Out of My Element (9 page)

“She just said she had a nice time,
but that it was an early night. Didn’t you talk to her?” Trevor questioned me.

“She was waiting for me when I came
home with that girl.” I could hear Trevor sigh.

“Nick, what the hell are you doing,
man? Is this just a game to you? I’m just saying this because for someone who
had a nice date last night, she sure looks beat up today.” Trevor sounded
annoyed.

“It’s not a game, Trevor. I just
don’t know what I’m doing,” I sighed.

“Let me ask you something, Nick. Is
Chelsea just a friend to you?”

“No, she’s much more than that,” I
confessed.

“We figured that. You know, Nick,
at some point we all have to choose—do we fall back on what we’ve always done,
or do we step forward to something new?”

“What are you saying, Trevor?”

“I’m just going to lay it out for
you, Nick. Don't wait until you've lost a good woman to become a better man.”

“Thanks, Trevor. I’ll talk to you
later.” I hung up and poured myself a cup of coffee. How had I fucked this up
so badly? My life had been lived by the seat of my pants—carefree and
happy—with no commitment to anything other than my friends and family.

I hadn’t intended to get involved
or attached to anyone. I didn’t want anyone dictating how and with whom I spent
my time. It had worked for me; fun, happy Nick—making jokes and living life to
the fullest. I didn’t want to lose that part of me, but I couldn’t see myself
that way anymore without Chelsea by my side. I kept her at arm’s length,
careful to not let her get in too close, but it hadn’t worked. I wanted her
there—
needed
her there.

I was going to find a way to make
this right. I needed to talk to her as soon as possible.

***

Two days. I hadn’t seen or talked
to Chelsea in two days. How was that even possible when we lived together?

Last night, she was asleep before I
got home from work. Damn end of the fiscal year was keeping me at work later
than usual, and I’d missed my chance to talk to her again. This morning, she
was up and gone before I’d even woken up.

I hurried through my workday,
determined to make it home at a decent hour. It was Friday night, and I knew
Chelsea couldn’t avoid me all weekend. I pulled in and saw her car still in the
parking garage.

I hurried up to our apartment,
barely closing the door before calling for her. “Chelsea?” I walked down the
hall to her bedroom and knocked. “Chelsea?”

The door opened, and there she was,
looking more beautiful than I remembered. She was in a tight pair of jeans and
a violet V-neck sweater that made her creamy skin look flawless. She had her
hair pulled up loosely with pieces falling around her face. She was
breathtaking.

“We need to talk,” I blurted out
before she could escape.

“I can’t right now, Nick. I need to
go.” She was looking everywhere but at me as she spoke.

“Where are you going?” I asked,
watching her turn back to her closet.

“I have a date with Adam.” She
grabbed her shoes and slipped them on while she held onto the doorjamb.

I took a step forward, closing the
space between us, and grabbed her face softly with my hands, forcing her eyes
up to mine. “Don’t go,” I whispered.

“What?” She looked at me for the
first time.

“Don’t go.
Please
,” I
pleaded.

“Why not, Nick?” She reached up and
placed her hands over mine.

“Uh, I just don’t think Adam is
into you for the right reasons.” She pulled her hands away from mine and
stepped back.

“Is that so? Well, Nick, it’s not
really your choice.” She stepped around me, grabbed her purse, and walked to
the door to leave.

“Chelsea, wait.” I knew I could
stop her if I just told her how I felt, but I couldn’t seem to bring myself to
do that.

“Why, Nick?” She put her hands on
her hips and waited for me to say something.

I closed the distance between us,
taking her hands in mine. I placed my forehead against hers. “Please don’t go
out with him. He’s not right for you. You’re not his type.” The thought of him
putting his usual moves on her pissed me off. “Just stay here, okay?”

“I can’t.” She paused for a minute
before opening the door and leaving.

“Shit!” Why couldn’t I just tell
her that I didn’t want her to go—that I wanted her to be with me, not Adam? Why
was this so hard for me?

Chelsea

If he had just said that he wanted
me to stay, I would have stayed. For just a moment, I had seen something more
in Nick’s eyes. He looked vulnerable, and I just wanted to hold him, and tell
him that it would all work out, but he couldn’t give me what I needed to hear.
He couldn’t make it about him; he had to make it about Adam.

To be honest, I was only going out
with Adam again because I felt like I owed it to him after being so distracted
the last time. After my encounter with Nick just now, I had a feeling that it
would be another distracted evening.

Fortunately, we were doing a quick
dinner and a movie, so at least I would have a couple hours where I didn’t have
to talk or think in the theater.

“Hey.” Adam was waiting for me in
the lobby of our building.

“Wow, Chelsea! You look great!” He
hugged me before taking my hand and walking me outside to his car. “You
hungry?” he asked as he opened my door.

“Yes, I am.” I smiled. I had been
pushing myself with my running the last two days. I was up to an easy ten
miles, mostly as a stress reliever. It kept me out of the apartment until after
Nick left, and it allowed me to stay on my training schedule.

Adam took me to a little Mexican
restaurant. It had been ages since I’d had Mexican food, and it was one of my
favorites. The décor was authentic and rustic. There was a traveling mariachi
band playing music and singing for the tables. It was an upbeat atmosphere,
exactly what I needed right now.

“So, how long have you and Nick lived
together?” Adam asked around a chip.

I took a long drink of my
margarita. “Not long. There was a fire in my apartment building, so I needed a
place to stay.”

“Hmm. How does that work?” he
asked.

“What do you mean?” I raised my
eyebrows at him, not liking the insinuation behind his question.

“Well, are you and Nick just
roommates, or more?” His question hit me straight in the gut. That was exactly
what Nick said we were the other night, when he’d brought his blonde “flavor of
the week” home.

“Yes, we’re just roommates.” I
smiled, desperate to change the subject. “When is your next game?”

“Tomorrow. Can you make it?” He
grinned.

“Um, I don’t think so. I have some
things I need to get done.” I smiled back, just as our food finally showed up.
We both ate in silence.

The evening seemed to drag on, and
for the life of me, I couldn’t begin to tell you what the movie was even about.
I spent half of it trying to redirect Adam’s wandering hands. I swear, if he
placed his hand on my upper thigh one more time, I was going to scream. It felt
wrong—dirty. I didn’t want him.

Adam drove me home and parked the
car. He walked around to my door and opened it. I was prepared to give him a
small kiss and end the date, but after his increasingly eager advances, he
apparently had other ideas.

Before I could protest, Adam
grabbed me and pressed me solidly up against the car. He covered my mouth with
his, pressing his tongue into my mouth, moving it and slobbering all over me. I
could feel his growing erection against my stomach, and it made me extremely
uncomfortable. The second Adam pulled back slightly I turned my head. “Wait,
Adam.” I gasped.

“Come on Chelsea, I know you want
this,” he groaned.

I pushed him back. “No, Adam, I
really don’t. I don’t think this is going to work out.”

“What do you mean?” he snapped.

“Um, I don’t think we are very
compatible.” I stepped away from the car, putting some distance between us.

“What the hell, Chelsea?” He looked
pissed, and people were giving us looks as they passed by. “You spent the whole
fucking night giving me your coy little smiles, playing hard to get by pushing
my hands away, fluttering your eyelashes and smiling, and now you pull this
bullshit?”

“Excuse me?” I crossed my arms
across my chest and glared back at him. “I don’t play games, Adam. If you
thought I was playing hard to get, you misread me.” I shook my head and
laughed. “Shit, Nick was right.” I said under my breath. What an ass!

He glared at me. “Yeah, you’re
right. You weren’t really my type anyway, but I thought I’d give it a chance,
regardless. I didn’t realize you were such a tease. See you later, Chelsea.” I
watched him climb into his car and drive away.

 “Holy crap,” I groaned. I don’t
think I had been kissed like that since Bobby McFarland my freshman year in
high school. At least Bobby had an excuse with his braces. That was just
downright sloppy. I couldn’t help but laugh as I rode the elevator.

The apartment was quiet when I let
myself in. Nick’s door was closed, and I was half tempted to knock on it. I
just wanted to talk to him. I missed him. I grabbed a water bottle and headed
down the hall to my room, determined to take a shower and rid myself of any
remnants of my date with Adam.

After a long, hot shower, I crawled
into bed and fell asleep almost as soon as my head hit the pillow. I wasn’t
sure if it was a dream or not, but I could have sworn that I felt Nick kiss me
on the head and tell me goodbye.

When I woke up, the light was
pouring through my window. It was just after nine, and I knew Nick would be at
his soccer game already. I would just do things around the apartment and wait
for him. It was time for us to clear the air.

Nick

I heard her come in before eleven,
listening closely to make sure she was alone. I don’t think I could’ve handled
her bringing Adam in here. I knew that made me quite the hypocrite, but it was
hard enough on me knowing she was out with him, much less down the hall in her
bed. I am pretty sure I would have torn the door right off the hinges if that
had happened.

I peeked in on her before I left
this morning, and she looked so peaceful as she slept. Her red hair lay in
stark contrast against the white pillow. Her soft pink lips were parted ever so
slightly. I must have stared at her for five minutes before I finally leaned
down and kissed her softly on the head and left for my game. I was going to
make her dinner tonight and talk to her. I had to try to let her know how I
felt; though, most of all, I missed her friendship.

The morning was cold. Fall had hit
Philly in full form, and I was feeling the chill. The cold air burned my lungs
as I ran across the grassy field. I was off my game today for sure—partly due
to everything with Chelsea, but also partly to do with Adam. Every time I saw
him, I got more and more pissed off.

I sat on the bench during half
time, trying to get my head on straight when I felt the wood shift under me.
Glancing sideways as I wiped my face, I saw Adam smiling at me.

“Can I help you with something?” I
grumbled.

“Just trying to figure some things
out.” He smirked.

“Adam, I don’t have time for your
shit. If you have something to say, just fucking say it,” I barked as I stood
up and walked back out to the field. The game was about to start again, and I
needed to get some distance between Adam and me.

“I’m just admiring you for your
ingenious decision to move Chelsea into your place.”

“What the hell are you talking
about, Adam?” 

“Well, she is obviously a
cock-tease. I hope you have more patience than me. Maybe you will have better
luck getting her in bed with her living under your roof.” He laughed.

I’m a smart ass, sarcastic, joking
person, but piss me off, and you’ll end up putting your jaw back together with
glue, tape and staples. I didn’t even think twice before I planted my fist into
Adam’s face, but I didn’t stop there. I hit him in the stomach, and as he bent
over, I slammed my knee into his face. I would have kept going if my teammates
hadn’t pulled me off of him.

“You son of a bitch! If you
ever
talk about Chelsea that way again, I’ll fucking kill you!” I was shaking with
anger. “I’m serious, Adam, Just try me!” I had never wanted to beat someone’s
ass as much as I did right now.

“Nick! What the hell?” I felt Tom
grab my arm right before I was removed from the game with a red card.

“Get him out of here, Tom.” The
look on my coach’s face said it all. I knew I was going to catch hell for this,
but I couldn’t think about that right now. I was too riled to think straight.

 “Come on.” Tom pulled me off the
field and to the parking lot.

“Fuck!” I kicked a discarded fast
food cup across the blacktop. When I reached my car, I pressed my forehead
against the cold metal, trying to get myself under control.

“You want to tell me what the hell
that was about?” Tom spoke quietly. He was always so calm. In fact, it was kind
of ironic that the only time I’d ever seen him fight with anyone was when he
was defending the woman he loved. Tom had punched Ava’s ex-boyfriend one night
at the club for calling Talia a bitch. I could finally see what made him break
like that. The crap Adam was spouting off about Chelsea pushed me over the
edge. Now, more than ever, I wanted to talk to Chelsea. If Adam had said or
done anything to hurt her, I just might be back for a second round.

I turned and leaned back against
the car, looking up to the cloudy sky. “He was talking shit about Chelsea,” I
mumbled.

“Okay, well shit … you set him
straight, but I hope like hell that he doesn’t press charges against you, Nick.
I’m pretty sure you broke his nose.”