by Kiki Leach
“You’re on a real roll with the insults tonight, V.”
“Hell yeah, and I’m gonna keep spinning my ass till the wheels fall off. I’ve accepted that you aren’t going anywhere, I don’t have a choice in you practically stalking me around this city. I’d get a restraining order against you and Sheila if I could, but there’d be no point given that from the evidence I’ve seen, they are basically worthless. But I’m gonna tell you this much and I want you to listen loud and clear, drunk or not, you need to hear it. I am done with this.” She waved her hand between them. “I don’t know what it is that we have now, but it’s going to stop.”
“Why? Because you’re with Maurice?”
“No, because I stopped respecting myself when it came to you and I can’t do that anymore. I can’t live my life like a fool sitting around thinking about almost having sex with you and almost getting caught by your soon to be wife. I’m not about that life and I never have been. You say things and do things and you cloud my judgment, I admit that, I always have, but I’m done with it. No more coming to my house unannounced, no more meeting alone like this in public places, I’m done. I just might find my happy again, and that is all thanks to everybody but you. Now as far as a man goes, since that seems to be the only part of the conversation you’re interested in hearing, I want to be with someone who appreciates me. Not just my face or my body or my ‘glowing’ personality, but the entire package. I want to be with someone who accepts my faults whole, and isn’t going to screw me over by screwing someone else, because of them.”
“And you think that person is Maurice?”
“I think that person is NEVER going to be you. I don’t know what’s going to happen with Maurice, but for the first time in my life, I’m not afraid of exploring something beyond our friendship and I guess I have you to thank for that. It’s scary and strange and exhilarating all at the same time and I’m willing to accept whatever it may bring. Had you never slept with Sheila, I probably never would’ve known what it felt like to be loved and truly respected for who I am, for all that I am. So thank you. Not for being a piece of shit, but for having the guts to subconsciously let go back then when I didn’t.” She turned from him and he reached out for her hand, holding it tight. She looked down, and for a split second was tempted to wrap her fingers between his and hold onto it longer than she should have, just as she always had when it came to her feelings for him. But she released him and returned to the restaurant in search of Maurice.
Nathan watched her as she walked up and hugged him from behind. Maurice turned in surprise and slipped his arm around to pull her closer to him. He kissed her forehead then looked down into her eyes and whispered something that made her laugh; for so long that side of her was reserved only for Nathan. He didn’t know how to react seeing it play out for someone else. When she didn’t look back to gage his reaction to them together, he was convinced then and there that he had lost her for good.
He thought long and hard about what he needed to do to finally get her out of his system just as she was doing with him, and saw Sheila sitting by the bar, talking with someone he hadn’t recognized. He took one last swig of his drink and made his way over, tapping her on the shoulder. She turned around, unimpressed to see him standing there and feeling completely bothered by his overall presence.
“What?”
“I think we need to get out of here,” he said.
“Why? I’m having fun.”
“I can see that you’re having about as much fun as I am. We’ve taken our pictures, you’ve been polite and no one’s been strangled to the floor. Let’s go.”
“Why do you want to leave so badly?”
“I just want to be alone with you for a little bit, Sheil’s. A lot of things were put into perspective for me tonight and I can’t think of anybody else I’d rather spend my time with right now.”
She gulped and sat her glass down on the bar. It was like the magic words she had been waiting to hear from him for weeks. She picked up her jacket and stood to her feet. “Then let’s go.” She led the way out the door.
Vanessa looked back from across the room and watched them leaving. Nathan never looked back at her and for the first time, she felt fine with that. She didn’t know how long that feeling of being ‘okay’ with everything as it was had planned to stick around, but she was willing to accept it for as long as she needed to – especially if it meant that she was getting what she wanted in the end.
Part Thirty-One
Across the way, Nikki kept her focus on Oscar and Melanie, who spent time mingling with other guests, as well as Alexis, who continued to compliment her on the success of her cover. It was becoming one of the most wildly popular so far that year, and had only been on stands for two days.
She hinted something to Melanie about gracing the cover again sometime in the future, but Melanie thought back to Vanessa’s words at the launch party and kept quiet on whether or not she would officially accept the offer if given. She looked around the room while taking a sip of her mojito and saw Nikki staring back at her. She waved to make sure the ‘other woman’ knew that she had seen her staring at them.
Nikki immediately snatched her eyes away and looked to William, who was speaking quite loudly to someone on the phone. Once he finished his conversation, he stuck his phone back inside his jacket pocket and drank the remainder of his liquor. He wrapped a hand around Nikki’s waist and pulled her close.
“Sorry about that!” he said. “My ex is trying regain custody of our daughter.”
“That’s okay, um…” She tucked her hair behind her. “I got the impression from your conversation with Vanessa that things were good between you.”
“They’re better than they were but, she still wants sole custody and I think it should be split half and half so that she can get an equal amount of time with the both of us. Every year, Patricia does this and the judge never changes his perspective.”
“Your daughter lives with you fulltime?”
He nodded. “Is that going to be a problem?”
“No, not at all, I love kids.”
“That’s good to know.” He smiled at her as she kept her eyes straight ahead. When he looked throughout the room trying to figure out exactly where her gaze had gone, he saw a familiar face standing in the corner on the opposite side. “That looks like Oscar Malone over there,” he said. I wonder if that is his wife or girlfriend that he’s with?”
“It’s his wife.” She sat back and knit her brows. “How do you know Oscar?”
“My brother owned a publishing company a few years back. Oscar was used for a few print ads and commercials. How do you know him?”
“I work for him at one of his coffee shops.”
“Oh, The Bean!”
“That’s the one.” She grabbed her drink and downed it quickly, making a sour face as it traveled down her throat.
“This world is getting smaller and smaller by the second,” he said.
“You have no idea,” she mumbled. When she looked up, she saw Oscar and Melanie heading toward them. She got the urge to move away from what was coming, but was too enclosed to escape as quickly as she would’ve liked.
“Hi,” Oscar said, shoving through the crowd to make it over. “Melanie told me she saw you earlier and I thought it was a good idea to come over and speak.” He turned to William and outstretched his hand. “Oscar Malone.”
“We’ve met,” he said. “My brother owned Crown Royal Publishing. You used to be a model for one of our ads.”
“Yeah. Wow, yeah, that was some years ago! How’s your brother doing now?”
“A lot better. He was sick for a few years after he sold part of his company, but he’s been in full recovery mode ever since. Nikki was just telling me that she works for you.”
“Yeah.” He stared at her. “Top notch barista. One of the best.”
“If not THE BEST this side of New York has ever seen, right?” Melanie said. She bit down on her straw and sipped more of
her vodka as she winked at Nikki.
“Babe.” Oscar leaned in and wrapped his hands around her glass. “I think you’ve had enough.”
“No!” she squealed. “I’m fine, I’m fine. I think it’s a good idea to mention her talents because she has so very many.”
Nikki sensed her outright loathing even more so through her intoxication, which seemed to bring it all to the forefront, but kept quiet to keep from embarrassing them both.
“Maybe I’ll get to witness some of those talents soon.” William nudged at her and turned to hide her smile. Oscar made a face as if he were completely sickened by the suggestion.
“We just wanted to stop by and say hi,” he said. “Do you plan on coming into work tomorrow, Nik?”
“I don’t know, I have another big audition in the afternoon. I might try to come in later if I can.”
“An audition?” asked William.
“When I’m not working at the shop and serving coffee to irate customers, I’m an actress… or at least aspiring to be.”
“HA!” Melanie and turned away laughing and clamped her hand over her mouth. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I’ve just seen soooooooo many actresses come and go in my time out in LA. You would be perfect for the role of a home wrecking slut.”
“Melanie!” Oscar hollered, horrified. His face turned puce and he took his wife by the arm. “You’ll have to excuse her, she hasn’t had much to eat today. If you can’t make it in tomorrow, Nik, just call before and let me know, okay? I’ll have Max come in to take over your shift. It was nice seeing you again, William,” he said, holding out his hand again. William grinned, taking it as he stared over at his wife.
“I don’t think I ever introduced myself,” Melanie said, her speech becoming more and more slurred as the minutes ticked on.
“Come on.”
“I’m his wife, his WIFE!” she hollered out as Oscar sat her glass down on a nearby table and practically carried her out the door.
William stood back and turned to Nikki, laughing. “I guess I miss a lot of things being cooped up inside my office all day.”
She nodded and looked down at herself, feeling embarrassed and exposed. She placed her hand aside her throat and felt warm. She thought she might pass out from the heat of the moment.
William noticed the sallow look on her face and guided her to a chair to sit down. She placed a hand on her chest and closed her eyes to catch her breath. He pushed the hair from her face and furrowed his brows.
“Are you alright?”
“Yes,” she said. “Yes, I just need a shot of vodka.”
He hurried to get her a glass and brought it back over just as quick. She took a few sips, as she wasn’t much of a drinker, before setting it down.
“Is there some bad blood between you and his wife?”
“She hates me because she thinks I slept with her husband, which I did.” She stopped and picked up her glass to look inside of it. She lifted the rim to her nose and inhaled. “This alcohol must have some truth serum in it, but there it is.” She sat the glass back down and looked him directly in the eye. “If you want to leave me now that I’ve said it, it’s perfectly fine.”
He paused and stood up straight. “I’m not going to leave you. We’re here on our first date.”
“I just told you that I slept with another woman’s husband and you’re not leaving? Or uncomfortable with me, or offended?
He shook his head. “Everyone makes mistakes. Unless you’re still sleeping with him.”
“I’m not, believe me, I’m not. I got caught up in the situation and he kept telling me he was leaving her.”
“How long did it go on?”
“For about a year.”
He nodded. “Rule of advice, if a man tells you that he’s leaving his wife and hasn’t left her after six months, he’s not going anywhere.”
“I got that after the first few times we had sex in his office. She is his home and I am not and never will be. Deep down, I think I always knew that he was staying with her. I was just hoping that it wouldn’t end up that way and so I told my friends something I only wanted to believe, thinking that it would prove me right and make me justified in my actions somehow; if he left her, then we were always meant to be.”
“How do you feel now?”
“Mostly like shit.” She dropped her head and laughed. “But I’ll get through it, right?”
“So far, so good.” He held out his hand. “You wanna dance before we get out of here?”
She slipped her hand inside his and followed him to the dancefloor. It was the first time she felt comfortable sharing that part of herself with someone that wasn’t Vanessa or Maurice. She didn’t know where things would go from there, but she was more than excited to find out.
Part Thirty-Two
Once Nathan and Sheila reached the hotel, she was convinced that he was all talked out, seeing as how he couldn’t stop babbling about nothing from the time they had left the restaurant. He hadn’t managed to say a single word in regard to their relationship the entire time, which is what she had been angling for, and why she agreed to leave with him in the first place.
When they got to her door, she dug around inside her purse for the room key, expecting him to tell her goodnight before heading off into his own room downstairs. She was surprised to see that he was willing to hang around for a while longer. As she pulled out the key, he held out his hand.
“Why don’t you let me walk you inside,” he said.
She didn’t know why he was being so nice to her, but after the last few days of his absence and coarseness, she was willing to take it with no questions asked. She handed him the key to her door and he slipped it inside the pad. Once the light turned green, he turned the knob and allowed her inside first. Before closing it, he removed the DO NOT DISTURB sign from the inside and placed it on the other side for housekeeping to see in the morning.
After locking it, he leaned back and placed his hands inside his pockets. He crossed one leg over the other watching Sheila as she searched for a baby wipe in her purse and began removing her makeup as she looked in the mirror above the dresser.
“We never got to talk about the food.”
“It was bland,” he replied.
“I didn’t think it was so bad. But overall, tonight was pretty uneventful.” She smeared the wipe across her eyebrows and lips. “The food, the people, the music, everything except for the drinks and decorations, which I’m still thinking about using for the wedding. Whenever the hell we choose to have that.” She removed the remaining makeup with a tissue and untied her hair, allowing it to cascade down her back. She bent down to remove her shoes one by one; Nathan watched her ass in motion as she struggled to unbuckle each one.
“Were you looking for something to happen tonight?” he asked.
“No.” She stood up straight and stretched her back, then leaned her head aside to stretch the muscles in her neck.
“Are you tense?”
“A little.” She leaned her head to the other side and closed her eyes, hoping the pain would ease soon. “Given the circumstances with V, I just assumed that things wouldn’t go as smoothly as they did.”
“They didn’t go smoothly at all.”
“Not with Nikki, but she doesn’t count,” she replied. “But with V--”
“I don’t want to talk about her anymore.” Nathan came up behind his fiancée and placed a hand at her back, just a few inches above her ass. He slid his fingers up her dress until he reached the beginning of her zipper. “I don’t wanna talk about anything. Except this.”
He dragged her zipper down to the end and watched her dress fall to the floor. He picked up her hair, moving it to the side and pressed his mouth against the back of her neck. The feeling of elation at his lips on her skin sent a chill up and down her spine like she had never felt before. It was like tasting chocolate for the first time.
She swallowed hard and closed her eyes, losing her breath as he slowly kissed her fr
om one side of her throat to the other. She dipped her head back a little and fell into a trance when she felt his teeth grazing and tongue swirling as if her skin were made of nothing but pure brown sugar. She didn’t want to get caught up in this feeling again, fearing that he would leave her high and dry the next morning.
But she couldn’t help but get swept away in his touch and kisses like she always had. He turned them at an angle and they were both facing the mirror. As her head lay back, her face flinching in ecstasy, she wrapped an arm around his neck and slid her fingers up into his hair. He yearned for the aching she had for him and slid his fingers down to the front of her pussy. She pressed her ass against his rock solid dick and licked her lips, imagining the taste of it again.
She moaned as he moved his other hand up the front of her body, reaching her breasts and exposing them from her white lace bra. He swirled his fingers around her nipples until they felt like tiny beads and covered her mouth with his own to keep her from screaming out.
“Nathan,” she said between kisses. He closed his eyes even tighter, remembering how his name sounded in Vanessa’s voice.
But he couldn’t think of that right now. Even if she was the constant motivation behind his choosing to show any kind of affection for his future wife, he couldn’t think about the kind of love she had always provided for him, versus the kind of love he always felt he needed and deserved.
Sheila turned in his arms and draped her arms around his neck. She forced her tongue into his mouth as far as it would go and begged for him to pick her up and carry her to the bed, which he did. She lay back and spread her legs as he removed his jacket and tossed it to the floor. He reached up and slipped off her panties, sliding them down one leg and then the other.
She laughed with delight as he yanked her closer to the edge. He lay down on top of her and hiked up her leg, placing it over his shoulder. In all the years they had been together, Nathan had only performed on her twice. Once in high school, and once after they moved to California when he was too drunk to even remember what he was doing. She liked being known as the ‘giver’ and as much as she would’ve liked to receive it from him in return from time to time, she never begged him for it. As long as he was happy, that was truly all that seemed to matter.