A/N – I'm not a boating expert, so if any of you are and I have made mistakes in the terminology, I formally apologize! There's a lot of Cook-Katie interaction here but more Naomily will soon follow…

Skins is not mine!

Chapter 10

Cook's POV

I was busy trying to fit as many of the beers from the coolers as possible into the little fridge powered by the boat's generator. Water you can drink warm but beer is quite a different story. I managed to fit all but one into the fridge and pondered whether it was too early to pop the first one. Realizing that it is never too early, I opened it and put it to my lips.

"Enjoying a nice breakfast, I see", Katie voiced sarcastically from behind me. She hadn't spoken a word to me since I left her to chase after Emily last night and I figured our little fling was over. Katie Fitch didn't seem like the type of girl to just accept being rejected, let alone for her own sister – even if it wasn't like that between me and Emily. I turned around, expecting to see her sneering at me and was surprised to see that her expression didn't match the tone of her voice.

She looked insecure, her usual confidence and challenging gaze nowhere to be found. She took a hesitant step towards me and looked up at me, her eyes bloodshot and tired. Remembering her behavior last night made me take a step backwards. I liked Katie, I really, really liked her in fact but no girl would ever be worth jeopardizing my relationship with Naomi over.

One of the things I had grown to like so much about Katie was her go-fuck-yourself-attitude. She knew what she wanted and wasn't afraid to reach out and make sure she got it and where I was concerned, I was happy to oblige her. Until last night that is. Seeing her bent over Naomi, fists pumping and turning my friend into a bloody pulp was enough to deter me from any further interaction with her, regardless of how incredible the sex had been. After spending some time with Emily last night, I really couldn't understand why Katie acted the way she did. It was quite clear to me that Emily wasn't all that into guys and so very, very obviously into Naomi. I had figured it all out just by seeing them around each other. Why in the world Katie would take offense to that was beyond me. When Naomi had told me about the fling she had had with a girl from Uni, I had been surprised but my surprise had quickly turned into curiosity. Especially since that girl had turned into something of a nutter, making me think the sex must have involved some crazy shit.

Now Katie was standing in front of me with a completely different demeanor, one I didn't even think her capable of. Not knowing what else to do, I offered her the beer. She frowned at me and opened her mouth to object but thought better of it, shrugged, accepted it and took a large swig. She held it out for me but I shook my head and got out another one instead. Katie took another large sip and leaned against the cupboard next to me.

"Emily is the most important thing in the world to me", Katie finally said before downing the rest of the beer. I simply nodded and finished my own, putting the empty bottles in one of the empty coolers. "I tend to get very… protective of her because, well, she's never been very good at standing up for herself." She exhaled, sighed and shook her head before continuing. "When we were ten, this boy from our class was bullying her but I wasn't aware of it because he never did it when I was around. I actually fancied him and was probably a little blind to the fact that Emily never wanted to be around him. I was a bit of a bitch about the whole thing really and when Emily finally confessed that he was literally beating the shit out of her, I took his side and accused her of being jealous of me." She paused and stared into the empty space between us, obviously lost in thought.

"She didn't speak to me for weeks and I was awful to her, both at school and at home. One day, I showed up late for school but Emily had hurried and made it on time. He must have thought I was out sick or something because I caught him slamming my sister into a wall during recess. She was crying but wasn't even trying to fight back."

"Why not?", I asked, curious as to why someone would just accept being beaten like that. It literally went against everything I believed in and lived by.

She held out her hands and shrugged. "I don't know… Obviously, I lost my temper and jumped him. Since we were only ten years old, he wasn't bigger or stronger than me, so it was a fair fight. Or at least it should have been but I don't fight fair", she said and smirked at me. I was surprised to feel excited about seeing some of Katie's confidence return. "Needless to say, he missed a week of school and never touched Emily again."

I let out a short laugh and got out two additional beers and handed one to her. Something about the situation made it obvious that alcohol was a welcomed companion. Katie downed half of it in one, large gulp before wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. Last night's events had clearly taken its toll on Katie as well, despite everything being her doing. I didn't doubt for a second that she did love Emily and that in some weird way, she was trying to protect her like she always had. I took a large swig myself and leaned against the same cupboard as Katie, moving a little closer to her in the process.

"Naomi wasn't exactly bullying her last night, you know."

She sighed apologetically and took another swig of beer. "I know."

"You really did some damage though, I was quite impressed." I winked and she shot me a crooked smile in return. The challenge in her eye was back and I was reminded why I had found her so attractive in the first place. For the first time, I actually regretted rejecting her last night as the look in her eye switched from apologetic to passionate. She moved in to kiss me, her dark eyes keeping me locked in place but at the very last minute, Naomi's black eye flashed before my eyes and I moved away, leaving Katie looking like quite the fool. Her eyes lit up in anger at being rejected, again, and she slammed the bottle in her hand down hard on the table, beer spilling over. I'm really the wrong person to show aggression towards, not that I would ever touch a girl but I don't scare easily. I took a step towards her, moving my head down to hers with a threatening expression on my face. Did she really think it would be that simple, that it would take so little to make me forget about the bruises on Naomi's face?

"You hurt my friend", I said menacingly, pointing a threatening finger in her face. "I don't give a fuck that in your warped mind you were protecting your sister." I paused and saw my words hit home. "Emily is the most important thing in the world you say? Well, Naomi is mine." I shot her a last look, taking note of the shocked expression on her face. "Touch her again…", I said, gritting my teeth and deciding to leave that statement open as I left her standing alone in the small kitchen.

Naomi's POV

Effy was being surprisingly talkative this morning. It was hard to believe that less than 12 hours ago, she had been sitting around a fire, telling us an emotional story of a girl and her demons. Not only had a lot of things happened between me and Emily since then, essentially warping my sense of time but Effy seemed like a different person as well. She was smiling more and generally paying more attention to the rest of us. Unfortunately that meant that she was currently not being her usual indifferent self and was engaging in actual conversation with me and Emily, resulting in it being increasingly hard to keep caressing the bare skin of Emily's back without Effy noticing. The ship was gently swaying on the waves as we slowed down, causing Emily to gently bump into me in sync with the rolling waves. Every time she did, our thighs would touch, the sensation of her warm skin against mine lingering and spreading throughout my body.

Cook finally emerged from below deck and Kieran yelled at the two of us to trim the sails. I reluctantly got up and left Emily and Effy and assisted Cook and JJ in securing the sails and lowering the anchor. We had been sailing for the better part of an hour and had stopped near a small island with a narrow beach of fine, white sand. I knew the place of course and had in fact spent a good deal of time there. Two years ago, we had excavated a mysterious earthwork here that Kieran and Doug believed to be of some sort of Druidic nature. A little plaque on the beach explained the whole thing and that the island was off limits to trespassers. We, of course, were not obliged to follow such rules and Kieran encouraged us to either jump in and swim to the island or join him and Gina in the inflatable boat with the picnic baskets and rucksacks. I shared a look with Cook and we rushed to the bow, ripping off our lifejackets in the process before diving head first into the water. JJ was right behind us, pausing slightly to peek over the side, sizing up the drop from the bow to the water's edge. Realizing it was only about two meters, he grinned and jumped, curling up into a ball midair and creating a huge splash as he hit the water. Effy joined Gina and Kieran in the inflatable and beat us to the beach while Emily and Katie were suddenly nowhere to be seen.

Emily's POV

I had hesitated for a moment before deciding on jumping off the bow and swimming to shore but as I took off the lifejacket, a hand touch my arm and I turned around. The pained look on my sister's face made my heart bleed and quickly made me forget about my own anger and animosity. Kieran was helping Gina into the inflatable and shot me an expectant look, as if to ask if we were joining them. I shook my head and nodded towards to bow and gave him my best, forced smile. He smiled back and jumped into the little boat and headed toward shore. I turned my attention back to my sister who now had tears streaming down her face.

"Katie? What's wrong?" I resented myself for so easily letting go of my anger simply because she was standing in front of me, crying.

She wiped the tears away with the back of her hand and looked away for a second. When she turned to face me again, she had carried a look that I hadn't seen in years – shame.

"I… I shouldn't have…", she started, obviously uncomfortable with the situation and not really having planned what to say. I realized my sister, who was otherwise completely devoid of guilt, was trying to apologize to me. Needless to say, I needed to savor this moment because God knows how long it would be till the next apology. I crossed my arms and eyed her expectantly.

"Emsy, please… I'm sorry, okay?"

Aside from the words 'I'm sorry', it wasn't much of an apology and it wasn't nearly enough. I shrugged in disbelief, "what, that's it?", I sneered at her, surprising myself and her with my tone. Being around Naomi this morning had given me a boost of confidence that was apparently spilling over.

The look of surprise on Katie's face was fleeting as she regained her old mannerism. "I said I was sorry, Emsy, and I am, so yeah, that's all you get." She raised a defiant eyebrow and pursed her lips and I felt my newfound confidence falter.

Naomi's POV

Katie and Emily swam to shore, the former looking oddly pleased with herself as she got out of the water. Emily walked passed me looking at her feet and completely ignored me while we helped set up the morning picnic. I realized something must have happened while the twins were alone on the ship and instantly hated Katie for having such a hold on Emily. She kept quiet and completely ignored me while we enjoyed the freshly baked bread and homemade jam, fresh fruit and coffee Mum had prepared. Katie on the other hand, was back to her old, talkative and attention-stealing ways and kept eyeing Cook with more sexual innuendo than I think I have ever seen before.

Once we finished eating, Cook, Effy and I went down for a smoke and soaked our feet in the water. I was in a terrible mood because of Emily's 180 and Cook needed to get away from Katie before he burst. In the beginning, he had seemed angry with her and had ignored the glares and winks in his direction but as the picnic had progressed, I noticed his anger vanish before the sun and his resolve falter. Before I pulled him away for a smoke, he was actually staring back at her, a goofy grin across his face. I knew Cook liked Katie and I reminded myself to thank him for his loyalty, because at the moment, she was making it hard for him to not let his lust get the better of him.

When we had finished smoking, Kieran took all of us on a tour of the island and the old excavation site. Cook and I had obviously heard this story a million times, so we lagged our feet a little, putting some distance between us and the twins walking in front of us. JJ was walking next to Kieran and Mum in order to suck everything in and Effy had, per usual, linked her arm with JJ's and was walking beside them.

"Quite a sight, eh Blondie?", Cook winked and nodded towards the twins walking in front of us.

I was still in a horrible mood and I rolled my eyes but once my gaze fell upon Emily's backside and drifted down to her thighs, I felt my mood lighten a little. She was only wearing bikini-bottoms and a top, making it possible for me to perv on her and impossible for me not to. I was still angry at being ignored but my anger was now directed towards Katie because there was really no way I could stay mad at Emily, especially when she was right in front of me, in a soaked shirt and bikini. I actually licked my lips and unfortunately, Cook noticed. He started laughing loudly.

"Shit Naomi, you've got it bad for Red, don't you? What happened last night anyway? Did she fuck you under that blanket or something?" I punched him hard in the gut. "AUCH!"

"No! Nothing happened, it was all perfectly innocent."

He frowned at me, not believing a word I said. I sighed and surrendered, "fine. I might have gone to her room after slamming the door in her face when she tried to apologize to me." A wide grin started to form on Cook's face. "And I might have spent the better part of the morning getting properly acquainted with Emily's amazing physique…"

Cook couldn't contain himself and burst out in laughter. I punched his shoulder but only lightly and started to laugh myself. "It's just that right when things were getting interesting, JJ showed up and ruined everything." Cook had stopped walking and was bent over laughing, hands on his knees. I shrugged and giggled, "and I might have been walking around with the female equivalent of blue-balls ever since."

He stopped laughing long enough to reach out and place an empathetic hand on my shoulder. "I guess I know why she had that huge smile on her face earlier then…" He dried a few tears from his eyes, "and I can honestly not blame you for perving on her, not just 'coz of the blue-balls thing", he giggled at the thought, "but she's quite a sight, that Red, even if I personally prefer her sister."

At his last words, we instantly turned to each other, a horrified look on both our faces, as we realized that except for a few minor details, we were basically, at least physically, fantasizing about the same girl. Don't get me wrong, they were far from identical but given the right, or rather wrong, lighting and dress them up alike and they could easily pass for each other.

"Let's never go there again." I said, horrified at the images that kept popping into my head.

"Agreed", he replied, a somber look on his face.

Cook's POV

It was getting harder and harder to ignore her. After the tour of the island, we had all gone for a swim in order to work up an appetite for another one of Gina's delicious spreads. I personally was looking forward to the beers we would be having soon, as the sun was now bearing down hard on us. Katie was lounging about seductively, every move she made was absolutely laced with sex and I couldn't keep my eyes off her. Something had changed since this morning when she had tried to explain things to me. She was being nice to Emily for once but I knew that to be a bad thing, since it meant Emily had once again turned quiet and was staying away from Naomi, making Naomi miserable in the process. While we were swimming, I did notice Emily stare at Blondie when she wasn't looking and the hurt and longing in her eyes was impossible to miss. Of course, I was more than fully aware of Naomi's feelings for Emily and I had figured out that the only reason Naomi hadn't taken up the fight with Katie, was because of those feelings. Her usual I-don't-give-a-fuck-about-what-anyone-thinks-attitude wasn't a goer here because she did care, and probably a whole lot, about Emily. Much like I was starting to realize I did for Katie. She was sexy, so fucking sexy and the smoldering looks she kept throwing my way were driving me to the brink of insanity.

Kieran was about to take the inflatable back to the ship to get new beverages and thankfully, those would include the beers. Feeling a strong need to cool down a bit, I convinced him that I would do it and that he should relax for a bit. He simply shrugged and patted me thankfully on the back as he went back to join Gina on a blanket near the water. I pushed the small boat into deeper water and was about to pull myself in when I noticed her.

"Give a girl a hand?" Katie held out her arm as she took hold of the inflatable with the other one. She was standing dangerously close to me and I felt desire bubbling and had to swallow hard. I stepped behind her and took hold of her hips, lifting her up and into the inflatable before pulling myself in. She smiled seductively and adjusted her bikini as we set off toward the ship.

I helped her aboard and we walked below deck and started to fill the coolers with the cold beer from the fridge. Katie took one and opened it, offering me the bottle after she took a large sip. She hadn't said a word yet, aside from a sly 'thanks' when I helped her aboard earlier. I emptied about half of the bottle into my mouth before handing it back to her. She licked her lips slowly, almost caressing them with her tongue, before putting the bottle to her mouth without breaking eye contact.

I was fully aware that she hadn't apologized to Naomi and that the two of them were probably born to be sworn enemies but right now, standing here with Katie Fucking Fitch offering herself to me, I really didn't care. I pulled her in and crashed our lips together, while lifting her up on top of the cupboard. My hands found the bikini straps on her back, pulled them and let her bikini-top fall to the floor. I traced hot kisses down her neck while my hand found her breast and I felt her press against me. She was as aggressive as I was and her hands quickly pulled at my shorts. She wrapped her legs around me and I forgot all about her abusive behavior towards both Naomi and her sister as she started to grind her hips suggestively against me.

I know, I know, Katie's still a bitch and poor Cook really can't help himself sometimes, he did try though. There is still plenty of Sunday day-trip fun planned ahead but I also want to write a chapter for "Solving the Cancer Enigma", so it might take a day before I can write the next chapter for this story…

The reviews have been awesome and I am thankful for each and every one! They are my source of motivation and therefore, so are you for providing them!