Caught in a Chase

39 - Kick Off

I carried the sodas and bags of chips to the family room. It was game day and I planned to spend it convincing my girl that football was the greatest sport on earth. After setting everything down on the coffee table, I kicked back on the couch.

"Hurry up!" I yelled. "Game's about to start."

Chelsea walked in wearing the little Detroit Lions t-shirt I'd bought her. Fuck she looked hot. That was coming off later.

"Whoa. Are there any snacks left in the kitchen? Why are they all in here?"

"So we don't miss any of the action," I said, patting the couch beside me. "Take a seat."

She sat down with a sigh. "You know, we don't have to share everything as a couple."

"We can skip picking out china patterns, not football."

"Care to re-negotiate those terms?" she asked, running a hand up my thigh.

"Nope," I said and pushed her hand away. "Sex is great, football is better."

"Imma remember that," she said.

"Don't worry baby, you can touchdown my balls later."

Chelsea laughed and reached for a soda as I started to introduced the players.

"So that's D'Andre Swift, the running back. He's fucking incredible."

"What's a running back?"

I looked over at her. She wasn't joking. This might take longer than I thought.

By half-time, the Lions were down by 20 and Chelsea had deserted me. I didn't blame her. One-sided games weren't exciting at all. I was alternating between swearing at the TV and playing on my phone.

Bored I clicked through the various saved websites. I'd forgotten I saved Chelsea's story site. My thumb moved to click the next link when I saw there was a new story posted.

"What the fuck?"

I opened it and started to read.


The session ended and I joined the other volunteers in cleaning up. It was a great way to meet people and give back to my new community at the same time.

"Do you wanna be my girlfriend?"

Kevin, the 8-year-old I'd been reading with, looked up at me through his shaggy bangs and waited for an answer. I tried not to smile.

"Why do you want me to be your girlfriend?" I asked.

"You have pretty hair," he said. "And you're nice."

"How about we be friends instead?" I said.

"Okay," Kevin shrugged. "See you next time."

I smiled and waved as Kevin rushed off.

I was putting on my jacket when another volunteer approached. I'd joined her and a couple other girls for a drink after the last meeting.

"Hey, do you want to grab a coffee?" Robyn asked. "Or do you and Kevin have a hot date?"

She was a larger woman with straight dark hair and a freckled face. I hesitated. I didn't want to annoy Martin again, but how else was I suppose to make new friends?

"Kevin has been successfully friend zoned," I laughed. " And I'd love to. Just let me send a quick text first."

     C: Going out for coffee with another volunteer. Be home later.

We walked around the corner to a coffee shop and settled in comfortable chairs with our drinks.

"How long have you volunteered with the group?" I asked once we were settled.

"Coming up to five years now," Robyn smiled. "I can tell you all the feel good shit you wanna hear. But the truth is, I'm so fucking sick of reading Harry Potter."

"No!" I gasped. "Is that even possible?"

"It's the down side of this volunteering gig. You might want to rethink it while you still can," Robyn said.

"I might," I said. "Have you read her mystery series?"

"Featuring the one-legged veteran Cormoran Strike? Oh course! Damn that woman is talented."

We chatted about various authors and books we liked for a bit, before the conversation turned personal.

"So you're new to Detroit. What made you move here of all places?" she asked.

"I moved in with my boyfriend," I said. "Sounds funny saying 'boyfriend' in my forties."

"Yeah? How's it going?" Robyn asked, sipping her coffee.

"If you'd asked me a couple days ago, I'd have said great," I sighed, fiddling with my cup. "Now I'm not so sure..."

"I'm not tryin' to be some nosey assed bitch, but I'm guessing you don't know a lot of people round here. You wanna talk about it?"

I laughed. "Only if you promise to be that honest with me."

"I always keep it real," Robyn said. "Go on, what's bugging you?"

"The other night he seemed ..." I sighed, trying to describe what happened without going into detail. "Aloof, nervous, distracted."

"Did you ask him about it?"

"Yes."

"And?" Robyn prompted.

I sighed as I thought over the conversation I'd had with Martin during dinner.

"Yes, he swore everything was fine."

"But you think he was lying?"

"No, not lying..." I said and struggled to put my feeling into words.

"He says everything's fine, you think something's wrong but he's not lying?" Robyn shook her head. "Sounds like a bad logic problem."

"Maybe 'wrong' isn't the right word... More like something's up. Or going on that he doesn't want me to know about. That's the feeling I got."

"You think your man is cheating on you? After you moved here for him?"

"No, nothing like that. He wouldn't," I smiled, even as my heart sank at the thought.

"Does he have control issues?" Robyn said.

"What? Why would you ask that?" I asked to avoid answering. Martin liked to be in control for sure. Not one of his better qualities.

"Possessive, controlling, successful people sometimes have difficulty adjusting to changes in their environment that are beyond their control," Robyn said. "He could just be having a hard time adjusting but doesn't want to say anything because he's ultimately glad you're here."

"Damn. That's insightful," I sat back, staring at her. "Where did that come from?"

"Counselling Psychology degree. I pull it out every so often." Robyn said as she admired her nails. "Don't worry, advice is on the house."

"Good because I don't think I can afford you."

"You're right. You can't. Few can." Robyn smiled. "On the other hand, he could just be an abusive asshole."

"No I think you're right. About the first part. It's probably adjustment issues," I nodded. "I've found it pretty easy but that doesn't mean he has. Getting use to living with someone can be tough."

It made sense. I thought back to the closet incident and breathed a sigh of relief. Martin just needed some space to adjust.

"Oh yes," Robyn laughed. "You find people do all kinds of crazy shit once you're living with them."

"You sound like you're speaking from experience."

Robyn told me about her crazy ex that used to clip his toe nails and keep the clippings in a glass jar.

"No! Gross," I laughed, throwing my cup in the trash. "What was he saving them for?"

"I've no idea," Robyn said, zipping up her coat as we walked outside the coffeeshop. "I always wondered what happened when the jar was full. Did he just empty it? Start a new jar? Have a party? Summon a demon?"

I laughed. "Exorcise Harry Potter?"

Robyn turned to look at me. "Shit. I should've kept that nasty jar when I kicked him out."

She reached forward and gave me a quick hug.

"Good luck with your man. I'm always here if you need to talk," Robyn shrugged. "Or help stringing him up."

"Thank you. Let's do this again soon."

We exchanged numbers, then I waved and headed to my car. I'd made my first friend in my new town. Whether it was that or Robyn's advice, I felt better about everything.


I closed the story with mixed emotions. Relieved that she was happy in Detroit and making friends. Volunteering at the literacy centre had been a good idea. Except little Kevin better check himself.

But I wasn't thrilled she'd seen through me and guessed something was up. Thought I'd reassured her at dinner, but apparently it was still on her mind.

I rubbed my hands over my face. She was right about my controlling nature, though it wasn't the reason for my recent behaviour. Thank god she hadn't figured that out! I'd have to be more careful going forward. And get this sorted soon.

Right now, I wanted my Lions t-shirt back. Or at least off Chelsea. Smiling I went to find her and do some scoring of my own.