Chapter 8
when you are really scared you feel as if time stands still. She waited on the doorstep for someone to open the door. Her heart was racing and she could feel her cheeks getting hot. she gripped her handbag tightly with sweaty hands as she tried to breathe slowly and tell herself she would have a good time and had nothing to worry about.
The lock on the other side of the door clicked. It was as if Nikki's legs wouldn't do as they were told, she you couldn't run away from the situation. Then she saw Eve's smiling face on the other side of the door. The nervousness eased slightly, still present in the back of her mind though. "Hi Eve." Nikki smiled brightly, quickly pulling her into a friendly hug. "Hi Mum. Erm i-is it okay if I call you that. Or-"
"No, Eve, Mum's fine if you want to call me that."
"Cool. So Dad's had to rush off, work or something, so it's just us. I thought we could go for some dinner if you like?"
"I-I'd love to." Nikki suddenly burst into tears. She covered her face in embarrassment but Eve just removed them and wrapped her arms tightly around her. "Hey, it's okay, you know. We can be together now, yeah."
Nikki nodded, "Of course, sorry. I don't know what's wrong with me at the moment. I can't stop crying." Eve just smiled, laughing. "Come on, I've booked the table for in half an hour. We need to get a move on."
The two females arrived at the pub and sat down at a table. They both grabbed the menus and opened them to the same page. This caused them both to laugh at how alike they were, even though they hadn't spent a lot of time together. "So what you having?" Nikki enquired. "Erm. The lasagne is nice, I'm gonna have that."
"Oh me too. That was what I was going to have." Causing them both to burst into hysterics again. "What you going t' drink?" The brunette asked in her Yorkshire accent, seeing as though they were both from there, Eve didn't think she sounded weird like most of the Scottish kids at Waterloo Road did. "Cider?" Eve asked with puppy dog eyes. "Oh. Alright. Just don't tell your dad." Nikki winked. This made Eve pull an evil grin which made Nikki chortle and roll her eyes. Nikki thought of the time when she was seventeen and practically begged anyone she could for some alcohol.
"Thanks Eve. That was lovely." Nikki gestured to the finished plates and the empty glasses, Nikki had decided to have the same as she had got the train down to Bradford so she didn't need to worry about drink driving. "Yeah. We should do it again some time." Causing Nikki to nod and smile. Nikki paid and they both got up to leave the pub, "Ooh I think I'm drunk!" Nikki told Eve sarcastically, Eve rolled her eyes at her mother's childish behaviour. They walked back to Stuart's house.
Stuart was home when they'd got back; "So did you both have a good time?" They both nodded grinning like toddlers. "Great!" Stuart laughed. "Well thanks Eve, but I best be going, the last train leaves in an hour, I can't miss it."
"Oh okay. Well see ya soon?"
"Of course. I'll call you. We can meet up in the school holidays, next month i-if you'd like?"
"Of course I'd like to, silly!"
"I'll give you a lift to the train station." Stuart offered.
"Thanks." Nikki smiled gratefully, giving Eve a final hug.
"So you met anyone yet?" Stuart asked midway through their conversation about the new leisure complex in the town. "Yeah. No I-I mean no. Er I. No we're not together. It doesn't matter." Nikki struggled to get the words out. She wanted to tell Stuart everything, she just physically couldn't. "Why don't you make it happen. I'm sure he's great, you always picked the best guys." Stuart winked, causing Nikki to laugh. "Erm. Well it's not erm. He's not er. Oh it doesn't matter. I might give it a try though" the brunette smiled at the thought of her and Lo as an actual couple doing normal couples things. "Ooh is that a love-struck smile I see?" Stuart continued to banter with her, making Nikki giggle, "Oh, give up." Suddenly there was a whistle and the train arrived. "Bye." They both hugged and Nikki got on the train.