Chapter 6
CHAPTER SIX
Chase
"Thanks for meeting with me." I glanced toward Ashley, then down at my shoes.
They might be a metaphor for my love life. Well trodden, like Brandi trod all over my heart.
Truth was, they were comfortable and I needed something comfortable right now. I let Brandi go as graciously as I could, but I was pissed as hell on the inside.
I thought we had something great going on. Not 'run out and buy a ring right now' great, but maybe in a year or two. I'd pictured us some day with a few kids, maybe a house out in the country. A horse and some pigs. Okay, maybe a cat. Brandi wasn't one for getting dirt under her manicured nails.
"Yeah. Is everything okay?" Ashley also had neat nails, but short and painted a soft pink. Subtle, like her make up. Her skirt and blouse were flattering on her slim figure, but without showing a ton of skin. They left something to my imagination.
What caught my attention right now were her eyes. I hadn't noticed before, but they were hazel. That word didn't do them justice. They were really green on the inside, with a rim of brownish gold.
"Yeah, kinda." I gestured toward a booth and looked at her questioningly. When she nodded, I slid into the seat opposite and set my beer down in front of me.
"I figured I'd see if you're all right," I said. "And… I don't know… you get it, y'know?"
She twirled her wine glass slowly with her fingertips. "Yes, I do know," she said. "They did it to us."
"Right." Plenty of the guys on the team were cheated on in the past. We tended to attract partners who weren't into us as people, they just wanted to share the spotlight.
That didn't make for lasting relationships.
A few found good women. Hawk, for example.
He and Bec were as loved up a couple as I'd ever seen.
They were good for each other, united by the love of all things geeky.
They'd probably name all their kids after superheroes or something. Cute, but not my jam.
"Have you spoken to Kris?" I asked.
Ashley shook her head. "No. Have you?"
I couldn't quite work out the expression on her face. Sad, with a hint of wistfulness, or something.
"No," I said. "I'm still at the 'wanting to punch him in the face,' phase. I figure I should wait until that passes." I hesitated for a moment before I added, "You really miss him, don't you?"
Her tongue darted over her lips. I couldn't help noticing. She took a sip of wine. Okay, more like a gulp. I wasn't judging. The whole situation sucked.
"I miss him, but I still want to burn his comics," she said eventually. "It's hard to be with someone for two years, then bang, they're gone from your life. I didn't even get the closure of flushing him down the toilet."
I'd taken a sip of beer. Now I almost spat it out. I managed to keep my mouth closed, but some of my drink went down the wrong hole. I covered my mouth with my fist and coughed while my face heated.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to—" She started to stand and move around the table toward me, but I waved her back down.
"I'm fine," I said when I caught my breath. "I just pictured you trying to stuff him in, head first."
She sat back down and smiled wanly. "I suppose it is a bit funny. Although, he'd block up the pipes with his big head."
I chuckled. "Shame to ruin perfectly good plumbing." I watched her eyes. She laughed, but they looked as sad as ever. Kris might as well have torn out her heart and flushed it down the toilet.
"Yeah." She took another sip or two of wine. "You miss Brandi too?"
Right to the point, hmmm? I guessed I was that direct with her too. That might be what both of us needed right now. Blunt honesty.
"I feel like I shouldn't, but I do. We had some good times together. Lots of laughs and, believe it or not, some deep conversations about life and stuff. She came from a family who had nothing. She was determined to pull herself up out of that."
I wasn't dumb enough to think she hadn't tried to use me for that in the beginning, but I thought it went beyond her ambition. I wanted to think it did. I would have given her the world, if only she wanted me and not my money or the prestige that came with my job.
"That's admirable," Ashley said. "I had no idea. I mean, I wasn't paying that much attention to her, to be honest. I'm sure she's…lovely."
"I can understand why you might not think so," I said evenly.
Ashley had no reason to cut Brandi any slack.
"She did the wrong thing. A shitty thing.
She hurt you. I'm sure she's sorry for doing it.
Kris too." Okay, I was sure Kris was. Brandi…
It seemed the thing to say anyway, whether it was true or not.
Ashley's mouth worked, but no words came out for a minute or two. Eventually, she said, "I suppose it could have been a spur of the moment thing. A one-time, caught up in it, didn't stop to think thing. I'm sure if they'd thought about us for a moment, they wouldn't have done it."
She didn't seem certain, but I saw in her eyes that she wanted to believe it too. Love does that, I supposed. It makes people forgive the worst things, because we want to be with someone so badly.
"Can I buy you another drink?" I offered.
She handed me her empty glass. "Sure."
I took both glasses to the bar and slid them over to Hallie, the woman who worked the bar.
"I like to see someone with good manners," she remarked as she took the glasses and placed them in the open glass washer. "It's so rare these days."
"We have to keep you on side." I admit to finding her a bit intimidating. She had so many piercings I wasn't sure if she'd get through an airport scanner in any kind of hurry. Then there were the tattoos.
I had butt load of them myself. A full sleeve on my left arm.
A handful, including the Humpbacks’ logo, a Rapid with a sword, on my back.
A few on my chest. I still had nothing on Hallie's.
Except her face and hands, she seemed covered in them, from neck to wrists.
With a collared shirt and long sleeves, no one would know she had any, but in her short sleeves and scoop neck, they were visible and plentiful.
If I didn't know Hallie was one of the gentlest people around, I might think she was rough and tough. From what she said, she left that to her boyfriend, who was approximately the size of an aircraft carrier.
"Damn right you do," Hallie said with a satisfied nod. "If you want more beer anyway."
"As it happens, that's exactly what I want," I said. "And another glass of wine, please."
"What happened to that other girl?" Hallie grabbed a clean beer glass and held it under the tap. "What was her name?"
"Brandi. We're… Having a break." I shrugged with one shoulder and pretended not to care.
"Ahhh. Shame, she seemed to dig you." Hallie let the first half of my beer rest and filled up Ashley's glass from a bottle. No boxed wine for Waves.
"Shit happens sometimes," I said.
"True that." She set the wine on the bar and finished pouring my beer.
I paid for both drinks, nodded my thanks and went back to the booth.
"She's just as bad," I said, my voice low so Hallie couldn't hear. I told Ashley what Hallie said.
"Maybe you're meant to be together," Ashley said tentatively. "Should we let a little bump in the road stop us from living our lives with people we're supposed to be with?"
Little bump? I wasn't sure it was only that. I nodded anyway.
"I suppose we shouldn't. But Brandi seemed relieved to end things. I don't think she could get away fast enough."
"She might be good at covering her feelings," Ashley suggested. "Or relieved that you didn't get angry and throw chairs around." She smiled faintly.
"I guess." I sipped my beer and wondered how much of this conversation was fuelled by alcohol. There was nothing better for bringing out the deepest of desires, even if those were a bad idea. The more I drank, the better the idea of getting back together with Brandi seemed.
"You do love her, don't you?" Ashley asked.
"Yeah, I do. At least, I think I do." I frowned.
"It felt like love." What did I know, I'd never been in love before, except for football.
That was true love. I had no doubt about that.
Ever since I was a kid, it was the only thing I wanted to do.
The only thing that kept my attention. If I hadn't succeeded at that, I don't know where I'd be.
Probably stacking shelves at the local shop, or mowing lawns.
Both legitimate ways to make a living, of course, but not a dream job.
Not for me anyway. For me, it was all about the game.
"If you love her, isn't she worth fighting for?" Ashley asked. "Or at least…" She frowned.
"At least what?" I tried to cock my head, but it flopped instead. I must have had more to drink than I realised. I couldn't remember how many. Enough to make me very relaxed, but not enough for a raging hangover. Not yet anyway.
"We could make them see what they gave up," she said. "Maybe they'd regret what they did and beg us to take them back."
"Or try to crawl back." I pictured Brandi on her hands and knees, and flushed. It didn't involve her apologising. Not with words. With her mouth though—absolutely.
I blinked and focused on Ashley's face. She really was pretty. Natural, compared to Brandi.
"What did you have in mind?" I asked. "Making them jealous in some way?"
Ashley shifted on her seat. "We could show them we're living our best lives without them." She looked thoughtful. "Do you think they'd buy it if we pretended to be dating? Kris would flip out if he saw us together, looking happy and all that. He'd regret sleeping with her."
"He really would." I knew him well enough to know he'd hate that. If his actions drove Ashley into my arms, he'd be pissed at me. He might do anything to get back into her good books then.
"Brandi might realise what a catch you are," Ashley said.
I was sure she was being polite, but I'd take the compliment with good grace.
"I certainly am," I said. Okay, that wasn't good grace, but I tried to be a decent guy. I was respectful, thoughtful and didn't look like the ass end of a cane toad. Okay, my mother said I didn't. I was a touch accident prone, but no one got hurt. Usually. Well, no one but me.
"I mean, I try," I said more modestly. "So, you wanna pretend we're seeing each other? That means we'll have to be seen together in public." The more public the better. There was no point in doing this if it went unnoticed.
"Let's do it," Ashley said. "It'll be fun. If nothing else, it'll keep us from moping around our apartments eating ice cream and crying over romcoms."
"That's my typical Wednesday night," I joked.
"Then you really need to get out," she said firmly.
"It happens, I know just the place." I leaned in closer and started to explain.