Chapter 2

Nicole's slept fitfully, her dreams filled with confusing images of Rob and Sean. When she awoke, she felt the lingering sensation of arousal and her body tingled with unfulfilled desire. The dreams hovered at the edge of her periphery and continued to torment her with lustful pictures only half realised.

She lay in the dark, mulling over what happened in the kitchen. Despite what Sean had done to her, she felt incredibly guilty about kissing Rob. It felt like a betrayal although her body was still firmly convinced that it wasn't. Oh god, how was she going to face Rob again?

Restlessly she tossed and turned, all hope of a return to sleep continuing to elude her. Eventually the light began to filter through the curtains and she reluctantly climbed out from under the duvet and padded into the bathroom to use the toilet. There seemed very little point in staying in bed — she may as well go and make a cup of tea and get dressed.

Yawning heavily she walked out of the bathroom, rubbing her tired eyes and wishing she was still asleep. She jumped in shock when she met a hard wall of chest with a thud.

"Morning," said Rob with a half smile. His eye was purple and angry looking, the bruised lid still swollen.

Nicole was struck dumb, her head reeling with half remembered dreams and lust fuelled images.

"Hi," she managed to spit out, horribly aware of everything that had gone before and totally unable to look him in the eye.

"About last night..." said Rob carefully.

Nicole's heart fell at least ten miles with that well worn statement. It was a classic method of digging oneself out of a very big hole.

"Hey, it's okay — I know it didn't mean anything," she replied hurriedly. Wishing yesterday evening could be miraculously erased, she moved to pass Rob in a bid for escape.

He grasped her arm and held on tightly. "Well it meant something to me."

Nicole looked up, startled. This wasn't exactly what she expected to hear. She had assumed that Rob would be dashing round to try and make amends with Lizzie and she, Nicole, was just a ship passing in the night.

"Did it?" she said dumbly. Her heart thudded in her chest painfully.

"Yes," he said softly. He gazed at her intently, seeing the way her hair was mussed from sleep and how her cheeks still bore the crease marks from the pillow. She looked adorable; so sweet and vulnerable. She was everything Lizzie had never been and he knew it was about time he broke the habit of unhealthy relationships with psycho bitches from hell.

Before Nicole even realised what was happening, Rob dropped his lips to hers and kissed her softly. She sighed and opened her mouth to his questing tongue, subconsciously tilting her pelvis towards him in an unspoken invitation. It was an invite that did not go un-noticed by Rob.

He struggled to keep his passion in check. The last thing he wanted was to frighten her off. As yet he still didn't know exactly what she was running from, but Danni had hinted it was because of a man and he had no desire to do anything that might hurt her.

Her arms wrapped around his neck and he deepened the kiss, feeling how soft and responsive her body was against him. His cock was hard and he tried not to press against her. Oh god she felt wonderful. Not even his sore and swollen eye could put a dampener on this moment.

Suddenly his mobile rang loudly from the shelf by the telephone. He tried to ignore it, not wishing to interrupt the kiss with Nicole, but the ringing was all too insistent. The trouble was he had a nasty suspicion that he knew who caller might be.

Nicole pulled away, her eyes dark and her lips swollen. "Is that your phone?" she asked.

Rob rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I better answer it." He stepped away, still keeping hold of Nicole's hand. He grabbed the offending phone just as it rang off. The display said it was Lizzie and he frowned in annoyance. If that bitch thought he was going to come crawling around again, she had another thing coming.

"For god's sake — who the hell is ringing you at this time of the morning?" growled Danni as she swung open her bedroom door crossly. "It's barely six am!"

Rob abruptly dropped Nicole's hand and he turned away from her to face his sister. "It's only Lizzie — go back to bed, Danni."

Nicole felt her heart contract painfully. What a fool she was, she thought miserably. Rob and Lizzie would be back together before the end of the day so she may as well forget about him. He was clearly no better than all the rest, the bastard.

She dashed into the bathroom and locked the door while Danni grumbled at Rob because she had been woken up prematurely.

"Can't you switch your phone off like any normal person? You know I need my sleep!" she said crossly.

"I forgot okay! Anyway, it's not my fault you're so fucking ugly and seven hours sleep aint enough..."

"Oh piss off Roberto!" Danni only used his full name when she was really mad. He ducked as she tried to throw a punch at him. He had had more than enough of punches for one lifetime. As he turned he saw that Nicole had vanished into the bathroom and he inwardly cursed. Bloody Lizzie...

With his head beginning to ache, he decided to cut this spat short. "Quit it Danni — I said I was sorry for waking you up. I'm off out for a run so go back to bed and try and wake up in a better mood for all our sakes."

She glared at him venomously before slamming her bedroom door in his face with a bang. Rob took several deep breaths and went to pull his running gear on. He left the flat with half his brain still playing re-runs of the kiss with Nicole. He just hoped he hadn't blown it before it had even begun.

Nicole took her break and decided to sit out in the back yard with a cup of tea and the local paper. The sun was shining warmly and it was surprisingly pleasant for the time of year. Sipping her tea slowly, she scanned the 'accommodation offered' column near the back of the paper.

"Had enough of the arguments then?" asked Sue with a grin.

Nicole turned round in surprise; she hadn't realised Sue was there.

"Kind of," she replied cagily. It had more to do with Rob than anything else, but she could hardly tell Sue that.

"They always did fight like cat and dog. Danni has too much of a temper on her," said Sue with a wry grin. "But she has a heart of gold."

Nicole smiled and said, "Yeah, I know. I can't thank her enough for helping me out as she did. I don't know what I would've done without her..." Her voice trailed off as she relived that horrible bus journey. She shuddered despite the warmth of the spring sunshine.

Sue dropped down next to her on the step and lit a cigarette. "If you want to move out, I may know somewhere," she commented casually.

"Really?"

"A friend of mine is looking for a lodger. She's a little cantankerous at times, but she won't bother you all that much. You won't need to pay a bond either which I imagine might be awkward for you."

Nicole wasn't certain that it sounded all that great, but it had to be an improvement on the current arrangement of sleeping on Danni's sofa bed and being tortured by a man she couldn't have.

"That sounds fine to me," she said in a bright voice.

"Great, I'll have a word with Angela and let you know tomorrow - if she says yes, I'll take you round there for a look, okay?"

"Thanks, Sue, that's very kind of you."

Sue stubbed out her cigarette and stood up wearily. "See you back inside in five minutes," she smiled and disappeared back into the fray.

Nicole finished her cup of tea with her eyes closed, enjoying the warmth of the sun on her face. She hoped that Danni didn't take offence when she told her she was planning on moving out. It wasn't as if she hated living there — it was just too uncomfortable in so many ways. No, moving out and finding other accommodation was the right thing to do. She had no great desire to watch Rob get back with Lizzie again.

"Nicole!" She heard Sue shouting her from the kitchen and she stood up, pouring the dregs of her tea onto the patch of weeds by the wall. It sounded like a coach load had just dropped in for cream teas all round — oh joy. Back to work...

Nicole followed Sue up an overgrown pathway to a large Victorian town house. It stood on a street with several others, all of them slightly faded and genteel looking. She felt like she had stepped back into another era and any moment now a horse and carriage was going to rumble past.

Sue's friend Angela had agreed to meet her and she was hopeful that the old woman would like her and therefore offer her a room as a lodger. Sue seemed to think it was a dead cert, but Nicole was less optimistic. Besides, she still hadn't broken the news to Danni yet and she was not looking forward to it. It felt like she was sticking two fingers up at her to be moving out so soon after everything her friend had done for her.

Luckily Danni and Rob had both been out when she nipped home after her shift in the café. She had managed to grab a shower, change into some clean clothes and dash back out again. The thought of seeing Rob made her stomach churn. She still felt a total idiot for kissing him this morning. She really should have known better after her recent experiences. Oh well, one day she might learn from her mistakes.

Sue rang the bell and from deep within the house a loud chiming sounded. They waited a while and Nicole began to wonder if maybe the old woman had gone out when the door creaked open to reveal a small stooped figure with a shock of blue-white hair.