Right as reign, p.20
Right as Reign, page 20
Reign looked at him. “A lot.” She crinkled her nose when he laughed slightly. “Are you making fun of me, sir?”
Chase put a hand up. “Not at all.” He smiled to himself as he glanced off to the side. “It’s just funny how some things haven’t changed no matter how much time has passed.”
Reign took a sip of her wine, reflecting a bit. “Yeah,” she agreed.
Chase was about to say something else, when something on the coffee table caught his attention. Leaning forward, his eyes zoned in on the framed photo. He pointed to it, smiling. “I remember that picture.”
Reign peered at it. “Do you?”
“Yeah, especially because I’m the one who took it,” he chortled, studying the picture of a teenaged Reign and Ava, standing outside of an ice cream shop. “That was the day that Ava had me drive you two around while you looked for prom dresses.”
Reign laughed. “You were so mad at us that day.” She lightly tapped his leg. “We dragged you from store to store, then she made you take us out to eat and get us ice cream.”
Chase was amused as the memory flooded back to him. “I swear, my sister has always been bossy,” he quipped.
“Yeah, but she always means well,” Reign replied with fondness. She looked over at Chase. “So how mad were you when you found out you had to take me to prom?”
Chase eyed her back. “I wasn’t mad.”
Reign shot him a knowing look. “Come on now.”
He chuckled, “What?”
“Chase you were a sophomore in college, all the way in Georgia, and you had to come home to escort your little sister’s friend to her senior prom,” Reign reminded. “I’m sure you weren’t too happy.”
“I honestly didn’t have a problem with it,” Chase assured, setting his glass back down. “And you weren’t just Ava’s friend, you were mine too… We were pretty close.”
A smile crossed Reign’s face. “Yeah, I know.”
“I guess I should ask you, were you upset that you had to go with me instead of someone from your class?” he wondered.
“Please, no guy from my class wanted to ask the bookworm to prom. That’s why my mom talked to your mom about you taking me.” She tucked some of her hair behind her ear, then tapped her fingernails on her glass. “If anything, I was embarrassed at first because she made it seem like I was desperate for a date… I mean, I kind of was, but that’s not the point.”
Chase shook his head, amused.
“I was dead set on being the third wheel to Ava and her date,” Reign added. “But Vivian said ‘no, you will not take a prom picture by yourself’ so…yeah.”
Chase nodded slowly; his eyes were bright. “It was a good prom, better than my own actually.”
Reign looked out in front of her. “Yeah, it was…” she let out a deep sigh. “I had a good time.”
Chase was quiet for a moment as he pondered his next question. A seriousness fell over him. “So umm…did you ever tell anybody what happened after prom?” he asked.
Reign looked at him. She didn’t respond, but she knew exactly what he was referring to.
“What happened between us?” he added, eyeing her intently.
Reign shook her head. “No.”
“Really?” he tilted his head. “Nobody ever knew that I was your first?”
Reign turned away briefly as the full memory of her prom night flooded back to her.
Chase was right; Reign was just as much Chase’s friend as she was Ava’s. She and Chase had their own relationship, which she treasured. She didn’t admit it to anyone then, but she’d been secretly excited that Chase was going to be escorting her to prom. She couldn’t have asked for a better date. They’d laughed, danced, and partied the night away, before breaking off from the rest of the crowd and taking a long walk along the pond behind the hotel where their prom was held.
After talking for what seemed like forever, sharing their thoughts, hopes, and dreams, the pair had finally made it back to Reign’s hotel room where Chase had escorted her inside. As they were saying their goodbyes, still on a high from their beautiful evening, Chase had kissed her, and Reign had eagerly kissed him back. It was her first kiss, and before she knew it, she was willingly experiencing another first.
However as beautiful as that evening was, nothing ever came of it. Chase had returned to college a few days later, and Reign had just chalked it up to a normal prom night experience. She’d returned her focus on graduating and starting her own tenure in college.
It had always been a fond memory for Reign, one that resurfaced from time to time. But it was also one that she’d kept to herself. “Who was I going to tell?” she finally asked, returning her focus to him. “Your sister? That would’ve been weird.”
Chase nodded in agreement. “Good point.” He blushed, “I still think about it, you know.”
“Really?” she looked at him almost as if she didn’t believe him.
“Of course.” Noticing that her expression hadn’t changed, Chase’s brows gathered slightly. “You think I wouldn’t?”
Reign shrugged.
“Come on Rae, I might not have been a virgin, but being with you that night meant something to me…” he said. “That night was special for me too.”
“I didn’t mean to insinuate that it wasn’t,” Reign replied, sincere. “I guess that’s just my own—” She quickly shook her head, “Never mind.”
Chase’s face softened. “Say what’s on your mind, Rae.”
“It’s nothing,” she denied.
“Are you sure?”
She offered a quick nod. “Yes.”
Chase offered a slow nod back. “Okay.” He took a deep breath. “You don’t know this, but…I had planned on asking you out…to date me,” he revealed.
Reign’s eyes widened. “Really?”
Chase nodded again. “The next day—well, honestly, I had been wanting to ask you out for a while, but never did… I didn’t think you’d accept.”
The disbelief hadn’t left Reign’s face. “Wait, what?”
“Yeah,” Chase confirmed. “I actually had a crush on you from the day I met you.”
“I honestly had no idea,” Reign replied. “I just thought that you became friends with me because of Ava.”
Chase shook his head slightly. “No, not at all.”
“Oh,” she breathed.
“Yeah, I mean, I figured before it wasn’t the right time but after…after the night that we had—after we slept together, I felt if any time was the right time to ask you, it would’ve been then.” He cleared his throat. “But the next day when I tried to talk to you…it seemed like nothing had changed between us.”
Reign looked down at the wine glass in her hand. That part of the memory, she wasn’t fond of. “Chase, I umm—”
“No, I’m not bringing that up to make you feel bad. It was a long time ago,” Chase soothed, sensing her guilt. “It was just part of the memory, that’s all.”
“Yeah,” she murmured, unable to look at him.
“Anyway, I just figured that what happened, happened in the heat of the moment, but you still only saw me as a friend, not someone you wanted as a boyfriend. So I just…I let that fantasy go and moved on.” He glanced off to the side, sighing. “It was naïve of me to think dating while going to colleges in different states would’ve worked anyway,” he shrugged. “So, it’s just as well.”
Reign looked at him, her mind racing a thousand miles a minute. “I’m sorry,” was all that she could say.
Chase met her apologetic gaze. “Hey, if you didn’t see me in that way, there’s nothing to apologize for.” He reached over, patting her hand. “You can’t help what you don’t feel, you know?”
“Right,” she answered after a moment.
“I was just happy to still be your friend,” he smiled at her.
Reign glanced away with a sigh, but didn’t say anything.
Chase’s smile faded after a moment as more memories flooded back. “Even though… We didn’t talk as much while you were in college,” he mentioned. “In fact, aside from the time when I came to see Ava, we didn’t talk at all— We didn’t start communicating again until I moved back here after finishing grad school.”
Though Reign’s eyes were set on the objects sitting atop a shelf across the room, she wasn’t really seeing them. She wasn’t focused on anything other than the intrusive thoughts pounding in her head. “I know,” she quietly said.
Chase sat for a moment, joining Reign in silence. He hadn’t expected the somber memory of the time when their friendship had stalled to come back to him. Or that it would affect him still. “Anyway, we’re good now, and that’s all that matters. No need to dwell on the past right?” he continued. When he didn’t get a response, he glanced over at Reign; she had yet to make eye contact with him again. She looked deep in thought. “You okay?” he asked her.
Reign nodded, setting her glass down. “Uh hmm,” she quickly put out. “I think I want to make some brownies. You want some brownies?”
Chase held a blank stare; that was out of nowhere. “Uh…sure,” he replied, slightly amused.
“Okay.” Jumping up from the couch, Reign grabbed his empty plate and scurried towards the kitchen, leaving Chase sitting there bewildered.
Chapter Twenty-One
Ava pulled a large plastic bin from the top of her closet. “I’m thinking of getting a dog,” she said to Reign, who was seated on the cream carpeted floor of Ava’s walk-in.
Reign peered up at her as Ava set the bin down and joined her on the floor. “You don’t like dogs,” Reign replied.
Ava glanced up at the ceiling light fixture, tapping her finger to her chin. “I know, which is why it’s weird that I’m thinking of getting one.”
Reign frowned, more confused than ever. “Ava—what?”
Ava busted out laughing. “No, I’m joking.” She paused for a second. “I am thinking of getting a cat though.”
“Cats are good,” Reign approved.
Ava removed the lid from the bin. “I’ll probably get a kitten… That’ll be the closest thing to a grandchild that my mom will get from me.”
Reign chuckled.
“I’m going to dress it up and carry it around in a baby carrier, too.” Ava joked, removing folded items from the bin. “She’s going to be so pissed.”
“You better leave your mother alone,” Reign advised, amusement still in her voice as she too grabbed some of the folded items from the bin. “You know she doesn’t play.”
“Oh, I know.” Ava moved her hair from her face. “You remember back in high school, that time she came up for a conference because our science teacher said that I talked too much in class?”
Reign busted out laughing at the memory. “You had the nerve to show off by getting smart with her, and she smacked you right in the mouth.”
“Felt like my goddamn lips swung around to the back of my head,” Ava remembered. Reign doubled over with laughter; Ava narrowed her eyes at her cackling friend. “It was not that funny, Price.”
“Oh no, what was funny was how you tried to play that shit off,” Reign threw back, still laughing.
Ava held her stern gaze, trying to keep from giggling herself.
“Coming up to me holding your face talking about, ‘she’s always being extra, it didn’t even hurt though’,” Reign teased, mocking Ava’s voice.
Ava shook her head. “Hurt like shit with my lying ass,” she chuckled. “Ellie is a tough one, but that’s my homie.”
“Yeah.” Reign’s laughter subsided. She unfolded a shirt, holding up the faded and tattered orange short-sleeved top. “Why do you still have this?”
Ava’s mouth fell open. “That is a vintage t-shirt from high school that I can still fit into by the way.” She grabbed for it.
Reign held it out of reach. “It’s ugly and raggedy, throw it out.” She tossed it to the side.
Ava pouted, “Fine.” She surveyed the closet space. “Thanks for agreeing to help me organize my closet by the way,” she said, grateful. “I’ve accumulated so much crap— It was starting to get cluttered in here.”
“It’s been cluttered,” Reign commented. She flashed Ava a smile. “No problem though.”
Ava smiled back, before sorting through her belongings. “So, what about you?” she asked after a moment.
Reign shot a curious glance. “What about me?”
“Is your mom hounding you for a grandchild now that you’re moving up in your thirties?”
Reign shook her head slightly. “Nah,” she answered. “I think after the whole mess with Troy, she doesn’t expect me to even date again, so…”
“Do you want children?”
“Of course, I do,” Reign assured. “Doubt it’ll happen anytime soon. But yeah, I still want them.”
Ava nodded slowly. “So…what about dating?” she brought up. “I know it’s been less than a year since your breakup, but do you think you’re ready to start doing that again? ...Do you think you’ll ever be?”
Reign started to speak, then let out a sigh. “I don’t know,” she answered honestly.
“Do you think—and don’t kill me for saying this,” Ava prefaced. “But do you think the reason you don’t believe you’re ready is because you still have feelings for Troy?”
“Fuck no.” Reign scowled. “There is nothing on the face of this damn earth that would ever make me take him back.” She adjusted her position on the floor. “I’m over him,” she shook her head, exhaling deeply. “Truth be told…that relationship should’ve been ended.”
“Look, despite how it ended, I’m glad that it did end,” Ava admitted. “That bastard never deserved you.”
Reign ran a hand over her hair, bringing it to one side. “I know,” she agreed, somber. “I only wish that I realized it sooner.”
Ava fixed Reign with a sympathetic gaze.
“After a while I just became so focused on my career and my plans that I just ignored the dumb shit… I looked up and it had been six years…” Reign paused, unpleasant memories flooding back. “At that point I didn’t want to walk away because…how do you just walk away after all that time?”
Ava’s sympathetic gaze hadn’t wavered. It hurt her to know how much her best friend had gone through.
Reign scoffed, disdain filling her. “Funny, I was hell-bent on trying to make a relationship work with a goddamn gaslighting—fool, who didn’t even care enough about me to break up with me before he started fucking someone else.”
Ava let out a deep sigh. “How…how did that bullshit between the two of them even start?”
Reign glanced away. “I never asked for details,” she revealed. “The knife was already in my back, so…”
Ava reached out, rubbing Reign’s shoulder. “I’m sorry luv, I shouldn’t have asked.”
“It’s okay.” Reign tapped her fingernails on the inside of the bin. “How is it that my first relationship turned out to be utter bullshit?” She shook her head. “I successfully avoided idiots all through college and my early twenties just to wind up with one at twenty-seven… Just pathetic.”
Ava waved a hand Reign’s way. “Hell, I’ll see your idiot and raise you two…three.”
Reign managed a slight chuckle.
Ava tapped Reign’s hand. “You’re not pathetic sis,” she soothed. “You just—loved the person you thought he was. It happens sometimes. Don’t beat yourself up over it.”
Reign shook her head again. Staring in the bin, she focused on the bundle of colored fabric inside. All traces of humor were gone from her face. “You know,” she began after a moment. “I sometimes feel I wasted so much time with the wrong person, that maybe I missed the opportunity to meet the right one,” she confessed. “And given that… I don’t want to waste my time dating just for another relationship to go nowhere.”
Ava tilted her head. “Sweetie, the right one…the one you’re meant to be with…you’ll be with,” she stated. “It doesn’t matter how much time you think you’ve wasted, he’s out there for you, and you won’t have to try to make the relationship work… It just will.”
Reign shrugged but didn’t respond.
Ava unfolded a pair of stonewashed jeans, examining them. “Ugh, what possessed me to buy these?” she muttered, tossing the item into the trash pile. She focused her attention back on Reign. “I’m about to get preachy on you right now.”
Reign rubbed the back of her neck. “Okay.”
Ava folded her arms on the top of the bin. “I honestly believe that everything happens for a reason.”
Reign raised an eyebrow. “Do you?”
“Absolutely,” Ava nodded. “Yes, you were with the wrong man for six years. But because you went through that, you now know what you won’t tolerate again.”
Reign just sat there, examining her friend’s wardrobe as Ava spoke.
“You know what type of man you do want now. You know what you require in a relationship now, you know what you deserve now,” Ava preached. “You’ll never again be with a man who isn’t everything that you need him to be… So while what happened was some bullshit…you had to go through it in order to get to this place.”
Reign pondered Ava’s words for a moment. “You know, you sound like my mother,” she finally said.
“I love Ms. Vivian,” Ava gushed. “She’s always so sweet.”
Reign giggled a bit, “Yeah, I know.”
Ava retrieved another item. “Furthermore—”
Reign chuckled. “Furthermore, huh?”
“Yes, furthermore,” Ava maintained, humor in her voice. “At least you met Troy’s simple ass in your twenties and not your thirties—the twenties are meant for mistakes.” She put a hand up when Reign opened her mouth to protest. “Granted, you were thirty-two when it ended, but you get what I mean.”
