Chapter 9 – Philip #2
It’s not lost on me that the age gap between Mack and Erin is actually greater than the one between me and Haley.
He has a problem where Haley and I are concerned, and yet he married Erin recently.
Erin’s only about five years older than Haley, and technically she’s Haley’s new stepmom. The irony is huge.
Mack’s gaze meets mine, and he nods in greeting. “Hello, Philip. I heard about what happened Tuesday. Good job on resolving that embezzlement case.”
“I can’t take any credit for it. The case sort of resolved itself. There wasn’t much for me to do other than call 911 and let the police work it out.”
Mack pats my shoulder. “Still, good job.”
Mack and Erin step into the elevator. Just as the doors are closing, Mack says, “Maybe we’ll catch up with you later this evening.”
The doors close, and the elevator descends.
Haley blows out a breath. “Do you think he saw us kissing?”
“I’m sure he did.”
“Hey, guys!” Liam calls from down the hall, as he and Jasmine walk toward us holding hands. “Perfect timing.”
The four of us arrive together at Layla and Jason’s apartment. Liam knocks, and Jason opens the door and invites us in.
After all the girls hug, and the guys say hello, we take seats in the living room.
“So, what sounds good?” Layla asks. “We should go ahead and order.”
After a brief debate, we decide to order Chinese food from a neighborhood carry-out.
Jason goes to the kitchen and grabs three beers from the fridge. “Who wants a beer?”
Liam says yes, but I decline. I’m driving Haley home this evening, so I stick to my no-alcohol-if-I’m-driving rule. Jasmine takes a beer. Layla opts for sparkling water. Her medications don’t mix well with alcohol.
And of course, Haley is underage, and she asks for a soft drink. No one here would give her a hard time if she wanted a beer, but my girl is a stickler for the rules. I guess that’s fitting since she wants to be a lawyer one day.
The six of us sit around the kitchen table and talk while we wait for the food to arrive.
Everyone wants to know how Haley likes being a college student. Liam asks me about what happened earlier this week, so I end up telling that story all over again.
Before we know it, we get a call from the front desk downstairs letting us know our food is here.
After we’re done eating, Layla gets up from the table to fetch six wine glasses. She passes them out as Jason brings a chilled bottle of pink bubbly to the table and pops the cork.
“It’s non-alcoholic strawberry champagne,” Layla says with a bashful grin.
After Jason pours everyone a glass, Layla says, “As you all know, Jason and I are engaged to be married.” She holds up her left hand to show off her engagement ring.
“We’ve decided we want a small wedding at my parents’ house.
It’ll just be family and a few close friends.
Anyway—” She pauses to smile at Jason. “Jason and I would like to ask you all to be part of our wedding party. Will you two girls be my bridesmaids?”
“And would you guys be my groomsmen?” Jason asks me and Liam.
There’s no need to wait for answers. The girls are screaming and hugging.
Liam and I both stand to shake Jason’s hand.
“I’d be honored,” I say, truly meaning it. I’ve never been asked to be a groomsman before.
“Like you needed to ask,” Liam says as he pulls Jason in for a hug. “Of course, I will. Congrats, man. Who’s going to be your best man?”
“Ian,” Jason says, smiling at Layla. “I thought it would be fitting that my future wife’s brother stand beside me.”
“My dad will walk me down the aisle,” Layla says, “and my brother will stand up there with us. It’s perfect.”
Once we’re all seated again, Liam raises his glass.
“While we’re all here, I’d like to toast the beautiful love of my life, Jasmine Grant.
She received her first-degree black belt in Taekwondo recently, and she’s now certified to teach it.
This is the third form of martial arts she’s now certified to teach. ”
We all applaud Jasmine, Liam most of all. He’s so proud of her accomplishments. In just a few short years, she’s gone from living on the streets to working as a professional for McIntyre Security teaching martial arts and self-defense to clients and employees.
“How about a demonstration?” Jason asks.
Jasmine glances back at the living room. “I don’t think there’s room—”
“Sure there is,” Jason says. “We can move the furniture.”
As the guys and Jasmine are pushing the furniture up against the wall to clear floor space, Haley’s phone rings.
“It’s my dad,” she says as she takes the call. “Hi, Dad.”
She listens a moment, and then says, “Yes, we’re still here. Liam and Jasmine are going to do a Taekwondo demonstration.” She pauses to listen. “Sure, come on over.” She ends the call. “I hope you guys don’t mind two more. My dad and Erin would like to stop by.”
“The more, the merrier,” Layla says.
* * *
Now that the furniture is out of the way, we bring a couple of chairs from the kitchen to make more seating available.
Liam and Jasmine make a quick run back to their apartment and return shortly after wearing their Taekwondo uniforms—white V-neck jackets with three-quarter sleeves, black trousers, and black belts tied around their waists.
Right now, they’re sitting on the love seat, side by side, exchanging their shoes and socks for padded foot protection.
The girls—Haley, Layla, and Erin—sit on the sofa. Jason is in the recliner. Mack and I sit on kitchen chairs.
Jasmine jumps to her feet and offers her hand to Liam. “Come on, handsome. Let’s do this.” She pulls him up onto his feet.
I took a few years of Jiu Jitsu classes when I was a teenager, but I don’t know much about Taekwondo.
It’s fascinating to watch Jasmine and Liam’s demonstration.
There’s a whole lot of kicking and pivoting and more kicking.
While it’s mostly footwork, once in a while they get close enough to physically grapple with each other, and then it looks like it’s turning into a wrestling match.
Now, that I’m familiar with. I did some wrestling in my early teenage years.
Jasmine is tall for a girl, but Liam’s taller, and he outweighs her by forty pounds at least. I can’t tell if he’s taking it easy on her or not, but Jasmine seems to be giving as good as she gets.
“Get him, Jazz!” Layla says, clapping her hands. “Show him who’s boss.”
Liam laughs. “I already know who’s boss.”
Liam signals a time-out, and while he’s bent over catching his breath, Jasmine sneaks up beside him, does a roundhouse kick, and knocks him on his ass.
“No fair!” Liam cries, laughing even harder as he climbs to his feet. “I wasn’t ready!”
“Sorry, babe,” Jasmine says as she walks up to Liam, cups his face, and plants a big one on his mouth. “All’s fair in love and war.”
Liam smiles at her before he pulls her close and kisses her back. “So, who’s next?” he asks.
When no one volunteers, Liam points at me. “How about you, big guy?”
“Me? Hell no. I don’t know anything about Taekwondo.”
Jasmine gestures for Haley to come forward. “How about you, Haley? I’ll teach you a few moves. They might come in handy if you ever feel the need to kick Philip’s ass.”
Of course everyone laughs at that.
I expect Haley to politely decline, but she surprises me when she takes off her boots and jumps to her feet. “I’m game.”
“Go easy on her, Jasmine,” Mack warns.
“Don’t worry, Mr. Donovan.” Jasmine looks amused. “I’m not going to hurt her.”
Jasmine teaches Haley a couple of moves and lets her practice kicking high into the air. It looks like she’s doing a roundhouse kick, and she’s not bad. They mess around for about fifteen minutes, until Haley is breathing hard. Jasmine is barely winded.
I heard a rumor once that Jasmine developed an interest in martial arts when she saw Liam’s twin sister, Lia, giving a demonstration in the martial arts studio at McIntyre Security.
When Jasmine saw Lia, who’s quite petite, kicking the asses of partners twice her size, she insisted on learning how to protect herself.
I remember the first time I met Lia McIntyre.
She put me and my teammate Mateo on our asses for teasing her.
Mateo and I were new hires at the time, and she was evaluating our hand-to-hand combat skills.
Mine were pretty nil. They still are. It’s been years since I’ve had any martial arts training.
There’s not a lot of demand for hand-to-hand combat skills when I’m spying on suspects from the safety of my truck.
“Come on, Phil,” Liam says. “Want to have a go at it?”
I snort. “No, thanks. I’ll just watch.”
“Have you ever studied any martial arts?”
“I earned a brown belt in Jiu-Jitsu, but that was years ago. I did some wrestling in my teens, and I played football in high school. That’s about as physical as I got.”
“My dad wrestled,” Haley says, looking at her father. “Didn’t you? Mom has told me all kinds of stories about you wrestling.”
“I did,” Mack says. “But that was a long time ago.”
“How about it?” Liam says with a grin as he eyes me and Mack. “How about a wrestling match between the two big guys?”
“Come on, Dad!” Haley cries. “I want to see you in action.”
The others get in on the pressure campaign, egging us on. Even Erin says to her husband, “Come on, honey. You can take him.”
Haley stands and pulls me to my feet. “Come on, Philip. I want to see you in action, too.”
She’s laughing, clearly delighted at the idea of me going up against her dad.
But it’s a no-win scenario for me. I don’t want her dad to kick my ass and embarrass me in front of my girlfriend, but at the same time, I can’t make my girlfriend’s dad look bad.
And honestly, I’m not even sure which one of us would win in a real contest. But he’s older than I am, and I think that gives me a slight advantage.
Mack reluctantly stands. We both kick off our footwear and meet in the middle of the room. Apparently, Liam is acting as a referee.
Mack and I face off, both of us sizing each other up. We might be the same height, but I’ve definitely got a few pounds on him. At least twenty if I had to guess. And, it’s been a lot longer since he wrestled than it has been for me. Almost a decade, I’d guess.
“Keep it friendly,” Liam says as he stands between us. “The objective is simple—the first one to pin the other wins.”
Oh, shit. I can’t pin Haley’s dad to the floor.
“Don’t worry, son,” Mack says with a grin. “I’ll go easy on you.”
Everyone in the room erupts in a loud “oooooh!”
“Son?” I laugh. “You are not old enough to be my dad, Mack.”
As soon as the words come out of my mouth, I want to kick myself. What I said is true, but by saying that, I also pointed out the age difference between me and his daughter. Not good to remind him.
Mack gives me a smug grin and says, “With age comes wisdom and experience, kid.”
“First it’s son, and now it’s kid?” I laugh. “Make up your mind.”
By now, we’re circling each other, getting a feel for how the other one moves and looking for an opening. Yeah, it’s been more than a few years since I last wrestled, but it’s pretty much like riding a bike. Once you learn, you never forget.
“Get him, honey!” Erin says.
“Go easy on my dad, Philip,” Haley says. “He’s a lot older than you.”
Everyone laughs at that.
Mack makes the first move. He lunges at me, and instantly we’re grappling. Damn! He’s serious. He attempts to throw me to the ground, but my extra weight gives me the advantage. I manage to break free, and we resume circling each other.
“Come on, honey!” Erin yells. “You can take him!” She’s obviously getting a kick out of this.
Haley doesn’t want to be left out. “Come on, Philip! Don’t hold back.”
We continue to circle each other, one periodically attempting to grab hold of the other. It looks like we’re pretty evenly matched.
Frankly, I want this over. To speed things up, I rush Mack. He gets me in a headlock, twists me, and throws me to the carpet. Once he rolls me onto my back and pins me, I lie still.
“Woohoo!” Erin yells. “Great job, honey!”
When Liam taps Mack’s shoulder, Mack releases me. He jumps to his feet and holds out his hand to me. I grab it and let him pull me to my feet.
Mack pats me on the back, and from the grin on his face, I think he knows I threw the match. He offers me his hand, and we shake. To my surprise, he pulls me close for a hug.
“You didn’t have to do that, Philip,” he murmurs quietly, “because I would have won anyway. But I appreciate the gesture.”
* * *
On the drive back to campus, Haley is buzzing with excitement about us being asked to be in Layla and Jason’s wedding.
“I’m so happy for them,” she says. “They’re so perfect for each other.” She leans back in her seat. “You should see the way he takes care of her at school. It’s like he can read her mind. It’s like he knows what she needs before she does.”
She reaches for my hand, still smiling as she gazes out her passenger window.
We arrive at Haley’s dormitory a few minutes before curfew. I park my truck out front and walk her inside and up to her room. The hallways are quiet now, and there’s a general hush in the air as students are settling down for the night.
She’s back at her room with ten minutes to spare.
We’re both reluctant to part, so we stand outside her door quietly talking.
Ryan, the dorm police, walks past us, smiling. “Cutting it a bit close, aren’t we?” He chuckles to himself as he continues down the corridor.
“I guess that’s my cue,” I say. I lean down to kiss Haley. “I had a wonderful evening.”
“Me, too.” She smiles and kisses me back.
Tomorrow’s Saturday, and she doesn’t have class. I’m tempted to ask her if she wants to do something tomorrow, but I don’t want to be a clingy boyfriend. I give her one last kiss. “Sweet dreams.”
As I head for the stairs, she calls softly, “Philip?”
I turn back. “Yes?”
“I don’t know if you have plans tomorrow—”
“I don’t.”
“Oh. Well, then, I was just wondering if you’d like to—”
“I would.”
She chuckles. “I didn’t even say what yet.”
“It doesn’t matter. If you ask me, I’ll always say yes.”