The Replacement Girlfriend

Chapter 2

She rolled her eyes at him before returning back to the hostess. "Please. There's got to be some sort of mistake," she said with a tantalizing foreign accent. "Can you check again? Please!"

All of a sudden, Chase's name was shouted across the room and he turned his head to see Jace gunning towards him. Tall, extremely scrawny, baby face Jace with a neat mop of muddy blonde hair that was a disgrace to all blondes---he hadn't changed much over the years.

"Hey man," Chase said standing up as Jace came up to his table.

Jace's blue eyes twinkled as a huge grin took over his face. "I haven't seen you in forever Chase," he bubbled. "Do you recognize me at all?"

Chase let out a chuckle at his childhood friend's enthusiastic quirkiness and pointed at his glasses. "Jace, even if I don't recognize your face, I'll recognize those same square framed glasses. You've honestly had those since second grade!"

"No," Jace exclaimed. "These are definitely a different pair. Same sort of style, but Gucci."

"Oh I forgot," he teased. "Someone's a big shot lawyer now, aren't they?"

"Actually," a girly purr interrupted. "They're Prada sweetheart. Remember, I brought them for your birthday a few months back."

Chase's jaw dropped as he watched the babe wrap her arms around Jace's lean waist and kiss him on the side of the cheek before snuggling her nose against the nape of his neck. Her eyes were soft---unlike before and it was almost as if her entire guard was down.

"Oh I didn't even see you there," Jace replied absentmindedly as he draped one arm loosely around her waist. "You didn't wait long did you? Sorry I had to send you in beforehand. Things got a little hectic at the office introduction meeting and then I had to see the real estate realtors at the last minute."

"It's okay," she said sweetly while gazing up at him like a God. "I didn't mind the wait."

Chase couldn't help but roll his eyes as she sucked up all of Jace's words like a magic sponge. He could even hear God laughing at him in the very back of his mind. It was obvious to him that Jace was the babe's fiancé. So much for his plan of verbally humiliating her fiancé to soothe his own anger that he couldn't have what he wanted.

"Oh. I'm so awfully rude," Jace said suddenly. "LaCienega, this is my best friend that I've always told you about, Chase Evans. And Chase, this is LaCienega." He bent his head down and gave her a small peck on her cheek. "My fiancée."

"I know," Chase said sorrowfully, his mind in full frontal depression mode. "I figured that much."

Jace's eyes lit up in delight, his poor social skills failing to pick up the tone of Chase's voice. "Oh," he murmured. "Have you guys already had the pleasure of meeting each other before I showed up?"

"Yes," LaCienega replied as she took a seat diagonally across from Chase and tapped her perfectly manicured fingernails along the table. "Rather unfortunately."

***

What was supposed to be Krislynn's three month anniversary with her punk boyfriend Carlos ended in disaster. Actually, she couldn't even say it ended because it never started. She had been so psyched to spend the night with him that after spending the day volunteering at the animal shelter she had rushed home to her suburb trailer park only to find her entire trailer gone!

She stood almost at the edge of tears as she peeled off the note Carlos had left for her on her front lawn gnome. 'Hey babe,' it read. 'By now, I'm sure you've realized this means we're over. Thanks for taking me in for these three months while I was jobless, drunk and going under. I wouldn't have been able to stand back on my feet without you. Appreciate it. Forever yours, Carlos.'

'P.S-I took the trailer.'

 

'P.P.S-I took the money from your bank account, but I'm sure you'll bounce back. You always do. You're amazing.'

 

'P.P.P.S-I left you twenty bucks. Buy yourself something nice. Happy anniversary babe.'

Krislynn just stood like a statue on her front lawn. She didn't even know how Carlos managed to drag her trailer away from the trailer park. Even more, she didn't even know how he got the pin number to her bank account though she wasn't really concerned about why. He had his reasons, she assumed, be they good or bad.

At times like these, she really wanted to break down and cry, but she never did. After all, it wasn't that bad. She had loss more significant things than money and a couple of personal items. The important thing was she was alive, her heart was thankfully intact and she still had a best friend she could count on no matter what. A best friend, she might add, that was filthy rich.