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nine

Chase

I kissed Skylar Hale.

And I want to do it again. And again. And again.

Ethan would kill me if he knew that earlier today. I had my hands and my lips on her. He would kill me, no, first he would torture me, then skin me alive. And he would take his sweet time. He’d detail his plan beforehand, repeating the steps during execution.

No matter how painful and horrible it may sound, I would absolutely kiss her again. Fuck, I would do more than kiss her. I would?—.

“Hey buddy,” Ethan says from behind me.

I turn and quell any dirty thoughts that I was just thinking, and smile at him. “Hey, bro.” We lean into one another and side-hug.

I rarely eat out twice in one day. Thankfully, my meal at lunch was mainly leafy and not something too substantial, as I already knew that we were coming to a steakhouse tonight.

We met at an upscale restaurant called the Fire House, not to be confused with an actual firehouse.

The owners were firemen who loved cooking, and once they retired, they opened up the Fire House and have had the best meat in the state of Tennessee since opening day.

The doors open as we approach, and the maitre d’ requests to take our overcoats. After handing them over, we approach the front of the house, and I give my name to our reserved table.

Patrons ignore us as we weave through the space full of tables. I asked for a secluded table, despite the restaurant’s usual high-profile clientele.

As we’re seated and handed our menus, Ethan looks at me as if he has something that he needs to say, or accuse me of.

I review the drink menu, decide on what I’m getting, and then place it down.

Does he know? My throat closes up in a panic. He can’t know.

“Have you been here before?” Ethan asks.

“I’ve been here a few times. Best meat in town,” I reply.

“Don’t tell that to the chick that I’m dating.” Ethan rolls his eyes.

“You’re dating someone? Not to sound like a chick, but give me details.” I put my hands under my chin and playfully bat my eyes.

“Oh, fuck off. You sound ridiculous.”

“Hi guys, welcome to The Fire House. Have you looked over your drink menus?” our server asks nervously, looking between us.

“I would like two fingers of your best whiskey and a water, please,” Ethan replies.

Our server’s eyes move to me and widen as she clasps her hands tightly against her torso, likely recognizing me.

“I would like a martini, light on the vermouth, with a blue cheese olive, please.”

“Water as well, sir?” she asks.

“Yes, please. Thank you.”

“I’ll bring those immediately; take your time reviewing our menu.”

“So, back to this chick you’re dating.” I probe.

“It’s still too new to talk about. We’ve been hanging out for the past few weeks.” He lifts a shoulder.

“I’ve seen and spoken to you a few times in the past few weeks, and this is the first time I’m hearing about this, tsk, tsk, my friend.”

“Dude, I never know when you’re dating anyone,” he supplies.

Well, that’s most likely because I don’t have too many actual relationships, only flings - nothing lasting. He’s right. The last time he and I talked about anyone that we were dating was in high school for him and college for me.

I smile. That first relationship during my first two years of college shaped my identity. I learned a lot from her throughout the length of our relationship, to juggle two relationships - the one with her and the love that I have for the game.

Through our time together, we encountered the initial struggles of prioritizing time and each other amidst the chaos of college courses.

What ultimately tore us apart were our plans.

Her parents wanted her to go to law school, and my life was baseball.

As much as she pretended to be okay with how much time I devoted to the game, she hated it.

We loved one another, but she didn’t love me enough, and after a few years, she and I went our separate ways.

I believe that she’s now married and pregnant with her first child.

She didn’t get her law degree, but she married a lawyer.

We weren’t meant to be, and I accepted that fairly quickly.

Since then, I haven’t had many relationships that lasted longer than six months. I also haven’t wanted to have one. I remain open to relationships should the right woman come along.

Is Skylar a relationship kind of woman? She mentioned having her heart broken in college. Did that turn her off to long-lasting relationships, or is she someone who likes to keep things chill when dating someone?

She’s an amazing kisser, with her soft lips and the perfect amount of tongue given in a public space. The way she quietly moaned into the kiss made my cock hard right away, and shit, I’m hard right now. Just thinking about it.

Down, cock! Down.

“Earth to Chase. What’s with that idiotic expression on your face? Do you have a new girl?” he teases.

“What? No. Not me. Nah, not really. You know that.”

“But what if someone came along that rocked your socks off and gave you a reason to make the time?”

“Then I would, end of story. If the situation presented itself, then I would be all for it.”

“Danni has some really hot friends.”

“Is Danni your girlfriend?” I put my hands back under my chin and leaned on the table, batting my eyes at him.

“Stop being ridiculous. Yes, Danni is the woman I am currently seeing. But that’s all you get.”

“Nah, I don’t need to be introduced to any of your girlfriends’ friends? Thank you for the offer, though. What are you gonna have?” I ask.

Ethan retrieves his menu; I mirror him, my choice already decided. Glancing across the room, I see a familiar face walking in the same direction as where we’re seated with a brunette. They’re seated, and as he sits, I realize just where I’ve seen him before, and in particular, who I was with.

Skylar thought he was a creep. The sole reason that I leaned in close to her, kissed her, and pretended to be her man. Fuck.

Our server returns to our table with our drinks, then takes our order. Ethan takes a sip of his drink, then spits it back into the cup.

“Um, miss? Excuse me, miss?” he shouts after her, garnering attention from a few close tables, one of which is the creep from earlier.

The server returns, looking meek as she approaches. “Yes, sir?”

“Hi, I ordered whiskey. This is not whiskey.” He claims.

“Oh geez. I’m so sorry. I’ll remedy that quickly, sir.” She takes the glass, then hurries off.

“You didn’t need to make a scene. I don’t want to draw attention.”

“Sorry, man.” He looks out, wincing as he notices that a few tables are looking our way, one of which is Jack’s table.

“Fuck,” I swear under my breath as I see him standing up, dropping his napkin on the table, then striding our way.

Ethan glances up, “Hey man, sorry if I interrupted your date.”

Jack smiles as he shakes his head.

“Man, good to see you again. I thought you looked familiar at lunch, and I was going to ask Skylar about it when I saw her next, but are you Chase Thorne?”