Dear Diary...

  Chapter 21

  Dear Diary,

  Mark’s got a girlfriend.

  CeeCee

  Not only did I win district, I beat everyone by at least ten seconds. I was the only one that came in under eleven minutes. Granted, it was barely under, but still...it was an amazing rush.

  The best part was Nick waiting for me at the finish line. I couldn’t believe he had driven over six hours round trip just to see me run a race that hadn’t even lasted eleven minutes, well at least for me it hadn’t.

  As soon as I was free, I ran over and practically jumped into his arms, totally oblivious to the fact that I was sweating like a horse—I managed to keep my animals straight—and probably smelled worse. He swung me around a couple of times before setting me back down on the ground.

  Even though he couldn’t stay long, it was incredible having him there. I talked a mile a minute, which was quite unusual for me, and he listened with at least pretended interest, for which I was eternally grateful. It was going to take me some time to come down from the high I was riding.

  Right before he left, he reminded me to call him later.

  My embarrassment that night as I recalled my behavior after the race had me doubting whether I’d be able to call him. I was actually holding the phone in my hand, debate raging in my head, when it rang. It was Nick.

  “Hi,” I said in a subdued voice.

  “Hmm…” Nick’s voice was thoughtful, “I must have the wrong number. No way that’s the same girl as the one I saw earlier today.”

  “Nick…” I began contritely “about that…”

  “Don’t you dare apologize,” Nick said sternly. “I suspected you’d react like this. You weren’t going to call me were you?”

  “I…was…thinking about it,” I admitted in a whisper.

  “I told you to call me.”

  “I know but…”

  “No ‘buts’, CeeCee,” he interrupted. “I’ve known you now…what…about three months, and I’ve never seen you as excited as I did today. You needed that, and I’m just glad I was there to see it. You were amazing. Don’t apologize for being pumped. I was pumped for you.”

  “Really…?” I asked uncertainly

  “Really,” he assured me firmly.

  “Thanks for coming,” I had to force sound around the lump in my throat that had suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Maybe he wouldn’t notice. “It meant a lot to me that you were there.”

  “You’re welcome,” he replied simply. “Now get some rest, you sound tired. It’s been a busy day.”

  “Yes sir,” I said smartly “anything else, sir.”

  I could hear the amusement in his voice as he responded with “Just one more thing.”

  “Whatever you say, sir,” I said, determined to keep the mood light.

  “Sleep well, CeeCee.”

  It was the same thing he said at the end of every one of our nightly calls in the same soft, smooth, sexy, incredibly heart-stopping tone, which always managed to send shivers up and down my spine.

  “Night,” I replied unoriginally, my mind in its usual incoherent state after hearing my name spoken in what I always thought of as his ‘bedroom voice’.

  I blushed every time I thought those words, but I couldn’t stifle them. I’d heard them used in one of the Agent Jack Knight movies—they must have been added in the movie for effect since they weren’t in any of the books I’d read up to that point—and those words popped into my head the first time he’d said that to me and stubbornly refused to leave.

  Especially since he’d admitted once that he’d been lying on his bed reading a fairly interesting book right before I’d called and, from that moment on, I’d pictured him that way during every phone call.

  Of course I made sure to picture him fully clothed, unlike the woman whose voice Jack Knight had used that phrase to describe when he had discovered her naked in his bed, waiting for him. That one hadn’t turned out so well, since she’d apparently been waiting around to kill him.

  Still, I liked the phrase, despite the extreme embarrassment I would have felt if anyone else ever found out, which I fully intended to make sure never happened.

  The next week passed in a blur of homework, weight training, running, and phone calls. Felicia understood that I was concentrating on extra workouts, and adjusted her schedule in order to help me out.

  I ran in the mornings, got in some extra weight training at lunch and after school, bummed a ride home with Felicia so we could finish our homework together, ate supper, digested for an hour or so, and took off running again.

  Although I still had no idea what was going on with Mark, my phone calls to Nick made that a whole lot easier.

  I was a little afraid that by the time Mark finally decided to talk to me about what was going on with him, I would be so angry I wouldn’t listen. I hoped not, but I had a rotten, unpredictable temper.

  The Regional cross-country meet, the weekend after the District meet, was in the Lubbock area. The team left town early on Friday morning in order to have time to check into a hotel and familiarize ourselves with the course before the race.

  Sleeping in an unfamiliar bed in a hotel full of noisy high school girls was not the best way to get a good night’s rest before an important race, but I took my handheld and earplugs and managed to get some sleep. I finished the race in just under eleven minutes again, less than one second in front of the second place girl. I was ecstatic.

  And there was Nick, waiting for me at the finish line. I’d been afraid to hope, desperately wanting him to be there, but knowing it was a long way to come for one race. Once again, I couldn’t stop from throwing myself into his arms.

  He didn’t seem to mind the sweat that was pouring off of me, and I was on such a high I didn’t think it was possible to bring me down.

  I was wrong.

  The next week, I worked even harder, determined to do well at the State Meet. I was confident that Nick would be there for that one, since it was at Round Rock just north of Austin, but I warned him that he would have to not only pay five dollars to park at the Dell Diamond, but had to pay an extra five dollars to get in to watch the race. Thankfully, that didn’t faze him, and he promised he would be there.

  Despite Mark’s silence, I hoped that he would make it too, knowing how important it was to me.

  Mom felt guilty about not coming to any of my meets, but I understood. Being the head football coach in a small town, Dad had also been in charge of the high school track team, and my mom had never missed one of Dad’s events, but my meets were just too similar and it was too soon for her to be able to handle it.

  One of my main goals in life was to cause Mom as little pain as humanly possible, having done enough of that already, so I made sure she understood that it was no big deal and I was fine with whatever she needed to do.

  Coach Miller and I left for Round Rock on Friday morning. Since I was the only one that had made it to State, it was just us.

  The plan was to get there, eat lunch, check into the hotel, and then run the course sometime after two-thirty. After that, I had my own plans.

  Beyond tired of waiting on Mark’s agenda, I decided to make something happen.

  Because Mom felt so badly about missing my meets, she’d given me quite a bit of money for each trip, just in case I needed something. I’d saved it with no real purpose in mind, thinking I might need it for later.

  It was ‘later’.

  After I won the Regional meet, a plan began slowly evolving in my mind and I meant to act on it.

  Knowing I would be so close to Austin, I had to see Mark. From his lack of response, I suspected he wouldn’t even try to make it to my meet and since simply thinking about Mark was beginning to cause my stomach to tie up in knots, I needed to find out what was going on.

  If Muhammad wouldn’t come to the mountain…

  Using the internet, I looked up how much a cab w
ould cost to get me from Round Rock to Mark’s apartment…a hundred dollars round trip including a tip.

  Mom had given me twenty-five dollars for District and fifty dollars for Regional so I was expecting fifty for State. She didn’t disappoint; in fact, she handed over seventy-five dollars for State. I was glad to have a little extra. I wasn’t sure how much to tip a cab, but I didn’t want to be short.

  Since Coach Miller would have to find somewhere to eat supper, I’d decided that was when I would make my move.

  After running through the course at Old Settlers, I asked Coach Miller if we could stop at a fast food drive-thru somewhere in Round Rock. I was hungry, but more importantly I didn’t want to have to accompany her to supper.

  She was more than willing to get me whatever I wanted with the school footing the bill for my food. I ordered a hamburger meal with a chocolate shake figuring that would keep me until breakfast. Coach Miller was a health food nut so I was fairly certain I could count on her to go out to eat. I’d finished everything but the shake by the time she dropped me off at the motel and saw me into my room safely before driving off.

  Getting out my cell phone, I called the cab company number I’d found on the internet—the number already saved in my phone—and ordered a cab. They told me it would be about twenty minutes so, having no time to waste, I grabbed a quick shower and changed into clean jeans and a blouse. By the time the cab showed up, I was ready…albeit a bit nervous. However, I wasn’t about to chicken out.

  According to Nick, Mark still worked in the afternoons and usually made it back to the apartment around 5:30 or so for a quick shower before heading out to wherever it was that he spent most of his time. I arrived in plenty of time and, as no one was home when I knocked on the door, I sat down to wait.

  I didn’t have to wait long. A little after half past I heard voices…one of them Mark’s and the other a woman’s voice I didn’t recognize. The woman was talking as they came around the corner.

  “Stop it, Mark,” the voice commanded, “You know I don’t like you touching me when you’ve been working.”

  I could hear the distaste in her voice when she said the last word.

  “Sorry, Laticia,” Mark sounded resigned, “It won’t take me long to shower.”

  “Good,” Laticia said smugly, “Mummy and Daddy are meeting us at the club for supper before the concert, and I don’t want to be late.”

  At that point, I fully expected Mark to say “Yes, Dear” from the henpecked way he was acting, but he noticed me before he had a chance to answer.

  “CeeCee,” he gasped in surprise, “What are you doing here?”

  “CeeCee…?” Laticia asked eyeing me in displeasure “your sister? What is she doing here?”

  She turned to look at Mark, ignoring me.

  I could see why Mark hadn’t wanted to tell us what he’d been up to…he’d obviously been trying to hide the fact that he was dating the snob of the century. He knew Mom would never approve. She’d made it perfectly clear over the years how much she hated snobs.

  “CeeCee…?” Mark repeated, prompting me to answer.

  “Since I was in the neighborhood…”

  I left it hanging there.

  “In the neighborhood…?”

  Mark’s face was a blank.

  “The State cross-country meet tomorrow…?”

  I made it a question, basically asking him if he remembered. I knew for a fact that Nick had told him in person, even if he hadn’t gotten any of my voice mails.

  “Is that tomorrow?”

  The guy standing in front of me was not the Mark I knew. He looked…shell-shocked was the only word I could use to describe his expression.

  “So I decided to drop by to see you while I had the chance,” I added lightly.

  Laticia’s eyes sent daggers my way and my heart sank. She was nothing like the type of girlfriend I had always pictured for Mark.

  There was no doubt she was absolutely gorgeous. The type of gorgeous in fashion magazines. Long thick, wavy black hair and matching black eyes under perfectly shaped eyebrows surrounded by luscious, dark eyelashes, accompanied by full red pouty lips, a curvy hourglass figure incased in a bright red halter top dress showing off her beautifully tanned skin. She looked like a model even though she was extremely small—barely five feet tall, making me feel like Bigfoot in jeans—but she was cold and hard.

  There had to be something good about her because the Mark I’d always known would never fall for anyone that didn’t have some redeeming quality besides just beauty. Whoa! My thoughts ground to a halt for a moment as I realized that I’d just admitted that beauty was not as important as other things. Wow…I was changing.

  Mark unlocked the door to his apartment while I pondered my revelation. I was pretty proud of myself, truth be told.

  “Um…CeeCee, why don’t you and Laticia get to know each other while I take my shower,” Mark suggested.

  I was about to answer when Laticia turned to Mark with her million dollar smile and said soothingly, “What a good idea.” She gave Mark a peck on the check and said in a sultry whisper, “Don’t be long, Darling.”

  I’d always wondered about that phrase whenever I’d read it in a book, how a sultry whisper actually sounded; I didn’t have to wonder any longer.

  The puppy dog look on Mark’s face turned my stomach. I thought I was about to taste my meal again, and I figured it was a pretty safe bet that it wouldn’t look or taste nearly as good the second time around. Picturing it landing on Laticia’s obviously expensive leather shoes had me smiling, though.

  Laticia’s eyes followed him as he left the room. He got his things together in the bedroom and then waved as he ducked into the bathroom. She didn’t turn around to face me until we heard the shower running. Our conversation wasn’t going to be pleasant, I could tell by the look on her face.

  “You should have stayed away,” she hissed at me.

  Aha! That’s what she reminds me of, a poisonous snake waiting to strike.

  I wondered idly whether Nick had a book on how to handle those types of creatures.

  “Mark is my brother,” I replied as calmly as I could, “It’s only natural that I would visit him.”

  “If Mark wanted anything to do with you, he would have returned your voice mails,” Laticia countered.

  Something about the way she said that…

  “If he ever got them,” I suggested suspiciously, eyeing her carefully.

  Her reaction was all I could have hoped for…I was sure Mark hadn’t gotten any of my voice mails. Not that the Mark I’d just met would have returned them if she told him not to, so that was probably irrelevant.

  “You have no idea who you’re messing with,” she returned viciously. “Mark belongs to me now, and I do not plan on sharing him. Fight me and you will lose.”

  “Mark will have something to say about that,” I replied vehemently. “You aren’t going to get away with this.”

  Not very original, CeeCee, I scolded myself, corny even…with a side of melodrama.

  Although I knew I’d come off sounding a lot like a line in one of the low budget films Felicia loved, it was all I could come up with on such short notice. I sincerely hoped I was right about Mark, that he wouldn’t back her up, but I had my doubts. By the look on his face, she had him wrapped around her little finger…tightly.

  She must have agreed with my silent assessment because she just laughed heartlessly and said, “Let him know I’ll be waiting in the car.” Turning back as she reached the door, she looked me up and down distastefully and added, “I’m sure you won’t keep him long.”

  As soon as she left, I sank into the nearest chair, drained. I heard the shower stop and a few minutes later Mark came out, his blonde hair still damp from the shower, dressed in what looked like a very expensive suit. I gaped at him.

  Glancing around the room he asked, “Where’s Laticia?”


  It was disheartening. I hadn’t seen Mark in months, but all he cared about was Laticia.

  “In the car.”

  “It’s good to see you, CeeCee.”

  “Is it?” I asked disbelievingly. “Excuse me if I find that a little hard to believe.”

  “I’m sorry I haven’t called, but I’ve been busy,” Mark said defensively.

  “Too busy to return even one of my phone calls…?” I asked bitterly.

  “What calls?” he asked “You stopped calling me.”

  “I did not,” I denied hotly. “I called every night until Nick finally answered because you’d left your phone plugged into the wall charging. I left tons of voice mails asking you to call me back.”

  “Look CeeCee, we’re both busy so it’s okay if you’re too busy to call me,” he sounded…patronizing. I didn’t have to wonder where he’d learned that from. He continued, “But please don’t lie to me and make out that it’s my fault we haven’t talked.”

  “I’m not lying,” I denied furiously. “Your girlfriend has obviously been deleting your voice mails.”

  “Come on, CeeCee, that’s ridiculous. What reason would she have to do that?”

  “Oh, I don’t know,” I answered sarcastically “Maybe because she doesn’t like me and wants me out of your life.”

  “Give her a chance,” Mark replied testily, “You’ve only met her once.”

  “And if she has her way, it won’t happen again,” I muttered.

  “CeeCee,” Mark remonstrated, “There is no need for you to feel jealous or threatened.”

  “That’s what you think this is?” I asked incredulously. “You think I’m jealous?”

  “Laticia said you would feel that way.”

  “Laticia did, did she? And did Laticia also tell you that she was planning to tell me to stay away from you?”

  “You must have misunderstood her,” Mark said dismissively.

  “Oh it’s pretty hard to misunderstand the phrase ‘Stay away from him’ even for someone as stupid as I obviously am,” I retorted.

  “You know, she said you’d react like this, but I didn’t believe her,” Mark said angrily. “I guess she understands you better than I do.”

  “Oh, she understands alright,” I agreed sardonically. “She is a manipulator and obviously very good at it.”

  “She is not manipulating me. I love her and I’m going to marry her. You can either accept that or stay out of my life.”

  Mark slammed out of the apartment.

  I sat there frozen for a long time, waiting for him to come back, but eventually I had to admit he was gone…literally and figuratively. Laticia had won. I hadn’t even put up much of a fight, had actually played right into her hands. I was in way over my head, going up against a pro. She’d anticipated everything I said and even fed me some of the lines. Mark had been primed and ready.

  I’d lost so much already, it just didn’t seem fair that I was going to lose Mark, too. The most frustrating part was that I knew Mark would never be happy with that witch. The wicked witch of the west…actually southwest would be more accurate. I tried to laugh, but it hurt and turned into a sob. One sob quickly followed another until I was crying in earnest.

  “CeeCee…?”

  I’d been crying so hard, I hadn’t even heard Nick come in. He pulled me out of the chair and forced me to meet his eyes.

  “What’s wrong? Why are you here? Are you hurt?”

  I couldn’t stop crying. All I could do was shake my head. Nick pulled me close and held me until I had cried myself out.

  “Better?”

  I nodded and he released me.

  “Sorry,” I sniffled. “I always seem to use your shirt as a tissue.”

  “I don’t mind,” Nick smiled.

  “I met Laticia.”

  Nick stopped smiling.

  “I should have never promised Mark I wouldn’t tell you,” Nick muttered angrily raking his fingers through his hair. “I didn’t think he would let it go this long. I’m so sorry you had to find out this way.”

  “It doesn’t matter,” I said dully. “The timing is irrelevant.”

  “What do you mean?” Nick asked narrowing his eyes.

  “Why bother?” I shrugged, talking more to myself than Nick. “I need to get back to the motel.”

  I reached in my backpack for my cell phone.

  “You’re not leaving here until I get the whole story,” Nick said gently taking the cell phone from me and leading me over to the couch. “Start at the beginning and don’t leave anything out.”

  “Nick…”

  “From the beginning, CeeCee,” he reiterated firmly. “How did you get here? Did Mark pick you up?”

  I knew he wasn’t going to like the part about the cab, and I was right.

  “You did WHAT?” Nick exploded.

  “I called a reputable cab company,” I said defensively.

  Nick took a couple of very deep breaths and seemed somewhat calmer. so I continued with my story leaving nothing out. When I got to the end where Mark stormed out, I felt the tears threatening again.

  Somewhere in the middle of the story, Nick had taken both of my hands in his and was absentmindedly stroking the back of my hands with his thumbs. I was grateful for the distraction as it took my mind in another direction temporarily.

  “So he didn’t believe you.”

  “With my track record, do you blame him?”

  “Are you jealous?”

  “No!” I was adamant about that. “I’ve always wanted a sister, that’s why Felicia and I are so close. I even hoped that she and Mark…” I had such a feeling of loss, but I wasn’t sure if I would be able to explain it. “I know it was selfish on my part to expect Mark to marry someone who would see me as a sister, but mostly I just want him to be happy. I could stand losing him if I thought he would be truly happy, but she’s not interested in his happiness.”

  I was a hundred percent positive about that if nothing else.

  “I have to admit that I only met her once so I have nothing to base any personal observations on, but…” Nick began.

  “You don’t believe me either,” I interrupted trying to pull away from him.

  Inexplicably his doubt hurt even more than Mark’s had.

  “CeeCee, stop,” Nick demanded tightening his grip on my hands. “I believe everything you’ve told me.”

  “You do?” I asked in amazement. “Why?”

  Nick chuckled and asked, “Is there some reason I shouldn’t believe you?”

  “No, I just didn’t expect…”

  I stopped abruptly. I suppose it was part of my make up that kept me from thinking anyone would believe me over someone else. I mean, why should they? Had I ever done anything that inspired trust and confidence?

  “CeeCee, I trust you.”

  “Thank you,” I whispered tearfully.

  “You’re welcome, and now we need to get you back to the motel before your coach finds out you’re gone and has a heart attack,” Nick said getting up and pulling me with him. “No more cabs,” he ordered.

  “Okay,” I consciously pulled myself together and readily agreed, “No more cabs.”

  He drove me back to the motel and walked me to my room. I didn’t see the coach’s car in the parking lot so she hadn’t returned, thank goodness. Our rooms were right next to each other with a connecting door, so it would have been highly unlikely that my little adventure would have gone unnoticed otherwise.

  Nick insisted that I give him my room card, checked my room to make sure it was safe, and then handed it back to me. It was nice to have someone taking care of me.

  “Try to behave yourself for the rest of the night,” Nick teased. “You do have a race tomorrow.”

  “Thanks for everything Nick,” putting my hands on his shoulder, I reached up and kissed him on the cheek.

  Pulling me into a gentle hug he murmured, ??
?Sleep well, CeeCee” in my ear, released me, and was gone.

  I closed the door, locked and bolted it, and peeked out the window just in time to see his pickup pulling out of the lot. I watched until it was out of sight then let the curtain drop.