“Jennie, everyone wants to know who your mystery man is.” I was right; they had cut the first part of the interview.
“This is David. He was kind enough to escort me tonight.”
“So you’re not dating?”
That one had caught Doris by surprise.
“No, he’s single,” Jennie said as she did her unique giggle.
“Where did you find this hunk?”
My mom actually laughed at that. I guess I wouldn’t get a big head around her.
“He is a hunk, isn’t he? His best friend introduced us. She thought we would hit it off.”
“His best friend is a girl?”
Doris was surprised again.
“Of course, he’s a special guy. Tami keeps him grounded. We laugh all the time because this one doesn’t realize how good-looking he is. That’s what I like the best about him.”
The voice-over came back, and the video showed me playing football.
“David’s not only great-looking; he’s also a football star. We’ll be keeping our eye on this one.”
The video faded to black.
“Send me that video. I want to take it to work and brag about you.”
I stuck my tongue out at my mom, and she told me to go to bed.
I FOUND A SURPRISE when I got back to my apartment: Angie was asleep in my bed. I decided that sleeping naked with my brother’s girlfriend wasn’t a good idea. I put on a pair of running shorts. My crawling into bed woke her up.
“Did you have a good weekend?” Angie asked.
“Overall it was great. A couple of things sucked. Alice and I didn’t hook up. Jennie’s friend Mark was an ass, but we won our game. John and I got to spend time together, and Jennie and I will be on TV tomorrow.”
She swatted my arm.
“I swear, you’re a bigger ham than your brother.”
“I take it not everything is great for you.”
“What gave it away?”
I shook my head.
“I think finding you in my bed might be a clue.”
“There is that,” she confessed. “Cindy happened. We talked your mom into watching Kyle Saturday night and we went over to Cindy’s house. We had a threesome,” she whispered.
“Don’t tell me he put his wiener in her.”
“Yeah,” she sighed.
I pulled her into a hug, and she began to cry.
When she finally stopped crying, I asked.
“Where’s Kyle?”
“In your mom’s room,” she whispered. “You know, your mom’s pretty cool. She told me to come up here tonight.”
“That’s my mom. She didn’t even warn me that you were up here. I bet she’s having a laugh about now.” I thought for a minute. “My Uncle John told me something that didn’t make sense until right now: ‘forgiveness is permission to do it again.’ I’m pretty religious. I believe in turning the other cheek and all that. I’ve forgiven things that others would call me crazy for.
“Cindy and I are through. She knows how I feel. Her sleeping with her ex I forgave her for, but she knew if she slept with Greg, it was over. I may end up forgiving her, but we’ll never be together again. Greg and I are a different matter. He’s my brother.” I saw the sadness on her face. “Shit, I’m a selfish jerk. I’m so sorry, Angie. This isn’t about me. What are you going to do?”
“I love him. Cindy and I are no longer friends.” She let out a whimper.
They’d been friends since grade school. Then she started to cry again. I held her until she fell asleep. I slipped out of bed and went looking for Greg, I found him in his bed, staring at the ceiling.
“Can’t sleep?”
He jerked when I talked.
“No. I think I messed up, little brother.”
“If you don’t fix this soon, the collateral damage is going to be bad.”
Greg looked at me, and then he got it. That was the first time I had seen my brother cry in nearly five years.
“Oh, David, how do I fix this?”
I let my anger through.
“First of all, keep it in your pants.”
That was when the light bulb came on and he realized that he had ruined any chance that Cindy and I would ever sleep together again.
“Oh, man, I’m so sorry. I know you have a thing for Cindy.”
“That’s over now, so can we not talk about that?”
Greg nodded.
“I’m afraid that Angie and Kyle are going to move out. If that happens, I’ll not be happy. Hell, right now I would take them living here over you.”
That took him by surprise.
“Greg, I’m nervous she’s going to want payback. I’m telling you right now I will not sleep with her. So don’t even suggest it.”
“I don’t know how to fix this.”
I hated seeing him like this. My brother wasn’t a wimp.
“First of all, grow a pair. You have a great family. Yes, it happened too soon, but it’s no longer just about you. There’s a little guy who deserves you to be his dad and be in his life. I know for a fact that Angie loves you. Give her some space to decide she isn’t leaving you. I’ll have her and Kyle move into the apartment for a while. I’ll stay in her room.”
“David, thank you. I wasn’t thinking when I slept with Cindy. They were both crying when we were done. I think I hurt Cindy almost as much. I just now realized that I hurt you, too.”
“What is it mom says? ‘You can’t pick your relatives.’”
I got up and went back to my apartment. I crawled back into bed.
“What did he say?” Angie asked.
“That he’s going to give you your space. We agreed to have you move in here until you decide what to do. I’ll move into your room.”
“No, you won’t. This is your place. Is it okay if Kyle and I move in with you?”
“Angie, I just want to see you happy. I’m fine with you living here. But if we do this, you have to make me a promise.”
She laughed for the first time tonight.
“I promise not to take advantage of you.”
I kissed her forehead.
“Please. Because all it would take is you asking. I love you and Kyle.”
“We love you too.”
We fell asleep in each other’s arms.
Chapter 8 – Coin Flip
Monday November 11
MOM WOKE US UP SO ANGIE could feed Kyle. I looked at the clock and it read 3:00 a.m. I grabbed my pillow and went to my living room to sleep on the couch. My alarm went off at 7:00, which woke Kyle. I entertained him while Angie took a shower. She stole a pair of my shorts and one of my button-up dress shirts. She looked damn fine with her wet hair. I handed her Kyle and took my shower. When I got out, she was gone.
I went down to the house for breakfast and decided I was too tired to run. After ten minutes of silence, I realized that having breakfast with Greg and Angie was a mistake. Greg motioned for me to leave with him, and he gave me a ride to school.
“What are you going to say to Cindy?” he asked me, his nervousness quite apparent.
“Nothing,” I responded as I looked out the window.
“Aren’t you interested in hearing her side?”
“No.”
“David, you have to say something to her.”
“Greg, as far as I’m concerned, what we all did was a one-time thing.” I turned from the window to look at him. “I said I wasn’t ready for more. I made it clear how I felt about it. I am a little confused why everyone thought another threesome was a good idea. I’m just glad it wasn’t me sleeping with Angie.”
Greg’s face went red. I’d succeeded in my quest to piss him off. He pulled the car over, and I continued before he could tear into me.
“It would suck if the shoe was on the other foot,” I said softly. That took the steam out him. “Look, I’m scared to death you’re going to force Angie to do something stupid. I would hate to see her move back with her aunt and uncle. That’s why I’m not going to confront Cindy. We don’t need a sideshow. You have to focus on getting everything right with Angie. In the big picture, Cindy and I don’t matter.” I sighed and looked him in the eyes. “Greg, think for one minute. If I were to bring Cindy back into our house, how would Angie react?”