When he couldn’t delay any further, he headed out to pick Nicole up at her apartment.
He knew he’d waited too long when he pulled up and saw her waiting outside.
She was breathtaking.
Her blonde hair flowed freely in waves around her shoulders, and the form-fitting black dress was deceptively simple. His body tightened at the way her curves were showcased in the material.
He hopped out and kissed her on the cheek.
“You look amazing.”
Nicole flushed with pleasure.
“Thank you. My mother gave me this dress for graduation, so I figured it would start us off on the right foot if I wore it.”
“She has perfect taste.”
“That she does,” Nicole said with a nervous giggle, as she followed him around to the passenger door. She thanked him again when he opened the door for her, and waited for her to be settled inside before closing it.
Kent looked up and saw Roni peering out the window. They waved at each other, and Kent knew by the look on Roni’s face, that she understood the turmoil that was building in him.
As they headed towards Dallas, Nicole placed her hand softly on Kent’s knee.
“Are you okay?”
Kent looked briefly at her, then back at the road. “Yeah, I’m fine. How about you? Nervous? Excited?”
“I’m a little nervous.” Nicole admitted. “It’s been a while and they weren’t pleased with me last time I saw them, so I’m not quite sure what to expect.”
Kent just nodded as he wondered what her parents would think of the newest development in her life.
Him.
Nicole pulled him from his thoughts when she said, “Oh, I forgot to tell you, I saw Roni dance the other day. She’s so amazing.”
Kent couldn’t help the smile that formed at her words. He’d been hoping that Roni would start dancing again.
“She is, isn’t she? She has loved to dance for as long as I can remember. Becoming a professional dancer was always the only thing she wanted to do, then she met that Asshole, Hank, and she totally lost her focus. I’m so happy to hear that she’s getting back into it.”
They rode in silence for a while, as memories of Roni as a little girl flashed through his mind.
When he was eight years old, he’d started mowing lawns in the neighborhood to pay for her dance classes. He remembered the look of pure joy on her face when he’d come home with a well-worn tutu that he’d found at the Goodwill. She wore that thing to every lesson.
His heart ached when he thought of the way she’d always scanned the crowd before a performance, hoping to see their parents, and smiling bravely at him when she realized that once again, they hadn’t showed.
He felt the familiar stirrings of anger and despair, that occurred anytime he thought about his parents, and knew it stemmed from the impending introduction to Nicole’s.
He tried to shake it off as the city came in to view, but he couldn’t quite let go of the bitterness in his gut.
Nicole gave him directions, and his trepidation grew at the site of the mansion that she led him to.
He pulled up to the gate and entered the code Nicole gave him. The gates opened slowly, and the massive house seemed to grow larger as they inched along the circular drive.
He parked behind a silver Bentley and exhaled slowly as he pulled the key out of the ignition.
He turned slightly and noticed that Nicole was wringing her hands nervously as she looked out the window at her parents’ house.
“That’s quite a place,” Kent said teasingly, trying to ease the tension in the car.
Nicole turned to him with a small smile, but her eyes were filled with worry.
“Are you ready?” He asked.
She nodded slowly, so he got out of the car and walked around to let her out.
As he rounded the car, the front door opened and a tall grey haired gentleman stepped outside and waited on the top of the stairs, watching Kent but not saying anything.
Nicole took his hand and he helped her up. She stood and smoothed her dressed, then stilled when she noticed the man at the door.
Nicole walked slowly to the stairs. When she got to the base she said, “Hello, Daddy.”
Her father nodded slightly and simply said, “Nicole.”
She walked up the steps and kissed the side of each of his cheeks lightly, then stood off to his right and gestured down to Kent.
“This is my boyfriend, Kent.”
Kent climbed the stairs and put his hand out to shake Nicole’s fathers’.
“Kent, this is my father, Gordon.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Sir,” Kent said as they clasped hands.
“Nice to meet you too, Kent.” Her father said his voice deep and low. He turned to Nicole and stated, “Your mother is waiting for you in the drawing room,” then he turned and walked back into the house, leaving Nicole and Kent no choice but to follow him.
“We have about a half an hour before the guests arrive for drinks,” Nicole said in a whisper. “I’ll take you in to meet my mother, then I will be expected to greet the guests with her. You can mingle and enjoy a cocktail, and I will come to you as soon as I’m able. We will have an hour for drinks, then dinner will be served. Afterwards there will be drinks and desert and maybe some dancing. Then we can head back home.”
Kent tried to comprehend everything she was saying, but it all seemed pretty complicated for a birthday party. The last birthday he celebrated with his mother was when Roni baked cupcakes, their father got drunk, and their mother ended up crying as she blew out her candle.
Now
