Chapter 18
As the small mound stirred slightly under the crumpled blankets beside her, Kimberley kept perfectly still. Having spent several mornings lately waking up, luckily in her opinion, beside the beautiful Cheryl Tweedy, she was accustomed to her wriggling around as she tried to get comfortable, but, after the amount of drink Cheryl had had the previous night, she would need all the rest she could get!
Kimberley practically held her breath for what seemed like an eternity in the hopes that, for her own sake, her beloved would drift off to sleep again, but it wasn’t to be as a soft groan could be heard muffled deep beneath the rustling duvet followed by an exclamation of “Me fookin head!”
Biting her lip to stop herself from laughing out loud, Kimberley lifted the covers lightly to peek at her suffering girlfriend.
“Are you ok honey?” she asked sympathetically as Cheryl’s eyes screwed tightly shut in response to the light emanating from the gap in the curtains.
“I feel like I’ve been hit by a truck!” she whined, her voice no more than a whisper, as she covered her eyes with her hands to protect them from the cruelty of the morning light.
Kimberley remained silent for a few moments, letting Cheryl wake up in her own time, opting instead to run her fingers through her hair softly. After a few minutes, Kimberley smiled as she observed Cheryl peeping out from between her fingers, an apologetic look gracing her angelic features.
“Was I a pain last night?” she asked meekly causing Kimberley to giggle.
“A little” she replied earning another groan from the Geordie. “But I’m glad you came over”
The sleepiest of smiles spread across Cheryl’s lips she considered her girlfriend’s words. “Really?” she questioned, secretly already knowing it was the truth.
Kimberley nodded. “You’re a very cute drunk you know”
“Oh I’m cute now am I?” Cheryl grinned even wider. “I thought I was a pain?!”
Laughing, Kimberley pulled her closer to her and placed a soft kiss on her lips. “You are” she agreed, kissing her a second time. “But you’re my pain”
Cheryl laughed, burying her face in her girlfriend’s neck and kissing it softly before snuggling closer to her as a peaceful silence washed over them both again.
As Kimberley scanned the bedroom, one that was fast becoming as familiar to her as her own, her eyes were met by the sight of her half unpacked suitcase. Never one to leave such a task on the long finger, she smiled as she thought about how the mess and disorganization would, once upon a time, have driven her mad. But here, with Cheryl in her arms, she could happily leave the suitcase be and stay in bed for the rest of her life.
As she thought of her girlfriend, she thought of the gift she had yet to give her from her trip. Still buried somewhere at the bottom of the suitcase, Kimberley had contemplated giving it to her that morning, however, looking at her now, her eyes closed again and her brow furrowed in testament to her discomfort, she thought it best to wait until she was a little less hung over!
Kissing her forehead gently again, she wasn’t to know that her girlfriend’s expression was not in fact one of pain of tiredness… but one of guilt.
For, as she lay in the comfortable silence, Cheryl found it hard to keep her mind from wandering to her conversation with Simon the previous night. He made the prospect of America seem so inviting, so exciting, so…possible! It wasn’t something she had ever considered or particularly wanted but, what she did want was to be successful at what she did and so it wasn’t something she had ruled out completely either.
The best producers Simon had promised her, and the best PR. If she turned him down now, could she ever hope for that kind of an offer again? She wasn’t sure. But, as she felt her girlfriend’s soft, plump lips grazing her forehead lightly, ridding it of an unconscious frown, she was sure of one thing. She was more in love with Kimberley than she had ever been with anyone before in her life. Even her ex husband…before he was an ex obviously! Could she really leave all that behind for a plan that could ultimately fail?
As her stomach lurched, due more to her unpleasant thoughts than her hangover, she shook her head as if trying to dispel them quickly. Yes, it was much easier to just not think about these things. Everything would sort itself out in due course, wouldn’t it?
Lifting her head from Kimberley’s shoulder, she took a moment to look deeply into her eyes. Yes, everything would be just fine.
“What are you lookin at?” Kimberley giggled self consciously. “Do I have bed hair or something?”
“Yes” Cheryl smiled sweetly, crawling up her girlfriend’s body before touching her nose gently with her own. “But you’re still the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen”
Blushing slightly at the compliment, Kimberley traced her fingertips lightly up and down her girlfriend’s bare sides as she accepted her hot tongue into her mouth. Sighing softly at the intimate contact, she felt her girlfriend’s wandering hands firmly cup her bra-covered breasts. Pulling her lips away to catch her breath again, she grinned teasingly. “I thought you felt like you’ve been hit by a truck?!”
Mirroring Kimberley’s grin, Cheryl lightly nipped at the soft flesh of her neck before moving to her ear lobe and whispering seductively…”It’d take more than a f*ckin truck to keep me from tasting you…..”
And with a sexy wink, she disappeared between Kimberley’s thighs.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Quickly locating the TV remote at the opposite end of the couch, Nadine turned the volume up as the knocking sound of a wooden headboard permeated from her flat mate’s bedroom.
“Christ!” she cursed under her breath, finding it increasingly hard to concentrate on the Corrie omnibus she had recorded. And it had just been getting to a good part too! Lifting her mobile from the armrest beside her she quickly dialed a familiar number and waited a few seconds.
“Nicola?” she greeted her friend after she answered groggily. “Get up. We’re going shopping or something”
“Jesus Nads!” Nicola moaned. “It’s only half eight!”
“I don’t care how early it is Nic; I need to get out of this house. Those two are at it again!”
“At what?” she questioned, still oblivious to her friend’s meaning.
Pulling on her coat and grabbing her bag, Nadine gave an incredulous look, assuming Nicola would understand from the irritated and somewhat high-pitched tone in her voice.
“Shagging!” she explained matter-of-factly. “What else do they ever do?! Look, just get up, I’m coming over!” she huffed.
“Alright, alright! Keep your knickers on!” Nicola teased before joking “Hey Nads, pity no one said that to our Kimba eh?”
Despite herself, Nadine laughed as she pulled the door of the flat behind her before cursing again as she realized she had forgotten her key. Shrugging her shoulders, she turned and headed for her car….she doubted she’d want to be back in that flat in the next couple of hours anyway!
