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And it melts my icy heart a little.
I grin and feel his smirk when he kisses my forehead. Before I can say a thing, he pulls away, winks at me and with joined hands leads me into the main hall.
The sounds of infectious laughter, teasing and conversation come to a halt when we enter. I lower my head, avoiding the questioning stares of my friends. Before anyone has a chance to say a thing, Ghost starts, “Okay. I called everyone here tonight because there’s something we need to discuss with everyone. ” I know it sounds like Ghost is implying we’re here as a couple, but I don’t even feel the need to correct it. It actually feels good to have him speak about the two of us as an us. He goes on, “So let’s get straight to it. Two nights ago, Nat had a date with Cole. There was a disagreement and Cole felt the need to put hands on Nat. ”
My throat clogs with emotion as I hear Tina, Mimi and Lola gasp in shock. I can’t stand feeling their stares on me. I inch behind Ghost, hold his tank at his hips and push my head into his back like an ostrich trying to stick its head into the ground. I’m immediately calmed by his hand rubbing mine.
Ghost waits a moment before he informs, “We’re getting this out in the open tonight. Whatever you want to ask is going to be asked tonight. As soon as we leave the club, no one brings it up again. Nat’s asked me to explain what happened that night so here it is…” He spends a good five minutes explaining what happened. With his gruffness and clinical explanation, my heart stops squeezing and the anxiety fades. He’s good at this. Feeling brave, I step back at his side, entwine our fingers and, finally, look up at my friends.
Tina stands in front of a clearly upset Nik, silently weeping, and immediately I feel the need to comfort her. I walk over to her with open arms, she sinks into me and I hug her while she cries. She whispers, “I’m sorry, honey. So sorry. ” I hush her and feel arms come around my waist and neck. I look up to see Mimi and Lola have joined our group hug. Lola doesn’t say a thing. She doesn’t have to. Immense sadness is written across her face. Mimi says quietly, “If I ever see that son of a bitch, I’ll kick his sorry ass back to the hell he came from. ”
Chuckling at her threat, I tell them “It’s okay, guys. I’m okay. Ghost helped me. He handled it. Both times. ” I speak to the girls but look up and into his eyes, “He’s a good neighbor to have. ”
The next few minutes are spent with me in the arms of each of the guys.
Nik hugs me so hard I almost stop breathing. He cradles the back of my head into his chest so tightly that I have to pinch his nipple to get him to let go. With a yelp, he backs away, rubbing his nipple and scoffs in disbelief. “So much for caring!”
Smiling, I stand on my tiptoes and kiss his cheek gently. “You know I love you, Niki. I just don’t like the whole fuss thing. ”
His face softens. “Yeah, I get ya. You know you could’ve come to me, right?”
Immediately, I concede, “Yeah, I know. I know I could’ve come to any of you. I can’t really explain why I didn’t. I guess I just thought Ghost was the better option, being so close and all. ”
Just as Nik opens his mouth to say something, I’m pulled back into a hard chest. Strong arms come around my waist and a cheek rests on my head. “I’m pissed at you, babe. ” That heated remark comes from Max. And I get it. Max and I, we’re friends. We talk about anything and everything. We flirt, we joke, and we have great deep and meaningful conversations. He’s pissed I didn’t come to him.
I rub his arms with my cold hands and sigh. “I know, Mad Max. I know. ” I turn in his arms and hug him tightly. I talk into his chest. “I hope you understand how hard it is to talk about something like this. It made me feel weak. You know how I feel about that. ”
He kisses my forehead and says against it, “Yeah. I know. Doesn’t mean I’m not gonna kick this guy’s ass. He’s banned from the club for life. ”
I move back and look up at my friend. I cup his cheeks and pull him down to give him a soft, barely-there kiss on the lips. I tell him, “I love you. You know that, right?”
He nods gravely, “Yeah. As a friend though. ” He throws his fisted hands up in mock despair. “Fuckin’ Friend-Zoned!” I burst out laughing but turn when someone taps my shoulder.
Trick. Dear, sweet, silly Trick. He looks so upset. I take hold of his hand and squeeze it. He opens his mouth but nothing comes out. I tease him quietly, “Oh, dear God. I broke Trick!” He chuckles and pulls me into a warm, comforting hug. I hold him ti
ght.
He strokes my hair and utters, “I’m so glad you’re okay. ”
“Yeah. I’m good, big guy,” I sigh.
We rock gently and he whispers, “Could’ve been worse. So much worse. We could’ve lost you. ”
My heart skips a beat. He’s so right. It could’ve been much worse. But rather than think that way, I state, “Fuck him. I’m good. You’re good. We’re all good. And we all fucking rock. Fuck Cole. ”
He releases me from his hold and his smiling face looks down at me. “Right on, sister. ” Grinning like a couple of fools, we bump fists. He puts an arm around me as we walk to the center of the room.
Ghost booms, “Self-defense one-oh-one. ”
Oh, sweet Jesus.
I knew this night was about to get interesting.
Chapter Eleven
Friend-Zoned
“OUCH! MOTHERFUCK! HURTS LIKE A BITCH!”
