Page 28 of The Tempted

Chapter Ten

I sat on the edge of the couch with my hands firmly planted on my knees so that I wouldn’t use them to strangle Anthony. Nikki had fled the moment Anthony slammed the door shut mumbling her apologies before getting the hell out of dodge. Which left me mimicking a child in time out waiting to be scolded. I tapped my foot impatiently as Anthony took a long pull from his beer. The bastard didn’t even offer me one. Not only was he a cock block, but he was a shitty host.

He settled the beer bottle on the end table before fixing his gaze on me.

“Is this going to take long because I have a phone call to make?” I asked him sounding every bit annoyed.

“Who do you plan on calling? Nikki?” he shook his head. “You’ve lost your fucking mind.”

I jolted up from the couch. “Who else! You made her run the fuck out of here.”

“Nikki ran out of here because of you, not me,” he said angrily brushing passed me to take a seat on the couch. “I did, you a favor man. The last thing you need right now is to screw around with Victor’s daughter,” he looked at me as if I had six heads. “For Christ’s sake, we’re talking about little Nikki, Mike!”

I rolled my eyes at him. Was he fucking blind? “Nikki’s all grown up Ant she’s not a kid anymore. If you weren’t so fucking busy sticking your head up her sister’s ass you would’ve noticed.”

“She’s like a sister to me,” he said, pointing his finger at me. “And she should be like a sister to you. You used to rip the heads off her fucking dolls when we were kids.”

“She’s no sister to me,” I am sure I should’ve felt guilty, but I didn’t. I couldn’t regret the way I perceived Nikki I only regretted not being able to do anything about it. Thank you, Anthony!

“Okay, so you don’t look at her as your little sister. That’s fine. What is not fine is you being attracted to her. Forget the fact that she has a boyfriend…”

“That’s a joke.” I cut him off. “That dickhead doesn’t deserve her.”

“And you do?” he asked astoundingly.

Well, he had me there. I opened my mouth to answer him but closed it just as quickly. I didn’t deserve her. I’d never be good enough for her. For the first time, I was thinking with my head and not the one below my waist.

“Trust me. I’m not saying it to be a dick, but because I care. I care about Nikki hell I care about you too. You are about to embark onto some dangerous shit working for Vic. I don’t give a damn how many promises he makes about how he wants to keep you legit—the lines blur brother. They always do. I’m living proof those lines cross. If you don’t believe me, go ask Adrianna,” he sighed blowing out an exasperated breath before he swiped a hand down his tired face.

I swallowed hard, not wanting to hear what Anthony was saying, but understanding that what he said was probably true. The harsh reality stabbed me in the gut I had no intention of starting a relationship. I knew I wasn’t capable of anything more than a quick fuck. What kind of person did that make me? That I was willing to use a girl that I actually cared about because I did care about Nikki. She was the only person in my corner these days and Anthony was right, there was a long history of friendship between us and here I was ready to sabotage all that because I couldn’t keep my dick in my pants.

Nikki deserved better than Rico and she deserved way better than me. The last thing I wanted was to hurt her and destroy the friendship that we were building. I needed to call her. For purely selfish reasons I needed to know that, we were okay because I needed Nikki in my life. In such a short period of time, she became my anchor holding me close to shore when I felt like drifting into unchartered waters.

I looked back at Anthony. “Message received loud and clear,” I grabbed my phone from the coffee table and left Anthony alone in the living room.

I laid in bed staring up at the ceiling in my bedroom replaying the kiss over and over in my head. How was it that just the touch of his lips could make my body feel as if it was a frayed wire left raw and exposed? Just a little touch of his mouth resulted in electrical currents shooting through my body straight down to my toes.

The thing that bothered me most was the fact that I was sitting here reliving the kiss wondering how far it would’ve gone. What would it actually felt like to have his hands on me and not feeling the slightest bit guilty? It was wrong on so many levels, but most of all it was damaging to my character. I wasn’t a cheat I didn’t condone cheating and if I found out Rico cheated on me I would castrate him. But was a kiss as minuscule as the one I shared with Mikey really considered cheating? I don’t think so, but the feelings I was having and thoughts I was thinking that I considered cheating. It didn’t matter that I hadn’t acted on the desires I was feeling it still felt wrong.

My phone chimed, and I contemplated throwing it out the window. That thing was the cause of this shit if I could only ignore it. I should put it on silent. Excuses, excuses. I grabbed the phone and stared at the screen.

Mikey: We need to talk Princess.

Nope. I’ll pass thanks! I wasn’t ready to face the music. I wasn’t ready to usher that one stolen moment under the rug as if it never happened. I just wanted to hold onto it for just a little longer. I promised myself tomorrow was another day and I would put all my efforts into fixing the mess with Rico. I had to decide once and for all if what we had could be repaired and while I was at it, I would distance myself from Mikey. I’d cut him off. Cold turkey was the only way to end this.

The phone started ringing, and I cursed Mikey. I knew why he was calling I knew exactly what he was going to say. He was going to say it was a mistake. That it should’ve never happened. He was a hundred percent right, but I was still in denial and wasn’t ready to face the facts. Goddamn, it just let me have my moment! I ignored the call.

He called again.

“What is it?” I said perturbed.

“I knew you were mad. Shit, Nikki, I’m sorry,” he said, sounding frustrated with himself.

I sat up on my bed, propping my head on the mountain of pillows behind me. I sighed and gave in. “You’re right, I’m mad, but not for the reason you think. So, tell me what are you sorry for Mikey? That you kissed me?”

“Well, yeah. Sort of. I mean I shouldn’t have but… Nikki,” he paused struggling with his words.

“What?” I prodded hopefully.

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