Naomi stared at the woman who was clinging to Dylan like a koala bear. She had long hair spilling down her back and was wearing sweats. Her arms were wrapped around Dylan’s waist as she tried to burrow into his arms.
Dylan, on the other hand, kept tugging at her as though to pry her off his body, but it was as though her arms were made of glue-no matter how hard he tried, he could not seem to shake her off.
Naomi could tell what was happening. Although she could not see Dylan’s face from behind, she could tell from his body language that he was incredibly repulsed by the woman’s actions and yet did not know how to get rid of her. It looked like he needed help.
After some consideration, Naomi decided to speak up. “Dylan.”
Floral Lodge was located on the outskirts of Herland, tucked in a quiet corner amongst the hills, so Naomi’s voice was exceptionally loud in the silence.
Dylan’s entire face lit up as he turned to look at Naomi. “Naomi!”
He reached out his free arm toward Naomi as though begging her to help him. The look in his eyes was full of gratitude, as though she was his saving grace.
Finally, someone went to rescue him! He would not know what to do if Naomi did not show up.
Naomi strode over to Dylan’s side, and when she neared, the woman clinging onto Dylan finally settled down. She pried herself free of Dylan but still kept her arms wrapped around one of Dylan’s arms, as though trying to prevent him from escaping. She gave Naomi a cautious once-over.
The longer she looked at Naomi, the darker her expression got. “Naomi? Who is this Naomi person?”
Belle turned to Dylan with narrowed eyes.
Dylan seized the opportunity to draw his arm out of Belle’s but failed. “This is Naomi, Scott’s wife! You know Scott, don’t you? Say hi to his wife!”
Belle’s entire face lit up the moment Dylan mentioned Scott’s name. She let go of Dylan and leaped forward to shake Naomi’s hand instead. “Hello, Naomi!”
Since Dylan was inviting her to say hello to Naomi, this meant that he wanted her to meet his friends! This was the best thing ever!
Naomi was rather bewildered by this exchange, and even more so by Belle suddenly shaking her hand. She did not like getting into physical contact with people she never met before, and so she was rather repulsed by this, but Belle looked earnest and did not appear to mean her any harm. “Hello, nice to meet you.”
“You’re so pretty, Naomi! I can’t believe this is my first time meeting Scott’s wife! What are you doing here in Herland, Naomi? Where’s Scott?”