Her Bundles Of Joy

Chapter 2

“Nikki!” Danielle greeted her friend with a hug. Her smile faltered when she saw who had tagged along. “Oh, Leon. You’re here, too.”

Danielle had never been really fond of Leon. The idea of a “perfect” man moping after her best friend made her uneasy. Leon clearly had trouble accepting that Nicole didn’t return his feelings, or else he’d have moved on already. Who stuck around playing the nice guy after having been rejected time and time again? Danielle was certain there had to be something wrong with Leon.

“Yeah, I wanted to hang out with Nikki but she already had plans. I hope it’s okay that I came with her.”

“Yeah, sure. Not like I can just slam the door on your face after Nikki goes inside, right?” Danielle half-joked. Nicole was pretty sure that’s exactly what her best friend would do if given the opportunity. “Anyways, the game’s about to start. Shall we head inside?”

Leon walked in first, Dani and Nicole following close behind. The woman turned to her friend and spoke in a low tone.

“I’m sorry about that.” She pointed to Leon. “He showed up outside the studio and I couldn’t just brush him off after he came all the way from Manhattan.”

“Uh, of course you could have,” Dani rolled her eyes.

“You know how I am.”

“Yeah, I’m well aware. You know, this inability of yours to say no will get you in trouble one of these days. What if someone asked you to sell drugs? You would get arrested simply because you can’t refuse people’s requests!”

Nicole nudged her best friend. They were standing in front of the elevator now. “Don’t exaggerate.”

The Latin woman shrugged. “So, Leon, how’s work? Still working as a personal trainer at that gym?”

“I’m not a personal trainer. I own the gym.”

“Sounds the same to me.”

Leon rolled his eyes. “Whatever. Business is all good.”

“Cool,” Danielle said in an uninterested tone. Nicole had to hold back a laugh at her friends’ interaction. She’d never understand why they couldn’t get along. “Nikki, you have to tell me everything about your gig last night. I still can’t believe you got to work with Brandi!”

“Neither can I,” Nicole gushed. “It all felt so surreal!”

They stepped out of the elevator and headed towards Danielle’s apartment. The first thing Nicole noticed was the delicious smell of homemade empanadas. Her stomach grumbled immediately. She spotted her friend’s husband in the kitchen and skipped over to greet him.

“George, hi! It’s been so long, oh my God.” Nicole smiled as she gave him a side hug.

“Now that you’re working with the stars, I suppose you don’t have the time for your broke friends anymore,” he joked.

George was a handsome guy. He had short blonde hair, icy blue eyes, and a friendly smile. The guy was tall and well-built after being a quarterback in high school—he almost went professional but his father passed away during his senior year and George, beaten and depressed after having lost his biggest hero, ended up losing his scholarship to play for Kansas State. The Ohio-born man then joined the Army and served for many years before he was involved in an accident on duty that cost him his right leg. That was actually how Danielle met him. She volunteered in a physiotherapy clinic in Queens and met George when she was assigned to help him get used to walking with his prosthetic leg. They got really close during that time and the rest was history.

They made a very attractive couple. Danielle had naturally-tanned skin, straight dark hair that reached her lower back, and a body to die for. She was taller than the average woman, only a couple of inches shorter than George, who was pretty tall himself. She had a slim nose and full lips, which Danielle would always say was her Cuban grandmother’s heritage gift.

Nicole was completely sure the married couple would have beautiful babies someday.

At the beginning of their relationship, Nicole had strongly disliked George because it felt like he was taking her best friend away from her. Thankfully, it didn’t take long for the young dancer to realize she was being stupid. She should be glad that Danielle found such a nice man, one that was willing to do anything to make her happy and who loved Dani more than anything. Nicole and George soon became friends as well.

“You know I’d never forget you! Maybe Dani, but never you, George!”

“Stop flirting with my husband and come talk to me, Nikki,” Dani rolled her eyes jokingly. The three of them shared a friendship bond so strong that Nicole and Dani knew nothing would ever happen between her and George. That’s why the trio made jokes of that nature.

Nicole chuckled and took a seat next to Dani, who was sitting by the dining table. Leon had settled himself in the living room and was sitting on an armchair, typing away on his phone. The ebony-skinned man looked out of place and Nicole felt slightly guilty for not giving him much attention.

He invited himself, anyways.

“So…” Nicole started. “What do you want to know?”

“Everything! What’s Brandi like? Is she funny? Is she a diva? What is her perfume? Does she have stinky breath? Is her skin soft? Does her hair smell nice?”

“Why would I know what she smells like? It’s not like I sniffed her hair.” Nicole rolled her eyes. “I can only answer the first three questions. She’s really nice and polite. Yes, she’s pretty funny. No, she’s not a diva.”

“That’s it? One-word answers?” Dani frowned. “Are you really that ungrateful? I can’t believe this is how you repay me.”

Nicole widened her eyes. “Excuse me?”

“If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have uploaded those videos on YouTube, and Brandi would’ve never called you. And now you won’t tell me what she was like? I never thought you’d betray me like this.”