Camming Down the Rabbit Hole Ch. 11

Fortunately the weather was great, outside there wasn’t much evidence of the continuing Covid restrictions, hardly anyone in masks. Late spring on a good day in London was a great place to be. With my sunglasses on I strolled down the road, enjoying the warmth on my face and the sounds of a city slowly coming back to life. There were more people out and about, and it felt great for things to be feeling more normal.

As I approached the café I spotted Ellie sat in our window seat and she enthusiastically waved to me. I walked inside and she greeted me with a very warm and tight hug, physical contact with another person had been so alien since this whole thing began, we weren’t technically supposed to be doing that outside of our ‘bubbles’ but as I didn’t have any family nearby we joked that we would be in each other’s with a wry smile.

We sat down and she held my hand, looking into my eyes and simply said “if you want to talk we can, but I’m more interested in helping you forget about it for a while and give you a distraction” I agreed that would be for the best and she passed me a coffee she had already bought. Conversations with Ellie were so easy, we found ourself laughing at each other’s terrible jokes, bitching about current affairs and passers-by. That anxiety I’d had on the phone earlier was nowhere to be seen, the new me, the cam girl side of me, was in charge again, happy, outgoing and confident.

As Ellie slipped to the toilet I checked my phone and wondered about the message she sent earlier. Was it a bit coincidental that she sent that not long after I posted online? And asking me if I was ok, like there would be something wrong? I didn’t have time to think about it anymore as she returned and our conversation continued where she left off.

Just like the last time we ended up sitting very closely, shoulders pressed next to each other as we kept our voices down gossiping about the people walking by on the street. Ridiculing the chin mask wearers, and playing mask or beard where unsurprisingly the aim of the game was to spot guys in the distance and bet to see if they were wearing a mask or if it was a beard. Our closeness wasn’t lost on me, and I couldn’t help but take her in, she smelt so nice, her laugh was infectious and she just had such a great aura about her.