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ChapterEleven
Chase
Hallie cleared her throat and looked over at me before pushing her glasses up on her nose. I loved her glasses. She was beautiful in a quiet way, the kind of woman who didn't draw too much attention.
All I had to do was look into her eyes, the swirl of green and gold, let my eyes trail over the freckles dusting her cheeks and the way her hair caught glimmers of light, and my heart pounded harder. Her lips were a little fuller on the bottom and a hint of lopsided. I loved how whenever she smiled, it started on one corner and spread to the next with a subtle dimple. So much of her was subtle. The more time I spent with her, the more I noticed new details. Yet I couldn't forget our night together, which had been anything but subtle. That night with her had been like trying to hold a living flame in my arms.
There was a boldness to her that I sensed she rarely showed. “What did you want that night?” I surprised myself by asking.
She blinked, and that very smile spread from one corner to the other. My cells tightened in anticipation—not for her answer, although Ididwant to know the answer—but for what might happen, hopefully sometime in our future.
“Like I told you, it's a fluke that I got pregnant. Not impossible.”
“Clearly not,” I interjected dryly.
“I think I told you this, but I had just left an appointment with my doctor. I was supposed to schedule surgery. That same day, an ex who I'm friends with—” She paused, adding, “He's married.”
“Does that matter?” I prompted.
“No. We’ve been best friends since middle school. We tried to date. We joke that I was the one who helped him figure out he preferred men.”
“How is that?”
“Well, we were friends. He figured if he would fall for anybody, it would be me. But nothing. We tried kissing once.” She rolled her eyes. “We couldn’t even go through it. For me, it felt like I was about to kiss my brother. Anyway, he and his husband are having a baby via surrogate, and she's already pregnant.”
“That's great, right?”
“Yes, of course. Itisgreat. I know this might sound selfish and weird, but it was hard to realize I didn’t think I could have a baby and wonder why it was so easy for someone else. Or that's what I thought.” She paused, her lips pressing together as she shook her head. “It just feels really selfish. But anyway, I heard that news within a day of learning that I probably needed to make this decision.”
“But you got pregnant,” I couldn't help but interject.
“Yeah, but I didn’t know that might happen, and the chances were incredibly slim. Even this pregnancy won’t change the state of my reproductive organs. It's a mess in there.”
“Really? I admit I don’t understand all of it.”
She nodded. “I've already had surgery twice. I have stage four endometriosis. To make a long story short, I was in a weird mood, and I was feeling reckless. I just decided I was going to do something crazy.”
“Having a one-night stand with me is crazy?” I prompted lightly.
Pink bloomed on her cheeks. She smiled slightly again, fiddling with a bracelet on her wrist. “For me, yes. Not that you're crazy, but just I'm not usually that reckless. Look where it got me. We were careful. I’ve definitely learned nothing is 100 percent.”
“So I recall from sex ed in high school,” I quipped with a somber nod and a wink.
Hallie burst out laughing when a server arrived to take our order.
“What can I get you two to drink?” the server asked.
“No, thanks. Just water for me,” Hallie said.
“I'll stick with water too.” Normally, I would get a beer, but Hallie couldn't drink.
The server told us he'd be back with those and left the specials menu with us. As soon as he was out of earshot, she looked over at me. “You can have a beer, you know.”
“I know. Solidarity, you know?”
“Chase, you hardly know me.”
“Hmm, I might argue the point on that,” I teased.
