The Replacement Girlfriend

Chapter 29

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?”