29. A Bad Idea

Maybe it was because Chase knew he was slightly intoxicated; the entire car ride home, he kept the stereo turned down and his eyes completely focused on the space in front of him. It took him a little bit longer than usual to get there, but eventually he managed to get back to the bungalow without troubles of any sort and searched the outside premises for a sign of Jace’s car.

It wasn’t there – though Chase wasn’t exactly surprised by this matter. He knew Jace well enough to figure out he wouldn’t have remembered the directions back to the house. Deriving aerodynamics and putting dictionaries out of business was one thing, but remembering directions and places had always been one of Jace’s handicaps. They were just simply things that he wasn’t extremely concerned about. He always had a book – or something – with him. If he forgot his way home, he’d just find a bench, sit down, and read.

He was completely hopeless. So was Krislynn as a matter of fact – though in an entirely different way. Still, Chase didn’t like linking the two of them together through similarities... or dissimilarities. Actually, he just didn’t like linking them together at all.

Realizing the possibility of a Jace and Krislynn combination, Chase uttered a low growl and kicked a white pebble off to the side. Flashes of his memory came back to him and he rapidly remembered what Pete had discussed with him at the amusement park as they passed the bottle of whiskey back and forth. “Nosy little bastard,” he muttered quietly as he stumbled back toward the front of the house.

Pete had practically nailed his ass while he interrogated him, squeezing every possible answer out of him in the shortest amount of time like some sort of sick game. “How do you feel about Krislynn?”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I mean what I say I mean. It’s just you and me here so be honest. How do you feel about her?”

Chase hadn’t exactly known what to say to him back then. “She’s a good friend, I guess. I mean I got to know her pretty well so I, you know, care for her and stuff.”

“Okay... and what does ‘stuff’ mean?” He had asked, wagging both his eyebrows.

“Just shut your face Pete!”

“And LaCienega? How do you feel about her?”

“Dude. I’m not gunna answer this shit anymore.”

Pete though, wasn’t one to be satisfied without getting a serious answer. “How. Do. You. Feel. About. LaCienega?”

“Jesus man, I don’t know. Still the same I guess.”

“And what does that mean? Are you in love with her?”

That was when Chase turned to Pete and wrinkled his entire face up into a dried up prune. “I don’t know. How can you tell,” he muttered, “when you’re in love with somebody?”

And that was when Pete grabbed one of the condiments on the center of the table and whacked him on the back of the head with it. “Who’s asking who questions here?!” He had screamed before his face grew gentler and his eyebrows creased together in deep thought. “It all depends I guess. I mean, it’s a little different for everybody I suppose. I guess love is when you skip out on a night of Football at the pub with your boys for a night in with your girl to watch a chick flick. Or when you shave that sexy beard you’ve been growing out for ages that it feels like you’re practically cutting off your own foot just because it makes her itchy when you guys kiss.”

“It’s when you’ve been working from six in the morning till six at night and though you’ve been busy filming all day and haven’t had a single thing to eat, the first thing you want to do when you get off work is go see her. I don’t know Chase. I guess love is when you finally clear out that stash of porno in your room because suddenly, seeing a picture of her face is so much more fulfilling.” He turned to him then. “So? Do you feel that way for LaCienega? For Krislynn? For anyone?”

Chase had looked back at him blankly. “I don’t know,” he said. “I’m too drunk to think.”

Pete’s eyes widened and his chest puffed forward as he let out a furious scream. “So you made me say all that stupid shit for nothing?!”

“I guess I did,” Chase had replied indifferently. “Never knew you were such a romantic at heart.” He took another quick swig of whiskey before adding, “Anyways, new topic. This love shit is such pussy talk—makes for a bad aftertaste.”

Grumbling quietly to himself, Pete had swiped the bottle out of Chase’s hand. “I wasn’t asking all that shit to piss you off man,” he defended. “I was just wondering how much you liked LaCienega. If you like her that bad and want her that bad; I’ve got an idea you know.”   

“You think I can’t get a girl by myself. It’s not that–”

“One that,” Pete added, “won’t harm Jace at all.”

As soon as the idea had been proposed, Chase had been bitten with temptation. He didn’t doubt his years of womanizing to fail on LaCienega no matter how much she seemed to restrain from his advances, but he had never truly gone after her in the fear of ruining his friendship with Jace. Even beyond their own relationship, Jace’s mother was his mother’s best friend. Their families were closely intertwined and Chase couldn’t even imagine how much shit he’d be in if he did steal LaCienega.

But if it didn’t hurt Jace and he was fine with it... that was another story altogether.

Chase remembered being suspicious of Pete even in that half drunken state at the park. “What kind of idea?” He had asked cautiously. “A good idea or a bad one?”

Pete had replied to his wariness with a laugh. “When do I ever come up with good ideas?” He had snickered. “Of course it’s a bad one. But you’ll get the girl. And Jace will be happy. That makes it okay, doesn’t it?”

“I’m listening.”

“Well, first off, the reason you can’t steal LaCienega away is because if she leaves Jace, he’ll get hurt right? But what if Jace leaves LaCienega? Then it’s a free man’s game, isn’t it? He can’t get mad at you for picking up what he doesn’t want and especially if he’s got a new girl.”

“So you’re saying I should find a girl to take over LaCienega’s place?” Chase had laughed at the prospect at first. “Where in the world do you expect me to find a girl for Jace to fall in love with...” His words trailed off and left a lingering presence behind and Pete smirked realizing they were now on the same page.

“You already have Chase.” With a devious smile, he swung his arm around Chase’s shoulder. “And she’s already smitten Jace. You’ve just been using her the wrong way.”

“Krislynn? You want me to–” His jaw tightened. “You want me to set Jace and Krislynn up?”

“It wouldn’t be hard. There’s already a bunch of chemistry between them. All you have to do is set up situations where they’re forced to be together, right? Like now. It’ll happen for sure and when it happens, all you have to do is swoop in and be LaCienega’s knight. That’ll be as easy as pie.”

Coming back to reality, Chase opened the front door with the spare key and walked inside the house, nosily slamming the door behind him. Just remembering the conversation with Pete got him on his edge. The plan was almost too perfect to be true. LaCienega was already unhappy and felt neglected by Jace in the first place. Krislynn had been infatuated with Jace since the first time they met. And Jace? He was a little bit too interested in Krislynn than he should be as an engaged man.

If the plan went accordingly, Jace will be happy, Krislynn will be happy, LaCienega will be happy and... and... he’ll be happy. Right?

Pete’s last words echoed in his head, “Why the apprehensive face? This is what you want right? You like LaCienega.” And then, almost as if he had picked up a trace of thought that Chase himself wasn’t aware of, added, “You can’t have both, you know.”

He didn’t want Krislynn. That wasn’t the point, Chase thought as he collapsed on the couch inside the living room. But he didn’t exactly know what the point was either. Frustration built up inside of him, and he quickly decided to text Seth back telling him Jace and Krislynn weren’t at the house before leaving his phone on the coffee table and heading towards the kitchen for a glass of water.

He found LaCienega there, leaned over the kitchen sink, her luscious brown hair tied into a long French braid that passed in between her shoulder blades and ended midway down her back. Grumpily, Chase leaned against the door of the fridge and watched her pour a fatal amount of salt into a glass of water before rinsing her mouth thoroughly. He figured her throat must have been closed up since his own mother used to rinse her mouth with salt water to disinfect any irritations. “Shouldn’t have let him feed you that kiwi cake huh?” He muttered, gazing at her resentfully as she turned around to face him in surprise. “When you’re that allergic to it.”

LaCienega raised a fine eyebrow at him, but he could see that she was exhausted by the lines on her face. There wasn’t a need for her to put up a front against him. He knew she was allergic to kiwis, but he hadn’t realized by how much. He watched her sigh after she finally gave up her facade and gingerly put both hands over her obviously swollen throat. “How did you know?” She murmured quietly.

Deciding against his better judgement, Chase pulled opened the fridge door and grabbed a can of beer. He popped the cap and took a couple of long gulps before turning his attention back to her. “You mentioned it before,” he replied. “At this salad bar with Michelle when Seth showed up to meet her and brought me along.”

Her brown eyes widened and shimmered the way only a blanket of white snow can beneath a veil of pale moonlight. “Once,” she said softly. Her gaze studied him carefully. “I mentioned it once. You still remember that?”

Chase stayed silent and took another sip of his drink. “Why did you force yourself to eat that when you know you’re allergic to it?” He asked. “More importantly, shouldn’t Jace know something like that? You guys have been dating for how long – almost four years now? Haven’t you ever told him?”

“I may have mentioned it once or twice.” Her voice grew louder as she attempted to defend him. “But it’s not that big of a deal that he forgot. I mean, I’m sure he’s got a lot of important things to remember.”

“And you happened not to be one of them?” Chase raised an eyebrow and watched her entire expression changed as she got upset over his remark.

“I should have known better than to speak with you,” she said angrily. “This is exactly the kind of person you are.”

Chase quickly drank the last bit of his beer before crushing the can in his hand and slamming it down on the counter. “Amuse me,” he snapped, walking up to her with heavy steps. LaCienega took a few steps back as he stomped toward her, but the only direction besides the sink was a dead end, and she quickly found her back facing the kitchen wall. “What kind of person do you think I am?”

“The worse kind,” she snapped instantly, and though her voice was strong, her eyes betrayed her with subtle intimidation. “You’re the kind that’ll say things to bring other people down just so you could have your way! That’s selfish! Jace is one of your best friends isn’t he? Why can’t you just back off? What happened between us the other night was–”

“What happened between us the other night has nothing to do with this,” he shouted back. “What’s happening right now is about you and Jace. It’s obvious to everyone that you’re madly in love with him, but he doesn’t even remember what you’re allergic to!”

“And you remembered! Good for you!” Sarcasm spilled all over her angry words. “What are you trying to say? That I shouldn’t be with him? That he’s not right for me? That you’re The One?!”

“I’m not saying I’m The One,” he screamed, “but I sure as hell am a lot better for you than he is, aren’t I? What the hell is so good about Jace?! Why do you love him so much?!”

“Because he’s everything you aren’t!” She screamed. “And he’s everything you’ll never be! That’s what’s so good about him! That’s what makes me love him so much!”

His face softened at her response. “And I’m everything that he’ll never be,” he said softly. “And I can give you everything that he’ll never be able to give you.” With that, Chase didn’t even hesitate half a second before closing the last gap between them. He slammed her back, pushing her body right up against the kitchen wall as his lips found his way to hers.

LaCienega’s lips quivered against his, but it only took her a second before her mind composed itself and she furiously pushed him away. “What’s wrong with you?!” She screamed, wiping the traces of liquor he left on her lips. “Have you no shame?! I don’t like you Chase Evans! I’ll never like you! It’ll always be Jace! Can’t you see that? Open your eyes!”

“Why don’t you open yours?!” He shouted in frustration. “He doesn’t even spend your birthday with you or know what you like! He probably doesn’t even fucking love you!!!”

LaCienega’s lips parted in surprise. “That’s not true,” she murmured, but at that point she sounded like she was trying to convince herself more than she was trying to convince him. “That’s not true. If he doesn’t love me than why is he marrying me?”

Chase snorted as he took a tiny step back and eyed her bitterly. “I don’t know,” he said. “Maybe he’s marrying you out of fucking pity.”

LaCienega slapped him across the face. Her eyes regarded him with such resentment that her entire body shook from the rage. “I don’t care,” she said sturdily, her voice hostile and powerful, “that you’re Jace’s best friend. You are not my friend! And I don’t ever, ever want you anywhere near me!” With those words, she quickly ran pass him as tears slid down her face only to see Krislynn standing by the doorway as she walked pass by on her way upstairs.

Chase spotted Krislynn about the same time LaCienega did. She stood stiffly in the doorway, her eyes wide, her jaw opened. He didn’t know how much she had witnessed, but from the expression on her face, she saw enough.

He knew she was going to have something to say about it, but he didn’t want to hear it. He didn’t want to have a fight with her this late into the night. It always ends up making him feel like shit and precisely this time, because he knew she was going to be right. Though put a knife against his throat she might, he wasn’t planning to admit it.

“Don’t start,” he growled as he stumbled pass her in the doorway.

Krislynn looked up at him with a blank expression. “Come with me,” she said and grasped the sleeve of his shirt as she dragged him down the corridor.