Kade (15 page)

******

A few hours later, I’m getting ready to head out. “Where are you going? I thought you were off today?” Kade asks, scaring me because I didn’t hear him walk in my room.

“Yeah, I am, but I have a doctor’s appointment I gotta get to.” I say, grabbing my purse, and mentally checking off if I have everything I need.

He frowns, looking worried. “Is everything okay?”

I smile and shake my head. “Yes, everything's fine, I'm just due for my shot.”

“Shot? What shot?”

“Birth control, Kade. I get it every three months.”

He relaxes and then asks if he can come with me. I scrunch my nose at him, but then decide to let him tag along. He can keep me company in the waiting room. Sometimes I have to sit there waiting for my doctor for about an hour, and I get bored as hell. Kade gets ready quickly, and we head out.

The receptionist at the doctor's keeps staring at Kade and batting her eyelashes, way to be subtle. I knew I never liked her for a reason. Like I had expected, my doctor is running late and I have to wait. Kade is playing Tetris on his phone, keeping himself amused. I pluck his phone out of his hands, about to steal his game. His phone beeps with a message and I bite my lip. To snoop or not to snoop? My trust issues make me choose the former. I start giggling when I see it’s a photo message from Layla. She has taken a picture of Chase’s Twix stash, which is currently down to one, and has written underneath, ‘You must have a death wish, Kade!’ Looks like Kade has stolen Chase’s chocolate. Again. My mouth gapes wide open when I see Kade pull out a Twix from his pocket and take a massive bite.

“Want some?” he asks, offering me the chocolate.

“No, thanks! I’m not getting my DNA on the evidence,” I joke.

Kade chuckles. “Oh, come on, Chase is all bark and no bite.”

“He’s given you black eyes on various occasions, I’m pretty sure that’s not true,” I mumble.

“Hey! I’ve gotten into it with him, too, don’t make me sound like the pretty boy brother,” he complains. I burst out laughing.

“The pretty boy brother? You think pretty highly of yourself, don’t you?” I scoff.

Kade smirks. “So do you, or you don’t remember this morning?”

“What do you mean?” I ask, my brows furrowing.

“Oh, Kade! Harder! Your cock is so fucking big! Just like that, baby!” he imitates loudly.

“Oh my god! Would you shut up? I’m going to have to change doctors now!” I groan out, a flush working up my neck. I see the receptionist smirk.

“I do not sound like that!” I lie.

“Yes, you do, and you know it. I’m going to record it next time as proof!” he says with a huge grin.

“The fuck you are,” I mumble.

“Kade, you are a god! That one is my favorite,” he keeps going. I punch him in the arm, feeling satisfied when I hear him yelp.

“Miss Heath?” my doctor calls out.

Saved by the doctor.

Chapter Thirty Two

Kade and I are preparing for the cook off. Kade has been practicing all week, and let’s just say he could use a little extra work on his cooking skills. We have everything ready; we're just waiting for everyone to come over. James isn’t home, he’s busy. It sucks being the only person that knows what he’s up to. Well, besides Kade and Chase. They know too, they just don’t know any details. Before he left, he wished us all good luck.

“Nikki, when Kade loses are you going to make him wear a thong?” James taunts.

Before I can reply, Kade is already yelling, “Fuck, no! I am not wearing floss in my ass.”

“You like it when I wear floss in my ass,” I huff at him.

Chase and Layla arrive and we get down to business. Layla looks so uncomfortable, she’s due today, but still no sign of baby. Kade and I had set some ground rules to our bet. It had to be a chicken dish, and we had no more than an hour to cook it. The best tasting one wins. Simple.

“Are you guys ready?” Layla asks. She looks gorgeous in a baby doll yellow dress, showing off her gorgeous baby bump. Her hair is in a long fish braid hanging over her right shoulder.

“I’m ready, are you, Kade?” I ask, flashing him a grin with all teeth. Kade shakes his head at my competitiveness.

“Oh, I’m ready,” he says cockily.

“Well, then. You may start now!” Layla announces.

Game time.

I giggle as I hear Kade mutter a few curses. Who knows what he’s doing over there. I had decided to make a basil and pesto chicken pasta. It’s easy enough and tastes delicious. Chase is also judging the bet to make it fair, so I have to impress both him and Layla. The one hour passes quickly, and I finish with about ten minutes to spare. Kade has made the dish he’s been practicing all week, which is baked chicken with mashed potatoes and salad. Sounds easy enough, right? I glance over and I must admit, his dish turned out way better than I had imagined. It looks and smells pretty damn good. I glance up to see Kade grinning at me evilly. I gulp. Oh, hell, I should know by now never to underestimate Kade.

Both Layla and Chase look comically surprised when they see Kade’s masterpiece. They both sample mine before tasting Kade’s. After a team meeting, they approach us. I’m actually nervous. Not that dancing on the pole is a big deal for me- been there and done that. It’s just that I really want Kade to lose this bet, and I thought it was a sure thing. Oh, not to mention the bragging rights.

“Okay, so they were both really good. Kade, you seriously surprised us!” Layla says, giving him a hug, looking proud.

“Hey, whose side are you on?” I hiss at her.

“Just softening the blow. Nikki wins,” she announces. I cheer!

“What? Why?” Kade demands, affronted.

“Kade, yours tasted good, I mean the spices and everything you used was perfect and the chicken was perfectly tender and everything,” Layla rambles.

“Why don’t you taste it, Kade?” Chase cuts in, gesturing to the plate. Kade digs in straight away and takes a huge bite. I see his eyes widen.

“Fucking salt!” he hisses, throwing down his fork. We all burst out laughing. He added too much salt, again.

So I win, but only by the tiniest bit. That was a seriously close call.

“Kade might have won if it wasn’t for the salt,” Chase tells me.

I huff. “I still won!” So ha!

I do a little victory dance.

Kade slaps my ass.

“Ouch!”

“No one likes a bragger,” he pouts.

“You ready to wear that thong?” I taunt.

When he charges at me playfully, I run.

Chapter Thirty Three

Layla is over today so we can plan her baby shower. We were going to wait until the baby showed up so we can give people a better date, but she’s overdue now by two days. She went to get checked out yesterday, but was told everything was fine. If the baby didn’t come within the week she’d be induced, so we’re planning the shower for tomorrow night, unless, of course, she has the baby. Kade, James, and Chase all went off somewhere the moment they heard the words ‘baby shower’. We're writing down the names of everyone we need to invite, chatting as we do so.

“You won’t believe what happened to me yesterday,” Layla says with a gasp.

“What?” I ask.

“Aubrey,” is all she says.

“What about Aubrey? Don’t tell me that bitch is still around,” I say heatedly.

“No, she’s leaving to go back to the States this weekend. But she came to the house yesterday to apologize,” Layla says, her brown eyes wide.

“Was Chase there?”

“No, he was out. She said she waited until he was gone before she came up. And surprisingly she seemed genuinely sorry. I didn’t know what to say, hell, I'm still in shock. She even hugged me before she left. I didn’t hug her back, it was weird. But when she left she was in tears, I had no idea what to do.”

“I hate Aubrey, that bitch was nasty to you guys,” I say adamantly.

“Yeah, she was, but in her own way she really loved Chase,” Layla says softly.

“So, do you forgive her?” I ask, already knowing the answer.

She nods yes. And there we have it people. Layla, she forgives everyone, no matter how ugly they are to her.

“Chase was pissed, though. I told him about her visit when he came home, and he was mad at
me
.” She shakes her head. “All because I even opened the door. I explained to him she was genuine in her apology, and that she was leaving this weekend to go home. He thought I was crazy when I said I forgave her. We started arguing a bit, and then he accidentally let something slip. I was so pissed that he kept this from me.”

I’m waiting. “Okay, come on, spill.”

“Turns out Lilly was really his father’s. The baby would have been his sister, not his daughter.”

“You have to be fucking kidding me!” I yell.

“Nope, no joke. When he went to confront her about Lilly not being his, he found his father there with her. It all came out then,” Layla tells me as she takes a sip of her apple juice.

“Wow, his father is a piece of work!” I hiss.

Talking about Chase’s dad has me wondering about Kade’s dad. I haven’t met him yet.

“Have you met Kade and James’s dad yet?” I ask curiously.

“Nope, but I hear he's awesome. Nothing like Chase’s," Layla says with a smile. Well, that’s good to know.

We both get back to work, this baby shower isn’t going to plan itself.

******

Today is the day of Layla’s baby shower, still no baby. I told Chase he needed to sex her up, it might help, but he laughed it off. I decided to make it a potluck shower because there is just way too many people coming, but then Chase offered me his unlimited credit card for the expenses, so he ended up paying for everything. Only the best for Layla. Layla’s entire family is coming, and Kade, James and Chase’s parents. Well, not Chase’s dad. We all know what an ass he is. Kade invited Ashley, too.
Yay.
Not. Unfortunately for me, Sasha is the first to arrive. We eye each other warily, but when neither of us says anything rude, we both relax.

“Nikki,” she says, acknowledging me with a small nod. I must say, she looks gorgeous. Thick long black hair, wide, almond shaped, brown eyes, and pouty lips. She's wearing a pair of tight jeans and a red blouse, showcasing her impressive body. The girl is stacked.

“Sasha,” I smile at her politely. I'm the host of this thing, after all.

“You can put your gift down over there,” I tell her, pointing to the table I allocated. She puts down the gift and walks back over. It’s a little awkward for a few moments.

“Think you can help me out with the decorations? Layla and everyone should be here soon,” I ask.

“Yeah, sure. Just tell me where to start.”

We quietly work together, getting all the last minute stuff done.

“Do you remember our fight?” I ask randomly.

She stills for a moment. “Yeah, why?”

“Think we could maybe start over? Call a truce? Hell, I don’t even remember what the fight was about,” I say with a small giggle.

Sasha laughs. “Funny, I don’t remember either. Okay, truce.” We shake on it.

“Good, because I have enough on my plate today since Ashley is coming. Dealing with her consumes all of my energy.” I groan.

“Who’s Ashley?” she asks me, curious.

I tell her all about Ashley.

“What a bitch!” she exclaims, scrunching up her nose.

My thoughts exactly.

Everyone arrives, some later than others, and everything is going pretty smoothly. I see Layla’s friend from when she worked at the salon, Riley. I’ve met her only once, but she looks so different to when I last saw her. Long dreadlocks adorn her head, and she has a few colorful tattoos on her arms. She is wearing a headband around her forehead, a thin gold chain. Her dress is long and flowing, giving her a hippie look. She looks stunning, like a model even. I wonder what made her make such a big change in her appearance. I see Layla hug Riley in welcome, and watch as she chats animatedly. Layla has the hugest smile on her face, which is what my goal was. She seems to be really enjoying herself. We play a few baby shower games, stuff I had put together with help from Google. The food is delicious, and I must say the decorations look amazing. I’m talking with the caterers about the desserts when Ashley walks over.

“I’m leaving, this baby shower is shit,” she whines to me.

“Then go? No one even wanted you here,” I tell her bluntly.

“Really? I’m pretty sure Kade did, since he invited me,” she says with a smug look.

“Yeah, well, Kade’s not here, is he? So he probably invited you knowing it wasn’t him who has to be in your presence for so long,” I bite back.

She laughs an ugly sound. “You’re still in your dream world, aren’t you? I’m the number one girl in his life, not you. You'll never be because that position is taken. So enjoy him until he gets sick of you!”

“So, this is the bitch,” Sasha purrs, walking up behind Ashley.

“Who the fuck are you?” Ashley spits out at Sasha.

“Your worst fucking nightmare. Just leave, Nikki worked hard putting this together and you aren’t going to disrespect her,” Sasha demands, her eyes ice cold. Why was this girl my enemy? Shit, I’m glad she’s on my side now.

“So what? Nikki can’t even stick up for herself now?” Ashley says with an evil grin.

“Oh no, Nikki can stick up for herself. Trust me, I once had a black eye to prove it. But Nikki’s hands are tied since you and Kade are friends. Well, guess what. Kade and I aren’t friends, and I have no problem putting you in your place. Layla is my cousin, my blood. I heard you fucked with her once, and it won’t be happening twice. Now, either get the fuck out, or we will both walk outside, where I will beat the shit out of you before Layla even knows what’s going on. Are we fucking clear, or do I need to give you a demonstration?” Sasha tells her in a scary tone. Holy fuck, even I gulp.

Ashley gasps, her eyes narrowing into slits but she says nothing. She just huffs and leaves. Good riddance. Sasha gives me a small grin, and I shake my head at her. The chick is badass.