Part twenty.
Kimberley grinned at Cheryl as she practically skipped down the staircase, jumping over the last two steps completely as she landed in front of her girlfriend. Grinning back at her she placed her hands on her shoulders, landing a sudden loud peck on the older girls lips.
"Love ya." she stated, skipping off towards the kitchen.
Kim watched her as she entered the kitchen, singing to herself as she started putting the wine bottles in the fridge. Her slender hips rocked rhythmically as her voice grew louder, her foot tapping along to the beat in her head. Raising a wine bottle to her lips as a replacement for a microphone she blasted out the chorus.
I love you baby....and if it's quite alright, I need you baby....to warm the lonely nights.....
Cheryl paused briefly as she turned around, catching sight of Kim watching her. Smiling and raising the bottle to her lover's lips she encouraged her to join in. Smiling back, but pushing the bottle gently away, Kim leant in to kiss the brunette lovingly.
"What's put you in such a happy mood?!" she asked, kissing the younger girl again.
"Am I not allowed to be happy?!" the geordie replied, eyebrows raised in pretend offence. "I'm just sick of being miserable about the whole thing Kimba. The beginning of our relationship should be complete happiness, but it's been tainted by my panicking. I'm so happy with you, if others don't like it that's their problem not ours. I just want to be happy, and enjoy being with you...I'm so excited for our holiday!" Cheryl let out an involuntary squeal, jumping on the spot and clapping her hands before tightly wrapping them around Kim's neck, raining tiny kisses across her face.
"Me too baby." Kim laughed as Cheryl squeezed her tighter. "But if you crush me we won't be going anywhere!"
Cheryl chuckled, leaving one last kiss on her girlfriends lips before heading back to the fridge, loading the cooler with the evenings drinks.
****************
"Ladies." Sarah nodded her head at the pair, raising her hand to flash the bottle of wine she was carrying. Bustling through the door Sarah grinned, turning to face the door she had just entered, walking herself backwards up the corridor waving the bottle above her head. "Let's get this party started!"
"Hello Sarah...please, come on in!" Cheryl joked, shaking her head and closing the front door.
"Hey...no-one said anything about a party!" Kim worried. "Dvds and a few glasses of wine we said?! We've got to be up early tomorrow!"
Sarah frowned at Kim, confusion in her face. "Why the hell would you be up early tomorrow when we've got a few precious days off?! Are you mental?!"
Kim flushed, struggling for words as she stared at the blonde. They had agreed to tell the girls about the holiday when they were all together. They had wondered if the other two would feel excluded when they realised Sarah already knew, and didn't want to risk making it worse.
"Wine...?" Cheryl interjected, placing a large glass infront of her friend. She smiled as Kim shot her an appreciative look. "Say when...."she continued, beginning to pour.
"Yeah.....that's not gonna happen!" she said sarcastically, watching the glass fill. "Fill it to the brim!"
All three girls laughed, Cheryl and Kimberley shaking their heads at Sarah's comment, a typical thing for her to have said. Hearing the doorbell ring for the second time that evening Kim put her glass down before heading out into the hall to answer it.
"Just so you know..." Cheryl practically whispered to Sarah, touching her arm to get her attention. "...we've decided to tell the girls tonight."
"Sh*t!" Sarah gasped, looking quickly down the corridor to see Kimberley greeting Nadine and Nicola. Looking back at Cheryl open mouthed she whispered back. "Are you ready then? I thought it was meant to be this big secret..." Sarah stopped abruptly as the others entered the room.
Sarah and Cheryl stood up to hug them, their stool legs scraping noisily against the tiled floor.
*****************
All five girls sat in the lounge, half empty Chinese cartons scattered across the floor, a few empty wine bottles dotted between them. Scooping her fiery hair into a ponytail Nic twisted it into a bun, before releasing it to fall back into place.
"So.." she began. "What's the plan for the next few days? I'm heading home while I've got the chance! Promised my brother I'd go and watch him play football." She shivered at the thought of standing at the side of a cold muddy football pitch, watching a load of kids running about.
Sarah laughed. "Have fun with that. I'm going to mum's for a bit, nothing special going on, just gonna chill out for a bit before the tour, get looked after for a bit."
"Snap." said Nadine softly. "I've got a flight home tomorrow afternoon. Three whole nights at my mum's." Nadine smiled, looking towards Kimberley. "You?!"
Kimberley felt her heart begin to beat faster, her face flushed with heat. Looking to Cheryl for support she took a deep breath.
"Well the thing is..." she started. "Well...me and Cheryl...we're going....we were going to...."
"We're going away for a few days." Cheryl interrupted, finishing her girlfriends sentence. "We'll be back before the last rehearsals though."
"Going away? Why didn't you say anything sooner?" Nic questioned, feeling a little hurt not to have been included in the arrangements.
"It was kind of a last minute thing..." Kim explained, smiling at the youngest band member.
"Going anywhere nice?" Sarah grinned at the pair as Nic went quiet.
"Spain." Cheryl replied enthusiastically, smiling over at Kimberley.
"Very nice." Nadine nodded, taking a sip of her wine as she cast her eye towards Nicola, who was staring into her glass.
"Yeah it will be lovely." Nic joined in, forcing a smile to her lips. "Hope the weather's good for you." She stood, turning towards the kitchen, stopping as she felt someone grip her wrist gently. She looked back to see Kimberley looking at her, a worried expression forming on her beautiful features.
"You ok Nic?" she asked, releasing her hold.
"Uh huh." she replied. Looking into Kimberley's concerned eyes she smiled genuinely at her. "I'm ok honestly. I guess I just feel a bit pushed out when you're talking about going away just you two, I would've come too if you'd have asked! Ignore me, I just being silly, over emotional!" she laughed, fanning dramatically at her eyes whilst looking to the ceiling.
Kimberley felt a pang of guilt in her chest, the pain easing as she felt Cheryl's hand slipping into hers, her tiny frame coming to stand beside her.
Frowning slightly at Cheryl's gesture Nic looked from the pairs entwined hands, to their faces and back again.
"The thing is..." Cheryl took a deep breath. "There's kind of a reason that it's just us two going."
Still confused Nic shrugged her shoulders, raising her eyebrows at them both questioningly.
"We're kind of...well...me and Cheryl are..." Kim spoke up, trying to find the words but failing.
Nadine sat to the side of the couple, a smile slowly creeping to her face as she stared at their interlocked fingers, Cheryl's thumb tracing circles on Kim's palm.
"For f*ck's sake, they're sh*gging Nic!" Sarah practically shouted.
Nic laughed, throwing herself down onto the sofa again, picking a stray noodle from the fabric and tossing it into a carton.
"Yeah right! Good one." she responded, her laugh fading she looked around at the other girls, reading the expressions on their faces. Sarah was nodding at her, a wide grin across her face. Nadine sat with a slight smile on her lips, one eyebrow almost raised as she continued to stare the pairs joined hands. Looking up slowly Nicola took in the pairs flushed faces, noticing the nervous glances that they shared, alternating from looking at each other to looking at her. Nic gasped, covering her hand with her mouth as she stood quickly, backing herself away from them.
"Oh my god you are, aren't you?!" she shrieked in shock.
Cheryl and Kimberley squeezed their hands tighter together, looking into each others eyes as they nodded slowly.
"Well I wouldn't put it quite like Sarah did but yeah, we're a couple." Cheryl told her, smiling gently at Kimberley. "I love her."
Momentarily distracted from the redhead the pair jumped as Nadine leapt up, flinging her arms around them both.
"I bloody knew it!" she exclaimed, shaking her head.
"What?! How?!" Kim asked in amazement.
"Sarah's party. In the bathroom?! I've got news for you guys, you're not exactly quiet! I thought you were just f*cking though, I didn't realise you were in love!" she gushed, a soppy look upon her face.
"You knew?!" Sarah interrupted. "Flippin 'eck Nad, you could have spilled the beans, we could have had a right gossip between us! This secret's been killing me!!" Sarah playfully swatted the Irish girls arm, winking towards Cheryl and Kimberley.
"So...are you ok about it?" Cheryl asked Nadine quietly.
"What's not to be ok about?" she replied. "Two of my best friend's love each other. It's amazing." She smiled at them again before pulling them both into a hug. Looking over Nadine's shoulder as she hugged her back Kim watched Nicola. The young girl was stood with her back against the wall staring in Sarah's direction, silent tears spilling from her eye's.
Breaking away from Nadine's embrace Kimberley approached her, touching her arm gently. Snatching her arm away Nic glared at her band mates.
"You knew?!" she whispered at Sarah, turning to Nadine to include her in the accusation. "I can't believe you all kept this from me." she sobbed, exiting the lounge towards the kitchen.
"Nic..." Cheryl started after her, only to be held back by Kimberley.
"Just give her a few minutes baby."
Cheryl sighed, smiling slightly as she caught Sarah's eye, a huge grin still spread across her face.
"I can't believe you had the balls Tweedy!" she chuckled, hugging the geordie tight. "I thought this would be a secret forever."
Cheryl chuckled quietly, her expression then changing as she thought about Nicola.
"Dya think Nic will be ok?" she asked, worried about the young girl sat alone in the kitchen. "I've got to go and see her."
"Want me to come too?" Kim asked, holding her hand once more. Cheryl smiled, kissing her girlfriend softly.
"It's ok Kimba, we probably shouldn't overwhelm her, best to give her time to get used to us."
Kim nodded in agreement, sinking back into her chair as she watched her girlfriend go.
************
"I can't believe you didn't tell me." Nic told Cheryl, sensing the brunette's presence in the doorway.
Cheryl sighed, edging closer to her friend, pulling out a stool beside her. Wanting to touch her hand but feeling strangely uncomfortable Cheryl shifted in her seat slightly, sitting on her hands. Wiping a tear away Nic looked up at Cheryl, eyes searching hers, looking for answers.
"How long?!" she asked.
"A while." Cheryl replied quietly, eye's flicking across the young girls face for signs of a reaction.
"How long Cheryl."
"18months." she whispered, cringing at Nicola's expression. "It's only been really serious since Kim moved in...but we've known how we feel for a long time."
"18 months?" she repeated, looking up to see Cheryl nodding slowly. "It's serious then I take it? I mean, she's obviously not just your lodger." Nic laughed slightly, shocked that she had been so gullible to not see what had been going on infront of her eyes.
Cheryl smiled, finding the courage to reach out and take her hand gently. "Yeah, its definately serious." she nodded.
"You look happy." Nic smiled back at her briefly.
"Are you mad at us?" Cheryl questioned, feeling a lump rising to her throat, tears stinging at her eyes.
"A bit." Nic nodded, instantly feeling guilty as Cheryl began to cry. "I can't believe you didn't tell me. I can't believe you trusted Sarah with this and not me. I thought we were close?" She looked down as her own tears began to fall again.
Cheryl looked up, suddenly beginning to explain, desperately trying to make the redhead understand.
"No babes, it wasn't like that. We didn't tell Sarah, she caught us...erm...kissing...and she just knew, she found out by herself, we didn't tell her I promise you."
Nic shifted in her seat, her expression softening a little.
"So you didn't tell her? But why wouldn't she have told me?!"
"We made her promise. I wasn't ready to tell anyone yet, we didn't want Sarah to know either, it all sort of snuck up on us a bit. I didn't react very well..." she blushed, smiling awkwardly at her friend. "One thing we were sure about was that we didn't want you and Nad to find out from anyone other than us. I'm so sorry if we've upset you, we never meant that." Cheryl's voice shook as she tried to contain her tears.
Nic stood from her stool, hugging her friend as she kissed her cheek. "It was just a shock that's all." she laughed softly. "I really thought you'd told everyone except me, it was as though you didn't trust me." Sensing Cheryl was about to speak she interrupted her. "It's ok, I understand now."
Both girls stood for a while, clinging to each other as they laughed gently, wiping their tears away as their emotions calmed. Hearing a gentle knock on the door they broke apart slightly, one arm still around each others waists, turning to face the doorway.
"Ok to come in?" Kim asked nervously.
"Of course." Nic smiled warmly, walking over to her, hugging her close. "I'm sorry Kim, I was being stupid..."
Kimberley shushed her, hugging her even tighter, kissing her head through her auburn hair. "It's ok, honestly, its fine." Breaking apart they stepped sideways out of the doorway as Nadine and Sarah entered the kitchen.
Sarah gripped the scouser in a gentle headlock, kissing her forehead quickly.
"Enough with the tears!" she joked, winking at Nad, who was smiling happily at Kim and Cheryl. "So when's this holiday then ladies?!"
Cheryl and Kimberley smiled, relaxing against each other, their arms overlapped behind them, Kimberley fingers tucked into Cheryl's waistband, Cheryl's tucked in Kimberley's back pocket. Cheryl leant her head against Kim's shoulder, breathing in her lover's scent as she turned her head to face her. Kimberley's stomach flipped as she reacted to Cheryl's touch, leaning down slightly to place a kiss on her lips.
"We leave first thing...." Kim began.
