The Last Thing (9 page)

 “Ya’ll have a nice meal,” she told Chloe. Chloe ignored her
and pulled on my arm to make sure I sat next to her. When Quinn turned to me,
her smile disappeared. Something flashed in her eyes, a look of hurt, not
jealousy. For the briefest moment, I detected a bit of guilt creep through me
for coming in here with another girl. I gave her a playful wink, causing her
faced to flush a slight pink before she turned and stomped away.

“Chase, look at me. I need to get a few photos of you and
Chloe,” Rhea said. She had her phone out snapping photos. She’d proudly sell
these to a reporter with the headline “Chase and Chloe, Hollywood’s Hottest New
Couple” or something equally untrue.

“Chase, put your arm around Chloe and cuddle up like you’re
having a good time,” she demanded. I obliged, only because she was always
trying to find a way to get me on the cover of a magazine. She did her job, and
I paid her well for it.  I attempted to smile for the photos but my mind kept
wandering back to Quinn. Chloe didn’t fit in my arms like Quinn did. Chloe felt
awkward and too small.  Quinn had seemed genuinely hurt and that tugged at a
part of me I didn’t know existed. No, I wasn’t supposed to care about girls’
feelings. So why did I care so much about hurting Quinn?

Quinn

It was pointless, but I hid out in the bathroom like a coward.
When Chase walked in with that stunning model on his arm, I wanted to reach out
and tear out her fake blonde hair. In the past ten minutes, I’d already thought
of fifteen different ways I could hurt her. Slip some laxatives in her food or
trip her as she walked out the door. Hollywood was Chase’s life, and I needed
this reminder of how different our lives really were. When he’d pretended not
to know who I was, I could almost feel the steam pouring out of my ears. After
I seated them, I’d told my manager I was going on break and then cried on the
toilet like a big baby. My pregnancy hormones were all over the place.

I blew my nose with a tissue and dried my eyes. It wasn’t as
if I was expecting Chase to fall into my arms, but he’d treated me so coldly. If
we couldn’t even get along, how could we deal with a baby? I walked over to the
sink and splashed some cold water on my face. I willed myself to stop crying, walked
to the mirror and stared at my reflection.

“You can do this, be strong. You don’t want to be that girl
again,” I said out loud. This constant reminder normally worked, but it was too
late.

Bash threw one arm over my shoulders while the other held his
football helmet. I nestle into his shoulder and sigh.

“Ready to go, baby?”

I lean back to look up into his blue eyes. His long blonde
hair falls across his tanned face.

“Can we go home?”

“No way! This is a celebration. We won the game. One party
then I’ll take you home. I can’t sit still. Please?”

I bit my lip. I don’t want him to go alone. Someone has to be
there to watch over him. The weight from my shoulder disappears. Startled, I
look around to find Bash gone.

“Don’t leave me, Quinn.”

 His voice replays inside my head till I throw my hands over
my ears.  I’d forgotten for the briefest moment about that night. A little over
one year ago, the night that changed my life forever.  The football stadium
disappears and I find myself inside the car.

Metal crunching, like nails on a chalkboard. The memory plays
on inside my head. Someone is screaming. I want to pull myself out of the
reminiscence, but I can’t. As the water fills up the space around me, I squeeze
my eye shut.  I have to break out of this memory…

I’m pulled out of that night, out of that car, and into the
present. I squinted up at the white ceiling.  Large tears spilled down my
freshly cleansed face as I laid on the bathroom floor. Was I crying? No, I was
sobbing uncontrollably. This was why I didn’t think about Bash. I never thought
about him or the past. This always happened. He was a reminder of how my life
had gone terribly wrong. The guilt weighed heavily on my shoulders.

The bathroom door cracked open just slightly. In popped Chase,
sliding in through the crack and shutting it behind him. Startled by his
presence, I scrambled up from the floor and hid my face so that I could wipe
the tears away.

“What do are you doing? This is the woman’s bathroom?”

“Quinn, are you okay? Your coworker told me you were in the
bathroom. I thought I heard crying and I—I wanted to make sure you weren’t
hurt.” There was genuine concern in his voice, but he was an actor. It was
probably all an act.

“What if I’d been peeing?  You can’t just barge into the
bathroom like that.”

“You’re not peeing, and I didn’t barge in. I slipped in.”

“What do you care? You acted like you didn’t even know me
back there.”

“I know. I was mad.”

   “I’m fine. Please go. I want to be alone,” I told him with
my back turned to him. This was humiliating. Here I was, crying over an
ex-boyfriend in front of the father of my child.

“Quinn, I hope you’re not crying because of how mean I was
back there. I’m a complete jackass.”

I laughed at him and smiled before agreeing.

 “You’re a jackass.” Suddenly, things didn’t seem so bad
anymore. I wiped away my tears and turned around to face him.

“Look. I came to find you because I felt bad for pretending
like I didn’t know you. I was acting childish… Dammit, I’m not good with
apologies.  I don’t usually have to do things like this.”

“Let’s just forget it okay. And FYI I’m not crying because of
you.”

“Did someone hurt you?” he asked. The muscles in his neck
tightened and he frowned at me. He reached out and pushed a stray piece of hair
off my face.

I couldn’t help but feel a bit of delight from the way he was
acting. Maybe Chase wasn’t as conceited as I’d originally thought. My eyes
traveled from his face down to his broad shoulders. I let myself think about
what his skin had done to me. I even wondered if he still smelt like mints.

Bad idea, Quinn. Don’t go there again.

“No,” I shook my head, “I’ve got a lot going on. Not
everything in this world revolves around you, ya know.” My words were cruel,
but we hardly knew each other and it wasn’t any of his business anyway. I
pushed past him to open the bathroom door, but spun around when something
tugged on my arm.

“Please tell me you forgive me, I don’t think I could live knowing
that you
hate
me.”

He dramatically put his hand over his heart and stuck out his
bottom lip. Normally, I would have rolled my eyes, but he looked so cute
standing there. Like a little lost puppy.  Maybe I should give in before he
started humping my leg.

“Oh, you would survive, but you’re forgiven.” I was letting
him off the hook too easy, but I didn’t want to fight anymore. I wanted us to
get along. I figured he’d accept my answer and go on his way, but he didn’t. He
took a deep breath and opened his mouth like he was trying to gather the
courage to say something important.

“Why didn’t you ever call me back?” he blurted out.

I didn’t know what to say. Did I blame the whiskey? No, I
wasn’t that wasted. Did I blame my fear of commitment? Possibly. We both knew
the answer to his question. He didn’t want me.

“And you never called me back either. You promised.”

“I was busy.”

“You don’t like me. You only like the idea of me. You think
I’m fascinating and different from the other girls you spend your days with.
Even if I’d called you back, nothing would have changed. We may have exchanged
a few flirty text messages, but that would have been the extent.”

“ I can’t get you out of my head. I just need to see where
this can go. Can I see you tonight?”

 My mouth went dry. Was Chase really asking to hook up again?
I should have screamed no. I should have pulled my arm from his grasp and never
turned around. We needed to talk, though it wouldn’t be the night he had in
mind. I had to tell him before I lost my nerve.

“What about your girlfriend back there?”

“She’s not my girlfriend. She’s my co-star,” he clarified. I
pretended to be deep in thought for a moment. Of course, I wanted to say yes.

Just invite him over!

“Yes. Only because we need to talk,” I reminded him.

“I hope to be doing a lot more than talking,”

His voice dripped with seduction, and it made my knees go
weak. He ran his hand down the side of my face.

“Can you come over to Ginger’s house tonight at midnight?” I
asked. It came out sounding more like a squeak.

Being so close to him again made me want to jump him and tear
his clothes off. He leaned in to kiss me on the cheek. Yup, I could detect that
minty smell alright. My whole body tingled when his soft lips grazed my face.
The world spun around me, and my heart soared in exhilaration.

“Chase?” The girl he had come in with appeared in the
hallway. Though he had only kissed me on the cheek, we stepped away from each
other hastily.

“What?”

“You’ve been gone a long time. Rhea asked me to come find
you….” Her eyes wandered over the both of us accusingly before she gave a sly
smile and grabbed Chase’s arm. She ran her hand down his shoulder and pressed
into him.

“I had to use the bathroom.”

“Come on…. I’m getting sleepy.”

Without another word, Chase walked away, but not before his
co-star gave me a dirty look that screamed ‘he’s mine, bitch!’ She was already
in the long line of girls trying to gain his attention.

It was surprising how quickly Chase caused me to forget about
Bash. One look at Chase’s intense eyes or cocky smile and I forgot all about my
self-pity. I went back to work and stayed by the front door for the rest of the
night. I tried to concentrate on folding napkins between customers.

“Something is up with you.”

I looked up from my horrible folding job to see my coworker
leaning against the table with a cunning look in her eyes.

“I dunno what you’re talking about.”

“You’ve had this dreamy look on your face all night. Who’s
the guy?”

I slammed a napkin down a little harder than intended. 
Ashley had a history of butting in where she wasn’t wanted. She was harmless
though. She nonchalantly tucked her blonde hair behind her ear and picked up a
napkin to help.

“Does this have anything to do with your baby daddy?”

“No.” This wasn’t any of her business.

“You know… we all think it’s weird that you have never
mentioned a boyfriend. In fact, a bunch of us thought you were a lesbian.”

My jaw dropped as she continued prying.

“Not that it’s any of my business or anything.”

Damn right.

“
But it’s not Percy from the kitchen is it?”

“Oh lord, no!” I cried out.  My face flushed in
embarrassment. The entire wait staff thought I was some sort of slut.

“You don’t know the father, but we are in a very,
very
monogamous
and exclusive relationship.”

“Right.” She didn’t look too convinced, but she changed the
subject anyway. “Chase Crowley came in earlier. Did you see?” She grabbed a
menu and fanned her face with it.

“I seated them,” I reminded her. I moved on to wiping down
the menus with a cloth.

“He is so hot. I heard that he and Chloe James are going to
be filming a movie together. Lucky bitch. I wonder if I could get my number to
him.”

My fingers curled tightly around the menu. He wouldn’t give
this gold digger the time of day. I immediately felt guilty for thinking it.
Ashley wasn’t that bad, a little nosy, but she still went out of her way to be
nice to me.

“I could sneak it into his receipt or slip it in his hand on
the way out.”

“If Diana finds out, she will fire you,” I said referring to
our supervisor. “You know she hates it when we bug the clients."

“Whatever, what Diana doesn’t know won’t kill her.” She
leaned in closer to me and spoke barely above a whisper. “Chase has a
reputation among the ladies.”

I didn’t want to hear this.

“I bet I could follow him to a club one night and get him to
go home with me.”

I bit down on my tongue to keep from saying anything rash. I
couldn’t think about Chase and Ashley together. I only wanted to think about
him with me. The way he had made my body feel; his soft touch trailing up the
small of my back, his lips as they brushed against my skin.

“Are you okay?”

“What?”  I swallowed hard.

“You look sick or something.”

My grip on the menus lessened, and I shuffled through them to
give myself something to do.

“I’m fine.”

Ashley elbowed me as a group walked into the room.