Nick sat on the beach just throwing rocks down to the water and getting angrier by the second about all that Emma and Addie had just argued about. He was so busy going back and forth between earlier in the day and the recent fight, that he didn’t hear his phone ring. It was after the third call that he felt the vibrating; he pulled it out of his pants and saw AJ’s face flashing on the screen. After contemplating ignoring it, he picked up knowing that his brother would just continue to call until he answered.
“What?” Nick asked sharply.
“Well hello Miss Sunshine. It’s nice to talk to you too.”
“Look J, I’m not in the mood to talk right now. I have stuff on my mind.”
“That stuff wouldn’t be a weird recording session, a chaos of arguments and then some information that turned out to be upsetting?”
He had no idea how his brother did it but AJ seemed to always know what was going on. It was an aggravating trait most of the time but Nick was actually appreciating it at the moment; this way he wouldn’t have to tell AJ everything that was going on in his head.
“I’ll take that as a yes.” AJ spoke after a moment of silence. “Alright, which part is more upsetting than the others?”
In reality, AJ already knew the answer to the question. The remarks Nick had heard about someone named Michael would be driving him nuts and after waiting for his brother to answer, AJ just broke the silence.
“You know about ….”
“Her freaking boyfriend, yes, AJ, I know about her boyfriend!”
“I…”
“Why did you all fail to mention him?” Nick demanded. “Did you think that didn’t matter?”
AJ took a deep breath before responding and asked his brother the most important question.
“Why do you care Nick? What difference does it make to you?”
He already knew why the whole Michael thing bothered Nick; no matter how much his little brother protested that he didn’t care about Emma, AJ knew that learning about a new man in Emma’s life was killing him.
“I don’t care,” Nick shot back, “just a warning would have been nice!”
“I get it except that I know what you’re thinking isn’t what reality actually is. Michael is actually Emma’s roommate…”
“Yeah right,” Nick retorted with an angry laugh, “is that what they’re calling it?”
AJ pulled a Kevin as he put his thumb and index finger over the bridge of his nose and rubbed it. He was pretty sure that Nick was not going to listen to him explain who Michael was because he had already decided. Realizing it was the only way to make his little brother listen, he made a joke.
“He probably thinks you’re cuter than Emma.”
“What the fuck are you talking about? He thinks that I’m cuter? Why the fuck would he think that, he doesn’t even know me!”
AJ just shook his head; as smart as Nick could be he was also thickheaded about things.
“Listen clearly,” AJ said, “you’re more Michael’s type than she is.”
“That doesn’t make sense J…”
“Jesus Christ!” AJ yelled into the phone at his friend. “Are you really too fucking idiotic to understand this? Michael is gay you dumbass!”
“Gay?” Nick asked as the realization dawned on him. “He’s really gay?”
“Dude, he’s gay. As in really gay. Really gay and engaged to marry his fiancé in about eight months.”
“So that means…”
“Yes you idiot, Emma is not his girlfriend, she is simply his roommate. In case you’re too dumb to get it, I’ll spell it out; there is zero romantic interest from either side.”
Nick sat there dumbfounded; he had been expecting that AJ was going to try to deny it but he had no idea what was truly happening. There were so many emotions going through his head; he felt like an idiot for just assuming he knew what the truth was and he was embarrassed that AJ thought he was idiot for not getting it. More than those two emotions, he felt an unexpected one; he realized he was truly happy, almost thrilled, knowing that Michael was only a friend and a roommate to Emma. That revelation eased all the tension from his body and a smile crossed his face without him even realizing it.
AJ knew exactly was Nick looked like at the moment and laughed.
“Alright lover boy,” AJ teased, “are you ok now?”
“I think so.” Nick told him. “I really appreciate it J.”
“I know Nicky.” his older brother acknowledged. “Now get off the damn phone, I have other calls to make!”
AJ hung up and looked at his wife; she was laughing so hard there were tears streaming down her face. Watching her shake from laughter made him lose it and they both collapsed on the bed picturing Nick’s face from that conversation.
“I wouldn’t have been able to do that honey,” Rochelle assured him as she took a couple of breaths, “I give you tons of credit.”
“Thanks wifey,” AJ replied. “Now I just have to make sure little Miss Feisty doesn’t try to fly the coop!”
Last Chance by Kyrie
