CHAPTER FOURTEEN.
Naomi decided to go and sit at the cafe next door, home just wasn't a place she wanted to be right now. Lighting up a smoke and ordering a latte, she turned her phone back on, sighing as she once again contemplated calling Emily. She knew Emily would only ignore her again, so she sent her a message saying she was at the cafe and if she wanted to join her to talk, she'd be here for a while.
It was better than nothing, Naomi thought.
Emily received the message as she was watching a few children try to fly multicoulred kites while their parents watched on. They weren't having much luck, but were all enjoying themselves. She envied their carefree nature, wondering if she ever had that much fun as a child. She couldn't recall any happy memories like that, not without remembering how Katie upstaged her in some form or another.
"Fuck it," Emily shook her head and made a decision. Perhaps it was time for her to leave Katie's shadow forever and forged her own identity.
"No mum, I don't think she is coming over today," Naomi sighed as Gina talked about making Emily another dinner.
"Why not, love?" Gina knew her daughter well enough to know there was more to this, and quite possibly it had been her own daughter who had fucked up, but she still wanted to support Naomi. She loved her daughter, even when Naomi refused to see it.
"I just don't think she is, okay?" Naomi didn't want to answer any questions about her friendship with Emily right now, especially to her fucking mother.
"Okay. I'll see you later," Gina could feel something in Naomi's voice that told her she was struggling. Knowing when to cut her losses was a skill she'd learnt over the years, and now was the perfect time to do so.
Naomi hung up without speaking, just relieved to have her mother off her back for now. Lighting another cigarette, Naomi puffed out in frustration. Was Emily going to come? Or was she going to sit here like a fucking dumb shit, waiting on a redhead who probably wanted no more to do with her.
"Holy shit," Naomi sat up as she noticed Emily walking her way. She sarcastically remarked to herself that her answer had arrived, but now Emily was coming over, she had no idea what to do.
"I'm here," Emily said, rolling her eyes at her statement. Nothing like stating the obvious, she thought.
"Would you like to sit down?" Naomi wished she had asked that, but the new waiter at the cafe got in before her.
"Um, yeah. I'm over there," Emily pointed to Naomi.
"Okay," he smiled and brought over a menu.
"Um," Naomi bit her lip nervously.
"Yeah," Emily sat down, noticing Naomi wasn't wearing those very loose knee socks her mother had given her. Instead, her ankle was un-strapped and she was sporting an ice pack
"Thanks," Naomi said. "For you know, coming."
"Yeah."
"Can I take your order?" The waiter reappeared.
"Can I get a salad sandwich, glass of orange juice and another one of what she has," Emily pointed to Naomi's drink.
"Of course," he smiled, and left.
Naomi smiled, at least Emily would be here for a while.
"Don't apologise," Emily began. "Because I know you'll say it and then fuck me over again."
"Emily, I just wanted to see you," Naomi replied.
"I'm going back to Liverpool soon," Emily said.
"I think you should stay here a while," Naomi admitted.
"I don't really think it's up to you," Emily bit back.
"Of course," Naomi visibly shrunk in her chair. Jesus, Campbell, stop making decisions on Emily's behalf.
"Shit," Emily lit up one of Naomi's smokes. "We're not getting anywhere here."
"Can I tell you something I told Freddie?" Naomi decided that while this might not have been the place she would pick, it was the only one she had.
"If you want," Emily shrugged, though she was really quite interested to know where this was going.
"I like you Emily. You already know how you make me feel, but Emily, I've never admitted anything like that to Freddie. To anyone."
"What the fuck does that mean?" Emily had no idea if that was a good thing or not. After all, she hadn't been exactly forthcoming when it was just the two of them, so what the fuck did that mean?
Naomi waited until her latte and Emily's orange juice were placed on the table before continuing.
"You know I have certain feelings for you."
"Sexual?" Emily queried nervously as if voicing that made her some kind of idiot.
"Yeah," Naomi blushed.
"Then why didn't you, you know, last night?" Emily asked.
"Because you didn't really want me to, and I didn't want to hurt you despite what I said."
"That's fucked up, Naomi. I was letting you have me that way."
"That's fucked up, Emily," Naomi parroted.
"Why?"
"Because when I have one night stands it's just to get my fucking leg over. They mean nothing to either of us."
"And I'm too fragile to cope with the fact that you only want to fuck me?" Emily asked, angry.
"You're not understanding," Naomi took out another cigarette.
"So, you go out nearly every night, get some cock and that's okay?"
"It's not every night, Emily. I'm not a fucking slut. I've had about, probably ten sexual encounters in my entire sexually active life. Most of the time Ems, it's just a bit of kissing and then I tell 'em to fuck off. It doesn't really do much for me."
"Then why do you do it?"
"I get so drunk that it feels good until about half-way through," Naomi admitted.
"That's disgusting," Emily smiled slightly.
"Yeah, sex doesn't sound all that glamorous now, does it?" Naomi would have danced she was so relieved that Emily finally smiled at her.
"So what does it mean that you told Freddie?"
"Um. I think it means that I like you and he'll fucking push me not to be so much of a fucking prick."
"Oh, so he's like your insurance?" Emily asked.
"In a way," Naomi said.
"Then why won't you let me into your bed?" Emily asked, dropping her eyes to look at the ash on the end of her cigarette.
Naomi paused. She had to put this right if she wanted Emily to understand.
"That first night I wondered what your neck tasted like, and couldn't wait to taste it after our first kiss. I tend to watch the movement of your hips, watch as your hair moves. I want to run my hands under those sleeves you fold, and feel how soft your skin is. When you were in my house with my mum, I felt happy. I was feeling happiness, Emily."
Naomi lit yet another cigarette, afraid to look at Emily.
"And it's not just a physical attraction. You make me laugh, like really fucking laugh. I want to protect you from your sister and your family, and I like how nice you are to my mother and to Freddie and JJ. People don't usually do that, but you do, and I know it isn't forced. Both Freddie and JJ like you, and that says a lot. I can't stop thinking about you in the bookstore, spending all that time in the section I take most pride in, really taking an interest in what I was doing. I want to know your opinion on everything."
Naomi stopped, not only because the waiter was arriving with Emily's sandwich, but because she needed to take a fucking breather.
"Jesus, Naomi," Emily couldn't quite cope with admission.
"I know. That's why I wouldn't let you waste your first time with me," Naomi shrugged. She wanted Emily, but it would only ruin the redhead, and she couldn't allow herself to be the usual callous blonde she liked to be when shit got too much. Emily deserved to be happy.
"I um, come with me," Emily stood and walked to the bathroom, waiting.
Naomi tried getting up, but the ice pack slid and she had to pick it up before following. Thankfully, no one seemed to notice both had gone to the bathroom at the same time.
They moved to each other together, Emily the aggressor. She couldn't find anything to say that would make more sense than grabbing Naomi and kissing her. Kissing her hard. Naomi yelped as Emily pushed her against the door, the handle digging into her side, but she didn't break away from Emily's lips. She'd never been kissed with such passion, all she could was hang on.
Emily's hand traveled from Naomi's hair down her neck to rest on her waist. Naomi felt her shirt being lifted, and warm hands touching her back. She wanted to slow down, but Emily was leading this dance, so she followed.
"Fuck," Emily hissed as she broke away from Naomi's mouth. Waiting until Naomi opened her eyes, Emily traced a shaky hand around Naomi's back to touch soft skin of Naomi's torso. Naomi bit her lip and moaned as Emily's eyes fluttered at the touch of her bra. Naomi pulled her shirt up, giggling as Emily tried to pull it off her.
"Slow, hun, it's okay," Naomi assured Emily. She would have made a joke, but Emily's look silenced her. She had never felt more desirable.
"Naomi, I don't know what to do."
Naomi could see what that cost Emily. Her shoulders slumped, and the fire that was brightly shining in her eyes mere seconds ago had disappeared.
"Give me your hand," Naomi commanded softly. Taking Emily's hand, she placed it over her heart, on the swell of her breasts.
Emily layed her head on Naomi's near-naked torso and just listened. She snuggled into Naomi's embrace, thinking she was quite possibly the dumbest virgin in the world.
"Come on, let's finish eating and then let's go for a walk," Naomi suggested. She put her top back on and smiled as Emily watched her.
"How's your foot?"
"It's okay, it's becoming second nature to stay off it," Naomi assured Emily.
"I actually need to go to the ya know," Emily admitted, pointing to the toilet.
"Okay, I'll leave and go finish my drink." Naomi kissed Emily before leaving. The passion that had reared quickly was extinguished just as fast, but Naomi felt herself liking where they were. Emily had forgiven her and they had managed to talk about it instead of allowing it to fester too long.
Naomi loved how they fell back into conversation after a few moments of nervous silence. Emily shared her sandwich with her and after Naomi strapped her ankle and put that hideous sock back on, Emily paid for everything and they began strolling in no particular direction.
"Come on, I want to show you where I first met Freddie," Naomi smiled.
"I thought it would have been at school?"
"Well yeah, but the first time I actually saw him was this way," Naomi replied, smiling as Emily pushed some of her hair back. It seemed to be something they did to each other just to have that anchor, that moment they could touch each other without people staring and judging.
"Okay," Emily liked knowing about Naomi's life, so she was happy to follow.
"He was with his mother," Naomi stopped for a moment, lost in the memory.
"Hey, it's okay," Emily didn't want to bring back anything that was unhappy for her.
"No, sorry, just got swept up in it for a minute. Anyway, he was with his mother and I was carrying a little brown horse, a stuffed animal," Naomi smiled.
"I can't see you with stuffed animals," Emily teased.
"I dropped it and didn't realise."
"Why?"
"I had a little blanket for it, and I guess I assumed I still had it," Naomi replied. "Freddie picked it up and ran after me. Almost ran across the road, but he must have been taught about fucking road safety or something. He stopped and shouted, 'hey girl you dropped your pony.' I was so offended that he called me a girl and called my horse a pony I told mum to go get it. I didn't even say thank you."
"Mean bitch," Emily kissed Naomi's cheek, noticing a few tears dropping.
"His mother was so lovely. I really miss her," Naomi wiped her tears away, but was surprisingly unashamed that Emily saw them fall. "Just there, Em, I dropped the horse just over here. Sometimes on the day of his mothers death we just come here and sit on that seat over there? We sit there, just the two of us. Sometimes we talk bullshit, sometimes we talk about her before she got sick and other times we just sit, maybe have a few smokes. We never want to forget what happened to her. She got so sick, Ems, no one could do anything. Then she did it for us, I guess. She killed herself."
Emily hugged Naomi, a task made difficult by her crutches, but she wanted to be close to her. Moving away, she didn't even think to look around and see what other people thought, she just knew she wanted to help Naomi.
"He remembered, at school? He asked me if my horse had a name," Naomi smiled, remembering how hard it had been for her to open up to him. Even back then she was protecting herself.
"Did it?"
"I don't fucking know, actually!" Naomi grinned. "Probably not."
"So you became friends right away?"
"Fuck no! I hated how fucking much he tried to befriend me. I was happy to just hang out by myself," Naomi shrugged. "He wore me down, the little shit. But it took a long time."
"That's a nice story, for the most part," Emily rubbed Naomi's back.
"I tried to resist, you see? I'm always trying to resist things that have the potential to hurt me."
"Tell me something else, Naomi. I want to know those kinds of stories," Emily smiled as they began walking again. The sun was going down, a surprising sign of quickly the day was leaving them.
"Cook tried to get me to have sex with him, every single time I saw him, for about four months," Naomi laughed.
"Did you?"
"No. No way," Naomi shook her head. "At first I found him fucking disgusting. We met at a club, though he was pretty notorious before that."
"And JJ was with him?"
"Yeah, but always on the outside. I knew him a little, met him by accident and he was really insular then. He would almost sit in Cook's back pocket. Never looked up when people spoke to him. But I made some fucking stupid joke when I first met him near the skateboarding park. There was more grass and less tress back then. He was flying some fucking Vietnam era-jet or something. Anyway, he smiled, but didn't look at me. For a while I would see him and he would always come over closer to where I was laying, reading a book or just hanging around."
"So Cook gave up trying to get you to have sex with him?" Emily frowned, she still wasn't sure about this Cook.
"He still does, but it's not serious," Naomi assured Emily.
"Okay."
"I know he doesn't sound like a perfect angel, but he is really dear to me, he isn't all like that."
"I'm sorry, I think I'm judging him and I have no right."
"I wanted to tell you about his insistence to 'willy-waggle' as he some romantically puts it, because that is the character of James Cook. He gives off a persona that makes it easy to just see what he wants to show. The trick is getting past it, and it's really fucking difficult to do. People are easily taken in by his bravado and his persona of a tough fucker who doesn't give a fuck about anything other than himself."
"A bit like someone else I'm starting to know," Emily teased.
"You're right, Ems. I'm very much like that. Maybe that's why I get him."
"So tell me more about Cook."
"Okay. One time JJ was getting picked on at college. Cook was in the middle of, well he was having sex in the store room. It looked like an easy target. Freddie was being held back by three and was shouting for JJ to run, but JJ was too afraid to move. There were two guys teasing the fuck out of him; emptying his bag, tipping garbage on him, one was imitating JJ getting locked on, it was really horrible. I got through, I guess a girl isn't much of a challenge. Anyway, I kicked one and just crouched in front of JJ, trying to get him to look at me, just to focus on me, you know?"
Emily led Naomi over to one of the park benches.
"JJ just couldn't get there, he was too fucking scared. He tells me when he's like that his mind retreats. I was trying, I just couldn't help him other than provide a bit of a buffer. Freddie had managed to get out of the hold he was in and started pushing and shoving with one of the guys, but the other one threw a desk. It got me. Thankfully it fucking didn't get me squarely. It still managed to draw blood and being a head wound, it looked pretty spectacular. Cook arrived and not only had time to give me his shirt so I could stem the bleeding, but he picked JJ up and managed to move him into the next room. Then he also calmed the situation down by taking out the ringleader. It only took one guy, you know how weak groups like that are. Once Cook had him down, they all backed off."
"Poor JJ," Emily shook her head.
"Cook had the guy picking up all of JJ's stuff, and the rubbish. He then publicly apologized to JJ and to me."
"So he used intimidation," Emily felt bad when she saw Naomi flinch.
"He threw three punches, Emily. One of those fuckers hit me with a desk." Naomi didn't know if she could continue trying to make Cook acceptable to Emily.
"I'm sorry Naomi," Emily knew she wasn't warming to Cook.
"Should I tell you about the time he saved kittens from a burning boat?"
"You don't need to be sarcastic, Naomi. I'm just saying violence scares me."
"Okay, fine. But if someone set upon you, hun, I'd be on them trying to punch, kick and scratch the fuck out of them."
"I know you love him, but don't ask me to love him just because you do, okay?" Emily said, sighing.
"Fine."
"Hey, don't be pissy. I love my sister and I know you don't like her," Emily tried to reason with Naomi.
"But you said he reminds you of me. If that's true, how does that translate to me? You like me, right?"
"I'm beginning to know you, Naomi. I don't know Cook. That's all I'm saying."
"I'm ready to go home," Naomi stood, much of her good mood now evaporated.
Emily swore under her breath, but followed Naomi.
"I'll drive you home," Emily offered.
"Yeah, okay."
TBC ...
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