Chapter Nine

Elle

I no longer knew if I liked my life or not. See this is what happens when you are cursed with a little brother that completely turns your world upside down.

First, Jeanna was mad at me for about a dozen different things. The whole failing to tell her immediately about the date, being on top of the list. She’d forgiven me, but I knew Jeanna, she’d carry a grudge for a few days. Second, I could not get my head wrapped around the whole Nate issue. What did he think about me? I mean, was that date just for show. And that kiss? Was it special or was I just another girl on a long list of girls?

But worst of all, what happened from here on out. How was I supposed to act around him? Would he ask me out again? What if he didn’t? Did that mean I was that bad a date? Or because we had satisfied Jimmy’s curiosity, we didn’t need to go out?

Maybe I shouldn’t have beaten him at mini-golf. Of course, my mom would have freaked out at the thought of changing myself to please some guy. But what did she know? Her experience with men seemed to be limited to test tubes and spreadsheets.

These and a thousand other questions were dancing through my mind the entire week.

What made it worse was I didn’t even have his phone number so I couldn’t accidentally call him. The boy didn’t even have a Facebook presence for me to stalk. Nothing. How did someone in today's world exist without one?

Sighing heavily, I rolled out of bed on Saturday morning to get ready for Jeanna. She was picking me up and we’d spend the day at the library. Not that we really needed to, but it was an excuse for her to get out of the house and not get stuck babysitting her kid sisters. She’d told her parents that we were working on a critical project and it could only be done at the library. Of course, everything we needed was online, but they didn’t think that way. All they knew was that they’d used a library in school. So it made perfect sense that we did.

As I got dressed, I wondered what Nate was doing. Did he ever even think about me? If so, what?

Hearing a noise out back, I pulled the curtains back and saw Jimmy down on the patio jumping rope. Just like he did every day. He was almost good at it. Almost. He still screwed up every sixth or seventh jump. But it was way better than when he started.

Where did this sudden interest in athletics come from? I wondered. Nate of course, I answered myself. It appeared that Jimmy had a bit of hero worship going on.

For the thousandth time in my life, I wished I had a father to talk to. Not about Jimmy. But about Nate. I just couldn’t figure him out. I needed someone who could give me some insight. Mom was useless. She’d tell me not to focus on some boy but focus on my school work. Jimmy? Nope, not going to happen. Nana? Maybe? But anything I told her would get back to Mom. Besides, she was so old, guys had changed a lot since she was my age.

Jeanna was all smiles when she picked me up in her mom’s car. Like I said, her grudges never lasted long.

“I’ve got to be home by two,” she said as she pulled out of the driveway. “Jamie has a soccer game and I’ve got to watch Janet,”

“Sure, no problem,” I said as I let the conversation stall. Once again, my mind was wandering, trying to come up with some idea of what had happened to my world.

Jeanna glanced over at me and slowly shook her head. “Boy, do you have it bad.”

“What do you mean?” I asked as my stomach sank. Was it that obvious?

“Nate,” she said shaking her head. “You are a complete goner.”

“Oh don’t be ridiculous. I told you, it’s all for show. To keep Jimmy from freaking out. Besides, I didn’t say anything about Nate.”

“You don’t have to. That thousand-yard stare of yours is a dead giveaway.”

“You’re crazy,” I said as I turned to look out the window. And there, as if by some minor miracle was Nate’s truck parked outside a storefront that said, “Jake’s Gym”. It had to be him.

“Stop,” I yelled as I twisted around to keep the truck in sight.

“What? Why?” Jeanna screamed as she frantically looked for the pending disaster.

“That’s Nate’s truck,” I said as if that explained everything. “Stop.”

“Jesus girl, you scared me half to death. So, it’s Nate’s truck. How do you know? Or do you have the plates memorized?”

“Jeanna, please stop.”

“What are you going to do? Dump me for the day so you can go hang out with your fake boyfriend. Did it ever occur to you how screwed up that sounds?”

“No, no, of course not. I wasn’t going to talk to him, I just wanted to get the address.”

“Why?” she asked. “So you can send him a thank you card?”

She was right, what was I thinking? Sighing, I slumped down into my seat and tried to forget about how foolish I was being. I’d reacted without thinking. That wasn’t like me. What was going on?

Jeanna glanced over at me and slowly shook her head. “Yep, you’ve got it bad.”

I didn’t respond as I came to the realization that she was probably right.

At the library, we worked together. Discussing ideas about the project in AP History. Grabbing books and checking stuff on the net. I made a point to be bubbly and totally there for her. She made a point of shooting me weird looks every so often. As if she was having a problem believing my act.

Of course, the entire time all I could think about was that red truck sitting outside the boxing gym. What was he doing? Could I go inside a place like that? That and a dozen other thoughts kept me distracted most of the day but I’m pretty sure Jeanna didn’t pick up on it. If she had, I’d have heard it.

On the way home, my stomach tightened up into a knot the closer we got. When Jeanna turned onto Seventh, I thought for sure I’d never make it home in one piece.

There it was, Nate’s truck, just where it had been parked earlier that morning.

“Pull over,” I said to Jeanna before I could stop myself. I had to do this. It was the only way I was going to survive.

“Are you crazy?” she asked with disbelief.

“Pull over, I just want to talk to him.”

“So you are dumping me for a pretend boyfriend.”

“Don’t be silly. You were going to drop me off in five minutes anyway. Please!”

She sighed heavily and rolled her eyes at me. But, she pulled over. Like I’ve said, she’s a good friend.

“You’re making a big mistake,” she said. “You don’t even know if he’s there. And I can’t wait. I’ve got to get home. How will you get back to your house?

“I’ll walk. It’s not that far,” I said as I quickly mapped out the route in my head.

She scowled at me and shook her head. “You are crazy.”

“Thanks, Jeanna,” I said as I got out of the car.

“You better call me tonight and tell me what happened. No excuses this time.”

“I promise,” I said as I stared at the gym across the street. Suddenly this seemed like the stupidest idea I had ever had.

Jeanna continued to shake her head as she pulled back into traffic. Suddenly. A lonely, empty feeling washed over me. What was I doing? This could go so wrong in so many ways.

Get a grip girl, I told myself. I just want to talk to him for a minute. He could spare me a few seconds of his day.

Pulling myself together, I crossed the street and hesitated outside the gym. Both doors were open, leading to a wide staircase that led up to the second floor. The tang of heavy metal hitting metal and the faint sound of men talking rolled out of the place like a mysterious wave of the unknown.

I took a deep breath and started up the stairs only to be hit with a sharp aroma of a used gym sock. The place stank, no wonder they kept the front doors open. Swallowing hard, and breathing through my mouth, I stepped up into the gym.

The place fit every stereotype I’d ever seen. Men bobbing around, punching bags. Men lifting weights, grunting and yelling as they strained. It even had a woman with boxing gloves punching a speed bag. Her hair pulled back and more muscles than most of the boys at my school.

“You’re not in Kansas anymore Dorothy,” I mumbled to myself. The place was as alien as a distant planet.

Squaring my shoulders, I stepped in and looked around for Nate, my heart in my throat the entire time. Of course, he wasn’t there. Do not give up, I told myself as my heart fell. I’d never be able to tell Jeanna that I’d chickened out and left without seeing him.

Taking a deep breath that stung the back of my throat, I approached an older man, one of the few men who didn’t seem to be exercising, just watching everyone else. He had an unlit cigar stuck in the corner of his mouth that he moved to the other side when he saw me approach.

His eyebrows shot up for a moment as he examined me. I’m sure he was thinking I’d gotten lost and was going to point out that the yoga class was two blocks over.

“Excuse me,” I said as my heart raced. “Do you know if Nate Clark is here?”

The cigar moved from side to side a couple of times as he continued to stare at me. Then, as if coming to a decision, he turned and pointed to the back boxing ring.

I turned and almost gasped. Nate, shirtless Nate, was trading punches with someone. He wore that headgear that boxers wore, black trunks, and laced up high top boxing shoes. My heart jumped. The alien world had just gotten stranger and a lot hotter.

Taking a deep breath, I nodded my thanks to the cigar stranger and made my way to the back. As I got closer, I could hear the sound of leather hitting flesh and a man in the corner yelling instructions. It took me only a moment to realize he was yelling at the man fighting Nate.

The two of them circled each other for a moment, Nate, threw a punch, then stepped back. The other guy threw a punch that Nate slipped and followed up with a counter-punch to the guy’s side.

“No, no,” the man in the corner yelled as he reached over and pulled a string, making the bell go off.”

“I’ve told you, Johnson, if you do that against Alverez he will take you apart.”

The other boxer stood there, taking deep breaths as he listened to the corner man point out a dozen different problems.

“That’s enough,” the man in the corner said. “Thanks, Nate, you available on Tuesday,”

Nate pulled his mouth guard out and nodded. “Sure, after school.”

“Good, see you then. Maybe Johnson will have his head out of his butt by then.”

“Thanks, man,” the other boxer said as he pounded Nate’s gloves.

“Sure, and don’t let Charlie get to you. You still hit like a pissed off mule,”

The other boxer laughed as he made his way back to his coach.

I continued to stand there like a short stump in a deep swamp. Useless and unseen.

Nate had his back to me as he reached up and pulled off his headgear. I had a hard time swallowing as I watched his back muscles ripple. Then using his teeth, he pulled at the laces of his gloves as he turned to leave. It was at that moment that he saw me.

My heart jumped while his eyes popped open in surprise.

“What are you doing here?” he asked as he glanced over my shoulder to see if I was alone or not.

“I … um … wanted to talk,” I managed to get out.

His brow narrowed in confusion for a brief moment. “Sure, is everything all right? Jimmy?”

“No … I mean yes, everything is fine, I just wanted to talk to you for a minute. I was in the area and saw your truck and I’ve always wanted …”

Nate stepped through the ropes and jumped down, landing next to me. Suddenly, I couldn’t remember what I always wanted to do. Or what I wanted to talk to him about. All I could think about was the pure male power radiating off of him.

“Sure,” Nate said as he smiled down at me. “Can you hang around for a minute? Let me catch a quick shower and I’ll be right back.”

My heart flopped. Wait for him here? In the gym? Suddenly, it didn’t seem like such a smart idea. There was enough testosterone floating around the gym to drown a horse. I could already feel most of the eyes in the place traveling over me. What if I did the wrong thing? got in someone’s way. These people took this stuff seriously.

Nate saw my obvious hesitation and smiled. “Come on, you can wait in the office.”

Pointing with his gloved hand, he led me to a small office set off to the side. Large windows allowed the occupant to observe the entire gym while providing a buffer from the constant racket outside. An old wooden desk that looked like it had been built out of a solid block of wood occupied a good portion of the space. Behind the desk, on the wall, where a dozen pictures of men holding up their fists in boxing poses.

“Stay here, I promise I’ll be right back. No one will bother you, I swear,” Nate said. The look of concern he gave me made my insides soften a little. He was worried that I was going to leave. He did want to talk to me, I hadn’t interrupted him or ruined his day.

Sighing, I smiled and nodded. He smiled back then hurried out of the office.

Looking around, I wondered about this new, strange world I had walked into. So many different sounds, colors, and most definitely smells. They were all unusual, not bad, just different.

Leaning over the desk, I started to check out the pictures on the wall. Most in black and white. They looked like publicity photos but with muscles, hard jaws, and an intense determination to their eyes. I continued to scan them until I came to one that made me gasp.

Nate, a few years younger, in the middle of a boxing ring with both of his hands in the air. A large golden belt around his middle. A look of pure joy on his face. Like it was the first time he’d been happy in a dozen years.

My heart fluttered as I examined the picture. He looked so strong, so in the moment. Like he knew he was in the right place at the right time.

“That’s Nate, winning the Northwest Regional Golden Gloves, two years ago,” a voice said from behind me.

I jumped and quickly turned around. It was cigar man again, looking at me as if I was an alien from outer space invading his world.

“Um … Nate said I could wait for him in here,” I began as I desperately tried to figure out where I should go and what I should say.

The man smiled slightly and nodded. “I’m Jake Tanner, his uncle,” he said as he went behind the desk and pulled a drawer open so he could remove some papers. He didn’t look like Nate, was my first thought. No family resemblance.

A big man, with wide shoulders and the beginning of a paunch. In his late forties probably. His nose looked like it had been broken more than once and he had a nasty scar on his right eyebrow. He was also the only family Nate had, I reminded myself.

“Hello, I’m Elle, a friend of Nate’s from school.”

He stared at me for a moment, the unlit cigar shifting from side to side occasionally, then he nodded. “I figured.”

My heart jumped again. Had Nate been talking about me with his Uncle? Why? What had he said? Get a grip, I told myself as I forced myself to calm down. Do not overreact, do not jump to the wrong conclusions. Slow down.

“Have a seat, Miss Watson,” Nate’s Uncle said as he indicated a wooden chair across from him. “Nate will be a few minutes. Take a load off and let's talk.”

Suddenly, my world came to a screeching halt. This sounded serious. What had I done to upset him? Swallowing hard, I sat down and looked at him, waiting.

He studied me for a long moment as if trying to determine what to say. Then he seemed to come to some kind of resolution and sighed heavily.

I held my breath, afraid of what I was going to hear.

“So, you’re the girl that beat Nate in putt-putt golf,” he said with a large smile.

My insides relaxed, “He told you about that?” I asked.

He smiled and nodded. “It was the first time I’ve seen him really happy in a long time. Thank you for that. It does him good to get beaten at something every so often. Keeps him humble.”

“Nate Clark, humble? I don’t think I’ve ever seen that,” I said before I could stop myself. It might not be the right thing to say to his uncle.

Mr. Tanner threw his head back and laughed, the cigar bouncing up and down with each bellow. “I think I’m going to like you, Elle, you’re good for him. Heaven knows he deserves it.”

My insides settled on an even keel as my world returned to semi-normal. His uncle didn’t hate me. And Nate talked about me with other people. I wasn’t just a wisp of wind in his world.