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I giggled at how difficult she was being. “And I told him that his happiness means everything to me, too. I would never hold him back from doing something he wanted to do… unless it involves panty-dropping.” I shot him the death stare for good measure. “Think about it. If you knew Brody’s dream was to do something, you would never want to be the one to stand in his way. That’s the kind of shit that builds resentment.”
Brody nodded silently.
“Does that mean you’re considering coming with me?” Chase asked in a quiet voice.
“I’m considering the pros and cons of each option.”
“That’s better than a straight up no,” Brody offered. He stood, tossing his jacket over his shoulder. “Come on, babe. Let’s give these two some time to discuss everything.”
She stood in a huff, thrusting her arms angrily into her jacket. “Fine. But once you decide you’re running off to California, don’t decide that you’re leaving immediately. You have to give me fair warning.”
“What’s fair?” Chase asked, curious.
“At least a week!”
I covered my ears. “Not again! My ears were just recovering.”
She made a face at me, and swung the door open.
Brody took my hand, pulling me off the couch to hug me. “Make the best decision for you. Not Shelly, and not Chase. You deserve to be happy, so follow your happiness. Do you hear me?”
I nodded, wrapping my arms tightly around his midsection. “I would miss you, too, you know.”
His cheeks pushed up into his Cheshire cat grin. “Ditto, Adams. You were my very first friend here. Don’t forget about me.”
I waved goodbye as they trotted down the stairs, and closed the door behind them.
Chase heaved a loud sigh. “Think Shelly will ever forgive me if I take you away?”
“I’m not sure. That girl knows how to hold a grudge.”
“So… which way are you leaning towards?”
I laid my head in his lap, hanging my legs over the arm of the couch. “I keep imagining myself standing at a fork in the road. I have two paths ahead of me, and either way I get to be with you.”
Chase twirled a lock of my curls around his finger, listening quietly.
“If I go down one path, you will get to have the experience of a lifetime, and fulfill your true potential. I will get to watch you make your dreams come true. In turn, that will fill me with so much joy. This path, however, is absolutely terrifying for me. I’d be moving to a place where I know nothing, and no one. I can’t see my future down this path.”
“And the other path?”
“The other path, I can see my future very clearly. We would work at the shop, and stay close to your family and my friends. We’d get to watch Khloe grow up before our eyes. Your mom wouldn’t be so lonely. I know I’d be happy, because I’m already happy now with the way things are going for us.”
“But?”
“But… there would always be that nagging feeling in my gut. The kind of feeling that wakes you from a dead sleep ten years down the line, when you ask yourself if your life could have been more. I don’t want to have that feeling, and worse, I don’t want you to have it.”
Chase nodded as he ran his fingers through his hair. “Those are the same questions I have racing around in my mind.”
“Want to know what I keep thinking about? That Robert Frost poem.”
A smile crept onto his face. “The one about the road less traveled?”
“Yup. That terrifying untraveled road.”
“You did say you wanted to live life to the fullest.”
Just then, a knock came at my door.
