Surprise Goodbye

At 8:10 p.m., Kate and I walked to the bar. Chase was waiting for us, sitting at a table near the bar. He wasn’t working today. He smiled when he saw us.

I smiled back because I was genuinely happy to see him. That night with him helped me regain my self-esteem and become aware of how desirable I could be.

He showed me my power that night, and I enjoyed it. As we walked to the table, he stood up to greet us. He and Kate just waved to each other while he scooped me up in his arms and kissed me on my temple.

We sat at the table and looked at each other with goofy smiles.

“Shit, Rebecca, you’re so damn beautiful!” Chase said as his eyes roamed over me. I blushed.

“Uh huh, Chase. That’s rude. I know that my best friend is gorgeous. But you know, it kinda hurts…” Kate pouted her lips at him. He looked confused, not knowing what to say, until Kate and I burst out laughing. “I am kidding!”

“Hell, I have become the laughing stock of two eighteen-year-old girls. Great!” He laughed along, relaxing in an instant.

“Sorry, Chase. Really, how are you? Are you ready to leave this place and follow your dreams to the Big Apple?” I asked.

After getting off to a humorous start, our evening passed smoothly. We talked, laughed, and ate some snacks. Chase was the only one who was drinking, but I was okay with it. I enjoyed my time here, in their company.

It felt good. I must say that I will miss him. When I first met him at Adam’s parents’ place, I never thought that Chase would become my friend, but here we are.

Life can be so damn unpredictable, with all its tricks and turns.

We left the bar after midnight. Chase insisted on walking us back home. Kate left us as her house was the first on our way.

She gave me a look before going in, which I quickly interpreted as something like 'Don’t you dare sleep with him', but she was worried over nothing.

Yes, he was handsome, he was kind and gentle, but he wasn’t the one for me. I compared him to Drew, and Drew always won these comparisons.

“Well, here I am.” I stood near the porch of my house. The lights were off, so I was sure that my parents were already asleep. Chase shoved his hands in his jeans’ pockets.

“Yeah. Here you are. Rebecca… are you seeing someone?” He looked at his feet, avoiding my gaze.

“Chase…” I was surprised but wasn’t going to lie to him. “Yes.”

“That’s what I thought. But you know, I am happy if you are happy. If he hurts you, just give me a call. I don’t know what I will do while away in NY…but I want to be able at least to help you with my words. I know I give a good pep talk.”

“Thank you. I don’t know what I did to deserve such caring guys around me. You will be my knight in shining armor from New York. You have no idea how happy I am for you. You’re following your dreams, and I’m so damn proud of you! You’re an excellent friend.”

“Heck. Everything was very nice until you labeled me a ‘friend.’ I don’t know why, but I wanted to be more with you. While I was perfectly aware that with a long-distance thing, I couldn’t be there for you… There is something about you that makes men go crazy.”

“You’re a good guy, Chase. I am glad to have you in my life. I hope you know that.”

“Yeah. Who knows what will await us in the future.”

“Exactly,” I murmured.

We fell silent, just standing in front of one another. He lifted his hand, then dropped it to his side. He hesitated, while I thought about the men in my life.

I was raised by a mom who always told me that I was a gorgeous girl, while my father was always shushing her. He taught me that looks weren't the most important thing for women. Funny, right?

I saw guys looking at me, noticing me, but that's all. They never approached me, and only studied me from a distance. It gave me the wrong impression about myself and made me doubt myself.

So when Adam started flirting with me, I was head over heels for him. I was ready to give him everything, I was so desperate. But look at me now.

After being cheated on by one moron, now I have three very different, but gorgeous men who care about me. It's a mind-blowing thought.

“Rebecca, I think... I think I should go. Or I'm afraid I will say something stupid. May I hug you?”

“Of course!” I took a step closer and wrapped my arms around his neck. His hands immediately went to my waist.

I hid my face in the hollow of his neck, drowning in his musky scent. It had a woody aroma, but it was very pleasant. We stayed in an embrace for some time until he released me, stepping back. Then he leaned back and gave me a quick peck on my lips.

“Sorry, couldn’t resist. Well, not sorry, actually. It’s just your lips are so kissable… Goodnight, Rebecca. Don’t forget about me, your old friend Chase. I will need your support while I get settled in New York. Call me, okay?”

“Goodnight, Chase. I will. I am afraid you will be sick of me.”

“Never.” He laughed and walked away from my house.

I studied him for some time. He was much more relaxed than he had been when we first reached my house. I took my phone from my purse to look at the time and saw a missed call from Drew. I called back immediately without even bothering to check what time it was.

“Hey, Drew,” I said as I heard someone picking up the phone. “I'm sorry, I didn’t hear you calling. How are you?”

“Girl, didn’t you see the time? It’s 2 a.m.!” It wasn’t Drew. It was a woman’s voice that I didn’t recognize. What the hell?

“Who are you?”

“Lexie. And who are you?” The woman was calm while I was starting to boil inside.

“Rebecca.”

“Ah... little girl. Drew told me about you.”

“Where is he?”

“Why should I tell you anything?”

“I am...” I closed my mouth. Who was this woman? Why did she have Drew’s phone?

“You are what? Shit, girl, you have no reason for waking me up. What the hell? Drew is asleep. Call him tomorrow. Night!”

With that, she ended the call. Only the late hour stopped me from screaming. I was pissed off, and I squeezed my phone so hard that my knuckles became white. Without thinking, I wrote a message to Logan.

Becca

Thank you so much for your talk with Drew. I don’t know who Lexie is, but he could easily go to Hell with her.

I tossed my phone back into my purse and started climbing the stairs to the front door. My phone started vibrating. It was Logan.

“Rebecca?”

“Uh huh.” I didn’t want to say more because he would understand how angry I was.

“Listen, I talked with Drew. He desperately wanted to see you afterwards.”

“Yeah, so desperately that he went to another woman. How convenient…”

“Oh God, you're both driving me insane… Lexie is the bar owner. She's around thirty-five or something.”

“Okay, so now Drew is sleeping with some older woman. Just great!”

“For crying out loud! Don't be so childish! We went to her apartment. It's right above the bar, we sat and drank with her. She has known us since high school. Drew forgot his phone at her place.”

“How do you know that? Maybe he stayed at her place…”

“Rebecca, please. I drank more than enough, my head is ready to explode, and now you're adding fuel to the fire.”

“But…”

“No. I brought him home. Tim helped me. Your boyfriend wanted to call you again, but we discovered that his phone went missing. I called, and Lexie answered. She told me not to worry, that he could come and get his phone in the morning.”

Everything fell into place. I felt ashamed. “I am so sorry, Logan…”

“Nah... I am your friend. So it’s kind of my duty to calm you down. But please, don’t make a habit of it.”

“I won’t. I promise.”

“How was your day?”

“Very good. I spent time with my parents, went to see Chase.”

“And?”

“Nothing. He walked me home. That’s all.”

“Was he okay with being only your friend?” I heard the sound of rustling sheets. I guess Logan was curled up in his bed.

“Yes. He was. He’s moving to NY, so what is there to discuss? Are you in bed?”

“Yes. No naughty thoughts, girl. You have a boyfriend now.”

“Logan,” I laughed. He made me feel calm and reassured. I had faith in his words, trusting him completely. “I am sorry. You didn’t deserve to be woken up in the middle of the night just because of my stupidity.”

“It’s rule number three. It’s okay. But try not to overuse it. I had enough of your boyfriend today.”

“You’re talking about Drew like he isn’t your best friend.”

“When he acts like an asshole, I can’t call him that.”

“Funny. But the asshole can be my boyfriend.”

“Rebecca,” he almost growled.

“Sorry. I couldn’t resist. You’re too easy to tease.”

“God. Remind me why I wanted to be friends with you? Except for the fact that you’re gorgeous.”

“Because... I don’t know. I guess it’s a safer option for us.”

“True.”

“Listen, Logan. I'm sorry for snapping at you and for waking you up.”

“I told you, it’s okay. Why aren't you in bed yet?”

“Because someone who is already in his bed is talking to me, and I don’t want to wake up my parents.”

“So it’s my fault now?” Logan laughed, and I smiled; it was so good to talk to him. We missed a lot with this shit surrounding our relationship, while we could have been friends from the very beginning. We were good at it.

“Goodnight, Logan.”

“Goodnight, Becca.”

I ended the call and finally opened the door. I silently snuck inside and tiptoed to my room. After washing my face and changing into my PJs, I fell onto my bed and drifted off to sleep, smiling.

I felt the anticipation. I was sure that Drew would call me in the morning. Or so I thought.