Chapter 8 Live A Little
LIVE A LITTLE
“Congratulations,” Jocelyn said, giving Elise a hug. It was the first she was seeing her sister-in-law since the news. “Here.”
“What’s in the bag?” Elise asked, taking it.
“Just a little care package I put together. Where is Gabe?”
“Running errands. He’ll be gone a few hours, I’m sure. He had a list of things he had to take care of.”
“Perfect,” she said. “Then we can chat.”
Because she had to talk to someone about what she’d done last night and it wasn’t as if she’d call one of her casual friends for this.
Some girls she’d gone to high school with. Even if they remembered Chance, they’d have something negative to say about him.
Other friends of hers, she wasn’t so positive she wanted their opinions.
She walked to the back of her brother’s house, then sat on the couch, Elise next to her.
Her sister-in-law pulled out the tissue paper, then the first item. It was a tiny teddy bear that said “baby’s first bear” on it.
“Aww. This is adorable. And so soft,” Elise said.
“I couldn’t resist. The rest is for you.”
Elise removed, one-by-one, chocolate, a cute coffee mug, some of her sister-in-law’s favorite teas, a few other snacks, then lotions for stretch marks and slippers.
“This is great,” Elise said. “Thank you. I’m going to make Gabe rub my feet with the cooling lotion when I get too fat to bend over.”
All the things she’d hoped for in her life one day too.
“He’ll do it.” Her brother was considerate like that.
“He better,” Elise said. “I told him he has to sing to the baby. He has been.”
Her bottom lip came out, her eyes a little glossy. Her brother had such a beautiful voice. She wondered if he could have done something with it as a career, but he’d always said it was more for fun.
She’d be the first person not to want to force anything on anyone.
“The baby is getting used to his voice. Maybe you’ll have a future singer in there.”
“Who knows?” Elise said. “Can I get you something to drink or eat?”
“I’ll get a cup of coffee,” she said. “You sit.”
She was used to coming into her brother’s home and helping herself. Though now that he was married and had someone else living here, maybe she should ease back on that.
“You can make me one too,” Elise said. “I might enjoy being waited on.”
She turned when Elise was in the kitchen with her, pulling down two cups and then getting the creamer out of the fridge.
She spun the rack holding the flavors and picked one at random. Looked like coconut for her. “What do you want?”
“Do the same for mine. Might as well live a little,” Elise said, wiggling her eyebrows.
She did as Elise said and got the second one. “Gingerbread for you.” Which brought back her drinks last night. “Speaking of living a little…”
“Ohhhh,” Elise said, rubbing her hands together. “I can tell, this is going to be good. Who do you have your eye on? It’s been a long time.”
“I’ve had my eye on lots of men but have made no moves. Guess I thought they’d make them and realized that when they do it crashes and burns.”
“Victor was a dick,” Elise said. “Has he been bugging you again?”
“No.” Her last ex had finally stopped reaching out about a year ago. No more begging her to come back, no more promises that he’d changed or would do better.
She didn’t like beggars. She didn’t like men who pretended to be someone they weren’t.
“Then tell me more about what is going on. I’m trying to read your mood and not doing a good job at it.”
Her coffee finished, she then put Elise’s cup under the spout.
“Welcome to the club. I got little sleep last night for a lot of reasons. A mixture of them.”
“Getting even better.”
They finished preparing their coffee and sat in the living room again.
“First, you can’t say anything to Gabe or my parents.”
“I wouldn’t,” Elise said. “I know what it’s like to want to keep things private.”
“There are a few reasons for it. First, I went to school with this guy.”
“What’s his name? I don’t want to keep referring to him as ‘this guy’.”
“Chance,” she said.
“Sexy.”
“Yeah, he’s that. Rugged and all male.” She gave a shoulder wiggle.
Elise was waving her hand in front of her face. “Not your usual type.”
“Nope. He was the bad boy who everyone thought would drop out. Always getting into trouble for something. Most of the girls I hung out with wouldn’t even talk to him, let alone admit how good-looking he was.”
“Because he wasn’t good enough in their eyes or they were afraid of him?”
“Both.” She’d never feared Chance. Not like genuine fear he’d hurt her or even be mean.
“You talked to him though back then, didn’t you?”
“How did you know?”
“Because you don’t follow any rules but your own when it comes to those things. I’m willing to bet you would have liked to know more about him but then deep down feared your parents or brothers wouldn’t approve.”
She tapped her finger to her nose. “Bullseye.”
“And now you’ve run into him again? Has he changed or is he someone else?”
“I’m not sure his personality’s changed all that much. Hard to say. We’ve all grown up, got a little life behind us. But his looks? Oh yeah, those definitely aged well. He’s bigger now, a little darker, in the best kind of way. That whole ‘bad boy’ vibe? If anything, it’s gotten hotter.”
“It’s getting warm in here,” Elise said, bouncing on the couch.
“It is,” she said. “Fast forward. I lose a bet with Gabe and get stuck picking up lunch. I walk into Rhea’s Chance Pub, and there he is behind the bar.
Same cocky smirk, same swagger he had back in high school.
We recognized each other instantly. Traded a few sarcastic jabs, just like old times.
And then I walked out… totally blown away by a trip down memory lane. ”
“So as if time hadn’t really gone by.”
“Something like that. I’ll admit I thought of him over the years, but not much more than wondered what he did with his life. It could have gone either way. For all I knew, he could have landed in jail or become a millionaire CEO. He had that type of personality.”
“The ‘I don’t give a fuck’ kind where he’s going to do what he wants in this world. His way or no way?”
“That’s him,” she said, pointing. “But he’s bartending. Come to find out, he had bought the place a year ago. For him and his grandmother, who worked there most of her life.”
“Awww. Sounds pretty family-oriented and considerate of him.”
“It is.” And not something she would have imagined. Which just went to show you couldn’t judge people without getting to know them. “You know the fire alarms have been going off at my building.”
“I heard. Did they figure out who or what was causing them?”
“Not yet, but there’s been nothing for a few days so hopefully it stopped. But the last one, I’m waiting outside like everyone else. I turn to watch the firetrucks and firemen around it. There were two in gear waiting outside and in no rush. Before they get ready to leave, the shield lifts.”
“Is it him?” Elise asked, her voice rising. “Tell me it is!” Her sister-in-law was vibrating on the couch in excitement. “I love these fate things.”
“Yep. He’s a fireman. I’m like, holy cow.
I can see that for sure. I can picture him doing both jobs.
So that’s twice now I’ve seen him. But it’s more than that.
I mean you talk about fate and someone has an arrow pointing me in the right direction.
Earlier in the week, I went to the second building with Gabe. ”
“He told me. And that the Fierce men were there and all but drooling that you made an appearance.”
Her shoulders slumped. “Figures. It’s not what I wanted, but I know I’ve got to be part of that end of the business too. We are waiting for the code enforcer to show up.”
“Oh, my God. I know who you’re talking about. Royce and my father have mentioned him along with Gabe. I didn’t put it together.”
“What have they said about him?” she asked.
“Nothing horrible,” Elise said. “Nothing that would make me think someone in your family wouldn’t approve of him.”
“Because they didn’t know him in school,” she said.
“I don’t think they’d really care. Gabe wouldn’t. Sounds like Chance has a good job and owns another business. A hard worker who puts his grandmother first.”
“Yeah,” she said. “I thought that too. If I hadn’t known him in high school, I’d think nothing of the rest.”
“There you go,” Elise said. “Now what?”
“I decided to take my mother’s advice and not plan things out or overthink them. I went to the bar last night alone,” she said, then sipped her coffee to see what her sister-in-law’s reaction was.
“You go, you.”
Her wide grin exposed all her teeth. “Yeah. I didn’t know if he’d be working, but he was. I figured we kept running into each other, why not see if it worked again.”
“And you talked?”
“We did some. He was the only one behind the bar. I stayed a few hours before I drove home.”
No reason to give specifics on their conversation or the flirting that ensued.
“Now what?”
She shrugged. “Good question. He didn’t ask for my number and I didn’t volunteer it. It’s not like me to pick up a man in a bar.”
“Nor seek one out, but you did. Why?”
Her head went side to side. “My mother lectured me last week about always being in my box. Having things planned out and my goals in life. Then focusing on them and when they will be met rather than letting things happen.”
“And you thought to just let this happen by forcing another encounter?”
“I don’t even know what I was expecting, just that I couldn’t get him out of my head. I was hoping he’d be there so I could make sense of how he made me feel. But now? It’s worse. So much worse.”
“I bet! What do you want to happen? Maybe a date?”
“I think it’d be nice, but I don’t know that he’s the kind of person to take a woman out to dinner.”
“You don’t know any of that,” Elise said. “And if you want to get out of your box, then keep doing what you are. Though it sounds to me like fate is playing part in this. Or you know, you can put it in the hands of the Fierces.”
“No,” she said, shaking her head. “It’s bad enough that crossed my mind last night. They witnessed Chance and I talking. I saw their eyes light up. I don’t want them to get any ideas.”
“Too bad,” Elise said. “I learned the hard way. You can’t escape what they call good intentions.”
She sighed. “I know.”
“And if you want something to work out. Something with a man. Then they are your best bet.”
“Nope,” she said. “I’m doing it on my own. Just like you did.”
“We like to think we did,” Elise said. “But I know deep down they gave it a push. And sometimes a push is all you need.”