Chapter 3
CHAPTER THREE
Ashley
I arrived early, because of course I did. I hated it when people were late. I hated being late myself even more.
As a senior seller for Lacey's, the biggest department store in the country, my job depended on me being reliable.
That included being on time, every time, even when the people I met with rarely were.
I'd still smile and thank them for meeting with me.
Some days my face ached from smiling and my nerves were shredded from waiting.
I loved my job, but dealing with people was the hardest part of it.
I ordered a glass of Chardonnay from John, one of the owners of Waves, and flopped into a worn, dark blue lounge chair to wait. Glass in one hand, phone in the other, I scrolled through an endless feed on social media.
Funny how everyone's lives went on, while mine had come to a screeching halt. Did no one know my heart lay in a thousand pieces on the footpath in front of my building? Right next to that stupid dinosaur costume Kris probably rolled up and shoved into his car.
Part of me wanted to call him and see where he was, and if he was in as much pain as I was.
I clicked on his profile. My breath caught in my throat. He still had it marked as 'in a relationship with Ashley'. Next to that was a photo of us on holiday in Cairns last year. We were both grinning like crazy. He wore that silly hat with the fan on top.
I smiled, but it turned into a long sigh. I pressed on my own profile and changed the status to 'single.' It would lead to a flood of messages from well-meaning friends, but leaving it as it was felt like a lie. It was a lie. Kris and I were done. Nothing would change that.
I turned my phone off and placed it on the table. I glanced toward the door, but saw no sign of Chase. It occurred to me then that he might not show up. Why would he? He didn't really know me. Just because I asked him to come here didn't mean he actually would.
He probably had a life doing— Whatever it was he did. Kris mentioned something about sport, but I couldn't remember the details. Maybe he worked in a sports shop, or taught at one of the local schools.
I swallowed a slightly too-large gulp of wine and decided he wasn't coming. I cursed under my breath and got to my feet.
At the same moment, the roar of a motorcycle stopped outside the bar.
I didn't give it much thought until Chase stepped inside, helmet in hand.
His gaze scanned the room before he settled on me. He gave me a smile of recognition and made his way through the tables.
"Ashley." He held out his hand.
I shook it. A jolt of electricity shot through me. What the hell?
It took a moment to compose myself.
"Thanks for coming." I stood with his hand in mine for longer than necessary before I remembered myself and let it go. "Um. Please, sit."
"I'll get a drink first," he said.
I flushed. "Of course." Duh, Ashley. This is a bar after all.
I sat and looked toward the table until he came back with a glass of cola. He set it down on the table and adjusted a chair so he could sit with his long legs stretched out. He was at least half a metre taller than I was. Tall guy problems, I guessed.
"So, what did you want to talk about?" he asked.
Straight to the point. I liked that. Only now I had to tell him what I'd asked him here to say.
"Um." I toyed with the end of my ponytail. "You're still with Brandi, right?" It was as good a start to the conversation as any, I supposed.
He smiled. "Yeah." He looked like a smitten guy. So much so, I almost changed my mind about telling him anything.
I'm not a believer in 'what he doesn't know won't hurt him' so I launched into the whole, sordid story.
"I arrived home a day earlier than I was supposed to, and found Kris and Brandi in bed together."
Damn, girl, you couldn't soften the blow a little?
What can I say, I sugarcoated for a living. I couldn't do it now. Not about this.
Chase blinked. "And by 'in bed' you mean…"
"Naked," I said simply. "Having sex. With each other. Kris swore it never happened before, but I don't know." I shrugged. "I'm away a lot and Kris tends to clean the sheets every time."
He claimed he wanted me to have a nice clean bed to lie in after days of working away. Now, I didn't know what to think. If he didn't want to be with me, why didn't he just say so? That would have been a lot less painful than this.
Chase sat back. He looked like someone hit him across the face.
I suppose I had, in a way. Not literally, but close enough.
"I realise you might not believe me," I said softly. "I promise it's true."
Chase shook his head.
I thought he might insist I was lying and storm off out the door. Or ask for some kind of proof. I had none. I hadn't stopped to take photos.
"It explains some things," he said finally. "But I thought Kris was a better friend."
"I thought he was a better boyfriend," I said ruefully. "Turns out, I was wrong." So fucking wrong. "I'm sorry."
Chase grimaced. "It's not your fault. You didn't ask for them to do this either. Right?"
I matched his grimace. "Hell no," I said firmly. "I'm all about loyalty and faithfulness."
The amount of times I could have cheated while away for work would fill a book of sticky notes. Not a whole heck of a lot, but a number higher than zero. Those were only the chances I was aware of. I was relatively clueless to guys’ interest in me, unless they declared it.
"Yeah, me too," he said distractedly.
I felt bad for him. I was still processing all of this and I'd had hours already.
And I was able to cry in the privacy of my own apartment, while I stripped the bed down to the mattress and hauled the sheets down to the laundry.
That reminded me, I'd forgotten to take them out of the washer and put them in one of the driers.
Hopefully someone from my building would do it for me.
They were a nice bunch of people. Or impatient to use a machine themselves.
Whatever motivated them, it would help me out.
Chase surprised me by asking, "Are you okay?"
I expected him to be all about himself and his hurt and disappointment. The fact he even took a moment to think about me was gratifying and made me look at him again. He was a good looking guy, no doubt about that. I'd never given it much thought before. He was Kris' friend, that was all.
Now I really looked. Chase's brown eyes were expressive, his skin tanned.
His thick, dark hair curled slightly at his neck.
Longer on the top than the sides, his hair was the kind girls liked to fantasise about running their hands through.
A dark green t-shirt was fitted over defined biceps and what I'd bet was a chiselled chest and abs.
I dropped my gaze toward the table. I shouldn't be ogling anyone after the day I'd had. On top of that, I felt like I might cry again. I wasn't going to do that here, in front of Chase and everyone else.
"Yeah, kind of," I said to my breasts. "It wasn't the homecoming I expected." It certainly wasn't the coming I'd anticipated.
"Yeah, I bet it wasn't," Chase said. "You got friends you can talk to? A sister or two?"
"My sisters live on the other side of the country," I said. They were busy with their own lives: fiancees, husbands, children, mortgages, soccer games. All the suburban stuff I thought Kris and I would have some day.
I swallowed down a sob. "I have friends from work I can talk to." Sort of.
That awkward moment when you've been so busy with work and a live-in boyfriend and you realise your friends were all his, because you stopped calling your own.
"What about you?" I asked.
"Same," Chase replied. "Friends from work." He looked like he was going to say more about them, but didn't. "I'll be okay."
"Right," I said. "Me too." Who were we trying to kid here? We were betrayed by people we cared about. Healing would take time. Lots of time.
Chase— He still had to talk to Brandi. I didn't envy him.
I almost wouldn't mind being a fly on the wall for that conversation.
I wanted to hate her like I hated lateness.
What kind of woman sleeps with another woman's boyfriend, in her bed?
Not the kind of woman I had any sympathy for. Not one I wanted as a friend.
That led to another thought. "Will you talk to Kris?"
Chase's eyebrows twitched. He clearly hadn't thought about that yet.
"After I talk to Brandi," he said finally. "And get past the urge to punch him in the face." He frowned with genuine confusion. "I really thought he was a nice guy. He didn't care about…" He shook his head.
Before I could ask what Kris didn't care about, apart from my feelings, Chase went on.
"I've known him so long, I never would have thought he'd pull this kind of shit, y'know?"
"I totally know," I replied. "He's such a nerd. I thought it was more the jocks that, I don't know, drew in the women."
"Yeah." Chase sighed.
I remembered he was the jock kind. How could I forget with his toned body a metre away? Okay, I was still wallowing in the pity party.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't assume there's a group of guys more likely to cheat," I said.
"There is though," Chase said. "They're called assholes."
I managed a smile at that. "That's very true. I guess he hid his asshole persona behind a good guy mask." That sounded like something geeky Kris would say. I made a face at myself for saying it.
"I just wish, if he wasn't happy, he would have said so," I said sadly. "Why sneak around behind my back?"
Chase shrugged. "I have no idea. If I was him, I would have appreciated you more."
I blushed. "I…um, thanks."
Chase cleared his throat. "I'm sorry. That got really awkward. I just mean, you cared about him. It's hard to find genuine people these days." He was obviously thinking about Brandi.
I didn't know her, but she didn't seem like the settling down type to me. Maybe I was wrong, but Chase didn't deserve to be caught in the middle any more than I did.
"It really is," I agreed. It would be a long, long time before I'd trust anyone again. If I ever did. Maybe my busy lifestyle just wasn't conducive to having a relationship. If I couldn't be around for someone, how could I expect them to be around for me?
Hell, I couldn't even keep a goldfish alive. Poor Captain Bubbles. He was probably better off in fishy heaven, or wherever the toilet led to.
"I appreciate you telling me," Chase said. "Anyone else might have just kept quiet and let me find out when I walked in on her with someone else." He seemed very sure she would do it again.
"You deserved to know," I said. "Before things got more serious."
He nodded and opened his mouth to say something. He froze, mouth open, eyes on the door.
I looked that way and narrowed my eyes.
Brandi looked back at me with a mixture of recognition and horror.