“We do get along,” Rob says slowly, not following Lisa’s drunk logic.
“Ugh,” she sighs, throwing her head back. “You don’t know each other. Go be friends. Start a bromance and become best friends. Come on, Sierra.”
I look at Chase, who is amused by the whole thing, and gives me a small nod, telling me to go with Lisa.
“What the fuck?” Lisa blurts as soon as we’re inside.
“About what?” I ask her.
She blinks, and then shakes her head. “I don’t remember. Wine is in the fridge. I’m going to pee.” She stumbles through Rob’s house to the bathroom while I open a bottle of wine, trading my beer for a plastic wine glass. I fill it halfway, take a few sips, and lean on the counter while I wait for my cousin.
“Where’s my glass?” she asks when she’s back in the kitchen.
“I’ll pour you one later. How about some food?”
“I’m drinking my calories tonight.”
“Take a break for a minute and dance with me,” I try, taking her arm and pulling her out the door. I see Chase standing by the fire, talking with Rob and his friends.
“You like him, don’t you?” Lisa slurs.
“Yeah. I hope so, at least, since we’re sleeping together.”
“You know what I mean. Like really like him.”
“I’m starting to.”
“Good.” Lisa gives me a smile and rests her head on my shoulder. If she’s getting tired already, there’s no way she’s going to make it through the rest of the night. “But it is weird seeing you with someone other than Jake. When you guys were out there, backs turned, I thought it was you and Jake for a second. Then I saw you with Chase and it’s just weird.”
I know she’s drunk, but her words hurt. Tears well up in my eyes and I work hard to blink them away. I grind my teeth the rest of the way to the fire, shaking Lisa off my arm as soon as we stop. She goes over to Rob, throwing her arms around his shoulders.
“Sierra,” Chase says, smiling disappearing. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” I lie the same moment a renegade tear falls from my eye.
“I don’t believe you,” he whispers, wiping my tear away. “Did something happen?”
I shake my head. “Just my drunk best friend saying stupid shit.” Chase steps in, wrapping one arm around me. I rest my head against his chest and gather my composure. Chase cups my face, gently moving my chin up so he can kiss me. The guilt intensifies for a brief second before vanishing completely. Chase kisses me harder, tongue slipping past my lips. He slides his hand back into my hair, closing his fingers into a fist. If I weren’t holding my wine, I’d throw my arms around Chase and completely surrender to him.
“Better?” he asks, breaking away.
“Yes.” I take a few big gulps of my wine, mostly because I want to finish it and not carry a cup around all night. It takes me a while to feel like myself again, and no matter how hard I try, I can’t squish the ball of fear that starts to form every time I run into an old friend. Are they thinking the same thing Lisa is?
“Those are the girls you went out with the first night I saw you, right?” Chase asks, watching Katie, Bella, and Heather draw near.
“Yeah, they are. I’m surprised you remember.”
“I’m good with remembering faces.”
“I’m not. At all.”
Katie catches my eye and waves. “Sierra! Oh my God, it’s good to see you again!”
She hugs me and then looks at Chase, doing a terrible job hiding her smile. There’s no need to introduce Chase to them. They know who he is and that we’ve been spending time together. Not because I told them, but because this town talks. I go through a formal introduction regardless, for Chase’s sake. We talk to my old friends for a while then refill our drinks and go back by the fire. It’s already hot out, but the smoke keeps the mosquitos away.
“I feel like I’m in a country music video,” Chase quips as we sit on a hay bale.
I laugh. “Nah, all the girls would be wearing cowboy boots and cut-off jeans if we were. And we’d be sitting on a tailgate.”
“We’re missing drunken fights and someone passing out in the barn, too.”
“I’m sure one of those two will happen tonight.”
“I think you just jinxed it.” Chase sits up straighter, looking over the fire. “Looks like a fight’s about to break out.”
We stand and see three guys, fists clenched, staring down another guy. The leader of the offensive pack is Justin, a guy I’ve known since childhood. Behind the guys, who are exchanging heated words, is Francine, who’s the world’s fakest friend. Her arms are crossed and lips pursed, watching the men shout. Justin lurches forward, shoving the other guy in the chest. He stumbles back but takes a swing, fist colliding with Justin’s temple. Justin’s friends jump in on the guy, and another joins in on the fight, going against Justin and his crew.
“I’ll get Rob,” I say but Chase shakes his head.
“I got this.” He strides over and shouts, “Hey!” The brawl comes to a temporary halt and all five guys look at Chase. “What the fuck are you doing?” Chase goes on.
“He touched my girl,” Justin sneers, pointing to the guy he shoved, that I recognize now as Daniel, who moved to Summer Hill not that long ago and has never quite fit in.
“Take it somewhere else.” Chase goes right up to them.
“Stay out of it, fucking Yankee,” Justin snarls and I shake my head. Way to further the southern stereotype. I turn, hoping to find Rob. He’s a cop in this town, after all. People listen to him. In that split second that I turn away, all hell breaks loose. I look back just in time to see Justin taking a swing at Chase.
Horrified, I stand rooted to the spot, watching everything unfold. Chase ducks out of the way, catches Justin’s fist and twists his arm before popping him quickly in the face. Justin goes down and one of his friends moves in at the same time the other jumps on Chase from behind.
Chase flips him over with ease and takes out the other friend in two seconds flat. Daniel and his friend stand there, arms out to their sides, looking at Chase and not knowing if they should fight him or not. Justin scrambles to his feet and pulls out a pocket knife. He flips open the blade and charges at Chase. My eyes widen in horror and my mouth falls open, but no words come out.
Chase turns, grabs Justin’s wrist and has him disarmed in the blink of an eye. He twists Justin’s arm behind his back, apprehending him until Rob and one of his police officer friends run over. There’s a gleam in Chase’s eyes, and I can’t deny that he looks almost disappointed the fight is not only over but was easy. For him at least.
“What the fuck?” Rob exclaims, seeing the knife on the ground.
“That guy’s fucking psycho!” Justin yells, pulling away from Chase and mopping blood from his bleeding nose with the back of his hand. “He just attacked us!”
“Give it a break,” Rob says. “We saw the whole thing. You charged at him with a knife. That’s assault, Justin. If he presses charges against you, I’m hauling your ass to the county jail.”