Nina

“Niki, do you think we could skip lunch and just head home?” I hurry past her to stop her from going in. “I’m just not feeling it.”

“Not a chance. You’ve been not feeling it for three weeks.” Her face softens a touch, eyes filled with worry.

“I’m fine. I promise. I just...” How do I tell her that what I saw today bothered me? “I need time. Okay?”

“How can you say that? You’ve had three weeks.” She reaches around me and grabs the door. “You are going to walk in there and eat one of the best damn lunches you have had in a long time.”

“Okay, fine.” I walk past her and into one of the most unique bars I have ever seen. It’s a modern take on your local, everyday bar. From the outside, you can see two levels, but when I get inside I see there’s also a basement that houses a stage and dance floor.

“Pretty amazing, isn’t it?” A blonde wearing a tight black dress walks up. “Hi, I’m Cindy.” She holds out her hand. “I’m the lead bartender.”

Taking her hand, I give it a little shake. “I’m Nina, Niki’s sister.”

“I gathered. You two look almost identical.”

“How big is this place?” I walk over to the stairs, which are marked “VIP.”

“It’s crazy huge. That top section is the VIP area.” She walks over to the ropes. “Wanna see the spotlights?”

“Niki told me about those.” I look over my shoulder and see her and Gavin watching me. Taking that as my cue, I point over to them. “Looks like they are waiting on me. Maybe some other time.”

“Nice to meet you, Nina.”

We both smile, then she heads to the bar and I find Niki and Gavin.

“How do you like the place?” Gavin gets up to pull a chair out, waiting for me to take a seat before he sits back down, pulling Niki’s chair closer to him.

“If you want to be that close, maybe you should invest in benches?” She giggles as he places a soft kiss on her neck.

“Done.” He snakes his hand through her long, dark hair, bringing her head closer, giving her a tender kiss on the top on her hairline before releasing her. A sigh escapes her parted lips.

I had that once.

A whisper of a touch, causing your skin to prickle. Words that melted your soul. A stare so intense you could see forever within it.

I guess that’s why I stayed with Brandon longer than I should have, waiting for the guy I fell in love with to return. I thought if I could just be enough, he would change.

Lies.

He is who he is and nothing was ever going to change. All the signs were there. His touch, demanding. Words, controlling. Gaze, suspicious.

“Nina?” Niki reaches across the table, placing a hand over mine. “You okay?”

“Yeah. Sorry. I was just thinking about what I was going to eat.” I give them both a wide smile. “The food smells delicious.” I hold the menu up to hide the tears that threaten to fall.

Seeing them...that’s how it should be. Protective, not possessive.

“Hey Gavin?” I hear Cindy behind me. “Jake’s on the phone. He said he needs to speak to you.”

“Can I call him back after lunch?” Gavin seems concerned, but as much as I want to look over the menu at him, I keep to myself.

“I don’t think so. He seems off. You better talk to him.”

She leaves, the clicking of her heels fading.

“It’s fine. Just make sure he’s okay.”

“Go ahead and order. I’ll join you as soon as I can.” Gavin quickly gets up, scooting his chair back, scraping it against the floor.

I wince.

“Nina, you can stop pretending to look at the menu now.” I see her fingers over the top before the menu disappears.

“What do you want me to say?” I lean forward and look around. “That my boyfriend beat my ass one too many times and I thought if I stayed he would kill me? Cause I think that’s pretty obvious.”

“Nina…that’s not what I meant and you know it.” She’s the one looking around now, but apparently, it’s still early enough that the lunch crowd hasn’t made it in yet.

“I don’t know.”

I do.

She wants to know how I’m doing. If I’m thinking about going back, because that’s what women like me do, right? Go back to try and save them. Been there and done that. I tried. Over and over and over again.

Feeling a little irritated, I huff out my acceptance that we aren’t leaving until my big sis has some answers. “How about you ask me questions and I’ll answer what I can?”

“How long?”

“It’s kind of hard to tell…” I try to recall the moment I realized things changed, but it was so gradual, it’s difficult to pinpoint. “But I guess when he suggested I drop out of nursing school. About a year after we were together.”

“I thought you decided it wasn’t for you?”

“Well, it really wasn’t. I guess that’s why I thought, ‘Why not?’” The memory is so vivid. Life changing. Step one of stripping me of my independence.

“Nina, I was thinking. You know how you said you weren’t sure that nursing was for you?” Brandon says as he walks out of the bathroom, towel wrapped around his waist.

“Uh, yeah?” I lick my lips and watch the droplets fall from his hair, down his face and along his abs before they reach the top of the white cotton towel.

“Eyes up here, doll.” His smile is wicked. “I was thinking, why do something you don’t like? It’s just wasting money that we don’t have.”

“I wouldn’t call getting an education wasting—”

“It is if you are taking money from my education.” He heads over to the dresser, pulling it open, grabbing one of his many white V-neck T-shirts, pulling it over his head. “How about you quit? Stay home. That way you can spend more time with me.” He winks and once again, I’m lost.

“Time is good.” I sit down on the bed, taking in the view of him in the dark denim Levis he’s now wearing.

“Very good.” He turns and stalks toward me. A predator, ready to devour his prey. Slowly he begins to crawl on top of me. Inch by inch my body shivers from the way his skin grazes mine. “We could be doing this. In all my spare time.” He leans down, taking my lips in his.

“I like that idea.”

Biting my lip, drawing blood, he raises his head. “Good. Now I don’t have to worry about those guys in your class.” He bends to lick the blood that bubbles up.

I shake my head. “What?”

“Come on. You know what I’m talking about. Those guys, especially that one who is always texting you.”

“Ryan? He texted me once about our study group.” I prop myself up on my elbows, wanting to talk this out, figure what is really wrong.

“He wants you, but it’s not a big deal. You’re mine and now, I’ll get you all the time…”

“Can you just give me a minute?” I reach for a glass of water, and take a sip.

“Yeah, but I do have something to confess.” She mirrors my action, then placing her glass back down, she continues. “Brandon called the next day.”

“Niki! Don’t you think that is something you should tell me? What if…” I begin to panic. What if he comes here?

“Don’t worry. Gavin took care of it. He—”

“What do you mean he took care of it?” I start to get up.

“Sit down and let me finish.” She also stands, ready to tackle or hug me. I’m not in the mood for either one. “He called crying, saying that it was an accident, begging to see you.”

“You told him I was here? I mean he knows you live here, but he thinks you still live in your house, not with Gavin.”

“Oh God, no! I told him you applied for an interior design scholarship out west. He begged to know where, but Gavin took the phone from me and threatened him within an inch of his life if he ever decided to track you down.”

I’m not sure what to say. Do I thank them for lying? For protecting me? What is the etiquette on this type of situation?

“So, he has no clue that I came here?” I begin to feel at ease for the first time in three weeks.

“Nope.”

“Good.”

“You guys haven’t ordered?” Gavin says, taking a seat by his fiancée.

Niki leans in, instantly putting a hand on his knee. “We were just chit-chatting.”

“Oh good!” He directs his attention to me. “So, what do you think? Ready to take on the challenge of making my house our home?”

“What?”

“I didn’t get a chance to ask.” She looks between the both of us. “But, we were wondering if you would like to redecorate our house.” She folds her hands together. “Please?”

“I-I don’t know.”

“Just say yes! We need your help fusing our tastes together.”

“I guess I could draw up some ideas tonight and work on it after work…” I mentally do a check list of the supplies I’ll need.

Sketch pad, colored pencils, color wheel…

“Gavin, do you have a measuring tape and basic tools?”

“Don’t I look like a guy that has tools?” He sits up straight, puffing out his chest.

“Dude, you are one hair product away from being metro and you drink margaritas. Can you see where she might question your masculinity?” Niki is amused by her own joke; I’m pretty sure she just snorted.

“I’ll show you masculinity tonight.” He reaches over, tickling her sides, causing Niki to flail around in her seat.

“Stop! Okay…” She gasps for breath. “He is a regular Tim the Tool Man Taylor.”

“I get it. He has a tool box.” I smile. Their interaction is a welcomed distraction.

“A big one!” He winks, clicking his tongue. “Huge!” He holds out his arms.

Hiding my head in my hands, I smile. This feels nice.

Normal.