Out of My Element (2 page)

“How was the game?” Trevor asked as
he placed his hand on Ava’s lower back, guiding her out of the door.

“Awesome. I rocked it.” I smiled as
I remembered my last goal.

Trevor chuckled, “Of course you
did. No need to be modest, Nick.”

“Chelsea, we are going to get some dinner.
You should come with us.” Ava stood next to the desk where Chelsea was putting
on her coat and grabbing her purse. She looked over at me with a strange look
that made me feel almost exposed. Shit! Had she caught me checking her out?

She shook her head, looking away
from me. “I better not.”

“Come on. What else are you going
to do?” Trevor urged. I watched her bite her bottom lip as if she was trying to
think of a way out of it.

“Come on, you need to eat.” Ava
slipped her arm through Chelsea’s and pulled her to the elevator, not giving
her a choice. Trevor and I fell into step behind them. 

The street was humming with
activity from the end of the work day. People moved with a goal in
mind—determined to get home. We walked the couple of blocks to the little
Italian restaurant and stepped in, leaving the end of the day chaos outside. 

We managed to get a booth in the
back of the restaurant before it had gotten too crowded.  It was dimly lit and
comfortable as we slid into the booth. 

The soft voice of an Italian woman
played over the speakers. Chelsea gave me an odd look as I sat next to her. We
ordered our food and a bottle of wine as we all made small talk about our day.
Ava set her wine glass down and leaned forward. “Chelsea? Are you feeling okay?
You seem off.” Ava watched her with concern.

“I’m fine, Ava, it was just a long
day.” Chelsea smiled. I looked at Trevor and shrugged. I wasn’t about to try to
figure it out. Women were amazing creatures that I had never quite understood.
All I knew was that I loved me a good-looking woman.

The food arrived shortly
thereafter, ending the awkward girl moment. “Can you pass me the salt please?”
I asked, watching as Chelsea turned to grab it, sending her long red hair over
her shoulder and across my face.

I inhaled her scent. Wow. That
smell— was lavender and vanilla. I closed my eyes
. Holy shit
! I
remembered that smell, and in a matter of seconds, the memory of a beautiful
redhead in a silver gown pressing up against me ran through my mind. An amazing
kiss. Fuck, how could I forget that kiss? I closed my eyes and groaned. I asked
her to come home with me. She had agreed, but instead I woke up with some
blonde the next day. Was I that wasted that I didn’t remember even kissing
Chelsea? I looked at her as she held out the salt to me. The hurt I saw in her
eyes was like a punch to my gut. “Fuck.”

Chelsea

I knew the exact second he figured
it out, and I couldn’t even look away. I could see it all over his face, and
Trevor and Ava were openly staring at us.

“Yep.” I confirmed his thoughts and
set the salt down in front of him. I picked up my fork and dug into my pasta,
trying to ignore to tension in the air. Ava and Trevor were still watching us,
and Nick still hadn’t looked away from me. I didn’t want to do this right now.
I had managed to push that humiliating evening out of my mind, and sitting this
close to Nick wasn’t making it easy. As he stood next to my desk earlier,
watching me work, I wanted to just take his smiling face and slam it into my
desk. A little harsh, I realized.

“Is something wrong, Nick?” Trevor
asked in complete confusion as he looked from Nick to me and back again.

I couldn’t help it. I started to
laugh, causing everyone to turn their eyes to me. “I’m sorry.” I covered my
mouth with my napkin.

“Care to share?” Ava’s mouth
quirked up in a half smile. I was acting like a fool. I just shook my head and
took a drink of my wine, trying to defuse the situation.

“It really is nothing,” I stressed
without looking anyone in the eye. I felt as if I was totally losing it. The
hurt and rejection from that night came flooding back like a bad dream. I took
a few more bites of my food and pushed it away. “I’m so sorry guys, I hate to
run, but I just remembered that I needed to do something.” I took out a twenty
and laid it on the table. “Thanks so much for inviting me out. I’m sorry to run
out.” I turned, raising my eyebrows at Nick, hoping he would take the hint and
let me out.

“I’ll call you later, Chelsea.” Ava
said with her eyebrows pulled together, obviously confused. Why wouldn’t she
be? I don’t think I’d ever acted so crazy … at least not in her presence. I
nodded and smiled as I said goodbye and hurried out the door.

I let out an enormous breath the
moment I felt the brisk night air on my face.
Shit, Chelsea!
I was on
the verge of being hysterical. I didn’t know if I wanted to laugh or cry. I
honestly don’t know how I get myself into these situations, but what I did know
was that I needed to stay far away from Nick.

I started back to the office
building when I heard my name.
Don’t turn around
,
I told myself
as I picked up my pace.

“Damn it, Chelsea, wait!” I could
hear his footsteps catching up to me.
Well, here goes nothing.
I turned
to face him, hands on my hips, as people walked by without giving us a second
glance.

“What do you want, Nick?” I
questioned. Why did he have to be so damn cute?

“We … need … to … talk,” Nick
panted as he tried to catch his breath.

“No, we really don’t.” I shook my
head. “There is nothing to talk about.” I crossed my arms over my chest and
waited.

“Shit, Chelsea, I don’t know what
to say.” He ran his hands through his short hair. “That night is still a bit
foggy, but we … uh … we kissed, right?” 

I laughed. “Yeah, we did. Don’t
worry about it, Nick; we can pretend it never happened. Oh wait, you already
did … about five minutes after it happened.” I rolled my eyes and turned,
walking away from him.

“Chelsea
please
,” Nick
groaned as he grabbed my arm.

I turned around, shaking my arm
loose. “Seriously, Nick, don’t sweat it.”

“I asked you to come home with me.”
It wasn’t a question.

“You did,” I confirmed.

He closed his eyes and ran his
hands over his face. “You said yes.”

“I did,” I confirmed again,
watching as it all came back to him.

“Fuck, and then I …” I raised my
hand and cut him off. I didn’t want to hear him say it.

“You did.” I nodded. “Goodnight,
Nick.” I turned and started walking again.

“Chelsea, please don’t be mad. Let
me make it up to you.” He dropped his shoulders, clearly defeated.

I took a deep breath and turned
back around. The hurt and regret I saw on his face almost made my reserve
completely crumble. “I'm not angry, I'm not sad, I'm not mad, I'm not even hurt
anymore. You know what I am, Nick? I'm so disappointed that you are
exactly
who I knew you'd be. Why would I waste time giving you a second chance, when
there are still plenty of nice guys out there waiting for a first?” This time
when I walked away, he didn’t follow.

I made it to the car and to tell
the truth, I felt better. I knew I’d been harsh, but I had never been a
doormat, and I hated that I allowed myself to feel that way for the past few
weeks.

I started the car as my phone rang.
I answered it, smiling. “Hi, Ava.”

“Okay, you want to tell me what the
hell that was about back there?” 

“I’m sorry I ran out like that. It
really was nothing.” I tried to sound nonchalant.

“Well, then do you want to share
why Nick threw his money on the table and ran out after you? Trevor and I are
beginning to get a complex,” she laughed out.

“I’m really sorry, Ava. Nick and I
just had to clear the air about something.” I paused as I looked in my rear
view mirror so I could pull out. “It’s over. No big deal, okay?”

“Okay. Chelsea, you do know you can
talk to me, right?” she asked. When I didn’t say anything, she just sighed.
“Okay, we’ll see you tomorrow.” I had a feeling that wasn’t going to be the
last of it.

***

I was sitting at my desk when
Trevor and Ava walked in. “Good morning.” I smiled as Trevor set a cup of
coffee for me on my desk. He had been bringing me coffee since he started
working here, and it was the perfect start to my day. Ava was lucky; she had
found a real gem in Trevor.

“Um, I was asked to give this to
you.” Trevor looked a little worried as he handed me an envelope. “It’s from
Nick,” he said when I looked at it.

“Oh. Thanks.” I set it on the desk
and started back to work, pausing only to take a sip of my coffee. I couldn’t
decide if I wanted to open the letter or not. I felt I’d said everything I
needed to last night. He apologized; it was over, no big deal. Right?

“Okay. Um, see you later.” Trevor
walked away. I was pretty sure he had no idea what was going on between Nick
and me, and I felt ashamed that I’d brought him into it like this. Trevor and
Ava were always so good to me; I hated that they were feeling uncomfortable.

“I can feel you staring at me,” I
laughed as I typed.

“I’m sorry, I just am so lost
trying to figure this out. I didn’t think you and Nick knew each other very
well.” Ava leaned on my desk.

“We don’t.” I stopped and looked up
at her. “It was just a misunderstanding at the wedding. Really Ava, its fine.”
I smiled, not wanting her to waste any more time on this. “Honestly,” I
stressed.

“Okay, but I think Nick is pretty
upset about whatever happened. He was at our front door bright and early this
morning with that letter. It was completely out of character for him.” She
pointed at the envelope sitting on my desk.

I didn’t know what else to say.
Fortunately, Ava didn’t either; so she walked down the hall to her office, leaving
me to over-think everything with Nick, from my first encounter to my last.

Nick

The never-ending pile of work on my
desk seemed to be reproducing right before my eyes. At this rate, I wasn’t
going to be out of here before eight tonight, and I had been hoping to meet up
with the group at one of the clubs for a much-needed Friday night out.

I pushed back from my desk,
spinning my chair around so I could look out the window. My view consisted of
another building and a portion of a fountain that sat out front, but at least I
wasn’t stuck in a cubicle with temporary walls where everyone else up in my
business every time they walked by.

The day was overcast and dreary,
shimmering in wetness, as a light drizzle fell on the city. The weather matched
my mood—dull and gray. Ever since Chelsea left me standing on the sidewalk last
night, I couldn’t get her out of my mind. I was a fucking dick. There was no
two ways around it. I picked a piece of lint from the chair and absentmindedly
rolled it between my fingers, as I watched the beads of water race down the
window.

I wasn’t sure why this was
bothering me so much. I have had many drunken nights where my memory was a bit
cloudy, but when I thought about Chelsea, I literally felt sick. Seriously, who
does that? Who makes out with someone, invites them home and then forgets two
minutes later and moves on to another woman? Sometimes the consequences of your
actions slap you right in the face. Who the hell was I kidding … it wasn’t a
slap, but a damn right hook.

I wrote her a note.
Fucking
beautiful Nick, what are we in second grade now?
I let a small laugh
escape, thinking of Trevor’s face this morning, as I stood on his doorstep with
an envelope, begging him to deliver it for me. I shook my head and swung back
around. I sighed. Yep, those damn folders multiplied while my back was turned.

***

I had barely planted my butt in the
seat before the two couples swarmed me like vultures on a carcass. They must
have been sitting here planning their attack before I arrived, because it was
calculated and precise.

“Enough is enough. You need to shed
some light on the situation with Chelsea.” Trevor was serious, and I knew it
was because he and Ava genuinely cared about Chelsea. It was obvious that there
was an issue between us.

I groaned. It was going to come out
eventually; I needed to just lay it all out on the table, so to speak. Maybe
they would have some advice on how to dig myself out of the hole I’d put myself
in. “Fine. I fucked up … bad.” I looked at the faces of my friends. Yep, no
shock there. Apparently they expected this kind of behavior from me.

“I kissed Chelsea at the wedding.
Actually it was more than just a kiss; I pretty much devoured her on the dance
floor, and then I invited her home with me.”

“Oh crap, Nick, please tell me you
didn’t sleep with her.” Ava closed her eyes waiting for me to drop the ball.

“Actually I didn’t.” She was so
visibly relieved that I laughed, but I was about to squash that relief to hell.
“I didn’t actually remember it all until last night when I caught wind of her
hair. It was lavender and vanilla, I think,” I totally digressed, remembering
the sweet smell.

Tom cleared his throat. “Stay on
task, Nick.” Spoken just like a teacher.

“Well, the smell of her hair
totally triggered the memory of what happened during my drunken state that
night at the wedding. I made out with her, invited her home with me and then
somehow took another woman home instead,” I blurted out, tired of keeping them
in suspense.

“Wow, Nick. I’ve met quite a few
pricks in my lifetime, but you my friend, are the freaking cactus.” Talia shook
her head at me. “Apparently your douche-baggery levels are at an all time high
this week.”

“Take it easy on your high horse,
Talia … I’m pretty sure you don’t even know how to ride.” I glared at her. She
and I had a love/hate relationship. She called me out on my shit, and I usually
deserved it, but I was beating myself up enough about this, and I didn’t need
it from her tonight.