Pretty Fly for a White Guy: The Complete Series Collection (32 page)

#Chapter1

“I swear that you age like a fine wine.”

Nicole

Waking up next to Kenneth made all of my feelings flood back.

When I opened my eyes I had to remind myself that I wasn’t dreaming. He was there for me when I needed him with no questions asked. A loyal person is hard to come by, and it was easy to remember why I loved him so much. We spent the morning doing a little small talk before he put on his shoes and prepared himself to leave.

“
I enjoyed the evening, we’ll have to talk about things later,” he said after he kissed me on the cheek.

“We could always talk about it now,” I said as I walked him to the door.

“I will call you. I need to go pick up Michael from the airport so I really don’t have the time right now. I guess I forgot to tell you he is coming.”

I instantly got excited at hearing Michael's name because I hadn’t seen him in years. He’s Kenneth’s older brother by 8 years. Kenneth looks at him kind of like a father figure, and he respects him a lot.

“How long will he be here?”

“He’s moving back here, and he’ll be staying in a hotel until he finds a place. I offered to let him stay with me but he said that he needs his own space,” Ken said with a smirk.

“That’s Michael. Okay, get out of here and get your brother. Please tell him that I said hello.”

“You can tell him yourself, he would love to see you and so we all have to get together.”

“Sounds good to me. I’ll see you later,” I said as I awkwardly hugged him before he left. All of our magic from the night before had worn off, and I was reminded that he had a fiancé.

My sadness hit me like a ton of bricks after I closed the door behind Kenneth. I thought about what Desmond did to me and I wasn’t looking forward to the fallout behind that. Soon everyone would know, and I was back on the drama train within the community. I was quickly starting to get over it, and I could see why Desmond chose to be with someone that wasn’t a part of it. He didn’t make the right choice, but it wasn’t a bad one either.

I had no clue regarding what he wanted to talk to me about. I wasn’t ready for a “we have to just keep it as friends” conversation. That was most likely what he wanted to talk about, and that’s why he wanted to talk about it over the phone instead of face to face. I should have known better than to accept comfort from him. I was falling back into old habits and patterns because I obviously hadn’t learned my lesson yet. I wondered just how much heartache I was going to have to experience before I got it through my thick skull. I headed back to my room to get under my covers. I wanted to hide from the world again, and it was going to be a little hard because my bed smelled just like Kenneth.

*

            A few days later I finally started answering my friend’s messages. I had to take some time to myself because I didn’t want to talk about how it felt to see Loren with my boyfriend. Patrice and Jasmine were going to want all of the details. But it was best that I called them back because if I didn’t they would have come over. I agreed to meet them over at Patrice’s house because I wasn’t in the mood to be around anybody for anything other than work.

“Alright, spill it and tell us why you’ve been avoiding us. It’s a real shame when we have to poke and prod other people to find out what’s going on with you,” Patrice said in frustration.

Jasmine just sat and stared at me quietly. I knew that she was a little upset because she hated it when I disappeared, but she was too polite to cause a fuss.

“I’m sorry about leaving you two hanging. I really have to get better at expressing myself, but you two have to get better at allowing me to talk about things when I’m ready,” I said.

“Noted,” Patrice said quickly, “Now stop stalling.”

I rolled my eyes and then started from the beginning. I told them about my decision to sleep with Desmond and what happened when I showed up at his house. He practically tried to throw me out to hide Loren, but she was making too much noise to really hide. She wanted me to know that she was there, and it hurt but I’m happy that she did. I didn’t need to be with someone like Desmond, and I dodged a huge bullet.

“I’m so disappointed in him,” Jasmine said, “I can’t believe that he was messing out with Loren. I knew that she was a little wild, but I didn’t think that she was that kind of woman.”

“Well she was hanging out with skanky ass Amelia, so maybe some of it rubbed off on her,” I said.

“Are you kidding me?” Jasmine said in a shrill voice.

“Yes,” I responded, “I’m sorry I should have told you.”

Jasmine shook her head, “I told her about that chick and as soon as she came back in town they become friends.”

“
While you were saying it as a warning, she was probably impressed by that shit,” Patrice said.

“I just hate being involved with shady people but birds of feather…” Jasmine said.

“You’re right about that,” I confirmed.

“But I thought that Desmond was going to know better. He is such a gentleman,” Patrice said.

“He was a gentleman. Now he’s just a cheating asshole,” I said.

“I can’t debate with you on that. I feel so bad because it’s like me, and Jasmine brought these horrible people into your life,” Patrice said.

“It’s not your fault and so I can’t blame you for their behavior. But you two can pay for my drinks for the next month because I deserve it,” I said.

“Deal,” Jasmine said quickly.

“Aww man, I saw Michael’s sexy ass yesterday,” Patrice said.

“I always love it when he comes to town because he is some wonderful eye candy. If I wasn’t with Cedric I would give it a try,” Jasmine laughed.

“Whatever! You’ve been wanting him for a long time, and you never say a word to him about it.

So I really don’t think this would be any different,” I said.

“
Don’t doubt me jerk,” she mumbled.

“I can’t believe that he isn’t married yet,” Patrice said.

“Yeah, he’s the kind of man that a woman will drag to the altar,” Jasmine input.

I wanted to tell them about what happened with Kenneth, but I wasn’t ready to share that with them yet. I didn’t need them in my head freaking me out any further than I already was. I couldn’t help but keep wondering what we were going to talk about. My mind drifted away from the conversation, and I let Patrice and Jasmine talk amongst themselves. A half hour later I excused myself because I still had work to do before the evening drew nearer.

As I was leaving my last client for the day Kenneth called me.

“Hello?”

“Hey Nikki, I was wondering if you wanted to meet and play some pool later?”

He’d finally called, and I wondered if this was going to be our time to talk. I hadn’t spoken to him since he’d left my apartment a few days before.

Before I could answer he said, “Michael will be there.”

“Hey Nikki!” I heard Michael yell from the background.

“Tell him I said hello,” I giggled, “Sure I can meet you for some pool this evening. I’ll have to get home and change my clothes first.”

“Cool, see you at 8,” he said before he hung up. He didn’t even wait for me to say goodbye. I frowned and dismissed it as nothing.

*

A little over an hour later I was walking into the pool hall. I was looking forward to seeing Michael again because it had been almost 2 years since I’d seen him last. He looked really good and just like I remembered, except he was starting to grey a little, but that made him look a lot more attractive than he already was. He was going to be one hell of a silver fox.

It was always a joy to be around Michael because he’s sharp witted just like Kenneth, and he’s one of the most genuine men that I’ve ever met in my life.

“Nicole!” I heard all the way from the other end of the pool hall.

Michael had spotted me, and so I could no longer stand across the room staring at him and his brother. It was a little creepy of me to do now that I think about it. I strolled over to them both and gave Michael a huge hug, “I swear that you age like a fine wine.”

“You’re such a flatterer but I appreciate that. You look amazing,” he said.

I did a little spin for him, and Kenneth cleared his throat.

“I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to ignore you. How are you today?” I asked.

“I was beginning to feel like chopped liver over here. I’m doing really good, keeping busy and spending time with Michael.”

All of us got quiet, and I asked the question that was burning inside of me, “Where is Amanda?”

“She’s working late. She’s really trying to get her event planning business up to par here and so she’s been busy most evenings.”

“Oh okay,” I said innocently.

We played pool for the next couple of hours, caught up on old times, and enjoyed each other’s company. I was doing exactly what I told myself I wouldn’t do anymore. I was making myself too available to Kenneth, and he was about to marry someone else. But it felt good to be around him and his brother again, it was comfortable and I needed comfort.

The night was winding down, and I’d thoroughly enjoyed my evening. Being around them was always so easy, and I loved the playful banter between the both of them. It made me wish that I had a sibling. They really loved each other, and the light in Kenneth’s eyes was undeniable whenever his brother was around. I was happy that Michael had returned because Kenneth always seemed more grounded in his presence. His brother was his rock, and that’s why it shouldn’t have been a surprise to me when he ran off to New York when he was upset about our broken relationship.

“It’s time for me to make my exit,” I announced as I put my cue back on the wall.

I looked at Kenneth, and he seemed like he wanted to say something. I could see the look of words unsaid in his expression. He needed to say it, but he couldn’t because his brother was there.

“
We need to get out of here too,” Michael said, “Kenneth pay the tab and let’s roll.”

“Umm alright, Nicole thanks for coming. I’m going to call you because we still need to talk.”