Emancipating Andie

Shit.

He had forgotten all about her, and now he slowed, even though he had no desire to stay in that bar for another minute.

“Hi,” she said, her voice sweetly shy.

“Hey,” Chase said, thrusting his hands in his pockets.

“I just wanted to thank you again,” she said. “I’m Je

“Chase,” he said, reaching for it.

She blushed again and looked down, holding onto his hand a few seconds longer than what would be appropriate for a handshake.

“So, Chase, are you leaving?”

“Um…actually, yeah,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck and looking at the door.

“Can I walk you out?”

Chase looked at her for a second before he nodded, and as the two of them turned toward the door, he heard a long whistle, followed by Colin’s voice. “Tired my ass, McGuire!” he called, and the laughter of the three men erupted behind him.

As soon as they were outside, Chase turned to her. “I’m sorry about that,” he said, gesturing with his head back toward the bar.

She waved her hand, dismissing them.

“Alright, so…” Chase trailed off. He felt sorry that he had bothered this girl, that he had managed to get her attention. She seemed sweet, but all he wanted at that moment was to be home.

Alone.

“So,” she said, bouncing slightly on her toes and wringing her hands in front of her. “Do you want to maybe go somewhere? Get some coffee or something?”

Asshole, Chase thought. I’m the world’s biggest asshole.

“Listen, Je

Her face dropped slightly, her eyes confused.

He couldn’t do it. Sleeping with this girl wasn’t going to help him get over anything; he had already attempted that ploy, and if anything, it just made him feel worse. Plus, he knew she didn’t deserve that. They had barely spoken a few words, but Chase could already tell that this wasn’t the type of girl you screwed on a rebound. He knew he was doing the right thing.

So then why did he feel like such a piece of shit?

“I’m sorry,” he said again, needing to get away from that look in her eyes. “I just…I hope you have a good night,” he added, walking quickly past her and fumbling with his keys as he approached his car.

He pulled out of the parking lot, refusing to look in the rearview mirror for fear that he’d see her still standing there, that confused look on her face.

It reminded him of the way he had left Andie the night before.

Jesus, how many times was he going to do this? When had he become such a prick?

She’ll get over it, Chase thought, making a turn without even bothering to use his signal. She doesn’t even know who you are. It’s not like she cared about you.

And while that helped alleviate his remorse over screwing with Je

He wanted to make it right.

Before he even consciously made the decision, he sped past the entrance to the highway that would take him home, continuing on straight.

He felt his foot growing heavy on the gas, and it seemed the closer he got to his destination, the more urgent his need became.

A few minutes later, he pulled his car haphazardly into an open space and hopped out, walking quickly up the pathway to her building. By the time he got to the stairs, he was jogging. He took them two at a time and approached her door, knocking immediately.

And in the silence that followed, he suddenly began to question his decision.

What if she left tonight because she didn’t want to see him? What if she slammed the door in his face? What if Colin found out he had been there?

Colin.

And suddenly, without warning, the thought of his friend brought a memory rushing back to Chase, as smoothly and easily as if Chase had just called his name and Colin had turned in his direction.

It was Chase and Colin’s senior year, and the first time in four years their school’s soccer team had made it to sectionals. It seemed like the entire town was at that game. Chase could still hear the screams, still feel the ground vibrating as the crowd stamped wildly in the stands, still feel the adrenalin surging through his veins. He hadn’t yet come down from the high of it, even as they were driving home, and every now and then, Colin would pump his fist out the driver’s side window while shouting something celebratory. Chase would follow suit, laughing the entire time; he couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt this good, this…alive.

“This party tonight is go

Chase nodded his agreement, playing a wild drum solo on the dashboard along with the radio. Two cars passed them then, covered in red and black streamers with “Go Devils” painted on the windows, their horns blasting as the passengers waved and shouted unintelligibly to Chase and Colin. They shouted back, laying on their horn and laughing.

“This is so weird,” Chase said as Colin turned into the McGuire’s driveway and cut the engine. “I feel like a celebrity.”

“Tonight, my friend, you are,” he said, playfully punching his arm before he exited the car. Chase hopped out, grabbing his soccer bag and walking quickly up the drive with Colin behind him.

“I’m starving. Can we eat something?” Colin asked.

“Yeah, let’s grab something quick and then we can shower and head out,” Chase said as he opened the front door and turned into his expansive kitchen, looking over his shoulder at Colin. “I just want to get to this party.”

He turned back around and stopped short for only a second before he continued on into the kitchen, his eyes now downcast. “Dad,” he said, his voice lacking the inflection of surprise even though he had not expected to see his father there.

As he heard the sound of Colin coming into the room behind him, Chase couldn’t decide if he was more a

“Hey, Mr. McGuire,” Colin said from behind Chase, a hint of surprise in his voice. “I thought you had to work.”

Chase’s father did not lift his eyes from the newspaper in front of him, but rather he brought the paper up a bit higher, shielding part of his face. “I did. It was paperwork. I got it done in the home office.”

“Oh. Well, you should have come to the game,” Colin said, still riding his own high. “It was unbelievable!”

The silence that followed Colin’s enthusiastic voice seemed to pull the air out of the enormous kitchen, and his smile slowly faded as he glanced toward Chase.

Chase immediately turned away, giving undue attention to unpacking his soccer bag and tossing the dirty clothes into the adjacent laundry room, his hands fumbling with the simple task as he tried to make it quick. He just wanted to get out of there. They could get something to eat on the way to the party.

“It was amazing, Mr. McGuire,” Colin added, trying again, and Chase closed his eyes and exhaled softly. Stop, he thought to himself. Please, just stop.

“We were down two to nothing at the half, and then we scored with about five minutes to go, and then with six seconds left to the game, Chase scored the tying goal,” Colin said, slapping his hand on the counter, the excitement taking over his voice again. “But that’s not even the best part! The best part is, this kid then gets the ball and scores again like fifteen seconds into sudden death! You should have heard the crowd.”

Chase heard the rustling of a newspaper, his father’s exaggerated sigh.

“It wasn’t that big of a deal,” Chase said dully, his back to the kitchen as he quickly zipped up his soccer bag.