40. Lachlan
40
Lachlan
C hase was already at the ice cream parlor when I walked in. He stood up, slapping his hand on mine and bringing me in for a partial hug. “Greyseeker,” I greeted him with a chuckle.
Chase laughed. “How messed up is it that we both knew who one another was, yet still said nothing?”
“Yeah, and you got me in so much shit with Bailey. She thinks I’m as bad as Beth with the gossiping.” Though, to be fair, she had a point. Gossiping about Bailey to Chase, even while believing I’d managed to hide my identity, still counted as gossip.
He winced, then looked down at the menu under the glass tabletop. “It’s been so long since I was here last.” It was the same menu it had been since before we were born, though, so I knew exactly what he was going to get. “Do you still get the strawberry shake?” he asked.
“Yes.” I let him order for us and then he sat back down. “So, what’s this all about? Why the change?”
Chase’s eyes wandered around the parlor. Outside, it had begun to rain, so the store had darkened some. “Tying up loose ends. I feel like shit, you know? Like, all this time I was angry with all of you, and you all had your own stuff to work through.”
Very true. “How close had we been online, but in real life, so far away, hurting so hard.”
Chase nodded. “Exactly. I didn’t want to bother you guys with it, though. Maybe you were thinking the same thing, I don’t know. But I didn’t want to hash it out. I didn’t want to recount all that happened. I just…it was like I just wanted to play football. I don’t think Coach knew how much of a relief, or an out, he gave us. All the bullshit wasn’t allowed on the field, and we could play.”
I kept bouncing my head, knowing exactly what he was saying. I felt the same. We could connect without being lost in the shit storm we were living in. “It was the same with the video game,” I added.
“Exactly. Maybe that’s why we didn’t want to out ourselves.”
Our milkshakes were delivered.
“Chocolate shake,” I said with a small grin.
“I don’t know why I even looked at the menu.” He grinned back. “Hard to believe some things don’t change, but the familiarity is nice.”
“So, what are your plans?” I asked.
“Nothing,” he said, as if he had resigned himself to that truth. I knew he was being kicked out of his place.
“Who are you staying with? Do you have to be out of the house right away?” I was sure my parents would let him stay with us if he needed to.
“Don’t worry about it.”
“Chase, man, let’s get past this. Do you need a place?”
“No. I have something lined up. I’ll be good.” He looked me in the eye as he said it, but I felt some sort of unspoken meaning behind the words. His eyes shifted to outside, and I didn’t have to look to see. I could hear the torrential downpour that was happening behind me. “What do you think? Pitts tonight?”
I smiled but didn’t say anything, thinking it over.
“For my birthday,” he added.
“Okay, fine. Want me to round up the troops? This will be Nolan’s first time.”
“Sure. You have to call Bailey, though. I don’t have her number.”
“But she has yours.”
His eyes narrowed at me suspiciously. “Oh?”
“Yep. I programmed the whole team's numbers into her phone.”
Chase took a sip of his shake as he leaned forward. “So, are you and Bailey dating?” he asked. “If so, sorry about kissing her. I didn’t know.”
This was going to be hard to explain, because it was almost like an unspoken thing. “I’m pretty sure her ex hurt her,” I started off.
Chase scoffed. “Understatement.”
I agreed, but I wasn’t allowed to talk about it. “We aren’t dating.”
“Nolan?” I shook my head. “You all seem so close.” Then he paused before asking, “You and Nolan?”
I sighed. “No.” I could tell him I wasn’t gay, but I’d given up with titles after a year of therapy. It was hard to trust what you are or how you feel when everyone was shouting their own two cents at you. “We hang out. There’s no obligation. There’s no jealousy or hard feelings. We’re just there for her.”
He nodded slowly, processing the information while sipping on his shake. “So, if she were to kiss me again, no hard feelings?” He grinned.
I gave a low chuckle, leaning forward into his space. “If she kisses you, no hard feelings. If you, in any way, corner her or make her feel she has to kiss you, I promise what happened to Derrick will seem miniscule in comparison.”
Chase sat back, his eyes searching my face. “A stranger’s punishment is easier than mine?”
“Yes. She trusts you.”
Chase frowned. “You think so?”
“I know so. She trusts all of us, more than she should. I ruined that once before, so understand that I will protect that with everything. I won’t let her get hurt anymore.”
“Good,” was all he said, giving his approval to me.
Our conversation shifted, and we started talking about after high school. Mainly, he asked what I planned on doing. I’d always wanted to go to law school, but with the charges against me, it was unlikely I would get any scholarships, and it wasn’t something my family or I could afford. So, working in the sports store for my parents was basically my future. Chase was vaguer about his plans, in the end stating he hadn’t given it much thought.
When we finished the shakes, we stood up, grabbing the glasses and putting them in the bin on the counter so Sal, one of the owners, didn’t have to clean up after us.
Sal poked his head out from the back, having heard us. “It’s good to see you here again. I was just telling Chris about your group. Where are the other two?” We had come here as often as Chase would buy us ice cream in the summer, which was nearly daily. Pretty sure it was the reason for Bailey’s ice cream obsession.
“They were busy today,” I answered him. “I’ll drag them in next time.”
“You tell them, next time they come in, milkshakes are on me, okay? Two strawberries, one vanilla, and one chocolate.”
As Chase and I said our thanks to the guy, I couldn’t help but think how crazy it was that he had remembered our milkshake orders.
“See you at the pitts later?” Chase asked, holding his hand out.
“Wouldn’t miss it.” I didn’t hesitate to smack my hand into his. I didn’t tense as he pulled me in. I didn’t panic as he brought his hand around and patted my back in a stereotypical bro hug. Maybe because it wasn’t about me. Chase held on a moment longer, and it seemed it was him that needed the hug more than me. He was making a real effort to change.