He tried not to stare at the opulence of her parent’s home, but he couldn’t help but be impressed.
He heard the high pitched tone of what he assumed was Nicole’s mother’s voice as she spoke with Nicole’s father.
“She brought a date?” The shrill voice asked in a hushed tone.
Great, Kent thought when he heard her mother’s question, then he turned to Nicole who was looking at him sadly.
“Did you say something about a drink?” He asked under his breath as they entered the room.
“Darling,” Nicole’s mother cooed as she glided towards her daughter, arms stretched open wide.
Kent could tell that she had probably been nearly as beautiful as Nicole when she was younger, but she’d had so much work done to her face, she could no longer hold a candle to her daughter’s fresh beauty.
And she resented it.
He knew by the way she looked Nicole over with hard eyes, before going in for air kisses, that Nicole’s mother resented her daughter’s effortless beauty.
He hated her on sight.
When she was finished putting on a show for her own benefit, she turned to Kent with a fake smile.
“And just who is this handsome gentleman?”
Nicole smiled at Kent as she spoke to her mother, as if trying to soften the sharpness of her mother’s tone.
“This is Kent, Momma. My boyfriend.”
Kent took the hand her mother offered and brought it to his lips, obligingly.
“It’s nice to meet you, Ma’am.”
“Psht. Ma’am? Please, call me Kitty.” She drawled softly, her hard eyes never stopping their appraisal of him.
“It’s nice to meet you, Kitty,” He amended, thinking it was a ridiculous name for a ridiculous woman.
“So, Kent, how did you meet our little Nicky? Are you from Dallas? Do I know your family?”
Kent realized the interrogation had begun, and gratefully accepted the drink that Gordon offered him.
“I met Nicole at her work. No and no.” He replied pointedly, hoping Kitty would get the hint and leave him alone for a moment.
No such luck.
Kitty pulled back a bit, affronted by his abrupt tone. Kent could tell he wasn’t gaining any points, but he couldn’t bring himself to kiss her ass.
“Where are you from?” Kitty asked, taking a glass of wine from her husband without so much as a smile of acknowledgement.
“Detroit.”
Kitty wrinkled her nose slightly, as if she had just smelled something rotten, and was just about to speak, when she was distracted by a movement by the door.
“Jake,” Kitty practically purred as she turned to greet her new guest, leaving Kent without a word.
Kent turned to see the man that Nicole had been engaged to, and was less than thrilled to see a very good-looking, obviously well-off, young man.
He sipped his drink and watched Kitty fawn over Jake, who didn’t seem to mind in the slightest. He felt Nicole’s arm wrap around his waist and she leaned in to whisper to him.
“Don’t mind her, she doesn’t mean anything,” She followed his gaze to the door, and he felt her arm stiffen.
“You okay,” He asked, wondering if she stiffened because it was awkward to see Jake again, or if she felt something for him.
This party was already making him crazy.
“Yeah,” Nicole replied softly. “I mean, I figured he’d be here, but it’s weird seeing him again.”
She pulled away slightly when Jake walked toward them, and Kent felt the separation instantly. He wondered why he’d ever agreed to come; it was obvious that he didn’t belong here.
“Nicole,” the shorter man said softly as he approached. He pushed his hand nervously through his light brown hair, and Kent got a whiff of his expensive cologne. Kent knew the brand, it was one of his favorites, but he would bet that Jake had never scrimped and saved to buy that cologne.
He watched as they kissed each other in greeting. No air kisses this time, he noticed. No, they were actual kisses.
He walked over to pour himself another drink and heard Nicole ask Jake how he’d been.
He looked out the window and paused, his drink frozen inches from his lips.
Their backyard extended further than the eye could see. The lawn was manicured and perfectly green. The trees were lush and full, and there was a large sparkling pool with a large patio surrounding it, and what looked like a pool house.
The pool house was larger than the house he grew up in, the house his parents still lived in.
Kent shook his head slightly and took a long drink.
“Kent,” Nicole put a hand on his back to get his attention. He turned to see her standing behind him with Jake. “This is Jake.”
Kent couldn’t stop himself from stretching to his full height, making him practically tower over Jake.
Jake offered his hand and said, “It’s nice to meet you.”
Kent looked at him for a moment, before accepting his hand and shaking it. “You too, man.”
He hated to admit it, but Jake actually seemed pretty cool. He couldn’t fault the guy for loving Nicole, she was pretty amazing.
Nicole smiled up at him, her gratefulness apparent, then she turned slightly at the sound of the doorbell.
“I’m going to go help my mother greet the arriving guests. I’ll be back as soon as I can.” She tiptoed up to kiss him on the cheek, before turning to go to her mother, who was standing at the threshold, watching them with evident displeasure.
“Is she always in such a party mood?” Kent asked wryly as he accepted another drink from a waitress who had started circling the room with a tray.
“Who, Kitty?” Jake asked with a grin. “You get used to her… eventually.”
Kent just lifted his eyebrow questioningly and looked around the suddenly full
