Chapter Nine
NICK
“Hey, Nick! Is the food almost ready?” Jonah yelled at me on my way back out the door to the patio.
I’d taken the meat off the grill already and forgot about it when I went to follow Karli inside. I wished I knew what she was thinking now. She’d run into the bathroom and closed the door so quickly that I was sure she regretted kissing me.
But what she couldn’t deny, at least to herself, was that was one hell of a kiss. I’d kissed a lot of women in my life so I know a great kiss when I feel one, and every nerve ending in my body felt that one. For just a few seconds before she ran, I could see on Karli’s face and in her pretty eyes that she’d felt it, too.
“Nick?” Jonah walked up behind me.
“What?”
“The food?”
“Oh, yeah, it’s ready.”
He laughed. “Man, I never thought I’d see the day.”
“What day is that?”
“The one where Nicholas Storelli fell in love.”
“Shut the fuck up and go put the meat on the table.” I handed him the tray and he walked away laughing. Idiot.
I went inside and with a couple of the girls’ help, I brought out the rest of the food. The whole time, I watched the hallway for a sign of Karli. When all the food was put out and I still hadn’t seen her, I went looking for her. The bathroom door was open and the bathroom was empty. I went back outside and searched the yard for Kevin. He wasn’t hard to spot.
“Hey, Kevin!” I waved at him and he jogged over. “Where’s Karli? Have you seen her?”
“Oh yeah, she just texted me. She asked me to tell you thanks for the invite, but she had to get home and work on her homework.”
Shit. The kiss scared her. “Thanks,” I told him. I started to walk away and then turned back to him and said, “Hey, Kevin, can you give me her number? I misplaced it. I just want to tell her goodnight.”
“Sure.” He took out his phone and rattled it off as I put it into mine. Once everyone was stuffing their faces, I went back into the quiet house and sent her a text,
“Thank you for coming tonight. I am sorry we got off to such a bad start this morning. I’d like to get to know you, Karli. Please don’t stress yourself out about the kiss either. I don’t want things to be awkward for you at the gym. But if you ever want to do it again, I’m game ;) Goodnight, beautiful.”
It was almost an hour later when I got a text back that simply said, “Thanks, Nick. Goodnight.” It was a start, I guess.
********
I had been doing my absolute best every day that I worked with Charlie in the days after our talk. I also hadn’t been out – no drinking and no partying and no women. The last drink I had was at the party I threw last Sunday night, and I had actually bought some of the things on Charlie’s nutrition list and cooked my own dinner three nights this past week instead of eating out. I was sleeping better and my body actually felt better.
The only thing I was struggling with was Karli. I saw her come and go most days. She’d go into the office and work or spend time cleaning the equipment.
I came in early one day and actually caught her doing her own workout. Charlie was spotting for her, so I just stood back and watched for a few minutes. She was wearing a pair of yoga pants and one of those sports bra/work-out top things. They were both hot pink with gray trim and I was almost jealous of the way they got to hug her curves.
I hadn’t been wrong about her having one hell of a body underneath her loose, conservative clothes. She was gorgeous, even all sweaty with no make-up on and her hair in a short, little ponytail at the nape of her neck. I felt myself getting excited and had to walk away. It wouldn’t do for her father to see me with a boner directed at his pretty daughter.
I went into the locker room to change and when I got back out into the training room, Karli was gone. I had to stuff my disappointment because as soon as Charlie saw me, he said, “Get on your headgear and get in the ring.” I hadn’t sparred since the day Kevin kicked my ass. Charlie had been running me through strength and endurance training and had me do a lot of bag work this week. As I was putting on the headgear, I asked him,
“Who am I sparring? Kevin?”
“Nope,” Charlie said. I turned and looked at him. “Me.”
“Um…are you sure, Charlie?” He was not a small guy and definitely not out of shape, but he had to be pushing sixty and I just wasn’t sure going up against me in the ring was a good idea.
He chuckled. “You afraid you’re gonna hurt me, Storelli?”
“Kind of,” I told him, honestly.
That time he laughed outright. “Well, don’t worry your pretty head about me. If I were you, I’d be worried about myself. Charlie the Hurricane Henderson used to eat little boys like you for breakfast and clean his teeth with their bones.”
“Nice analogy,” I said with a grin. Getting in the ring with Charlie might be kind of fun. I was interested to see if he still had anything left in his old age.
Half an hour later, I was drenched in sweat and ducking underneath Charlie’s extraordinarily long reach. He seemed to be anticipating my every move.
“You can’t just work the defense, Nick. Show me some offense.”
I was embarrassed to admit that I had been showing it to him. I threw out a right hook. Charlie was dodging it before it got there. I tried sweeping his legs, but he jumped back before I even extended mine. I was getting frustrated. I stepped forward with my right foot and faked a left cross. As soon as my shoulder twitched, he moved to block it. That was when I came back at him with a hard right to the left side of his head gear.
Charlie had to shake it off, but he was smiling. I think this was the most fun he’d had since I met him. He came back at me, and I planted my feet wide and held up my fists. He came at me with a left hook. I put up my right arm to block it and before he could react, I unleashed a series of punches on him. I backed him all the way up into the mesh.
I was a heavy hitter; it’s what I do. I’ve also gotten good at dodging most punches and kicks and usually, I won by a knockout. I’ve had two wins by submission, but the guys were both already half comatose by then.
Charlie actually looked proud of me as we made our way back to the center of the octagon. “That was good; much better,” he told me.
We danced around each other a little more with him throwing out punches and me dodging them, and then I’d throw one out and he’d dodge it. My punches were fast and hard and the guy that could dodge all or most of them was a rarity. Every so often with Charlie, I would get lucky and connect, but he acted like the fist I used to take down twenty-year-old men in perfect condition was only a minor inconvenience.
I finally got exhausted and went in for the clinch. We locked arms and struggled for the dominant position. I hated wrestling, but I just wanted this to be over. I used all the power I had left to take Charlie down. He fought hard with me for position, while at the same time snapping out orders and directions.
“If I wanted to, I could be sitting on you right now, pounding your face with my fists.”
I was lethal with my fists and I kicked ass in martial arts. I readily admitted that I sucked on my ground game…mostly because I hate it. The writhing around on the mat with a sweaty guy has never appealed to me.
It’s not a homophobic thing; I think it was more about personal space. My arm reach was over three and a half feet, so even when I was beating them senseless, I could keep them at bay. I obviously couldn’t match Charlie in skill on the floor, but I had him in size and I tried to use that. If I could get my arms underneath him, I could roll him onto his stomach. I struggled with it for a good two or three minutes before I managed it and he twisted out of it right away.
Seconds later, he’d flipped us and he was back on top. I kept fighting, but I couldn’t get Charlie off. If this was a real fight, I’d have to tap out.
I had gotten my ass whooped by an inexperienced kid last week and a sixty-year-old man this week. It was hell on my ego, that’s for sure
“Okay,” Charlie said when he finally climbed off of me. “Towel off and work on the speed bag for a while.” I gave him an “are you serious” look as I struggled to my feet, winded. He grinned at me and I knew he was waiting for me to complain, so I didn’t.
I grabbed a towel and soaked it with sweat before tossing it aside and going over to the speed bag. I was good at that, at least. I moved my fists in fast, fluid motions. It helped clear my head and by the time Charlie called out for me to switch to the weight room, I felt strong again and determined that the next time Charlie sparred with me, I was going to end up on top.
After running two sets, he looked at the clock and said, “I think that’s good for today. Good job, kid.” I thanked him and while I was in the shower, I marveled at how I’d gone from not giving a shit about his opinion to filling with a sense of pride in myself every time he said I was doing a good job.
With Martin, things had been more on a buddy level. With Charlie, it was like a son trying to impress his dad. I had given up on my own father a couple of decades ago. Maybe that was the appeal for me, but whatever it was, I was beginning to see that by recommending Charlie, Martin was at least looking out for me in the end.
I showered and dressed and although I was parked in the back, I headed for the front door. I was having Karli withdrawals and was hoping to at least catch a glimpse of her. I was disappointed when I passed the office and she wasn’t there, but as soon as I stepped outside, I found her out on the sidewalk on her phone. She had her back to me and I heard her say,
“No, Michaela, not tonight.” A few beats later she said, “I have to study and besides, you know how I feel about loud, wild, frat-boy parties.” She listened again and said, “I love you, too. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” She ended the call, and I let go of the door I’d been holding. When it shut, she turned and looked at me. “Oh…hey, Nick.”
“Hi. What are you studying?”
“Excuse me?”
“I’m sorry. I heard you say you had to study. Are you in school?”
“Yeah, I’m a second-year law student.”
“Cool, smart girl.” I smiled. She smiled back. We were having a conversation just like normal people; go figure. “My brother’s an attorney.”
She looked surprised. I guess she didn’t think a guy like me could have any intelligent genes running through my blood. She would be surprised to know that I graduated high school with honors. “Oh, wow,” she said, “That’s cool. It’s always nice to have an attorney in the family, just in case.”
So, she thought I was stupid and a criminal. Nice. “Yeah, I don’t even give shoplifting a second thought anymore.”
She laughed softly. “I didn’t mean to imply you needed a lawyer.”
“I guess it was a fair assumption if you ever read any of the tabloids I used to star in.”
“Used to?”
“I’m reformed,” I told her with a grin and a wink. “No wild, frat parties for me, either.”
She smiled. “Good to know, I guess.”
“So, you’re not into wild parties. What are you into, Karli?” I took a step toward her and it thrilled me that just like that night at my house, she didn’t move away. She was looking up at me, and I was dying to taste her lips again. I bent down and put my lips right next to her ear and said, “Maybe you and me could find something to get into together?”
She did step back then. “I don’t think so, Nick.”
“Why not?”
“I’m just not into fighters.”
“You seemed kind of into me that night at my house.” I took a step toward her again and ran my tongue across my lips. I reached down and brushed a soft piece of hair away from her face. She actually shuddered. That encouraged me. “Was I wrong, Karli? Did you not enjoy that kiss as much as I did?”
“Nick…” Her face was flushed and her breaths were getting shorter. She wanted me, I knew she did. She was afraid for some reason to explore those feelings, but I was determined to change her mind.
“What, Karli?” I brushed her hair behind her ear and let my fingers linger on her cheek. Another shiver ran through her gorgeous body. I brought my hand down and cupped the back of her neck.
She tipped her head back further, and I started to lower my lips down to hers. That was when she pulled out of my grip. “What are you doing? You can’t just kiss me whenever the mood strikes!”
I tried to look sorry but life is like fighting, it’s all about timing. I was hoping the timing was right because I really wanted to taste those lips again. “Sorry, you’re just so…”
“Don’t say it. Look, I told you, I don’t date fighters.”
I folded my arms and looked down at her. “How unfair is that? You’re stereotyping.”
She laughed. “I’ve been around fighters and gym rats my entire life. I have yet to meet one that’s not just like the other.”
“How insulted would you be if I said all pretty blonde women are Barbies?”
“I wouldn’t be insulted because it’s not true.”
I rolled my eyes. “That’s what I’m trying to tell you. All of us fighters and “gym rats” are not the same either. But, you’ll never know that if you don’t give people a chance.”
She smiled and said, “People? Or you?”
“Well, I’m people and you hurt my feelings.”
She looked amused. “Your feelings are hurt?”
“Yes, you don’t believe I have feelings? Fighters don’t have feelings?” I’d completely lost the smile on my face.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. I’ve just had some bad experiences.”
I stepped closer to her and said, “You can’t give up just because you’ve run across a few assholes.” I lowered my mouth down again and with my lips so close to hers I could feel her breath on my face I said, “You’ll never know what you’re missing if you’re too afraid to take a shot.” I let my lips barely touch hers. She didn’t move this time and she didn’t protest, so I pressed them together a little harder. I felt her part hers, and I let my tongue delve in between them and tangle up with hers. She stepped closer to me and I wrapped her up in my arms and pulled her up onto her toes.
God, I loved kissing her. It was the best thing that happened to me since the first kiss…until I heard Charlie clear his throat behind us. I let go of Karli and reluctantly turned to look at him.
“What the hell is this?”
“Charlie…”
Karli put her hand on my arm and said, “It’s okay, Nick; I’ll talk to Dad.”
I looked back at the man who just kicked my ass an hour ago. He was glaring at me again the way he had that first week we had trained together. I felt like a wimp leaving her here to deal with it. I tried again, “Charlie, don’t be angry with Karli; the kiss was all me.”
“You forced yourself on her?”
“No, Dad,” Karli said with a sigh. “Nick, please go.” Charlie gave me a dismissive snort.
“Okay, I’ll see you both tomorrow.” Neither of them said anything and as I was walking away, I heard Karli say,
“I’m twenty-two years old, Dad. You don’t get to say who I kiss and who I don’t.” I missed Charlie’s reply, but I had a feeling I’d feel it tomorrow.