The Last Thing (11 page)

Chase

The drink had calmed my nerves. My hands were no longer
shaking and my stomach wasn’t in knots.  This was not the night I expected. I
came here ready and willing to forgive Quinn for blowing me off and maybe get
some. Then out of nowhere, she had sprung this on me. I didn’t handle it too
well at first. I knew this.  With each gulp from the glass, I became more
and more ashamed of my behavior. Having unprotected sex wasn't like me, but I’d
been caught up in the moment. The lust and alcohol had clouded my mind. I
hadn’t even worried about it afterwards because I figured the pill was fool
proof. I wasn’t about to tell her why I didn’t have a condom either. I’d
forgotten to restock my wallet after a hook up the night before. Careless and
stupid.

 She seemed innocent enough. Now I had this gorgeous brunette
in front of me who said she was carrying my baby. Damn, she’d give me some
beautiful babies. It could have been worse.  When she mentioned leaving town, I
could feel my body start to panic. I’d never had a kid before, but I was
certain that if she moved thousands of miles away, I would never get to see
this child.  I didn’t even have time to visit my own mom as it was.

 “I don’t want you to move,” I told her

A smile dangled on the corner of her lips before speaking.
“Good. I really don’t want to go.”

“You swear the baby is mine?”

“I haven’t been with anyone else in over a year.”

Ginger may of loved dramatics, but I didn’t believe she’d
purposely allow Quinn to lie to me. Ginger may be a bit stuck up, but she
wasn’t a bad person.  If she really was pregnant , I needed to be a part of
their lives. Having a non-existent father had made a huge impact on my life. My
mom had struggled to raise me alone, and I didn’t want Quinn to have to do the
same. Unlike my father, I could never walk out on my child. Didn’t matter what
the circumstances were. I was a better man than he’d ever be.

“I still want a test done.”

“Fine.” She seemed irritated that I’d mentioned it again.

We sat in silence for a few more minutes as I finished my
second glass of brandy. Suddenly, I had an idea. It wasn’t perfect but it was a
chance for both of us to get what we wanted.

I put a hand out and stroked the side of her cheek. She
closed her eyes at my touch. Her skin was smooth beneath my fingers. That night
at the party, it was rushed, unromantic and eager. If we made love again, what
would that be like?

“We can’t take back the past, but the truth is, we are going
to be a family. Why can’t we give it one hundred percent?”

 I didn’t know where these words were coming from.  I didn’t
do relationships, but on the other hand, I would do anything to keep Quinn from
leaving town.

“Are you saying you want to date me?” she asked.  Dating
would mean I would have to be monogamous, and all of the other things I didn’t
like. Why not? I’d never tried it; maybe I would change my mind.

 “Quinn…uh what is your last name?”

“Bardot,” she told me.

“Quinn Bardot, I know we are doing this all ass backwards,
but will you date me?”

“What about your
girlfriend?
” she put her hands up to
make air quotes when she said the word girlfriend.

“What girlfriend?”

“Ginger said you were dating a girl on the show?”

I wracked my brain for a moment. I’d never had a girlfriend,
but had hooked up with plenty of girls on set. Ginger knew that.

“I’ve already told you. I don’t have a girlfriend. I swear, you’re
searching for excuses to say no.”

She stared at my empty glass for a long time; so long that I
was terrified she’d say no. Then she slowly lifted her hazel eyes up to meet
mine.

“I can’t ,” she whispered.

My mouth literally fell open. She actually turned me down. I
couldn’t believe it. A grin lit up my face, only because she had to be joking.

“Gimme a chance. I won’t give up until you say yes.”

“Are you kidding me? I just said no.”

“You’re really serious?”

“Seriously serious.”

I was terrified. Terrified I would screw everything up. Hurt
her like my father had hurt my mother. Fall short of any expectation. She made
me want to try though. It was time I started thinking about someone other than
myself.

 “How about dinner tomorrow night?” I asked her. She laid her
head down on the kitchen countertop and groaned.

“I didn’t prepare for this at all.”

Her words piqued my interest. Had she thought so little of me
that she didn’t believe I would stand by her side. I wasn’t that much of a
jerk.  Sure, at times, I could be arrogant, but I called her for weeks after
that night. I wanted to be with her. Granted, it started out only wanting to
get in her pants. Each time we met, the feelings developed into something more.
She was the one who never gave us a chance. Did I love her? No. But there was
potential for…something more.

“How can I convince you that I want this?”

“You can’t.”

“I will.”

“You won’t,” she groaned and slammed her head against the
counter once more. I pulled her up hastily and examined the red knot forming on
her forehead.

“Don’t hurt yourself. What is wrong with you?”

“This is never going to work, Chase. Just look at us. Even if
we wanted to make it work, we couldn’t. I don’t want your lifestyle. I want my
privacy. I want to fuckin’ live! I don’t want people to look at me. I don’t
want our child’s pictures plastered on the front of some magazine!”

I gripped her shoulders tightly as she screamed at me. She
was killing me with this obsession to push me away.

“What do you need from me?”

“I need my privacy.”

“I can give that to you.” My words seemed to make her calm
down.

“What about the reporters and the photographers?  I
don’t think I can handle that type of publicity right now,”

Her privacy was important to me as well, but there was
something in the tone of her voice. It led me to believe that she was hiding
something deeper.

“There are plenty of celebrities that lead a quiet personal
life.”

She snorted loudly. “You aren’t one of those celebrities.”

“I thought you didn’t care about all of that stuff?”

“I may have snuck a peek at a magazine.” She shrugged
carelessly.

“Okay, I’ll tone down my lifestyle, what else do you need?” I
was eager to prove to her that my jackass attitude from earlier was over.

“No. We won’t work out. I don’t want to be pulled into your
spotlight.”

I made a face. Eventually someone would find out. What about
doctor’s appointments and family outings. Did she really expect us to hide this
forever?

“Why do you want to keep this a secret? Is there someone
else?”

She sat there for a few moments, her head down. When she
finally opened her mouth, her voice was soft spoken. It almost scared me.

“I’m just not good enough for you. I ruin everything I touch.”

I reached out to graze the side of her face with my
fingertips. What did she mean she wasn’t good enough for me? I wasn’t good
enough for her! She was beautiful and a hard worker. She was honest and kind. I
was a chauvinistic womanizer who only cared about himself. I hesitated slightly
before leaning in to kiss her on the cheek. I had to admit, I was slightly disappointed
that I’d chicken-shitted out and gone for the cheek. Before I leaned back, I
whispered into her ear. I could feel her shiver slightly as I spoke.

“Somehow, I seriously doubt that.”

Quinn

The wind outside blew hard, knocking over random pieces of
trash, and tossing it through the parking lot. It was late, and I was the last
person to leave work after we had closed for the night.

“Shit!” I yelled as I dropped my keys onto the hard pavement.
I cursed as I bent down to pick them up.

My manager walked a few yards behind me loudly
chattering on his phone, he raised a hand to wave good-bye. I stood up and
reciprocated. All night, thoughts plagued my mind of going home and soaking in
a hot bath. As I made my way closer to my car, I frowned when I noticed an
unfamiliar black sports car parked right next to mine.  The tinted windows
were so dark I couldn’t see if anyone was inside. There was no one else
parked around me so I instinctively reached into my bag for my Taser. I’d
never had an issue with crime, and we were in a safer part of the city, but
just in case, I prepared for an attack.  As I carefully neared my car,
someone stepped out of the driver’s side of the other vehicle. My heartbeat
began to slow down when I recognized the dark hair and smirky grin.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, letting my Taser drop
back into my bag. We hadn’t spoken since he’d left my house the other night.

Chase walked around to lean against my car door. 
He stuck his hands in his baggy tracksuit and tried to catch my eye. He
was so sexy, and I was all hormonally unstable. 

This isn’t a good idea. Make him leave, Quinn.

“Hey. I’m here to check on you. Ginger told me you wouldn’t
be home till late, and I needed to make sure you made it home safely.”

“I’ve been getting home safely without you for a few months
now.” It came out sounding shorter than I intended.

“Humor me, okay?”  He took the keys from my hand and
straightened up so he could open the door for me.

“Thanks.” I threw my bag into the car. “I have a feeling
you’re here for more than just to inquire about my safety.”

“I need a date, just give me one real date. If you still want
nothing to do with me. That’s fine. Granted, that is not what I want, but I’ll
respect your decision. I want to be a part of this baby’s life. My father was
never there, and I swore I would never be like him.”

“You need to stop pursuing something that will never happen.
I don’t want a relationship, but you’re welcome to be a part of this baby’s
life.” I tried to make my voice as convincing as possible.  It would be
impossible to convince him when I wasn’t one hundred percent convinced myself.

“I disagree. I’m not gonna give up until you say yes. I’ll
just keep coming around and around. I believe that if you just gave it a
chance, you would very much in fact want a relationship with me.” He stroked
the bottom of his chin as he studied me.

I boldly glanced up at him. A sparkle danced in his eyes. And
I couldn’t stop myself from saying the next words that came from my mouth.

“Prove it.”

“I will.”

“Do it.”

“I’m trying.”

Annoyed with his persistence, I crossed my arms in front of
my body and tapped my foot against the pavement. “You really think you’re like
God’s gift to women or something don’t you?”

With a playful look on his face, his head bobbed up and
down.  “Yup.”

“And you don’t care about rejection?”

“Does it look like I would be this successful in my
professional life if I gave up every time someone said no? No, you gotta push
past all the negativity and find your own way.”

“You make it seem so easy,” I mumbled. I leaned against the
car beside him and stared out into the empty parking lot. He grabbed my chin
and tilted my head back, forcing me to look up at him. I’d never really taken a
moment to study him. I mean 
really 
study him. His skin was a
perfect shade of golden brown. He was perfect and completely out of my reach.

“Life isn’t easy. Nobody is perfect. You’ve just gotta
accept whatever it throws at you.”

“That’s it?  You just accept it. Accept the good and the
bad?”

“Why not?  Fate has a funny way of making things right.
Look at me. I didn’t want to do 
Timelines
 when they presented
it to me. If it weren’t for that show, I wouldn’t have gotten my big
break.  This thing between us…it’s pushing us together for a reason. We’re
gonna have a kid soon and I think we owe it to ourselves to figure it out.”

I bet nothing bad had ever happened to him. Nothing worse
than having a hangover or losing a few hours of sleep.  Why should I take
advice from him? That little voice inside of my head still nagged at me.
It told me that if I wanted a fresh start, I needed to take chances. What’s the
worst that could happen? We figure out that we have nothing in common and both
go our separate ways.

“Fine. One date,” I told him. He clapped his hands together
loudly in front of him and rubbed them back and forth as if he were trying to
warm them up.

“Awesome. You won’t regret this. How about this weekend?”

I already regretted it, but I wasn’t about to tell him
that.  “Sounds perfect.”

The Date

Quinn