by Beth Rinyu
“What time is it?” He asked as he rubbed his eyes.
“Just a little after nine.” He stretched his entire body and sat up in bed. “So, I didn’t even ask you, what time is your flight leaving?”
“Same as yours.” I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. “Umm . . . . do you not remember? You gave me all of your flight information since I was your ride home from the airport.” He grinned.
“Oh yeah!” I smiled back. “Well, good then, that means you’re stuck here until 7 p.m. along with me.”
“Yeah, about that. Did you want to see if we can get that changed so we can leave earlier?”
“Well, we could but then we would miss out on this.” I held out the tickets and he looked them over.
“Oh cool. They’re playing the Vipers.”
“How do you think I got such awesome seats? It pays to know people in high places.”
***
The fact that I couldn’t care less about baseball didn’t even matter. We had our own skybox, with air conditioning, a bar, and all the food we could ask for. “Now, that’s my way to watch a game!” I laughed once it was all over and we were waiting around for Cam.
“Carrie, Carrie, Carrie!” I heard Cam shout, looking totally different than he had just a half hour ago.
“Wow! You clean up nice!” I teased, throwing my arms around him.
“How are you?”
“I’m good.” He looked at Jason and grinned.
“Jason! My man! How are you?”
“I’m good, man. That was an awesome game. You always gotta do something to add to the excitement, don’t you?” He joked, talking about the diving catch Cam made to save a run from scoring.
“Well, I did that to impress Carrie,” he teased. “Is your old man gonna disown you when he finds out you actually stepped foot into another stadium?”
Cam knew all too well Jason and Ben’s allegiance to the Yankees, and it had become a running joke whenever the three of them were together.
“Yeah, I can’t let this get out to him.” Jason chuckled.
“Ah. . . . well, it will cost ya!”
“Beer?” Jason asked.
“Sounds good to me.” Cam playfully punched Jason on the shoulder.
We headed to the bar just outside of the stadium. Once we got past the people stopping Cam every five seconds for his autograph and the bartender who was flirting with him, we were able to start a normal conversation. Cam only had an hour to spare before he had to head out to St. Louis for his next set of games and Jason and I had just about the same amount of time before we had to be at the airport. Jason and Cam were going on and on about baseball, while I was trying my best to ignore the text message Brett had just sent me.
“Shit, I gotta take this,” Jason said, looking down at his phone. I knew right away it was Ashley when he got up and went outside to talk, and I immediately felt my blood boiling.
Cam turned his attention to me. “So, wait, I thought you were meeting Brett here for his birthday.”
“Yeah, I was….I did. We broke up. He cheated on me.”
His eyes widened. That seemed to be the general reaction from everyone upon hearing about Brett’s infidelity. “Oh, Carrie. I’m so sorry.”
I shook my head. “Don’t be. It was probably for the best. It kinda helped me make a decision I didn’t want to have to make.”
“What was that?”
“Moving out to California.”
“Well, that’s not even a decision. Go out to visit once and you won’t want to leave.”
“So I’ve heard, but I could never bear to be that far away from my family.”
He nodded. “How’s my girl doing?” His deep brown eyes lit up and his smile was a mile wide at the mere mention of her.
“Just as crazy as ever. She is now on a quest to land an Aussie.”
“A what?” He laughed.
“This guy my dad does business with. He’s a rich Australian, and I must admit handsome as all hell.”
“Well, that doesn’t sound so bad.”
“Yeah, but he’s also about fifteen years older than her and he’s got two kids. One of which is a bitchy little pre-teen.”
He threw his head back and let out a loud chuckle. “Okay, you got me at kids. Gia and kids…”
“My thoughts exactly. She has NO patience, but knowing my sister, it won’t last for long.”
“She is a trip.” He smiled and took a swig of his beer.
“So, what about you? Your mom said she’s sick of reading about your love life while she’s standing in the supermarket checkout lines.”
He rolled his eyes and waved his hand in a dismissive manner. “I told her not to believe everything she reads. She’s getting so uptight in her old age.”
“Well, she’s finally a happily married woman now.”
“Yeah. Never thought I’d see that day.”
He pulled out his phone and took a selfie of the two of us. He quickly typed something and then showed me the text message he sent to his mom:
Get ready. This is the next chick you’re gonna see me with on the cover of a magazine.
We both began to laugh. Our laughter became even louder when we read Jodi’s reply:
Now for that, I would stop and read the article. But Cam…..she’s taken!
Guess my mother hadn’t broken the news to her yet. I was no longer taken. It seemed weird to even hear that in my mind, but I needed to get used to it. I no longer belonged to Brett…..I was free, and it was so bittersweet.
***
Jason
Carrie had texted me earlier in the day, letting me know she needed to talk to me about something. I was almost afraid to hear what she had to say, fairly certain it was something about Teigan. We made arrangements to meet up for drinks after work. I knew I had to make it quick. Ashley was coming home from Arizona tonight. I had managed to calm her down over my unplanned trip to Houston when she had called yesterday, but I could tell she was still pissed. The last thing she’d want to hear was that I was spending more time with Carrie tonight. When I looked down at my phone and saw the text that had just came through from Ashley, I knew my plan was foiled.
Got an early flight home. Dinner?
Fuck. What the hell was I going to do now? I grabbed my phone to call her back.
“Hey,” she answered. I could tell from the tone in her voice that she was still pouting.
“Hey, are you home now?”
“Yeah.”
“Umm….well.” This was going to push her over the edge, but Carrie was doing me a favor by talking to Teigan, so I couldn’t just blow her off, if that’s what she needed to discuss.
“Well, what, Jason?” She snapped.
“I told Carrie I would meet up with her real quick after work. She just needs to discuss something about that kid Teigan that she’s been talking to.”
She let out a loud frustrated laugh. “Un- Fucking – Believable!”
“Come with me and then we can get dinner after.” I couldn’t believe I was even asking her this. I knew she was going to say no, but I felt like I was all out of options.
“Fine!”
I felt my jaw drop. Ashley always did her best to avoid Carrie, so I was a little shocked that she was agreeing to this so easily. “Okay, I’ll pick you up when I get off.”
“Oh, no. I actually have to run into the office for a bit, so I’ll just meet you there.”
I let her know the time and place and we said our goodbyes. I was now dreading tonight. I should have just rescheduled with Carrie, but I appreciated everything she was doing for Teigan so much, and I didn’t want her to think I was bailing on her. As I dialed her number and waited for her to answer, I knew her reaction was going to be just as bad as Ashley’s. Part of me wondered if I should even tell her, but I didn’t want to blindside her when we got there.
“Hey, Jas,” she answered.
“Hey. Listen, Ashley is coming tonight, too.”
“Oh. Umm….
well, we can just do it another time.” She was failing miserably at attempting to cover the disappointment in her voice.
“No, I told you I was going to meet you after work and I am. Ashley’s gotta get used to the fact that you and I are friends.”
“But Jason, I –”
“Carrie, I gotta get.” I immediately cut her off when I heard the call coming over the radio. “I’ll meet you at Lakeview at 7:30.”
I hung up the phone and was on my way to the call before she could even protest.
Chapter 18
Carrie
“Damn it!” I whispered, throwing my phone down on my desk. I had finally worked up the courage to tell Jason and now I wasn’t going to be able to. Why the hell did she want to come along and hang out with me, anyway? I had to think of something to get me out of this quickly. The last thing I felt like doing was sitting around watching Ashley throw herself all over Jason to try and prove to me he was hers – especially now, knowing what I knew. Why didn’t I just tell him this weekend? I threw my head back and let out a deep breath, trying to pull myself together.
Once I felt composed enough, I walked out of my office to see if my next patient was there. I was greeted by Mary and a very good-looking guy who looked to be around my age. "Oh, Carrie, this is my David. He's taking me out to lunch."
Obviously, this guy hadn't a clue that his mother was trying to set him up on dates because I couldn't think of any reason why he wouldn't be able to find one on his own. He was the definition of tall, dark and handsome.
"Carrie is just about your age, David, but unfortunately she has a boyfriend.”
"Not anymore." Did I seriously just blurt that out?
"Oh!" Her eyes widened and so did her smile.
"Well, David, let me just run to the ladies room before we head out." Clearly this was her tactic to give him a chance to make his move.
He shook his head and smiled, exposing his perfect teeth. "I'm really sorry about her. She can be a tad overbearing."
"That's okay. I'm sorry for adding to that just now by telling her I'm newly-single. I'm not ready to start dating though." Really, Carrie? Did you really think that this Godly-looking man was going to ask you out anyway? "Not that you were planning on -"
He held up his hand to stop me, making sure Mary wasn’t in earshot. "Carrie, you’re a beautiful girl and under normal circumstances I’d be honored to take you out."
Normal circumstances? What the heck did that mean? I looked at him, questionably.
"I'm gay."
"Oh....and she doesn't -?"
He nodded. "You got it!"
"Well, why don't you just tell her?"
"Because she and my dad aren't ready for that just yet." I looked at him sadly. "I know, I'm working on it, but in the meantime I’d love to take you out as a friend and to get her off my back for a while."
"Sure, that would be great." What the heck was I doing? The last thing I needed was another guy friend that was totally unobtainable.
"Well, when is good for you?" I thought for a moment. This new friend might come in handy and be a buffer while I tried my best to tolerate Ashley tonight.
"Actually, is tonight good for you?" He nodded, looking a little surprised by my eagerness. "I could use your help as well." He raised an eyebrow. "I'll explain it to you later," I said, just as the sounds of Mary's footsteps were heard coming down the hallway. I scribbled down my address and phone number and handed him the paper.
"Oh, did I miss out on something?" Mary asked with a huge smile plastered across her face.
"Oh, I'm just taking Carrie out for a drink tonight."
"Really?" Her voice rising to a singing tune.
Great. I was asking for it now. She was going to be on my case forever. But I would deal with it if it meant I didn't have to face Jason and Ashley alone tonight.
"See ya later, Carrie." David winked as they headed out the door.
***
David arrived promptly at seven. I hopped in his car and opened up to him about Jason like we were long lost friends.
"Okay, so why haven't you told him how you feel about him after all these years?"
I raised my eyebrow, "Why haven't you told your parents you’re gay?"
"Okay, you got me."
"It's just....Jason and I have always been buddies and I’ve always had feelings for him I tried to keep tucked away. When our parents married, it just felt like it was kind of weird to act on them."
"But you can't help how you're feeling."
"Umm…exactly." I raised my eyebrow at him again, trying to get him to realize that he didn't have a reason to be hiding that he was gay from his parents.
"Okay, now his girlfriend. What's her story?"
"Ugh! I just hate her!" I looked out the window and let out a sigh.
He chuckled. "Wow, I can see that."
"She's just all wrong for him." I felt totally comfortable talking to him, but not comfortable enough to fill him in about what I knew about Ashley. Surely, he would question my loyalty to Jason for not telling him right away. The same way I was beginning to question it myself.
We pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant, and I let out a deep breath. I could feel my stomach twitching, and I was hoping I could pull this off and feign the least bit of civility toward her for Jason's sake.
"So, am I playing the straight guy tonight?"
I hated making David pretend to be something he wasn't. He played that role enough in front of his parents. But deep down inside, I knew I kind of wanted to make Jason a little jealous.
"Would you mind?" I gave him a pleading look.
"Not at all." He took my hand in his and we walked inside.
Why were all the good ones either taken, gay or my step-brother?
***
Jason
Ashley arrived at the bar at the same time as me. I got stuck at work and was a half hour late, so I was surprised when I didn’t see Carrie’s car in the parking lot yet. Ashley and I walked in together, and I immediately spotted Carrie at the bar talking to some dude I had never seen before.
“Hey, Jas,” she mumbled as I got closer, going out of her way to not acknowledge Ashley.
“Hey,” I replied back, looking at the almost too perfect guy, sitting next to her, waiting for an introduction.
“Oh, this is David,” Carrie said as if she were reading my mind.
He extended his hand to me and I shook it. “Where’s your car? I didn’t see it in the parking lot?”
“Oh, I came with David.”
I creased my eyebrows in confusion. Who the hell was this David guy? I had never heard her talk about him before.
“Oh, you two knew each other before tonight?”
“Yup! Sure do!” She quickly nodded, trying to come across as convincing, but I knew her too well and it was anything but.
Ashley glared at Carrie and reached over her to shake David’s hand. “Hi, I’m Ashley, by the way.”
“Hi, Ashley, nice to meet you.” He took her hand in his and shook it lightly.
Carrie looked straight ahead, still ignoring Ashley. I could see it already; this night was going be a total disaster. What the hell was I thinking when I invited Ashley?
I sat down next to Carrie, while Ashley took a seat on the other side of me. I was fairly certain that whatever it was Carrie needed to talk to me about wasn’t going to get discussed now. She looked just as uncomfortable as I felt at the moment, and I could have sworn that I saw her hands shaking as she took a sip of her wine.
“Carrie, I’m so sorry to hear that Brett cheated on you,” Ashley said, finally breaking the silence between the two of them.
“Ashley, really?” I whispered, turning my head in her direction.
Carrie bit her lip, and I held my breath, hoping I wasn’t going to have to break up a cat fight.
“Yeah, cheaters suck. Don’t they, Ashley?” She glared at her before throwing back another sip of wine.
Ashley got up
to use the bathroom while David excused himself to take a phone call. “Carrie, what’s going on?”
“What are you talking about?” she snapped.
“You told me you needed to talk to me and you haven’t said two words to me since I got here.”
“Yeah, well, sorry, I just don’t feel comfortable talking in front of her.” She jerked her head and pointed her chin in the direction of the ladies room.
“Oh, okay, so just make it more awkward by bringing Mr. GQ along.”
“What?” she let out a loud laugh. “Sorry if you don’t like him, but you don’t even know him!”
“And neither do you.”
Her jaw dropped and her posture stiffened. “And how would you know that? I happen to – “
I placed my hand on her arm. “Look, I know you’re trying to forget about Brett, but hanging all over this guy isn’t going to do it.”
She yanked her arm away. “You know what Jason? You have no clue what I’m trying to forget, so just back off. Okay?”
“Babe, I have to go back into work for a few hours. Big emergency. I’ll see you later,” Ashley said upon returning from the ladies room. She kissed me on the cheek and made her exit.
David returned and whispered in Carrie’s ear, and she stood up. “David has to go, so I have to go,” she said.
I grabbed her arm and pulled her back. “You know what? I can just take her home.” I said, giving David a raise of my eyebrow.
He nodded and said his goodbyes before walking out the door. “I don’t need you to keep rescuing me.” She said, lifting up her wine glass. I took it from her hand and placed it on the bar before she could take another sip.
“I know you don’t, but for right now, I’m taking you home.”
“Fine,” she snapped. I grabbed her arm and we walked out of the bar.
She rested her head back on the seat and was silent during the drive back to her place. “What did you need to talk to me about, Carrie?” I finally broke the silence once we pulled into her parking lot.
“Nothing.” She had her hand on the door handle, ready to get out before I grabbed her arm to stop her.
“Obviously it’s something. Is Teigan okay?”
