“All right, biker bitch,” I counter with a smirk. “What are you scared of?”
“Nothing?”
“Nothing. Seriously?” Jodie asks suspiciously as something dark flashes through Emmie’s eyes.
“Well, I hate birds. They freak me the fuck out,” Jodie announces.
“Oh my God,” I laugh. “Remember that time I dared you to go to Trafalgar Square and a pigeon landed on your shoulder? I’ve never seen you move so fucking fast. It was the funniest thing I’ve ever seen.”
“Fuck you. Aside from recent events, that was the worst day of my life, and all you did was laugh when that thing shat on me.”
“I’m sorry,” I say, holding my hands up in surrender. “I just wanted to push your boundaries a little. I wasn’t expecting them to flock to you as if they could taste your fear.”
“One of these days, I’m going to get you so drunk that you don’t know what’s happening and you’re going to wake up the next morning in a bath of damp cotton wool.”
“You wouldn’t,” I hiss, knowing full well that she would if she got the chance. Lucky for me, when we’re drunk, we’re usually at my flat and that doesn’t have a bath. Not that waking up in a shallow shower tray filled with cotton wool would really be any better.
A door opens down the hallway and footsteps head our way.
Glancing over my shoulder, I find Stella looks almost as pissed off as she did when she stormed off, but her shoulders are a little looser.
“What about you, Stel? What are you scared of?”
“Fuck off, Stella isn’t scared of anything either,” Emmie barks. “You’ve seen her, she’s a full-on bad-arse.”
“I’m scared that I’ll lose my mum before I’ve really got to know her. I’m scared that what she’s had could be genetic and that it could affect Toby or me. Or our kids in the future.”
Silence ripples through the room at her heavy confession.
“Shit, that’s—”
“I’m scared I’ll turn into my mother,” Emmie blurts, cutting off what I was about to say.
“That’s not going to fucking happen, Em,” Stella says fiercely. “Even if there was a chance, we wouldn’t let you.”
Admittedly, I don’t know all that much about Emmie’s mum, but she’s in rehab, so that pretty much tells me all I really need to know.
“She’s right,“ I agree. “Your support network is too good for that to happen.”
“Plus, you’re too busy bouncing around on Theo’s massive cock to have time for all that,” Stella deadpans, the girl chat seeming to cheer her up at last.
“Massive, huh? How big are we actually talking here?”
Jodie snorts. “Says the dick expert.”
“Pfft, nothing wrong with testing plenty out to find the one that fits the best.”
“Whore,” she scoffs.
“Takes one to know one.” I cast my mind back to some of the wilder weekends we’ve had over the years.
“You corrupted me. All your fault.”
“Probably. You told Toby about that weekend at Butlins yet when you had—”
“Can we not?”
“Oh no,” Emmie says. “You don’t get to drop a little nugget like that and then not tell us all the dirty details.”