Serendipitous [Joe Burrow]

Chapter 3

Chandler opened her eyes but quickly shut them due to the sunlight in the room. She groaned rolling over. When she didn't feel the fuzziness of her blanket her eyes shot open. As she took in the white comforter draped around her body everything from last night came back to her. She laid back in bed staring up at the ceiling. What had come over her last night?

She came home with a guy she didn't know and had sex with him. What if he'd been a serial killer? She could have died. As she replayed the events in her mind she knew she was overreacting. There's no way the guy she hooked up with last night was a serial killer. Last night had to have been the best sex of her life. Maybe that's why they ended up doing it multiple times.

She sat up in bed seeing a folded shirt on the nightstand beside her. A small smile came to her lips as she picked it up. She slipped the shirt over her head as she felt around the bed in search of her underwear. She slipped them on before looking around the room.

The room was fairly clean besides their clothes that were scattered around. For a man living here, she was surprised at how clean everything looked. She walked out of the bedroom not exactly sure where she was going. Thankfully there was a long stretch of hallway that led to the living room. She turned to look out at the living room. Just like the bedroom, it was clean with minimal decor. A nice white couch sat in front of a large TV. "You're awake," Joe said making her jump.

"You scared me," Chandler said grabbing her chest.

"Sorry," Joe said, "I see you found the shirt I set out for you."

"Yeah. Thank you," Chandler said.

"I'm making breakfast if you want any," Joe said, "Chocolate chip pancakes."

"How did you know those were my favorite?" Chandler asked, "Stalking me?"

"No," Joe laughed, "I just made them because they're my favorite. I don't eat them often. So do you want to stay? I just need to cook this last one."

"Sure," Chandler said. When she did have one-night stands she didn't typically stay longer than to do the deed. She had a great time last night, might as well have some great breakfast. She sat down at the island as she watched Joe finish the last pancake.

"I'm not the best cook so hopefully they taste good," Joe said as he sat a plate down in front of her, "Would you like milk?"

"Yes please," Chandler said as she put syrup on her pancake. She cut off a piece putting it into her mouth. "This is the most delicious pancake I've ever had."

"I don't know if I'd go that far," Joe laughed as he sat the cup down in front of her.

"Seriously. It's really good," Chandler said, "So. Tell me about yourself, Joe."

"There's not much to know," Joe said.

"Hmm all right," Chandler said, "So what happened between you and your girlfriend?" Joe choked on the milk he was drinking. "Sorry. Too soon?"

"No, it's fine. I just...wasn't expecting thing that."

"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to," Chandler said.

"I've done a lot of not talking about it," Joe said, "It might be nice to talk about it."

"So what happened?" Chandler asked.

"She told me that I'd changed since we first met," Joe said, "We met in college. I ended up transferring so we did long distance for a while."

"I'm sorry," Chandler said, "Maybe she's the one who changed."

"Truthfully I think she was scared. I wanted to make kind of a big career move and she didn't support me in it," Joe said, "That doesn't mean the breakup didn't hurt any less. I really loved her. I thought we were gonna get married someday."

"I'm sorry, Joe," Chandler said putting her hand on his arm.

"It's all right," Joe shrugged, "It's just something that I'll have to get over."

"Well. I'm a firm believer that everything happens for a reason," Chandler said taking a bite of her pancake, "It may feel like the end of the world now, but maybe it happened for a reason."

"So what are you going to do about getting another job?" Joe asked.

"I don't know," Chandler said, "I guess I'm going to need to freshen up my résumé. I haven't had to find a new job in over 3 years."

"Well, what about your parents?" Joe asked, "Do you have any family that could help you out?"

"I don't really have a relationship with my parents anymore," Chandler said, "And I don't have any family that live close."

"I'm sorry," Joe said.

"It's whatever," Chandler shrugged, "I haven't talked to them since I moved here three years ago. I've kind of gotten used to it."

"Everything happens for a reason," Joe smiled.

"Everything happens for a reason," Chandler smiled. She looked up at the clock on the microwave and gasped. It was almost 10 o'clock. Katie would be worried sick about her. She briefly remembered sending her a text last night about going to a guy's house.

"What's wrong?" Joe asked.

"I gotta get home," Chandler said standing up, "My roommate is going to kill me! She probably thinks you murdered me." Chandler ran back to the bedroom pulling on her pants from last night. She held up her top from last night and grimaced. There's no way she could wear this home.

"You can wear my shirt home if you need," Joe said, "And I'd be happy to drive you. If you wait for an Uber it might be forever."

"Really? Thank you!" Chandler said, "Have to seen my purse?"

"I think it was on the couch," Joe said. She walked out of the room finding her purse and slipping on her shoes. "You got everything?"

"I think so," Chandler said shoving her small top in her purse. Joe leads her to his car out front. He opened the door for her before they were off toward her apartment.

Surprisingly Joe only lived about 10 minutes away from her and Katie's apartment. "Thanks for driving me home," Chandler said as Joe parked the car.

"You're welcome," Joe said, "I had a lot of fun last night."

"I did too," Chandler said holding out her hand, "It was nice to meet you, Joe."

"It was nice to meet you too," Joe said grabbing her hand.

"Pleasure doing business with you," Chandler said shaking his hand, "I'll probably never see you again."

"I'll be looking forward to not seeing you around," Joe joked making Chandler laugh. She got out of the car and waved before he drove off.