“Kira princess sit up.” I told her.
She sat up straight in bed and I unloaded the tray of everything except her soup. I placed the tray down across her legs and told her to eat. Mel was just staring at the TV looking extremely pale. “Mel babe?”
She looked over at me and gave me a weak smile. “Yea?”
“I need you to eat.” I told her and she shook her head. I sighed; I went through this shit with Shakira about two days ago. “Mel you have to eat so sit up.” I prodded. She sighed and sat up. I adjusted some pillows behind her to make her comfortable. I picked up her bowl and scooped up some soup. I blew on it to cool it some and brought the spoon to her mouth. She didn’t open and I sighed again. “Mel…” I growled and she sighed and took the proffered soup. We continued this dance until I felt she ate enough and I had her drink some water. I gave Kira some ginger ale and I climbed into the bed with them. I waited a couple of hours before I made Mel snack on some crackers. It took a while but eventually they returned to normal. When I woke up and found Mel cooking breakfast I almost danced.
We were approaching the holidays and needed to get some stuff for the house. Normally I went back and celebrated with family so I never decorated my own home so I had nothing we could use. We discussed it and decided to go to Landon’s and Lucy’s next week for thanksgiving and then we could decorate when we came back. We would see about hosting Christmas here this year. Since I wasn’t returning to practice until tomorrow we decided to get shopping out of the way. We dropped Kira off at school and went back home for a while before heading out. We wanted to avoid rush hour and well, the stores didn’t open quite that early. We went to the mall and I snatched Mel’s hand.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
She shrugged. “I mean we should probably hit a few different stores so that we can get different ornaments and things. If you go to just one store they usually have a lot of similar ornaments, which just makes everything look… blah.” She explained.
I chuckled and stopped her. I grabbed her other hand and looked down at her. “Blah?” I questioned.
She gave me a huge smile and nodded. “Yes exactly. We don’t want it to look like blah in the house.”
“Is that even English?” I asked her.
“No it’s French and it makes total sense.” She told me and I laughed. I bent down and gave her a soft kiss. She moaned and stood on her tiptoes trying to get more and I moved back.
“Don’t be greedy woman.” I scolded her and she scowled.
“Oh please Nick no one wants you.” She pouted.
I laughed. “Oh Mel you know you do. That’s why you were just trying to maul me a few seconds ago and we’re in the middle of the mall. You’re a freak girl.”
She smacked my chest and rolled her eyes. She tried to stomp away and I caught up to her and threw my arm around her neck pulling her into me. I placed a kiss on her temple and chuckled. I looked up and I spotted Roger staring at us pissed off in the doorway of a store. Mel didn’t see him and I didn’t mention it, he wasn’t worth our time or attention.
Mel told me that she needed to start looking for a next job. I was already back on the court and my ankle was doing just fine. I was a tad bit pissed off at that, I kind of liked having her undivided attention. I asked her to give me a few more weeks before she dumped me for another man. She waited a few days before beginning her search. We took Shakira to school and spent the next couple of hours looking for her next gig.
We were hovering over the computer when the doorbell went off. Mel met my gaze and I shrugged. When they started ringing the bell like they were leaning on it I got up. I figured it was Erica just being annoying. I swung the door opened and Phil stormed inside. He threw a newspaper down on the counter and began pacing. I locked the door and made my way over to where Mel and Phil were.
“Nick you had one of the most amazing comebacks in probably history. I woke up excited this morning and I actually skipped out of my house to get the newspaper. I nearly did the jig when I saw your face on the front page. I got me a mug of coffee and got all comfortable ready to hear all of the fabulous things they needed to say about my player and guess my surprise when that wasn’t even mentioned.” Phil said throwing his hands up in exasperation. I walked to the fridge and took out stuff to make a sandwich.
“Get to the point.” I urged.
He grunted. “Do you have a kid?” he asked bluntly.
I shrugged. “Yea.”
Obviously that wasn’t the right answer because he exploded. “What the hell do you mean yea? I’m your goddamn agent I’m supposed to know these things. How the hell didn’t I know that you had a kid?”
I sighed. “It’s not that big of a deal.” I told him.
He scoffed. “No it’s not that big. This is HUGE!”
I snorted. “That’s what she said.”
Phil shook his head. “You’re not seriously cracking jokes right now. I need to know everything.”
I sighed. “I have a six year old daughter.”
He dropped down on a stool. “So it’s fucking true then?” he questioned.
“I wouldn’t know I haven’t read anything about myself lately. Last time I checked I knew what was going on in my life. I don’t need a newspaper to tell me that.”
“Stop being a dick…” Mel scolded me picking up the paper and began reading it.
“What did it say?” I asked.
Mel sighed. “Fuck! This is my fault.”
Phil’s gaze swung to her and he frowned. “What do you mean?” he asked. I cut the sandwich in half and put everything away. I poured two glasses of lemonade and put down a glass and the plate that had half the sandwich in front of Mel. Phil watched me the entire time confused and I fell back against the counter as I waited taking a bite from my half.
“Well I technically didn’t tell Nick about her until just recently. It’s not like he knew and this insider that they’re referring to as a reliable source is Roger.”
I shook my head. “Who the fuck is Roger and what am I missing here?” Phil asked.
“Roger is a dick and her ex-fiancé.” I explained. Mel scowled at me and I shrugged. “Do you disagree?” I challenged. When she stayed quiet I nodded. “That’s what I thought.”
“Ok you two… tell me something.”
I polished off the sandwich and stood straight up. “It’s simple Mel and I have a daughter.”
“Wait a minute, this child is yours?” he asked pointing at Mel. She blushed and shrugged. “Didn’t I ask about you two when I first bought her here? You said you had history, a kid is not history that child is still here in the flesh.”
Mel sighed. “He wasn’t supposed to find out but it didn’t quite work out that way now did it?”
Phil ran a hand down his face. “Is there anything else I should know about that article?”
Mel shrugged. “Some of it is true. Nick did get me pregnant while I was dating Roger but that was more at his insistence. Nick and I had just broken up but I still wasn’t anywhere near being over it… him. I told Roger and well he accepted it since he sort of twisted my arm into going out with him so soon anyway. Everyone just assumed it was Roger’s well except my dad but he kept quiet with his thoughts. I just didn’t correct anyone. After we broke up Nick and I barely saw each other. Before we started working together it’s been two years since I’ve even seen him. Nick isn’t any of the things that he says here.”
“What about the threats?” Phil asked.
My eyebrows rose. “What threats?”
“I don’t know some bullshit about beating him up or something.” Phil told me.
I laughed. “You damn right I threatened that bastard. He fucking man handled her and was letting my daughter starve. She came here with the whole left side of her face bruised and shit we have pictures. Then the ass followed her here and was staking out the house waiting for her. So yea, Landon and I went over there and packed up their shit and he came home and I threatened to knock
his ass the fuck out if he comes around them again.”
Phil jumped out of his seat. He glared at Mel. “He hit you?” he asked. “Let me see the pictures.”
I took out my phone and handed it over. By the time he saw all of them his face was completely ashen. “Send those to me. He’s bitter and he’s trying to ruin the both of you. I doubt this is the end of it and if a situation arises, we need this information on hand.” I nodded and sent them to him. He looked at me, “they’re living here with you now?” he asked and I nodded again. “Ok, I need to think about this and figure out how to do damage control on this whole situation. I got a call earlier saying that a tabloid has gotten a hold of pictures of Mel and the girl but I haven’t seen them. I didn’t even know that Mel was the girl for some reason he kept her identity anonymous.”
I shrugged. “Well now you do.”
He gripped the back of his neck. “I need to know is there something going on between you two? I don’t know what edge to work here.”
Mel turned red and he took notice. I shook my head, “You don’t need any angles. This is my private life so if you want to be technical none of this is anyone’s fucking business. If you must say something go ahead but keep them as far away from it as possible. They don’t need to know they’re living here or anything.”
He held his hands up in surrender. “I’m just doing my job.” He turned his attention to Mel. “Is there any hope this is the end of it?”
She shook her head. “I should’ve actually thought of this sooner. He has a job but he doesn’t make much. There’s no way he could afford that home by himself, I pulled in most of the money. He’s probably selling information to keep himself afloat plus he probably hates my guts as much as he hates Nick. I don’t see him sparing us any mercy.” Phil nodded and said his goodbyes promising to keep us up to date on everything. I wasn’t really concerned because just like I told Phil that’s my personal life. I get how it could have all impact my career but they should be focused solely on what’s happening on the court.
“Nick I’m sorry.” Mel said sadly.
I walked over to her and tilted her head up. “There’s nothing to be sorry about. You can’t control that asshole and it’s nobody’s business what happens under this roof. I’m not worried about it so you don’t need to be either.” I bent down and kissed her lightly on the lips. I pointed to the sandwich and scowled, “now eat this food I just spent the last couple of hours laboring away to make you.” She rolled her eyes and picked up the sandwich making a show out of taking a bite.
Mel
Phil wasn’t lying. Roger had indeed given the media photos of me and Shakira. Once those were released everything spiraled out of control. Our photos were plastered everywhere and once people got a look at us all types of pictures started surfacing. It appears that people snapped photos of us while we were unaware whenever his guard was down. There was a picture of us fighting in the furniture store over Kira’s bed. They must’ve recognized him from filling out the paperwork for the order. There were pictures from that same day at target, he had Kira in his arms and they were both smiling. She had on his hat and another I was standing on the other side of the cart staring into Nick’s face with my lips pursed and face red. Not one of my finer moments indeed. They even had pictures of us kissing at the carnival and him helping me shoot and us buying Christmas decorations. I didn’t have it in me to tell him ‘I told you so’ about his dumbass incognito outfit of glasses and a hat. I’m sure people recognized him but probably wasn’t sure. Since I never covered myself up it was the nail in the coffin that it was indeed him.
Phil’s office was fielding calls from desperate woman alleging that Nick was also their baby’s father and that put the media in a whole new tail spin. Nick became an alleged womanizer with kids he doesn’t take care of all over the coast. The only good thing that came out of that was that they began to shed him in a positive light when he remained unfazed by it all and all of the allegations began to fall through, some of them didn’t even have kids.
I didn’t speak to Nick for a full day when the article came out interviewing that blonde from the doctor’s office. She recited that ridiculous story about cleaning toilets and once they confirmed that were indeed there they began questioning if the child was even his and if I was just a pastime. When that was released Nick flipped and it was like the last straw. Once they began bringing Shakira into the mix he began getting angry. He decided to do a press release immediately to kill the whole thing.
I was nervous as all hell as we waited backstage for the conference to begin. We hadn’t prepped or discussed what would be said. When I brought it up Nick only shrugged and asked what was there to prepare for. I tried to absorb some of his confidence since Shakira and I would be going out on that stage with him. Phil waved us forward indicating that it was time. I took a deep breath and followed behind Nick and Shakira. We sat down at the table and I sheltered my eyes as a bunch of flashes went off. Phil did the introductions to kick everything off and would be facilitating the interview. When he opened up the floor for questions everyone’s hands went up. Phil chose the first reporter.
“Nick is there any truth behind the whole maid rumor and whirl wind romance?” she asked.
I sighed. Of course that’s what they would ask first. He laughed. “No, I was only joking about that whole thing just to get on Mel’s nerves.” He admitted.
A few people chuckled. “So how did you meet?” she asked.
He shrugged. “You all know by now that I spent my last few years in high school with my uncle in Lexington when my parents died. She was Lucy’s best friend and went to school with us. We began dating shortly after we met.”
The next question was directed at me. “Mel is this true?” I nodded. “So when did you get pregnant?”
I gulped but Nick jumped in before I could respond. “She got pregnant when I knocked her up. Next question?”
The voices in the room rose and it took Phil a minute to quiet everyone back down. “Did you know about her? Did you take a paternity test to know for sure she’s yours?” they asked him and the room fell completely silent. I saw a tick in his temple and knew he was livid, Nick went to answer and I covered his microphone with my hand.
“He didn’t know about her. We went to different schools and I didn’t find out until I returned back to UCLA. He was entering the draft when I was going to tell him and decided against it. I know the type of man he is and he would’ve given up anything for his child. I didn’t want to be a liability and at that point we were broken up and thought it would only cause further complications. We already lived far away from each other as it was.” I explained.
“So you kept it a secret all of this time?” a woman asked and I nodded.
“The guy Roger that started this whole mess was my boyfriend and then my fiancé. He knew the entire time who the father was and the entire story but he claimed that he didn’t care about any of it. I never once misled my daughter about who her father was or anything and when they met there was nothing I could do but let them have each other.”
The next reporter that stood had his eyes intent on Shakira. Nick noticed too and I saw him tense. “Shakira how old are you?” he asked.
She smiled. “Six.”
He gave her a small smile back. “What would you say about your parents?” he asked.
She frowned. “Huh?” she asked in confusion.
He cleared his throat. “What do you think about your mom and dad?” he asked.
Shakira turned to me. “My mommy is great and she makes my hair pretty and she cooks really good pancakes.”
He gave her a genuine smile. “What else?”
“My daddy is really good at basketball and he won me a big unicorn that sleeps with me at night. He won mommy a big doggy but he stays in my room. Daddy can’t cook but he makes good cereal and they drive me to school and pick me up every day. The other kids teased me that I didn’t have a daddy and so him and mommy bought me a j
ersey just like his and brought pizza to school. They stopped teasing me after that I think because he’s so big and strong.” She explained nodding her head frantically.
“Is he the daddy you wanted?” he asked.
She nodded. “Yes, he let me have a room and we made it all Barbie and he reads to me at night and he carries me around when I’m sleepy.”
“Anything bad?” he asked and I scowled.
Kira nodded her head rapidly. “They make me do homework and eat broccoli.” She confessed with a face to emphasize how much she doesn’t like it. “Daddy did my hair one morning for school too and it looked really bad. I was almost late because mommy had to fix it so I had to get my hair combed twice.” She told him and everyone broke out into laughter. Nick was just watching her amused. Unlike the rest of the reporters it seems like this one guy was feeding off of the good. Sure it was something to ask her but he didn’t seem put out by her praises.
“Anything else?” she asked.
She seemed to think about it before she nodded and leaned forward. She got close to the mic and cupped her hands like she was telling a secret. “I caught mommy and daddy kissing it’s so gross. AND it was more than once. They shouldn’t do that unless daddy’s her boyfriend.” She said.
Nick laughed. “You tattle tell.” He accused and she stuck her tongue out at him. He scooped her up and placed her on his lap. “Why do you keep telling people that?” he asked. It’s true though that was one bit of information she was willing to offer up to anyone for free.
She shrugged. “Because when I told Aunty Lucy you said you didn’t but I saw’t you. And you kissed mommy in the kitchen yesterday.” She sing songed and he slapped a hand over her mouth while we all cracked up. She is her father’s child. That’s the one thing that we get a bit embarrassed about because she makes such a big deal out of it, and that is definitely all Nick’s MO.
Needing Her (The Lexington Series Book 3) Page 11