Friends & Lovers Trilogy (28 page)

“
Is it on
right?”

Kent looked at Rich’s boxing costume and
shook his head. “You look like a piece of meat, like you’re just
looking to get laid.”

Rich gave him a big grin and a wink, “Then,
mission accomplished!” He said as he sauntered off towards the
bar.

Kent adjusted his cowboy hat and followed
Rich. He stopped when he saw Colin and Briana at a nearby table.
They were cute in a Top Gun themed matching outfit. Colin wore a
flight suit and Bree had on a sexy little bomber jacket and short
skirt. They both looked really happy.

“
Hey, how’s it going?” Kent
asked. He shook Colin’s hand and accepted Bree’s hug when she
leaned in to him. It had been a while since he’d seen her, but he
was happy to say that he no longer felt a tug of longing when he
held her.

“
Great,” Briana yelled over
the music. “How are you? You look good.”

“
You guys look good too,”
Kent shouted back. “I’m gonna grab a drink. You guys need
anything?”

He got their orders and went to join Rich at
the bar. He couldn’t help but notice that Nicole was surrounded by
a group of horny monsters, and he felt sick to his stomach when he
saw a tall dark vampire leaning in to speak in her ear. He forced
his eyes forward and kept moving towards the bar.

He couldn’t help but wonder if he’d been
hasty in his decision to cut things off when he did. He still
thought that she could do better than a guy like him, but he really
missed being with her. He missed the sound of her laugh and the way
she smiled to herself when she was writing. He missed her soft lips
and the sweet smell of her hair.

He almost walked in to Rich when the other
man called his name and snapped him out of his thoughts.

“
Dude, you’re out of it
tonight. Let me get you a drink.”

Kent thanked him and ordered the drinks for
Briana and Colin.

“
Gonna be a busy one
tonight, eh Pete?” He yelled to his ginger haired friend. Pete
nodded in agreement and turned to grab a couple beers. “Who are you
supposed to be?” Kent asked when he saw the bow strapped to Pete’s
back.

“
Hawkeye,” Pete yelled,
then he nodded towards the swinging door where Kara was coming out
of the back with a full tray. She had on a red wig and a tight
black body suit.

“
Black Widow?” Kent
guessed, and grinned when the other man nodded and handed him his
drinks. “See ya in a bit.”

When he got to the table to pass out the
drinks, he noticed Rich was flirting with a hot blonde in a Grecian
outfit. When he heard the snort and the sarcastic remark, he
whirled the girl around and found Roni standing before him.

“
What in the hell are you
wearing?” Kent asked loudly.

“
It’s a costume,” Roni
answered wryly.

“
Barely,” Kent retorted as
he took in the sexy shoes and what appeared to be a twelve year
olds dress.

Roni just rolled her eyes at him and said,
“Calm down. I’m going to go see Nicole.”

He watched her walk away and then turned to
see Rich was doing the same thing. “Hey. Stop it.”

Rich just shrugged his shoulders and smiled
at him, then tipped his head back to take a swig of his beer.

Kent watched Roni walk up to where Nicole
was still talking to the lame vampire guy, and saw Nicole say
something him, then turn to follow Roni. When he saw the guy put
his hand on her arm to stop her, he saw red.

Kent walked quickly through the crowd and
heard Nicole asking the jerk to let her go.

“
Can you please let go of
my arm,” She asked loudly. “I’m going to go with my friend to get a
drink.”

“
I’m not ready for you to
go yet,” the vampire replied, not letting go.

Kent walked right up to the shorter man and
towered menacingly over him.

“
She said let
go.”

The vampire looked up at him, his eyes
already bloodshot and sneered. “Back off, man. Find your own
bimbo.”

“
Kent,” Nicole put her hand
on his arm, as if to hold him back. “He’s not worth it.”

Kent looked down into her eyes and felt
himself grow calm. He nodded at her, then reached over and peeled
the guys hand off of her arm.

“
Walk away.” He said to the
other man, then turned and dismissed him.

Nicole took her hand off of his arm, then
turned to follow Roni.

“
Nic, wait,” Kent said
quickly. “Can we talk?”

Nicole looked up at him, the hurt he had
caused her apparent in her eyes, and for a second, he thought she
was going to say no, but instead she held out her hand to him.

“
Why don’t we go over and
say hi to everyone first and enjoy the party a bit,” Nicole said as
he took her hand. “We do need to talk, but just give it a little
time, okay?”

Kent nodded, he’d give her all the time she
needed, as long as she’d give him a chance to explain and apologize
for hurting her.

When they got to the table, Kent heard Rich
filling Briana in on his plan to open the Rec Center.

“
Oh my gosh,” Briana
exclaimed, giving Rich a hug. “That sounds amazing. I would love to
give some cooking lessons when I come in to town.”

They all talked over each other about what
they wanted to contribute to Rich’s plan, and by the end of the
conversation he was grinning from ear to ear.

“
You guys are the best,”
Rich said sincerely.

Kent pulled Roni to the side while everyone
continued to talk.

“
Sounds like a great idea,
right?” He asked her.

Roni looked at Rich thoughtfully, then
smiled at her brother. “Yeah, it really does.”

“
He mentioned wanting to
include dance lessons the other day. You would be great at that,”
Kent said.

“
I don’t know…” Roni
replied.

“
Just think about
it.”

Roni nodded and accepted his brief hug.

“
I still think you should
have more clothes on,” Kent teased her, causing her to smile again
and punch him playfully in the arm.

“
Shut up.”

Once it looked like the party was winding
down and people were starting to leave the party, Kent scooted next
to Nicole and asked if he could give her a ride home.

Nicole looked up at him and gave him a
hesitant smile. “Sure.”

They walked around and said goodbye to their
friends. Kent stomach began to twist as he thought about the
conversation they had to have. He knew after they did, there was a
possibility that Nicole would be out of his life, at least
romantically.

Epilogue

When they got outside, he realized that it
was pretty cold out and she wasn’t wearing much. As he looked down
at her beautiful face, he wished more than anything that he had the
right to touch her, to kiss her, to pull her into his arms and keep
her warm.

They hurried to his car and got in. He
turned it on to allow the heat to warm her chilled arms. Then he
looked over at her and said, “You look amazing.”

Nicole looked down at her scantily clad body
and tried in vain to pull the dress down over her legs, but smiled
softly at his compliment.

“
Thanks.” She looked up and
into his eyes.

He looked at her sweet face, so full of
hope, and he worried that he’d never be able to give her everything
she deserved.

He grew nervous and started to wonder if his
initial decision to let her go was right. Was he just being selfish
by trying to keep her in his life?

“
Kent?” She questioned
softly when he didn’t start driving.

He turned to look at her and said, “I don’t
know exactly what to say, Nic. I mean, I know that I hurt you the
other day, and I wanted to apologize for that. But I also want to
say that I miss you, and I hate to think that I have caused you any
pain.”

“
I won’t lie to you,”
Nicole replied. “You did hurt me, but I understand where you were
coming from.”

Kent nodded, happy that she understood him,
but sad that she may in some way agree with him. Agree that he
wasn’t good enough.

“
I’m sorry for the things
that you went through as a child, but where you come from and how
you were raised is not a factor in the way I feel about who you are
now.” Nicole put her hand on his cheek; she wanted to make sure he
was looking in her eyes as she continued. She wanted him to see
that she was sincere in what she said.

“
Kent, I think you’re the
most wonderful, talented, kind-hearted, amazing person that I‘ve
ever met. When I’m with you, I feel strong and invincible. You make
me believe that I can be anything I want to be.”

She smiled shyly at him and continued,
“Kent, I’m in love with you.”

Kent couldn’t help the pride that he felt at
her words. The way she described him is the way that he always
hoped people would perceive him. Not as his father’s son, or the
boy who came from nothing, but as the man he was today. He was
still afraid and unsure, but he felt he owed it to Nicole to tell
her what was in his heart as well.

“
Nic, I think you’re a
strong, beautiful, and capable woman. The way you stood up for
yourself and your beliefs, even when you knew that your parents
wouldn’t understand, amazes me. You have a kind heart and are the
sweetest woman I’ve ever met. I want to strive to make you proud of
me and hope that you’ll always look at me the way you do
now.”

He looked deep into her eyes and declared,
“I’m in love with you, Nicole.”

Nicole smiled broadly and a single tear fell
down her face.

Kent wanted to kiss her, but he had to make
sure that she understood everything he was feeling.

“
I love you. That’s why I
think you deserve better. You deserve a man like Jake. One who is
as innocent as you, who hasn’t seen and done unmentionable things.
Any man would be lucky to be able to marry you and raise children
with you, and I want you to be sure that you can see a future with
me.”

He paused to give her a moment to process
everything he’d said. ”Your parents will probably never approve of
me, and my parents will never be in the picture. It’ll just be us…
and Roni. I don’t want you to feel that you’re settling by staying
with me.”

Nicole took his hands in hers and held them
tight.

“
We have Roni, Rich, Bree,
Colin, Kara, and Pete. They’re our family. I don’t need anyone
else. If my parents won’t approve of you or our relationship, then
I don’t need them in my life.” She squeezed his hand in hers and
said, “I don’t see being with you as settling. I feel like the
luckiest woman in the world when I’m with you. Jake’s not the man
that I want or need, you are.”

Kent saw the truth in her eyes and relief
flooded him.

He finally did what he’d wanted to do since
he first saw her that evening. He pulled her to him kissed her
thoroughly, putting everything he felt into the kiss.

When they pulled away, Nicole looked happily
up at him and said simply, “I choose you.”

Trust in Me

(Roni & Rich)

Prologue

Roni tried to brace herself for the blow
before it landed, but she was still knocked backwards into the
stove. Her hands flew out, instinctively covering her face, as her
hip caught the corner of the stove and she collapsed onto the
jaundiced linoleum.

She curled into the fetal position and
brought her arms up to cover her head, but his boot still found its
way to her ribs. Roni cried out in pain as her husband kicked her
repeatedly.

Hank shouted obscenities at her as he
grabbed two fistfuls of her long blonde hair and dragged her
towards their dingy living room.

Roni tried not to struggle as she was pulled
along the floor, worried that her hair would be yanked out if she
did. She kept her eyes and mouth shut, she’d been in this
predicament before, and knew she’d end up with more cuts and
bruises if she struggled.

She saw her opportunity when Hank stopped in
the threshold and loosened his grip.

Roni rolled backwards and sprang to her
knees. In one fluid motion, she gained her footing and turned to
sprint towards the backdoor. Since her back was turned, she didn’t
see Hank raise his leg to kick her, but felt his foot make contact
with her back right before she went sprawling face first back onto
the linoleum.

She didn’t pay attention to the blood that
started oozing from her nose; instead she boosted herself up on to
all fours and began crawling towards the exit.

Hank’s dry chuckle turned her belly cold,
but Roni tried to push through the fear and stay focused on her
goal.

This wasn’t the first time her husband had
used physical violence to make a point. When she’d first met him,
she thought he was so handsome and strong. She’d thought he’d take
her away from the nightmare that she’d grown up in and protect her,
the way her twin brother always had until he went away to college.
She couldn’t have been more wrong.

The first time he’d hit her, she’d been
beyond shocked. She’d never been struck a day in her life, her
brother, Kent had made sure of that. When she’d told Hank she was
going to leave him, he’d been full of remorse and promises, and
she’d been foolish enough to believe him.

The last straw had come the night before,
when he’d punched her in the stomach after they’d returned from the
local bar. She’d been dancing to the band, by herself, but he
hadn’t been pleased. As soon as they’d walked into their small
trailer, he’d blind-sided her and called her a whore.