A/N – This story is well overdue for an update! I'm really sorry for being a poor excuse for a writer and I hope it will be worth the wait.

Warning – the chapter contains a multitude of happiness, which, if you know me, is not something I usually have a lot of in a chapter…

Thank you for your patience and for sticking with the story!

Chapter 15

Cook's POV

"Shouldn't they have been here by now?", Katie asked as she placed another bowl of salad on the table by the barbecue area outside the B'n'B. "That blonde b – "

"Careful, Katiekins", I said teasingly but not without sincerity. She knew I didn't approve of her less than loving terms of endearment for Naomi and she stopped midsentence to send me a forced smile.

"… smart ass", she corrected, which was a hell of a lot better than previous names, so I let it slide. "Better not have run off the road. Mum called me like two hours ago."

"Babe, the drive takes that long, you of all people should know that by now. So stop fussing and get over here", I said and patted my knees suggestively. She smiled seductively and walked ever so slowly towards me before straddling me and bending down for a kiss. She stopped halfway though, teasingly making me reach out and grab her in order to reach her lips. I could feel a smile spreading on her lips as she felt me stir. To my great disappointment she pulled away and when I opened my eyes, her index finger was pointed at my face.

"Oh no, Cook, not now", she said sternly, a hit of a smile still showing in her eyes, "I'm not going anywhere until I see my sister safe and sound!"

I quickly removed my hands from her waist and held them up as a sign of surrendering. I was anxious to see Red return as well, although my reasons differed enormously from Katie's. True, they should have been back by now or should at least be getting here soon but I was sort of hoping they wouldn't. I knew what I would be spending my time doing in the back of Gina's car right now, if I had been picking up a girl I was hot for and had been dying to see.

Naturally, I was looking forward to seeing both their faces as we surprised them with the feast we putting the final touches on. It had been Effy's idea originally, and she had taken Gina for a walk Wednesday evening in order to make plans before pulling each of us aside. Effy had been explicit about keeping Naomi out of the loop although she had offered no other explanation as to why, except that she didn't trust Naomi's ability to keep the surprise from Emily.

I couldn't imagine many people, men or women, able to resist Effy Stonem when she turned her sapphire gaze on them. Her beauty and power or persuasion hadn't eluted me and I was a slave to her will, much like the rest of the inhabitants of the B'n'B including the brunette currently straddling me.

Katie smiled sheepishly and ran her fingers slowly down my neck and continuing down my bare chest before settling both hands dangerously close to my crotch. I swallowed a grunt as she put more weight on her hands and gave my thighs a slight squeeze as she got up from my lap, making sure to brush a hand against a particularly sensitive part of my anatomy in the process. She walked away as slowly and seductively as she had approached and made sure to check and see if I was following her ass with my eyes. Which I was. Obviously. This girl is the devil.

I was still glaring at Katie when something soft was slapped against my chest. I took hold of the crimson t-shirt, put it on and smiled at Gina. She had been fussing about, ordering us around in the most uncharacteristic fashion for the past two hours but at the moment, she was smiling warmly down at me. From what Naomi had described, the twins' parents were a handful, or rather, their mother was and Gina had been forced to take Mrs. Fitch's abuse several times since Emily was hospitalized. Not only had she blamed Gina and Kieran for Emily's unfortunate situation during their meeting at the hospital, she had also called them using Katie as the intermediary on several occasions. It had resulted in Gina leaving the room after hanging up and despite her efforts, she had failed to hide her tears from us.

Naomi was pissed about it but was torn between her loyalty for her mother and her, by now, strong feelings for Emily. As I glanced in Katie's direction and saw her pouting at me because I had put on a shirt, I couldn't help but feel torn about the whole thing myself. Gina was a mother to me, in every meaning of the word, and seeing her in such obvious distress was making me angry, without question. Then again, Katie was making me feel things lately that were new to me and it had gone way beyond mere lust at this point. If and when I came face to face with her devil of a mother, I honestly didn't know what I would do.

"They're here!" JJ came running from the driveway and I could see a cloud of dust forming behind him, a telltale sign of an approaching car. Kieran put the first of the meat on the barbie before we formed a united front, effectively hiding our feast from the view of the approaching car. I snuck a peak around my fellow conspirators and noted expressions of excitement and anticipation and lingered when I reached Effy. The look in her eye was different and an unfamiliar for her – one of pure joy.

Naomi's POV

It had seemed quite odd, the way everyone had been standing there, side by side, wide grins spreading on their faces as I helped Emily out of the car. She held on to my hand for much longer than I knew she needed to and I felt empty when she finally let go in order to give proper hugs to everyone. I noticed it first, the nicely set table with the white tablecloth, matching napkins set in fancy shapes that I knew Mum was incapable of making and clusters of large candles in a variety of colors. Once the smell hit, I knew exactly what we were having for dinner. Emily had her arms wrapped around Effy when she noticed the table and her eyes doubled in size, which, if you think about it, is quite impressive.

"Is that –", she started, her voice failing her slightly, "Is that for me?" The eagerly nodding faces surrounding her answered that question quickly and Emily was blushing favorite redhead turned to look at me, her eyes rimmed with happy tears at the sweet gesture. "Did you know about this?"

I shook my head and smiled warmly at the adorable sight of an obviously much moved Emily surrounded by a group of people who were evidently quite proud of their accomplishment.

"It was Effy's idea", JJ blurted out, barely able to restrain himself. "She made us promise not to tell you, Naomi, she made it very clear and quite graphic I might add, that she would make us suffer unimaginable pain if we spilled the beans and ruined the surprise."

I was about to interrupt what I assumed would turn into a classic rant but to my surprise, JJ was able to contain himself and he merely threw a grand smile at me before remembering something and running to the table. Cook joined him and the two of them came back carrying champagne glasses and two impressive bottles. They quickly poured each of us a glass but as they held one out for Emily, she passed on it.

"It's okay, Emily", Mum said and took the glass meant for Emily and pressed it into her hands. "Tonight, everything is non-alcoholic, even the 'champagne'."

"Yeah, thanks for that by the way, Emsy", Katie interjected with an insincere smirk across her lips. Cook placed an encouraging arm around her and raised his glass at Emily.

"To Emily, for coming back from the dead."

"To Emily!"

I glanced sideways just in time to see Emily discretely wipe a tear from her cheek before joining us in raising her glass of non-alcoholic apple cider to the sky. I did somewhat resent the fact that they had kept this celebration a secret from me but I had already figured out that I had this surprise to thank for my solo-mission to Bristol today. And that, I could never be upset about, so the slight resentment quickly drifted from my mind. Images of our car ride home flashed before my eyes and I suddenly became very aware of the fact that I was still, regrettably, wearing my filthy work clothes and was in desperate need of a shower. I excused myself and ran upstairs, quickly stepped out of my clothes and jumped in the shower.

The warm water made me relax and I quickly washed the dried mud and dirt from my body. When I closed my eyes and ran my fingers through my wet hair, the vivid memory of Emily's hands copying that action half an hour ago sprung to mind. The sheer power of remembering her touch was enough to make me gasp and I reached out to steady myself on the shower door. Unfortunately for me, the glass door seemed to have disappeared and I lost my footing and started to fall. My eyes flew open as I cried out, expecting my face to hit the ceramic tiles at any time but a pair of surprisingly strong arms grabbed hold of me, saving my face from getting bruised for the second week in a row.

Emily's eyes were wide with amusement and she couldn't contain her laughter at my surprised and horrified expression when I looked down at her.

"Emily, what the fuck!" I tried my best to sound stern and upset but the smile across my lips was a dead giveaway that I honestly couldn't care less about the fact that I had nearly fallen on my face. The bathroom is, after all, the most dangerous room in the house, so it would probably have happened at some point in my life anyway.

Emily had one arm wrapped around my waist, my very naked waist, and her laughter abruptly subsided. My smile disappeared when I noticed her wandering eyes seemingly relishing in my nakedness. Her free hand brushed along my back and she suddenly and forcefully pulled me impossibly close. I gasped as our bodies pressed against each other and another vivid memory, this time of Emily straddling me in the driver's seat and pressing her body down on me, entered my mind. My eyes flew shut as Emily started running her fingertips from my waist and upwards, brushing against the side of my breast and lingering there as if to ask my permission. I tilted my head back slightly and grabbed hold of her shirt, actively giving her the permission she sought. Her hand slowly moved along the bottom of my breast and her thumb brushed against the nipple, causing ripples of pleasure to course through my body.

She teased me repeatedly, the slightest of touches causing me to muffle a whimper and effectively making my body desperate for a firmer touch. I lost patience with her and pushed her against the bathroom door, grabbing hold of her face with both hands and reaching for her lips. To my great surprise and even bigger disappointment, she turned her head and forced me to plant a sloppy kiss on her cheek.

"Nah, ah", she stated with the sexiest smirk spread across her face. She grabbed hold of my hands and locked them behind my back. I knew I could easily break her hold, her not being up to her usual uncanny strength, but the fierce look in her eye stopped me from trying to deter her plans.

Emily allowed her right hand to resume its earlier actions but she replaced her left hand with her tongue as she started tracing circles around my erect nipple. I closed my eyes and lost myself in the wonderful electricity emanating from my crotch and pulsating up and down my spine. The first time she flicked her tongue, I let out a cry and pressed the rest of my body against her with a crushing force. I felt her smile against my breast and she released my hands from behind my back. I immediately took advantage, attacking her with my lips while roughly grabbing at her clothes seeking any kind of access to naked flesh. I silently cursed her fully clothed state and decided it would be serve my purpose best to simply rip the clothes off her back. Before I got a chance to go through with what seemed like a brilliant idea, Emily flipped me as easily as she had in the water last week, and pushed me against the door.

Her lips finally found mine and she kissed me with a fierce passion, her soft tongue seeking mine aggressively, lips pressing hard but magically still remaining soft to the touch. Another vision of Emily towering above me, eyes closed, lips slightly parted, riding out the waves of her orgasm, flooded my mind and almost set me off. My body responded to the memory and to Emily's hot kisses and increasingly insisting caress by sending a pulse of immense pleasure coursing down my spine. As her right hand slowly slid down my stomach, I almost couldn't stand it. The tension had been building inside me for the better part of a week and having Emily straddle me in the car and hearing her call out my name as she came hard against my hand, was proving a forceful catalyst.

I pushed the memory aside. It was too powerful and an unwanted distraction from the unbelievably pleasant reality, a reality that featured Emily's hand moving teasingly against my inner thigh. I smashed my head hard against the door as she finally rubbed her hand roughly against my clit and screamed out as her other hand moved down and easily slid two fingers inside me.

"Fuuuuuck." I startled myself slightly at the sheer volume of my voice but I quickly forgot about it when Emily started circling my clit with her fingers. I felt the familiar tingles starting at the back of my head and tried my best to push them back. It was too soon, I didn't want this to end yet but the tension of the past week along with the memory of Emily's earlier climax was too much to handle. When Emily pushed her fingers inside me a second time, I lost myself to exquisite pleasure and grabbed hold of her as I rode out my orgasm. When my knees finally buckled, I was left slumped and panting against Emily's shoulder. She had barely touched me and it was easily the best sex of my life. It was also the fastest ever and I felt slightly ashamed of my lack of sexual stamina. I shifted and tried to get Emily to release me from her hold. Her fingers were still inside me and she kissed my collarbone and my shoulder repeatedly before looking up at me. The look on her face was priceless. It was an odd mixture of extreme excitement and pure adoration, served up with a slice of unabashed pride.

Emily's POV

After that particularly wonderful car ride, I didn't think it was possible for life to feel any more beautiful. Turns out I was very, very wrong. I had never had sex with anyone I actually cared about before and I had obviously never climaxed with anyone but myself either. Experiencing both at the same time was nothing short of mind-blowing and it had left me feeling a multitude of things, utter ecstasy being one of them.

The realization that not only did I relish in Naomi's affections but even in the mere sight of her naked body, had left me feeling oddly at ease. I had finally gotten the answer to the most important question in my life. The one Effy had asked me on the beach last week and what I had been asking myself for the past few years.

Confirming to yourself that you are most likely gay is probably a frightening experience for the majority of the people who go through it but for me, it was like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. It finally made sense – everything from my reluctance at playing house or doctor with the boys in middle school to not sharing my sister's fascination with the male anatomy and the joy of dating. I had given it all a fair go because it seemed like the thing to do at the time and because Katie cracked her dominatrix whip over my head every time I started to vent my apprehension. I had been attracted to girls before and had even told Katie about it once but that resulted in the worst fight of our lives and she never brought it up again. For the following weeks, she kept repeating that I wasn't gay, just stupid. After a while I suppose I started believing her as doubts started seeping in.

I knew the others were waiting for us, food ready and on the table, so I had left Naomi to get dressed without further distraction. In the heat of the moment, I almost forgot why I had excused myself in the first place and ran by my room and threw on a top that would allow my shoulders to catch some of the warm evening rays. Halfway down the stairs, I bumped into Cook.

"There you are, Red. We were starting to worry about you – again", he said smiling and put his arm around me. We took a few steps down the stairs together before he abruptly stopped. I took another step before turning and found him staring at me with a wide grin on his face. He couldn't stop the budding laughter from emerging as he tilted his head back and covered his stomach with his hands. I looked around in an attempt at figuring out what had brought this on but found nothing but empty stairs and an empty house.

I resorted to punching his shoulder to get him to stop, a trick I had learned from observing Naomi whenever she was around him.

"Hey!" he screamed out, "No need for bruises, Emily, I've already got your sister for that."

I didn't have to fake the disgust in the look I sent him. "Really don't need to know the gory details about what you do with my sister, thanks." I crossed my arms in front my chest. "Now, what the fuck is so funny?"

Cook dried his eyes and regained his composure. The wide grin however, was still glued to his face though, "She finally got it right, didn't she?"

My face turned red and must have matched the brightness of the color of my hair. How can he possibly know that, it happened like five minutes ago! Is it written in my face or something? I opened my mouth and was about to object and reject his statement but he beat me to it.

"Don't even try to deny it, Red. You were gone for a hell of a lot longer than it takes to change your shirt." I was about to say something about the variety of things I could have been doing but once again, he beat me to it. "Oh, and your shirt is inside-out." He winked and started down the stairs again.

With a quick examination, I determined that my shirt was indeed inside-out and I felt ridiculous. I hadn't even been wearing it when I was busying myself in Naomi's bathroom. My brain was obviously overheated by the whole experience and I sighed out loud as I pulled off the shirt and fixed my laughable mistake.

Thanks for reading:)

They finally caught a break and I realize you were cheated out of the end of the car ride but hopefully, you won't hold it against me for long! If you do though – let me know (shamelessly fishing for reviews)!

Everything seems almost placid at the moment and Emily seems content in her newfound, confirmed sexuality, but is it really that easy? (I'm gonna go with no...) There are still a lot of unresolved conflicts that have been pushed back because of Emily's illness and they won't stay hidden for long…