“You really think it’s a good idea to fuck Nicholas Jayzon’s wife?” He laughs and continues undressing and rubbing his hardened erection against me.
“His wife - that still makes me laugh. One thing I know about
my
friend is that Nicky doesn’t care about any woman, so I doubt he will get that upset about you. Most likely he sent you, knowing you would be a great gift for me.” He assures me.
“I am also the mother of his son. You still think he would send me as a gift?” Elijah pauses and hands me my glass.
“You are something else, a son.” He says, watching me carefully. “I don’t think so, but nice try.” Elijah grabs hold of me, talking to me in his sexually toned voice to try to sway me into his way of thinking. “I don’t want to be the only one enjoying this, so can you please finally admit you want me just as bad as I want you?” Elijah gives me a suave smile.
Squeezing the beautiful old-fashioned Italian glass, I almost feel bad for what I am about to do. Smashing the glass against the nearby table I take hold of the sliver of the broken glass and retake control of the situation. Held against the sensitive part of his neck, the sharp edges of the broken glass help me ease him off me. “Don’t fuck with me! I am only here to protect my husband, not to cheat on him. You would have to kill me first and fuck my dead body.” Smiling wide at his sudden loss of confidence, I kiss his cheek gently. “Not even a kiss on the lips for you.” Backing away, I pick up my handbag and toss the glass sliver to the floor. “Waste of time. Ryan was right about you. You are too full of yourself to recognize the right people you should align yourself with. An aging gigolo – pathetic, you are not even worth respecting. You act like you are Nick’s equal, but you don’t even compare to the man he is.” I tighten my dress around my stomach, stopping Elijah in his tracks as he starts to approach me again.
“You are pregnant?” He asks with wide eyes.
“Yes, with Nick’s second child. He is my husband, the father of my children and the love of my life and
you
- are nothing more than a man child with a drinking problem.” Before I can finish a door opens and two naked women come stumbling in laughing, “Not to mention your whore problem.” I leave him and wish I had never bothered.
The first thing I do when I get home is shower the scent of him off me. My only problem is the cut across my palm that Nick is sure to notice. I try to clean it up and hide it as best I can only the wound is too deep and I have to bandage it. I make excuses to Nick why I cannot join him for dinner by saying I don’t feel well, that I am too tired and think I will go to bed early. I don’t for a second think he is buying it, but he lets me leave the room without trouble. Before I can feel too good about my triumph, he meets me in our room.
“Are you going to tell me what happened to your hand or are you going to leave it up to me to tear up the city to find out?” Nick asks me as I cringe.
“This? It was nothing baby. I dropped a glass and stupidly picked it up without thinking.” I smile, kissing his hardened lips.
“Where did you go today?” He looks down at me. I scramble to try to think of something but another glimpse up into his eyes and I realize he already knows.
Damn Elijah and his big mouth.
“You already know, so why are you asking?” I snap at him.
“Why are you getting upset with me? You have no reason to be mad at me, I however have plenty to be mad about.”
“Nick, I was only trying to help.” He shakes his head at me with his hands shoved deep into his pockets. “I was, I thought if I went to apologize to him and …
“And what Kayla, try to seduce him?”
“No – did he tell you that?”
“No, he said you were insulting, demanding and annoying as hell. Which sounds about right. He also said that he was sorry about his actions towards you. He meant no disrespect, but he thought for sure you would not be over there without permission. He thought surely I must have sent you over there to … fuck him and convince him to change his mind.”
“He is … how were you ever friends with him? I can see why Ryan doesn’t like him.
“Ryan’s reasons are valid and he doesn’t seek people out he doesn’t like.” Nick snaps back at me. “Kayla, Elijah could have easily killed you. If not for me he would have. You are lucky that he let you go.”
“I can’t believe you are trusting what he says over me!”
“Okay, tell me then. Tell me how he must have kidnapped you, dragged you to his house and made you insult him, then forced you to attack him with a shard of glass. Go on, tell me how he managed all that and why?” Nick crosses his arms pissing me off.
Smacking his tightly wound arms, “You are being as much of an ass as he is. I am trying to help you Nick, can you not see that? I know you want him to help us, and I know if you want something there has to be damn good reason for it. I did …”
“You did exactly what I expected you to do.” He smiles.
“What? You knew I would go over there?” He nods. “How?” His knowing smile is even more annoying. “Nick! Then why are you mad at me.”
“Because you were trying to hide it from me. I thought we weren’t going to have secrets anymore?”
Walking up to him I look directly into his devilish eyes, “Apparently I wasn’t hiding anything!” Nick starts laughing. “You are really enjoying this, I thought you were mad at me.”
“I was, but you know what - it worked.” Nick approaches me wrapping his arms around me trying to get me to smile, “You got Elijah all worked up, and he can’t stand you. After I made sure he apologized for trying to fuck my pregnant wife, I assured him I had nothing to do with you coming over there. I also assured him you would not be back – that, I am hoping, is true.” He eyes me carefully.
“So he is going to help us now?” I ask him, trying not to look at him.
“He still says no, but give him a few days. I am sure whatever nice things you said to him will eat at him until he can’t take it any longer.”
“They were nice things.” I say, laughing when Nick begins laughing against my ear.
“I can only imagine, Princess. Now, let me see your hand. Elijah has agreed to pay for any plastic surgery you may need.” He looks up at me waiting to hear me curse Elijah’s name but I only crinkle my nose at the thought of the prick.
Nicky is especially active today. I nearly wear myself out chasing after him at the Children’s Gym that Nick had built. He refuses to let go of the giant Eeyore so we can leave. So, before we head home I decide to change up his room with some new décor. Stopping by the nearby store, I begin selecting from the Winnie the Pooh collection. A lamp here, draperies there, sheets and even a cute night-light. Nicky screams with excitement with every item. Everything goes well until he spots an Eeyore chair. He climbs into the small chair with a big smile and obviously feeling like a big boy with his own chair. He looks like a small Nick with the way he sits and looks up at me. “You want to get that chair and show Daddy how you can sit like him?” Nicky nods and I ask the lady if the display is the only one left. She says yes and with a sharp tone, tells me the store will not sell the display. I try to offer a price but still no luck, and so I try to ask for her manager to go over her head and she becomes more determined to put me in my place.
“Listen lady, this display is not for sale. I am forbidden by the owner herself to sell this chair. The item has been discontinued and her little girl has requested it. So, you can try to argue with me all-day if you like but the answer is going to remain the same.” She says with a tight smile. She looks down at Nicky in the chair and leans down to him, “Okay honey, we have to put this back on the display now.”
Nicky leans towards her and places his hand on her face. When she meets his eyes, “My chair, please.” He says, breaking my heart but somehow changing her mind. She backs off and even discounts the chair for us. Nicky doesn’t even realize the power he had over her but I do, and can’t help but compare it to Nick’s own ability. I stare at him all the way home … wondering about his future.
When we get home, Nicky wants to show his father his chair and is determined to find him. He yells for him wherever he can only Nick is in his office with the door shut. Nicky can’t get in, so he decides to yell for him at the door. I laugh, but try to stop him when Nick opens the door and picks him up, “What son?” He laughs, giving me a wink.
“He wants to show you his chair.” I say, setting it out for him. Nick sits Nicky down and watches him climb into it and sit happily. “He is so cute. You should have seen him today with this awful saleslady.” I say, looking back at Nick and noticing Elijah walking out of the office behind him. “What are you doing here?”
“I changed my mind. Even fools can change their mind, Kayla.” Elijah forces a cocky smile in my direction while I fight showing him mine. “Wow, a little Nick. Well if that isn’t scary, I don’t know what is.” Elijah smiles at Nick. Elijah walks towards Nicky and looks down at him, “Hey little Nick, can I sit in your chair?” Nicky shakes his head and Nick and I both laugh.
Elijah chuckles but leans down to him and looks into Nicky’s eyes. “My chair.” Nicky says to him, “You can sit there.” He says, pointing to a bigger chair.
Elijah sways backwards before catching himself, “Whoa, definitely Nick’s son.” He says, standing up and walking away from him.
“Come on son, let’s put your new chair in your room.” Nick says, picking Nicky and his chair up.
I wait until they are gone to look over at Elijah, “Exactly what changed your mind?”
“Well you did, beautiful. I just can’t live knowing you don’t respect me.” I huff at him. “Oh don’t be that way, I respect you. I respect
you
a lot.”
“Are you staying for dinner?” I ask him, throwing him off guard.
“Wow, dinner. You people have all gone domestic and shit in this house. Sure, why not, I could use some food … and another drink would be nice too.”
“I think you have had enough to drink.” I say, earning a sarcastic huff.
Nick returns with Nicky now in his pajamas, “Nick - Kayla here has invited me to dinner, which sounds great but I am going to be needing some freshening up here. Elijah waves his empty glass at Nick”
“You have had enough to drink.” Nick says, barely acknowledging the glass as he passes him.
“What? Are you two sharing a brain now? Fine, but at least tell me where I can find a lighter. I got this great Cuban from this crazy fuck last week.” Elijah starts to explain.
“No smoking in my house, and before you ask, no inviting any of your prostitutes over for dinner.” Nick says, handing Nicky to me. “If you want to stay for dinner that’s fine but you are going to respect my house while you are here.”
“What is this, a convent? I only want a nice meal, not a religion.” Elijah crashes into a chair in frustration.
Surprisingly, Elijah stays for dinner but is more interested in watching Nick and my interactions. “You know Kayla, there is something familiar about you. But I can’t figure out what it is.”
“You met her before.” Nick says suddenly. “In the diner, her sister was the blond that kept flirting with us every time we went in to talk about Harvey. Elijah looks back at me rubbing his chin until his eyes suddenly go wide.
“The book girl? You’re that mess that would bury your nose in those books all the time?” He starts laughing as he realizes the truth. “Holy shit! Wow, well you grew up looking …” Nick growls and Elijah shuts his mouth before finishing his sentence. His pleasant silence is short lived. “You know who you remind of though, that girl in High School, the one that was always talking to you Nick. You know, the one that ended up wrapping you around her little finger. The geek, what was her name?”
Nick tenses up like I have never seen him, “Francesca. Franky, and I wasn’t wrapped.”
“Bullshit! She would call and you would go running. Never could understand what you saw in her. Whatever happened to her anyway?”
“You know what happened to her, now drop it.” Nick barks abruptly. I wanted to ask him. Even after Elijah left I tried to approach him, but he still wasn’t in any mood to talk about a girl I have never heard of before.
My dreams turned into nightmares and all because of Elijah’s dumbass. I haven’t thought of Franky in years, though the image of her will always remain in the back of my mind. She was the one girl who saw
me
, and liked what she saw. I haven’t met anyone like her until Kayla, although Kayla didn’t like me all that much at first. Likewise, I didn’t care for Franky that much either – at first. Franky was not at all my type but she was an escape. A safe place to sleep at night when I needed it. She was kinder to me than I was to her but she did grow on me. The geeky, goofball ended up being my favorite place to be. Once I started working for Harvey I decided I would quit school. I had no real need for it where I was going. Franky did her best to change my mind and when I wouldn’t she made me study with her every night.
“You are so smart you shouldn’t let it waste away, you should use it to help
me
.” She would laugh. I spent many nights teaching her things, and we studied together too. My little virgin who was determined to make me her first. I never could figure out why or what she saw in me. Our relationship was good for a long time, until she made a mistake coming to look for me at my house. My father greeted her like she was nothing. I hated him for that. He thought I could do better and I thought he was the worst my mother could have ever done. One of the worst fights I ever had with my father was when he made Franky cry. She denied it, but I saw it in her face, the reality or what she thought was reality. She never understood how beautiful I thought she was. I did my best to make it up to her, even skipped out on Luke and Elijah to be with her. That same night I tried to convince her to run away with me, get married and leave everything and everyone behind but she needed to think about it, which I took to mean that I wasn’t good enough. I became angry at her. No matter what she said after, it didn’t matter, I was convinced she saw me as nothing more than the loser that her father always called me. He hated my guts and swore he would break my neck if I didn’t leave his daughter alone. All that disgust he had for me, I assumed she herself was feeling it too. After some sharp words I left her behind to meet up with Elijah and Luke to do a job for Harvey. What I didn’t know is my brother, Connor, was out to end me for good. Watching me closely he took aim, only neither of us saw Franky come running at me with her packed bag in hand. Her eyes begged me to help her but there was nothing I could do. Connor, that bastard, learned early on how to get to me. He came after Kayla because he knew how he had affected me before. Franky wanted to be with me, but she didn’t want to leave her father alone. She loved him too much and wanted to have us both. I still feel guilty for not understanding that, for forcing her to choose. She was only seventeen, and I was a few months older, but we were sure - of each other. I miss her like crazy, and I promised myself I would never get close to anyone like that again.