“Little Light Up”
The two of us grabbed both ends of an old blanket—the one used by the gang during our little parties once upon a time—and let it float down onto the lush grass underneath our Weeping willow tree. Along the riverbanks, families and couples who had the same idea for a nocturnal picnic had spread out as well. It was the Gozan Okuribi Bonfire Festival, a well-known summer event in Kyoto. Five giant bonfires would be lit on the slopes of five mountains surrounding the city. However from the banks of Kamo River the only bonfire we would be able to witness was the Daimonji—the most famous of all fires, portraying the kanji or Chinese character dai 大 meaning ‘large’—on Mt. Daimonji.
Naomi and I decided to pop in an hour earlier. The bonfire was expected to be lit at exactly eight o’clock in the evening and so we waited, sitting together under the low leafy boughs of our tree. The scrumptious aromas of barbeque and Japanese rice wine wafted by on the summer breeze. The dimness around us made our tiny spot seem more peaceful, more intimate, more ours.
Naomi’s arms came around me from behind in a comforting hug, and I let myself melt back against her warmth. “Our first Daimonji together,” I said quietly, my fingers mindlessly toying with the bracelet I gave her. “Sweet.”
The blonde planted a soft kiss on my temple. “Yea, I love it,” she softly said, grazing her chin on my shoulder. “My first one was crappy ‘cos you weren’t there. We were only on the rooftop and drinking our faces off. I don’t even remember seeing the bonfires. So I’ll call this my first time, if it’s okay with you,” she said, borrowing my words.
I smiled. “Of course.”
“You hungry?”
“Not really. Just thirsty.”
“Good. Because if you were hungry, I’d have to go dive into that murky river and wrestle with the birds for some freshwater fish.” She reached for her canvas bag and took out a pack of familiar biscuits. “I only have Garibaldis with me. Jess and Misaki are bringing the food.”
I shone her a tiny, flattered smile. “Your heroism is greatly appreciated, Lady Campbell. But, really, I just need a drink.”
She snaked her hands inside the bag and took out a couple of bottles. “So I got us Chartreuse and Russian vodka. Which one do you want, Ems?”
“Let’s start with our favourite.”
“Vodka, it is.” Naomi uncapped the bottle then handed it to me. “I think that soy sauce stain is from last year’s rooftop picnic.” She pointed to a dark spot on the blanket.
I took a swig from the bottle, then stretched out on the blanket, resting my head in Naomi’s lap. “Yep. Sean eats like he’s fucking toothless. He’s just a big baby. A big messy baby.” For some bizarre reason, Naomi and I both lifted our faces to the soothing crescent moon at the same time. Through the swinging slender branches and narrow leaves, it looked as if it were smiling down at us. The stars seemed friendly, too. The night wind against my face felt glorious. The swaying of the willowy branches was somewhat rhythmic. The sound of rushing stream of water was like a lulling song.
I let out a sigh of contentment.
“Mmm. I know what you mean, Em,” Naomi said, taking a calming sip of vodka. She then took out her camera from her bag and started taking photos of me.
Wincing at the continuous flashing of light, I shielded my eyes with the back of my hand. “Naomi, please tell me you do realise your camera is overflowing with images of my hideous face.”
“You’re my official model,” she said, leaning over me now. “And for your information, your face is not hideous.”
I tilted my head back to see her better. She had that playful, gorgeous smirk on her lips, making me want to kiss her so badly. She held her camera and started clicking again.
I gently pushed her camera away from her lovely face. We held each other’s gaze for a moment until we both burst out giggling for some unknown reason.
“What?” I asked, with quizzical brows.
Naomi laughed out loud. “I was about to ask you the same thing, you twat.” She playfully pinched my nose.
I laughed too. “You’re so beautiful. I wanted to kiss you.”
She arched her brows. “You don’t want to kiss me now?”
“Come here, my queen.” I curved my hands around her neck and drew her down to me for a sweet kiss.
I picked up a fallen camellia blossom that drifted onto the blanket and tucked it over her ear. “It’s your turn.” I grabbed the camera from her hands and aimed it to her. “C’mon, babe, show me your excellent modeling skills.”
Naomi did—making a combination of funny, sweet, and sexy facial expressions in front of the lens. And she looked so cute and ridiculous, I kept laughing behind the camera.
I pushed the Playback button of the camera and browsed the images on the LCD screen. Naomi kept silently drinking from the bottle.
“It’s funny,” I said, staring at an image of the sunrise taken from Mount Fuji. “Right before it comes up, the sun looks exactly the way it does after it sets. I mean, I’m looking at it now and if I weren’t there with you when you took this, I wouldn’t have any idea if it was coming or going.” I showed the picture to her. “But somehow I always like to believe it’s sunrise. A new day, you know?”
Naomi stared at the photo thoughtfully. “It’s just one of those things in life wherein you’re being presented with something, but it’s just up to you which ‘truth’ you would like to believe in. And most of the time, people would settle for the better option.”
“Because it’s so much easier, so much safer, so much nicer?”
“Exactly,” she said. “It’s a little more like fooling yourself, but you can’t blame people for always wanting to go for the less harsh truth.” She gave a lopsided smile. “But, yea, pictures could be really deceiving nowadays. There’s Photoshop, you know.”
“Oh, that’s the ridiculous bit right there,” I said, smirking. “Now you can tell your grandchildren you’ve danced next to Michael Jackson, sipped champagne on a yacht with Lady Gaga in Niagara Falls, had tea with the Queen in one of the chambers of the Great Pyramid of Giza. You can do just about anything. Fancy just about anything.”
“Still,” she pointed out, “warping reality.”
“People could be extremely delusional,” I agreed quietly. Then I looked at her, with an impressed smirk. “You make a girl think, Naomi.”
“Yea? Is that a good thing?”
I let out a laugh. “Sure. It’s always a good sign when someone’s interested in stimulating your brain and not just your,” I hesitated, “you know.”
“You know me, Emily,” the blonde said. “I was never after your,” her gaze slid down my waist inadvertently, “‘you know.’”
Smirking, I rose to a sitting position. “Ah, no?”
She shook her head. “No.”
“Okay,” I said, raising a challenging brow. “Well, what were you after, then?”
Naomi pensively stared at the silently flowing river in front of us when she spoke. “The way you make me feel,” she softly answered at length. “The incredible way you could change me. The better person you make me want to be.” She looked at me then, her eyes mirroring the sincerity her words held. Then letting it go to look out at the quiet river again, she went on, “You know, I thought being all by yourself for a while would do it. I tried to save myself from that fast-approaching crash, thinking that I needed to be alone to help me find myself. But it was inevitable. Falling in love with you was just inescapable. When I decided to take the plunge with you, I realised it was the best risk I’ve ever taken in my life. I saw myself really facing myself, you know.” She looked into my eyes then, holding my gaze. A surge of affection swelled my rib cage at her fragility. “I got to take a good look at myself and figured out what I liked about who I was and what I didn’t, and where I wanted to go. All with you. All because of your help, Emily. All because of your love.”
I just looked at her for a long, silent moment and took in her serious, sensitive face. I was sure Naomi was grateful for the darkness, because she knew she was blushing as her own words came back to her.
After a moment during which I had to blink against a sudden stinging behind my eyelids, I reached out and lifted her chin with a gentle finger.
“No one,” I said softly, “has ever said such a lovely thing to me like that before. You are amazing, Naomi Campbell.”
Her eyes widened, and her lips parted for a quick breath. I resisted the urge to kiss her right then and there, although it was bloody difficult. She looked a little dizzy and was flushing so horribly.
But to shake off her daze, Naomi strove for a speck of humour. “Once again that was Corny Campbell, Ladies and Gentlemen.” She gave a little embarrassed laugh. “Feel free to ignore that.”
I smiled and looked into her twinkling blue eyes. “Seriously, you’re wonderful, Naomi. I don’t know how many times I would have to echo my words, but it’s just what you are. At least, through my eyes.”
“And you are a master sweet-talker, Emily Fitch,” she added lightly. We held each other’s gaze wordlessly for a while until Naomi felt herself give a little start and moved to reach for her bag again.
“We could have our own little light up here. I brought tiny scented candles.” She took out about a bunch of them, placed them in front us on the grass in a cute heart shape, and we lit each of them up.
After we were done with the candles, I leant toward her and kissed her just below her ear. “I love you,” I murmured against her skin. “You’re so gay.”
She let out a giggle. “I know.”
I drew back and gave her a grim look. “But don’t get too close to me, babe,” I warned, “or I might not be able to contain myself. Jess, Misaki and Oz will be here any moment. And you know Oz. He’s a jealous little dog.”
“Yea. We can’t risk it,” she agreed, pursing her lips. “So here . . .” She started to unbuckle her belt, and my eyes instantly bulged in surprise. I wanted nothing better than to see her naked in front of me, but not here, in public, surrounded by strangers—was she crazy?
She stretched the belt into a straight line between us on the blanket. “There’s a demarcation line,” she declared. “You can’t go beyond this border, ’kay?”
I stared at her. “Um. How old are you, Naomi?”
“Piss off. I’m trying to be precautious. It’s a mature thing to do, in fact.”
A snort of a chuckle escaped me. “Yea. Very mature.”
The tiny flames were slowly licking at the candle wicks, and I could feel the delicious warmth on my face, could smell the delightful blended fragrance. She bit her lip, then traced the spot with her tongue. My pulse leapt immediately into overdrive. I really wanted to kiss her. But I knew if I did, we would end up doing things under our tree that you usually left behind in your teenage years.
I might have stiffened with desire as Naomi studied me with a worried gaze. “You all right, Ems?”
“No,” I said abruptly. “You scare me.”
“I scare you?”
“You’re dangerous, Campbell. Don’t get too close.”
“Oh.” Naomi’s eyes were seductively staring into mine, stripping off layer after layer of my defence. “I’m thinking about the feel of your soft lips on my neck,” she husked. “You brushing them back and forth against my skin until you reach the base and—”
“Naomi, stop,” I ground out between my teeth, trying to fight off the teenage boys wanting to escape from my shorts. “You’re making it fucking difficult for me.”
Grazing her chin over her shoulder as she looked at me, she murmured, “I miss you already.”
The softness of her voice sent shivers down my spine. For a long moment I couldn’t get enough breath to speak. And looking at her only made it worse. I saw the flare of heat in her eyes.
I realised, with a little surprise, that after all this time I still got a case of weak knees whenever I was close to Naomi Campbell. I tore my eyes from her and stared down at my sweating hands. “Fuck’s sake, Naomi. You’re making it bloody harder than it is.”
The blonde leant a little closer, careful not to go beyond her self-imposed ‘demarcation line,’ and lowered her voice. “Just how dangerous do you think I am?”
I lifted my gaze to her face again and saw the heat glowing in her eyes. “Dangerously dangerous.”
Leaning back on her elbows, Naomi stretched her legs on the blanket. “I can’t do anything about it,” she said with Campbell cockiness, borrowing my words again.
I only let out a quiet giggle in response.
She looked wistfully at the silently flowing water in front of us, something like a smile on her face. “Do you remember last year? When you took me here on my birthday?”
A smile curved my mouth too. “Yea, you were such a pain in the arse. Complaining about every damn thing along the way.”
She let out a chuckle. “I’m sorry, but you tied the bandanna so fucking tightly,” she said. “It really did hurt.”
“I had to because you were so sneaky and impatient.”
“But it was really sweet,” Naomi said, smiling. “Such a night to remember. That moment was right up there in my Top 3 Birthday Presents Ever Received.”
“Yea. Good thing your birthday was during the hanami season. The lovely cherry blossoms raining over us, the sound of gushing water, strings, harps—okay, there were no actual strings and harps but I swear I heard them in the background,” I added, and she chuckled, “. . . the soothing spring breeze . . .” I let out another sigh. “It was magical.”
“We had a lot of epic memories here under our tree,” she said softly, staring thoughtfully at the lit candles. “Strangely enough, this is the very same spot where we made that promise to make epic memories together, yea?” She sat up then, and turned her head to look at me.
I was intensely aware of her closeness. I could see tiny flecks of gold in her eyes.
“Yes,” I said huskily, slowly leaning toward her. “So fuck this demarcation line, I’m going to kiss you.” Throwing the belt into the air, I pulled her into my arms and took her mouth. She let out a little gasp of surprise before letting herself fall captive under my passionate lips.
I wasn’t sure how I ended up lying on the blanket beneath Naomi, but I was there. And the fierce blonde was on top of me, balanced on her arms, her mouth attacking my neck. A shudder rippled through me at the idea that I just drive this strikingly beautiful blonde this crazy. She seemed to feel it, because she lifted her head, looking at me.
I felt bereft, already missing the sultry heat of her mouth. That made me think of that day under this very same tree, the aftermath of her proposal to me to become officially hers, and wished we could re-enact the scene, right here, right now . . .
“How long do you think until that bonfire’s gonna be lit up?” she asked, her voice thick.
It took me a moment to fight through the golden haze and realise what she meant. When I realised why she was asking, that she apparently had every intention of fulfilling the wish I’d just silently made, my breath left me in a rush, it was as if she read my mind.
Right here, right now. Seriously?
Naomi took my mouth again. A sizzling tingle raced along my every nerve at the feel of her warm, soft lips rubbing against mine.
“Fuck, Naomi,” I said, a little out of breath when she freed my mouth. “Looking at your pig shirt makes me want to tear it off you. That’s supposed to stay in the bedroom.”
“I’ll make it easier for you.” In only an instant, Naomi got rid of her shirt. I let out a gasp at the feel of more of her smooth skin. Then her hands traveled down, unbuttoning my grey wool shorts. Within seconds, the dangerously dangerous blonde had managed to peel it off me.
It was a long time before the absurdity of it hit me; here we were, during one of this city’s most-awaited event, in the middle of downtown, the most public place possible, making-out like a couple of teenagers with no place else to go. It was even a miracle that no one had come upon us, not even a police car. But I couldn’t risk it.
I gently shoved against her shoulders as she continued to feast on my neck. “Not here, Naomes.”
But she only stayed me, her mouth even fiercer. “Shh. Shut up and just let me—”
My eyes flew open just as some neon mystery object came whizzing by. I followed its trajectory. It smashed into the branches of our willow tree then fell down hitting the back of Naomi’s head.
Thump.
It was a glow-in-the dark Frisbee.
“Ow!” Naomi finally pulled back, scowling in pain. “Fuck’s sake!” She levered herself off of me to a sitting position, then went stroking her head.
I sat up and broke into a fit of giggles, making her glower all the more. God, was she cute.
Naomi took the Frisbee from the ground, glared at it, then got to her feet. She was only in her blue bra and denim shorts. I looked up at her and couldn’t stop a smile from curving my mouth. She was so incredibly sexy.
Soon after, a shadow of a boy appeared, running toward us. My eyes bulged in alarm. “Shit, shit, shit, shit. Someone’s coming. Take cover!” I reached for my shorts but was too late to try and put it on. The boy was only a few running steps away.
Naomi dashed toward the tree trunk and hid behind it. Realising that I was still underdressed, I hastily tugged at the blanket underneath me and wrapped it around my lower body, making the bottles and our bags tumble and knock a few candles.
All of a sudden a tiny fire started. In a tick, it whooshed to a giant flame with much help from the dried leaves on the ground.
“Omigod, omigod, omigod.” I jumped to my feet on trembling knees, but only stared at the raging flames in dread. “Fire!” I half-shrieked.
Frantically I looked around for something that could snuff the fire out, anything. But there was nothing but just the water in the river that I could draw using a pitcher or a bucket. Except there was no fucking pitcher nor bucket.
“Hey, kid,” Naomi called tightly from behind the trunk, “it’s already late to go playing outside. Go home.” She threw the Frisbee back to the bewildered boy who was also staring at the dancing bonfire. He might not be able to understand English but the blonde’s sharp eyes did it for him. “Haven’t you heard of the Kuchisake-onna?”
The boy’s eyes widened with horror at Naomi’s last word, and he whirled and took off right away. As soon as the boy was out of sight, Naomi came out. I glanced at her, and there was not a trace of the fear I was feeling.
In panic, I took a bottle from the ground and poured its contents onto the fire, but the flame got even higher. I nearly gasped aloud as I shook with fear. Shit, shit, shit.
Naomi’s quick, aggressive hands took the blanket off of me and smacked the fire off with it. Shortly, the flames had been successfully put out. I felt a great weight had been lifted off my chest. Thanks, again, to my knight in shining armour.
The blonde moved toward me and slung her arm over my shoulder. “Well done, Ems,” she mocked, watching the spiraling smoke. “Now, that was what you really call our little light up.”
I only grinned up at her sheepishly. God, I was proper fool, all right.
“And, Emily,” Naomi snatched the empty bottle from my hand, “who is this misguided idiot who taught you that fire could be extinguished by alcohol?”
“I’m sorry, I panicked,” I said simply. She chucked the vodka bottle down to the ground, and we both burst into fits of laughter.
Helpless with laughter, I staggered toward the tree and leant weakly against its trunk. Almost breathless from laughing, Naomi came over to me. One arm propped against the trunk just a little over my shoulder, she rested her forehead against mine as we both convulsed with giggles. The moment was ridiculous. We were ridiculous.
Suddenly the blonde’s giggling came to a halt and she stared. I stared back. She drew her head back slightly to look at my face. The impassioned yearning in her blue eyes burned into me, igniting the kindling of my own desire. And the sight of the deep cleft between her breasts pushed up by her silky bra only stirred things up.
“Maybe we should put our clothes back on,” I said lamely.
“Yea, maybe we should,” she agreed without conviction, watching the movement of my lips. Her proximity made the exotic scent of her skin much more irresistible.
“I like your lotion today,” I said, a little breathless.
“Thank you,” she said absently. She was busy studying my throat. “It has cocobolo wood.”
“Oh, fuck it.” I grabbed her wrist and tugged her toward the back of the tree. “Over here.”
We slid down against the trunk, giggling like little girls. Sitting with my back resting on the mossy trunk, Naomi knelt in front on me. She held my face between her palms and drew it close to hers. “Emily, I love you. Jesus, you drive me crazy.” Her sweet, hot breath struck my lips. “It’s just inevitable.”
“I know.” Feverishly my mouth sought hers and fused with it. As she pressed, I slipped my arms around her neck, knowing I was going to need her strength; when she kissed me, mine seemed to vanish.
I trembled as she deepened the kiss, tasting, probing, urging. And I responded, kissing her back, wanting more of her sweetness. And more, and more.
Naomi slid her hands under my grey shirt and moved them up and down my back, fiercely, to my hips. She pulled me against her, and I nearly gasped aloud at her vehement hunger. It was as if she couldn’t get enough. And this caused a delicious shudder rippling through me. It was my turn to put an end to one of my cravings and so I slipped my hands under her bra. Naomi’s soft moan felt like a caress against my mouth.
At first I thought the blinking red lights were only a product of my fevered imagination. But then I heard a gruff male voice talking into his radio. Simultaneously we realised that the lights were from a police car parked just behind the bushes. A police car. Fate must be pulling a fucking prank on us.
A flashlight was flicked on just above our heads, then it was sent sweeping over the dark space just in front of our willow tree. Thankfully, the smoke had died down.
We froze—with my hands still on her breasts, hers firm on my hips—and tried not to make a single sound on the spot. Naomi was precariously shaking with silent laughter that I had to remove one hand from under her bra to put it over her mouth, and glared at her.
“Everything seems to be in control here. Over,” the policeman was saying in Japanese. “No. No fire whatsoever. Maybe this is just some kid’s idea of a practical joke . . .”
The police car left and the two of us instantly picked up where we left off. I moved my hands and ran them up and down her back, drinking in the feel of her. That skin, soft as a butterfly’s breath, smooth as wine and twice as intoxicating; I could drown in her skin. I bent a little and began to kiss whatever skin I could reach. I ran my tongue around the little indentation where the collar bones meet just above the silver heart pendant of her necklace. Her hands continued to explore my body, a couple of clever fingers exploring the rolled waistband of my panties. Naomi paused for a moment when a group of noisy Japanese teens on their bicycles passed by. And I almost cried out my irritation with all the bloody interruptions. Fuck’s sake. I was dizzy with desire already.
As soon as they were gone, Naomi and I took it up again. With our mouths not leaving each other, we scrambled awkwardly across the grass toward the evergreen bushes to hide ourselves further. It was late-summer and the camellia bushes along the esplanade were in full bloom, the air heavy with the scent.
“Ah, Jesus,” Naomi moaned against my lips, our unquenchable thirst for each other driving us to insanity. We rustled through the hedge plants and my back prickled as the blonde pressed me backward into a huge camellia bush. My thighs ached with strain. But pleasure overshadowed pain. Overbloomed pink petals shook loose and fell over us. I was intoxicated with the smell of Naomi’s skin and the scent of camellias. Burying her face in the side of my neck, Naomi ran her hands down under the waistband of my panties to curve them on my butt and draw me against her. My grip was firm on the back of her neck. Her teeth dug into the sensitive skin of my neck and I was certain she left a mark there.
I felt her legs pressing between my own, easing them farther apart, as we sank further down into the bush. It was already half crushed beneath me. I was going crazy, not wanting her to ever stop but hungry to feel her magic inside me.
We grabbed hold closer and closer, kissing, squeezing, rubbing, kneading skin into flesh. Crablike I clutched her, and we rolled over the bushes. I let out a little squeal; she laughed. Tumbling over tiny red blooms, Naomi pushed me hard down—almost harshly—against a wild shrub, the weight of her chest pinning me. I felt spiky twigs pierce my back, stinging me.
“Ow!” I squeaked, and found out I was resting on a Japanese flowering quince. A fucking spiny shrub.
With her arms still around my waist, Naomi stopped and pulled back, her brow furrowed with concern. “Ems?”
I lifted my stricken face to hers. “Thorns,” I grunted. “Bloody thorns.” Carefully, she pulled me off the quince.
“Sorry, Em. Shit.” She held my hips firmly, slowly backed me toward our willow tree then steadied me against its trunk. My back still throbbing, I sat down wearily on the grass again. Naomi took a seat too. It was just incredibly annoying. Lady Interruption just loves badly timed visits, eh. When I lifted my scowling face to hers and our eyes met, we burst out laughing for the umpteenth time tonight.
“I swear 99% of my bruises came from you,” I jokingly grumbled. “You’re one sadistic woman, Naomi Campbell.” With a soft grunt of pain, I took my top off and examined my back for bruises. My back had splotches of red, and Naomi bent to look.
“I’m really sorry, Ems,” she offered not-so-sincerely, which made me look hard at her even more. Then a crazifying sting made me look at my bare back once more.
Naomi let out a laugh which was smothered as soon as her gaze slid down to my almost-naked upper body. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her blue eyes feasting on me. I turned back to look at her, my bones shuddered as I noticed Naomi grew dense with desire.
Biting her lip, she looked at me more intently, her eyes burning with sheer hunger. She swallowed, started to speak, stopped, then tried again.
“If you want to stop, now’s the time.”
I stared at her; the thought of stopping at this point had never entered my mind. She seemed to misinterpret my reaction, because she said quickly, “I don’t mean I won’t stop if you tell me.” She made a wry face at me. “I only mean if we go any further then get interrupted again, it’ll probably kill me.”
“If you stop,” I said, reaching out to trail a finger down her neck with as much nonchalance I could muster, “I may fucking kill you myself.”
With a sound that was half groan, half chuckle, Naomi leant forward and crushed my lips beneath hers. Then she swept my hair and ran her mouth along one side of my neck. I welcomed her eagerly, arching my head back, and made my own move—my hands fumbling with the button of her denim shorts. I drew down the zipper, eased down her shorts a little, and slid my hand inside. “Emily . . .” Her voice was thin and reedy as I lifted her silky garment. Then I heard distant chatter and giggling which made me pull my hand away. Naomi muttered a curse against my skin.
I shoved gently against her chest with my shoulders. “Now, we stop.”
“Jesus Christ,” Naomi burst out, tingling with frustration. “This is fucking killing me!”
I leant back against the trunk, petrified. “I hear Misaki and Jess,” I whispered. “Shh.”
“No, they won’t be here until 8.” She reached for me again, and I slapped at her hands. She looked stricken. “Emily?”
She looked so cute, not to mention heart-stoppingly sexy, that I wanted to just pull her into my arms and kiss the life out of her, but I had to be reasonable.
“I’m serious, Naomes,” I whispered, trying to keep a straight face. “I hear their footsteps now.”
Her breath hot in my ear, she whispered, “They’re probably just some passersby on the street. C’mon . . .” She put her hands on my hips and pulled me tightly to her.
I tensed and fought off her hands. I twisted to one side and lightly tried to push her away, but she held my wrists and stared at me, a faint smile twitching her lips.
I knew I was helpless then. “Fuck’s sake, Naomi.”
Her eyes were unwavering on mine, then she said, “Try and stop me.” She tugged at the waistband of my panties, and then began to gently peel them down my legs when a familiar throaty roar of laughter sounded.
My heart jumped in my chest, and Naomi pulled her hands back. “Omigod, omigod, omigod,” I quietly panicked, as our next-door neighbour Jessica and Misaki’s voices became more perceptible. “They’re coming!” Swiftly I crawled out on my knees and reached for my now-dusty wool shorts from the ground. I saw Naomi’s pig shirt but it was too far away and three shadowy figures were already walking toward our spot. Breathlessly, I hid back behind the tree, quickly slipped my shirt on and pulled on my shorts. My back hard against the tree trunk, I squeezed my eyes shut and gnawed my lip in nerves.
Soon after, my eyes flew open at the sound of Naomi’s peal of laughter.
“Shh!” I covered her mouth with my hand. Her shoulders shook from hysterical laughter. I tried to listen hard, but couldn’t hear decently because of a snickering Naomi in front of me. She pulled my hand away from her mouth.
“You’re making this difficult for me,” I mock scolded her.
She grinned at me, a wide, white, wolfish smile. “God, you’re so cute when you go to pieces. But, Jesus, relax, Em.” A sudden cute woof made my heart jump a little more. Oz appeared panting in front of us, with Naomi’s pig shirt between his teeth.
“Thanks, Ozzy,” Naomi whispered, rummaging his ears. “Good boy.” The puppy was wagging his tail wildly, delighted to see us again.
Naomi turned to me again and we stared at each other, hot and itchy with frustration. “To be continued,” she mouthed, and I could only grin at her in response.
“Emily? Is that you?” Jessica’s coltishly slender figure and bowl-shaped hairstyle appeared out of the shadows. I moved a little to the right to hide. “Girl, I can see your red hair. You can come out now,” she teasingly called. “Are you peeing back there?”
“Just wait, Jess,” Naomi called back through clenched teeth as she hastily fumbled with the zipper of her denim shorts. “Fuck’s sake,” she muttered, and I could definitely empathise with her. Too many disruptions for one night. She got to her feet, gently pulled me up with her and brushed the moss and broken leaf bits from my skin. Her body was also covered with pink petals, and I brushed them away. We shared another silent fit of giggles.
“Oh, my God.” I could hear the mixture of shock and amusement in Jessica’s voice. Misaki’s giggling was also heard.
Naomi and I came out from behind the tree and faced our grinning friends. I was glad it was dark. Otherwise they would have seen my face go from pink to burning, shameful bright red. The blonde crouched down and called Oz. The Westie instantly rushed into her arms and licked her cheek frenziedly. “Ozzy, I missed you.” She giggled.
Misaki took a camellia petal off my hair and giggled. “Your hair is a warzone, Emily-chan.” I only gave her an embarrassed shrug, and grinned.
Jessica flicked her gaze to Naomi then to me, and her eyes bulged. “Omigod, did you?”
I shook my head in utter denial. My embarrassment returned full force. But it must have been written all over my face, because her eyes widened all the more.
“Omigod, you did!” she exclaimed. “Oh, sweet God. You two!” She let out a peal of laughter that seemed completely incongruous to our peaceful surroundings. Then she bent down to pick something up.
“And, um, who might need her belt back?” Jessica asked, a familiar-looking belt dangling from her fingers. Swiftly Naomi stood up, took it from her hand and fastened it back wordlessly. Jessica laughed harder.
“And it seems like you girls have already started the party?” Misaki was holding the empty vodka bottle up.
Naomi broke into chuckles. After shooting the blonde a very funny look, I turned to Misaki and smiled. “Don’t ask.”
“Okay.” Misaki pressed her lips together, her dark brown eyes sparkling humourously.
I picked Oz up from the ground and fondled his pointed ear. “Thanks for bringing him here, Misaki,” I told the Japanese girl. “Sorry if he’s such a little troublemaker.”
Misaki smiled. “Not at all. I actually find him a cool housemate. He’s like my very own pick-me-up.” She moved to pat the puppy’s tiny head. “I love him.”
“That’s nice to hear,” I said, smiling back.
Naomi and Jessica spread the blanket onto the grass again. Jessica sat down and began to take out some chow-filled plastic containers from a huge paper bag. “So we brought loads of chips and beers. And Misaki prepared some crazy-looking salad for our vegetarian here, spicy chicken wings, and tomato-basil focaccia. I also got us some take-out sushi.” She clasped her hands together enthusiastically. “Let’s get this thing together. Where’s the bonfire?”
Misaki was staring down at the ashes of our own little light up, her lips pursed. “Hm. Seems like we were late for the bonfire, Jessica-chan . . .”
Blushing again, I mumbled an excuse, “Yea, erm, some kid accidentally knocked over the candles.”
Jessica snorted a laugh. “Oh, honey. Oz can tell an even better lie.”
“Over there!” I heard Naomi gasp and saw her quickly adjusting the ring around her camera’s lens. “The Daimonji!”
I lifted my head to the distant mountain in front of us. And there it was. Glowing slowly stroke after stroke until it formed into a perfect dai. It was quite a view.
Jessica snorted. “People go to this place just to watch that thing? How lame is that?”
“It’s not just that, Jessica-chan,” Misaki pointed out softly. “It’s the Japanese way of sending the spirits of our ancestors back to heaven. That's just how we do it.”
Jessica only gave a snort of laughter. “I’m just going to eat and get drunk tonight. That's the way to do it.” She pulled plastic spoons and forks out of a paper bag. “Here, girls.” She tossed plastic utensils to us. And we instantly filled our plates with food.
The night swirled into a mixture of people and music, alcohol and hot coals. For a while the four of us chatted whilst eating and making toasts. I was hungry then. But my hunger was mostly caused by my unfulfilled craving for the blonde who was also staring back at me with the same blazing fire in her eyes. I wanted to drag her back into our room and throw her down. I could hardly breathe. God, what was it about her?
After the delightful dinner I lay on my back, my hands under my head. The noises had died down for the night; our willow tree rattled, but gently, in the breeze that had picked up finally after the breathless heat of the day. Moonlight flooded through the branches. It felt warm on my skin. The bonfire on the mountain ahead was still burning. I was snapped out of my reverie by a sudden blasting music.
“C’mon, let’s juice this night up, y’all!” Jessica jumped to her feet, then pulled Naomi up with her. “You cannot not dance to Nicki Minaj.”
Naomi rolled her eyes and was about to sit down again when Misaki stood and started dancing with Jessica, kicking off her shoes in the lush grass. Naomi gave in and started moving too. She turned to me and called, “Come on, Ems.” But I only shook my head and stuck my tongue out at her. She only scrunched up her face and whirled to go on dancing.
Propping myself up on my elbows, I watched the three of them, a faint smile on my face. Misaki and I had gone from best-friend mode to couple mode to best-friend mode again—which was actually well nice. She was a true friend, whatever else we were—or weren’t—to each other. She’d always been my friend, from the first time we’d sat on the bleachers together after our very first Los Ma training. And Naomi and I . . . we were never best-friends. We knew from the first time we laid eyes on each other that we would always be more than friends. We can never be just friends. The crazy things that happened last year just proved that. At least, from the way I saw it.
I sat up and reached for a chicken wing. Naomi’s giggling caught my attention. I watched as she danced with her hands in the air with a very cute Oz hopping in a circle around her. I heard it again. Oh, God. Those giggles. The melodic sound made me heave a soft, contented breath. Naomi Campbell was still the person I felt closest to in the world, the person who meant the entire universe to me. She was the love of my life, my knight in shining armour, the queen of my heart. Nothing could ever change that. She had moved me as no other in my life ever had. Cue the strings and harps playing in the background again.
My silent veneration must have shown in my face, because when the blonde turned her head to look at me, the heat in her eyes flared.
She walked over to me, then plopped back down on the blanket beside me. She gently looped some of my red hair behind my ear so she could see my face. “You all right, Ranga?”
“Not really,” I mumbled through a mouthful of wing. “You’re making me weak in the knees.”
She drew back with a delighted laugh. “I am?”
“Yes.” I hurled my finished chicken wing to the waterside, where three or four white birds did noisy battle over it.
“Hey! Why did you do that?” Naomi glowered at me.
My brows came together, and I snorted. “Do what? Throw my rubbish away?”
“You made those birds eat chicken, Emily,” she filled in soberly. “That’s cannibalism.”
I looked at her oddly for a moment. The serious expression on her face made me crack up, and she joined in.
As soon as we sobered, I saw Naomi’s gaze shift to my mouth. I could feel the coals of desire being fanned once more between us. She leant in and whispered into my ear, “I’m thinking of our warm, big bed now.”
“Yea, me too,” I said, feeling a dark sort of thrill race through me. “So can we now ditch this and just start our own little bonfire in our room?”
My naughty invitation caught her off guard, but she managed a casual response. “No. Not yet,” she said, looking out at the mountain and suppressing a smirk. “We have to wait until the bonfire’s snuffed out.”
I felt a shock of desire so strong it was like pain. “Naomi—”
“Shh,” she said out of the corner of her mouth. “Delaying it will make the pleasure more intense. You said so yourself.” The corners of her mouth twitched with a teasing smile.
I just exhaled my frustration in a short breath and went on looking at the bonfire. After a few moments of silent watching, I felt familiar magical fingers skimming along my arm. Stifling a smirk, I turned my head to look at the blonde again.
“You’re not scared of me now, are you, babe?” she asked, her bright blue eyes dancing with humour.
“No,” I said. “I’m a little scared of how you make me feel.”
She smiled. “Well, that’s easy, Emily,” she said, reaching out to cup my face. “That just takes practice.”
A smirk came to my face. “Ah, yea?”
“Yes. The more you practice, the better you get at it. And if you do it right, the thrill never goes away.”
I wasn't entirely sure what she was talking about but I just played along. I leant in closer to her, and heard her breath hitch. “Then . . . perhaps we should practice,” I said, my voice so husky that it was like a physical caress to her aroused senses.
“Definitely,” she said, her own voice a little thick now. “Practice. Lots of practice. Just you and me in our little hideaway.” She kissed me with a soft love bite on my lower lip. “But we’re going to take our time, take it very slow . . .”
The bonfire had burned down to an orange glow. But in our eyes, the combating fires of smouldering lust and tender love were still ablaze.
For heart-racing, sweltering moments we only looked at each other until a deep growl made our heads snap downward. Standing on the very small space between us, Oz was grumbling, obviously getting jealous. Naomi and I looked at each other again and shared fits of giggles.
My eyes not leaving her face, I put my hand over the puppy’s eyes and said, “Oz, your Mummy Naomi’s mine tonight, ’kay?” I gently pushed him away. “She’s all mine tonight.”
The heat in the blonde’s eyes flared higher, making me take a gulping breath.
She got to her feet and pulled me up with her then, and I went willingly, eagerly. She linked our fingers and within moments I was nearly as hot as I’d been behind the bushes, and I knew the battle I’d fought to put up with all the disturbances all night was nothing compared to the battle it was going to be to take this slow.
But I would. Very slow. Not just I could savour every sweet, hot minute, but so I could see her fall apart in my arms as we ultimately set our own night on fire. Our very own little light up. Just me and Naomi. In our little hideaway.
And if anyone or anything tried to interrupt us this time, I swore I would do violence.
NEXT on Halfway Valentine Special: "Haven"
NEXT on Halfway Valentine Special: "Haven"
