The Fix (Carolina Connections #1) (20 page)

I
could picture her perfectly on the other end of the phone line. She undoubtedly
had her bottom lip between her teeth and her eyes were squeezed shut. I
couldn’t speak as I tried to process what she said and not throw the phone
down.

Silence.

“Fiona?”

“Yeah?”
Her voice was barely audible.

“Did
you just fucking Dr. Phil me, you little whore?!”

“Maybe.”
Her voice went up an octave.

“Aw
hell. I’m gonna have to grow some lady balls and dish out some apologies,
aren’t I.”

“That
would be my recommendation, yes.” Her calm had returned. “But I don’t think
you’re wrong about Gavin having to man up. I think you just need to adjust your
sensitivity level a touch. And maybe we should both stop calling him an idiot
so much. I think maybe ‘bonehead’ sounds more supportive. No – I’ve got it – we
can call him a ‘boob’. It gets the message across but will give him happy
thoughts!”

“Have
I told you how much I love you lately? Or how weird you are?” I was actually
smiling at this point – a minor miracle given the last couple days.

“No,
but it’s a given. So, if you’re feeling a little better, I have some phone
calls to make and a couple errands to run.”

“What
are you going to do, Fiona?” The back of my neck was prickling with
apprehension.

“Never
you mind. Like I said, let your fairy godmother take care of it.” And then she
hung up on me.

Hangovers and Soft Underbellies

Nate

“You
should always listen to me, man. Getting serious with a chick? Not worth it.”
Mark took a deep swallow of his beer before setting it back on the table. When
he’d seen what a pathetic mess I was this afternoon he convinced me that a
night out drinking and playing pool at Jake’s was just what I needed. I was
pretty sure I was wasted because I was feeling like Mark was making a lot of
sense.

“Yeah,
you’re probably right. I bet I could get a girl here to go home with me and she
wouldn’t get all emotional and bat-shit crazy.” I looked around the bar
half-heartedly for a suitable woman. Ah, shit. What did it matter? None of them
were the one I wanted.

“Dude,
I hope for your sake you didn’t tell Laney she was bat-shit crazy.”

“No
way. I’m not that stupid.” I took another swig of my beer. “I may have called
her emotional though.”

Mark
threw his head back with a maniacal laugh. “That’s even worse. I can’t believe how
ignorant you are. That’s like rule number one on the list of things never to
say to a woman you want to nail.”

“You’re
such a romantic, Mark. I can’t believe you don’t have a girlfriend.”

“Believe
it, man. That’s the last thing I need. Keep it light, keep it fun, and keep it
comin’ – that’s my motto.” He toasted me and I toasted him right back though my
heart wasn’t really in it.

“Well
would you look at this,” a familiar voice joined in. I turned my head and,
after it stopped spinning, I saw that Gavin and his friend Brett stood by our
table. “I didn’t think I’d see you here tonight. I figured you’d be hanging
with Laney and the little man. I’m still a bit scared to go home so I’ve been
hanging at Brett’s.”

I
gave Gavin the fakest smile I could muster. “I want to kill you.”

“What
did I do?”

“I
think Laney broke up with me. I may have defended you and in the process broken
some unspoken rule about siding with siblings in an argument. It’s all
quite…fuzzy.”

“Shit.
Are you serious?”

“It’s
either that or she’s insane.”

“Ah,
I’d go with insane.”

“Unfortunately
it doesn’t matter if she’s crazy or not because I’m in love with her.” My
filter-less, alcohol-addled brain prompted my mouth to speak.

“Dude,”
said Brett.

“Fuck,”
said Gavin.

“Christ
on a bike – seriously?” said Mark.

“Yup,”
was my response to them all.

Everyone
seemed to be contemplating the fucked up nature of my situation. We all took a
swig of our beers.

“Alright.”
Gavin moved first. “Let’s fix this.” He took hold of my arm and tried to pull
me from my barstool. The world tipped a little. Hmm, that was odd. “Shit,
you’re wasted, aren’t you?”

“It
seems that way.”

“Okay,
I’m driving you home and we’ll go to Laney’s in the morning and iron all this
out. You got a couch I can crash on?” He supported me and led me toward the
door.

“Yup,
and according to your sister, what it lacks in style it makes up for in comfort,
if I’m remembering that correctly.”

“Don’t
do that. It’s too pathetic. The less you speak from here on out the better.”

***

I
awoke to shit in my mouth.

Okay,
well not literally, but I imagine that’s what shit tastes like. I looked around
and realized I was lying in my bed but had absolutely no recollection of how
I’d gotten there. There was also a small hammer inside my head beating away at
my brain to the tune of “
You Asshole. Why Did You Drink So Much?
” I
hadn’t heard that one in quite some time. I chanced sitting up and it actually
only got a little worse. I could do this. I looked on the bedside table – okay,
it was just an upturned packing box, not an actual table – and saw a glass of
water and three ibuprofen. Thank God, somebody liked me.

Carrying
the glass I shuffled carefully into the living room and found Gavin sitting on
my couch fiddling with his phone. Oh yeah, now I was starting to remember.

“Yo,”
was all I could muster. I swallowed the pills and winced.

“Hey.
You’re alive. It was touch and go for a while there last night.”

“Yeah,
sorry about that. I don’t usually drink that much.”

“No
problem.” He shook his head. “If I could count the number of times I…well,
maybe not the most appropriate story for my boss. But, considering the current
situation…” He laughed.

Yeah,
I felt like a moron. “Right. So, am I missing any important details from last
night?”

“Oh,
wow, this is awkward. You mean you don’t remember proposing to my sister?”

My
stomach dropped right to the floor and I thought I was going to be sick. What
the fuck had happened last night?

“Joking,
dude. But you should see the look on your face.” He was enjoying himself way
too much. I would have to remember to punch him in the face when I was feeling
better. “Seriously, though, I feel really bad that I was the cause of all of
this mess. Laney and I? We just…I don’t know. We’re kind of like oil and water
sometimes and you just got caught up in it. Don’t worry, though, I’ve got a
plan.”

***

One
diner breakfast – or more accurately, lunch – of grease topped with grease and
a side of grease and I was feeling much better. I still didn’t know if I
trusted Gavin to fix my Laney problems, but it couldn’t hurt to let him try.

After
we ate, Gavin drove us to Laney’s house. I was feeling extremely leery – she’d
asked me to leave her alone and I really didn’t want to get slapped in the face
or punched in the nuts. “I don’t know about this, Gavin.”

He
put the car in park and turned off the engine. “Do you trust me?”

“Not
even a little.”

“Hm.
I guess I can see that. Let’s put that aside for the moment. Can you answer one
question for me?”

I
nodded my assent.

“Is
it possible for me to work for you part-time instead of full-time?”

That
was not where I thought he was going with this. “Yeah, sure. We’ve got several
part-time guys. It would affect your benefits a bit, but yeah.”

“Good.
Now let’s get in there and get your girl.” He paused getting out his door. “And
if you tell anyone I said that I’ll kick your ass.”

“Afraid
to show your soft underbelly, Gavin?” I had to rib him. I got out and we
started up the front path.

“Fuck
you.”

Before
we could get to the porch the door opened and there was my girl – or at least I
hoped she was still my girl. Her hair was pulled up into some kind of messy
thing on top of her head and she was dressed in a loose t-shirt and cut off
shorts. She wasn’t wearing any make-up and I could see dark circles under her
eyes. And she was perfect. Her eyes came straight to me.

“I’ve
been trying to call you and I was worried you never wanted to see me again.”
Her eyes filled with tears.

“What?”
I pulled my phone out of my pocket. Dead. “Shit. My battery’s dead. I’m sorry.”

“No,
I’m sorry – so sorry, Nate, I–”

“Alright
let’s not give the neighbors a show – get your asses inside,” Gavin directed.
Laney didn’t even spare him a dirty look. Huh. We proceeded indoors and Gavin
shut the door behind us.

“I
was mad at Gavin and I totally took it out on you and I shouldn’t have. I said
some awful things and I didn’t mean any of them. Well, some of them I did but
those were more about Gavin, not you.” Laney stood facing me with her hands to
her cheeks.

I
stepped closer and took her hands in mine instead. “I’m sorry too. I shouldn’t
have stuck my nose into a situation I didn’t fully understand. And I probably
said some things I shouldn’t have either. Can we be done fighting now?”

“Yes,
please.” She pulled her hands from mine and threw them around my neck. I
squeezed the living hell out of her in return and kissed her temple.

“Okay,
okay, let’s stop while we’re still at a PG rating. I have a few things I need
to say,” interrupted Gavin.

Laney
and I pulled apart and she turned to face him. I moved behind her and wrapped
my arms around her waist.

“I
have some things I want to say to you too,” confessed Laney.

“I’ll
let you go first if you promise it won’t involve yelling. Or punching me in the
junk.”

She
crossed her heart. “I couldn’t even if I wanted to – Rocco’s just down the
hall. Look, I know we fight and that’s kind of our thing, but I owe you an
apology. I haven’t been very sympathetic these last couple years and it
probably has more to do with my own issues and insecurities than yours, or so my
fairy godmother told me. And–”

“Your
fairy what?” I had to interject. Was she high?

“Never
mind – that’s not important. Anyway, Gavin, you’re important to me and I love
you. And I really appreciate all of the help you give with Rocco and I will try
to be more supportive and less judgmental from here on out. I promise, and I’m
sorry.” She released a breath like it had been weighing her down like a ton of
bricks. Okay, not high.

“Wow,”
Gavin began. “That was…kind of unexpected.” He laughed self-consciously and
scratched his head. “Um, I was gonna tell you that I’m sorry too.”

He
backed up and leaned against the wall, gathering his thoughts. “After our fight
on Thursday, I went over to Brett’s to get drunk and I started ranting to him
about my pain-in-the-ass sister, and he kind of hit me in the face with the
same truth-stick you did. Nobody besides you has ever gotten on my case about
getting my act together and to hear it coming from him was kind of a kick in
the nuts.

“You’re
my sister and you’re supposed to nag me and be full of shit, but he’s been my
best friend through all of this and he said he couldn’t keep his mouth shut
anymore. So I’ve been thinking a lot about it the last couple days and I’m
finally coming to terms with the fact I won’t play ball for a living. But that
doesn’t mean I can’t play at all – which I know you’ve been trying to tell me
so just shut up, okay.”

Laney
relaxed back into me as Gavin continued, “Anyway, I made a few calls and then I
received a few more. It seems your fairy godmother has some connections because
I have an interview for a job at the Baseball Academy coaching high level
teenage players. It wouldn’t be full time, but Nate said I can still work part
time with him so I think I’m gonna go for it. Hell, what is it they say – those
who can’t do, teach?”

“Something
like that,” she responded.

Gavin’s
hands went to his hips. “And, Laney, I know you worry and you’re afraid of
making mistakes, but
you're not a screw-up and I shouldn’t
have called you a slut either.”

My
ears perked at that one. It was one thing to get into a fight but another
entirely to call my girlfriend a slut. Laney must have felt my body tense
because she moved one hand to my thigh to keep me in place.

“The
same night you and Dominic were getting your drunken deed on, there were
hundreds of other couples on campus doing the same thing. The only difference was
that yours resulted in a pooping, crying, booger-laden, eighteen-year-long
commitment while everybody else got to sleep off their hangovers and move on
with life.”

We
all smiled a bit at that one, and Gavin continued, “If you asked anyone what
kind of mom you are to that kid, there isn’t anybody who wouldn’t sing your
praises. You didn't screw up his life and you’re not going to. You're the love
of his life and that is pretty fucking awesome. So, that’s it. That’s all I’ve
got.” He threw his hands to the sides.

“Get
your ass over here and give me a hug, you big boob.” She said in a tight voice
and I let her go to Gavin.

“Boob?”
he asked.

“Yeah,
I’m trying it out,” she said as she enveloped her brother in a bear hug.

Gavin
smiled over her shoulder. “I like it.”

***

Gavin
took Rocco to the park to give us some alone time and we made the most of it,
combining a much-needed shower for me with some unbelievably hot make-up sex. Laney
came at me like a sex-crazed wild cat and I had the marks on my back to prove
it. It made the last miserable day almost worth it. We lay in bed afterwards,
her cheek resting on my chest and her arm thrown over my waist.

“You
know, I’ve been doing all of this thinking about Gavin and his ruined dreams, and
I think one thing that has always bugged me was that I didn’t
have
a
dream that could or couldn’t be fulfilled. I guess I felt like you get what
life gives you and you move on, but that’s not really the best attitude, is it?
I guess I could learn something from you and Gavin. If there’s something I feel
passionate about, I shouldn’t let anything stop me without trying my hardest to
get it.”