17 comments/ 41612 views/ 11 favorites I Want To Be Around By: woodmanone Note from Jake Rivers, This is my eighth semi-annual "invitational." The current effort consists of stories based on songs by Frank Sinatra, Ol' Blues Eyes. Please read the stories and give feedback to the participating authors. Note from Jake Rivers: This is my eighth semi-annual "invitational." The current effort consists of stories based on songs performed by Frank Sinatra, Ol' Blues Eyes. Please read the stories and give feedback to the participating authors. Regards, Jake There are no graphic sex scenes in this story. Constructive comments and critiques are welcome and appreciated. Thanks for taking the time to read and comment on my work. Please enjoy. WOODMANONE My inspiration for this story is Ol' Blue Eyes' rendition of I Want To Be Around recorded in 1964. I WANT TO BE AROUND by Frank Sinatra I wanna be around to pick up the pieces when somebody breaks your heart, Somebody twice as smart as I. Somebody who will swear to be true like you used to do with me, Who'll leave you to learn that misery loves company, wait and see. I wanna be around to see how he does it when he breaks your heart to bits, Let's see if the puzzle fits, so fine, And that's when I'll discover that revenge is sweet, As I sit there applauding from a front row seat, When somebody breaks your heart like you broke mine. **************** There wasn't a lot of formal education, just high school, in my past; my knowledge was from more of hand's on type of lessons. I was working in the southern U.S. blowing up bridges and large buildings that had been damaged or destroyed by Katrina. My understanding of explosives came from working with my dad in the mines of the Midwestern states. My name is Patrick Kelly. I worked with my dad, James, for five years learning about explosives. My mother lost her battle with cancer when I was 15 so Dad had me work with him just after I turned 16; I was a big kid even at that age and could pass for being much older. My dad was 6' 2 and I topped him by two inches when I got my full growth. At 16 it wasn't exactly legal for me to be working in that industry, but it sure was educational. By the time I was 23 I was a blaster. I could plan a blast chart, plant the charges, and wire them for detonation. I could bring a building down on itself and not bother the buildings on either side; it's called imploding. By the time I was 25 I was one of the best explosive experts in the country. That's why I was hired to go to the Gulf Coast and clean up after Katrina. My last shot had gone off without a problem and brought down two three story buildings at the same time; they had been flooded and ruined during the hurricane. My boss, Jake, joined me at the generator blasting unit and said there were a couple of guys in the onsite office trailer that wanted to see me. "Okay, I'll be there as soon as I inspect this shot," I replied. "I think you better go now; I'll do the after action inspection," he said almost making it an order. Looking at him with a question in my eyes he said, "Get going Patrick." These guys must be some heavy hitters if they could spook Jake, I thought on my way to the trailer. I hadn't done anything wrong so it couldn't be the law looking for me. The two men were waiting for me when I opened the door. I nodded at them and sat down at my desk. "You're Patrick Kelly?" "Yep, who are you?" "I'm John Smith and this is Jim Jones," he answered with a grin at giving me obviously false names. "And what can I do for you, Mr. Smith?" I smiled and went along with the gag. From there it was just a matter of exchanging information. Mr. Smith and Mr. Jones worked for a security firm whose area of responsibility was outside of the continental U. S. The firm was an independent contractor but one with strong ties to the U. S. government. Basically they wanted to hire me to go blow things up. There was a lot more Intel, their word not mine, but that was the meat and potatoes of it. I would head a crew that would help clean up the damage done to the infra structure in another country by the war. We would implode gutted buildings, several bridges that had been weakened by shelling needed to be brought down so new bridges could be built, and several roads and some mountain passes needed to be cleared. Basically we would use explosives to help clear the way for rebuilding. I would be deployed, again their word, for nine months with an offer of another nine months if I wanted to stay. The salary offered was outrageous. I would make more in nine months than I did in three years at home. If I reuped for another tour there would be a huge signing bonus in addition to a raise in salary. They basically money whipped me into taking the job; it was too much money to pass up. I won't go into the name of the company or the country because I signed a non disclosure agreement. But I was on my way to the sand pit. *************** A little over four months ago, I came back to the real world. Back to the world of hot and cold running water and women. Back to the world of ice in your drinks and fast food and pizza. Back to the world of pretty girls wearing short skirts and bikinis. In short, I came back to the United States. I can't tell you exactly where I had been; it's supposed to be top secret. Just let me say that there was a lot of sand, a lot of heat, and a lot of unfriendly types shooting; sometimes they shot at me and my crew. I'd been gone for about 18 months. I would have probably stayed for another tour but an RPG got a little too close to the explosives truck I was driving. If the RPG had hit that truck it would have seriously screwed up my day, week and life; I decided it was time for little Patrick to get out of Dodge. The first thing I wanted when I got off the plane was a double Gentleman Jack. Alcohol was really frowned on where I had been; something about religious beliefs. Not my beliefs but we had to abide with them. The next thing I wanted was a woman. No I don't mean a hooker or prostitute; I just wanted to look at a woman or women dressed in anything but flowing robes and veils with nothing but their eyes showing. Sometimes not even their eyes showed. Maybe I could see some coeds in a short skirts and crop tops. I'd been home for a week just decompressing and enjoying the land of the big PX when I ran into Riley Jansen. Riley had been and was still my best friend; we had grown up together. Before I'd gone to work with my dad full time at 20, Riley and I had been the scourge of the female population of our town. I slowed down after going full time; dudes working with explosives don't need hands shaking from too much alcohol and not enough sleep the night before. If I wasn't on a job, Riley and I ran together, chasing girls, and having them chase us. If a girl was hot or extra affectionate our philosophy was one date wasn't enough and four was too many. We had a lot of fun but we sure pissed off a lot of young women. ***************** I was sitting at a table in Dooley's, which was becoming my favorite watering hole, watching several young lovelies flaunt their good looking, scantily clad, hard bodies by dancing for me. They weren't really flaunting themselves nor were they dancing for me; it had just been so long since I had seen girls like this that I thought they were teasing me. "You're too ugly and too old for them boy." I heard the voice and turned to see whose head I was about to take off. It was Riley standing there with a smile and a bucket glass of Gentleman Jack. "Here this ought to cool you down. If not, I'll have to get a hose," he said. "Damn Riley, it's good to see you. It's been too long." "Yeah it has. I heard you just got back from some secret deal out of the country. What's that all about? How're you doin?" "I'm good but I can't talk about where I've been. I will say I made a ton of money so I can take it easy for a few months before I start blowing things up again," I replied. We talked for a few minutes, catching up on our lives. I noticed that although Riley was smiling and having fun something was eating at him. He would get a faraway look in his eyes and seem to zone out for a few seconds. Finally I said, "What's bothering you Riley? You aren't here sometimes so tell my where you are." "I know it's sort funny, maybe ironic is the right word, but some bitch broke my heart." He took a shot and chased it with a beer. "Ain't that crazy? I played with around with a lot of girls and now one does to me what I used to do to them." Riley was really down; I'd never seen him this way. "Tell Uncle Patrick all about. Maybe talkin will help you get over her." In my mind I was laughing at him a little. It was ironic.....he's the one hurting instead of some girl he left. Of course I couldn't say that to him. During our wilder days I'd left plenty of young ladies too; but I never promised anything but a good time. Riley would talk about being in love or anything else he could use to get a girl into his bed. He and I had several intense discussions about his methods. As they say, that was then this was now. My friend needed help so I'd be there for him. Riley got another shot and beer and began his story. "I met her at an insurance seminar; there was a dinner dance afterwards and we seemed to hit it off. From there it developed into going to dinner, or the movies, and several times dancing at one of the clubs. We dated hot and heavy for three months. I thought I'd found the girl I wanted to marry and bought an engagement ring." Riley stopped, threw back the whiskey, and ordered another drink, looking at me to see if I was ready for more alcohol. Shaking my head no, I told him, "Go on with your story Riley. I'd like to hear it before you get too drunk to talk." "Well, one evening I took Cassidy to an expensive restaurant." "That's the girl's name, Cassidy?" I asked. "Yeah, Cassidy Nolan. She works in the accounting department at the same insurance company I do." He stopped for several swallows of his beer. "Where was I?" "You took Cassidy to a fancy restaurant," I reminded him. "Oh yeah. I took her to dinner and when I took her home we got into a really hot make out session in my car. That's when I asked her to marry me." "I take it that she said no, considering the way you're acting." "Not just no; she said she just thought of me as a friend. She said she was sorry if I thought it was more than that. Damn bitch led me on, teased me, let me spend a shit pot of money on her, and made me think she loved me back." Riley finished his beer and ordered another one. He was going to be comatose if he keeps this up, I thought. "C'mon Riley, there's lots of other women out there just waitin for you to notice them," I said trying to get him out of his funk. "She's just another one for you to forget." "Maybe, but Cassidy is the whole package. They don't make women like that every day," he replied. "What's so special about this one Riley? I've seen you with some pretty hot babes." "Cassidy is more than hot. Oh, she's really good looking and has a great body. But what makes her special is her personality. She's funny, intelligent, listens to you when you talk, and makes you feel like you're special. Did I mention that she's beautiful and has a great body?" "Yeah, twice. You make her sound like the Mother Theresa of hot women. She can't be that great," I said. Riley sort of pointed with his head and eyes and replied, "See for yourself. She just walked in." I casually turned to see the woman that had stomped on my buddy's heart; there was no doubt which of the two girls coming in was Cassidy. Not having met her I didn't know how she interacted with people, but the rest of her would make up for a lot of bad personality traits. Cassidy Nolan was a stone cold fox. It's said that Helen of Troy's face launched a thousand ships; if Cassidy had been there they wouldn't have bothered. Helen was second rate, comparatively speaking. She had long auburn curly hair that hung almost to her waist. It was a lot of hair because she was at least 5' 10. Riley had told the truth about her body; if we'd been in California she would have been called a "hard body". I hadn't even met her and I already felt that she would an interesting person to know. Cassidy saw Riley and walked over to say hello. She didn't act like someone who had just dumped on a guy. She was open, friendly, and even touched his arm when she left. Either she was a bitch of the highest magnitude or something didn't add up here. She nodded and smiled at me before she walked away; I saw a pair of striking green eyes that showed intelligence and maybe a little mischief. We hadn't said a word to each other and I already felt special. "See what a bitch she is. Coming over here acting like nothing happened between us; she's just torturing me," Riley whined. "C'mon, I thought she was just saying hello to a friend. I mean she didn't say anything about you proposing." Riley was mumbling something about revenge, payback, and wanting to see Cassidy hurt. "What are you mumbling about Riley?" "I was talkin about payback, gettin even. I want to be around to see her hurt, like she did to me. I want her to see how it feels to have your heart broken. I'd love to have a front row seat, when some guy hurts her. Man that would be sweet revenge." "You quoting Frank Sinatra now?" "Huh?" He questioned. "Sinatra's song 'I want to be around', you know." "Yeah right, I guess, he answered. "Got to hit the head." Riley finished his beer and headed to the men's room. He returned to our table with another round of drinks for both of us. He had an evil grin on his face. "Say Patrick, how about helping your best friend out?" "What are you talkin about?" I didn't like the look on his face. "That would work you know," Riley said when he sat down. "What would work?" "Like that song you mentioned said. I was thinkin about it and that'd be just fine. "You could make a play for Cassidy. Get her to fall for you and when she does, you cut her loose. Just like she cut me loose. Like the song sez, I could pick up the pieces and get her to come back to me." "I don't like the sounds of this Riley. Besides she doesn't even know me. What makes you think I could get her to fall for me?" I looked at him for a few seconds, and then continued, "Even if I did get her interested and then dumped on her, would you want her back under those circumstances? I mean it'd be like you were her second choice." "Did you look at that woman? Of course I'd take her back. I'm not even in the race right now so second place sounds pretty good to me; especially if Cassidy's the prize," Riley replied. "How would I meet her? If I walk up and put a move on her, she'll just think I'm some jerk." "Naw man, I'll introduce you. Tell her the truth; that you my friend and just came back from a job out of the country. It'll be like takin candy from a baby," he said trying to convince me. "I don't know if I've got the moves anymore. It's been a long time since I played that game," I said still hoping to talk my way out. "It's like riding a bike, you never forget. Did you see the smile she gave you when she left? Besides you're still the same hunk that you were in high school. You're tall and got a good build from all that hard work. With that dark hair and blue eyes you could attract almost any girl. I mean I'm not gay, but if I was I'd go for you in a minute." I'm not dumb; he was stroking my ego to get me to do him this favor. "Riley old friend, you're pathetic." "Maybe so, but will you help me Patrick?" I looked at the hopeful expression on Riley's face and thought about our friendship and what he wanted me to do. He started to say more but I held up my hand to stop him. It was almost five minutes before I made my decision. "Okay Riley, I'll give it a try," I agreed. Did you ever agree to go somewhere or do something and the second that the words came out of your mouth, you regretted it? That's exactly the way I felt. "There are a couple of rules though, Riley. I won't tell her I love her, no lies, and no sex. If I get her interested in me fine, but I won't be a sleaze bag doing this." "But Patrick, you've got to........" Riley started but I stopped him. "Those rules are cut in stone. When we were chasing all those girls I never lied to any of them and I'm not going to start now." He stared at me for a little while and said, "When do we start?" I glanced over at their table and said, "Right now. Isn't that Sarah Jackson sitting with Cassidy?" He looked and then nodded. "So what?" "She and I had a thing going for awhile before I left for New Orleans. Sarah's one of the few girls that I dated more than three or four times. You remember, you and that red head double dated with us a couple of times." Recognition showed on Riley's face and I went on, "Let's walk over and say hello to our old friend Sarah and see if we can get her to introduce me to Cassidy. If not, you can do the introductions. Let's go," I ordered and stood up. "When we get there Sarah will invite us to sit down. Don't do it, say you have to meet somebody or do something and leave." He looked at me puzzled. "I don't want Cassidy thinking about your break up; I want her to be focused on me. Okay?" Sarah smiled at me as we got to her table and after the normal how are you, it's been a long time and it's good to see you, she invited us to sit with them. I nudged Riley, he made an excuse and left. I ordered a round and joined Sarah, Cassidy, and two other girls at the table. Let the games begin, I said to myself. Cassidy didn't wait for Sarah, she introduced herself to me and we shook hands across the table. I talked mainly to Sarah, including Cassidy just enough to be polite. It was a ploy to get her interested in me. If you're used to getting attention, like I'm sure Cassidy was, and someone doesn't seem to notice you an attraction develops. The bar didn't have live music but a DJ came in and started playing music. After two or three songs I asked Sarah to dance. A little later I danced with the other two girls at the table and then with Cassidy. The next dance with Sarah she looked at me for a minute. "What are you doing Patrick? She asked with a little smile. "And don't give me any bull." "You always did know when I was up to something," I replied with a smile. "Maybe that's why we're better as friends than as a couple. To answer your question, I'm trying to get Cassidy interested in me. I want to get to know her better so I thought I try a little game to catch her eye." "Still the player, aren't you?" Sarah leaned back and looked me in the eye. "Do yourself a favor and forget about all your old games. Cassidy is a nice person and my good friend; just let her know that you'd like to get to know her better." We finished the dance and went back to the table. I took Sarah's advice; I changed seats with her and sat next to Cassidy. For the next hour instead of running a game on Cassidy I just talked to her. I told her what I could about my job and that I'd been out of the country for the last 18 months. Cassidy told me about her family, her job, her interests, and some of her goals. "Golly, my life seems pretty dull compared to what you've been doing," she said. "I guess it does sound adventurous, but it was just another job under real bad conditions." "Bad conditions huh? You mean like people shooting at you?" I smiled a little and answered, "I'd consider being shot at to be a bad condition, wouldn't you?" We spent over two hours with each other; we did dance a few times but mostly we sat and talked. Other guys would come over and ask Cassidy to dance but she smiled and said no. Finally when the same guy came back for the third time she motioned him closer. I Want To Be Around "You and your friends give it up. I'm getting reacquainted with my old friend here. We haven't seen each other in a long time and I'm going to spend the evening with him. Thanks for asking but I'm not available for dancing." Cassidy turned her back on the guy and he sort of slunk away to lick his wounds. She smiled at me and said, "Now where were we?" "Old friend huh? Haven't seen each other for a long time? That's not strictly the truth Cassidy," I replied with a smile of my own. "Well, this is the first time we met so it's been a long time right? And I feel like we've become friends this evening. Don't you?" "Unassailable logic, Miss Nolan. I bow to your deductive reasoning." I was going to continue but we both busted out laughing. A few minutes later Cassidy stood and said she had to get home. She and one of the others girls at the table started toward the door. Cassidy came back to the table. "Forgive my bad manners; I didn't say good night to you. Hope to see you again Patrick." "Count on it Cassidy. Good night," I replied and watched her walk to the door. I don't know how woman walk like that, I thought. A totally delightful movement that defies gravity and the laws of motion. I said good night to Sarah and left for my dad's place. When I got to my truck, Riley was leaning against the fender waiting for me. "How'd it go? Did you make a date with her? When are you gonna make your move?" Riley's questions came at me rapid fire. "Chill Riley. I just met her but I did lay some ground work tonight. Maybe I'll run into her here again and develop things from that." "C'mon Patrick. I wanted to see her suffer. Can't you push a little harder?" Riley pressured me. "I'll do this my way buddy and if that doesn't suit you I won't do it at all. Settle down Riley. What does it matter if it happens this week or next month?" It was almost a week before I returned to Dooley's. I was a recon mission hoping to run into Cassidy again. The first time we'd met I had purposely not asked for her phone number. Couldn't look too interested, now could I? Riley wasn't there; I had suggested he do his drinking at some other bar. No need to remind Cassidy that he and I were friends. My scouting mission paid off; Cassidy and two of her friends were at a table when I walked in. I went to the bar, climbed on a bar stool, and ordered a drink. Taking a sip of the good bourbon I turned and looked out over the room. I saw Cassidy looking my way and raised my glass to her and smiled. Wait for it, I thought. There it is; Cassidy smiled back at me and motioned for me to join the group at her table. Got ya girl, I said to myself. I nodded, ordered a round of drinks for the table, walked over and sat next to Cassidy. "Ah fair lady, I made a serious error when last we met," I said to her. She giggled at my choice of words but looked puzzled. I continued in a more normal tone, "I forgot to ask for your phone number. I've been kicking myself in the butt for being that dumb." Cassidy smiled and replied, "Let's correct that error right now." She handed me a card and said, "That's my work number and my cell number. Now you can quit kicking yourself. By the way, isn't that hard to do?" "What?" "Kicking yourself in the butt." The she giggled. For the next three hours it was if Cassidy and I were the only two people in Dooley's. We talked a lot and danced several times. Two or three guys sitting at a close by table asked her to dance but she turned them down. There was one of them that just didn't get it; Cassidy wasn't dancing with anyone but me that evening. This guy came back to Cassidy four times and when she turned down the last time he got mad. "Too good to dance with us locals are you bitch?" Cassidy looked him in the eye and gave him the finger. "Jack, I'm too much of a lady to say it so I hope you can read sign language." Jack's face turned beet red and he tried to grab Cassidy's finger. What he got was me, all 6 foot 4 of me, standing between him and Cassidy. Jack was about 5' 9 and had to look up at to see my face. "The lady said no. Jack is it? Jack go away and leave her alone, she doesn't want to dance with you. Besides she's with me tonight and I don't want her to dance with you either." As he started to turn away I said, "And I think you owe her an apology." My tone wasn't angry but it was forceful. I guess the tone was forceful enough; Jack apologized and went back to his buddies at their table. An hour later Cassidy said she had to get home, "I'm not a person of leisure like you Patrick. I have to go to work tomorrow." "Well, let this man of leisure give you a ride home," I suggested. "I have my own car," she replied. She saw my disappointment and quickly said, "You can walk me to my car if you like." We were standing by her car and before she got in I said, "I know its short notice but would you like to have dinner with me tomorrow night?" "Hoped you might get around to asking me out so I put my address on the back of that card I gave you. Pick me up at 7. Okay?" She smiled leaned up, gave me a quick kiss, and got into her car. I watched her drive away and went back into Dooley's. About half way back I decided I'd had enough that evening and went home. I was feeling good. In fact I was excited about my date with Cassidy. I enjoyed our evening together; she was a special person. Then I remembered why I was dating her. Damn, why did I agree to that stupid plan of Riley's? The dinner date was even better than the time spent together in Dooley's. There was no loud music, or drunks stumbling around; we were alone and could concentrate on each other. It was the first in a month long series of dates; we met at Dooley's two or three nights a week too. I kept my word to myself and didn't push for more than a few good night kisses. This whole operation wasn't what I thought it would be. I learned that Cassidy liked to hike, camp, and fish or almost anything outdoors. "My girlfriends and co-workers think I'm nuts," she said. "I'd rather go camping on the weekends than do the bar scene. But it's tough to find company so I don't get to fish or camp too much." "Maybe we'll just have to go camping next weekend to satisfy your craving." I saw a shadow pass over her face and quickly added, "Separate tents and sleeping bags of course." That put a smile back on her face. We met at Dooley's on Wednesday evening to finalize our plans for a camping weekend. I told Cassidy I would pick her up about 5 AM Saturday for the two hour drive to the camp site. "Where are we going?" "A friend of my dad's has a farm with a great stream running thru it; my dad taught him how to work explosives years ago. I have a standing invitation to camp and fish there," I replied. I finished my drink and ordered a Coke. "I just realized that you only have one drink a night. Why's that?" "My job and alcohol don't mix. A blaster can't afford to have shaking hands when he prepares and wires explosive charges." "But you're not working now." "It's just a habit I've gotten into. Besides I don't like the loss of control that too much alcohol causes. I've seen too many people do stupid things when they drink too much. Just a quirk of mine," I told her shrugging my shoulders. **************** We arrived at the camp site a little after 7 AM Saturday and after setting up the tent and organizing the camp, I suggested that we go up to the farm house and check in with my friend. As we drove toward the house I explained that Bill Jackson was a little hard of hearing from working with explosives for so long. We pulled into the driveway in front of the house and Bill and his wife Milly came out to meet us. I introduced Cassidy to the Jackson's and we visited for about an hour. Bill and I lead the way back to my truck with Cassidy and Milly following. Bill always talked in a loud voice because of his hearing problem. He put his arm around my shoulder and in what was supposed to be a whisper said, "She must be special Patrick. You've never brought a girl out here before. I think she's a keeper." Cassidy and I returned to camp and spent the day hiking and swimming in the river. That evening we fished for a while but I guess the fish had already had dinner; we didn't get a single bite. After supper we sat around a campfire and talked. I put my arm around Cassidy and we laid back to look at the stars. It must have been about 5 AM when I woke up. Cassidy was lying with her head on my left arm snuggled up against me. I gently pulled my arm from under her and got up. That's when the pain started; my arm was asleep. Cassidy woke up to see me shaking my arm trying to get some feeling back. She giggled at my antics, forcing herself to stop laughing she said, "I'm sorry." But she started giggling again. We tried fishing again with the same results. After fixing breakfast we took a hike and then broke camp and headed back to civilization. Cassidy turned to face me with her back against the door of the truck. "Am I?" She asked. "Are you what?" "Am I special? I heard what Bill said to you yesterday; he doesn't whisper very quietly does he?" She chuckled and asked again, "So am I special?" Cassidy was smiling but I could see by the look in her eyes that she wanted an answer. I didn't say anything for almost a minute. Still smiling she asked, "Well am I?" It couldn't be avoided, I had to say something. "Bill was right; I've never brought another girl out to his place. I guess none of the women I've dated liked to fish or camp; maybe that's one reason I never had a long term relationship." This was going to be the tricky part; keep her interested without lying to her. "I like you Cassidy, I mean what's not to like. A beautiful woman that likes the same type of music as I do, likes to fish and camp and do things outdoors, and is intelligent and fun to talk to. So in that aspect you are special. As far as a romantic connection well....I've fallen into an intense like for you. Let's just leave it at that for now." Cassidy's smile faded away and I thought I'd blown it. With downcast eyes she asked, "You think I'm beautiful?" I looked over at her and she started chuckling and smiling again. "Gotcha," she said and laughed at the look on my face. I couldn't help but laugh too. After dropping Cassidy at her apartment I went to my place; actually it was my dad's. He was in Canada on a job and I wished he was home to talk to. The more I learned about Cassidy the more I wondered about some of the things Riley had said about her. He said she was always touching him and teasing him; other than holding my hand sometimes she'd never been overly touchy feely. Riley said she was high maintenance and always asked him to take her to expensive restaurants; our dates had been mostly for pizza or small mom and pop type places. I couldn't picture the girl I had spent the night with on the river bank as the high maintenance woman he talked about. Riley said Cassidy was always pointing out rings and jewelry that she like and hinting that he should get them for her; Cassidy wore a small gold locket and one ring every time we were together. Something wasn't adding up here. Either she was playing me or .....well, I don't know what. Time to talk to Riley again, I thought. I called his house, got his voice mail and left a message for him to call me ASAP. The next day I called Cassidy to ask if she wanted to meet at Dooley's Wednesday evening. She said she couldn't, that it was month end closing at her job and she'd be working late all week. "How about dinner and a movie Saturday?" Cassidy hesitated a few seconds and said, "I'm sorry Patrick, I already have plans for Saturday." "Oh, okay. I guess I'll see you around," I replied. "Please don't be upset; it's not like that. There's a company awards dinner Saturday and I made this date before I met you. I have to go, it's a company thing, and it wouldn't be fair to Steve to cancel this close to the dinner," she explained. "No big deal, give me a call when you're free. Bye Cassidy." "But Patrick......" I hung up before hearing what she had to say. How had it come to this I asked myself? According to the plan Cassidy was supposed to be falling for me and instead I'm running around like a love sick puppy. Some player I am. Get your head back in the game chump. That evening Riley returned my call. He agreed to meet me at Toby's Bar and Grill the next evening after he got off work. I told him I needed to clarify some things. "You're not wimping out on me are you buddy?" he asked. "Hey, remember who you're talkin too Riley. I'll see you tomorrow night." I spied Riley at a back booth when I walked into Toby's. A waitress had just delivered his drink to him and he motioned with his glass to see if I wanted one. I shook my head and sat down. "I'm not here to drink Riley. Tell me again about all the crap Cassidy put you through," I ordered. He went through the whole song and dance again; Cassidy teased him, led him on, had him take her to expensive places and then shined him on. "You sure that's the way it happened?" I asked. He nodded and I said, "Okay be ready, this is going to end soon." I left Toby's and started home but decided to go to Dooley's instead. I didn't really need a drink but I didn't want to sit at home watching TV. I was in a booth nursing my one drink of the night when Sarah Jackson sat down across from me. "Batchin it tonight Patrick? Where's Cassidy?" "She's working late all week, something about month end closing. I stopped by for a drink and some noise. It's took quiet at home with Dad gone." I looked at Sarah for a couple of minutes until she said, "What?" "Tell me what you know about Riley and Cassidy dating and their break up." "What break up? As far as I know Riley and Cassidy went out at most five or six times, actually it was more like two times. The other times there was a whole group of us and he happened to sit next to Cassidy," Sarah replied. "I heard they were hot and heavy." "Never happened. As I said Riley put a move on Cassidy when we were out in a group. They went out on couple of real dates and that was it. Cassidy told me all about it. She said that he asked her to go to some kind of company thing with him she said no and told him she thought of him as a friend; noting more. Riley didn't take being just her friend very well." "I heard he asked Cassidy to marry him." "Bullshit," she responded. I don't know........Oh now I see," she said almost to herself. "See what? C'mon give Sarah." "I go over to Toby's a couple of nights a week; Riley's been hangin out there lately. He's been braggin to his bar buddies that he was gonna get payback on some girl that dumped him. I never put it together until now." Sarah saw the stunned look on my face and asked, "Where you been gettin your information Patrick? Whoever's been telling you all this stuff is full of it." I started to get angry and could feel my face getting red. Chugging my drink, I raised my glasses to the waitress for another one. Normally guys in my profession aren't very excitable or overly aggressive; the ones that are don't live very long. We have to be calm, collected, and fairly laid back. But I was getting mad, ass kicking mad and Riley was going to provide the ass. My drink arrived but before I could pick it up, Sarah put her hand on mine. "What's got you so upset Patrick? I've never seen you take more than one drink a night. It bothers you that Riley dated Cassidy?" I looked at Sarah for a few seconds and started to calm down. "Yeah, but not the way you think," I answered. I pushed my drink away; alcohol wasn't the answer to the problem. "You never get this upset," Sarah said. "Even back in the day when you got into a fight now and then; it was more like a surgical strike than an angry reaction. We're friends Patrick; let me help if I can." Looking at Sarah I thought, it's too bad there's no real spark between us. She would make a hell of a girlfriend, fiancé, or wife. But we were just good friends, and I felt lucky to have that. "Okay mama, I'll tell you all about it. So I told Sarah to whole scenario; Riley's lies, me agreeing to help him and the plan. "There's just one little problem. Instead of getting Cassidy to fall for me, I fell in love with her." Sarah gave me a surprised look, "Oh my God. The player actually fell for someone." She looked down, shook her head, and asked, "How could you be so dumb? You've always looked out for Riley. You overlooked the kind of person he is because he's your friend. But I've got to tell you he's a total scumbag. Right now he's over at Toby's bragging about what you doing for him." "You have to promise me that it goes no further. I'll handle it." "Okay, what are you going to do?" "First I have to tell Cassidy the truth and hope she doesn't hate me. Then I'll deal with Riley." I leaned over and kissed Sarah on the cheek. "Thanks for talking with me buddy. I'll see you soon." The next evening I stayed at my place. I didn't want to go to Toby's and run into Riley; I had plans for him later. And I didn't want to go to Dooley's; I didn't want to see Sarah or accidently run into Cassidy. My mind was going around and around about what I'd let Riley get me into. The phone rang and broke the circle. "Hi Patrick, its Cassidy." I was a little shocked; I mean I'd been sitting here thinking about her and now she calls. "Hi kid, how are you?" "Okay. Look I hope you didn't get the wrong idea about this Saturday and Steve. Like I said, I made the date before I met you. By the time I realized how much I like you it was too late to break the date with Steve. It wouldn't have been fair." "I know, its okay girl." "You do know that I'd have rather gone to dinner with you, don't you?" Cassidy continued without waiting for my answer, "This is sorta weird, but would you like to go to the awards dinner with me Saturday?" "What about being fair to good old Steve?" I have to admit I was a little upset, second string, not me. "Please don't be like that. I already told you, I'd rather be with you. Steve broke his leg and can't go so I thought I'd ask my first choice to go with me." My first thought was hell no; I didn't want to be a substitute for good old Steve. Get your head out dummy, I said to myself; she's already explained what happened. I must have taken more than a few seconds thinking because Cassidy said, "Patrick, are you still there?" "Yeah, sorry. I'd like to spend the evening with you, even if it is at an awards dinner. Do I need a tux?" "No, a nice suit is fine. Pick me up at 6, okay." "Okay, see you then." I hung up and wondered if this was a good idea. Then I realized that this would probably be the last time I'd be with Cassidy. When I told her about Riley's plan and my part in it, she'd be really mad and upset. Can't blame her. I planned to confess on Wednesday at Dooley's. When I told her there were several things that could happen. My first choice was that she would say it didn't matter, that she still cared for me and we could go on together; not likely. She could say that it didn't matter either way, we were just dating; no harm no foul. Again not likely. My worst fear and this is probably what would happen, was that she would be hurt and never want to see or talk to me again. Explosive ordinance guys don't have much need for suits so the next day I went out and bought a nice suit; the condemned man might as well be well dressed. Saturday rolled around and I when I pulled up in front of Cassidy's place she came out to meet me. This couldn't be the same girl that wore jeans and a tee shirt when we went camping. Cassidy wore a dark green dress or gown; I'm not sure of the difference. Whatever it was she looked fantastic. The dress was sort of form fitting and left her shoulders bare; showing off an abundance of freckles; it showed just enough cleavage to tease a little. The color set off her mane of auburn hair and her green eyes. She looked sexy and classy and all around beautiful. I Want To Be Around "You clean up pretty good," she said. I stood with my mouth open and stuttered trying to answer her. Patrick the player was speechless. "Earth to Patrick; come in please," Cassidy teased. "My God, you're beautiful," I finally got out. She smiled and showed her dimples, pleased at my reaction; every woman likes to hear that they're beautiful. Cassidy took my hand and I helped her into the car. I was driving my dad's vintage Jaguar XKE; my truck just wouldn't cut it on this night. The awards dinner was held in the ball room of a large hotel. I must say I was impressed with the whole affair. Not only was the food pretty good, which is unusual at these things, but the speeches after dinner were short and concise. Several people got awards for outstanding work, Cassidy was one of them. Then the band set up and the dancing part of the evening began. Like I needed an excuse to hold Cassidy in my arms. Cassidy introduced me to her friends and some of the honchos of the company. I guess I made a good impression because I could see some of her female co-workers pointing and smiling at me. There was one really funny thing that happened. Cassidy was dancing with the CEO or big cheese or something and I was at the bar getting a refill on my Coke. One of the salesman types started trying to sell me life insurance. I politely told him I didn't think this was the time or place for that type of thing, but he insisted. He said he could get some preliminary info and give me a tentative rate quote and we could get together another time to finalize everything. I knew what was going to happen but I answered his questions. He got my age, my general health, my height and weight, and the fact that I don't smoke and drink in strict moderation. I had to smile when he asked what I did for a living. When he heard that I was an explosives expert it was hilarious watching him try to back pedal. People in my line have a hard time getting life insurance because of the extreme danger in the job. I laughed out loud when he said he had to go dance with his wife and almost ran away. Two things marred the evening. Riley was there with his flavor of the week and he kept smiling and winking at me; sure that his plan was working, I guess. The other thing was good old Steve showed up and apparently was upset that Cassidy came with me. He'd told her he broke his leg and couldn't go to the dinner; I guess he thought she should have stayed at home since he couldn't' go. It turns out he broke his ankle not his leg; he was wearing what I think they call a walking cast. Personally I think he came just to show the big wigs how dedicated he was. Right after my insurance buddy left Steve using a crutch, joined me at the bar. He introduced himself and said, "You know Cassidy was supposed to be my date and I don't appreciate you horning in." You're an arrogant ass I thought. This is going to be almost as much fun as my insurance buddy had been. "The way I heard it, you called her and broke the date; something about a broken leg and you couldn't make it. Now I don't know if you expected her to stay home or come over to your place to nurse you but you were dead wrong." Steve started to sputter and tried to say something but I interrupted him. I grinned at him, which really ticked him off and continued, "Another thing, you're acting like you two are an item, but Cassidy doesn't see it that way. She told me you guys were co-workers and friends; she doesn't think of you as a boyfriend or whatever." Steve looked like he was trying to think of how to get away with embarrassing himself anymore when Cassidy came up and took my arm. "Oh, hi Steve. I didn't think you were coming tonight. It's good to see you up and around." She turned to me, smiled and said, "C'mon Patrick, dance with me. I don't get you out on the dance floor very much" The rest of the evening went very well with the exception of Riley grinning like an idiot all night. I took Cassidy back to her apartment and walked her to the door. She put her arms around my neck, looked into my eyes, and gave me a very intense kiss. Cassidy unlocked her door, turned to me and asked, "Would you like to come in for a nightcap?" My first thought was, "Damn right". I knew what a nightcap and more time with Cassidy would bring and I couldn't bring myself to go there. Riley's plan had started this but I wasn't going to lie or take advantage of the situation. "Can I have a rain check? I've got a web conference early tomorrow about a job. I need to have my game face on when I talk to these guys. Okay?" Cassidy looked disappointed and put on a playful pout. "Okay, but I hope you cash it soon," she said. "Let's meet at Dooley's Wednesday evening about 7," I suggested. "Deal," she answered. She gave me another kiss that made my knees weak and went inside. Damn, damn, damn, I thought. I am such an idiot. I should have told Riley the plan was dead the first time I had second thoughts about Cassidy. Hell, I shouldn't have even got involved to begin with. I was going to lose the only girl I'd ever met that I want to spend more than a couple of dates with. My dad had told me over and over as I grew up that a man was responsible for his actions and the consequences. It's been my actions and now my consequences to deal with. Idiot. The next afternoon I got hold of Riley and told him to come to Dooley's Wednesday evening. He replied that he didn't know if he could free up the time and I almost went ballistic. "Riley, get your butt to Dooley's on Wednesday. You said and I quote 'I want to be around', well that's the day all this comes to an end. If you want a front row seat, be there." I slammed down the phone. ************* Okay, it's Wednesday evening and the stage is set. This sting operation is about to come to the end. Tonight will be the culmination of a quickly devise plan and two months of a secret operation. There is only one problem that's gonna blow the entire thing out of the water. I can't and won't go through with it. Without my participation, all the planning, the "work", and the expectations will never happen. I don't care; I can't do what I was supposed to do; tonight or any other night. My so called best friend is going to be pissed at me; so be it. He may have bigger problems; like me kicking his ass. Cassidy is going to be more than angry when she finds out what the plan was; that worries me more than anything. I'm sitting at a bar waiting an hour early waiting for her to join me. Shortly after Cassidy gets here my life will change in one of two ways; for the better with a bright future or it will go down the toilet. I can only hope that she will be mad instead of hurt; that she hasn't began to fall in love with me. If I read her invitation to have a nightcap at her apartment correctly, I think she will be hurt. Staring into the bottom of my drink I think this may be more than a one drink night. Looking around I see Riley sitting at a table near the dance floor. He with three other guys, one of which is Jack, the jerk that was harassing Cassidy. I was surprised that Riley and he were friends. Riley came over and joined me at the bar. "Hey buddy, tonight's the night huh?" I nodded and pointing at Jack and the other two with my chin said, "What's up with Mr. Personality there? "Well you know Cassidy shut him down too, so I thought he would enjoy tonight's entertainment," Riley replied. "Riley this was supposed to be about you and Cassidy. It's not a show and we don't need an audience." He was seriously pissing me off. "Well I better get back to my front row seat," he said with a grin. He returned to his table to wait. Cassidy was about 15 minutes early, saw me at the bar and joined me. She put her arm around my shoulder, leaned in, and kissed my cheek. "Hey sailor, looking for a good time?" Her greeting made me feel worse and altered my plan. I was going to tell her the whole story but I would do it outside, away from prying eyes. There was no need to humiliate Cassidy any more than I had too. "Let's go outside, I've got something I need to tell you," I suggested. She agreed and we walked out to the parking lot. "Cassidy, I've got some to confess. Please let me get it all out before you say anything, okay?" She looked puzzled but nodded. "Before I start I want you to know that I'm falling in love with you." She smiled and stepped toward me but I put up my hand to stop her. "Cassidy, I don't know if you'll even want to be around me after I finish, so please just hold back." I told her about me and Riley's friendship, his lies about her and him, his asking me to help him and what we'd planned. I explained that from the first I'd seen a different girl than the one he described to me but he was my lifelong friend and he wouldn't lie to me would he? I told her that I just found out a few days ago the he had lied to me. So I thought the best thing to do was to come clean and tell her all about it. Every grubby little detail. "What were you going to do, humiliate me in front of everyone in Dooley's?" I nodded and replied, "That was the plan, at least at first." Riley wanted to see you hurt; according to him the way you hurt him." I continued before she could say anything. "I know he was full of it, but I didn't know that when I agreed to help him. I paused and said, "But I couldn't do that to you. That's why I asked you to come outside with me." Cassidy just looked at me for about an hour, actually it was only a minute or so but it seemed like an hour. I expected her to get very angry, I expected that she might cry, I even thought she might slap me or kick me in the gonads. I didn't expect what she did. "That was a mean, hurtful, despicable thing to do," Cassidy said with a very sad voice. "I thought better of you Patrick." She looked at me for another few seconds, turned, and walked to her car. She looked at me one more time and drove off. That went well I thought sarcastically and turned to return to the bar. This was definitely a more than one drink night. As I got to the bar and started to order another Gentleman Jack, in my mind I heard my dad saying, 'Actions and Consequences'. The hell with it, I'm going home I said to myself and left. I was almost to my truck when Riley, Jack, and the other stooges caught up to me. "What the hell man? You were supposed to shine her on inside, in front of me and everybody else," he yelled at me as he got in my face. Riley is almost as tall as I am but about 20 pounds lighter but I stopped him in his tracks by grabbing him around his neck with one hand. "And you were supposed to be my friend. Friends don't lie to friends and play them." I shook him a couple of times. "What made you do it; you pencil necked pile of garbage?" Jack started forward, "You really don't want any part of this, believe me," I warned him. He stepped back. Riley smiled a little in spite of my hold on his neck. "That bitch wouldn't give me the time of day. All that friend's bullshit, as if I wanted a friend. I thought if you screwed with her head I could step in and be a shoulder to cry on. From there it would be easy to get her in my bed." "You're really something Riley; I'm not quite sure what though," I told him. I was going to say a lot more but one of the other guys started for me and I threw Riley into him; they both went down. Jack swung a big round house right at me so I popped him in the nose. That's the last thing I remember clearly. Something hit me across the shoulders and the back of my head and I went down. The next few seconds were a jumble of half seen fists and feet. **************** I opened my eyes and raised my head to look around. Shouldn't have done that; it really hurt. I tried to use my arms to push myself into a sitting position. Shouldn't have done that either; it hurt even more. Before I collapsed I saw that I was in what had to be a hospital room. I guess I was wearing some kind of a monitor because a nurse came into the room very quickly. "Welcome back to the living," she said with a smile. "The doctor will be right here to answer your questions, okay? Now you just lie still until he tells you that you can move." The doctor came in and explained that I'd been beat on pretty good. "From the marks on your back, I'd say you were hit at least twice with what was apparently a two by four. You have severely bruised ribs on your right side, your left eye will be black in about an hour, and you have a couple of abrasions on you right cheek. They certainly did a number on you. If it's any consolation you broke the nose of the one called Riley." I had to smile at that and that hurt too. "How'd I get here doc?" "Two young ladies brought you in, very pretty by the way. I heard about that Riley guy from the ER doctor when the police brought him and the three others in. I think you would've taken them if they didn't use that two by four," he said with a big smile. He wrote a few things on a chart and continued. "You've got a very mild concussion so we keep you over night but you should be able to go home tomorrow sometime. I'll have the nurse give you some pain medication and then you can see your two lovely visitors." The nurse came back with a shot of something that almost immediately made me feel better and left. Shortly after she left the two lovelies, as the doctor called them, came into the room. It was Cassidy and Sarah. They came to my bedside and Sarah asked giving me a smile, "Aren't you a little old to be getting into a bar fight?" "I'm certainly too old to be losing one," I replied. "Hey Cassidy. I have to admit that I'm surprised to see you." "You were blocking the parking lot so Sarah and I thought we'd bring you here." I looked at Cassidy wishing things were different. "I'm really sorry Cassidy; I shouldn't have gotten involved in Riley's scheme." She gave me a little smile and answered, "Yeah, it was a rotten thing to do.......but I forgive you. After all you passed the test." "Test? What test?" Now I was confused. "I invited you in after the awards dinner just to see how far you were willing to take your little operation." She laughed at the look on my face. "My good friend Sarah told me all about you and Riley before you got home Tuesday." Looking at Sarah I started to ask about her promise to keep quiet but she beat me to the punch. "I broke my promise, I know. But I wasn't gonna sit around and let two people I care about do something stupid. I told Cassidy how upset you were, both with Riley and with yourself. She took it from there." Turning toward Cassidy, well at least as much as I could I said, "If you knew about it Tuesday evening why did you......?" Cassidy broke in and said, "That's when I decide to invite you to the dinner, I wanted to see how far you would go. You were the perfect gentleman all evening; I couldn't even entice you into my place. That's when I knew that Sarah was right, that you did really care about me." I was finding it hard to talk; something must be caught in my throat I told myself. Clearing my throat I looked at Sarah and said, "Do me a favor will you Sarah? If you see Riley, no on second thought, go find him and give him a message for me." "Sure, what message?" "Tell him I said to remember what I do for a living." Sarah looked questioningly at me and then she got it. Her eyes opened wide, her lips formed a circle of surprise, and then she started laughing. Very quickly, Cassidy started laughing too. The next afternoon Cassidy took me home from the hospital. I put my arm around her shoulders and she helped me into the house; I really didn't need the support but I wasn't going to pass up a chance to hold her. She said if I felt like it to meet her at Dooley's on Saturday evening. I was going to be there if I had to crawl. I met Cassidy at 7 and we only stayed a couple of hours; I was still hurting a little. She had come with a girlfriend so I drove her home. I walked her to her door, actually I sort of hobbled. Cassidy opened her door, turned, stood on her tip toes, and kissed me. Then she said, "Get lost Patrick. I never want to see you again." You could use surprised, shocked, stunned or gob smacked or all of the above to describe my reaction. I stood there for a few seconds and turned to leave. What the hell just happened? I thought Cassidy and I were good. Her door reopened and she stood there giggling. "Just wanted you to know how it felt," she said with a teasing tone. "Come on in here big guy, I promise I won't hurt you. At least not too much." ******************** The next two years were the happiest of my life. My dad and I hired a new office manager slash accountant for our little company; her name is Cassidy Nolan Kelly. A fine Irish lass she is and my wife. Our company card reads: Kelly & Kelly; Explosive Solutions. I didn't press charges against Riley, Jack and the other two guys. They got their lumps and I felt that I probably deserved the beating. I never saw the two goons again. For some reason Riley thought it best to pull up stakes and find his way to some other city. Last I heard he was in California. Jack still lives here; I see him every now and then. But he's a bit skittish. If we come into Dooley's or Toby's or someplace and he's there; he quickly leaves. If we're in a place and he comes in and sees us, he turns right around and leaves. I guess he's become anti social; at least where I'm concerned. Kelly and Kelly also hired Bill Jackson as a part time consultant to plan blasts and set charges. Dad complains that Bill is even slower than I am setting charges, but he's only kidding; slow is good when you work with explosives. Our company needed Bill to assist Dan on the long jobs out of town because I won't be traveling much for the next few years. Cassidy and I are going to have a baby next month, a boy according to the tests. So I restrict my travel to one or two days at most. I hope Ole Blue Eyes understands and forgives me. A guy can change his mind about breaking her heart, right? And "I want to be around"...to see what happens down the road for us...as life goes on.