Hearing a familiar voice call her, Emerald finally snapped out of her thoughts to see the small yet energetic woman making her way towards her. With a wide smile, they pulled each other into a hug, snuggling up against one another.
“I’ve missed you, Gem.” Alora mumbled.
“I’ve missed you too, Lori.”
Alora slightly pulled away from the hug to take a look at Emerald. She slowly analysed her from head to toe, trying to decipher if there was really a change in her or if she was just overthinking.
“How are you doing, sweetheart?” That simple question carried with it a whole lot of baggage, which Emerald was able to understand and another wide smile spread across her face at Alora’s genuine concern for her.
She pecked the woman’s cheeks before answering, “I’m doing really good, Lori. How about you? How have you been? And oh! Where’s Levi?” she immediately looked up to meet the disapproving glares of the two men standing by the counter.
She passed them sheepish smiles as she mumbled, “hello, Lee. Hello, Sebby.”
Levi released a sigh as he drew closer to the two women. “So you’re just noticing our presence now?” he asked disappointedly. “Women,” he shook his head, “we would never understand them.”
“Oh, come on, Lee. You know it’s not like that,” Emerald coaxed.
“It’s exactly like that, Gem. Let them be, they’re just jealous. Let them wallow in it,” Alora taunted the two men, even going as far as sticking out her tongue at them as she pulled Emerald closer to herself possessively, earning a chuckle from the younger woman.
“I guess I should get going then,” Sebastian piped up, doing a show of removing imaginary dust from his pants. “Clearly, I’m not needed.”
“Really, Seb?” Emerald managed to release herself from the couple’s midst and she quickly walked over to hug the other man, who was also pouting in jealousy. He didn’t make a move to reciprocate her hug.
Emerald looked up at him and he immediately turned his face away from hers. Emerald smiled gently before her eyes glimmered like a light bulb had shone over her head. She widened her eyes to just the right size before sticking out her bottom lip to form a pout. “Won’t you even look at me, Sebby?” her voice came out softly and wobbly as though she were really close to tears.
The man only scoffed, turning his head further away from her, but Emerald knew he could see her well from his peripheral vision and she could sense his resolve breaking. She tried not to smile. “You won’t hug me back either, Sebby?” he didn’t reply.
“Ok then. I’m sorry for bothering you,” she made a move to untangle herself from him when he instantly wrapped his big arms around her. Emerald grinned.
“You should be glad your hugs are comfortingly warm, if not, I won’t be hugging you back,” he mumbled gruffly, earning a giggle from Emerald and simultaneous laughters from the couple.
“I still haven’t forgiven you, though.”
Emerald nodded, “I know, Sebby. Don’t worry, I’ll make it up to you,” she pecked his cheek.
“But what about me?!” The moment was then ruined when another certain man exclaimed, his voice heavy with envy. “Don’t I get a hug?”
As Alora watched the bickering of the two grown men fighting over a young woman, who was only but as young as a granddaughter to them, with a thoughtful frown etched on her face, she couldn’t help but picture Emerald being together with the young yet inscrutable man, who had been patronizing her flower shop for over a fortnight now.
Emerald’s gentle, diaphanous and ethereal aura coupled with the man’s dangerous, mysterious and chthonic ambience. Alora’s face lit up at the thought. ‘A match made in heaven! Or hell,’ she couldn’t tell, but the imagery of both of them being together fit so perfectly and immediately, a mischievous smile graced the middle-aged woman’s face as she began plotting.
It was time to play cupid.
“Oh, Gem!” she called out in a sing-song voice as she skipped over to the bickering trio with a wide grin.
▬▬▬▬▬
With her luggage trailing haphazardly behind her, Oriana trudged groggily up the small set of stairs leading to hers and Emerald’s apartment.
Misery, pain and fatigue could be read clearly on her face as she dragged both her drained body and bags to the entrance. From the dim lights illuminating the insides of the house, Oriana could tell that someone was home, however, she couldn’t tell who.
She stopped in front of the door for a few seconds, straining her ears in attempts to pick up a sound-any sound, however unsettling-as an indication that there was something naughty going on in the house, because she was just too damn tired to barge into something she ought never to see.
But as she listened intently, even going as far as placing her ear against the door, only silence greeted her in response. She heaved a sigh before unlocking the door with her own set of keys, stepping inside while hoping that her eyes wouldn’t be corrupted tonight.
As she turned the corner to get a glass of water from the kitchen, she stopped at the sight of her friend alone in the kitchen, reading a book while sipping a glass of milk with a plate of shrimp fritters by her side.
Unconsciously, Oriana’s stomach grumbled lowly at the sight of the delicacy. All due to her fleeing in a hurry to escape the claws of her bullies, Oriana had left Laramie with a stomach filled with half a cup of coffee, no more, no less and now that she was finally home after such a long trip, she could feel the consequences of her action. She winced as the worms in her stomach gnawed at her insides.
Steeling her face from revealing the physical and emotional pain she was going through, Oriana cleared her throat and spoke up, gaining Emerald’s attention. “Shouldn’t you have been knocked out by now? Or did Jordan not do the job well?” she asked with a mischievous smile on her face.
In response, Emerald only looked up and remained eerily quiet, silently staring at her with those glimmering green eyes of hers. Oriana struggled to keep her calm as she could feel her skin crawling and squirming underneath Emerald’s scorching gaze. She felt like her friend was looking deep into her soul.
She almost dashed out of the kitchen when Emerald finally spoke, “You look like shit.”
Oriana chuckled in relief as her stiff shoulders finally dropped, a stray tear strolling down her cheek. Only her best friend had the power to see through her façade like it was as thin and as transparent as nylon.
“I’ve missed you too, Mera,” her voice broke, “but unlike me, who looks like total shit, you’re looking quite radiant. At least one of us is having the time of their life,” she kept quiet as she walked closer and let her eyes sweep over Emerald’s frame.
“But uhm, friendly piece of advice, darling. When you have sex-” she stopped abruptly when she saw Emerald’s raised eyebrows. She smiled, “Pardon me, I meant, when you make love to a man, you never ever wear another man’s shirt. It bruises a man’s ego, especially if the man happens to lo-like you like Jordan does.
Speaking of Jordan, has he seen you in that? Where is he?”
In utter confusion, Emerald looked down at her outfit. She was simply donning a pair of black spandex shorts with an oversized cotton shirt, one which she had snagged from Logan. Looking back at her friend, Emerald saw the expectant look on Oriana’s face as she awaited her response and then, Emerald finally realised what she had meant.
She rolled her eyes before slipping her corner bookmark around the top corner of the page she was reading. “You don’t only look like shit but now, you think like shit too. Your trip must have messed with your brain somehow.” She gulped down the rest of her cold milk before placing the glass in the sink.
Oriana smiled sadly. Although, she had said it jokingly, Emerald had no idea how true her words really were.
“Jordan and I didn’t do anything of that sort,” her expression grew sad, “besides, he left,” she muttered softly, hoping Oriana wouldn’t hear but unfortunately, she did.
“He what? Left? For a trip or what?”
Emerald sighed. “No, I sent him away.”
“You did what?!” Oriana exclaimed, discarding her bags as she hurried over to Emerald who was facing away from her. “You threw him out?!”
“‘Throw out’ is a strong term, Ori. Plus, he has his own home, remember?” Emerald gently pushed the rest of the fritters Carol had sent to her towards Oriana before grabbing her book in attempts to escape to her room.
“Why?” Oriana’s question halted her movements. “Why, Mera? Is something wrong?” Oriana asked softly. “Tell me,” she prodded, noticing Emerald’s reluctance.
With a defeated sigh, Emerald loosened her hold on the book before turning to face her friend. She might as well spill everything and get some advice.
She needed to resolve these jumbled feelings of hers after all.