Chase

AFTER MACKENZIE AND Kara disappeared, I went upstairs to get away from Mattie, who was getting on my nerves. Not only was she becoming loud and obnoxious, she kept shooting me dirty looks.

“Hey, bro, what’s happening down there?” Sonny asked as I made it to the top step.

“Beer Pong. Where’ve you been?”

“Outside by the pool, tending the bar. I’m done, though. People are getting fucked up and I’m not going to be responsible for that shit.”

“I don’t blame you.”

“Where you off to?”

“Anywhere but back down there. Mattie’s getting trashed.”

“Oh, shit.”

“Yeah.”

He looked down toward the lower level. “Is Kara down there?”

“Not that I saw. She was earlier. With Mackenzie.” I told him how we’d played Beer Pong.

He frowned. “She didn’t get trashed and leave already did, she?”

Sonny still had it bad for Kara. She was a challenge and he obviously wasn’t ready to give up. Personally, I thought he was wasting his time. Kara was stubborn and not easily manipulated. I knew of other guys who’d tried to score with her and failed. Rumor had it that she might even be gay. “She wasn’t drinking. I’m not sure if she left or not.”

“Okay.” He looked at my cup. “You empty?”

I nodded.

“Let’s go to the kitchen. I heard there’s more mixers in there.”

“Okay.”

It was busy and loud in the kitchen. Several people were already getting drunk and it was obvious they’d need to be cut off soon.  

“Chase, man, are you going to race again soon?” one of the guys asked.

“I hope so,” I replied.

“Your car would have smoked Gus’s,” he continued and then started talking about my Mustang and how kickass it was.

“Thanks, man,” I replied.

“You still with Mattie?” someone else asked me.

“We’re just friends,” I said.

The group of guys he was with started talking about how hot she was and I walked away.

Sonny mixed us both rum and Cokes and we made our way toward the doorway. Before I walked out, a girl I’d once banged gave me a flirty grin. She was perched up on a counter, a bottle of wine between her thighs, and talking to one of her friends.

“Hi, Chase,” she said as Sonny walked out the door.

I paused. “Hey, Lexie.”

She began twirling a strand of blonde hair around her finger. “I heard you and Mattie broke up.”

I nodded.

“You dating someone else?”

“Not right now.”

Her eyes glittered. “I also heard you moved into your own place. I’d love to see it sometime.”

I wasn’t interested in hooking up with her again, but I didn’t want to look like an asshole. “Sure. If I have a party, you’re invited.”

Her face brightened. “Okay. Cool.”

I left the kitchen and found Sonny heading toward the stairs.

“Where you going?”

He looked back at me. “I just saw Kara going downstairs with the new girl.”

“Oh, okay.”

I followed him down and that’s when I saw Jason leading Mackenzie and Kara into his bedroom.

Sonny looked back at me. “What the fuck is going on there?”  

I gritted my teeth. Jason wasn’t wasting any time. I doubted he’d make his move with Kara in the room, but it still pissed me off.

“Maybe he’s giving them X?” Sonny said, staring toward the closed bedroom door with a scowl. “He told me he’d scored some. Kara doesn’t seem the type, but who knows?”

Images of Jason and Mackenzie having sex made me want to punch the wall. “He touches her and I’ll fucking kill him.”

Sonny’s eyes widened in surprise. “Which one?”

Before I could answer, we heard a familiar voice behind us.

“What are you two rambling on about?”

Mattie.

We both turned around and saw her standing in the hallway.

“Hey, girl. How’s that drink I made you earlier?” Sonny asked, walking over to her.

“Tasty. You make the best drinks,” she replied.

“Thanks,” he said. “You want another one?”

“Not yet.” She looked at me. “Can we talk?”

Fuck.

Sonny, looked at me. “I’ll be in there.” He took off into the entertainment room.

“What’s up?” I asked, trying to keep the anger out of my voice. I didn’t know which pissed me off more—Mackenzie being in Jason’s bedroom, or having to talk with Mattie.

Why couldn’t she just stay the fuck away from me?

She moved closer to me. “What if I told you a guy here wants to have sex with me?”

“What do you want me to say?” I replied, wondering who he was so I could warn him about her craziness.

Her eyebrows knitted together. “It doesn’t bother you?”

I let out a weary sigh. “No. It’s over. You know that.”

Her face turned red. “It’s because of her, isn’t it?” she snapped.

Not this again.

“Give it up, Mattie. There’s nothing going on between us. In fact, she’s in Jason’s bedroom right now.”

Her eyes searched mine. “And that bothers you.”

I looked away. “Just get off my case. You’re making shit up in your head and it’s really getting old, Mattie. It’s exhausting.”

“You’re exhausting.” She turned on her heel and stormed away.

I sighed, relieved.

Women.

They really were nothing but trouble.

My cell phone vibrated and I noticed my old man calling. Not in the mood to talk to him, I didn’t answer. He left me a message, however.

I’m in Seattle right now but was wondering if you’d like to get together for brunch next Sunday? Give me a call when you get this message.

I decided to return his call. Although I was still pissed about everything that had happened between us, he was still my old man. I loved him, even if he was a prick.

“What are you up to?” he asked. “I hear music playing.”

“I’m at Jason’s,” I said, deciding not to lie. He had no reign on me anymore.

“He having a party?”

“Yeah.”

He sighed. “Just be careful. The last thing you need is a DUI.”

“I know. I’m not going to get myself into trouble.”

“Okay. So, what about brunch?”

“Yeah. I can make it.”

“Good. Meet me at Brine’s around eleven. Next weekend.”

“Sounds good.” He knew it was my favorite place to eat, so I knew he was definitely trying.

“I... I wanted you to know that I’ve made some changes. I’m going off the ’roids.”

“Really?” It was the first time he’d even acknowledged that he’d been taking them.

“Yeah. Starting next weekend. I’m taking two weeks off of work, for withdrawals. I heard they can be bad.”

“Well, good luck.”

“I’m doing it for you. I know what I did was horse shit.”

I’d never heard him sound so emotional before and felt a glimmer of hope. “Thanks. You should be doing it for yourself though, too.”

“I know.”

“Well, I got to go,” I said, my own emotions building up. The last thing I needed was to get teary-eyed at a fucking party. It would be in the school newspaper by the next morning. “I’ll see you Sunday.”

“Sounds good. Love you, Chase.”

“Love you, too,” I murmured and hung up.

As I was putting my phone away, the sound of Jason’s bedroom door opening caught my attention. I turned and watched as he walked out of his room, with Mackenzie and Kara behind him.

Seeing me, Jason grinned. “What’s up, Adams? You ready for that re-match?”

“Nah. What were you guys doing?” I replied, trying not to sound pissed-off.

Jason put his arms around Mackenzie’s and Kara’s shoulders. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

Kara rolled her eyes and Mackenzie snorted.

“A guy can dream, right?” Jason said, chuckling.

Suddenly there was a loud crash from upstairs. It was followed by chants of “Fight! Fight! Fight!”

Jason swore and took off up the stairs. I quickly followed him. When we reached the kitchen, two guys were brawling on the floor, one of them being Bruce. Everyone around were holding drinks in one hand and their phones up, filming, in the other.

Jason and I pulled them apart.

“What the fuck? Not in the house!” Jason hollered.

Ignoring him, the guy he was holding back, Roger Samson, tried breaking away. His head was bleeding and there was broken glass on the tile. It looked like Bruce had slammed one of the liquor bottles over his skull.  

“Knock it the fuck off! You’re bleeding. You need to get ahold of yourself!” I snapped. I looked at Bruce. “And you, get the fuck out of the house and cool down.”

“Let me go and I will,” Bruce growled.

I released him and he stomped out of the kitchen.

“You good?” Jason asked Roger.

“Yeah,” he said through clenched teeth.

Jason let him go. “You need to get your head checked. The rest of you, out of the kitchen!”

The gawkers left.

Roger touched his skull and saw the blood. “Fucker.”

“What were you two fighting about?” Jason asked, picking up pieces of glass from the floor.

Roger looked at me but didn’t say anything.

“What?” I handed him a towel.

He took it and dabbed at the blood. “It has something to do with Mattie.” 

“What about her?” I asked.

It took him a few seconds to answer. “I walked in on them in one of the bedrooms.”

“And?” I asked, realizing that it was him she’d been telling me about earlier.

“They were getting busy.” 

Bruce, Sonny, and I all had an agreement—never sleep with your friend’s girlfriend or his ex. Drunk or not, Bruce was desecrating our oath.

“Bruce and Mattie?” Jason asked incredulously, straightening up.

“You sure about this?” I asked.

“Hell, yeah. She was giving him a BJ.”

Fucking Bruce...

“So, that’s what started the fight?” Jason asked.

He nodded. “Pretty much. He followed me into the kitchen, threatening to kill me if I said anything. I told him to fuck off. He didn’t like that.”

“You’re absolutely sure it was Mattie?” I muttered.

He nodded. “Yeah. She turned around and looked right at me.”

Jason shook his head. “Damn.”

“Fuck it. We’re not together anymore,” I replied, although it still stung. I’d considered Bruce a good friend. As far as Mattie was concerned, it didn’t exactly surprise me.

“Still, he’s your boy. What the hell, man?” Jason said with a look of disgust. “You going to do something about it?”  

I shrugged. “Fuck it. Like I said, we’re not together anymore. Let them have each other.”

Bruce walked back into the kitchen and we stared at each other for a few seconds. He lowered his eyes and looked at Roger. I could tell he wanted to throttle the guy, but didn’t make a move.

“Can you leave us alone?” I asked Jason and Roger.

They both left.

“He told you,” Bruce said.

“Yeah. What the fuck? I thought we had an agreement.”

Our eyes met and he let out a ragged breath. “I know. I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking with the right head. She wanted to talk about you and that’s why I was alone with her. The next thing I knew, she was on her knees and giving me a hummer. I was in too much shock to stop her."

“She just got down on her knees, huh?” I said, not sure if I believed it had gone that way. And it wasn’t shock that made him freeze up. As far as I was concerned, he was just as much to blame for not stopping it.

“Seriously, man. I think she just wanted to get back at you.”

I stared at him hard. Bruce was swaying, obviously very drunk. I decided to give him a break. We’d been friends longer than Mattie and I had been together. Plus, I knew her. She probably did do it to get back at me.

“I’ll let it go this time, but if we’re going to stay friends, you can’t be fucking around with her,” I warned.

“I won’t, man. Seriously. Sorry I was a stupid, horny bastard and should have known better.”

The door opened and Sonny walked in. “Chase, you got a minute?”

“Sure, what’s up?”

“Pool. We need a fourth player. You in?”

“Who’s playing?”

“Me. You, Kara, and Mackenzie.”

“Sure,” I said, perking up.

“Good.” Sonny looked at Bruce. “Mattie is looking for you.”

I rolled my eyes.

Bruce muttered something and then walked out of the kitchen.

“I heard he and Roger were fighting. What was that all about?” Sonny asked.

I grunted. “You don’t even want to know.”

“Now I have to know.”

I began telling him as we left the kitchen.

40