Chasing Fate

1

            Sweat dripped off my face and down the back of my neck. My arms were coated with moisture as I stepped through the garage into the house. I sighed in relief as I felt the cool air conditioning hit my sweaty skin. Stepping into the kitchen, I opened the fridge, pulling out a bottle of water. Opening the cap, I chugged the water before finally having to stop for air. Breathing heavily, I wiped my mouth on the back of my hand and turned towards the living room.

My stepdad's car was in the driveway, so I knew he was home. Thank god, too, because I really needed to get him to sign my permission slip for school before I forgot, again. "Dad!" I yelled into the quiet house as I dug the paper out of my bag lying on the dining room table.

"Carly!" I heard my stepdad yell from upstairs, sounding like it was coming from his office. I climbed the stairs, my legs aching from the three miles I just ran. When I rounded the corner at the top of the stairs, I stopped at the entrance to my stepdad's office. Ray was an orthodontist, so he didn't really use his home office very much. Instead, he treated the office like a sort of shrine to his 'glory days' of when he played for the state university football team. Today, he was sitting behind his desk, a football in hands while he talked to one of his best friends and colleagues, Jose.

"Chica!" Jose exclaimed when he saw me, standing and stepping closer to give me a hug. He stopped about a foot away when he realized I was covered with sweat and probably smelled. "Good to see you!"

"There's my girl," my stepdad said. I smiled at him. My stepdad and I had a great relationship. He was so much better than my biological dad. "I'd invite you to sit down, but well...you kinda stink." He gave me a playful smile and I laughed.

"Thanks, Dad." I rolled my eyes. I stepped into the room and laid the permission slip on his desk in front of him. He sat the football down and looked at it. "I need you to sign this so I can go to the college fair in St. Louis next week. It's supposed to be one of the biggest in the country."

"College, already?" he said picking up a pen and signing it without even reading it. What can I say? My dad trusts me. He slid the paper across his desk back towards me. "I guess you are a junior, huh?"

I shook my head and laughed. "Great memory, Pops. Keepin' the old noggin sharp, aren't you?"

Jose laughed loudly and leaned back in the chair he had sat down on. "Chica, your papa is going loco. No doubt about that." He laughed again.

"Right," I stepped back towards the door, indicating I was ready to leave the room. Not that I didn't love spending time with Ray and Jose, but my stepdad was right – I stank.

"Hey," my stepdad said. "What are you doing tonight?" He leaned forward eagerly in his chair.

"Um, I don't know..." I thought about it. It was Sunday night so there wasn't really much to do. "Why?"

"Well, Paolo and Carlos are coming over to watch The Walking Dead season premiere in a few hours. You game?" He gave me a look that said he knew I wouldn't say no.

I shrugged, "Sure, Dad." I turned to walk out the door, before hollering over my shoulder, "As long as you let me have a beer!"

"Yeah, yeah," Ray yelled back.

"Alcoholic!" I heard Jose yell.

I laughed and stepped into my room. Before stepping in my private bathroom, I stopped at my laptop, turning it on and checking my messenger feed. I had a message waiting from Chase. I couldn't help the little smile that tugged at the corner of my mouth when I clicked on his message. A little green icon in the top corner of the message box showed he was online (or on his phone) at the moment, as well. I read the message quickly:

Chase: Hey, message me when you get this.

I smiled and quickly messaged back.

Me: Knock, knock.

I stood up from my desk while I waited for him to reply. I started pulling out clothes to wear tonight after my shower and also for school tomorrow. Being a junior at Stone Bridge High School was sort of a big deal for me this year. Our school was huge, but I liked to dress fashionably to do what I could to stand out. On top of that, I took all the honors classes, cheered for football in the fall, played basketball in the winter, and ran track in the spring. Any other time involving school was spent in the art classroom. I guess you could say I was very well rounded.

My computer chimed at me as an incoming video chat from Chase. Shit. I looked bad. I quickly looked at myself in my floor length wall mirror. My blonde hair was pulled into a tight ponytail but drenched with sweat. I still had a sheen of sweat shining across my tan skin. And my tank top was soaked through so you could see my black sports bra. Instead of showing Chase my sweat stains, I decided to whip off the tank top and just chat in a sports bra. It also thrilled me a little bit to show him so much skin, knowing he would probably comment on it.

I settled down in my desk chair and accepted the call. Chase's beautiful face filled my screen. His hair was blonde and sticking up slightly, but it made him look so carefree that it only increased his appeal. His blue eyes shone vividly against his even tan. He flashed me a blindingly white smile the minute he saw me before his eyes bugged a bit.

"Oh my god," he said in a low voice, his eyes darkening. "Hang on, let me take a screenshot..."

"Don't you dare!" I said, ducking so only my head shone in the little box on my screen. "Chase!"

He laughed loudly and held his hands up. "Okay, okay. No screenshots. But damn, Carly... why are you answering my calls half naked? I don't mind but...damn..." He kept shaking his head, smirking at me.

"I just got done running!" I told him. "What do you want, Chase?" I pretended to be annoyed with him.

"I just wanted to see my beautiful friend," he said, flashing that blinding smile again. "Isn't that okay?"

"Yeah, yeah," I said. "So how was your day?" Chase just stared at me. "Hello?" I asked.

"Sorry, Carls. You're gonna have to put a shirt on if you want me to talk to you. I can't focus seeing you in just a sexy sports bra." He winked at me.

"Okay, well then you're just gonna have to wait to talk to me until after I take a shower then," I said.

"Or," Chase said, leaning a bit closer to the camera so his face filled the screen. "Now hear me out, you could just leave chat with me while you're in the shower. I don't mind."

I rolled my eyes. "My laptop isn't waterproof," I said.

"But your phone is," he countered, his eyes twinkling mischievously. "Come on, Carly."

"Bye, Chase," I said. "I'll talk to you later." Before he could protest any further I snapped the laptop closed and stood up. I loved flirting with him. We'd been flirting and texting each other for years. It was kind of crazy to think about because I'd actually never met him in person. He lived hours away from me and we'd had plenty of opportunities to meet. But we just never got around to it. But that was about to change. I was tired of waiting. I needed to meet him. Because after years of texting, talking on the phone for hours, video chatting and picture messaging...it felt like... Well, I'm not sure...but it really sometimes felt like I loved him. And I could not let that thought go.