chapter 2

So that brings us to the present, where we find Will at the bar, knocking back a few cold ones with some of his buddies. Well, they were enjoying the beer, but Will stick with a Cherry Coke. After the night of the accident, he stayed away from drinking outside his home.

The game was on, the Cubs, down by two runs, playing against the Red Sox. Will was wearing his Cubs jersey and cap, with his faded (and slightly stained) jeans that were growing a little snug on him. Watching the game, he was as disappointed as any Cubs fan would get. Sitting next to him were his buddies Chase, Henry, and Aaron. They were busting his stones about being the only fan of the Cubs they knew, but Will was hopeful that they'd make it all the way to the World Series.

"Man, I'm telling you, they're going nowhere this year. Why do you even waste your time wearing that jersey?" Aaron asked. Will shrugged.

"I don't know, I've always liked them, and they're a pretty decent team..." He stopped himself to witness the player up to bat strike out.

"Yeah, pretty decent." Aaron said, rolling his eyes. As Will took a sip from his cup, Chase tapped him on the shoulder.

"Hey bro, on your 6." He said. Will turned around to see a beautiful girl with dirty blonde hair, stunning green eyes, and a pretty face. She was sitting at a booth by herself, and looking around nervously, as if she was waiting for someone. She was cute, but there was one problem... She was pretty big.

Will shook his head and said, "Nope, I'm not doing this Chase."

Chase laughed and asked, "Why not?"

Will gestured towards her and said, "Well, look at her. She's a little... Well, not little at all."

"And neither are you." Henry joked, patting Will's sizable gut. "Look, you're not exactly any girl's first choice, and you'd be lucky to be that girl's second choice." Will was about to say something back, but instead just sighed. He knew Henry was right, and they were only doing this to hook him up with a girlfriend, or at least a one night stand.

"Fine, I'll talk to her." Will said. His buddies cheered for him in their drunken stupor, as he made his way over to her. The closer he got to her, the more he noticed. Her beautiful dirty blonde cascaded down her face in gorgeous loose curls, and stopped at what looked shoulder length to Will. Her eyes were catlike,in an almost mysterious kind of way. The freckles on the bridge of her nose and on her cheeks just made this worried look of hers that much more adorable. Her face alone was enough to get him nervous about talking to her. She was wearing a green dress that came mid thigh as she was sitting, and looked to be made out of an elastic material by the way it wrapped her plump figure. That, coupled with bracelets, an expensive looking necklace, well done make up, and 2 inch heels showed Will that she was on a date, but the empty seat told him otherwise.

He hadn't tried talking to a girl in an attempt to impress her since he was in highschool, and now he felt like a kid again, like this was some playground crush of his. The closer he got, the more his hands started to shake. He'd completely forgotten every pickup line that he used before to win chicks, and all he could think of now was how stupid he was going to sound.

He finally got to her booth, and said, "Excuse me, miss, but is this seat taken?"

She looked at him relieved, and said "Are you James?" Will was a bit confused at the question.

"Uh, no. My name's not James, I'm sorry." Her relief turned quickly into disappointment, as she reached to grab her purse.

"No, it's alright. This was supposed to be a blind date between this guy named James and I, but I guess he never showed up." She said. She started to scoot out of the booth when Will stopped her.

"Well, maybe he's just a little late, that's all." He said. The lady laughed slightly at his comment.

"The chances of him coming seem unlikely. I've been here for an hour now, and I've gotten nothing from him. Not a phone call, or text, something to tell me whatever his lame ass excuse is." She said.

"Well, I wouldn't mind sitting with you." He said. She looked at him quizzically, her emerald eyes peering into Will's soft exterior, and asked him, "Why?"

Will didn't know why he had just asked to enjoy a meal with this lady, after all, he didn't even know her. Yet there was something about her that made him want to. Maybe it was because he felt bad for her getting stood up, maybe he needed a pick me up after watching his baseball team start to lose, or maybe he was genuinely interested in this woman. Whatever it was, he didn't know.

"Well, I mean, you got yourself all made up and fancy for a date that never happened, so why don't I make it happen for you?" He asked as he sat down in the booth across from the lady. She still eyed him uncomfortably, and he could sense that she was a little turned off at his sudden gesture of kindness.

"Understand that you can leave if you start to feel uncomfortable. I just... I uh... I'd like to, uh..." He didn't know how to do this, he felt like an ameteur, like a freshman in highschool all over again.

"I'd like to introduce myself, I'm Will." He said, sticking out his hand over the table. The lady eased her glare at him, and relaxed a bit. She took his hand, shook it, and said,

"Pleased to meet you. I'm Lacey."