Frenemies With Benefits (Geek To Chic Book 2)

by Brinks, Nikki

  “What makes you think I have anything to say?” Roni questioned as she sucked a Lo Mein noodle into her mouth.

  “Really? You’re going to make me point out that you have started and stopped a million different questions, as well as paced the room every few minutes. Now what do you want to know?” Izzy sat back against the dozens of pillows Alex had brought into the room to ensure she was comfortable.

  “How…what…I mean are you and Alex going to get married or live together or share custody? Can you two raise a baby without killing each other?” Roni looked so serious and scared for them that Izzy had to laugh.

  “Oh you’re so cute, honey, I plan on killing him during labor. That way I can blame it on the pain and the hormones, no jury will convict a woman who was in labor of murdering the man who knocked her up. It is a perfect plan.” Izzy smirked.

  Despite her clear attempt not to laugh at Izzy’s murder plot, a burst of laughter sprang out of Roni. “You know, I may have insinuated in front of Alex that I was going to hire a hit man to off him. So you may not have to murder the father your child in the delivery room.” The girls both laughed. “Seriously though, what are you going to do?”

  Tears pricked the backs of Izzy’s eyes; she quickly swiped them away with the backs of her hands. “When I was in the hospital Alex didn't even seem upset I was carrying the Porter heir.”

  Beyond the tears, Izzy could see the corners of Roni’s mouth twitch. “The Porter heir? Oh crazy hormonal Izzy is going to be a challenge even for Alex. Look, you know even if Mama Porter wouldn’t have told everyone she knew about you guys, we all would have figured it out. The way he looks at you, is the way every women dreams a man will look at them. You guys have been seeing each other for months. You have to know how you feel about him. So how do you feel about him?” Roni’s tone was so serious, almost motherly.

  Sniffling a little, Izzy pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. She placed her cheek on her knees and looked at her best friend, “I love him. I’ve loved him since he rubbed my feet the night we met.” Izzy felt defeated.

  “That’s great! So you will get your happily ever after.” Roni exclaimed.

  Silently, Izzy shook her head in response to her friend’s excitement. “He asked me to marry him; well more like her told me we would be getting married.” She huffed.

  “Wait, what? He told you that you were going to get married, instead of asking you to marry him?” Roni asked completely confused.

  Izzy proceeded to tell her friend all about the conversation Alex and she had in the hospital regarding marriage. “He didn’t even try to convince me that he wanted to marry me for any reason other than the fact that we were going to be parents together. I know you and the rest of the world thinks they see something in his eyes when he looks at me but clearly that is not how he really feels. He has never told me that he loved me, yet he wanted me to marry me all of a sudden? Come on Roni, you know he just wants to make sure he is part of the baby’s life. Which I will of course make sure he always is part of the baby’s life, no matter what state our relationship is in.” She desperately wanted her friend to understand why she couldn’t allow herself to be sucked into the fantasy of marrying Alex. “Plus he hasn’t mentioned it since I came home, or back to his place, from the hospital. So obviously, Alex talked about marriage because he was freaked out over the baby.”

  “Well, have you brought it up? Or maybe told him that you loved him?” Roni’s rational voice seemed to echo in the room.

  “No and no, I know that is the logical thing to do, really I do, however, emotionally I need him to make that move first. I know it sounds childish, but I….I….just need that from him.” Tears ran down her face, once again.

  “Oh, sweetie.” Was all Roni got out, before she engulfed Izzy in her arms, Izzy cried in her arms as Roni stroked her back.

  After a few moments, Izzy wiped her eyes and broke the embrace. “Enough about me, let’s talk wedding plans!”

  “That sounds like fun. You’re my maid of honor, and the other girls will be my bridesmaids, of course.”

  “You better get married soon then or I will need a tent to wear as my dress.” Izzy playfully said, brushing her hand gently over her stomach. The two giggled and started planning the wedding of the century.

  ~*~*~*~

  The guys all sat around the table at Sullivan’s in stunned silence, Alex downed the tumbler of Scotch and signaled the waitress for another. Alex had been nice enough to wait until each of them had a drink in their systems before he dropped the bomb he was going to be a daddy. When Phin had asked what the occasion was for the fancy dinner and Derek had laughed stating, “One down four to go,” the guys had caught on that Derek was one for one in his guesses for the bet. Alex followed that announcement up with telling them about the baby, and the name of the baby mama.

  When the waitress returned with Alex’s drink, Phin raised his glass in a toast, “To our fallen brother.” Ignoring Alex’s glare the boys laughed and clinked glasses.

  Gavin leaned forward, crossing his arms and resting them on the table, his face twitching with laughter while he tried to be serious. “Tell us, how do two people go from almost murdering one another on a daily basis to having a baby together?”

  “My guess is all that anger toward each other boiled over into sexual tension.” Collin added speaking over his bottle of beer. “Want to explain why from the first moment you two met she has wanted to castrate you?”

  Alex focused his attention to the tumbler in his hand; he watched the amber liquid swirl in tight circles as he moved his wrist. “That, my friend is a long story. The short version is that the night she slapped me in the bar was not our first meeting. We met years ago in Cabo.”

  “Now the pieces are falling into place. The only reason a woman would have that violent of a reaction to a man is if he had fucked her and walked away without a goodbye.” Rocco drawled.

  Derek’s eyes were large and he slammed his own drink. “I thought I recognized her, never could put my finger on where I knew her from since I only met her that one time in that dark night club.”

  Nodding to his friend, he went on to tell the rest of the sorted story of the biggest mistake of his life and how he had spent the last few months desperately trying to make up for that mistake. Then he went on to tell them all about their agreement and he fucked that up by not making it out of the bedroom with her like he wanted to, ending his story of sorrow with his fucked up version of a proposal in the hospital. “The truly fucked up thing is that I have been practically begging her to let us be a real couple. Once we told you guys,” Alex shrugged, “I figured we would be a real couple. And I could move forward to asking her to move in asking her to marry me. I have been in love with her for almost seven years, and when I get my chance with her I totally fuck it up to the point, I am sure she hates me again.”

  “And I thought I was a dumb fuck when it came to women.” Phin shook his head at Alex’s predicament.

  “You are a dumb fuck when it comes to women, which is why they never stick longer than twenty-four hours.” Alex quipped in return.

  The waitress returned a moment later with their meals and the guys all dug in. Quiet again since their mouths were full at the moment. They would each start to say something, as though they had the answer to his dilemma and then shake their heads and return to shoveling food into their mouths. Yeah these guys held the answers to all romantic problems.

  Alex decided he needed to take the attention off of himself. It was time to throw his best friend under the bus. When the last bite was consumed by the men, Alex cleared his throat to gain their attention and held his almost empty tumbler up. “I would like to take this opportunity to publically declare Derek awesome. His awesomeness knows no bounds. I am doing this now because I sure as hell am not declaring it in front of hundreds of people at his wedding. Hears to Derek the most awesome man on earth.” Alex had to chuckle a little seeing the shocked look on the f
aces of his friends for the second time that night.

  “Congrats, man! Hears to Derek and Roni, may she not accidentally castrate him on their wedding night.” Collin chortled.

  “Congrats.” The other guys added as they raised their glasses and bottles for the toast. The next ten minutes were spent with the guys, Phin especially and Gavin a close second, explaining why marriage killed relationships and a man’s sole. Derek laughed the entire time, taking a few minutes to explain what a woman was willing to do in bed once that ring was on her finger.

  “Once you get your shit together and get that girl to marry you Alex, you can relax with me and watch these fuckers trip all over trying to get what we already have.” Derek wisecracked.

  “Do I get to know the names in the envelopes?” Alex was so curious.

  “Nope, that is for my enjoyment only.” Derek smiled back.

  The guys began protesting about how they would be single forever, arguing that there are far too many gorgeous women in the world to get tied to only one. Alex thought that Derek was right it was going to be fun to watch each of these guys fall in love. He imagined the women they fell for would kick their asses into line really quick.

  Although the guys hadn’t been able to offer him any concrete advice regarding his situation the dinner was fun and what he needed to give him a break from the constant frantic chatter in his head. Derek came up to the door to retrieve his fiancée before heading home. Before he opened the door, Derek grabbed his shoulder and turned him to face him. “One last piece of advice, I almost lost Roni because I was terrified to tell her how I felt. Be open and honest with Izzy, I bet you’ll be surprised what she has to say.”

  With a curt nod of acknowledgement he opened the door. Roni was lying down on the couch watching TV. Derek went over to her, picking her up and placing her in his lap as he sat down. “Did you girls have a good time?” He cooed at her as he kissed her.

  “Yes, we did. We had a lot to talk about. How was your dinner?” Roni glanced at Alex, “I see he has had a few drinks.” She giggled. Alex was leaning against the wall, well more like the wall was holding him up at this point. Between the Scotch and his exhaustion, he thought passing out for the next year or so sounded like a good idea.

  “Is Izzy asleep?” Alex managed to ask without slurring, too much.

  “Yep, all safely tucked in bed, although she fell asleep smack in the middle of the bed so good luck finding a place to sleep. Let’s head home, baby, I’m tired.” She kissed Derek, pulled herself from his grip and walked over to Alex. “Take care of my girl. She may seem all tough on the outside but on the inside she is terrified of rejection.” To his surprise she stood on her tip toes and kissed his cheek.

  “Get some sleep man, we will check on you guys later in the week.” Derek gave him a quick man hug and they were gone. The penthouse was suddenly bathed in silence.

  Alex quietly went to his room to check on Izzy, he had been sleeping in the guest room since she came home from the hospital, and he would tonight after he grabbed a few things and saw for his own eyes she was ok. Quietly, he opened the door there in the middle of his bed was a small curled up sleeping Izzy. The very sight of her stole his breath away. He sat on the bed next to her, brushing a piece of hair out of her face; he leaned in and kissed her forehead. She sighed and snuggled closer to him. In her sleep, how she felt about him was very clear.

  He kissed her one more time and went to his closet to hang up his suit. He was placing the hanger on the rod when he saw a small shoe box on the top self of his closet he had forgotten all about. Reaching for the box, he pulled it from the shelf and immediately opened it. A large smile spread across his face when he eyed the contents. Alex knew exactly how he was going to tell Izzy how much he loved her, how he was going to prove it to her. Closing the box, he slipped from the room.

  Grabbing his laptop from the table, he flicked on Sports Center for background noise, plopped down on the couch and got to work on his plan.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Today was Izzy’s first day off bed rest and she was grateful to Roni for talking her into taking a few extra days off work. Physically she felt great, ok so great might be a stretch, but she felt good. Emotionally she felt off, very off. Currently, she was wandering around the bedroom collecting her things in an attempt to pack.

  Her shower this morning had lasted forever, it had felt so nice to have a real shower. For the first time in a week she was not under a strict five minute time limit that Alex ensured she never went even a second over. She smiled at some of his antics from the past week. Two days ago when she dared to get out of bed to get her own glass of water, he muttered under his breath something about her being a stubborn woman and carried her fireman style back to bed. He returned a moment later with a glass and a pitcher of water, that way she didn’t have to get up for any reason. That is until she had to pee from drinking the pitcher of water.

  Izzy had to admit he had taken very good care of her over the past week, never missing a beat when she had what she deemed a hormone meltdown and threw a few books at his head. The man simply picked up the books, put them on the dresser conveniently out of her reach, and delivered her lunch. His lack of even acknowledging her fit, sent her in to a fit of crying, which he cured by lying down next to her pulling her into a giant hug. When her crying finally finished, he kissed her on top of her head, told her everything would be fine and left her alone again.

  She rubbed her stomach, well not entirely alone. Now that her bed rest was officially over, she knew it was time to put her big girl panties on and face the music. Folding one of her shirts, she laid it in the duffle bag Alex had brought from her apartment, and sat on the bed. She knew she needed to leave, go back to her own apartment, put some distance between them, however she didn’t want to leave him. The need she felt to be with this man, infuriated her. Hormonal reaction, maybe, or maybe she had finally snapped not knowing what their future held or didn’t hold. She huffed out a breath, stomped toward the door ready for a fight, only when she got to the door she was meant with sounds of a woman yelling at Alex.

  “Where is she? Where is my baby girl?” The woman, Mama Porter by the sound of her voice.

  “Ouch! Mom, why are you hitting me on the back of my head? And who is your baby girl? I don’t remember having a sister other than C and she is not here!” Alex whined, which made Izzy laugh, her anger immediately fading away. She laughed until Mama Porter barreled into her room and pulled her into her chest for a hug.

  Mama Porter held her at arm’s length, “Let me look at you? Are you ok honey? Alex should have called me the minute he found out about you being in that car accident! I had to hear about it from Roni. And even she didn't tell me until this morning. All of them are going too grounded for keeping from you.” Mama Porter protested, looking back over her shoulder to give Alex another dirty look. “One of my kiddos is in the hospital and Alex doesn’t even bother to tell me! I raised him better.”

  “One of your kiddos?” Izzy asked with a smile. Did Mama Porter consider her one of her kiddos after only meeting her a hand full of times?

  “Yes, you all are my adopted kiddos. All of Alex’s friends are my children once I meet them. Of course, Derek and Caroline have been mine for a while now but over the last year I have added to the number of children I have now that you and the girls and the other boys are around.” Mama Porter declared. “Now, baby girl, back to bed with you. I am here now to take care of you.” She kissed her on the forehead, shoving her back in bed.

  “Mama Porter, I’m fine really. Actually, I have a doctor’s appointment to get to.” Izzy smiled at the older woman, trying to hide her laughter. It felt so nice to have a mother take care of her again, even if it wasn’t her mom.

  “Alex is taking you to the doctor, right?” Mama Porter now had her hands on her hips and her mother look securely in place.

  Afraid to say no, she started to say yes when Alex’s voice came through the doorway, “Yes Mom, I�
��m taking her and we actually need to leave now to make the appointment. I promise to bring her by your house after her appointment, ok?”

  Looking between them with suspicion, Mama Porter finally nodded. Alex kissed her on her cheek on her way out the door. “You ready?”

  That’s when she noticed that he held her jacket in his hands ready to help her put it on. Once he had her jacket in place, he handed her purse to her and escorted her out of his apartment with his hand on the small of back. She loved the feel of his touch. She never wanted him to move his hand off her body.

  Unfortunately he needed that hand to drive his car. “After the appointment, I would like to take you somewhere, so we can talk, if that’s ok?” Alex asked without taking his eyes off the road.

  Suddenly, she realize how nervous he looked. His complexion was pale and he was sweating a little. Touching his forearm to gain his attention, she smiled and said, “Alex, hon...” She cut herself off before the endearment came out. “Everything with me and the baby is going to be fine. You can relax.”

  With his left hand he grabbed her hand off his forearm and kissed her knuckles lightly, causing her to sigh. A very content feminine sigh. Which brought a smile to his face. The rest of the ride was made in silence.

  ~*~*~*~

  The wamp wamp wamp sound filled the small sterile examining room as the doctor pushed the wand over Izzy’s stomach. The sound of his child’s strong heartbeat made his own heart sore. He squeezed Izzy’s hand and returned her beaming smile. All too soon the doctor was wiping the cold blue gel off of Izzy’s stomach and the beautiful sound was gone.

  “Izzy, you and the baby are doing great. We will schedule another appointment in a few weeks and we will do your first ultrasound. Baby’s first picture.” The doctor joked.

  They thanked the doctor and made the appointment with the receptionist, leaving the office hand in hand as they walked to his car. He tucked her safely in the passenger seat of his car and ran around to the driver’s seat. Quietly they pulled onto the main street and he headed to their next stop. He took a deep breath when he thought about how important the outcome of the next stop was to their future.