AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I rinsed the liquor and sweat off my body. We began the night at Bob's Cars, where we caught up with our parent friends who hired a babysitter for a few hours to celebrate our birthday before heading home at nine. Then, we’d made our way to the bar, a nondescript brownstone downtown that probably had a name, but everyone called the bar. Smokers packed the back porch, a cloud surrounded them. Inside, sticky counters and wobbly tables left me coated in booze and dirt.
I dried myself off and padded to the bedroom in a towel. Despite my raging hangover, I had no intention of turning up at the diner unwashed, but I also didn’t deserve to wear the birthday dress I’d sewed last month until I could put on a full face of makeup and accessorize, at least. I ran a hand over the pink tulle and lovingly hand-stitched pearl buttons before pulling away and selecting a simple blue A-line dress instead.
I swiped on a light layer of makeup and tied back my hair, covering the worst of my bed head with a scarf that matched my dress. I hurried downstairs without checking the time. Definitely longer than twenty minutes.
“Did you fix it?” I asked, noting the absence of any tools on the counter.
Benny stood in front of the coffee maker, a reusable cup in his hand and a second on the counter beside him. I grabbed the second coffee and took a sip as I turned to the sink.
“I said twenty minutes,” he sighed.
I turned the faucet on and off again, the steady drip gone. “You’re a wonder, Benny.”
“I’m a subpar handyman, but thanks. Now, please, breakfast.”
“Fine,” I said with a grin, pinching his cheek and brushing a kiss over his cheek on my way to the door. I stopped short, spotting a post-it note-sized splash of pink on the fridge. “What’s that?”
“You don’t remember?” Benny raked a hand through his black curly hair, his chin dimpling with a grin.
“You know I don’t,” I responded pertly, flouncing over to the fridge. “Marry Chase Kids?”
“That was your birthday wish.” Benny sidled up beside me, nudging my shoulder with his.
“If we’re talking about Chase Chase, I think I’m a little too old to marry his future kids. Or did I say I want to marry Chase and have his kids?”
“Ah.” He drawled out the sound, his faint mountain accent growing stronger as his long fingers curled into his hair. “Not sure. I think you wanted to marry and have kids, Chase being a possible candidate for their father.”
“All these big plans and he didn’t even show up to my birthday,” I joked, feigning levity that quickly crumbled. I frowned, running the pad of my thumb over the scratchings. “Do you think it’s a sign?”
“Maybe a sign that we should stop drinking so much.”
“I think it’s a sign,” I decided with a nod. The idea had been percolating at the back of my brain. Barely an idea, more of a feeling. Something was wrong. Something had to change. Time was running out.
“Eat breakfast and make life-changing decisions later, okay?” He pulled the note from my hand and set it back under the magnet.
I tilted my head, confused why a hastily scrawled note had put him out of sorts.
“Do you really hate Chase that much?”
He sighed. “I don’t hate Chase. I don’t even know him. It’s probably not a good idea to make drunken lifetime decisions about a guy who couldn’t even bother to show up for your birthday, though.”
“It’s just a birthday. Chase had something come up.”
Benny raised an eyebrow. “Seems to happen a lot.”
I’d been dating Chase for over a year. Although, dating was a bit too strong of a word for what we’d been doing. Chase had wanted to date me in the beginning, but he traveled for work and I had a busy schedule. Over time, he’d stopped asking for more from me and I hadn’t had to turn him down, both of us happier with that arrangement.
And now, not so much.
I read the subtext of his comment. Ben wouldn’t talk shit about Chase, but didn’t like him either. I blamed their careers, mostly. Ben spent more time with animals than with people. He had an effortless confidence built on long solo treks through the woods that rubbed guys like Chase the wrong way. Guys who relied on reading others to make a sale and advance their career.
Chase could never get a pulse on Ben. Ben thought Chase was an insincere jerk, more interested in appearing well-liked than being well-liked. And Ben had a point. But Chase was great in bed, happy with our arrangement, and looked good in a suit. We met up infrequently enough that the sex always felt fun and new.
But did I actually think a relationship with Chase would work? Only one way to find out.
“What was your wish?” I asked, breaking the awkward tension between us and ignoring Ben’s comment altogether. “I don’t see yours anywhere.”
His cheeks turned red as he took a sip of coffee. “I actually didn’t have one this year.”
