Chapter 8 - Little Shadow
Nick always felt a little bad at this part. He turned the lobster to face
him, its claws wagging in the air, its two long red antenna moving to and
fro, its little beady eyes looking at him for mercy. He shrugged as he
dropped the four large bug-like looking things into the boiling water of the pot.
“Sorry guys.” He announced, and put the lid on, leaving room for some steam
to escape.
Nick wiped his hands on his white running pants, unaware or uncaring about
the wet mark he was leaving.
Lobster was one of the few things Nick could cook, and well. After all, it
was fairly simple, as long as he didn’t lose track of time. And it held his
attention fairly well. He would just sit in the kitchen, heating up some
corn on the cob that his mother had given him from the barbecue the day
prior. He opened the fridge and pulled out some left over potato salad as
well. His meal was set. And he’d look like a prince for making the girl
dinner.
He dipped his index finger into the potato salad and licked, as he began to
think. It was weird. This was only the third time he’d actually used his
kitchen since he’d moved into this place a few years ago. He was hardly ever
here. And if he was, he either ordered in or went to his Moms. He had to
admit, although she was mostly a pain in his ass, his mother’s cooking was
sweet to his stomach.
Almost as if on cue, Nick’s tummy growled. “You boys almost ready?” He
announced to the rumbling pot. Nick was starved, and ready for his date.
Maybe he’d even get some booty tonight, if he played his cards right.
*****
“Ya nervous?” Aaron asked me as we walked up the shelled driveway to Nick’s
front door.
I was running my hand through my hair compulsively. I did that when I was
nervous. “Yeah, a little, I guess.”
“Don’t be.” Aaron’s smile was so bright, and his face got closer to mine as
he took out his key, preparing to unlock the door to Nick’s home. “I mean,
its only Nick.”
I let out a slight chuckle. “That’s easy for you to say, he’s your
brother.”
“Yeah, well….” Aaron turned the door knob and began to open the door.
“Advice?”
I nodded an affirmative as I took a deep breath. I had just been with Nick
yesterday, why was my stomach feeling this way? I wasn’t even sure I would
be able to eat the meal he had prepared for me.
“Just be yourself, be normal. That’s what he likes.” Aaron held open the
door for me to pass.
“Normal by who’s standard?” I asked him as I walked past him, my arm
slightly hitting his tshirt.
“His…mine….” He closed the door behind him and put his keys in his pockets,
followed by his hands.
“Oddly enough, you’re probably the most normal person I’ve ever met. But I’
m not normal like you.” I told him as I looked around Nick’s hallway,
surveying my surroundings once again. I folded my arms as goose bumps began
to surface onto my skin.
“Wha?” Aaron looked at me, one eyebrow down, one eyebrow up. He was
utterly confused by what I had just said. Actually, so was I.
I moved my hand to touch a dolphin end table that was propped in the
corridor of Nick’s house. “I, uh…I guess what I’m trying to say is…well…you
’re a good kid, Aaron. And I had a nice day with you. Thanks.” I extended
my arms and before I knew it, the two of us were embracing.
My heart was pounding in anticipation of our date. “Wow, you’re heart. You
really are nervous.” Aaron said into my ear. I closed my eyes, trying to
calm myself, but that was not the affect I was achieving, and so I sighed,
content there for a moment in Aaron’s arms.
I jumped when I heard Nick’s voice.
“Hey, don’t I get a hug?”
Aaron jumped as well. We parted.
He was standing there, leaning on the entrance way to his living room. He
had a bottle of Aquafina in his hand and he twisted the cap. His smile was
large, but at the same time, quite cocky. He wore his white warm up pants
with the baby blue Adidas stripe on them so well. It was like the man was
born to wear warm-up clothes and make them look like he was wearing a tux.
He had a Sean John wife beater on, and his hair was going in every
direction. I wanted to go put my fingers in it, see if it was as soft as I
imagined it to be.
The guy just had a way of looking good.
“If you’re nice.” I told him.
“Oh, don’t worry, I will be.” Nick answered, walking up to me and sweeping
me up into his arms and enveloping me into his hug. I closed my eyes again,
but this time it didn’t relax me at all. It only seemed to thrill me more.
I could stay right there, in that moment, for as long as existence was. He
rubbed the nape of my back and I got excited, in spite of myself.
Aaron stood behind us.
“Man, what are you doing?” Nick mouthed to his little brother, his face
contorted and twisted. Aaron shrugged and nodded toward the living room.
“Get out.” Nick mouthed once again. But Aaron didn’t respond and walked
past us, into the living room, and then into the family room, flipping on
the big plasma screen TV and pulling out Nick’s X-box. He was used to
getting his way, and although Nick was as well, when it came to a battle
with his little brother, Aaron always won. He just had his heart that way.
“I hope you’re hungry.” Nick told me as we stopped hugging. He ran his
hand down my forearm and lead me into the dining room.
*****
“I think I like this paper plate thing.” I said as I walked to Nick’s large
trash can in his kitchen, my wet lobster plate and shells in one hand, a
glass of white wine in the other. Had he somehow found out that white wine
was my favorite? Or did that just plain go with lobster and I just had no
clue about it? I wasn’t sure, but I was already getting a little woozy from
the wine and decided that this would be my last glass.
Nick pursed his lips as he smiled walking in behind me, discarding his own
trash. His hands were all pink and puckered from the lobster. When we had
first been eating, I was trying to be impressive and elegant. But then I
shrugged and figured that if I was really going to get anything out of the
dinner, I was going to have to dig in knee deep, so to speak, and get down
and dirty with that lobster. Nick laughed and called me a “pro”, and the
two of us squirted juice and got butter all over ourselves and the table.
“I hate housework and anything that has to do with it.” Nick told me. “So
paper plates are the simple answer. And the lady comes to clean three times
a week. Takes care of the dog hair and all my shit that I just leave laying
around. Sometimes”, I giggled inwardly at the way he pronounced his I’s, at
the way he pronounced most of his words, “it bugs me, though, cause then I
have no idea where anything is.”
“The harrows of having a house-cleaner.” I was searching through his
drawers for a toothpick. “We should all be so unfortunate.”
“My life is hard.” Nick said, shaking his head, walking up behind me. I
could feel the electricity between us at my back. Where had this attraction
come from that was so strong and coarse? Why was he even interested in ME?
He came very close and reached above me, into the cupboard, grabbing out a
coffee cup filled with toothpicks. I turned to him and we were extremely
close, close enough so that I could feel the breathing of his stomach
against my lower chest. He raised his eyebrows in offering the toothpick to
me, and then backed up, picking at his own teeth. It was obsurd. I walked
to a mirror in the dining room and in a few moments, he walked up behind me
again.
“I hope you don’t mind.” Nick said, and suddenly, his nose was buried in my
hair. “Its just that your hair smells so good and I want to get the smell
of lobster out of my nose.” My eyelids fluttered at the feel of his nose
rubbing against my scalp. There were pricklies all over it. I reached up
my own hand and put it in his hair, at the base of his neck, reveling in the
way it felt. Nick grunted just a bit.
“Awwww…FUCK!” We heard from the depths of Nick’s family room.
Nick raised his head and looked at me through the mirror. His brow
furrowed. “Excuse me just a sec.” He said and began to bound into the room
where his brother sat playing X-box. Aaron had been quiet most of the time,
probably concentrating hard on his game.
“Nick, don’t be mean.” I told him, grabbing his hand before he was able to
get out of the dining room.
Nick turned, smiling slyly. “Hey, girl, I ain’t gonna be mean. I’m just
gonna kick his skinny butt and get him outta here. I told you last night,
we should hang out…without my little shadow there.”
I let out a small laugh. Aaron wasn’t bothering us, actually, I liked
having him there…he was like a safety net. I wasn’t sure what exactly I’d
let Nick get away with if I were alone with him. He seemed to have cast
some type of stupidity spell on me.
*****
“Dude. What exactly are you doing?” Nick towered above his little brother as the smaller
sat on the floor before the plasma screen, moving the remote controls with his thumbs.
Aaron was chewing on a stick of licorice. “Playin’ Halo. What’s it look like?” He said
between bites, nodding at the television as if his older brother was daft. “Course you
prolly wouldn’t know what this level even looks like, so I understand...” Nick cut the
smaller Carter off.
“I recall you having not just one, but TWO x-boxes at your own house, bro.” Aaron
snickered just a bit at Nick’s obvious annoyance. “So why don’t you haul ass back to
your own palace and play your game there?”
“No can do, bro.” Aaron responded, smiling up at Nick. “The game card memory is here,
on your system. Can’t play it on any other system ‘cept yours.”
Nick rubbed his chin and began to glare at Aaron. “Do you WANT an ass beating, man?”
“Were you planning on boffing her right in front of the plasma screen or something?”
Aaron was looking at the screen again, focusing, with sting in his voice.
“If I was, it’d be none of your fuckin’ business, you little shit.” With that, Nick reached
down and grabbed Aaron by the scruff of his t-shirt and pulled him to his feet.
“Hey!” the smaller yelled out, but it did not disuade Nick.
“I don’t give a shit about your little crush, bro. Out!” He began dragging Aaron through
the door of the family room, through the living room and almost to the hallway. I was on
my way back from freshening up when I saw what was happening.
“Nick!” I said loudly and authoritavely as I walked in with my hands on my hips. “Let go
of him.”
“Just a brotherly disagreement.” Nick said under my glare, with that bright toothed grin
of his trying to charm me. Aaron, on the other hand, was a deep shade of red.
“Let go of him.” I repeated, my eyebrows sloping downward toward my nose. I hated
the look in Aaron’s eyes.
Nick smirked, still laughing and let go of his younger brother. “We’re goin’ for a walk.”
He told me, Aaron, the walls. He grabbed my hand and I just followed, uncomfortable
with the whole situation. “Aaron’s not gonna be here when we get back.” He announced
loudly as he slid the glass door and then the screen open that lead to the back and the
beach. I turned and looked behind me, expecting to see that dejected look in Aaron’s eyes
once again.
But I didn’t. He was actually smiling at me. “See you guys later!” He said, his eyebrows
raising. He shook his head slightly as he reached for the door knob. And then Nick shut
the sliding door, and he lead me down the beach, the two of us in silence until we reached
his boat.
Chapter 9
Summer Christmas
NinasFiction
