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He didn’t want to linger to find out what, not when those lips of hers made him curious, and stood from the couch.
“I should go,” he said.
“Oh, alright. Did you want to take my car?”
“No, I’ll get a ride from one of those ride sharing apps.”
She got up as well, putting weight on one leg. “No, take mycar. I don’t need it tomorrow. I have another car in my garage, so I’m not stranded.”
“Alright, rest up,” he agreed, and gently nudged her down. “I’ll see you soon.”
She nodded. “See you soon, Rick.”
He booked it out of her house, cutting any time he had to think about how much he enjoyed hearing her say his name.
Rick parked when he got home but didn’t leave the car, thoughts around Charlie running feverishly on him. Spending time with her had gotten over his head. He enjoyed it way too much.
But the more he told himself she was off limits, the more he just wanted to indulge. Their world was colliding, and he didn’t want to crash and burn. Like his dad did.
It all went back to that. His parents’ marriage was destroyed when tragedy hit. His birth mother left the family after his dad fell ill with an incurable disease at a young age. George Min and Helen Nam had the romance people cheered for because of its storybook opening. He was the ordinary, poor boy who met the beautiful, rich girl at school. They fell in love, but her family didn’t approve, so they eloped.
George and Helen had two sons and maintained a normal life for ten years, George as an engineer and Helen teaching piano. Then, he developed a severe case of Parkinson’s, and their world fell apart. He could no longer support the family. After a year of struggling, Helen had reached out to her family for help, and they had their demands. If she was to go back, her husband and sons were not welcome.
Alex was too young to remember what went down, but Rick was old enough to see it for what it was. She chose money over her family. He couldn’t blame her for wanting to survive, but ditchingher sick husband and young children had to liken to heartless witch status.
To Rick, wealth was the actual disease, rotting people’s minds and turning them into assholes who only thought of themselves. The disdain stuck to this day. It wasn’t logical or healthy, and his therapy sessions were still few and far in between, but this obviously affected his views on relationships.
None of his relationships stuck, and he was fine with it. And wherever this thing with Charlie was going, he only feared it would turn into a repeat of his parents if he was to go that route. Her status and controlling mother were already signs that things were unlikely to work out, but resisting her was even more unlikely.
Every time they parted ways, he’d hoped it would be their last encounter, but that didn’t stop him from thinking about her when he was alone. If she never contacted him again, he’d be golden. If not… he’d need to think of ways to keep her at arm’s length, or he’ll end up kissing her and destroying every principle in his book.
Nine
Nick stoodin front of Fight Club United when Rick spotted him. Whenever Rick was in town, they coordinated a schedule to work out together. As the owner of an auto shop and a regular volunteer, Nick still found time in his busy life.
They met in their junior year in high school when Rick tried out for the football and baseball team. They had a wide range of common interests, and had been friends ever since. Because of his Irish and Chinese blood, Nick had the attractive, unique face that everyone in school found desirable.
Unfortunately, he inherited heart disease passed down by his father after graduation and his health suffered. By the time he was twenty-three, he had two major heart attacks and went through a triple bypass surgery.
The doctors warned him about putting too much stress on his body and advised him to take it easy with sports. Rick kept him out of the red zone whenever they did anything active. Despite the health setback, Nick was still the healthier and fitter of the two.
“Yo.” Nick met him by the door. “You’re late.”
“Traffic,” Rick said. “You could’ve gone in ahead of me.”
They greeted Marley at the front desk and headed for themen’s locker room. As they changed out of their clothes, Nick cleared his throat.
“So, are you gonna tell me how it went?”
“How what went?” Rick mumbled, pulling his shirt over his head. A couple more gym members entered the locker, adding to the sweat-infused space.
Nick flashed a wry expression before wrapping athletic tape around his hands. “Yourdate.”
“It wasn’t a date.” His buddy didn’t need any more information than that. He saw the annoyance clouding Nick’s face and smiled to himself.
“When you take a woman you helped escape from her wedding to a baseball game instead of your best friend, who likes baseball,me, then it sounds like a date to me.”
“Why are you so nosy?”
