Second Chances

by Younker, Tracy

  I take a deep breath and glance at the table, looking for a striped ball somewhere near a pocket and the white ball. They all look impossible to me, so I just move to the other side of the table and try to look like I have a clue what I'm doing. I can't lean over too far because I am very aware of the shorter than short skirt Brynn has me wearing.

  “Here, like this,” Chase's voice comes from right beside my ear, and I startle at his proximity for the second time tonight. He puts his hands over mine and moves them slightly down the cue. I can feel the muscles of his arms working all along mine. The entire length of his body is pressed up against the back of mine and I can feel every inch of him. I know without a doubt now that he is enjoying this. The evidence is firmly pressed against my backside. I glance over my shoulder and a smile cracks on my face as he tries to show me how to line up the shot and move the stick. I'm not really paying any attention to the game. Not when he is leaned so close behind me. “I think I've had a dream just like this. . .” he whispers so close to my ear that I can actually feel the faintest brush of his lips. He steps back and I am instantly cold. The difference is a shock and somehow I actually knock the ball he helped me with into the hole. I turn around, excited, and throw my arms around his neck. I freeze for a moment, but then remember that this is perfect for Lexi to see.

  Griff shoots, and Brynn moves over beside me when it's Chase's turn again. She leans in to ask for my next song choice, having figured out that Chase had gotten 'I Won't Give Up' played for me. I tell her and she excuses herself to the ladies' room. Chase is on a roll and sinks three in a row, then it's my turn again.

  I scan the table for a second and move closer to the cue ball, leaning over slightly, but it isn't quite far enough to reach. I quickly glance around again as I stand back up, hoping there is another ball I can go for instead, so I won't end up showing my panties to the whole bar full of people. I feel Chase's body up against mine again, and I welcome his warmth. “Isn't that skirt a little too short?” he whispers, the heat of his breath a little lower along my neck now. How the hell is he reading me like this? He's figured out why I'm hesitating on the most obvious shot. “I won't let anyone see what's mine. Take your shot,” he whispers. I think I might have even closed my eyes against the words gliding along my skin. I'm sure that he can somehow hear my racing heart even over all the noise in here. It's a little possessive, but his words ignite something deep inside me. I lean forward again, knowing that he is behind me now. I don't know how I'm going to make this shot; my hands are visibly shaking. I've never been nervous around Chase before. We had clicked instantly and had become friends right away. He is easy to talk to and never puts me down or makes me feel awkward. It's so strange to feel so nervous around him now. He has so much power over me. . .the power to break my heart.

  Naturally I miss the shot. I can't seem to stop thinking about what he said to me. He thinks of me as 'his' and maybe that should bother me, but instead it brings a warm, tingling sensation to my whole body.

  Brynn returns and I grab my drink from the nearby table. I'm feeling a little overheated. I sneak a glance toward where Lexi had been perched, and she is still watching like a hawk. She's getting a good show now, and I can't help but smile. Maybe Brynn is right and I just need to show Lexi that she can't rattle me, even though in truth, she definitely has.

  Chase and I narrowly win the game and have to get the next round of drinks. We make sure to stay to one end of the bar far away from where Lexi is feigning interest in the man beside her, all the while keeping her eyes locked on Chase.

  “You're not half bad,” Chase says to me, referring to our game of pool.

  I chuckle. “I'm terrible, Chase! You totally carried me. I think I got one ball in? You don't have to be nice. I can handle the bitter truth,” I tell him and bite my bottom lip when I realize what I've said. I'm getting confused. Am I supposed to be upset with Chase or am I supposed to be flirting with him? I think I am weaving back and forth between the two. We carry the drinks over to the table where Brynn and Griff are waiting.

  “Where's Max?” I ask, noticing that he isn't subjecting us to his PDA anymore.

  “He's out dancing,” Brynn replies.

  “How about Parker?” Griff asks, glancing around. “I haven't seen him since we first got here.”

  I shrug. I haven't seen him either, but I've been pretty preoccupied. I feel Brynn elbow me in the ribs and I grimace and look at her with a scowl. Then I recognize the song playing, Eminem's 'Love The Way You Lie,' the one I had her ask for and I inadvertently glance over at Chase. He has seen her nudge me.

  “I love the way you lie; I can't tell you what it really is

  I can only tell you what it feels like

  And right now it's a steel knife in my windpipe

  I can't breathe but I still fight while I can . . .”

  He closes his eyes and hangs his head a bit. Guilt washes over me. Am I still upset with him? Why had I agreed to come here tonight? I glance over and Lexi is still watching us. I guess if I hadn't come, I may have given her the chance to be in his face without me. Brynn must sense my mood and drags me out onto the dance floor as the song begins.

  “You're doing awesome, Haylee.” She practically shouts as we dance. It's so much louder over here. “I know it's hard, but Lexi is starting to look downright frustrated!” I look over at Lexi then, and she is looking at where Chase and Griff stand. Brynn and I let go for a little while and just let our bodies move to the music. This kind of dancing I don't mind. It's so free and expressive, not all stuffy and controlled like at Madmae Eileen's. Brynn and I are a hit; we are surrounded by guys trying to move in and be the next to dance behind us. I just close my eyes and listen to the beat, wanting to forget everything for a few minutes.

  The song changes once again, and Brynn is locked onto some guy who'd been dancing with her. I suddenly feel warm hands on either side of my waist. I gasp and steal a glance over my shoulder. Relief washes over me quickly followed by heat as Chase pulls me back against the front of his body, leaving me facing away from him, and begins to move with me. I lift my arms up over my head and tuck them back behind his neck. I hear what sounds like a growl coming from his throat. He lets his hands travel down over my hips and back up again, just barely grazing the sides of my breasts.

  He leans his head down beside me and whispers, “This one is also for you,” The music begins and softly he sings the words in my ear again. The song is 'I Will Wait' by Mumford and Sons:

  “Well, I come home, like a stone

  And I fell heavy into your arms

  These days of darkness, which we've known

  Will blow away with this new sun

  But I kneel down; wait for now

  And I'll kneel down; know my ground

  And I will wait; I will wait for you. . .”

  I close my eyes and listen to him telling me that he will wait for me no matter how long it takes. I turn around in his arms so that I'm facing him, and he pulls me close as we continue to move.

  “What are you up to, Hayles?” he asks softly, his lips brushing along my ear. “Why did you want to come tonight? What's with all the songs sending me the message that you're still upset, but at the same time your body is telling me that you still want me?”

  I sigh. Chase isn't stupid, and I had known he might be confused when Brynn was telling me about her plan earlier in the evening. He has played his part now for Lexi, so I feel like I should tell him the truth. I don't want to lie to him when I'm asking him not to lie to me. Now is a good time to talk to him. We are essentially alone in a sea of swaying bodies and Lexi won't be able to hear any of it.

  “Brynn had the idea that we should all go out because she suspected that Lexi was watching us. If she showed up, that would pretty much confirm it, and Brynn wanted me to be sure and show Lexi that we are still okay, that her stunts haven't worked,” I start. I feel so terrible telling him all of this. I feel like he should have just been in on it from the beginning
. “Sure enough, Lexi appears at the very place we're at! I'm sorry that we didn't tell you.”

  I realize that we are moving very slowly to fast-paced music as people are bumping and grinding all around us. Chase tilts his head to the side and looks suspiciously at me. “So, this,” he motions with his hand that is still holding mine, between us, “has all been an act?”

  “Yes. . .no. . . I. . .” How do I put this into words that aren't going to hurt him any more than he already is? “It started out that way, but Chase, I thought Brynn had lost her mind and I did not want to be out tonight, but some of the things you've said and done. . . “

  “I can't believe this, Haylee,” he says, his voice angry now, and my heart sinks. “I'll admit I was surprised that you agreed to come out after all we'd been through, and I was confused by the way you were acting. It seemed like everthing was just suddenly okay, even though we hadn't had a chance to talk again and you were kissing me and flirting with me, but that was all a show for Lexi? None of that was real?”

  I squeeze my eyes closed for a moment. “No. . .” he steps back away from me and my body feels the loss. “I mean YES!” I try to correct. Some of it had been real after all. I may have tried to deny that to myself out of hurt, but I still love Chase and want desperately to be with him.

  “Don't you realize that Lexi means nothing to me?!” he shouts, and I cringe because I've never seen Chase this angry with me before. We hardly even argued as kids. “I couldn't care less where she shows up as long as she stays away from you and away from us. You didn't need to go through all the trouble because she's not even worth it. You are the only one that has ever held my heart, but you still don't believe the things I told you this morning about what really happened, do you?” His face is full of hurt, doubt, and disbelief, and I'm crying now.

  I watch in surprise as he turns away from me. “I do,” I cry as I reach for his arm, but he's already swallowed by the crowd. “I do believe you,” I say quietly then, because I know that he can't hear me. Coming here has forced me to see that Chase is still the same boy that I remember, and I trusted him completely back then and I know now that I can once again. There's no doubt in my mind that Lexi has orchestrated everything out of jealousy. Now I need to find Chase and let him know how sorry I am and that tonight has opened my eyes to the truth.

  Chapter 27 - Chase

  I walk away from Haylee in a daze. I can't believe that tonight has been nothing but an act. All night I've thought we are connecting again and that she finally believes that I had nothing to do with Lexi kissing me or the coke she must have stashed in my truck. I was so happy to know that we had gotten past that obstacle and that we would be stronger as a result. I feel like a complete fool.

  There is still so much that I have to tell her and I don't know if she will ever want to hear it now. She has made it clear with the songs she's played for me and her confession on the dance floor that she isn't ready to move forward yet. What if she never is? What if Lexi had ruined things for me and Haylee for good? I can't stand that thought. I can't even imagine my life without Haylee in it now. I'm going to have to cool down and just keeping trying. Maybe tonight has been an epic fail, but there is always tomorrow. I can't let her go like this.

  I make it back over to the table and find Griff is the only one here. I flag down the waitress and order two shots.

  “What happened?” Griff asks carefully.

  “It was all a lie,” I mumble and sit down on one of the stools. “This whole night was a lie.”

  “What do you mean by that?” he asks me as my shots arrive. Griff's driving tonight, so I knock them back one after another.

  “Haylee's been playing me for a fool all night.” The shots are warm and immediately numbing. “She only came out tonight to put on a show for Lexi. Everything that I thought was strange. . .there was a good reason for that. I thought she believed what I told her this morning, but it was never about that. Nothing was real!” I slam my fist down on the table and the glasses clank together loudly.

  Griff drops his head down onto his forearms and rolls his head from side to side. “I'm sorry, man. I never thought of it that way.”

  I narrow my eyes at him. “You knew?”

  “It's not as bad as you're thinking,” he starts and my brain is swimming in anger now. Griff had been in on this too! Un-fucking-believable! “Brynn just thought it would give Haylee something positive to do tonight if we all went out and showed Lexi that she couldn't mess with you two. There was never malicious intent, man. We never meant to hurt you. And in all honesty, I think she stopped acting and was really feeling what you were seeing. Brynn and I were actually talking about it. Haylee was feeling terrible about the songs she chose and she had wanted to let you in on the plan from the beginning. It's clear that she still loves you. She'll come around.”

  I have to admit I feel slightly better after hearing this, but I still can't believe my Haylee has done something like this. I sigh. It reminds me an awful lot of the pranks she and I would play on people. I always came up with the ridiculous ideas and she always went along with them. I guess she has learned this from me, so I need to back off some.

  “I also think she knows that you're telling the truth about it all, and she just needed some time to cool off and process everything,” Griff replies, and suddenly Brynn and Max swoop in, sweaty from dancing.

  “Anybody seen Parker yet?” Griff asks, glancing around again.

  “Actually, yeah. I saw him briefly near the edge of the dance floor a few songs ago. It looked like he was talking to Haylee,” Max replies as he tips his beer back.

  Great, Haylee and I get into a fight and Parker swoops in. That's just what I didn't need.

  “Where's Haylee?” Brynn asks looking right at me.

  “Haylee told Chase what was going on,” Griff informs her.

  “It was completely unnecessary, Brynn,” I tell her, holding my hand up for the waitress again. I'm still feeling far too much. “Lexi means nothing to me and I don't give a shit where she is as long as she leaves us alone. You didn't have to put Haylee up to all that. Haylee is the one that I love and what you guys did. . .”

  The waitress returns with another drink for each of us, and I decide to just drop it.

  “Where is Haylee then?” Brynn asks again, looking back at the dance floor. It is strange that she isn't with Brynn at the very least. I was upset when I walked away from her, but I hadn't meant to just leave her alone out there.

  “Max said he saw her on the dance floor with Parker,” Griff replies and I cringe. I don't even like thinking about them dancing together. Is she going to try and make me jealous now?

  “I'll go look around,” I reply as I swallow the rest of my drink and walk back toward the dance floor. I need to talk to her anyway.

  Chapter 28 - Haylee

  I'm about to step away from the frenzy of bodies around me to go in search of Chase when someone comes up behind me and wraps their arms fully around my waist. At first I think it's Chase coming back. Well, I guess I hope it is, but as I turn my head slightly, the smell of alcohol and smoke assaults my nose. I wrinkle my face at Parker behind me.

  “Hey there, Haylee,” he practically slurs. I spin around and look at him as he still keeps his arms around me. His eyes are heavy-lidded and glassy. He reeks of smoke, and he looks awful.

  “Parker, are you stoned?” I ask him, irritated, squinting my eyes up at him and wishing he'd get his hands off of me. He holds up his thumb and first finger close together to indicate 'just a little' and I shake my head. Try 'just a lot!' I think to myself.

  “I've told you before,” I say firmly as I tug backward out of his grasp. “I don't want to be around you when you're high!”

  “Just one dance,” he pleads as he grabs my arm to keep me from walking away like he knows I'm about to. I don't even have a chance to say no when he pulls me up against him and begins moving slowly to the fast beat pounding around us. His clothes and hair smell even worse up c
lose and I just want to get away from him. I don't understand the allure of drugs and ending up like this. Yeah, I drink sometimes, but it just isn't the same thing to me.

  “So, you and Chase having another lovers' quarrel?” he asks too closely to my ear for my comfort. Has he been watching us? I try to pull away, but his arms are like a vise grip around me. “I just don't get it; I don't get what you see in him. You and Chase, you just don't belong together. All you do is argue and hurt each other. He leaves without a word for years, he comes back, and you just run right back into his arms. Then he leaves again, brings a chick back with him, and you catch him kissing her, and yet you're still hung up on him. I just don't get it.”

  “It's not like that at all, Parker! We can talk about it sometime when you're not stoned. I'm going back to the table,” I say, pushing off from his chest and ducking beneath his arm in order to extract myself from his grasp. I'm pissed off that he even said that crap to me! I'd have liked to slap him across the face, but I doubt he would have even felt it in his condition. For all I know, Chase could have taken off by now, and I need to find him.

  “Stop walking away from me, Haylee,” Parker's voice is right beside me again as he grabs my upper arm and tugs me roughly off the dance floor and into the hallway where the restrooms are located.

  “Parker! What the hell do you think you're doing?” I shout at him as he aggressively pushes my body up against a wall in the dimly lit hallway with his own body. “Get the hell away from me!” There are only a few people in the hallway at the time, and even though a few of them turn to look at us, no one says anything. They probably see spats like this between guys and girls at these places all the time. My tone and words don't even phase them.

  “Stop fighting it, Haylee,” Parker practically whispers, his face getting closer to mine. His heated, alcohol-laced breath skates across my face. I struggle to push him away from me, but his entire body weight is up against mine. I've never seen him like this before. I would guess that he is possessed or something. I reach my hands up and push firmly against his chest, but he doesn't so much as budge.