Second Chances (24 page)

“What if she's not even there?”

“I'm telling you she will be, but if she's not, we enjoy a fun night out without her drama,” she replies calmly, still twirling pieces of my hair around the curling iron. She has this all planned out and I'm going to be her pawn tonight. Do I think that this will work? Not really, but I know there is no getting out of it so I'm going to have to smile and play along.

“Do the guys know about your little plan?”

“Just Griff. I called him from work. He thinks it's brilliant, of course.” Of course!

“Is he planning to tell Chase?”

“Hell no! Chase's reactions have to be genuine, so he can't know,” she explains and I feel bad for him. Or maybe he's better off not knowing because I am freaking out inside.

“Don't you think it's going to be pretty obvious that Chase and I aren't exactly, well, cozy?” I couldn't even let him touch me this morning! Except he had held me while I cried and I hadn't turned him away. It had felt nice for the few brief moments to be in his arms again. I had needed that. I just wish I could block the image in my head of him and Lexi kissing, and the little white bag in his glovebox.

“That's the easy part, silly! You just act like everything is fine!” she insists as though it's just as easy as saying it. I really don't know if I am capable of that or what Chase's reaction will be if I just come up and kiss him suddenly, when I couldn't even stand to let him touch me this morning.

“Don't you think this is going to confuse the hell out of Chase? When I show up acting like everything is fine out of nowhere?”

She just shrugs. “I really don't think he's going to give it too much thought, because he isn't going to be able to think straight whenever he looks at you.” I feel terrible for Chase right now, and know that I shouldn't since it's his own fault that I'm in this predicament as it is. I don't want to toy with him though, and I don't want him to think that everything is just suddenly okay again either, because I'm still not sure what to think. I'll be walking a tightrope tonight.

My phone chimes then and I glance down at it without moving my head. It's a text from Chase:

R u ok with going out 2night like this or is Brynn bullying u? I won't go if u don't want me 2.

I sigh. He already knows that it's strange that I've agreed to go out. How does Brynn possibly think I can pull the rest of this off? I feel a warmth growing in the pit of my belly. He's worried about me and willing to sacrifice a night out with the guys in order to make sure I feel comfortable. And I'm going to be playing him. . .

Not my 1
st
choice but I'll manage the bully. U r fine

C U later then

He's already thinking that this means something different than it truly does. How have I gotten myself so far into this mess? Better yet, how am I going to pull myself back out?

I could have smacked Griff upside the head when he suggested that we go out tonight. I have zero desire to be out partying tonight. I feel sick about how everything has gone down the last two days, and I want nothing more than to talk to Haylee again. To find out how she's doing, what she's feeling, if she's okay.

Then when Griff, knowing that I'm not going to agree, tells me that everyone is going, even
Haylee
, my chin just about hits the floor. I accuse him of lying to me to get me out, but he swears that she and Brynn were across the street getting ready right then. This is strange. I know I don't feel like going out, and I'm fairly certain that Haylee feels even less like it. Something's up. But I'm not going to turn down the chance to be in the same place as Haylee tonight, so I hurry up to my temporary bedroom to get ready. I wonder if Haylee just wants to move on now and forget about me. Maybe this is her way of getting back out in the world, meeting someone. Over my dead body is that going to happen! More than likely, Brynn is forcing her to do this. I take a chance and text Haylee to see if she is truly okay with this. I hate the thought of her just going along for Brynn and being miserable all night. 

Well, her text confirms that this is, of course, Brynn's idea, but that she seems okay going along with it. I smile at the phone with her picture on it. The picture is from the morning I had to leave four weeks ago and she is wearing those ridiculously sexy shorts and peeking at me over her shoulder. It is right after we'd spent the night in each others' arms and everything had felt right in the world for the first time in a long time. I find myself hanging onto the fact that she has even texted me back. That has to be a good thing. Maybe tonight will help us out and I can find a few minutes alone with her to talk or at least get a feel for where her thoughts are at.

I head downstairs where Griff, Max, and Parker are hanging around the island in the kitchen.

“Glad you're back again, man!” Max greets, and Parker just nods to me. If I have to guess, he isn't so happy that I'm back.

“Since the girls aren't here yet, I'm gonna grab a beer,” Parker announces and helps himself to Griff's fridge. 

“Actually, they're driving themselves. Brynn texted me a few minutes ago and said they'd meet us there,” Griff says and grabs the keys to his truck. Parker shrugs and brings the beer along with him. We won't need to take Max's Tahoe if the girls are driving separately, and Griff had offered to drive earlier anyway. The place we're going to opened up after I'd left for Califonia four years ago, so I have no idea what to expect. Griff has told me briefly about it, and it sounds like your typical small town club which is fine by me. I am done with everything California. The place is right in downtown Wake Forest, so parking is tough to come by. Griff ends up parking a few lots down and we walk back up the street. It's a nice night anyway and the street is crawling with people. There are a bunch of bars, shops, and restaurants in this area. 

It's just about 9:00 so things are pretty tame outside for now. There's a bouncer at the door and I wonder how Brynn and Haylee are going to get in. I ask Griff about it quietly, while the burly guy checks Max and Parker's IDs. He whispers back to me 'fakes' in response. I guess that makes sense. Hopefully they're good ones.

As soon as we step inside, it is loud, dark, and already bustling with people. There's a bar straight ahead, a few billiard tables off to the right, and a large dance floor with all the crazy lights to the left. I follow Griff up to the bar and he waits for a buddy of his, so that he can say hello and ensure we'll all be taken care of tonight. It pays to know someone in these places. A couple of girls sitting at the bar turn around to look at us, but I am scanning the crowd for Haylee. Max takes off to look for a girl that he's supposed to be meeting here, and I hear Griff and Parker chatting up the girls in front of us. 

I have to do a double take when I spot Haylee and Brynn heading our way from the dance floor. Her face looks like my Haylee, but I've never seen her look quite like she does right now. My heart stutters inside my chest and I probably look like one of those cartoon characters whose eyes bulge and mouth hangs open because that's happening to me right now. 

I love the way Haylee looks on any average day, just relaxed and natural and utterly beautiful, but this is a shock to my system. She looks like a runway model and I suddenly want to yank her out of here and take her home. I can just feel the eyes of other men glued to her and I hate that thought. 

Parker whistles and kisses each of the girls on the cheek. At least it hadn't been just Haylee. Brynn's look, although gorgeous as well, is a little more typical for her style. Haylee takes my breath away. She looks like a completely different girl. Her hair is down and full of soft waves and her eyes just beckon 'Come hither.' She's wearing an iridescent green top that really sets off the color of her hair and golden skin. That's followed by an extremely short denim skirt that should have been illegal, and crazy high, black heels that make her muscular legs just scream at you. I want nothing more than to take her home and touch and kiss every inch of her skin, while taking hours to peel the tiny amounts of fabric she is wearing off, leaving the heels on, of course. 

“Damn, you two! Are you planning to score free drinks all night or what?” Max chuckles. A lot of the girls around the club are dressed similarly and I can imagine Brynn dressing like this is a normal occasion. Not Haylee though, and judging by everyone's reactions to her, I'm probably right. So what is she trying to do, kill me? Maybe that's just it. Maybe she's gone from being hurt to being angry and she's trying to get back at me. God, I sure hope not because I can't handle that. 

I realize then that I am staring, but I can't get my brain to function clearly enough to make any words come out of my mouth.

“Hey, Chase.” Haylee actually smiles, those beautiful lips pulled up on either side of her perfect face. I can't be sure, but the smile doesn't seem to go all the way to her eyes though. Then she shocks the hell out of me by stepping closer, placing her hands on my chest, lifting up just slightly since she has those killer heels on, and pressing her lips to my cheek. She pulls back and smiles at me again. Holy shit! I did
not
expect
that
! Does this mean that we're okay again, that she believes me now? I figured we would talk again. She might have more questions and she'd at least tell me how she feels. I'm so confused, but over the moon happy and relieved.

“Hayles,” my voice is low and barely there. “You look. . . absolutely stunning.” That isn't exactly adequate. There are really no words for how incredible she looks right now, but I just have to tell her somehow. She's beyond any dream I've ever had. 

“Thanks,” she says nonchalantly. I can't take my eyes off of her as we all order drinks. She takes a sip of her cranberry and vodka and glances out onto the dance floor. As she turns a bit, I see her back for the first time and freeze when I see that nothing is covering it! The smooth, bronzed skin of her back is completely visible in that shirt, and there is no way she's wearing a bra. I close my eyes and bite down on my bottom lip. Yup, she's trying to kill me. It's a good thing I'm wearing jeans that will at least keep the evidence of just how turned on I am right now to a minimum. 

We all talk for a bit about. . .I honestly have no idea what we're talking about. I can't get Haylee and the way she looks out of my head enough to make room for coherent thoughts. I happen to glance across the bar just then and my blood goes cold. 

I nudge Griff with my elbow twice before he looks over at me. “We need to get Haylee out of here,” I hiss to him. He furrows his brow at me like I'm crazy. “Lexi is
here
.”

He pulls a face and then plays it off as he asks me which one she is. I tell him and he waits a minute to glance in her direction so that it won't seem too obvious. “She's pretty hot,” Griff shrugs and I shoot him a death glare. I wasn't asking his opinion of her! 

“I can't let her see Haylee and I don't want Haylee to have to see her,” I whisper feeling fear pulsing through my entire body. 

“You're too late, man. She already sees you, and Haylee's right in front of you,” Griff points out quietly, but I don't dare look. The last thing in the world I want is for her to come over here. I grimace and clench my teeth together. “My advice is to tell Haylee so that she's not surprised by it and just ignore the skank.”

I don't even know how to say this to Haylee without her assuming that I'd asked Lexi to come here or something. I feel like this is going to be one step forward and two or twelve steps back. I reach down with a shaky hand and place it on Haylee's bare arm. She turns back to me and I whisper that I need to talk to her for a second. She follows me a few paces back and I turn so that our faces won't be seen by Lexi.

I close my eyes and sigh while she stands there looking at me. “Hayles, I want to warn you, tell you that, well, I swear I had
no
idea, but Lexi is here. I just don't want you to be surprised or go anywhere alone where she can corner you,” I manage to get out. Haylee doesn't look as shocked or surprised as I thought she would. She hasn't reached up and slapped me. . .yet.

“Did you tell her you were coming here?” she asks calmly. 

“No!” I say firmly. “I haven't had any contact with her since. . .” Whoops, that's the wrong thing to say. I don't want Haylee thinking back to that awful kiss.

“Then let's just ignore her and not let her ruin our night,” Haylee replies with a smile. She reaches down and takes my hand, laces her fingers through mine and walks back over to where the rest of the group is standing around a high top table that they have commandeered. I am once again shocked into silence. There is no way I could have expected Haylee to react like this. This is just plain. . . strange. 

“Let's go dance,” Brynn insists, looking around our table. Max is nibbling at some girl's neck off to the side of our table and Parker has disappeared, so it's just the four of us. 

“Shots first,” Haylee announces, and Griff signals his bartender friend. Am I dreaming right now? I have to be. This whole evening so far is beyond strange. Are Haylee and I just okay again? I wish we were just about anywhere else where I could actually get her alone somewhere and ask her a few things. 

A waitress carries over a tray with four shot glasses filled with an amber colored liquid and flashes a huge smile at Griff as she sets them down. Hmm. I'll have to ask him about that later.

“To second chances,” Brynn announces, raising her glass in the air. That, I can sure as hell toast to. We all raise our glasses, clink them together and slam what I know now is tequila back. It burns as it races down my throat. Brynn grabs both my and Haylee's hands and pulls us toward the dance floor. She very deftly puts our hands in each others' and turns around to dance with Griff. I can't help but grin. She's pretty obvious. I turn my attention to Haylee as the DJ over in the far corner switches to another song. I'm standing here with the most beautiful girl that I have ever seen.

“Is this okay?” I lean down slightly to ask her, still holding onto her hand. I don't want to force her to do anything like Brynn seems to have no problem doing. She nods and I move closer to her. I put my hand on her lower back and gasp slightly as I realize once again that her heated skin is exposed there. I fold the hand that I'm holding between us and pull it against my chest. I'm in luck because this is a slower song, so I get to hold her close. 

As the music gets a little louder, I feel her rest her head on my shoulder and I could die right here a very happy man. Yesterday I hadn't been sure if I would ever get to hold her again.

“This song makes me think about the night we spent together, before I headed back to California,” I say quietly right beside her ear. I inhale the scent of her hair and her perfume deep into my lungs in the hope of memorizing it. The warm tenderness of her body against mine is heating me from the outside, while the thoughts of our recent past and the tequila shot heats me from the inside. The song is 'Daylight' by Maroon Five and I heard it just after getting back to Califonia. It brought me right back to Haylee's bedroom the night we made love for the first time and the morning I'd had to say good-bye again.

I used to sing to her all the time when we were teenagers, mostly just to mess with her, but sometimes I'd sing while I played the guitar and she'd even join in once in awhile. The lyrics feel as though they are being drawn from my body, so I sing softly beside her ear and feel her body tremble against mine.

“
Here I am waiting, I'll have to leave soon

  Why am I holding on?

  We knew this day would come, we knew it all along

  How did it come so fast?

  This is our last night but it's late

  And I'm trying not to sleep

  'Cause I know, when I wake, I will have to slip away

  And when the daylight comes I'll have to go

  But tonight I'm gonna hold you so close

  'Cause in the daylight, we'll be on our own

  But tonight I need to hold you so close.
”

There's a break in the lyrics then and I wrap her even more tightly in my arms, remembering the beauty of that night and the pain of the next morning. I can feel warm dampness soaking through my shirt and I know that she's crying. Happy or sad, I'm not sure. Probably a combination of both.