King of the Mountain

"No, you're a paranoid idiot. Damn it, Evander, you've messed this up and I'm not sure..."

"I don't care. I'll talk to you later."

I hung up and tossed the phone on the desk.

It took me four years to get over the loss of Kelly and by then I had made my first millions. I was dressing well, drove a nice car, had a nice house, and looked like I had money. When I went out to a club and met a girl, I realized quickly that she was only after what my expensive things offered her. I'll admit it jaded me, but I had to protect myself. I couldn't get trapped in a situation where I was used by a woman that wanted a sugar daddy. My low point was when I used two condoms having sex with a girl I met at one of those group dating nightmares. She smacked me and left me with a hard on.

I admit I lived a lonely life, but what could I do?

*****

The next day I pulled into my parking spot and saw Lisa's SUV was the only vehicle in the empty lot. Before I could do anything, she was hustling over to me as angry as I'd ever seen her.

"Here, Asshole," she shouted when she threw her keys at me. "Keep your fucking car."

Before I could say anything she ran away and tripped over something about fifty yards from me. I ran to her and found her crying and holding her ankle.

"What are you doing, Lisa? Are you okay?"

"Fuck you! Leave me alone."

I sighed, "Lisa, let me look at that ankle, it may be broken."

"Oh, sure. You're afraid it's broken, and I'll sue you for doing it in your parking lot. Well, fuck you! I don't want anything from you. Not even your piece of shit car."

Like a dumbass, I asked, "What's wrong with the car?"

She glared at me and said, "Nothing, Asshole. Take it back. I can't have you thinking all I'm after is your fucking money."

I sat down on the pavement next to her and lifted her leg. "Let me look, please."

She moaned yet let me.

"Does this hurt?" I asked.

"Yes, jerk."

I sighed and set her leg down, then I handed her back her keys. "Why are you doing this?" I asked. "We had a deal."

"That was until you accused me of being a whore."

"What?" I shouted? "Where the hell is that coming from?"

"Don't play games with me, Evan. You think I'm only interested in you because you have money."

"Well?" I stupidly asked. Her punch to my chest hurt. "What am I supposed to think, Lisa. You have treated me like nothing less than shit on your shoe since the moment I met you. The only time you were nice to me was after I bought you a car."

Her tears stung me, and she didn't stop sobbing.

"Come on." I picked her up and carried her to my car.

"Where are you taking me?" she cried.

"To the hospital." I placed her in the back seat as gently as I could and closed the door.

I looked at her tear-streaked face in the rearview mirror and sighed. Even in that condition, she was the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen.

I texted my mom and told her what was happening. As I expected, she would meet us at the hospital. Meanwhile, Lisa was silently crying in my backseat. I desperately wanted to hug her and tell her everything would be okay; I couldn't believe I was weakening for her.

They got her into a room, and I sat in the waiting room for over an hour looking at analysis reports for a business I wanted to buy.

"Is she okay, Evander?" Mom asked as she sat next to me.

"I have no idea. They took her in back and I haven't heard anything. I'm going back to the office; will you make sure she gets home?"

"Of course."

"Good. If she's able, have her get her car from my parking lot. I'm not letting her give it back."

"I'm not getting in the middle..."

"You're already smack dab in the middle of whatever is going on, Mom."

"Okay, then I'll tell you again that you're acting like an idiot. That girl appreciates what you've done for her, but she is not after your money. We talk about you every day. I can assure you; she's fallen for you."

"Mom, how can she go from hating the sight of me to..."

"She never hated the sight of you Evander. She's had a rough time since that jerk left her high and dry. You have to understand that she was already wary of the male species and hurricane Evander swooped in and started fixing her life piece by piece. You have to see how that could be unsettling for her."

"Sure, but you started it. The five grand, the dinner, you were trying to fix me up with her from the start."

"Yes, because I know she's a good person that can't get a simple break. You're the first good thing that's happened to her in years and it scares her."

"She's right," Lisa said from behind us.

"Are you okay?" Mom asked rushing to her.

"I'm fine. X-rays were negative." She looked into my eyes and started crying.

I took her hand and said, "I'm sorry. You need to understand I've got to be careful. I..."

"Careful!" she shouted. "You can be careful without treating me like garbage."

"You're right and I'm sorry. I'm sorry I acted like an ass. You deserved better."

Mom nodded.

"I don't want your money or your car, Evan. Can't you see that I liked you. You, my neighbor's kind, and handsome son, not the rich guy who gave me money and bought me a car. I like the good guy that fixed my car, well, tried to anyway. The good man that showed the lonely neighbor boy how to throw a baseball. You didn't even know him, and you spent more time willingly with him than any other man in his life. You're..."

I cut her off and asked, "Can I take you to dinner tonight?"

She wiped her eyes with a tissue, then blew her nose loudly before saying, "Are you going to be kinder to me?"

I smiled, "I promise. You're one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen. I'd hate to think I blew a chance to get to know you better."

I lifted her hand and kissed it.

Mom groaned, "For the love of God, turn off the charm, Evander."

Both ladies laughed and I sighed. "I'm going back to work. I'll see you tonight, Lisa." I kissed mom on the cheek and said goodbye.

Lisa said, "Hey! Where's mine?" I smiled and instead of kissing her cheek, I kissed her lips lightly. I thought I heard a quiet moan, but I couldn't be sure.

"Well," I smiled, "until tonight." I nodded and walked out the door. I felt like I was walking on clouds.

*****

I walked up Lisa's stairs and my heart raced. I raised my hand to knock, but my mother opened the door before I could.

"Hello, Evander."

"Hi, Mom. You got snookered into babysitting, huh?" I kissed her cheek and walked into the house. I looked for Nicky but didn't see him anywhere.

"She's still getting ready," Mom said as she saw me looking around.

"That's fine. I was looking for Nicky."

She smiled and said, "Kitchen."

I walked into the kitchen and smelled something rank.

"Hey, Nicky," I said as I fist bumped the lad as he enjoyed a mouthful of mac and cheese.

"Hi, Mister Evan," he said without losing any of the yellow yumminess from his mouth.

I looked at the sink and found one side had water backed up. The food blocking the drain caused the smell.

"Oh, my God! Evan, I'm sorry," Lisa shrieked as she walked into the kitchen.

"How long has it been like this?"

"Too long."

I sighed. "I assume your garbage disposal stopped working."

She nodded and I shook my head. I took my suit coat off and rolled up my sleeves.

"Do you have the hex key for it?"

"What's a hex key," she asked.

"Mom would you mind getting the..."

"On my way," she chirped and headed to her garage for the Allen wrenches.

Thankfully, it wasn't hard wired, and I could simply unplug the unit. I then took a cup and removed as much water as I could from the clogged side. I found a wooden spoon and stuck the handle in the drain to try to dislodge whatever was blocking the blades and clogging the drain.

Mom handed me the wrenches and I gave the blade a couple of spins. Job done, I pressed the reset button and flipped the switch for the disposal. Nicky clapped at the sound of the motor running and blade crushing the waste sitting in there

I washed my hands and put my jacket back on. "Ready to go?" I asked Lisa.

"Yes, thank you for fixing that for me. I couldn't..."

"You should have told me sooner. I could've fixed it right away." She looked away and I shook my head.

I looked at Nicky and fist bumped him, "See you soon, Spud."

"Bye, Mister Evan," he mumbled, already having another mouthful.

I opened her door for her and enjoyed the sight of her legs as her skirt hiked up when she sat.

"Let me guess," I said as I started the car. "The plumber was too expensive."

"He wanted $100 just to come out. I couldn't afford that let alone what he would charge me to fix it."

"I understand your situation, but something like that..."

"I've gotten enough help from you and Jean! I can't be begging for handouts every time something goes wrong in my life."

She started crying and I felt horrible.

"Lisa, it's okay." I took her hand gently squeezed to show support. I knew I had to tread lightly and wade through her minefield of emotions.

"It's so hard, Evan. You have no idea what it feels like to not be able to pay your bills, let alone any emergency expenses that pop up. I couldn't even afford the fee to sign Nicky up for tee-ball. I cried for two days over that."

"When was that?" I asked in horror. I wondered if Nicky knew that.

"Last week."

"Is it too late?" Forget treading lightly. I knew he would love to play tee ball.

"No, Evan. I can't let you..."

"But he's my little baseball buddy. Are you telling me that I can't have the joy of watching him play tee ball?"

"You can't sweep in and pay for every..."

"Hey! I'm just trying to get out of work more and enjoy life a little bit. Watching him play tee ball will get me out of the office."

"Nice try."

"Okay, but when I tell my mom you won't let me get out of the office more, she's gonna..."

"Don't guilt trip me with your mother. That's not fair."

"Let me pay for tee ball then."

"I'll think about it."

"Fair enough."

I thought about taking her to a chain, middle of the road kind of restaurant, but changed my mind. She was dressed nicer than casually, so I took her to one of the pricier seafood restaurants in town.

"Ooh, I've always wanted to eat here," she said as we pulled in.

"Phew!" I thought.

I helped her out of the car in the valet line and asked, "Is your ankle alright? You're not in too much pain are you?"

She laughed, "It hurts, but I didn't want to take a pain pill before our date. I wanted to enjoy a drink and some wine. And you don't want to know about how I had to ice my ankle to be able to shoehorn into these shoes."

I kissed her cheek and said, "You look wonderful, it was worth it."

We were seated and the waitress asked for our drink order. Lisa said, "I'll have a Grey Goose Martini with a twist."

I smiled and said, "I'll have the same. We'll also have a double order of the crab cakes appetizer and a bottle of the Cakebread Chardonnay."

"Thank you, I'll be right back with your martinis."

I asked Lisa, "I hope you don't mind my ordering the crab cakes for us. They're the best I ever had."

"Sounds yummy," she smiled. "I like Chardonnay too, so you're winning on all fronts."

I nodded and returned to perusing the menu.

I looked up at Lisa and she caught my gaze. "What?" she asked.

"Nothing. I was just thinking about how I almost screwed this up."

"Yeah, you were a jerk. I only softened my stance on you today when the ER nurse told me to take it easy on you."

I sipped my drink and asked, "What did she say?" I wondered why the nurse would be on my side.

"She asked what happened that I ended up in the ER. I told her the whole story and she laughed. She said that she had to fight her husband's paranoia about gold-diggers too. He was a surgeon and had been burned by his first wife. She told me he was worth the challenge and was glad she fought for her feelings."

I didn't want to tell her that I was still paranoid about it. Sure, I overreacted at lunch and her showing interest in me that aggressively, but that didn't mean I wouldn't still be careful. I know I was wrong to blow up as I did, and I regretted behaving so poorly with her.

Later, the server brought our entrees, and I adored the look of surprise on Lisa's face when she saw the size of her twin lobster tails.

"Holy cow!" she shrieked.

She looked at my plate and saw the large piece of salmon and shook her head.

"I thought fancy restaurants always gave you small portions," she wondered aloud.

"Some do," I said. "I like to eat though, and I don't go to those places too often."

"Thank God!" she said, and we laughed.

"Would you like to try a piece? This is amazing," I offered.

She smiled and leaned forward. I fed her a piece off my fork, and she moaned in delight.

"What is that? Dill?"

I nodded and she shook her head. "I've never tasted anything like that. It is amazing."

"Take a sip of the wine now, and let all of those tastes mingle," I said.

She complied and made a cute face when the wine reached her tastebuds.

"God! I wish I could eat like this all the time," she sighed.

"Well, you might not be able to have expensive wine every day, but you can make a dill sauce like that at home. I'm sure the salmon itself is just seasoned with salt and pepper."

She laughed, "Nicky would never eat fish that isn't breaded."

"Maybe, but you could make him fish sticks while you pan sear a piece of salmon for yourself. Expand your horizons."

"I could never afford to do that. Anyway, tell me about your work."

I swallowed and said, "Not much to tell, really. I do a lot of different things like real estate investing, managing money, crypto investing, it's all boring stuff."

"You're certainly doing well at it. Do you like it?"

My spidey-sense tingled again, but I pushed the bad thoughts away. I needed to believe she wasn't after my money. She already knew I was rich, so I was sure she was just making conversation, not fishing.

"I do like what I do. I learn something new every day. I'm always researching, looking for the next opportunity. Sometimes, it's like an adrenaline rush when I pick an investment that turns out to be a winner. Especially, when I pick it for myself."

She frowned, "I just work as a shipping clerk in an export warehouse. Scan a box, print a ticket, put it on the box, and move to the next one. It bores me out of my mind"

"It's important work though, isn't it? The boxes and pallets have to get to the right truck at the right time and sent to the right place, right?" I asked.

"Doctors have important jobs, Evan. The best I would call my job is--necessary. And that is only until work slows down and I'm laid off again."

"That's happened before?"

She nodded. "Right before I bought the house. Thankfully, I was hired back and was working when applied for my house loan."

"Is the house in your name or..."

She laughed. "Just mine. That jerk didn't have good enough credit to be on the loan. Looking back on that, I suppose it was a good thing. But now my credit is trashed. I should've stayed in the apartment."

I took her hand and said, "If you did that, I wouldn't have met my buddy Nicky."

She giggled. "Not me?"

"Well, you're a package deal, so..."

"Shut it, you!"

We laughed and I asked, "Do you like Crème Brulé? It's my favorite dessert and they have it here."

"I don't know. I've never had it."

"What's your favorite dessert?"

"Chocolate cake."

I smiled and waved the waiter over. "We'll have the Crème Brule and chocolate cake for dessert please. I'll also have an espresso."

"Coffee, Ma'am?" the waiter asked.

"Just regular black coffee, please."

"I like cake, but usually angel food cake with whipped cream. Mom makes a great one," I said.

"I know," she smiled. "She makes it for Nicky a lot."

I laughed, "Of course she does. She's desperate for a grandchild and I think she's taken a shine to Nicky."

She nodded. "Yep. She had him calling her Nana Jean on day one."

"Doesn't surprise me at all. It hit her hard when Kelly died." I regretted mentioning her. One shouldn't bring up depressing topics on a first date. I did wonder how much my mother told her about that subject.

She nodded. "Jean told me all about it. You don't have to talk about her if you don't want to."

"Thanks," I said, glad to dodge that bullet. The waiter approached and lightened my mood. "Ooh, you're gonna love this!"

The waiter set our desserts down and departed. I said, "Go ahead and break the sugar with the spoon. It's the best part."

She looked at me oddly, "That's sugar?"

"Yep. They use a torch on the sugar to harden it into a shell."

"Mmm, that's good," she sighed. I took a scoop and exaggerated my own delight.

She dug into the three-layer chocolate cake with chocolate ganache and chocolate frosting and her eyes went wide. "That is the best cake I ever tasted," she mumbled.

I nodded and helped myself to a piece of the decadent delight. She surprised me when she took a spoonful of the Crème Brule and added a bit of the cake.

"Oh, my," she smiled. "That was amazing, here."

She repeated the process and extended the spoon to my mouth. I enjoyed the bite, but I would rather stick to my favorite and not combine the two.

"So, for after dinner, with your ankle the way it is I guess dancing is out?" I asked.

She frowned, "Definitely."

"Okay. How about we pick up a bottle of wine and sit outside and chat. It's a nice night."

"I don't get out much, I'd rather stay out if it's okay."

"Of course. I know a jazz bar we can check out and have a quiet drink."

I wanted to slap myself. Of course, she wanted to stay out. I knew that she deserved a night away from home. I couldn't imagine the last time she had any time for herself.

After dinner, we went to the jazz bar. It wasn't crowded and we were able to snag a table. I ordered a round of martinis then asked, "It must be hard to raise a child on your own. Little Nicky is a great kid, but you must be tired out of your mind."

"Sometimes, it gets to be too much," she admitted. "I love him to death, but he's a handful. You don't see the challenging parts of raising a little boy. He's a good boy, but he's got a devil's streak in him."

I remembered how I was as a kid. I knew what my mom went through and could imagine the tough times of child rearing.

"Don't answer this if you don't want to, but what happened with his father?"

"I was young and stupid. I was in love with a scumbag bad boy that didn't love me. I guess I have a type because Chuck was cut from the same cloth."

"He's not involved in his life at all?"

She shook her head no. "He's in jail. Shortly after he got me pregnant, he got busted for stealing motorcycles and chopping them up. I had no idea he did anything like that. He was just a big bad biker and I fell head over heels. Like I said, young and stupid. I didn't put his name on the birth certificate, and I never had a chance to tell him I was pregnant.

"I'm sorry," I tried to empathize.

"Don't be. I brought it on myself, but I wouldn't change a thing," she smiled. "I can't imagine a life without my son in it."

"I can't help but think I'm not the bad boy type, nor do I ride a motorcycle."

She frowned. "Maybe I'm smartening up? Maybe, I learned from my mistakes."

She must have sensed a change in my mood or something. I was wondering, again, why she was with me. I was, by her own admission, not her type. Red flags were flying again.

"Don't you dare think that I'm out with you because of your money. Don't do that to me again." She looked away towards the band and I moved to sit next to her.

"Lisa," she turned, and I leaned in to kiss her. I put my hand on her neck and stroked her chin with my thumb. We broke the gentle kiss, and I said, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to go there."