“No, it’s not me,” I say glumly. “It’s Claire.”
“You can’t blame this on her.”
“She sent me this.” I show Chase the picture of her in the wedding dress. “What was I supposed to do?”
Chase looks at the picture for a minute, his expression unreadable.
I put the phone back on the table. “Look, I’m notblamingit on her. But no one will compare to Claire. It’s not worth my time and energy to look for anyone else.”
Chase takes a good, long look at me. “You need help, man.”
“No kidding!” I exclaim. “And you’re not being helpful.”
“You want something helpful? Fine. I’ll give you something helpful.” He sets his hands on the table, fixing me with a serious glare. “You’re being a coward,” he hisses.
My head rears back. “What did you say?”
“I said you’re being a coward,” he repeats.
I’m taken aback for a second.
He quirks a brow at me, taunting me. “I don’t know any man who’s as afraid as you are to go for the woman he loves. It’s pretty pathetic.”
“Jeez, don’t mince any words.”
“I’m past that! You need the hard, cold truth. Why are you so afraid to go for it with Claire?”
The real reason? Because I’ve seen what happens when a man goes for it, the way my dad destroyed our family and left me and Mom reeling in the aftermath. I swore I would never repeat his mistakes.
But to Chase, I just say, “I was trying to be respectful of her boyfriend.”
“Forget being respectful! This islove!” He slams his hand on the table for emphasis, rattling our glasses and causing a few people to glance our way.
“Chase, chill.”
He sits back in his chair again. “You’ve said it a hundred times. Her boyfriend is a loser. But you—” He gestures at me with his hand up and down. “You’re a catch. You owe it to yourself to lay it all on the line.”
“Easy as that, huh? She’sengaged.”
“So what? Engaged isn’t married. No vows have been spoken. Now is her last chance to choose you instead of him. But it’s about to be too late. Suck it up and be a man.” He gestures at my phone. “Starting with texting her back.”
I take a minute to process his words. She’s engaged, not married.
But to put that weight on her? Forcing her to choose between me and Zach? It feels unfair.
“So, what?” I ask Chase. “I tell her how I feel and make her choose between us?”
Chase holds up his hands. “Now, I didn’t say that. Let’s not get crazy.” He sits back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. “You don’t need to put pressure on her, per se. Just…make sure she knows you’re interested.”
“Huh.” I consider him for a moment. It’s kind of like what I’ve been doing for the last three years, letting her know that I’m always there. But if I lean into it a little more than usual, making all the ways I’m better for her than Zach really clear, maybe it could work.
Still, something feels like it’s nagging me in the back of my mind. “I dunno, man…”
Chase leans in. “The other question we should be asking is, whydidshe send that to you?”
I press my lips together and shake my head. “She’s sent me stuff like this before.”
“A wedding dress?”
