"Well, what did he say?"
I let out a little laugh, remembering his face as I had asked him. "Well, it didn't go as smoothly as I thought it would. First, he sliced his hand open."
"What? No, I mean, what did he say to your question?"
"He said he would think about it."
"Oh my! And you told him everything, right?"
I let out a sigh. Perhaps if had I told him everything, his answer might have been different. "Well, if he hadn't been bleeding all over the place I might have, but no, I didn't. Do you think I should have told him everything?"
Jenna started to laugh. "Sophie, it may have helped your case if you had. Don't you think?"
"Perhaps. I don't know, maybe this really is a bad idea."
"Why do you say that?"
I laughed. "If you had seen his face, you'd be thinking the same thing. I can only imagine what the other guys would have said if I had asked one of them."
"Girl, you are crazy."
"No, I'm serious. I also keep thinking that if I had just gone in there with everything written down and in a true proposal style, he may have looked at the entire situation differently. Maybe more like a business deal."
"Perhaps if you had delivered all the goods, then he might have jumped at the chance. Listen, I've got to go. Matt just walked through the door. Call me later and we will talk, okay?"
"All right, night."
"Seriously, Soph, talk to him, give him all the goods."
"Good night, Jenna!"
I hung up the phone and turned the TV off. Shutting the lights off, I grabbed my cell phone and headed to the bedroom. I crawled into bed and lay facing the floor-to-ceiling window, looking at the lights of the city like I did every night. My mind was still running over everything that had happened tonight. Jenna was right. If I had given him all the details up front, perhaps his answer might have been yes. However, I was glad I had held back because he might have cut his hand off too. I giggled at the thought. I grabbed my cell phone from the side table and quickly opened a text message to Chase.
I typed feverishly at first, then decided to delete everything and began again. I couldn't just come out and say it like I was planning to. I had no clue where he was. He could have been behind the wheel of his car, God forbid. Besides, I didn't want him to get the information through a text either.
ME: Would you be able to meet me tomorrow for lunch. At the risk of sounding like those infomercials we used to watch as kids...but wait! There's more…but wait, there is more, and I want another chance to discuss this with you.
I blew out a breath and placed my cell phone on the table, closed my eyes, and tried to fall into a deep sleep.
6
Chase
Isat on the hood of my car and looked up at the dark sky in utter shock. I still couldn't believe what had transpired tonight. My best friend had asked me to be the father of her child. I shook my head and ran my hand through my hair. I glanced down to the bag of cold food that sat beside me, my stomach letting out a loud grumble. I wasn't sure if I was hungry or if I was going to be sick.
I let out a huff and pulled my phone from my pocket. I checked the last text I had received from Hunter and saw it was over an hour ago. I was just about to message him to find out where he was when a car I recognized pulled into the parking lot and in beside mine. I hopped off the hood of my car, grabbed the bag of food, and pulled the passenger door open on Hunter's car.
"It's about damn time!" I said, crawling into the front seat and pulling my seatbelt across my body.
"Yeah, well, Autumn needed help getting the kids to bed. It was bath night. It’s not like I can expect her to deal with them all on her own. What the hell happened to your hand?" Hunter questioned, staring down at my napkin-wrapped hand. "And what's wrong with your car?" he asked and nodded towards my vehicle.
"Nothing."
"You called me out here for nothing? What the hell you do to your hand?"
"Not for nothing. I had a little too much to drink, and this..." I said, raising my hand. "I cut myself while slicing a loaf of bread." I shrugged.
"Jesus," he muttered under his breath as he watched me place my leftovers bag between us.