Chasing our Fate

“So, do you mind if we get a couple pictures of you guys?” the reporter asked for his last question.

“No problem,” I replied, slipping my hand on the small of Stevvie’s back.

“Thanks, I’ll just need to find my photographer really quickly, he always wonders off,” the reported added.

“Babe, are you sure we should paint the downstairs bathroom red? It just seems a little loud.”

“Yeah, it’s not going to be a super bright red. I was thinking a more burgundy color,” she replied.

“Okay, I finally found him…sorry for the wait,” the reported stated.

As soon as I looked up, my perfectly content mood instantly changed to a very bitter one.
I couldn’t figure out if it was his cocky smirk, his obvious “innocent” face or the fact that he was even at my benefit that exasperated me so much. Stevvie’s reaction to him, didn’t help me either.

“Oh…my…God,” Stevvie gasped slowly as she engrossed his presence. Despite the glimmer of hope I possessed that her reaction to seeing him would result in a totally disgusted or cold attitude towards him, she did the total opposite. I watched her practically squeal like a fan meeting me for the first time as her face skewed into a bright smile. “Blake, what are you doing here? This is crazy!”

Blake’s lips twisted into a wiry, yet shy smile. Too quick for Stevvie to notice, he shot me a supercilious look.

“Fancy seeing you here too my darling,” he cooed. The reporter shot both of them a confused look, and I did the same to offset my jealously loathing of him.

“Um, am I missing something?” the reporter asked.

“Yeah, it seems as if you two…know each other babe,” I mused, trying to look as normal as possible.

“Oh, I’m sorry! Um, Blake and I are old friends. We grew up together back in Chicago,” Stevvie gushed, “Blake, this is my best friend Nick. Nick, this is my old friend Blake.”

“Could you give us a few seconds?” Blake asked the reporter. Reluctantly, he agreed and backed up.

“Boyfriend would be more of correct term,” I slipped in, “But, it’s nice to meet you.”
I shook his hand, only to please Stevvie and smiled.

“So you two are dating? Wow, Skids you’ve been busy.”

“Oh god, Skids? I haven’t heard that name in so long. Yeah, I suppose you could say that. But, look at you. You actually have a paying job?” Stevvie replied.

“Not exactly, I am actually filling in for a friend who is sick, she was supposed to help Danny cover this benefit, but you can’t fly while puking every five minutes,” he explained, “but, I’m glad I’m here because you’re here. It’s really nice to see you again.”

I watched their eyes meet, I didn’t even know much of their history besides what Stevvie told me and I could just feel the connection they had. The way Stevvie looked at him honestly hurt a little; she never looked at me that way.

I cleared my throat to disrupt their stare down.

“So, how long have you known each other?” I asked Stevvie, “Does that mean the gang knows him too?”

Um,” Stevvie began.

“Eleven years…it’s going to be twelve on your birthday Skids,” he replied, “and yes, the gang and I are still close actually. They’re going to kill me for telling you that.”

Stevvie giggled and pushed her hair behind her ear. The same thing she did when she flirted with me. “I already knew, I just didn’t tell them. Plus, there’s no reason for you guys not to talk.”

“So, my partner’s going to kill me if I don’t get a few pictures,” Blake reminded us, “Pose for a couple?”

We got into our usual pose and smiled nicely while Blake got different angles.

“So…you two…you guys are pretty serious? When did this like…happen? I just want to make sure Danny gets his facts straight in the article. You can’t really trust what the media says these days, you know what I mean,” he asked as he took pictures.

“Yeah, pretty much,” Stevvie replied, “In January actually, and yeah…a lot of people think we’ve been together longer.”

“We had a few bumps along the way, but I think it was good that we waited until the right time. That way there was nothing that could have caused us problems in the future. At least I hope so,” I added.

“Very true statement,” Blake agreed, “Well, I’m finished. Thank you guys for taking the time.”

“No problem…bro,” I shook his hand firmly, “I apologize that we have to go now. It’s great that you and Stevvie reconnected.”

“Babe, the people from CNN want to speak with you,” Stevvie informed me.

“Okay, let’s go then,” I replied, ushering her towards the main press tent.

“Babe, I can’t go in there, you only can because it's yourbenefit,” she reminded me, “plus, I want to catch up with Blake some more, you go ahead.”

I quickly realized she was right and I had no choice but to leave her with him. Reluctantly, I said my goodbyes and left them. Instead of just leaving them, I sent Big Rob to be my fly on the wall and spy. I want’ comfortable with this guy around my girl at all. Once I got through with press, I snuck my way back towards them. Immediately, I noticed their suspicious actions as they huddles near a corner and spoke in a hushed tone. Instead of approaching them, I went behind the tent to where they stood and listened in on their conversation from the outside. I could see their movements form the shadowed outline that reflected on the tent.

“Seriously, I’m so happy we ran into each other…I’ve missed you,” I heard Stevvie say.

“Me too, and don’t worry. I’m not going anywhere this time. I’ll stay around…for you,” Blake replied, “but, I don’t think Nick is very comfortable with me…you told him about us right?”
Stevvie sighed and shook her head. “Not really…I mean, I’ve told him basic things…you know like how long we were together and how serious we were, but I haven’t told him…[i[everything. He’s never seen a picture of you or anything so I don’t think he knows that you’re the Blake I was talking about.”

“Well, you should and I think he can sense it already,” Blake replied, “Skids, I know you and I know our past is complicated, but if you want him to understand who I am, you’re going to have to talk. You don’t have get into any detail because it’s our business, but let him know, for me.”

“What if things change after he knows?” Stevvie argued, “Look, he’s not you. He’s not just going to accept it that easily. I was going to tell him soon, but it’s hard.”

“Babe, I know it is,” Blake consoled her, “But, I want you to be happy and I want us to be in each other’s lives again. There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t wish that I could just make you laugh again. Hell, I’ll admit it, I’m still in love with you.”

“Blake, you know I-“

“I know, you’re in love with Nick,” he interrupted her, “I knew you would be. As soon as Storm mentioned he was asking about you, I figured he’d pursue you. I’m sorry that I was the reason you guys took so long to get together…I guess I wasn’t ready to let go quite yet.”

“No, it’s not your fault Blake. I wasn’t exactly over you in the beginning either, we’re both at fault,” she replied,” If you think you’re still in love with me, why do you want to come back?”

“I don’t know. I just…I want to see you happy. Once I see that, then I feel like I can get over you. I need closure,” he replied, “I need to see that Nick is doing a good job, you deserve the best and if he’s not giving you that, then he shouldn’t be with you.”

“He is doing a good job,” Stevvie assured him, “Trust me, he’s everything I wanted and more. He loves me, and he wants to marry me.”

“Marriage? You guys are already talking about marriage?”

“Yes, and I think he’s the one,” Stevvie replied, “I know we were supposed to, but we were so
confused back then…I’m not saying it’s going to happen in the next six months or anything, but I really feel like he’s ready for that more than you were.”

“Are you kidding me?” Blake scoffed, his voice grew sharper, “I was ready to marry you the second you turned 18. I was ready to settle down. I was ready to start our family.”

“Don’t lie to yourself like that Blake,” Stevvie scoffed back, “you were ready to go through the acts and slap a label on things. Your heart would have called you somewhere else the second you had the chance. Marriage isn’t all fun and games and don’t even talk to me about our family.”

“We were going to be a family Stephanie…and I was going to be a good father, just like Todd dropped everything for you,” he replied.

“Nick is going to be a good father and he’s the only man I can count on that will be there when I need him the most.”

“He wasn’t there when Prince passed,” he pointed out, “I know that for a fact because I was in Canada and Eric told me.”

“I didn’t want him there,” she scoffed back, “but, a few years ago, when I was stuck in that movie theatre bathroom, sick, and scared to go home, I needed you. But, you let me down.”

“I was stupid okay…I thought we were over that?” he recalled, “You forgave me.”

“I forgave you time and time again and I always will, but this time you better not screw this up for me,” she warned him, “I want you and Nick to be friends. I want you to get to know him and you had better not leave me this time. I love you, but I’m in love with Nicholas.”

I finally headed back into the tent to interrupt them. There was so much I probably wasn’t supposed to hear half of what was said, but all I knew was that Stevvie and Blake were a lot more serious than I realized. I had so many questions that I wanted answered from both of them and I was going to get them, soon.

<->

Nick approached us casually with his hands in his pockets. My heart instantly fluttered at his adorable smirk and the sparkle had had in his eyes when he looked at me.

“Hey guys,” he stated, “what’s up?” He slipped his hand into mine and I happily leaned into him.

“Nothing much, just catching up,” I replied, “How’d press go?”

“Good, nothing interesting, but it was okay,” he replied, “so, you guys have been catching up? How long has it been since you too have talked?”

“About eight or nice months,” Blake replied, “Yeah...someone changed their number on me, but that’s okay.”

I glared at him for a second, but quickly focused my attention on the way Nick was caressing my hip.

“Well, I’m glad you two got back in touch, it’s always great to see two friends reconnect, and I hope maybe all of us and the gang can hang one day. I’m sure you have some interesting stories to share.”

“Well, I have to go to the little girls’ room,” I stated, “So, I’m just going to let you guys…get to know each other.”

I glared at each of them to be nice. I knew how both of them worked, it was going to be interesting explaining all of this to Nick. I had skeletons in my closet that I certainly wanted to hide from him, but I quickly saw that they were going to be revealed.