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‘I think our torches gave us away, thankfully.’
Cole stepped back and gestured to them both. ‘Come on in... Get inside and get warm, we’ve got the fire going in the lounge and dinner is nearly ready.’
He smiled warmly as Tom’s thick gloved hand shot out and shook his own firmly with a friendly grin.
‘Can I take your coat?’ he said, holding his arms out as Tom unbuttoned his jacket. Elsie did her best not to look, but she couldn’t help it, glancing at his chest innocently as he wriggled out, revealing a navy blue thick ribbed jumper which hugged his body tight and a pair of jet black smart jeans.
‘Thank you,’ said Anna, handing her own coat to Elsie who stood back to admire her choice of outfit. Her eyes widened as she took her in, dressed in a short black skater dress with mesh sleeves and a keyhole back that showed off far more of Anna’s soft skin than Elsie had been prepared for. The whole outfit however was pragmatically offset by a pair of thick woollen tights. For a moment she just stared, her eyes sliding over the curves of her new friend’s body. She looked incredible.
‘Don’t laugh at the tights,’ said Anna. ‘Practicality comes before narcissism, it’s minus four out there.’
‘Dinner’s around five minutes away if you want to head through,’ said Cole, directing them toward the dining room and thankfully interrupting Elsie’s mesmerised trance.
‘Come, sit with me,’ she smiled, recovering and grabbing hold of Anna’s cold hand, rubbing it and pulling her through whilst practically skipping away. ‘I love your dress.’
‘Beer?’ grinned Cole as the girls quickly disappeared.
‘Sure,’ laughed Tom, watching them go. ‘I’d love one.’
‘How’s the ankle?’ said Anna as she sat down beside Elsie at the table, the boys heading off toward the kitchen.
‘So much better, that whole rice thing worked really well.’
‘I’m so pleased,’ she said, tilting her head and reaching out her hand, placing it gently on Elsie’s thick sleeved arm. For a moment she found herself wishing she’d worn a strappy dress instead. ‘Tom’s been worrying all week, and in all honesty I’ve been slightly afraid to ask in case you told me it was broken or something terrible.’
‘No, it’s fine. Alice’s sister was right, just a sprain.’
‘To tell you the truth, I’ve been really excited about this all week.’
Elsie blushed and laughed, Anna’s hand was still lingering on her forearm. ‘Me too.’
‘It’s not just wanting to see you two though, it’s just so rare that we actually get to go out and have a night away from the girls.’
A night? Thought Elsie, hopeful as her hand withdrew. ‘I bet it is,’ she smiled. ’Is that why you walked?’
’Let the wine flow,’ laughed Anna theatrically, nodding at the bottle on the table.
Elsie reached out for it and poured them a glass each, raising hers up toward her new friend.
‘To new friends and new experiences,’ she said. No harm flirting.
Anna smiled and looked down for a moment as she nodded and clinked, then she glanced up and made eye contact with Elsie as that smile caught her unawares again.
As the silence grew and the butterflies flooded into her chest, Cole and Tom appeared in the doorway.
‘Are you girls ready to eat?’ said her husband, holding two plates of steaming food in his hand. ‘Or would you like a few more minutes?’
*
‘Thank you so much for this,’ said Anna as the two men continued to bring more dishes, glasses and cutlery through. ‘I feel like this is entirely the wrong way round, we should be entertaining you by way of apology.’
‘Don’t be silly,’ said Elsie. ‘Besides, it’s not like that, there’s nothing to apologise for. I wanted to see you, both of you - we did, I mean.’
‘That’s so sweet,’ said Anna as Tom laid out another serving bowl in front of her and then sat down.
‘You have such a beautiful home,’ said Tom, his smile as loose and charming as the lilt of his voice.
‘Thank you,’ blushed Elsie, resisting the urge to twirl her hair around her finger.
