Page 8 of Coming to Grips
Chapter Four
The clomp of boots on the porch and the rattle of keys in the lock wake Chase. His eyes snap open to find Kyle hovering over him.
“Hey, Sleeping Beauty.”
Chase groans and throws his legs over the side of the couch and sits up, flinching when he uses his injured elbow as a lever. It doesn’t hurt exactly. It just feels odd to use it but not really feel any associated sensations.
As he moves toward the kitchen, Kyle’s scent swirls around Chase, fresh air, hay, and sweat mixing with the lingering traces of his body care products. Chase sniffs appreciatively. It’s only been a few days, but he misses the scents of his job—clean hay, horses, the out-of-doors.
“You hungry?” asks Kyle.
Chase’s stomach grumbles in response.
Kyle chuckles. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
A stack of grilled ham and cheese sandwiches appears on the coffee table twenty minutes later. Kyle clicks the TV on to find the Giants and the Padres battling it out. The Giants’ second baseman tags out the Padres’ runner for the third out. The Giants jog toward the dugout, while the Padres take the field.
“You got dressed,” Kyle says, swiping greasy fingers down his jeans.
“Yep.”
“You cleaned up.” Kyle’s Adam’s apple rises and falls with the swig and swallow of beer he takes.
Chase licks his lips, shifts in his seat. “Um…sorta.” Kyle won’t be happy about him letting Anna barge in.
Kyle’s eyebrow rises. “You slept.”
“A lot.”
“Slug.”
“Yeah, that was strange, but it felt good. Also, I was bored out of my tree.”
“We have four hundred channels, dude. Are you telling me you couldn’t find a game or some porn to watch? That’s pathetic,” Kyle says, grinning.
“Nothing looked interesting, and then I fell asleep, and then Anna came by.”
Kyle tips his beer to his mouth again and glances at Chase. “Oh, shit. What the hell did she want?”
“She said to bring me lunch, but, honestly, I’m not sure. She actually did the dishes.”
Kyle looks at him wide-eyed. “Dude.”
“I know, I know. She just barged in. Wouldn’t listen when I asked her to stop. She wants to get back together, I think.”
Kyle takes another swig. “Doesn’t surprise me.”
“What do you mean?”
“She’s possessive and territorial and hates to lose, so I don’t think she’s going down without a fight.”
“It’s been a month. There’s no way in hell I’m getting back with her.”
“She’ll get the message eventually.”
“Yeah, I know.” Chase sighs. He just wants to move on, not keep dealing with a psycho ex-girlfriend.
They eat and watch the rest of the game with Kyle’s usual snarky commentary. For a guy who played high school football in Texas, the man knows enough baseball trivia to choke a Hereford bull. Chase can’t complain though. Watching and attending baseball games with Kyle over the years has been fun and is always something to be looked forward to. Good to know some things stay the same. It’s like a tradition and Chase loves it.
