“Start talking. Don’t leave anything out.”
“Have a seat. You're going to need it.”
CHAPTER 30
Hailey
I THINK MY MOUTH is hanging open. Why is he talking about my body? I don't want to hear this. I mean we're supposed to be having dinner, and he asks how I would react if he told me what he would do to my body... I'm stunned.
“I think maybe we should change the subject,” I say.
“You just look so hot, you have me acting crazy.”
“Why don't you just think about what you want to eat?”
“Not helping,” he says with a smirk on his face.
“Perv,” I mumble.
“I'm sorry,” he says.
There's silence between us. The waitress comes over to take our order. I ask for grilled chicken and a side salad with balsamic vinaigrette. Parker orders a steak. When the waitress leaves, I try to change the subject.
“What is it that you do for a living?”
“I own a bar.”
“Oh, that's nice.” I guess that's where he gets his pick of women.
“Yeah, it's a lot of work, but I have managers who run it. I also own an ice cream shop.”
“That’ interesting… You don't look like an ice cream shop owner.”
“Yeah, I get that a lot.”
His phone starts to ring. He excuses himself, saying he has to answer it, but takes the call at the table. I can only hear his side of the conversation.
“What's the matter? I'm having dinner. I'm not going anywhere. I'm staying here for an hour or so. Okay?”
Then he hangs up the phone.
“Are you okay?” I ask.
“Yeah, that was Chase. He's back from California. He sounds like he's in a bad mood. I don't know what his deal is anymore. He's been acting crazy.”
“Oh,” is all I say. I think, I don't want to know about Chase.
I hope he has a great life with Megan, as much as it brings out a jealous streak in me. I feel like I'm back in high school, watching him in the gym with Carrie.
“Maybe he's just stressed. Who knows?” I couldn’t care less what he does right now.
“Yeah, I don't know. He knows where I'm at.”
“He knows you're with me?”
“Oh yeah, he's okay with it,” he says casually.
“Great.”
A sadness comes over me as I respond. I ask myself mentally for a sign, and the song “Waterfalls” by TLC comes on the restaurant sound system.
I need this date to end. I just want to go home.
CHAPTER 31
Chase
“WHAT ARE THE TEARS for?” I ask Megan as she closes the door.
Of course she doesn't answer. “There's so much to say. To tell you.”
“Meg, just tell me. It's me. We've been through a lot.”
“I just want to start by saying that you know I love you, right?”
“That’s a rhetorical question. Can you love someone you cheated on?”
“I wanted you back. I wanted to be with you and only you. I tried calling you for a month. You wouldn't return my calls. I was pissed, even though I’m the one who fucked up. You may not have cheated, but you pushed me away. The guy I cheated on you with moved on to his next conquest, and I realized it was you I really wanted. I needed comfort. I needed someone… anyone. I couldn't handle not having you and being alone, too.”
Tears flow down her face. She is a sobbing mess. I stand up because I can’t handle seeing her like this. I did care a lot about her at one point in my life. I know something isn't right. I can just tell by the way she is acting. I have so many questions and need so many answers that I don't know where to begin.
“Why did you go to Hailey’s office? If I was with Hailey, which I'm not, it doesn't concern you. We're over.”
She puts her face in her hands, still crying. What the fuck?
“Why are you having a nervous breakdown right now? I'm sorry you’re feeling however you are feeling. But we can't be together—we both know it.”
I'm confused and trying to figure out what is going on. I want to know what's happening with me, but at the same time, I can tell that something I don’t understand is definitely happening with her.
“Chase, I'm pregnant. You’re right. We can't be together. The baby is not yours. We haven't been together sexually for four months.”
I don’t know what to say. What do you say when this is told to you by someone who had your heart and you were going to marry?
“Did you tell the father?” What else is there to ask?
“Yes. He doesn't want the baby. He said that what happened between us should have never happened.”
“Well, he's a dick. He needs to take responsibility. He needs to be there, but if he’s not, you don’t need him.”
“Chase, come here.” She pats the sofa for me to sit down next to her. I feel sorry for her, but she brought this on herself. She left me. I had no plans on leaving her. I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her. Now we can never be; we will never be. I go over to her to hear what she has to say. That is the only reason.
“I have something to tell you,” she says with a serious expression.
“What is it?”
“Parker is the baby's father.”
“What? Fuck!” I bang my hand on the wood table. Not a smart choice—my knuckles are now bleeding.
“Chase, your hand is bleeding.”
“I don’t fucking care. What the fuck happened? I want to know.”
“We slept together when he was comforting me. He was trying to be there for me when I needed someone.”
“I doubt that. It wasn’t about you and comforting you. He wanted a piece of ass.”
“This shit at Hailey's office, he set that up. I’d told him about the baby. He said he didn't want it, said you would want to be a father, if it was yours. He wanted me to cause a scene in her office so he could get Hailey and make it look like you and I were still together. He said that would give me a chance to get back together with you, and then I could tell you the baby was yours.”
“How the fuck can he do this to me? He's my best friend… Well, was my best friend, my brother. I trusted him with everything that I've had. He’s supposedly been there for me my whole life, and this is what he does. What did I do to him to deserve this kind of treatment?”
“Chase, nothing. You did nothing. He's not your friend. He's jealous of you. I have told you this before. He wants everything you have or want. He's going to fuck and leave Hailey the same way he did me,” she warns.
I can’t grasp how he could do this to me. It hurts. My heart hurts. He slept with my ex-girlfriend, whom I was going to make my fiancée. He always told me that I should break up with her or something of the sort. I always listened to his judgments. I've always thought he had my best interests at heart. I guess I was wrong… wrong about everything. Now Megan is pregnant with P’s baby, and he wants her to pin it on me. What the fuck? I have to run it all over again in my head for it to sink in.
I turn to Megan. I need to know, so I ask, “Did you sleep with P before?”
“What do you mean?” she asks.
“Meg, don't play dumb with me.”
She looks up at me. She doesn't really need to say anything. The answer was written all over her face. “Chase, I'm sorry,” is all she can say.
“How could you? How the fuck could you? I was going to marry you. Don't ever look at me again... ever,” I yell.
“Chase, it wasn't just me. He also slept with Carrie. He told me.”
I start to see red… Blood red. I look at Megan. “Take a look at me. This is me walking out of your life forever. You did this, not me. I can never forgive you for what you've done to me. I thought maybe I could forgive you when it was just that strange guy who I didn't know, but to sleep with my best friend—that takes a lot of guts. Lose my name and number.”