Giving You Forever (10 page)

“Hi…Nolan,” I greet him, extending my hand.

“Frank,” he responds, shaking it. The guy looks like a tool, but he’s done some work around Mike’s house that Mike was pleased with, so I went with him. “So you have a leak?” he asks.

“Uh, yeah. Well, maybe.” I motion for him to follow me.

Just as he starts to take a look around, I get a text from Alexa saying ‘hi’. Frank starts rambling something about the pipes, but I just wave him off to take care of it. I’m paying him $150 an hour. Quit yapping and just fix the damn problem.

As I’m texting Alexa goodbye, I see water spraying everywhere, soaking everything around it.

“What the fuck did you do?” I shout, coming up beside the dumb shit.

He doesn’t respond, just looks at me clueless.

“Well don’t just fuckin’ stand there. Go turn off the damn water!”

Jesus fucking Christ. This guy’s a dumbass!

Getting a clue, he hurries to shut off the water as I start to move the now soaked mats and equipment out of the way.

I swear to fucking God...if this stuff is ruined, I’m suing the shit out of this fucker!

Finally the water stops and dumbfuck comes strolling back.

“I think you’ve got a hole,” he says, looking up at the pipe with his hands on his waist.

No shit, Sherlock!

“I couldn’t care less about that right now. Get some towels and dry this stuff off,” I tell him, motioning to the mess he made.

“Oh, yeah…yeah, sure, I can help you with that…” he fumbles for words. “Where are your towels?”

You’ve got to be kidding me?

I look up at him like a bull ready to charge at any moment. “You’re a fucking plumber and you don’t have towels?” I ask through gritted teeth.

“Uh…no. Not with me, at least,” Frank replies apprehensively, knowing that he’s probably two seconds away from getting his ass beat.

“Just get the fuck out of here!” I yell, completely done with this fucker.

He stands there for a moment like he’s waiting for something.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” I ask while I’m sure I have steam coming from my ears. “You’re not getting a damn cent…” I take two steps closer so that I’m barely a foot away from his face. “I don’t give a fuck if you get paid by the damn hour. You better hope none of this is ruined ‘cause you’ll be fucking paying for it!”

I can see in his eyes that he wants to say something, but using the small portion of his brain that still works, he decides otherwise and steps around me to leave instead.

Good idea, fucker!

Needing a quick breather to calm my nerves, I stand there for a moment, hands on my hips and eyes shut with my head pointing down, inhaling deeply.
It’s just water,
I keep telling myself, trying to calm down. Moments like these are when I question if opening my own gym is too much of an undertaking. It’s stressful as hell, far from cheap, and takes time away from my love. Who knows when I’m going to be able to open the damn place now! I’m beginning to think it’s just a money pit that’s slowly eating away at me.

My phone rings, interrupting my mini breakdown, with none other than Mike.

“I could fucking kill you right now–you know that?” I tell him before even saying hello.

He laughs.

“I’m not kidding, fucker–where the hell did you find that dumbass plumber? He didn’t know his ass from his head, and there’s water everywhere now!”

So much for calming my nerves.

“Frank? He fixed all the pipes in my house–did a great job,” Mike says proudly.

“I don’t know what pipes he was fixing of yours, but the dumbass fucked up the ones here and made a huge damn mess of everything.”

“Shit…really?” he asks, now taking me a little more seriously.

“Yeah, I need you to get over here with a bunch of towels. I have a client in a half hour over at the other gym,” I tell him, desperately needing his help.

“Sorry, man, but I can’t,” he says, sounding genuinely bad. “I’m on my way to the doctor with Emma. Kourt thinks she has an ear infection.”

Emma is his one year old daughter, and Kourtney is his wife. Although I’m pissed as hell that he can’t help me, family comes first, so I have to understand.

Rubbing my face with my hand, hoping that it’ll give me some clarity, I exhale and respond, “No, that’s fine. I get it. Take care of your baby girl.”

“I’ll try and make it over after if I can. Kourt should be home from work by 5:30 to watch Emma. I’d bring her with me, but she’s had a nasty fever all day and is miserable.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll figure something out,” I tell him, trying to keep my cool. Mike isn’t who I’m mad at. I’m just pissed in general.

“Alright, man. Call me later if you change your mind.”

“Thanks. Good luck with the doctor.”

“Thanks,” Mike replies before saying goodbye and hanging up.

Well, that phone call was pointless.
I’m still in the same shit scenario as before.

Glancing at my watch and seeing that I have to be at the other gym in twenty minutes across town, I say screw it to everything that’s saturated with water in front of me. I grab my briefcase and jacket, and head out the door.

I’ll deal with this mess when I get back.

– ALEXA –

Although I feel like I just ran a marathon, I’m super excited with the amount of outfits I got on sale–Nolan will appreciate that. Ever since I was little, the first thing I do when returning from a shopping trip is try everything on again at home. I’m like a kid in a candy store with new clothes and accessories.

As expected, Nolan is still not home when we pull into the driveway. I hope he’s having a good day. I’ve been so busy that I haven’t talked to him since I left school. Since this is Jamie’s first time to our house, I do a quick tour before running up to my bedroom to start trying on everything that we’ve purchased.

“Oh my god, girl, I love that top. It makes your boobs look huge! Nolan is
definitely
going to love that one,” Jamie compliments the second top that I put on.

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure this one will be a hit with him. Definitely a date night one,” I reply, twirling in front of my full length mirror checking out the low back and the built in push-up bra.

I strip back down to my bra and underwear while Jamie pulls the next outfit from my bag.

“Oh, I forgot you…”

“What the FUCK is going on in here?” Nolan comes barging into our room. “Who the fuck are you?” His eyes are big and looks like he could kill someone.

Nolan charges in full force to Jamie. I try to step in front of him to block his path, but he storms right by with no recollection of me in his way.

He pushes Jamie up against the wall with so much force that I’m surprised he didn’t put Jamie
through
the wall.

“Answer me, you son of a bitch! Who the fuck are you and what are you doin’ with my fiancé?”

Trying to pull on Nolan’s arm to get his attention and diffuse the situation, I plead for him to stop.

“Nolan, stop! This is Jamie…”

Still holding Jamie up against the wall, he turns and looks at me.

“Jamie is a fuckin’ guy?” he yells.

Wiping the tears that are streaming down my face, I nod my head yes while I gulp back the knot forming in my throat. “Yes…he’s gay,” I manage to spit out.

Nolan stares at me for a moment longer, not saying a word, probably trying to take in what I have just told him. For some reason, I thought he knew this. I wouldn’t deliberately keep this detail from him, I guess it just has never come up. We don’t have that much alone time, so talking about Jamie isn’t at the top of our list of conversations. Actually, we don’t do much talking during our alone times, and when we do, it’s usually about the wedding.

Needing further confirmation before releasing him from his hold, Nolan looks at Jamie. Poor Jamie looks like he’s about to crap his pants, and is already nodding his head excessively in agreement.

“Yes, I’m gay. I don’t want your fiancé…I mean, yes, she’s hot, but…”

“Just stop…telling me that my fiancé is hot isn’t gonna save you from gettin’ your ass beat,” Nolan looks at him, still fuming with rage, but a little less than a minute ago.

“Yes…yes, of course…sorry,” Jamie replies, scared out of his wits.

“Please, babe,” I plead, tugging on Nolan’s arm to release Jamie from his hold.

He looks from Jamie, to me, then back to Jamie while slowly backing away.

Realizing that he’s not going to be killed, Jamie exhales deeply in relief as Nolan runs his hand through his hair and looks at me with a questionable look.

“I’m sorry, babe. I thought you knew…we just…” I try to explain, but Nolan cuts me off, pulling me into his chest and matting down my hair with his hand before kissing my head repeatedly.

“This has got to stop,” he whispers into my hair.

I look up at him confused, wondering what he is talking about. Jamie is my friend. I’m allowed to have friends.

“I’m gone so much that I don’t even know what’s going on in your life,” he continues with pain in his eyes. “I don’t even know who your friends are, or what’s going on with our wedding…I need to be here more. I need to be with you.”

With a fresh batch of tears pooling in my eyes, I nod my head yes. “I need you around more too,” I choke out, finally admitting how much I
do
miss him and the time we used to spend together. I’ve never said anything because I just want to be his support system–to encourage him to fulfill his dreams. I know how much he wants this new gym to happen and how it’s something he has always dreamed of doing, but yes, it’s been taxing on our relationship…on us. I don’t love him any less than before, and I certainly don’t have any regrets in our relationship, but I miss him…I miss us.

Nolan stares at me for a moment longer. I want to ask him what he’s thinking, but I decide not to. The way he is looking at me is all the assurance I need. He loves me, and there’s no questioning that. Before turning to Jamie, Nolan kisses my forehead with so much passion that I can feel it in my toes.

Running his hand through his hair again, Nolan looks at Jamie with remorse.

“Sorry, man…I didn’t…” he sighs. “ I jumped to conclusions, and I’m sorry.”

The sides of Jamie’s mouth curls up into a smile, already forgiving Nolan for the misunderstanding.

“No worries,” Jamie says, shrugging his shoulders. “I may need a new pair of underwear now, but I get it. I’m in your bedroom with your half-naked fiancé. It’s plausible.”

“Yeah, about that…” Nolan says with an apprehensive smirk. “I get that he doesn’t go for what you got, but, uh, can we not get undressed in front of him?”

Jamie and I both chuckle at Nolan’s request, but knowing that Nolan would probably feel the same way if Jamie was a girl, I nod my head with a smile.

“K,” I answer him.

Wrapping his arm around my waist and bringing my body flush with his, he adds with a low growl in my ear, “this hot body is for my eyes only.”

A warm heat surges throughout my body and although I don’t want to kick Jamie out, my body wants something that only my fiancé can give me. Instead of saying it in words, I look at Jamie with a crooked grin. Being the awesome friend that Jamie is, and quite possibly sharing a brain with me, he says, “So, uh, I’m gonna go…I’ve got kick boxing in the morning.”

I look at him, confused.

“Since when do you go to kickboxing on a Saturday morning?”

“Since the gym got a hot as hell new instructor,” he grins with his eyebrows raised. “And I’m pretty sure he’s gay…bonus!”

We all laugh and Nolan shakes his head. Nolan really likes…um, woman parts…

“Well, I’m sorry that we met this way,” Nolan tells Jamie, extending his hand. “But thanks for keeping Alexa company while I’ve been working. I know she has a lot of fun with you and that makes me happy.”

Warmness fills Jamie’s cheeks, appreciating Nolan’s statement. I love seeing this sweet side of Nolan. It’s just an added reminder of why I love him so much.

“Yeah, well she keeps me grounded and out of trouble. You know, being Miss Goody Two Shoes and all,” Jamie says with a big grin.

Rolling my eyes and tilting my head to the side, I add, “What? I am
not
!”

Nolan kisses my forehead before saying, “I know, doll, you’re a badass.” I totally know that he gave Jamie a look because they both chuckle with a knowing glance.

I don’t get why everyone thinks I’m Miss Innocent. I can be crazy!

“Alright, well I’m gonna go,” Jamie says, clapping his hands together with a big smile. “I’ll see ya Monday,” he tells me. “Nolan, it was nice to finally meet you…I think.” He gives Nolan an awkward grin.

“K, see ya later,” I respond as he walks by us and waves as he exits.