Keep your friends close and your
enemies closer, where do you keep family?
Hi All so sorry to keep you all waiting
so long. Something that I wrote in this chapter ended up being a premonition
and I had to console a love one of her losses. Also my wonderful editor, much
thanks and appreciation to EditorKarl was unfourtnately bogged down by class
work and was unable to help me finish editing. I was trying to wait for another
editor but I don’t think that it will pan out. So sorry for making you all wait
I’m already working on a new editor for chapter three which is in the works. Once
again Thanks EditorKarl for the help you were able to provide, with my random
thoughts turned story. All that being said please try and overlook the errors
you may find I’ve taken a break and looked over the story again to find any
things I may have missed after looking at it for a few hours. Grammar and flow
is important to me when I read a story so I don’t want to do that to you guys
either.
*Also I will remain in the tense for
the remainder of the story*
Enjoy and feedback encouraged!
*****
Alexandros
put away his laptop in preparation to land at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.
He should have used this flight the catch up on merger and efficiency reports for
the companies he was considering either buying or bailing out. Instead he kept
going back to the note Nichole left him on the hotel stationary.
He
was in Vegas for business not pleasure. He went to personally look at a night
club his company was considering bailing out when his driver made a right and
not a left. Next thing he knew they were at Tao the club in the Venetian. He
decided to go ahead and stop by and talk to a business associate when he
spotted Nichole.
He
sat in his seat twirling his wedding ring waiting for the descent and landing
he was still stunned by the fact that she was a virgin when they met last
night. He couldn’t deny that the chauvinistic
thought pleased him to know he’d been where no other man had. He meant to be
gentle with her because she was so petite but when she whispered in his ear he
was undone and slammed into her to the hilt. Now he realized how much pain he
must have caused her.
But after a few moments she had tapped him on
the shoulder and urged her hips forward so that he moved deeper into her tight
wet sheath. Just thinking about last night had his pants getting tight. Great!
Now he would have to deplane with a massive boner!
He’d
have his assistant Beverly send an overnight request to the Nevada Department
of Vital Records tomorrow so that once the county clerk has filed the marriage
license he can have a copy couriered back ASAP with his wife’s maiden name and
residence listed. Until then he would have to keep himself occupied with work,
extra time at the gym, pool and a lot of cold showers.
*****
Nichole
sat up on the sofa just waking up from her nap. Alicia would be calling any minute
now to see if she’s be coming over for Sunday dinner tonight. She was so glad
she had decided to take Monday off too because even though she was only in
Vegas for three days the time change and hangover had kicked her ass. She’d use
tomorrow to do laundry and take the ring to the jewelry store and have it appraised
and cleaned and boxed up for return. “I’d better take it off before I get asked
more questions than I want to answer” she took the ring off and put it in her
wallet.
Tia
Sharon had married Tio Leonardo thirty years ago. According to my grandmother
my mother acted unreasonable when she brought Tio home. Grandma always
suspected momma was jealous that he loved Aunt Sharon and treated her right.
Tio was born in Puerto Rico and moved here to the Atlanta area with his family
when he was a teenager for his father’s government job. He met Tia on a field
trip his senior year of college and they have been together ever since. Thirty
years of a happy marriage. It’s exactly the kind of marriage and love Nichole
wanted.
“Come on in and start setting the table honey”
Nichole’s Aunt Sharon called. The best thing about being southern was Sunday
dinner. Tia had prepared all of her favorites tonight, ham with baked mac n
cheese, yams, collard greens, cornbread, sweet tea and her famous peach cobbler
for dessert. Taking tomorrow off was definitely a good thing since she was
going to be in a food coma after this meal.
Alicia bounced over and gave Nichole a big hug and they started grabbing
plates and silverware to start setting the table.
Tia
walked around the corner saying something obviously funny to Tio Leo when
Nichole noticed that there was an extra place setting. She rolled her eyes in
the back of her head and thought “Oh hell no you have got to be kidding me!” I
guess I didn’t say it in my head because Alicia just looked at me like a deer
before the car hits. Nichole thought to herself “No wonder Tia cooked all my
favorite food she had invited Jezebel herself to dinner.”
Corina
came walking through the door like she was ready for the club instead of Sunday
dinner. At the exact moment she walked around the corner, I lost my appetite
and started developing an instant migraine. “I’m going to need a long island
not a sweet tea” I thought as Corina sashayed towards the dinner table like
everything was completely ok.
Nichole
stopped fixing her plate pushed her chair back and started making her excuses
and telling everyone goodnight. She hugged Alicia and told her that she would
see her Tuesday at work and they would talk about her trip then. Aunt Sharon
scrambled to get up and beg Nichole not to leave. “Tia you know I can’t stay
but Corina is your daughter and she should be here for family dinner.” Nichole
grabs her purse and walks out of the front door. Before she can close the door Corina
with a sly smile on her face stands up and says “There’s no need for you to go
running out of here, I can’t believe you’re even still mad.” And then trails
behind Nichole closing the door.
Nichole
sighs heavily and look up to the sky trying to summon the strength of Jesus,
Mother Theresa and the Dalai Lama not to knock her cousin flat on her ass right
here on the front porch. “What part should I not be mad about Corina, the fact
that you lied to me, Oh! Or the fact that you were sleeping with my fiancé in
my apartment? You’re right Corina I should thank you for letting me see what
kind of man I was about to marry you saved me the long term heart break and the
headache of a divorce.”
Corina
crosses her arms and says “He still loves you, you know? Maybe if you had
fucked the man this wouldn’t have happened. You’ve made that man wait for four
years and he couldn’t wait any longer. He was very upset when you called off
the engagement”
“Corina
do you hear yourself? He was upset!?! How do you think I felt coming home from
class early and finding you and in my apartment, in my bed with my fiancée? And
please tell me what’s so wrong with waiting for marriage? I refuse to end up
like momma. No one can have love at first sight that many times. She always ends right back at grandma’s house
needing to be taken care of until she can mend her broken heart and fall in
love all over again! No job, no plan, no future and I refuse to be anything
like that”
“Looks
like trying to have it all cost you Malcolm but I will gladly fill your
Louboutin’s and your side of the bed in his brand new condo.” Corina said
shifting her weight to the other leg and putting her hands on her hips. Nichole
as about two seconds from snatching the Indian Remy from her cousin’s head when
Tia opend the door and stepped out with some food for her to take home in case
she got hungry later.
Nichole
grabbed the plates from Tia and kissed her on the cheek while telling her to
kiss Tio for her. She turned on her heel walked off the porch and to her car.
Nichole’s
aunt and uncle had been a god send when her mother had decided that she was in
love yet again and ran off with ‘the love of her life” and didn’t want a kid weighing
her down. She moved in with them when she was twelve and had never looked back.
They
took her in without complaint, loved her, provided for her and Tio even taught
her Spanish (so she could keep up with his Spanglish). She mowed grass, babysat
and tutored people for extra money so that in the summer she could go to summer
school and take extra classes without having to ask Tia and Tio for the extra money.
They never treated her like a burden and she didn’t want to be.
She
applied and got into a school with a 4x4 schedule instead of an even odd
schedule. She gave up electives like chorus and band so that she could add more
core classes to her schedule. She had worked like a dog to graduate at 16 (a
whole two years early since her birthday was late) and went to Emory for her RN
degree.
She
participated in work study, became an RA her sophomore year. She got pell
grants and signed a six year work obligation scholarship with Grady Memorial
Hospital to pay for her student loans, online courses and the two year Registered
Nurse Practitioner classes at Emory. She had to work one year at Grady before
they would start paying for the RNP classes and had six months of RNP classes
left and three and a half more years of work obligation left.
She still lived in the same one bedroom
apartment that she leased her junior year of college and with the exception of
her 2013 Beetle convertible and a new bed she had saved every penny. When her
work obligation was up she planned to move. She hadn’t figured out where but
she would of course always come back to visit Tia , Tio and Alicia. As far as
Corina is concerned to hell with her
*****
Nichole
came home and threw her keys in the bowl by the door, put the plates in the
fridge and made her way to her bedroom. Ugh! Her luggage was still on her bed
and she would have to clean it off before she could get in and try and sleep.
She took the luggage off her bed and carried it into the kitchen to sit by the
washer dryer combo. She opened the suit case to separate wash vs. dry clean.
Nichole
pulled out the mini dress she wore the Saturday night and smelled it. It still
smelled like Alex. Um… Burberry Britt one of her favorite male colognes. Nichole
decided to hang her “wedding dress” in the closet. She got into the shower
letting the warm water flow over her body. Nichole closed her eyes started
thinking about how all this happened. Why she was in Vegas in the first place.
She had gotten out of class early for St. Patty’s
day festivities and most of students and professors usually went to Savannah
for the pub crawl. The Spanish medical terminology professor had let class out
early, actually all she did was assign more terms to study and take up last
week’s assignments 101 min class lasted all of about 20 minutes which was a relief
because she wanted to get home and take a nap and shower before Malcolm took
her out for dinner tonight. Nichole sent a quick text to Malcolm letting him
know that she got out of class early and that she couldn’t wait to see him
tonight for their date.
They
also had to sit down and finalize the guest list and pick out invitations for
the wedding they were getting married in less than 3 months June 4th
at 10:00 am she had wanted it early because it would be hot and she didn’t want
Alicia and Corina, and herself to melt in their dresses.
Nichole
walked up to her apartment and smiled seeing Malcolm’s BMW parked in the
visitors spot. She fished her keys out of her messenger bag and unlocked the
door dropping her keys in the bowl like she always did. She was about to hang
up her bag when she heard a noise. “I know Malcolm isn’t trying to get me to
watch porn again, how many times do I have to tell him it’s not going to
convenience me to have sex with him before the wedding.”
She
decided to creep up to the door and startle him saying something along the
lines of “Are you taking notes for our wedding night?” When she got outside of
her bedroom door the moans got louder too loud to be her crappy TV. She slowly
pushed her door open and what she saw made her heart drop to her feet making
her feel sick.
There
was Malcolm plowing into her cousin Corina from behind. He was smacking her ass
and asking her how much she liked it as his cock pistoned in and out of her.
Corina was moaning and writhing while gripping the sheets off the corner of the
bed. As Malcolm’s grunts came in time with his increased pace and Corina’s legs
started to shake, Nichole pushed open the door and simply said “Get the fuck
out of my home.”
In
the movies the women always yelled and screamed and kicked. Nichole was numb
and couldn’t even think of what she should be feeling. Pretty sure she was
experiencing was shock, standing there thinking “I don’t even have sex in my
bed!”
Malcolm
looked like he’d seen a ghost and damn near pushed Corina off the bed. He
scrambled off the bed and ran towards the door where Nichole was standing.
Corina picked up her clothes and got dressed and exited the bedroom squeezing
past Nichole on the way out. She picked up his keys and told him she’d be
waiting for him in the car.
Malcolm
opened his mouth to no doubt try and come up with an explanation for what
happened but before he could Nichole just raised her hand and pointed toward
the door and said “She’s waiting for you and just so we’re clear the wedding is
off and we are done. I never want to lay eyes on you again ever! I’ll give your
stuff to Alicia and she can give it to “her” she said looking towards the
door.”
She
took off her engagement ring and tried to put it in his hand. When he wouldn’t
take it she made a mental note to put it in his box of stuff. She knew arguing
with him about keeping the ring might send her over the edge and beating him to
a pulp no matter how good it might make her feel wasn’t worth her nursing
license.
Nichole
opened her eyes after recalling the incident six weeks ago and a cold shiver
ran down her spine even in her steaming hot shower. The worst part was the fact
he hadn’t even bothered to use a condom. Not only did he not care about his
body her didn’t care about her body either, sleeping with Corina of all people.
That girl that uses the “Plan-B” pill like plan A. Sometimes I think she has
aspirations to get pregnant by some rich ball player or rapper so she can live
off of child support for 18 years. I think the only man she’s ever been
exclusive and faithful with is her hair dresser and he’s gay!
OMG!
Speaking of safe did she and Alex use condoms? He seemed intelligent and
responsible. She tried to search the recesses of her mind but she couldn’t
remember. She would run the standard swabs in the morning and she was glad that
she had started birth control a month ago in preparation for the wedding. She
was using the nuvaring on the three in a row schedule so she would be have every nine weeks instead of four and that
appealed to her. Who wants to deal with Aunt Flo monthly? She wasn’t due her
cycle for another five weeks. She thank god for that small concession.
*****
Alexandros just finished doing his laps in the pool and was
striding through the house in his flip flops with his towel slung low on his
hips. The house phone rang and he wondered what could have happened at the
company for someone to be calling him at almost 1 am. He walked to the end
table and looked at the caller ID and saw his mother’s cell phone number.
“Geiá
sou agapi̱tí̱ mi̱téra” (Hello, dear mother) “Geia
sou yiós (Hello son) I hope I didn’t wake you I forget about the time
difference when I’m here in Corfu it’s almost 8 am here.” “No mom I was still
awake I couldn’t sleep I just got finished doing some laps in the pool, trying
to clear my head.”
“You work too hard you’re not even 30 yet and at this pace
you’re going to be grey before you have the chance to find a wife. Speaking of wife
I ran into Rosemary, Gina’s mother this past Thursday at a spa on the Amalfi
coast. I mentioned that you would be at tending Emory’s charity masquerade and bachelorette
auction; Rosemary said that Gina would just love for you to be her escort.”
“I told her mother that would be a wonderful idea and Gina
should contact you within the week for dinner and discuss the when and where’s
of the event. This will be a wonderful start of the social season!”
Alex pinches the bridge of his nose, looks up and audibly groans
at his mother’s presumptiveness. He has no intention of going to the Emory
fundraiser with Gina. If things go as planned he and Nichole will be going
together. He decided to tell his mother that he has some endeavors currently in
the works and if things fall into place as planned he would be unavailable to
escort Gina. Also please inform her to find an alternate date as he would hate
to have to let her down without adequate notice.
Marisol gave Alex an equally polite answer with the under
tone of “you’re full of shit” they ended the call with I love you’s and said
goodnight. Alex would have loved to tell his mother that he had married Nichole
but he couldn’t until he found her. Not to mention she would be on the first
jet back to Atlanta wanting to meet her. He had to prepare Nichole to meet his
family. She knew nothing about him and most of all she would need prep and a
strong drink to prepare for his mother.
He couldn’t wait to find his wife to have her waking up in
his, no their bed! He wanted to feel her soft curves in his hands while he
caressed her body and make love to her first thing in the morning. Just
thinking about her has hi body aching. He set the phone back on the base and
headed to his room for a very cold shower.
*****
Nichole
rolled over and stretched glancing at the clock 7:00. “Damn I can’t even sleep
in when I have the chance to sleep in.”
She had not had a holiday off work in so long she couldn’t even remember
the last one. Nichole usually worked
every holiday because she was single with no kids and no real life. She would
have loved to go to the Memorial Day party Tio and Tia throw every year. But
there is no way she can show up and deal with Corina two days in a row. She made
it a personal goal to no longer let other destroy her inner peace, not to
mention they can’t supply enough long island ice tea over there to make it
worth the trip.
This
little respite felt great no work today, on a slight break between semesters so
no homework. She had her day somewhat planned out. Do laundry, then check in
with Alicia (via phone because she would be at the cookout), iron scrubs for
tomorrow, take ring to have it appraised, belly dance class, and then dinner at
Pappadeaux. She learned a long time ago you never shimmy on a full stomach.
Shimmy mob last Saturday was so fun and she is really looking forward to seeing
her shimmy sisters again. She also wanted to sign up for the zills and veil
workshop coming in august. Two things she really needed to work on.
She
rolled out of bed and put on her white and pink plaid Aeropostale sweat capri’s,
a light pink cami top and her most comfortable flip flops. Aeropostale was her
favorite store and they always had a sale. Best of all is the student discount!
Nichole decided to stop by there and then go to Kay Jewelers to drop off the
ring to be appraised and then have dinner at Pappadeaux as planned and then can
go back and pick it up. She smiled at herself she just cut her errands in half
she even had time to hit a midday Zumba session. She smiled and went in search
of some workout clothes and sneakers.
Nichole
walked back home after her Zumba class feeling refreshed. She was getting hungry
and she wanted to do her errands so she could relax at the restaurant without
having to be somewhere pressing afterwards. The jewelry store didn’t close
until eight she could have dinner and take her time and pick up the ring
afterwards no problem.
Nichole got out of the shower feeling
refreshed after washing her hair and cooling off. Normally she kept her hair
straight because that’s how Malcolm liked it but she didn’t feel like it and
besides her curls which were big and loose had never been unattractive to her.
Malcolm would tell her that they created relaxers for a reason and had acted
like wanting to have “natural” hair was a bad thing. Nichole found herself
wondering how Alex felt about her hair since it was curly when he met her. Although
looking at her curls in the mirror now she had to admit that having it straight
definitely made it easier to throw in a ponytail with her busy schedule.
Nichole
waked to her closet and pulled out one of her favorite maxi dresses. She had
wanted to wear one of the new ones she had bought from White House Black Market
but just like her slacks they had to be hemmed to accommodate her short
stature. Maybe she would do that on her
next day off. Then again her belly dance costume is still lying across her
sewing machine. She scooped the two dresses out of her closet and threw them in
her bag to drop off at the dry cleaners she’d use the one by the dance studio.
*****
Alex
was just coming out of a cooling shower after a ten mile morning run, he’d only
meant to run five but his frustration grew as he was left with his thoughts
pounding in his head as he pounded the pavement. Today was a holiday thus
delaying his efforts to get ahold of the marriage license for yet another day.
He searched his luggage hoping that he had managed to put the “decorative” copy
of the marriage license there, but to no avail. Before he knew it he was
approaching the five mile mark and decided to turn it around. He decided to
give Xavier a call afterwards and see what he was doing.
Alex
and his family moved from California to Atlanta nineteen years ago. They had
first settled in L.A after moving from Greece. His father later decided that
the east coast would suit his family’s way of life better and moved the family
to a suburb of Atlanta within about three years of moving to the states.
Xavier
and Alex’s had been best friends since the first day of school. Xavier knew exactly
what it was like being the new kid and about being different. He and his
parents had moved to Atlanta two years before Alex’s family when his mother was
stationed at Fort McPherson on her final assignment before retirement. She was
to be the post General’s personal and family physician. Since the general’s
family consisted of him and his wife (all his children were grown) it was
definitely considered a cushy job for a full bird colonel.
Xavier
and Alex became friends fast they were both considered different Alex because
of his accent which had the misfortune of coming out when he was angry or
embarrassed. Xavier was constantly picked on for being extra tall for his age
and mixed black and Japanese. His mother met his father while in Okinawa on
duty assignment at the hospital on post. Alex had hit a growth spurt like most
boys the summer between eighth and ninth grade and their friendship became
paramount on the school’s basketball team.
They
hung out every day and even taught each other Greek and Japanese which Alex put
to good use in international business deals. Their friendship grew with age and
they began to be able to depend and implicitly a trust Alex shared with no
other person outside of his siblings and parents. They completed four years together
at Oxford and another two at Yale. While Alex was all business, Xavier had a
softer heart and turned his interest to sociology, physiology and humanitarian
studies. It was probably from his years of hearing his mother’s stories of the
atrocities of war as a physician and soldier.
So
why was Alex dreading telling his best friend that he had gotten married this
past weekend? Part of it was because it he knew his best friend would think
that he was going through some early midlife crisis or worse try and analyze
and cure him with his physco babble.
Before
he could try and find a rational excuse (like jet lag was ever and excuse with
the hours he kept) he sent X a quick text “Your
parents’ BBQ still at 2 right? Need me to bring anything besides ice for your
ass once I whoop it in Spades?” Xavier messaged back a few minutes later. “The cook out is at 2 but you must have text
the wrong best friend because you said you were going to whoop my ass in
spades, Oh I see! The pre-game shit talk has begun!”
Alex
smirked this afternoon was going to be like old times. He walked back into the
bathroom and placed his towel back on the warming rack before striding into his
walk-in closet.
*****
Nichole
called Alicia in the car on the way to the mall. Man she loved her new car! It was her one and
only splurge since she started working. She didn’t count a new bed and sheets,
after what Corina and Malcolm had done on her last bed it was a necessity. She
had made sure the car everything she wanted, from the soft convertible top to
the built in navigation and bluetooth. Volkswagen does not offer OnStar so she
had it added after market. Great on gas and she could whip into any parking
spot this was her dream car.
Resisting
the urge to stop by White House Black Market Nichole made her way to Kay to
drop off the ring for appraisal. She was greeted at the counter by a very
bubbly and helpful sales associate named Cindy. She informed her that she
needed the ring appraised so that she could have it insured.
Cindy
said she would be more than happy to have the gemologist appraise the ring and
box it up for her, since Nichole insisted she didn’t want to wear it along with
some insurance quotes available when she returned in a few hours. Nichole
thanked Cindy and paid the $15.00 appraisal fee, and headed out of the store
with her thoughts fully focused on Aeropostale and dinner.
Again sorry for the wait and I hope you
don’t find this chapter complete crap. ;-) It’s going to take a moment for Alex
and Nichole to find one another but there will be plenty of sex with the other
characters to keep you satisfied. Also do not worry Corina (just like the real
life “Corina” of my dear loved one) will find her comeuppance! A second round
of thanks goes to EditorKarl for your help. Feedback is totally encouraged and
wanted I’m so addicted! Much love
~ Allisonfancy
