Battered

Chapter 26

"Not this time"

Cheryl's words echo around my head and for a moment I just stare at her; working up the courage to start the conversation we should have had weeks ago.

"We need to talk, don't we?" I finally manage to say, looking into her chocolate eyes.

Cheryl nods.

Taking a deep breath, I decide to jump in at the deep end, "You kissed me"

"I know" Cheryl answers, walking over to the sofa and sitting down.

"And the next morning, I tried to talk to you about it and you changed the subject" I carry on, still standing in the middle of the room.

"I know" she says again, quieter this time.

Aware that our current position, me standing over Cheryl, might make her feel a little intimidated, I cross the room and sit in the armchair opposite her, "Why did you do that?" I ask gently.

"Because" she looks up at me, "I thought you might ask me to leave or something. You pulled away from me and I don't know, I guess I just panicked. That's why I acted like I didn't really remember what happened that night. I thought it would be easier that way" she sighs, shrugging her shoulders.

"Cheryl, you know me better than that. I wouldn't have asked you to leave just because of a silly little drunken kiss." I tell her, getting up and moving to sit next to her on the sofa.

"But that's the thing," Cheryl turns to face me, "it wasn't just a silly drunken kiss, at least not on my part....I really like you Kimberley" she confesses.

Her words bring a smile to my face and without thinking, I lean forward and close the remaining distance between us. The kiss takes Cheryl by surprise but it's only a split second until she's kissing me back. This time I don't pull away when I feel her hand gently touching my cheek and countless minutes are lost as we continue to softly kiss each other.

"I really like you too" I say once the kiss has broken.

Cheryl smiles and we lean back on the sofa; she cuddles up close to me, playing with the hem of my pyjama top, "What happens now?" she asks.

"I don't know Cheryl" I answer honestly, "I don't want you to feel pressured into anything"

Cheryl lifts her head up and places a gentle kiss on my lips, "I don't feel pressured at all" she assures me, "I get what you're saying though. Why don't we just take things slowly and see where it goes." she suggests.

"Sounds good to me" I smile as Cheryl tilts her head towards me for another kiss. Her lips are incredibly soft and one kiss soon leads to another. And another. It's only when the music stops playing that we part and I notice that it's almost 1am.

"It's getting late, we should probably go to bed" I say reluctantly, giving Cheryl one last kiss.

"Can I sleep with you tonight?" she asks quietly.

"What happened to taking it slow?" I raise an eyebrow, unable to resist teasing her a little.

"I - I didn't mean it like that" she stammers, her cheeks flushing at the realisation of what she has said.

I shoot her a playful smile and she cottons on to the fact that I'm joking. Getting to my feet, I switch off the CD player and turn off the downstairs lights while Cheryl waits for me at the foot of the stairs.

We go upstairs together and after changing into her pyjamas, Cheryl joins me in my room. She makes her way over to the bed and climbs in beside me, "I've missed this" she says, shuffling closer when I put my arm around her waist.

"Me too" I smile, reaching over to turn off the lamp before snuggling up to her again.

We haven't shared a bed since Ashley's trial, when Cheryl suffered from horrible nightmares almost every night, and it feels good to be holding her again as we drift off to sleep.