Ebony
I woke up, the ache between my legs reminding me of the glorious early hours of the morning where we’d not been able to get enough of each other. Then I turned over and saw the space next to me. I sat up and noted there were none of his clothes around my bedroom. A huge thumping sadness beat against my chest as I registered the fact he’d gone. Then I heard a noise downstairs. The clattering was followed by an ‘oh shit’ from a familiar voice and I let out a large exhale as both relief and joy flooded my body that he was still here. Footsteps padded up the stairs and Henry walked in holding two steaming mugs.
“One coffee for the lady,” he said putting my mug at the side of my bed.
He walked back around to ‘his’ side and placed his mug on the bedside table there before flopping back onto the bed. “And a nice cuppa for me.”
“I thought you’d left.” I told him honestly. “When I saw the clothes gone.”
His mouth dropped open slightly as he looked around the room. “Oh, God, I’m sorry. I just wanted to be dressed as I didn’t know if you had a maid coming in or anything. I didn’t want you to be sued or to cause heart failure to anyone.”
“A maid! Oh my God, Henry, what are you going to come out with next? Do you want to have sex against a tree and call me Lady Chatterley?”
“Not only posh folks have maids. My mum hates cleaning, she has a maid service come round once a week.”
“Fair enough. It’s a shame you’re dressed though.” I bit my lip.
“You are aware clothes come off right? Let me show you.”
And he did.
Henry said he’d drive us both across to the farmhouse.
After showering and dressing, I heard him honking the van horn and realised it was almost 9am. Locking the door behind me, I ran down the path and jumped into the passenger seat of the van. The front foot-well was full of discarded crisp packets and chocolate wrappers, plus empty pop bottles.
“Sorry about the mess.”
“You’re a filthy pig.” I told him.
“You weren’t complaining last night… or this morning.” He chuckled.
My phone rang and I answered it. Kim started speaking.
“Ebs, babe. I got you another date, and yes I am here before 9am. Can you have a vision to see what I’m coming down with because it’s not normal. I actually thought I’d better be here to open up as Lucy can’t get here until 10am. I’m sick, Ebs. Sick.”
“You’re not sick. Well, I’ve not had any such visions about you anyway. Perhaps you are either growing up, or scared of what Shelley would say if she found out the place wasn’t open on time.”
“I suppose. Shelley really is bloody terrifying when she gets a mood on. Anyway, you owe me big time. I have got you a date with…” she made a drumroll noise, “Dmitri Rosario from Withernsea AFC. You’re welcome.”
“Actually, Kim, I was going to ring to tell you.” I looked across at Henry, who was glaring out of the front windscreen. His knuckles were clenched around the steering wheel so tightly I was surprised it hadn’t come off in his hand. “I’m seeing someone. It’s early days, but you know me. I don’t want to see anyone else at the same time. Can you cancel my membership?”
Henry looked at me and grinned, his shoulders coming back down from around his ears.
“But it’s Dmitri Rosario.”
“I don’t care if it's Henry Cavill.” I thought about it. “No, actually, scratch that. If you get Henry Cavill I’ll go.” A hand came over and nipped my arm several times lightly.
“Ouch.”
“No Henry’s other than me.” He said.
The phone went silent on the other end. “Ebs, are you getting it on with Henry Marston? As in Jax’s brother?”
“You breathe a word and I will see if I can deliberately invoke a vision where you no longer orgasm.”
“But, but.”
“No one. Not right now. He needs to tell Jax himself, not have it blurted out from you.”
“Shit. I never thought of that.” Henry mumbled at the side of me.
“Oh, okay. But feed me some gossip to keep me going. Anything. Is he good in bed?”
I giggled. “Kim, Henry has the most divine cock.” Then I ended the call.
The van swerved on the word cock. “Jesus, woman. Are you trying to kill us? You can’t dirty talk the word cock at the side of me like that when I’m driving.”
I arched a brow at him. “Your magnificent dick needs to rub against my core. To enter my pussy and have me begging for you to ride me hard. Oh… so… hard.”
Henry veered the van off down the next country lane. “We’re going to be late for work now, but hopefully not arrested for public sex. Get in the back of my van. Thank God I always carry plenty of bedsheets.”
I called Shelley to apologise for being late, saying Henry had suffered a flat tyre. Shelley told me I was a hopeless liar and that it was okay because she was happy for me.
As we walked through the door Theo was there.
“Morning.” He said yawning.
“Theo. Shouldn’t you be in bed?” I queried.
“Yes, I absolutely should, and I’m off in a minute but I’ve developed the start of your new fashion website and I was too excited to show you, to go to sleep.”
“Oh my God and this is the morning I choose to be late. I’m so sorry, Theo.” Turning, I touched Henry’s arm. “I’ll see you later. Let’s go, Theo. I can’t wait.”
“Just a second.” Henry said. “Shelley. Do you have a minute?”
Shelley came out into the hallway. “Yeah?”
“Ebony was pointing some things out to me last night. Things that mean either she’s crazy or there’s more to Withernsea than I’ve been aware of.”
Her eyes met mine. “You told him what we are?”
“I did. I hope that was okay?”
Shelley shrugged. “It’s fine and we could have put him under a compulsion and wiped his mind anyway if we didn’t want him to know.”
“You could do what?” Henry spluttered. “It’s real then? You’re a witch and… other things.”
Shelley spun blue threads from her hands and let her eyes turn blue, then she lifted up a vase from the hallway, got the door to bang open and threw it out so it exploded on the path.
Then she returned to normal. Looking all angelic like she’d not done anything strange at all. She shrugged her shoulders.
Theo rubbed at his head. “What are you doing?” His voice went higher and higher. “That’s been in my family for generations.”
Shelley went back to her blue-eyed state and using the blue webs commanded all the pieces back together and it appeared back in the hallway like it had never left.
“Oh yeah, I forgot you could do that. Sorry, darling.”
Henry looked back at the doorway. “Oh yeah. I guess I should close it.” Shelley said. “Could you do it, Theo?”
Theo whizzed there and back in a one-second blink of an eye. Henry looked back at the door. “How did you..?”
“Vampire speed.”
“Oooh does Henry know what we are?” Mary came waltzing back in. “Did you miss me? Gosh I’ve been gaining so much sexual experience. Such a pity that now Henry knows what I am a) I have someone and b) Henry’s not dead which apparently makes us not compatible.”
“You’re too late anyway. Henry and Ebony are seeing each other, Mary.” Shelley pointed out.
Mary smiled at me. “You lucky lady. I had a good look at him when he was changing into a fresh pair of overalls. I was almost invisible so he never even knew I was there. Not everything about being dead sucks. Some things are positively delightful.” She winked while pointing in the direction of Henry’s groin.
“Mother! That’s quite enough. When I get up later we are going to be having a chat, you and I?”
“You’ll have to catch me first, son.” Mary disappeared.
“Do you want to show me the computer programme so you can get to bed?” I asked Theo. He nodded.
What Theo had done was just beyond anything I could have hoped for. Customers could download a photo of themselves or input measurements and receive information on what stock I currently carried that should suit them the best.
“You should receive almost zero returns this way.” He told me.
He’d also designed different ‘model’ templates of all different shapes and sizes where I could just drag the clothes across to demonstrate what they looked like, rather than me having to arrange photoshoots with lots of models. “Obviously you’ll need to keep taking photos of your stock and uploading them, but from there the software will take over.”
“Oh that reminds me. Apparently Henry is an amateur photographer. He could advise me about lighting so I can take the best photos of my stock.”
“Did I hear my name?” Henry came walking in and looked at the website. “Okay, boring girly stuff, so what are you trying to get me to do because I don’t look good in a skirt.”
“I wondered if you’d show me how to take good photos so I can upload good photographs of my stock.”
“You want me and my camera in your shop, taking photos of clothes not on bodies? When?” His lip curled up at the edge.
“Tonight, maybe?”
“I’ll see what I can do.” He said. As he left the room again Theo turned to me.
“Get in there, Ebs.” He said.
I nearly dropped through the floor in shock. The very straight-laced Theo was telling me to ‘get in there’? What was happening to us both? We used to be cultured.
Love has happened and is happening.
Her voice came through to me loud and clear.
All is as it should be, Auntie Ebs. Enjoy and stay on the ride, even if the wheels start to come off.
A cold chill blew through me. What did Charlie mean?
On my way to my room later, Henry reached out and grabbed me. “Henry.” I chastened him with my eyes. “While we’re here we’re working. I feel the same as you. I want to touch you all the time, but seriously we need to concentrate.”
“Err, I was just grabbing you because I wanted to tell you something.”
“Oh.” I said, disappointed despite my recent statement.
“You know how you told me you’re here to protect the baby?”
“Ye-es.”
“Well. I’m in. Whatever needs doing. If someone tries anything, I’ll help anyway I can. I’m only a human but a tin of paint bounced off someone’s head can hurt a lot.”
“You are one very special man, Mr Henry Marston.” I lifted onto my tiptoes and kissed him softly on the lips. “It’s a deal.”
“Team Henebs, erm Ebshen, err. Oh fuck it.” Henry said. “Team Ginger and Ebony.”
“There’s nothing finer than the combination of a rich dark chocolate and a sizzling ginger.” I winked. “I’m talking biscuit combinations obviously.”
“Obviously.” He said, patting me on the backside as I turned away from him.
He’d called us a team.
He knew about my visions and more than that he seemed to be believing what he was hearing now.
And he’d not run away.
I walked to my bedroom before he saw the happy tears spill from my eyes.