Christian had been reading Nicole’s diary ever since she joined his site several years ago. Hers was always one of the most interesting because it was not only well written in a coherent manner but also full of wisdom and insight that he found enlightening and even inspiring in some ways. He enjoyed running the diary site and got a kick out of the things people often wrote about, even if it was usually full of the same old poorly written crap that bored him to near sleep. Most of the writers were young, in their teens and twenties. Therefore, you got the usual immature stuff that came with being that age… silly little crushes, unrequited love, unrealistic dreams, hopeless image battles, and sexual encounters that may or may not be just wishful thinking.
When Christian got tired of reading about the high school senior who couldn’t wait to graduate and escape her broken home, the other teenager who snuck a beer up into her family’s attic, and the guy who was getting all spiffed up to go clubbing and hoping to score big, he could always count on Nicole to put a smile on his face. Not everything she wrote was pure fluff and sunshine, though—especially when she hadn’t updated in enough days to make him wonder if perhaps she was ill or something. But then in she came to write about the horrible accident her husband was in that killed him. He looked up the article. Unfortunately, it was no joke. He’d be over-the-hill pissed too, along with depressed. He was no fan of the police either, but for an entirely different reason. One in which no one knew, but few suspected. Or did they? He was never too sure about that one.
One of the things he admired about Nicole, throughout his reading of her diary in which she would write about present events as well as backtrack into the past, was her will to survive. She seemed curious by nature and liked to learn things and understand how people and the world in general worked. She also seemed to be pretty intelligent, even though she worked at home and spent a good deal of time there.
She had been through a lot and was quite a survivor, in his opinion. He liked her liberal and open-minded way of thinking. She seemed to have a unique way of viewing the world and living her life, while at the same time, he realized she was just another human being like anyone else.
The thirty-seven-year-old IT manager and diary website owner Googled Nicole Ellis one time out of curiosity and was surprised at just how good-looking she was. Nicole in jeans… nice. Nicole in a dress… elegant. Nicole in a floral raincoat… stylish. Nicole in a pantsuit… sophisticated. Nicole in athleticwear… sexy.
He always liked women a little older. The best sex he ever had was with a forty-three-year-old woman when he was eighteen years old. While most men were obsessed with youth and thinness, he appreciated the mature ladies with a little meat on them. He didn’t like them grossly obese, but a little extra weight never hurt. He was so tall—at well over six feet—that he liked to have a little something he could hold onto without feeling like he was with a child.
There seemed to be something about Nicole that went beyond just her good looks. He’d be the first to admit that he was normally more interested in sex than a committed relationship, but he had a hard time imagining Nicole as just a fuck buddy. The fact that he felt so bad for her and compelled to reach out and offer to lend a helping hand in any way he could pretty much told him that right there.
After reading about the part where she decided she was definitely going to sell her house was when he stepped forward without giving it much thought. He knew it would be a long shot, but what did he have to lose? Or she? Nicole seemed pretty desperate, so why not take advantage of that? It’s not like he was actually taking advantage of her in a bad way. If he could be of just a little bit of help, even if they never met or shared so much as a single kiss if they did, why not? She had been a great asset to his site and definitely didn’t deserve half of what she’d been through.
So, all the way from the other side of the world, he reached out from Norway to NorCal for whatever it may be worth to either one of them.
ns216.73.216.251da2
