Read Online Friend-Zoned by Belle Aurora - Free Book Online Page A

me.
“Daddy?”
Such a sweet little voice that my heart clenches.
I look up to see a young girl in a wheelchair blocking the doorway.
I recognize her from the photo in Nik’s office.
She is around nine or ten years old and she has pale skin (like me)
and auburn hair which is cut to her shoulders. Her eyes are the
same color as Nik’s. The tooth that was missing in the photo has
almost completely grown back.
This little Angel must be Nik’s daughter.
I’m a little shocked when Max walks over to the girl and kneels by
her chair. He asks, “What is it, baby?”
She holds up a handheld game console and frowns. She whispers
loudly, “I can’t get my game to work.”
He takes the game console from her, kisses her hand and says, “Hmm,
let me see what I can do.”
The little girl rolls her chair into the room and right up to Nik
and me. She looks up at him questioningly, “Hey uncle Nik, is this
your girlfriend?”
He chokes down a laugh and explains, “No, Cricket. This is my
friend Tina. Tina this is my niece Ceecee. She’s named after Mom
but this is easier for us.”
I smile and take her small hand in mine and say, “It’s nice to meet
you, Ceecee.”
Ceecee smiles back at me. She frowns suddenly and declares, “I’m
hungry.”
I kneel beside her and ask, “Would you like for me to make you up a
plate, sweetie?”
She nods and follows me over to the table. I ask, “What would you
like?”
Her face scrunches up in disgust when she sees the Sashimi; she
says with certainty, “I don’t want the fish.”
A bubble of laughter catches in my throat. I tell her, “That’s
okay. I don’t like the raw fish either.” I take a look around the
platters and say, “There’s chicken, egg, and cucumber. Which
ones?”
Her face brightens and she replies, “One of each, please.”
I put some sushi on a plate for her and pop it in her lap. I notice
her legs aren’t muscular at all; in fact they look quite small for
her body. I take a guess that she is possibly a paraplegic.
Max comes back into the room and walks over to us. He sees the
plate on her lap and his eyes go wide. He asks her, “Did you get
that on your own, baby?”
With a mouth full of sushi, she replies, “Nuh uh. Tina got it for
me.” She looks to her father and says, “Don’t you think Tina’s
pretty, daddy?”
Max and I look at each other and laugh. He nods genuinely and tells
her, “Yeah, baby, I think she’s very pretty.”
Ceecee surmises, “I think she looks like a princess.”
Max smiles and claims, “Maybe she is a princess.”
Her awe filled eyes meet Max’s and she questions, “Do you think
she’s a real princess like in my book?”
With a small shrug, he responds, “I don’t know, babe. Why don’t you
ask her?”
She turns her face to me and in a completely serious voice asks,
“Tina, are you a princess from my book?” Oh, my…You are too cute. Shaking my head slightly, I tuck her hair behind her ear. I
tell her, “No sweetie.” Her shoulders slump, so I continue, “But
sometimes when I dress up really nice I feel like one.”
Her eye widen and she whispers, “Me, too. Can we be princesses one
day?”
Without hesitation I answer, “Absolutely.” This is important to her
for some reason.
Eyes still wide, she looks to the floor and whispers slowly,
“Cool.”
She is so small and sweet. I want to hug her. So I do.
I wrap her small frame in my arms and hug her. I lean down to her
ear and whisper, “You don’t have to be a real princess to feel like
one. I’ll show you someday.”
She returns my hug briefly, takes the game console from Max, and
wheels herself out of the room.
I turn to Max, grab hold of his hand and state, “I love her.”
Max pats my hand holding his and smiles as he boasts, “She has that
effect on people.”
“You must be so proud,” I say. My voice is a little thick.
His face turns serious but answers with a soft voice, “I am, doll.
I really am.”
***
    Tina holds onto Max’s hand
and I feel a