Chapter Seven
NICK
After Charlie’s heart to heart with me, I hit the weights with Shrek for another hour or so and took him through some basic jujitsu moves. He had the beating-a-man-to-a-pulp thing down pat, but his moves were a little primitive. I was completely beat and done for the day after that.
I went into the men’s locker room and took a shower before heading home. It was getting late in the afternoon and most everyone had left. Charlie was working with Shrek on the bag in the back room. I hadn’t seen Karli since the incident earlier, and I was actually starting to feel badly about being such a dick. I was making up my mind to apologize the next time I saw her and maybe get a do-over when I passed the office.
The door was cracked open slightly and I could see a pair of black and white Chucks sticking out from underneath the desk. I stopped and debated on giving her more time to cool down. I decided that it was better to just take the plunge where apologies were concerned. I wasn’t very good at them.
I knocked softly on the door, and Karli’s sweet voice said, “Yes?”
I pushed the door open more and saw the smile she had on her face drop off. It was slightly wounding. “Can I come in, Karli?” She looked like she was about to say no and I said, “Just for a minute?”
“Okay, just for a minute. What’s up? Is there a part of you I didn’t see? Did you want to do a three-sixty and make sure I got the full view?”
I smiled tightly. “I’m sorry.”
“For?”
“For being a dick. I’m sorry for bad-mouthing your dad, first of all. He and I had a talk this afternoon and I am going to try and put more effort into learning from him and applying myself. Second, I’m sorry for standing there in the buff like that. I honestly didn’t realize it was the women’s shower, but when I did, I should have covered up; that was disrespectful.”
She looked surprised, or maybe confused. It was obvious that she wasn’t expecting any kind of apology from me. She obviously thought I was some kind of buffoon. She’d likely never believe I spent 13 years in some of the best boarding schools in the country. For some reason, although I just met this girl, I didn’t like knowing she already had such a low opinion of me.
“Okay,” she said at last. “Thank you for that.”
“Apology accepted?”
“Yes. Fine,” she said. I kept standing there and she said, “Was there something else?”
“Well… I’m having a little barbecue this afternoon; would you like to come?” I wasn’t having a barbecue. Not unless she agreed to come, anyways. But I couldn’t seem to just walk away.
“No, thank you.”
I couldn’t help but smile. “Why not?”
“I just don’t want to encourage you, Nick. I’m not looking to date a fighter.”
“Wow, now who’s being arrogant?”
“Me? Arrogant?”
“I wasn’t asking you out on a date. I was having a little barbecue for Kevin, to welcome him to Vegas. I was going to invite your dad, too. I’m just being friendly is all, Karli.”
She looked embarrassed, and I felt kind of bad again. But not so bad as to take back the offer. “Oh, okay… I guess.”
“Great.” I bent over the desk and picked up a marker and a notepad. I wrote my address and number on it and said, “How does seven sound?”
She looked at the time. It was already three-thirty. I was just praying I had what I needed at home and wouldn’t have to go to the store. I was going to be cutting it close. Plus, I still had to invite the guest of honor. “Um…okay; I’ll try to make it.”
I smiled at her, making sure my dimples came through loud and clear just in case she wasn’t immune to them. “Try hard.”
I left the office without a commitment, but pretty sure she’d come along if her father and houseguest decided to come. I’d rather have her in my house without Daddy as a chaperone, but at this point I’d take what I could get. For the first time in a long time, I was intrigued by the woman and not just the pretty face.
I backtracked to where Shrek and Charlie were still working on the bag. “Hey, guys, I was thinking about throwing some steaks on the grill when I get home. A few of the guys from the league will be there. I thought we’d make it a welcome party for Kevin, if you’re available?”
I looked at the big kid. He looked interested. Then I said, “My friend’s dad owns the Red Herron Inn out at the state line. He’s bringing a few of the girls that work in the club over there, too.” I said that casually and watched as the look on Shrek’s face went from interest to blatant enthusiasm. You can always count on nineteen-year-old hormones.
“Sure, that sounds like fun,” he said. “What do you think, Charlie?”
“I’m a little tired,” Charlie said, “But you go ahead, Kevin. It’ll be nice for you to meet some of the guys if you decide to stay in town.”
Yes! Perfect! “I gave Karli the address if you want to get it from her,” I told Kevin. I didn’t want Charlie to think I’d gone behind his back to invite Karli. He scowled slightly, but didn’t say anything.
“Good! Maybe she and I can ride together.”
“Yeah, maybe. I’ll see you later. Charlie, if you change your mind…”
“Thanks,” he grumbled as I walked away. Now I had to get home and get this shit set up.
********
I went home and then I had to leave again and go to the store. I filled a grocery cart with everything I could think of, half of which I probably didn’t need. On my way home, I called Jonah. “Hey, stranger, what’s up?”
“I need people at my house at seven for a party.”
“Okay, I can make it.”
“No, I mean, yeah, you can come. But, I need a lot of people and some of the girls from your dad’s place, too if you can get them to come on short notice.”
“Okay. What’s this party for?”
“To introduce a new fighter in town.”
“So what’s the rush?”
“I don’t have time for twenty questions; I have to clean the house.”
He laughed. “All right, man, I’ll bring a party for you, but you’ll have to tell me what it’s really about later.”
“Yeah, later.” I hung up. I wasn’t about to tell Jonah what it was really about. He would tell the other guys and I’d never hear the end of it. Or worse yet, one of them would shoot off their big mouths and Karli would find out this was all about getting her to my house. I was not absolutely certain, but I didn’t think she’d be impressed.
I washed the dishes and straightened up the house before I swept off the patio and cleaned the grill. Then I showered, changed, and had just finished shaving when the doorbell rang. I had actual butterflies in my stomach on my way to answer it. Fuck, what has this girl done to me in one day?
I pulled open the door to Jonah with a girl on each arm. “Hey, ugly and ladies, come on in.” I looked out behind them and Jonah said,
“Don’t worry, there’s more coming. Why don’t you girls go get a beer or something to drink out of the refrigerator on the patio and I’ll be out in a few,” he told them.
I noticed that he didn’t even bother to introduce them, which was rude – and sadly, something I would do. I have no idea why suddenly all of these things mattered so much to me. It had to be more than Martin and his Reyna. Maybe Ethan was right and I was finally maturing. I didn’t want to think this was all about Karli, because how pathetic would that make me?
Once the girls were gone, Jonah looked at me and said, “So, what’s going on?”
“I told you, we’re welcoming a new fighter. He’s this kid from Philadelphia.”
“Save that crap for someone that doesn’t know you.”
The doorbell rang and, at least for the moment, I escaped his inquisition. He went out to get a beer with the girls and my house started filling up. By seven fifteen, I was ready to throw the steaks on the grill. Glenda, one of the fighter’s wives, was making a salad in the kitchen and I had Micah and Les, two more of my friends from the MMA league, wrapping potatoes in foil to bake on the grill. As I carried the meat out to the patio, I saw Briana, Micah’s girlfriend.
“Hey, Bri, would you mind getting the plates and utensils out of the pantry for me and bringing them out to the patio?”
“Nope, I’m on it, Nick.”
Jonah bugged me some more while I tossed the meat and potatoes on the grill. I stuck to my guns that the party was for Kevin. As I was rinsing off the meat pan in the kitchen sink at seven-forty, the doorbell rang again. Jonah answered it and when I looked up and saw Kevin and Karli, I automatically smiled. That was when my stupid friend looked right at Karli and said, “Oh! I get it now!”
Fucker.