Life's Little Curves Ch. 02

AN: This isn't a stand alone story, what's happening makes more sense if you have read the rest.

Thank you for the positive reception you gave on the first chapter. It's going to be a few chapters before there's any sex again, but I promise to make it worth it. A big thank you to both GentWithHandcuffs and curi0us7r4n for all their help. I hope you enjoy.

*

Great. Vince had left a shoe in the middle of the hallway. Neveah found herself kicking her husband's shoe out of the way.

Sure, it was partially her fault for thinking she could make it all the way to their room, in the dark, without hitting anything, but Vince was suppose to clean up today.

Neveah found herself walking up the seventeen stairs, grunting every now and then from the soreness in her body. Finally arriving to her destination, she slowly slid open the creaky door to their bedroom, just to see their empty four poster bed. The sheets were still made up the same way from that morning.

Damn it, she thought as she found herself throwing her backpack across the room. It clashed against the older oak vanity table on the other side of her bed. A tear slid down her cheek as her backpack laid on the ground.

Neveah walked across the room sliding off her dirty scrubs. She dumped them in her laundry bag full of other pairs of dirty scrubs. Today had almost been an easy day for Neveah, there hadn't been anything too crazy for most of her shift. Working at the county hospital, her wages weren't the greatest, but she was one of the few who really enjoyed her job.

With her job being in the emergency room, things were constantly going on. Tonight was the first night in a while where it was mostly quiet for her.

It was a little after eleven when the hospital got a call that an ambulance was coming from a three car pileup . Neveah spent the next two hours keeping the seven patients that came in stable. Once a few were stable they were able to transfer them into rooms, so they could focus on the ones who were too unstable to transfer, yet.

By the time she had pulled up into the garage of their two story condo, it was just after two in the morning, and she didn't feel like getting out of her car. But then she thought about Vince and her warm bed, and the decision wasn't so difficult for her to get out.

That's how she ended up in front of her dresser changing into a camisole set, both exhausted and angry. Exhausted, because her shift had went longer than she thought it would. Angry, because Vince was laying around in a drunken coma somewhere.

This would be the third time in two weeks that this had happened and she wasn't sure of what to do. She couldn't figure out what was the cause of all this. He had been home for almost seven months, and it seemed as if there wasn't any progress between them.

Neveah knew there was problems between them, but she didn't know what they were, or how she could fix them. When Vince first came home things had moved smoothly between them. She would come home make dinner and he would sex her up like no other. It was a simple life, they both enjoyed the way things were, but after being home three months they decided he needed to get a job. The area they lived in was far too expensive for him to go on not working. He just needed a job where he could have the second Saturday of every month off.

Unfortunately, months of searching had done nothing for them. By putting all his focus into finding a local job it seemed as if Vince started to neglect everything else. They hardly ever went out, the house was always dirty, and the sex seemed to have dropped on his list of priorities.

With a sigh she turned toward the door, she caught her reflection in the full length mirror and looked over herself. Maybe it wasn't the stress of everything else going on that made him not touch her. Maybe Vince wasn't attracted to her anymore.

She wasn't gorgeous, but she had always felt pretty enough. Pretty enough to catch Vince when they were twelve. Pretty enough for him to keep her around all these years. Thoughts of doubt start to pass through her head. She wiped the second tear to fall down her cheek tonight, before beginning her search for Vince.

He was nowhere to be seen.

He wasn't passed out on the balcony this time. He wasn't in the bathroom. He wasn't in the filthy kitchen, that he was suppose to clean over the course of yesterday. Vince was finally spotted. His sleeping form was on the couch while cuddling an empty bottle of whiskey. His face looked content in his sleep.

Neveah was so tempted to leave him there on the couch, but deep down she knew that she wouldn't be able to sleep very well without him. She reached down shaking his arms and his body but he didn't budge one bit. She huffed thinking of what she could try next.

*

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*

The soft voice in his ear had Vince grinning from ear to ear. His fingers reach out and pull the sweet voice's body into his. The only thoughts that passed his mind was how soft the creature was. Her skin was so nice and smooth. Vince dropped the bottle from his hands and wrapped his hands around her body.

Vince had been waiting hours for Neveah to come home. When she didn't text him that she was on her way home, Vince automatically started running all these scenarios through his head. Various ones where she was cheating on him, that she had got in a horrible car accident; the list seemed to go on and on.

Vince didn't feel that Neveah was struggling in his arms. In his drunken state, Vince just wanted to hold her close; he didn't realize he was squeezing her half to death. He just wanted to breathe in the her apple scent of her ringlets.

Neveah poked his cheek hard with her pointer finger, startling Vince in his peaceful little world. It took him a few minutes to come to, but Vince soon realized he was nearly suffocating his wife against his chest.

"I'm so sorry, baby," he slurred from his mouth.

She could only glance at him with saddened eyes. It had been so long since he had used any term of endearment to refer to her. And when it finally happens he had to be drunk. Blinking back the tears she slowly unraveled his hold on her.

"It's time for us to head on to bed," she said as she held her hand out.

He smiled a dorky little smirk. The smirk would have made her heart stop had he been sober. Neveah hoped this didn't continue much longer; it was too much work for her to support her husband's heavy frame as they climbed up the stairs. It took them forever to walk up the stairs. Finally making it to the bed, Vince collapsed into the bed on top of the covers. He could only think about how warm and soft the hands that touched him were.

Neveah forced him to roll over to her side of the bed, pull back the cover, rolled him back over, and then tuck him in. She went to the other side to climb into bed.

The moment Neveah climbed under the covers Vince rolled over laying right behind her. Even his drunken stupor Vince needed to be close to her. He needed the heat from her body on his. There was nothing Vince wanted more than to wrap his arms around her body and bring her close, just like how he held her on the couch, minus the pushing and the hitting she had been doing. He settled for her not moving when he scooted in close.

*

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Around ten, Neveah's alarm was going off, telling her that it was time to get up and get ready for her next shift. She groaned softly cringing, the last thing she wanted to do was get out of her warm bed.

It was almost as if Vince sensed that she didn't want to get up, because she felt his arms tighten his hold around her middle, effectively pressing her back against his front. He pulled her tightly against his chest, his large hand splayed over the lower part of her belly, comfortably rubbing small little circles. She couldn't resist turning in his arm and laying her head on his chest.

A broad smile spread across his cheeke as he pulled her closer. He rested his chin over the top of her head, one of his arm cushioning her head. His other hand rubbed over her back and shoulders he could feel the tension in her muscles. Vince felt horrible knowing that he was part of the reason she was so stressed.

'You can't even provide for your wife,' he felt the voice in his head admonishing him. 'Not yet, but one day she won't even have to lift a finger,' he countered himself. Vince would do everything in his power to make her feel better. Today he decided would be the first day that he would start back up his search for a job. Today he would do something to ease her strain.

Ten minutes of just laying in each others' arms sure went by fast.

The snooze on her alarm was going off, and Neveah didn't want to get out of bed. She groaned, not wanting to leave the warmth of her bed to start the day. She rolled out of his arms, but his fingers were reaching out grabbing for her, pulling her back.

"Don't go, Neveah. Just stay home today. Everyone else is always calling in sick," he whispered softly in her ear. He knew they couldn't afford it, but she was oviously burned out.

Vince wanted nothing more than to have her sit in his arms all day. Maybe they could watch a movie and just talk. He finally opened his eyes as he kept his hold on her.

Neveah never took off from work, even when her birthday fell on a work day.

"I can't. We need the money. I can't miss a shift right now. Maybe when we're caught up on everything," she sighed sitting up and shifting out of his arms.

She walked out of the room needing to start her shower water.

Vince had tried to sit up in bed, but he felt the pounding return to his head. Lying on his back was more comfortable, and it gave him a good view, as he watched Neveah running around the room gathering all her things.

Vince's eyes gazed over her supple body as Neveah dropped her shorts to the floor and kicked them off her feet. He couldn't help but smile at the beautiful little show he was getting. He watched as she moved around her shapely bottom moving around as she reached for this and that. He could feel a stirring in his loins as he watched her.

Feeling his constant gaze on her body, Neveah glanced back to see his smiling face. Vince looked her up and down her, the innocent look on her face making her even more attractive.

She gathered up all her things, and ran into the bathroom, locking the door after she set her things down.

Vince just chuckled and shook his head. She had been shy about her body when they first started sleeping together. It was obvious that even with all the changes in her figure she still wasn't confident with her new shape. It was evident in the way she acted, and the things she wore.

The whole time she showered all she could think about was how he was looking at her. Neveah couldn't tell if it was a look of desire or amusement. When she had reached to take off her shirt, his eyes had seared her body with his gaze. It had been weeks since he had looked at her like that, and she noticed, three months on top of that since they had sex.

She shook the thought from her head. there was so much more that she needed to worry about other than that. Deep down Neveah knew that it was just amusement. He couldn't possibly be attracted to her; one day he would be though. She had gained a little bit of weight when he came home, but now she was back on track with her weight loss plan.

In the bedroom, Vince was getting tired of waiting for her to reappear. He decided to finally get out of bed. The show was over. He grabbed at his head at the slight ache in the back of his eyes. God. Did he really drink that much last night? It wasn't even a large bottle, and he knew damn well he wasn't losing his touch.

He went to the kitchen, and was kinda stunned seeing it in the light. The kitchen was filthy. He could see what she had been angry about. He was home all day, every day, and he couldn't even manage to keep the house clean.

At that moment he decided that would be the other thing he would do today, he would make a difference in the house appearance.

*

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Dressed, teeth brushed, and hair up in a ponytail, Neveah looked at herself in the mirror. She couldn't help but feel self-conscious as she looked over herself. She still found herself thinking about the way he let his eyes follow her.

Despite how much she worked, she still maintained her peanut butter brown skin. it lacked any dark spots or any blemishes. Her sleepy chocolate eyes had a natural light to them, and her lips were slightly full. She ran a frozen Q-tip under her eyes hoping it would soothe all the puffiness caused by last night's events.

Walking into their room to grab her shoes, Neveah saw the picture of them. Vince's dark hair was swept back, the white teeth of his smile standing out against his coppery tan skin. She was a size eighteen and Vince had very little muscle definition in the picture. They both changed so much since that day seven years ago. He looked so happy, his smile spread across his square chin, his cheeks red from all the smiling he had done. What really caught her eyes was the two emeralds that stared out at the camera lens. Overall, Vince looked so happy. She wished he could make him feel like that now.

Grabbing her backpack from its spot on the floor she filed out into the hall, smelling a waft of coffee coming from down stairs.

In the kitchen, Vince had made the room up in the short time she had took to get ready for work. He had loaded the dishwasher, swept the floor, and filled her a cup of coffee the way she liked. His back was turned to her as she came in through the door.

He smiled at her his eyes looking over her pretty face.

"Good morning. I- I started getting your lunch together so you wouldn't have to do it," he said as he opened her backpack to put her sandwich and other goodies in. "I also wanted to talk to you about some things."

Neveah hadn't been looking at him, but her head snapped out when he said he wanted to talk to her. She looked scared and that was the last thing that he wanted her to feel. His first action was to pull her close to him. His hands reached out for her, but she would not budge.

Vince couldn't help the sigh that passed his lips.

"Listen, I know you've been really stressed lately. Your hours just changed and you just applied for the Head Nurse position, but I want you to know that I really want to try. I want to try to make everything better for us. you shouldn't have to work as hard as you do. If we wouldn't have moved you would barely be working, but this is a better neighborhood, and we're going to make this work. I promise you that today I'm really going to be looking for a job, and everything is going to get better for us soon. I promise you,"

He didn't know what else to say besides what he was feeling deep down in his heart. He just hoped it was enough for her. Tears tickled the rim of her eyes. she could only look at him with sad eyes.

She could only hope that he would do what he said.

"Thank you," she whispered quietly grabbing her things. She stood on her toes to kiss his cheek. "Have a good day," she said giving him one last look.

*

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'Thank you for the coffee it was great :)', popped over Vince's phone about thirty minutes later.

At least he was able to do something right. But in a way it wasn't fair. She had drank their coffee the same way since they were back in high school studying for finals and midterms.

Vince did a lot of cleaning around the house, he wanted to do all he could to make up for his behavior as of lately.Vince finished the kitchen, knowing that it was one of the main rooms that needed to be clean. The living room was no big deal to clean up. Still, there was things that needed to be picked up all around the house.

He washed her bag full of scrubs and hung them in the closet. In between the loads, Vince filled out some applications online, emailed a few managers, and faxed a few resumes, in hope it would be enough.

When he finally started looking at the job section of the newspaper he realized he wasn't capable of doing much of anything. Almost every position needed some sort of training or degree. Training wouldn't be so bad if they could afford it, but paying for any kind of training was out of their budget. And, well, the degree couldn't be helped. School had never been his thing. Vince had dropped out of school to start working, and eventually went into the Marines to be able to afford school for Neveah.

This wasn't the first time that Vince tried to look since he came home. He just happened to be more motivated. Neveah has been acting differently lately and he knew it mainly had to do with all the long hours, and the way thing have been going between them.

No sex for three months and she hadn't uttered I love you in about the same length of time.

Vince came back thinking that things were going to be amazing. He thought that all the problems they had before would just fade away. He wasn't sure why, but he came home with that mentality, and so far it had only given him a wife that wouldn't be affectionate with him.

Was he really the problem? Was it money? He wasn't sure, but he was afraid talking about it would only make it worse. Somehow he would a find a way to make it work. He couldn't take anymore of waiting for her to leave so he could get off in the shower.

Vince was just at a loss for what to do. At least the house was virtually spotless, and he had tried every job source he could think of. He would try again tomorrow and the day after that and every day until he was able to make her happy again.

*

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Walking in the door she heard a bunch of sizzling and the smell of sautéed vegetables cooking. She smiled looking around at how clean the house was.

Vince definitely had did some work today. She couldn't imagine a better home to come to. Walking into the kitchen Neveah couldn't imagine what woman wouldn't want to come home to a clean home and someone cooking her dinner. Putting her stuff down she waltzed into the kitchen where Vince was over the stove cooking turkey burgers.

"Hey you," Vince had heard her come through the door. "How was your day?"

He turned to get just quick glimpse of her.

"My day went pretty okay. Nothing too bad. I want to thank you for my lunch, though. It was quite delicious.

"How was your day?" she asked as she went over to really see what he was up to.

As she came in close, she smiled as she breathed in the different scents coming from the stove. Vince had a skillet full of vegetables cooking, and on the griddle four large patties were cooking. He watched Nene pick up a spatula and flip the burgers over to check how cooked the other side was.

"Well, as you saw, I did some cleaning up. I even washed most of your scrubs for you and hung them up."

She looked a little shock that he had been so thorough.

"Wow, you didn't have to do that on top of everything else you did--"

"Shhh. I promise you that it was more than fine. I want to be able to help you out."

She smiled at him obviously impressed with the progress he made today. She quickly turned to get plates out of the cabinet. Vince couldn't help but be happy with his progress today, and she was in a good mood. things seem to be going his way.

"I couldn't really find any job posting today. I mean I've put in application at all the local food places, and they keep those for a few months. Everything else requires at least an associate's degree, or paying for some training that we can't really afford."

Vince couldn't look her in the face as he explained it all to her, but he knew it was better to just come straight out with it.

"I promise you I really did try to look. Don't worry I'm not going to stop trying. "

"I know you really did try and I can't ask for anything else," she assured him as they both start to make up their burgers.