Friends & Lovers Trilogy (20 page)

Nicole slowed down and took his hand in
hers. “I think the way you look out for Roni is wonderful, and I’m
amazed at the strength you had at such a young age.”

Kent pulled her hand up to his lips and
kissed it softly.

“
Thanks, I’m glad that you
can appreciate how important Roni is to me,” he looked up to get
his bearings. “We’re about halfway through this trail. We’d better
speed it up if we’re going to get you home in time to shower before
work.”

They hit the trail hard. Nicole used the
time to clear her head and to reflect on what Kent had told her
about his childhood.

They’d led very different lives, and Nicole
couldn’t imagine the obstacles he’d dealt with growing up, but she
was very impressed with the man he was today.

Kent made sure they did some cool down
stretches before getting back in the car.

He’d worried briefly that Nicole would look
at him differently when he’d told her a little about his
upbringing, but he was happy that he had. He wasn’t ready to tell
her everything yet, but he was comfortable with what he’d told
her.

He drove her back to her apartment and
walked her to the door.

“
Do you want to come in?”
Nicole asked him, her face was flush from exertion and glistened
prettily.

Kent felt a strong urge to gather her in his
arms and take her to her room, kissing and stroking her gloriously
toned body along the way. He imagined carrying her into the shower
and lathering her up.

He shook his head, trying in vain to calm
his raging hormones. He felt like a teenager again: unbearably
horny and unable to find release. Well… At least not the way he
wanted to.

“
Um, no,” He replied
gruffly. “I’d better not. You have to get ready for work and I have
some stuff to do at my house. I’ll give you a call
later.”

He leaned down and gave her a kiss on the
forehead, then turned and jogged down the stairs, leaving her there
staring off after him, the confusion she felt apparent on her
face.

Chapter Nine

Nicole was finishing up packing her bag when
she heard a knock on the front door, indicating Kent had arrived
with dinner.

Kara was going to be picking her up to go to
Austin in a couple hours, and Kent had offered to bring dinner over
for her and Roni before she left.

Roni had to work this weekend, so she
couldn’t go on the Austin trip, but Nicole was excited to get away
and see Bree and Colin. She was sure that Roni would enjoy having
the apartment to herself for a few days. They were getting along
great so far, but it was always nice to get some alone time.

Nicole zipped up her bag and took it out
into the living room to set it by the front door. She prided
herself on being punctual, and didn’t want to make Kara wait when
she arrived.

Roni had let Kent in and they were setting
the table for dinner.

“
Hey Kent,” Nicole said,
walking over to give him a hug.

“
Hey babe,” He replied,
giving her a quick squeeze before releasing her. “I was just asking
Roni if she wanted to spend some quality time with her big brother
this weekend.”

“
Really? Big brother? You
are like two minutes older than me.” Roni said wryly.

“
Still counts,” Kent
countered with a wink.

“
Mm mm, that looks
delicious,” Nicole said, her stomach grumbling as they opened
containers of tacos, beans, rice, salsa, and guacamole.

“
The best you’ll ever eat,”
Kent promised.

“
That’s a big statement,”
Nicole replied. “We have some excellent Mexican food in
Dallas.”

“
Yeah, but this place is
run by a sweet old lady who moved here from Mexico in her teens,
and makes her own tortillas.” Kent boasted. “I’m telling you, no
one makes a meal like Señora Garza.”

“
Let’s stop talking about
how good it’s and dig in,” Nicole counted with a laugh. “I’m dying
over here.”

Kent and Roni sat down and Nicole began to
make their plates. Kent couldn’t help but smile as he watched her,
always the perfect hostess. He thought briefly at how perfectly he
could see her in his life, long-term, then scowled; the last thing
he needed to be thinking about was what a wonderful wife Nicole
would make.

“
You okay?” Roni asked him.
“You look like you got a bad bite.”

Kent shook off the annoying thoughts and
smiled at his sister. “No, I haven’t even tasted it yet. I was just
thinking of something.”

“
Well stop thinking and
start eating,” Roni said with a laugh.

Nicole was already savoring the delicious
combination of flavors, so she just smiled absently at the twins.
She’d always wished she’d had siblings. Growing up as an only
child, her parents had made sure she never wanted for any material
things, but she’d always longed for a sister or brother.

Kent smiled at her obvious enjoyment of the
meal.

“
I’m right, aren’t
I?”

Nicole could only nod as she enjoyed every
bite.

“
Rich called me and said he
would be coming home for Halloween,” Kent said.

“
Great,” Roni
groaned.

“
What’s your problem with
Rich?” Kent asked her. “I didn’t raise you to be rude, but you seem
to be every time you’re around Rich.”

“
I’ve seen too many guys
like him, that’s all,” Roni answered.

“
Rich is nothing like Hank,
Roni, he’s a good guy. You should give him a break.”

“
Hank?” Nicole asked
curiously.

“
My ex,” Roni
stated.

“
Rich said it looks like
he’s on track to graduate in December, so it looks like you’ll have
to get used to him being around full time.” Kent informed
Roni.

Roni didn’t reply she just went back to
eating with a scowl on her face.

When their bellies were full, Roni went to
her room to wash up, while Nicole and Kent settled in the living
room to wait for Kara.

Kent sat down, picked up Nicole’s feet and
placed them on his lap. He picked up one perfectly manicured foot
and began to massage it gently.

Nicole settled back and closed her eyes,
groaning softly and smiling reflexively.

“
That feels wonderful,” She
said in a soft tone.

Kent quickly realized his mistake when he
couldn’t pull his eyes from her beautifully curved mouth and his
vision blurred at the sounds emitting from her throat.

God, she was hot.

He continued rubbing and pressing his
fingers deeply into her skin, and tried not to dwell on the fact
that her other foot was pressing perilously close to his hard
cock.

“
Shit, when is Kara gonna
get here,” he wondered miserably.

Nicole lifted her other foot, and pulled the
one he was rubbing out of his hands, indicating that she was ready
for the other one to be massaged.

She opened one eye and grinned saucily at
him, so he picked up the other foot and began rubbing, laughing in
spite of himself.

When she put her other foot down, it
inadvertently landed right on top of his strained jeans, causing
him to jolt and her eyes to fly open.

Nicole sat up and moved closer to Kent, as
he watched her warily.

He’d never been so afraid to have a girl
coming at him like she wanted to eat him alive. This was
unchartered territory.

Nicole had felt his erection, so she knew
that he was turned on, but the look he gave her indicated that he
was anything but. She wasn’t sure what to do. She really wanted to
kiss him. She wanted to be in his arms and feel his hard body
pressed against hers, but she was afraid of rejection.

She was debating with herself whether she
should ask him what was wrong, or just throw herself at him, when
there was a knock on the door.

Nicole got up to answer it, but not before
she noticed the look of relief that crossed Kent’s face. She felt
her stomach jitter with disappointment.

Had he changed his mind about dating
her?

She opened the door and Kara came bounding
in.

“
Road trip!” Kara
yelled.

Nicole laughed as she watched Kara dance
around the room with excitement.

Roni came out of her room and said, “Hey
Kara, don’t you look cute.”

Kara had a teal blue tank top on with a long
white skirt that was twirling as she spun around.

“
Thanks, Roni,” Kara said,
stopping to give the other girl a hug. “I so wish you didn’t have
to work and were coming with.”

“
Me too,” Roni said with
regret. “But I do have a hot date with my brother to look forward
to.”

“
Best date in town,” Kent
chimed in, as he came over to give Kara a hug hello.

“
I’ll say,” Kara said with
a wink. “Hey, Kent, I was going to ask if you wouldn’t mind giving
Pete a call to hang out one night while I’m gone. I want my man to
have some fun and not just sit around missing me.”

Kent chuckled at that.

“
Sure, we could probably
get a poker night together or something. No worries, I’ll take care
of him.”

Kara beamed at him.

“
Thanks.”

She turned to Nicole, “You ready?”

Nicole nodded and walked over to pick up her
bag.

They all walked down to Kara’s car and
Nicole put her bag in the backseat, opening the front zipper and
pulling out a water to keep in the front with her.

She walked over to the curb where Roni and
Kent were saying goodbye to Kara.

“
Tell Bree and Colin we say
hi,” Roni was saying to Kara.

Kent didn’t say anything about Briana or
Colin. He hadn’t since she’d brought up the trip, which made Nicole
wonder if he still had feelings for Bree.

“
I have to get going too,”
Kent said, looking briefly at his watch. “You girls have fun,” he
said to Nicole and Kara, then turned to Roni and said, “I’ll give
you a call to set something up.”

He turned to each of the girls and gave them
a kiss on the cheek before he walked away and got into his mustang.
Nicole was left staring after him, as the other two girls looked
on.

“
What was that?” Roni asked
Nicole.

“
I’m not sure,” Nicole
replied. “Ready, Kara?”

“
Sure thing, girl,” Kara
replied with one more smile for Roni before she got into the
car.

“
See ya,” Nicole said as
she got into the car, then waved as the pulled out of the parking
lot.

Nicole looked out the window and thought
briefly that getting away for a few days might be the best thing
for all of them.

Chapter Ten

It only took about two hours for them to
arrive at Briana and Colin’s apartment in downtown Austin.

When they pulled up to the apartment
complex, Briana noticed Kara’s car and started jumping up and down.
Kara pulled up alongside her and rolled down the window.

“
Hey, pretty lady, can you
put us up for the night?” Kara asked, followed by a booming
laugh.

Briana jumped in the backseat and told Kara
how to get into the parking garage.

“
I’m so excited that you
guys are here,” Briana squealed with delight.

“
Me too!” Nicole said,
turning around in her seat to look at Bree while she
spoke.

Briana looked as pretty as ever, her long
chestnut hair was pulled back in a fat braid and her brown eyes
sparkled with excitement.

When Kara parked they all jumped out of the
car and gave each other a round of hugs. When Kara and Nicole
hugged each other, they all laughed at their exuberance.

“
Do you need help with any
of your bags?” Bree asked.

“
No, we each only brought
one bag,” Kara assured her as they got their bags out of the car
and followed her to the elevator.

“
This is a beautiful
complex,” Nicole observed.

“
Oh, my
gosh, we love it!” Briana gushed. “We looked around a lot, and
decided to go with a loft, just so we could have the other
amenities that this building offers. It has a gym and a pool, there
is a Trader Joe’s next door, a hiking trail nearby, and we are
within walking distance to 6
^th
street.”

“
What’s
6
^th
street?” Nicole asked.

“
You’ll see,” Kara and Bree
said with a laugh.

When they reached her floor, Briana walked
them down the hall and let them into the apartment. It was a large
open space with wood floors. Briana and Colin had decorated it in
country style, and managed to reflect their personalities. There
were sports memorabilia scattered amongst the pictures and wall
hangings, and the kitchen looked like a chef’s dream.

“
I hope you don’t mind, the
sofa is a sleeper, so the two of you will share that.” Briana
mentioned as they set their bags in the corner.

“
That’ll be fine,” Nicole
responded.

“
Where’s Colin?” Kara asked
Briana.

“
He’s at work. They had
evening practice, but he’ll catch up with us later. I have to
admit, with him working and me going to school, we don’t get much
chance to socialize, so I’m really looking forward to going out
tonight. He’s going to meet up with us later.”

“
Let’s get ready then,”
Kara exclaimed, unzipping her bag and pulling out her make-up
case.