“’Finally’ and ‘celebrate’ being the key words there,” said AJ, winking at Claire, who smiled back sweetly and flashed him her middle finger.
“So, sound good?” she asked, looking from AJ to Nick.
“Hey, I’m down,” replied Nick. “J?”
“Are you kidding? I’m freaking starving, dawg. Where we gonna go?”
After a quick debate, they settled on Chili’s, which sent AJ into a chorus of “I want my baby back, baby back, baby back...” as they made their way toward the mall entrance where they had met each other earlier that day.
“So which one of you ladies drove today?” AJ asked casually, holding the door for the girls and Nick like a true gentleman as they walked out of the building.
“I did,” said Dianna. She used her thumb to motion to Claire and said, “Her car’s a piece of crap.”
Nick snickered, and Claire said loudly, “Well, we can’t all afford Jags like some people, ya know.”
AJ smiled. “What kind of car do you have, Di?”
“Just a Chevy Cavalier,” she replied with a shrug.
“Well, whaddya say to a little ‘trading spaces’ with the cars?” AJ suggested. “Claire, you can ride with Nick, and I’ll ride with Dianna. That is, if you don’t mind,” he added, directing the last comment to Dianna. “I have a thing for Cavaliers.”
Dianna arched her eyebrows, while Claire gave Nick a disgusted look. He rolled his eyes, unable to decide whether AJ was really interested in Dianna or just trying to get him and Claire alone. He figured it could go either way.
“Um, sure, I don’t mind,” said Dianna with a shrug and looked over at Claire in surprise.
Claire smiled. “Well hey, sounds good to me.” She grabbed Nick’s arm. “Tell me you brought that Jag!”
“No,” he chuckled, “we just got my Durango today.”
“A Durango?” she repeated, wrinkling her nose. “Well, looks like I got the shaft. Have fun, you two!” She waved to Dianna, who was already starting across the parking lot with AJ and Rex, while Mike hung back with Nick.
“Do you want to wait here while I get the car?” the bodyguard asked.
“Sure,” said Nick, grateful to not have to walk across the parking lot. He had to admit, though he was trying not to show it, all the walking of the day had taken its toll on him. He casually made his way over to a bench to sit down and wait for Mike to bring his Durango around. Claire sat down beside him.
“Thanks again, Nick, for buying that dress,” she said sincerely. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“I know, but I wanted to,” he replied, smiling at her.
“Well, lunch is on me then.”
“Nah...” Nick disagreed with a grin. “Lunch is on AJ. The Cavalier man.”
Claire snorted. “Cavalier man... what was up with that? ‘I have a thing for Cavaliers’ – oh, come on!”
Nick laughed and stood up as he spotted his Durango coming up one of the rows. “Here’s our ride,” he said. “Tell me you have a thing for Durangos.”
She eyed the green SUV and shook her head. “No,” she replied, “I told you – I have a thing for Jaguars!”
“Is that a hint that you want me to buy you one of those next?” Nick teased, as they both climbed into the backseat.
She rolled her eyes and hit him lightly on the shoulder. “No! Although...” she murmured, buckling her seatbelt, “it would be nice...” She grinned, letting him know she was just kidding. He smiled back. To him, she was worth more than a thousand Jaguars. If only she knew that.
***
After a nice lunch at Chili’s, the group split back into their original pairings – Dianna and Claire left in Dianna’s Cavalier, and Nick, AJ, and their two bodyguards went home in Nick’s Durango.
Claire called later that afternoon. “Forgive me for being such a ditz, but, um, I kinda left my dress in your trunk...” she said sheepishly.
Nick laughed. “You did?” he asked. “Good thing you thought of it; I didn’t even know it was there. Guess I haven’t looked in the trunk since we left the mall though.”
“Yeah, I put it back there and then forgot to get it out before Di and I left the restaurant,” explained Claire. “Would it be okay if I came to get it now?”
“Oh no, you don’t have to do that. I’ll bring it over to you,” Nick volunteered
“Are you sure? You don’t have to; I’m the one that left it there.”
“It’s no problem. The thing’s in my car already – I might as well drive it over,” he rationalized. “I’ll be there in a little while, okay?”
“Okay. Thanks, Nick.”
They hung up, and Nick went to get his keys. “I’m running over to Claire’s place; she left her dress in my trunk,” he announced to the guys briefly and then left before AJ could get in some jibe about how she had left it there on purpose or something.
When he got to Claire’s apartment building, he found her waiting for him in the lobby. “I didn’t want to make you drag this thing all the way up the stairs,” she said, smiling as he handed her the hanger that held her dress, hidden within a long white dress bag. “But since you did drive all this way, do you want to come up for a drink or something? If you can get upstairs without too much trouble, I mean. They really should put in an elevator here...”
Nick chuckled. “I can come up if you want; I’ve done it before.”
“Okay,” she smiled. Slinging her dress over her left arm, she lightly put her right hand on his back. He draped his left arm over her shoulders and gratefully let her help him as they slowly made their way up the narrow staircase. Even with his advanced new leg, going up stairs was still very difficult, much more so than going down, and as exhausted as he was from the trek through the mall that morning, he wasn’t sure he could have done it alone this time.
“Go have a seat,” said Claire, when they entered her apartment. “What do you want to drink? Soda? I’ve got Dr. Pepper and Cream Soda.”
“Dr. Pepper’s fine,” he replied, sinking down onto her faded, old couch. A minute later, she joined him, bringing two glasses of dark, fizzing liquid. “Thanks,” he said, as she handed him one. He took a drink and had just swallowed when someone knocked on the door.
Claire frowned and stood up. “Let me get that,” she said as she strode out of the cramped living room, through the tiny kitchen, and to the door. She stood on her tip-toes to look through the peephole and then flung open the door. “Hey!” Nick heard her exclaim. “What are you doing here?” He leaned forward, craning his neck to see into the kitchen. His heart flip-flopped when he watched the infamous Tim step into the apartment and bend down to place a kiss on Claire’s lips. Nick frowned and unconsciously licked his own lips, remembering how good hers had felt up against them.
“I just dropped by to see you,” Tim murmured. “Good thing you were here.”
“Yeah. Uh, here, come on in and sit down.” Claire took him by the hand and led him into the living room, where Nick quickly tried to wipe the look of irritation off his face. “You remember my friend Nick, right?” Claire asked Tim sweetly, as Tim looked at Nick in surprise.
“Right,” Tim said slowly, nodding and putting on a smile that looked quite forced. “Good to see you again.”
“Nick just came by to drop off the dress I got this morning; I accidentally left it in his car,” Claire explained.
“Oh, that’s right, I forgot you guys were going dress shopping today. For the Video Music Awards, right?” Tim questioned, glancing from Claire to Nick.
“That’s right,” said Nick, sitting up a little straighter. The VMAs – that was one thing he had up on Tim. Dr. Dentist Tim couldn’t give Claire that experience.
“Well, here, Tim, sit down,” Claire said, escorting him over to her armchair. “I’ll go get you a drink.”
Nick stood up. “I should get going,” he muttered.
Claire turned and said quickly, “Oh no, sit down, you just got here! I’m going to get Tim a drink, and I’ll be right back.”
Grudgingly, Nick sat back down. He took another sip of his soda, just for something to do.
“So,” said Tim, “you’re an entertainer?”
Nick looked up darkly; the way Tim said ‘entertainer,’ he made it sound like Nick was a circus clown or something. You know damn well who I am, he thought, but he did not say it. Instead, he replied, “Yep.”
“I used to be an entertainer of sorts myself,” Tim continued, pausing, as if he expected Nick to show some interest. Nick tried very hard not to, keeping his expression neutral, while wondering what sort of “entertainer” Tim was going to say he had been. “Yes,” said Tim, “I was once a mascot.”
At that moment, Nick was very glad he had not been drinking; otherwise, he was sure he would have just sprayed a mouthful of soda everywhere. “A mascot?” he coughed, trying to hide his laughter.
“Oh, not the mascot story!” Claire called from the kitchen, which made Nick want to laugh even more.
Tim chuckled sheepishly. “C’s already heard about my ‘spirited’ past.” He grinned at Nick, waiting for him to laugh at the little joke he’d made, but Nick immediately went straight-faced. “Well anyway,” Tim continued with a shrug, “I was one of the mascots in college – University of Delaware, home of the Fightin’ Blue Hens!”
Nick blinked. “The Blue Hens?” he repeated incredulously.
“Yes, he dressed up in a blue chicken suit and danced around at football games,” Claire said shortly as she came into the room and handed Tim his soda, then sat down on the couch beside Nick.
“That’s right,” said Tim with a smile. “One of the best experiences I ever had. You might not realize it, Nick, but being a mascot is a great character-builder. Not to mention a skill-builder. To be a good mascot, you see, you have to have a gift for interacting with people. You have to know just what to do to get the sports enthusiasts all riled up and to communicate your message to your audience without words. Not to mention, it looked great on my application to dental school.”
Nick stared at him in disbelief for a moment, then glanced over at Claire, who was slightly pink in the cheeks. How could she be dating this guy?! he wondered in amazement. Had he really once been jealous of Tim? Sure, the guy was good-looking and well-built, but once you talked to him for two minutes, you realized he was a total loser. Well, at least he seemed like one to Nick.
But then again, if he was going to be perfectly honest with himself, Nick had to admit he was still jealous of Tim. For whatever reason, Tim had Claire, and he did not.
“Uh, that’s... that’s real cool, man,” he said dully to Tim and downed the rest of his soda. “I really should get going now,” he said to Claire, standing up again. “Thanks for the drink.”
“No problem. Thanks for bringing my dress. And thanks for earlier... I had a good time.”
“Yeah,” Nick said shortly. “Me too.” He carried his empty glass into the kitchen and set it down on her counter with a little more force than he’d meant to.
Claire came up behind him. “You really don’t have to go,” she said softly, and dropping her voice to a whisper, added, “I didn’t know he was going to show up, honestly. But you were here first, so don’t feel like you have to leave just because of him.”
He rolled his eyes. “I’m not going to be the third wheel and hang out with you and your, uh... boyfriend. You invited me up for a drink, and now I’ve had my drink, and I’ve gotta go.”
She smiled slightly. “Fair enough,” she said. “Thanks again. I’ll see you later.” She ushered him out the door and closed it behind him, leaving him alone in the dingy hallway. A rattling sigh escaped his throat, and he slowly started for the stairs.
It was not until he got in his car that he felt the anger really come over him. “God, what the hell is wrong with her?” he muttered, jabbing his key into the ignition. “That dude is a retard! ‘Being a mascot is a great character-builder,’” he mimicked in annoyance, jerking his SUV out of his parking space. “What a dick-face.”
He turned onto the road and began to snicker to himself. “No, correction – what a cock-face.”
His crude little joke and the mental image of that doofus Tim jumping around like a spaz in a blue chicken suit kept him smirking all the way home.
***
