He didn�t wake up until well after noon that next day. As soon as he woke up he felt the throbbing of his hand and arm. He looked down and vaguely remembered what happened. He stood up and went out to see that Craig has already cleaned up the mess. The table and the glass were both gone; I can�t believe I did that, he thought. He grabbed a drink out of the kitchen and sat down on the couch with his head back and eyes closed. Craig walked out and saw him and shook his head. Nick opened his eyes and looked apologetic,
�Dude, I am SO sorry. I�ll pay for it.� Craig smiled, he wasn�t happy but he knew Nick was sorry so he wasn�t going to give him a guilt trip about it,
�I know and of course you will.� Nick looked down and Craig continued in a funny voice,
�Or I�ll kick your ass.� Nick laughed a little. Craig sat down next to him and turned the TV on to ESPN,
�Its Saturday man, college football day. Florida State plays at one and Miami at four.� Nick smiled,
�Sounds good to me.�
�I already called some of the guys, they�re own their way. Think I�ll order some pizzas. Call Matt and have him stop by the store and get some drinks and chips and stuff, let�s make it a damn party�no alcohol.� Nick shook his head and smiled; he definitely loved having Craig as a friend, he was the guy that could have fun without alcohol, or hard partying; he was real calm. Most of his other friends and associates were about hard partying. Craig was the friend, more than any other person who had nothing to do with his career, who worried about his image and what would look bad for publicity. Nick�s mom, Brian and Kevin particularly loved Craig. He knew Craig always had his back.
They were waiting on the rest of the guys and Craig called out from the kitchen,
�So, why did you and Shay break up?� Nick looked over at him, he never really got into Nick�s business; if Nick volunteered he listened, other than that, he didn�t get involved. Nick shrugged,
�Just wasn�t working out.� Craig laughed,
�So you don�t know why.� Nick looked down at his hands,
�No, not really.� Craig sat down and looked at the TV,
�She hates you man.� Nick looked over at him. He knew she was upset and he hadn�t had any contact with her after the breakup except for that scene at the house,
�When did you talk to her?� Craig told him what happened over the phone and Nick just sat there stunned. Craig asked hesitantly,
�Does she know you cheated on her?� Nick glanced at him quickly before he looked down at his hands in his lap,
�She�s never really said anything or nagged me about cheating but I�m sure she�s thought about it.� Nick was on the road a lot and she wasn�t with him the majority of the time. He had his needs but he made sure not to throw it in her face. He wasn�t na�ve enough to believe the girls didn�t talk but their gossip to their friends and on the internet didn�t make it back to Shayna. No one had come out to a TV show or magazine. Craig interrupted his thoughts,
�Its just the initial hurt dude, she�ll be ok.�
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Chapter 9