Chapter 6
It was one in the afternoon on a Sunday and I was dressed and ready to have coffee with Nikolai. After our phone conversation and Kisha leaving, I phoned my uncle to inform him about the whole merger. He was all smiles and thought it was a good idea. He told me to send him a copy of the document before signing it.
So now here I am, fussing over what to wear. I decided on a black corset top, topped off with a black blazer and white slacks. Business casual, that’s the way to go. I smiled at myself in the mirror and heard the doorbell ring. I stuffed my phone, make up kit, wallet and keys in my bag and headed to the door. I opened the door and the smile was wiped off my face.
Alex was standing outside my door with a bouquet of flowers and a hand in his pocket. He looked real good with his hair slicked back, his checkered polo and ripped jeans. Not to mention the boyish, nervous smile he was sporting.
“Wow, you look beautiful. I didn’t know you were aware I was coming over.” He checked me out and his cocky smirk was back on his face.
“I wasn’t aware you were coming. Why are you here Alex? I thought I made myself clear yesterday.” I crossed my arms over my chest. I was doing that a lot when I was with him.
“And I thought I made myself clear that you didn’t scare me off. For you.” He handed me the bouquet which I took and returned to glaring at him. “I thought maybe we could go out today. You know, prove to you that I’ve changed.” He said. I huffed in disbelief. Does this boy not know when to quit? Time for some tough love buddy.
“Listen Alex, I hate to be the bearer of bad news but I doubt you’d be able to prove that. I’m not the same gullible, sophomore that you fucked with back then. Now be gone.” Okay so maybe the last line was just a little too dramatic, but hey if it works.
“Not until you agree to go out with me.” Alex retorted, not swayed at all by my little speech. I rolled my eyes.
“I won’t be agreeing to that because it so happens that I have a date.” I tilted my chin up in victory. Well technically, it was a business meeting but Alex didn’t need to know that. Graced with impeccable timing, Nikolai’s car pulled up in front of Alex’s red Camaro.
I shoved the bouquet into Alex’s arms and proceeded to Nikolai. His eyebrow was up, noticing Alex by the door. He then looked at me with a confused look.
“Hey baby! What took you so long?” I said loudly for Alex to hear. I wrapped my arms around Nikolai’s waist, “Play along please.” I whispered in his ear. He wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me closer.
“Err, sorry I got stuck in traffic.” He said, still looking confused. I rolled my eyes at his crappy acting skills.
Alex approached us looking skeptical. “Isn’t he your business partner?” He looked at Nikolai then back at me.
I grabbed Niko’s hand and held it in mine. “As a matter of fact he is, and we’re dating.” I said, smugly.
“Why don’t I believe you? Is this some scheme to get me out of your hair, Mika?” he asked, looking between me and Nikolai.
Surprise overtook me when Niko snaked his arm around my waist, and pulled me close to his side. His woodsy scent had my senses on overdrive.
“Now why would you think that, Alex right?” Niko said, smoothly. Okay so maybe I didn’t give him enough props for his acting skills. I looked at him and he smirked at me.
“Well then I regret to inform you that that little tease you have around your arm slept with me last night.” He smirked victoriously. I felt my heart constrict and my jaw drop. Not only that but I felt Niko’s arm loosen its grip on my waist. Niko cleared his throat and firmed his grip on my waist again. I looked up at him and noticed his eyes darkening as he glared at Alex.
“I also regret to inform you that she told me all about it and said that it was all a mistake and she regrets her actions. Don’t call her a tease again, because if anyone’s a tease here it’s you. Now why don’t you saunter off to your little sports car and leave Mika alone, yeah?” he said and pulled me away to the direction of his car.
As I got in Niko’s car, I heard Alex shout “This isn’t over, Mika!” and I slammed the door close. Niko got in nonchalantly and whistled as he drove. I couldn’t bring myself to look at him. Even after finding out that Alex and I slept together, Niko still defended me. I took a deep breath and was about to say something, but he beat me to it.
“Before you say anything, don’t. You don’t need to explain to me. We are strictly business partners and I apologize if I’ve made you feel uncomfortable after awhile ago.” He said, without so much as a glance in my direction.
My jaw was on the floor. Here I was dragging him into my personal affairs and he was the one apologizing to me. I regained my composure and nodded. We arrived at a little cafe and got out of his car. We settled in a table at the back corner of the cafe.
“ This is the contract my lawyer handed me this morning. I’ve looked over it earlier and everything seems to be in place. You should look over it and tell me what you think.” He said nonchalantly, handing me the papers. At a loss for words, I just nodded and took the papers. While skimming through the documents, he ordered or the both of us.
“Everything’s in place so far. Would it be okay with you if I run this through with my uncle first before signing it?” I asked him. He glanced at me while taking a sip of his coffee but averted his gaze quickly.
“Of course. I would be expecting the contract tomorrow though at the business meeting.” He smiled at me but it didn’t reach his eyes. I nodded and placed the documents back in the manila envelope.
“So...You and Alex huh?” he asked curiously, leaning back in his seat. Here we go, the clingy interrogation. I sighed.
“You were right when you said it was a moment of weakness and regret it.” I said, meeting his gaze. All of a sudden he leaned in and took my hand into his. He winked at me and kissed the back of my hand.
“What are you doing?” I asked. I was confused. One minute he was cold and distant and now he was being sweet. Dude has issues.
“Seems like your boyfriend decided to tag along. Don’t look now but he’s at the table across ours glaring at me.” He whispered, chuckling and leaning back in his seat. Well that explains the hand kissing and wink. I smiled gratefully at him.
“Let’s go somewhere he can’t follow us to.” He said, standing up and placing a few bills on the table. I took this opportunity to glance around the cafe. True enough, I caught a glimpse of Alex looking back before making his way out of the cafe. Niko placed his arm around my waist and guided me to his car.
When he pulled out of the parking slot, I saw Alex’s red Camaro following behind, a few cars apart.
“Wow, you must’ve really been good in bed for him to be stalking you around.” Niko said, amusement evident in his tone. I laughed light heartedly.
“Wouldn’t you want to know, Mr. Carver.” I said, playfully. He chuckled and my stomach flipped. Ugh, stupid feeling.
“So, back to our previous conversation awhile ago. You regret sleeping with him? Why is that?” he asked.
I shrugged. “I don’t regret sleeping with him per se. More I miscalculated him.”
His eyebrows furrowed with curiosity. “I’m not following.”
“You know how I told you that he broke me before?” He nodded. “Well, he swept me off my feet back in high school and took my v-card then humiliated me saying that it was just a bet with his friends on how long he could get me in bed. When he came by yesterday, I thought all he wanted was to bang me again then he’d be gone. Apparently I miscalculated his intentions, sleeping with him didn’t make him disappear.” He slowly nodded.
“Let me guess, now he wants to prove that he’s changed?” he asked.
“Ding ding ding! We have a winner.” That won me laugh from him.
“You’re funny. Has anyone ever told you that?” he smiled at me, ruffling his hair in the process. I rolled my eyes.
“Tell me something I don’t know.” I smirked.
“I love cheesecake.” He said.
“What?”
“I just told you something you didn’t know.” He said, his grin widened. I laughed. This guy is really something. Our banter continued on while we drove around until we lost sight of Alex’s car. He probably got tired of following us drive around. We stopped outside my place still laughing our asses off about mom jeans. Don’t ask, I have no idea how we got to the topic.
“Do you want to come in?” I asked him as we stood outside my door.
“Erm. Yeah sure.” He grinned at me and ruffled his hair. I loved how he ruffled his hair, he looked like a little boy when he did. We stepped in and made our way to the living room.
“Do you want anything to drink? I have non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages.” I offered.
He walked around, studying my photo frames. “Scotch on the rocks would be good.” I nodded and fixed him and myself a glass.
I handed him his glass and sat beside him on the couch. “So how’s your mother and father?” I faced him. He angled his body so it was facing me.
“Do you really want to talk about my parents?” he asked, amused.
“Why not?” I shrugged, taking a sip.
“I’ll play then. They’re fine. Dad’s busy, nothing new and mom’s always fussing over me.” He grinned. I rolled my eyes and grinned back.
“Okay hot shot. Let’s play 20 questions then. You go first, and I don’t want to hear about how childish it is.” I poked his chest.
“When was the last time you went out on a date?” he asked. I was taken aback by the question.
“A proper date? Like dinner and a movie?” He nodded. “Back in high school. Were you a jock back in high school?”
“Noooooo. I was far from it. I was the nerd bullies loved to pick on.” He laughed. Yet another sentence that caught me off guard.
“No you weren’t!” I exclaimed with disbelief. He laughed and ruffled his hair.
“I really was. My mom would show you pictures of me in these thick rimmed eye glasses and braces.”
“Never pictured you as the braces type. So why aren’t you wearing glasses now?” I asked, curiously.
“Contacts. Ever heard of them?” the sarcasm clear in his tone. I punched him lightly in the arm.
“Yeah yeah, real funny. So is hazel your real eye color?” I asked, staring at his eyes. He squinted, making it hard for me to see his contacts.
“Calm down, it’s my turn.” He smirked. “To answer your question, yes these are my real eye color and I believe I just earned myself two questions.”
“Fine smart ass. Ask away.” I stuck my tongue out. Wow, Kisha was really affecting me. I poured more scotch in our glasses and took a sip.
“Why has it been so long since you’ve been out on a date?” he furrowed his eyebrows. Why was this guy so into my dating life?
“I just lost interest I guess. What’s the pointing of trusting guys when they’ve shown nothing but the opposite?” I shrugged and took a big gulp. He was brooding silently at my answer, I assume trying to calculate how broken I am. Well don’t rack your brain too hard, you won’t be able to.
“Don’t space out on me. It’s still your turn.” I teased him. He grinned and poured more scotch in his empty glass.
“Sorry, so what’s your favourite flowers?” I blushed with his question. Amazing how this guy I barely know makes me comfortable and giddy inside. Maybe he’s the guy who could turn my life around. I shook my head. Be realistic, Mika. Guys are all the same.
“Guys aren’t all the same.” He looked at me curiously. I cocked my eyebrow and tilted my head to the side.
“What are you talking about?”
“You just said that. Guys are all the same. I disagree.” He smirked at me.
“Shit, I didn’t realize I said that out loud.” I buried my face in my hand, embarrassed. He removed my hand from my face and squeezed my hand.
“Don’t be embarrassed. I can understand why you think that way.” He gazed into my eyes and for a moment I felt calm. I looked down at our hands and he followed my gaze. He quickly let it go and cleared his throat.
“Anyway, what’s your favourite flower?” he repeated his previous question. Ignoring the obvious sexual tension that built up, I smiled.
“Tulips.” And that’s how the game went on, random questions about each other. We drank through a whole bottle of scotch and our conversation got a little heated. We were both a little tipsy and were more daring with the questions.
“So when was the last time you had sex?” I asked him, moving a little closer.
“A year ago.” He said smugly. My jaw dropped but quickly closed it.
“Nu-uh! I call shenanigans!” I exclaimed, giggling. He laughed and shook his head.
“Yeah-huh. Why does it seem so hard to believe?”
“A sexy guy like you should be getting laid often.” I giggled.
“So you think I’m sexy huh?” his eyebrow raised and his smirk getting deeper. I rolled my eyes and looked at him with a ‘duh’ look on my face.
“Well for what it’s worth, I think you’re sexy too.” He winked. I felt my cheeks heat up and I tucked a loose strand of my hair behind my ear. I straightened my back and smirked.
“You’re sexy, I’m sexy. What do you say?” I wiggled my eyebrows causing both of us to burst into fits of laughter. When we finally got a hold of ourselves, we proceeded.
“How’s your relationship with your parents?” I asked him, hugging my legs to me. His eyes grew wide with surprise.
“Why do you always ask about my parents?”
I shrugged, “I don’t know. I’m just curious is all. Don’t cheat, answer the question.” I nudged his shoulder. He huffed a sigh and ruffled his hair. I will never get tired of that.
“Strained. Especially with my father. We have our family issues and the big one is how he expects me to build an empire. I guess that’s why he was pleased with the merger.” He frowned, and I copied it.
“Why don’t you seem happy about it?”
“Business isn’t what I’ve wanted to do.” He shrugged. “How was your relationship with your father?”
My heart constricted. I hadn’t thought about my father the whole weekend. I felt the tears gathering in my eyes. I looked up to push them back and averted my gaze from Nikolai.
“I’m sorry. If it’s too hard you don’t have to—“, Before he could cut me off, I interrupted.
“It’s fine.” I shook my head and continued, “He was the best man I knew. He loved me for all I’m worth. I remember ever since I was six he’d always take me to a field and we’d run around, singing our lungs out. He’d always tell me every morning that I was beautiful and that I was the best thing that’s happened to him.” I smiled at the memory.
Niko wiped away the tears that I was unaware fell down my cheeks with his thumb. He caressed my cheek with his hand and I leaned into his hand relaxed in it. I slid beside him, and rested my head on his shoulder, his arm automatically draping around my shoulders.
I felt so calm and relaxed beside him. His woodsy scent once again drove my senses on overdrive. I sighed happily and a smile made its way to my lips. Niko’s finger lifted up my chin to face him. He looked deep in my eyes and I was mesmerized by how green his eyes were.
“Your father was right you know.” He said, smirking. I furrowed my eyebrows in curiosity. He continued, “You really are beautiful.” I felt my cheeks redden not only with what he said but also his gaze. So deep and inviting.
I found myself leaning in and felt his lips brush mine. His lips were so soft and warm. He deepened the kiss and cupped my cheeks with a hand, sliding his arm from my shoulder down to my waist. I responded, placing my hand on his chest. His breath was so minty, it was exhilarating. I could feel his heartbeat through his heart. I raked his hair with my hand and he moaned. He placed both arms around my waist, pulling me on his waist and the kiss became rougher. I grabbed a handful of his hair gently which earned me a groan from him.
Just when his hand was getting lower, my phone rang. I groaned and tore away from Niko’s lips.
“I should go get that.” I said, shyly. What has gotten into me? Why am I acting all shy around him? He nodded and I got up and answered my phone.
“Hello?”
“You seem breathless. Did I catch you in a bad time?” the all too familiar voice asked. I rolled my eyes.
“Alex. What do you want?” I asked annoyed. Why was he always popping up when Nikolai was around? I glanced at Niko while he was straightening his shirt. He had an unreadable expression.
“What makes you think I want something? Can’t I just say that I missed your voice?” he said playfully. Unbelievable. This guy cannot take a hint.
“Look Alex there are only so many ways a girl can turn a guy down. Now leave me alone or you’ll be able to experience all those ways.” And with that I hung up. I sat beside Niko and tossed my phone on the chair opposite us.
He looked amused and I raised my eyebrow questioningly. His shoulders shaking from his silent laughter. I crossed my arms, trying not to break into a smile.
“Are you done yet?” I playfully glared at him. His shoulders stopped shaking, holding back a smile, he tried to look innocent and nodded. I rolled my eyes and scooted closer to him, wrapping my arms around his neck.
“Shut up. Now where were we?” I asked, playfully.
He cleared his throat and distanced himself from me.
“I-I can’t do this.” He said nervously.
“What do you mean?” I asked, removing my arms around him.
“I have a girlfriend.” He said, not meeting my gaze.
Wow.
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Big shocker? I think not.
Oh Alex, why so persistent? Hahaha. Will Mika distance herself from Niko?
What do you think?
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