Chapter 2
1974 Words
two
Chase
How the hell did I get roped into this bullshit?
I’m a tight end for the San Francisco Kingsmen, not f*****g Martha Stewart. What do I know about hosting an engagement party?
Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy for our wide receiver Brady and his former nanny, Violet. At least I don’t have to listen to him groan anymore about how he lost her, because they’re engaged. Great. Isn’t that between the two of them, not the rest of us?
My teammates insisted I host tonight’s shenanigans since I’ve never hosted anything but a poker game, so here we are. It’s really their punishment, not mine.
Looking at the spread on my kitchen island, I could do worse. Pork rinds, bowls of chips, a veggie tray for the women, and I plan to order pizza once everyone’s here. There’s beer in the fridge. What more do we need?
My condo isn’t enormous—three bedrooms, two baths, a big kitchen that’s separate from the massive living/dining room combo—but it’s bigger than the house I grew up in. That living room is the entire reason I bought it, and rather than putting in some formal dining table, I made the whole space what some might consider a man cave.
An eighty-inch flat-screen TV hangs on one wall, connected to a state-of-the-art sound system. It’s across from a huge sectional, and behind that is my pool table, poker table, darts, and a few pinball machines. All the s**t I enjoyed growing up in Small Town, Montana.
The first knock lands on my door, and I pull at the collar of my shirt. I’ve already undone the first button. I c***k my neck while walking over to the door. Tonight promises to be a long night.
I open the door to a smiling Lee and Shayna. Lee’s the team’s quarterback, and Shayna is one of the team’s athletic trainers and also Lee’s fiancée. Yeah, that’s two of my teammates engaged. It’s almost like commitment is contagious, the way they both fell so fast.
“Hey.” I manage to give them a half smile.
“I see you’re already in the hosting mood.” Lee chuckles and claps me on the shoulder.
“Hey, Chase. Don’t worry, it won’t be that bad.” Shayna’s trying to hold back a laugh at my obvious discomfort.
“Says you.” I step back from the door and wave them in.
“Oh.” Shayna comes up short and looks around the living/dining room. “I wasn’t sure what to expect, but somehow this completely fits the brand.”
“Brand?” I scowl.
“Grumpy introverted bachelor who plays professional football.”
I shake my head.
“Go easy on him, babe. It’s his first time hosting anything more than poker night, right, Chase?” Lee shrugs out of his coat and helps Shayna out of hers. “Where should we put these?” Lee holds up their coats.
“Um…” I look around, take them, and toss them on the pool table.
“Chase? How about your second bedroom?” Shayna suggests, and I want to ask her why the hell they didn’t host if she knows the coats go in the bedroom.
“Sure.” I nod to Lee, and he walks down my hallway to the second bedroom. I move to the kitchen, Shayna following me. “Do you guys want something to drink?”
“That’d be great,” Shayna says.
I turn to face her as she sets a gift bag I didn’t realize she was holding on the counter by the stove.
“What’s in there?” I nod at the glittery pink-and-purple bag that looks totally out of place in my industrial kitchen.
“An engagement gift for Brady and Violet.”
I swing my gaze Lee’s way as he returns from the bedroom. “You didn’t tell me I had to get them a gift.”
He holds up his hands. “I didn’t know. Shayna took care of that.”
“You know, if you had a woman in your life, she would help you do these kinds of things,” Shayna says in a singsong voice.
I narrow my eyes at her. “Don’t start.” I swing open the fridge door. “What do you guys want to drink? I’ve got light and regular.”
Shayna peers over my shoulder. “Light or regular what?”
“Beer,” I answer, straightening up so she can see around me.
“You don’t have any coolers?” Shayna asks.
I look at her. “I have a subzero freezer right here.” I point at where it is directly beside the fridge. “Why would I need a cooler?”
She presses her lips together and looks back at Lee, who is already laughing. f**k them. I didn’t want to do this in the first place.
“I think she means wine or vodka coolers,” Lee says.
My forehead wrinkles. “Oh… no. Just beer.” I motion to where all the bottles are lined up like soldiers in the large fridge.
“That’s okay. I’ll just take a light beer then,” she says with a tone that suggests she’s unhappy.
“Same,” Lee echoes.
The doorbell rings and I pass them each a beer. “Here. I’ll be back in a second.”
Thank God I gave the concierge the names of everyone I’m expecting and directed him to let everyone up; otherwise, I would have to spend half the night answering his calls.
When I swing open the door, Darius and Elijah are arguing about some draft pick. Darius is a defensive end on the team and Elijah is a cornerback, and they both think they know the most about football. They make predictions on trades and always tell the other they don’t know what they’re talking about.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Elijah says before greeting me with a big smile.
“Hey, guys.” I let them in, and we shake hands, then hug, patting each other on the back.
“Hey, hostess with the mostest,” Darius says with a laugh.
“No thanks to you two.”
When we took a vote in the locker room as to who should host tonight, both these pricks voted for me.
Eli claps his hand on my shoulder. “C’mon, it can’t be that bad.”
“Yeah? Next time you host something, and we’ll exchange notes.” I arch an eyebrow.
“All right, whenever you get engaged, I promise I’ll host the engagement party.” Eli grins, slaps Darius on the back, and the two c***k up all the way into my kitchen.
“Har har. We all know me getting engaged is about as likely as Darius here winning a round of poker.”
Eli points at Darius, who scowls, and I laugh.
“You guys have jokes, huh?” He’s always on the losing end of our poker games.
“Beer is in the fridge, and food is on the counter. Which reminds me, I gotta order the pizza.”
The two of them share a look with raised eyebrows.
“What?” I ask.
“Nothing.” Darius presses his lips together. “Pizza’s good, man.”
I cross my arms and look down my nose at them. “Is there something wrong with pizza?”
“I love pizza,” Eli says. “But it’s also what my sister orders for my niece and nephew’s birthday parties. I don’t think it’s usually something to serve at an engagement party.”
“When my sister got engaged, everything was mini. Mini crab cakes, mini wieners wrapped in dough, mini shrimp thing on a cracker.” Darius looks at Eli. “I did love those mini wieners though.” He stares into space as if remembering them fondly. “Pizza is cool though.”
Eli covers his mouth and bends over. “Please stop with the wieners. You’re just asking for it.”
“You’re so immature!” Darius opens the fridge, helping himself to a beer.
Another knock on the door and my arms drop to my sides. “Well, consider me a trendsetter.” I brush past them toward the door.
“Hey, man,” Miles, the team’s safety, says when I open the door. “Fed up already?”
“You have no idea,” I grumble, opening the door wider.
Miles glances down the hall. “Great,” he mutters and pushes in past me. “I need a drink.”
I peek my head out into the hall, although I already know only one person gets Miles all riled up. Sure enough, Bryce is sauntering down the hallway. She works for the San Jose newspaper, and she and Miles go together about as well as ice cream and relish, though no one really knows why.
“Miles hiding out from me?” she says when she reaches me. She, too, holds a gift bag, along with another big bag slung over her shoulder.
“Guess so.” She’s friends with Shayna and now Violet, which is why I had to invite her.
“Hey!” Shayna says behind me and rushes over to give Bryce a hug, Lee behind her.
“Can I get you a beer?” I ask Bryce.
“There’s light beer or regular beer,” Shayna says in what sounds to me like a sarcastic tone.
Bryce chuckles and pulls a bottle of wine from the large bag she’s carrying. “Please. When I found out who the host was, I knew I had to come prepared.” She winks in my direction.
Shayna quickly thrusts her beer into Lee’s hands. “You’re going to share, right?”
“Of course.” Bryce smiles and they venture into the kitchen.
Lee shrugs and finishes her beer.
Halfway to the kitchen, Shayna turns around. “Chase, where do you keep your wineglasses?”
I arch a brow at her.
“Right. No wineglasses. Solo cups it is.” She salutes me and continues to the kitchen.
I groan. “This is a f*****g nightmare.”
“Could be worse,” Lee says with a smug smile I want to punch off his f*****g face.
“Oh yeah, how?”
“You could be hosting a baby shower.”
I scowl. “f**k off.”
Then I walk over to the coffee table where I left my phone, pull up the app, and order the pizza. Once I’ve ordered, there’s another knock at the door. For the next twenty-five minutes, I spend my time answering the door and offering drinks, doing my best not to act as if having all these people in my private space doesn’t feel like fire ants crawling up my ass.
I’m standing near my door, shooting the s**t with a few of the guys on the team, when I hear people talking out in the hall. It sounds like Brady. What the hell is he doing making a ruckus out there? He’s the guest of honor, and I’m pretty sure the sooner he gets in here, the sooner all these people leave.
I excuse myself and walk over to the door, whipping it open. “Thought I heard you out here. What the hell, are you trying to piss off all my—” I abruptly stop talking when I notice Miles’s sister, Twyla, standing with Brady and Violet.
What the hell is she doing here?
“Funny thing, we just met your new neighbor.” Brady thumbs toward Twyla.
My stomach lurches. Great, as if tonight could get any worse. Temptation just moved in across the hall.
- Writer
