Almost Maybes

The Great Escape

Hadley’s POV:
No sooner than Chase walked out of the room, I let the breath I had been holding come out in one big huff as I stood there wrapped in the blanket from his bed. A bed that I had shared with him last night. Maybe that wasn't a big deal to some considering that we have been best friends literally forever and have shared a bed countless times. But this time, I had been just drunk enough that I had been ready to throw caution to the wind and give in to the one thing that I had been wanting -almost needing- for as long as I could remember. I had been just drunk enough that a few times last night, I’d caught myself thinking that Chase was having the same feelings as I was and was fighting them just as hard. But that was crazy right? Chase and I were friends, nothing more, nothing less. Walking over to the window, I looked out over the pasture that was Connie’s backyard and let my mind continue to drift over last night and this morning. I couldn't believe that I had almost kissed Chase. Would have too if Chad hadn't chosen that exact moment to barge into the room. I groaned as I thought about his face popping around the door as Chase and I put space between us as fast as humanly possible. And then there was the little fact that I had been sitting there topless, my tits on display for all to see. I’d hoped that by not bothering with covering myself that Chase wouldn't have been able to control himself since I knew that he was typically a breast man. Now, knowing that he hadn't even as much as looked at my tits, I felt like a total idiot -which was putting it mildly. I could only imagine what Chad was thinking considering her had gotten an eyeful of DD’s in all their naked glory. Good thing I had forgotten to put my nipple rings back in yesterday after my shower when I’d gotten home from school. Chad really would have seen a whole different side of me if he had caught sight of the black barbells I usually kept in them.  

The worst part of it all was the fact that Connie had caught Chase and I in bed together, naked. Well, he had sweats on but still. I knew that she was never going to let this go. Especially considering that just last week when she and I had met for dinner, she had asked me flat out if I was ever going to tell Chase how I felt. I’d tried to play dumb but Connie knew me just about as well as she knew her son. She knew instantly that I had been lying through my teeth when I said I didn't think of Chase as anything but a friend. Called me everything but a dumbass for denying my feelings and not realizing that Chase was harboring the same ones. God, how was I going to go downstairs and face them all? Especially Chase.

Tossing the comforter onto the bed, I made quick work of putting on my clothes from last night. I stared at Chase’s hoodie that I had been wearing, contemplating if I should put it on or not, wondering what message it would send if I went down wearing his clothes. I mean it's not like they had never seen me in his clothes. Over the years, I’ve probably worn his clothes more than I have my own. Then again, if I went down stairs not wearing his hoodie, they would all think it was weird.  

“You're overthinking this” I muttered to myself as I grabbed the hoodie. Slipping it over my head, I sat down on the side of bed and stuffed my feet into my boots. With a deep breath, I stood and made my way to the door. But I couldn't bring myself to open it. 

Remembering Connie's trellis that was mounted by Chase’s window, I made my way over to it and slipped the window open. If I had a dollar for every time that I climbed in and out of this window over the past almost 30 years, I would be a damn millionaire. I sure as hell wouldn't be dealing with whiny 3 year olds all day. I knew I was taking the cowards way out but I couldn't bring myself to face them all just yet. I knew Connie was going to have a field day with my ass when she saw me again -so would Chase for that matter- but at the moment, I was willing to deal with both of their wraths versus sitting around that dinner table. 

When my feet hit the ground, I eased my way around the side of the house, making sure that no one was sitting on the porch swing. I sighed in relief when I saw that it was empty. Making a run for it, I ran for my Jeep Wrangler and quickly hopped into the driver's seat. With one last glance at the house, I turned the key and started it up before tearing out of the driveway like the hounds of hell were after me. I had to force myself not to check my rearview.  

When I made it to my house, I went straight to the shower, tossing my clothes all over my bedroom. The whole ride home, all I had been able to smell was Chase’s cologne and all it had done was remind me of last night and this morning. Not even bothering to wait for the water to get hot, I climbed in and let the cold water numb me as the tears I had been holding back fell in a heavy stream down my face. The past few times Chase has been home, this is how I have been. I was tired of fighting my feelings for him but at the same time, I didn't want to lose the one person that had been with me through thick and thin. And make no mistake, if Chase and I ever were to cross the line, it would be catastrophic. I loved the man with everything I had in me but he was the love em and leave em type. Had been since highschool. The man had never kept a girl in his life for more than a few months at a time. 

Part of that was my fault though. None of the girls he dated were good enough for him. While I had tolerated them, I hadn't been exactly friendly with them. I hadn't really made it easy for them to spend time with him when every chance I got, I was either at a show, on the road, or facetiming him about something that was going on. More than once over the years, Chase’s ex’s had accused him and I of sleeping together. None of them believed either one of us when we said that we hadn't. They had all claimed that a man and a woman wouldn't be as close as Chase and I were and not have fallen into bed at someone point along the way. You could if you were secretly in love with them and knew that the only way to spend time with them was to be their best friend, even if it meant you had to look at him sucking face with a trashy ass slut in a bar or at a show.  

When my tears were all cried out, I made quick work of washing myself before climbing out. Deciding to torture myself even more, I grabbed one of Chase’s shirts and a pair of his boxer briefs I had taken awhile back. After slipping them on, I headed downstairs to find something to eat. Standing at the refrigerator, the only thing I could think of that I wanted was the half gallon of Blue Bell ice cream I had in the freezer.

“Fuck it.” I muttered as I grabbed the container and then a spoon before heading to the living room. 

Flopping down onto the couch, I dug into my ice cream as I flipped through the channels in search of something to watch. Settling on reruns of Hart of Dixie, I sent up a silent prayer that Chase wouldn't show up -atleast not today. I needed a day or two to get myself together before I faced him again. 

Chase’s POV:
I was going to beat her ass when I got my hands on her. That is if Mama didn't do it first. We had all been sitting around the dinner table waiting for Hadley to come downstairs when I heard a door shut outside. I didn't even have to look to know that it was her and that she had used the trellis that she had used countless times over the years. I’d simply walked to the door in hopes that she would see me standing there and change her mind about leaving. But much to my dismay, she hadn't even so much as looked towards the front of the house as she had made her escape. 

I knew Hadley well enough to know what she was doing. She was running because she was both scared and embarrassed. Scared because of what had almost just happened. Embarrassed because Mama and Chad had caught us in compromising positions. I knew all I had to do was give her a couple hours to get her head straight and she would be right back to acting like the bad ass that she wanted people to believe she was.