Teenage
groupie…XXXIII
I
wrestled with my eyes forcing them to open, and as I did I saw Lance smile
overlooking my face as I slept. I stretched out with a pleased smile. “How
long have you been watching me?”
“Not
long…” he ran his fingers along the lines on my face. “You sleep like an
infant…your eyes twitching every now and again.”
“I
do…” I shrieked, shy that I was a messy sleepyhead.
He
nodded.
“Lance…”
I asked suddenly. “Why did you want me to meet my sister so bad? Nick said you
wanted it really bad…why?”
He
turned over on the bed, and put his face to the ceiling, taking in a sharp
breath. “I wanted to know if I should ask her for permission…to…marry her
sister.”
The
words dropped like a bomb in a warring country. I could feel my heart pay a
salute to my empty stomach and suddenly the growling pain started all over
again. Lance wanted to marry me? Why? Why did he want to keep me as his woman
permanently; that was too much love even for me to handle?
“Lance…”
I began, cradling his face in my hands, forcing him to look into my eyes. “You
don’t mean this, do you?”
He
nodded with certainty, shutting his eyes in emphasis. “More than I’ve ever
known anything in my life…more than I know what day it is tomorrow…more than
I know what time it is now…more than I’ve ever wanted anything…all I know
is, if everyday with you is going to be as recklessly engaging as it is now then
I wouldn’t want a day without you. Marry me Nikki…marry me,” he begged
with a certain hunger deep-set in his green eyes.
Before
that moment, I didn’t know what it would be like to have somebody love you
uncontrollably and without reason…and for the first time here I was
experiencing it. It seemed like it was a dream.
I
bit on my lower lip in an effort to hold back the tears of joy.
“I
don’t know what to say.”
“Say
yes…or say you’d think about this…say you’d let me into your heart
again…just say…you’re never leaving,” Lance begged again.
I
reached for his mouth in a caressing kiss, that though it might not have given
him the answer he craved, it was enough to let him know that I still loved him
either way.
That
evening as Lance dressed to join the guys at dinner, I was busy on the phone
trying to get a hold of Nick. I needed some serious consultation with him and I
did need a friend bad. I had completely forgotten about our argument and I hoped
he being my friend would have forgotten as well.
All
my efforts to reach Nick that evening proved fruitless. He was not picking up
his cell phone for some strange incomprehensible reason. Did he perhaps know
that it was I calling on the other line? That’s impossible, he couldn’t tell
it was my number calling. Then, why wasn’t he picking up? I was in a dilemma.
The last number I called was AJ’s cell phone which Brian picked up. I begged
him to put me through to Nick, but he had no idea where they both were, he said
AJ had handed him the phone because he didn’t want to answer a certain call
from a certain young lady. I understood. I left a message for Nick instead.
“Tell
him, that somehow by some strange reason, Lance wants a wife…and I don’t
know if I am ready for that.”
Brian
took the message with a pinch of salt. He was never able to figure me out and
neither was I, so I didn’t expect him to believe that someone wanted to marry
me…Nikki the reckless alcohol-toting groupie.
Just
as I dropped the phone, Lance walked out from the bathroom, dripping in male
cologne and a dark blue Hugo Boss suit that reflected a handsomeness that was
inexplicably fierce.
“I
swallowed hard. “Geez! I thought you said it was only dinner.”
“I
know…but it’s something fancy so I want to look the part.” He glowed.
“Comon…I got your dress laid out for you, don’t worry.” He beckoned me
to the bathroom to show me what exactly he had laid out. In the bathroom, lay a
lovely chiffon strapless floor-length dress that had its color matching his
suit. It was an outfit fit for a lady, breathtaking for a minute one like I.
“Thank
you,” was all I could reply. He knew me too well that I wasn’t big with
gratitude especially in moments when his kindness renders me absolutely in awe.