Pretty Fly for a White Guy: The Complete Series Collection (39 page)

#Chapter10

“
I was scared out of my Jimmy Choos”

Nicole

“
I think that tonight is going to be the night,” Jasmine said excitedly over the phone.

“I don’t know, I’m not going to get my hopes up,” I replied.

It had been two weeks since Jasmine’s wedding and she’d just gotten back the day before from her honeymoon. Kenneth didn’t waste any time by rounding me and my friend’s up for dinner at an exclusive restaurant.

“Girl it has to be something, because that man called me while I was on my honeymoon to invite me to dinner,” she laughed.

“I still can’t believe that he did that. He should have waited until you got back in town. But now that we’re talking about it, what did you bring me back from Puerto Rico?”

“No offense, but I didn’t bring anyone anything. Me and Cedric just wanted to spend our time together without having to shop for people,” she said.

“A.K.A you both spent more time in the bedroom than in shops,” I said.

“And you know this,” she giggled, “I’m still sore.”

“Eww! Too much information, please keep that to yourself. I don’t want to envision you and Ced having sex.”

“Too late, now it’s going to be ingrained in your mind. Don’t be jealous.”

“Whatever girl, I will see your nasty married behind later tonight.”

“Love you.”

“Love you too,” I replied before I hung up.

I couldn’t wait to see what Kenneth had in store for me for the evening, but until then, I had to work.

*

“So you mean to tell me that you were in Puerto Rico for two weeks and you couldn’t even bring a sister a key chain?” Patrice said before she took a sip of her cocktail.

“I wasn’t playing when I said that I wasn’t buying anything,” Jasmine said.

“You’re lucky I love you or you wouldn’t be my best friend anymore,” Patrice responded.

Me and Kenneth sat back and enjoyed the show. I doubted if she really wanted the key chain, she just loved giving Jasmine a hard time. It used to really bother Jasmine, but she’d been taking it pretty well over the past year. When you love someone, you deal with their quirks, and we

learned how to deal with Patrice.

The dinner went great and I couldn’t get enough of the food. I found it a little difficult to laugh and joke with my friends because I was nervous. I was trying to figure out why he wanted all of us at the restaurant and it only pointed to one thing. Kenneth silenced Patrice and Jasmine’s banter with a simple clearing of this throat.

“
I’m sorry to interrupt your conversation ladies but I have a surprise for Nicole,” he said.

My heart started racing as I waited to see what he was going to do. My friend’s quieted down and looked at the both of us expectantly. Kenneth reached into his blazer pocket and I knew that it was the moment that I’d been waiting for. He pulled out a jewelry box and handed it to me. I felt a little weird because he should have been getting down on one knee, but I wasn’t going to complain in that moment because I wanted my damned ring.

“Should I open it?” I asked.

“Of course you should open it,” he grinned.

“Ummm, okay,” I said hesitantly.

I opened the box and there was a beautiful pendent necklace with a huge diamond in the center. It wasn’t what I expected but I still couldn’t deny the beauty of the necklace.

“What do you think?” He asked. 

“I think it’s gorgeous! Thank you so much babe,” I said as I leaned over to give him a huge kiss.

I passed the necklace around to my friends and gave them the warning look. My look told them that they better act excited when they took a look at the necklace. Both of them got the hint loud and clear.

“
Wow! Bling bling!”Patrice exclaimed.

“I’m pretty sure this diamond is bigger than the one in my ring,” Jasmine said, “This is stunning. Nicole must have been really good to you while I was away,” she winked.

“Oh my goodness, don’t even go there,” I said to Jasmine.
 

“
Please excuses Jasmine’s freakiness, she won’t stop talking about sex since she’s been back from her honeymoon,” Patrice joked.

“It really is all that I can think about. I’m going to have to get back into work mode,” she sighed.

“It’s alright,” Kenneth laughed, “I don’t mind at all. That just means that she had a good time.”

“I sure did,” Jasmine said before she drained her glass dry.

I laughed along with everyone else at the table, but my mind was consumed with wondering when he was going to pop the question. I loved the necklace and was grateful for it, but I still wanted more.

Was I being a bitch for being disappointed at a necklace which probably cost thousands?

*

The following night I went out with my friends for dinner, and of course my necklace was the topic of discussion. I didn’t read too much into the necklace, and I decided to be grateful for the wonderful night out. He didn’t have to do that, and those were the kinds of things that I wanted in a partner. It would have been ridiculous for me to throw a fit over my boyfriend taking me and my friends out and buying me an expensive gift. A lot of women would kill for that kind of treatment. He and I were on the right track, and I wasn’t going to mess it up by being a Prima donna.

“I have to admit that I was surprised by seeing the necklace,” I said as I played with the pendant between my fingers.

“I think we were too, but it’s beautiful,” Jasmine said.

“That thing is huge. I can only imagine how much he paid for it,” Patrice said with wide eyes.

“I’m guessing it was a pretty penny,” I replied.

“Don’t let it get to your head,” Patrice said reading my mind, “Ken is going to propose to you soon. He’s probably just waiting for the right moment.”

“Yeah, I agree. He has that twinkle in his eye,” Jasmine chimed in.

“Will you drop a hint or two to him the next time you see him?” I asked Patrice.

I wanted Patrice to talk to him about it because she doesn’t beat around the bush. She would come right out and tell him what was on her mind.

“I’ll see what I do, and I’ll make sure to let him know that you won’t wait forever,” she said.

“I think he knows that already,” I said.

“Well then he won’t have a problem with me reminding him.”

“
Oh my goodness, you’ve unleashed Patrice on Kenneth. That poor man, he had no idea what’s coming his way. I’m going to say a prayer for him,” Jasmine said.

Me and the girls finished our meals and drinks and parted ways. Before I got into my car I bumped into my old friend Reuben.

“
What are you doing here?” I said excitedly as I gave him a huge hug.

“I’m here on business,” he said as he returned my hug.

“And you didn’t call me? Shame on you! Were you trying to sneak in and out without seeing me?” I asked.

“Of course not. I was actually hoping that you would call me after I saw you the last time,” he said.

“I’m so sorry, things have been a little hectic for me recently,” I said.

“It’s alright, but when you have time I would like to talk to you about some things. Actually if you’re free right now we could go for some drinks.”

I didn’t know how to break the news to him, especially since our last interaction had been a little flirty. He was asking me out and it was right at that moment, so I had to say something fast.

“I’m with someone,” I said.

He smacked his lips and gave a dismissive wave, “I know you’re with Kenneth, everyone knows that.”

“Right, so I don’t think that drinks will be such a great idea.”

He laughed, “Newsflash honey, I’m gay.”

“What? When did that happen? In high school…”

“In high school I was lying to myself and everyone else. I spent so much time trying to hide from who I was that I began to actually believe it. I’m done with that, life is too short to live a lie,” he said.

“Wow, and I was crushing on you a little bit,” I said.

“I know, and you couldn’t help it, I’m cute.”

I laughed in relief, “So, what do you want to talk about?’

“I want to talk business with you because I may have a great opportunity.”

My interest was immediately sparked, “Well let’s go back inside and get some drinks.”

A few minutes later we were at the bar inside of the restaurant and Reuben didn’t waste any time getting the ball rolling.

“I really had to work my way up the ladder in Paris. It was hell initially because I was black and I had a lot of competition but the tide is really changing now.  There is an opening at the fashion house that I work for and I think that you would be a great fit,” he said.

“Oh wow,” I said in shock.

“They’re currently headhunting someone but I think that I have the influence to get you the job if you really want it. You will be given an amazing apartment, a mid-6 figure salary, company car and etc. The only thing is that you’ll be working your ass off. They don’t play around, but your worth in the industry will skyrocket. You basically will be responsible for all of the buying.”

Everything that he was saying, I’d dreamed about. Actually he was giving me a larger opportunity than I’d ever envisioned for myself.

“Do you really think I’m that good?” I asked.