This is the silent power I wish to exude as a fellow belly dancer.

This is the silent power I wish to exude as a fellow belly dancer.
No intentional copyright infringement. I just love the pic

Sunday, December 16, 2012

Actions Speak Louder Than Words Ch. 2


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 agapi̱̱ 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

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