"I don't understand why you won't let me help you!" Katie huffed. She sat across the table from where her girlfriend was using the laptop to make hen party arrangements and she had been banned from coming any closer.
"Because I don't need any help." Effy smiled sweetly much to Katie's annoyance.
"Will you please just tell me what you're planning?" The older twin groaned.
"A hen party." Effy replied flatly. Katie glared at her. It seemed Emily and Naomi had overestimated Effy's willingness to allow Katie to help her.
"Very funny."
"Sorry but that's all the information you're getting." The brunette grinned wickedly. She was enjoying this.
"I'd swear Naomi put you up to this." Katie pouted, narrowing her eyes in suspicion.
"No she didn't." Effy rolled her eyes. "I just think it's good for you to not be in control for once."
"I don't always have to be in control." She argued. Effy chuckled dryly.
"Katie I love you...but you do always need to be in control."
"No I don't." The smaller girl whined. Effy rolled her eyes and slinked out of her seat, moving towards her partner.
"It's not a bad thing...I love it when we're in bed together." She said in a sultry tone, climbing onto the smaller girl's lap. Katie's body reacted instantly, her arms raised to wrap themselves around Effy's neck and her back arched closer to her. Her lips curled into a smirk before she pressed them to Effy's.
"Oi! Stop that!" Katie broke the kiss and chastised the brunette. "You're trying to distract me!"
"Yes and it was working." Effy grinned and brought their lips together once again.
"Just promise me you won't do anything tacky like hire strippers or anything." She relented with a sigh.
"I promise nothing." Effy giggled maniacally before kissing her again.
Naomi leaned against the wall outside the dressmakers and lit up a cigarette. No doubt Katie would give off to her about smelling like smoke and stinking up her dress but she didn't care, she had been dreading this day from the start. Marrying Emily, spending the rest of their lives together; that was the easy bit. Standing in front of a room full of strangers parading up and down in a wedding dress with Katie bossing her around; that was the hard bit. That just wasn't Naomi. She hated that kind of stuff. Although the alternative involved perpetuating the archaic stereotype that all homosexual couples adopt heterosexual roles within their relationship by wearing a suit. That idea definitely didn't sit well with her either, so she would just have to suffer through today. It would be worth it when she got to see Emily in her dress. At least that's what Kieran kept assuring her. She was contemplating having another cigarette when an old green Ford pulled into the car park. Naomi looked at it curiously then smiled at the once familiar but not often seen vehicle.
"Alright Naomi?" Effy smiled when she stepped out of the car.
"What are you doing here?" The blonde grinned, clearly pleased to see the slim girl. "Not that I'm not happy to see you, but where is your bossier half?"
"There was some catastrophe with one of her other accounts so she had to go sort it out." Effy explained with a smirk. Naomi smiled too. Never before had she been so happy to hear the word catastrophe.
"Besides," Effy continued. "I thought your maid of honour should be with you for your dress fitting."
"Of course!" Naomi agreed. The day had just gotten a lot better. She was actually smiling when she opened the door to the dress shop. "Shall we?"
"Well that went considerably better than last time." Naomi smiled as she and Effy walked out the door not half an hour later.
"I just won't mention to Katie that the sales girls were relieved she wasn't there." Effy giggled.
"Probably should have mentioned that you were my maid of honour and my wedding planner's girlfriend." Naomi nodded in an amused tone and sparked up a cigarette. "Thanks for coming Eff."
"You're welcome." The brunette smiled genuinely in this rare moment of sentimentality between the two girls.
"I'm glad you were there." She mumbled. "And not just because it meant I didn't have to deal with Katie."
"You looked absolutely beautiful! Emily's going to go crazy when she sees you."
"Shut up!" Naomi blushed bright red and gave Effy a playful shove. "So what now then? Do you fancy a beer or something?"
"Are you serious?" Effy's brows furrowed. Naomi looked back at her clueless. "We're supposed to bring that flower girl's dress to your cousin's, remember."
"Oh yeah." She frowned. "Afterwards then?" She grinned, taking the smaller girls arm and walking towards the car.
"Definitely." She grinned wickedly and got inside the car.
"Katie have the nice car at work with her?" Naomi remarked buckling her seat belt.
"Yup." Effy answered shortly.
"I'm surprised this old thing still works." The blonde teased. Effy had owned this car for years, since they were in Roundview actually. Of course she had upgraded but the new car became a shared car as soon as Katie passed her test.
"If you don't like it you can always take the bus!" She narrowed those crystal blue eyes at her.
"I'm kidding." Naomi used to drive Kieran's old banger, so she was hardly one to talk. The drive to Sadie and Liz's didn't take long.
"You should see the dress Naoms it's so cute!" Effy gushed as they walked up the driveway. "Like grown up clothes made tiny."
"Aww." Naomi cooed. She couldn't wait to see the little girl in the dress.
"Jesus Christ Effy." Sadie groaned when she answered the door, sounding remarkably like Kieran. "Did you have park that shit heap in my drive?"
Naomi laughed and greeted her cousin with a hug. The red head then threw her arms around the skinny girl.
"Did Katie steal your car again?" She asked sympathetically.
"As always." Effy rolled her eyes.
"Is Liz home?" Naomi asked.
"She's at work. Should be home soon though." Sadie explained, leading them towards the living room. "Did you bring the dress?"
"Yeah!" Naomi nodded. Sadie squealed excitedly drawing the attention of her daughter.
"Who is it?" Aiden asked in a voice that didn't sound as though it belonged to a toddler.
"Hi Aiden." Naomi greeted her brightly. The child came running down the hall and threw herself at the blonde. She awkwardly scooped Aiden up into her arms.
"Hello Naomi." She beamed. She knew why Naomi was there; to bring her a pretty dress.
"You remember Effy don't you Aiden?" Her mother prompted.
"Hi Effy." The tiny red head stared at the brunette appraisingly for a minute before returning her attention to Auntie Naomi. "Did you bring my dress?"
"I did!" She replied enthusiastically. "Would you like to try it on?"
"And walk. Nice. And. Slow." Aiden said slowly nodding her head with each word.
"We were practising walking down the aisle this morning." Sadie explained. "Come on; let's go try your dress on." She said removing her daughter from her cousin's arms.
"Shouldn't we wait for Liz to get back?" Naomi asked, a little amused that Sadie needed a reminder to wait for her partner. The red head stared back at her blankly.
"She'll be home soon." She shrugged and turned on her heels to go change the child. Effy shrugged and giggled at Naomi as they moved into the living room to wait. Sadie was still wrestling Aiden into the dress when Liz arrived home from work.
"I'm home." She called looking surprised to see Naomi and Effy sitting on her couch. "Oh hello." She smiled warmly at them. "I was wondering who that old banger in my driveway belonged to."
"That would be me." Effy rolled her eyes. People really needed to lay off her car. It might be a piece of scrap metal on wheels but she still loved it like she did when she was 17 and it still belonged to her mum. There were a lot of memories associated with that car.
"I'm teasing you. I know as well as anyone what it's like to have a partner steal your vehicle." Liz chuckled softly. "Oh! Did you bring the dress?"
"Yeah." Naomi nodded. "Sadie's changing her now!"
Liz released an excited squeal. She had been looking forward to this all day. It was what had gotten her through a particularly rough day at Roundview. Naomi and Effy shared a smile. It was sweet to see how much the couple doted on their daughter.
"Here she is!" Sadie announced, opening the door to let Aiden walk in.
A small gasp echoed through the room when the toddler entered wearing a big smile. She was lapping up all of the attention and loving every minute of it. Sadie moved to sit beside her wife and they shared a teary look over how beautiful their little girl looked in the dress. It was a little white dress, mid-calf length that puffed out at the bottom. Around her waist there was an electric blue ribbon that matched the bridesmaid's dresses. Naomi and Effy just thought it was the cutest sight they had ever seen.
"You look like a princess!" Effy smiled because it was true. This pleased the toddler greatly as she beamed from ear to ear.
"Aiden show mummy what we practised today." Sadie instructed her.
"Okay!" She cried jumping up and down excitedly.
"Ready?" Sadie cued her up. "Go."
They all gave her their undivided attention as she walked towards them slowly, taking every step deliberately. She really looked the part. When she reached her mothers they picked her up and kissed and hugged her, making a big fuss about how brilliant she was. Naomi and Effy clapped and cheered too.
"So does she get the part?" Sadie grinned cheekily at her cousin.
"Of course." Naomi nodded, greatly pleasing Aiden.
"It's a good thing you were here today Effy." Liz chuckled. "Now whatever happens at the wedding you can vouch that she did it right at least once."
"I'm sure she will do great on the day." The younger girl smiled, though she would be sure to mention the practise to Katie when she got home.
"Yeah." Naomi agreed. She had known Aiden would look cute in the dress but she had no idea just how cute. A sudden burst of excited anticipation shot through her body.
"This colour is beautiful." Liz commented, toying with the bow at the back of the dress.
"Are all the wedding party wearing this colour?" Sadie asked. Naomi and Effy nodded. "That'll look amazing with your skin tone Eff."
"Katie's hair too." Liz added. "Ok we should probably take this off her now. Quickly before she ruins it."
"Good idea." Sadie stood up and kissed her wife before theatrically pulling her daughter away to get changed in fits of giggles.
"We better get going too." Naomi said, pushing herself out of her seat. "There are a couple of 6 packs somewhere with our names on them."
Liz chuckled. "While the cats are away, huh?"
"Oh yeah!" Effy grinned wickedly.
"Bye Sadie!" Naomi shouted down the hall before leaving.
"See ya!" Her step-cousin bellowed in reply. Liz waved the two girls off feeling a slight pang of nostalgia. She remembered the days when she could have wasted entire afternoons getting drunk with her friends or Sadie. Not that they couldn't still do that, they were never short of babysitters for Aiden, but these days whenever they got time alone getting wasted was usually the last thing on their minds.
Somewhere between Sadie's house and the off sales a couple of six packs turned into a litre bottle of vodka, like the good old days. Although they convinced themselves they would be good by purchasing a mixer for the alcohol. They headed back to Katie and Effy's apartment and settled in the living room. Naomi often thought they should come up with a new term to describe the kind of accommodation Katie and Effy had. Though classed as an apartment it was probably as big as Naomi and Emily's house. Kind of like a bungalow but a couple of stories up.
"So what have you got planned for our hen night then?" Naomi asked after a couple of particularly potent vodka and tonics.
"Just what you asked me for...a simple, no frills piss up with all your mates." The brunette shrugged. She did have one or two surprises up her sleeve though.
"Katie's about ready to kill you, you know that?" Naomi chuckled.
"She'll survive." Effy rolled her eyes. "She just hates not being in control of something."
"I know what you mean." Naomi chuckled into her glass. "They're more alike than they think."
Effy nodded her agreement.
"Like Ems goes crazy when we're not running exactly on time." Naomi shook her head.
"So does Katie." Effy laughed. "And the pout that they do when things aren't going their way, fucking identical."
"But we love them though." The blonde sighed dreamily, her mind drifting off to thoughts of her soon-to-be wife.
"Yeah." Effy smiled lovingly. "We're kind of lucky aren't we?"
"We are." Naomi's head rolled around to look at Effy. Their blue eyes locked, holding meaning eye contact for a moment before she added. "We're also kind of drunk."
"That too." Both girls fell about laughing. They had always had this strange bond. It seemed they had the same problems in their fucked up lives. Effy more so admittedly but they understood each other. When Effy and Katie started going out it was just another thing they had in common; a Fitch girlfriend.
They had made a pretty big dent in the vodka by the time Katie arrived home from work.
"Oh Katie's home!" Effy shouted excitedly when she heard keys rattle in the door.
"Hi Katie!" They screeched drunkenly. The brunette twin appeared in the doorway, one hand on her hip and a mildly confused look on her face.
"What's going on?" She asked suspiciously, wondering why her girlfriend and her future sister-in-law were sitting in her living room bloody well pissed at half past 7 in the evening.
"Effy and I went to the dress fitting and to Sadie and Liz's and then we decided to have a couple of beers." Naomi explained, slurring her words as she did so.
"A couple of beers?" Katie raised her eyebrow suspiciously.
"Well you see a couple of beers turned into some vodka." Effy continued, snaking out of her seat and swaying across the room to her partner. "How was work?"
"It was fine." She answered flatly. "Got everything sorted out I think."
"That's because you're really good at your job." Effy grinned, hanging off Katie's shoulder. The older twin had to wrap her arm around the taller girl quickly to stop her from toppling over.
"You are the best." Naomi agreed with a goofy grin.
"Thanks." She smiled at the two drunkards. "I'm going to have a shower and get changed." She said, holding Effy's waist and giving her a gentle kiss on the lips.
"Ok." The brunette nodded and tottered back to the couch. "Hurry back and have some drinks with us."
"Yeah!" Katie gave a false smile before hurrying off shaking her head at the state the two girls had gotten themselves into.
By the time she returned they had crashed down from their drunken high and were sleepily resting against each other on the couch. Even though she had been a little annoyed when she first got home she had to laugh at how cute they looked right then.
"Come on then." She said lovingly, giving them each a gentle nudge and helping them to their feet. "Let's get you home to Emily."
"Yay Emily." The intoxicated blonde cheered. "I love Emily."
"I know you do." Katie chuckled as she led them both towards the car.
The car trip was an experience that Katie was in no hurry to repeat. Effy and Naomi had sat in the backseat trying to sing some stupid song and ended up arguing over the lyrics. By the time they reached their destination Katie was ready to kill both of them. She marched the blonde to the doorstep and rapping the door loudly despite having a key.
"I believe this belongs to you." Katie said referring to Naomi who had just thrown herself at the petite redhead when she answered the door.
"What...?" Emily looked confused.
"I love you." Naomi mumbled into her shoulder. Emily couldn't help but laugh at how childlike she sounded. She gave her sister an apologetic look on Naomi's behalf.
"I wouldn't worry about it...mine's just as bad." She said, motioning over her shoulder to where Effy was standing sheepishly in the drive. She had a distinctively inebriated smile on her face.
"Thanks for bringing her home." Emily said, wrapping her arm around the taller girl to hold her up.
"It's alright." Katie shrugged. "Good luck and good night." She said, giving her younger sister a hug and kiss. She figured they might both need it after the amount of shit their partners were talking during the car journey.
"You too." She smiled and waved them off. Closing the door behind them she turned to her girlfriend and cocked an eyebrow at her. "A couple of beers, huh?" She smirked.
Naomi shrugged and grinned guiltily. Emily shook her head and kissed her.
"Come on let's get you something to eat and see if we can sober you up."
The day of the hen party Katie didn't see Effy at all, she was busy all morning running around making sure everything was running smoothly. The one thing her girlfriend had agreed to let her do was arrive early so she could help with the last of the decorations. When she arrived at the bar she couldn't help but laugh at the caution hen party in progress banner that adorned the door. Rolling her eyes at Effy's silly side she pushed through the doors not sure what to expect. She was pleasantly surprised by what she found.
Effy had already decorated most of the tables, white paper lanterns with hearts cut out of them decorated each table, the candle light giving the room a soft glow. There were wedding bells, hearts and champagne flute pieces of confetti dusted all over the tables too and in the centre of every table was a funny hen night dares game. Katie had to admit it all looked lovely.
On the back wall beside the DJ box there was a large photo of Naomi and Emily. Katie recognised the picture as one Effy had taken of them on Emily's graduation day. Above it there was a banner that read 'look who's getting married' and below it there was a little good luck banner.
"Well?" The brunette asked, jumping down from the chair she had been standing on to hang the banners. "What do you think?"
"I'm impressed." Katie grinned taking another look around the room. "I'd be in half a mind to offer you a job."
"Well I'm not sure it's entirely up to the fabulous Fitch standards but it's what they wanted." She shrugged.
"It's amazing." She beamed at her partner. "I'm so proud of you right now."
"Does it turn you on a little bit?" Effy teased.
"A little bit yeah." Katie giggled.
"Well I'm not done yet." She said pointedly passing a small white cardboard box to the older twin. "We need to put these on the tables too."
"Ok." Katie obliged, opening the box to find little champagne bottle shaped bubbles.
Once they had done that Effy took one final look round the place and sighed with satisfaction. It was exactly how she had pictured it; Naomi and Emily were going to love it. She turned to Katie with a wicked grin on her face.
"Just one last thing." She smiled innocently and reached into a bag. "You have to put this on."
"What?" Katie took the item from her; it was a pick flashing sash that said Maid of Honour on it. "No way! I am not putting that on."
She had spent too long picking out the perfect outfit to ruin it with something so garish and tacky.
"Are you Emily's maid of honour?" She asked with a smirk.
"Well...yeah." Katie began but Effy cut her off.
"Then you'd better put it on."
Katie released a low growl from the back of her throat. She was not happy about this, but it appeared she did not have a choice in the matter. Effy was going to insist on this and she was not going to let her away with not wearing a sash.
"Where's yours?" Katie challenged as she unenthusiastically pulled the sash over her head. "Aren't you Naomi's maid of honour?"
"Mine's right here." The taller girl smiled much to her girlfriend's displeasure.
"Seriously, did you just think of ways to piss me off?" Katie huffed.
"No." Effy said pointedly, the world didn't revolve around Katie after all. "These weren't even my idea. They were Gina's. She's got one for everybody!"
"Oh God!" Katie feigned gagging.
"You need a drink!" Effy said decidedly, pulling the smaller girl in the direction of the bar. "Lighten you up a bit."
"Hello girls!" Gina squealed excitedly, rushing towards the couple at the bar. She was proudly sporting a bright red mother of the bride sash. She was followed by Naomi and Emily who were wearing matching bide-to-be sashes as well. "All ready for a party?"
"Yeah." Katie replied with a nod. She couldn't wait for the party to start; she was trying to figure out how many drinks she would have to feed her girlfriend before she let her take the stupid sash off.
"Wow Effy!" Emily gasped. "This looks amazing."
"Thanks." The brunette blushed softly.
"It really does." Naomi agreed; she knew asking Effy to plan the hen party was the best thing to do.
The guests began to arrive thick and fast and the hall was filling up nicely. Everyone seemed to be greatly amused by the party games on the tables though no one was brave enough to open them just yet. When it looked like everyone had arrived Effy borrowed the microphone from the DJ and took to the stage. A large projector screen came down behind her.
"Alright settle down." She called the room's attention to her. "Thank you. Now don't worry I'm not going to make a speech...I am absolutely horrible with words. But since Naomi and Emily didn't have a proper engagement party I thought this would be a nice way to start off the evening."
She gave a nod to the DJ and slunk off the stage to sit down beside Katie, Naomi and Emily. The DJ pressed a button and a video began playing on the screen. The words Naomi and Emily appeared in script against a black screen as the opening bars of Today by Joshua Radin began to play. As the music played the slideshow began with a picture of Emily as a little 4 year old sitting on a picnic blanket laughing at something. The next image was one of Naomi; she was probably only 6 or 7 at the time, wearing dungarees hanging from a tree looking very pleased with herself. Another picture of Emily as a kid, slightly older this time and posing with Katie. This picture earned Effy a glare and a dig in the ribs from her girlfriend.
"You promised you were going to cut me out of the photo." She hissed under her breath as the slideshow cut to another picture of Naomi as a child.
"No I didn't." Effy replied smugly. Katie had asked her to promise but she had said nothing.
The next picture was a school photo of their year group in middle school. It began as a wide shot then a circle appeared around 12 year old Naomi and 12 year old Emily's faces and zoomed in on them. There was a chuckle from the audience at this point and it was a tossup over which of the brides-to-be was a deeper shade of red. Then there was a picture of Naomi when they first started at Roundview, quickly followed by one of Emily at Roundview. A picture of the two of them sitting rather close at that party in Thomas' flat just before his mother arrived.
Naomi stole a glance at her fiancée; had it really been that obvious that they fancied each other back then? The next photo made them both smile and cringe at the same time. It was one that Gina had insisted on taking when they got home from the Love Ball; the night they first said I love you. Emily's hair was still kind of messed up from her fight with Katie and she always thought she looked a bit stupid wearing black leggings and a black vest standing beside Naomi who was fully made up in her dress.
The next picture was a group shot of all of their friends from Roundview in the middle of the summer before Freddie died. They were all lying on the grass, semi-stoned and partially drunk. They all looked so relaxed and happy. Emily was lying with her head resting on Naomi's stomach with Cook and JJ sitting beside them laughing about something. Freddie was lying on his back staring at the fluffy white clouds as they passed by and Thomas and Pandora had been snapped mid kiss.
Another image flicked onto the screen this one was of the happy couple standing in front of a crystal blue sea. It was taken the day of Sadie and Liz's wedding, they're both wearing their dresses, standing under an arch on the white sand. Naomi was looking lovingly at Emily while she smiled widely for the camera. Then one from later that day when they were slightly less formal looking and a lot more drunk. Both of them had a cocktail in each hand poking their tongues out at Sadie who was sitting in between them. This photo got another laugh from the crowd, the loudest of which coming from Sadie herself.
The next few pictures were candid shots of them at home. One in the kitchen of Emily doing something at the cooker and Naomi sitting on the counter smoking giving her a what-the-fuck look. Another of them lying on the couch watching TV together and one of Naomi sitting impatiently on the bed waiting for Emily to get ready.
The last image on screen was one Effy had taken they night they got engaged. Emily was wrapped up in Naomi's arms both of them looking at the engagement ring in awe. Emily leaned in and kissed her fiancée both of them grinning from ear to ear. It stayed on the screen until the song had played out.
"That was lovely." Emily cooed, her eyes twinkling with tears.
"It really was." Naomi agreed, wrapping her arm around her oversensitive bride to be.
"Did you do all that yourself?" Katie asked, she too was thoroughly impressed by the show.
"I had some help." She admitted and nodded towards Sadie's table. The red head smiled and raised her glass to them.
"Thanks Eff." Emily smiled at her.
"You're welcome." She smiled back genuinely before that devilish glint flashed in her eyes and she gave another nod to the DJ. "Now let's get this Hen Party started!"
The party was now in full swing as the drinks flowed and laughter filled the air from the tables that had been brave enough to open the truth or dare games. Gina had hardly sat down all night; she'd been dancing around waving he sash in the air and taking every available opportunity to tell embarrassing stories about her daughter. Katie even managed to put the hideous pink sash out of her mind and started to enjoy the night. She was standing at the bar when a slim red head approached her with a CD in her hand.
"Someone said you were the wedding planner?" She asked, shaking the CD in her hand. Katie didn't recognise her.
"Yeah." She wondered what was going on.
"Ok cool! So you'll have to give this to the DJ and is there somewhere I can change or should I just do it in the toilets?"
"What?" Katie asked sounding incredibly confused.
"Well if everyone sees me changing into my costume then it will kind of ruin the show won't it." The red head smirked. Finally Katie realised what was going on.
"Effy!" Her mouth twisted into a scowl as she bellowed for her girlfriend.
"Yes?" The brunette said innocently then greeted the red head. "Nice to see you again."
"I thought I said no strippers!" Katie spat furiously.
"You did say no strippers." Effy agreed. "But this is just one stripper."
"I'm more of a dancer really." The red head chimed in. Katie shot her a death glare and the two girls burst out laughing. The older twin didn't know whether to feel confused or incensed.
"You're right that was fun." The red head said to Effy.
"Wasn't it though." The brunette giggled. Katie shot her girlfriend a look that demanded she explain herself immediately.
"Katie this is JJ, she works at the hospital with Emily." She chuckled.
"JJ?" Katie brow furrowed at the familiar name.
"Jesse James." The red head explained.
"And you work at the hospital." Katie repeated. "So you're not a stripper then?"
"No!" JJ shook her head and grinned. "Although I'm flattered that you think I could be one. Really though I'm just a nurse."
"You're dead when we get home." Katie swore to her girlfriend and walked off.
"Looks like you're in trouble." Jesse chuckled to Effy once Katie was out of earshot.
"It was worth it though. And she'll get over it...I have ways of making her come around." Effy smirked smugly and JJ rolled her eyes.
"I'll bet you do. Now come on, you owe me a drink."
Quite a few vodkas later Naomi excused herself from her mother and a couple of people from the paper and wandered off to find Effy. She found the brunette in the smoking area talking to Sadie and a few girls she recognised from the hospital. She pinched a cigarette from Sadie and joined their company.
"This is a fucking great party Effy!" Naomi congratulated her friend.
"I'm glad you're having fun." She grinned.
"I am." The blonde smiled drunkenly.
"Well it's not over yet...there's still another surprise to come."
"Really?" Naomi looked slightly worried. "It's not another slideshow is it cause my mother swore those were the only photos she gave you."
"No it's not another slideshow." Effy promised.
"What is it then?"
"If I told you it wouldn't be a surprise now would it Naoms?" The brunette raised an eyebrow at her.
"I guess not." Naomi pouted.
As it turned out Naomi didn't have long to wait. She barely had time to refill her glass before the DJ called her and Emily to the dance floor and some of the staff brought them each a chair to sit on. They both looked bewildered but obliged. Effy's voice came over the speakers once again. This time she walked down onto the dance floor to stand in front of them.
"Alright so I thought for a long, long time about what I could do to make this Hen night a night neither of you would forget...so I decided, since you're about to get married, settle down and spend the rest of your lives together I would give you the opportunity to see something, you've not seen much before and won't be seeing ever again." A wicked grin crept over her face and she nodded to the DJ.
The lights cut out and the opening bars of I'm too sexy by Right said Fred began to play. The doors burst open and a well built guy danced through them in a police officer's costume complete with hat, aviator sunglasses and a dodgy fake moustache.
"I said no strippers." Katie sighed exasperatedly.
"It's not...just wait." Effy whispered to her partner.
The guy stood in front of them with his back towards them shaking his ass in their faces. Emily was blushing bright red and giggling like a school girl while Naomi was trying her hardest not to look amused. He took his hat off and tossed it to one side. Gina's cat calls could be heard on the next street over; a fact that only made Naomi blush more. The song played on and he danced a bit more, never really turning to face them properly. The sunglasses were the next thing to go; he threw them into the crowd. He began unbuttoning his shirt when he pulled it off Naomi's eyes widened and she looked at Emily.
"Happy fucking Hen night!" Cook cried giddily as he finally turned to face them gripping both of them in a tight hug and bouncing them up and down again.
"Cook!" Naomi screamed. "What are you doing here?" She asked when he finally released them from his grip.
"As it turns out Eff is even better at sweet talking my parole officer than I am." He giggled, nodding appreciatively in the brunette's direction. "Come on...it's not a proper piss up without the Cookie Monster!"
Emily smiled, Cook hadn't changed a bit. He pulled them up in his arms once more before running over and doing the same to Katie and Effy.
"How are my second favourite lesbian couple?" He bellowed as she shook them from side to side. "Not drunk enough yet is the answer to that question. Come on...Drinks on Cook!"
It didn't appear that they were going to get a choice in the matter since he dragged them towards the bar. He ordered a round of shots and toasted the happy couple. The minute their glasses hit the bar again they were refilled.
"Naomikins, Emilio how are the wedding plans going?" He asked sipping from his pint.
"They're going well." Emily nodded.
"I can't believe the wedding in just over a month." Naomi shook her head as the realisation sank in. Two months from now she would be a married woman. Emily would be her wife. She smiled widely at the idea.
"I know! And I promise you that I will be the best usher that there has ever been!" He assured them. It meant a lot to him that they had included him in the wedding party.
"We know you will." Emily smiled at him. She just hoped his good behaviour would carry over to the reception as well. He downed the remained contents of his pint and cast a predatory eye over the crowd.
"Now if you would be so kind as to point me in the direction of some of your non fanny loving mates then I will be on my way." He grinned boyishly. He definitely hadn't changed.
The next morning Naomi woke up feeling like she had been hit by a rather large truck that had quite possibly been speeding. If the pounding in her head was anything to go by the party had been a huge success.
"Dear God I'm in pain." She whimpered.
"Not surprised." Emily replied hoarsely. "The evidence in the living room suggests that we brought the party back here."
"Really?" She had a vague recollection of people coming back to theirs.
"Cook's still asleep on the couch." She informed her.
"Good!" Naomi grunted. "It'll make it easier for me to kill him."
Her girlfriend giggled then wished she hadn't since the movement made her head throb even more.
"Good night last night?" The red head asked.
"Yeah I did!" She yawned. "Really good! How about you? Future Mrs Campbell."
"Well the future Mrs Fitch-Campbell had an amazing hen night." Emily answered pointedly. Naomi rolled her eyes and kissed her.
"Mmm!" Emily sighed contentedly opening her eyes to find her fiancée looking at her expectantly. She knew that face. That face meant she would have to get up soon.
"Any chance of a bacon sandwich love?" She asked hopefully. She really needed a cure.
"Oh alright!" She sighed and pushed herself out of bed to fulfil her beloved's wish. Naomi stretched out in the bed smiling smugly. She had a feeling she was going to enjoy married life.