Love Me, Please

"Oh Lord...Umm...well...the program here is proving to be much more difficult than I expected, I've told you this much before. Sunderland has as much charm as Cleveland I guess...Oh but they do have lovely tap beer on all of their pubs actually..."

"Leila? What else?"

Leila shuddered trying vainly to stifle a sob. "I miss you, silly...God, I miss you so much it hurts sometimes...and this is all my fuckin' fault!"

Anna felt the bottom of stomach twist into knots; she literally placed her palms on her heart in pain. "You don't play fair Leia," she thought. "...I miss you too...more than you could know..."

The last words were a barely audible whisper but they felt like infernal fire searing her lips as they went. Suddenly she felt as if an old nemesis of hers had escaped from the depths of her soul to haunt her once more. She thought she had suppressed her feelings for Leila, she thought she was over her, but all it took was seeing her cry in misery to bring everything to the surface with dizzying speed. Right now she felt like screaming, like crying and like throwing her laptop out the window.

"Leila...something came up...gotta go...I'll talk to you later...See ya."

And with that the kill sound played over Leila's black Skype screen. "Just fucking great," she thought. "I've managed to piss off Anakin now. I wonder how much worse this mess could get..."

And yet...It was really strange how Anna had just left off so suddenly. And what was that, she had said earlier? "More than you could know?" Leila knew that her best friend was hiding something from her, this much was obvious for some time now. But what could it be? In the end, the mystery of her best friend's sudden departure and a huge tub of Ben & Jerry's chocolate therapy helped to ease off her mind from her own troubles.

Winter, 2013

Anna

Anna was having a rare Friday evening dinner together with her father. Her mother and her sister were out to do some shopping but she had opted to stay home instead. She felt as if a cold was creeping in on her and the sub-zero temperatures outside weren't really beckoning to her. Instead she had slipped in her favorite sweats and was enjoying a quiet moment with her dad.

"So Anna? How's uni going?"

"Uhhh...Fine...Fine...I'm on the final run..."

"Have you given any thoughts about a graduate program?"

"No...not really...no...why?"

"Well...I have this business trip coming up in London...in the UK that is. The company has paid for a double room in advance and your mother won't be joining me. So I was wondering whether you'd like to join me and check out some universities there if you'd like."

"Err...but dad? Why would I do that? I mean, assuming I do find something interesting to carry on, how on earth am I going to pay for all that? I'm not so sure my GPA merits a scholarship you know."

"We've discussed this with your mother Anna. It's time that you opened your wings and left the fold. You're brilliant help around here, you're hard working, earn your own money and contribute to the house...not to mention that you're..."

Her dad seemed to have chocked on some pasta but Anna knew otherwise. Whenever he got emotional he tended to cough it out of his system. Appearing less "manly" in front of the "womenfolk" was a no-no.

"Ehem...I was saying that you're excellent company Anna and we love having you around the house. I know that most of your classmates left right after school and we're grateful to have you around. But...and don't get me wrong here...I think it's time for you to spread your wings...We've decided with your mother to pay for one year of studies in the UK if you so wish. Tuition, living expenses, the whole smash...Think about it and let us know, OK?"

"Oh daddy..." Anna leapt off her seat and hugged her father until she heard him cough slightly. "I just don't know what to say...this is...this is overwhelming!"

"Well think about it and let me know, because we have to purchase your airfare, plus you need a few days for your passport to be issued. My trip is in three weeks' time from now...Think about it and let us know, okay?"

Anna hugged and kissed her dad once more earning a wide grin of happiness in response. Well, that's just how her father was; hard granite on the exterior and as soft as melted butter on the inside. What time was it? She simply had to tell Leila the big news. Perhaps she could visit her while on her stay. They were going to stay in London but how far could Manchester be? Leila was doing her internship there waiting for her graduate program to begin this coming September.

She was babbling inside her mind as she retreated to her room and fired up her laptop. She needed information and she needed it fast. And she simply had to speak to Leila about this.

Need to talk to u ASAP, read her text.

I'll be in my flat in five, c u then.

Waiting for Leila to show up, she decided to browse for potential universities although deep down she knew where she wanted to go. "Let's see now...Manchester 1824...hmmm...decent economic department...decent rankings...Warwick is better...LSE is number one of course..."

As she perused through the various web pages the familiar Skype phone call sound bleeped through her speakers. Sure enough, it was Leila calling in. Pressing the green "accept video call" button caused her familiar face to materialize in her screen.

"Hey there girlfriend! You sure look smoking hot in those sweats! Weren't you at work or something?"

"Just came in as a matter of fact. It's Friday night, remember? There was an emergency at the lab...Some cells had run out of food apparently and who you gonna call when it's Friday night and everyone else is probably already wasted? Yeah you got it, send in the lab rat. That would be me...What are you listening by the way? Sounds interesting for a change...And what's with the shit eating grin?"

"That would be t.A.T.u - All the Things She Said...here let me paste you the link. Listen to it later at full blast...it's my favorite at the moment."

"You're stalling Anakin...You've got something to tell. Something good I bet...that smile of yours has nearly reached your ears..."

"I'm coming over to the UK. My father has a business trip in three weeks. We shall be staying in London but I'm quite sure that I can visit you."

"That's great news Anakin! Of course you can visit girl, whenever you want! Place is a bit cramped but we'll manage! That's wonderful news!"

"And that's only the half of it. My father just told me that I can start looking for a graduate program over there. The folks will cover all expenses for one year! Can you imagine?"

"Ohpleaseohpleaseohplease select Mancester! Please? Pretty please? I'll be in a constant ecstasy, I'll be good, I'll cook for you, I'll do your laundry...Anything you want, I promise!"

"Cook? Do laundry? Anything I want, you promise? Who are you and what have you done to the original Leila?"

"Well we're not all gourmet chefs like you, my dear, but I've honestly improved. But that's not the point. You come over and it'll be so much fun! It'll be just like the good ole times Anakin! I promise to be real good!"

Leila put on her best smile and conjured a halo above her head with her hands, which made Anna burst into laughter. After they both recovered from their bouts of laughing, Anna continued her reasoning:

"You certainly put forward a strong case. Okay yes, the first thing that popped in my mind when my dad sprang this on me was to explore the possibility of coming over there to join you. I've already done a quick background check on Manchester's university and the economic department seems solid. I'll do some more snooping around, ask some of my professors over here and see what I come up with. In any case, I'll definitely come over to visit you when we hop over with my dad."

"Cool! Text me or email me with the details and I'm sure we'll have a blast. Anakin! You really made my day! Just the thought of us being together again makes me want to jump up and down from happiness!"

"Let's not get ahead of things, but yes, I'm excited too! 'Kay...mom's here...gotta go...I'll write or text you the details as soon as I have them! Kisses!!"

Anna pressed the kill button and tumbled down the stairs to meet with her mom and sister. Today was a day to celebrate; she'd start her information query tomorrow, she thought.

Leila

Leila was restlessly pacing back and forth railway platform six of Manchester's Piccadilly train station. She had arrived early to pick her friend up, half an hour earlier to be precise. That was very unlike her; punctuality was not her thing. But she was really happy to see Anakin and her good mood couldn't be spoiled for anything in the world. During the Christmas break they hadn't really been able to talk, what with the usual relative festivities and wanting to see every last one of her friends even a little. She was really excited about her best friend visiting her and even the remote possibility of Anna joining her in Manchester made her giddy and lightheaded with joy.

Finally, after thirty minutes of abusing her mobile phone whilst at the same time ignoring the various male stares that she got, the red Virgin train pulled in the platform. If she had her information correct Anna's carriage should be...right in front of her. She nervously started scanning the disembarking passengers and...there she was! Dressed in a pair of tight-casual jeans, she wore a red and white stripped blouse with a matching red cardigan on top. Light brown Converse shoes completed her attire. Anna had never been a fashion whore in her life but to Leila it seemed as if she had put considerable effort to look good. And was that...a hint of make-up there?

"Oi there!"

Anna looked up towards her and with a smile rushed to hug her.

"Hey there girlfriend! It's so good to see you! And by the way, what was that you said earlier? Oi?"

"Oh that...that's just local speak for hey."

Anna broke into laughter. "Oi? It sounds so out of here."

"You got to cut me some slack here you know...this is my fourth year on the island...you can't help but pick up some of the mannerisms. For example, later tonight we'll go out to a vodka bar I know. It'll be wicked!"

"Wicked as in wicked weasel?"

"Wicked as in awesome, cool, fantastic, fabulous. Welcome to England Anakin. It's so good to see you! So...I think that first we should go and drop off your bags at my flat...very well...apartment...and then how about we go out and grab a bite?"

"Sounds like a plan to me, I'm famished."

Walking hand in hand, they made their way to the bus station all the while catching up on each other's news. Soon enough, the double decker bus came along and whisked them to a stop very near Leila's residence. "Emerald Gardens" read the signpost above the security post. Well it certainly was surrounded by abundant greenery to earn the tittle, Anna thought.

Leila swiped her entrance card through and the gate buzzed open. She stopped by the gatehouse and waved to the guard.

"Evening Alan."

"Good evening Miss Duval. Looking lovely as always."

"You're such a shameless flatterer Alan. This is my friend Anna and she shall be staying with me for a couple of days. Could you note her down on the visitor's logbook for me?"

"Will do. Enjoy your stay then Miss."

"You're such a dear. Cheerio!"

Anna eyes widened with surprise. "You just called him...a cereal?"

"No you dummy. Cheerio as in goodbye, have a good one, that sort of thing. Like I said, this is my fourth year on the island. I've started to pick up on the colloquialisms. Right, shall we carry on then?" said Leila, with the last few words heavy with the local accent.

They made their way towards Leila's flat. Essentially, it was a three bedroom apartment, each with its own private bathroom, a shared kitchen and living room. Leila's room was quite small but she did have a large window overlooking the garden.

"...Kay...now...You shall be sleeping on my bed and I'll use this mattress on the floor. Now we could have slept on the same bed but as you can see it's quite tall, they do have this habit of placing drawers underneath beds here. Since I toss and turn during my sleep that would have meant one of us hitting the floor pretty hard in the middle of the night. Not nice."

I wouldn't mind falling off a cliff if it meant sleeping with you, thought Anna, but didn't dare say anything like that aloud. Instead: "Maybe I should take the floor Leila, I feel bad for throwing you out of your own bed."

"Nonsense! It's not every day that I get visitors and in any case, you're no ordinary visitor. So just chillax and enjoy your stay. Now...to business at hand: I propose that we get changed, go to dinner and then, if your luck holds and we remain rain free for the night, I'll take you out to my favorite Vodka bar, the Revolution. Show you how we party around this part of the world."

Having settled on a plan for the rest of the day, they begun to change their clothes.

"Leia? How posh is the place we're going afterwards? How should I dress?"

"Smart casual should do you fine. Is that a six-pack you've got there? You've been working out haven't you? You look smoking hot girl."

Anna felt blood coloring her cheeks as she blushed. "Thank you. It's nothing really, certainly nothing like yours. I took up long distance running last year. I plan on running a half-marathon sometime later in the future if I can."

"Well your body has definitely sexed up a notch. Some dude is definitely going to thank his lucky stars one day..."

Anna sighed wearily. "I wonder if I'll ever get that special someone someday..."

"The way you look girl you should have them lining up your door. You just gotta look around more. You know, take your nose out of that book, shed those glasses and they'll just...float to you."

"But I don't...I just want...Oh forget it..."

Leila looked quizzically at her friend. Again, she got the feeling that Anna was holding something back, she just couldn't pin down what it was. She decided to let it drop for the moment. They finished their dressing in relative silence and then proceeded by foot to the restaurant Leila had chosen for their dinner. The "Pataliputra" was a classic Indian restaurant on Wilmslow Road, part of which was also known as the "curry mile" due to the considerable concentration of Pakistani, Indian and other Asian establishments.

Once they were settled, they begun to peruse through the menu. "Now be warned: I know you like spicy food Anakin but here they do the real deal. See those red peppers next to every dish? Anything above two peppers and you're asking for serious trouble. So, I propose that we take the naan bread, a platter of egg-fried rice, a jug of mango lassi plus our main dishes. It should be more than enough for two. Oh and a bottle of wine if you'd fancy that."

Leila chose the chicken tikka sizzler while Anna, being more adventurous and despite all the warning chose the chicken tikka Madras. They started off with their white wine first. After clinking their glasses Leila made a proposal:

"To enduring friendships and to best friends. Let's hope that you get to come over and fulfil your dreams. Let's just dream that we'll be together once more."

They took a sip from their wine and continued their small-talk until their main dishes arrived. Leila's dish was literally on flames and the waiter doused them down as he served the plate. Anna's chicken floated in an innocent looking, bright colored red sauce.

"No, wait! You should ta..."

"Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh! Fire! FIRE!! FUCKING HELL!! Water! WATER!"

Anna's face had gone crimson red in color. Leila was in stiches, tears in her eyes from laughter.

"No, here, don't drink water, drink this" and she handed over a glass filled with mango lassi. "It's yoghurt based and that helps take away all the hotness. We could ask for a bowl of plain yoghurt if you don't like it."

"No, no...it's fine. This tastes fine actually. My world! What on earth was that? It numbed my tongue!"

"Well, I told you not to select it. Once a friend of mine chose the Vindaloo chicken which is marked with four peppers. He couldn't feel his tongue for a few hours after that. But there are a few nasty tricks you can do with these...I once gave a blow job after eating this...wasn't really appreciated...I wonder why?"

"I could go down on you and then you'd understand why."

"Huhhh...nooooooooooo...You naughty girl! You didn't just say that! I bet you would be good though, spices or no."

Anna became serious once more all of a sudden. She gave a very strange look to Leila but didn't say anything more.

"It...it was meant as a joke Anakin..."

"Uhhh...yeah, yeah, totally..."

"But for a moment there you did remind me of Tom Hanks in Cast Away when he managed to light the fire...fire, FIRE!"

They moved on with their conversation polishing off their dinner in style. By the time they left the bottle of wine had gone too, which made them feel both a bit tipsy.

The "Revolution" was a rather upscale chain of bars. The one they were going to pay a visit to was situated in the Deansgate Locks area; a set of railway arches which had been converted to various commercial uses. The venue was really top of the line for the city; once upon a time, it was rumored that it had been frequented by the likes of David Beckham and Victoria Spice back when they were in town.

"Right...so you got your passport with you?"

"Yes...but what do we need that for?"

"Everyone under twenty five has to be IDed. Venue policy."

"Are you sure we're going to make it inside? This place looks absolutely loaded."

"Just relax Anakin. You're with me now, don't you fret."

The entrance to the bar was guarded by two huge bouncers whose necks seemed thicker than their heads. They had their headpieces on and everything and looked positively intimidating. But then Leila just waved at them, they smiled back and they were ushered in, no questions asked.

"You never cease to amaze do you? I don't want to know how those two know you so I won't ask."

"We aim to please Miss Blickman, we aim to please. And what shall your poison of choice for tonight be?"

"Whatever it is that you're having I guess...I'm not so knowledgeable with hard liquor..."

"Then Absolute pepper vodka it will be. I usually drink mine straight but because we've had our wine earlier and because you're probably a featherweight, I'll order them with tomato juice."

A few sips later both of them were really starting to feel the buzz.

"Soooo...what about that cute blonde guy over my shoulder? He's been eating you with his eyes the moment we came in here."

"Not my type."

"Anna! He's sex on legs! What IS your type then?"

"Can we really not beat that dead horse again please? He's not my type and I'm not in the mood to have a one-nighter. In fact I've never had one and never will. I don't do shit like that."

"Since I left have you ever been on a date?"

"No, Leila...I would have told you, Okay?"

"But why?"

Anna looked at her best friend with exasperation. "You're not letting this go are you?" Not expecting an answer she chugged back her drink and slammed, rather loudly, her glass on the wooden stand. "Can I have another one please?"

"Uhh...sure...are we okay here?"

"I will be when you fetch me another one. And...don't bother with the tomato juice this time."

Leila returned with their drinks in her hand, two double pepper vodkas on the rocks. Anna, took a generous mouthful from her glass, set it down and without looking at her friend...