The Bet
By ralst
Part Two
Having separated their cousin from Helen, both Sean and Thomas were anxious to divert the young Scot's apparent interest in Nikki towards themselves. The one possibility they both felt could hinder their chances, was if Helen turned out to be gay and thus outside their reach. It was a complication neither truly expected, but given Helen's interest so far, it couldn't be ignored. So without consultation the two men subconsciously began a joint venture to discover Helen's preferences.
"How about you Helen? Are you seeing anyone?" Sean asked casually, his question less obvious than it could of been thanks to Helen's previous enquiry about Nikki.
With a slightly sad look, Helen shook her head. "I'm afraid not."
"That's hard to believe," continued Thomas. "A beautiful lady like yourself must be inundated with offers."
"Quite," echoed Sean.
Helen smiled at the two men. They were both rather charming in their own way and over the last couple of hours they'd helped a great deal to rebuild her self confidence, which had taken a severe battering after her last relationship. "You're both very sweet but I can't remember the last time I was asked out on a date."
"Really?" Sean asked sceptically. He knew that looks weren't everything but he found it hard to believe that someone of Helen's beauty and obvious intelligence wasn't constantly in demand.
"Really," Helen replied wistfully. "The last date I went on was at least six months ago and a total disaster it turned out to be too."
"How come?" Thomas took over the questioning as the two cousins drew their chairs nearer to the table, hoping to make their conversation more private, despite the bingo preparations being performed behind them. "Was he...she.." He looked to Sean for a helpful non-gendered term but his cousin just sat there waiting for him to finish the sentence. "..they an idiot?"
Helen noticed his attempt not to make any assumption about the sex of her last partner and thought it rather sweet. She also ascribed it to his close connection with Nikki and that again warmed her towards him. "Actually Dominic seemed quite intelligent and normal before we went out, but then..." Her voiced trailed off as she remembered the angry words the young man had screamed in her face after their last encounter. It wasn't a memory she liked to revisit.
"Then?" Asked a voice from behind them, as Nikki pulled up a chair to join the group.
Sean scowled at his cousin, his heart hammering in his chest by the suddenness of her arrival. "Will you please stop doing that? One of these days you're going to give me a heart attack."
"Sorry," came the sheepish reply, before Nikki's eyes focused on Helen's welcoming gaze. "All hell is about to break loose here in a minute, so maybe we should save the dating war stories until we've ducked for cover?"
"Do I take that to mean you couldn't persuade aunt Doreen to change her mind?" Sean questioned. At Nikki's silent nod his head descended into his raised hands and a mumbled 'why me?' escaped his muffled lips.
"It might not be that bad," Thomas consoled, even though he knew it would probably be worse.
Hating to be the bearer of even more bad news but knowing they needed to be aware of the full horror of what was about to happen, Nikki placed a gentle hand on Sean's shoulder. "There's more."
"God no," came Sean's muffled voice as dread-filled eyes rose to peer beseechingly at Nikki. "Tell me," he croaked.
"Mum's asked Shell to be the caller," Nikki admitted, the depth of the catastrophe about to descend upon them making her wince in sympathy with her cousin.
As Sean groaned, Helen turned a confused expression on Nikki. "Why is that such a bad thing?"
"You know about aunt Gladys' aversion to bingo?" Helen nodded. "Well it kind of causes her to erm, to..." Nikki's voice trailed off as she turned to Thomas for a little help, somehow expecting a medical term to materialise for their aunt's quirky behaviour.
"Turn psycho?" Thomas ventured, only to receive an elbow in the ribs from Sean and a scowl from both Helen and Nikki. "What I meant was....well..."
"She gets a little confrontational," Nikki butted in, before Thomas could dig himself a bigger hole. "Or at least she did the last time she played."
"Not to mention the way she boycotted the WI meetings," Thomas added and was about to go into detail about the heated campaign Gladys had waged to have the organisation charged with fraud, before he was cut off.
"Well then we'd best not mention it, had we?" Nikki interrupted, not wanting to paint her aunt as more of a lunatic than she really was. In reality her aunt Gladys was just a little quirky, all the sisters were, it just so happened that Gladys' mania was about to be played out in front of all their guests. Thanks to Nikki's mother and her stupid bingo idea.
"But I still don't understand why having Shell as the caller would make things worse?"
"Do you know Shell?" Sean mumbled.
"Not personally," Helen admitted. "But according to Doreen, she's a nice if slightly misunderstood woman."
"Pffftt!" Snorted Thomas, before he remembered who he was with and tried to look a little more dignified. "Shell's not misunderstood, she's..."
"A little volatile," Nikki interrupted again, wondering if it wouldn't have been easier to gag Thomas before she started the conversation.
"Volatile?" The description had finally managed to lure Sean from the protection of his hands, as he turned a sceptical look on Nikki. "You're volatile, Shell's a raving..."
"Can I have everybody's attention please!" Shouted a voice from behind the group, forcing them to turn in the direction of Thomas' mother, who was standing precariously atop one of the dining room tables. "Bingo will begin in five minutes, you can collect your tickets from Doreen at the bar." Her announcement made, Bea clambered down from the table and was about to wander off in search of a gin and tonic to limber up her calling voice, when she was accosted by a red faced Gladys.
"Oh Shit!" Sean and Thomas exclaimed in unison and as one the group rose from their chairs and began a hurried, if furtive, exit from the room.
Due to the layout of the hotel and the ever watchful eyes of their mothers, the group had been forced to leave the hotel entirely and head out towards the beer garden that adjoined the west side. The area was deserted and Sean quickly commandeered a table, ready to continue their early discussion and find out some more about Helen's love life. Thomas was obviously of the same mind, as he happily sat down opposite his cousin and prayed that Helen would choose to sit next to him, rather than Sean.
Even though she was equally as interested in picking up the previous conversation, Nikki couldn't resist the lure of the swings that stood only a few feet from the table. There was just something about swinging through the air like a five year old that Nikki found compelling. So squeezing into the too tight seat, she pushed off with her feet and began a lazy swinging motion out towards her cousins. It was only through an act of will that she managed to refrain from shouting out 'whoooooeeeee!' as the swing travelled higher into the air.
Helen looked up at Nikki's beaming face and couldn't stop a smile of her own at the woman's obvious enjoyment. She realised that at some point in her life she'd dismissed swings and other childhood games as juvenile forms of entertainment that she had outgrown. Watching Nikki, she knew she'd been wrong.
"My cousin, the swinger," Sean joked, patting the bench next to him to encourage Helen to take a seat.
Ignoring his invitation, Helen made her way past Nikki's swinging feet to the second swing. Gingerly sitting down, she gave a tiny push with her feet and was soon on her way to joining Nikki as she flew through the air. Her initial reservations soon dissolved and Helen found herself stretching backwards in an attempt to reach the same heights as the other woman. "I'd forgotten how much fun this was," she chuckled joyfully, as she swung towards the men's table.
"Er, yeah," Thomas tried to reply with some enthusiasm but it just came out baffled.
"Great isn't it?" Nikki agreed, Helen's smile proving answer enough.
Thomas and Sean just looked at each other. After a couple of minutes of watching the women merrily swinging up and down, the two men had realised they wouldn't be getting any further with the Scot just then and more importantly, neither would Nikki. So they decided on a more pleasant course of action.
"We're getting a drink ladies, do you want one?" Sean called over.
"What about the bingo?" Nikki questioned. "You'll be seen."
"Don't worry about it," Thomas said cockily. "I've got a plan."
Without disturbing their ascents, the two women shouted out their orders and watched as the men disappeared back into the hotel.
Nikki had an urge to say 'alone at last' but wasn't sure how Helen would take it. She was also eager to strike up a conversation with the other woman, but that wasn't made easy by their current exercise. Allowing her body to slump forward and her feet to drag along the ground, Nikki began to slow her swing, hoping that Helen would do the same.
In less than a minute both swings had come to a stop and the two women sat beside one another, a comfortable silence filling the air. The sun had long since begun its descent into the west and the twilight reflected pleasantly off pale skin, a sight that caused Helen's stomach to ache with an unknown want. "It's beautiful out here," she spoke quietly, hoping the sound of her own voice would somehow quench the turmoil that was assailing her body.
"It's even nicer by the beach."
Nikki's tone had been deeper than normal, which did nothing to quell Helen's growing need. She knew she was attracted to Nikki, the almost kiss in her room had been more than enough proof, but she was at a loss about how to proceed. "Nikki..."
"Hmmm?" When Helen failed to continue, Nikki turned the swing so she could face her properly. "Helen?"
Nikki's movement had brought their faces into close proximity and Helen had to fight the urge to lean forward and brush her lips across the dark-haired woman's. Her hesitation caused Nikki's brow to furrow in confusion, and Helen realised she'd been caught staring longingly at the other woman's mouth. "Is it just me?"
The whispered words drew a blank look. "Just you?"
Blushing furiously Helen tried to hide her face beneath a curtain of hair, sure that Nikki's response proved the attraction was only one sided. "It...it doesn't matter."
"Helen?" Slipping from her swing, Nikki knelt in front of Helen, clasping the other woman's hands in her own. "Is what just you?"
Looking up into those intense brown eyes, Helen felt foolish for even thinking that Nikki could feel something for her. "It doesn't matter."
At that moment Nikki wanted nothing more than to take Helen in her arms and prove just how much it did matter. She wasn't a fool. She knew there was something between them. The attraction she was feeling had taken her somewhat by surprise as it seemed to have bypassed the mere physical and transformed into something a whole lot deeper in the space of just a few hours. Her romantic side was swooning with the idea of love at first sight but the cynic in her was trying to write it off as a fluke attraction complicated by too long without sex. Whatever the truth Nikki knew that she couldn't take things further without telling Helen about the bet and she couldn't tell Helen about the bet without risking her storming off in indignation.
Caught in a maze of indecision Nikki decided the best course of action for the moment was retreat. If she could just last out the weekend without totally alienating the beautiful Scot, then she could try and pursue a relationship with her without the spectre of the bet hanging over them. Decision made, Nikki took a step away from the swing and reached out a hand to her companion. "Come on, let's take a walk on the beach."
Retrieving their drinks without being rumbled by their mothers had turned out to be harder than either Sean or Thomas could have predicted. The door through which they'd made their original escape had been blocked by a gaggle of chain-smoking male relatives, and included both their fathers as well as Nikki's. While the older men might have sympathised with their offsprings' plight, none of them would have been willing to risk the wrath of the bingo-maniacs by allowing the youngsters to abscond scot-free.
Sean grabbed his cousin by the shirtfront. "Is there another entrance?"
"I'm not sure." Squatting down behind a row of wheely bins, Thomas did his best to blend into the scenery. "But I think Uncle Bob mentioned something about the saloon bar having a street entrance."
"Which way?"
"It's over..." Looking down Thomas noticed a puddle of unidentifiable liquid soaking through the knee of his trousers, and almost fell over himself in a futile attempt to escape the noxious substance. "Do you think that'll stain?" he demanded. "Because if it does; I'm suing the hotel."
"Will you shut up!" Sean's fantasies of being the next James Bond were disintegrating under the weight of Thomas' whining. "You're a doctor, you're supposed to be used to disgusting fluids."
"A little blood and guts, fine, but God only knows what's in this stuff!" He turned an accusing eye on his cousin. "I could get cholera or something from this crap."
"Jesus!" Sean flicked a piece of dried potato peel at his cousin. "Is hypochondria mandatory for doctors?"
Thomas scowled but refrained from answering, far too preoccupied with scraping the mess from his trousers. It wouldn't do for Helen to see him in a state of disarray. "Let's get the drinks and get back, okay? I don't want to leave Helen alone with Nikki for too long."
"I'm not the one..." Sean sighed. He loved his cousin, but right now all he wanted was to smack him upside the head. "Which way?" He ground out, aiming another potato peel at Thomas' head.
"Follow me." Scrambling behind the rose bushes, the two men managed to avoid being detected by their peers. It was less than two-hundred yards to the second entrance, and despite a multitude of stops, they reached the saloon bar within minutes.
The smoke filled room was packed to capacity with the less bingo inclined of the party, who took it upon themselves to jeer and cajole the young men with a series of friendly jibes. Apparently their absence from the bingo arena had been remarked upon by their mothers and a mini-search had been carried out before the triplets had allowed events to proceed. Both men had been tempted to ask about the goings on inside the dining room, but couldn't quite pluck up the nerve.
Having purchased their drinks and refusing to answer several questions about their hiding place, the two men headed back towards the swings. Unfortunately, when they got there, both swings were empty and there was no sign of the two women.
"Where the hell are they?" Thomas peered behind the swings, as if two grown women had somehow managed to hide behind the metal posts.
"The sneaky bitch," Sean's tone was half accusation, half respect. "Nikki's only gone and stolen her out from under us."
"She wouldn't." The two men exchanged a look. "She would." Thomas slumped down onto the wooden bench, the spectre of Nikki absconding with 'his' girlfriend rolling around in his mind. He might not have known Helen well, but he could tell they would be good together. The young Scot was so uncomplicated, at least compared to his recent dates, not to mention beautiful, funny and intelligent. Nikki already possessed all those qualities, so he couldn't see why she'd need to steal Helen. "Did you check the beach?"
"Huh?"
"The beach." He pointed towards the growing darkness. "You know how Nikki feels about the sea."
"Good thinking Batman."
The sun had finally descended into the sea and the sky was left in a blaze of riotous colour that bathed the shore beneath with an ethereal glow. The gentle lapping of the waves provided a symphony of natural beauty complemented magically by the combined scents of the sea breeze and Helen's alluring perfume. It was the perfect setting for a romantic stroll and under normal circumstances Nikki would have thought herself in Heaven.
Unfortunately, these weren't normal circumstances and her impulsive suggestion of a walk on the beach was turning into a nightmare. Helen was just so damn attractive, and walking beside her without reaching out to take her hand was driving Nikki to distraction. It was all Sean's fault. If he hadn't insisted on continuing the stupid bet then she could have taken advantage of the romantic setting and approached Helen openly. As it was, she was forced to walk beside the beautiful Scot and refrain from touching her.
"It's beautiful," Helen whispered, her gaze transferring from the last vestiges of the sunset to the woman beside her. "Thank you, Nikki."
"Don't thank me." Nikki smiled, her hand subconsciously reaching out to encompass Helen's. "I didn't create the sunset."
"You didn't?" Helen laughed, and the sound warmed Nikki's blood. "I thought you Wades could do anything you set your mind to?"
Nikki shrugged. "Almost anything." The fact that as of that moment she couldn't even kiss the woman she was attracted to made the question doubly difficult for Nikki. All she wanted was to be able to tell Helen the truth, but she was afraid it would push the other woman away and ruin any chance of a future together. It was ironic; she'd only known her a day but she was already scared of ruining the best thing that had happened to her in years.
"So, what can't the great Nikki Wade accomplish?" Helen questioned, her tone teasing.
For a split second Nikki was on the verge of risking everything and simply telling her all about the silly bet and her hopes for a future. But if one didn't freak Helen out, she was sure the other would. "Well I've always had a little trouble with soufflés, and steady relationships are a total mystery."
"Really?" Despite George's laments about Nikki's lack of serious partners, she'd always assumed that the gorgeous, dark-haired woman's commitment-free lifestyle was through choice. "Somehow I can't imagine anyone not wanting to settle down with you."
Nikki blushed. "I hate to disillusion you, Helen, but I'm not exactly beating them off with a stick."
"Not according to your father," Helen countered. "He's convinced there's a line of eligible women two miles long waiting outside your front door."
"Chance would be a fine thing." Nikki stopped and let her eyes take in the last remnants of the sunset. They'd have to start heading back soon, before the light became too dim and they risked a twisted ankle, or worse on the overgrown path. "Besides, it doesn't matter if the line's twenty miles long if the right person isn't in it."
"So speaks a true romantic." Standing next to Nikki, Helen took a chance and slipped an arm around her waist. She was soon rewarded by the feel of Nikki's arm pulling her in close and the spread of warmth as they half embraced. "Do you ever think you'll find her? That special someone."
"I don't know." Dropping her head, Nikki rested her cheek against the top of Helen's hair, breathing in the enticing scent of her shampoo. "I was beginning to think it impossible, but now I'm not so sure."
Helen wanted to ask more but was worried that things were moving too fast, and at the same time she was also worried that they were moving too slowly. They'd only known each other a short while but they'd been standing there looking at the sunset for what felt like a lifetime and still they hadn't kissed. She didn't want to frighten Nikki off, but that didn't mean she couldn't push things forward a little. "Nikki?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you think, if I asked him, that Sean would kiss me?"
"What?" Nikki looked at her as if she'd grown another head. "You want Sean to kiss you?"
"No, I want you to kiss me, but beggars can't be choosers." Helen smiled, her eyes crinkling with suppressed mirth. "Or how about Thomas? He seemed pretty keen."
"There are names for women like you." Nikki tried looking stern but couldn't keep up the pretence. "And to answer your questions, yes and yes."
"That's good to know." Taking a half step back, Helen looked up into Nikki's warm brown eyes. "How about you?"
"Oh, I don't think they'd kiss me, we are related after all."
"That's not wh.." Nikki's lips captured hers in the barest hint of a kiss, their softness eliciting a moan of appreciation before Helen's voice was stolen completely by the feel of a tongue ghosting across her bottom lip. The next few moments passed in a whirl of sensation as the kiss deepened and hands began a lazy caress over welcoming skin.
"Nikki!"
"Helen!"
Nikki let her fingers brush against the smooth skin of Helen's cheek and marvelled in the warmth her touch inspired. It was as if their bodies craved each other's touch and the slightest contact could bring life to once dormant flesh.
"Nikki! Helen!"
Helen's hand dropped to the edge of Nikki's shirt, her fingers working beneath the material to caress the soft expanse of her back. The silky feel of another woman's skin was at once alien and familiar, its delicacy and warmth proving addictive.
"Nikki! Where the fu..."
"Helen!"
Nikki placed one final kiss upon Helen's lips, before turning her attention to the noise coming from the hotel. "And the award for worse timing ever goes to..."
"God, Nikki, why couldn't your mother have been an only child?" Ending their embrace, the two looked up towards the hotel and the barely discernible figures of Thomas and Sean peeking over the edge of the bluff. The two men had obviously spotted them as one of the figures was waving manically, while the other lounged back against a wall, smoking a cigarette. "Which of them, do you think, is doing the aerobics?"
Nikki squinted up at her cousins and couldn't help but smile at the overactive waving. "That'll be Thomas." Seeing the two men once again reminded her of the bet and whereas before she'd felt confident in being able to cool things with Helen until after the weekend, she was no longer so sure. That meant she had no choice but to tell her everything and hope she could see the funny side of it. "Let's get back, before he bursts a blood vessel or something."
"If we have to." Wrapping her arm around Nikki's waist, Helen began walking with her towards the two anxiously waiting men. From the way Thomas began stomping around and wagging a finger at Sean she began to suspect that something terrible had happened. "You don't suppose your Aunt Gladys has gone on a rampage, do you?"
"Nah! Tommy's just a little high strung," Nikki dismissed. "If Gladys had really done anything strange we would have heard the sirens." She paused, not quite sure how to proceed but at the same time knowing she had to say something. "Look, Helen, I don't usually go around kissing near strangers, but I..."
"You think of me as a stranger?"
"What? No, I didn't mean...I just meant that, well, that..." As Nikki's words trailed off she looked to Helen for some assistance. "God! Why am I so crap with words?"
Helen didn't know if she was getting the brush off or the exact opposite, but whichever it was Nikki was cute doing it. "Nikki I've no idea what you're saying, so let me break it down for you, okay?"
"Okay."
"One, the kiss was a mistake. Two, the kiss was nice but not something you want to repeat or three, you don't know where it's going but you'd love to do it again." Helen smiled, her heart hammering. "There is a four, but I think it's a little early to be mentioning it."
"Then I guess I'll have to go for three, at least until you let me in on number four." Nikki hesitated. "How about you?"
"How about me, what?"
"One, two or three?"
Helen stopped them in their tracks. "Oh, I think four." She kissed Nikki quickly, in full view of their two watchers. "Definitely four."
Nikki smiled, knowing she'd won far more than some silly bet.
As the two women shared their second kiss, Thomas was getting ready to go into orbit. His face had turned an interesting shade of purple and after a string of curses he wheeled on Sean to berate him for their cousin's actions.
"Look! Look!" His hand flailed out to point towards the couple. "You said we had nothing to worry about! You said they'd be too busy on the bloody swing to get up to anything. You said..."
"Jesus! I'm not Mystic Meg," Sean lowered his voice, so as not to be overheard by the arriving pair. "I couldn't have foreseen this and if I could, do you really think I'd have left them alone together?"
Thomas crossed his arms over his chest, defiance written in ever single line of his body.
"For crying out loud!" Turning, Sean put on his best gentleman-caller smile, before looking back to hiss. "It's only a fucking bet."
Thomas' mood darkened. He'd always been close with his cousins and that would never change, but he was beginning to realise that they had little regard for other people's feelings - especially Helen's. He might have gone along with the bet to begin with, but he'd been drunk, and recanted his involvement almost immediately. Nikki had pretended that she wasn't interested, but her actions on the beach had exposed that for the lie it was. As for Sean, he hadn't even bothered to hide his self-centred desires, and would no doubt be doubling his efforts to win, now he thought Nikki had stolen the upper-hand.
He wouldn't let that happen. He'd save Helen from his cousins and in doing so teach them both a lesson that was sorely overdue. Winning the affections of the beautiful Scot wouldn't hurt either.
His mind made up, Thomas put on a determined smile. "Ready to brave the wrath of the delinquent pensioners?"
Helen couldn't help the blush that coloured her cheeks as she saw the knowing smirk on Sean's face. The man had a definite twinkle in his eye and she was dreading whatever smart alec comment he had brewing. Not that she regretted her actions, but she didn't relish being the brunt of his jokes for the rest of the evening.
Sean's smile transferred to Nikki. "So, had a nice walk?"
"Yes."
"Not too chilly for you?"
Nikki's look hardened. "No."
"That's nice." Sean paused, debating the wisdom of provoking his cousin further. "It's good to know..."
"Ready to brave the wrath of the delinquent pensioners?" Thomas asked, totally oblivious to the teasing he had interrupted.
"Do you think it's safe?" Helen didn't care what answer he gave, just so long as it detracted from Sean's baiting.
"It's never safe," Nikki confided. "More a case of acceptable risk."
"Nikki's exaggerating," Thomas assured. "Despite Aunt Gladys' unconventional attitude towards certain forms of gambling, we're a perfectly normal family."
"Normal?" Helen looked sceptical. She couldn't imagine anything that contained Nikki being normal - it was far too boring a word.
"As normal as any marriage obsessed, bingo-phobic, seashore romancing family," Sean agreed, his smile soon mirrored by Nikki and Helen. Thomas just scowled at his cousin before taking Helen's arm and leading her back towards the hotel.
Nikki was about to follow when Sean pulled her back. "Do you think Tom's all right?" he asked. "Only he's been acting a little..."
"Annoying?"
"No." He smirked. "He's a doctor, they're always annoying." Staring after the retreating figures, Sean noticed how close Thomas was walking to Helen, and the possessive arm he'd placed around her shoulder. It shouldn't have struck him as odd, especially considering their bet and Helen's charms, but something about his cousin's behaviour worried him. "Don't you think he's getting a little...overeager?"
"You mean about Helen?" Having spent most of the day trying to deter both men from pursuing the other woman, Nikki thought that his fawning was just another sign of the day's events. Admittedly he'd been a little confrontational, but she'd assumed that had something to do with the heat of competition. If there was more to it, she'd have to do something to cool his ardour, before someone got hurt.
"Yeah," Sean's look turned from concerned to relieved and back again within seconds. Nikki had always been good at reading people and if she hadn't noticed anything he'd probably been overreacting. But on the other hand, she'd been so distracted by Helen a ten foot tall, pink elephant could have skipped past and she wouldn't have noticed. "Earlier, when you and Helen went to find Aunt Doreen, he was getting really anxious about where you'd gone and what you might be doing." He gave his cousin a sheepish grin. "And teasing him didn't really help matters."
"Sean."
"I know, I know. But he was getting on my nerves with all his 'where are theys' and I couldn't help myself." His contrition soon melted. "Besides, we always tease each other, it's what we do."
"Yeah, I guess." Thinking back on Thomas' recent luck with women, Nikki was beginning to think goading him about his failure to win Helen's affections was hitting too close to home. "I think maybe he's just a little sensitive when it comes to women, and knowing he's struck out with Helen is making him even more obnoxious than normal."
"Struck out?" Sean gave her his most snooty look. "Does that mean you've come to your senses and decided to surrender the bet to me?"
"Don't be a twat. As far as I'm concerned, there is no bet."
"I hate to disagree with you, dear cousin, but there most definitely is." Looking at the hotel he noticed that Thomas and Helen were already inside. "And if we're not quick, the deranged doc is going to win it out from under us."
"I'm telling you, there is no bet!" Nikki had already decided to tell Helen everything and listening to her cousin made that decision all the more urgent. "Look, why don't you talk to Tom, see what's bugging him? He's far more likely to open up to you than me."
"Since when?"
"Since now." Nikki began striding towards the hotel, hoping to get a little time alone with Helen before they were called in for their late evening meal. "Come on."