by Kendra Riley
“I can’t lie. I have missed you so much.” Victor smiled.
“I missed you too.” Nichole blushed. “Let’s go inside.” Nichole walked in, led by Victor and Zap, and Tashka followed behind. Nichole closed and locked the door. She led the group to the couch and she sat next to Victor. “I asked you to come here because—” Nichole stopped speaking.
“Because?” Victor asked.
“This is going to be hard for me to say,” Nichole said. “I’m pregnant and you’re the only guy I’ve been with.”
Victor was speechless, and his smile had vanished. He looked shocked and looked down at her stomach. He put his hand on her stomach and looked back up at her. “A piece of me, is inside of you?” he asked.
Nichole became teary eyed and replied, “Yes.” He hugged her and pulled her closer.
“That’s amazing.” He lifted her chin with his index finger and looked into her eyes. Then he leaned in and gave her a kiss.
Nichole began screaming in her head. “So, what are we going to do?”
Victor smiled. “We’re going to be parents.”
Nichole wept. “What if I’m not ready?”
Victor held her in his arms. “Nobody is more prepared than you. Tashka is your child. Those fish are also your children. In a way, Zap is too. So, they’re my kids too and the two of us together, will make everything go smoothly.”
Nichole felt relieved that Victor was already so on board for the baby. She stopped crying and smiled at him. Then she frowned again. “You live in Brazil. You have business in Brazil. You can’t stay here.”
“I’m going to be here for you. I already cleared my business in Brazil. Everything will run easy there, but I can start business here too. No worries. I’m going to be here with you every step of the way,” he replied.
“How are you going to stay here? This place isn’t big enough to meet the requirements to keep Zap,” she asked again.
“Nobody has to know. He seems comfortable here anyhow,” Victor said as he watched Zap snuggle with Tashka. “Everything will be fine. Let’s go get something to eat.”
The two headed to a restaurant called Cheddars while Zap and Tashka stayed home to cuddle. Victor pulled out a chair for Nichole and sat down himself. Their waiter approached with a smile on his face.
“Hello, my name is Max, I’ll be—Hey I know you!” the waiter exclaimed. “You were on a date with that douchebag at The Firebird!”
Nichole grinned. “Hey, how are you?”
Max answered, “I’m doing well since I switched jobs.”
“Good! Good! I’m happy for you,” Nichole returned.
“Well, can I get you two some drinks?” Max asked.
“Yes, I’ll have a sweet tea with lemon,” Nichole replied.
“And you sir?” Max asked Victor.
“Yes, I’ll have what she’s having.” Victor smiled.
“Great! I’ll be back with your drinks shortly,” Max replied before walking away.
“You went on a date with a douchebag?” Victor asked, jokingly.
“Ha. Well, um, yes. I did. Shortly before I made the trip to Brazil,” Nichole admitted.
“And how did it go?” Victor asked.
“It was awful. The guy was grotesque! He was rude to the waiter and he flipped out on him for even speaking to me. I mean, you saw him. He’s a kid making a living. He’s friendly but not flirty,” Nichole ranted.
“I agree. The other guy was out of line,” Victor pitched in.
“I’m sorry,” Nichole returned.
“For what, beautiful?” Victor asked, concerned.
“I’m complaining about something that doesn’t even matter. I’m also sorry for leaving the way I did. I didn’t want to, but I felt like we rushed things and now here we are; having a baby together.” Nichole sighed.
Victor took her hand and looked her in the eyes. “It’s okay. I understand. Although, I was sad that you left, I still had you in my dreams and to be honest with you, I wanted to ask you on a real date, but I was afraid you didn’t feel the same way.”
“I did, but I didn’t know how to act about it. I just—I’m sorry,” Nichole replied, looking down. There were tears welling up in her eyes.
“No, no, everything is okay, really. Now that we’re here, together, I’m happy,” Victor said, trying to comfort her. The waiter returned with their drinks and asked them if they were ready to order. Victor once again told the waiter that he would have what Nichole was having and Nichole ordered a buffalo chicken wrap with honey mustard and ranch.
Max, the waiter, happily took their orders and left the table, once again. “Nichole, I want you to be mine. Even though we were intoxicated, I felt something between us that night. I felt our chemistry, before and after the alcohol,” Victor joked, “but I want to be more than your client. I want to be your boyfriend for now.”
Chapter4
The two ate their food and headed back to the house. They cuddled up on the couch and watched movies for the day. They ordered pizza and spent the whole day making up for lost time.
Victor raised some concerns he had. “I don’t know much about you.”
Nichole frowned. “What do you want to know?”
“Everything,” Victor answered.
Nichole thought for a minute. “Let me start from the beginning.” Nichole carefully went through her whole life story and Victor listened. She made sure not to miss a detail. She explained her relationship with her parents to her past relationships with men and friends.
When she finished Victor sighed. “You’ve been through so much. I’m sorry.”
“No, it’s fine. I learned how to forgive my enemies. I learned how to let go of the past and that the future is a main focus. It should always be the focal point of the big picture,” Nichole responded and smiled at Victor. “Your turn.”
Victor sighed. “There’s really nothing to say. I had the silver spoon in my mouth just about my whole life. I had the maid, the big house, all of it. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve worked my butt off to get to where I am today, but I grew up wealthy. When I got out of graduate school, my parents cut me off. However, I already had the connections. I already had the credentials. Everything was set in stone because I knew I could do it. You built your life. You worked your way up from the bottom and I admire you even more for that.”
“This is completely unrelated, but I love everything about you. You’re humble, you’re attractive, and the way you roll your R’s just makes me feel warm inside,” Nichole admitted.
Victor smiled at her and began to tell her how strongly he felt about her.
“Your eyes are so beautiful. You have skin like chocolate and your light brown eyes just stand out in the most perfect way but there’s so much more to you than your looks. You’re smart, a money maker like me, you’re independent and you work hard,” Victor replied.
Nichole smiled. “You’re so kind. I have heart eyes and my heart is smiling.”
Victor blushed. “You make me feel young again. I feel like a teenager meeting his first crush.”
Nichole looked into Victor’s eyes. “Really?”
“Really,” Victor assured.
“How old are you?” Nichole asked. “I’ve been meaning to ask.”
“I’m twenty-eight and you?” Victor returned.
“I’m twenty-six,” Nichole responded. “We aren’t that far apart.”
They then continued to talk about the basics. They shared their favorite colors, favorite foods, and more.
Before they could finish their conversation, there was a knock on the door. Nichole stood and walked over to the door. She opened it then rolled her eyes. Melissa walked past her and walked into the house. “Is he here?” Melissa screamed.
“If by he, you mean me, then yes.” Victor laughed. Melissa screamed then ran over and hugged him. Then she walked back over to Nichole.
“He’s fine, got a sexy accent, and he smells good,” Melissa tried to whisper.
“Thank you.” Victor chuckled.
“Victor this is my best friend, Melissa. Melissa, this is my boyfriend, Victor,” Nichole announced.
“Boyfriend!” Melissa gasped. “He’s been updated to boyfriend status?”
“Yes, Melissa. He is now boyfriend status,” Nichole replied.
Melissa gasped again. “I like this update. I wish I could have gotten a text or a call, but pop ups are more fun anyhow.”
“How long are you staying? I can order pizzas for dinner if you want to join us,” Nichole replied, changing the subject.
“No, I’m not staying lo—” Melissa began but stopped herself when she saw Zap. “Who is this?”
Zap approached Melissa and started jumping up, so she could pick him up. She lifted him into her arms and he began to snuggle up against her. “That’s Zap,” replied Nichole while ordering their pizzas online.
“This is a red panda?” Melissa asked.
“Yeah.” Nichole rolled her eyes.
“I am definitely staying for dinner,” Melissa replied.
Victor walked over to Nichole. “When is your first appointment?”
“In a couple weeks, why?” Nichole questioned back.
“I would like to go with you,” Victor answered.
“Oh, of course you can. What are you going to do while I’m at work?” Nichole asked.
“I’m going to use some of my connections to see if I can start putting up buildings here in America. Then we’ll make even more money. We’re already set for life, but I want to make sure our great, great, great grandchildren have enough. Maybe, if you want, we can move into a mansion somewhere,” Victor answered.
Nichole was silent for a moment then said, “Let me think it over. I’m not sure yet.”
“I understand,” Victor replied.
“The pizzas will be here in about thirty minutes,” Nichole announced. She looked over and saw Melissa scratching the bellies of Tashka and Zap. She smiled and shook her head. “We can watch a movie until the food arrives,” Nichole said while walking to the TV remote.
Thirty minutes went by and the doorbell rang. Nichole answered it. “Right on time!” Victor walked into the doorway to grab the pizzas and Nichole tipped the pizza guy. All of a sudden, a car screeches to a halt in the middle of the road in front of Nichole’s house. The car is turned off and a man steps out. Nichole focused her eyes on the person stepping out of the car.
“So, THIS is why you haven’t been answering my calls or texts?” a man screamed while walking towards the house.
“Derrick?” Nichole asked.
“You’ve been cheating on me huh?” Derrick questioned.
“We were never a couple Derrick. It was one date and you blew it!” Nichole exclaimed. Melissa ran outside to see what the situation was.
“Is this him?” Victor asked.
“Yeah, that’s the douchebag,” Nichole answered.
“Oh, so you’ve been talking about me?” Derrick smiled.
“Not in a good way,” Melissa replied.
“You’re irrelevant,” Derrick replied to Melissa.
Melissa gasped, and Victor put his hand up. “You insult my girlfriend. You insult her friend. You’re very disrespectful and I don’t appreciate it. You may want to leave, now,” said Victor as he stepped forward.
“She doesn’t even care about you, Jose. Okay? She’s using you, to get to me,” Derrick snapped.
“My name is Victor. You obviously have no respect, but I would rather not handle this altercation in front of the ladies so can you just go before things get messy?” Victor replied politely.
“Yeah, Derrick, you should just go. We have nothing to discuss,” Nichole exclaimed.
“I told you, Nichole. You’re mine. Nothing you, or Rico Sauvé here, say will change that!” Derrick screamed. The pizza guy stood by the door, shocked and uncertain of what he should do.
“Maybe you should go,” Nichole told the pizza guy. He slowly walked over to his car and continued to watch from there.
“Oh, so you have jokes.” Victor laughed.
Derrick became annoyed with Victor because he wasn’t taking him seriously. “You don’t want problems with me,” Derrick replied.
“Maybe you ladies should go inside.” Victor turned, speaking to Melissa and Nichole.
“I’m not going to walk away. Nothing is taking place here. Just come inside, Victor,” Nichole said. “The pizzas are getting cold. I’m starving and I’m tired of this mess!”
Tears started to rise in Nichole’s eyes and it broke Victor’s heart.
“I’ll go inside for you, my dear,” Victor said. He grabbed her hand and Nichole began leading him into the house. Nichole started calming down but then Derrick grabbed Victor and pushed him into the yard.
Victor stood, and you could tell he was angry. “I’m not playing with you. You can be childish all you want but not here,” Victor snapped.
“Who’s playing? You think you can take my girl and get away with it?” Derrick replied.
“I’m not your girl, Derrick!” Nichole screamed, growing frustrated.
Melissa grabbed Nichole’s arm and said, “Don’t get too worked up. You’ll hurt the baby.”
Derrick’s eyes grew big. “The baby?” he asked with a frown.
“Yes, and I’m the father,” Victor added.
Derrick ran up and tried to punch Victor, but Victor dodged it, grabbed Derrick’s arm, and pinned him to the ground. Derrick struggled to get up but, eventually, Victor let him go.
He got back up and tried to charge at Victor. Victor punched Derrick in the face and when he looked back towards Nichole, everyone saw that his mouth was bleeding.
“Stop. I don’t want to hurt you,” Victor pleaded.
“I’ll go but I’ll be back,” Derrick growled. He used his thumb to wipe some of the blood away from his mouth. He walked back to his car and left.
Victor walked back inside, and Nichole was crying. “What’s wrong, my love?” Victor asked.
“My whole life is falling apart!” Nichole screamed.
“No, it’s not. Everything is fine.” Victor tried to comfort her.
“No, it’s not! I feel like he’s never going to leave me alone and now he knows where I live!” Nichole bawled.
“I will be here to protect you,” Victor assured. “I promise, you have nothing to worry about.”
“Can you get me a few slices of pizza?” Nichole sniffled.
“Of course, I can,” Victor said as he stood up from the couch. He turned around and saw Melissa. She was already making herself a plate. He just looked at her and she looked at him.
“What? Having a pregnant friend is hard work,” Melissa joked.
Victor made Nichole’s and his plates and sat on the couch with her.
“You feel far away,” Nichole whined. Victor scooted towards Nichole and she smiled. They both ate their pizza and watched their movie.
Everything went well after that.
They ate, laughed, Melissa went home, Tashka and Zap ate, Victor fed the fish, took a shower, and got into bed.
“I’m going to be an emotional wreck,” Nichole whispered.
“Why do you think that?” Victor asked.
“I’ve been crying a lot lately and I’m extremely overwhelmed. My hormones are going crazy and I feel like it’s only going to get worse,” she answered.
“No matter what happens, I’ll be here for you through thick and thin,” he assured her.
“You’re so sweet. I love having you here with me.” Nichole hugged him.
“I wouldn’t let you go through this alone,” Victor said as he hugged Nichole back.
“I have work in the morning. I’d better get to sleep,” Nichole replied.
Victor held her in his arms as she drifted off to sleep but he stayed awake, thinking about how happy being with her made him. He thought back to when his friend referred her to him. “She helped me with my fennec fox, Albee. She’s really kind, and smart,
and beautiful too. I would have tried to talk to her but I’m too old,” laughed Mr. Runs, who referred Nichole to Victor.
“She’s a real girl. If you want grade A work for Zap, you’ll contact her.”
Victor thought about when he looked up her website. Her picture was the first thing that popped up. She wasn’t wearing makeup. She was wearing her vet’s coat and she was holding a tarantula.
He was so mesmerized by her beauty that he didn’t even notice the fluffy spider in her hands until his eyes went past her face.
He could have called any vet to come to Zap’s rescue, but he wanted to knock out two birds with one stone. He wanted to meet someone who didn’t want him for his money. He craved someone that was humble and loved animals. The girls he thought had potential would always show their true colors months later. They would either want his money or they thought he should get rid of Zap.
Nichole was different. Her occupation was all about animals and she didn’t care about his salary. He fell asleep thinking about how lucky he was to be in the position he was in. In his dream, he was walking through the aquarium with Nichole. They went into a shark tunnel. They stepped on a moving belt that took them through the tunnel. They saw different types of sharks and saw other fish swim around. Then they went and pet the horseshoe crabs.
He looked into Nichole’s eyes. They were glistening due to the bright lights that surrounded them. “I was hoping the thought of us wasn’t only going to be a dream.” Victor smiled.
“We are a reality now. So why are you still dreaming of me?” Nichole asked.
“I don’t think you understand it yet. You are a dream come true, but I love you so much that I want to see you when I’m awake and when I’m asleep. People said I had everything, but I knew I was missing a large element. Now, I have it,” he answered.
“I am so happy you feel that way. I was afraid I wouldn’t have a family to come home to. It’s always work, work, work,” Nichole admitted. She frowned.
“What’s wrong?” Victor asked, concerned.
“Just, don’t let me go. Please,” Nichole responded.
Victor grabbed her hand. “I could never,” Victor replied. The aquarium turned all white and they were the only two there.
