AN: Oh men! How long has it been? I'm so sorry! Work has been a bit crazy lately and I'm still having inspiration problems! I'm not abandoning this though I swear! Jesus, certainly not when we're so close to being done!
That being said, would you believe this story does not want me to let it go? I know I said there was no way it would get extended again, but turns out I was wrong! This is NOT the last chapter folks, but the penultimate (at least for the time being, I mean I'm not saying anymore about that cause I keep being wrong!).
I hope you can all forgive me for the extra length and delay in the posting! I offer you a specially long chapter in return! 9400 words or so of content! I mean, we're reaching Manifolds length here!
Thank you so much for still following me and indulging me with the delays. Your reviews still brighten up my day and if it weren't for them and for all of your enthusiasm, I'm not sure I'd find the energy to keep writing! So thank you! It's very very appreciated!
Now I've babbled enough! Here comes the chapter!
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Chapter 25:
.
.
Naomi couldn't remember the last time she'd slept this soundlessly. It wasn't that she'd ever had insomnia or anything, but the last ten years of her life hadn't been the most relaxed years either- what with Uni and then work and the stresses that usually came with both. For the first time in what truly felt like forever though, Naomi could genuinely say that she'd slept with complete and utter abandon.
It seemed silly in a way, but when she'd woken up on her own without an alarm blaring her to consciousness, she'd felt more rested than ever. There was a lazy smile on her lips as she stretched slowly, feeling every muscle in her arms and legs wake up and no hint of annoyment.
She stayed in bed a while longer, just relaxing, just because she could. She closed her eyes and her mind instantly thought of Emily and the wonderful date they'd shared the night before.
In all modesty- not that that had ever been the blonde's forte- it had been perfect. Naomi had been so terrified to mess everything up that it was a bit hard to believe now that things had actually gone smoothly. She'd been certain she'd cock up at one point or freeze at another or at least do something stupid and make it all awkward, but she hadn't.
She'd been nervous at first, of course she had, but it hadn't taken that long before she'd felt comfortable with Emily. It was weird actually, how she always ended up feeling comfortable around the other woman. Sure, Emily made her incredibly nervous and speechless on a regular basis, but there was also something intangible and untouchable between them- like some beautiful if albeit totally bizarre connection.
Naomi didn't know how to explain it, but she surely wasn't complaining. Actually, she liked this feeling that seemed to form deep in her stomach every time the brunette was around. She didn't know what it was exactly, but every time she was with the petite woman, Naomi was simply happy. As a matter of fact, she couldn't remember a time in her life where she'd felt so elated, so ridiculously content to just be. Whenever she was with Emily, it didn't matter if she'd mostly always been a cynical and doubtful twat because she wasn't anymore. Whenever she was with Emily, it didn't matter if this whole love business was alien to her and completely new.
Reason and logic, cause and effect, all of that didn't matter. Things just were and she was ready to accept them. So what if her happiness was coming from a tiny, gorgeous brunette? So what if it was risky? It was and she was happy and in love and it was the only thing that mattered.
Naomi's smile extended as she remembered the looks they'd exchanged and how Emily's face had looked under the moonlight. Christ sake! How her face had looked under the moonlight? She thought with a disbelieving snort. She was so infatuated with the other woman, she was turning into a right sap.
She shook off the memories of moon and loveliness and instantly started thinking about the kisses they'd shared instead. It didn't take a second for Naomi to feel rather hot all of a sudden.
She could still remember clearly how Emily's lips had felt against hers and how her agile fingers had clenched around her neck. Shivers erupted on her skin as Naomi remembered how she'd pressed herself against Emily's small taut body in front of her flat and how they'd fitted together. She bit her bottom lip and a shaky sigh escaped her lips.
Shit, now she was feeling really fucking horny.
To be fair to the blonde, Emily was quite hot and the kiss they'd exchanged by her door would have made anyone feel just as horny. Also, it had to be said that it had been a really long while since Naomi had been with anyone.
Of course, she was conscious that the brunette had asked her to take things slowly and that obviously meant that they wouldn't be doing anything to release her of her desires any time soon.
It was a bit easier, she guessed, since her brain and heart really did agree with the other woman. Everything had moved quite fast between them since her true age had been revealed. To be honest actually, Naomi hadn't even thought they'd kiss at all on their date. By all means, it was a lot wiser to wait and go slowly and get to know each other a lot better.
But fuck if her body wasn't totally ready to burst with desire for the teacher. She was only human after all and she really did love Emily deeply. She couldn't help but long to feel the brunette's skin under her fingers, to feel her skin against her own skin, to hear her moan and groan and feel her body move underneath or above hers.
"Jesus..." Naomi muttered under her breath.
Just thinking about having sex with Emily was making her squirm. She couldn't imagine how actually sleeping with the other woman would feel like.
She closed her eyes tighter, trying to control her dirty thoughts. She had to keep herself focused. Emily wanted to go slowly and above all Naomi didn't want to pressure her. There was no rush really. The blonde wasn't a fifteen year old boy. She could totally wait.
As a ragged breath escape her, Naomi felt her hand move lower on her body. Surely, that was allowed, right? Given the circumstances, it wouldn't be considered weird of her to get at least some release while thinking about Emily, would it?
Naomi had been about to push her hand below the hem of her pants when a loud knock reverberated in her flat.
"Christ..." she complained moodily.
She got up slowly, putting a pair of jogging trousers on as she made her way to the front door.
"If it's my mother I swear to fucking God..." she whined as she reached the door and opened it.
Naomi's grumpiness dissolved instantly when she saw that it wasn't her mother on the other side.
"Good morning" Effy greeted her with a devilish smirk on her lips.
"Morning! Jesus Eff, what are you doing here? What time is it?"
"Quarter to nine" the teenager replied casually, walking past Naomi and into the flat.
Naomi closed the door and followed the other girl.
"And you're here because...?"
"Honestly Naomi, you do know how to make a girl feel welcome..." the brunette chuckled as she entered the kitchen. "Coffee?"
Naomi rolled her eyes, but nodded nonetheless.
"Yeah sure, coffee sounds good"
"Great, you make it then I don't know where your shit is" the teenager replied with a smirk, making the blonde chuckle.
"Of course" she answered, stepping into the kitchen.
She started pulling out the things she needed to make coffee before speaking again.
"Since you won't answer why you're here, I'm just going to assume you were already missing my awesome company"
Effy snorted and rolled her eyes.
"You wish" she replied with a smirk. "I'm here to inquire about your big date, you pillock, why else?"
"Oh" Naomi said, her lips automatically quirking into a smirk.
Effy chuckled and raised an eyebrow.
"I'm guessing it went well then" she said slowly.
"Yeah... yeah it really did" the blonde answered, looking completely somewhere else.
"Aw, look at you" the brunette cooed sarcastically. "All loved up. How incredibly heart warming"
"I'm not loved up" Naomi said rolling her eyes.
Effy raised her eyebrow real high and Naomi sighed.
"I mean I am in love, but I'm not loved up... I... I don't think Emily is quite there yet"
"Where? Loved up or in love?"
"Dunno, both" she shrugged, quietly continuing to make coffee afterwards.
A few seconds passed until Effy decided to speak up.
"Hey, you okay?" she asked carefully.
"Yeah" Naomi said with a firm nod. "I mean I can't expect her to feel the same. She's just learned the whole truth and we've only had one date..."
"But it'd be great if she felt the same anyway" the teenager continued.
"Obviously" the blonde confirmed. "But it's okay that she doesn't"
They were silent for a few more seconds.
"I'm sure she will, eventually" Effy said.
"Yeah?" Naomi asked feeling a bit insecure all of a sudden.
"Yes" the teenager assured.
"I am quite loveable" the blonde joked, feeling a bit better now.
"Not really, but you've got a really nice arse and fantastic tits" the brunette shot back with a wink.
Naomi chuckled loudly at that and then refocused her attention on making coffee. A few minutes later, she was serving two hot mugs. She handed Effy hers and went to retrieve some soy milk and sugar. She placed them on the isle, but the teenager had already started sipping her coffee. Naomi scoffed and rolled her eyes.
"You've got to be the oldest 17 year old I know" she commented. "I mean who drinks their coffee black at 17?"
Effy smirked above her cup.
"I'm an old soul" she said with a wriggle of her eyebrow.
Naomi rolled her eyes again, but smirked nonetheless.
"I'm moving to Manchester..." Effy announced out of the blue.
"What?" the blonde said surprised.
"I'm moving to Manchester" the teenager repeated. "I've been accepted at the University of Manchester"
"You... wha... Oh my god Ef!" Naomi exclaimed. "This is fucking brilliant!"
Effy smiled genuinely at her friend's response.
"Thanks" she said sheepishly.
"Wow... I just... wow" Naomi continued stupidly. "I didn't even know you'd applied! What program did you get into?"
"I... I'm going into psychology" Effy said, turning serious. "I figured that maybe it would help me understand"
The blonde looked at her friend for a moment before replying anything.
"Understand... What exactly?"
"Well, how actual normal people's thought processes work and stuff"
Naomi frowned at the answer.
"Okay two things. First, I thought you already understood that, I mean, aren't you all seeing or something? Oh and also, there is no such thing as normality, you know that right? It's a concept at best, not a tangible norm"
"I'm not all seeing. I observe people, I notice things and then I can guess what they will do or what they are feeling. I do not understand them though... What drives them... Stuff like that... And as for normality... thanks, but I'm pretty sure hearing voices, even if it is only sometimes, isn't normal by any standard, don't you think?" Effy replied looking so much older in that moment.
Naomi bit her bottom lip uncomfortably. She had never been really good with these kind of talks to begin with and she cared about Effy too much to fuck up her answer.
"Look Eff... If you're waiting for me to tell you how much of a fuck up I think you are, you're going to wait a long time because I'm not going to. There really is no such thing as normality. We're all abnormal. We all have our weird quirks and I can understand that you'd find this particular quirk of yours daunting and overwhelming, but it is not all of you. You're actually much more than that. I know you like to pretend that you don't care or anything and maybe you do it a little differently than most, but at the end of the day you still care and love... Probably a bit too much even... So like... don't be so hard on yourself, yeah?"
The teenager didn't reply anything at first, but just looked at Naomi with her large blue eyes curiously while sipping her coffee. Then, after a lot more time than the blonde would have liked, her lips curved into a smile and she spoke.
"Thank you" she said simply. "Although, I don't think anyone's ever described me as caring before" she joked.
"Idiots, the lot of them" Naomi argued firmly.
Effy chuckled and smirked.
"You're going to be absolutely brilliant. Mark my words, Manchester won't know what hit them" the blonde added and just like that the conversation carried on and the teenager didn't look so sad anymore.
They chatted for a while after that, probably longer then they had ever talked before. Of course, Effy still being Effy, Naomi did most of the talking. It didn't take long before the teenager was pressing her for details about her date with Emily. It didn't turn out to be much of a problem though, because the blonde soon realised she actually wanted to talk about it. She spent probably too much time going over every little detail, every little smile and look Emily had given. When it came time to tell her friend about the first kiss she and Emily had shared during the night, she'd grinned like a lunatic and the teen had teased her real good for it.
For once in her life, Naomi hadn't even cared about being teased. She had carried on talking about their date casually and happily until she reached the part about the other kisses they'd shared in front of the teacher's flat. A frown slowly appeared on her features as she explained to her friend how Emily had asked her to take things slowly.
"D'you... D'you reckon it's a bad sign or...? I mean it's normal, yeah? It doesn't necessarily mean that she doesn't trust me, does it?" Naomi asked, uncertainly.
Effy pondered for a moment or two before answering.
"Well I do think it's normal, yes" she said, making Naomi sigh with relief. "And I don't think it means that she doesn't trust you per se, but clearly she's still somewhat on her guard"
The blonde's face fell.
"How can I change that? How do I get her to just trust me fully without being afraid? I really love her Eff..." Naomi said sadly.
"I know you do" the teen replied. "Just continue to do exactly what you're doing. She'll see eventually that she doesn't need to be afraid because clearly you're a big ball of marshmallow"
"Fuck off" the blonde shot back with a smirk.
Effy chuckled and the conversation moved forward. They strayed away from Emily this time, discussing Uni and Manchester and Effy's plans. By the time 11 rolled in, they had each drank about three cups of coffee and they were still chatting easily. They were interrupted a few moments later when the doorbell rang. Naomi frowned, but Effy smiled.
"That'll be my lift" the brunette announced. "I told him to pick me up at yours, hope you don't mind" She continued, a mischievous glint in her eyes.
"Oh, yeah, no, no problem" Naomi replied automatically.
"I need to go to the pisser though. Mind answering? Tell him I'll be just a minute" the teenager continued, not waiting for the blonde's response before getting up and walking to the bathroom.
Naomi frowned after her, but got up to answer the door nonetheless. She understood why Effy had been a bit weird the second she opened the front door and there in front of her stood an awkward looking Freddie.
"Freddie!" she exclaimed in surprise. "Hi"
"Hey" the boy replied a bit sheepishly. "So hum... how is it going?"
"Good good... you?"
"Good..."
A silence stretched between the two before Naomi remembered herself and invited the boy in. They stood in her entrance after that, still silent and Effy still in the bathroom. The longer they waited, the more Naomi had the feeling that the teenage girl hadn't really needed the loo at all.
"I didn't know you and Effy were back on speaking terms..." she heard herself say eventually.
"Yeah... yeah we are... I mean... sort of" Freddie replied still awkward.
Actually, Naomi had never seen him so nervous before. His hands were hidden inside his jeans pockets and he was shifting on his feet constantly, his eyes on the floor. There was another uncomfortable pause and she heard him sigh.
"Look, I owe you an apology Naomi..." he said, looking up, his brown eyes full of guilt.
"Freds, you don't have to-" She started to say, but he cut her off.
"Yeah, I do. I was a real wanker to you about Panda's party... I'm sorry, yeah?"
"Look Freddie, it's okay. You were right when you said I shouldn't have left Panda on her own. I sort of panicked at the time and I decided to follow Effy, but I should have rang you" Naomi said.
"Yeah well... Panda did call me... Effy wouldn't have... I... you were right, you know? She needed someone too. Panda had me and Jay, but Eff... Well all she had was you... so... like... I guess what I mean is... thanks for hum... looking out for Effy" Freddie rambled uncomfortably.
Naomi couldn't help but smile at the boy's admission. She had always known he still cared about the brunette and now that she knew their history, she could understand why.
"It was no problem" she replied. "I'm still sorry I didn't call you though. I know Panda is like a sister to you so..."
"Forget it. It's good. We're good, yeah?" Freddie asked with a hopeful smile.
"Of course" Naomi grinned.
They stayed like that facing each other with stupid grins until, not even a minute later, Effy emerged from the bathroom and strolled over to them. She looked well pleased with herself and when she sent an obvious knowing look in Naomi's direction, the blonde rolled her eyes and shook her head slowly. The teenager really was a conniving one, she thought, but she couldn't say she wasn't happy she had meddled, at least just this once.
"Ready to go?" Effy asked the boy and he nodded.
Before leaving though, he turned again to Naomi.
"Huh... We're hanging out at mine on Sunday, Jay and Panda and me. You could come if you wanted" he tried to say casually but still ended up looking a bit nervous.
Naomi smiled so brightly though that Freddie looked relieved before she had even answered.
"Yeah, I'd like that" she still said.
"Cool, well I'll text you the address, yeah? Cheers" he said happily and waved her goodbye.
Naomi waved back and after Effy had sent her a quick wink, both teenagers left together.
;;
For the rest of the morning, Naomi didn't do much. She tried to keep herself busy, cleaned a bit, watched some telly, but it was all rather futile. All she could think about was Emily. She didn't want to seem too keen and text the other girl extremely early, but she was finding it hard to focus on anything else. All she really wanted was to talk to Emily, know how she was doing, if she'd slept well, if she'd thought of her... She really was ridiculously in love. Perhaps Effy hadn't been totally wrong when she'd compared her to a marshmallow.
At around 1 pm, Naomi had had enough. She couldn't stand it anymore and didn't care if she looked over eager. She grabbed her mobile and texted Emily.
.
Hey,
Thanks for the great
date last night. I hope
you slept well.
Naomi xx
.
She had hesitated for about a second before putting the kisses, but then she'd remembered that they had actually kissed and she figured it would be alright. Her heart was already racing when she put her mobile back on the coffee table. Naomi tried to will herself not to stare at it as she waited, because she knew there was a good chance Emily wouldn't reply right away and staring at her mobile wouldn't help in the least. Still she found herself sat on her sofa, her eyes fixed on the damn object.
Her heart jolted happily in surprise when barely a minute later, her cell phone chimed. The blonde snatched it quickly and a broad grin appeared on her face when she saw the name Emily on her screen. Her phone had never looked more beautiful, she thought.
.
I'm the one that
should thank you.
It really was wonderful.
I slept really well, had
the sweetest dreams.
How about you?
Ems xx
.
Naomi's smile was so huge when she finished reading that her cheeks were hurting. Her heart was beating happily in her ribcage and a sense of relief and blissfulness was quickly invading her. She bit her bottom lip to try and control that smile of hers as she typed back a reply.
.
Very nice dreams as
well. There was this hot
brunette with the most
gorgeous smile that kept
popping up.
.
The blonde worried for a moment if she'd been a bit too forward in her flirting, but then Emily's reply came through and she knew she had nothing to worry about.
.
Funny you should mention.
Mine also had a rather
hot woman in them.
She had the most
ridiculously blue eyes...
I've been wanting to
see them again ever
since I woke up.
.
The blonde chuckled happily as she typed back.
.
Maybe you should
have a nap then.
.
Naomi felt rather proud of herself when Emily texted her back.
.
Maybe I will...
;-) xxx
.
It was all she needed to spring into action. Before she had too much time to think about it, Naomi had gotten dressed and had grabbed her car keys. A few minutes later, she was parking in front of Emily's flat and walking to her door. She rang and waited impatiently, her heart still beating with the adrenaline that had brought her here so suddenly in the first place.
Her adrenaline rush stopped abruptly though when, a few seconds later, Emily opened the door and stared at her in complete shock.
"Hey" Naomi said, her voice wavering.
The brunette didn't answer right away. She continued to stare at her, her big brown eyes as round as saucers. During that time, Naomi took in the fact that Emily was wearing a pair of rather short plaid boxers along with an old tank top. Obviously, she hadn't been expecting her at all. The blonde chastised herself mentally. Of course Emily hadn't been expecting her! She was such a twat. It wasn't because she'd said that she had been wanting to see her eyes all morning that she had actually wanted Naomi to just turn up.
"Naomi, hi!" Emily eventually exclaimed, still sounding really surprised. "What are you doing here?"
"I huh... I was in the neighbourhood?" the blonde replied lamely.
When Emily raised a sceptical eyebrow Naomi shifted on her feet.
"Right... I thought I'd surprise you and huh... well when I left home it felt like a really brilliant idea, very romantic in a spontaneous kind of way, you know? But hum, now I think it may be coming off as a bit more stalkerish and random than I anticipated..." She started to explain.
She stopped talking when she heard Emily giggle. She waited for the other girl to say something, but when she didn't she grew nervous.
"I wanted to see you... I'm sorry if it's a bit weird" she added softly, her eyes shifting down.
She felt Emily step closer and lifted her gaze in time to see the petite woman snake her arms around her waist and inch upwards for a kiss. Naomi met her half way eagerly, grinning as their lips met softly.
They kissed like that on the brunette's front step for a few seconds, until Emily disconnected their lips with a soft hum. She kept her arms around the blonde and buried her nose in the crook of her neck.
"It's lovely that you're here" Emily muttered against her collarbone. "Maybe a bit freaky, but lovely nonetheless" She giggled.
Naomi's stomach churned happily and she kissed the side of the teacher's head. The next second, Emily had let her go and was grabbing her hand and leading her inside. Naomi followed her without question or hesitation. Once they were inside, Emily let go of her hand and walked further into the apartment. The blonde didn't want to snoop, but she found herself looking at her surroundings with interest. She'd never been inside Emily's place before and she had to admit she was finding the whole thing quite fascinating.
"Sorry if it's a bit messy" the brunette said. "I wasn't exactly expecting guests"
Naomi smiled and waved it off, her eyes still scanning every inch of the place. After the first glance, she had to say she was really loving the place. It wasn't big, quite smaller than Naomi's own place, but it didn't feel like it at all.
The apartment was full of weird objects and odd furniture, all paired together in a way that was tasteful if only a bit surprising. Everything was unique and quirky in its own way- like a lamp in one corner with bead necklaces glued to the shade and an old mustard yellow carpet with strange lettering and the rather large papier mâché sculpture set on top of it in another.
There were a lot of these little things everywhere, things that felt like they had their own story and things that made Naomi want to ask a million questions. Her favourite thing though had to be the brunette's bookcases, full to the brim with books of every colour and every size.
Naomi wanted nothing more than to step closer and examine each volume in turn, but she suddenly remembered that Emily was actually there and that she hadn't said a word in probably too long so she stopped herself. When she turned around to look at the petite teacher, she found that Emily had actually been looking at her with a smirk on her face.
"D'you like the place then?" the other woman asked.
"Yeah" she replied sincerely. "It feels... Alive"
"Alive?" Emily chuckled. "What do you mean by that?"
"Just like... I don't know, everything looks like it means something or like it has a background, you know? Like that sculpture over there" she finished, pointing at the papier mâché.
Emily's smile widened and her eyes glowed with pride.
"That was a gift" she explained. "After Uni, I taught English in India for a while. That's a sculpture the kids made me when I had to leave"
Naomi nodded slowly, feeling her heart flutter at the other woman's adorableness.
"Emily Fitch" she said. "Did you forget to tell me you were a saint or something?"
The brunette giggled at her words and shook her head.
"I'm not a saint..." she whispered, her cheeks reddening a bit.
"No? I mean, clearly someone this adorably perfect has got to be on their way to be beatified"
Emily shook her head again, her cheeks still red.
"I'm not perfect either" she mumbled, casting her eyes downright.
Naomi walked over to her and pushed a lock of her brown hair behind her ear.
"Could have fooled me..." she whispered back.
Emily beamed at her, her eyes flashing with emotions that Naomi couldn't quite place. She stepped a bit closer, before biting her bottom lip and taking a step back again, a shaky sigh escaping her. The blonde felt a frown creep up on her face, but before she had time to ask Emily if anything was wrong, the girl had started to speak.
"So... Did you have anything in mind when you decided to drop by my flat?"
Naomi couldn't help feeling like it was a clumsy change of subject, but she let it slide nonetheless.
"Huh, not really..." she admitted.
"Right... You just figured you'd drop by and, what? Hang out?" Emily continued with a smirk.
"Yeah well... I figured you might want to and since I was in the neighbourhood and all" Naomi joked.
"Of course" Emily said through a smile.
"Seriously though, I can go too. I mean, I didn't want to impose... I just... wanted to see you" the blonde added, all trace of humour gone now.
The brunette shook her head.
"Don't, stay. I really don't mind you being here and we can definitely do something. I just don't know what we could... Oh hold that thought!" she finished, a huge grin forming on her lips. "You know what? I know just the thing we can do! Can you wait for me while I get changed?"
As soon as Emily had said that, Naomi's eyes automatically shot down and she was quickly reminded of how short Emily's boxers were. She gulped as her eyes drank in the sight of the brunette's perfect legs. They were deceptively long for someone so small and Naomi was finding it hard to concentrate all of a sudden.
She was brought out of her perving though when Emily cleared her throat loudly. Her eyes snapped back up and a blush covered her cheeks when she spotted the other woman's amused pointed look.
"Ye-yeah sure, go on" she hurried to reply. "What are we doing then?" she continued, eager to direct the attention away from her indiscretion.
"You'll see" Emily smirked mischievously, walking away in the direction of what Naomi supposed was her bedroom.
"Yeah? Well look who is pulling a surprise this time! Am I going to like it?" she shouted.
"I don't know, but I sure will" she heard Emily shout back.
Naomi chuckled, but didn't reply anything else. Since Emily was busy, she figured she could take a closer look at that bookcase.
She was still looking at the titles when, a few minutes later, Emily came back.
"You ready?" the brunette asked.
The blonde had fully intended to reply, but when she turned around and her eyes focused on an Emily in all her motorcycle get-up glory, all coherent words- or thoughts for that matter- escaped her. She felt her mouth open as her eyes started roaming the sight of the other woman in that leather jacket and those boots. She closed it though when the brunette started giggling.
"If that's how you've been looking at me, no wonder Cook and Effy figured it out" she teased, looking quite pleased with herself.
"I'm sorry it's just... Do you know how stupidly stunning you look in that jacket?" Naomi argued back, lifting her arms in the air in total defeat.
Emily rolled her eyes, but the satisfied smirk she'd been sporting didn't disappear.
"So you don't mind if we take the motorcycle?" She asked.
The blonde shook her head and Emily nodded approvingly.
"Alright come on then" she said, walking towards the entrance.
Naomi followed and they stepped outside. The blonde waited as Emily walked to what looked like a small storage unit. She unlocked it and opened the doors. Predictably, Emily's motorcycle was occupying almost the entire space.
Naomi continued to wait as the other woman took the motorcycle out, then went back in to grab her helmet. She came back outside momentarily to place her helmet on the seat of her motorcycle and went back into the storage unit once more. When she came back out, she had a white helmet in her hands. It wasn't the full face type of helmets like the one Emily actually wore, but the type that was just big and round and made you look a bit stupid. Naomi groaned mentally and Emily gave her a sheepish smile in return.
"I'm sorry, that's the only courtesy helmet I have..." she explained.
"It's okay. I will try to live it down" The blonde said cheekily.
"Come here" the petite teacher said through a small chuckle.
She walked up to Naomi, lifted the helmet above her head and carefully put it on, holding it by the straps. The blonde had expected her to let it go after that, but instead, Emily stared at her, her smile gone, her hands still holding onto the straps.
"On a scale of 1 to 10, how stupid do I look right now?" She teased to ease the tension.
"Zero..." Emily muttered, her eyes becoming darker.
Naomi gulped slowly and felt her heart flutter when the other woman's eyes flickered to her lips for a moment. She started leaning in, but then, as if the brunette had been shocked, she let go of the helmet and stepped back. Naomi frowned, her stomach churning uncomfortably. For the second time that day she felt like asking the petite woman if anything was wrong, but then Emily stepped back closer, tied the straps underneath her chin and then gave her an uncertain smile.
"Let's go yeah?" she said and Naomi felt her question die in her throat.
No matter what had upset Emily, it was clear she didn't fancy talking about it. Even if she didn't like it, Naomi let it go. She nodded and the next minute, the storage unit was locked once more and both she and Emily were sat on the brunette's motorcycle.
Naomi placed her hands on her thighs awkwardly as Emily roared the engine to life.
"Alright, we're ready to go" Emily announced.
"Ok" she replied, still not too sure what to do with her hands.
She heard Emily chuckle.
"You're going to want to hold onto me tightly, Naomi. This thing does go quite fast" the petite woman said.
She certainly didn't need to be told that twice. Naomi smirked happily and snaked her arms around the brunette's waist. As she pressed her front against Emily's back, she felt the other woman lean back into her. Her smile widened and she thought, as the motorcycle started moving, that it didn't really matter where they were going as long as she could hold onto Emily like this for a while.
;;
"You've got to be shitting me!" Naomi exclaimed loudly when she recognised the stupid green and orange neon sign of Jungle Rumble Adventure Golf.
When Emily had parked her motorcycle outside the Cabot Circus shopping centre, Naomi hadn't thought much of it. She'd wondered momentarily if shopping was what the petite teacher had had in mind and she'd hoped to God it wasn't. Now that she was standing in front of the mini golf place though, she wished the other woman's intentions had been shopping.
"What? You're not game?" Emily teased through giggles.
"Emily... I was banned from this place remember?"
"Oh come on! They're hardly going to have a photo of you at the counter, are they?"
"Well you never know... They were really intense about it..." Naomi argued seriously, a deep frown on her face.
When Emily chuckled harder, the blonde shook her head.
"Seriously Emily! They chased us out of the place screaming that we were deviants! Cook didn't even have time to pull his trousers up properly!"
The teacher continued to laugh and shook her head.
"How long ago was it anyway?"
"Huh... probably like 2 years ago or something..."
"I'm sure it'll be just fine. I bet there won't even be any staff that was there back then. Come on Naoms, you'll see" she said, taking the blonde's hand in hers.
And of course that gesture paired with the use of a nickname was all the convincing Naomi really needed.
"I'm warning you though. If we get kicked out it's all going to be your fault" The blonde added moodily.
"Duly noted" Emily said, pecking her on the cheek before walking towards the entrance.
Naomi followed after her, relishing in the fact that, at least, she was with the other woman.
;;
They managed to walk into the place and pay for their game without trouble. When they arrived at the first hole of their chosen course, Emily turned towards Naomi with a smug expression on her face.
"Not too disappointed you didn't get chucked out, miss felon?" she teased.
"Not really" the blonde shrugged. "As damageable as it is to my reputation, I kind of like that it's not cutting our second date short"
"Second date?" Emily inquired a big smile on her lips.
"Well yeah, that's what this is, isn't it?"
"Can it already be a second date if our first was last night?"
"I think it can" Naomi nodded firmly.
"Alright then" Emily conceded with a wink. "Let's play, yeah?"
"Of course" the blonde agreed, a mischievous smirk playing on her lips now. "You go first"
The brunette didn't argue. She walked up to the beginning of the course, set her ball on the green turf and positioned herself. She hit the ball a first time and looked at it as it went to the back of the course, a few feet away from the hole. Two shots later, the ball was sinking into the hole.
"Not bad" Naomi congratulated with a smile.
"Thanks" Emily replied happily. "Your turn now"
The blonde nodded and walked to the turf. She placed her ball carefully, turning her head a little so she could check the course as she was bent. Then, she got up, grabbed her club firmly between her hands, squinted her eyes and hit the ball. It sprung forward in a perfect trajectory until it sank into the hole. Naomi smirked smugly as she turned to look at a surprised Emily.
"Wow! Nice shot!" the brunette said genuinely.
"Thank you" the blonde replied casually. "Must be first hole's luck"
Emily nodded and they continued forward. After the 6th hole though, when Naomi sank her 4th hole in one, Emily stopped her.
"Ok, first hole luck my arse! How good exactly are you at this?!" she questioned disbelievingly.
The blonde chuckled.
"Ok, I might not have been totally honest..." she admitted. "Mini golf is sort of my thing. That and bowling actually"
"Is that why you brought your dates here before being banned? To show off?" Emily asked and Naomi grinned.
"It may have been one of the reasons" she confessed as Emily gaped incredulously at her.
"Oh my God! I can't believe you let me pretend it was luck! You big show off!" the brunette exclaimed half chuckling.
"In my defence, the mini golf was your idea!" Naomi said innocently.
"Cheeky bitch" Emily said under her breath, walking towards the 7th hole.
When she got there, she placed her ball on the turf and prepared herself for her shot. Before she had time to play though, Naomi had walked behind her, circling her arms around her waist.
"D'you want me to show you how to hit the ball?" the blonde muttered in the other woman's ear.
Emily shivered and leaned into Naomi's body. She nodded and the blonde positioned herself so that her hands were covering Emily's.
"Alright, well mini golf is all about angles and knowing your obstacles. Here it's actually easy. The hole is behind that big volcano and you just have to hit that yellow wooden stopper over there at three quarter of its length" She explained.
"What?" Emily asked, turning her head so she could look at Naomi. "You've totally lost me"
The blonde smiled lovingly at the adorable confused frown on the brunette's face. She kissed the side of her head.
"Here, let me show you" she said, letting go of the petite woman in her arms.
Emily stepped aside and watched as Naomi focused on her shot. A minute later, the ball had sprung across the turf and sank into the hole. The blonde grinned proudly and wriggled her eyebrows as she turned to Emily. The brunette was biting her bottom lip to control her smile.
"How did you even learn to play like that?" she asked curiously.
"Ah! Well that one is easy enough. My mum had this whole communal living phase when I was a teenager and she used to let just about anyone come live with us. At one point, one of our lodgers was this massive crazy eyed guy named Sir Antoine- or at least that was how he liked to be called, I think his real name was George or something... Anyway, Sir Antoine was a big believer of earning your due so he set up a mini golf course in our kitchen and anyone who wanted to get anything from the fridge had to sink a bloody hole in one. I'm telling you, when you're a starving teenager, you learn fast" Naomi explained casually.
Emily stared at her in disbelief.
"You can't be serious..." She said slowly.
"Oh I promise I am!" the blonde insisted. "We had all sorts of looney tunes. There was Evelyn who liked to shout out swear words randomly to see with what kind of stigma people with Tourette's syndrome lived, there was Jamsie who believed complete freedom meant walking around naked all the time and there was also The Messiah who took a liking to bunking with me at night. It's a wonder I'm not more damaged than I am, really"
Emily chuckled, still looking completely bewildered.
"Now, how about I show you how to make this shot, eh?" Naomi suggested.
The brunette nodded and came to place herself in front of Naomi. The blonde circled her and Emily leaned into her again.
"Right" she muttered into the petite woman's ear. "Like I said, you wanna hit that wooden plank at three quarter of its length, but you can't hit it too hard, yeah?"
"Hum" Emily hummed back.
"You need to move just a bit, let your hips and your arms move in sync" she continued.
"How?" the other woman asked softly.
Naomi grinned to herself.
"Well..." she started, her left hand letting go of Emily's hand and bringing it instead to her hip. "You want to bend your hip just a bit" she continued, her hand pushing on the brunette's body. "And as you do you lift your arms a bit..." she said, still guiding Emily. "Then, you let it all go at once, your hips shifting back and your arms descending" she guided Emily's arms back down and her hips into place, but didn't hit the ball. "Don't stop the movement afterwards. If you jerk to a stop it'll deviate the ball. Now, try again"
Naomi moved Emily's hips again with her hand as the teacher moved her arms up. Then, she guided the brunette into a swift movement down and together they hit the ball. The blonde watched confidently as it moved across the turf, hit the wooden plank perfectly and sank into the hole.
"Oh my God I did it!" she exclaimed in surprise. "We did it!" she continued, turning around to hug Naomi.
"Of course! You're not the only one who can be a great teacher, you know?"
Emily smirked in response.
"True... You know I think you might deserve a kiss as a mark of my gratitude" she added, her voice huskier than usual.
It was Naomi's turn to smirk.
"I would definitely not mind that"
She barely had time to finish her sentence before Emily's eager lips connected with hers. Naomi responded instantly, feeling herself hum into the kiss. She knew it wasn't the first time she'd kissed Emily, but even so, the blonde really couldn't get enough of the other woman. Her lips were just the perfect combination of soft, wet and firm and Naomi was mind blown every time.
For a second, she forgot where they were. She forgot everything that was outside of them, outside of this moment, outside of their lips meeting. She moaned loudly, probably too loudly for what was allowed in a public place, but didn't care. Their kiss was heating up with every second, Naomi's heartbeat along with it.
Then, Emily disconnected their lips with a loud smack. Her cheeks were bright red and her eyes dark. She gave Naomi a sultry look that only made the blonde want to kiss her again.
"You are so much trouble" Emily hissed, her eyes travelling between Naomi's eyes and lips. "Christ..."
She untangled herself from the blonde's arms and tugged at the hem of her shirt.
"I've not wanted to snog like this, like a bloody teenager in ages..." Emily muttered, shaking her head. "If we weren't in such a public place, one with that many children around too, I swear I'd..." she trailed off.
"Well..." Naomi mumbled, gulping slowly. "I happen to know that the windmill is quite roomy" she finished with a suggestive smirk.
Emily laughed loudly, shook her head and headed for the next hole. Naomi followed diligently, laughing along.
;;
They continued to play for a while, Naomi helping Emily from time to time and kissing her when she couldn't stop herself. Her initial nerves about coming back to the mini golf had subsided gradually every time she saw a new member of the staff and realised she didn't know them. By the time they reached the last hole of the course, Naomi was confident that Emily had been right- there weren't any staff member from two years ago anymore.
Of course, it was just as she came to that conclusion that she spotted a lanky man a few feet away that she did recognize.
"Shit!" She swore under her breath, trying to hide behind Emily.
"What's wrong?" the petite woman inquired as she turned around to look at the blonde.
"That man over there" Naomi started to explain, still bending a bit to hide her face. "The one with the black shirt, yeah? He's the one that threw us out the last time!" she finished urgently.
"Oh wow, really?" Emily asked, turning around to look at the man.
"Yes! Don't look at him, Jesus! You're going to attract him!" she hissed under her breath.
"Naoms come on!" I bet he's not even going to remember you" the brunette tried to reassure her.
"But what if he does?" Naomi said urgently.
She looked around Emily quickly to look at the man and ducked away from sight quickly when she saw him look in their direction.
"Oh shit oh shit oh shit!" she said, looking at her feet and praying for the best.
"Hum Naomi..." Emily stared uncertainly. "I think he's coming over..."
"What?!" the blonde gawked, her heart jumping into her throat.
She checked over the petite woman's shoulder and when she saw the man walk straight over to them she whined.
"Oh fucking Christ..."
"Hey! You!" The man said when he was a few feet away.
Naomi clenched her teeth together and gulped slowly. She felt a bit faint when she spotted the golden pin on the man's chest that read 'manager'.
"You!" He repeated, stopping right in front of Naomi. "I know you from somewhere" he added, his eyebrows scrunching a bit.
Naomi's heart was beating fast.
"I huh... I don't think so..." she tried to lie, but the man was having none of it.
"Yes! Yes I do know you from somewhere" he assured.
The blonde shook her head, but then, a light of recognition flashed through the man's eyes and she knew she was screwed. He had just remembered who she was and she had a strong feeling she was about to be kicked out of the place. She gulped and winced a bit as she waited for his fury.
"Oh I remember now!" he exclaimed, a slow grin forming on his lips instead of the furious scowl Naomi had expected. "I know where I've met you! It was at that convention!"
The blonde frowned for a second, not sure she understood what the man meant, but then she did. She paled as she realised exactly what the man was talking about.
"Oh dear God no. Please don't add anything" she thought just as the man opened his mouth to continue.
"Yes! That fetishism convention!" he said proudly. "You were hanging out right next to the handcuffs while we were all waiting for that presentation about butt plugs!"
Naomi could have sworn she felt her heart stop as the guy smirked happily and Emily started laughing next to her. She closed her eyes for half a second, wishing this moment wasn't actually happening.
"Huh, I think you've got the wrong person, mate" the brunette started to say, until she turned around to give Naomi an amused smirk and spotted her expression.
Then, her eyes widened in shock and her mouth opened wide.
"It was a work assignment..." the blonde mumbled lamely, her cheeks flaming red.
Emily didn't reply anything, but her shocked expression slowly morphed into amusement. She bit her bottom lip to stop herself from laughing out loud. Naomi, for her part, felt like disappearing.
"Was quite the presentation, wasn't it?" the man continued, apparently completely oblivious to Naomi's embarrassment. "I really liked the bit about safe lubrication, ya know?"
Emily snorted loudly and the blonde shook her head in disbelief.
"Can't believe I'm running into you today, what a coincidence! Small world" the man said happily.
"Oh my God, we didn't even talk" Naomi said a bit outraged.
"Yeah well, I still remember you, don't I?" the guy continued with a shrug. "Besides, us fetishists know how to recognise each other, don't we?" he added with a sly wink.
Naomi glared at him angrily in response and Emily let out another muffled laugh.
"Anyway, I've got to go" he declared. "I'm manager after all" he said proudly pointing at his chest with his thumb.
Naomi nodded, eager for him to leave.
"I'm sure I'll see you around, eh" he said with another gross wink.
He made a few steps away, but then turned around quickly.
"Oh, just so you know, we don't really wash those clubs so like... Wouldn't be safe to do anything funny, if ya get me, yeah? Cheers"
And then he was off. Naomi stared at his back, her mouth wide open and let go of her club instantaneously. Emily burst into loud laughter next to her.
"Oh. my. God" Naomi said under her breath, her cheeks still stupidly red.
"Okay this has got to be the funniest moment of my life!" Emily wheezed out between giggles.
"It wasn't funny!" the blonde shot back moodily. "Did you hear that comment about the clubs? How disgusting was that!?"
Emily laughed harder as Naomi shook her head disbelievingly.
"So a fetish convention, eh?" the brunette said eventually, clearly teasing. "I didn't know you liked that sort of stuff..."
"It was a work thing!" Naomi exclaimed. "I was assigned to cover the event!"
"Such a convenient excuse..." Emily continued with a smirk.
"I swear!" the blonde said.
Emily looked at her slowly, a smirk playing on her lips.
"Really Naomi, I don't know why you're fighting this hard to defend yourself. Fetishism isn't all that bad... I mean, there's nothing wrong with a bit of bondage, is there?" the petite woman said, her eyes locked with Naomi's, her voice as sultry as ever.
Naomi gulped slowly and stared, her insides churning in desire. When Emily gave her a satisfied smirk and walked away, she sprung into action to follow.
"Did I mention just how roomy the windmill is? Plenty of room to string up a set of chains, really" she said, hearing the other woman's delicious laugh as she did.
;;
They didn't stay much longer after that. With only one hole to complete, the game was soon finished and they were finally leaving the mini golf, the creepy manager giving Naomi one last disgusting wink on their way out. A few minutes later, they were back in front of Emily's flat, the motorcycle back into the storage unit along with the two helmets.
Maybe it was because of the heated kissed they'd shared after Naomi's little stint as a golf teacher or maybe it was because of the allusion to bondage, but as soon as the brunette opened her front door, they found themselves snogging energetically in her doorway.
Naomi wanted to feel guilty in a way because she still felt somehow like she'd invaded Emily's day by showing up unannounced in the morning, but she couldn't bring herself to really feel guilty at all. Not when she was pressing the smaller girl against a wall, her hands roaming along her sides. If she was honest with herself too, it didn't look like Emily minded her presence at all if the fierceness with which she was snogging her back was any indicator.
The blonde felt a moan build deep in her throat as Emily's hands found the hem of her shirt and explored slightly underneath it. She felt the moan actually escape her lips and resonate in the empty apartment when the other girl splayed her fingers wide on the skin of her back.
Naomi pushed against the other girl harder, their hips falling into place naturally. She could feel her heart beating loudly in her head, her blood pulsating in her entire body, but specifically between her legs. She couldn't remember a time when she'd desired someone as much as she was desiring Emily in that one moment. Their lips were slipping against each other, teeth sometimes biting and tongues sometimes licking in a desperate attempt to satiate this building need Naomi felt sure they'd both felt during the day.
Leaving one hand still firmly set at the bottom of Naomi's back, Emily detached the other to grab the blonde's neck. She pulled harder as if trying to get rid of any inch of space separating them. Naomi was only too happy to comply, pressing herself even harder, feeling her entire chest about to explode with love and lust. Then, her hips moved on their own accord, grinding into Emily's just the once and the brunette snatched her head back, disconnecting their lips, but not without letting a low, guttural groan escaping her.
They stayed like that for a few seconds, breathing heavily against each other. Naomi didn't dare reconnect their lips. She couldn't help feeling like they'd gotten carried away a bit somehow. She licked her lips slowly, trying to find something to say. She came up blank though and was therefore relieved when Emily chuckled incredulously.
"So huh... Thanks for the golf lessons..." she eventually said, her voice stupidly husky and her cheeks red.
Naomi chuckled nervously, stepping back a bit from the brunette, her hands still on the other girl's hips.
"Yeah, right... Sure... No problem" she answered.
Emily cleared her throat and looked at her feet and Naomi stepped back again. When the brunette looked back up, although her eyes were dark and a bit hooded, there was an uncertain frown on her face. Naomi didn't like the sight of it one bit.
"I... I'd invite you to stay, but huh... Katie is coming over for dinner so like..." Emily said, her eyes not meeting the blonde's and looking extremely uncomfortable all of a sudden.
Naomi felt a painful pang at the bottom of her stomach.
"Okay" she said with an attempt at a smile, hoping more than anything for Emily to return it.
When the brunette didn't but just nodded, she felt even worse.
"So I guess I'll huh go then..." she said, her voice shaking.
This time, Emily's eyes met hers and Naomi saw a flash of guilt in them along with the same feeling she'd seen earlier before their date. She frowned in confusion. She was convinced once again that there was something upsetting Emily and instead of ignoring it like she had in the morning, she decided to inquire about it.
"You okay?" she asked, unsure of herself.
"Yeah yeah fine" the brunette said quickly, her eyes glancing down.
Naomi knew right then that the other girl had lied. She opened her mouth to inquire again, but this time Emily didn't let her.
"So yeah... you should go" the teacher said firmly, successfully shutting the blonde up.
She tried not to look too upset as she nodded and retreated back to the front porch. Still, when Emily gave her a final nod and a tight smile before closing the door in her face, Naomi couldn't pretend that it didn't hurt. Her heart squeezed painfully and her stomach churned.
They'd spent a lovely day together and she knew Emily had enjoyed it, but this sudden change of behaviour was confusing to say the least. As Naomi slowly made her way back to her car, she tried to talk herself into not worrying. She tried to tell herself that it was probably nothing and that she definitely shouldn't panic.
Hours later though, when she was back home, she texted Emily to thank her for the day and she finally let herself worry a bit when Emily never replied.
.
.
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I know I know! Some angst! But not to worry! The story is nearly finished after all! Anyway, let me know what you think, alright? We all still into this? Yeah? No?
Have a wonderful weekend!
MM xx