Friend-Zoned (12 page)

I’m back at work trying to avoid the
stupid smiles of Nat and Mimi. It seems they were spying on Nik and
I when we had our little hug fest.
It’s been about ten minutes since I’ve seen Nik. And I miss him
already.
Just as I walk over to the counter I hear the tone of the instant
messenger alerting me.
As soon as I read the message, I smile like a loon.
Nik123: How do you girls feel about Poker?

Chapter Nine
Poke Her Face

Every Thursday night is
Poker night with the guys. As soon as I sent Tina a message asking
the girls to Poker night, I knew I’d fucked up. The guys were going
to string me by my balls. But I’m so desperate to see Tina again,
I’m taking the
any excuse will do
route. When I told the guys, it went a little
like this.
“So, everyone still on for Poker night?” I anxiously ask.
Max picks up on it, narrows his eyes at me and says, “Yeah, I
think. Ghost wasn’t sure if he could make it. Might just be me,
you, and Trick.”
I brighten a little too much and chime, “Oh, okay. We might have
some extra players to fill in for him.”
Max questions, “And who would these extra players be?”
I try my best at being inconspicuous, “Tina. Nat, Mimi, and
Lola.”
Max looks as me a full minute before he bursts into laughter. He
straightens up and says, “You’re shittin’ me, right?”
I need to sweeten the deal.
I blurt, “Tina’s bringing two different types of cupcakes. She said
she only ever makes them for special occasions so you know they’re
gonna be good.”
Max’s brows lift, he strokes his chin and says, “Okay, I’m good
with it. You know Trick will be good with it.” He smiles a cruel
smile and rasps, “You’re telling Ghost.”
I’d rather shit in my hands and
clap!
Ghost doesn’t like changes to
his routine. I call him and the second I greet him I know I’ve
fucked up by being too cheerful. I normally say
Hey
but today I say
Hey brother, how are you today?
He knows something’s up so I just blurt it out.
He laughs and teases me, “You’re pussy whipped.”
I claim, “I can’t be pussy whipped. I haven’t even had the pussy to
be whipped!”
Take that, Ghost! Oh,
wait…
He chuckles, “That’s even worse, bro.”
Fuck me, it totally is.
I’m
shocked when Ghost agrees without a fight. I did sweeten him up
with hopes of Tina’s cupcakes though.
I told Tina to tell the girls to come around eight thirty. We don’t
eat dinner beforehand; we order pizza and eat while we play.
It’s now eight o’clock. Max has ordered the pizza to be here at
nine and I’m putting together our bigger poker table which seats
ten.
Over the next twenty minutes the guys, Nat, Lola, and Mimi have
shown up.
When the doorbell rings, I’m up and heading to the door before
anyone can get it.
***

Whoa, this can’t possibly
be it?
I check the address again.
Sure enough, I’m at the right place. And it’s big.
Really
big. So big that
it has those huge, fancy cast iron gates. Someone has been kind
enough to leave those open. I head down the long driveway and I see
Mimi’s car there. They could fit at least ten cars in front of the
house. And that’s not including down the driveway.
I asked Meems to pick up Lola and Nat because I had cupcakes to
finish and thought I’d be late. Better only one person being late
than two.
I park my Dung Beetle, grab my containers of baked delights and
head over to the front door. It’s a classy timber double door. It’s
nicely carved around the edges. My father would appreciate this
door. I ring the bell and the sounds of soft bells chimes in the
background.
God, even the doorbell
is nice. Mental note; change the batteries on the sensor at
Safira.
The front door opens and Nik
beams, “Hey, I was beginning to think you weren’t coming.”
He looks
fine
in
jeans, white long sleeved t-shirt and sneakers.
I beam right back at him. I move forward and give him an awkward
one armed hug because of the precious loot in hefting.
I tell him, “I wouldn’t stand you up, Niki.”
He takes the containers from my hands, and says, “Good. That would
suck if you did.”
Now that he holds the containers, I put both my arms around his
waist and squeeze. I look up and smile, “Never.”
His face changes. I’ve never seen that face on him before. It’s
almost…lust? I’m not sure.
He clears his throat, straightens up and lifts the containers,
“Let’s get these babies inside.”
He moves back and lets me in. We’re in a small hallway. And
it’s
amazing
.
Both walls of the hallway are packed full of framed photos. Not
neat or straight or all in a row. It’s like a collage. It looks
like it was all randomly thrown there, yet fit together perfectly.
Photos of his Dad, Mom, brother and sisters, Ghost and Trick,
eating together, playing, candid, formal, old and recent. Ceecee
has her own section of wall all to herself. One of the photos at
her end made my heart wrench. Max is holding an infant. The baby
has tubes coming out of its tiny body at all ends. Max looks a
mess, looking down at this baby with a fierce love. Like he would
do anything to protect it or die trying. My eyes are misting and my
throat closes.
I hadn’t noticed Nik stopped behind me til he speaks, “Ceecee after
her first surgery. They only gave her a twenty percent chance. Max
held her til the nurses had to force him away from her. Never left
the hospital, not for an entire month. Mom brought him food. I
brought him clothes. He slept on a chair for a month.” He breathes
deep, brow furrowed, he continues softly. “When Ceecee cried, Max
cried. All the doctors and nurses knew us personally. Mom made
cakes for ‘em every Friday. When Cricket was given the all clear to
come home, I moved them in with me so I could help out and keep an
eye on Max. He wasn’t coping well. I hired a nurse and got him back
to work. Mom cared for Ceecee til she was five.” He voice is steady
but thick. “We love that little angel more than anything. She’s our
miracle.”
My heart breaks for my new friends.
I look away and wipe away tears I hadn’t realized I shed. Nik
squeezes my arm and we continue down the hallway. I can hear the
voices of the other guys and gals, laughing and talking.
When we enter the main area, I’m stumped. His house is not at all
what I’m expecting.
Let me tell you what I was expecting. I was thinking I’d see dark
colors, bleak and basic furniture, and absolutely no
warmth.
How wrong was I?
Way off. This house
had
to be decorated by a female. Or
multiple females. I’m guessing his mother and sisters had a part to
play in decorating and furnishing this house. It’s stunning.
The room we’ve just entered is enormous and open plan. The walls
are a soft peach color. The ceiling is bright white and high up.
There are down lights all over the place. All the furniture is
wooden, apart from the sofas. And they are
three
three-seater light brown, soft
leather sofas placed in a semi-circle around huge LCD TV which is
mounted on the right hand wall. There is a large square coffee
table in between those sofas; it looks mahogany. The left hand side
of the room holds a large hand-carved dining room table and nice
chairs, also mahogany. The guys have set up a Poker table in the
middle of the room, with cards and chips at the ready. In the back
left hand corner of the room is a closed off area which I assume is
the kitchen because there are stools sitting at a breakfast bar.
There are bookcases, a china hutch, and a DVD cabinet strategically
placed around the room. It’s breathtaking.
“I love your house,” I say in awe.
Nik smirks, “Thanks. We like it, too.” And leads me into the closed
off area in the left hand corner which confirms is the
kitchen.
On the way, I greet everyone and kiss Max on the cheek. I admire
him and his ability to be so happy regardless of the misfortune
he’s had.
Nik takes out cake platters and I load up my surprise cupcakes onto
them. Then I take the platters out to the dining table.
I haven’t even done anything and I’m already having
fun.
Stop being a
turd.
***

Tina looks gorgeous in
tight jeans, a sweater, and sandals. Her hair is in one of those
cute messy buns at the very top of her head. Her lips are
glossed.
I want to lick that gloss off and find out what flavor it is.
I don’t know what she’s doing to me! The woman must have the
voodoo.
Tina has just finished placing the cupcakes on the dining table
when Ghost approaches and reaches for a cupcake. She puts her hand
out to stop him.
“No, Ghost, honey, yours are here.” She says as she points to
another platter of cupcakes.
Ghost narrows his eyes at her and questions, “Why are these mine?
You spit in em or some shit?”
Tina looks shocked that he would think that but responds, “Um, no.
You said you preferred crunchy peanut butter so I made you your own
batch.”
Ghost looks stunned. His brows are raised and his mouth hangs open
a little. He straightens his face and asks quietly, “You made these
special?”
Tina looks uncomfortable and slightly flushed. She straightens
things on the table that don’t need straightening. “Uh…” She shrugs
and looks to the floor. “You gotta eat, right?”
She walks back into the kitchen leaving a shocked Ghost staring at
his personal batch of cupcakes.
Max walks up behind him and scolds, “You’re such an ass. I bet you
don’t even like crunchy PB.”
Ghost answers in a small voice still frowning, “No. I do. A
lot.”
Max gets a load of Ghost’s confused expression and smirks.
Ghost picks up a cupcake and confirms, “So, she’s genuinely nice,
huh?”
Max smirks harder, “Yep.” He pops the
p
.
Ghost shakes his head and mutters, “Fuck me.”
***

I’ve hidden out in the
kitchen long enough. I straighten my back and move to walk out of
the kitchen when Ceecee rolls her way in. My god, but this child is
beautiful. She looks up at me and smiles big with her crooked
teeth.
“Hi Tina!”
Smiling, I reply, “Hi Ceecee. How are you, angel?”
She looks up in thought, “I’m okay.”
Okay? Just okay?
I don’t like
that. Children should be happy. They should at least be
good
.
I walk toward her, stroke her cheek and ask, “Everything
okay?”
She sighs, “Yeah, I guess.”
I can see she doesn’t really want to talk about it. There is
hesitance written all over her sweet face.
“Well, if you ever want to talk to me about anything,” I say as I
walk back to my purse, pull out paper and a pen and start writing,
“here is my phone number.”
She looks at the paper in wonder, eyes wide and whispers, “I can
call you anytime?”
Without hesitating I answer, “Anytime at all. If you ever feel like
you want to talk or need some advice, I’ll be available on that
number, sweetie.”
Her face transitions from shock to happiness and she beams at me,
“Thanks Tina.” She folds the paper and puts it in her pocket.
We both move out of the kitchen to find the pizza has arrived. I
make a plate for Ceecee, bring it over to her and kiss her
forehead.
Mia would be five if she
were alive.
I can’t stop the pain
from clutching my heart. I think about her every day and I wonder
what my life would be like if she were still here. It’s a moot
point. She’s
not
here. I miss her, though.
Max tells Ceecee to get ready for bed and she makes her way to a
hallway on the top right corner of the room. I want to see the rest
of the house and am already scheming to sneak off later on and
explore.
I feel someone behind me. An arm moves across the top of my chest
and I’m pulled back into a hard body. I look up and Nik is looking
at me apprehensively.
My eyes widen and I ask, “What?”
He shakes his head and rests his cheek on my temple. “I dunno. You
just looked sad for a minute. I thought maybe you were thinkin’
about Ceecee. You looked like you needed a hug.”
I turn in to face him and hug his waist tight. I respond, “I
always
need a hug.
Thanks.”
He doesn’t say anything for a long time and then,
“Peaches.”
Peaches,
what?
I don’t say anything. He leans
down closer to my neck, he puts his nose under my ear and I feel
his lips at my neck. “You smell like
peaches.”
Oh.
My stomach has the
butterflies and I squeeze him tighter. And I feel something hard on
my upper hip. Warmth spreads through my
belly.
Oh my lord. Is that a…? Does
he have a…?
The thought of Nik
getting a hard on from my scent makes my legs shake and my core
moistens.
His lips are still at my neck and he breathes me in, “Goddamn, you
smell good, Tina. Good enough to eat.”
He nips my neck with his teeth, I shudder and almost moan. I loosen
my hold on him and turn my half-lidded eyes up to his. My voice
hoarse, I respond, “Maybe you should try a cupcake instead. I’m
sure they’d taste better than me.”
Nik closes his eyes, looking pained and says, “I don’t think
anything would taste as good as you.”
He turns and walks away. I’m left thinking in my own
thoughts.
What just
happened?
***

Max puts Ceecee to bed and
turns on the baby monitor we keep on the mantel. Her bedroom is the
last at the end of the hallway and a bit far away so if she calls
out we can’t hear her unless the monitor is on. It works out well,
this way we don’t have to be quiet for her to sleep.
I’m still painfully hard.
I want Tina in my bed. Not just for sex. I want to do all the stuff
you do with people you care about. I want to kiss her and taste
every inch of her gorgeous body. I want to hold her while she
sleeps. I want to protect her from everything that’s bad in the
world. I want her to need me. But we’re friends. And friends don’t
do shit like that.
You need to snap
out of it.
Yeah, I do. Tina asked for
my friendship and that’s what I’m going to give her. If I can’t
have her in my bed, I’ll take her any way I can get her.
I don’t know how to explain it without sounding like a pussy. I’ve
never felt this way about a woman before. She makes my day
brighter. I’m happier when I’m with her. I’ve never been good with
it but I
want
to
give her my affections. She’s my little goofball. I love that she
wears her heart on her sleeve. She gives everyone she meets a small
piece of her big heart.
I feel my body become lax.
Thank
god.
It would suck if I spent the
entire evening hard.
We all sit at the poker table, eating and drinking, then it’s time
to play.
Tina looks around the table and smiles big, “So, how do you
play?”
Oy,
vey.
Only Tina would come to a Poker
night
not
knowing
how to play Poker.
***