"Please, I can't do this…I'm sorry, I just can't!" I don't know what made me think I could go through with this in the first place. Well, ok, at the time Katie had suggested this she'd been kissing my neck with her hands travelling further and further down my stomach, and to be honest I'd agree to just about anything when she starts doing that. But this…I must have been mad to agree to it! My fingers dig in to the car seat as I hold on for dear life. Katie rolls her eyes at me and takes one of my hands in to her own, her thumb caressing the back of my hand.
"Come on babes, you promised!"
"I was under duress!" She's right of course, this has all been planned for months and I've had plenty of time to prepare myself for the coming onslaught, but now that the day has actually come I know I can't go through with it. It will take heaven and earth to move me from this car right now.
"Well, if you back out, you won't be under my dress ever again, got it?" I know how much this means to her. We've been together almost eighteen months now, since the first summer I came back to Bristol after two years in London. I transferred back to Bristol at the start of my first year and moved in with Katie and Effy. It was rough at first, getting used to living with Katie Fitch, but we found a routine after a while. After uni I got a job at a local paper, it's not exactly the big time but it pays enough and Katie's really making a name for herself with her photography.
It hasn't been easy for us, in the beginning it seemed like we were fighting everyone and everything every step of the way. We'd tried to keep it from Emily, from everyone really, but we've all come a long way since then. Besides, it's not Emily I'm worried about, and even Katie's very real threat can't make me budge.
She knows me too well though and leans over to whisper in my ear. Her ample chest brushes against my arm as she drops her tone to a sultry whisper. God I'm a fucking sucker when she does this. "If you do this for me though babe, I'll do something extra special for you." She nips at my ear and I actually whimper, forgetting how that was what got me in to this mess in the first place.
"Alright, but you fucking owe me big time!" I finally relent and she rewards me with a kiss, a long, slow, searing kiss that under any other circumstance would lead somewhere, but we're already running late so she pulls away and squeezes my hand.
"Thank you."
This really does mean the world to her and I know I can't let her down. I think the world and his wife have been waiting for me to let her down since we went public. Well I haven't, and I won't. I screwed up with Emily, I hold my hands up to that, but I'm not a stupid kid anymore. I know what I want and I know what I have to do to keep it. Unfortunately that means I have to bend to Katie's every whim, but I suppose there are worse ways to live; and the sex isamazing.
Taking a deep breath I prise my fingers off the car seat and fumble with the door. I fucking hate this car. A Mini Cooper might be ok for Katie, but for us normal sized human beings it's a nightmare. I look up in trepidation as the door of the house we're headed to opens up. Here we go then.
"Katie! Sweetie!" The dragon guarding the gate, or Jenna Fitch as she's formally called, embraces her oldest daughter as we walk up the garden path. Her reception is a little frostier when she turns to me. I got the blame when Katie came out. Of course it was all my fault, it wasn't like she'd slept with Effy long before me. No, as far as Jenna's concerned I'm the big bad wolf who corrupted not just one, but both, of her daughters. "Naomi, glad you could make it. I'm surprised you aren't spending Christmas with yourfamily." She turns that sickly sweet smile on me and I have to resist the urge to slap her. My mother's decided she's Buddhist this year, which is probably going over great with Kieran and his Roman Catholic family. They're over in Ireland so I pretty much had nowhere else to go. So I'm spending Christmas Day with Jenna Fitch.
I hold her gaze defiantly as I take Katie's hands in my own. "Katie ismy family." I force a smile back at her and know I've said the right thing when Katie squeezes my hand back. I've already promised to be on my best behaviour so I'll try and play nice, for Katie's sake. Luckily the first person I meet when I step in to the living room is Emily and I know she'll have my back against her mum. It's weird; despite everything that went on between us we're still close. I don't think of her in that way anymore, and even Katie's stopped getting jealous when we hug or share a laugh over old times. I meant it when I said Katie is family, and Emily is too. We're practically like sisters now. We're a strange bunch and it really shouldn't work between us all, but somehow it does. Emily accepting us has a lot to do with it and I could never thank her enough for that. It took a while, but she finally accepted us and she's spent the last year and a half defending us to her mum.
"Ready for World War Z?" She teases me as Katie takes our coats and goes to hang them up in the cupboard in the hall. I roll my eyes at her as I hand over the bag of presents we brought with us for Katie's family. "Bet I've got something that will put a smile on your face."
"Vodka?" I quiz and Katie scowls at me as she joins us in the living room again.
"Eff and I finally found a flat we like. We've put down a deposit and we're moving in after New Year…so you two can have the flat to yourselves." Emily moved in with us last year when she and Effy finally decided to have a relationship rather than simply carry on with their friends-with-benefits arrangement that had apparently been going on since college. I'll miss not having the other two there, but in all honesty I can't wait to have the flat to ourselves.
"We could make the spare room in to a room for Albert?" Eff and Emily have been looking for a place for months so Katie's had time to think about what to do with the other bedroom. We have Albert a few times a month, and since, by some miracle, JJ somehow managed to knock Lara up they have a little girl on the way; so I imagine we'll be having Albert over a lot more.
"You could get some gnome wall paper?" Emily suggests, smirking as Katie joins in with teasing me. Albert's almost five now and he still insists on calling me Aunty Gnome.
Jenna interrupts their teasing as she comes back in to the room and hands out glasses of wine, telling us all dinner won't be too long. She slaps James' hand as he tries to take a glass of wine and hands him the one with orange juice in instead. James, their younger brother, is still as big a pervert as ever, but now he's seventeen and taller than his dad. His hands slip down to my arse as he hugs me and Katie and Emily both end up clipping him around the ear for his troubles. I get a hug from Rob Fitch, who unlike his wife actually likes me. "How you doing kiddo? Still haven't seen you around the gym yet!"
"It's my new year's resolution, honest." I laugh, safe in the knowledge that I've still got a week before I need to make good on my promise to start going to the gym with Katie.
"Nice one! So, what did you kids get for Christmas then?" I like Rob; he's a pretty down to earth bloke. When he found out about me and Katie he simply took me aside and warned me that if I hurt either of his girls again he'd kill me. He'd still had that big ridiculous grin on his face at the time, as though it had been a joke, but I knew he was being serious.
Katie's face lights up at the question as it's the perfect opportunity for her to show off her Christmas gift from me. "Naoms got me this." She holds out her hand for everyone in the room to see the big sparkling diamond on her ring finger. It cost me a small fortune and of course I had to ask Emily to help me with it. I'd managed to smuggle one of Katie's rings out of the house and had found it was a perfect fit for Emily, so the younger twin had been given the thankless job of helping me find just the right ring for Katie. I'd spoken to Emily about it beforehand of course, made it clear I wouldn't do anything without her agreement. She'd squealed when I told her I was planning to propose on Christmas eve and it's a good job I only told her a week earlier as she's been dying to tell Katie ever since.
"That's fantastic love!" Rob is all smiles as he pulls Katie in for a crushing hug and then drags me in to one of the legendary Fitch Family hugs.
"Finally making an honest woman of her, aye?" I blush as James makes a joke at his big sister's expense and Emily thumps him again. I thought long and hard about asking Katie to marry me, her face when I gave her the ring last night told me I'd made the right decision. We'd been curled up on the sofa sharing a bottle of wine and at midnight I'd offered her an early Christmas present. Of course she'd instantly asked to open the biggest present under the tree. I'd pulled the little ring box out of my pocket with shaking hands. She'd screamed so loud Effy had come running out of her room armed with a cricket bat. Effy's mum and dad had actually made an effort this year and along with her brother the four of them were celebrating Christmas in their old family home. No doubt she'd be calling Ems to go rescue her before the end of the day.
"So, you're going to be a Fitch then love?" Rob chuckles as I choke on my wine. We haven't really discussed it, but Katie and the rest of the Fitches roar with laughter, even Jenna manages a smile.
"Naomi Campbell-Fitch, has a ring to it, doesn't it babe?" Katie smirks at me, knowing full well it's the name I write under at the paper. My editor had made it clear in the interview that I'd do better with a different surname. Funnily enough Fitch was the first thing to come to mind. Katie had loved the idea.
"Let's get Fitched." I shoot back at her with a smirk and it gets everyone laughing again.
Jenna's eyes light up as she addresses me and Katie. "So when were you thinking of having the wedding? We could probably get the Winford Manor hotel next summer; it would be absolutely darling on the photos." I'm actually close to going in to shock as Jenna Fitch starts fussing over my upcoming wedding to her daughter. I'd expected her to try and kill me, not start discussing wedding venues and dresses. Did Katie crash the car on the way over here? Are we dead right now?
"We'll have to start looking at dresses; you are both wearing dresses aren't you?" She looks to Katie for the answer, which is probably right since I already know I'm going to have very little say over this wedding. I just didn't think Jenna would want to be involved. I know her wedding business has really taken off over the last few years, and this is probably the perfect opportunity to show of her skills, but she's actually fucking glowing as she pulls out wedding brochures from the sideboard. I'm still holding my breath, expecting her to turn around and hit me with them.
"Jen." Rob throws her a cautious glance as he looks over to where I'm silently sitting on the sofa, cradling my wine glass. "Maybe the girls should decide this stuff between them?" He's trying to be tactile and avoid some sort of civil war as Jenna's eyes narrow on him.
"Of course." Jenna's voice is tight as she turns to me with that forced smile back on her lips, like I'm something she tolerates. I catch Katie glaring at me, and I know how much this means to her. I force a smile as I turn to my fiancée.
"We'd love you to help Jenna, wouldn't we Katie?"
Jenna finally gives me a genuine smile as she bounces over to me and sits down with the handful of brochures, instantly assaulting me with dresses and flowers and everything else all at once. Katie takes a seat on the other side and takes my hand again, squeezing it in thanks as her mother rambles on. The woman is positively glowing, and for once in my life she's actually being nice to me. Apparently all it takes to win Jenna Fitch over is to ask her daughter to marry you. Maybe she gets how serious we are now, or maybe James slipped some drugs in to her wine; either way I just hope it lasts.
"I better be chief bridesmaid!" Emily jokes from the other side of the room. I'm so glad she's ok with this because I know Katie would never go through with it otherwise. "And no horrible dresses either!"
"Emily, you can't outshine the bride…brides." Jenna adds as she pats my knee and shows me yet another massive meringue dress that I would never be seen dead in. "Now the cut on this one is nice, but with Katie's height you'd need something more fitted-" I don't hear a word she says as my fiancée leans in close and whispers in my ear in that sultry voice of hers.
"You are definitely getting it tonight." I smile as I nod at Jenna, oblivious to whatever I'm agreeing to.
"So, when are you going to start having babies then?" James teases from the other side of the room. Emily smacks him again, rolling her eyes and telling him to leave it, but I catch the look on Katie's face. I know Effy isn't the only house guest she wants to have. We've spoken about fostering and adoption, and I know Katie wants kids someday, I just didn't think we'd be considering it so soon. We still have Albert over on weekends and I know how great Katie is with him, I just think it might be a bit different having a kid around full time. Katie can't conceive naturally though and again I feel Jenna patting my knee. Oh hell. I take a large sip of my wine and press my lips to Katie's cheek. Fuck it, in for a penny in for a pound and all that.
"Whatever makes you happy babe."
A/N: So that's it :) A special thanks to FreakFlagFlyin for leaving the review that gave me the idea to have Naomi face Jenna Fitch on Christmas morning. Once again a shout out to everyone who's put up with my updating and for the people who have kept me going by reviewing.
Trufreak.