Chapter Four: With Friends Like You.....

I got lost on the way back to the hotel. It figures. I finally made it around 11 PM. The desk clerk tried to catch my attention as I came in but I ignored him. I have a limited attention span and can’t afford to waist it.

I was wet (again), tired (still), and mad (duh). All I wanted was sleep. BSB rule number 7: The Fates Have it in for Nick.

“NICK!” I should have blown some of that span on the desk clerk. “Where the hell have you been?” Nice to see you too, Kevin. “I’ve...”

“Night Kevin.” I told you I was tired. I almost made it to the bedroom door when Kevin grabbed my arm and pulled me towards him.

“Don’t you walk out on me. Don’t you know how worried I’ve been? We’ve all been? When you didn’t come right back....Nick you should have been back over three hours ago!”

“Nick!” AJ came out of the bedroom followed by Howie. What...were we having a slumber party? And me without my feetie jammies! “Bro...”

“Get your hands off me.” Sorry Aje, I’m kinda busy with Kevin at the moment. I pulled away from Kevin and started towards the bedroom again. This, apparently, was not the correct course of action.

“Nick!” Kevin pushed in front of me and grasped both of my upper-arms. “Stop. We are talking...NOW.”

“Kevin!” AJ didn’t seem to think Kevin was responding correctly to my mood. Smart man, that AJ.

“What were you going to do if I had agreed to come alone?” That cut all three of them off. They glanced at each other with guilt-ridden expressions. I think I had it figured out. “What?” Total silence. “TELL me Kevin, did you have that all planned out?”

“Nick..” Kevin sounded so hopeless.

“No, really Kevin, what was the plan?”

“Nick, don’t man. It was wrong, OK? We were wrong.” Howie wanted everything smoothed over. I didn’t.

“Let me guess because I’ll just bet I can.” I wrenched myself out of Kevin’s grasp and paced the room. What do you know, I had some energy after all. “First, Amanda would show up, right? Her family reunion suddenly canceled?” AJ actually blushed. I hit that nail right on the head. “I’m sorry Howie, I don’t know Maggie well enough to know what skanky excuse she would use.”

“That’s not fair, Nick! Maggie had nothing to do with this.”

“So what you’re saying is that Maggie and Amanda had no idea what was going on?” Now Howie looked embarrassed. “I’m going to bed.”

“Nick, please...” Kevin reached for me again but I side-stepped him. “...let’s talk. We won’t have a chance tomorrow and.... I don’t think we should leave it like this.”

“What are you going to say Kevin? That you hate my girlfriend? I get that. That you are trying to help me? That...” I stopped, instantly. Howie, AJ, and Kevin stood there watching me. I guess there were afraid that I was about to really freak out when in reality my stomach was suddenly on fire. One more word out of my mouth and it would be accompanied by Coke. Hey Howie! Wanna relive a moment with me!

“Nick, you really...Nick, are you OK?” Kevin took a step towards me. “You’re white as a sheet.”

I swallowed, hard. Come on tummy, stay with me here. “I’m tired. I need sleep. I want you to leave.” Minimal and to the point. Forgive me, but I needed them to leave, now. “And as I am PAYING for these EXCELLENT accommodations, I believe I have every right to kick your asses out.” That should do it. It did.

“Fine! I wanted to talk, to see if we could...you wanna pout? Go ahead.” Kevin turned on a dime and left. Howie followed without so much as a glance. AJ was another matter.

“Bye.” I really, really needed some privacy. “Don’t let doorknob hit you in the ass on your way out.”

AJ tilted his head and gave me one of his half-smiles. This can indicate several things; that he is on to you, that he is having a good time, that he is about to rip the towel rack off the wall and beat you with it..

“Whatever Nick.” He squinted at me for a second. “You really are pale, are you OK?” Sorry. I have reached my quota of verbal communication for the day. “Fine, be that way. But I know something else is up.” He moved towards the door. “And for the record, yes, Maggie and Amanda did know, and they both thought we were treating you like shit. And just so you know, I’m sorry, bro.”

Great. Not only do I get a night of never-ending sickness, but I get guilt. Two for the price of one!

“We’ll talk later.” He pulled the door closed behind him.

Damn, damn, damn. I had only made things worse. And speaking of worse I just made it to the john before I ralphed. This was not what I needed. This particular bout of vomiting took about twenty minutes to reach completion. I stripped, showered, and crawled under the covers. I was still wet but it didn’t matter. If tonight was going to follow current patterns I wouldn’t be in the bed long.

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