Out of My Element (3 page)

“So what happened last night when
you left the restaurant? Did you talk to her?” Trevor asked.

“Yeah, but the situation is so
screwed up that I’m not sure I can even fix it. In fact, I’m pretty sure she
doesn’t ever want to speak to me again.” I shrugged.

“Why did you do it, Nick? I don’t
mean any harm, but she isn’t your type at all,” Ava asked as she took a drink,
waiting for my answer.

She was right. Chelsea wasn’t
typically
my type, but hell if I couldn’t get her gorgeous red hair, pale skin and pouty
lips out of my mind now. “I was drunk, Ava. You know me; I do stupid things
when I’m drunk.” That didn’t come out quite right. I groaned, “Listen, I don’t
regret kissing her, really I don’t. It was phenomenal actually, but I do regret
that I hurt her, and now I can’t stop thinking about her. I need help; I need
to make this right.” I pleaded as I watched their faces soften—even Talia’s.

“Ask her out on a date.” Tom
suggested.

“A date?”
Holy hell, I can’t
remember taking anyone on a date in years
. I didn’t date, I just hooked up,
and I didn’t lead women on. They were all well aware of my intentions before
anything happened. Well, usually anyway.

A date?
Did I want to do
that? Yeah. Yeah, I think I did. “Okay, but how do I do that?” I was serious,
and even though Trevor and Tom didn’t bat an eye at that question, Ava and
Talia’s eyes went wide.

“You can’t be serious, Nick. You
haven’t taken anyone out on a date?” Talia was still staring at me in shock.

“No, actually I haven’t. Not since
Prom, and even then, she asked me.” I confessed.

“Give me your phone.” Ava held out
her hand.

I watched as she tapped on my phone
before handing it back to me. She had sent a text to Chelsea.

Me
:
No more apologies.
I’m an ass. Please let me start over and take you to dinner?

I sat there, staring at my phone,
willing it to alert me of a text. It had been the longest two minutes of my
life before she finally responded.

Chelsea:
Okay.

“Shit! She said okay. What now?” I
was panicked. This was unchartered territory for me.

“Christ, Nick! Are you seriously
the same guy that told
me
to man up a couple of months ago? Do puppies
and kittens scare you, too?” Tom chuckled, not intimidated in the slightest by
my glare.

“Tell her you’ll pick her up at
seven tomorrow.” Talia nodded her head at me as I replied to Chelsea. “Jeez,
Nick, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this unsure of yourself.”

I looked up from my phone. “Okay,
it’s all set. Now what?” I grinned at the four faces staring back at me.

I
couldn’t mess this up. I was pretty sure this was the only chance she would
give me.

Chelsea

What the heck was I doing? I paced
back and forth in my living room, wearing a visible path in my freshly vacuumed
carpet. I couldn’t believe I agreed to this.

After I got home last night, I
finally allowed myself to open the letter that Nick sent to the office with
Trevor. I’m not sure what I expected, but when I opened the envelope it simply
read:

I’m sorry.

Please forgive
me.

Nick

555-410-5435

He was crazy if he thought I was
going to call him. I was fully prepared to toss it in the trash, but at just
that moment I received his text message. No doubt he had gotten my number from
Ava or Trevor, and I guess it didn’t truly matter how he’d gotten it anyway.
Before I could think too much about it, I replied with a simple “Okay.” Now I
was nervously pacing as I waited for him to show up.

I was not going into this with
false hopes to pick up where we’d left off , but I was also never the type of
person to hold a grudge. I would have dinner with him and let him clear his
conscious so we could both move past this. After all, we had the same friends,
and they didn’t need to feel awkward about what had happened, too.

I jumped when the doorbell rang. I
took a deep breath as I walked to the door and prepared myself to see Nick
again, face to face. I swung the door open and—well shit—I was so not prepared.

“Are you ready?” He looked
downright smoking in his dark jeans and white button-down shirt. It was open a
couple buttons at the top, drawing attention to his gorgeous neck. His shirt
was fitted just enough to accentuate his solid body underneath. His brown hair
was styled in a short faux hawk—much like David Beckham—making him look
slightly dangerous and oh so yummy!

 “Chelsea, it’s going to be a
really long night if you’re not going to talk to me.” His low voice brought me
back from my lustful scrutiny.

“Shit, ah … sorry. You look nice.”
I turned to grab my purse, knowing my cheeks were most likely the same shade as
my red hair right about now.
That’s right Chelsea; acting like a blubbering
fool will certainly convince him that you aren’t interested,
I chastised
myself.

“So, where are we going?” I locked
the door and fell into step beside him.

“Do you like Asian food?” he asked,
hopeful.

“Absolutely!” It was actually one
of my favorites.

“How about Buddakan?” I stopped and
looked at him with my hands on my hips. He started to laugh. “Ava told me it
was your favorite.” He winked. “Oh, and Chelsea, you look nice, too.” Okay, he
was pretty close to being forgiven.

***

The restaurant was one of my
favorites because the food was delicious, but the entire experience was always
just as spectacular. The décor was fabulous, from the
shimmering
waterfall and Japanese river stones as you walked in, to the larger than life
Buddha in the center. The candles gave the restaurant a perfect ambiance. It
was almost like having a religious experience every time I came here.

We were
seated at one of the booths in the back. The tall, white booth surrounded the
small round table. Nick and I slid in from each side, meeting almost in the
middle of the semi-circle.

“What would
you like to drink?” Nick asked as the waiter approached the table.

“I think I’ll
have a beer,” I said as I looked down at the menu. When Nick didn’t say
anything in response, I looked up to find him just staring at me.

“What?” I
asked, tilting my head to the side.

He shook his
head. “I just didn’t picture you as a beer drinker.”

“What did you
expect me to order?” I raised my eyebrows.

“I don’t
know, maybe one of those pink girly drinks.” He chuckled.

We ordered
our drinks and food. My heart was beating erratically. I wasn’t sure what to
expect from this evening.

“Hey,
Chelsea, I need to apologize to you,” Nick stammered.

“Seriously,
Nick, it was not a big deal. I mean, we both had too much to drink, and it’s not
like anything really happened.”
Like making one of the biggest mistakes of
my life.
I took a drink of my beer and tried my best to squash the memories
of that kiss we shared. That heart racing, toe curling, downright incredible
kiss.

Nick nodded.
“Okay, then let’s start over.” His grin was infectious.

“Perfect.” I
smiled.

We spent the
rest of the evening talking. The conversation flowed without a moment of
uncomfortable silence, and I was pleasantly surprised to find Nick to be such a
passionate guy, especially when it came to soccer. It was almost like a kid on
Christmas morning when he talked about it.

“I would love
to watch you play sometime.” I sat back and smiled at his excitement.

“Really?” He
grinned like a little boy. It was truly endearing.

“Yeah. I can
tell it means a lot to you. I get it. That’s how I feel about running.”

“You’re a
runner?” he asked with interest.

“I’m training
for my first half-marathon this year, and next year I plan to do my first full
marathon.” I nodded.

“That’s
amazing! When do you run?”

“Usually
before work, but if the weather is bad, I just run on the treadmill. To be
honest, I hate it. There’s just something about being outside.” It felt so good
to talk to someone who was passionate about athletics. I was more and more impressed
with Nick as the night went on. He was someone with whom I could see myself
being good friends.

“Do you ever
run with someone else?” he asked as he slipped his credit card into the check
before I could offer to pay my half.

I shrugged.
“Not really.”

He frowned.
“Too bad.”

“It’s not
that I don’t want to; I guess no one has ever asked to run with me.” I smiled
gently at him and was relieved to see his smile again.

“I would love
to run with you if you’d like some company. I usually can’t go more than five
miles at once, but if you’d be willing to be slowed down a bit ...” He grinned,
and I laughed.

“Sure. Do you
want to meet me down at the
Schuylkill River Trail around five on Monday
morning?” I was about to see how serious he was by asking him to meet me so
early.

“Five. Okay.” He signed the credit
card slip, tucked it back into the check folder and stood up.

“Ready?” He held out his hand and
helped me up.

“Thanks for dinner.” I smiled,
trying to hide my disappointment in ending the evening so soon.

“I figure I’d better get home and
get some rest tonight and tomorrow night if I’m going to be able to keep up
with you on Monday.” He winked.

“So you’re really going running
with me?” I tried to hide my surprise.

“Unless you changed your mind.” He
stopped and looked at me.

“No, I guess I didn’t think you
were really serious. It is pretty early you know?” I challenged.

“I’ll be there.” He squeezed my arm
before opening the car door for me.

The drive was short and quiet. Nick
walked me to my door and pulled me into a hug so quickly that I gasped. “Thank
you for going out with me tonight. I had a really great time, and I’m glad you
gave me a chance to show you that I’m not always such an asshole.”

I pulled back, laughing.

“Why are you laughing?” He smiled.

“I was just thinking about the
astronomical amount of money you probably spend taking women out to apologize
for being a jerk.”

Nick raised his eyebrows and smiled
a half smile that brought out the dimple on his right cheek. “Well, I think you
would be surprised at how
little
I actually spend doing that.”

“Why’s that?” I cocked my head to
the side, watching his eyes dance.

He put his hand under my chin,
lifting my head up, and held my eyes to him. “Because this is the first time
I’ve
ever
done that.” He turned and walked away. “See you on Monday!” he
hollered over his shoulder.

Nick

I made it to
the place where I was going to meet Chelsea about fifteen minutes early.
Surprisingly, I was excited to see her again. I was extremely surprised at how
much fun I had with her at dinner Saturday night. I fully expected it to be
uncomfortable, but it wasn’t. I felt like complete shit for treating her the
way I had at the wedding, and I seriously wanted to show her I wasn’t such an
ass.

I hadn’t lied
when I told her that I’d never taken someone out to apologize before. The women
I usually hooked up with were always well aware that I wasn’t looking for
anything other than a physical relationship. I guess that was why what I’d done
to Chelsea bothered me so much. She wasn’t that type of girl, and in my drunken
stupor, she had gotten caught in my line of fire and, whether she wanted to
admit it or not, consequently had gotten hurt.

“Good
morning, sunshine.” I turned to see Chelsea walking toward me in a tight pair
of yoga pants and a short sleeved North Face running shirt that hugged her body
like a glove. She had her long red hair pulled back in a pony tail and didn’t
appear to have a drop of makeup on, but she looked lovely even without it. Her
skin was pale and beautiful, and her smile was radiant. Most women didn’t wake
up looking like this. She was naturally beautiful.

“Good
morning.” I smiled.

“Did you
stretch yet?” she asked as she stepped up to me.

“Not yet.” I
followed her over to the rail.

We both took
some time to stretch before setting out on the trail. I paced myself with her
as we ran along the river. “It’s nice out here.” I glanced over the river,
taking in the early morning action.

“It is. I
love running out here.” She looked out over the water.

It didn’t
take long for both of us to get in the zone. We ran in silence, focusing only
on the sound of our feet hitting the pavement in a rhythmic beat. I focused on
my breathing and was extremely impressed at how steady Chelsea’s breathing was.
She had perfect form when she ran, a long, smooth stride, fast,
yet with
an element of gracefulness—effortless, like she was meant to do this.

“This is the two and a half mark;
let’s turn around and head back.” We turned and continued to run back the way
we had just come from. I could feel my lungs beginning to burn as we started
our last mile. Shit, I was going to make a fool of myself.
God, please don’t
let me puke or pass out!
I was doing my best to not gasp and cough, when I
could finally see our ending point. I managed to make it before I collapsed in
the grass, lying on my back, breathing as if I was having a full-blown asthma
attack.