When he put her down she was laughing.
“What was that for?” She asked.
“I missed you today,” Kent said softly, as he bent to plant a kiss right below her ear.
Nicole shivered slightly and admitted, “I missed you too.”
He pulled away and smiled into her eyes. “Good.”
“Really?” Roni asked incredulously as she walked out of her room. “We’re about to have our first party, Kent, it’s not make out time.”
Kent wiggled his eyebrows at his sister.
“Oh, it’s always make out time.”
He grabbed her by the waist and started to pepper her face with kisses. Roni broke out in laughter, and yelled, “Uncle.”
Nicole smiled and felt a moment of envy at how close the twins were. Her family seemed so cold in comparison.
Kent released Roni when there was another knock on the door. Roni tried to smooth out her hair and clothes before she opened it.
“Hey,” Kara said, giving Roni a quick hug as she and Pete came inside. She held out a bottle of wine and said, “This is for you guys.”
“Thanks,” Nicole said, as she walked over to hug both Kara and Pete. “Thanks for coming.”
She was showing them to the kitchen when some more people from work showed up at the door. Roni greeted their guests, and Nicole began to make sure everyone had a drink.
Kent came up behind her in the kitchen and thanked her when she handed him a glass of crown and coke.
“How’d you know this is my drink?” He asked her when he took his first sip.
“I pay attention,” She responded with a sly smile.
Kent leaned over and nuzzled her neck.
“You’re a good hostess.”
“Oh, my momma made sure of that,” she replied wryly.
He watched her as she passed out drinks to her guests and wondered about her comment.
Kent moved to the couch and started a conversation with Pete about football. He enjoyed talking with the other man. Pete always had a kind word for everyone, had a good sense of humor, and was a killer poker player. He was one of the people in town that Kent could really call a friend.
As they talked, Kent watched Nicole work the room, and wondered again about her earlier statement. It was obvious from the way she carried herself, that she’d had a very different upbringing than he had. He couldn’t imagine his mother ever being so at ease entertaining in her home. He found himself comparing his life with Nicole’s. He was sure that they were from different worlds and wondered what she would think of him if she knew where he came from.
When he saw her slip into her room, he excused himself from his conversation with Pete and followed her.
Nicole grabbed the lip gloss off of her dresser and applied it, before turning to go back into the living room. She stopped when she saw Kent enter the room.
He stepped inside and closed the door, leaning against it as he smiled.
“You sure know how to work a room. I don’t know why, but the way you move is really hot. I’ve been waiting for the chance to get you alone,” he pushed up off of the door and walked over to her, offering her the glass of wine he’d poured for her.
“Thanks,” Nicole said as she took a sip of the chilled wine. “Mmmm, that’s good.”
“I noticed you were so busy serving everyone else, that you never had a chance to enjoy a glass yourself.”
“Well, a good hostess has to make sure her guests are happy.”
Kent looked at her quizzically. “That’s the second time you’ve made mention of that. Tell me.” He said simply, and gestured for her to sit.
She looked at the closed door, then back at him. “I guess it’s okay to disappear for a minute.”
Kent chuckled at her response as he settled on the bed next to her.
Nicole knew that she would to have to tell him about herself eventually, and figured now was as good a time as ever. She hoped it wouldn’t totally change the way he saw her, and that he would still want to date her once she told him everything.
She took another sip of wine, then took a deep breath, before looking at him and saying, “I grew up in Dallas, as you know. My parents are very wealthy and enrolled me in private schools. They are very active in the church and had high expectations for me and my future.”
Nicole figured it was best to tell him everything at once, but felt the nerves bouncing in her belly in anticipation of his reaction. She really liked him.
“What kind of expectations,” he prodded.
“They wanted me to go to SAGU, study Youth Ministries, get married, and start a congregation with my husband as the minister.” She spit it out quickly, in one breath, then took a sip of wine and looked at him over her glass.
Kent brushed her hair back in assurance, then asked, “Did they have the husband picked out?”
“Yeah, Jake,” She felt a small pang in her heart when she said his name. He’d meant so much to her for so long, she found that she missed the friendship they’d shared.
“We started dating in high school, and he fit the mold perfectly. We were engaged for three years and everything was going according to plan until I got to school.”
“What happened at school?”
“It was my first time being out on my own, away from my parents, and I began to realize how controlling they were and that their dreams weren’t necessarily my dreams. I changed my major to English without telling them, and I fell in love with my creative writing courses. As I got closer to
