What happened in Vegas: Didn't Stay In Vegas! (9 page)

We entered the house from inside the garage.
It took us right into a hallway off the kitchen. The kitchen was
beautiful. The cabinets were antique white, smartly designed at
staggered heights. Corner cabinets, glass cabinets, and all the
bells and whistles you could think of. There was a valance with
under cabinet lighting, an Island with breakfast stools and top of
the line fridge and stove with a matching range. This was my dream
kitchen.

He invited me
into the living room which was black leather everything and shag
carpet everywhere. He then asked,
“
Can I get you
something to drink?
”

I hesitated; it
was early so I chose accordingly,
“
Water?
”

He disappeared into the kitchen and came out
with two bottles of water. He motioned his hand toward the couch
suggesting I be seated. I gladly sat down a full couch cushion away
from him so we could look at each other while we were talking.

Bradley
’
s leather jacket came
off, he took it off somewhere between the living room and the
kitchen. I didn
’
t notice him take it
off, or I would have watched him do it. Now I saw him in his shirt
with two buttons open and I just wanted to tear the shirt off his
back. He was wearing sexy pants and he
’
s taken off his
cowboy boots for comfort and now he
’
s in his black
socks.

The fragrance he was wearing was very
enticing. If I had to guess, my first guess would be Versace. Oh
yes, it was definitely Versace. I wanted to bury my nose wherever
he sprayed, and in other places too. Then I remembered what I
looked like and came back down to earth, snapping myself out of my
mini fantasy. I find myself having way too many of these.

He started the
conversation first (so Alpha Male, Yum)!
“
When you told me
about your relationship with Nick, it surprised me. I needed time
to digest it, because I
’
ve liked you from the
moment I met you. (Oh Alpha Male likes me!)

If I begin
seeing you, I need to know you are willing to give him
up.
”

“What do you
mean,
‘
give him up?' Stop all the codes, stop
everything?
”
I needed to know exactly what he was
asking me to do. Clearly our friendship bothers him a great
deal.

“Everything, I
don
’
t want you to be sexually active with him anymore. I
don
’
t think that
’
s an unreasonable
request if we were to start dating.
”

“I will stop
the sex codes, but not the friendship. I
’
ve been his
friend for ages; he
’
s been there for me
when I needed him most. I will never let his friendship go, not for
you or anyone else. If you want to be with me
you
’
re going to have to accept him as part of my life,
like a canker or wart if you will.
”

“Why such
loyalty? What did he ever do to get this kind of loyalty from
you?
”

“Why question it? I would
assume my trait of loyalty should be one you learn to
value.

I felt my energy draining quickly. The
excitement and fun I felt at the grocery store was disappearing.
Nick and I never usually do serious relationships. The reasons for
our dependance on each other has never been shared with anyone.

Ultimately I
just feel like promising not to have sex with Nick is good enough
and if he
’
s going to be jealous over our friendship than
Bradley isn
’
t the right guy for
me. I owed nobody an explanation for my friendship with Nick, in my
eyes, there was nothing wrong with it.

With
unmistakable resentment bordering on jealousy in his tone he told
me,
“
Go to Nick.
”
Nick and I were
lifelines to each other, life support. Bradley was jealous of him
before anything between us even started. This sudden exhibition of
insecurity had my head spinning. I attributed it to what happened
between him and his ex-wife, but why should I suffer? He opened the
garage door and allowed me to leave. Alpha male was pissed off that
I didn
’
t go into details regarding my fierce loyalty to my
best boy friend forever. That entire visit didn
’
t go the
way I wanted it to. It was disappointing.

~17~

I threw my car in park when I got to Nicks condo. My
hands were shaking with anger; I hardly knew how I got there in one
piece. I let myself in with his key and looked for him. Damn! He
wasn
’
t there. I dug through my purse spilling its contents
onto the couch looking for my cell. When I found it I texted
Nick:

Chanel: CODE BLUE

I collapsed upset, on his bed. Having lost
all sense of time, I startled when I heard his key in the door. I
heard brisk steps as he looked for me and opened the door, then the
bed dipped, he was next to me now and his arms wrapped around me
from behind.

His body
cocooned me. Concerned he whispered in my ear,
“
I always
feared a code blue, what happened?
”
I turned to look at
him, I was drowning with disappointment and vulnerability, did he
notice? My energy remained depleted as every part of my body felt
heavy. Tears burned my cheeks,
“
Bradley was trying to
find out why we
’
re so close. He
doesn
’
t want me to be friends with you or get
close.
”

His thumbs
wiped my tears and then his lips covered mine with a kiss.
“
Why Coco?
”

“Our
relationship came up in conversation, I described it to him. This
was before I knew I liked him.
”

“Is it
mutual?
”

“Yes. He likes
me. He wants me to finish with you completely, and I told him,
nothing could ever stop me from being your friend, but our sex
codes need to stop now.
”

I could swear I
saw a sign of a tear in Nick
’
s eye. I never
thought I of all people would have the power to make him
cry.

Nick
’
s fingers began
removing my blouse from behind. I helped him as he finished with
the buttons and then he pulled his own shirt over his head. He
continued to undress me as I did him. We laid naked my back to his
front and I wept silently for what I was giving up. Our codes meant
as much to me as they did to him.

I turned to face him and he wiped my tears.
His lips covered mine again, but this time for much longer. His
blue eyes were crystal clear from the tears that threatened to drop
from his eyes.

For the longest time we both knew that
eventually these codes would have to end, but we never expected it
to be this hard. Our feelings were invasive, lying in the
unchartered depths of our souls.

Our familiarity
with each other was so evident as Nick
’
s tongue plunged into
my mouth, his fingers stroked my pink folds lovingly, then he began
skillfully kneading me until I was rubbing against him showing my
consent and desire for him to fill my empty abyss.

I felt so close to him I cried tears of
love. He stopped to raise himself on one elbow, and his eyes began
to savor the sight of me. I did the same starting at his muscular
legs gliding my eyes to his defined stomach, up his butterfly chest
to his broad and beautiful shoulders.

He lowered
himself back down, but this time he took my breast in his mouth
moaning my name,
‘
Coco
’
and then his tears began falling
freely as he slowly penetrated me with a finality I
wasn
’
t sure I was ready for. I watched his tears drop onto
me as he continued thrusting inside me slowly, and
steadily.

This time was very different from all the
other times. His palm touched my cheek, as his thrusts became more
rapid, but in no way rushed. We released in unison, before he
collapsed on top of me.

Nick and I just
now, broke every rule we ever made with one another. He made love
to me the way he wasn
’
t supposed to. It
hurt more than I ever thought it would. I noticed the pillow was
wet as I became conscious of my own tears. I took his face in both
my palms and reassured him,
“
I will never stop
loving, or being there for you, but I need to see where this goes
with Bradley, Nick.
”

He stroked my
cheek and confessed to me,
“
I
’
m sorry for
breaking every rule, but I always dreamed of showing you how much I
really love you. You
’
re incredible Coco.
Bradley will be lucky to have you if that
’
s what you
want.
”
We realized how lucky we were to have our bond. As
long as we remained friends, I thought we would be okay. Nick
continued,
“
I will always be
there for you and love you unconditionally.
”
We slept in
each other
’
s arms and he took care of my every need the
following day. No codes were called.

~18~

I forced myself to go to work when all I wanted to do
was lay in Nick
’
s bed and feel sorry
for myself. The weather reflected my mood; it was cloudy, damp, and
dreary. I took an extra-long shower and then helped myself to an
old pair of Nick
’
s scrubs.

Nick was sound
asleep when I left, so I kissed his cheek lightly and tip toed out
of his room to go to Snowball. She took me straight to the hospital
and I stopped at Tim Horton
’
s to have a coffee
before going to the Cardiac floor to find Bradley.

When I got
there Bradley was in the nurse
’
s station waiting for
me. Concern was plastered all over his face. I took a seat next to
him and he mumbled,
“
Are you okay? Where
did you go?
”
He didn
’
t look at me, but
continued to look at the patients chart while talking, not wanting
to draw attention to us in front of staff.

I chose to be
honest,
“
I
’
m not okay, but here
is neither the time nor the place.
”

He tried to
look in my eyes, but I dropped my head down, he lifted my chin so I
had no choice but look at him,
“
Let me take you to
lunch.
”

“I
don
’
t want to go out.
”
My voice crumbled
and I sounded like I was going to cry.

“Then
let
’
s talk in the lounge at lunch.
”

“Okay,
”
I said, and from that minute until
noon, we focused on our patients.

Noon came
quickly and Bradley led me to a very private lounge I never knew
existed.
“
Do you want something to eat or
drink?
”
he asked.

“No thanks. You
go ahead though.
”
I sat on the couch while he paced the
stretch of the lounge.

Bradley looked
at me and ran his thick fingers through his still sexy hair,
“
I
’
m not hungry, I was worried about you, and I had
no way of calling you or finding you. You never gave me your
number. The last day and a half was torture for
me.
”

“I was in good
hands,
”
I clipped.

“Nicks?
”
He snapped back.

“Yes,
”
I admitted.

His voice
sounded firm,
“
Did you do make love
to him?
”

“Your question
is inappropriate. You told me to go to him; we have no commitment
between us.
”

“You slept with
him, fuck Chanel! I told you to end it, not to sleep with
him.
”

“I did exactly
what you told me to do, I ended the intimate part of our
relationship. It wasn
’
t easy, but there
won
’
t be anymore sex codes between us. I
promise.

I told Nick I
wanted to see where our relationship goes. He understands that and
said he would back off. You know by now that my bond with Nick is
powerful, so you
’
re going to have to
wrap your head around that.
”