Charlotte's Tangled Web: L.B. Pavlov (5 page)

Sean and Gomez gave each other a look that told me they got it: I don’t trust the guy, and we need to keep our eyes on him. These were two guys who always had my back, and I watched theirs in return.

Charlotte ran past me on the field. She was warming up with her team. Charlotte made running look like a leisure sport. It came easy to her, and she definitely had a gift. Even in races, when everyone else was breathing heavily and panting for dear life, Charlotte looked relaxed and at ease. There was something very peaceful about her. I always felt calmer when I was with her. I guess it was because I had known her most of my life, and she was my best friend.

I saw her face light up and she waved, but I realized that she wasn’t looking at me. I felt my blood boil when I looked up and saw that the cheese ball, Blane, was waving like an idiot in her direction. This guy was such a joke.

He came to the line, and we all huddled together. I heard him make a crack about Charlotte in her running shorts, and I felt an unexplainable rage take over inside of me. I had to keep cool. Coach Pank did not allow fighting within the team. I would have to keep this under control and just keep a close eye on this kid.

We all lined up and began our running drills. I immediately was caught off guard by how fast the douche bag could run. He was right on my shoulder and obviously quicker than Gomez. I observed him as we did our drills and quickly assessed that he was not only fast, but he was strong and could handle a ball well. He was definitely going to be a problem. My plan was to wear him down and see how much of a beating he could take. Unfortunately, he could handle more than I had expected. I wished I could play the line for just a minute. I was thinking about how hard I’d like to hit him for the comment about Charlotte in her shorts. Prick. I would have to keep myself calm. I despised this guy, and there was no way that I wanted to pass him the ball over Gomez. Coach Pank put us through a few different patterns, and Gomez was his usual reliable self. I was forced to try a few passes to the douche bag, and unfortunately he was also impressive. I could see Coach Pank’s wheels turning as he watched. Practice came to an end, and we headed for the locker room.

I saw Charlotte on my way to the locker room and told her I would meet her at the truck shortly. She was just finishing up her cool down. She gave me her warm smile, and I immediately felt soothed. Charlotte always knew when something was bothering me. But this was something that would be tough to talk to her about because she clearly liked him. The thought of Charlotte with this guy made my stomach roil.

In the locker room, Blane walked over to me and said with an amused smile, “Hey, Daniel, your throws aren’t bad. I think you could work on your force a bit, but it wasn’t bad.”

This guy has got some nerve.

I just stared at him and said, “Oh, I’m just used to guys like Gomez who can catch whatever I throw.” I added, chucking, “You probably just need someone to put it in your lap, huh?”

Gomez and Sean were staring at our tense interaction.

The douche bag retorted with a disgusting smirk on his face, “Well, the only thing I want on my lap is your friend Charlie.” He congenially put his knuckles up, as if I would give him some sort of guy fist-bump.

I felt every part of my body tense. I wanted to tackle this prick, but Sean and Gomez jumped in between us. They had heard the comment, and they realized a fight was about to break out.

“It’s not worth it, Daniel,” Gomez said in a concerned voice.

I just stared at Blane. I could feel my hatred pouring from my eyes. “You need to be very careful, Blane. Do you understand me?” I asked. My voice was icy, and even I was surprised by the seething tone that came out when I spoke.

He smiled, completely unfazed. “Dude! Chill! She’s not your girlfriend. I’m just saying she’s hot.”

I continued to stare right into his eyes. “I’m watching you. Keep that in mind,” I said, feeling the animosity in my voice.

Sean walked over and steered me out of the locker room.

“I don’t know what that guy is thinking,” he said.

“I do. That’s the problem,” I responded solemnly.

I walked over to the truck, and Charlotte was sitting on the curb waiting for me. Her greeting smile started to fade when she saw my face.

“What’s wrong? Is everything OK?” She rushed over to put her hand on my shoulder.

“Get in the car, I’ll tell you once we’re driving,” I said, trying to compose myself.

She got in the car, and I started the engine. She stared at me, silently waiting for me to fill her in. “You’re not buckled, Charlotte. I’m not talking till we’re driving, and I’m not driving till you’re buckled,” I said quietly.

“OK, I’m buckled. What’s the matter? You have me worried.” Her voice was suddenly filled with concern. Charlotte was not someone who could hide her emotions. She wore them on her sleeve.

“Blane is a prick, Charlotte! You can’t go out with this guy!” I exploded.

With a disturbed look on her face, she replied, “This is about Blane? Is it because he wants to take Gomez’s place as the starting running back?”

Sometimes Charlotte’s innocence was more than I could handle. How was I going to explain this to someone who always saw the good in people?

“Charlotte, he was talking, um, inappropriately about you,” I said in a more sedate voice.

She looked surprised, and her cheeks flushed bright pink. “He was talking bad about me?”

I just stared at her, and she really wasn’t getting it. I pulled the car over to the side of the road and turned to look at her. “Charlotte, he was talking about how hot you are in the locker room,” I finally blurted out.

She burst out laughing! “Blane thinks I’m hot? I don’t think anyone has ever called me that. Is that bad, Daniel? I have heard you and Sean say that before. Is this what you’re so upset about?” She was looking at me as if she was completely puzzled.

“This was different. I can’t explain it. He said other things that I didn’t like, but I don’t even want to talk about it with you. Can’t you just trust me on this one?” I asked.

She turned, and her big eyes welled up with emotion-filled tears. “Daniel, you have known me for a long time. Have I ever been asked on a date? Ever? There is a new kid in school, and everyone is interested in him. And he likes me, Daniel! Why can’t you just let me have this? Why are you trying to ruin this for me? Because he said I was pretty?” She burst into tears. I felt my heart sink as the sobs escaped her throat.

I couldn’t stand to see her unhappy so I said, “I’m sorry, Charlotte. I just don’t trust him. But I won’t say anything else about him to you. Go to dinner with him Friday, and I will keep my mouth shut.” I paused and then continued, “But you better have your cell phone with you in case he tries something so I can come get you. Can you agree to do that?” I asked apologetically.

She turned back to me and attempted to smile. I wiped away the last tear that was coming down her cheek, and she reached across the seat and hugged me. “Of course I can do that, Daniel. Thanks for understanding,” she said, finally smiling. “Lenora left me a message. She made enchiladas tonight. Do you want to come for dinner?” she asked.

Charlotte and I usually ate dinner together since all of our brothers had gone to college. She either joined my parents and I, or I joined her and Lenora. Charlotte’s dad worked a lot. He was rarely home for dinner. He was not very involved in Charlotte’s life outside of her running. Her running was extremely important to her dad. I think it was a way of honoring her mother in his eyes, and she tried very hard to please him.

“Of course, I will shower and then come over,” I said as she got out of the truck.

“OK, see you in a little bit, Daniel!”

My week flew by so fast. Daniel and I spent a lot of time together, between practice, school, and the fact that we literally had dinner together every night that week with the exception of Friday.

Friday was my big date with Blane. Daniel still did not seem to like him, but he seemed to bite his tongue for my sake. I appreciated it. Daniel really liked most people. He had a ton of friends. But when he didn’t like someone, he really, really didn’t like him or her. He usually had a good instinct about people, but clearly this time he had gotten off to a bad start with Blane because of the Gomez situation.

Blane had texted me a few times that week. It was very exciting to get his texts. Daniel was the only boy who had ever texted me, aside from my brothers and Coach Miroballi, my cross-country and track coach, who texted me often about different workouts.

Blane was the first “real” boy to text me. It was all about our date. He was going to take me to Antonio’s Italian Restaurant. Dad and I had eaten there before with my brothers.

I hadn’t really planned what to wear for the date because most of my free time had been spent with Daniel, and I definitely didn’t want to discuss this with him. At lunch I planned to ask Steph and Kathleen about what I should wear. They were both better at this than I was. They both had boyfriends, not to mention the fact that they were both very fashionable. They would tell me what to wear and what to say. This dating thing was a little overwhelming. I quickly got ready for school and hurried downstairs to eat breakfast.

Lenora was cooking breakfast with loud, Spanish music playing, and I could hear her laughing as I came down the stairs. I rushed into the kitchen to see if I had caught my dad before he left for work, and there was Daniel. He had Lenora’s apron on, and he was holding a spatula in his hand to flip the pancakes. I burst out laughing. He was spinning Lenora around in the kitchen and dancing with her.

“Good morning,” I said, giggling.

We all started laughing as Lenora grabbed the spatula out of Daniel’s hand and he grabbed me to twirl me around the kitchen. Daniel came over for breakfast on the days he was up and ready early. He usually preferred to sleep and was in a rush in the morning.

As he spun me into his arms, he looked down at me and said, “Are you ready for your big date tonight?” He had an uneasy look on his face.

“Yes, Daniel. Why are you up so early this morning?” I asked.

He stared for a minute and then spiraled me forward in a twirl and said, “Couldn’t sleep.”

Lenora turned the music down and told us it was time to eat. When we sat down at the table, I looked at Daniel and asked, “Is everything OK? Is something wrong?” He took a big bite of pancakes while he thought about it.

He quickly said, “No, I just have some things on my mind. Nothing to worry about, and stop biting your lip, please.” He gave me a wink and then continued, “Oh, Lenora, these just may be your best pancakes ever.” Lenora beamed.

Daniel had a way of charming Lenora into cooking whatever he wanted. We finished up breakfast and headed to the truck. On our drive to school, we talked about his upcoming game, which was a week from Saturday.

“Will Gomez get to start?” I inquired.

“Yes, Coach Pank seems to be cautious about your boyfriend, so he is starting Gomez. But I suspect he will still play the douche bag a lot too,” he said, smiling.

“Daniel, he isn’t my boyfriend. I hardly know him. It’s one date.” I felt my face flushing with embarrassment.

“Did you tell your dad about going to dinner yet?” he asked.

“No, I have hardly seen him since school started. He occasionally comes upstairs and says good-night to me, and he asks the usual questions: how was school, how was practice, et cetera.” I paused and continued, “Daniel, do you think that my dad could be dating someone? He is hardly ever home until long after dinner. He rushes out in the morning. Do you think he would be afraid to talk to me about it?” I asked as he pulled into his parking spot at school and turned off his truck.

Daniel turned toward me with a very serious look on his face. “Charlotte, I think he would be afraid of telling you something that would hurt you. I know I would feel the same way. And stop biting your lip, please,” he said, and he quickly planted a kiss on the top of my head and got out of the truck.

“Really, Daniel? But it wouldn’t hurt me if he was dating someone. I would be happy for him. How long can he be alone? It makes me worry about him,” I said, and even I could hear the urgency in my voice.

“I think your dad has a hard time sharing his emotions. But I think you should bring it up to him. He has been alone for so long that he may be afraid of your reaction. Don’t worry, it will all be OK,” he said in the calming voice that only he had. “So what’s the plan for tonight? Do we need to get you home quickly after practice so you can get ready for your dinner?” he asked. He almost sounded nervous.

Daniel probably was nervous for me. He knew how nervous I could get and probably was worried I would make a fool of myself.

“Yes, if that’s OK? I want to take a quick shower and need to figure out what to wear,” I said anxiously.

“Charlotte, don’t overthink it. You always look great. Just be yourself tonight. And remember, it’s bad luck to kiss on the first date,” he said, laughing loudly.

“Oh no! I hope he doesn’t try to kiss me. You don’t think he will, do you? That would be more than I could handle right now,” I said, a little distressed.