Friend-Zoned by Belle Aurora Page A

nod, “Uh, yeah.”
He comments, “This is never easy to tell
someone.” Grab your shit and run like
hell! Quiet, brain.
I quiet my voice and ask, “What is it Nik?”
He blurts out, “I had you investigated.” Uh, what? “Uh, sorry. What?”
I’m so confused.
He looks ashamed and explains. “When we met, and under the
circumstances we met, I was really unsure of you. There have been a
lot of women who have tried to get close to me for my money and I
really needed to know if there was a possibility that you might be
one of those people.”
I don’t have anything to hide from Nik. I actually feel sorry that
he’s had those past experiences and that they’ve made him unsure of
people’s intentions towards him. I’m sad for him.
In saying that, I’m really distressed about the fact that he might
know about Mia. When people find out about her, they start treating
me differently and looking at me with pity. That’s normally the
time I start avoiding them and I really don’t want to avoid Nik.
I like Nik. I
just would have hoped to be able to tell him about Mia in my own
time.
I try to steady my thick voice, “Oh, Nik. I can understand that.
And I don’t have anything to hide from you.” I force a laugh. “I’m
not after your friendship for money.”
Looking shocked, he jolts slightly in his seat and agrees, “Oh, I
know. I just didn’t want any secrets between us. And I wanted you
to see the file yourself.”
Sliding the file over to me, he smiles a small smile, “Knock
yourself out”
I throw him a wary look before opening the
file. Oh My
God! There are at least ten pages.
I’m shocked at how much the person put to this task was able to
recover. There is my birth certificate, my address and phone
numbers, most of my bank account statements ( yikes ), the deed to Safira’s
building ( well that cat’s out of the
bag ), business name certificate which
shows my name registered as Safira Boutique’s owner, and a couple
of pages of personal interests/schedules. Holy Cannoli! This guy was
actually watching me. That’s kind of creepy.
There is nothing about Mia. Nothing about Jace Weathers. Or my Mom.
He doesn’t know about Mom’s inheritance money. I relax
slightly.
Nik is waiting nervously for me to say something.
I hold up the file and ask, “Can I keep this?”
He smiles again, “Of course.”
I smile back, “Thanks, Nik.”
Frowning down at the table, he softly says, “I hope I haven’t
overstepped a line here. I would hate for things to become awkward
between us.” He clears his throat. “I like having you
around.”
I beam on the inside and assure, “No, not at all. It probably
would’ve been weird if I found out some other way but you came
right out and told me. And I understand why you did it.” I chuckle,
“After all, who sends a guy candy?” I cover my face with my hands
and laugh out of embarrassment.
His shoulders slump and the look of relief is obvious on his
face.
He laughs at my reaction. “I have to admit, I thought it was a
little weird but now that I know you I think it was really
sweet.”
I lower my hands, turn my flushed face to his and smile, “So, we’re
still friends right?”
He grins, “Oh, yeah.” Awesome.

Chapter Eight The object of my
affections

    “ He did what?” Lola looks
like she’s about the spew fire.
I answer, “He had me investigated.” I go about my business and try
to ignore the stares from Lola and Nat.
“But, why?” This from Nat. She’s quiet and sounds confused.
Lola chides, “Oh, hell no, this conversation doesn’t go any further
until we have Mimi add her wisdom to it.” She walks up to the
counter, puts the phone on speaker, and dials what I assume is
Mimi’s number.
The phone starts ringing and then we hear Mimi give us her usual
greeting, “Yo.”
Lola clears her throat and begins, “Meems, we’re all here and need
you to be a part of this conversation. The topic up for discussion
is why Nik had Tina investigated.”
Mimi