“Nickay! Good to talk to ya, dude. How ya been?” boomed the jovial voice of Nick’s longtime friend Brent.
“Fine,” Nick replied dishonestly. “You?”
“Great. Me and the guys are goin’ out on the town tonight, wanna join us?”
Nick groaned inwardly; he had a feeling that’s what Brent had called to ask him. He missed their wild, drunken, “guys night out” escapades, but at the moment, going clubbing and drinking was the last thing he felt like doing. He was still finishing up his third round of chemo and didn’t feel well, not to mention he wasn’t supposed to drink alcohol.
“Aw, Brent, thanks, but no thanks,” he replied. “I’m not feeling so hot right now. Probably jet lag or something.”
“Jet lag? Didn’t you drive?”
“Oh... uh...”
“Gotcha.” Nick could just picture Brent’s grin on the other end.
“Okay, so it’s not jet lag,” he admitted. “But I think I’m coming down with the flu...”
“Aww, quit being such a pussy. Come hang out with us. We haven’t seen you in months, bro.”
Nick sighed. “Can’t we do this next week?”
“Just for awhile? Come on, we won’t keep you out too late. It’ll do you good to get some fresh air.”
“Fresh air? In a bar? More like stale, cigarette smoke-filled air.”
Brent chuckled. “Okay, you win. I guess we’ll just have to go without you then, man. Drinking... hot chicks... you’re gonna miss out! Are you sure you don’t wanna come?” he asked enticingly.
Nick hesitated. “Maybe... but I’m driving.” That way he could go home when he wanted, he figured.
“Hey, cool with me. Pick me up at eight, okay? James, Frank, and Lane are coming too.”
“Okay,” Nick agreed. “See you then.”
“See ya.”
Brent hung up with a click, and Nick shut off his own phone with a sigh. Why had he said he would come with them? He liked hanging with the guys, but it was the last thing he felt like doing that night. But he just couldn’t refuse.
***
“You sure are quiet tonight, Carter,” Frank commented later that night, as the five men sat at the bar of Charlatan’s, a club Nick came to often. He had once taken Leah there, he remembered. Strange, how that was the first thing he thought of when he thought of Charlatan’s. He’d been there many other times with different people, usually Brent and the guys, so why did it bring back memories of Leah?
Maybe he wasn’t over her yet.
Yes I am, he assured himself. It’s been months. She’s a bitch, I hate her guts, and I have plenty of other crap to deal with. I don’t need to be obsessing about her on top of everything else.
“Yo, Nick!” Frank shouted, finally grabbing his attention.
“What?” Nick asked dazedly.
“I said, you sure are quiet tonight. What’s up?”
“Nothing... I’m just tired.” The excuse sounded lame, even to Nick, but Frank shrugged and didn’t press the issue.
Taking a sip of his Pepsi, Nick smiled inwardly, thinking how Kevin would probably freak out if he had made that statement. “Tired?” he could imagine Kevin repeating, eyes growing large, “Well, maybe you should go lie down. You want me to call your doctor? Are you supposed to be this tired?”
He was actually surprised Kevin or Brian hadn’t called his house yet to ask him how he was feeling. They had both hinted that they would at the airport before his flight departed. Normally, when the group flew home after weeks or months of being together, their goodbyes were fairly short, for they were usually so sick of each other, they couldn’t wait to board their separate planes.
This time, however, the goodbyes were different.
“Take care of yourself, Nick,” Kevin had said, his green eyes dark and serious. “Call me if you have any troubles or if you need anything. I’ll be in touch.”
Brian had given Nick a hug, which was normal of him, but unlike the normal, brief, brotherly hug, Brian pulled Nick close and held on to him like he was afraid to let go.
“Uh... Rok?” Nick had finally spoken up after awhile of this. “You might wanna let me go now, or those rumors about us being gay are gonna start springing up again.”
Brian pulled back and smiled up at Nick, his blue eyes rather cloudy. “I’ll see ya, Frack. You give me a call if you wanna talk or anything. And if you need me, I’m only a state away.” He flashed a cheesy grin, but Nick had a feeling that was only a way of covering up another emotion.
“Hey, don’t start acting like your cousin, Rok,” Nick said lightly. “I ain’t gonna die on ya or anything.” It was meant to be a joke, but no one had laughed. No one had even smiled. Shifting uncomfortably, he added, “Go on, Bri, get home to that wife and kid of yours.”
That brought a smile to Brian’s face, and he could see the excitement dancing in his eyes.
“Give Baylee a kiss from his godfather.”
“Will do,” replied Brian, clapping Nick’s shoulder. His hand lingered there a little longer than usual, finally giving Nick’s shoulder a light squeeze and dropping to Brian’s side. “Bye, Nick.”
Nick smiled. “Bye, Bri.”
Smiling again now at the recent memory, Nick wondered if he’d have an answering machine full of messages from the two of them (or maybe three – Howie could be a major worrywart sometimes too) when he got home.
“What are you grinning about?” asked Brent, bringing Nick back to the present.
“Nothin... just thinking.” Nick left it at that, and Brent didn’t ask what he was thinking about. Nick took another drink from his glass of Pepsi, absently staring at the wine rack and decorations on the wall behind the bar.
“Nick,” Brent said suddenly, grabbing Nick’s shoulder. “Ain’t that your ex over there?” Spinning Nick around to look, he pointed. Squinting and following Brent’s line of vision, Nick felt his heart leap into his throat.
There, sitting at a small table across from some dorky-looking guy, was the one person he never wanted to see or even think about ever again.
Leah Gaylers.
***
