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.