Friends & Lovers Trilogy (17 page)

Nicole blushed again, cursing herself for
her lack of finesse when it came to talking to guys.

“
Because you could talk to
any girl in here,” she replied honestly.

Kent laughed, delighted at her candor.

“
You’re the only one who’s
been on my mind lately, and that’s a fact.”

Nicole couldn’t hide the delighted smile
that spread across her face. She was still smiling when Kara came
up to get their order.

“
Well, well, Ladies. You’ve
got yourself some fine company this evenin’. What can I get you to
drink?” Kara leaned against the edge of the booth, as if her legs
were struggling to keep her upright.

“
Can I get a Gin and
Tonic,” Nicole asked.

“
I’ll have a draft and four
shots of Jack,” Roni added.

“
Oh, no shot for me,
please,” Nicole said to Roni.

“
C’mon,” Roni cajoled. “One
won’t hurt.”

“
I’ll make sure you’re
okay,” Kent promised, rubbing a hand over her shoulder to reassure
her.

Nicole shivered at his touch and gave Kara a
nod and a smile.

“
So, Rich,” Roni asked
dryly, “when are you leaving again?”

Rich just chuckled and settled back in his
seat. “I leave day after tomorrow.”

“
Hmmm, that’s too bad,”
Roni said sarcastically.

Rich took a sip of his beer, then looked at
Roni seriously. “Did I do something?”

“
What do you mean?” Roni
asked defensively.

“
Well, is it guys in
general that you dislike, or just me?”

Roni was saved from answering when Kara came
back by the table with the drinks. She put a shot out in front of
each of them, and said to holler if they needed anything else.

They each picked up their shot glass and
lifted it.

“
To friends and family,”
Roni offered, then they brought their glasses together in “cheers”
and downed their respective shot.

Nicole felt the burn of the liquid as it
splashed through her mouth and down her throat. It hit her belly
and she had to concentrate to keep it there.

Yuck. She hated shots, and she really hated
whiskey.

Everyone else seemed to have no problem with
their drinks and quickly slammed their glasses back down on the
table.

Nicole shifted slightly, and when her leg
brushed up against Kent’s, she moved quickly away as if she’d been
burned.

She felt Kent’s chuckle at the side of her
face, and turned, only to realize that their faces were merely
inches away from each other.

She sucked a breath in sharply, and felt the
warmth spread through her body, as his eyes focused on her lips and
dilated slowly.

She couldn’t stop her tongue from darting
out to moisten her lips, and grew heady as Kent groaned softly.

“
You wanna get out of
here?” Kent asked quietly, leaning closer to her, never lifting his
gaze from her lips.

Nicole’s head cleared at that, and she
backed slightly away from him. Yes, she was totally attracted to
Kent and knew that he was probably used to girls jumping at the
chance to go home with him, but as much as she wanted the chance to
get to spend more time with him, she knew they had different ideas
on how that time would be spent.

“
Oh, ahhh, I’m sorry. I
can’t.”

Kent blinked, trying to hide his
surprise.

“
No problem.” He pulled his
arm back from behind her and straightened in his seat. He picked up
his beer and turned to say something to Rich.

Nicole felt her stomach drop with
disappointment. If Kent was so turned off by her not wanting to go
home with him tonight, what would he think about her not wanting to
have sex before marriage? She knew the answer; he wouldn’t want
anything to do with her. He was a sexy, single guy, who literally
could have sex with any woman that he wanted. Why would he waste
his time dating someone like her?

She took a swift drink of her Gin and Tonic,
then excused herself to go to the restroom, before she embarrassed
herself further.

When Nicole left the table, Roni reached
over and punched her brother in the arm.

“
Hey,” Kent exclaimed,
“What’d you do that for?”

“
What’d you say to her, you
jerk?” Roni asked angrily.

“
Nothin’. Shit,
Roni.”

“
It wasn’t nothin’. She
looked upset.”

“
God, Roni, this is the
last thing I want to discuss with my sister. She’s not into me,
alright. All I did was ask if she wanted to get out of here.” Kent
managed to look indignant and slightly embarrassed.

“
Jeez, Kent. She’s not some
floozy who you can just pick up for a one night stand.” Roni said
accusingly.

“
I didn’t mean it to come
out like that, okay. I like her; I just wanted to get some time
alone with her.” Kent explained. “If she’s not into it, whatever,
I’ll find someone who is.”

“
Don’t be such a tool,”
Roni chastised her brother as she stood up. “Like I said, Nicole’s
not like these other girls. If you want to “hang out” with her, why
don’t you act like a grown-up and ask her out on a date? You guys
are so immature.”

She picked up her purse and Nicole’s, then
walked away without a further word for either of them.

“
Hey,” Rich piped in. “What
did I do?”

“
Don’t worry about it man,
my sister gets a little nuts sometimes. What do you say we pick up
some beer and hang out at my house? I bet some of the guys would be
game to come over for a poker game after closing.”

“
Sounds good to me,” Rich
responded.

They left some money on the table for Kara,
then went to ask Pete if he wanted in on a game of poker.

Chapter Five

Kent woke to the sound of
his
phone buzzing. He whipped an arm out
from under the strewn sheet and searched in vain for the annoying
device.

Just when he started to drift off, the
incessant buzzing started again.

He sat up angrily, his hand coming up to
cradle his pounding head.

“
Shit.”

He may have played a little too much poker,
and drank a few too many black and tans, the night before.

When his feet hit the floor, he swore under
his breath when his heel made contact with his phone. When he felt
the vibration under his foot, he grimaced and reached down to pick
it up.

He gingerly opened one eye and flinched at
the pain that seemed to radiate from his head.

How many shots had they done?

He was finally able to focus enough to look
at his phone so he could see who the ass-pain that had been texting
him all morning was…

He should have known, Roni.

Looked like she had been nagging him via
text since early that morning.

“
Nic is upset at your
behavior last night… You’d better MAN UP...”

She had sent the same text twenty times in
the last three hours.

Psycho.

He threw his phone down on the bed, then
went to get some aspirin and a little ‘hair of the dog’.

Two hours later Kent was standing in front
of Roni and Nicole’s apartment, headache free, holding a bunch of
flowers and wondering if he really wanted to get this invested in a
girl right now.

His six foot frame had him taking up most of
the space in the narrow hallway. He paused before knocking,
debating internally with himself.

He felt bad about offending her, and he
really did want to get to know her better, but was he sending the
wrong message by showing up on her doorstep, with daisies, to ask
her on a date? Was he really interested in dating right now?

An image of Nicole flashed in his mind.

Yes, she was blonde, beautiful, and had a
killer body, but she also had a wonderful innocence about her. A
sweetness… And when she smiled, his heart seemed to shift in his
chest.

That image alone should have sent warning
bells off in his head; but instead, he raised his hand and knocked
loudly.

“
Where’s the fire?” Roni
asked when she opened the door. “Jeez, Kent, it sounded like you
were bustin’ down the door.”

“
Is Nic here?” Kent asked
quickly, hoping to bypass his sister and get the groveling over
with.

He should have known better.

Roni leaned against the doorjamb and grinned
up at him, leaving him no choice but to continue to stand there
awkwardly in the hall.

“
Oh, you’re here to see,
Nic, huh?” Roni teased. “Did you get my texts?”

Kent rolled his eyes at her and said, “Yeah,
all nine-hundred of them.” Then he put his hand up and easily moved
her out of his way.

He walked inside and looked around their
living space.

“
Is she here?” He asked
Roni, turning back to her as she closed the door.

“
Yeah,” Roni replied as she
went back to the couch and turned the volume on the TV up. “She’s
in her room. Don’t disappoint me, Bro.”

Kent decided to ignore her taunt, instead
walking over to the closed door and raising his fist to knock
again.

“
Come in,” Nicole called
from inside her room.

Kent took a deep breath and opened the door.
He stepped inside and shut the door quietly behind him, watching
Nicole with every move he made.

She sat in the corner of her room at a small
wooden desk. She was facing her laptop and typing furiously. Her
hair was up in a messy bun, and she had on running shorts and a
Nike t-shirt.

She looked amazing.

Kent cleared his throat loudly, hoping to
get her attention, but Nicole seemed oblivious to anything except
whatever she was working on.

He walked up to her and placed a hand on her
shoulder, causing her to jump and whip her head towards him.

Her mouth formed a pretty O, and Kent
noticed that she was wearing pink glasses.

It took her a moment to process what was
happening, and he could tell the moment that it registered.

She flung her glasses onto the desk and rose
quickly, hitting her hip on the desk as she did.

“
Shoot.” She yelled,
rubbing her hip and looking at him warily. “Sorry, I didn’t realize
it was you at the door.”

“
That’s alright,” Kent
chuckled. “You okay?”

Nicole nodded and took a step back, suddenly
all too aware of the fact that she was alone, with Kent, in her
bedroom.

“
What’s up?” She asked
nervously.

Kent gestured to the reading chair she had
next to the window. “Do you mind if I sit?”

Nicole shook her head no, then sat back down
in her desk chair, seeking safety from the desk that stood between
them.

Kent started to sit, then realized that he
was still holding the flowers.

“
Oh, I um… got these for
you,” He said awkwardly as he thrust the bouquet towards her. He
cursed himself for acting like a freaking schoolboy, but couldn’t
help but feel happy at the look of pure pleasure that crossed her
face as she accepted the daisies.

“
Thank you,” Nicole said
softly, burying her face in the happy blossoms.

“
Sure,” Kent said absently,
his body tightening swiftly as he looked at her. He backed up to
grab a seat and told himself to just spit it out
already.

“
Look,” he began, “the last
couple times we’ve met up I’ve really made an ass of myself. First,
that night at the bar when I man-handled you in front of Bree, then
last night. I acted the way I always act with girls I’m interested
in, but I know that I need to treat you differently.”

“
What?” Nicole tried to
deny what he was saying, while in the back of her mind, the fact
that he’d said he was ‘interested’ in her was making her insides go
haywire. “I know you didn’t mean anything by it. You don’t have to
treat me differently.”

“
I do, Nic. You aren’t just
one of the girls that I usually pick up in the bar. I know you, I
like you, and you’re my sister’s roommate. I should have treated
you with more respect, and I apologize.”

“
I like you too, Kent, just
the way you are. I don’t want you to think you have to act
differently around me. I’m nothing special, honest.” Nicole said
worried that he was already putting her in the friend zone, and
that she would never get a chance with him.

Kent stood abruptly and walked over to her,
bending down and lifting her chin so that he was looking directly
in her eyes.

He wanted her to see that he was telling her
the truth, and to make sure that she heard him.

“
You are special, Nic. You
aren’t just looking for a good time, and you don’t deserve to be
treated like you are. I swear that when I asked you to come to my
place, I wasn’t expecting you to hop into my bed; I just wanted to
get to know you better. I approached it totally wrong, and I don’t
want to make that mistake again. I came by today to make amends,
and to ask if you’d like to go out on a date with me.”

Nicole blinked slowly, her brain working
hard to catch up with her pounding heart.

“
Yes,” She said
breathlessly, caught by the intensity of his grey eyes. “I’d like
that.”

Kent’s grin was swift and broad.

“
Great. When’s your next
evening off?” He asked softly, his gaze dropping momentarily from
her eyes to her lips, as he released his hold on her
chin.