Chapter 13

BLAKE

It’s early morning, and I’ve been up most of the night, sitting by Tommy’s side. I tried to get some sleep, but it was that horrible sleep, where you are awake more often than not, tossing and turning in a chair. Needless to say, I’m a little groggy.

But I don’t mind. I would do it all again. I’m just glad that Simon is okay, and as I leave Ben’s home and the morning sun hits my face, I relish the chance to head home and take a nap.

“Thanks again,” Ben says to me as he walks me to my car. “Seriously. Simon will be okay. A small concussion, nothing he can’t handle. Should be up and running again in no time.”

“It’s okay, really,” I respond as I climb in my car. “You would do the same for me.”

“And I hope that one day, I get the chance,” he says back.

I know what he means. He wants me to have a child of my own almost as much as I want a child. He’s my biggest champion and thinks that I would make a great father. I hope that soon, I will be able to prove him right.

***

I wake up to the sight of the setting sun. It’s disorientating, and it takes me a while to collect myself and remember what happened the night before. But as I sit up, it all slowly comes back to me.

I’m in my own bed, back home. As soon as I got back from Ben’s place, I took a much-needed nap. That nap evidently turned into full-on sleep. The setting sun indicates that I have been out for at least seven hours.

Still a little out of it, I reach across my bed and pick up my cell phone. I dial Ben’s number, wanting to see how he and Simon are doing.

“Hey bud, how are you feeling?” Ben asks the moment he answers.

“I’m fine,” I say dismissively. “How’s Simon, though? He’s the one who was in hospital. Not me.”

“Oh, he’s fine. Janet’s with him now,” Ben sounds happy, and I’m glad that his son is okay. “Say, what are you doing?”

“Nothing,” I say. “Passing time until it’s dark enough for me to go back to bed.” I am still tired and knew that the moment I am able, I would be back in bed.

“Feel like getting a drink? It’s on me.”

“Now how can I pass that up,” I say with a chuckle.

***

The bar that I meet Ben at is about as close to a neighborhood bar as Ben or I have. He lives about twenty minutes away from me, so the bar is as close to halfway between our houses as we could find. We always meet here when he can pull himself away from the family.

“You look awful,” he jokes as I pull up a seat at the table. He got here before me and, in true Ben fashion, has already ordered my drink. I pick it up and take a long, deep sip, savoring the taste.

“Thanks. I didn’t have time to do my hair unfortunately.”

“Well, in the future, can you make the time? I’m the one who has to look at you.” He chuckles to himself as he joins me in the drink. “Now tell me, Blake, what or rather who was it that I pulled you away from last night? I know it was something.”

“Oh,” I begin, suddenly realizing that I really don’t want to talk about Carrie. And it’s not because I don’t care about her, but the exact opposite. I don’t want Ben, or anybody else, judging her. “Nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

“Damn, she’s that serious?” He asks, nodding his head to himself as he does, as if he already knows the answers.

“What? No. I mean, who said it was a girl I was with?”

“Well, you just did. Plus, how long have I known you? Where else would you be?”

“At work? Meetings? Clients? I could have been doing lots of things.” As I speak, I notice the look on Ben’s face. He isn’t having any of it. “Okay, fine. I was on a date. You happy?”

“Always,” he beams to himself. “But it has nothing to do with you. Now tell me, who is she?”

“Just a girl,” I begin, as I try my best to act nonchalant. “Her name’s Carrie. We met at my high-school reunion. She was a waitress there. We’ve been on a couple of dates. So, it’s no big deal. Last night was our second, and truth be told, it was actually pretty good and…” I trail off as I become aware of how much I am talking. The whole time, Ben watches me, nodding while wearing a very obvious smirk.

“Sounds like you’re in love,” he jokes, taking another sip of his drink.

“What?” I say, a little too quickly. “Not possible. Not by a long shot.”

Although I say the words, I don’t believe them. Not fully anyway. Although I don’t want to say the L word, there is definitely something between Carrie and me that defies explanation. There’s more there than just a fling.

“Okay, whatever you want to say,” he continues, still wearing that same smug look. “Just know that I’m your best friend, and I’ve never heard you say more than two words about a girl. Ever.”

“Whatever,” I say as I shake my head.

But as I take another sip, watching Ben out of the corner of my eye, I can’t help but hate how much he knows me. And worse than that, I can’t help but hate how on the money he is.

Despite what I tell myself, I’d be lying if I don’t admit that I have feelings for Carrie. Ones that I can’t explain, no matter how hard I try.