I chuckle as more tears come to my eyes because this is my girl. Positive, funny, loving Nichole.
I can’t fucking lose her.
Chapter Twenty-Four
RYOT
Present day . . .
“Do you really want our shirts off?” Banner asks as he grips the collar of his T-shirt.
Nichole smiles and shakes her head. “No, but pull up a chair because I need to speak to you two.”
With Myla on the hunt for apple juice, Banner and I pull up chairs to Nichole’s bed. I sit closest to her while Banner sits just to my left.
She looks at Banner. “I hope you’re not here to express some undying love to me. Please tell me that’s not the case because I am not in the mood to turn a man down.”
He chuckles and shakes his head. “Here as a friend. Here for support. Here for anything that anyone might need.”
“Okay, because we’ve had that conversation. You’re hot, but also not my type.”
He laughs some more. “Best orgasm of your life is not your type? Not sure how that works, but okay.”
“My type is noncommittal, and you and I both know that deep down, you want to commit. You just need to find the right person first. Which by the way . . . how was Kenzie?”
I turn toward Banner. “Who the hell is Kenzie?”
“Kelsey and Lottie’s cousin.” He sighs. “And nothing happened there. That’s why I don’t tell you shit.”
“Wait, you two talk?” I motion between them.
“Sort of,” Banner answers. “We’ll talk about random things. I saw a wine that reminded me of the night we had in my car when she was visiting two weeks ago, which by the way, thanks for the fucking memo on your cancer.”
She just casually shrugs. “It would have ruined the moment. I needed to get some good dick in before the chemo really started to hit me.” Leave it to Nichole to tell you like it is.
“That was some good dick.” Banner winks. “But yeah, I texted her about a bottle of wine, she asked what I was doing, and I told her I was waiting around for Kenzie, who I thought would stand me up. She was twenty minutes late, so I was texting Nichole how annoyed I was about it.”
Nichole turns to me. “I think your brother likes her. And when I say think, I mean, I know he likes her. And he thinks she’s a virgin.”
“Can you not discuss that stuff? I thought we were going to talk about you,” Banner says.
“Why would I talk about me when clearly getting you riled up about Kenzie is more fun?” Speaking to me again, she says, “She’s a total wallflower. Loves knitting, right? And can barely even look him in the eyes. Also, he told me she smells like a book. This hungry beast wants her.”
Even though I know what Nichole is doing—deflecting—I join in because the girl probably wants a break from talking about serious issues for a moment. Hell, if I were in her position, I’d want the same thing.
“Funny, you never mentioned that to me,” I say to Banner, who is now rubbing his hands over his thighs.
“Because there’s nothing really to talk about. She’s, you know, shy and whatnot. Quiet—”
“Beautiful, and really funny when she finally opens up. Smart, quick-witted, and what did you say to me, some of the greatest tits you’ve ever seen?” Nichole adds. “Besides mine of course.”
“You saw her tits?” I ask.
“No,” Banner says quickly. “Just, you know, when she bends over and her shirt opens up a bit. They just look plump and nice.”
“She wasn’t wearing a bra at the reception, and he could practically hang a just married sign off her hard nipples.”
“Nichole,” Banner chastises, which makes her laugh even more.
“Dude, why didn’t you say anything?”
“First of all, there’s not much to say, and second of all, you’ve been going through something with Myla.”
“But you think she’s a virgin? That’s something you would have said to me.”
Banner rolls his eyes. “I don’t know for sure, okay? But she just gives off those vibes.”
“Or maybe she’s a total freak in the bed, as sometimes the quiet ones are the ones you have to look out for.”
“Can we stop talking about Kenzie? Nothing is going on there.”
“But you wish there was,” Nichole says with a smirk. “Don’t lie to me. You were interested.”
“Sure, whatever. Maybe there was some interest, but she blew me off completely, so clearly, she’s not interested in me, and I’m not about to chase.”
Nichole lets out the biggest guffaw. “Oh, Banner. It’s cute how you think that. But you, my friend, were born to chase, especially after the girl who grabs your attention the most. And she has grabbed your attention.”
He leans back in his chair and clenches his hands together. “Is this why you wanted to talk to us?”
“When I saw you walk through that door, yes, that was immediately put on the list,” Nichole answers. “But also, we need to talk about Myla.” The jovial mood Nichole was just in vanishes completely as she says, “I couldn’t tell you how much time I have left, if I have time at all, or if I have some months to spare. My doctor doesn’t think it looks good, but if Myla wants me to try to fight, then I will. I can make some more calls, do some more research.”
“I can help,” Banner says. “I met some leading hepatologists from Johns Hopkins when I was working on a medical app a few years back. I’ll call them and see if they recommend any oncologists whose specialty includes liver cancer.”
“Normally, I’d say I don’t need help because I like to do things on my own, but I think I’ll accept help with a phone call.”
“Consider it done,” Banner says.
“Okay, back to Myla. She’s going to want to focus on my health and make sure I have everything I need, but I think we all know at this point, she can get lost in that. She doesn’t handle stressful situations well. She won’t let me focus on her, so I’m going to need you two to focus on her health, and her mental capacity for taking care of me. And I’m saying this because I need to know that if and when I leave this earth, she will be taken care of.” I go to speak, but she lifts her hand. “I know you will do that, Ryot. You’ve proven yourself from day one. And I know we’ve had our ups and downs throughout your relationship with Myla, but looking back at it all, you’ve always loved her—loved her more than any other man in her life. But you did fuck up.”
“I know. I fucked up, hard.”
“We all have our moments,” Nichole says. “I’m no angel. I think we know that after what happened when Myla’s dad passed.”
“Water under the bridge,” I say.
“Yeah . . . I know,” she says with a smirk, causing me to chuckle. “But I’m glad you’ve realized where your focus has been and that you’re bringing it back to our girl, but I need you to know that’s not where I want all of your focus going. You still need to do the ESPN show.”