Page 22 of Heal Me
*****
“I need your advice,” Ric said.
He sat in Tyler and Emily’s home office later that afternoon, talking to Chase over Skype. Emily had taken Hayley to the grocery store with her, so he had the house to himself. He couldn’t stop thinking about Kate and he wasn’t sure what to do about it.
Normally, he was in control of his emotions, but he’d felt out of sorts ever since he’d been forced to stay in Cooper’s Creek. He’d moved first to Denver and then to New York so that he didn’t have to be constantly reminded of Lizzie. It was especially hard staying in Tyler and Lizzie’s childhood home, a place where Ric and Emily had practically grown up, too.
Memories of Lizzie were everywhere, painful memories of a woman he’d loved more than life itself. Ric would’ve done anything for Lizzie, but she’d fallen in love with Simon, leaving him out in the cold.
“What about?” Chase asked, his brown eyes filled with concern. For once, he was actually in his office instead of on the Rooftop headquarters. “You seem awfully serious. What gives?”
Ric cocked his head. “Can you please take out that ridiculous man-bun?”
Chase let out a shout of laughter and released his hair from its restraints. He shook out his long, deep brown hair that fell a little past his shoulders. “I lost the damn bet!”
“Bet?”
“Yeah. Smiley and I bet on how long it would be before you or Ty made me take it out. I said that it would be this morning, but Smiley said that you guys would let me get away with it until noon. I owe him two hundred bucks,” Chase replied.
Ric laughed. “I’m surprised that Ty didn’t say anything about it this morning, too.”
“Me, too. Anyhow, what kind of advice do you need?”
“You know that I went out with Kate the other night, right?”
Chase nodded. “Yeah. How’d it go?”
A smile stole over Ric’s face. “Amazing. I took her up to the Hamiltons’ little cabin for dinner. I had Emily make us a romantic meal and take it over there ahead of time. We ate, drank a little wine, and talked.”
“That’s fantastic,” Chase said. “I’m glad you hit it off.”
“We did. I didn’t expect to, you know? I mean, I figured that we’d have a good time, but I didn’t know that I’d end up liking her so much,” Ric said.
“So, I take it that you’re gonna see her again.”
Ric ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t know. I want to, but…”
“Uh, oh. What did you do?”
“What makes you think it was my fault?”
Chase smiled. “Because it’s usually the man’s fault when things go wrong with women. Naw, I’m just kidding. What happened?”
Ric felt a little uncomfortable talking about the situation, but Chase didn’t have a judgmental bone in his body. He didn’t make assumptions about people and always gave them the benefit of the doubt until they screwed him over. Chase also didn’t shy away from talking about feelings the way a lot of guys did, which was why Ric had wanted his input on things with Kate.
He relayed the events of his evening with her to Chase and then waited for his reaction.
“Well, first off, kudos on breaking the bed,” Chase said. “That’s some sexy shit right there.”
Ric cracked up. “It wasn’t planned and now I have to get that bed replaced before they find out about it.”
Chase nodded. “What exactly are you asking me, Ric?”
“Kate and I were just going to have some fun for the next few weeks, but I’m thinking that she’s not that sort of woman. So, do I try to see her again, or leave it be?” Ric asked.
“Ah, it becomes clear,” Chase said. “She got under your skin.”
Ric felt lost. “Yeah. We’ve only been out twice, but…this is the worst time for something like this to happen.”
