Chapter 25
1394 Words
Chapter 25
A special romance
Carrington
I collected Nikita from her apartment and planned an extraordinary evening for us. It took some digging, but I discovered a game room. Cultural activities are pleasant, but I prefer fun.
We were going to a place that had a giant ball pit, except the balls were all white. I haven’t been in a ball pit since the eighties. I made sure Nikita wore comfortable clothes.
We arrived at the place, and I paid rubles for us. An employee showed us to a room that had an enormous ball pit. After kicking off our shoes, I helped her by pushing her into the ball pit. I realize it’s not romantic.
“Carri!” Nikita tried to get up but kept falling.
I laughed and pissed off Nikita. She found her balance and yanked me into the pit. After that, all bets were off. We chased each other, falling. I tossed her with her landing into the white balls. Nikita jumped on my back, causing us to fall into the pit. I hadn’t had this much fun in a long time, and we giggled a lot.
After an hour, we took a pause and rested in the ball pit as I tossed balls around it.
“I like this,” Nikita replied.
“What? Getting tossed around in a gigantic pit with plastic balls?” I threw a ball.
“No, fun. I study for doctor, and the family disapproves of dating and goofy behavior. Is that correct? Goofy?”
“If you mean fun, yes, that’s correct. My family hates when I pull pranks, but they miss the point.”
“What are pranks?”
“Pranks are jokes you play on people for fun, and they’re never harmful. When the prank is, it’s selfish behavior.”
“Show me prank.”
A smile curled on my lips.
We finished our time at the ball pit and left. I showed Nikita how to prank people, making her laugh. The people chased us, and we holed up in a cramped area as people ran past us.
Once the coast was clear, we roared. I took Nikita’s hand, leading her to food. The thing about fun is it creates an appetite.
We discovered a place with treats. I ordered hot cocoa and donuts for us, and we sat down at a booth.
“Is nice.” Nikita bit into a donut.
“What is?” I sipped my cocoa.
“Fun and pranks. I laugh.” Nikita smiled.
“I’m glad because life is dull as it is. I prefer enjoyment over boring.” I dug into a donut.
“I enjoy you.”
That provoked me to smile. It’s been a while since I beamed. Never in a million years, I figured I would meet someone who would provide me happiness. I thought it was Gloria, but it wasn’t.
*****
The next day, I was sleeping, not realizing someone had come into my hotel room. Someone sprayed whipped cream all over my face, and I popped up to find Nikita holding a can of whipped cream and laughing.
“You’re right. This fun.” Nikita giggled.
I stared at her with brows lifted and whipped cream covering my face. “Oh, you think so?”
“Yes.” She laughed and nodded.
I scrambled out of bed and chased Nikita around the room as she climbed on the bed, and I chased after her. Nikita turned and sprayed more whipped cream at me, and I caught her and tossed her onto the bed.
Nikita giggled.
I wavered over her, covered in whipped cream. “I love you.”
Nikita stopped giggling. “You love me?”
“Yeah.” I gazed at her. It can go two ways. Nikita declares her love for me, or I made a fool out of myself. I was hoping for the first part because the second part sucked.
“I love you, Carri.”
I grinned, then captured her lips with mine and gave her a whipped cream-induced kiss.
Nikita pushed me off as she got up to wash off the whipped cream. I waited until she finished and showered.
After dressing, I came out to Nikita sitting on the lounge. “Thanks for the stickiness, which is like cleaning cement off you.”
Nikita giggled. I prepared us some hot cocoa and joined her on the lounge. “So, I want to talk to you about something.”
Nikita sipped her cocoa.
“I’m returning to the States, and I wish to bring you with me.”
“I have a responsibility and no visa.”
“Well, how about if I get you employment and a visa?”
Nikita contemplated me.
“As in, we wed, which will take care of your visa, until you become a US citizen. The hospitals need doctors, and Mason can help with the paperwork.”
“Marry?”
“It seems sudden, but I don’t want to leave without you.” I shrugged.
“We marry with big ceremony. The family attends. I put on dress. You wear suit. We celebrate.”
“I was thinking of a modest wedding as in you and me.”
I received a face from Nikita. You recognize the expression, which says you’re insane if you expect this wedding to be small.
“Okay, no small wedding.”
Nikita laughed.
“What’s so funny?”
“I joke. You so serious.” Nikita pinched my cheeks. “We have small wedding.”
Note to self. I need to learn Nikita’s sense of playfulness because I can’t tell whether she’s joking or serious. Nikita’s personality was like mine.
*****
3rd person
While Carrington and Nikita planned their elopement, Charles was dealing with impending parenthood. To say Charles was a nervous wreck was an understatement.
Charles hovered over Maggie, attending to her.
“Relax, Charles. I’m not due for a few more months.” Maggie sat on the couch and caressed her swollen belly.
Charles paced the living room. “What if I mess up? What if I make the wrong choices? Our baby needs a dad who doesn’t have his head up his ass.”
Yeah, Charles was still beating himself up over his indiscretion.
“We will learn together. Charles, you screwed up once, and it hasn’t happened again. I forgave you, and it’s time that you forgive yourself.”
You got to love a woman that forgives you for being a dumbass. If you find that woman, keep her because they’re one in a million.
Charles sat down on the couch next to Maggie. “I understand, but I didn’t think I deserve fatherhood or your forgiveness. I accepted that you would walk away from me, and I don’t want our child to make the same mistakes that I did.”
“Teach our child loyalty and love. Show the child the error of their ways when they do something wrong. A baby loves you unconditionally, and you love them the same way.”
Charles smiled. “I married a brilliant woman.”
“Yes, you did.”
Charles chuckled.
Charles could be an i***t, but he had a big heart. Fatherhood will shape his thought process, especially when Charles and Maggie discover a surprise when she gives birth.
While Charles awaited impending fatherhood, Frank’s old lady gave birth to a boy named Jordan Elijah Shaw. Frank showed up to see the baby, acting like the doting father, which was bullshit because Frank couldn’t care less whether he had a kid or not.
He had bigger plans involving the Jones family. While his wife recovered from childbirth, Frank was busy with the Frazier family. He knew the Fraziers hated Carrington’s family because of obvious reasons. Frank’s alignment with the Frazier boys would draw in Charles and Greg Hartley. It would cause a plan so significant that it will affect the upcoming generation.
Hell, hath no fury like someone wanting revenge for landing in prison. There's an issue with this alignment. Frank and the Fraziers didn’t expect an alliance between other people, and these people will prove what loyalty means to each other.
Secrets will emerge, causing issues amongst the Jones family, and it would start with a death. This death was the catalyst for what’s to come later.
- Writer
