Restoration of Love (3 page)

     She knew that Tia would not be ready to leave until the club lights went on, especially if she found someone to hook up with and knowing Tia, she probably had. Nikki said goodbye to Carlos and scouted the club for Tia. She breathed a sigh of relief when she finally found her on the second floor of the club all hugged up with some guy who looked like he just stepped out of a fashion magazine. Nikki was glad that she was the one who would be driving when she came within twenty feet of Tia. It was not hard to see that she had way too much to drink.

     “Hey, girlfriend,” Tia slurred when she saw Nikki.

     “Hey yourself,” Nikki said, more than a little annoyed. “You ready to go?”

     “Go?? We just got here! ‘Course I’m not ready to go. Besides, I’m having too much fun with…with, baby, what is your name again?” Tia said to the man beside her.

     The stranger looked at Nikki, obviously embarrassed that Tia couldn’t remember his name and extended his hand toward Nikki. “Theodore. Theodore Reynolds. My friends call me Ted.” Nikki shook his hand without introducing herself and then quickly turned her attention back to her friend.

     “Look Tia, the club is almost closing. I’m tired and I want to go home now!” Nikki said impatiently. When Tia saw the look on her friend’s face, she tried to stand up, but fell forward onto Nikki. If Tia’s new found ‘love’ had not been standing there to catch her, they both would have tumbled over.

     “Can you help me get her to the car, please?” she asked this Theodore Reynolds.

     “Sorry…not me. That broad looks like she’s going to puke any minute and I just bought this suit,” he said flatly and turned away.

     Nikki looked at the man and rolled her eyes in disbelief. She looked back at Tia who had now fallen slumped over in the large chair that she and Theodore had been sitting in moments before. Just as she was about to go and get a bouncer to assist her, Carlos appeared at her side.

      “Need some help?”  

      “Do I ever,” Nikki said thankfully, relief washing over her. Although Carlos looked like he could have swung Tia over his shoulder in one scoop and carried her out of the club like King Kong, he wrapped one arm around her waist and placed her arm around his shoulder and half walked, half carried an inebriated Tia down the stairs and out the door. Nikki grabbed Tia’s purse and followed close behind, vowing silently that she would never go out with her again. Nikki couldn’t wait until morning when Tia would be sober so she could give her a piece of her mind. Nikki ran ahead to the parking lot and brought the car to the front of the club as quickly as possible. Nikki thought it was odd that none of the bouncers or anyone else standing outside asked Carlos what was going on. She made a mental note to talk to Tia about the dangers of drinking too much. She shuddered to think of what might have happened to Tia if she had not been there tonight to watch over her and take her home. Carlos gently lifted Tia into the front seat of Nikki’s SUV. After helping Nikki to secure Tia’s seatbelt, Nikki turned to face him.

     “I don’t know how to thank you,” Nikki said sincerely, “I could never have done this alone.”

     “There’s no need to thank me. Are you gonna be all right with her by yourself?”

     “I’ll manage.” Tia appeared to be sleeping peacefully on the seat next to her.

     “Because I could follow you home and help you,” he added. With that Nikki went on alert. Although Carlos seemed nice in the club and helped her out with Tia, there was no way that she was going to allow a stranger to see where she lived.

     “Well, you said you didn’t know how to thank me. Now I think you do,” Carlos continued with a gleam in his eye. “Wait a minute, calm down,” he said when he saw the scared look on Nikki’s face. “ How about just giving me your phone number? Maybe I could call you some time and we could go out for a bite to eat.”

     “Look, Carlos, I appreciate your helping me and all, but that’s it. I’m not looking for anything else and I suggest that you don’t either.”

“Who said I was looking for something? Besides, I find the best things in life happen to me when I’m not looking for them to happen.”

     Nikki wasn’t sure if it was the pleading look on Carlos’s face that made her do what she did next or the fact that she was holding up traffic in the crowded parking lot. She grabbed a pen and a scrap of paper from her date book and quickly wrote down her phone number. Carlos smiled and slipped the paper into his pocket.

     Nikki waved to Carlos and started the car. As she pulled away, she glanced in the rear view mirror to see him still standing there, smiling at her as she drove out of the parking lot.

CHAPTER SEVEN

     Nikki let the windows of the car down slightly, hoping that the night air might sober Tia a little. By the time she arrived home and turned into the driveway, Nikki had already decided to wait until morning to speak to her. She pulled into the garage and pushed the remote to close the huge door behind her. When Tia heard the sound of the door closing she opened her eyes.

     “What the hell!”

     “Don’t you even say a thing, Missy. Get your butt out of this car and into the house and you’d better hope you can make it because I, for one, am not carrying your drunk behind!”

     Tia gave Nikki an apologetic look and got out of the car without saying a word. Upon entering the house, she turned to Nikki. “Nik, I….”

     “Not another word,” Nikki snapped, cutting her off. “Go to bed, Tia. You can sleep in the guest room. We will talk in the morning. Now, go.”

     Tia shrugged and walked slowly down the hall like an obedient child. Nikki, exasperated, went to the fridge and poured herself a glass of water. She picked up her cell phone. No calls. Placing her hand on her now aching head, she noticed the red, blinking light on the house phone answering machine and walked over to it. She sat down and took off her gold, strapless sandals while listening to her messages.

     Nikki cringed at the sound of her mother’s voice, “Well daughter, I’ve called you three times. I guess you’re out although I can’t imagine where at this late hour.” Nikki rubbed her aching temples as she listened.” Well, call me as soon as you have a chance. Bye.” Nikki listened to the other two messages, both solicitors. She looked at the caller I.D., thinking that maybe Brandon had called on that phone instead of her cell and, for whatever reason, did not leave her a message. Nikki could not help but feel a little disappointed that his number was not there. Exhausted, she lay down on the couch. She had barely closed her eyes when the phone rang. She looked at the green light on the front of the CD player in front of her to check the time. It was 2:38AM. “Who on earth would be calling at this hour,” Nikki thought, worrying. She picked up the phone quickly, “Hello?”

     “Hello, pretty lady. Just calling to make sure you and your friend made it home safely.” Carlos’s voice was even sexier on the phone than in person.

     “How did you know I didn’t just dump her on the side of the road?” Nikki quipped, still angry with Tia.

     “Because you don’t seem like the kind of woman that would leave a friend stranded, drunk or not,” Carlos answered.

     “Oh, and just what kind of a woman do I seem like?”

     “Like the kind of woman I want in my life.”

     Nikki pulled the phone away from her ear and stared at it. Into the silence that followed Carlos said, “Nikki?”

     “Look, Carlos. It’s late and I’m tired. Why don’t you give me a call tomorrow,” Nikki suggested.

     “Okay, beautiful. I’ll do just that.”

CHAPTER EIGHT

     Still tired the next morning, Nikki decided to sleep in. She had wanted to run errands today, but after last night decided that her errands could wait. She sat up in bed and thought she smelled bacon frying. She glanced over at the digital wall clock and it read 8:10. Who could be up so early and frying bacon? Then she remembered that Tia was there. Tia. God, the last thing she wanted was to deal with her right now. She didn’t want to see her because she hadn’t decided which way she was going to kill her first for last night! She lay back down on her pillow when she heard a soft knock at the door.

     “Nikki, you awake?” came Tia’s timid voice through the door. Nikki hoped if she didn’t answer, Tia would go away. No such luck. “Nik, I know you’re awake. Please, I just want to talk to you about last night. Well, what I can remember of it anyway.” When Nikki still refused to answer, Tia pleaded, “ Come on. I made you breakfast. Your favorite, blueberry pancakes.” Even though Nikki was still furious, she knew she could not resist Tia’s blueberry pancakes. For everything else that Tia was, the girl could throw down in the kitchen.

     “Come on in,” Nikki said, giving in.

     Tia walked slowly through the door. Flour covered the beautiful black dress she had worn the night before. In her arms she carried a breakfast tray fit for a queen. It must have taken her an hour to make all this, Nikki thought as she inhaled the aroma of the breakfast Tia set before her.

     “Nikki,” Tia started, sitting on the bed beside Nikki and taking a slice of bacon off her plate. Suddenly, she felt a little queasy and put it back. “I know that you are mad at me, but please let me explain before you decide to end our friendship.” Nikki looked at Tia with a little smile and said, “Okay, ‘splain’ Lucy.”

     “Nikki, I know that I went a little overboard last night.” Then correcting herself when Nikki looked up from her plate, Tia said, “Okay, I went a lot overboard last night. But, I don’t do that often and certainly not when I’m out alone. I knew you were there and that you would take care of me and I just let myself go. If I embarrassed you, I am so sorry. Believe me, I know that you have already made up your mind about never going out with me again and I understand. But, I promise you it will never happen again. She extended her hand and pleaded, “Still friends?”

     “Girl, you’re lucky you can cook.”

CHAPTER NINE

     After Tia left, Nikki felt lazy after her big breakfast and decided that she would do something she hadn’t allowed herself to do in a very long time…spend the day in bed. She decided that today would be a Lifetime movie day. As she reached for the remote, the phone on her nightstand rang. She picked it up reluctantly, “Hello?”

     “Hey, yourself.” It was Carlos. “Is everything all right with your friend?”

     “Yes, and thank you for asking.”

     “I was wondering,” he went on,” If you’re not doing anything later, maybe we could have a late lunch.”

     Nikki frowned at the thought that he would be so presumptuous as to think she was not doing anything. Did she look like the type who would have nothing to do on a Saturday evening?

     “Before you say no,” Carlos said, interrupting her thoughts, “Just let me set the mood. I was thinking a nice, long ride down to Galveston Island. We could eat on the pier and then later walk it off on the beach under the moonlight.”

     Nikki smiled at the thought the two of them taking a romantic walk on the beach. Before she knew it, she was accepting his invitation. They finalized their plans and hung up. Nikki, suddenly remembering that she hadn’t been on a date in ages, jumped out of bed and ran to her closet looking for something to wear. Tia was right. Her clothes were old and matronly. She didn’t want to come off looking slutty to Carlos, but she didn’t want to look like his mother, either. She decided that she had better go shopping. She made up her mind that even if she were to have only one date with Carlos, she was going to get back in the groove of life. She had been hiding in her house long enough. Nikki was going to rejoin the world of the living.

CHAPTER TEN

     Nikki chose a white, knee length summer dress that showed off her curvaceous body in all the right places. She had washed her long hair earlier and braided it so that when she took it down, it fell in soft ringlets over her bare shoulders. Just as she was putting on her new rhinestone sandals, the doorbell rang.

     Nikki looked at the small white clock on the bathroom vanity. Carlos was right on time. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves as she took one last look in the mirror. “Okay girl, here goes nothing,” she said out loud as she headed toward the door.

     When Nikki opened the door, she wasn’t prepared for what she saw. Carlos literally took her breath away. He looked good last night, but he looked even better in the daylight. He was wearing a white linen outfit. The transparent fabric of the shirt showed every inch of his muscular body. Who was this man who smelled so good, standing there looking at her with a smile on his face? “Hello beautiful. A rose for a rose,” he said handing her the single white flower.

     “Thank you,” Nikki said, taking the rose and bringing it to her face so she could smell its sweet aroma. “Why don’t you come in and sit down for a minute. I’m almost ready. Carlos followed Nikki through the small foyer into the living room. Looking around, he said, “What a lovely home you have here.” When he spotted the family photos and Brandon’s trophies in the glass cabinet, he walked over to it.

     “Your son?”

     “Yes,” Nikki said proudly as she walked up behind him.

     “And this is?” he asked, pointing to the picture of Nikki and a smiling Trent.