A/N- Hello lovely readers. God, it's been a while hasn't it? My apologies. It's been a crazy few months. Sorry if this seems a little rushed, I really wanted to give you guys something before the weekend & can hopefully give you the last few chapters not long after. Enjoy x
"Okay, Naomi," Emily starts then spins the cursor before continuing. "Left hand green,"
"Left hand green," I repeat and thoughtfully chew my lip for a moment, pondering the move Emily has just instructed me to make.
We'd been playing twister for way over an hour now and whilst I wasn't overly keen to begin with, seeing Olivia so happy, I soon thought differently. To say I'd really taken to her was an understatement. We'd really bonded, more than I could ever have imagined, over the last week. Who'd have thought it? Naomi Campbell practically best friends with a kid. Two weeks ago, I probably couldn't have thought of anything worse. Kids and me never mixed, at least not well. I finally stretch my arm across, successfully placing my left hand on the green coloured circle. It leaves me most uncomfortable and as I struggle to stay in position, Olivia giggles next to me, sneakily leaning into my body which then results in me in me collapsing in a defeated heap on the mat.
"I win," My new best friend instantly declares victory, raising her arms in the air in triumph I laugh.
"Excuse me, Olivia Fitch, I don't think so,"
"I won, you lose," She insists, cheekily and knowingly smirking at me.
"You cheated you little monkey, you pushed me over,"
"I saw no pushing," Emily intervenes with a smirk that matched Olivia's just seconds before. They were definitely so alike. Two peas in a pod. I knowingly narrow my eyes back at her and she giggles, that really infectious way I love so much. "What? I didn't. Olivia clearly won again, fair and square,"
"You're clearly biased,"
"My game, my rules," She winks. "I didn't see any cheating,"
"Told you I won," Olivia says, pointing her tongue at me cheekily.
"Right okay, I get it," I sigh, feigning acceptance before I reach out to tackle my new friend to the floor. She instantly giggles and wriggles as I set about tickling her into submission. "You two sticking together to gang up on me, eh?" I continue. She begs, first for me to stop and second for some help from Emily who, I notice, is busy occupying a genuine fond heart warming smile on her face. I pause for a moment, allowing Olivia to catch her breath back. "So Liv, are you sorry for cheating or do I need to tickle you some more?"
"No," She pleads, pushing my hands from her with another laugh. "Stop please Naomi,"
"Say sorry,"
"Okay, okay. I'm sorry, stop, please," She struggles between giggles and I stop, helping her up from the floor. I quickly brush my fingers through her hair and for a brief moment, no more than a second or two, she looks at me thoughtfully. "One time I heard my Auntie Kay tell Jakey that you cheated,"
"Oh," it's all that awkwardly escapes my lips. I suddenly feel like the air from within has been knocked out of me. I shuffle from kneeling on the floor, to standing on my feet.
"Sweetie, your Auntie Kay always says a lot of things she shouldn't," Emily interrupts from the side, attempting to rescue the situation. Of course, I knew Olivia wouldn't have known the context in which Katie meant her comment but that didn't make it any easier to react to. I quietly lift the now empty bowl of popcorn and three glasses from the table, taking them into the kitchen. Emily, predictably, is almost instantly behind me. "Hey, you alright?"
"What, me? Yeah, I'm fine," I force my best fake smile over my shoulder and continue to wash up.
"Naoms," She sighs, I feel her hand gently rest on my back then her arms slip around my waist, she kisses my shoulder tentatively and reaches for my hands before I place them back into the water. I smile again, properly this time. "Don't pretend,"
She knows me too well.
"It just caught me off guard a little bit, that's all," I say eventually.
"I know, it's okay,"
"I'm not that person anymore. I don't want Liv to know that Naomi," I rest my hands on Emily's arms that stay around my waist. "If she did, she'd only think bad of me,"
"She's far too young to understand what Katie's big mouth was getting at. Anyway, I don't think there's any chance of her thinking bad of you," I hear her laugh briefly, she breaks from me and turns my body to face hers, straight away, her hand is on my cheek, her thumb stroking back and forth. I relax into her touch, my eyes closing before I feel her breath lightly on my face. "She adores you,"
"Yeah?" I don't know why I even sound surprised.
"Yeah," She repeats, hooking her arms over my shoulders. "Her Mum adores you,"
I barely muster anything, the soft caressing of her lips on mine, silence me as my heart melts into some kind of love loaded puddle in my chest. Emily and only ever Emily Fitch could make me feel this much. I move my right hand up onto her neck, deepening the kiss to savour the sweet taste of her lips for a few seconds longer than she probably intended.
"I guess this means I've forgiven you for robbing me of twister victory," I tease.
"I've no idea what you're talking about," She attempts and fails to hide the obvious smirk spread across her face but successfully changes the subject. "Did Zoe text you to let you know she arrived back safe?"
"Yeah. Cook was there, waiting with flowers and everything,"
"Fuck," She lets out a small laugh. "He really has changed,"
"Seems to have found his soft exterior since Zoe gave him the eye a while ago,"
"Sounds very familiar," Emily teases, drifting her lips gently across mine before I could even begin to enjoy them. "Took a long, long time to find yours though,"
"Hey,"
"Was worth all the searching," She smiles that beautiful Emily Fitch smile at me and leans forward to capture my mouth in one more kiss. I hear a slight groan escape her as she breaks away, running her finger over the lips she's just parted from. "Come on, Liv is a little too quiet for my liking, it usually means she's up to something,"
We re-enter the front room, Emily being instantly proved wrong with the sight that greets us both. Olivia wasn't up to anything. She had made herself comfortable on the sofa with her throw over blanket and was now adorably asleep. I decide there and then that it's easily the cutest thing I have ever witnessed.
"I think all that twister excitement tired her out,"
"Yeah," Emily moves first and continues to whisper. "She used to fall asleep down here all the time just so I'd carry her upstairs to bed. Problem now is, it's a little more difficult as she gets older,"
"I don't mind taking her,"
"Really?"
"Course not," I add simply, entering the room further, I can't resist placing a gentle kiss on Emily's cheek as I pass her to reach her comfortably sleeping Daughter. "I spotted some wine in the fridge, go pour yourself a glass, relax and I'll be back in a minute,"
Olivia barely stirs when I carefully lift her sleeping form up from the sofa or when I negotiate the spiral staircase, it's only when I gently place her in bed, place the blanket over her and reach for the side light that she wakes.
"Naomi?"
"Shhh, it's okay baby, you fell asleep downstairs," I whisper, tucking her hair behind her ear. "I just brought you to bed, go back to sleep,"
"Sometimes my Mummy stays with me until I'm asleep,"
"Oh. She's just downstairs, I can go get her,"
"Will you stay with me?" She asks quietly, trying her very best to hide the yawn that was about to escape. My smile grows as she shuffles herself across the bed ever so slightly and pats the space next to her, encouraging me to lay down. I'm pretty sure she couldn't get any cuter if she tried. I accept the invitation, resting my head on the pillow. "Naomi?"
"Yes Liv?"
"You have to stay until I'm asleep,"
"I will, I promise,"
"Are you having a sleepover with my Mummy tonight?"
"Uh huh,"
"Where do you sleep?"
I find myself quietly laughing at her questioning.
"Hey monster, speaking of sleep, isn't that what you're supposed to be doing?"
"Yeah," She nods sleepily and the room falls silent for a few minutes. I only hear the sound of the rain against the window. "Naomi?"
"Hmmm?"
"I like it when you're here," She says quietly, I hear it perfectly though and a joyful grin covers my face. I wasn't quite expecting that.
I wasn't quite expecting her to then fall asleep so quickly but she does and after giving her a few moments, I quietly sneak out of the bedroom after switching off the side light and readjusting the blanket over her soundly sleeping form. When I reach the bottom of the stairs, Emily immediately appears in my eye line, sitting comfortably on the sofa with a glass of white in hand. Relaxing just like I told her too.
"I was just about to come check on you," She tells me with a smile, shuffling to the right of the sofa. "Thought you'd fallen asleep too,"
"Liv woke up, she wanted me to stay with her until she was asleep,"
"Really?" Emily seems surprised and I nod in response. "She hasn't done that for a while,"
"She said she really likes me being here,"
"See, I told you," She leans forward and as her lips meet my own, I feel her smile against my mouth before she parts. "She's not the only one that really likes you being here,"
"Hmm," I groan, attempting to find her lips once again when I notice the twister mat still on the floor. "Fancy a game?"
"You hate twister," She points out, narrowing her eyes at me.
"I don't hate my version," I wink, gently tugging on her hand to pull her down onto the mat. Clasping her left hand in mine, I place it on a blue coloured circle before taking hold of her right. "Now this hand should go here,"
"Aren't you supposed to spin the cursor?" She laughs bemusedly.
"My game, my rules,"
"Really?" She returns an earlier wink and leans forward, briefly brushing her lips against mine in such an agonising way that I only want more and quickly. "So, what now?"
"Well now, I put my hand here," I announce, slipping my hand underneath the material of her t shirt. My fingertips dance across her smooth tanned skin and her gaze never shifts from me once as I tug it over her head and toss it to the side in one quick, swift motion. I drink her in for a second or two. She looks absolutely stunning and even though I've seen a half naked Emily Fitch more times than I could ever remember, the effect on me never changes.
"Don't say you've forgotten the rules to your own game," She teases, chewing her bottom lip in that sexy way she does.
"Huh?"
"Why don't you let me try and guess how this works," She whispers against my ear, her wet lips trailing down my neck before she places her feet on two different coloured circles, ensuring her legs part slightly as she hooks her fingers inside her underwear and slides them down her legs. "Something like this?"
Fuck. Double fuck.
"Jesus Em,"
"I think I'm going to enjoy this version of twister way more,"