Friends & Lovers Trilogy (19 page)

“
Oh, my momma made sure of
that,” she replied wryly.

He watched her as she passed out drinks to
her guests and wondered about her comment.

Kent moved to the couch and started a
conversation with Pete about football. He enjoyed talking with the
other man. Pete always had a kind word for everyone, had a good
sense of humor, and was a killer poker player. He was one of the
people in town that Kent could really call a friend.

As they talked, Kent watched Nicole work the
room, and wondered again about her earlier statement. It was
obvious from the way she carried herself, that she’d had a very
different upbringing than he had. He couldn’t imagine his mother
ever being so at ease entertaining in her home. He found himself
comparing his life with Nicole’s. He was sure that they were from
different worlds and wondered what she would think of him if she
knew where he came from.

When he saw her slip into her room, he
excused himself from his conversation with Pete and followed
her.

Nicole grabbed the lip gloss off of her
dresser and applied it, before turning to go back into the living
room. She stopped when she saw Kent enter the room.

He stepped inside and closed the door,
leaning against it as he smiled.

“
You sure know how to work
a room. I don’t know why, but the way you move is really hot. I’ve
been waiting for the chance to get you alone,” he pushed up off of
the door and walked over to her, offering her the glass of wine
he’d poured for her.

“
Thanks,” Nicole said as
she took a sip of the chilled wine. “Mmmm, that’s good.”

“
I noticed you were so busy
serving everyone else, that you never had a chance to enjoy a glass
yourself.”

“
Well, a good hostess has
to make sure her guests are happy.”

Kent looked at her quizzically. “That’s the
second time you’ve made mention of that. Tell me.” He said simply,
and gestured for her to sit.

She looked at the closed door, then back at
him. “I guess it’s okay to disappear for a minute.”

Kent chuckled at her response as he settled
on the bed next to her.

Nicole knew that she would to have to tell
him about herself eventually, and figured now was as good a time as
ever. She hoped it wouldn’t totally change the way he saw her, and
that he would still want to date her once she told him
everything.

She took another sip of wine, then took a
deep breath, before looking at him and saying, “I grew up in
Dallas, as you know. My parents are very wealthy and enrolled me in
private schools. They are very active in the church and had high
expectations for me and my future.”

Nicole figured it was best to tell him
everything at once, but felt the nerves bouncing in her belly in
anticipation of his reaction. She really liked him.

“
What kind of
expectations,” he prodded.

“
They wanted me to go to
SAGU, study Youth Ministries, get married, and start a congregation
with my husband as the minister.” She spit it out quickly, in one
breath, then took a sip of wine and looked at him over her
glass.

Kent brushed her hair back in assurance,
then asked, “Did they have the husband picked out?”

“
Yeah, Jake,” She felt a
small pang in her heart when she said his name. He’d meant so much
to her for so long, she found that she missed the friendship they’d
shared.

“
We started dating in high
school, and he fit the mold perfectly. We were engaged for three
years and everything was going according to plan until I got to
school.”

“
What happened at
school?”

“
It was my first time being
out on my own, away from my parents, and I began to realize how
controlling they were and that their dreams weren’t necessarily my
dreams. I changed my major to English without telling them, and I
fell in love with my creative writing courses. As I got closer to
graduation, I began to understand that Jake’s dreams mirrored my
parents, not my own, and that I didn’t love him in the way a woman
should love her future husband.”

“
Wow,” Kent said, taking
her hand in his. “How did they take the news?”

“
Well, I haven’t spoken to
my parents or Jake since the day I told them that I no longer
wanted to get married or work in the church, so I guess they didn’t
take it very well,” Nicole said with a dry laugh.

“
I think it’s admirable
that you were strong enough to give up everything you knew to start
fresh and do what you want,” Kent said, his finger caressing the
top of her hand.

“
There’s something else you
need to know,” Nicole began, a little more confident after his easy
acceptance of what she’d shared so far.

“
What is it?” He asked,
curious at what else she could tell him about her past.

“
Well, I said my family is
religious, and they raised me with strong Christian values, which I
still live by.” Nicole stopped, suddenly overcome by nerves at the
thought of his rejection.

“
Go on,” Kent
prodded.

“
I was raised to believe
that sex should be shared between a husband and a wife. I’m a
virgin… and I’ll remain a virgin until my wedding night.” Nicole
spit it out as quickly as she could, then watched Kent’s face for
his reaction.

His finger stilled on her hand, and his
facial expression remained frozen as he processed what she had just
told him.

A virgin.

Kent looked at her stunning face, surrounded
by her beautiful long blonde hair, which currently covered the most
stunning pair of breasts he’d ever seen.

He felt suddenly bereft at the realization
that no matter what kind of relationship he strove to have with
Nicole, he would probably never get to have sex with her.

He’d seen what an unhappy marriage looked
like, he’d grown up in the middle of one, and he’d always told
himself that marriage was probably not in his future. He didn’t
want to take the chance of ending up like his parents, and he knew
that he had to keep Roni as his number one priority. No woman he
knew would ever accept coming in number two to his twin.

Kent cleared his throat awkwardly, as he
thought about what to say.

Did he want to get to know Nicole
better?

Yes.

Did he think she was funny, beautiful and
fascinating?

Yes.

Did he think they had the potential to have
a good relationship?

Yes.

Could he spend the unforeseen future with
Nicole, and not have sex with her?

Not have sex with anyone?

“
I know it’s a lot to take
in in one night,” Nicole started. Her stomach dropped at his
silence. She needed to let him off the hook and get some space
before he could tell she was upset. “You don’t have to say
anything. I get it. You’re a very good-looking, single man, and you
didn’t realize that sex was off the table when you asked me out.
Don’t worry about it; let’s get back to the party.”

In that moment he realized that, yes, he
could handle it. She was worth the nights of torment that he was
sure to have.

He put his hand out to stop her from leaving
when she rose.

“
I hope you don’t think so
little of me, to believe that I’d run off because you’re a virgin.
I think it’s great that you have such strong beliefs, not many
people do nowadays.”

A smile broke out across her face, leaving
Kent momentarily breathless at her beauty.

“
Really?” She asked slowly,
to allow him the chance to change his mind if he wanted
to.

Kent stood up and pulled her into a hug.

“
Yes, really. You’re an
amazing woman, Nic, and I want to continue to spend time with
you.”

Nicole pulled back and smiled.

“
I’m so happy to hear you
say that,” She admitted.

“
We’d better get back to
the party.” Kent said, picking up their glasses.

“
Okay,” Nicole replied, and
took the hand he offered to escort her back out into the living
room.

Chapter Eight

A couple days after their housewarming
party, Nicole got up early to meet Kent for a hike on the outskirts
of town.

She had worked the last few nights, and he
had deadlines to meet, so they hadn’t been able to find any time
together.

She was excited to see him again, but
couldn’t help but be a little worried. The last time she’d seen him
was when she’d told him she was a virgin. They’d talked and texted
a couple times over the past few days, but he’d seemed a little
distant.

When the knock came, she was in the living
room ready to go. She let him wait a few seconds, so she didn’t
seem too eager, but her heart leapt when she opened the door.

Kent’s work-out clothes accentuated his
well-defined muscles, and showed plenty of tanned skin.

When Nicole’s eyes finally made it Kent’s
face, she smiled brightly at him.

“
Hi.”

“
Hey, Nic,” Kent returned
her smile. “You ready?”

She turned to grab her water bottle, and he
groaned at the site of her perfectly rounded ass in her spandex
shorts. He felt his body tighten in response, and wondered how he
was going to make it through the day.

Nicole walked out, leaving him to shut the
door and follow her down the stairs.

Her hair was swept up in a high pony tail
that swung back and forth. Kent tried to focus on her hair, rather
than the sway of her other body parts as she bounded down the
stairs.

The drive to the trail was a short one, but
it gave them enough time to catch up on their days apart.

“
Kara asked me if I want to
go with her to Austin this weekend to see Bree and Colin. We have
the same days off this week, so we thought it would be fun to go
and see their new place,” Nicole said.

Kent was silent for a moment, then replied,
“That’s cool. I’m sure you’ll have fun. Austin’s a great city.”

“
I’ve never been there, and
I’ve always wanted to go, so I’m excited. Plus, I really want to
see Bree again.”

Kent just nodded. Nicole figured she’d
better change the subject. “How’s your week been?”

“
My boss has actually been
talking about retiring. I don’t know what his plans are for the
paper, but I’m going to approach him about taking over the paper
myself. I know I don’t have a lot of experience, but I think I can
bring a lot to the table, and I have a vision of where I want the
paper to go.”

“
That’s wonderful, Kent,”
Nicole hoped that meant that there was a chance he would stop
looking for jobs in other places, but she didn’t feel confident
enough to ask him. She didn’t want it to look like she was
pressuring him.

He parked his Mustang and they got out and
began to stretch. Kent tried to focus on something other than
Nicole as she bent and flexed her limber body, but he couldn’t stop
his eyes from taking in the sight of her. He closed his eyes as he
finished warming up.

“
Ready?” He asked once
they’d stretched for a few minutes.

Nicole smiled and nodded.

Kent motioned to the left, to indicate what
direction the trail began, and they took off at a brisk pace to
begin their hike.

Kent cleared his throat and tried to will
the fog in his brain to fade away.

“
So, Nic,” He began, “You
said that you’re a writer, what do you write?”

Nicole stumbled a bit and felt the heat
begin to rise up her neck. She hadn’t been kidding when she’d said
she’d never told anyone that she wanted to write. She knew she
could trust Kent, but she was worried that she was falling too
hard, too fast.

“
I write fiction, Horror
actually.”

Kent stopped walking, causing her to stop
and turn to look at him.

“
Horror?” He asked, looking
slightly amazed. “You are full of surprises, aren’t
you?”

He started walking again and she fell into
step behind him, her face flush with uncertainty.

“
Is that a good thing?” She
asked.

Kent grinned down at her, “With you… Yeah,
it is.”

Nicole couldn’t help but return his
grin.

They picked up the pace as they started up
an incline.

“
Have you finished
anything?” He asked.

“
Yes, actually, I have,”
Nicole admitted. “I have finished the first draft and I’ve been
editing it.”

“
Is that what you were
doing on your computer when I brought you the flowers?”

“
Yeah,” She said as she
smiled at the memory. “I was so focused that I didn’t know it was
you that came in my room.”

“
That’s amazing, Nic.” Kent
replied. “I think it’s wonderful that you’re going after your
dreams. You’re very focused. I think we have that in
common.”

“
Oh? Why do you say that?”
Nicole asked him.

Kent figured after everything she had told
him about herself, he needed to open up a little bit as well, no
matter how much he hated talking about his personal life.

“
Well, I’ve always known
that I didn’t want to live the way my parents did, so I’ve worked
my whole life to make sure that didn’t happen.”

He stopped and offered her his hand, then
helped her over a small crevice in the path.

“
How do you mean?” Nicole
asked, intrigued to learn something new about him.

“
My parents never saved a
dime and we were always scraping by. My dad couldn’t hold a job, so
my mom would get odd jobs cleaning houses or babysitting,
meanwhile, Roni and I would go days without eating. When I got old
enough to start mowing lawns, I vowed that Roni would never go
hungry again. I also promised myself that I would be smarter with
my money, and I would never be worried about where my next paycheck
was coming from.”