by Jude Ouvrard
Nix laughed at my father’s stories and I just rolled my eyes the whole time. I had heard these stories numerous times and in some of them, I had the main role. How embarrassing? I didn’t care though, I could do a lot worse than that to see Nix laugh so much.
Maybe coming here was a good idea after all. We had a good family dinner and my dad had made sure they had my favorite dessert. Even in my late twenties, my dad still tried to please me.
“I ate too much, Levi. I think I gained ten pounds. I’m not sure the bikini will fit.”
I laughed as we drove home. “We’ll do enough exercises until then to get you back in shape. I’ll make sure we exercise daily.”
“Oh my god, you’re impossible, Levi. Impossible.” She laughed at my comment.
“I’m only watching out for you. I’m innocent.” I tried to stay serious.
“Yeah, right.”
I kissed her lips softly.
“Merry Christmas, Rock Star.” I said again.
“Thank you for the beautiful day together. Merry Christmas, Angel.”
Our first Christmas together was a blast. Next year had to be just as fun, if possible.
Chapter TWELVE
The holidays had been fun but rough. We had one official dinner at my father’s for Christmas and we partied like animals for the rest of the holidays. Some days were harder for Nix because she missed the ambiance of her previous holidays. She never mentioned that she wished to be with her parents, but I thought it may have been the case.
Bekka and Nix wanted to have a grand breakfast. They had bought everything for their menu yesterday afternoon: Fresh fruit, eggs, tons of bacon, cheese and French bread. It smelled so good in the apartment. It was mouth-watering. I offered to take care of the laundry, so it kept me busy while they cooked. Tyler was napping on the couch. He wasn’t a morning person.
The more time I spent in this apartment, the more I missed my condo. We would be more comfortable there, but I was an idiot. We had talked about it a few times, but we had never sat down together to look at our options.
“Need help?” I heard Tyler’s rusty voice.
“No thanks, I’d rather fold my fiancée’s underwear myself.” I joked.
“Right.”
“Did you hear back from your brother?”
He shook his head no. “I’ll call him this afternoon. Even if it’s only for a weekend, Los Cabos will be the best damn thing. I’m tired.” Working at the club and trying to have a normal life with Bekka only allowed him a few hours of sleep. He did look tired and I hoped that he would slow down eventually before having a burn out or something.
“You should have an employee you can trust to stay at night. Bekka needs you. She won’t be working at the club forever and one day, she’ll want to settle down with you. You’ll have to be there.”
“I know.” He looked at my hand. “Fucker. You’re all grown up now with that ring on your finger.”
“I know, right? It’s official now. She wants me for her husband. I have to make her proud and I want your ass in Cabos so I have to school you a little.”
“Shut up, man.” He laughed and punched me on the shoulder.
“Breakfast is ready.” Bekka shouted from the kitchen.
I was a hungry man, I wanted some bacon. Nix kissed and hugged me as soon as I walked in the kitchen. Moving out of this apartment would be hard only for leaving behind the memories we shared in here. Our beginning and the best fucking images I would have to keep in my mind. The sexy see-through top she wore the first morning, or when she came out of the bathroom in her very tiny and Oh-so-sexy underwear when we were dropping Val at the airport.
At the table, Bekka and Tyler exchanged a few glances that didn’t go unnoticed. Something was up and he hadn’t mentioned it to me.
“It’s delicious. Thanks girls!” I ate more bacon than recommended for a week. That stuff tasted too good to be legal.
Bekka couldn’t stay still, she obviously had something to say, but couldn’t find the courage to do it. She only took one bite, but had emptied her coffee cup in no time.
“Are you okay, Bekka? You didn’t eat anything.” Nix asked her, unable to hide her concern.
“Yes, no...” She sighed and hid her face in her hands for a couple of seconds. “I have something to tell you, guys and its killing me. I... I feel terrible.”
“Just say it.” Nix ordered.
“Tyler asked me to move in with him and I said yes. I know I signed a contract here for a year and I don’t want to leave you guys alone here with my part to pay. I’ll pay until you find someone.”
Nix put her fork on the table and sat back in her chair. She chewed her food, but I could see the emotions passing through her body. I wrapped my arm around her shoulder.
“We’ll be okay, Rock Star.”
“I know. I’m just... Surprised. I guess I should say congrats!” She forced a smile. Nix hated her day to day life changing. With Val gone and Bekka leaving, it probably scared her to end up alone. Even though Bekka hadn’t been here in days and it had been like that for weeks, she would be officially gone now. “Congrats Bekka, I’m happy for you.”
They hugged, but I got nervous, I didn’t know how she would take it once Bekka moved away. I thought maybe now was the right time to focus on buying our house. We could try to find a replacement here and move before the wedding. Nix had started working again, so that would gradually help her self-esteem. I mean, she wanted to pay and do this with me. Well now, she’s working so we’re good to go. Right?
“When are you moving out?”
“Soon. Most of my things are already at his place. I’ll try to sell my bedroom furniture.”
“Okay. Soon sounds more like now to me.” Nix said, laughing awkwardly.
“Well, yeah. If you don’t mind. I’m trying to do this the right way, but... I really don’t want to upset you or lose you. It won’t change much anyway. We’re always with our boyfriends. We’ll have to schedule a girls’ night out.”
“You’re right.” Nix agreed, giving me a side hug. “We’re changing, we have different lives now.”
“Yes, we do. We’re still working at the club anyway so we’re all good.”
“I’m surprised, but really happy for you, Bekka.” Her eyes stared my way. “We’re getting married soon, Val is on the other side of the continent and you are moving in with Tyler. I never thought things were going to change that much in six months.”
We finished eating our breakfast, but all I could think about were the houses I had seen for sale. I had to show them to Nix. We could move into our house in time for our wedding and start fresh.
The girls talked about all kind of girl’s stuff. Nix showed Bekka the bikini I had gotten her for Christmas and both of them were whispering stuff about our wedding. I tried to listen more carefully, but the TV was on and Tyler was explaining something about the bar, Lucky 13, his biggest competitor.
“Are you listening, brother?”
“Yes, yes, I am. Sorry.” I tried to ignore Nix and listen to what Tyler was telling me.
He seemed really excited about a plan he had for the summer with all the students hanging at the club. Tyler had great talent when it came to organizing special theme nights at the club.
“Hey Levi, what about your birthday? It’s coming soon.” He said loud enough to catch Nix’s attention.
“Your birthday, Angel?” I could see the question marks in her eyes.
“Yeah, it’s coming.” Since I hit twenty-five, I’ve kind of slowed down the parties for my birthday. The only thing I wanted was a nice dinner with the people I love and maybe add a bottle of wine or two. Something pretty simple.
“What do you want to do? Something in mind?” Bekka asked, but I could see something in her face.
“I don’t know but I’m sure my girl can think of something.” I looked at her and she blushed.
“No, it’s your day. You decide.” Nix winked at me.
“I don’t want anything special,
really. We still have time, anyway.”
“Two weeks, brother.” Tyler clapped his hands together making the girls jumped in their seat.
I chuckled. “Yes. Two weeks before I get a year older.”
Nix cuddled to my side. “I want to make it special for you, Levi.”
“I just need you, Rock Star, and I have you. I don’t need anything more.”
Five years ago it would have been me, my boys, some girls and as much Jack Daniels as we could handle, but I had become a grown man, I guessed.
A nice dinner was really what I desired, nothing more.
Nix and Bekka were dancing and throwing bottles up in the air behind the counter. The customers were cheering loud and they fucking loved it. Tiffany looked busy with K and that just seemed weird. Tiff and K together? Really? Thankfully, Nix caught my attention and my eyes diverted back to her. She danced and poured the drinks into the shot glasses while dancing and singing to the song playing in the background.
Everything was back to normal with Nix. She was stronger than before and talked about how she felt more than before and I thought it was great. I asked her a few times how she felt about being around alcohol, but she told me it really didn’t cause her any struggle. As her soon-to-be husband, I had to make sure about these things.
“Levi, you want something to drink?” She asked, almost yelling.
“A smile.” I answered while walking toward her station. “I just want to see you smile.”
She gave me the most beautiful smile. “What about my tip? A girl gets used to a good tip.”
I blushed with embarrassment. She remembered word by word what I had told her when I spoke to her the first time. She didn’t like me one bit back then, she hated me, but I worked hard to make her change her mind. It happened slowly, Tristan took the backseat and I vowed to never let her go.
“You have me.” I said kissing her, my heart racing into my ribcage. “You drive me crazy.” I said, emptying my pockets of my fifty dollar bill. “Here, princess.”
“I’m no princess, babe.”
“You’re mine.” I give her a kiss while she handed me a cold bottle of beer.
“Take that, Prince Charming.” I laughed at us. I didn’t need much to be happy, but she gave me far beyond than everything I’ve ever wanted.
I sat with Tyler at a small table and we watched our girls while having short conversations about anything.
“Hey, guys.” Kyle approached our table.
“What’s up, K? It’s good to see you here.” Tyler said, and he was right. Kyle worked many hours at the shop. He liked to spend time there and worked on his projects for hours while I also enjoyed my life outside of work.
“I came here to spend some time with you guys and hmm, Tiff.” He looked suddenly shy. “She’s a good gal.”
“She is, but she’s fucking complicated, man.” Tyler warned him.
He chuckled. “Yeah, I figured that part all by myself.” Tyler laughed out loud and I did too.
Tiff had a way with life like no one else. She had a very strong personality, liked to have a few drinks, was British and didn’t accept anyone’s bullshit.
“We are going to go out when she’s off later this week. For some reason, it scares me.” He laughed.
“Just be yourself, K. She’s a good girl, be yourself. My best advice to you is to have a good time and don’t pretend to be someone you’re not.”
He nodded. I knew Tiff but Tyler knew her better. Kyle had been my friend for a long time and I knew a girl in his life would bring him out of the shop a lot more. He deserved more than working nonstop in a tattoo shop.
“Hey, babe.”
“Hey, Rock Star.”
“I can’t wait to be home with you.”
“Me too, and I have something I would like to show you before bed.” I had waited a few days since the news of Bekka moving in with Tyler and I thought tonight would be a good time to let her know about the houses.
“What is it? You know it’ll be killing me until we get home.”
“Just something I want to show you on the internet. For our future.” I added.
“Okay, I’ll try to not think about it until we get home.”
“Rock Star, it’s something good. Nothing for you to worry about, okay?”
She bit her bottom lip. “You have plans, Levi Munroe.”
“Something like that, Phoenix.” I chuckled.
She returned to her station and kept looking at me. I knew it was bugging the hell out of her, but I didn’t want to have that conversation here. I mouthed to her that I loved her as many times as I could and she returned it every single time.
Kyle punched me a couple of times on the shoulder, not ashamed to laugh at me and call me the regular names. He was an ass. I couldn’t wait for him to fall hard for someone, then maybe he would understand.
Chapter THIRTEEN
A few hours later...
“Look, Nix, I know you've been through many changes lately, but what I'm about to show you could change our future for the best.”
The look on her face was priceless. “Do you want to adopt a puppy?”
I laughed. “No, we've talked about this before, but I went further into our research.” I paused, nervous. “I found us houses that I think are worth visiting.”
“A house? For us?”
“Yes and yes.” I had a hard time hiding the excitement in my voice.
“Okay, show me what you got.”
I opened my laptop and went directly to the pages I had saved in my favorites. “This one is my favorite. We wouldn't be too far from here and it has three bedrooms and a small yard for BBQs.”
“It's renovated too.”
“This house is ready, we would only need to bring our furniture.”
“Maybe paint a few walls. Add some colors.” The apartment had been decorated with a lot of colors, not particularly my taste, but it was designed to be a girl apartment. Things changed really fast in there; Val left, I moved in and Bekka started dating Ty and stayed over at his place most of the time. I didn’t think they expected their lives at the apartment to change so drastically.
“If you want to, babe.” Her wishes came first.
“What about the other houses?” She asked, curious.
“Well, there is another one. It’s bigger and cheaper, but it’s outside of downtown. It’s more in the outskirts of Seattle.”
“I’m not sure about that. I think I prefer to stay around here. Everything we have or do is around here. Traveling in rush hour could be a total pain.”
“I agree. Would you like to schedule a showing to the first one?” I sounded like a businessman. It showed how serious I was about this.
“Yes, but I'm not sure I'm financially ready to take on such a big loan.”
“Don’t worry about this, Nix. I told you before, we’re okay. This house could be perfect. Enough room for kids to grow up and play, a yard for them and I think for us now, it reflects everything we need.”
She took control of my computer, went over the picture a second time and read the description of the property. “A Cape Cod style. I like the exterior too. It’s pretty and it looks clean.”
“Alright, now, come to bed with me. I’m exhausted.”
“I won’t be able to sleep now that you’ve talked to me about getting our own house. It is a very exciting project.” Her smile was so wide, it could almost reach her ears.
“I know something we could do that would tire you.”
“What is it? I think you need to show me.” She teased.
Her baby-blue eyes stared at me. Holding a laugh, she tried to give me a seductive look. The attempt had failed, but she still looked damn cute, I couldn’t ignore that.
Still wearing her cropped t-shirt from the Black Shakers, she stepped closer to me, but I wanted to see her, her curves. I pulled Nix’s top over her head and wrapped my arms around her, holding on to her, feeling her skin against my arms.
“Rock star.
” I murmured to her ear. “Bedroom, now.”
She giggled and we hurried to our bedroom.
“Levi, you and I, in a big house.” She said, still not believing that we had that option.
“Yes, I told you. I’m serious about my future with you. We’re getting married. I’m looking forward to taking the next step with you. The house seems like a good idea now that we’re alone in the apartment. I’ll contact the landlord and take care of this.”
“I really want to visit the house soon, like tomorrow, but right now, you’re the one I want.”
She pushed me on the bed and straddled me. Her ass on my groin, the pressure added to my pleasure. My hands ran up and down her thighs while she caressed my abs.
“Take off your shirt, Angel.” She ordered me. I pulled it over head leaving my hair in disarray.
“I want more ink.” She said, locking our eyes in a gaze. Nix knew what it meant to me. How much I loved it.
“Anytime, Rock Star. You know that.” I got even harder just with the thought of marking her again.
She hovered until our lips met, her full body covered mine.
Could I kiss her only or not? Definitely not, I rolled us on the mattress so I lay on top of her. I pulled up her skirt, and ripped her tiny underwear out of the way. “I need this, Nix.”
“So do I.” Her small hands took control of my clothes. We never got fully undressed; our hunger for each other never let us.
We were not making love, this was way too fucking rough to be called that. Nix held onto my arms strongly enough to leave me bruised while I pounded into her, deeper than ever before. She didn’t stop me and I had no will to stop myself. Fuck! Within minutes, I came undone. My body hurt and felt good at the same time. Nix’s hold on me hurt, but the sounds coming out of her mouth were my undoing.
Fuck, she was my life.
I used my charm to get a last minute showing to the house, the real estate agent managing to schedule us between two appointments. It turned out that the house was already empty from its owner. Nix tried to keep her excitement in check, but she could barely contain herself. The house only had a couch sitting in the living room, everything else appeared to be gone. Nix held my hand through the guided tour of the house and as we kept walking around the property her hold on my hand became tighter and tighter. My fingers numbed from her strength.
