Friend-Zoned (16 page)

Max speaks around a
caramel mud cupcake. “Glad to see you and Tina made up.”
Tina brought us six of the honest to god best cupcakes I’ve
ever
had. Out of all her
cakes, these are my favorite so far.
Ambrosia…Food of the gods.
She walked into the ‘chill out’ room and as soon as Trick saw her
carrying a container he jumped up, kissed her cheek and took the
container from her.
She laughed, “Trick, save some for your brothers, please.”
Ghost even squeezed her shoulder when he walked in to the room.
She’s a part of our family. All the girls are. I consider them my
sisters. Well, not Tina, which would be weird…because she would be
an adorable sister with a great ass that I like to kiss.
Uh, Yuk.
“We had a girl’s night last night and these were left over,” she
says as she picks one up and holds it out to me. “Try it.”
God, she looks like Eve holding a shiny red
apple.
Tempting
temptress.
One bite of that morsel of caramel fudgy goodness and I could’ve
asked Tina to marry me.
That’s strange. Thoughts of marriage usually make me sweat. Somehow
that doesn’t seem to happen when I think of Tina as my little
wifey.
Tina in my kitchen. Tina snuggling with me on my sofa. Tina in my
bed on her kne—
Don’t even go
there.
I finish chewing, swallow, and
declare, “This one’s my favorite, sweetheart.”
Her smile beams like morning sunshine and she says, “I’ll remember
that, Niki.”
After instructing us not to work too hard she’d gone back to
work.
When I’d come back from our sushi lunch yesterday, I was annoyed
and pissy as hell.
Tina laughed off the kiss like it was nothing. To me, it was the
best kiss I’ve even had so it made me mad as a hatter that she
didn’t feel that way. I was ready to ask Tina to be my girl which
is a huge deal for me. I thought everything was going good. I walk
into Safira and bam! She jumps on my like I’ve come home from war.
I enjoyed holding her like that. She’s so small. Her breasts pushed
up against my chest and her face a hair’s breadth away. Nice.
Then she writes off the kiss as ‘curiosity between friends’…like
hell!
I wanted to kiss her right there on the sushi bar enough to leave
her breathless!
I turn to Max and tell him, “Yeah, we’re good.”
***

Poker night is awesome!
Again!
We all got together at Nik’s house at eight thirty. I decided to
try a few new cupcake flavors today and went with strawberries and
cream cupcakes and white chocolate cranberry cupcakes. Both were a
hit. Ceecee had one of each before dinner. Max tried to look angry
but couldn’t stop himself from grinning at
her.
Totally got him
wrapped!
I snuck her one more that he didn’t see. Pizza came at nine. We all
ate, drank, and chatted together, including my little angel Ceecee.
Max ended up putting Ceecee to bed a little later than usual
because I’d managed to talk him into letting her play a few rounds
of Uno with the girls. We cheered her on when she won twice and she
was absolutely beaming with pride. Max couldn’t stop smiling at
her. I knew why he was smiling.
As soon as I walked into the house, I greeted everyone and went
straight to the kitchen to sort out my cupcakes. I was just about
done when I almost had a heart attack.
“Tina! Tina! Tina! Tinaaaa!!!!” That yelling was coming from
Ceecee. My heart clenched in fear.
I ran out of the kitchen with wide eyes and a pale face. Everyone
else looked just as afraid as I was.
Only when I was her huge smiling face did I begin to relax. I held
a hand on my chest and said, “Geez Louise, Ceecee. You just about
sent me to an early grave!”
She stopped right at my legs, looked up and burst out, “I did
it!”
Confusion set in. I shook my head slightly, shrugged and asked,
“Did what, angel?”
She beamed, “I made a friend! All on my own. I just saw a girl from
my class in the library and went over to her and said hi, I told
her my name and you know what she said?” Excitement was leaping off
her face.
I widened my eyes, leaned closer to her and whispered, “What’d she
say?”
Ceecee smiled my favorite crooked smile, “She said she saw my art
project up on display and thought it was awesome!”
That. Is. Awesome!
Ceecee took my silence as permission to continue, “She told me to
eat lunch with her tomorrow so I can meet her friends!”
Totally. Freakin’. Awesome!
Still in a rush of excitement, she went on, “I did what you said
and it worked! You’re the best, Tina. Love you!” After she dropped
that bomb I like to call a miracle, she rolled on down to the
hallway and out of sight.
Jiminy
Crickets! We did it!
I was too busy watching my little friend stroll away to see Max
bounding towards me. I let out a small yelp when I was picked up
from behind.
He was laughing in my ear, “Only you, teeny Tina.”
When he’d had enough of holding me, he set me down and I turned to
face him. I was stunned to see his eyes bright and shining, not so
stunned to see the huge smile on his face.
I turned to face the others and they were all silently cheering,
doing victory dances and making touchdown motions.
I whispered a reverent, “Wow.”
Nik walked up to me, face serious and pecked a quick kiss on my
lips before hugging the life out of me.
Niiice!
After Max put Ceecee
down for the night, we snuck into the studio again and sang some
songs along to the piano. We were just starting ‘Don’t Stop
Believing’ by Journey when Trick came skidding into the room on his
knees belting out the words. The other guys came in shortly after
and we somehow ended up singing Sir Mix-A-Lot’s ‘Baby Got Back’
which included Max sticking out his ass and booty shaking. It was
so hilarious, I actually peed a little.
After listening to Nat play a few more songs, the guys went back to
Poker. We’ve become so comfortable together that when the guys were
playing their last round we girls got bored and fired up a DVD
without even asking. This seemed to please Nik who was giving me
the dimple. We took the same places on the sofas as last week and
watched ‘Old School’. The guys would stop playing every time we
burst out laughing and eventually gave up on Poker to come and
watch with us.
Nik sat with his back to the arm rest and pulled me onto my belly
with my head resting on his chest, Max using my butt as a pillow.
Mimi sitting with her feet under her body, Trick using Lola’s lap
as a pillow while Lola stroked Trick’s hair. Nat sitting on the end
of the sofa, her legs pulled up to her chest with Ghost leaning
back on her and using her legs as a recliner.
Watching Will Ferrell streak naked down the street by himself had
me in stitches. I was laughing so hard I’d snort, every time I’d
snort everyone would laugh at me and I’d laugh harder causing more
snorts. Still laughing and snorting, I begged for everyone to stop
because I was actually going to pee myself.
I settled back down and found myself falling asleep. Nik asked me
if I wanted to sleep in an actual bed and I shook my head. In a
sleep filled haze, I turn my head to his, took my fingers and
traced his lips. Without a second more of thinking, I put my lips
on his. Whisper soft. I could’ve imagined it. I sure thought I did.
I pull away and smile at his confused expression.
Nik, y u so dreamy?
I rest my head under his chin and promptly pass
out.

Chapter Thirteen
Free Rein

“
What the heck is
that?”
I look up from my Friday rush paperwork to see Tina in the doorway
of my office, face pale with wide eyes.
Confusion passes through me. I look down to see I’ve forgotten to
put away my .45 caliber pistol which sits on my
desk.
Oh,
crap.
“I… Uh…” I’m not sure what to
tell her. This pistol is my baby. My dad gave it to me when I
fifteen. He wouldn’t let me use it, though. It was just for
protection. Only to be used in life or death situations. The very
first thing he taught me was to never point your gun at someone you
don’t plan to use it on. I’m not saying I haven’t ever used it. I
have.
It’s a regular semi-automatic pistol with steel casing. The handle,
however, is wooden with a solid gold Mary Magdalene on the right
side. It’s a piece of art. This was my dad’s gun which he brought
over from Russia. He taught me how to use it. It’s my only
connection to my dad apart from our baby grand piano.
I decide to play it cool. I can trust Tina.
She makes her way over to me slowly, still obviously petrified of
the object on my desk and says quietly, “Please tell me you have a
permit for that.”
I smile and shake my head at her. Not in a ‘No’ way but in a
“Nawww, you’re too cute” way.
I smirk up at her, “You wanna hold it?”
She gasps, her body rears back, and she shoves her hands under her
armpits looking like she’s about to do the chicken dance then leans
forward and whispers fiercely, “I don’t want my prints on
it!”
I burst into laughter. My god, she is a goofball.
Taking the pistol, I stand and place it into the top drawer of the
filing cabinet in the corner before locking it. I walk up to Tina,
put my hands on her shoulders and assure her, “Nothing to worry
about, sweetheart. It’s just for protection.”
Still wary, she looks into my eyes and tries to joke, “You must
have some large enemies.”
I lean down and kiss her forehead. I whisper, “You have no
idea.”
Tina doesn’t know it but I’m very serious when I say that.
She sounds anxious when she asks, “Who do you need protection from,
Nik?”
I vow, “I’ll explain it to you one day, babe. I promise.” Tina
doesn’t look any less guarded but she
nods.
Good girl. Pick your
battles.
I ask, “Did you need
something, teeny Tina?” I pull on a lock of her dark silky
hair.
Her face brightens when she remembers what she came for. She says,
“Yes! I wanted to get a turkey sub for lunch from Silvio’s so I
came to see if you wanted one, too.”
My stomach rumbles and I respond, “That’d be great. I’ve got a ton
of work to get through with a 1pm deadline so that’s
perfect.”
As soon as I reach for my wallet, the naughty girl actually runs
out the door and yells, “It’s on me!”
I’m up and around my desk in a second with a twenty dollar bill in
hand. I see her trying to open the heavy security door quickly but
nothing happens. It has a one second time lock. The more she
jiggles the more the time lock starts over. She turns her head and
sees me coming towards her. Her eyes widen to the size of saucers.
She looks left then right trying to find an escape route, her
eyebrows lift even further and I see an idea form in her head. She
bolts down to the elevator and presses the button over and over. I
laugh internally.
You keep doin’
that, sweetheart.
The elevator
doesn’t work without a swipe card. She’s pressing the button a mile
a minute saying “c’mon, c’mon!” Nothing happens.
I’m a few feet away from her when she decides to try and run past
me in the narrow hallway.
What a
freakin’ nut!
Her eyes are wide and
her cheeks are the color of cotton candy. Still, she tries her
hardest to slip by me. My arm shoots out and wraps around her
waist.
Tina lets out a yelp. I pull her back to my chest and whisper in
her ear, “That was a very bad idea, sweetheart.”
Her body stills immediately and she whispers back, “What are you
going to do to me?”
Oh shit. Don’t
tempt me, baby.
I think she’s still
scared about seeing my gun. She’s adorable. I smile cruelly even
though she can’t see it. I loosen my arm around her waist and move
it to her hip. Then I move my free hand to her other hip.
Commence tickle-fest three thousand.
Tina starts howling with laughter, then giggles so high-pitched she
sounds like a little dog yapping away. She struggles against me,
it’s so cute I can’t help but laugh with her.
She begs, “NIK! STOP! PLEASE STOP!”
But I don’t stop. She needs to be taught a lesson. I continue
tickling her hips and ribs.
Then come the snorts.
It’s only then I hear other people laughing. I look over to the
doorway of the ‘chill out’ room. Max, Trick, and Ghost are all
chuckling clearly enjoying the show.
Tina squeals, “NIK I’M GOING TO PEE!” At this point she’s laughing
as well as crying and pee sounds like pee-hee-hee.
My body shakes with laughter as I finally let up. I let go of her
and she steps away from me huffing and puffing.
I take her in. Her hair is a mess, her makeup has slightly smudged
under her eyes and she’s beautifully
flushed.
I wonder if this is how she
looks after she comes.
“Well,”
Huff
“I’ll just,”
Puff
“go get,”
Huff
“lunch then.” And she turns to walk away.
I firmly warn, “Tina, stop.”
She stops and her shoulders stiffen. I walk over to her, take her
hand and place the twenty in it. She looks at it then scowls at
me.
I smile, “I want a cookie, too.” She glares at me then continues
down the hall. I yell out, “If I find out you didn’t use that to
buy
both
our
lunches. I swear I’ll tickle you again even harder…and this time
I’ll let you pee.”
I’m so shocked when she smiles an acid smile and flips me the bird,
I roar with laughter.
My little
goof.
***

Nik told us to come to The
White Rabbit on a Sunday this week. He explained it’s not as busy
as Saturday night and the music is more relaxing and chill. I spoke
to the girls and they were down for that.
After Nik tickled the life out of me for trying to buy our lunches
on Friday, I almost got tomato on his sub as payback. Silvio was
just about to put the tomato on the sub when I shrieked, “STOP!”
The entire store turned to look at me. I shuffled up to the counter
and whispered, “No tomato, please.”
But I did get the choc chip cookie for him instead of his preferred
white choc almond.
Yeah, I’m
badass.
It’s now Sunday night and
we’re getting ready for the club.
While the girls share the bathroom mirror, I go about feeding Bear
his dinner and giving him sweet cuddles. He thanks me with a
Mrraaoowww
and I make my
way to the bathroom to get ready.
The girls are finished and waiting on me. I lightly apply my makeup
and smear my lips thickly with clear gloss.
I then check my wardrobe for something to wear. I decide on a
slimming black pencil skirt with a high waist and a white long
sleeved linen shirt. I finish it off with a thick white belt and
white suede pumps. Mimi is wearing black wide legged pants and a
grey tank with black flats. Lola is wearing a denim mini skirt and
a black long sleeved shirt with black heels. Nat is wearing white
linen pants and a black tank with charcoal grey heels. They all
look amazing.
We arrive at the club just after ten and I’m surprised to see a
fairly large line up. The way Nik spoke about Sunday nights at the
club was like it was dead. We approach the beginning of the line
and B-Rock greets us with a large smile, “There they are. Gimme
some love, ladies.”
He doesn’t ask for our VIP passes anymore. We each give him a kiss
on the cheek as we pass him, Nat puckers up her bright red lips and
kisses him smack on the forehead. We laugh as he scowls at
her.
As soon as we’re in, we make our way to the stairs to the VIP area
and are greeted by a smiling African American Alice tonight.
And she is smoking hot!
She greets us with, “Good evening ladies, you wouldn’t happen to be
the Safira party would you?” She has a deliciously husky voice
that’s almost hypnotizing.
We all smile at her when Mimi speaks, “That would be us.” She leans
closer to A.A. Alice and says, “You’re gorgeous. If you want to
meet for a drink later, let me know.” When Mimi told me she was
bi-sexual I was shocked. She didn’t look the type. Don’t get me
wrong, I’m good with it. I
love
love. In all shapes and forms. And I love Mimi as
a lesbian. She becomes a vixen.
A.A. Alice smiles a small smile and says quietly, “Well, shazam. I
think I might just do that.”
She shows us to our booth which the guys are already seated at. We
all take an outer seat and I scowl at Mimi when she tries to sit
next to Nik.
That’s my seat Meems!
It’s always my seat!
Just as her ass
descends, I put my hand on my hip, clear my throat and tap my
foot.
Mimi looks up at me and chuckles, “This is your seat right,
doll?”
I poke her in the chest lightly, scowl at her, and whisper loudly,
“You know it is, you sneak!”
She puts her arms up in defeat and moves to sit next to Max.
Max asks me, “What, do I smell or some shit?” He actually looks
distraught.
I laugh and lean over the table to kiss his cheek. As I lean back
he whistles loudly and smirks, “You just made up for it with that
excellent view of your cleavage, babe.” And then he winks at
me.
I’m just about to unleash a really bad word followed by the
word
you
when Nik
throws a peanut at his head and warns, “That’s enough,
knucklehead.”
I scrunch my nose at Max and nod.
Take that, Max!
He puts his
hands up in surrender and says, “Yeesh. Alright, alright.”
Max puts his arm around Meems and they start chatting. I look over
at Nat and she sits next to Ghost so Lola can play footsie with
Trick. She leans over the table to reach for some nuts, her violet
hair right in Ghosts face and I swear,
I
swear
, he closed his eyes and
inhaled.
It was kind of cute.
I hope it wasn’t a creepy stalker sniffy thing though.
That would be bad.
I slide my butt into the booth and Nik puts his arm around my
waist, pulls me close to him and smiles “You don’t like when
someone else sits next to me?” He sounds curious.
I lamely try to defend myself for my childish actions. I point at
Mimi and whine, “She
knew
it was my seat, Nik. My seat is always next to
yours. That’s how we roll!”
His eyes crinkle at me and I love how it changes his whole face. He
puts his face in my neck and laughs. I feel his warm breath on me
and fight the shudder that threatens. Against my neck he whispers,
“Okay, sweetheart.”
We drink cherry bombs, laugh and joke together, then I suggest we
go dance.
We’ve been here a few times but haven’t danced because the dance
floor has been bananas.
The guys decline and the girls follow me down the stairs. As soon
as we push our way to the middle of the dance floor Kiss starts
playing I was made for loving you.
I love the music being played tonight. It’s a mash up of disco,
rock, and relaxing pop.
Freakin’
awesome!
I’m having a blast.
***