She crossed her arms. Her features grew rigid. “That’s not true.”
“That.” Chase pointed at her. “That right there tells me I’m right. I’ve hit a little too close to a nerve.”
Panic flitted through her eyes, and she moved away. “Don’t, Chase.”
“Don’t what? Don’t want you? Way the hell too late for that. Don’t challenge you? You thrive on challenge. Don’t pry your eyes open to see how good it could be between us? Fuck that.”
“Shh.” She cut a look around, but he already knew no one here gave a damn. No one but him, evidently.
He straightened. Discomfort swirled through his body. Rejection, hurt, loss. No one could make Chase feel things the way Zahara did. The thought of losing that, losing her, forced the burn of panic through his system.
He wiped a hand down his face to collect his frayed emotions. He wished he could laugh it off. Just tell himself he’d simply made too much of nothing. But it wasn’t true. The only mistake he’d made was believing he and Zahara wanted the same thing—each other.
“Well.” Chase took a steadying breath and stepped back. “Since you’re the only person I came to see tonight, it looks like it’s time for me to leave.”
She dropped her arms. “Chase…”
He waited. Watched thoughts churn through her eyes. She was tortured by her own inability to jump.
“Hey, I get it,” he said. “I’m not angry. I’m disappointed, frustrated, okay, maybe even a little heartbroken. But I’m not mad. I just can’t keep wanting someone who doesn’t want me back. Someone who doesn’t trust me.”
She started to say something, then stopped.
He took her chin between his fingers and searched her eyes, digging for anything to spark a glimmer of hope. But all he saw was fear and resistance. “This is the woman who can let someone throw her off a hundred-foot cliff for the perfect shot but can’t step over an imaginary line in the sand to reach me.”
Her lower lip quivered. It was the first sign of weakness she’d ever shown. Realizing he’d been the person to make her feel it broke his heart in a dozen different ways. Zahara deserved someone better. Someone who empowered her, not someone who broke her down.
“I’m obviously going to need several more drinks tonight.” He stepped back, breaking their intimate bubble, and reached toward the bar to set his empty glass down with a hard click. “But not here. I’ll be at the bar around the corner if you change your mind.”
Chase fielded more congratulations for a job well done on his way to the exit. Outside, the night didn’t feel as magical as it had when he’d been dreaming of spending it with Zahara. By the time he reached the bar, he was desperately in need of an alternate reality, because his sucked. He was unemployed—again. He’d lost his best friend, and, judging by the pain gnawing at him, the woman he loved. All in the same day.
A blonde waitress sauntered up to the table. “Hello, handsome. Haven’t seen you in here before.”
“Hey. Can I get a shot with a beer chaser?”
“Sure thing.” She lifted her brows. “Meeting anyone?”
Chase started to say no, but the look in her eye told him she wouldn’t leave him alone if he did. “Maybe. Why don’t you make that three shots?”
She laughed. “You bet.”
Chase shrugged out of his jacket and rolled up his shirtsleeves. He planted his elbows on the table and ran both hands through his hair. “Fuck me.”
He felt like he’d swallowed a dump truck of cement. Felt like he’d had a hole blown out of his chest. Yet he spent the next few minutes reworking the exchange with Zahara in his mind. Choosing different words. Different approaches. Searching for a different result. But in the end, she’d had her mind made up from the very beginning. Hell, she’d probably had her mind made up for years.
The waitress returned with his drinks and an offer to meet him after work if his “other” didn’t show.
When she’d moved on to other customers, Chase watched as he turned one of the shot glasses between his fingers. He felt empty. The alcohol might dull the pain, but it wouldn’t cure the root cause.
He pulled out his phone, scrolled through his contacts, and dialed.
The phone rang three times before someone picked up. “Hey, kiddo.”
Chase smiled. “Hey, Mom.”
“Did you finish the movie today?”
The pain eased. “Sure did.”