Wright with Benefits

Done.

He shot me the address, and I thanked whoever was listening for giving me an out. I changed into jeans and a sweatshirt and then headed out. The house was in Rush, on the north side of town, farther away from everyone else. The southside was where everything was growing, but Rush was all this gorgeous and enormous post-war housing. Most of the interiors had been completely gutted and redone into stunning, modern looks.

Chase’s new house seemed to fit the mold. Fifties era with all the new, ritzy upkeeps on the outside—fresh paint, new shutters, dark-stained wood accents. I knew instantly why he’d decided on it.

I knocked, holding up a cold six-pack of his favorite beer when he answered.

“Donoghue, you’re a dream,” he said with a laugh as he took the beer. “Pizza is on its way.”

The house was bare bones and still so pretty on the inside. Someone had spent a lot of money on it. All new hardwood floor, crystal chandelier, a new coat of paint, crown moldings, new kitchen. I was almost a little bit jealous. I was used to Jordan’s brand-new construction, but this had its own character.

“I’m ordering new furniture,” he explained when I stepped into the empty living room. All that was inside was the TV on the floor, a poof, and some folding chairs.

I laughed. “I think this needs more than interior design help. The folding chairs, Chase?”

He shrugged, popping my beer into his bare fridge. “I have a bed and an office. That’s about all I need right now.”

“You’re a wreck. When does Kennedy get here?” I asked, remembering the name he’d casually dropped into conversation at the Super Bowl party.

“Not until May. She’s been delayed further,” he said into the fridge. “Her company doesn’t want her to go remote.”

“What does she do?”

“Sales,” he said vaguely. He and passed me a beer.

“Surely, she’s coming up to see you though, right?”

He gestured for me to follow him around the house for a tour. “Sure. Probably.”

I narrowed my eyes at his back. Why wouldn’t she be dying to move up here with him? Lubbock wasn’t a dream come true or anything. It had three hundred thousand people instead of a couple million and much smaller airports. But still, they were serious, right? Chase was being weird about the whole thing. But whatever. I was only here as a friend and for interior design advice. I didn’t need to barge into his relationship.

We wandered through all the rooms. It was definitely bigger than it looked on the outside. He claimed five thousand square feet. I practically got lost in it. The backyard was equally amazing with a full deck and outdoor fireplace and kitchen. It was better decorated than the rest of the house with a plush outdoor couch, two recliners, and coffee table.

The doorbell rang then, and we retreated back into the living room, plopping down on the floor in front of the poof. He turned on Avengers: Infinity War as we ate and joked around.

That was the thing about Chase. Though I’d been into him forever, we also had always remained close friends. Pizza nights were a norm for us. He’d come home from school, we’d hang out, and it was never like we were going to hook up or anything. Our relationship hadn’t been like that in a long time. He was so easy to be around, and it kept me occupied rather than dealing with all the stress in my life currently.

When we finished off the last slice, Chase took the box back into the kitchen and brought out two more beers.

“I can’t. I still have to drive home,” I told him as he settled in next to me.

“Or…you could stay,” he said softly.

My head jerked up. “Excuse me?”

“I mean…you wouldn’t have to drive.”

I narrowed my eyes. “What do you mean? You only have one bed.”

He looked at me with those big blue eyes. The ones that I’d always wished looked at me exactly how he was looking at me right now. That I’d always wanted him to feel for me. But besides our brief dalliance in high school, it had never been that. I’d loved him. I’d just never been enough.

“I think you know what I mean.”

I jumped to my feet. “Did you ask me over here so that you could cheat on your girlfriend?”

“No,” he said hastily.

“Chase Sinclair, you better explain yourself right the fuck now. Or I’m walking out of that goddamn door,” I said, pointing at it.

“We broke up.”

My jaw dropped. “What?” I gasped. I still stood, wondering what to think about it all. “What happened?”

He shot me a look so earnest, it pained me. “Don’t you know?”

“I honestly have no idea.”

He got to his feet, towering over me the way he always had. “Annie, it’s always been you.”