by Kendra Riley
Nichole disappeared, and Victor ran through an endless white room. He tried to find Nichole but had no luck. Then he started to disappear. He calmed down, and realized he was only waking up.
When his eyes opened, it was morning, and Nichole was gone. Zap was next to him on the bed and he stared straight into Victor’s eyes. “Well, hello there.” Victor laughed. Zap scooted his face closer to Victor’s and licked his nose. The two got up and walked out of the room. Tashka was also gone.
“I guess it’s just us, buddy,” Victor said looking down at Zap. They walked into the kitchen. There were two plates on the glossy, black painted table. They both had paper towels over them. One had fresh leaves and bugs on it. The other had eggs, bacon, and pancakes. There was a note in front of the two dishes that had a heart on it. “For my favorite guys, Love Nichole,” Victor read aloud.
“Got to love her, huh, Zap?” Victor asked. Zap paid no attention to Victor in his rush to eat his bugs and leaves. Victor ate his food and wondered what he could do to show his love for Nichole. He wanted to just tell her he loved her, but he didn’t want to say it too soon. He wasn’t worried about finding places to put buildings in America because he was still making millions of dollars with his properties in Brazil.
He figured out what to do, got into his car, and headed to the mall. Victor walked from store to store, buying any and everything he thought Nichole would like. He bought her jewelry, clothes, shoes, bed sets, and more fish. He even bought Tashka some new bandanas and got her and Zap some matching food bowls. He decided to buy Zap a collar and some toys for Tashka and Zap to share.
He spent a large sum of cash for his new family’s gifts, but he didn’t have a care in the world. He had so many objects, he had to pay for a rental truck and paid extra for one of the people at the rental place to help him get all of the stuff back to the house. He covered the inside of the house in gifts, including putting the new fish into their tank. He made everything perfect for Nichole’s arrival.
He had dinner ready for her when she got home. She walked in to see new fish, great food, and Zap as he walked around sporting his new collar. Nichole was shocked. She didn’t know how to react. “I don’t know what to say!” she exclaimed. The smile on her face was all he needed.
She ran over and hugged him. “I feel kind of bummed. I didn’t get you anything.” Nichole sighed.
Victor put his hand on Nichole’s stomach and replied, “You’ve already given me the world.”
She looked up at him and began to cry. “That’s the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me!”
After they ate, Victor led her to the bedroom and saw candles on the nightstands and rose petals on the bed. Nichole got onto the bed and Victor got on top of her. He slid her clothes off and she helped him remove his own. “Let’s do this sober this time,” Nichole joked. Victor chuckled and began kissing her neck.
Then he grabbed baby oil and began to massage her body all over. “Your skin is like silk. You’re a goddess of beauty and knowledge. You make me weak,” Victor announced as he caressed her body.
“You make me feel like I’m melting,” Nichole admitted. “Your touch makes me quiver.”
Victor put his finger over her mouth. “Sh. I just want to please you, my queen.” He continued to massage her body with baby oil and her skin became shiny and soft. Victor could no longer help himself, and he slowly made his way between her legs. He was craving her taste and his tongue had a mind of its own.
As he licked her juices, she moaned and begged him to keep going. He was energized and continued to please her. She ran her fingers through his hair and he came up for air. “I need you inside me,” Nichole wept.
“Your wish is my command,” he answered. He came up and they were face to face. Their lips met, and he slid inside of her. She moaned loudly, and it boosted him up even more. His thrusts became more powerful and she held onto him with her arms around his neck. They switched positions and she began to ride him. He let out a moan as she clenched her walls around his rod. They were in heaven. They could feel their connection growing stronger and stronger. They decided to switch positions again and this time she was on her chest with her knees on the bed and her back was arched.
Victor made her scream with joy. He began to speed up his strokes and she felt like electricity was running through her body. She never wanted the night to end but she knew it would come to a stopping point sometime. All she could think about was how wonderful he made her feel on the inside and out. Before she knew it, she climaxed, and Victor just kept going.
To her it was the most amazing feeling in the world. To him, there was nowhere else he’d rather be. The two acted as if there was no outside world. Nothing could top this moment. Everything was perfect.
After a few more strokes, Victor came. The couple ended up falling over, into each other’s arms. They huffed and puffed. When Nichole finally caught her breath, she looked over at Victor and said, “I love you.” Victor’s heart began to pound harder than it already was and he replied, “I love you too.”
Chapter5
The next morning, Victor woke up by himself again. It bummed him out, but he had butterflies in his stomach because Nichole admitted that she loved him. He had no idea that the night he had given Nichole made her feel like the only woman on earth. She went to work, told Melissa everything and had a glow that made everyone notice.
Victor made her feel like she had no worries in the world. She worked her tail off and Tashka trotted around the hospital, and she fed off of Nichole’s positive energy. When Nichole got home she hugged and kissed Victor, said hello to Zap, and talked to Victor about her day. “I had the best day ever. I don’t know what it was, but it felt like everything was going perfect,” Nichole exclaimed. Victor listened intently. After she finished, he began to tell her about his day and for the next three months, everything was sailing smooth.
The couple was about to go to the dog park with Zap and Tashka when they heard the doorbell. “I got it!” screamed Victor. He opened the door and saw Derrick there with a wooden baseball bat.
“I told you I was coming back!” Derrick yelled. Derrick hit Victor in the head and he fell down which caused Nichole to scream. Zap ran and hid behind the couch and Tashka charged at Derrick. Derrick swung the bat at Tashka. Nichole cried “stop” repeatedly. Derrick ran over to Nichole and said, “It’s okay baby. I’m here now. Prince Charming to the rescue.”
Nichole attempted to run from him, but he grabbed her arm. Tashka was snapping at him. She tried her best to get him away from Nichole without getting hit by the bat. Victor was finally able to stand and rushed over to remove Derrick from the premises. Victor ran over and punched Derrick hard in the face. He then tackled Derrick and began punching him over and over again.
Nichole called an emergency squad and she screamed at them to hurry. Before they arrived, all she could do was watch the men fight and although Victor was winning, she was still very much afraid. Nichole screamed for help. When Victor looked over at her, she was on her knees and her arms were around her stomach. Victor’s eyes grew, and he punched Derrick one more time, knocking him out.
He ran over to Nichole who was still crying. “It’s going to be okay, baby. You called for help. They’ll be here soon!”
“Our baby, Victor!” she cried. “Our baby!”
Victor’s eyes started getting cloudy and he too began to sob. “I promise, everything will be okay,” he managed to say. The police, an ambulance, and a fire truck arrived at the house. The paramedics ran in to find Derrick unconscious, Nichole lying on her back on the couch, and Victor had a knock on his forehead.
They went to Nichole first when Victor announced she was pregnant. “Please, help my girlfriend! She’s four months pregnant and something is wrong,” he exclaimed. Nichole was crying too hard to speak and the police didn’t know what actions took place so they placed Derrick in the back of one cop car, and Victor in the back of another.
The paramedics rushed
Nichole to the hospital and she had to call Melissa to come pick her up afterwards. She had been at the hospital for about an hour while the doctor ran tests and said she couldn’t go through any more stress through the duration of her pregnancy. They told her to take leave from work early and, although she was her own boss, gave her the papers to relieve her from work early.
She had already gotten the call from Victor that he was at the police station. Melissa headed to Nichole and Victor’s house after dropping off Nichole at the police station to check on the damage of the house. Nichole walked into the police station with her hand on her stomach. The baby was fine and moving again after she was given some liquids.
She walked over to the police officer she saw at her house and sat down at his desk. “Hello ma’am. My name is Officer Nettles. Can you tell me what events occurred in your home earlier this afternoon?” the officer asked.
“Of course. My boyfriend and I were headed to the dog park when the doorbell rang. Victor, my boyfriend, answered the door and was greeted with a bat to the head by Derrick. I panicked. Derrick has been stalking me for some time now,” Nichole replied.
“Do you have any proof of this?” asked the officer. Nichole handed her phone to Nettles and allowed him to scroll through the messages from Derrick she never replied to and all of the phone calls from him she never answered. “That’s more than enough proof,” the officer replied. “So, your boyfriend? He tried to protect you in this situation?” the officer asked.
“Yes, he is the one who got Derrick away from me. Derrick has caused me a great amount of stress. I just had to take early leave from work because they just told me if I endure any more stress through this pregnancy, Victor and I will lose our baby. I want to press charges and get a restraining order.” Nichole’s voice broke as she spoke.
“I understand ma’am. Of course, just fill out this paperwork and I’ll bring your boyfriend right out. There will be nothing on his record due to the fact he wasn’t the aggressor in the altercation,” Nettles answered. Nichole grabbed a pen, thanked the officer, and filled out the papers.
Victor came over and sat next to Nichole at the officer’s desk. “Is everything okay?” Victor was afraid to find out, but he knew he had to know.
“Everything’s okay.” Nichole gave him a weak smile. Victor rubbed Nichole’s back and the officer returned.
“You two will go to court in two weeks and he has been ordered to stay away from you both,” he said. Nichole thanked him for the information and she called Melissa to pick them up.
When Melissa arrived, she took the two of them home. Melissa walked in with the couple and explained why their couch was missing. “Tashka was really worried and upset with the terms you left on. She got a little overwhelmed and destroyed your couch,” Melissa admitted.
Nichole sighed. “It was time to buy a new one, anyway.”
Tashka walked over to Nichole and put her face against her stomach. “So, you’re going to be out of work for a while?” Melissa asked.
“Doctor’s orders,” Nichole cried. “What am I going to do?”
Victor remarked, “Maybe we should go lie down. We’ve had a long day. I’ll order Chinese take-out and we’ll watch movies in the room with Tashka and Zap.” Zap hopped off the couch and demanded Nichole to hold him. She picked him up and carried him to the room.
Victor and Melissa spoke privately. “We really have to keep her calm. We should plan a really fun day for her tomorrow,” Melissa whispered.
“That would be great. What should we do?” Victor asked.
“Maybe we could take her out to dinner and a movie after your court date,” Melissa suggested.
“Okay. Nice. I’ll get her pumped up and we can meet up at her favorite restaurant,” Victor added.
“Red Lobster, sounds great,” Melissa finished. “I got to get going. Go ahead and call the Chinese take-out place. Order orange chicken and egg drop soup.”
Victor thanked her and made the call. When the food got to the house, Victor took it to the room and calmed Nichole down. After they ate, Nichole fell asleep with Zap in her arms and Nichole was in Victor’s arms. Tashka laid at the foot of the bed and watched the television. Victor was restless. He wondered how he could sleep after he was assaulted and almost lost his baby. He knew he was going to have a nightmare if he drifted off to sleep.
He watched Nichole breathe and he tried to think good thoughts. He knew he had to keep Nichole calm, but he was freaking out himself. He didn’t know how to feel. He was happy to be having a baby, but he never imagined having a close call that could jeopardize the last five months before his baby was born. He was worried Derrick would come back, regardless of what the police told him. The events that had taken place constantly replayed in his head.
To Victor it was like a scary movie on replay that starred him and the love of his life. He prayed no more issues came about. He debated asking Nichole to move back to Brazil with him and having her start another pet hospital in one of his areas. He didn’t want to stress her out by asking her questions.
He didn’t know how to act. His new family was still brand new and still growing. Victor wasn’t going to give that up, but he was new to these kinds of things. He didn’t know what Nichole was thinking but he intended to ask her the next day.
Nichole woke up the next morning and Victor was still awake. “Good morning,” Nichole said softly.
“Good morning,” he replied. There were bags under his eyes and he was yawning.
“Are you okay? Did you sleep?” Nichole asked.
“I couldn’t,” Victor admitted.
“Why not?” Nichole questioned.
“I just don’t feel like this area is safe for us,” Victor replied.
“Where do you want to move?” Nichole wondered.
“Brazil,” Victor answered. “But it’s just a suggestion,” Victor continued. “We can move to another city or state. It’s completely up to you.”
Nichole thought for a moment and replied, “I will need some time to think about it.” Victor understood.
“For right now, I want to plan the gender reveal party,” Nichole stated, changing the subject.
“How do you want to do it?” Victor asked.
“Well, Melissa already knows the gender. I kind of want her to put dye into pink and blue balloons and whichever color it is, pink or blue, will reveal the baby’s gender when we throw them, and they burst. Or we could get her to bake a cake and put blue or pink in the middle and when we cut it open, it’ll show us!”
Victor sat for a moment then spoke. “What if we used Tashka and Zap as the answer? Tashka is a girl and Zap is a boy, of course. So, maybe we could put them in a room and whoever gets sent out of the room, will reveal the gender! We can also do the cake and the balloons as extra celebration.”
Nichole’s face lit up and she hugged Victor. She screamed, “That’s perfect! I’ll call and tell Melissa, right now!” She picked up the phone and dialed Melissa’s number. “Oh my gosh! Melissa, guess what Victor just said we should do for the reveal party?” she screamed. Nichole walked into the bedroom and Victor couldn’t hear the rest of the conversation, but he knew Nichole’s heart was fluttering. Nichole came back out with a large smile on her face. She walked up to Victor and gave him a kiss. “You are without a doubt, the best guy I will ever meet, know, and love.” Victor smiled in return. “I will do anything to keep you happy.” The two kissed and proceeded to plan the party.
The day of the party came, and they decorated the house in all baby blue and light pink. They took a ballot of what everyone wanted the baby to be. The house was full of Nichole’s coworkers and a few of Victor’s closest friends from around the world. They played games and watched Nichole open gifts for the baby. Finally, the time came to find out the gender of their child. Melissa knocked on the door to get everyone’s attention. Then, she opened the door and both Zap and Tashka ran out. Everyone was confused. “Sorry everybody. We had a technical difficulty!” Me
lissa screamed. She whistled for the animals to return to their spots.
After about five minutes, she opened the door again. This time, Zap walked out, then Tashka walked out. “Why are they both coming out?” one of Nichole’s coworkers asked.
“That’s a great question. It just so happens, there are two babies! These two are going to have a girl and a boy!” Melissa screamed.
Nichole was wide-eyed and speechless. “What?” Nichole asked.
“Yeah, isn’t it great,” Melissa answered. “The doctor said you wanted it all to be a surprise and here we are!” Nichole and Victor’s eyes began to flood. People in the crowd tried to comfort them but they still sobbed. Nichole chuckled in between her cries.
“This is the greatest day of my life,” Victor announced. “I have twins that are coming, a beautiful soul mate, and two great pets. What more could a man ask for?” Victor asked the crowd. Everyone was quiet, and Victor gave a toast. Everyone, except Nichole, had wine.
“I’ve always been the type of guy that knew what he wanted and went for it, but I must admit, I couldn’t go for Nichole at first. In my heart she was way out of my league. She was the girl I dreamed about since I was in middle school. When I first met Nichole in person, my heart began to skip beats. I was speechless, and her beauty was radiant. I just can’t believe the woman of my dreams is giving birth to my children.”
Nichole stood next to him with a smile on her face. Victor continued his speech. “The only thing is, this isn’t right. I can’t be Nichole’s boyfriend.” Everyone gasped, and Nichole stepped away from him.
“Hear me out,” Victor pleaded. “I can’t be your boyfriend and I’m not sorry for it. I will leave you with a very important reminder of me, though.” Victor reached into his pocket and dropped something on the ground.
He kneeled down to pick it up, lifted the object into Nichole’s vision, opened up a small jewelry box and proceeded to ask the words, “Will you marry me?” Nichole’s tears created a river down her face.