Abby was probably not the best person to unload her guilt over the scenario with Morag too. Currently bent double in severe hysterics and hyperventilating from lack of oxygen, she was begging Rose to tell her again in exactly what position Morag had caught them.
‘Abby!’ Rose was hauling at her, trying to gain some control. ‘It’s not funny!’
‘It totally is! Tell me again was that before or after the ‘Ooooh aah ahh, YES’ screams.’ She mimicked a dramatic orgasm as Rose batted her again. Her own face flushed with embarrassment and trying hard not to giggle at Abby.
‘Abby!’ Rose had to fight to keep a straight face, but the girls laugh was infectious. ‘Stop it! If Rob hears you, he will pulverise you.’
‘Before, during or after????’ She was prodding Rose suggestively. Relentlessly
‘After! During? Maybe? Technically! I don’t know how long she was there.’ Swiping away her poking fingers and invasive eyebrow gestures, Rose tried to hush her once again.
‘Oh, my god. That’s class!’ She was wiping her eyes and trying to hold her aching sides, her face several shades of pink and red from the amount of laughing and tears.
‘This was not the reaction I expected, to be honest!’ Rose sighed and slumped down on the bed.
‘Well, obvious yuckiness aside, considering it’s my brother, but I would have loved to be a fly on the wall for that little scenario.’ Abby was still grinning, still giggling sporadically. As she finally slid down beside Rose on the bed, flopping down with exhaustion.
‘You’re sadistic, you know that?’ Rose nudged her playfully.
‘You’re surprised? You’re marrying my brother; we share genes. It should have been noticed before now that we’re both not quite right in the ‘whatsits’.’ She made a mock circular motion at her temple and fell back on the bed, fatigued from her bouts of hysterical laughter. Rose pushed her legs away as they came to rest against her on the end of Abby’s bed.
She had come up here to offload some tension while her betrothed was busy downstairs, lost in a million calls. She had stayed here the last few days, lost in the feeling of being back in his arms and his bed but the niggling anxiety had plagued her following Morag’s departure. Abby’s return had been a welcome relief.
‘He hasn’t heard from her Abby, not anything! Not a word.’ She bit her lip anxiously, that knot in her stomach that had been growing the last few days was getting harder to ignore.
‘Maybe she’s finally done the world a favour and...’
‘Abby!... For god’s sake!’ Rose chided a tad too harshly. ‘He saw her car last night, on one of the back roads past town...She hasn’t topped herself, okay? Besides, someone would have informed him if she had done anything to herself, he’s her emergency contact. Rob doesn’t think she will.’ Rose raised a brow at Abby, a sign she wasn’t impressed.
‘Could be her ghost haunting the roads like a lonely...’ The deepening frown and serious look paused her mid-horror tale and she smiled instead. ‘Sorry. Bad taste!’
‘Rob isn’t saying much, closing down on me again I guess. He’s tried to give her some breathing space. I know he’s on edge. Unsure if this is it.?...If this silence is how it’s going to be, and she just fades away from his life or if this is the calm before the storm.’ Rose sighed, completely out of her depth with this and trying not to over think how quiet he had been about it. He wasn’t pushing her away this time, but he wasn’t exactly verbalising his own thoughts either.
‘Except she works for him technically! The museum is only running because of him.’ Abby rolled onto her stomach and began picking at imaginary fluff on the duvet alongside her. Rose fell back on the bed alongside her friend with a deflated exhale.
When did this get so uncomplicated and never-ending?
‘Rose, you need to get drunk and dance the night away and forget about her!’ Abby pointed out, a chirpy tone and a serious expression.
‘Ummm...I’m pretty sure all my troubles have started that way since the day I came here.’
‘Perspective my love! Perspective!... Drunken behaviour bagged you the idiot downstairs on more than one occasion. I’m sure contrary to my sense of tastes, you’re pretty overjoyed at that fact. Well, sounds like your happy with your lot sometimes, when you think the house is empty.’ Abby grinned wickedly, catching Rose’s eye with a wink.
‘Oh my god Abby! Really?’ Rose gushed, her face flaming almost instantly.
‘What?’ Abby held up her hands in childish defense. ‘I’m not the one moaning and groaning down there, am I? Banging the headboard into next week. Must say though I am impressed with his stamina.’ The giggling which followed was stifled by a swift whack over the head with the cushion Rose was holding.
‘Jesus¡ Rose heaved, mortified at the thought of people hearing them, especially Abby!
‘Maybe wanna tell Rob that sound proofing might be something he should look into. Or at least moving his room away from the kitchen and cosy, everything down there, echoes up here.’
‘You do realise now I’m going to be constantly aware that everyone can hear us.’ Rose groaned.
‘SOUND PROOFING!!!’ Abby said it slowly and deliberately at her friends blushing red face, raising brows and annunciating clearly. ‘Sometimes, I feel more like your mother than your best friend, you know?’ Rose was pressing her palms to her flaming cheeks, trying hard to cool her embarrassment.
‘Technically in a few months, you will be.’.
Rose raised an eyebrow questioningly as Abby shrugged.
‘Rob’s more of a second dad than a brother. That makes you my step mother, sister in law, to be.’
‘Maybe in your twisted world of whatsits.’ Rose tapped at Abby’s temples and crossed her eyes. ‘If that’s true, you shouldn’t be asking your step mother, slash, sister in law, to be, if she was mid-orgasm when that woman barged in.’ Rose chided playfully.
‘Just like to know you’re keeping the old man satisfied. And vice versa.’ Abby grinned wickedly once more, that youthful devilish face of hers alive with naughtiness.
‘Really!’ Rose shook her head and blocked Abby from rolling into her for the second time. The girl was a wriggler.
‘You know what they say?... Long, happy marriages are the ones filled with fights and fucks. You two seem to have that down to a T.’
‘You really are a tasteless tramp sometimes, with that mouth...How does Duncan put up with you?’ Rose scrambled on top of her, to suffocate her with a pillow childishly.
‘He’s far worse than me, and he silences me with the ability to make me squeal.’ Abby retorted boldly.
‘Oh, my god! Abby?... Really? You’re just after telling me I’m practically your mother and then you tell me that. You do realise I’m going to have to bleach my ears. Your brother is convinced you’re still a virgin and sleep in Duncan’s spare room down there!’ Rose fell back onto the bed hopelessly, a little shocked to find her sweet innocent Abby was not so sweet and innocent after all.
‘Really? Is he thick? I’m going out with a hot-blooded farm man. He herds cows who openly shag in fields on a daily basis, has probably delivered more calves than birthdays and he definitely knows about the birds and the bees. He may look quiet and gentle, like a manly muscular giant, but trust me, he’s practically bent his bed frame with the pounding he gives me.’ Abby chuckled, no hint of shame or embarrassment at her revelations at all.
‘I’m traumatised!’ Rose breathed slowly. Unable to really digest any of this conversation.
‘Shut up, you wuss.’ Abby leant up, kissing her on the cheek playfully. ‘If everyone was as sweet and innocent as you Rose, the world would have no need for porn channels.’
‘Where did this fowl potty mouth come from?’ Rose blinked at her in complete awe.
‘I think it’s always been there, but my new family of future in-laws are a bad influence on me... Farmers!’ She shrugged unapologetically. ‘Besides, don’t look so shocked, my wavering nineteen fifties heroin.’ She was standing in her room now, pulling out dresses to hold in front of the mirror, flattened to her body. ‘You practically live with my brother! You’re okay with his nympho ways and put it down to what? Being male?... Hate to tell you, but it’s more of a family trait than testosterone, my lovely. And more than likely will pass it down to your sweet angelic cherubs.’
Rose could only shake her head. Amused and shocked but completely speechless. She had to agree, Rob was definitely very open about sex, highly sexed and shameless, much like his sister. Rose couldn’t be shocked at how she was as she was a lot like him.
‘What about this for the party?’ Abby turned to her, holding up a slinky black dress with a high split to the thigh and low-cut bodice. A little more lady of the night than the sister of the groom.
‘I think your brother could do with one less traumatic experience this week Ab’s. Maybe the white or cream one. Less skin and more sweet little sister; at least pretend you’re virginial still.’ She pushed, trying to limit the hissy fit Rob would take if he saw her dressed like that.
‘Fuck that! I have a boyfriend to keep on his toes. Gotta show him what he’s clinging onto, keep him keen and jealous!’ Abby wiggled her butt at Rose and continued to preen in the mirror with the scrap of fabric.
‘Where ever do you get your romantic insight Ab’s?’ Rose slid off the bed, pulling out a less devastating dress and handed it to her. Removing the black one carefully from her grip and chucking it to the chair nearby in a slump.
‘I learn from watching you two. A good example of how not to be!’ She grinned wickedly. Rose shoved her from behind playfully with a smile and caught her eye in the reflection.
‘Which one got a proposal first?’ Rose stuck her tongue out.
‘Look if you’re happy with that old-fashioned ring on your finger, settling down to play lady of the manor, and popping out the next generation on Munro kids in succession, then that’s fine. I’m more of a live young and go travelling around the world before I even contemplate marriage and babies.’
‘You make me sound old you know.’ Rose sighed and still watched her beautiful friend in the mirror, stroking her hair from behind in a maternal way.
‘I’m warning you, I know him too well. Too much like my dad. He will keep you barefoot and pregnant until your womb drops out your ass!’ Abby threw back with a raised brow and wide-eyed look that was a little too knowing.
‘I’m pretty sure that’s not where your womb is likely to drop out. It only disturbs me thinking that you and Duncan are doing something awfully wrong if that is your understanding of biology. Stuff I don‘t want to even contemplate or know about.’ Rose dodged the baby topic.
Abby wiggled her rear provocatively again with a devilish grin and bumped Rose backwards lightly. She caught her balance and moved back to perch on the edge of the bed once more, still watching her with the dress she was swishing around.
‘My dad would have had fifteen kids if he could, you know? I think Rob will be the same.’
‘I’m sure I would probably die if I tried to produce fifteen kids in succession, Abby. I also have some say over it.’ Rose smiled seriously, smoothing out her summer dress across her knees. Abby turned to her slowly and surely and looked her dead in the eye with a laugh. ‘You have met my brother, haven’t you?’ Abby clocked her head to the side, smiling widely when Rose eye rolled. Suddenly looking thoughtful, Abby’s face took on a more sombre look. ‘You have?... You know?... Been careful, right? Used contraception or condoms?’
‘Yes.’ Rose smiled surely, answering quickly, but then faltered. ‘Most of the time.’
‘Most of the time?’ Abby blinked at her with a frown, worry overtaking that smile.
‘I’m on the pill, Abs. Been on it for years. Sometimes I forget to take it occasionally, but I can assure you, everything’s been regular as clockwork.’
‘Sure?’
‘Sure!’ Rose mentally counted the weeks in the back of her mind, satisfied that she was only becoming paranoid because of Abby. She hadn’t missed her monthlies and she wasn’t due just yet.
‘Okay. Just don’t start becoming a baby factory too soon. We still have a lot of fun and parties to be had, before you settle down to be boring. Need my dancing partner for some time yet!’ Abby grinned, swishing her hair over her shoulder as she returned to the mirror for more preening and ogling of dresses.
‘I promise.’ Rose had to admit that it had never even crossed her mind seriously.
Kids! One day she wanted them. Yes...
Right now, with Rob?...Maybe! It wouldn’t be bad if it happened. She wouldn’t be unhappy about it.
She brushed it away. Too soon and too serious. She still hadn’t even married him yet.