AllFreeNovel
Share Us
But it wasn’t just the city she missed.
She missed him.
Nikoderm Rusek, or better known as Niko, was why she felt homesick even though she had returned to the city where she’d grown up.
Niko was her best friend.
She missed his smile, his laugh, the way his eyes crinkled in the corners when he smiled. Niko could be a little gruff, and it had taken a while for her to get used to his quiet nature. He was a man of few words, but that was okay. She usually spoke enough for the both of them. They were complete opposites in every way. She’d grown up in a middle-class family surrounded by love while he’d grown up in a broken home with his brother.
They couldn’t be more different, but somehow, their friendship worked.
“Well, who pissed in your Cheerios?” Mykeisha asked.
“What?” Kizzie blinked. She popped the last of the oversized muffin in her mouth and savored the final bite. “I don’t know what you are talking about. Mandy doesn’t know everything, and how are you reading her column? I thought she was going on vacation.”
Kizzie froze. Mykeisha’s eyes widened, and her smile grew wide.
Busted.
Kizzie was a fan of the column and had never let Mykeisha in on her little secret. She loved reading everything Messy Mandy had to spill.
“You whore. You are an undercover Lunchtime Dish reader!” Mykeisha balled up her napkin and threw it at Kizzie. “All this time you read her, too, and you never let on.”
“I mean, you talk about the column all the time. How could I not check it out?” Kizzie laughed. She bent down and scooped up the napkin from the floor and placed it on the table between them. It was a guilty pleasure that she loved to indulge in. There were many nights she was home alone and found herself looking up the column online. With a glass of wine, it was good entertainment. “It’s not like I’m dating anymore.”
“What? But I thought you were on that new app. What’s it called?” Mykeisha snapped her fingers.
“N2U online dating,” Kizzie grumbled. She had thought she would have luck with online dating since she could screen men before she even spoke with them. But all the crazies still made it through. She had spent many nights complaining to Niko about her dates. He’d listen as he always did, then offered the same advice each time.
Block him.
“And it didn’t work out?”
“Nope, and that’s why I will be forever single.” Kizzie sighed.
But would she? She had always hoped she would have found the special someone by now. She wasn’t getting any younger. Her biological clock was ticking very loudly. At the age of thirty-two, she would have hoped to be at least in a committed relationship. The longest relationship she’d ever had with a member of the opposite sex was Niko.
And there were no benefits.
“What are you doing this weekend?”
Kizzie tried to hold back her smile, but she failed horribly. She had been waiting for this weekend for a while. Niko was coming to town to visit her. It would be the first time they’d seen each other since her move.
“Niko is coming to visit.” She exhaled. Kizzie glanced down at her hands and tried to avoid Mykeisha’s all-knowing gaze.
“Oh, so your man is coming to town.” Mykeisha laughed.
“He’s not my man.” Kizzie reached up and tucked her thick dark hair behind her ear. She glanced up and found Mykeisha eyes filled with her usual deviousness. Her cousin always teased Kizzie about Niko. They were close friends and nothing more.
“I don’t know why you keep lying to yourself. How do you handle him dating and sleeping with other women?”
“What? He can do whatever he wants. We are just friends,” Kizzie said. Her voice sounded hollow even to her ears.
“Have you ever thought that the reason you can’t find the perfect man for you is because you’ve already found him?” Mykeisha asked softly.
Kizzie inhaled sharply at how deep the conversation had turned. She blinked and looked away from her cousin and took in the busy bakery. There were plenty of people enjoying their morning coffee and breakfast. Had she realized that Niko was the man for her?
Yeah, she had. A while ago. She had been in love with him almost from the moment they had first met.
