Chapter 9: The Stranger

"Can he hurry up? Jesus." I muttered to myself, tapping on my steaming cup of coffee. I decided to tell Chandler about Stacy and texted him to meet me at the coffee shop around the corner. I figured if we were in a public place, he wouldn't go crazy on me.

I sighed and leaned back in my chair, glancing at the clock on the wall. He's five minutes late. He can never be on time, I thought shaking my head. I heard the bell for the front door ring and looked up. Chandler was walking my way with a huge smile on his face.

"Hey, sorry I'm late, I was at the jewelers." He said excitingly, taking off his coat and sitting down in front of me. Jewelers? I saw a square black velvet box in his hand and froze. That can't be what I think it is.

"Umm, Chandler? What is that?" I asked him, my mouth slightly ajar. He smile grew as he opened the box. There sat a huge, shining rock. I knew it.

"This is why I was late. I'm going to ask Stacy to marry me." he told me. His smile made my heart ache, because what I was about to tell him will crush him.

I took in a deep breath to calm myself. I reached over and closed the box, taking it out of his hand. I placed it beside him on the table and grabbed his hands, squeezing it slightly.

"Chandler, what I am about to tell you is, well, it's not good news." I said, looking into his eyes. He looked at me quizzically. I continued.

"Your girlfriend i-"

"No." Chandler interrupted me, shaking his head. He laughed humorlessly and yanked his hands from mine.

"You need to stop right there. Stop telling me stupid shit about my girlfriend that isn't true. Just face the facts and realize that I don't like you in that way and you will never, ever have me." he spit out, clenching his jaw.

Ouch. That one hurt, a lot. And pissed me off. I grabbed my phone out of my pocket and scrolled, until I found the video. I clicked on it and thrust my phone in his face.

"Your worthless girlfriend is cheating on you, fool. I may never have you, but she sure doesn't just have you either now does she?" I spit back, not caring that his face was paling and his fists were balling up. I put my phone back in my pocket and got up abruptly, my chair flying back.

I slammed my hands on the table and leaned close to his face.

"I think you need to get your money back and return that ring cause um, I don't hear any wedding bells." I whispered in his ear. I turned and walked out the coffee shop, zipping up my jacket. I shoved my hands into the pockets, muttering curses to myself.

I was about to walk across the street to get to work, but someone pulled me back. I looked up and saw Chandler's face. He was fuming.

"Where the fuck did you get that video?" he asked angrily, his grip on my upper arm getting tighter. I winced from the pain.

"Ow Chandler let go of me! You're hurting me!" I cried out. He let go of my arm, face softening. I rubbed the spot to release the tension. He palmed his face and ran his fingers through his hair. Then looked at me with a pained expression.

"Terri, why would she do this to me? I loved her." His voice cracked and he shook his head as if he was trying not to cry. I felt bad, maybe I shouldn't have told him. I went up to him and wrapped my arms around his waist, burying my head in his chest.

"I don't know Chandler. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have told you." I said to his chest. I felt his arms slide around my back, pulling me closer.

"No, it's okay. I'm glad you told me. If you didn't, I would've ended up marrying a cheater." He sighed and put his face in my hair. "My dad was right. She is just a gold digger. I should've listened to him." he mumbled.

I leaned back and cupped his face.

"Hey look at me." I said softly. He looked down at me, pain in his eyes. "You will be okay. You're better of without her okay? You don't need her. Why would you anyway when you got me huh?" I wiggled my eyebrows, bringing a smile on his face. He laughed and pulled me in another hug.

"You're right. I do need to talk to her soon though. And you need to be there when I do to calm me down because I don't know what I will do if I'm alone with her." he said, sighing, staring into space.

"Of course I will. Don't worry, I'm sure you will have more control than you think." I told him. I got on my tippy toes and kissed his soft cheek.

"You will be fine, okay?" I looked into his eyes, reassuring him. He closed his eyes and let out a deep breath.

"Alright," he answered, still hesitant. I smiled and grabbed his hand.

"Good now let's go. Just because you're the boss doesn't mean you get to be late for work all the time." I wagged my finger at him with my free hand. He just laughed and we crossed the street together.

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"This is so sweet of you Channy. Cooking dinner for me, you're the best boyfriend ever! This is why I love you." Stacy crooned, placing her red painted claws on Chandler's hand. I saw him freeze at her touch, but she didn't seem to notice.

I gave Chandler the idea to invite her over to his house for dinner and talk to her about everything while they were eating. She was sitting across the table from him and I was sitting next to him, just in case he needed some calming.

"Yea, no problem. That's what faithful boyfriends do these days." he said, slipping his hand out from under hers. "I don't know how faithful girlfriends are these days though." he continued, clasping his hand together. He put his chin on his hands and stared Stacy down.

She was about to put another scoop of food in her mouth and froze when he finished his statement. Her eyes traveled from me to him, and chuckled nervously.

"Baby what are you talking about?" she asked, placing her fork on her plate. She wiped her hands on her napkin and coughed.

Chandler sighed and got to the point.

"You're cheating on me. Just admit it, and this can all go smoothly. We can have a calm breakup with no shouting involved. Just tell me the truth, is all I ask." he told her calmly, clenching his teeth to hold back his anger.

Please tell the truth, please. He is gonna burst if she doesn't, I thought to myself.

His statement wiped the smile off of her face and she dropped her napkin. Then turned to me and glared.

"She told you that didn't she? That bitch is lying I swear to god!" She pointed at me. "You were always jealous of my relationship with him, of course you would make up a bullshit lie like that." She turned back to Chandler. "Babe, don't believe that bitch, she's just a liar." she pleaded, looking him in the eye.

Chandler closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. Oh no, he is gonna blow. I placed my hand on his thigh and his eyes snapped open and he looked at me. I gave him a look that said be calm, and he sighed, nodding. Once I knew he was calm again, I put my hand back on table.

"I'm going to ask you again, and this time, you better tell me the truth." Chandler forced the words out of his mouth through gritted teeth. Stacy's eyes were wide and she looked very nervous.

I saw the look in her eyes and I knew she was just going to lie again. I took my phone out and went to the video.

"Channy! I swear! I'm not-" She gasped and turned towards me, covering her mouth with her hands.

Since I knew she was about to lie again, I took it upon myself to just play the video. Grunts and moans filled the air and Chandler closed his eyes, his fists clenched into balls.

Stacy's eyes went wide. She flew up out of her chair and raced over to Chandler's side. Chandler got up before she could touch him. I went to his side, not knowing what was about to happen.

"Chandler, I can explai-" she started, and flinched when Chandler glared at her.

"What the fuck Stacy! Why!?" he yelled at her.

"I don't kn-, I thought, he," she stammered, glancing at me each time. That made Chandler furious.

"You had me fucking believing that you wanted to wait until marriage to have sex. Then you fucking cheat on me?! I WAITED for you! WAITED! For TWO FUCKING YEARS! TWO! You know how long that is for a guy not to have sex?! What the FUCK STACY!" he shouted, flinging his arms to emphasize his words.

"I'm sorry Chandler! I didn't mean to! I swear! I love you!" Stacy cried out reaching toward Chandler. He backed up out of her reach.

"You didn't mean to? You didn't mean t-" he scoffed, not even finishing his sentence. "You didn't fucking mean to?! Are you fucking kidding me? Are you serio-" I grabbed him by his arm and pulled him close, rubbing it slowly to calm him down.

"Chan," I muttered quietly, tracing the veins in his strong muscle. He placed his hand on top of my hand that was tracing his bicep and let out a breath he was holding in.

He looked back at Stacy and shook his head.

"And to think I was gonna ask you to marry me." he whispered, but loud enough for her to hear.

Tears sprang to her eyes and she gasped.

"Get the fuck out of my house. I never want to see you again." he growled, clenching and unclenching his hands.

Stacy got her things and went to the door, looking back at Chandler one last time and left, slamming the door behind of her.

I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding and followed Chandler to the living room. He paced back in forth in front of, muttering to himself and put both of his hands on top of his head. He stopped, and looked at me, a smile forming on his face.

"Thank you so, much Terri. I don't know how I would've gotten through that without you." he said walking towards me. I smiled back took a step forward.

"Ahh, it's no biggie, what are friends for huh?" I answered shrugging.

He pulled me in for a hug and I wrapped my arms around his neck, smiling up at him. He leaned closer, glancing at my lips. My heart started beating faster as his eyes traveled back to mine. Thoughts raced through my head. No girlfriend. No restrictions. Maybe I can... I slid my arms slowly down his neck, past his shoulders and to his button down dress shirt. I looked into his eyes to see if he was going to stop me as I started unbuttoning his shirt. He head leaned slightly to the side as if he was daring me to keep going.

Once I was done, I was about to take his shirt off but he beat me to it, throwing it to the side. I placed my hands back on his naked torso, slowly tracing the protruding muscles. I felt his arms slide down my back, over my ass and stopped at my thighs. He hooked his arms around them and picked me up, hooking my legs around his waist. I gasped at the sudden gesture, placing my arms around his neck.

I tightened my legs around his waist so I wouldn't fall as he lifted my shirt up to take it off. He threw it over his head and groaned at the sight of me in just my bra.

"Friends...?" his breath fanned my face as he questioned my statement. I looked at his lips and saw his tongue glide over his lips, making my lips part slightly.

"Chand-," I whispered, but was cut off as his lips crashed on mine. I locked my arms around his neck and pulled him even closer. He yanked and sucked my lips. His tongue probed my teeth, trying to get through, but I wouldn't let him. He gave up and his lips traveled down to my neck, nipping and sucking. I tiled my head to the side, allowing him more access to my neck.

He sucked hard on one spot, causing me to gasp at the slight pain. He took that opportunity to plunge his tongue in my mouth. Our tongues danced and battled for dominance, both of us being stubborn. I tore my lips from his to catch my breath, panting like I had just finished running a marathon. I leaned my forehead against his.

"Fuck," I panted, letting my hands slide down his muscular back. I looked down at him and his head came up to claim my lips again. As soon as his lips touched mine, the doorbell rang. We tore away from each other, eyes wide.

"Are you expecting anyone?" I asked him. He shook his head slowly, eyes squinting in suspicion.

"No, I'm not." he said slowly. The doorbell rang again. I hopped down and he went to the door, and I followed him of course, curious to see who would be at his house so late.

Chandler opened the door, but I couldn't see because his back was blocking my way.

"Who are you?" Chandler asked the stranger, leaning against the frame, his back muscles rippling at the motion. My eyes traveled down his back at stopped at his back dimples. Yummy. I wrapped my arms around his waist and laid my head against his back. I felt his free hand rest on top of my arm.

"Are you Chandler Austin?" The stranger asked. I froze. No, no, no. Please let me dreaming.

"Yes, who are you?" Chandler asked again. I peeked around Chandler and my heart dropped.

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