Chase - Three months later
My cell phone let out a shrill ring just as I grabbed my keys from the entryway table. I pocketed my wallet and threw my jacket on just as the phone rang again. I had half a mind to ignore the fucking thing after the day I'd had. I was stressed to the nines about a case I was working on, and then during court this morning I had received a message from Sophie.
As soon as court broke for recess, I listened to her message. She sounded off, and her message was just strange and out of sorts for her, and it left me feeling concerned. I had attempted to call her back, but court had been called back into session, and unfortunately all I could do was quickly message her back and ask her to contact me in a bit. I had yet to hear back from her. The phone rang out again, and this time I pulled it from my pocket and quickly answered it.
"Hello," I barked. I was rushed for time, and even though I was hoping that it was Sophie, I was also hoping this call would be quick.
"You on your way?" my brother, Bryce, questioned.
"Yep, be there in five minutes," I said, grabbing my comfortable old running shoes from the hall closet, slipping my feet into them, and heading out to meet my brothers for our monthly boys’ night. I was looking forward to a night of relaxation, beer, and conversation.
By the time I pulled into the parking lot of Ducky's it was pretty full. I found a spot around back of the restaurant, pulled into it, shut the engine off, and went inside. As soon as I opened the doors, I immediately spotted my three brothers sitting in our usual booth in the back. I was just about to walk over when I heard two familiar voices call out to me. I glanced over at the bar and saw both Carly and Delilah waving at me. I flashed them my sexy grin. "Afternoon, ladies."
"What can we get for you today, Chase?" they both called out in unison.
"How about a cold beer, ladies."
"You got it, sexy," Delilah called back, while Carly winked at me.
My brothers sat watching intently as I waved and smiled to half of the women in the bar before I slid into the booth. Within seconds, our usual waitress, Trinity, set my beer down in front of me. She ran her hand over my shoulder and winked. "Wish you would call sometimes. I would love to see you again. It gets pretty lonely at night," she whispered to me.
I glanced at my brothers, praying that none of them had heard her comment, but I knew they had just from the way they were watching me. I smiled at her and took a swig of my beer, trying to ignore what she had said, but instead of walking away, she left her hand on my shoulder.
"I might give you a call, but honestly, I'm really enjoying my alone time right now, Trin." I could tell from the look on her face that I had pretty much crushed her, but I wasn't going to lie; it wasn't my style. It also wasn't my style to get re-involved with a woman if I had no interest in developing it any further. Trinity had been fun during the time we had been involved, but I wasn't interested in anything more with her. I looked to my brothers, each of them staring back at me.
"What the hell, Chase. You've been with all these women in here and you still have the balls to come in here and flirt that way? Do you have a death wish?" Hunter asked.
"Hey, each one of these ladies were and are well aware that I don't want a relationship. I'm upfront about it with them. I'm also upfront and honest in regards to when it ends, it ends. Trinity is just lonely, and besides, no one picked on you when you had your cock in everything that moved in this town."
"First, I didn't have my cock in everything in this town..."
Carter let out a loud laugh. "Oh please, give it a break, would you." He grabbed his scotch and took a drink. "You had your fair share of this town too."
Hunter flipped Carter the finger as we all laughed, then they both shook their heads and took a drink. Bryce looked at me with a shit-eating grin. "It's all right, guys. One of these days, he'll turn around, meet a woman, and his world will spin upside down. You know how it is."
"Yep, and the Chase Malone we all know and love will forever be changed by one pussy." Hunter let out a laugh loud enough to call attention to our table.
"Fuck you all! I’m not like you guys. No way am I settling down. I'm having way too much fun." I grinned.
"Yep, that sounds familiar. I think I said those exact same words right before I meant Autumn," Hunter murmured. “I also believe I said them right to the both of you.”
"But then you meet someone, fall in love, and none of these girls will even enter your mind," Carter chimed in, setting his glass down.
"What the hell would you know about it? You married pretty much the first women you were ever serious about," Bryce smugly replied.
I shook my head, while Carter and Bryce continued to banter back and forth. I opened the menu and looked it over, even though I already knew what I was going to order: two pounds of hot wings—the same thing I ordered every single time we came here. "You fucks don't know what you are missing," I barked out as the three of them were now involved in one of our usual bickering matches.
"Same could be said for you, you know," Carter bit out, seemingly agitated with me.
Trinity approached our table and was halfway through taking our orders when my phone rang. I glanced down and saw Sophie's number sitting on the screen. "And for you, Chase?" she asked, pulling my attention away.
"A pound of hot wings please, Trin," I murmured as my attention quickly focused back on Sophie's number.
"Only a pound?" Carter asked, dumbfounded. "Normally, you're good for at least two."
"Yeah, watching my waistline." I ran my hand over my eight-pack and glanced once again at my phone that was still ringing. "Excuse me, guys, I have to take this," I said, ignoring the murmurs from my brothers. I got up from my seat and headed out the front door.
"Hello," I said as I pushed the door to Ducky's open and stepped outside into the parking lot, avoiding the group of people heading inside.
"Chase. Sorry to bother you. I know you're probably with your brothers, but my day got kind of crazy after I had called you this morning."
"Hey, yeah it's our usual night out, but it’s no bother, Sophie. Sorry I wasn’t able to talk earlier. I was in court. I'm glad you called me back. You seemed off in your message. What's up? What's going on?"
Sophie was quiet for a few moments before she cleared her throat. "Do you think you could meet me for dinner tomorrow night? I have something I want to run by you?"
"Is everything okay? It's nothing serious is it?" I could tell from the slight tremor in her voice that whatever she wanted to speak to me about, it was important.
"No, it’s nothing bad. I just want to talk to you about something," she assured me.
"Sure, just name the time and place and I will be there." I opened my calendar on my phone to check and make sure I was free.
"The Manor House, tomorrow night at, say, seven."
The Manor House was one of Kings Cove's higher-end steak houses, which made me wonder if everything was indeed okay. "Are you sure everything is okay?" I questioned, wanting to make sure before I got off the phone with her.
"Yeah, I promise you everything is okay. We will talk tomorrow night. I have to run and finish up a meeting with one of my clients. I'll see you tomorrow at seven."
I could still hear the shake in her voice, but before I had the chance to ask her in a different way if everything was okay, the phone had gone dead. I looked down at my cell phone, wondering what could possibly be so important that she just couldn't tell me over the phone, but a few seconds later, I had shrugged it off and headed back inside. I was quiet as I walked back to our table. Once there, I slid into the booth, checked my watch again, and pocketed my cell phone.
"Was that your hot date for tonight?" Hunter questioned, nodding towards my phone.
"Something like that," I answered, still rather distracted and bothered. "It was Sophie. She wants to meet for dinner tomorrow night. She says she has something she wants to talk to me about. I can't recall a time that she didn't just come out and tell me what was up."
"Oh, the Sophie?" Bryce asked.
"Not the unattainable Sophie?" Carter joined in, smirking at Hunter.
I rolled my eyes and took another pull on my beer, doing my best to ignore his comment, and glanced at Hunter who sat there smirking at me. My brothers had always bugged me about Sophie, especially when we had been younger and she had turned me down. Although, unlike those times, this time I didn't laugh or answer any of their questions. When Hunter noticed, he looked at them both and cleared his throat just like our father used to when he wanted us to stop bugging one another.
"What time are you supposed to be meeting her?" he questioned.
"Tomorrow night at seven at The Manor House."
"The Manor House?"
"That is what she said."
"Must be something special. That place isn't cheap." Carter said, "I took Hope there not too long ago. Three hundred and fifty dollars later..."
"Yeah, Autumn's been bugging me to take her there since Hope told her about it. My wallet isn't looking forward to that bill." Hunter and Carter both laughed.
"Well, if you care about me, tell Autumn and Hope not to mention it to Mia." All three of my brothers laughed.
My phone vibrated in my pocket as Carter and Hunter went on discussing dinner prices. I looked down at my phone to see a message from Sophie and glanced at my watch. I feverishly typed out a response to her. I put my phone down and immediately it vibrated, causing me to pick it up again.
"What is it now?" Bryce questioned, as I continued to type out my third response.
"Six-thirty. She wants to meet me a half hour earlier. Something has got to be wrong."
"What the hell is the rush? I mean, she's kept you waiting all these years." Bryce laughed, looking over to Carter and Hunter.
"Man, she hasn't kept me waiting. We are friends. It is possible for me to be friends with a woman," I bit out.
"Sure..." Hunter said before all three of my brothers burst into laughter.
Shortly after I had sent my last text to Sophie, our dinner was dropped onto the table. My mind was so distracted I could barely eat, which was just another thing that my brothers decided to bug me about. I had never been so happy to have my favorite night of the week end.
I drove home in silence, had a hot shower, and crawled into bed, turning the TV on. I was surprised when my phone vibrated and Sophie's name popped up on my screen. As I read her message asking me to meet her yet another half an hour earlier than previously agreed upon, I knew that whatever it was she wanted to talk to me about was important. However, when I asked her once again, she wouldn't even hint at what the issue was.
I shut the light off, shut my phone off, and rolled onto my side and fought to fall asleep.