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No, I'd actually quit if I did anything like that. I promised myself I was done with doing dumb things.
From then on, I had to make better choices. That meant staying away from Chase McKinney, or any of the Rapids. It meant staying away from Kris too.
Strangely, that hurt a lot less than it should. Less than the idea of never seeing Chase again. That made my heart ache more than anything Kris ever did.
For a long moment, at yet another red light, I wondered why. Was it that he was a nice guy and a good friend? Was it the mind-blowing sex? Was it the mutual admiration for hamburgers?
I knew the answer to all of those questions. I mentally ticked box D, 'all of the above.'
Somewhere, some time during the last few weeks, I'd let my guard down without knowing. My defensive line was off on the sidelines, not watching who had the ball, and where they were going with it. While they looked away, Chase scored a touchdown.
I sighed. I shouldn't, the timing was terrible, the situation was worse, insurmountable, but I felt what I felt.
In spite of everything, I'd fallen in love with Chase McKinney.
CHAPTER 18
CHASE
I stepped up out of the basement gym and wiped sweat off my face and chest with a towel. I thought I heard Ashley's voice before the front door closed.
The sound of Bernice singing came from the kitchen. I didn't recognise the song, but then again I didn't listen to anything older than a year or two.
"Hey." I stepped into the kitchen.
Bernice was chopping and adding ingredients into the slow cooker.
"Good morning. I'm making you soup. Very nutritious. It'll be ready in time for dinner." She flashed me a smile before rapidly dicing carrots with a huge knife.
"I'm hungry for it already," I said. "Did you see a brunette around?"
"Apart from myself?" she asked. "I met Ashley. Nice girl."
"That's her," I said.
"She left." Bernice lifted the cutting board and dumped the carrots into the soup mix.
I sighed. "I figured." That would explain the closing door. "Did she say anything?"
"She said you have her number," Bernice said. "I said I'd make sure you called her. Or texted, or whatever you young people do these days." She waved the knife in the air for a while before putting it back on the bench.
I eyed her. She was as tech savvy as I was. Maybe more. She knew how to program the speakers in the ceiling. I couldn't even figure out how to change it from her choice—Frank Sinatra.
I could ask her, but then I'd come off looking like a dork. I promised myself I'd look up the answer, but I forgot, like I always did.
"I guess I should shoot her a text." I didn't play the game of sleeping with someone and then ignoring them. Although, I was starting to wonder if what we did was a bad idea. Ashley wanted Kris back, and as far as I knew, he wanted her. So they weren't together. Sleeping with her was almost as bad as what Brandi and Kris did.
I slung my towel around my shoulders and picked up my phone. The screen was full of unread messages from a bunch of people. Some I recognised, some I didn't. None were from Ashley. Or Brandi for that matter. I half expected her to reach out to explain the whole Harvey Danbury thing. I should have known she wouldn't. No way I was going to check her social media. If he wrote the story and ran it, the number of people following her would go through the roof.
I didn't need to see my private life splashed around for the enjoyment of strangers.
Judging by the fact one of the messages was from the Rapids’ publicist, that was exactly what happened.
I swore under my breath and tapped out a quick message to Ashley.
Thanks for last night. Was amazing. Meet for coffee some time?
I had a game tonight. I needed to focus. Being a Friday, I guessed she was working. That explained her hasty exit.
