by Lena Skye
I got home kicked my shoes off and headed straight to my bed. My world had just been destroyed. I buried my face into my pillow and shamelessly released all of my tears. My heart felt like it was shriveling up, and I had no clue what to do with my feelings. No amount of crying would make the pain go away. I heard my phone buzzing in the middle of my sobs. I wiped my face and picked up my phone so that I could delete all of his messages. There were so many calls and texts from Kenneth. I was getting ready to erase them all, and my phone rang again. This time it was from Desmond. I hesitantly picked it up.
“Yes?”
“Hey Nicole. I’m nearby, and I wanted to know if I could drop by. I’m here for you if you need someone to talk to.”
I thought about it, and I didn’t want to be alone but I wasn’t sure if him coming to my apartment was a good idea. Then again, I didn’t care anymore.
“Sure you can come over,” I sniffled.
“Cool, I’m parking now so get ready to buzz me in.”
“Okay,” I said before I hung up and placed my phone on the nightstand. I was still in my dress, but I didn’t care. I was sure that my makeup looked a mess, but I didn’t care about that either. I walked over to my intercom system and buzzed him into the building.
He walked through my door with a bottle of wine in his hand. I gave a slight smile. He was still dressed in his tuxedo from the party. I realized that I hadn’t seen him at the party at all so he must have just blended in with all of the spectators.
“Now you know I had to bring wine for my favorite lush,” he said with a slight smile.
“You know me so well,” I said as I went to the kitchen to grab two wine glasses and an opener.
I handed him the opener as I sat the glasses down on the coffee table and took the position next to him on the couch.
“So what’s really going on Nikki,” he asked with a look of seriousness on his face. I’d usually only seen that level of focus from him when we were talking about business.
“Well I’m sure you’ve heard. Ken slept with Loren.”
“Well yeah, everyone knows now. I’m sorry that everything went down the way that it did. You don’t deserve that.”
“I can’t help but feel like I kind of do deserve it. I should have known better than to trust him again. I was too caught up in my emotions and I didn’t think with my head at all.”
“Don’t beat yourself up over being in love. You did what most people would do, and there is nothing wrong with that. The only person that should feel crazy is Kenneth. Kenneth is an asshole.”
I downed my first glass of wine, and he poured me another. We spoke for another hour, and I enjoyed his company. He was so attentive and understanding. I’d finished off the bottle, and I felt warm and calm. I leaned my head against his shoulder, and he placed his arm around me. It felt so damned natural and comfortable.
“The bottom line is that you need someone that you can trust. You need someone that would never do something like that to you. You deserve a person that knows what he has and wouldn’t be willing to jeopardize it for anything,” he said as his face came closer towards my own.
I was caught up in his words, and they sank into my soul. I greedily ate his words and used them to keep a firm hold on my sanity. His lips looked so inviting, and they were coming towards my own. Finally, they softly brushed against mine, and I responded immediately by pressing my lips firmly against them. A bolt of electricity went through my body. It was so good it scared me and I pulled away.
“No, no, I am sorry. You better leave,” I said.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that, especially not now. This isn’t the time for it, and you don’t need the added stress,” he said sincerely.
“You’re right. I don’t need it,” I said firmly.
“Okay,” he said placing his arm back around me, “I understand and I won’t do it again…tonight.”
I
grinned and settled back into his arm because I needed the affection. I’d spent so many nights alone recently, and I finally had someone with me that I didn’t have to manipulate or coerce. My eyes got droopy and drifted off to sleep.
I slowly awoke against Desmond’s chest. I took a few deep breaths before I tapped him as I realized how late it was.
“Des, get up. It’s time for you to leave.”
He slowly woke up, “Oh I’m sorry. I didn’t plan on falling asleep, you’re just really comfortable.”
“Yeah yeah yeah, so are you,” I said as I stood to my feet.
I walked to my room and grabbed my phone as Desmond used the restroom. I saw that I had over 40 missed calls from Kenneth and some were from my friends. I didn’t feel like talking to anyone. I walked Desmond all the way out to the front door.
“I’ll call you tomorrow to see how you’re doing,” Desmond said with a concerned expression on his face.
“I’d like that a lot. Thank you for coming over to check on me,” I said as I lifted on my tip toes to give him a hug. I rested my head on his shoulder as his body completely enveloped mine. Watching him walk to his car tugged on my heart strings. Maybe I should have let him stay.
Then I noticed Ken’s car had been parked outside. I squinted a little and saw that he had his window down, tears streamed down his cheeks as we made eye contact. I felt numb when I saw him, and I didn’t know what to say. He stared at me blankly for a few more moments. Then he just drove off.
I wondered how long he had been parked outside. Seeing Desmond leave at this hour would probably make him jump to conclusions. But then again, he is the one in the wrong, not me!
On my way back to my apartment I realized that there probably wasn’t any way for Ken and I to go back to the way that we were now.
I also realized that I don’t give a damn.
We are over. For good this time.
#Epilogue
“You sir are devious.”
Loren
Joshua felt sheer joy as he watched Nicole run out of the party.
He delighted in seeing the tears stream down her face. Now she knows how it feels to be humiliated, he thought to himself.
What was hard to watch was his best friend running after her.
Why couldn’t Ken understand that Nicole just wasn’t worth it? She was an opportunistic chick that didn’t care about anyone but herself. They were better off without her in their lives. She was in the way of them being able to truly enjoy all that Atlanta had to offer. Without Nicole in the picture, he and Ken could be have and share all the women they wanted.
Joshua enjoyed the rest of his night. He shamelessly flirted with the women in the room, and he loved the responses that he got. It’s amazing how well women will treat you when they know that you have a great job and no dependents. He spent his night on the dance floor because it was a celebration for him. Something he had been hoping for had finally transpired.
Shortly after the big incident, he was pulled to the side by Loren, and she was pissed.
“Josh! Why would you tell people that me and Kenneth slept together? You know that’s not true at all. Are you trying to ruin my damned career?”
They moved to a quiet corner and grabbed flutes of champagne from one of the serving trays.
“Girl calm down. It’s not going to ruin your career; if anything it will raise your stock. Trust me, everyone loves a loose model,” he grinned.
“You’re such a fucking pig. But I don't get why you would start a rumor like that. Isn't Kenneth your best friend. What’s your angle?” She asked.
“Look Loren, don’t try to act all innocent and is if you are not loving it also. If this gets Nicole out of both of our lives, why not? I know you want Kenneth for yourself.”
She stared at Josh for a moment and then a huge grin spread across her face.
“Besides, I had to take drastic action. Kenneth told me he was planning to propose to her... tonight!”. Josh gleamed.
“No way? Really? I thought he was not the type to settle d
own?” Loren was intrigued.
“That is what we all thought. But he has been trying his hardest with Nicole this time. Why do you think I been dragging him out to parties all the time? Why do you think I had to turn on the waterworks to get him to move in to that place with me? Kenneth wanted to move in with Nicole but I told him he owed me getting a place together. Also, Why do you think I wanted to set that meeting up for you two on Thursday?” Josh said, sipping on his champagne.
“Right, I wondered what your motive was with that. You seemed really eager for us to work together.”
“Well, Kenneth was reluctant because he knows Nicole does not like you. But I made it happen. Anything to piss Nicole off.” Josh winked at Loren.
“You sir are devious,” she said as she raised her glass in a toast.
“To new beginnings,” he responded as he clinked his glass against hers.
Joshua gave himself a smug grin. He felt his plan to break up Nicole and Kenneth had finally come together.
However, he knew eventually Kenneth would find out about what he had done but, for now, he was just enjoying the moment.
Revenge complete.
THE END
#Book3
PRETTY FLY FOR
A WHITE GUY
Episode 3 – Trouble
#Prologue
I stood at the bar feeling the fresh sting of Nicole’s hands as her drink dripped from my face. I was too confused and upset to feel the embarrassment that went along with that moment. Watching her storm out of the party made me feel like I was going to have a heart attack. I wasn’t entirely sure of what those felt like, but I was sure that had to be it. I didn’t know what in the hell happened, and now all eyes were on me. I looked at the shocked expressions on Jasmine and Patrice’s faces.
“What in the hell was that all about?” I asked as I grabbed a napkin to wife my face clean.
They just shook their heads and walked away, I didn’t follow them because I obviously wasn’t on their list of favorite people right now. I headed for my car and ignored all of the eyes that were on me. I didn’t give two shits about what any of them thought. However, I was tired of giving them all a show. I went straight home to change my clothes and to give myself time to think about everything that had just happened.
Cheating on Nicole is the last thing that I would do. I still can not believe she would think that. When I promised to be a better man I really meant it. I admit the situation did look bad from the outside looking in, but I was so focused on getting a new client that I didn’t think about how I would make her feel.
After spending a couple of hours in a daze on my couch I went back to my car and drove to Nicole’s apartment. I called and texted her repeatedly, but she didn’t answer, and I knew she was ignoring me because her lights were on. I pondered ringing her doorbell, but I didn’t want to upset her if she absolutely didn’t want to see me. I’d just experienced her wrath a few hours before and I didn’t want to run into it again anytime soon.
After a while her front door opened and a man appeared, I blinked a few times and saw that it was Desmond and then I saw Nicole emerge. My fingers gripped tightly on my steering wheel until the whites of my knuckles could be seen clearly from my hands as I watched the scene that took place before me. My blood boiled when I saw Desmond hugging Nikki and touching what belonged to me. Tears that I didn’t think I even possessed streamed down my face as my mind went over what had possibly taken place in the apartment while I was sitting outside like an idiot waiting for her. Desmond walked away and went to his car; I played around with the thought of confronting him but this was not the right time for that.
My eyes locked with Nikki’s for a moment, but I didn’t have anything to say to her that was pleasant. My fingers mindlessly twirled the box that held Nicole’s engagement ring. It seemed like the time for us to be together forever was over.
I turned the key in my ignition and drove away. We would have to deal with this but right now I was too upset to speak.
#Chapter1
“Don’t use me as a scapegoat.”
Kenneth
My eyes flew open, and I had a horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach. I slept long and hard without any tortuous dreams, but reality came crashing back down onto me like a ton of bricks when I woke up. I pulled the covers over my head and fought the urge to scream at the top of my lungs like a toddler. I was supposed to have breakfast with my friends like we always do after a huge event, but there was no way that I could show my face out in public. I was mortified and humiliated from what Kenneth had done to me. I doubted if my friends could even make me feel better about it.
It sucked that he’d made a fool of me again, and I’d let him. I gave him another chance even when all of the signs pointed to him being shady. I was way too caught up in what I wanted him to be instead of seeing him for who he actually was. He fooled me again and so I really only had myself to blame. The incessant buzzing of my phone was starting to get on my last nerve and so I picked it up and saw that Ken had just left me a message.
To: Me
From: Kenneth
Can I come over later so that we can at least talk about this?
Ken
I cursed myself for looking at my phone, but it was time to stop avoiding him. We needed to talk face to face, and this was a good opportunity to box up his stuff and give it to him. I didn’t need any reminders of him lurking around my house. It was time for us to put an end to this madness that we had labeled as a “relationship”. It was clear that he just wasn’t ready to settle down with me, and I wasn’t going to force him to make that decision. It would only lead to a prolonged heartache for the both of us. I told him to be at my house in a couple of hours.
I hopped from my bed and went to my closet to grab an empty box. I went through my house and threw all of his things inside of it. Everything from his toothbrush to his shoes went inside. It felt a little therapeutic to cleanse my home of all remnants of him. Kenneth arrived at my house earlier than I expected. I was happy that I’d finished packing up his things earlier.
I opened my door and stared at him, unsure of what to say. He walked in and took an uninvited seat on my couch. I rolled my eyes and closed my door before turning towards him. He looked like crap. He was in a wrinkled t-shirt and jeans, and it looked like he hadn’t slept at all.
“Can I explain?” He asked.
I shook my head quickly, “Honestly, I don’t even want to hear it. I’ve listened to more than enough of your lies, and I’m tired of it.”
“But I really haven’t done anything wrong,” he said desperately.
“I’ve heard that millions of times before and now I have proof! People that know you are saying that you did it. You’ve had that bitch smiling in my face and the whole time you knew that you wanted to fuck her.”
“Are you serious right now?” He asked, “They usually say that if a person is accusing you of something that you haven’t done then it’s probably their own guilt. You couldn’t wait to hop in the bed with Desmond. As soon as you got the opportunity you ran to him to do exactly what you wanted to do in the first place. So don’t use me as a scapegoat. I never slept with Loren.”
“So that’s your angle?” I asked.
“No it’s not an angle. I’m just saying that something has probably been going on between the both of you for a while.
My heart felt like it was going to pound out of my chest, and my body was trembling uncontrollably. He was trying to pin everything on me instead of being a man and fessing up to what he’d done. I’d heard enough and I didn’t feel like defending myself against bullshit.
“Desmond came over to comfort me and nothing happened outside of that,” I said.
“Yeah whatever,” Kenneth mumbled.
“You know what,” I said as I picked up the box and walked over to him, “Get out.” I shoved the box into his arms.
He sat there with a huge box on his lap and he looked as if he were searching for the wor
ds that he wanted to say. He stood to his feet and walked to the door and awkwardly opened it, I followed behind him as he went out into the hallway. He turned to look at me.
“Nicole, one day you’re going to realize what a big mistake you’re making,” he said.
I scoffed, “I really just can’t bring myself to care.”
I closed the door in his face and on our life together. You might have thought I would be sad but I actually felt relieved.
#Chapter2
“I guess it’s time for round two with Loren.”
Nicole
My week went by at a snail’s pace because all I could think about was Kenneth. Whatever work I could get done from the comfort of my home I did. I wasn’t ready to face the world yet and so I only emerged when I had to meet clients. Takeout food had become my sustenance because I needed to go grocery shopping, but that would have required me to have some human interaction.
