Friend-Zoned (35 page)

I wake with a start.
I can’t see! And I’m being smothered!
Reaching up with my weak arms, I feel around and pull at what’s
covering my eyes. I take them off and look at
them.
Eye
patches?
What am I? A freakin’
pirate?!
I try to swallow but something blocks my throat.
I start to panic. I can’t breathe.
A shrill beeping pierces my ears and I moan into the obstruction in
my throat.
I’m frightened!
Tears fill my eyes, I begin to shake and silently sob.
“Hush, dearie, hush. It’s alright now, girlie. You’re just
disorientated. Open your eyes for me, honey.”
I calm slightly at the sound of a smooth voice. I open my eyes and
it takes a while to focus.
I see an older, round nurse at my hospital bedside.
She smiles and tells me, “I’ve been waiting a long time for you to
show me those pretty eyes of yours.”
I’m so confused.
How did I get here? What happened?
I make the sign for choking and my nurse chuckles. She says, “Yes,
you have a tube in your throat. I can get that out for you now but
you’ll be sore so try not to speak.” She walks out of my room and
comes back a few minutes later with another older woman. The woman
smiles big and says, “Dear me, you gave us a real fright,
Valentina. There were times we thought you wouldn’t make it. You
lost a lot of blood. We did four blood transfusions. How are you
feeling?”
Ahh, I have a tube in my
throat, doctor, and I don’t know sign
language.
I make the sign for choking
again and the doctor touches her forehead and chuckles, “How about
we get the tube out and then you answer me?” I nod and she
smiles.
The nurse and doctor work together and I gag on the tube as it
comes up and out of my throat. I breathe deep and even that hurts.
The doctor asks me, “How are you feeling?”
I whisper, “Tired. Sore. Confused.”
Wowza, that hurts.
I put a hand
to my throat and my face pains. The doctor looks at me
sympathetically and says, “You’ll be sore for a while, sweetie.
Getting shot is never an easy thing for the body to recover
from.”
Oh my god, I got
shot.
The memories drift back.
Omarr kidnaps me. Nik comes for me. I get shot.
That’s all I can remember.
I whisper, “Nik.”
The doctor smiles softly and says, “Maybe you should wait for your
friends to get here. I called Natalia Kovac as soon as I was told
you were awake.”
I nod but I can’t help the anxiety that coils in the center of
me.
She didn’t want to talk about Nik. I hope he’s okay.
I’m left alone to my thoughts for a while. Just when I feel at
peace the door bursts open. Nat stands there and when she sees my
smiling face she collapses to her knees in the doorframe and sobs
hard.
Seeing my friend in pain hurts me, too. I can’t stop the tears from
falling down my cheeks and my throat hurts like a mother. Ghost
appears behind her and picks her up. He places her next to me on
the bed and I hug her weakly. She sobs into my shoulder. I look up
at Ghost. He smiles and pushes my hair behind my ear.
Nat straightens and bellows, “Don’t you ever,
ever
do that to me again! Or I’ll
beat your ass so hard you’ll wake up into next week!”
I chuckle but no sounds come out. My lips are splitting and cracked
but I don’t care.
I whisper, “Nik.”
Nat looks at me and tells me, “We can only visit two at a time and
the others want to see you so I’ll come back after everyone’s seen
you.”
I nod. Ghost and Nat leave the room as Lola and Trick come in. Lola
holds my hand on one side of the bed and Trick hold the other on
the other side of the bed. Lola tries to be brave but tears run
down her forced smile and into her mouth. Trick kisses my forehead.
As they leave, Max and Mimi come in.
Max smiles but his eyes are bright. He sits on the bed, hugs me
gently and whispers, “I’ll never forget you took a bullet for Nik.
I don’t care if we don’t have the same blood; you’re a member of my
family.” I smile but tears are streaming down my face.
The only conclusion I’ve come to is that Nik has passed away. This
is why no one will talk to me about him.
I’m completely devastated at this but won’t mourn him until I’m
alone. I want to mourn Nik privately and I’ll have time to do that
later. I don’t want to disappoint my friends who are so happy to
see I’m okay.
Mimi smiles big at me and accuses, “You never told me I’m friends
with a total badass who jumps on the backs of bad guys with
guns.”
I whisper back, “I didn’t know either. Total badass.”
Mimi smiles and whispers, “Righteous.”
Max holds me around the shoulder and I take in the warmth he
offers. After a few minutes they both kiss me and leave.
After seeing everyone, I’m exhausted. I close my eyes and take
comfort in the darkness.
I hear shuffling in the doorway and open my eyes. I take in
Nik.
I smile and hope this dream is a good one. He’s wearing sweats, a
t-shirt, and sneakers. He has a cane in his left hand and he limps
over to me.
I frown.
This is not a good dream. Nik’s never injured in my dreams.
He smiles big and kisses my forehead. He asks, “Did you have sweet
dreams, baby?”
I turn my tired, half-lidded eyes into his bright amber ones and
beg in a hoarse whisper, “Don’t wake me up.”
***

My eyes flutter and I
press deeper into the warmth at my side.
Something tightens around my waist. I open my eyes and lean
back.
Nik is in the hospital bed with me. Dressed in sweats and a
tee.
Oh, god. I wasn’t dreaming. Nik is alive!
He smiles and his eyes search my face, he whispers, “Hey,
baby.”
I smile but an endless stream of tears fall down my cheeks. I
mouth
hey
.
He wipes my tears away and says, “Well, this proves it…”
I frown and shrug.
He continues “Nothing will keep us apart. And we need to get
married. Like, tomorrow.”
I silently chuckle and mouth
I
do
. The after a moment I mouth
what happened?
He straightens and explains, “When Omarr shot you, I thought you
were dead, baby. Never, in all my life, have I felt the way I felt
that night.” The light in his eyes fade and he focuses on nothing
in particular across the room, he whispers, “So much blood. I was
sure there was none left in your body.”
Stupid hemophilia!
He goes on,
“Then he shot me in the thigh. It didn’t look bad but he got a main
artery so I was bleeding as bad as you were. And I thought to
myself as long as I’m with you in life or death, I’ll be okay. I
killed Omarr, baby. My last thought before I passed out was that I
wasn’t able to save you. And that sucked.”
He looks so pained.
I whisper, “I love you…and we’re getting married.”
He smiles and teases, “You pinky swear?”
I silently chuckle and hold up my pinky. We link them together. I
lean forward and place a soft kiss on his lips. We chuckle and hold
each other.
My eyes heavy and I slip into a deep and restful sleep.

Chapter Twenty-Nine
Making it official

One month
later…

Just thinking about the
past month makes me exhausted.
It turns out I was in hospital three weeks before I woke from my
deep comatose sleep. I was shot just under the right side of my
collarbone. The bullet went straight in and out, luckily missing
all vital organs.
Nik was there every day with me, leaving Max in charge at The White
Rabbit. My dad came down when I first got shot but Nik sent him
back to Cali with a promise that if anything changed, he’d call.
The day after I woke, my dad was there bullying me to get better
which made me laugh.
My dad becomes even more abrupt when he’s hurting.
I spent another week in the hospital after I woke and upon leaving
I asked to see the doctor privately.
Spending a month in hospital after a near death experience will do
things to a person. First, you question how you live your life.
Secondly, you elect to make changes. And lastly, you decide to live
a fuller life. This is the reason for my private doctor
appointment.
The older female doctor I know as Gail comes into my room and shuts
the door. I make my request and she smiles big, “Of course! We can
do it today. It only takes a minute. I’ll only ask this one more
time though. Are you sure?”
I nod and within minutes, it’s done.
I’m so surprised at myself and can’t help the huge smile that
stretches my face.
The weeks that follow consist of Nik and I doing physical therapy
twice daily. We motivate each other as much as we can but some days
are harder than others. We’re both healed almost completely but
we’ve been told wounds like this are always apparent in the mind
and we’ll most likely experience phantom pains every now and
again.
Uncle Jerm worked with the police while I was in hospital to have
Nik cleared of any charges he might’ve faced for killing Omarr. All
charges were dropped and it was ruled self-defense.
A week after I was released from hospital, Nik threw a welcome home
party for me at his place. Everyone we care about was there; my
dad, the girls, the guys, Nik’s mom and sisters, Molly, Ceecee,
even Uncle Jerm.
Half way through the wonderful evening, Max and Trick picked me up
and placed me on the kitchen counter. Everyone turned to watch me
with amusement in their eyes. So, of course, my eyes narrowed in an
I-Don’t-Like-Surprises kind of way.
Nik came forward and said for everyone to hear, “I think the
traditional thing is to kneel but I can’t due to my injury so I
asked the guys to place you up on counter for me.” He removed a
small leather ring box from his jeans. I gasped loudly and covered
my mouth with my hands. He smiled and said, “Tina, the best thing
you ever did was Friend-zone me.” At this, everyone burst into
laughter, even me. He continued, “And I never thought I’d be so
thankful for those disgusting candy wax lips. We’ve had so many
things be thrown at us and we’ve always come out on top. Not even
death could tear us apart. I want you by my side forever, baby.
Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”
Still holding my hands over my mouth I shout a muffled, “Ahhh,
yeah!”
He chuckled and opened the box. The gold ring is beautiful and
elegant. It’s tasteful and exactly what I could have wanted if I
chose it myself. It has three nice diamonds sparkling atop
it.
I love it.
I croaked, “I love it.”
Nik replied, “Not as much as I love you, Tina.” The he held my face
and kissed me deep and sweetly.
Everyone cheered and Nik announced I was moving in with him as soon
as I could. Nat feigned hurt but she was smiling like a loon.
Which bring us to today.
I’m moving in with Nik, Max, and Ceecee. Nik is helping me pack
boxes and shift them over to my new place. I was a little worried
about leaving Nat alone but she assured she is totally fine with
this. She’ll stay in the apartment til the lease runs out in a
month then get a one bedroom apartment for herself closer to work.
I’m so lucky to have a friend like her.
I stop packing for a short break. I lean into the back of the
kitchen cabinet to reach for a glass and arms close around my waist
making me jolt. I turn and yell, “Every freakin’ time!”
Nik chuckles and shakes his head at me. We do this almost every
day. You think I’d be used to it by now.
He gently pushes my hair out of the way, puts his face into the
back of my neck and whispers, “Can’t wait til tonight.”
My stomach tightens and I flush. I can’t wait either. Our first
night of living together.
Excited!
I whisper back, “Me either. And I may have something special for
tonight. Something I bought at a very chic lingerie store.”
His arm tightens around my waist and he pulls me back into his hard
body. He nips my ear, growls lightly and warns, “Don’t tempt me,
baby. We might not make it til tonight and we’ve still got a lot of
packing to do.”
I sigh and ask quietly, “Want a quickie now and then we can take
our time later? You know, just to take to edge off?”
Ever since our near death experience we’ve been insatiable for one
another. Finding any excuse to be intimate and close.
Okay, so we’ve been going at it like rabbits.
And it’s been
so
good!
Nik stills at my back and I smile. He picks me up and I giggle, he
rushes to my room, kicks to door closed and together we take the
edge off.
***

I’m officially moved in
with Nik!
We unpacked the last box and hour ago and it felt
good
!
This is the happiest I’ve felt in two months. If you asked me two
months ago where I’d be and what I’d be doing in two months, my
answer would’ve been the exact same thing I was doing the previous
month; managing Safira, living with Nat and hanging out with my
great friends and awesome boyfriend.
Tonight is special for me. Even though we ordered Chinese food and
lounged around in our sweats watching TV, it was awesome.
I ask Nik to give me half hour before he comes to bed. He smirks
and kisses me gently.
I rush to shower, do my hair and makeup. I dress in my fabulous new
lingerie and lightly apply perfume on my pressure points.
Before I know it, Nik shouts out from the bedroom, “I hope you’re
ready soon or I’m coming in there.”
I touch the puffy scar that blemishes the pale skin under my collar
and say, “Almost ready, honey.”
Just
go out there and do it.
Yeah. Just
like ripping off a band-aid. Fast and painless.
Using the slow breathing techniques I was taught in hospital, calm
washes over me.
I smile to myself and open the door. I step out and walk back into
the bedroom dressed in nothing but my sexy new lingerie. The bra is
a demi cup with lace frill and the panties are the matching
French-cut kind that leaves half your booty exposed both in a cream
with black lace.
Nik is sitting back in bed with the sheet pulled up to his belly.
His eyes are closed and his hands are folded behind his head.
I clear my throat and he opens his eyes. He croaks, “Holy hell,
Tina. You’re going to give me a heart attack.”
I giggle and move to his side of the bed. As soon as I’m close
enough, he pulls me over him so I’m straddling his lap. He sits up
straighter and wraps his muscular arms around me. One across my
butt and the other crossed over between my shoulders. He pulls me
close and kisses me softly.
He murmurs between kisses, “I can’t believe I get you in my bed
every night. I’m the luckiest son of a bitch alive.”
His kisses become urgent and I lean back away from him. His brow
furrows but I smile quickly and say, “There’s something I need to
discuss with you.”
He looks at me in disbelief and asks, “Now?!”
I can’t help but laugh at his devastated expression. I smooth the
lines on his forehead and smile, “Yes. Now, baby.”
He leans back and sighs, “Okay, sweetheart. What is it?”
I blurt out, “Do you still want kids, Nik?”
His brow furrows and he begins, “I told you it didn’t matter to me
anym—”
I cut him off with, “I’m pregnant.”
He stills and blinks for a moment. Worry churns my gut.
Then he whispers, “No shit?”
I lower my face and whisper back, “No shit.”
Before I can react, Nik flips me onto my back so I’m lying on the
bed with him towering over my body. His eyes are fixed on my belly.
He looks stunned.
I don’t blame him. I never told him I had my birth control device
taken out.
His silence fills me with fear. I blurt out, “If you don’t want
it—”
Nik cuts me off with, “Are you kidding me?” He smiles big, pokes my
belly and says, “Our baby is growing in here. We made this little
bean. And it was made from love, baby. That’s a blessing. We’re
blessed.”
Mist forms in my eyes and I smile, too. “Yeah, baby. We’re blessed.
It’s still early so we can’t tell anyone yet but our baby is
growing every day.”
He leans over my face and runs his nose up mine. He kisses me
gently and says, “I hope she’s just like her mama.”
I chuckle and mutter, “I hope he’s just like his daddy.”
His eyes open and he sits on the bed. He runs a hand through his
hair and repeats, “Daddy. I’m going to be a daddy.” He jumps up on
the bed in Tom Cruise style and whisper shouts, “I’m going to be a
daddy!”
I burst into laughter and he jumps on top of me, tickling me. He
accuses, “You little sneak! When did you stop taking birth
control?”
In between fits of laughter, I sputter, “The day I left the
hospital! Please, Nik, no more! I’m going to pee!”
He stops tickling me and kisses me fiercely. I wrap my arms around
his neck and he says against my lips, “I hope you’re in the mood
for a good fucking, baby, because right now I feel all virile and
manly!” We both chuckle at his excited silliness.
His kisses grow more and more urgent. He lowers my panties and
asks, “Hard and fast or slow and sweet?”
I respond breathily ,“Hard and fast.”
He pulls back a little and smirks, “God, I love you.”
Nik moves between my legs, positions himself at my entry and slowly
pushes himself in til we’re crotch to crotch. I hold him tight
around his neck and beg, “Move, baby.”
He pulls out half way and thrusts back in hard.
Fireworks explode in my eyes. My stomach flutters.
Nothing compares to this. Nik fills the missing pieces of my heart
and makes it whole again.
His hands move under my ass, he grips me and lifts me a little. The
small change has made a great thing fantastic. We’re perfectly
positioned and Nik drives into me, rolling his hips with every
thrust.
It’s perfection.
I feel my heart rate increase and my core tightens. Nik reaches
down and pulls on my bra. Both my breasts come free. He takes one
stiff peak into his mouth and sucks hard on it.
And that’s that.
I’m flying. I moan long and contract around his swelling
length.
Ecstasy.
He lets my nipple go with a pop. His eyes close in bliss. He kisses
me deeply, holds me tight and thrusts once, twice, three times
before he moans deep into my mouth, wraps me tight, stills and
jerks his release into me.
We stay together like that catching our breath and basking in the
glow of our love making for a long time.
I begin falling asleep. Nik rolls us to our sides, still connected
and whispers, “You’re going to be a mama, baby.”
With my eyes closed, I smile and claim, “I’m going to be the best
mama ever.”
I hear his amusement when he replies, “Even if you wanted to be a
bad mama, you couldn’t. It’s not in your nature, sweetheart.”
I open my eyes and find his. I whisper, “Do you think Mia would
mind?”
Nik shakes his head and smiles a sad smile, “No way. You don’t
think she’d be excited about being a sister? She’d be over the
moon, babe. And we’ll make sure our little bean knows all about her
sister Mia who’s watching her from heaven. Mia will be a guardian
angel to her brothers and sisters.”
I widen my eyes and whisper, “We’re having more?”
Nik rolls his eyes and states, “Of course! At least another
one.”
I blink then ask, “Can I have this one first before we add anymore
to the list?”
He smiles and replies a sarcastic, “I don’t know. I thought we
could get two going at once. It’ll save time.”
I chuckle and rub the back of his neck. I tease, “You’re going to
be one of those annoying daddies, aren’t you? Like the ones who
tell everyone how much better their kid is than everyone
else’s.”
Nik laughs and admits, “Yeah, I probably will be.”
We chat about our new family til late into the night.
Nik is over the moon and so am I.
We’re having a baby.
***