I got into the limousine when the party was over already feeling hung over. My head was fuzzy and my thoughts were all jumbled, but I doubted it had much to do with alcohol. I hadn’t drunk enough to even get a good buzz going. Nick was what had done it.
First, that talk we had…it should have made me feel better, but instead, it made me feel like shit. I clearly told him why I couldn’t date him and although he’d looked hurt at the time, he came back inside not long afterwards and drove my point home.
He was slamming down one drink after the other and every time I saw him, it was in the center of a menagerie of females. He was on the dance floor several times, too – each time with a different woman. It had clearly taken him no time at all to get over me, and as much as I knew that should make me feel relieved, it didn’t. Instead, it made me feel sick to my stomach to see him holding those other women close as they danced, or to watch how they all wanted to touch him as they talked. Each time I looked at him, he was flashing his dimples at one of them; I wanted to scream.
I did my best not to let poor Ethan know that I was distracted by his brother, but when the limousine dropped me at home, I knew that I hadn’t succeeded. He walked me up to the door as I said,
“Thank you, Ethan. I had a great time.”
He smiled, and I tried so hard not to think of his brother when his dimples creased. “Good; I did, too.” He took my face in his hand and I thought about when Nick had done the same thing earlier. I had wanted him to kiss me so badly I could taste it. He didn’t, though, and now neither did Ethan. Instead, he looked into my eyes and said, “I like you a lot, Karli, but I don’t want to be a stand in for my brother.”
“Oh no, Ethan! That’s not what you are.”
“I don’t think it’s a conscious thing on your part. But, anyone that had eyes this evening just had to look at your face and know how much you want Nick. The same look was on his face every time he looked at you. Let me tell you something, Karli. In the twenty-four years that I have known my brother, I have seen lots of women look at him the way you do, but what I have never seen is him look back at them the way he looks at you. I saw something in him tonight that I’ve never seen before, and I never even knew existed. Nick probably had no idea it existed, either, until you came along. I think you would be good for him.”
“First of all, I’m sorry, Ethan. I didn’t realize that I was so obviously mooning over him. Second of all, I really like you, too—”
“But you’re ten times more attracted to my brother.”
I nodded. He deserved the truth. “I don’t know why. I don’t want to be with a fighter. I want someone with a nice, safe occupation like…”
“Defending murderers?” he asked with a crooked little smile. He was so handsome and sexy and smart…why couldn’t I want him the way I wanted Nick?
I smiled, too. “Yeah, like that.”
“He’s a good person, Karli, and he’s smart and funny. Did he tell you he graduated third in his high school class?”
I didn’t think Nick was stupid, but third in his class pointed toward academically gifted and that did surprise me.
“No, I didn’t know that. It doesn’t change the fact, though, that he’s in this very high profile position that just seems to feed every narcissistic fiber in these men’s bodies. To this day, I honestly believe that my last boyfriend loved me. The temptations were just everywhere, though, constantly. It was too much for him and he thought he could taste some of that forbidden fruit and I’d never know. The night I caught him only made me wonder how many times I hadn’t. I don’t want to live like that. It would just chip away at my self-esteem and right now, I like myself.”
Ethan nodded. “I can’t argue with that. I will say that my little brother is one of the most loyal people I’ve ever known in his other relationships with friends and family. But, that’s as much of an argument as I’m going to put up for him.”
He smiled, but his eyes looked sad as he said, “You do know that I can’t continue to see you, knowing how my brother feels, right?”
I smiled back at him. “Yeah, I know. Thank you, Ethan.”
He softly touched his lips to mine. “Thank you, Karli. If you ever want help with any of your school work or you’d like to grab lunch or something, call me. I’d like for us to be friends.”
“Thanks, Ethan. I will.”
I felt better after talking to him. Dating him would have been so unfair, considering I couldn’t make myself stop thinking about his brother. Dad was asleep when I went into the house, but Kevin was still up and sitting in the dark in the living room.
“Hey, Kevin.”
He looked surprised like he hadn’t even heard me come in. “Oh, hey, Karli.”
“You okay?”
“Um, no. Not really.”
I went over and sat down next to him. “What’s wrong?”
He made a face and said, “I probably shouldn’t tell you this.”
“Me? What does it have to do with me?”
He sighed. “Well, earlier tonight I went out with some of the guys from the gym. When I got home, I didn’t see Charlie anywhere in the house but the door was unlocked so I went looking for him to make sure he was okay. I started to open the garage door and that’s when I heard him talking. He was saying my Mom’s name. I know I shouldn’t have, but I eavesdropped in on the conversation.”
I raised an eyebrow. “So what were they saying that has you so upset and worried about me?”
“I don’t know how much you know about your dad when he was younger. Nobody wants to think bad things about their parents.”
“Kevin! Just tell me what’s going on.”
“Your father and my mother were talking about me…being his biological son.”
My mild headache was beginning to feel like a thousand drumsticks beating on things in there all at once. “My dad said that you’re his son?”
“Yeah, he was telling her to stop worrying, that he wasn’t going to tell me. Mom made a fuss when Dad suggested I come out here. It got me thinking about the last time you and Charlie visited us in Philadelphia; do you remember that?”
“Yeah, I was about fourteen at the time, I think.”
“Yeah, and I was eleven. I never told anyone this, but I walked in on them kissing once during that trip. Dad was at work, and you and I were supposed to be watching that hockey game at the park; remember?”
“I do remember the hockey game because…well, I remember it.”
He nodded. “I know you had a thing for that goalie, Mark. Anyways, do you remember I had to run home and get my jacket? I was freezing, and I’d left it at home on top of my bed?” It was beginning to come back to me.
I nodded and he went on. “I went in the back door. The house was quiet and I thought that was weird since Charlie and Mom were both there when we left. I heard a noise in the bedroom and my over-active imagination had a robber in the house and them tied up with guns to their heads.
“I tip-toed down the hallway and stopped dead in my tracks when I saw them. My mother’s shirt was on the floor, but she was still wearing her pants and bra. Your dad was kissing her and he had his hands on her butt. I never told anyone because I was embarrassed about it. But this, Karli…what if this whole time the man I thought was my father wasn’t and this other man that I looked up to was nothing more than a cheater?”
He seemed to forget that cheater was the man I looked up to my whole life. My Dad. I felt sick. If this was true, my own father was proof that these glorified jocks could not be trusted.
That last time we were in Philly was his last fight. Women had always been all over him the way they are with Nick. I used to hate it even when it was my father they were throwing themselves at. But he never let on in front of me that he was a player, and even if he had been, he was single at the time. But Kevin’s mom wasn’t, and my dad was his dad’s best friend since college. I hate thinking the man I loved so much was capable of that kind of betrayal. I’d rather hope Kevin misunderstood what he heard…and what he saw all those years ago.
“What do you think about taking a DNA test before we tell anyone anything? We can buy one at the drug store and Dad’s DNA is all over this place. If it’s negative, he’ll never have to know.”
“Okay, but if it’s positive, then what?”
“It’ll take a few weeks to come back. If it’s positive, then we’ll deal with it, Kevin, together. Okay?”
“Okay. I’m sorry to bring you into this. Maybe it’s a moot point anyways, you know? I’m nineteen years old, almost twenty. My dad was a good dad and all I ever knew. What would I even do with this kind of information?”
I was thinking the same thing myself. “Why don’t we wait and not worry about it until we get those results?” I told him. “Let’s keep this all between us until then and let’s promise we’ll sit down and talk about it then before either of us talks to Dad. Deal?”
“Yeah, deal.” Poor kid looked like a nervous wreck. I didn’t blame him. I was nervous, too. I had put my father on a pedestal all of these years. Now I was faced with the prospect of being the one to knock him off of it.
I woke up Sunday morning with a sense of dread for two reasons. One, I’d promised Kevin that I would buy the DNA test and two, I promised Dad I’d help out at the exhibition fight. I was strangely both looking forward to seeing Nick and not looking forward to it. That didn’t make any sense and my brain and heart were both in turmoil.
I showered and dressed before going out to make the coffee and found Dad in the kitchen. As soon as I saw him, I had a visual of him and Kevin’s mother together. It made me sick to my stomach. I forced myself to return his smile.
“Good morning, sweetheart.” He took my mug out of the cabinet and poured me a cup of the fresh-brewed coffee. “How was the masquerade ball last night? Did this Ethan turn out to be Prince Charming?”
“Actually,” I said, taking a sip of my coffee and a seat at the table. “He turned out to be Nick’s brother.”
“Nick? Storelli?”
“Yeah, small world, huh?”
“I can’t believe it. He seems so…I don’t know, they just seem so different. You didn’t have any idea?”
“No. Ethan’s last name is Grant. Nick uses his mother’s maiden name. I was surprised, but once I found out, I wondered how I hadn’t noticed the strong resemblance between them.”
He took a seat at the table with his coffee, too. “You’re not going to let that keep you from seeing Ethan, are you? He seems like such a nice young man. Perfect for you.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. I was angry with him and suddenly realized that I was spoiling for a fight. “And, Nick isn’t because he’s a fighter, right?”
He made a face. “I don’t have to tell you that these boys are all players, Karli. Nick Storelli is full of himself and doesn’t go anywhere that women don’t flock around him. I don’t want to see you get hurt.”
“Why is it that women can’t flock around a man and that man leave them alone? I mean, you were a famous fighter in your day, Dad. You weren’t a player, were you?”
“We’re not really talking about me. Do you want some breakfast, honey?”
“I want you to answer my question. Were you a player?”
“Yeah, I was. But I was single and I never led women to believe it would be anything but a one-night stand.” My stomach rolled at the very idea of my father as a sexual being, but I pushed on.
“Did you ever worry that one would get pregnant and you’d be saddled with another kid?”
“I told you not to talk about yourself that way. I wasn’t ‘saddled’ with anything. I had the privilege of being your father.”
My heart thawed slightly. “Thanks, Dad, but seriously, didn’t you worry about the possibility?”
“Well, if you must know, I used protection.”
“Condoms?”
“Karli, what is this about? You’re not pregnant, are you?”
“Oh, hell no! I’m smarter than that, Dad. But, we were talking about you.”
“Yeah, I used condoms.” He got up and turned his back to me to me. “You want toast?”
“No thanks. I don’t have an appetite today.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
NICK
I was ushered into the back door of the event center by a bunch of guys who were bigger than me. The place was packed already with a roaring crowd, press, and cameras. This was an annual event that they put on for Halloween.
I was in it last year, but I wasn’t a headliner like I was this time. I was fighting a retired fighter, but he went out on top as a heavy weight champion and had only retired a year earlier. The press was saying that how I do tonight might indicate how I would do in my own title fight in less than two months.
I’d watched this guy’s fights over and over. I memorized every one of his moves and felt like I was ready. I wasn’t nervous at all about the fight, but the idea of being watched on Pay-Per-View by millions made me a little nervous.
It was compounded by the fact that I’d woken up after a restless night with anxiety filling my chest over what happened with Karli. Our talk had put any hopes I had of getting together with her to rest for good, and it was killing me.
This was the first time I had ever imagined a future with a woman and I’d been shot down. I felt like my heart was breaking and that was an entirely unfamiliar feeling for me. The worst part was that it was not for something I had done, but for something she thought I might or might not do in the future. It wasn’t fair and I knew eventually all of this hurt and anxiety would turn into anger. I was almost looking forward to it, hoping the anger would be easier because this just made me feel pathetic and I hated that.
I was led to the locker room, and the atmosphere inside there was almost as explosive as the one out front. It was filled with fighters and trainers. I said hello to Jonah and a few other guys as I made my way to the back where I could see the top of Charlie’s head. I passed Kevin on the way. He was sitting on a bench, staring at a spot on the wall.
“Hey, buddy; you okay?”
He looked up at me and for a few seconds he looked like he was trying to remember who I was. “Nick…yeah, I’m okay. Did Karli tell you?”
I glanced over at Charlie. He was busy chatting up another trainer, so I sat down next to the kid. “Did Karli tell me what?”
“That she might be my sister; what else?”
“Excuse me?”
“Shit. She didn’t tell you, did she?”
I laughed nervously. “No, she didn’t tell me anything remotely close to that.”
“Fuck. I’m sorry, man. I’m a mess.”
“So…what makes you think that Charlie might be your father?”
“I eavesdropped on a phone conversation he was having with my mom and it made me remember something I saw years ago. I don’t want to believe it, you know? I mean, nobody wants to believe their mother is a cheater.”
And, I’d just bet hearing her father might be one wasn’t sitting well with the girl who didn’t want to be with a player. Shit. I was struck with the urge to go find her and make sure she was okay. But that wasn’t my place…was it? As a matter of fact, by now it might be my brother’s place.
I hadn’t talked to Ethan since I saw him leave with Karli last night. My tossing and turning had been due mostly to images in my head of what they’d done in the back of that limo on the way home. I have no idea if my brother gets it on with his dates in the back of a limo, but it was definitely something I might do.
“Nick!” Speak of the devil, Charlie was yelling at me. I looked up and he was waving me over.
“I better go see what he wants. You’re going to be okay no matter how this turns out, all right?” Kevin nodded. “I mean it. Get this out of your head before you go out there and get the shit beat out of you by some guy with a clear head.” My inner voice said, “Look who’s talking.”
“I will. Thanks, Nick.”
I clapped him on the back and then went over to where Charlie was. We spent a half an hour talking strategy before we heard the tempo of the music out front change and Charlie pressed against his ear monitor and then said, “Mikey’s up; I have to go out there.”
“Okay, tell him I said good luck.”
Mikey was a first-year fighter that Charlie had taken on as a favor, kind of like me. But unfortunately, Mikey was turning out to be more brawn than brain and I had a feeling he was going to get hurt before he got it through his head that this wasn’t all about just trying to beat the snot out of your opponent. From the look on Charlie’s face, he had the same concerns. His lips were tight as he went out through the locker room door.
After he was gone, I got changed and went through my warm-up and stretching routine and then I found a quiet corner and sat back and closed my eyes. I was up last and the waiting was only making me more anxious. I sat there and tried to call up the memories of the meditation seminars I’d taken a few years ago to try and deal with the anger I had toward my father. I concentrated on my breathing and tried to shut out all of the external noise, as well as the internal chaos. I was not sure if it worked, or if I actually fell asleep, but the next thing I knew, Charlie was hollering at me again. It was show time.
Charlie helped me wrap my hands and feet and put on my green, satin robe that said, “Tricky Nicky Storelli” on the back. As I followed him out the door, I heard them playing “Hurt” by Johnny Cash. I smiled. It was my challenger Vic’s song. The guy loved Johnny Cash and I’d never seen him in anything other than black from head to toe.
There was a pause in the music and then the announcer loudly said, “Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome three-time heavyweight champion, Vic Mendez!” The crowd roared and a lot of them got to their feet as Vic was led down the row between the seats and into the octagon. The music was loud, the crowd was even louder, and the atmosphere was pure electricity.
I slipped my hood on and stepped in between two gigantic bodyguards just as my song, “Go Hard or Go Home” by Wiz Khalifa came on. Charlie smacked my butt and left me at the door. The announcer introduced him as he jogged toward the octagon and then it was my turn. “Ladies and gents, please welcome our hometown boy, ‘Tricky Nicky Storelli!’ He’s here to challenge Vic Mendez only two months before his own title fight in December.”
The crowd was roaring and I tried to block everything out except the pictures in my head of Mendez’s fights and his signature moves. I meant to win this fight today and if I lost, it wasn’t going to be because I had too much extraneous crap inside of my head. The door to the octagon was opened and I was ushered into it.
I was thankful for the bright lights focused on the octagon, because at least that way I couldn’t see faces in the crowd. I was afraid if I saw Karli’s pretty face, the thin string I was holding onto would snap.
After the announcer finished listing out both mine and Mendez’s accomplishments, the ref called us to the center of the ring and gave us his spiel. We had both heard it a thousand times before, but we pretended to listen until he said, “Okay, gentlemen, I want a fair fight.”
Vic and I bumped gloves, and he smiled at me. I wasn’t up to a smile. I tried, but I think it may have come out as more of a grimace. I went over to where Charlie was and sat down. He popped my mouth guard into my mouth and rubbed my shoulders as he talked.
I tried to process it all. This past couple of weeks, I’d accepted that Charlie had some outstanding insights, and if all I was ever going to have was my career, I was going to be the best damned fighter that the MMA ever saw.
The card girl walked across the octagon with her “Round One” sign held up high. She was wearing a bikini and six inch heels, and her body was tight enough to snap a quarter off of, but she didn’t hold any interest for me. It was so fucking weird to want only one woman. It was completely foreign and would take a hell of a lot of getting used to.
Charlie nudged my shoulder, and I stood up. The buzzer rang and I flew out like a hurricane. I was throwing punches before Mendez even met me in the center. It was his move, and I wanted to beat him to it.
He stepped right into one of my right hooks. It caught him square on the chin, but he immediately shook it off. I aimed for his torso then, and my fists slammed into his hard body over and over as he ducked low and swept out his feet, trying to connect with my legs and take me down.
I wasn’t going down. If I went down on the ground with this man, I’d lose. I moved fast so that only the edge of his foot connected with one of my legs. It knocked me off balance slightly, but I caught myself before I went down.
I turned slightly, trying to fake a retreat. It worked and once again, I caught him off guard. I used my leg this time. I swung around with a round-house and caught him hard on his upper thigh. He stumbled back and reached out for me. I jumped back again and waited to see if he was going to go down, but he didn’t. I went back at him with my fists and as soon as I was within reach, his big fist caught me on the side of my face.
It knocked me backward and while I was trying to regain my balance, Mendez wrapped me up in a clinch and pushed until my back was up against the mesh and then drove a heavy knee into my side. I pounded his sides with my fists as he tried to push my body down hard onto that knee.
As he pulled, he moved his body back slightly, just enough for me to bring my right arm up and catch him in an uppercut to his chin. It seemed to stun him for a few seconds. I had to use all my strength to take ahold of the big son of a bitch and spin him around. He was fifteen years older than me, but his body was rock solid still and he hadn’t lost any of his moves.
I managed to get his back into the mesh, and for the next few minutes, I was in charge. I held him there and we struggled until I saw the referee approaching us to the left. Just before he got there, Mendez brought his elbow up and it collided hard with my cheekbone. It hurt like a fucking bitch and I felt my skin split open and blood begin to trickle down my face. The ref broke us up just as the buzzer sounded. Fuck.
I sat down on the bench and Charlie poured Gatorade into my mouth before he said a word. Then he took care of the cut on my face and said, “You’re doing good, kid. Just stay on your feet. You’re quick, and those punches are deadly.”
Once again, I was surprised by how much Charlie’s praise actually meant to me. I watched through blurry eyes as the card girl came around with the Round #2 card. I stood up and wobbled slightly before catching myself just as the buzzer sounded.
I went back out fast and with a vengeance. I wanted this fight over. The crowd was deafening, but it only registered every now and then.
Mendez came out punching this time. A couple of them connected, but not hard. I deflected most of them and then reached out quickly and grabbed his big head on either side of his ears. In one, big motion, I brought up my knee and brought down his head. Blood and sweat blew out across the mats and soaked my leg. I pounded his face again and again before he found his strength and pushed me back hard with both hands. It wouldn’t have taken me down, but I slipped in his fucking blood.
As soon as I was down, his big foot caught me on the side of the head. I saw stars. For several seconds, I was disoriented and slightly confused. I saw his foot coming back at me and I struggled quickly to my feet. As soon as I was up, he threw a punch. I deflected it, but then he threw another and another. I had to walk backwards, slipping and sliding in the blood and sweat until once again, I felt my back up against the mesh.
I was dizzy, but I knew if he beat on me much more, I was going down. I waited until he looked like he thought he had me until I threw out a hard right. He caught it, but it gave me the time and leverage I needed to bring up my leg and kick him in the stomach. He doubled over and then fell back.
I moved fast, straddling him and pounding his head into the floor. He brought his hands up and tried to use them to push me off. I changed strategies and started pounding his ears with my fists. He moved his arms to the sides of his face and covered them. I just used those massive muscles, pounding them into his head until the buzzer sounded again.
I climbed off of him and looked down. He looked completely out of it. I reached my hand down, but he just looked at it. Charlie was yelling at me, so I went to my corner and let Vic’s trainer help him up off the floor. It’s a good thing the trainer was a big guy because the trainer had to practically carry him back to his corner. I almost felt bad, but then Charlie started messing with the slice on my cheek again. I wondered if it was going to scar.
When the third round started, Mendez looked less confident than he did before. I went in fast again, but this time I began circling low. Vic’s trainer was yelling at him that I wanted to take the fight to the ground. Nothing was further from the truth.
Vic and I circled each other until he finally struck out at me. I ducked and as soon as I did, he grabbed for my legs. I jumped back out of his reach and his momentum threw him forward onto the mat.
The crowd was screaming at me to go down on top of him. I didn’t. I stepped back and waited for him to heave his big ass body up off the ground. Once he did, I was ready. I started throwing punches one after the other. I was relentless and the crowd was chanting my name and telling me to take him down.
Mendez managed to grab hold of one of my biceps and used it to drop me to the mat. He came down on top of me, and I tried to scramble out from underneath him. He went to straddle me, but I reached up and put my hands on the back of his thick neck and held on tightly as I lifted my legs and wrapped them around him. I used the strength in my lower body to flip us so that I was on top.
Mendez was twisting like a snake and one of his arms was trapped underneath his heavy body. I clamped my legs down like a vice and he grunted loudly in pain. I did it again and again until finally I watched his free arm come up off the mats about two inches and then drop down. He was tapping out.
I just beat the fucking heavy weight champion. I’ll be damned.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, your champion, Tricky Nicky Storelli!” The ref held up my arm and turned me in a circle.
The crowd was wild and my heart was hammering in my chest and my vision was blurred to the point of blindness, but I was smiling from ear to ear. I’d just done what no other fighter had done in three fucking years, including the one I was fighting for the title in December. He won his title after Vic retired in a fight between him and the other top contender. But he’d never beaten Vic.
In less than two months, I could be what I’ve dreamt of for the past six years, what I’ve nearly killed myself for some days: the heavy weight champion. The only way it would be better would be if I could hope that Karli would be there when I won.
As Charlie’s voice and the roar of the crowd buzzed in my ears, I had an epiphany. I finally realized what it was about Karli that I couldn’t let go of.
Before I met her, I had never been happy. I had thought I was. I was a party animal with a different woman in my bed any time I wanted one. I never had to worry or think about money, and my face and body graced every building in town. I used to tell myself I had everything that a man could want…and then I met Karli and realized that what I wanted was someone to be there for me, finally.
That’s what I never had, not growing up and not even after I was grown. I never had someone to go home to or someone to tell my problems to or share my victories with. I didn’t even realize how badly I wanted that until I met Karli. Now, I wanted it so badly that I craved it like a drug. I craved her. And in that moment, I made a promise to myself: I wasn’t giving up. Karli thought I was a player. She thought I was going to break her heart. Somehow, I had to prove to her that she was wrong.
There was suddenly a camera in front of me and a microphone in my face. I did what I do, what I had to do, for my job. That’s what I needed to make Karli understand; that’s all this was: a job. The groupies, the autographs, the appearances, the endorsements – they are all an unavoidable part of it. But that was it, part of a job with lines that I would never cross if I had a woman like Karli to go home to. Somehow I had to make her understand.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
KARLI
I had seen dozens of fights in my lifetime, but watching Nick’s had been the hardest for me. I winced every time that big fist connected with his pretty face or that perfect body. I was happy for him when he won, though, especially since he looked so happy.
“I’m going to congratulate him,” Michaela said. She’d come with me today for moral support. If I had a choice, I would have skipped it altogether, but Dad insisted I be there. My work was done now, though. The clean-up crew would take care of the rest. I didn’t plan on sticking around and coming face to face with Nick. “I never got a chance to thank him for saving me that night at the frat house.”
“Okay, I’ll meet you out front.”
“Really? You’re not going to at least congratulate him?”
“No. I’m trying hard to stop doing things that lead him on.”
She grinned. “Like sex in the break room?”
I gave her a sarcastic smile and said, “Yeah, like that.” Rolling my eyes, I told her, “Don’t be too long. I’m hungry.”
“Well, I better get in line then because his groupies are already piling up.” I glanced back up at the octagon. Michaela was right; the line to see him and get an autograph was already at least twenty deep. I watched her go over and get in line before I snuck out the side door and literally ran into Ethan. He was smaller than Nick, but he was solid. It was like hitting a brick wall. He had to grab onto my arms to keep me from falling backwards.
“Whoa! Is there a fire in there?”
I smiled. “Hi, Ethan. Did you just get here?”
“No, I saw the fight. I had to step out while the crowd was going insane to take a phone call. My little brother did good, huh?”
“Yeah, he did great. It was a little hard to watch sometimes, though.”
“I’m getting better at it,” he said, “But I know what you mean. I was going to see if he wanted to go out for a celebratory dinner. Do you want to join us?”
“Um…no, thank you. I actually have plans with my friend Michaela.”
“She’s welcome, too.” People were crowding out of the event center and bumping into me. Ethan steered me over away from the doors and when we found a spot that we wouldn’t get run over, he said, “I thought we agreed to be friends.”
“We did, but I’m just not sure Nick and I can manage the friends thing.”
“Sure you can; that’s why you do things in a group.”
“What kinds of things are you going to do in a group?” I looked toward Michaela’s voice. She’d come up behind us and she was giving Ethan a curious once-over. He turned and looked at her, and I almost heard the sounds of angels singing as their eyes met. I somehow managed to keep a straight face as I said,
“Ethan Grant, this is my friend, Michaela Taylor.”
“Well, hello there.” Michaela gave him one of her prettiest smiles as he held out his hand. She took it and as they shook, he said,
“It’s nice to meet you, Michaela. That’s a really pretty name.” She giggled. I almost rolled my eyes. They were still holding onto each other’s hands. I cleared my throat and said,
“We should get going, Michaela. I’m really hungry.”
Ethan let go of her hand and said, “I was just telling Karli that you and her were invited to celebrate Nick’s win with us over dinner.”
I tried to convey my thoughts about that to my friend with my eyes, but she wouldn’t even look at me. “That sounds nice,” she said. “I was waiting in line to see Nick, but it was taking so long that his bodyguards finally called it.”
“Oh, that’s too bad,” Ethan said, “But you’ll get to see him in person and get your autograph if you go with us to dinner.”
“Michaela…” I tried. It was no use. The only things she could see at the moment were Ethan’s blue eyes and dimples.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
“Well, Santori’s is Nick’s favorite. He loves Italian food, so I thought I’d take him there.” He glanced at me then and said, “Besides, it’s off the beaten track and we can probably eat in peace without Nick’s groupies harassing him.”
“I love Santori’s,” Michaela was saying. She was being honest, at least. It was one of her favorite restaurants.
“Good. It’s settled then.” He turned to me and as if I were an afterthought, he added, “What do you think, Karli?”
What was I going to say? Michaela had already decided we were going. I felt like I didn’t have a choice. But I wasn’t sure I wanted one. The idea of seeing Nick sent a thrill straight through me. “Sure, as long as Nick doesn’t mind.” Ethan smiled.
“He’s not going to mind.”
The place was almost completely emptied out before the fighters started to emerge. When I saw Kevin come out, I excused myself and went over to talk to him. It wasn’t like Michaela and Ethan would miss me. They seemed to have already hit it off.
“Hey, Kevin!” The poor kid was looking around at a few of the other fighters that had already come out. They were all three surrounded by scantily clad women clamoring for their autographs. No one but me seemed to notice Kevin come out. The loneliness I could see in his eyes was almost palpable in the air. Maybe it was a sibling thing. For his sake, I hoped not.
“Hey, Karli.”
“Great fight.”
He smiled. “You’re such a liar, but thank you.”
“I’m not lying. It was your first real fight, right?”
“Well, when I was fighting underground, I beat bigger guys than that one.”
“Ask my dad.” As soon as I said “my” dad, I hesitated. He shook his head.
“You don’t have to do that, Karli. He’s your dad, no matter what.”
“Anyways, I was going to say that size is only part of the reason a fighter wins a fight. I’m sure he’s gone over that with you and I’m sure you know it. You were distracted tonight. It happens. It won’t happen next time.”
“Thank you, Karli. Can I give you a hug?”
“Of course.” We hugged and while he was squeezing the life out of me, he said,
“Blood or not, I already feel like you’re my sister.”
“Good, I always wanted a dorky, little brother that I could beat up.” He laughed. I was happy to see him smile. I was even happier when a cute, petite girl approached him. She had blue hair and a nose ring and was wearing a tank-top with a flowy skirt. She looked like a pixie.
“Hi,” she said, shyly.
“Hello,” I said. When Kevin didn’t say anything, I elbowed him in the ribs. He cleared his throat and said,
“Hey.”
“My name is Elaine,” she said softly. “I just wanted to tell you that I thought you were amazing, Kevin.” I was glad I was wearing my sunglasses because he lit up like the sun. I smiled at Elaine and then at him and smacked him on the arm.
“See you at home later, bro.”
He laughed. “Yeah, see ya.”
By the time I got back over to where Michaela and Ethan were still flirting hot and heavy, Nick was coming out the door. Suddenly, there was a flurry of female activity and the big bodyguards flanked him and held them back slightly to keep them from jumping on him. I saw him smile and my heart sped up, and then his eyes met mine and it began to beat so hard in my chest that I thought it might explode.
He said something to one of the guards, but I couldn’t hear what it was. The guard stepped in front of him and made a path through the adoring fans for Nick to walk through. He was blowing off close to fifty women for me because he thought it was what I wanted. It wasn’t until that moment that I realized how unfair I’d been to him.
“Hi, Karli. Did you see the fight?”
“I did. You did great.”
“Thanks.”
“It was hard to watch,” I admitted as I looked at the bandage on the side of his face. “How is the cut?”
“Sore, but I’ve had worse. I just hope it doesn’t take away from my astonishing good looks.”
I laughed. “Yeah, me, too. Hey, Ethan asked Michaela and I to join you guys for dinner tonight. Do you mind?”
“Absolutely not,” he said. “I’d like that.”
“Can I ask you a favor first?”
He grinned, almost seductively. I tried not to shiver. “Absolutely,” he said.
I smiled back and shook my head at him. “Not the kind of favor you’re thinking of.” He stuck out his bottom lip and I laughed. “Will you sign at least a few autographs before we go? Those poor girls look crushed.”
He looked over at the group of women still staring at him and glaring at me and then he looked back at me, confused. “Are you encouraging me to sign autographs because it doesn’t matter now that you decided not to be with me?”
I shook my head slowly and said, “No. I’m asking you to do it because I decided that I did. If I’m going to give this a shot…if you still want to…I’ll need to start by trusting you.”
“You won’t be sorry,” he said with a gorgeous smile. He turned back toward the women and then looked over his shoulder and said, “Oh and I still want to – badly.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
NICK
I was not sure what happened to change Karli’s mind, but I was thrilled enough that it didn’t matter. It was hard for me to concentrate on signing autographs and focus on the questions the women were asking me. All I could think about was Karli.
She was going to give me a chance. She was going to actually date me, and for the first time in my life, instead of feeling suffocated by the idea of a girlfriend, I felt ecstatic. I signed about twenty autographs and finally begged off, telling the rest of them to leave their names and addresses with the security staff and I would make sure they all got some kind of autographed souvenir, and then I went over to where my brother, Michaela, and my girlfriend were waiting. I smiled at the thought of it: Nick Storelli with a girlfriend. Imagine that.
“Geez, are you finally ready?” Ethan asked. “I’m so hungry I’m about to chew off my arm over here.”
I casually draped my arm around Karli’s shoulders. She didn’t move away. Instead, she stepped in closer to my side. Michaela looked shocked. Ethan looked amused. “I’m ready. But you know, bro,” I told him as we walked toward the car he had waiting, “it wouldn’t hurt you to miss a meal or two.”
“Fucker,” he said with a laugh. “I bet you outweigh me by fifty pounds.”
I reluctantly took my arm off of Karli’s shoulders and pulled open the car door. Ethan waited for Michaela to get in and started in behind her as I said, “Fifty pounds of solid muscle.”
Ethan just laughed and shook his head. I took Karli’s hand but instead of helping her in, I pulled her into my chest and kissed her. It was a quick kiss, but it was hot and passionate. She was shaking when I let her go. She visibly pulled it together as well as she could and slid into the car. I went in after.
“Is this a bad time to ask…what the hell?” Michaela said.
We both laughed. “She’s going to give me a chance; let’s not speculate on the why. We don’t want her reconsidering.”
Karli smiled and said, “I just realized that I was letting the past dictate my future and it was a bad idea.” I was overwhelmed with feelings that I’d never had before and all I could think was, “Please, God, don’t let me screw this up.”
********
Dinner was fun, but I wanted to be alone with Karli so fucking bad that it seemed to drag on and on. Michaela and my brother did most of the talking. I hadn’t seen Ethan so animated in a long time and surprisingly, to an outsider looking in, they seemed to have a lot in common.
I say surprisingly because Michaela was a far cry from the women my brother normally dated. He usually went for the quiet, brainy types…women like Karli. I loved him more than ever for not going for it with her. I looked at her now as the limousine pulled up in front of the parking garage at the event center and had another epiphany. As much as I wanted her, I craved her, if we didn’t end up having sex tonight, I would be perfectly okay with that. Well, maybe not perfectly.
I stepped out of the car and helped her out. Ethan and Michaela stepped out after us. They said goodnight and Ethan walked her to her car. I walked Karli to hers and when we got there, she reached up and wrapped her arms around my neck, pulling herself up to kiss me. I dipped my head down and this time, we shared a long, sizzling hot kiss that would sustain me for months, or maybe even years if it had to.
“I’d invite you home with me,” she said, “but Dad probably wouldn’t let you sleep in my room.”
I laughed. “My Dad is way over in Henderson, if you want to come back to my place with me.”
“My car or yours?” she asked with a smile.
“Yours is closer.”
I think she drove to my place faster than I ever have. I kissed her in my driveway and again at my front door. I unlocked the door and we fell in kissing before I picked her up and carried her down the hall to my bedroom.
This was going to be the first time that any woman had ever been in there, other than my cleaning lady. I sat her down on her feet and she looked around at the posters of fighters I had hanging on the walls, and the one of me in my first, televised fight above the bed. My right eye was cut and swollen nearly shut and I had an ugly, red welt in the center of my chest from a well-placed kick. My mouth guard was still in place and because of that, I had a big green smile on my face. It was my first, “official” win and it didn’t matter how beat up I was, I was on cloud nine for a week afterwards. I didn’t think I’d been that happy since…until tonight.
I sat her down on the bed and stood looking down at her. I was actually shaking. I couldn’t remember ever wanting anyone so fucking bad and I was afraid that I wasn’t going to be able to hold back. One of these days…soon…I wanted to spend all night making sweet, gentle love to her, but not tonight. Tonight, I wanted to fuck her, but I didn’t want to scare her away. In the interest of gaining her trust, I said,
“So, would you be disappointed if this wasn’t slow and gentle?”
A slow, sexy smile spread across her gorgeous face and she said, “I might be disappointed if it was.”
I reached down to pull off the shirt she was wearing and tossed it over against the wall. I licked my lips at the thought of getting my mouth on those hard, sweet nipples. I took off her pants next. Her panties matched her little, white-lace bra. My mouth was watering.
I pulled her up so that she was sitting eye level with my hard cock trying to break free of the prison it was currently trapped in. I reached around and unhooked her bra. She let it slide down off her arms. So fucking hot. I pushed her back and ripped off her panties and tossed what was left of them aside. I hoped they didn’t have any sentimental value. She was lying on my bed now, completely naked.
I’d imagined this probably a hundred different times since I met her. It was almost surreal. My cock was throbbing and straining so hard that it hurt. I stood up straight and pulled off my t-shirt and then my jeans. I watched her pretty eyes widen as she looked at my thick cock when I slid down my boxers.
I climbed up on top of her, and she reached up and put her hands on my biceps to squeeze them as I kissed her with a ferociousness that might have scared away a lesser woman. I finally had to breathe, so I slid my lips down the side of her face to her neck. I roughly sucked and bit my way across the sensitive skin, and she made sexy noises. In response, I felt a primal growl rising up in my chest.
I kept nipping and licking my way down, between her breasts, and then first one nipple and then the other, and then I grabbed a handful of that firm flesh and squeezed. She cried out, but arched her back up to encourage me. I had to assume that she was enjoying her walk along the fine line between pain and pleasure. I sucked and licked and bit and squeezed and pinched until she seemed almost delirious. She was making incoherent noises, and it was sexy as fuck.
I licked my way across her muscular stomach with big, wet swipes of my tongue. When I reached the top of her mound, she lifted up her hips, silently begging me to taste her. Little did she know nothing was going to stop me from doing just that.
I pushed her thighs open and buried my face between them. I felt her shudder and shake as my tongue touched her slit. I loved knowing I was making her feel good. I gripped onto her hips and dug my fingers into her tight ass and held her there while I ate her pussy like a starving man. I shoved my tongue into her as deeply as it would go, over and over again. I sucked on her clit and bit down on it.
She was moaning, whimpering, and crying out my name. Her hands were in my hair, pulling at it and almost ripping it out by the roots. She alternated between pushing my face harder into that sweet pussy and trying to wriggle away. I wasn’t about to let her go.
With every shake, shudder, and whimper, my cock got harder and my need for her got stronger. I pressed my tongue into her clit hard and moved my face back and forth as I slid a finger up inside of her. Her silky, wet muscles gripped onto me as I fingered her while I sucked until she let out an almost blood-curdling scream and I felt the warm rush of her orgasm all over my fingers. I pulled them out and replaced them with my tongue, not letting a drop of her pleasure go to waste.
When my face was completely soaked with her juices, I moved back up to her pretty face and leaned down for a kiss. She surprised me by licking my lips instead, and then my face around it before sucking my bottom lip into her mouth. When she finished cleaning me off, I covered her tongue with my lips and sucked it into my mouth.
She seemed to be getting more turned on as she tasted herself on me, and I liked it. I pulled out of the kiss and smiled at her. She looked at me through hooded eyes, sexy, bedroom eyes, and smiled back while she tried to catch her breath.
I stood up and she opened her eyes a little wider. “Turn over, Karli.” She didn’t question the request. She flipped over onto her stomach, and I reached down and put my lips against one of her firm, round cheeks. I kissed it and then moved over and did the same to the other, and then I smacked her ass firmly before using my hand again to pleasure her pussy.
She pushed that sexy ass up off the bed and held it there as I worked my fingers in and out of her. She was groaning and saying my name over and over. I waited until she was begging for my cock, and then I pulled my hand back and went around to stand in front of her full, sexy lips and I gave it to her.
CHAPTER TWENTY
KARLI
He was trying to kill me.
I was not sure I was strong enough to handle any more than he’d already given me and as the head of that thick, beautiful cock pressed into my lips and I imagined it pressing up inside of me, I was afraid my head was going to explode. He smiled and winked, and then gripped onto my hair and pushed himself in between my parted lips. I sucked in the head and rolled it against my tongue.
He used his hold on my hair to guide me as he began moving his hips in and out, feeding his cock to me an inch at a time. My lips were stretched as wide as they would go by the time I felt him throbbing against the back of my throat. I sucked harder and moved my tongue faster and he groaned and cursed and whispered my name. At one point, I thought he might pull my hair out by the roots, but I didn’t care…he was so fucking sexy.
He didn’t let me suck on him for long before he pulled out with a loud groan, reached down, flipped me over onto my back, and climbed up on me. He used his knee to push my thighs open wider, and I teetered on the edge of letting him enter me. I almost ached to feel him skin to skin, and that’s where I thought he was going.
I realized how dangerous it was to be thinking that way just about the time he pressed his heavy body into mine and reached over to the nightstand. He dug through it, cursed, and then reached for his pants. I watched him pull out his wallet, dig out a condom, and open it. He lifted up one of my hands and pressed the package into it. He didn’t have to tell me what he wanted me to do. I used my mouth to open the foil wrapper and took out the Magnum condom. It was blue, almost the color of his eyes. I almost laughed at the thought, but since I was sheathing his cock, I realized it might not be a good idea.
Once he was covered, he didn’t waste any time shoving it into my dripping-wet pussy. I cried out when he hit bottom. He pulled back and shoved it in again. It took several seconds for my muscles to stretch and adjust to his size, but once they did, a fireworks display began to take place in my head.
My body was experiencing pleasure unlike any that I had ever known, and judging from the sounds he was making, his was feeling damned good, too. Nick was an expert lover, and by the time he grunted, shuddered, shook, and filled the condom with his massive orgasm, I’d had two more. Jesus, I had never known it could be this good.
********
It took me a long time to calm down after Nick and I made love. I lay in his arms, shaking while he kissed me softly, held me, and even rocked me against his chest.
He was an enigma. On the one hand, he was dominant and so fucking hot, and on the other, he could be the sweetest, gentlest man on earth. His big, tattooed arms made me feel safe and secure, and the sound of his heartbeat slowly lulled me to sleep.
I was not sure how long I slept, but when I woke up, I could feel his big body looming over me. He was up on his elbow looking down at me, watching me sleep. “Hey, aren’t you tired? You had one hell of a day.”
He smiled. “I’m exhausted, but I’d rather watch you sleep than sleep myself.”
“Thanks; that’s sweet.” He reached down and pressed his fingers to my lips.
“Don’t ever say that in front of anyone else. I have a reputation to keep here.”
I laughed. “My lips are sealed,” I said against his fingers. I rolled back into him and snuggled in tight. He put his arm over me and rested his big hand on the small of my back. “How did you get so big?”
I felt his body shake as he chuckled. “Deep thoughts at two a.m.?”
I shrugged. “I guess. Ethan’s average sized and your dad is average sized. You are huge.”
“Well, thank you,” he said in an exaggeratedly proud voice.
I laughed again. “You’re welcome, but I was talking about all of you. I mean, your dad and brother are under six feet tall and you’re like six…ten?”
“I like that, spread that around, will you? I’ll win the title because they’ll be so scared they won’t show up.”
“You know what I mean,” I giggled. “Was your mom a tall lady?”
He went silent and I was afraid that I shouldn’t have brought her up. At last he said, “No. I mean, I don’t remember much about her, but in pictures she is about a head shorter than my dad, and she was usually wearing heels.”
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have brought her up. I don’t want to make you sad.” I felt his lips brush against the side of my face.
“Don’t be sorry. I wish that I could remember her more. I have sporadic, little memories, but nothing big. Sometimes it’s hard to decide which memories are real and which ones I dreamt up as a kid who just wanted a mother so fucking bad.”
“We have that in common,” I said, “Not the memories, but the thing about wanting a mother, at least when I was growing up. I’m thankful for my dad. If it wasn’t for him, I’d be an abortion statistic.”
I felt his arms tighten around me, and I thought he actually shuddered. “What a horrible thought,” he said. “I’m more thankful for Charlie than I ever thought possible.”
I smiled into his chest. I hoped he still had that attitude after Dad found out that we were dating, because I had a very strong feeling my father was going to take out his feelings about that more on Nick than he would on me.
“You know, in all seriousness, I already have a lot of respect for Charlie. I’m not sure he and I would ever have enough in common to be friends, but he’s an awesome fighter, he’s a great teacher, and he’s a hell of a lot better father than mine ever was.”
“Before I knew you were Ethan’s brother, he said something about you guys spending a big part of your lives away in boarding schools.”
“Yeah, most of our life.”
“You came back to Vegas, though. Ethan didn’t. Are you and your father closer than those two?”
I couldn’t see his face, but I thought he snorted. “No, not even a little bit. Actually, between the two of us, Ethan is able to tolerate him better than I can. I came home when I graduated high school and refused to go to college as a big ‘fuck you’ to him. He expected us both to get business degrees and take over the family business someday. Ethan chose law instead. He always was the smart one.”
“I don’t believe that. You don’t have to have a college education to be smart.”
He kissed the side of my face again. “You don’t have to have one to get in a cage and beat the snot out of someone, either. I guess it wasn’t too smart of me in the long run, though. What if I don’t win this title? Or what if I do…then what?”
“You could always go to college. You’re twenty-six years old. You have a lot of time to decide what you want to do with the rest of your life.”
“Yeah, you’re right,” he said. His voice finally sounded sleepy. “Will Charlie be worried that you didn’t come home?”
“I sent him a text earlier.” I felt him tense up, and I laughed. “I didn’t tell him I was here. He thinks I’m with Michaela.”
“I’m not scared of Charlie,” he said in a thick, sleepy voice.
I rubbed his arm with my hand. “Sure you’re not. Goodnight, Nick.”
He shifted and turned me so that his body spooned against my back. “You want to know a secret?”
“What’s that?”
“I’ve never slept with a woman before.”
I pulled his arms in around my waist tighter. “I’m glad to be your first,” I told him. He whispered something. I wasn’t sure I heard him correctly, and I wasn’t about to ask him to repeat it. He was half asleep. Even if he said what I thought he did, I’m sure he didn’t mean it. It sounded like,
“My only.”
********
I finally got home at almost ten o’clock the next morning. I was awake at six, but so was Nick and his sex drive. We had sex again twice, once in bed and again in the shower. I put the same clothes back on I’d worn the day before sans the ripped up underwear and drove Nick to get his truck. He tried talking me into spending Sunday with him and I was sorely tempted, but I’d been neglecting my schoolwork and had to buckle down before first semester finals.
Dad was in the living room when I walked in the front door. I wondered if my face looked guilty as I said, “Hey, Dad!”
“Hi, girl. How was the night?”
I went over and kissed his cheek. “It was fun. We just had dinner. Early night. Yesterday was a long day.”
“Tell me about it.”
“Speaking of, great job your boys did yesterday, all of them.” Besides Nick and Kevin, Dad had trained two of the other fighters. Neither of the other two were destined for anything great, but they were good fighters and they had both won yesterday. Kevin was the only one who had lost. Poor guy.
“Yeah,” he said in what I knew to be his negative voice. “They all could have done better; especially Kevin.”
“Dad! He already feels so bad about losing yesterday. What if he hears you?”
“He’s not here, but don’t you think I’m going to tell him that to his face? The kid has to learn. He was all up in his head yesterday, probably thinking about chasing tail.”
“No, Dad.” I sat down next to him on the couch. “That’s not what he was thinking about.”
“Oh? You have some inside information?”
“Dad…I’m going to ask you a question that will probably piss you off. But try and remember that I’m not a little girl anymore.”
With a curious look, he cocked an eyebrow at me and said, “Okay.”
“Did you have an affair with Linda Andrews?”
His expression changed from curious to incredulous. “What? Is this a joke? Linda is married to my best friend.”
“I know that, Dad, but you didn’t answer the question.”
He jumped up and paced the living room. “Why would you even ask it?”
“Dad, please just answer the question.”
He stared at me for a long time, like I was somehow betraying him by asking. Finally, with what looked like real pain on his face he said, “It wasn’t an affair. It was one time, and we were both drunk.”
“Just one time, Dad?”
“Karli, what is this?”
“Kevin heard you on the phone with Linda the other day. He also saw the two of you making out when he was eleven years old. It was in the middle of the day when Frank was at work, and I don’t recall you being drunk at any time during that trip.”
He sat down in the recliner and put his head in his hands.
“Dad, is Kevin my brother?”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
NICK
Sunday was the longest day of my life and by the time I went to bed that night, I was re-thinking this whole relationship thing. The funny thing was that it wasn’t because I regretted being with Karli; it was because I couldn’t stand being away from her already and I wasn’t sure what to do with those feelings. It was all new.
I understood that she had homework and studying to do. Her brains only added to her sexiness as far as I was concerned. I just felt sorry for myself and for the first time in my adult life, I wasn’t quite sure what to do with my free time.
I went over to Jonah’s for a while to watch the football game, but as soon as I got there and saw that it was a full-blown, wild party with groupies and showgirls, I was ready to leave. I ended up staying an hour just to be polite and in those short, sixty minutes, I had to turn down three propositions. I didn’t regret turning them down, but it was annoying and I was relieved to get back to my quiet, empty house. I ordered take-out, watched two boring movies, and nearly broke my neck to get to the phone when Karli finally called. It was all so fucking weird.
Monday morning, I woke up with butterflies in my stomach. I wasn’t sure if it was excitement over the prospect of seeing Karli or anxiety at the prospect of Charlie putting me in a cage and kicking the snot out of me for dating his daughter. Either way, I was glad to get out of the house with a purpose.
I got to the gym early, just after seve. Karli wasn’t there and neither was Charlie, but Kevin was. He was asleep in the locker room on a wooden bench. “Hey, Shrek, you okay?” He jumped at the sound of my voice and almost fell off the bench onto the floor.
“What?”
“Why are you sleeping in the locker room? Did you get drunk last night?”
He sat up and ran his hands over his face. “No, man, I didn’t get drunk. I actually got lucky, for a minute.”
I chuckled as I dropped my duffel bag down and unzipped it. “Is that all it took?”
I got him to smile at least. He looked at me and said, “Shut the fuck up. You know what I mean.”
“No…I honestly don’t.”
He sighed and rubbed his face again. “I met a girl after the fight Saturday. We went out to dinner afterwards and had a drink. We went back to her place and watched a movie. I fell asleep on her couch. She laid down by me and I held her all night. It was great.”
I smiled. “So far it sounds great. So, how did it land you on a wooden bench Monday morning?”
He sighed. “I went back to Charlie’s house Sunday afternoon and he and Karli were having a big fight.”
Now he really had my interest. “They were?” She hadn’t said anything about it when I talked to her on the phone last night. Was it about me? Shit.
“Nah, it was about me and my paternity.”
I dropped down on the bench across him. “Fuck.”
“Yeah, right? Anyways, we were going to wait until the results came back on the DNA test she helped me do and only talk to him if they were positive. I’m not sure how it came up, but when I walked in yesterday, they were really going at it. Karli was telling him she was ashamed of him and he was telling her none of it was her business. They both stopped when I walked in.
“I looked at Charlie and said, ‘Are you my dad?’ Charlie looked angry with me, like it was my fault, and he said, ‘Frank’s your dad. I’m your trainer and while we’re on the subject, you really fucked up that fight yesterday.’ I was trying to think of what to say, but Karli started talking first. She was pissed at him and sticking up for me. I appreciate that. I like Karli a lot.”
He looked nervous then and said, “Like a sister. I feel bad though that she’s arguing with her dad because of me.”
“Look, Kevin, I doubt Karli is looking at it like that. I don’t believe you should, either. You were the product of what Charlie and your mother chose to do. None of it was your fault and Karli knows that. She was standing up for you because she cares about you, and I doubt it was her and Charlie’s first disagreement. I get the feeling those two have been through a lot and come out the other side closer and stronger every time.”
“I hope so,” he said. “Thanks, Nick. I’m still not sure what I’m supposed to do. Should I confront my mom or tell my dad? At this point, what does it really matter? I’m a grown ass man and Frank was a good father, biological or not. Telling him now would only hurt him, and it would probably mean the ending of his marriage to my mom and his relationship with his oldest friend. If I told him now, it would only be because I’m upset with Mom and Charlie and want to hurt them. I think it might be selfish.”
“I think it says good things about you that you put so much thought into this before rushing in and doing something that might hurt your dad.”
“I guess, but I also feel so angry with Mom and Charlie. I’m so pissed that they did this to him. He’s a really good guy, Nick. I always looked up to him. He taught me everything. He protected me growing up, and he’d take a bullet for me, even now. I don’t think I can stay here and let Charlie keep training me after what he did, but if I go home now, Dad will want to know why.”
“Do you have to make a decision today?”
He shrugged. “I guess not, except that I don’t think I can stay in Charlie’s house any more, and I don’t really have enough money to get my own place.”
I really couldn’t believe I was about to do this. Growing up and maturing kind of sucked. At the very least, it changed your life – that’s for fucking sure. “You could stay with me. I have three empty bedrooms.”
“Ah, no, Nick. Thank you. I appreciate it, but that’s not why I was telling you all of this.”
“I know, Shrek. Karli did what family does by sticking up for you. I’m doing what friends do by offering my help.”
“We’re friends?”
“I thought so; do you not?”
“I…well, yeah, I hoped so. Guys like you don’t usually want to be friends with guys like me; not in my experience, anyways.”
I sat there and wished that I could tell him he was wrong. I’d always been friends with the popular guys, the rich guys, and the guys that attracted more women because that’s what I needed, right? Like I said, growing up sure as hell changes things.
“I think of you as a friend, Shrek.”
He grinned. “Thanks, Nick. I’ll take you up on the place to stay, but just for a couple of weeks or so until I can figure out what to do. Hey, since you call me Shrek and we’re friends and all, I was wondering about something.”
“What’s that?”
“Can I call you Donkey?”
I pulled my work-out gear out of the canvas bag sitting next to me and stood up. “Only if you want the ass whooping of your life,” I told him as I walked away. I heard him laughing.
********
I sent Karli a text at lunch time that said, “Your Dad is kicking my ass. I’m not sure I’ll survive to see the championship fight.”
I got one back from her with a sad face emoji. It said, “I’m sorry. I didn’t tell him about us yet.”
“Yeah, he’s pissed about this thing with Shrek.”
“Dad told you that?”
“Oh hell no. Charlie and I do not have that kind of relationship. Shrek told me. I kind of told him that he could stay with me for a while, too.”
The next time I got two emoji’s laughing with tears rolling down their cheeks. “Wow, a big week for Nick Storelli. First a girlfriend and now a roommate… Thank you, Nick. That was sweet of you.”
Sweet. Damn. “The kid was sleeping in the locker room. It was sad. Hey, what are you doing tonight?”
“I should study…”
“What if I promise to have you home early?”
“What did you have in mind?”
“Surprise. Pick you up at six?”
“At my house?”
“We are going to tell Charlie eventually, right?”
“Yeah, but so much going on right now. Maybe we could wait…just a little while.”
I thought about the morning I’d just had. Charlie was taking out the anger from his argument with Karli and what was going on with Shrek on all of us today. It was a good work-out, but it wasn’t fucking pleasant at all. I didn’t want to poke the hornet’s nest just yet. “Okay, yeah. Meet me at my place at six then.”
“Okay, see you then.”
I couldn’t wait, but I didn’t say that. I couldn’t make too many changes in one week. I might wake up a completely different person tomorrow.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
KARLI
I wore a pair of comfortable jeans and a t-shirt when I left the house. When I got to Nick’s, the sun was already on its way down and it had cooled off a lot from the abnormal heat of the fall day. I grabbed a hoodie out of the trunk of my car and went up to knock on the door. He pulled it open before my knuckles made contact and then ran those beautiful, blue eyes across me from head to toe. It made me want to shiver.
“Did I dress okay?”
He smiled. God, those dimples kill me. “Perfect,” he said.
He was wearing a white t-shirt and a pair of jeans. I’d never known anyone that could make a white t-shirt look so good. The way the cotton fabric stretched over his taut muscles and the contrast of the bright white to the colorful ink covering his arms should be illegal.
He stepped out holding a duffel bag and locked the door behind him before taking my hand and leading me over to his big truck. As he was helping me up, I tried again,
“So, where did you say we were going?”
He laughed. “Nice try. It’s a surprise, remember?”
“I thought it was worth a shot. What’s the duffel bag for?”
He laughed, closed my door, and tossed the bag in the back before climbing in his side. “You’re not good with surprises, are you?”
I sighed. “Nope. I grew up with Charlie, remember? Does he seem like the impulsive or mysterious type to you?”
Nick laughed. “Um…no.” He drove toward the strip and the whole time, I was playing the guessing game.
“We’re going to the coffin show at Circus Circus?”
“Nope.” He bypassed the strip and got onto I-15.
“We’re going to Utah?”
He chuckled. “No. Do you want to go to Utah?”
“Not really.” I was wracking my brain trying to figure out where in the world…he merged onto I-95. “Reno!”
“No, but you seem excited about that.”
“No,” I said, disappointed. “I was just glad I guessed right.” He laughed.
We stayed on 95 for what seemed like a long time. I gave up guessing for a while and became mesmerized by the setting sun. In the desert, the sun always looks bigger, and as it sinks down behind the large hills in the distance, threads of red, orange, and yellow light linger in the sky and mingle with the rolling clouds, dyeing them with bright colors.
When it was almost completely dark and we hadn’t turned off yet, I said, “Rhyolite?”
“Not today, but I love that place.”
“I’ve never actually been there.”
“Really?” Rhyolite is an elaborate ghost town in the middle of the desert. Dad and I’d gone the other direction one weekend to one called Calico. Rhyolite is said to put that one to shame. “You have to go one day. I’ll take you, and we’ll make it a weekend trip and go to Scotty’s Castle, too.”
“What’s Scotty’s Castle?”
“Really?”
Laughing, I said, “Yes, really. I’m not from Nevada, remember?”
“You’ve been here for eleven years now.”
“Again, I live with Charlie. We didn’t get out much.”
He smiled and said, “Back during the gold rush days, a guy named Walter Scott, a con man, convinced this really rich guy and his wife to come out here to invest in his gold mine up in the Grapevine Hills in Death Valley. The couple moved out from Chicago, and at first, the rich guy was pissed because he realized there wasn’t any gold in them thar hills.”
I rolled my eyes and smiled as he went on, “Walter was good. Somehow, he convinced the rich guy he wasn’t such a bad guy, and they became friends.
“The guy bought some property, and he and his wife started building this big, 1.5-2 million dollar villa on 1,500 acres. They named the ranch and the main road that led up to the property after Scott. It was supposed to be their winter home to get them out of the harsh, Chicago weather, but they ran into some problems trying to get it built.
“That property was owned by the Death Valley Parks service. So, they moved all the pieces of the house up and started over. It wasn’t quite finished when the stock-market crash happened and the man and his wife had to open it up to travelers and rent rooms out to keep from going bankrupt.
“They didn’t have any heirs, so when they died, they left it to a charitable organization – the same one that took care of Scott until he died. The parks service eventually bought the place from the charity for something like $850,000.
“Now they offer tours, and there’s even one where you can do an underground tour on a bus to see all of the fancy tile and stuff they planned on using in the swimming pool and furnishings for other rooms that were never completed. It’s a cool place.”
“And it reminds you that being a con man can be a good retirement plan.”
He laughed. “I have a feeling Walter Scott was not your ordinary con man,” he said.
“Doesn’t sound like it. But you…wow! How do you know all of that? You sounded like a historian.”
He smiled and maneuvered the big truck into the middle lane and merged onto I-91. I had no clue where we were going, but I suddenly knew I could listen to him all day. Hearing him talk about history so confidently was kind of sexy. “History was my favorite,” he said.
“It sounds like it. What was the rich guy’s name?”
“Albert Mussey Johnson.”
“You’re like a walking textbook. Do you know other history, or just Nevada’s?”
“American history was always my favorite. It was one thing I never had to study. I just kind of absorbed it.”
“You could teach history, or write about it.”
When he pulled onto Tenaya Way and I saw a sign that said, Gilchrest Pumpkin Farm, five miles. “Are we going to the pumpkin farm?” He stayed silent. “Aha! I guessed it right!”
“Partly,” he said, “And, you only guessed it because there was a sign and there is nothing else out here.”
“True, but I have to say I’m a little creeped out by the fact the sign says they close at two p.m. Are you like one of those Halloween slasher guys and this was all an elaborate set-up?”
He grinned and winked at me. “We’ll see,” he said as he pulled the truck into an almost full, unpaved parking lot surrounded by bales of hay and strung with twinkling lights. After parking, he got out and a few seconds later, opened my door. He was holding the duffel bag.
“Are your slasher tools in there?”
He pet it and it actually did clink like there were tools in there. “Rope, duct tape, knives…everything any respectable slasher needs.” He startled me by putting his hands on my waist and lifting me down out of the truck. He sat me on my feet and took my hand, and in a scary voice, he said, “Let’s go get this Halloween massacre underway.”
We went past a small, wooden shack decorated with spider webs that had large, hairy, felt spiders crawling all over them. I cringed slightly at that. I don’t freak out over spiders, but the idea of a hairy one that was four feet in diameter gave me the chills. There was a line of people at the next little shack. We waited until Nick paid our entrance fees. The poster on the window said this was a haunted pumpkin maze.
As we walked away from the shack, I said, “Haunted pumpkin maze? Isn’t it supposed to be a corn maze or hay bales? How can you get lost in a pumpkin maze?”
Nick stopped walking and looked down at me with an evil grin. “You can’t get lost; that’s the whole point. The creatures will be following us and popping up out of nowhere…and there’s nowhere to hide.”
I was torn between being slightly nervous about that and overwhelmed by the emotions he was stirring up in me. I loved Halloween, scary movies, and haunted houses. I had casually mentioned my love of Halloween to him once. The fact that he remembered that and it was important enough for him to plan this was already more than any guy I’d ever been out with had done.
I reached up and put my hand on his face. He leaned down to kiss me and we kissed like no one was watching until we both had to come up for air. When we did, he only pulled his lips back slightly and I could feel the heat and vibrations as he said, “But don’t worry; I’ll protect you.”
I smiled. “We’ll see who protects who.”
********
After we got some hot chocolate and sugar cookies, we got onto a trailer filled with hay attached to a tractor for the hay ride. Nick propped himself up against the railing of the trailer with his long legs stretched out in front of him and I cuddled up next to him.
I decided quickly that I could skip the rest of the evening and do this all night. He smelled so good and for being hard as a rock all over, he made one hell of a comfortable pillow.
There were at least ten other people on the trailer with us, but it was easy to block them all out and pretend like it was just him and me until the tractor left the heavily lighted area and began to move slowly along a pitted dirt road underneath a thick umbrella of trees. The trees blocked out any small reflection of the moon and stars, and the only things not black were the reflectors obviously leading the tractor along the path and a scant few twinkling lights strung through the trees and dangling over our heads.
I was so relaxed and comfortable that for just a second, I closed my eyes. I tore them back open only moments later to the sounds of a blood-curdling scream. Some kind of creature had jumped up on the back of the trailer and was clinging on with one arm and swiping a fake knife at the people there with the other. Most of them moved toward us and I tightened my grip on Nick’s t-shirt. I felt his body shake, and I looked up at his handsome face silhouetted in the dim light. He was laughing.
“Careful, babe, or I might think you need me to protect you.”
“I’m not scared,” I countered. “The screaming just startled me.”
“Oh, okay. Look, it’s getting foggy.”
I turned and looked in the direction the tractor was taking us. Fog was rising up across the road and all around into the trees. It looked like there was a clearing about a hundred yards or so in front of us. It was surrounded by orange lights like the white ones in the trees overhead.
The tractor came to a stop and the man driving welcomed us to the, “Most haunted pumpkin patch in the world.” He went over the rules about following the guide, staying on the paths, and not touching the monsters before he turned us over to an actor dressed like a skeleton in a top hat and tails. He didn’t speak, but that made sense since he only had half a jaw. It was one hell of a make-up job.
He turned and led us toward what I could only assume was the pumpkin patch, but thanks to the darkness and thick fog, couldn’t really tell. I slid my hand into Nick’s big, warm one, and he threaded his fingers through mine.
We walked about five feet before the first scream erupted. It was a girl about four feet behind us. I turned and looked to see Michael Myers from Halloween walking along next to her. She was clutching onto her boyfriend, who also looked like he wanted to run. The actor playing Michael cocked his head to one side, as if he was confused.
It was my favorite of all the Michael Myers poses, and I was smiling when I felt something underneath my feet. I looked down and could just barely make out the outline of an arm reaching up out of the dirt. I screamed and jumped into Nick just as the body sat up, covered with dirt and looking like it had been buried for years. Decay spots were crafted on the face and long strings of white hair hung off of the head. I couldn’t see its eyes; they were small and dark.
Nick wrapped me up in his big arm as the thing reached out toward me. I buried my face in his chest and felt his lips brush against the top of my head as he whispered, “You don’t have to pretend to be afraid for my benefit, baby.” I punched him, and my fist bounced off his arm. He laughed.
The patch only got more terrifying from there. I screamed so much that my voice was hoarse and poor Nick actually had claw marks on one of his arms. When they offered pumpkin picking to us on the last leg of the scary tour I tried to refuse, but Nick seemed to have his heart set on it. At least they turned on the lights.
I followed Nick around and watched him survey every part of every pumpkin until he found two perfectly round ones with nice, thick stems. The tractor took us back to the main area and the fall-themed and well-lit festival came into view. A band was playing now on a small bandstand next to six long rows of picnic tables. People surrounded the tables and were carving their pumpkins. If I didn’t know already, I was about to find out how competitive Nick was.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
NICK
I had been here before…more than once. You’re allowed to bring one weapon of choice and choose from their arsenal at will. Karli and I found a spot at the table and she sat her pumpkin about half a foot away from mine. I smiled at her. She smiled back. She’s so pretty. I picked up my pumpkin and moved it over about two feet and then sat my duffel bag in between them.
“Really?” she said with a laugh.
“Sorry, babe, I need room.” She rolled her eyes at me and shook her head. “When you see what I can do with it, you’ll be amazed.”
“I’m sure I will.”
We listened to the staff in charge of the contest go over the rules. While one of them did that, another sat the carving utensils out on the table and another lay stencils in two piles on each one. I snorted. “Kindergarten tools.”
Karli laughed. “Wow, this is heavy stuff for you, huh?”
“I’m going to win this year,” I told her with a wink. I unzipped the canvas bag just far enough for her to look inside.
“A drill?”
I smiled. “Not just any drill. This baby is an 18-volt cordless, and I have twenty different bits for it.”
She laughed aloud. “Really? You’re going to carve a pumpkin with a drill?” Before I could respond, the staff announced that we could begin. I reached in the bag and pulled out the heavy drill. As I looked around, I noticed it was just as I’d thought: none of the women looked impressed…at least by the drill, but most of the men were practically salivating over it.
“Really,” I told her. “Look at their faces. This contest is 50% skill and the other 50% is all in your head. This baby just intimidated the hell out of half my competition.”
“Oh my God, you’re killing me,” she said as she reached for a knife. I watched her shove it into the pumpkin and a little voice in the back of my head told me that I’d better hide all the knives if I ever really piss her off.
“Just stay over there on your side, babe. There’s nothing like the awesome power of a steel rod.” She threw her head back and laughed at that. “Get your mind out of the gutter and back on your pumpkin or you’ll be left in the dust.”
I pulled a pair of goggles out of my bag and put them on before firing up the impressive tool. I got a few more looks as I held it up like a gun. Karli was laughing so hard that she had tears running down her cheeks.
I turned my back to her and plunged the tool down into the top of my pumpkin. I cut a circle around the top and pulled it off. Scooping it out was my least favorite job and as I sat my tool down and started to lower my hands into the slimy insides, I felt my face draw up in disgust. I grabbed a handful of the guts. They felt like snot with seeds and as I pulled them out, I actually wretched a little bit. I thought I’d hidden it well until I felt Karli bump me with her hip.
“Step aside, big guy, it looks like you need help.” I took a step to the left and watched in morbid fascination as she picked up a spoon in one hand and the pumpkin in the other and began furiously scraping. She didn’t seem to mind the slimier guts clinging to the back of her hand and squishing through her fingers. She tipped the pumpkin almost all the way over above the newspaper that covered the table. A pile of pumpkin guts appeared and Karli left them there and used the spoon to scrape even more. By the time she was finished, the walls of my pumpkin were completely smooth
“Thanks, babe. If you want, I can help you carve yours when I’m finished here.”
“I’ll let you know if I need help,” she told me with a wink as I reached across her for the black marker the staff left there with the carving tools.
I carefully drew myself a pattern and then started cutting. I worked steadily until I heard the sound of the whistle that signified putting your tools down. I stood up and tried to work the stiffness out of my neck and shoulders and then I looked over at Karli. She was looking at my pumpkin with a smile on her face.
“I have to admit, I thought you were crazy for using a drill, but that looks fantastic.”
“Right?”
She laughed. “You’re welcome.”
“Sorry, thank you. But look at it! Have you ever seen a more perfect spider?” I’d carved out an intricate design that signified a spider’s web and then, just off to the side, crawling toward the center of it, a gigantic spider.
“Never,” she said. “What do you think of mine?”
Karli’s was a rose, or some kind of flower. It was off-center and there was one spot that looked like it was supposed to be a rose petal, but had broken off and fallen inside. It was cute, and she looked proud of it. “I think it’s almost as pretty as you.”
“Almost?” I leaned over and kissed her on those sexy, soft lips.
“Yeah, almost. Nothing else even comes close.”
“Okay, ladies and gents, it’s time to judge these pumpkins!” I held onto Karli’s hand and watched as the judges walked table to table and wrote something down on the little pad they carried as they looked at each pumpkin. When they got to mine, I smiled and automatically tightened the muscles in my chest and arms.
I felt Karli poke me. She leaned in close and said,
“Stop trying to cheat; they’re judging the pumpkins, not the hot bodies.”
I smiled at her and looked around at the other people in the contest and then I whispered, “If they were, who would win?”
She picked up a towel, wiped her hands on it, and then hooked her arm through mine as she said, “Tricky Nicky Storelli, hands down.”
********
I won the pumpkin contest and I got to leave with the most beautiful woman there. I felt like one lucky son of a bitch.
On the way back to my house, we picked up Chinese food and I saw Karli send a text to her dad. I hoped that she was telling him she wouldn’t be home tonight because ever since she left my bed on Monday morning, I’d been craving her like a drug.
As soon as we walked into the kitchen from the garage, I saw the note from Kevin written on the chalkboard and my mood and the entire evening started to unravel. Karli looked at the chalkboard and said,
“Aw, he left you a note.” It said, “Hey, Bro, spending time with Elaine tonight. Didn’t want you to worry.” There was a smiley face then and underneath that it said, “Your dad came by.”
I didn’t know if it was Kevin thinking I would worry about him or my father coming by that set me off. I wasn’t Kevin’s fucking guardian and the idea of it made me feel like I was having a hard time breathing. My whole life, I had only me to worry about and suddenly, I was a guardian and a boyfriend. I was not sure why that was just now setting in and why it felt so suffocating all of a sudden. Wasn’t this what I wanted? Wasn’t this all about changing my life? Maybe it was just too many changes all at once.
“Nick? Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.” Am I fine?
Karli looked like she was about to say something else, but her phone started ringing. It was the theme to Rocky.
“Shit. It’s my dad. If I don’t answer, he’ll just keep calling. I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine, take it.” She started to walk toward the dining room and I said, “Hey, Karli, what’s my ring tone?”
“Eye of the Tiger” was still playing loudly, and she looked at her phone nervously before saying, “Peter Pan.” She put the phone to her ear then and went into the dining room. I heard her say, “Hi, Dad, what’s up?”
Theme songs were part of my life. Martin taught me years ago that you should take a lot of time picking out your song. Not only the beat should matter, but the words should represent your personality.
Karli obviously looked up to her dad. He was her hero, so “Eye of the Tiger” was fitting. I wondered how much thought she had put into mine. My father used to call me Peter Pan. He always told me I’d never grow up. I hated that song the first time I heard it because of that. I walked over near the dining room and heard her saying,
“I’m twenty-two years old, Dad. You can’t keep telling me what to do and who I’m allowed to do it with.” Obviously, he wasn’t buying that she was spending all of this time at Michaela’s house.
“What? Are you kidding? Did you really just say that?” She had her back to me, but I could visibly see her whole body tense.
“You can’t honestly believe I pick my men with the sole purpose of pissing you off in mind. That’s a bit narcissistic, Dad, even for you.” She took the phone away from her ear and pressed the end button, hard.
Her shoulders slouched forward. I tried to quiet the selfish thoughts in my own head and did what a real man was expected to do. I went over and put my hands on her shoulders. She leaned back into me, and I wrapped my arms around her stomach and held her close.
“He’s such an asshole sometimes. I can’t get him to even acknowledge Kevin, and yet he’s all over my life.”
I couldn’t argue with her assessment of him. I thought he was an asshole most of the time, too. “What did he say?”
“He can’t wrap his head around the fact that I’m a grown woman and capable of making my own decisions – and even my own mistakes. It’s nobody’s choice but my own.”
I was the one that tensed now. All I really heard her say was “mistake.” I turned her so she was facing me. “You think I’m going to turn out to be a mistake, Karli?”
“No! Of course I don’t think that. I didn’t mean you. Dad just makes me crazy sometimes. When telling me what to do wasn’t working, he started telling me that I’m messing you up. He says you’re too close to your title fight to get involved in a relationship and basically, if you lost, it would be my fault.”
“It kind of sounded like he was also saying something about you picking losers just to get at him.”
There was a flicker of something in her eyes and I wished I knew her better. I wished that I could read her. “You were listening.”
“I just heard the end of the conversation. But it does kind of make me wonder.”
“It makes you wonder? Are you fucking kidding me? You chased me, Nick. You were the one that wouldn’t leave me alone. I finally embrace my feelings for you, and now you’re going to run scared on me?”
“I’m not running, Karli. We’re just talking. Why are you getting so defensive?” The real question here was what the fuck was I doing? I’d just spent the last three hours having the most fun out of bed I’d ever had with a woman. Why was I trying to screw that up?
She put her hands on her hips and as I looked at her, my inner voices were dueling with one another. One of them wanted her badly enough to tell me to shut the fuck up. It was telling me, “You’re steps away from having this sexy woman back in your bed and you’re overthinking it. You don’t overthink things. You’re practically famous for your impulsivity. Hell, you barely think it over once before you do it. What the fuck are you doing?
The other voice was telling me I was making a fool of myself. Karli thought of me as Peter Pan, a boy in a man’s body, and I was the expert on doing things to piss Dad off… Is that what she sees in me? Is she using me to somehow get back at Charlie for this crap with Kevin?
“I’m defensive? I guess maybe you’re right. I am. It’s because I don’t understand where this is coming from. We had a great time tonight, didn’t we? I thought things were going well and then…what is it, Nick? What’s going on in your head?”
I tried to stop myself but again, I couldn’t. “Is this…” I motioned my arm between her and me. “Us…are we about pissing off Charlie?”
“Excuse me? Please, tell me you’re kidding.”
“You told me that you didn’t date fighters and gym rats any longer. Why the sudden about face? I should have asked you then, that day…but I was just so thrilled that you wanted me that I was blinded by that.”
“And suddenly, you’re not any longer? Why is that, Nick? Is it because the thrill of the chase is over and now you’re feeling a little claustrophobic and you’re ready to move on?”
“No, that’s not it at all.” Is it? I really didn’t fucking know. It was like I was in such a panic mode all of a sudden that I had no control over what was coming out of my mouth. “You sat there and watched my fight, and then you watched the groupies swarm all over me. Nothing changed between the night before when you gave me an absolute, unequivocal no and that afternoon when all of a sudden you wanted to be with me…except that maybe you were a little more pissed off at Charlie.”
There was fire in her hazel eyes all of a sudden. “I don’t do things just to piss my father off, Nick. I’m a little more mature than that. From what I hear, that’s your specialty.”
“Is that what Ethan told you?” Now I was jealous of my brother and angry with him all over again. Jesus, what is wrong with me?
“No. You told me that yourself. Ethan is too much of a gentleman to gossip about you behind your back. As a matter of fact, he sang your praises to me, and that’s part of why I decided to go out with you. I trust him.”
“Oh, you trust him, but not me.”
“I’m going home.” She picked up her bag off the counter next to the uneaten Chinese food. I should have left it at that, but I felt compelled to make it even worse. She was almost to the door when I said, “I have one more question.”
“I can’t wait to hear it,” she said, sarcastically.
“Why Peter Pan? Do you think I’m never going to grow up?”
“Jesus, Nick, it’s only a song.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Why did you pick it?” She was silent for a long time and then she said,
“Because I guess I knew all along that you were going to fly away as soon as you could.”
I watched her slam the door behind her. Only then did I let myself process the fact that I’d pushed away the only good thing in my life and for no fucking reason other than I was afraid.
I was afraid that in a matter of weeks, a woman came along and not only changed the way I felt about things, but the way I did things, as well. I was afraid that my life was going to change…and that was as stupid as fuck. My life sucked. Why the hell wouldn’t I want it to change?
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
KARLI
It was a long ass week and by Friday night, my head wouldn’t stop throbbing. I couldn’t quiet my thoughts, no matter how hard I tried.
Tuesday night when I left Nick’s house, I was furious with him. By Wednesday, my heart hurt so badly that I was afraid I’d break down in tears at the sight of him, so I told Dad I was sick and couldn’t go into work. I could tell he wanted to question it, but since he was already on my shit list because he fucked Kevin’s mother and denied his own son for nineteen years, he must have decided that it wasn’t a good idea. He just kissed my forehead, then told me to get some rest and call him if I needed anything.
Once he went to the gym, I finally let myself have a good cry. I told myself that was it, I wasn’t going to waste any more tears on Nick, but I knew I’d be dangling on the edge at least for a while.
Thursday, I had class all day, so I didn’t go into the gym at all, and Friday, I went in the wee hours of the morning and took care of business before Nick got there.
He didn’t try to call or text, and I tried to convince myself that was a good thing, but I was losing that battle, too.
I got lucky in the fact that Michaela’s dad had her working at the resort nearly every night, helping get ready for their big, annual Halloween bash, so I didn’t have to explain it to her yet. I had no idea how to explain it. I wasn’t even sure what had happened myself. Last time I had talked to her on the phone, she could tell that something was wrong and asked about it, but I told her the same thing I’d been telling Dad – I just wasn’t feeling well.
Kevin came by to see me a couple of days when Dad was at work. I think I felt sorrier for him than I did for myself. He wasn’t going into the gym at all. Dad continued to refuse to acknowledge him as his son and as much as I was pissed off about that, Kevin was hurt. He was also stressed out. He was lying to his parents and told me that Nick had been snapping his head off over every little thing, so he felt like he was just in the way there. I didn’t have any good advice for him. I’d been a big sister for about five minutes, and I was already failing miserably.
After cleaning the gym and taking care of a few bills at the crack of dawn on Friday, I had classes until noon. When I left school, all I could think about was taking a long nap when I got home. I was disappointed to see Kevin’s huge form sitting on my front porch when I drove into the driveway, but that disappointment was joined by a feeling of guilt as soon as I saw the suitcase and duffel bag next to him on the ground. He sat there and waited for me to make it up to the porch.
“Kevin? Are you okay? Did Nick kick you out?”
It still amazed me how a giant could have the face of a child. He looked so sad and my heart broke a little bit for him when he looked up at me with those big, blue eyes of his.
“I’m okay,” he said, obviously lying. “Nick didn’t do anything. I just can’t keep staying there, living off of him. I’m almost out of money, and I can’t keep taking my dad’s money and letting him think Charlie’s training me. I have to go home and figure this out. Hopefully, I’ll be back, but I have to figure out how to do that on my own dime and not Dad’s.”
I sat down next to him and dropped my backpack. “What about Elaine?”
He visibly winced. “I really like her. I feel terrible about leaving her, but when I explained the situation, she said she understood. I know it’s not possible to think she’ll wait for me. I haven’t even been able to figure out what she’s doing with me in the first place, but that doesn’t stop me from hoping still.”
I knew that feeling. I hadn’t spoken to Nick in almost a week, but I couldn’t let go of the hope that things would somehow work out, either, no matter how unlikely that was. I put my hand on Kevin’s big arm, and we just sat there for a while with neither of us saying anything until he finally broke the silence and said, “Nick’s miserable.”
I looked up at his face as he went on, “He goes to the gym, and he comes home and stalks around the house, or sometimes he’ll go out back and hit the bag on the porch for hours, like he’s trying to kill it. His phone rings constantly, and he doesn’t answer it. His dad has been by twice this week, but Nick won’t talk to him.”
I knew where he was going with this, so I said, “He’s the one that didn’t want me, Kevin.”
“Are you sure, Karli? I mean…it’s not my place to say this, but maybe he just doesn’t know how to have a relationship. His friend Jonah came by a few days ago. He wanted Nick to go out with him, but Nick told him he was sick to death of nothing but parties and skanky women who throw themselves at him.”
“I’m sorry he’s unhappy, Kevin, I really am. But Nick chased me relentlessly until he caught me and suddenly, he didn’t want me anymore. It was what I was afraid would happen all along. I just didn’t think it would happen so fast.”
“I know it’s not my business, Karli, but I think maybe he’s just scared.”
I nodded. “That’s understandable, but a grown man should know how to deal with those feelings without having a temper tantrum or a total meltdown. I don’t need a spoiled child in my life. I need a man.
“I knew Nick was still in the process of growing up when I met him, that much was obvious. I let my attraction to him cloud my judgment, and at the end of the day, I bear as much responsibility for the way I’m feeling right now as he does. Maybe, one of these days, he and I can work our way back to being friends, but I can’t see that we’ll ever be able to get beyond that.”
Kevin surprised me by putting his arm around me and pulling me in for a hug. He held me there for a second and then let go and stood up. He pulled out his phone and looked at the time. “I should get going; my flight leaves in an hour.”
“Do you want a ride to the airport?”
“Nah, I can call a cab.”
“I really don’t…”
My phone started ringing. I looked at it and saw that it was my Uncle Lenny. He was battling cancer and other than to go to his treatments, he rarely left the house. I usually tried to visit him once a week, but I’d been so busy, I hadn’t gotten over to see him. Feeling guilty about that, I said, “Hang on just a second, Kevin.” I pressed answer and put the phone to my ear. “Hi Uncle Lenny, I was just—”
“Is this Karli?” It was a young, female voice, probably one of his nurses.
“Yes, this is Karli; who’s this?”
“My name is Mary. I’m one of the nurses that take care of your Uncle Lenny. I tried to reach your father, but he’s not answering.”
“Mary, what is it?”
“I had to call an ambulance. Lenny stopped breathing.”
Fuck! “Okay, where are they taking him?”
“To General, and just so you know, the EMTs did get his heart started and he’s breathing again without assistance.”
“Good. That’s good to know, thank you.” I hung up and Kevin asked,
“Is something wrong, Karli?”
“It’s my uncle…our uncle. He has lung cancer. He’s been doing well, but the nurse says he wasn’t breathing this morning and he didn’t have a pulse. The EMTs had him breathing and his heart beating before they took him to the hospital, she said—”
“Oh no! Please don’t worry about me. I’ll change my flight for a later one and go with you.”
“Really?”
He picked up his luggage and tossed them both into a corner of the porch. “He’s my uncle, too, right? You don’t leave family when they need you.”
I thought about my dad. Kevin sure didn’t learn that from him. I’d almost been in denial right up to that point about how angry I was with him. How dare he make a child and then just turn his back on him? How dare he not acknowledge him even now, when he was right here in his face and obviously still needed him?