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I rolled my eyes. Not him now too. I laughed out loud and texted him back.
ME: HE KISSES LIKE A LIZARD!
I smiled, closed the chat window, and dialed Ralph's number. Within twenty minutes, I had gone from being in a lizard kissing relationship to being very single once again. I threw my phone down on the dining room table and rested my head on my arm. I lay there listening to the silence of my apartment, debating on crying or getting up and carrying on with my life. When my phone vibrated against the tabletop, I grabbed it and saw a message from Chase.
CHASE: EWWW THAT IS GROSS. BET THAT SORT OF MAKES YOU WISH YOU COULD GO BACK A FEW YEARS AGO AND PICK ME DOESN'T IT. HAHA JUST KIDDING.
I let out a silent laugh, silently wondering about the exact same thing, and plugged my phone into the charging port, made my way down to my bedroom, and got ready for the rest of my day.
2
Chase - Three monthslater
My cell phone let out a shrill ring just as I grabbed my keys from the entryway table. I pocketed my wallet and threw my jacket on just as the phone rang again. I had half a mind to ignore the fucking thing after the day I'd had. I was stressed to the nines about a case I was working on, and then during court this morning I had received a message from Sophie.
As soon as court broke for recess, I listened to her message. She sounded off, and her message was just strange and out of sorts for her, and it left me feeling concerned. I had attempted to call her back, but court had been called back into session, and unfortunately all I could do was quickly message her back and ask her to contact me in a bit. I had yet to hear back from her. The phone rang out again, and this time I pulled it from my pocket and quickly answered it.
"Hello," I barked. I was rushed for time, and even though I was hoping that it was Sophie, I was also hoping this call would be quick.
"You on your way?" my brother, Bryce, questioned.
"Yep, be there in five minutes," I said, grabbing my comfortable old running shoes from the hall closet, slipping my feet into them, and heading out to meet my brothers for our monthly boys’ night. I was looking forward to a night of relaxation, beer, and conversation.
By the time I pulled into the parking lot of Ducky's it was pretty full. I found a spot around back of the restaurant, pulled into it, shut the engine off, and went inside. As soon as I opened the doors, I immediately spotted my three brothers sitting in our usual booth in the back. I was just about to walk over when I heard two familiar voices call out to me. I glanced over at the bar and saw both Carly and Delilah waving at me. I flashed them my sexy grin. "Afternoon, ladies."
"What can we get for you today, Chase?" they both called out in unison.
"How about a cold beer, ladies."
"You got it, sexy," Delilah called back, while Carly winked at me.
My brothers sat watching intently as I waved and smiled to half of the women in the bar before I slid into the booth. Within seconds, our usual waitress, Trinity, set my beer down in front of me. She ran her hand over my shoulder and winked. "Wish you would call sometimes. I would love to see you again. It gets pretty lonely at night," she whispered to me.
I glanced at my brothers, praying that none of them had heard her comment, but I knew they had just from the way they were watching me. I smiled at her and took a swig of my beer, trying to ignore what she had said, but instead of walking away, she left her hand on my shoulder.
"I might give you a call, but honestly, I'm really enjoying my alone time right now, Trin." I could tell from the look on her face that I had pretty much crushed her, but I wasn't going to lie; it wasn't my style. It also wasn't my style to get re-involved with a woman if I had no interest in developing it any further. Trinity had been fun during the time we had been involved, but I wasn't interested in anything more with her. I looked to my brothers, each of them staring back at me.
"What the hell, Chase. You've been with all these women in here and you still have the balls to come in here and flirt that way? Do you have a death wish?" Hunter asked.
"Hey, each one of these ladies were and are well aware that I don't want a relationship. I'm upfront about it with them. I'm also upfront and honest in regards to when it ends, it ends. Trinity is just lonely, and besides, no one picked on you when you had your cock in everything that moved in this town."
"First, I didn't have my cock in everything in this town..."
Carter let out a loud laugh. "Oh please, give it a break, would you." He grabbed his scotch and took a drink. "You had your fair share of this town too."
Hunter flipped Carter the finger as we all laughed, then they both shook their heads and took a drink. Bryce looked at me with a shit-eating grin. "It's all right, guys. One of these days, he'll turn around, meet a woman, and his world will spin upside down. You know how it is."
"Yep, and the Chase Malone we all know and love will forever be changed by one pussy." Hunter let out a laugh loud enough to call attention to our table.
"Fuck you all! I’m not like you guys. No way am I settling down. I'm having way too much fun." I grinned.
"Yep, that sounds familiar. I think I said those exact same words right before I meant Autumn," Hunter murmured. “I also believe I said them right to the both of you.”
"But then you meet someone, fall in love, and none of these girls will even enter your mind," Carter chimed in, setting his glass down.
"What the hell would you know about it? You married pretty much the first women you were ever serious about," Bryce smugly replied.
I shook my head, while Carter and Bryce continued to banter back and forth. I opened the menu and looked it over, even though I already knew what I was going to order: two pounds of hot wings—the same thing I ordered every single time we came here. "You fucks don't know what you are missing," I barked out as the three of them were now involved in one of our usual bickering matches.
