Post by Nick Knight on Feb 17, 2022 8:44:23 GMT
Sunday February 13 8:07 AM
Sweat plastered the xXx Wrestling t-shirt to the back of Nick Knight as he ran on the treadmill. His legs burned from the build up of lactic acid as he pushed through the pain as he reached the tenth mile. He didn’t look at the numbers and just kept running, Slipknot blasting in his earbuds. The lights of the room began to flash finally bringing him out of the zone and he stop on the treadmill and pulled out his earbuds.
“I thought you and I were going for a run this morning?” He looks over to see a very annoyed Cin. “If you didn’t want to you could have just told me, you know.”
“I couldn’t sleep, so I got started early.” He wiped sweat from his brow and took a swig from a water bottle. “How far do you want to go today?”
“Honestly, I’m hung over as fuck and don’t want to go at all. It’s just one of the only things that we do that’s just the two of us. I love Penny and we have tons of girl stuff that just the two us do together. JC and I go surfing together at least once a week. You and Penny have Check Mate to work with together. Running is our thing.”
Nick walks over and wraps her up in his arms and kisses her on top of the head. “I enjoy our runs too. I just needed to blow off some steam and I couldn’t think of a better way to do it.”
“You live with two gorgeous women and you couldn’t think of a better way to blow of some steam than running.” She smiled and then gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Do you mind if we don’t go for a run my head is pounding?”
“I don’t mind at all, but you and I are going to do something today. You’re right that it has been way too long since the last time it was just you and me.”
Cin walked back in the house and Nick pulled his shirt off and tossed into a hamper in the corner before diving into the pool. The cool water felt fantastic on his sore muscles as he just floated and stared up at the beautiful Southern California sky. He tried to relax and let his mind wander, but no matter how hard he tried his brain could only think of one thing, Abraxes. His life was so full of love, but somehow that ugly fuck had to always come around and try to pull his back into the darkness. He’s once heard it said that some men just want to see the world burn and who ever said it could have been talking about the masked bastard.
Frustrated he climbed out of the pool and stripped off his wet shorts. Wrapping a towel around his waist he walked into the house and was instantly assaulted by the smell of coffee. He never drank the stuff, finding it way too bitter, but he absolutely loved the smell. Ever since he started dating Penny the first time he associated that smell with her.
Just as he expected she was standing at the counter pouring herself a cup. He wrapped her up in a hug only to have his hand smacked. "You stink! What have you been doing?"
"I went for a run," he answered.
She looked at him silently for a moment. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong."
"Bullshit. The only time you would ever be out of bed running this early on a Sunday is if something is bothering you. I've also noticed you haven't been sleeping."
"It's just work." He walked to the fridge and grabbed a cold Gatorade. "Someone in the office thought that it would be fun to team me up with Abraxes."
"Why would they do that?"
"I don't know, probably ratings. Fans love nothing more than to watch a ticking time bomb and wait for it to explode."
Penny pours creamer into her coffee and stirs it. "Let me guess, it exploded."
"Yeah but the thing is, it didn't have to. Yes we have a shit ton of history and I trust him about as far as I can throw him, but we were making it work."
"So what happened?"
"Friday night we were in a match with Warren Kane and Dean Harper. It's big time match and if we can win we could get a shot at the tag belts. Well I'm in the ring with Dean just about to hit a pile driver for the win, when Abraxes just hits Warren with a chair and gets us disqualified."
"What the fuck?"
"He did it just to spite me, but it back fired. Instead of fucking me out of a tag team title matches gave me exactly what I want, a number one contender match for the World Championship."
"That's great."
"The catch is that it's against him, and it's a death match."
The smile ran off her face. "That's why you were running?"
"That's why I was running." He chugs the last of his Gatorade and throws the bottle in the recycling. "It seemed the only way to get my brain to shut up."
"So what are you going to do?"
"Right now I'm going to go take a shower and go back to bed for a couple of hours. When I wake up Cin and I are going to do something together, because it's been too long since we've had any alone time." Nick could see hurt in Penny's eyes. "Then Tuesday you and I are going to spend the day together. I mean if you think Randy can spare you for an afternoon.”
"
Her face lit up. “I think he can oversee editing without me for one day.”
“Good.” Nick grabbed another Gatorade from the fridge and walked deeper into the house. Just as he entered the hallway off of the living room his towel falls to the floor leaving him butt ball naked.
“God Dad! Put some clothes on!” JC walked past him shaking his head. “You guys weren’t doing it in the kitchen again were you?”
“Again,” Penny asked.
“Oh shit, it’s Mom.”
"Language JC."
“What is he talking about again, Nicky?”
“We forgot he was getting out of school early one day back before Christmas.”
“Why am I just now here about this?”
“Because he bought a new pair of Jordans to shut me up,” JC answered. “It’s not like I’ve never caught you doing something Mom.”
“That’s not the point.”
“I didn’t think it was that big of a deal, Penny. It’s not like he saw anything.”
“I saw that whipped cream is good for more than just hot chocolate,” the teenager said, with a giggle.
“Wait…that’s what happened to my whip cream? You said JC ate it all!”
“There was some left in the can when I was done with it. So your baby boy isn’t completely guilty, but he ain’t innocent either.” Nick could hear Penny start up one of her now infamous sex ed talks as he walked down the stairs to the master suite. Cin was already back asleep so he quietly shut the bathroom door and turned the shower on full blast. The second the hot water hit him he could barely keep his eyes open so he washed quickly and towel dried before falling face first into bed and crashing.
4:25 PM
Nick pulled the El Camino into the parking lot of a building that looked like a castle surrounded by miniature golf courses. Sherman Oaks Castle Park was the kind of place that teenages would go on a date, which he always thought sounded like fun. Penny never agreed with him, but Cin seemed to get that whimsical side of him. He could not think of a better place to spend an afternoon together.
“Wow, I haven’t been here in years.” Cin climbed out of her seat and ran around to give Nick a hug. “Did you ask my dad for date ideas?”
“No. I’ve past this place a couple hundred times and always thought it would be fun to go to on a date. So that is what I’m doing today, if that’s alright with you?”
“This is perfect Nicky. I’m going to warn you though, I’m pretty good at miniature golf.”
“Well I’m really not, but you can’t touch me in Skee Ball.” The couple went inside and Nick paid as Cin picked out their clubs and balls. She hands him his with a Cheshire Cat grin and he looks down at it and just rolls his eyes. “A blue ball, really? You’ve been hanging out with JC Way.”
“Oh come on, it’s funny. Admit it you think it’s funny, because I’m the funniest person on Planet Earth.”
“It’s kinda funny, but you aren’t even in the top ten funniest persons on Planet Earth. In fact I would be willing to make a bet that there are at least three people here funnier than you.”
“Like who?”
“Like him.” Nick pointed to a chubby ginger kid that was probably around JC’s age. “Humor is how that kid deals with everything I guarantee it. It means he has a ton of friends No one is going to bully him and risk pissing off their entire class.”
“Who else?”
“Umm…oh that guy over there.” He pointed to a normal looking accountant type obviously on a date with a girl that could easily be a supermodel if she was a couple of inches taller. “Guys that out kick their coverage that far are hilarious.”
“Alright, that’s two.”
“This one’s easy, that guy.” He pointed to a man a couple of holes over playing with his kids.
“Is that…it is! That’s the puppet guy isn’t it. He doesn’t count.”
“Why not?”
“He gets paid to be funny.”
“So? He’s still funnier than you.”
“You’re an ass.”
“Yes, but I’m your ass.”
“That you are. Should I go first?”
“Have at it.”
They played the first few holes and just joked and laughed. Cin had a way of bringing out the goofy side of his personality that he kept hidden away from most people. There was no line that she would not cross with him if she thought it would get a laugh, even if she was the only one left laughing. Penny pushed him intellectually, Cin just made him laugh.
“Penny told me why you’ve been so stressed,” she said somewhere around the tenth hole. “I’m sorry I haven’t watched in a couple of weeks or I would have known.”
“It’s not that big of a deal.” He hit his ball and it went up a sharp incline only to roll back towards his feet. “I was just on edge because I felt like my dick was in a woodchipper and it was only a matter of time before someone turned it on.”
“Well that would have been very bad.” She hit her first shot and it easily went over the incline. “Nicky you can share these things with us. You are no longer alone and you aren’t ever going to be alone again.”
“I know, but I try to keep work at work. The last thing I want is to bring stress home with me and have it effect the lives of my family. I’ve been down that road once before.”
“Except we know that you’re stressed and it bothers us when we don’t know what to do about it. If you would just come talk to us it might make you feel a little better.”
“I’m sorry, Cin. I’ll try to better.”
She wraps her arm around his waist and pulls him in tight. “Nothing to apologize for, because I get it. Sometimes it just feels easier to fight your battles alone instead of being a burden on everyone else, right?”
“Yeah, that and I don’t have a lot of practice with sharing how I feel. I didn’t have any practice until I started seeing a shrink, but I’m slowly getting better.”
“Hey buddy why don’t you and your skank get a room.” Nick turned to see a barrel chested biker type standing with a housewife with hair that had been friend by way too much bleach. He instantly saw red and would have wrapped his putter around the guys skull if Cin hadn’t gently laid her hand on his arm.
“If we get a room what’s your old lady going to watch while she pleasures herself after you fall asleep once again leaving her sexually unfullfilled,” Cin snarked.
“What the fuck did you say, bitch!”
Cin started to step in the man’s direction, but this time Nicky stopped her. “I think we should probably go now.”
“I’m not done–”
“Cin, they are sending security this direction and I really don’t feel like getting arrested on date night. Maybe next time I let you pick what we do we can arrested.” She starts to laugh and takes his hand and they walk out to the parking lot being followed by security. “You were seriously going to fight him for calling you a bitch, weren’t you?”
“So, you were going to fight him for calling me a skank.”
“No, I was just going to hit him upside the head with that putter. Twenty two years as a professional wrestler has taught me many lessons, but none more important than whenever possible use a weapon.”
“Good advice.” Nick put the El Camino in gear and they were soon on the freeway heading the direction of Venice Beach. “Sorry date night got ruined.”
“It’s only ruined if we let it be ruined.”
“Alright, so where are we going?”
“Venice Beach.”
“Why?”
“That’s where we’re staying tonight.”
“Nicky I didn’t bring a bag or anything.”
“Penny packed some things for you and I had JC load up our board and wetsuit. I figure we can order some takeout and just enjoy each others company tonight. I mean I own a condo in Venice Beach, we might as well use it.”
“I thought you’re students were staying there?”
“They’ve all either moved to the Academy or got their own places. I’ve had the place spruced up a little bit and I think we can just use it as a vacation rental for extra income.”
“Have you talked to Penny about this?”
“Not yet, because I want to talk to our accountant first. If the move makes sense I think we do it and if not we sell the place. We can probably get three times what I’ve paid for it, but are we better off have a steady stream of income over time rather than one big influx.”
“Even after a year of knowing you, you amaze me more just about every day. Next thing I know you’re going to be talking about diversifying your portfolio and investing in gold.”
“Oh I’m planning on investing in gold just as soon as I beat Abraxes Friday night.”
She rolled her eyes at his bad pun. “Are you nervous at all about the match?”
“You’re probably not going to like this answer, but no I’m not nervous. I know with everything that’s going with planning the wedding and starting out our new life together that I should be scared shitless, but I'm not."
"Why wouldn't I like that answer. I think it's good that you're going into this match with all that big dick energy. I just don’t understand, why you were up running ten miles at the ass crack of early to blow of steam if you aren’t nervous?”
“I just want it to get here, so I can get it over with. Yes, but Abraxes can be dangerous, but my focus is on Wraith. Winning the World Championship can be absolutely huge for my career and our family.”
Nick exited the freeway and drove the last couple of miles on surface streets before they reached the condo. He parked in his spot in the below ground parking garage of the condo building. Grabbing the overnight bag that Penny packed for them Nick led her to the elevator and they rode up to the penthouse in silence. The door opened and the updated look of the place nearly took Nick’s breath away.
The walls were still covered by mementos he had collected from his years in the business, but the paint had been updated to a dark gray that reminded him of the ocean. The leather furniture he had originally bought had been moved to the Academy for the students to use and had been replaced by two overstuffed reclining couches in a cream color, They walked through the living room and down the hall to check out the bedrooms. The room that had been JC’s was now decorated in a beach motif with two sets of bunk beds which would make it perfect for a vacation rental. It was the master bed room that completely blew his mind.
“Wow, this is beautiful,” Cin said.
“Yes it is.”
The oversized bed had been returned from storage, but the once cave like room was now bright and airy feeling. This was no longer his bachelor pad, but it had turned into a sound investment property.
“Should we keep it as a vacation rental,” Nick asked.
“I think you should talk to your accountant and then we can make a decision as a family. However, I know I would want to stay here if I was on vacation.”
“I’ll call him later this week. You hungry?”
“I could eat.”
“How’s Chinese sound?”
“Works for me.”
“Alright, I’ll order you go find something to watch.”
The rest of the night they cuddled on the couch eating dumplings and watching The Mandalorian. Nick was happy that he let her talk him into watching it by the time they binged the first season. When the credits rolled on episode eight they were both exhausted and fell asleep in each others arms. It was the best sleep Nick had had in weeks.
February 14 7:12 PM
Nick Knight is dressed in his best suit and pacing across the living room as he waits for the loves of his life to come up from the bedroom. He keeps looking at his watch with each pass across the hardwood mentally pushing them to hurry up, because they could not be late. He had a big surprise for them and they could not be late.
He let out a long sigh and walked over to the stairs to yell down to them. “I’m sorry to rush–”
“What’s the matter Nicky, cat got your tongue.” Penny nearly purred before letting out a wicked giggle. The women were wearing nearly identical black cocktail dresses and just the look of them left him truly speechless. “I’m glad you like the dresses, but I believe you were saying something about needing to go.”
“Um…yeah, sorry.”
“So where are we going,” Cin asked.
“You’ll see.” The drive did not take long and soon Nick was parking the SUV in front of a nondescript building on a side street in Hollywood. “This is the place.”
“Alright, but what is this place,” Penny asked.
“This is the Ballroom Dance Studio of Hollywood,” he answered. “We're here here for the first of our private lessons.”
“You’re fucking with me, aren’t you?” Penny side eyes him from the passenger seat. “I tried to get you to take dancing lessons when we got married and you refused. Said dancing was for girls, do you remember that?”
“I think I might have said something more offensive than that actually, but yes I remember.”
“Now you’re signing us up for lessons without us even asking you. Who are you?”
“Did I do something wrong?” Nick grabbed her hand and is obviously concerned. “I mean I just thought it would–”
Penny interrupts him with a kiss. “No you silly man, you did nothing wrong. This is easily the best Valentine’s Day present anyone has ever given me.”
“It’s definitely the best present anyone has ever given me,” Cin added from the backseat.
“I’m glad that you both like the surprise. Now let’s go dance, and I’ll do my best not to step on anyone’s toes.”
A lilith woman in her middle years wearing a dress very similar to the ladies met them at the door flashing a million. “Hello everyone, please come in. My name is Sara and this is my husband Wes.”
Wes was a tall man with salt and pepper hair dressed in a black. Even wearing a suit jacket it was easy to tell that he was athletic and when he approached Nick to shake hands he moved like a cat. “It’s nice to meet you Wes and Sara. I’m Nick Knight and these are my fiances Penny and Cin.”
“You are a very lucky man Mr. Knight.” Sara admired her two new students. “Most men would kill to be marrying a woman this beautiful and you are marrying two. Some people might say that you are greedy.”
Everyone except Nick laughed at Sara’s obvious joke. “How should we start?”
“I like your enthusiasm Mr. Knight. Most of the grooms to be that we work with are very apprehensive and only take lessons to keep the future wife happy. I was a little surprised to hear from a man for a change.”
“I’m just trying to learn from past mistakes.”
“Alright Mr. Knight pick a partner and the other lady can start out with Wes. Tonight we will focus on learning the foxtrot.”
The next hour the trio worked with their instructors to learn the easiest of all of the ballroom dances. Never the most nimble person Nick struggled at first, but he was soon moving like the professional athlete that he sometimes managed to look like on Friday nights. He was not going to win Dancing With The Stars anytime soon, but it was going to be good enough for a few dances at his wedding.
When they were through and back in the truck Nick reached into the center console and pulled out two matching envelope. “Here is the other part of your Valentine’s Day present.”
They both tear open the envelopes to find a hand written letter from Nick telling each of them exactly how he feels about them and letting them know that he has made reservations for them at an all inclusive spa for the next weekend. Expecting to be thanked he looks to Penny to see that she has tears running down her face. Confused Nick looks to the back seat to find that Cin has the exact same reaction.
“Did I do something wrong?”
“No you idiot.” Penny slaps him on the shoulder. “This is the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me. I love you more than anything Nick Knight and I’m sorry that I ever let you get away the first time.”
“I am a better man because of what happened, and if it hadn’t happened we might not have Cin in our life. I don’t believe in that everything happens for a reason bullshit, but I know that my life has turned out just fine so far.”
“Cin, are you alright sweety,” Penny asked.
“I’m better than alright. I love you guys so much and I don’t know what I’d ever do without you.”
“Well you don’t ever have to worry about that,” Nick told her. “Now fix your makeup ladies, because have dinner reservations in half an hour.”
February 15 2:25 PM
Nick Knight and Penny Dreadful walk hand in hand through the Central Garden of the Getty Center. The calming sound of the waterfall is in the background and the beauty of the hundreds of different plants are all around them. It was the most peaceful place that Nick had been in a long time and he was happy to have Penny by his side.
“What made you pick this place for our date,” Penny asked.
“I did some research of places that I thought you would like to go and The Getty Center seemed like the place that you would love. There’s so much here though so I decided that the best part for today would be a walk through the garden.”
“Well I think you made the right choice, and I promise not to pick any fights,” she said, with a laugh.
“I really appreciate that. It would be really hard for me to beat Abraxes if I’m in jail. Well unless I can get ahold of Jess Fowler and have the match made into a LA County Jail Match. The winner is the first man to obtain and use a shank on the other one.”
That made Penny laugh so hard that she snorts. “I would pay money to see that because you would easily win. It’s LA of course they’re going to be all about helping you.”
“I hadn’t thought of it that way. Maybe I should just go punch some rando and make it happen.” Penny starts to laugh again. “Although that sounds more like a pay per view match and not one you give away for free.”
They walked on for a bit longer in silence when finally Penny asked, “So when are you planning to talk to me about the condo?”
“I am supposed to meet with Arthur later this week and once I had some more information I was going to bring it to you.”
“Cin made it sound like you’ve already made up your mind on what you want to do.”
“I have made up my mind, but I’m not the only one making this decision.” Nick led her over to a bench and they sat down. “I promised you after I bought the academy that we would make all decisions together, and I meant it.”
“How about you take me over and show me the remodel. I mean Cin said you only got through Season 1 of the Mandalorian.”
“Lets go.”
February 16 4:12 AM
Nick sat in the sand and watched the waves crash onto the beach. The nightmare had been the same one he’d been having for weeks, a monster chasing him. No matter how fast he ran the monster was always nipping at his heels. He could smell the rot on its breath with every single breath full of air he took. The chase never stopped until he woke up gasping for air and covered in sweat.
He hated to admit it, but he knew what the dream was about. It had started as soon as he and Abraxes became a team, but the monster in his nightmare was not a man in a mask. Any fear that he may have had for the big bastard had long ago been overcome. No the monster that he ran from is the one that lived deep inside of him.
Last time he beat Abraxes he let the monster loose, but that was a mistake. He did not need to go off of his meds and risk being consumed by the beast just to win. He did not have to give up any of his humanity just to win a fucking wrestling match. Yet that monster kept chasing him in his dreams.
The smell of salt water shook free the fear and he once again felt more like himself. He would have loved to been able to go for a run, but he did not have any workout clothes with him. Instead he decided to walk back to the condo and try to sleep for a couple more hours before he needed to get up and go to the Academy for his beginners level class.
_______________________________________________________________
Sweat plastered the xXx Wrestling t-shirt to the back of Nick Knight as he ran on the treadmill. His legs burned from the build up of lactic acid as he pushed through the pain as he reached the tenth mile. He didn’t look at the numbers and just kept running, Slipknot blasting in his earbuds. The lights of the room began to flash finally bringing him out of the zone and he stop on the treadmill and pulled out his earbuds.
“I thought you and I were going for a run this morning?” He looks over to see a very annoyed Cin. “If you didn’t want to you could have just told me, you know.”
“I couldn’t sleep, so I got started early.” He wiped sweat from his brow and took a swig from a water bottle. “How far do you want to go today?”
“Honestly, I’m hung over as fuck and don’t want to go at all. It’s just one of the only things that we do that’s just the two of us. I love Penny and we have tons of girl stuff that just the two us do together. JC and I go surfing together at least once a week. You and Penny have Check Mate to work with together. Running is our thing.”
Nick walks over and wraps her up in his arms and kisses her on top of the head. “I enjoy our runs too. I just needed to blow off some steam and I couldn’t think of a better way to do it.”
“You live with two gorgeous women and you couldn’t think of a better way to blow of some steam than running.” She smiled and then gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Do you mind if we don’t go for a run my head is pounding?”
“I don’t mind at all, but you and I are going to do something today. You’re right that it has been way too long since the last time it was just you and me.”
Cin walked back in the house and Nick pulled his shirt off and tossed into a hamper in the corner before diving into the pool. The cool water felt fantastic on his sore muscles as he just floated and stared up at the beautiful Southern California sky. He tried to relax and let his mind wander, but no matter how hard he tried his brain could only think of one thing, Abraxes. His life was so full of love, but somehow that ugly fuck had to always come around and try to pull his back into the darkness. He’s once heard it said that some men just want to see the world burn and who ever said it could have been talking about the masked bastard.
Frustrated he climbed out of the pool and stripped off his wet shorts. Wrapping a towel around his waist he walked into the house and was instantly assaulted by the smell of coffee. He never drank the stuff, finding it way too bitter, but he absolutely loved the smell. Ever since he started dating Penny the first time he associated that smell with her.
Just as he expected she was standing at the counter pouring herself a cup. He wrapped her up in a hug only to have his hand smacked. "You stink! What have you been doing?"
"I went for a run," he answered.
She looked at him silently for a moment. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong."
"Bullshit. The only time you would ever be out of bed running this early on a Sunday is if something is bothering you. I've also noticed you haven't been sleeping."
"It's just work." He walked to the fridge and grabbed a cold Gatorade. "Someone in the office thought that it would be fun to team me up with Abraxes."
"Why would they do that?"
"I don't know, probably ratings. Fans love nothing more than to watch a ticking time bomb and wait for it to explode."
Penny pours creamer into her coffee and stirs it. "Let me guess, it exploded."
"Yeah but the thing is, it didn't have to. Yes we have a shit ton of history and I trust him about as far as I can throw him, but we were making it work."
"So what happened?"
"Friday night we were in a match with Warren Kane and Dean Harper. It's big time match and if we can win we could get a shot at the tag belts. Well I'm in the ring with Dean just about to hit a pile driver for the win, when Abraxes just hits Warren with a chair and gets us disqualified."
"What the fuck?"
"He did it just to spite me, but it back fired. Instead of fucking me out of a tag team title matches gave me exactly what I want, a number one contender match for the World Championship."
"That's great."
"The catch is that it's against him, and it's a death match."
The smile ran off her face. "That's why you were running?"
"That's why I was running." He chugs the last of his Gatorade and throws the bottle in the recycling. "It seemed the only way to get my brain to shut up."
"So what are you going to do?"
"Right now I'm going to go take a shower and go back to bed for a couple of hours. When I wake up Cin and I are going to do something together, because it's been too long since we've had any alone time." Nick could see hurt in Penny's eyes. "Then Tuesday you and I are going to spend the day together. I mean if you think Randy can spare you for an afternoon.”
"
Her face lit up. “I think he can oversee editing without me for one day.”
“Good.” Nick grabbed another Gatorade from the fridge and walked deeper into the house. Just as he entered the hallway off of the living room his towel falls to the floor leaving him butt ball naked.
“God Dad! Put some clothes on!” JC walked past him shaking his head. “You guys weren’t doing it in the kitchen again were you?”
“Again,” Penny asked.
“Oh shit, it’s Mom.”
"Language JC."
“What is he talking about again, Nicky?”
“We forgot he was getting out of school early one day back before Christmas.”
“Why am I just now here about this?”
“Because he bought a new pair of Jordans to shut me up,” JC answered. “It’s not like I’ve never caught you doing something Mom.”
“That’s not the point.”
“I didn’t think it was that big of a deal, Penny. It’s not like he saw anything.”
“I saw that whipped cream is good for more than just hot chocolate,” the teenager said, with a giggle.
“Wait…that’s what happened to my whip cream? You said JC ate it all!”
“There was some left in the can when I was done with it. So your baby boy isn’t completely guilty, but he ain’t innocent either.” Nick could hear Penny start up one of her now infamous sex ed talks as he walked down the stairs to the master suite. Cin was already back asleep so he quietly shut the bathroom door and turned the shower on full blast. The second the hot water hit him he could barely keep his eyes open so he washed quickly and towel dried before falling face first into bed and crashing.
4:25 PM
Nick pulled the El Camino into the parking lot of a building that looked like a castle surrounded by miniature golf courses. Sherman Oaks Castle Park was the kind of place that teenages would go on a date, which he always thought sounded like fun. Penny never agreed with him, but Cin seemed to get that whimsical side of him. He could not think of a better place to spend an afternoon together.
“Wow, I haven’t been here in years.” Cin climbed out of her seat and ran around to give Nick a hug. “Did you ask my dad for date ideas?”
“No. I’ve past this place a couple hundred times and always thought it would be fun to go to on a date. So that is what I’m doing today, if that’s alright with you?”
“This is perfect Nicky. I’m going to warn you though, I’m pretty good at miniature golf.”
“Well I’m really not, but you can’t touch me in Skee Ball.” The couple went inside and Nick paid as Cin picked out their clubs and balls. She hands him his with a Cheshire Cat grin and he looks down at it and just rolls his eyes. “A blue ball, really? You’ve been hanging out with JC Way.”
“Oh come on, it’s funny. Admit it you think it’s funny, because I’m the funniest person on Planet Earth.”
“It’s kinda funny, but you aren’t even in the top ten funniest persons on Planet Earth. In fact I would be willing to make a bet that there are at least three people here funnier than you.”
“Like who?”
“Like him.” Nick pointed to a chubby ginger kid that was probably around JC’s age. “Humor is how that kid deals with everything I guarantee it. It means he has a ton of friends No one is going to bully him and risk pissing off their entire class.”
“Who else?”
“Umm…oh that guy over there.” He pointed to a normal looking accountant type obviously on a date with a girl that could easily be a supermodel if she was a couple of inches taller. “Guys that out kick their coverage that far are hilarious.”
“Alright, that’s two.”
“This one’s easy, that guy.” He pointed to a man a couple of holes over playing with his kids.
“Is that…it is! That’s the puppet guy isn’t it. He doesn’t count.”
“Why not?”
“He gets paid to be funny.”
“So? He’s still funnier than you.”
“You’re an ass.”
“Yes, but I’m your ass.”
“That you are. Should I go first?”
“Have at it.”
They played the first few holes and just joked and laughed. Cin had a way of bringing out the goofy side of his personality that he kept hidden away from most people. There was no line that she would not cross with him if she thought it would get a laugh, even if she was the only one left laughing. Penny pushed him intellectually, Cin just made him laugh.
“Penny told me why you’ve been so stressed,” she said somewhere around the tenth hole. “I’m sorry I haven’t watched in a couple of weeks or I would have known.”
“It’s not that big of a deal.” He hit his ball and it went up a sharp incline only to roll back towards his feet. “I was just on edge because I felt like my dick was in a woodchipper and it was only a matter of time before someone turned it on.”
“Well that would have been very bad.” She hit her first shot and it easily went over the incline. “Nicky you can share these things with us. You are no longer alone and you aren’t ever going to be alone again.”
“I know, but I try to keep work at work. The last thing I want is to bring stress home with me and have it effect the lives of my family. I’ve been down that road once before.”
“Except we know that you’re stressed and it bothers us when we don’t know what to do about it. If you would just come talk to us it might make you feel a little better.”
“I’m sorry, Cin. I’ll try to better.”
She wraps her arm around his waist and pulls him in tight. “Nothing to apologize for, because I get it. Sometimes it just feels easier to fight your battles alone instead of being a burden on everyone else, right?”
“Yeah, that and I don’t have a lot of practice with sharing how I feel. I didn’t have any practice until I started seeing a shrink, but I’m slowly getting better.”
“Hey buddy why don’t you and your skank get a room.” Nick turned to see a barrel chested biker type standing with a housewife with hair that had been friend by way too much bleach. He instantly saw red and would have wrapped his putter around the guys skull if Cin hadn’t gently laid her hand on his arm.
“If we get a room what’s your old lady going to watch while she pleasures herself after you fall asleep once again leaving her sexually unfullfilled,” Cin snarked.
“What the fuck did you say, bitch!”
Cin started to step in the man’s direction, but this time Nicky stopped her. “I think we should probably go now.”
“I’m not done–”
“Cin, they are sending security this direction and I really don’t feel like getting arrested on date night. Maybe next time I let you pick what we do we can arrested.” She starts to laugh and takes his hand and they walk out to the parking lot being followed by security. “You were seriously going to fight him for calling you a bitch, weren’t you?”
“So, you were going to fight him for calling me a skank.”
“No, I was just going to hit him upside the head with that putter. Twenty two years as a professional wrestler has taught me many lessons, but none more important than whenever possible use a weapon.”
“Good advice.” Nick put the El Camino in gear and they were soon on the freeway heading the direction of Venice Beach. “Sorry date night got ruined.”
“It’s only ruined if we let it be ruined.”
“Alright, so where are we going?”
“Venice Beach.”
“Why?”
“That’s where we’re staying tonight.”
“Nicky I didn’t bring a bag or anything.”
“Penny packed some things for you and I had JC load up our board and wetsuit. I figure we can order some takeout and just enjoy each others company tonight. I mean I own a condo in Venice Beach, we might as well use it.”
“I thought you’re students were staying there?”
“They’ve all either moved to the Academy or got their own places. I’ve had the place spruced up a little bit and I think we can just use it as a vacation rental for extra income.”
“Have you talked to Penny about this?”
“Not yet, because I want to talk to our accountant first. If the move makes sense I think we do it and if not we sell the place. We can probably get three times what I’ve paid for it, but are we better off have a steady stream of income over time rather than one big influx.”
“Even after a year of knowing you, you amaze me more just about every day. Next thing I know you’re going to be talking about diversifying your portfolio and investing in gold.”
“Oh I’m planning on investing in gold just as soon as I beat Abraxes Friday night.”
She rolled her eyes at his bad pun. “Are you nervous at all about the match?”
“You’re probably not going to like this answer, but no I’m not nervous. I know with everything that’s going with planning the wedding and starting out our new life together that I should be scared shitless, but I'm not."
"Why wouldn't I like that answer. I think it's good that you're going into this match with all that big dick energy. I just don’t understand, why you were up running ten miles at the ass crack of early to blow of steam if you aren’t nervous?”
“I just want it to get here, so I can get it over with. Yes, but Abraxes can be dangerous, but my focus is on Wraith. Winning the World Championship can be absolutely huge for my career and our family.”
Nick exited the freeway and drove the last couple of miles on surface streets before they reached the condo. He parked in his spot in the below ground parking garage of the condo building. Grabbing the overnight bag that Penny packed for them Nick led her to the elevator and they rode up to the penthouse in silence. The door opened and the updated look of the place nearly took Nick’s breath away.
The walls were still covered by mementos he had collected from his years in the business, but the paint had been updated to a dark gray that reminded him of the ocean. The leather furniture he had originally bought had been moved to the Academy for the students to use and had been replaced by two overstuffed reclining couches in a cream color, They walked through the living room and down the hall to check out the bedrooms. The room that had been JC’s was now decorated in a beach motif with two sets of bunk beds which would make it perfect for a vacation rental. It was the master bed room that completely blew his mind.
“Wow, this is beautiful,” Cin said.
“Yes it is.”
The oversized bed had been returned from storage, but the once cave like room was now bright and airy feeling. This was no longer his bachelor pad, but it had turned into a sound investment property.
“Should we keep it as a vacation rental,” Nick asked.
“I think you should talk to your accountant and then we can make a decision as a family. However, I know I would want to stay here if I was on vacation.”
“I’ll call him later this week. You hungry?”
“I could eat.”
“How’s Chinese sound?”
“Works for me.”
“Alright, I’ll order you go find something to watch.”
The rest of the night they cuddled on the couch eating dumplings and watching The Mandalorian. Nick was happy that he let her talk him into watching it by the time they binged the first season. When the credits rolled on episode eight they were both exhausted and fell asleep in each others arms. It was the best sleep Nick had had in weeks.
February 14 7:12 PM
Nick Knight is dressed in his best suit and pacing across the living room as he waits for the loves of his life to come up from the bedroom. He keeps looking at his watch with each pass across the hardwood mentally pushing them to hurry up, because they could not be late. He had a big surprise for them and they could not be late.
He let out a long sigh and walked over to the stairs to yell down to them. “I’m sorry to rush–”
“What’s the matter Nicky, cat got your tongue.” Penny nearly purred before letting out a wicked giggle. The women were wearing nearly identical black cocktail dresses and just the look of them left him truly speechless. “I’m glad you like the dresses, but I believe you were saying something about needing to go.”
“Um…yeah, sorry.”
“So where are we going,” Cin asked.
“You’ll see.” The drive did not take long and soon Nick was parking the SUV in front of a nondescript building on a side street in Hollywood. “This is the place.”
“Alright, but what is this place,” Penny asked.
“This is the Ballroom Dance Studio of Hollywood,” he answered. “We're here here for the first of our private lessons.”
“You’re fucking with me, aren’t you?” Penny side eyes him from the passenger seat. “I tried to get you to take dancing lessons when we got married and you refused. Said dancing was for girls, do you remember that?”
“I think I might have said something more offensive than that actually, but yes I remember.”
“Now you’re signing us up for lessons without us even asking you. Who are you?”
“Did I do something wrong?” Nick grabbed her hand and is obviously concerned. “I mean I just thought it would–”
Penny interrupts him with a kiss. “No you silly man, you did nothing wrong. This is easily the best Valentine’s Day present anyone has ever given me.”
“It’s definitely the best present anyone has ever given me,” Cin added from the backseat.
“I’m glad that you both like the surprise. Now let’s go dance, and I’ll do my best not to step on anyone’s toes.”
A lilith woman in her middle years wearing a dress very similar to the ladies met them at the door flashing a million. “Hello everyone, please come in. My name is Sara and this is my husband Wes.”
Wes was a tall man with salt and pepper hair dressed in a black. Even wearing a suit jacket it was easy to tell that he was athletic and when he approached Nick to shake hands he moved like a cat. “It’s nice to meet you Wes and Sara. I’m Nick Knight and these are my fiances Penny and Cin.”
“You are a very lucky man Mr. Knight.” Sara admired her two new students. “Most men would kill to be marrying a woman this beautiful and you are marrying two. Some people might say that you are greedy.”
Everyone except Nick laughed at Sara’s obvious joke. “How should we start?”
“I like your enthusiasm Mr. Knight. Most of the grooms to be that we work with are very apprehensive and only take lessons to keep the future wife happy. I was a little surprised to hear from a man for a change.”
“I’m just trying to learn from past mistakes.”
“Alright Mr. Knight pick a partner and the other lady can start out with Wes. Tonight we will focus on learning the foxtrot.”
The next hour the trio worked with their instructors to learn the easiest of all of the ballroom dances. Never the most nimble person Nick struggled at first, but he was soon moving like the professional athlete that he sometimes managed to look like on Friday nights. He was not going to win Dancing With The Stars anytime soon, but it was going to be good enough for a few dances at his wedding.
When they were through and back in the truck Nick reached into the center console and pulled out two matching envelope. “Here is the other part of your Valentine’s Day present.”
They both tear open the envelopes to find a hand written letter from Nick telling each of them exactly how he feels about them and letting them know that he has made reservations for them at an all inclusive spa for the next weekend. Expecting to be thanked he looks to Penny to see that she has tears running down her face. Confused Nick looks to the back seat to find that Cin has the exact same reaction.
“Did I do something wrong?”
“No you idiot.” Penny slaps him on the shoulder. “This is the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me. I love you more than anything Nick Knight and I’m sorry that I ever let you get away the first time.”
“I am a better man because of what happened, and if it hadn’t happened we might not have Cin in our life. I don’t believe in that everything happens for a reason bullshit, but I know that my life has turned out just fine so far.”
“Cin, are you alright sweety,” Penny asked.
“I’m better than alright. I love you guys so much and I don’t know what I’d ever do without you.”
“Well you don’t ever have to worry about that,” Nick told her. “Now fix your makeup ladies, because have dinner reservations in half an hour.”
February 15 2:25 PM
Nick Knight and Penny Dreadful walk hand in hand through the Central Garden of the Getty Center. The calming sound of the waterfall is in the background and the beauty of the hundreds of different plants are all around them. It was the most peaceful place that Nick had been in a long time and he was happy to have Penny by his side.
“What made you pick this place for our date,” Penny asked.
“I did some research of places that I thought you would like to go and The Getty Center seemed like the place that you would love. There’s so much here though so I decided that the best part for today would be a walk through the garden.”
“Well I think you made the right choice, and I promise not to pick any fights,” she said, with a laugh.
“I really appreciate that. It would be really hard for me to beat Abraxes if I’m in jail. Well unless I can get ahold of Jess Fowler and have the match made into a LA County Jail Match. The winner is the first man to obtain and use a shank on the other one.”
That made Penny laugh so hard that she snorts. “I would pay money to see that because you would easily win. It’s LA of course they’re going to be all about helping you.”
“I hadn’t thought of it that way. Maybe I should just go punch some rando and make it happen.” Penny starts to laugh again. “Although that sounds more like a pay per view match and not one you give away for free.”
They walked on for a bit longer in silence when finally Penny asked, “So when are you planning to talk to me about the condo?”
“I am supposed to meet with Arthur later this week and once I had some more information I was going to bring it to you.”
“Cin made it sound like you’ve already made up your mind on what you want to do.”
“I have made up my mind, but I’m not the only one making this decision.” Nick led her over to a bench and they sat down. “I promised you after I bought the academy that we would make all decisions together, and I meant it.”
“How about you take me over and show me the remodel. I mean Cin said you only got through Season 1 of the Mandalorian.”
“Lets go.”
February 16 4:12 AM
Nick sat in the sand and watched the waves crash onto the beach. The nightmare had been the same one he’d been having for weeks, a monster chasing him. No matter how fast he ran the monster was always nipping at his heels. He could smell the rot on its breath with every single breath full of air he took. The chase never stopped until he woke up gasping for air and covered in sweat.
He hated to admit it, but he knew what the dream was about. It had started as soon as he and Abraxes became a team, but the monster in his nightmare was not a man in a mask. Any fear that he may have had for the big bastard had long ago been overcome. No the monster that he ran from is the one that lived deep inside of him.
Last time he beat Abraxes he let the monster loose, but that was a mistake. He did not need to go off of his meds and risk being consumed by the beast just to win. He did not have to give up any of his humanity just to win a fucking wrestling match. Yet that monster kept chasing him in his dreams.
The smell of salt water shook free the fear and he once again felt more like himself. He would have loved to been able to go for a run, but he did not have any workout clothes with him. Instead he decided to walk back to the condo and try to sleep for a couple more hours before he needed to get up and go to the Academy for his beginners level class.
_______________________________________________________________
Well howdy there pardner.