"What should I do then?" I asked.
"What should Nick do?" she returned.
"Don't do that. You and Nick had a real relationship. This was a few dates with a guy who told me a big lie." He didn’t embellish his job title or what kind of car he drove. That much I knew.
"And you can let it end things or clear the air. Your call." Lori slumped in the chair.
"You're really going to talk to Nick tomorrow?" I pressed.
"I want to. I hope I can bring myself to get out of the car this time. I've tried." Lori stuck the spoon in her mouth again.
"You have to." Why did I have this strong feeling that Nick and Lori would be okay? Too many romance novels stuffed under my bed? Marina's unshakeable belief in them? I didn't know the reasoning, but I knew it was right.
"I'll talk to him if you read this background check and his note." Lori was negotiating with me.
"Why should I?" I wasn't going to make it that easy on her.
"Because reading his information won't kill you. It won’t even embarrass you because he’s the one who was wrong, not you. Seeing Nick again could cause me serious humiliation and heartbreak."
"Okay, okay. If I promise to read it, you'll promise to get out of the car and see Nick?" I checked.
"Cross my heart." Lori made an exaggerated cross over her left breast and held up her hand.
"Okay, I'll read it."
"And you won't throw it away until at least Monday?" Lori put a condition on it.
"Yes, okay, fine, whatever." I held out my hand and Lori gave me the papers. She kept eating ice cream as I carefully read every word.
“Men suck,” I sighed.
“And lick if you’re lucky.” Lori smiled.
I blushed and tossed a throw pillow at her head. I couldn’t look her in the eye. Tim had done both and well.
“Wait a minute. How far did you and Tim get exactly?” Lori asked.
“Lori, I wouldn’t. I thought he was Marina’s ex-boyfriend. I wanted her to be okay with it first.” Technically that was true. I wanted it.
Lori watched me for a few seconds with squinty eyes. Letting the silence fill the room. “Nothing?” she asked finally.
There I was, caught. Marina had clearly seen us kissing and no doubt filled Lori in on everything she knew. “Not sex, but it wasn’t nothing.”
“Not sex, intercourse sex?” Lori wasn’t giving up.
“I’m still a virgin if you must know.” I felt redder than Lori’s nail polish.
“I knew it. You had to be intimate with him to be this upset over it. Oral at the very least. Was it good?” she asked.
“I’m trying to read here.” I did try except my brain was now on that night when we’d actually had a real date and I couldn’t get enough of him.
“So don’t tell me. At least your reaction makes sense now. Better see if he included an HIV test in that background check just in case.”
My face froze. The words on the page blurred as reality hit me. “I wouldn’t be that stupid,” I lied. “I barely knew him.”
“You didn’t do him? Okay. Condoms and oral are a real pain.” Lori shrugged.
I had. “Check to be sure.” I tossed Lori the pages and she looked at me with a raised eyebrow.
She knew I’d lied. Why hadn’t I thought of that? I knew better. I hadn’t been thinking at all at the time. My first really good sexual experience and it could kill me. How could I have been so stupid?
“He is thorough. And negative.” Lori folded back to that page and showed it to me.
“Thank God,” I exhaled.
“Now you’re sure you can’t be pregnant, right?” Lori went back to eating ice cream. If she wasn’t careful, she’d finish off that entire half gallon on her own.
“How could I be? I swallowed.” I felt like my mom was giving me the third degree. Lori was so matter-of-fact about it.
“It’s not always just about where the cum landed. How do I put this? Did the sperm stick ever venture near pussy central?” Lori kept a straight face as she sounded like a character from Sesame Street.
I burst out laughing at her. She sounded like a cartoon not a sex lecture. I laughed and she laughed. My eyes began to tear and my sides hurt by the time I got control. I felt better if nothing else.
“No,” I managed. “Nowhere near.”
“Good because it’s been a few days and I don’t want to find out you’re knocked up and have to go through that stuff too.” Lori sat back and looked down at her ice cream. “I ate this much?”
“Yeah.” I nodded. “Might as well finish it now. I don’t need any more junk.”
“Why did you let me eat almost the full thing?”
“I didn’t know I was your food monitor.” I rolled my eyes and started reading Tim’s background check with a more skeptical eye. Maybe he’d left the bad stuff out. Or maybe this was all a fake.
“I’m stress eating.” Lori put the spoon in the sink and tossed the rest of the ice cream in the trash. “It’s all Nick’s fault.”
“You’re in the right place for it.” I waved at my sea of wrappers and bags. “This is what men do to us.”
“Exactly. I did the same thing after Nick and I broke up. Only more alcohol than sugar.” Lori was clearly on a sugar high as she paced my living room.
“Then you’d better go and see him tomorrow so you can burn off all those calories.” I grinned.
Lori shot me a dirty look with a smile behind it. “Nick did have the touch. I could never get enough of him. Even if he won’t talk, we could always just hook up. I bet I could still seduce him first and he’d ask questions later.”
“Doubtful. I think there is too much emotion there for that. Fight first.”
“Fine, fight first. Screw later. You’re probably right. Just as long as we get there.” Lori sat back down and seemed lost in thought.
I kept flipping through Tim’s report. How could I be sure? I mean, one hundred percent sure this was true. “Lori, would you do me a favor?”
“What?” Lori asked absently.
“Can you get another background check run on Tim? I want to make sure he’s not lying. This could be a fake.” I dropped it on the coffee table with the other garbage. “What if he just filled it out himself?”
“No problem.” She picked it up. “Give me a day or two. Think he might be worth another look?”
I wasn’t sure but didn’t want to confess that weakness. That strong temptation to be near him again, whatever his name was.
“I want to be sure he doesn’t have any diseases and that really is his clean criminal record.”
“Medical stuff can be hard to get, but I’ll try.” Lori tucked the report next to her. “All the reports won’t restore the trust. For that, you need to talk to him.”
I glanced at the clock. It was nearly two in the morning. “If you’re going to talk to Nick tomorrow, you’d better go get some sleep or he might not want you.”
Lori looked at her watch and did a double take. “Okay. You go to bed too.”
“I will, I promise.” I tugged my blanket around me on the couch.
“No.” Lori grabbed the blanket and pulled it and me off of the couch with a thud. “You’re going to sleep in your bed like a normal person.”
“Okay, okay.” I stepped out of the blanket and headed for the door to lock up after Lori left.
“Straight to bed.” Lori lectured as she walked into the hallway.
“You know, you and Marina will make great moms someday. You both nag and guilt like pros.” My sarcasm was not lost on her.
“If you didn’t need it, we wouldn’t do it. You’re the one who blew a guy and you didn’t even know his real name,” Lori returned.
I stuck my tongue out at her and closed the door. She was right. I’d lost my mind.
Chapter Fourteen
Lori and the Mechanic
I'd barely slept all night after leaving Jen. The thought of seeing Nick kept me up and when I finally did sle
ep, the dreams were about him. They weren’t good. Bad karma, as Jen would say. In every nightmare, he turned his back and wouldn’t talk to me. That was my worst fear. I needed to talk to him. At ten in the morning, I gave up sleeping and forced myself out of bed.
A quick, and very hot, shower to freshen up and clear my head, then I carefully shaved every inch of my legs and touched up the bikini area. I didn't have any real hopes for today. What a lie!
Better to be safe than sorry, I decided. I’d been going over and over my possible outfit options all night and had yet to decide completely.
Getting dressed took forever. Jeans and his old sweatshirt was a tempting outfit; he'd see through it. He'd like it, no doubt, and he'd tease me for it. I wanted to do as much of the talking as I could.
I dressed like normal, except with a few alternations. The skirt was simple and black. It was also one of my shortest skirts with a slit even Marina wouldn't approve of.
I refused any thought of pantyhose. They’d get in the way of things if they went well.
Topping off the outfit was his favorite blouse, a sexy red that would get me noticed by every man in Chicago. Even the gay guys would approve of my fashion sense.
Of course the topper were the shoes, Nick was well over six feet tall so I could wear stilettos and not even look him in the eye. Red stiletto heels would be unforgettable and so would the contortion of my feet.
I'd touched up my nail polish last night. Even Jen had noticed the I'm Not Really a Waitress shade. I did my makeup carefully and layered on the red lipstick. Don’t know why, but red lips had a strange effect on men. And I was determined it wouldn’t rub off until I rubbed it off on Nick in as many places as I could.
The base lipstick was one of those won't come off under water, kissing, or chemical peel. Next was a less matte, long lasting one. Then I let those set, patted with face powder, another coat of each and top that with shiny red lip-gloss. It was perfect. I hoped it would have the desired effect.
If he didn't shut up long enough to hear me out, I'd have no chance with Nick ever. He could still kick me out but I'd jump start his hormones for sure. Maybe that would buy me some extra time.
I covered the outfit with my ankle-length black wool trench coat. The element of surprise was another advantage I wanted on my side. I even wrapped a long scarf around my neck to hide any hint of cleavage. It was the first time I was glad Chicago had such rough winters. Who knows what type of attention I’d attract walking through Nick’s garage without the long coat.
Driving in stilettos wasn't easy, especially in slushy Chicago weather, so I took my time on the way to the garage. That or I kept growing more and more nervous the closer I got to Nick's place of employment. I had to be subtle and try not to get him into trouble.
Parking the car, I took a deep breath and counted to ten. Moments later, I stepped into Nick's garage. I noticed the sign said Nick's Southside garage. Marina never mentioned that. I must have missed it during my drive-bys. All I’d ever been looking for was Nick.
As I made my way through the rows of cars and men, I got plenty of whistles and winks, and that was with the coat buttoned! Finally, I spotted Eddie, Marina's sex toy. I'd almost missed him with his clothes on. Maybe he could help me not chicken out.
"Morning, Lori." Eddie nodded.
"Hi, is Nick around?" I tried not to fidget with my hair or anything else. My nerves were getting the best of me. I knew I wanted Nick back. It wouldn’t be easy. It might not even be possible.
"Nick, sure. The boss is in the office. Right back that way on your right." Eddie smiled and went back to his brake job.
"The boss?" I confirmed.
"Yeah, Nick bought the place about a year or so ago. Old man Jerry retired and sold it to him." Eddie shrugged. "Good luck."
“Thanks.” I nodded and walked slowly in the right direction. He bought it? Nick really owned a business? I could see him in the office through the door’s window. He was on the phone pacing and looking seriously adorable. Sexy as ever and so cute.
I couldn't stand there forever. Waiting wouldn't help. Every second made me more and more nervous. I knocked on the door and opened it. Nick turned to see me and his expression went from normal to poker face.
"I'll call you back," Nick said to whoever was on the other line. He hung up slowly and put the file in his hand down on the desk.
"Hi." What a great opening. Had I practiced that? My brain was blank. How could I be completely at a loss? This was worse than any jury or judge.
"What brings you here, car trouble?" He sat down and folded his hands behind his head.
The facade was intended to look casual, thankfully I could see through him. He was nervous too. I wanted to touch him so bad my fingers ached.
"No, the car's fine. I'm the one having some serious trouble." I took off the coat and tossed it at a metal and vinyl chair.
"You sick?" he asked. His gaze roamed slowly up and down.
"Mentally." I nodded. "I screwed up years ago and I’ve been a mess since."
"Did Marina tell you that?" he asked.
"No, she came to make sure you wouldn't throw me out. Marina doesn't tell me what to do. She's my friend and I needed help. I was afraid I couldn't get this far." A tiny little lie, but I wasn't about to tell him about Marina's plan until I had him back.
I took a step closer and toyed with his nameplate. "Will you hear me out?"
"I haven't kicked you out yet." He shrugged as his eyes watched my fingers like I was a shoplifter. It was the nails, I realized.
"Okay, I made a mistake. I've been paying for it ever since. I want to fix it."
"And you think red lipstick, nail polish, and slutty heels will do it?" he asked.
"No. I missed this. I missed dressing sexy and feeling sexy. I missed you. I miss how I felt when I was with you. I liked myself better." I forced my voice not to shake and my eyes never left his.
He just stared back. His eyes were cold and unreadable. Maybe the outfit had been too much? I’d over done it and ruined everything.
"What about your parents?" he challenged.
"I don't care. They can’t stop us. I won’t let them. I want to take you to their Eve of Christmas Eve party. I want you back in my life." There, I'd said it. I’d swallowed my pride, put my ego and heart on the line. Now it was all up to him.
Why did this feel like a bad TV movie all of a sudden? Unfortunately, the anticipation was real and I couldn't expect a happy ending.
"Why me? Why not find some other inappropriate guy who they'll hate?" Nick got up from his chair and came closer to me.
"I don't want anyone else. This isn't about my parents. I don't care if they love you or hate you.” I took a deep breath and tried to stay calm. I never thought about how hard it’d be to say the right words.
I’d been so focused on getting there that what to say never sank in. Everything I’d practiced before felt stupid, there weren’t enough words to express what I felt. Marina had frequently told me I had a degree in arguing. Why wasn’t it helping now?
Nick was so mad he was calm, which was the worst level. I held my ground as best I could. I had to take it, let him get his anger out. Yet, he remained silent.
“I don't care what they say to me or think of me. I'm sick of living my life to avoid upsetting people. I'm thirty fucking years old. I finally know what I want and I want you."
"Why?" he demanded through a clenched jaw.
Nick, my Nick, was just a few inches from me now. I could barely think straight.
"Hate me if you want, I deserve it." I shrugged. "I'd have hated myself forever if I didn’t come here and try to get you back. I’m not great at this emotional stuff. I’m trying."
"That's not an answer. I'm not a birthday present or consolation prize because you haven't talked any blue blood, inbreed, moron into marrying you." He turned his back on me. That was it. That couldn’t be it. He had it all wrong. I had to do something.
"No!" I grabbed his arm. "T
his isn't about my birthday. That was just the wake-up call I needed to see that my life wasn't mine, not really.”
“What the hell does that mean?” he snapped.
“I was myself with my friends and at work. I kept that separate from my family. I led a different life for them. I can’t do that anymore. I can’t be happy like that."
"Marina was good enough to meet the parents." He tossed a pen at his computer.
"Not really, you should hear the things they say about her behind her back. She's my friend. You should know they'll be ten times as hard on you. They’ll probably hide it less too. You don't have to worry."
"Why?" He folded his arms trying to put me off more. “What’s the difference?”
"Because I love you and nothing they'll say can ever change that." I looked him the eye and then my eyes focused on my shoes before the tears started. They slipped down my face anyway.
The silence made me want to give up and leave. I wasn’t running away. Not this time. I rubbed my neck nervously. A tension knot was forming fast. "Say something," I whispered. I loved hearing his voice, though he could ruin my hopes with one word.
He didn't. Nick just walked closer. He reached behind me and I knew he was going to open the door and throw me out. I didn't hear the door. Instead, I would've sworn I heard the blinds close.
I turned to see how mad he was and reached for him before he opened the door. I felt my blouse gap and his hand reached for my neck. His medic-alert necklace had come out from under the blouse and caught his eye.
“That’s mine,” he said.
I nodded. “I saved everything. I needed to have something of yours on me today.”
“Not your usual jewelry.” He swallowed hard.
“I have unique taste, not really expensive.” I shrugged.
His mouth crushed against mine in a sneak attack. Nick pulled me to him hard as his tongue pried my mouth open. I was so stunned I couldn’t react fast enough. I could taste my own tears on his lips and my brain finally registered it wasn’t a dream.
Tears, my brain screamed, as I kissed him back. I'd been waiting for this for years. I'd wasted three years without Nick. That was never going to happen again.
Best in Bed Page 18
