Chuck vs. The Courtyard Bench

Well, in the previous chapter: Emma doesn't like the idea of Sarah and Chuck having dinner with Cole. She shares her concerns not only with couple, but with Carina, Zondra and Molly. Carina assures Emma that they have Chuck and Sarah's back as the 30-foot rule will be used, which has been used in the past by the C.A.T. Squad involving dates. Keep your dates close and your best friends even closer. Fast forward to dinner where Morgan and Alex have been tasked to do surveillance. After some discussion between Chuck and his surveillance team, he's alerted by Morgan of the one person they never expected to see...Jill. Needless to say, Jill's arrival caught Chuck and Sarah by surprise as they find out Cole invited her to dinner. Speaking of Cole, he does his best to get under the skin of Sarah while Jill is sharing truths of the past regarding her relationship with Chuck. Those truths open Chucks eyes to what he's been blind to for so many years. Fortunately, they're taken out of the highly volatile situation by Morgan who helps them get them back on track mentally and emotionally. So, what does she decide to do in this newest chapter? Here are the who, what, where, when, why, how's? Who brings up the spastic colon and does it completely throw off the dinner itself? What movie does Chuck bring up in order to keep the story that Sarah provided Cole? Where does Sarah take her line of questioning when Jill mentions something involving her former roommate from Stanford? When did Jill find out about Chuck's YouTube show? Why does Jill get startled when she went to the bathroom to freshen up? How will Chuck and Sarah react when they find out a secret that Jill has been hiding. Read and find out! I hope you enjoy the read and leave a comment to share your own thoughts on this particular chapters. As always, reviews are awesome.

Again, if you enjoyed reading my stories and left a comment, I truly appreciate it. Please continue to do so as it gives me the incentive to write more chapters.

I don't own Chuck.

Chef's Kiss

XXX

A new found sense of resolve filled Chuck and Sarah after a surprisingly insightful conversation with Morgan of all people. He was able to share some Mr. Miyagi type wisdom with the nerdy couple after he took matters into his own hands and had Mr. Colt's business partner pull them out of a potentially explosive situation involving Cole. A situation, if he hadn't done it, they'd be completely incinerated by their own thoughts, feelings, and emotions, so to speak. Unfortunately, it wasn't just Cole they'd be having dinner with as he would shockingly bring along a date the two of them never expected to see…Jill.

Of course, there'd be a tremendous shift in their overall demeanor by the time they arrived back at their table. A shift that Cole more so than Jill most definitely noticed from not only their attitude, but their body language as well. From the British surgeon's point of view, Chuck and Sarah's body language is certainly far more comfortably relaxed than uncomfortably rigid as they both take their seat at the table. The orthopedic surgeon in the area of sports medicine is about to begin speaking, but the waitress arrives causing him and the other 3 individual's at the table to direct their attention to deliciously mouthwatering cuisine they individually ordered.

The momentary distraction of the food arriving gives Chuck the opportunity to discreetly place his Bluetooth once again within the centerpiece of the table. Afterwards, all 4 individuals focus on enjoying their meals until Cole brings up a topic of discussion directed to his former fiancé's boyfriend.

"So Chuck," Cole briefly pauses in order to wash down the remaining remnants of food in his mouth with a glass of white wine. After taking one more sip he places his glass down on the table and continues on. "How's your stomach? Feeling any sort of pain and discomfort?" he added, leaning comfortably back in his chair.

Chuck suddenly stops mid bite of his meal that's partially covering his fork. A questionable and confused look is expressed on his face while slowly lowering his fork down to his plate. In the nerd's mind, he's wondering what sort of mind games Cole is playing right now asking about his stomach and whether or not he's experiencing any painful discomfort. To him, he has the whole Kilgrave vibe going for him if he were a Marvel supervillain character otherwise known as The Purple Man, he thinks to himself. The villainous character possesses the ability of mind control via pheromones.

Essentially, the comic book arch nemesis to Jessica Jones has the ability to sap a person's will and is able to take control with the power of verbal suggestion. His powers originate in his skin cells, which have been mutagenically altered. Although Cole certainly appears to look kike a nefarious villain, Chuck doesn't think he has any dangerous mutant powers, unless being a douche bag counts as a superpower. He nearly cracks a smile thinking that, but is able to restrain himself from doing so. After taking a moment to clear his throat, he proceeds to give Cole his answer but gets cut off by Sarah.

"He's feeling much better." A firm nod and smile is given to Chuck. "Bad timing for your spastic colon to be acting up." the blonde added, eyeing her nerdy boyfriend.

It takes a second for Chuck to realize that Sarah had to give a plausible excuse for his sudden departure from Bryce's room. Plus, add to the fact he has grown up at the hospital and having an older sister who is also a doctor has helped him attain a fair amount of medical information. So, Chuck just goes with it.

"I know right," said Chuck, shaking his head. Afterwards, he places his left hand on his stomach and pasts it a few times. "My best friend and I had some sizzling shrimp take out the night before. It tasted off, but I still ate it. Thankfully, it turned out to be just bad gas." he shared, expressing a cringe worthy look on his face. While doing so, he lifts his left hand and waves it back and forth.

The moment Chuck mentions bad gas it takes everything in Sarah's power not to burst out in laughter. She quickly clears her throat and nods her head. "Mhmm. It was bad."

"How bad?" wondered Jill.

"Blazing Saddles bad." Jill gives a nod acknowledging the movie leading Chuck's to turn his attention to Cole. "Have you seen the movie?"

"Afraid not, mate. Not my cup of tea." Cole answered back, shaking his head. Afterwards, he takes a brief satisfying sip of his wine.

"Cole's more into watching soccer" Sarah shared. "He's not a movie buff like you and I, Chuck." she added, briefly shrugging her shoulders.

"Gotcha," the nerd retorted. His attention returns back to Cole. "Well, it's a movie that stars and is directed by the legendary comedian/director, Mel Brooks. Also stars Gene Wilder and Cleavon Little as the two main protagonists of the movie. It's set in the old west and…"

As Chuck briefly gives a synopsis of the movie to Cole who fails in trying to look interested, Sarah is sitting there beside her boyfriend watching it unfold before her very eyes. She knows how animated he gets when it involves pop culture references relating to music, television, movies or computer/video games. For her, it's most definitely cute and considered quite an experience in itself to watch because it shows how big of a nerd he truly is, especially when he adds information that causes him to go way off track.

While Chuck continues setting the scene that involves bad gas in the movie, Sarah notices Jill's focus is more on her instead of Chuck. It seems as if her dark haired counterpart is trying to figure her out by the way her eyebrows are slightly furrowing. However, instead of being distracted by what Jill is doing she refocuses her attention back to the nerd sitting to her right.

"Anyways, a group of cowboys are sitting in a circle around a campfire having dinner. They're eating beans and next thing you know they're all farting. It's absolutely hilarious, especially when Slim Pickens' character Taggart steps out of his tent and starts smelling the farts." he shared with amusement, expressing a toothy smile afterwards. His toothy smile of amusement fades inevitably turning into a gradual flat expression in order to sell it. "Needless to say, unlike the movie it wasn't a pretty sight or in that case smell in the elevator." Chuck remarked, in a joking manner.

"Oh, I can imagine." Cole replied, briefly rolling his eyes. A hint of sarcasm behind his response. He then turns his focus to the glass of wine he's holding and takes another sip of it.

Meanwhile, Sarah continues sitting beside Chuck trying her best not to bust out laughing. For her, it's one of the major differences between him and Chuck. Two men who are polar opposites of one another. When it comes to Cole, he took himself very seriously because of building up a reputation for being one of the best orthopedic surgeons in the area of sports medicine. A reputation he not only has to uphold as a surgeon, but to every athlete as well who has been or will be his patient. Essentially, it's that aforementioned reputation in which he built a highly valued, marketable brand for himself and because of that there was a considerable amount of pressure on her not to tarnish it. Essentially, it became one of the reasons why she was gradually losing herself the longer she was in the relationship with him.

Chuck, on the other hand, doesn't take himself too seriously, evident by how goofy he is, especially when it involves Bash At The Bench. What the viewing audience or those in attendance see in person is someone truly lovable and a joy being around, she thinks to herself. In her mind, her nerdy boyfriend has given her the space needed to find herself and during her journey of self-rediscovery she was able to experience a truly liberating sense of freedom, as well as happiness. Of course, Dr. Dreyfus was given credit as well for having a hand in helping her break through the mental and emotional barriers that she sorely needed to move on in order to truly heal.

It's because of Dr. Dreyfus' help that she hopes the well-trained doctor will be able to help Chuck deal with his anxiety issues. Granted, Forrest being there for Chuck and helping him during his time of crisis is something she will be eternally grateful for knowing the hospital's head nurse struggles with anxiety as well. Her thoughts concerning 2 individuals who are most definitely positive allies of lights in her life are abruptly broken when she suddenly hears Jill's voice.

"I can't believe you're still eating that junk," She shakes her head expressing a mixture of disbelief and disappointment. "Morgan, I can understand. He's the kind of guy who will eat anything on a dare or bet money on him to do it. I can't believe you're still his friend." Jill shakes her head again.

"Why is it so hard to believe? He's always had my back." stated Chuck. "Unlike some people." he added, staring directly at Jill with a flat expression on his face.

XXX

There's an awkward silence at the table after Chuck threw a dig at Jill for not having Chuck's back, but didn't actually say her name. Yet, his ex knew causing her to be momentarily too stunned to even respond. However, he quickly replaces the flat look on his face with his trademark toothy smile and continues on.

"It's all in the past." he said, with a shrug. "I've been able to move on and I am now at a place in my life where I'm happy." he proudly declared.

"We both are." chimed in Sarah, with a smile. "I've been able to express myself again by doing the things that make me happy."

"Like what?" Jill wondered.

"Being a nerd for one. I'm a huge Harry Potter fan and when Chuck found out, he planned out a surprise for our first date. He took me to a Harry Potter escape room, after attending a food rave."

Jill gave an impressive look on her face. "Sounds…fun."

"It was a blast," Sarah retorted, shooting a polite smile towards Jill.

In that instance, Chuck chimed in. "I took her to a place that was in her element. She took the lead and I just followed along. The experience was awesome. She is truly a wealth of knowledge." Chuck tilted his head to the left, motioning to Sarah sitting beside him. His attention is then directed to Cole. "I'm sure you know how much of a big fan she is."

"I recall her mentioning it," Cole answered, with a slight shrug.

Asshole! In Sarah's mind, Cole had always disregarded the things she enjoyed taking part in, referring to it as a "cheeky hobby". Thinking about it further, her being a tremendous fan girl of all things Harry Potter was also considered "childish" according to him. As a matter of fact, he even told her, early on in their dating relationship, that she should keep that to herself whenever they went out together, especially at events involving his clients. The thought of how she was treated back then by him for being a fan of what she loves caused her blood to boil inside, but on the outside she did her best to remain stoically unbothered by what he said.

As for Chuck, he noticed Sarah's initial reaction and fought the urge to put Cole on blast. Instead, he focused on letting him know about the biggest mistake he's ever made in not allowing Sarah to be true self. "What surprised me more is her other passion?" Chuck shared.

"Her other passion?" repeated Jill, with curiosity.

"Singing," Sarah said. "It's something that I enjoyed doing but stopped because my priorities changed." The blonde turned her head to face her nerdy boyfriend. "Thankfully, Chuck encouraged me to let my voice be heard again. I was hesitant at first but I'm glad I did it. I appreciate not only Chuck's support on that day, but Michael Bublé's as well."

It's at that point Jill's eyes widen. "Wait! Did you just say Michael Bublé? The singer Michael Bublé?"

Sarah nodded. "He was a special guest performer at the Hospital Gala several months back. It turns out Chuck and Michael are fans of the movie Revenge of Nerds. They hit it off and the next thing I know I'm being taken to see and talk with Michael on his day off before his concert in Santa Clarita."

"I'm impressed, Chuck," Cole said, raising his glass of wine to Chuck. "Using your connections for backstage passes. I hope you scored some major points for front row seats. Luxury box seats are even better."

"We didn't see the concert," Chuck responded, shaking his head.

"Are you insane!? A golden opportunity to watch a free Michael Bublé concert and you left!?" responded Jill, with absolute disbelief.

"That wasn't the point of the visit and it would certainly have been selfish of me if that was my intention. What I did wasn't for scoring major points, getting backstage passes or scoring front row seats," Chuck shared, giving his explanation of why he did it. "The point was to help her feel better, because she was dealing with some personal issues at the time. Needless to say, her being able to sing and show her vulnerable side was considered deeply therapeutic. Although it didn't solve all her problems, she left feeling cleansed in a way." the nerd further explained.

"Very noble of you, Chuck," Cole said, with a nod. He raised his glass of wine once again towards Chuck. Afterwards, he lowered it back down and continued on. "I'm surprised you didn't walk away because of all the personal baggage she has packed away."

"I didn't and, to be perfectly honest, I'd be more than happy to be her baggage handler," he quickly shot back.

His attention then turned to Sarah. It took a second for him to suddenly realize what he just said, but instead of dwelling on it like he usually did to the point of triggering his anxiety, he expressed a soft, toothy smile towards his blonde girlfriend. Speaking of Sarah, the way Chuck's genuine response in gladly being her baggage handler was something that sounded truthful and honest coming from him causing her blush. It's a moment that's clearly witnessed by Cole and Jill as they watch the couple lock eyes. It wouldn't last long though, as the nerdy business owner broke his focus on the woman sitting beside him and turned back to Cole, as well as Jill. After clearing his throat, he spoke up once again.

"Sarah is such a strong woman to begin with, but having the courage to be able to unpack her personal baggage and not be scared…" Chuck paused and shook his head to briefly gather his thoughts. "It shows there's a level of trust that breaks down walls and brings two people closer together." he added, turning to face Sarah once again.

The moment between the nerdy couple as they look at each was abruptly broken by the sound of Cole's voice.

"I guess you've won in that endeavor, Chuck."

In response, Chuck shook his head then turned his attention back to Cole. "You don't get it."

"Enlighten me then?" said Cole, in a smug way.

"By no means I'm an expert on relationships, but when you're with someone you love," he shared, glancing over to Sarah. "You're not in it for wins or losses. As a matter of fact, nobody should be keeping score." Chuck paused for a moment, then continued on, "You have to be in it to help elevate and make each other better people. It's not about making yourself look better while holding the one you love back. If that's the case, then it isn't real love." While sitting there, a smile is expressed leading him to breathe out a soft chuckle.

"What's so funny?" wondered Jill, with keen interest.

"It's something my dad said to me when I was a kid. Real love is something that some feel is a lie and not all real, but there's one thing to remember that can turn it and make it absolutely real." The other 3 individuals sitting at the table silently awaited his answer, but they didn't have to wait for long. "A sliver of truth." Afterwards, he looked down at the food on his plate that he's nearly finished off, leading him to spark a thought.

"In a way," he said, lifting his head. "It's like the movie Simply Irresistible and how Sarah Michelle Gellar's character is for some reason adding her feelings, and I dare say truth, as the main ingredient into the food. Needless to say, her food is a big hit thus attracting the attention of Sean Patrick Flannery's character."

At this point, Chuck could clearly see that Cole and Jill had confused looks on their faces, so he tried to explain it in the simplest of ways. He then pointed to the food at the table.

"There was a considerable amount of preparation and love when it came to our food, we've all enjoyed eating. Yet, it can be cooked, seasoned, and prepared in many different ways, which in a lot of ways is what being part of a relationship is. Feelings and truth aren't just the only ingredients you can add in or take out, which can change the whole dynamic of the meal itself. The preparations being done are constantly changing and it never hurts to experiment. Will it be perfect? No, but that's the beauty of it. Ultimately, what you end up cooking together," he said, turning to look at Sarah with a soft smile. "Is something…" He then faced forward not really looking at anyone and sat there momentarily thinking about what he just shared. Chuck didn't have anything else to say so he ended his thought by giving a chef's kiss.

XXX

"What the bloody hell does that even mean?" questioned Cole, expressing a mixture of confused disbelief.

"It means," answered Chuck, clearing his throat. "Real love doesn't have one definite answer and it's always ever changing. When I look at Sarah the questions are always going to be the same, but when it comes to the answers they're always going to be changing, which isn't a bad thing. One of the questions for us is, will we make it as a couple? I know the answers will change the longer we're together, which will probably lead to more questions. We just have to be open and honest with each other. No secrets, no lies. As long as we're working together to develop and grow with each other, we'll do our best to figure out the answers to those questions for ourselves," he added, leaning over to gently nudge Sarah.

In that moment, it all finally made sense to Chuck in what his parents shared with him years ago about real love. It's a memory that he not only cherished, but caused him to miss them even more wherever they are now, he thought to himself. A few seconds later, the sound of some kind of celebratory cheering was somewhat heard within the restaurant causing a sudden break among the 4 individuals at the table. For Chuck, he was fairly certain it was coming from the area where Morgan and Alex were sitting. Thankfully, the chattering dinner patrons within the restaurant were able to conceal the exact location of where they're currently seated. In any case, the conversation was brought back when Cole asked a question.

"So Chuck," This time Cole set his glass of wine down on the table before continuing on. "You've got quite a set up with your internet show…"

"Bash At The Bench," corrected Chuck, proudly chiming in. "It helps shine a light on awesome kids who have been battling the tough fight against cancer. We do our best to provide financial assistance from the viewing audience at that hospital who are willing to donate to help ease the burden of stress the parents are most definitely experiencing. Are you thinking about donating?" he asked, with considerable curiosity.

"What do I get out of it?" inquired the British orthopedic surgeon.

Sarah instantly jumped in. "The satisfaction in doing something out of the goodness of your own heart." she said, expressing a courteous smile. At the same time, trying not to physically hurl after saying it.

The exes stared at each other momentarily, before Cole broke eye contact and turned his attention back to Chuck. "I'll think about it."

"Like I said, they're awesome kids and they're practically family in my book."

"He's right," responded Sarah. "The kids see Chuck not just as their Rockstar Rebel, but as a big brother," she firmly added.

"I'm glad you've built a strong relationship with those kids, Chuck." Jill said, with a smile. "I know it must have been hard on you when you went live after finding out Camden passed away."

After mentioning Camden's name, Chuck's right brow slightly arched up. "You saw that? You've subscribed to the show?"

"I did and no," answered Jill, shaking her head. "I'm not a subscriber. I try to keep up, but I'm busy with work. I was sent a link a few years ago from Sherry."

"Your former roommate at Stanford. How is she doing, by the way?"

"She's a lawyer married to a lawyer. Two kids." she replied back, shrugging her shoulders.

Sarah instantly noticed her demeanor after sharing that her former roommate from Stanford had two kids. In her mind, she wanted to further pull off the metaphorical mask that'd been hiding the true nature of Jill Roberts that Chuck has been blind to.

"Dating anyone, Jill? Kids?"

Jill expressed a bit of laughter after being asked that question. "Oh no kids…not in my future. I'm more focused on my career. Since getting my PhD in Biomedical Engineering after graduating from Stanford, I've been going to conferences and giving presentations on such things as infectious diseases."

In that instance, Chuck interjected with a question of his own. "I thought you said you wanted kids. Didn't we talk about it?"

In response, Jill shook her head. "You were the one talking about kids, Chuck. All I remember is saying who knows what the future holds for us. I didn't want to give you any false hope, knowing that in my heart I really didn't see myself as a parent. Plus, it just seemed like it would have been a pointless conversation to have that would have ended up going nowhere."

The impact of what Jill just revealed to Chuck left the nerd absolutely floored. In his mind, it didn't just break his overall perception of her back then, it actually completely shattered it into pieces. That, combined with what he found out earlier in the day in Bryce's private room, had most definitely left him feeling hurt, but it was a good kind of hurt. A kind of hurt in which he was able to finally move on mentally and emotionally to the point where any lingering scars in his heart caused by Jill were fading away. However, the thought of what's on that desk and what Bryce was wanting him to see still sat in the back of his mind. His thoughts were interrupted when he suddenly heard Sarah's voice.

"That's the thing though, Jill," chimed in Sarah. The attention on Jill turned to her blonde counterpart. "There's nothing pointless about having a conversation, especially about kids. Trust me when I say Chuck and I have conversations and talk…."

"Wait," interrupted Jill, briefly holding up her right hand. "Talk talk…or only him talking." she added, pointing to Chuck.

Sarah couldn't help but express a bit of laughter knowing how true that was. As for Chuck, he had that "really" look expressed on his face knowing full well he did have the tendency to be the only one speaking in conversation involving two people. In any case, she continued on concerning her talk with Chuck.

"What I was going to say is that something meaningful can come from seemingly pointless conversations. For instance, Chuck references something about pop culture and you have no idea why he mentioned it or where he's even going with it, which he did earlier. It's not until he relates it to a particular situation that may or may not involve us that it suddenly makes sense. It can get annoying but I've gotten used to it."

"See," Jill pointed out. "You get it."

"I do," nodded Sarah. "What I also get is you have to be patient with him and there have been moments where he's tested my patience. I've had to stop him a number of times from babbling on in order for him to get to the point. Yet it goes both ways. He also has to be patient with me because Lord knows I can be a handful."

In that instance, Cole expressed a faintly stifled chuckle causing Sarah to want to react. Instead, she ignored it and continued on.

"If I've learned anything from my relationship with Chuck, it is that patience is key in allowing each other to have enough space to grow. We've both made mistakes in the relationship and owned up to it. It's the reason why I encourage him to talk to me because he always has something on his mind and you can always tell when he needs to get something off his chest. He just has that look." Jill nodded knowing how true it was. "What I do for him is the same thing he does for me when he knows I need to talk. Are we both a little afraid of sharing what we want to talk about? Sure," Sarah nodded, leading Chuck to do the same. "Yet, we both know there's going to be a sense of relief once the emotional and mental toll that's been weighing on the both of us is lifted off," she thoroughly shared.

The table was momentarily silent after what Sarah shared, but that silence would be interrupted by the appearance of the waitress stepping up to their table.

"Are we ready for dessert?" she asked, looking at all 4 individuals at the table.

XXX

Dessert was ordered and after its arrival there would be 3 of the 4 individuals actually partaking in their after dinner treat. The individual in question missing from the table was Jill who excused herself to go to the ladies room. Speaking of Jill, she emerged from one of the stalls and stepped towards the sink in order to wash her hands, but first placed her iPhone and pocket book down on the counter. Once she finished up and threw away the crumpled up paper towels, she stood in front of the vertical oval shaped mirror in front of her. She leaned down, placed both her hands on the sink counter and leaned forward a bit. While standing there, she took a moment to check her makeup and started talking to herself.

"Did I take Chuck for granted? He's definitely a great guy and I see a big difference in him now from back then. I don't know what it is, but it's as if he has more confidence."

She shook that thought out of head and reached down to her right to slide her pocket book closer to her. Her iPhone was placed down to her left. While doing so, she heard the ladies room door and heard the sound of 2 women talking. It was not long before she saw a strawberry brunette and a red head walk behind her and inevitably stopped a few sinks down from where she was, both still engrossed in conversation. Her attention was directed to her pocket book that she reached down for then slid closer to her. After opening it, she retrieved something, which was a tube of lipstick.

As she removed the cover, and was about to re-apply a new layer on her lips, the sound of the ladies room door opening was heard once again. Her attention was focused on the mirror in front of her but saw a woman of shorter stature walk past her then enter one of the stalls. Once the woman was inside, she closed the door, leaving Jill to resume reapplying her lipstick. She was just about done when the sound of a ring tone alerted her to an incoming call. Jill peered down to see the following name appear on her call screen: Guy

After seeing the name, she placed the cover back on her lipsticks. She then let out a soft sigh before picking up to answer her phone. "Hey," greeted Jill, halfheartedly. She briefly glanced at the two women a few feet away from her and faced away from them. Afterward, she takes a few steps forward for a bit of privacy. "No, I'm just tired. It's been a long day," she added. "Got into an argument. Not how I wanted my business trip to start off." There's a long pause before Jill was able to respond back. "I'm having dinner with some of my colleagues and then I'm going back to my hotel to get some sleep," she shared, briefly glancing behind her. The two women still engaged in conversation or, in her view, gossip. A few seconds later, Jill turned around and headed back to where she was previously standing. "I love you too."

The phone call ended, leading her to set her phone back down on the counter. Her attention on her iPhone was then directed back to her pocketbook. She opened it again and took out a ring. Jill stared at it for a moment then placed it on her ring finger. While continuing to stare at it, the two women who have been enthralled in their own conversation, possibly involving idol gossip, are suddenly standing right beside her in absolute awe of her ring.

"That's beautiful." said the woman with strawberry brunette hair. She reached over, taking her hand in order to admire it.

"Look at the size of the rock," The red head softly whistled afterwards. "The guy you married must be loaded. Financially and physically," she added, shooting a smile towards Jill.

"Excuse me?" responded Jill, taken aback. "Engaged actually."

"Ignore her. I'm Zondra," She briefly glanced at the woman standing to her right. "And this train wreck right here is my best friend, Carina. So, the guy you're engaged to. What's his name?"

"Guy…" answered Jill. " Guy LaFleur."

It's at that point, the short statured woman who entered the bathroom stall opened the door and emerged out of it. She was about to wash her hands, when she noticed the ring as well. This would lead her to get into the action, in a manner of speaking, of being in awe of what looked like an incredibly expensive piece of jewelry.

"Congratulations!" she happily said. She stepped forward and started using the sink next to the one Jill was using.

"Thank you." replied with, expressing a polite smile.

Jill was about to retract her ring finger hand, but Carina suddenly grabbed her hand in order to admire it. This would lead to an awkward and seemingly uncomfortable moment where she found herself turning in the other direction by the red head. At the same time this was happening, the red head's best friend was trying to help her be set free from the clutches of a woman referred to as a train wreck. Fortunately for her, Zondra was successful in being able to free Jill, allowing her to grab phone and pocketbook to finally leave, but in this particular case, escape.

Once she reached the outside of the ladies bathroom, she took off her engagement ring and placed it back in her pocketbook. After taking a moment to compose herself, she made her way back to the table. Meanwhile, inside the ladies bathroom Zondra and Carina were momentarily standing there. A few seconds later, the two women exchanged fists taps then turned around, facing the short statured woman.

"I hope she doesn't call the police." Zondra wondered out loud. Her attention then focused on the aforementioned short statured woman. "Got it?"

"Like it hasn't happened before," responded Carina, shrugging her shoulders.

As much as the short statured woman wanted to hear stories of Carina getting the police called on her, she focused on the task at hand. "Yep. Guy's phone number?" Alex answered, expressing a victorious smile.

XXX

NOTE: I had a discussion with NEVR about using the different terminology when it came to writing about soccer. I first had it as European Futbol and then was informed since Cole is British, he just calls it Football. Then it snowballed into him finding out how it's referred to into different languages. I ended up just writing soccer. Had a good laugh about it. Anyways, what do you think about this chapter, especially the interaction with Zondra, Carina, and Alex doing some spy work on Jill. Share your thoughts and leave a review!