Pretty Fly for a White Guy: The Complete Series Collection (10 page)

This was the moment I was meant to say the same thing back to him but the words just could not leave my mouth.

I hugged him tighter and he took that for a display of affection. He ran his hands though my hair and I held on to him tightly as my stomach did back flips.

It finally hit me.

I didn’t feel the same way about him as he did about me. I didn't love him.

What am I going to do?

#Chapter9

“Everything happens for a reason” 

Kenneth

I am a strong believer that love can grow and so I had to give me and Josh a good shot at it. Joshua and I were doing so much better over the next week. He seemed a lot more at ease and that put me at ease as well. It was nice to enjoy his company without all of the drama. As I was heading out of the door for work my phone went off and it was an email from Kenneth. I quickly checked it because I hadn’t heard from him in almost 3 weeks by this point.

Hey Everyone!

It’s been a while since we’ve all been together. I been busy sealing one of the biggest contracts of my career so far and I want to celebrate. Let’s go to Vegas! Before you even think of saying no, please consider the fact that your plane ticket and hotel room are already paid for. Surprise! That’s right an all expenses paid trip to Vegas. Let’s go sin in sin city. I can’t wait to see all of you there.

Ken.

P.S what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas…unless you get pregnant…that shit is forever. LOL

Wow what in the hell was he thinking? I had to admit that a trip to Vegas sounded tempting but I didn’t know if I was ready to be in another city with him and Amelia, and that’s even if my friends were there.

My phone began to ring and it was Joshua.

“
Hello?”

“Hey did you get that email from Ken?”

“Yeah I got it, you’re coming right?”

“I can’t go babe, I guess he forgot that I have to work this weekend. I would have loved to see you in a show girl outfit. ” he sighed.

I laughed, “I don’t think it works like that.”

“Well it’s a nice thought anyway, but I just wanted to tell you that you should go. I already know how you’re probably thinking over there.”

“Yeah but it just doesn’t seem appropriate,”

“Nonsense, your girls will be going and all of the other people from our circle will be there too.

Besides him and Amelia are going and I heard that they may be getting married there. You have to go and represent me just in case they elope.”

There was no way in hell that I was going to watch the two of them get married. I would probably rip the veil off of her head and kick Elvis in the shin for cosigning on their foolishness.

“
I still don’t know,” I said as my other line beeped. “Let me call you back I have Patricia on the other line and if I know her correctly, Jasmine is on the phone too.”

“Okay, tell the girls I said hi.”

“I will,” I told him as I clicked over to the other line.

“Hello?”

“Heeeeeeeey!!!” I heard two voices say in unison, I know my friends.

“I know you two have seen the email.”

“We sure have and we can’t wait!” Patricia said, “I haven’t been to Vegas in years and I’m going to go and win me some money!”

“I’m going to find a rich Vegas man,” Jasmine said.

“Since when do you care about men?” I laughed.

“It’s been rough girl and I’m overdue for a tune up.”

Patricia and I broke out laughing. It was nice to hear that Jasmine was ready to start dating again; well she was ready to start having sex again anyway. Maybe dating would come afterward; it’s hard to think straight when you’re horny.

“I’m sorry ladies, I don’t know if I’m going. Joshua has to work and it just won’t feel right being there without him.”

“That’s one of the craziest things I’ve ever heard,” Patricia said. “You’ll have me and Jasmine. You don’t need him to have a good time.”

“I know that but I don’t know if I can handle seeing Ken and Amelia together, I’ll probably get sick and throw up all over the place,” I said.

“Girl please, if I can be around Amelia and not want to bash her head in then you’ll be just fine,” Jasmine said. “This is an all expenses paid trip that we shouldn’t pass up. We don’t have to be around them if we don’t want to. The three of us can hit the strip alone and go our own way. It is not like we don't see them in Atlanta all the time anyway.”

I sighed and resigned myself to my fate, which really wasn’t that bad. I would have to suck it up and get over it so that I could have a good time with my friends.

*

The flight was great because Kenneth put me, Patricia, and Jasmine on the same flight. I’m always having a blast when I’m with the two of them. We went to our hotel and were so happy when we arrived at the Monte Carlo. He’d gotten us a suite. I’d severely underestimated how much money he’d had. How in the hell could he afford this? That must have been one big contract he got.

“
You think he’s selling drugs on the side?” Patricia said as she plopped down on her king size bed.

“Shut up,” Jasmine said. “He landed that ridiculous account with the Elite modeling agency and their paying him a lot of money to be the head of their financial department.”

“What? I can’t believe he didn’t tell me it was with Elite. Where have I been?”

“I found out from Sharee,” Jasmine said, “Lets go down to her room to see what her and Miranda are up to.”

We walked down the hall to Sharee and Miranda’s room. It was really nice but a hell of a lot smaller than the suite that I shared with my friends. He had clearly given us extra special treatment.

“Get in here,” Miranda whispered, and we hurried into her room.

“Girl some drama went down at the airport this morning,” Sharee said before Miranda could get any words out.

“What kind of drama?” I asked.

“Kenneth and Amelia broke up in the middle of the airport. They were loud and she wasn’t happy at all. Amelia stormed out and Kenneth got on the flight with us without her.”

“Shut your mouth!,” Jasmine said in obvious glee, “Why did they break up? What happened?”

“
We don’t know,” Miranda admitted, “They were whispering at first and then it got really loud but it was just her hurling insults at him. He was quiet for the rest of the flight.”

“Did he seem upset?” I asked.

“Actually, not really now that I think of it. He put in his headphones and went to sleep. He’s in his room on top floor right now. He said that we’ll all get together around 7.”

“I’ll catch up with you all later,” I said, “I want to see him and make sure that he’s okay.”

“Mmmhmm,” Patricia said, raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah we’ll see you later,” Jasmine winked at me as if she just knew what was about to happen.

On my way up the elevator I told myself, ‘He and I are friends; I’m doing what any good friend will do in this situation. I’m checking on him to make sure that he’s okay, nothing more,’ and the rational part of me said that I was a liar.

I walked to his suite and knocked. He opened up and smiled when he saw me. He certainly didn’t look like a man that was mourning his relationship.

“
Hey Nikki, I was wondering if I would see you tonight. I figured you and your girls would be skipping up and down the strip by now,” he said, “Please come in.”

“Well that’s what we planned to do,” I stepped inside of the room and he closed the door behind me, “But I heard about your break up with Amelia, and I was just coming to check on you.”

“Ah.. I see that word travels fast, I’m sure that Miranda and Sharee couldn’t wait to give you every last juicy detail.”

“Well you know those two, they can’t hold water,” I laughed.

“Yeah I know,” he said as a grin spread across his face and then he masked it. “But I’m doing okay. It was a little rough but at the end of the day she’s not the woman for me. Everything happens for a reason.”

I purposefully ignored his grin because I didn’t want to read too much into it.

“Well at the end of the day, we all came here to have fun. Hopefully you’ll feel better once you’re surrounded by your friends and had some drinks. We’re going to party hard,” I said.

“You’re right. I’m glad that everyone is here and I’m looking forward to club hopping, drinking, and completely cutting up. After all I am a single man now,” he said with a wink. I wasn't sure what to read into that wink either but I quickly put it to the back of my mind.

I did my best to mask my disdain for what he’d said. It was an adjustment to have to watch him parade around with Amelia, what I wasn’t prepared for was to see him flirting with a lot of other women. I would just have to make sure that I was on the opposite end of whatever club we all were at.

“You seem to be doing just fine,” I laughed, “I’m going to find Patrice and Jasmine before they get too pissed at me for abandoning them, I’ll see you tonight.”

He leaned in and kissed me on the cheek, “Thank you for checking in on me, it actually means a lot to see we can be friends.”

“
You’re right, I guess we can,” I said as I walked out of the door.

#Chapter10

“You need a drink because your brain isn’t working right.” 

Jasmine

My mind was flooded with a million thoughts as I headed back towards my room.

I almost felt guilty because it seemed like my heart had willed this scenario into existence. I have read books like “
The Secret
” which make me think maybe I had a hand in all this somehow but at the end of the day it didn’t change anything.  I was still with Joshua and Kenneth still didn’t seem ready for a relationship. He was supposed to ask Amelia to marry him and yet he didn’t look the least bit hurt by their breakup. That honestly didn’t say a lot for his character. Although I had to admit that I was pretty happy that Amelia wouldn’t be sinking her claws into Kenneth for life.

She was so sure that she had him wrapped around her finger and now they were over. I gave myself a mental pat on the back. I knew that they didn’t belong together and apparently the universe knew it too. I was looking forward to enjoying the weekend and I figured that I would do my best to steer clear of Kenneth and the guys as they did God knows what in Las Vegas.

*

“
So what in the hell happened,” Jasmine said before I could completely step into the room.

“Damn, can I sit down first woman?” I said snapping at her.

“Don’t get all snippy with Jasmine.” Patrice laughed. “You know we want all of the juicy details girrl.”

“Yeah,” Jasmine said as amusement crept across her face, “and obviously you have something to say because you’re all irritated.”

I sighed, “Sorry girl didn’t mean to snap at you like that. I guess my nerves are a lot worse than I thought. I really don’t have much to tell other than what we already know. He and Amelia broke up at the airport and he doesn’t really seem hurt, or even bothered, by it.”

“That’s because he never really wanted that girl,” Patrice said, “He was using her to get to you.”

“Now that’s just crazy speculation,” I countered. “We don’t know what was going on between the both of them and it was obviously serious if he planned on putting a ring on her finger. It was a lot more than he ever offered me.”

Patricia shrugged, “All I know is that a ring never touched her finger, and here he is in Vegas, with us…alone. Here you are in Vegas…alone. Sounds like his plan is coming together if you ask me...”

“I’m not alone; I have the both of you.”

“You know what she means,” Jasmine said narrowing her eyes at me as she poured me a glass of champagne. “You need a drink because your brain isn’t working right.”

“Shut up,” I said as I took a long sip of the delicious champagne.

“You’re such a lush,” Jasmine giggled, “But we love you anyway.”

I laughed, “Hey sometimes I just need some outside help to calm down and don’t act like you and vodka aren’t very good friends.”

“Well I never said that, but we aren’t talking about me right now,” she said.

“It’s no secret that we ladies love our alcohol,” Patrice joined in, “But when you have a life like ours, you need it. The key is that we don’t overdo it , that is how we stay pretty,” she said as she ran her fingers through her hair.

“Well we don’t overdo it when we’re in Atlanta,” I said, “But we’re in Vegas baby! Fuck moderation,” I said as I downed the rest of the glass.

“I hear that,” Jasmine said as she poured the three of us another glass.

We had a great evening of drinking and fun.  All of us got together with our friends earlier than we expected. We all had a late lunch at the Casino and reminisced on the days when life was easier. Granted we didn’t have much money then, but we had a lot more time to enjoy each others company. Now when we all got together it was to talk about business, contracts, and new leads. So it was really nice to be able to kick back, relax, and laugh.

That night we went club and bar hopping. I did my best to stay out of Kenneth’s way, but surprisingly enough he wasn’t acting as wild as I expected him to. He was pretty mild and he just stuck to the bar and spent his time talking to everyone in our circle. I’d seen women shamelessly flirt with him but he never took the bait.

*

The next morning, I rolled over in my huge bed and refused to get up. Ordering breakfast was going to be our only option because there was no way in hell that I was going to leave our suite before noon. We had to recover from the night before so that we could do it all over again. There is nothing like a vacation to show you just how short weekends really are. We would all be headed back to Atlanta tomorrow evening. I wasn’t ready; I wanted to play a whole lot more.

The sound of my phone endlessly buzzing pulled me out of my dazed state. I saw that it was Joshua and it made me smile.

“Good morning babe,” I said with all of the enthusiasm that I could muster at 10 in the morning.

“
Hey,” he said warily.

‘Oh goodness, here we go,’ I thought to myself.

“How is everything going back in ATL? I know that this is a pretty busy weekend for you. I wish that you were here with me,” I said ignoring his tone.

“Yes, I wish that I was there with you too,” he said. “What happened to you calling me back last night?”

“The clubs and bars were so loud and we didn’t get back until about 4 and I didn’t want to disturb you.”

“How is Ken doing?” he asked.

“He seems to be doing just fine,” I laughed.

“Oh really?” he said.

He got quiet on the line. He seemed to read a lot more into my statement than what I intended. I felt that familiar sense of annoyance begin to creep back in and I didn’t have the patience to try to placate his ego.

“What are you getting at?” I asked.

“Well I know that he and Amelia broke up at the airport. I found out yesterday and I thought that I would hear it from you but you kept it from me.”

“It wasn’t my place to tell you that he and his girlfriend broke up. He’s your best friend and so I figured that you would hear that news directly from the source.” 

“Nicole,” he said in a pleading whisper, “Just take it easy on the drinking okay.”

“What?” I asked.

“You know how things can get when emotions are high and alcohol is involved. I would rather for us both to be safe than sorry. It would make me feel a lot better if you promised me that you aren’t going to drink tonight.”

“I’m really sorry that at this point in our relationship you don’t trust me. I didn’t even want to come here without you, remember? Now that I’m here I plan on having a good time with my friends. I’m sorry that you’re back in Atlanta and that you’re feeling insecure but there is nothing that I can do about that,” I said as I sat up in my bed.

“I don’t want to upset you, that wasn’t my intention. I just wanted to let you know how I felt and now you’re upset, that’s crazy,” his voice had an edge.

His attitude did nothing but add fuel to the fire for my own. I didn’t have it in me to be nice to him.

“You sure could have fooled me if that wasn’t your intention. Look I’ll see you when I get back Atlanta. I refuse to allow you to ruin this trip for me,” I said and then pressed the end button on my cell.

I grabbed one of the plush down pillows from the bed and screamed into it. That man had the ability to tap dance on all of my nerves and I didn’t know if I could take much more of it.

“Nikki?” Patrice said through my door.

“Come in,” I said.

“Girl are you okay?”

“No, I’m not okay. Not by a long shot, Joshua is getting on my damned nerves. He called me this morning talking all kinds of crazy.”

“We have to talk,” Patrice said, “But we can do it while we eat breakfast. I ordered all of us a spread fit for royalty and it’s in the dining area waiting to be eaten.”

“Great minds think alike,” I laughed, “Is Jasmine up?” I asked.

“The real question is ‘who is Jasmine under?’” Patrice laughed.

“What?”

“You didn’t see how close she and Cedric were getting last night? She snuck out of here at 4 this morning and she thinks I don’t know where she is.”

“I wonder if they’re going to keep this thing going when we get back to Atlanta,” I asked.

“Who knows? They could decide to keep it in Vegas and pretend like nothing ever happened.”

“I’m never going to let her pretend like it never happened because she would taunt me if I slept with a man that I claimed I hated. I knew their dislike for each other was just a mask for chemistry,” I laughed.

“Alright, let’s go,” Patrice said as she pulled the covers off me. “I want my coffee while it’s still hot.”

We sat down for breakfast and everything that I could think of was on the table. My stomach growled and my mouth watered. I couldn’t wait to tear into the breakfast before us. It had been too long since I’d eaten, and it was time for me to fuel my body.

“Okay, so what did you want to talk to me about?” I asked as I buttered a piece of toast.

“I know that you’ve been arguing with Josh this morning. Do you mind if I ask you what it was about? If that’s too invasive just let me know.”

“No, it’s not invasive. I was going to tell you anyway but he found out Ken and Amelia’s breakup. So he called me to accuse me of keeping it away from him and then asked me not to drink. I guess he thinks that I’m going to slip and fall on Ken’s dick if I drink,” I said with attitude.

She laughed, “Girl you have issues. I tried to write off his texts to me last night as him just tripping so I stayed quiet. It sucked to hear you screaming this morning and so I see that he’s still at it.”

“What do you mean?”

“He texted me last night and asked me to keep an eye on you,” she said.

“An eye on me? An eye on me for what? I swear that he’s starting to act like my damned father.”