AUBREY POV
Nic was too upset to tell me about the Ciara incident so Lydia did the honors. I could tell how pissed Lydia was about the whole ordeal as well, but she was evidently trying to stay strong for Nic.
"I'm gonna go make breakfast." Lydia sighed.
"Can I help?" Nic offered, trying to get up.
Lydia carefully laid her back down, "no, you just worry about resting up so your hearing can come back soon. Plus that interview is tonight."
"Fine." Nic rolled her eyes playfully as Lydia left.
"How are you feeling?" I turned to Nic.
"tired." she laid her head on my chest and exhaled.
"We're businesswomen.. pretty damn successful too." she murmured mainly to herself, tracing my abs with her finger "We make important deals and all that type of stuff. But the most important deal we've ever made, we didn't sign off for it or anything.."
I pulled her on top of me as she vented.
"I don't know what I'd do without my babyboy... he's my world." she tried to wipe away her oncoming tears, "When everything is going bad, he always manages to be my rock."
"I thought that was Lydia..." I remarked.
She ignored my comment and leaned in close to me. She pecked my lips softly twice before her tongue began to beckon for entrance into my mouth. Needless to say, our tongues danced from my mouth to hers; first, in a slow fox trot then it gradually sped into a Salsa nueva eventually making its way back down to a tango. Following the rhythm of our tongues, her hips began to grind passionately against me as her legs straddled my waist-line. My hands made their way down to grip her ass as she continued. Without breaking our kiss, I gently flipped us over so that I was on top. I wanted her right then and there... no, I needed her. I deepened the kiss as she wrapped her legs around me. My hands slipped into the arch of her back as I pulled her close to feel how much I yearned for her, as if she didn't already know.
The worst part about how badly I needed her right now, was that I knew she'd gladly be up for it. But I wanted to wait until her head was okay, I knew she'd be worth every second of waiting; I also knew she was gonna be pissed if I stopped now.
We continued the intense make out session for a while longer as I battled in my head of what to do. Then, as if she had answered my prayers, she tapped my shoulders.
We pulled away from the kiss, "babe, I can kiss you like that forever."
"Then why'd you stop?" I cracked a smile.
She put her hands on either side of my face, "Lydia is making breakfast, I wanna have time to shower and get dressed before hand."
"I would have to let you up in order for that to happen." I taunted.
"come on babee." she whined.
I shook my head, "whats the magic word?"
"please?" She guessed.
"that's not it, its actually more than one word."
She sighed, "what if I told you, that I can't take a shower because of the risk of slipping and hitting my head. So I need you to help me take a bath instead?"
"I'm intrigued, but those aren't the magic words." I pecked her lips.
"Babe, I love you b-"
"There it is." I pecked her lips again before getting off of her, "I'll go run you a bath."
That evening her and Lydia were getting dressed for their interview.
"What color are you wearing Nic?" Lydia asked, trudging through the closet door for the millionth time.
"I don't know.. I was thinking neutral." Nic replied shuffling through the white section of her closet.
"Don't wear white though" Lydia warned, she tapped Nic so that she could read her lips. "Then you really have to worry about the whole bra thing.."
"You're right." Nic sighed.
Nic started looking through the black section of her clothing, just when I was about to leave she turned to me.
"Babe what do you think about this dress?" she asked me.
"I'd have to see you in it." I said absently.
"Come on," she agreed, she took my hand and lead me into the bedroom. After I had helped her into the dress she stood in front of the mirror so that we both could see her.
"That looks great." I stated. The dress complimented her body well, kinda like the dress she'd worn the day we met.
"So I should wear this?" she asked.
"yeah."
We reentered the closet to find shoes for her, Lydia was wearing a white pencil skirt that was decorated with black roses. She was topless, revealing a black lace bra as she rummaged through a miscellaneous section of the closet which I had been earlier informed was her section of the closet. Nic apparently had a similar section in the closet at Lydia's house as well.
"You're halfway there." Nic encouraged her jokingly.
"I think I need to run home and have a bigger variety of stuff to look at." Lydia turned towards us, "And you look fucking amazing."
"We're gonna be late if you don't just throw something together babe." Nic put her hand on her hip.
I leaned against the wall as they continued getting dressed, Nic managed to catch me every time I went to slip out the door. I had no choice but to stand there and watch them. In the end I learned that Lydia apparently has significantly larger breasts that Nic. She ended up wearing a black tank-top beneath a white blazer and black and white heels. She helped Nic find black shoes, and every suggested shoe had to be ran by me. She finally settled for a pair of black red-bottoms.
After they had put their makeup and did their hair and what not Nic approached me.
"C-Can you come with us?" she asked, "I-I can't get into a car without being in your arms right now."
"You want me to come to your interview?" I raised an eyebrow.
"Am I being selfish? For asking you to go out of your way-" she asked.
"No babe. I understand." I kissed her forehead, "You know that I'm always here for you."
"I know.. but I don't want you to have to make constant sacrifices-" she argued.
"Nic.. you've made more sacrifices for me than I for you. If we're keeping score, I owe you quite a few." I held her by her shoulders. She wrapped her arms around me and held me tight. I returned the favor until Lydia walked by with car keys in her hand.
Nic ended up letting me go long enough to throw something on, but once I was dressed she had clung back on to me. I held her in my arms for the car ride, when we arrived at the place, there was a crowd of people waiting outside. I helped both women out of the car.
LYDIA POV
The host met us backstage, he first guided Aubrey to a dressing room where he could watch the interview on a flat screen TV. Then, he lead Nic and I to the stage.
"I'll let you guys get a feel for how the stage is before we let the audience in." Vaeks explained. "You can see what the camera is pointed at by looking at the screens there...there... and there." he pointed out TV screens around the room.
"Okay." I nodded as Nic squeezed my hand. He wasn't turned towards us so I knew she had no idea what he was saying.
When the time came for us to officially go on stage for the interview we were instructed to enter on stage from the same door Vaeks had brought us through about half an hour before. The crowd was cheering and clapping as we walked over to the couch across from Vaeks' seat.
He 'welcomed' us to the show then asked, "Now, you two are just now becoming public about who you are, and because of that, researching you was a hell of a task." He explained, "with that being said, which one of you is Onika?"
"I'm Onika." Nic smiled.
"Can you stand up one more time? I want the crowd to see you once more." He requested.
Nic hesitated but stood, she gently pushed her hair out of her face.
"Ladies and gentlemen, this woman gave birth not too long ago. Look at how amazing she still looks." He motioned for me to stand as well, "The both of them, absolutely beautiful with more fashion sense than the rest of us combined."
As we sat, he popped the first official question: "So I understand this is not you're first time being a mother?"
"No.. Lydia and I have a son together, he's four and a half." Nic replied.
The crowd 'awed'.
"And you had the new baby with your current fiancé am I correct?" Vaeks asked.
"you do know I had triplets right?" Nic squinted at him.
"tri- no I didn't know that" He nearly lost his teeth.
Nic and I giggled at his reaction.
"But honestly, that just emphasizes the point I made.. You recently had triplets and still look amazing." he reiterated.
I cocked my head to the side but decided not to respond just yet, I'd let Nic handle it.
"You keep mentioning my post-pregnancy body and its becoming annoying." Nic exhaled.
"I am just sure that there are women who would like to know your secret." he justified.
"I don't have a secret."
I tapped Nic so she would face me and be able to read my lips, "Just tell him what he 'wants' to hear."
She nodded and turned back to him, "There is one thing I did." she crossed her legs.
"Do tell?" he raised his eyebrows.
"Let's see, I was stuck in a hospital for..." she turned to me "how long?"
"5 weeks." I informed her.
"5 weeks? Damn." her eyes widened before she continued, "For 5 weeks I could barely eat, so umm.. that mixed with a high metabolism.. yeah, I guess thats the big secret."
"You were in the hospital for 5 weeks?" he raised his eyebrows and the crowd was equally astonished.
Nic nodded, "yeah.. not because of the pregnancy. It was because of the accident."
"Of course, it was all over the news. But you're fine now right? I mean you made it here tonight." He inquired.
"Yeah.. considering the stages I've been through, I can't really complain about my current state." Nic said modestly. "But I did have to come her tonight, I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I didn't."
"And why is that?" he probed.
Nic took a deep breath, "People were inspired by my 'success' story, and I just feel as though I owe it to those people you know? If I could tough it out with everything I went through in my life, how could I let one little accident stop me from doing one little interview?"
The way she spoke was so passionate and.. well.. inspiring. It reminded me of how she used to speak when we originally started the business together, the empowered tone she used to discuss business on a daily. All of the things she took most seriously, all of the things that mattered the most to her.
The crowd clapped for her after she had spoken. She gave a modest smile.
"Can I say one more thing before we move on?" she asked Vaeks.
He shrugged, "I don't see why not, the audience is engaged, I'm at the edge of my seat."
"Thanks." She flashed another smile.
She looked at me and nodded, asking for my approval. I returned the nod and she took another deep breath.
"I just want to put this out there, and people can take from it what they may. I am able to live the economically blessed life that I live, because I never let obstacles get in my way. Every challenge I've gone through has honestly made me stronger inside and out. I don't always allow the world to see what may or may not be taking a toll on me internally." she spoke with the same bold, passionate tone, "I'd be willing to bet a shit ton of money, that no one watching this interview right now had any idea that I am currently deaf."
There was a hush in the crowd.
Vaeks broke the silence, "Wait.. you're deaf?"
Nic nodded, "Its temporary, but the doctors can't pinpoint when exactly I'll get my hearing back."
"Supposedly within the next 2 months at the most." I added.
Though she didn't know what I had said she turned to me, "Lydia can you?"
I nodded, "yeah sure."
I spoke briefly about her near death in the hospital, the loss of memory, the blindness and finally the deafness. Nic studied my lips carefully as I spoke, when I had finished she turned back to Vaeks.
"So you can't hear anything at all right now?" he asked in disbelief.
"No. I have to read everyone's lips." she explained.
"Well, on the plus side.. you can eavesdrop on distant conversations."
"I'll take that as sarcasm even though that was slightly insensitive." Nic snarked.
The rest of the interview went by smoothly, I was glad Nicki could be herself and seemed to be enjoying herself.
When asked about Aubrey and I's relationship, I replied:
"Eh.. we get along for the most part." I shrugged, "We've definitely had more than a few quarrels but what do you expect?"
"Those two together are quite the duo." Nic jumped in.
"That's not true." I denied, shaking my head.
"When I was pregnant, the two of them were like hawks watching to make sure I wasn't drinking and they collectively forced me into maternity leave after I had the triplets." Nic argued.
"She's a workaholic, we're lucky she took off to have the babies."
After the interview Nic insisted on an impromptu meet-n-greet outside of the building. We sat on the trunk of the car while everyone crowded around us. We answered questions separately in order to get through more people before we absolutely had to leave.
A lot of the people I got asked me why I talked more about Nic than myself, I just replied truthfully: "she's my first priority." I also got a lot of comments about how inactive Nic and I were on social media.
"We're still getting used to it." I replied.
I signed a few autographs, took a few pictures, and was asked about information regarding the company. People wanted to see pictures of OJ and triplets, some even asked to be models.
The array of conversations I had with them were amusing but I liked it.
NICKI POV
"Onika, you're so strong"
"you're my inspiration."
"I hope you recover soon."
Are just a few of the amazing remarks the crowd had given me as I talked to them sitting on the back of the car. I smiled and thanked each of them. I tried to come up with something cute or inspiring to write when they asked me to sign their stuff. I embraced their hugs and took pictures with them. Eventually one little girl and her mother stood out to me.
"Do you remember me?" she asked.
I smiled because I did, "Yes of course I do."
"Are you sure?" she seemed skeptical.
"How could I forget you? We met at the ice cream place and you gave me the most beautiful bracelet ever." I tapped her nose. Both her and her mother seemed amazed.
She took my wrist in her hand and furrowed her eyebrows, "But you aren't wearing the bracelet."
I sighed, "I know honey, I think it may have gotten burned in the fire that day."
"I think.." she dug deep into the pockets of her oversized hoodie and managed to retrieve another bracelet. "You can have a new one."
"Really?" I smiled as she handed it to me, I gave it to Aubrey and he began tying it onto me so I could continue talking to her. "I wish I had something I could give you too."
"A hug?" she cheesed at me.
I picked her up and held her on my lap. She wrapped her arms tightly around me. She laid her head on my chest and didn't let go of me. I felt her say something but I couldn't see her to know what she said. I rubbed her back and looked up to her mother and asked for her to tell me what was said.
"She says she wishes she could stay with you." Her mother seemed embarrassed by the remark.
"Aww honey,"
She ended up being allowed to stay with me until we got ready to leave or if it became too late for her to be out. Her mother stepped aside so that the next flow of people could greet me.
People expressed that they wished that I'd post more on social media, that they enjoyed how I interacted with them and the things I posted. I smiled, telling them that I would try to post more once I bought a new phone. Apparently, mine was destroyed in the fire.
Others showed me what items of clothing they were wearing that were from the collection which I responded with a, "wow, it looks great on you!" or a "I'm glad you liked it!"
By the time we had decided to go ahead and leave, over an hour and went by. I learned that the little girl's name was Daniela when her mother carried her away, she had fallen asleep in my arms.
When we had gotten home Aubrey spoke to me for the first time since the interview.
"How do you feel?" he asked.
I nodded, "fine, why?"
"no reason." he shrugged and walked upstairs.
I gave Lydia a confused look and she just shrugged. I squinted at her, "you know something."
"oh my godddd Onika you're gonna ruin your own surprise! Go upstairs!" she whined.
I did.
I found Aubrey on the bed doing something on his phone. I crawled gently on top of him and he put his phone down to embrace me.
"I have something for you." he informed with the slightest smirk.
I raised an eyebrow at him.
"Close your eyes." he instructed. I did, and he laid me beside him on the bed. I felt him moving around but I couldn't hear anything. Eventually he tapped me, signaling for me to open my eyes. He handed me a box wrapped in pink wrapping paper.
"What is it?" I asked stupidly.
"Open it." he urged.
I saw the apple sign and bit my lip, looking up at him as I continued opening it. It was a phone.
"You didn't have to get me a phone." I said modestly.
"Yes I did." he insisted. "I was not going to have my fiancée walking around without me having any way to contact her."
With that, he leaned on top of me and kissed me royally. I wrapped my legs around his waist as the kiss deepened but lead to nothing since he still didn't want to have sex because of my head.
Eventually we just ended up cuddling while he helped me set up the phone. He set it so that it would vibrate and the flash would go off when I got a notification. By the request of nearly everyone I had met tonight, I posted on social media.
Over the course of the past week, I spent much of my idle hours 'interacting' with my followers. I posted a lot. Mostly pictures of the kids or the things I made for them. It was fun.
I woke up about a week later to something that by then had become completely unfamiliar. A sound. I felt my heart dance inside of my chest. I turned and nudged Aubrey until he finally woke up.
"Babe... kiss me." I ordered as he wiped his eyes.
"What time is it?" he yawned.
"Would you look at me already?" I ran my fingers through his hair forcibly. He pulled me on top of him, holding me by the waist.
"Is everything okay?" he asked.
I nodded, unable to contain the smile that crept across my face.
"So why are you awake at this hour?" he groaned.
"I wanted to hear your voice." I cupped his face in my hands while he processed it.
I watched the smile infiltrate his face, "Are you serious?"
I nodded as the tears fell. He hugged me tightly and kissed my forehead.
"I'm sorry for waking you up." I apologized after we'd hugged for a few moments.
"babe its okay."
"I wanted you to be the first person to know." I explained.
He lifted me up, "Thank you... I appreciate that."
QOTD: Favorite food place?
AOTD: Chipotle 🌯🌯🌯
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