by and be teased by the likes of them. "You reckon it will be so cute when you have nowhere to stay tonight?" Maybe that will teach them not to have such fun at my expense.

"Like you have the balls to do that," Katie replies. It's unfortunate she was able to see through my empty threat so easily. She turns to Effy and I swear the smile on her face went from wicked to downright evil. "Speaking of Naomi, did I ever tell you about the time I found Emily's box of fannies?"

"Katie!" I scream as my face turns what I assume has to be a really deep shade of red.

My sister of course pays no attention to me whatsoever. "I should have figured her to be a muff muncher then, but I thought she was just curious."

I can't fathom why Katie's sharing this story with Effy, but I have to put a stop to it. "Katie!"

"Under the magazines was Emily's diary," Katie is clearly enjoying herself, "she would spend pages and pages talking about this girl also named Naomi that showed up at our birthday party one year. She was so emo about the whole…"

I don't let Katie finish that sentence and I don't really take the time to ponder how I'm going to tell my sister that Naomi is the same person from years ago. I'm too busy chasing her around my hotel suite so I can shut her up. Effy is clearly amused by the whole exchange and so is my sister.

I can tell Katie's not even remotely scared by my threats of bodily hard. I can tell that because she can't stop laughing.

Bitch.


I'm waiting in the lobby of the hotel with Katie and Effy. We're killing time until Naomi, Tony and Darcy arrive. Cook who is always up for a good time is going to meet us at the club later. Even though I know he's going to act wildly inappropriate, I'm happy that he will be joining us. I can always count on Cook and having another friendly face around can't be a bad thing.

There's a lot of things I should be worried about right now. My list in no particular order: how I look, how tonight is going to go, if Katie is going to embarrass me in front of Naomi, did my warning that she better not have any effect on my sister whatsoever, is Katie going to be nice to Naomi, how many times is Cook going to hit on her before he gives up, why did I agree to allow Tony to come along which in turn lead to Darcy being a part of our evening, will Katie cause a scene with Darcy, do I really care if she does, what did Naomi want to tell me earlier, how do I look.

Oh, I think I might have mentioned that already.

Even with my gigantic list of things that can cause me anxiety, really the only thing on my mind is Naomi and my strong desire to be around her, to touch her and obviously to kiss her.

Katie starts making snide remarks about the people passing by and I do my best to ignore her. I can only focus on one thing at a time and I'd much more inclined to have my thoughts be about Naomi than what tacky outfit some old bit is wearing.

I start fidgeting with my bracelet, the one I always wear for luck, when I catch my first sight of familiar blonde hair. Much to my utter dismay, it's Darcy I spot, not exactly a happy day for me. She seems to be in an ok mood and her trademark sour and judgemental expression is nowhere to be found. I admit it does make a bit sick when I see that she's holding onto Tony's arm. He has such bad taste in women.

My breath catches in my throat as my eyes move from Tony and Darcy to Naomi. She's a couple of steps behind the nauseating couple and she doesn't know that I've spotted her yet. I can't believe how beautiful she looks. I can't believe I've kissed those soft lips of hers. I can't believe how much my body is buzzing right now and she's not remotely close to me. Most of all, I can't believe how fast my heart is beating and it only goes faster when her beautiful blue eyes find mine.

The blood is rushing through my body so quickly that I can't hear anything else around me. I'm pretty sure I'm not blinking and if someone were to ask me my name right now, I can't be certain I'd give them the right answer.

"Fucking hell," I mumble to myself as I continue to openly appreciate how amazing Naomi looks. And the best part is she seems just as fixated on me as I am on her.

It would be terrible if all of this was one sided.

I can say with a fair amount of certainty that whatever I'm feeling, Naomi is there with me. And even though that does frighten me somewhat, I wouldn't want it any other way.

Introductions are made and words are exchanged between everyone but I'm barely paying attention to any of that. The only thing I'm paying attention to is Naomi and how much I really want to kiss her right now.

I keep control of my feelings though because I can only imagine how nuclear Darcy would react if I were to do that. We head out of the hotel to start our night out and even though there's a lot for me to be anxious about, I'm strangely calm.

"Where's our ride?" Katie asks when we've stepped outside.

I reluctantly turn my attention away from Naomi and I can't help but feel a little smug. I may have called in a few favours to try and impress a certain someone. I point to the right and away from the line of taxis. "There it is."

Everyone's eyes follow my finger and it's Katie that reacts first. "Oi! A fucking limo! I do like to travel in style!"

I shrug my shoulders like it's no big deal and I hope that I'm not being too obvious. Although Naomi doesn't strike me as someone who cares a lot about material things, that doesn't mean I can't try and show off just a little.

Plus, I might also want to show Darcy that she's going to have work extra hard and prove herself before she can ever hope to be as successful as me. That's not being cocky, that's just stating facts.

"Not too shabby," Naomi whispers in my ear, causing a shiver to run down spine. "I've never ridden in one of those."

"Glad I could be a part of your first time," I whisper back earning a laugh from Naomi.

All of us pile into the limo and then we're on our way to the hottest club in Vegas. There's general chit chat going on and I can see Katie giving Darcy the once over, but nothing out of the ordinary happens and that makes me even more relaxed about tonight.

A few minutes into our limo ride, Naomi's hand comes to rest on top of my hand and intentionally or not, she starts playing with my fingers. I swear it feels like my heart is about to burst out of my chest and when I finally work up the never to look up at Naomi, it nearly does. Her expression is so intense that it's almost too much for me.

Almost, but I don't look away.

When we arrive at the club we're immediately ushered into the VIP section, just like I arranged and I'm happy that everything seems to be going off as planned. Some woman comes over to take our order and she casually mentions to everyone that anything we want to order is on the house.

"I'll fucking drink to that!" Katie exclaims earning cheers from our little group.

I feel Naomi slip her hand into mine against and I don't think I will ever get used to the feeling that gives me. She tugs at my hand a couple of times and when she tilts her head to the side I finally realize what she wants.

I give Naomi a smile to let her know I understand her request. We slip away from everyone else but I do manage to catch a glimpse of Darcy watching us and I can only describe her expression as one of contempt.

I don't care though.

I don't care because I'm headed to the rooftop patio with Naomi away from Darcy's watchful and disapproving eye.

When we get to the top, I manage to find us a quiet corner so we can talk.

Or kiss if she so chooses.

I'd be ok with that option as well.

"Beautiful night," Naomi remarks when we're alone.

We're huddled so close together I'm sure that there's no doubt to anyone else around that we are not looking to be interrupted.

I can't stop myself from reaching for Naomi's hand. "Did you really want to come up here to discuss the weather?"

Naomi shakes her head. "Technically, you're the one who brought me up here." I roll my eyes and that earns me a smile from Naomi that makes me weak in the knees. "I wanted to finish our conversation from earlier."

"'K," I reply, my nerves returning.

Naomi appears to be uneasy as well and I'm not sure if that a good sign or not. She takes a deep breath before starting. "I haven't always had the best luck dating," I can honestly say I have no idea where she's going with this. "It's just…I tend to think the worst of people or situations…"

I think I understand what Naomi means. People can really tear your heart out and disappoint you if you let them. That's why it's easier sometimes not to put yourself in a situation to let anyone do that to you.

"These last few days have been like a dream in a lot of ways," Naomi continues, her voice quiet and just a little sad. "The best kind of dream," she clarifies making us both smile and even though the lighting here isn't the greatest, I think blush too. "And I've kind of been waiting for things to go bad."

"Why?" I ask, my confusion evident. I mean, I get what Naomi is saying but I don't think I've given her any indication that I have bad intentions when it comes to her.

And I absolutely don't.

"Because you're amazing," Naomi says bashfully. It's hard to imagine she's the same person who made that strap-on comment to Katie earlier. "And beautiful and you seem to fancy me for some reason."

The pitter patter of my heart must surely be something everyone in this bar can hear. Even above the roar of the music. "Naomi…"

She places a finger from the hand that isn't clutching mine over my lips. "Let me finish?"

I nod my head and I'm pretty sure I've stopped breathing.

"When you got that call last night and I heard you talking to some girl, I…" Naomi's voice trails off and a giant light bulb goes off above my head.

"Thought it was another girl I was seeing?" I finish, in spite of Naomi's request to let her speak. She nods her head and I can't help feeling a bit hurt. "You think I'd do that to you?"

I know she doesn't know me that well but it bugs me that I've given her that kind of impression of me.

"No, no, that's not it, Emily," Naomi says apologetically. "I didn't think you're that kind of person, I just thought that…" she's stumbling with her words and I can't help notice how cute she is when she's flustered. Even if I'm still smarting from what she thought of me. "I'm a fucking, twat, ok?" Naomi sighs adorably making it very hard for me to hold a grudge against her. "It's just been a really long time since I've liked anyone as much as I like you and I panicked. That's why I left so suddenly and that's why I was avoiding you today. I felt like an idiot."

I should probably be giving Naomi a really hard time about this but she just admitted that she likes me. Who could stay mad at anyone when they hear something as wonderful as that?

"People do tend to do stupid things when they're scared," I offer as a gesture of forgiveness. Why would I want to spend my time focusing on a bad call on Naomi's part when there's much better things that I could be focusing on?

"You're not mad?" Naomi asks disbelievingly.

"Well I'm not thrilled you think I'm a two-timing slag," I joke, keeping my tone light. "But I am willing to forgive you if you find a way to make it up to me."

Naomi laughs and I can tell that she's relieved. "I really am sorry, Emily, I didn't want to…"

I silence her by pressing my lips softly against hers. "No apology necessary." I then follow suit and press my body into Naomi not really caring that we're in a fairly open setting. "More kisses are necessary though."

It's impossible to miss the sparkle in Naomi's eyes as she nods her agreement to my brilliant idea.

"Ladies! There you are!"

Of course.

"I've been looking all over for you," Cook says as he steps in between Naomi and me, putting his arms around both our shoulders. "You're missing out on all the fun."

No, I'm pretty sure that's not the case at all.

I watch as Cook looks Naomi up and down like he does with any member of the opposite sex.

Unfortunately I don't get the chance to explain to Naomi who Cook is and how harmless he is.

In one movement she has Cook pinned up against a nearby wall with one of his arms twisted behind his back. "Listen you giant cock, we're not interested so why don't you go wank yourself somewhere private before I make it impossible for you to have kids one day."

My jaw is on the floor at what Naomi just did. Also, can I say that seeing her so worked up is pretty hot.

Cook isn't mad at being manhandled by Naomi and neither would I if I was in his shoes. He starts laughing and I should probably say something before matters get out of control.

"I think introductions are in order, Emilio," Cook suggests with his face smushed up against the wall.

The look of horror on Naomi's face when she realizes that I know Cook is absolutely priceless. She lets go of him immediately but that doesn't stop her from groaning in embarrassment.

"I've jumped to conclusions again, yeah?" Naomi asks rhetorically.

"Not to worry, Blondie," Cook says while cracking his neck. "Plenty of ladies love to have their hands all over me." I elbow Cook in the gut causing him to make an 'oof' sound I'm quite familiar with. "Hey! I'm the one who was attacked! Someone kiss it all better!"

"Pay no attention to him," I tell Naomi as I slide my fingers into her hand. "I appreciate you coming to my defense."

"Anytime," Naomi replies sweetly even though I can tell she's still mortified.

Cook continues to make crude comments but it's obvious he's not really upset. Much to my chagrin he starts chatting with Naomi and in no time they start cracking jokes like they're old mates.

In some ways I wish he'd leave, but on the other hand I'm really happy that the two of them are getting along. I told Cook a bit about Naomi when I invited him out with us. I know he's going to give me a hard time later about what happened, but for now he's being the good friend that he's always been to me.

Cook starts flirting with a cocktail waitress who comes by to take our order.

Naomi uses the distraction to turn her attention to me. "I don't think I told you this before, but you look unbelievably beautiful tonight."

Unfortunately Cook gets shot down pretty quickly and he starts in with Naomi again before I have a chance to respond to her.

The tingling sensation that she causes throughout my body is overwhelming. It's also something I find myself getting addicted to the more I get a taste of it.

And if I have my way, Naomi isn't a craving I plan on giving up any time soon.