How’s the date going with Mr. Hot Lacrosse Player?
Horrible. Guess who showed up?
Who?
Parker.
Seriously, is he still gorgeous?
What do you think? Do they ever get ugly?
Figures.
I don’t want to be rude, so I’ll text you later.
Bye, try to have fun.
Doubt it.
I answer Melanie’s text, as well, since I am bored to tears.
How is Romeo? She texts.
He drank the poison.
What? You killed him?
LMAO... No! I’ll tell you tomorrow.
Do you need bail money?
I KILLED NO ONE. I was joking.
Phew I was nervous. See ya tomorrow. I’ll be up if you need me or money …bahahahaha.
We sit in silence until Parker starts talking about the game. They both start screaming at the television. I become the third wheel in this bromance.
“I think I’m gonna get going. I have to check into the office early.”
“Are you sure? I want you to stay,” Chase says, getting up from his chair.
“It’s okay. I’m tired.”
“I’ll call you later. We’ll talk.” He winks.
“Thank you for dinner. It was great.”
“You’re welcome.”
He walks me to the door. It is a very awkward situation. I like Chase. I hope it will work out, but I’m not sure how I feel about things. I’m kind of confused at the moment. Oh well, you win some, you lose some.
“Come here.” Chase grabs my arm and kisses me goodbye. “Call me when you get home, so I know you made it safe.”
“I will.”
I’m not sure if I even want to get involved with him. I know this wasn’t his fault… or was it planned? I’ll never know.
A tear rolls down my face. I feel like I’m back in high school again, being made an ass out of by the popular kids. I get in my car and drive away, leaving behind any reminder of tonight.
CHAPTER 19
Chase
I FEEL HORRIBLE. I don’t want Hailey to think I planned this, but let’s face it: the date didn’t go great.
I plop into the chair and grab my beer off of the table. “What is it with me and women?” I ask P as he sits engrossed in the game.
“Honestly?”
“No lie.” I slam the beer back down.
“You’re not over Megan. You cannot move forward until you get over her.”
“I was going to ask her to move in with me. I was going to propose to her. It’s not that easy.”
“Do you like Hailey?” he asks.
“She’s a really nice person, and she’s beautiful,” I respond, avoiding the question.
“What kind of answer is that?”
“I don’t know how I feel. Obviously she’s gone, so she doesn’t like me too much, either.” I am conflicted; that’s all I know at the moment.
“Maybe you’re just not compatible. Are you going to call her?”
Ahh, the million dollar question.
“I don’t think I’ll call her for another date. Maybe as a friend. I don’t know. What’s the point? She didn’t really seem interested in me. I have to talk with her. I think I wooed her just as a way to fight my Megan demons. It’s hard to get over Megan when she calls me every damn day. I mean I really can’t stand Megan, but I still think about the things we shared, the memories.”
“I can talk to Hailey for you,” P offers.
I look at him skeptically. “What’s your intention?” I ask.
“Nothing. I just figured you didn’t want to deal with it.”
“You’re lying. You can’t look at me. Do you like her?”
“She’s pretty,” he says, staring back at the television.
“What kind of answer is that?” I say, mocking him. “Wait—are you here for a reason?”
“Yeah, to watch basketball,” he says with a smirk.
“Liar… You are so shady.”
“Megan called me the other day.” P looks hesitant.
“She did? What did she say? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“You’ve been so engrossed in trying to get Hailey that I didn’t want to get in the way of that.”
“I guess I have been.”
“Megan was crying. She said you’ve been ignoring her. She loves you. She’s sorry for what she did. She was feeling neglected by you and acted on it. She said lacrosse and your job are more important than her. I told her she needed to talk to you. She said you won’t answer her calls, so she took my advice and came here tonight, only to find Hailey’s car in your driveway.”
I run my hand through my hair. “Good. She deserves that. To feel what I felt when I found out about her and that guy,” I say angrily.
“She called me, hysterical, crying, and said she couldn’t handle seeing you with another woman. I told her I didn’t want to get involved, and she begged me to come here.”
“So you did?”
“Listen, you need to deal with this. Do you still love Megan?”
“Yep, of course I do. I just don’t want to look at her. I don’t trust her.”
“You need to talk to her instead of ignoring her and acting like this is going to go away on its own.”
“I feel betrayed by her.”
“I’m sure, but if she’s the one for you...”
I know P is being serious at the moment, even though he is usually messing around and joking. He is right. I can’t go on like this.
“I don’t know anything anymore,” I say, grabbing the remote to flip to Sports Center while a commercial plays.
“If you do take her back, you need to make time for her.”
“More than likely won’t happen. What are you, Dear Abby all of a sudden?” I joke.
“Whatever. Can I have Hailey’s number?”
“No. You’ll hurt her.” Like I should even be talking...
“I will not.”
“All I’m saying is that she owns McCormick Publishing Company.”
“That’s all I need to know,” P says smiling.
I sit back and drink my beer. I am at a confused point in my life, and it has to do with Megan. It’s not fair to bring others into the mess until I resolve my feelings for her.
Hailey didn’t seem interested, anyway. She was more interested in her phone. I’ll just let the alcohol flow until I’m numb and then deal with it tomorrow.
CHAPTER 20
Parker
CHASE HAS BEEN my best friend since we were born. Our parents are friends. We did everything together growing up. We played on the same t-ball teams, played video games together, celebrated each other’s birthdays. You name it, we did it. We were more like brothers. I would take a bullet for him. I give him advice and live my life through his. When he dated Carrie in high school, I told him numerous times to leave her. She wasn’t a nice person. He thought he was in love with her, so I supported his decision, even though I couldn’t stand her.
The same thing occurred with Megan. I know Megan fucked up and hurt him, but he kind of forced her to do what she did. His life is lacrosse, and it comes before everyone… even me.
When Megan called me and said someone was at the house, I was shocked, because we were supposed to watch the game together. I had a feeling it was Hailey who was over there when Megan described the car in Chase’s driveway. I could have left it alone and not gone to Chase’s house, but Megan was crying and begging me. I also went because it was an excuse to see Hailey. I think she is a cutie. Chase isn’t into her; he is just on the rebound from Megan.