Blue Fire

11 | This Is Not Over

Nicole

"Why am I even convincing you to come to your own birthday party?" Merlinda glared hard at her phone.

"Honey," came Cy's amused voice. "I understand the unfairness, but at least you know it's not difficult to convince me. All you have to do is show me those perfect tits."

Totally baffled, she stared at the screen. "Cyrus Damien Jordan, I'm driving, you imbecilic perve!" I wondered if she knew a blush covered her cheeks adorably.

"Come on, mama, just unbutton your shirt," unaffected by her outburst, he drawled.

Despite her flushed cheeks, she looked down her nose at him in that regal way only she could pull off and said through gritted teeth, "I'm not unbuttoning shit."

That affected Cy. "Merlinda, no, don't say 'shit'!"

"Then stop acting like you're some sex-starved lunatic."

"I am sex-starved," he pointed out, and earned a withering glare.

"You're impossible to deal with sometimes."

"It's only when I'm horny."

"You're always horny."

"Only when I'm around you. I mean, which guy in his right mind wouldn't be horny if he saw you? You're the sexi-"

Wisely I covered my snort with a cough. Their banter was too funny, and I couldn't hold it in anymore. He was silent for a few seconds, then asked Merlinda quietly, "Is someone else in the car?"

"Of course."

"Don't tell me it's Mrs. Rafferty!" He was alarmed. "I promised her I wouldn't so much as look at you with lust until you're thirty and we're married."

My next snort was so loud I slapped a hand on my mouth.

"Or worse, Marilyn," he begged. "She invited me for Bible studies last month, and I happened to assure her last week that I'm born again and living like a monk."

Merlinda couldn't help but laugh, too. "Don't worry, it's Nicole." She turned the phone stand so the camera faced me. I was met with Cy Jordan's handsome face and his sexy smile.

A rush of fond memories immediately filled me. He was one badass and ruthless spawn of Satan who was head over heels in love with his girlfriend. My mind took me back to last year, when he took me shopping in order to bribe me into telling him Merlinda's favorite things so he could throw a surprise birthday party for her.

When Merlinda found out I was hanging out with her boyfriend behind her back, she assumed the worst. It caused a terrible rift between our friendship and her relationship with Cy as well.

By the time everything had been settled, I'd distanced myself from Cy completely. No random checkups. No sharing of funny reels on Instagram. Nothing.

And without me having to say anything, he understood. He was a good guy and one of the few people who saw past my facade, thanks to the day I hammered him about him having to face his feelings about Merlinda before he totally lost her.

She'd been so smitten with him but didn't know the direction they were headed. I couldn't stand seeing her in so much despair. So I'd met Cy and made him see sense.

"Hey, Nics," he waved, his sexy smile morphing into a genuine one. "Do you see how badly your friend is treating me?"

"Oh?" I said, "I think she's being fair all right."

"Fair? She's bullying me into a party I don't want to attend!"

"You mean your birthday party."