chapter thirty-three
chapter list
chapter thirty-five
Chapter Thirty-Four
“She’s asleep. I don’t think I’ve ever been so exhausted in my life, and it’s only been two days.” Cat walked into the living room and laid across AJ’s lap on the couch. He kissed her forehead.
“You’re so good with her. She loves you a lot.” He smiled seriously.
“She should. I’m her aunt.” He laughed as she continued. “You forget that sometimes, don’t you?”
“Is this all too weird? Are we messing her up psychologically? This girl has a soap opera family.”
Cat smiled. “She hasn’t had a chance of being normal since you guys entered her life. A life in the spotlight will never be really healthy for her.”
“That’s true. It’s just that…I don’t know. Maybe we should…God, this is hard.” He rubbed his temples.
“Break up?” she asked softly.
“Yeah. I don’t want to, but maybe we should. I know that you and I started seeing each other before I even knew she was mine,” he closed his eyes, “but still. It might be best.”
He opened his eyes to look at her. She nodded. “It’s for Hailey.” She stood and walked to the door. “Bye, AJ.”
~<3~<3~<3~
I heard the knock at the door. I knew that Nick and Hailey had gone to the park for a couple of hours, so I stood and walked to the door. When I looked to see who it was, I was surprised to see who was on the other side. I took a deep breath and unlocked the door.
“Hi, Kevin.”
“Hi, Nikki. It’s…it’s been a while. Is it ok if I come in?” I nodded and held the door open for him to enter. He sat on a couch opposite me. “How have you been?”
“I’m getting back to normal. It’s taking a while. Nothing feels real anymore. Everything happened so quickly.” My voice was drifting off as I spoke.
“I know what you mean. I’ve been feeling a lot better lately too. I came here because…I…I…don’t want to lose you as a friend. We went through something difficult together. We should be able to talk to each other about it. I’m not saying anything more than friends. I’m seeing someone anyway. I just need you as my friend.”
The moment he said he was seeing someone else, I felt jealous. It was my decision to divorce, but I didn’t expect him to find someone else to quickly. It had only been a month. I guess I was actually jealous because I wanted someone too.
I moved so that I was sitting next to him and hugged him. He hugged me back. It felt so good to have him there. I heard the door open and smiled over Kevin’s shoulder at Nick and Hailey. Nick winked. He took Hailey up to bed and came down a few minutes later.
“I told her that you’d be up to tell her goodnight soon.”
“Ok, I’ll be right back.” I stood and ascended the stairs as Nick sat.
“How’s it going, Kev?” Nick asked.
“Not bad. Well, not horrible. How much has Howie told you?” he responded.
“He mentioned that you’re seeing someone else. Lisa, I think he said.”
Kevin nodded. “Can you keep a secret, Nick?” Nick nodded. “There’s no Lisa. My doctor said she thinks I should start dating to keep my mind off Nikki. Once I told her I was seeing someone new and was over Nikki, she said I should try being friends with her again.”
“So, you’re not over Nikki?”
“Would you be?” Nick knew what he meant by that. It had all ended so abruptly. How could he be expected to stop so soon? Their conversation was ended by the sound of Nikki’s footsteps down the stairs.
“What’s going on, guys?” She smiled and sat next to Kevin.
“Nothing. We were just talking, but I have to be heading home. I just wanted to say what I did.” Kevin stood and walked to the door. “I’ll call you.”
~<3~<3~<3~
I began to really enjoy having Kevin around again. I had dismissed him too soon after our problems. We should have been there for each other to help each other through the situation. I don’t think I was falling in love with him. I just liked having someone give me that kind of attention again.
Kevin was over one night, and Nick was getting annoyed that Kevin still hadn’t told the truth about Lisa. “So, Kev, are you and Lisa doing anything this weekend?”
He looked at Nick, knowing what he was trying to do. “Actually, no, she’s out o town this weekend.”
“She goes out of town a lot. What kind of work does she do?” Nick smirked.
“She’s in sales,” Kevin lied.
I sat up. “Oh really? What kind of sales?”
Kevin shot as dirty look at Nick before continuing. “Um…well, computer sales.”
“Why does she have to travel for computer sales?” Nick continued.
“She does computer shows. They have a lot of companies selling computers and computer products gather at shows, and companies or anyone can go order them there,” he countered.
“We should go to one of her shows, Kev. I’d love to meet her,” I said.
Nick continued, “Yeah, Kev. I’d like to meet her too. We’ll have to plan that.”
“Nikki, can I talk to you…alone?” Kevin turned to look at Nick as he said the last word. Nick stood and walked up the stairs. “Nikki, there is no Lisa.”
“What do you mean? Why would you lie about something like that?”
“Well, I didn’t want you to think I was coming back to be more than just friends. I thought that if you thought I had a girlfriend, you would trust me more,” he said. He looked down at his hands as he whispered, “That’s a lie too. I’m going to tell you the truth, but please don’t say anything until I’ve finished, ok?” He looked up at me and I nodded.
When he had finished telling me the truth, I didn’t know how to respond. He had lied to me. I had never suspected it. “I don’t know what to say, Kevin. I’m hurt that you would lie to me, but this is all very flattering.” I smiled, blushing.
He placed his hand on my cheek and brought his lips to mine. It had been so long since I had been kissed like that. He ended the kiss and held me close to him. “I don’t want a relationship, Kevin.” He nodded and kissed my forehead. I saw Nick peek his head down the stairs. I smiled at him. He smiled back and went back into his bedroom.
chapter thirty-three
chapter list
chapter thirty-five
