Page 71 of Chase Lovett Wants Me

Rix starts crying too, and then the two of them are howling with laughter.

“What the hell is going on?” Chase asks.

“They’re always like this,” I explain. I love their friendship. Envy it even.

No one else chokes during lunch. Tristan insists on paying for the whole bill.

As predicted, Essie declares it a girls’ afternoon and we split up, all the moms and girls head to the mall for manicures and shopping, and the dads and guys go do whatever it is guys do when they’re together. Probably something sporty with this crew. If so, I feel bad for my dad because he’s like me and considers reading a sport.

The moms are currently being treated to pedicures, so it’s just me, Rix, and Essie. My sister has fully recovered from her choking incident.

“So how serious is this thing with Chase? It seems pretty serious,” Essie says as we get our nails prepped for our manicures. “And his mom and our mom are getting along like a house on fire.”

I glance over at them. They’re bonding like besties. It’s super cute. I turn back to my sister. “I think it’s pretty serious.”

“He seems really into you.” Rix sips her cucumber water, takes a selfie while smirking, and sends it to someone. Probably Tristan.

“He brings me flowers and stuff.” Mostly from the garden behind res, but he brought me real flowers from a store after I went to his game and stood up to the mean girls. It even came with a note card telling me how proud he was of me in his own semi-legible scrawl.

Essie drops her voice. “And he takes care of your needs—first.”

“Oh yeah.” I nod while my face starts to turn red. “He’s very doting.”

“He seems like he would be,” Rix says approvingly.

I wish I could get used to how open these two are about sex. I used to eavesdrop when they were in their late teens. The things I learned…

“Hockey boys have great stamina,” Rix sighs dreamily.

I nod my agreement while turning seventeen shades of red.

“Have those girls backed off?” Essie asks.

“What girls?” Rix’s shoulders roll back.

“Desperate attention seekers who were giving Cammie a hard time,” she explains.

“It’s fine now.” That’s not entirely true. They glare at me every time they see me when I’m not with Chase. And more than once Barbie has flicked toothpaste water at me in the bathroom.

Could I take her down? Of course. She’s no match for me verbally or physically. But the more I ignore her, the more irritated she gets, which is gratifying in its own right.

“The fucking bunnies.” Rix rolls her eyes.

“How do you handle it? Especially when Tristan is on the road?” I ask.

They’re getting married next summer, so obviously they’ve figured out how to make it work and she’s not a pile of insecurity all day every day. “It’s not always easy. But Tristan and I talk every day and video call when he’s away. I have to choose to trust him and let it go. We’re honest with each other, and if I’m having a hard day, or there’s bunny shit online, he’s good about reassuring me. If Chase is the right guy for you, he’ll be understanding when you have those kinds of days, too.”

“Tristan’s super in love with you,” I say.

“He is. And I’m super in love with him. Every time I feel my fears creep in, I just remember that loving someone well is a choice, and I’m his just like he’s mine.” She bumps my sister’s shoulder. “Now we just need to find the right guy for Essie.”

Essie rolls her eyes. “I’ve found the right guy for me, liketwenty times. They all just decide I’m not the right girl for them. I think I’m swearing off men for now.”

She always makes jokes about her relationship history. She’s married every single guy she’s dated. In her head. Half the reason she moved back from Vancouver was because she started dating another toxic guy and decided the best way to end it was to put a few thousand kilometers between them. Also, she missed home and wanted to be closer to family and Rix.

After girl bonding time and shopping, we head back to campus. My mom meets up with my dad at the hotel—ironically the same one that brought me and Chase together—and Rix and Essie come back to res with me so we can get ready for the hockey game tonight.

All of us are going. I’m excited and nervous.

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