“You mean someone like you? I told you I am not interested in you.”
“April, I would treat you much better than he does, plus I’ve known you for a longer time….”
I saw where he was going with this.
“I am sorry but I can’t. I really love him.”
“Wow, well when he breaks your heart, don’t come running to me.”
“I won’t have to. He won’t break my heart.”
He laughed under his breath.
“Oh, he will.”
“You know what? I am beginning to think that this study date was a bad idea. I think it’s time that you leave. I have a date to get ready for.”
“Well, I wouldn’t want to stand in your way of your ‘date’. I'm leaving.”
“Good!”
Mark angrily picked up his books and made his way to the door.
“Oh by the way, if you two happened to have slept together already, don’t expect him to show up. He already got what he wanted.”
“Good bye Mark!” I slammed the door behind him.
I couldn’t believe that he would assume such a thing! I decided to get ready for my date. I did find it a bit strange that Nick hadn’t messaged me. Maybe he was still busy at practice. I put on my clothes and headed to the restaurant. We had agreed to meet up at the place since he didn’t know what time practice would be over. I headed to Italiano’s and waited. Ten minutes later, I decided to head inside and check to see if he was inside already. I didn’t see him there. I checked to see if he had a reservation, but his name wasn’t on the list.
I grew frustrated. I tried to contact him, but he wasn’t answering his phone. What was so important that he could forget our date?
I waited for half an hour and still I didn’t get a call or text from him. I wanted to cry. I had never felt so rejected before. Maybe Mark had a better read on guys than I did. Maybe he was right. I hoped he wasn’t right. That Nick wasn't just a typical jock who only cared about sports, money and sex. I just wanted to go home. I didn’t want to be out here. I looked pathetic. I called a cab and on my way home, I texted Nick. I wanted to know why he stood me up. Honestly, I didn’t even think that he deserved a message from me, but for him to do something so heartbreaking. I just hoped that he had a good explanation.
Nick
I was looking forward to my second date with April. It felt like it had been too long. I couldn’t wait to kiss those beautiful lips again and to hold her in my arms. This time, I was going to do things a bit differently. I couldn’t wait!
I was about to head to the car to meet up with her when I got a call. It was the call I had been waiting on.
“Hey Nick, so a spot has just opened up and I wanted you to come by the stadium in half an hour to try out for the team. The other guy we had talked to couldn’t come. He had gotten sick. He ate something that didn’t agree with him and now he won’t be able to show up. So hurry up and get here!”
I told them I would. This was a once in a life opportunity. I didn’t know when I would get a chance at the big leagues again. There was no time to waste. I had to change and head there immediately and put my best foot forward. I headed to the stadium and saw the recruiters there. I quickly got onto the field and did my best.
My mind did touch on April. She must feel like I was standing her up. I wouldn’t do such a thing. I wished I had time to explain what was going on, but this was so soon that I couldn’t even call or text. I hope she could forgive me when I got the chance to tell her what was going on.
I performed a few plays and I had to admit that they were the best and neatest that I have ever done them. When it was over, the recruiters and team representatives were clapping. They were quite impressed. Mr. Johnson ran up to me and said that they liked what they saw and that they would be in touch.
I was so excited! Yes! I was going to join the team! I couldn’t be happier. I really wanted to share the news with April. I quickly headed to the changing room. I was really glad that I brought a change of clothes with me. I quickly took a shower there and got ready for the date. I noticed the time and tried to hurry up. I quickly put on my clothes and hopped into the car.
I was an hour late. I hoped she was still there. I went there as fast as I could. I was probably breaking a lot of rules and running a lot of lights to get there. I made a lot of sharp turns and prayed she was still there.
I finally got there. I parked the car and ran out to see if she was still there at our meeting spot. I looked left and right but saw no sign of her. I felt guilty. I wished I had at least called or told her what was going on. I just wanted to surprise her with the good news.
I hoped that this wouldn’t drive a wedge between us.
I decided to head to her place. I hoped she was home. I couldn’t get her on the phone and I knew she was mad. I took a deep breath and knocked on the door.
“April?”
I then heard a gruff voice answer. A man got up and opened the door. He peered through the slightly opened door.
“Who is it?” he barked
“It’s Nick. Nick Barrett.”
He then closed the door on me before I had a chance to speak. Wow, I guess he was still upset that he got fired.
I once again tried to call her, but she wasn’t answering her phone.
I sighed. Yes, she was mad at me. For the next few days, I didn’t hear from her. I tried every possible way I could to contact her. I messaged her and I even looked for her around campus. I couldn’t find her.
I was beginning to get worried. I had never gone through something like this. Well, I had never been on the receiving end, that is.
Practice was in a couple of hours and I didn’t know what to do. I really missed her. There had to be some way to get to her.
I sat there trying to come up with something, I decided to go old-school and do something that hadn’t been done in a while. I grabbed a sheet of paper and began to write. I put everything that was going on in the letter. I really spilled my heart out. It sounds really mushy but it was the only way to get her back.
I made my way to the stadium. With the letter in my hand, I dropped it off at the stand where she works at and prayed that she would read it and at least think it over.
I went off to practice. I hoped that she would forgive me. I couldn’t stop thinking about her and my head and my heart wasn’t in it today. I just wanted to go home and wait. I couldn’t stop beating myself up for keeping these things from her.
After practice, I decided I would do whatever it takes to get her back. As I drove home, I was already coming up with numerous ways to regain her trust. It was only a matter of time before she came around.
April
I was already late to work. Studies have begun to tire me out. I really needed a break. I also wasn’t in the best mood. Not only did I have to deal with my father’s unemployment, but I also found out that Nick was only using me. I didn’t have anyone to talk to. My best friend was in love with me and we had a big fight. I felt like I was all alone.
I had an incoming call. When I saw who it was, I immediately ignored it. Nick was bad news. I wanted nothing to do with him. He kept sending me text messages and voicemails and I didn’t want to listen to them. It was probably filled with a bunch of lies anyway.
I wanted to keep on ignoring him. But then something happened. He just wouldn’t stop. He sent me messages, which I finally read, saying that he wasn’t giving up on me. I didn’t know what to say. I couldn’t even reply.
He then kept on trying to finding ways to fix everything. He sent me flowers and candy. He sent me messages of poems and promises. He even played music outside of my window in the rain.
I was trying my best to stay away, but I wanted to give in. He was being so romantic and apologetic that I just wanted to accept his apology. Maybe later, I might give him a call.
I finally got to the stand and saw an envelope on the counter addressed to me. I immediately picked it up and began to read it. I realized it w
as from Nick. It was so romantic that he chose to write to me like this. No one really does that anymore. He explained everything in that letter. It stated he had tryouts for the Giants, which I knew was his favorite team and that they were so busy that they couldn’t organize a time and when a slot opened up, he had to take it. It was an opportunity of a lifetime and he had to take it. Unfortunately, that slot opened up the same time that we had our date and he was terribly sorry for it.
I kept on reading the letter and then my jaw dropped. I couldn’t believe it! He also asked his father about firing my dad and he thought it really was because one of the coworkers didn’t like him. Turns out, he had been fired because he had been drinking on the job! He also had some bad performance reviews as well and they had to let him go.
I wanted to crumple up the letter. How could my father lie to me?! I wanted to break down and cry. I couldn’t believe that my dad would lie about something like this! I tried to keep it together until work was over, but all I could think about was getting to the truth of the matter.
As soon as work was over, I headed home and began to confront my father. He was half asleep on the couch and looked like he had been drinking.
“Dad! Dad!” I yelled.
He immediately woke up and looked around him. He then looked at me and smiled.
“Oh hello, April,” he said.
“Dad, Nick just told me that you were fired because you were drinking on the job. Is that true?”
Dad was really quiet for a minute. He looked guilty.
“Is it?”
He sighed, ‘Yes, it is. I am really sorry April. I didn’t mean for you to find out like that. He also came by the house recently. You weren’t here and I closed the door on him. I am really sorry.”
“Dad, how could you?! You didn't even tell me that he visited the house the other day?! I can’t believe that you could be so immature and childish! Wow, Dad! YOU should be the adult in this situation. The next time you see him you should apologize to him and thank him!”
My dad seemed stunned by this comment.
“Thank him for what?” he asked.
“Since he couldn’t get through to his dad and found out the truth, he got you a job interview at the stadium. He felt so guilty for what happened when it wasn’t even his fault. It was all your fault!” I shouted.
My father looked at the floor.
“Dad, I didn’t mean to be so harsh, but you can’t always give into your emotions. Sometimes you have to give people a chance,” I explained.
“Yeah, I guess you are right. That was a really nice thing for him to do,” he acknowledged.
“I know. You know what? I think the two of you should meet,” I suggested.
“I think that’s a good idea. I could learn more about him that way and personally thank him,” he agreed.
“Good.”
I immediately pulled out my phone and saw several missed calls from Nick. I called him back and he answered.
“Hello? April? Is that you?” he asked.
“Who else would it be?” I replied.
“Did you get my letter? Did you read it?” he inquired anxiously.
“Yes and yes and you are forgiven,” I replied with a smile in my voice.
“Good. Glad to hear it.”
I said, “I wanted to talk to you in person. Plus, someone would like to meet you and apologize. How fast can you get here?”
“I will be there soon,” he promised.
Nick
Yes! She has forgiven me! Everything is right in the world once again. She told me how much she missed me and I missed her too. I then told her I would be there in a couple of minutes and I couldn’t wait to see her.
I was about to leave the house, when my dad called me. I knew this couldn’t be good. He would normally call me when he had something important that he wanted to say to me.
“Son, I overheard the conversation. I wished you had listened to my warning. That girl is no good!”
“Dad, she is the best thing that has ever happened to me. Also, who I see and talk to is none of your business.”
“It is my business! You are my son!”
“Yeah, well then act like it! You didn’t seem so proud of me when I had tryouts or when you found out about any of my other accomplishments. You don’t care about anything that I do. Why do you care if I see April?”
“It’s because I know where she comes from. I know what kind of person her father is and I don’t want you to get caught up in that.”
“So what kind of person is he, Dad? The kind of person that you just see as trash and can easily dispose of at a moment’s notice?”
“Look I just don’t want you to hang around them. They smell of failure and defeat. That’s not the type of crowd that we should be associating ourselves with. I mean what about your last girlfriend, Jennifer?”
“Yeah what about her?”
“She came by the house the other day looking for you. I always liked her. Why can’t you be with her? She comes from a good family and she is within our class. She is better for you than that April girl. I think you two should get back together.”
“Dad, I’m not getting back with Jennifer. It’s over between us. Plus, I love April.”
I could see that dad was getting pretty upset. He preferred it when I followed his orders. But he wasn’t in control of my life. He couldn’t tell me who to date and who to love! THAT was my decision!
“Well, since you are so love-struck by this April girl and you refuse to listen to me, I will cut you off. That means no trust fund and no place to stay. I am tired of your stubbornness! You will live on the street!”
“Fine, see if I care!”
I then slammed the door of the car and sped off angrily. I can’t believe he would threaten to do such a thing! He didn’t care anyways. He only cared about his stupid image and money and power. The only thing that could calm me down were thoughts of April as I made my way to her place and turned onto her street.
April
I found it really hard to study knowing that I was going to meet up with Nick. It had been a while since I had seen him. My studies were taking up most of my time and it seemed that I hardly had time for myself. Learning about contracts and international law wasn’t as fun as making out with the head running back.
As I turned the pages and tried to keep focus, my phone went off. I had a message from Mark who was downstairs. I got up and headed downstairs. Mark sat there waiting. I wondered why he decided to visit all of sudden.
“Mark, what are you doing here?”
He seemed a bit jumpy. She really hoped that he was okay.
“Hi, I just had to see you. It’s been a while since I have seen you. We haven’t really spent a lot of time together recently and I just wanted to make sure that you were okay.”
“I’m fine, Mark. I’m just studying nowadays since finals are so close.”
“Oh okay.”
We stood there in silence. We had been friends for a very long time and have never before been at a loss for words.
“Well, since there is nothing left to say, I have to get ready to go out.”
He then grabbed my arm and pulled me towards him.
“Wait. There is something I wanted to say.”
“What is it?”
“I know you said we’re just friends and that you are seeing Nick, but I think there is something more here. I know that you also care for me.”
“Mark, I do care for you. As a friend,” I replied.
“Yeah, I know.”
“Look, I have to get ready for my date. Do you want to talk while I get ready?”
“Sure,” he agreed.
She then invited him in and headed back upstairs to get ready.
“So where are you guys going?” he asked.
“Oh, to this Italian restaurant he knows about. He swears the food is good there.”
“Oh, good.” And how long are you guys going to be there?”
“Don’t k
now, but not too long. I have a lot of studying left to do,” I answered.
“Ok,”
Twenty minutes later, I glanced into the mirror and liked what I saw. I hoped Nick thought I looked like a complete knock out and would be unable to keep his hands off of me.
I headed downstairs and saw Mark staring at me. I had never seen him look at me like that before.
I laughed nervously, “What?”
“You look so beautiful,” he stated.
He then walked up to me and brushed a few stray strands of hair from my face. He then leaned in and almost tried to kiss me. I pushed him away.
“Mark, what are you doing?”
“I…. I….”
“You were trying to kiss me before my date?!”
“I’m sorry, April. I just don’t know what came over me,” he apologized.
“I…think you should go.”
“Look, I’m sorry….”
“Just go, please.”
I watched him leave. As he closed the gate behind him, I began to wonder if I was seeing the right guy. I sat on the porch trying to process the near-kiss and everything that has been happening. Although, I had known Mark for many years, I had never felt anything between us. I kept telling him that if something was supposed to happen between us, it would have happened already.
Then again, the relationship between Nick and I had its complications. We did come from different backgrounds and there was still so much that I wanted to know about him. I never even met his father who didn’t seem to be very involved in Nick’s life. There was also a lot I didn’t know about him and it was beginning to worry me. If I had known him as long as I knew Mark, I would be reassured that our relationship would have a future. My thoughts were beginning to nag me. I mean this was the only current issue, but what if there were others, because we were raised differently. I mean with all of our differences, would we actually work out?
I began to panic. Maybe I should cancel the date and get back to studying. I then realized that I cared too much about him to just let this go. I had to give it a shot.
Dirty Indiscretions: A Dark Mafia Romance Page 36