Page 108 of The Meeting
He leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees before looking back at her. “Does this have to do with the comments my family made?”
“Not entirely,” she said, softly. The thoughts had already been nagging at the back of her mind. Their comments only brought them to the forefront.
“They were concerned. They didn’t know Allison and I weren’t doing well until we divorced. It wasn’t something I talked about.”
“But do you ever feel like we are moving too fast?”
He sighed and leaned back on the couch.
“Occasionally, yes, I’ve wondered. But that doesn’t change the fact that I want to be with you. I still care about you.”
“I care about you, too.” She lowered her voice to a whisper, “You didn’t tell me that Allison initiated the divorce.”
He watched her silently for a moment. “Does it matter?”
“Of course it matters! Did you even want it?”
“Yes, I did. We had been having problems for years.”
Kailynn watched him. “Chase, I found out that your family felt like the split was sudden and that Allison initiated it. I mean, what should I make of all of that?”
“I realize the way it must look to you, but I’ve been honest. I’m so much happier without Allison and even happier with you.” He leaned forward and took her hand. “Kailynn, someone had to file. If she hadn’t I would have.”
She knew he was right. It didn’t matter who filed as long as he was okay with the result. However, it still didn’t mean that they weren’t—that she wasn’t—rushing it.
He nodded toward the door. “Let’s go to dinner and enjoy each other’s company.”
Tears sprang to her eyes. “Chase, I feel like we need some space.”
“Babe—”
“It’s nothing you did. I just need to think about my relationship with Drew and make sure I’m not jumping into this for the wrong reasons.”
“You’re worried you’re using me?”
“No. Yes. I don’t know.” She shook her head. “I know I care about you, but I need to make sure it’s only you on my mind, and I need to clear all of my feelings for Drew.”
“You still love him?”
“No. Not at all. But I still have a lot of anger and pain there.”
He scrubbed at his face. “Okay. I understand.”
She dropped her feet to the floor and reached for him, but he stood up.
“Have a good night,” he said, before rushing out the door.
“Chase,” she called, but she wasn’t fast enough. The door closing loudly behind him was like a door slamming on her heart.
What did I just do?
She stared at the door for what felt like forever as the repercussions of her ending relationship weighed on her. Tears pooled in her eyes and poured out.
What did I just do?
* * *
The next morning,Kailynn rolled out of bed and stared at herself in the mirror. She had hardly slept, and she only had herself to blame. Dark bags hung beneath her eyes and her hair stuck out in all directions from rolling all night long. Frequently, she got out of bed and walked toward Chase’s apartment. She even made it all the way to his front door before she turned around.
