“There’s not much to know about. It’s just Mom and me. Mom works a lot at the hospital and always has, so I had a lot of alone time growing up.”
A look of understanding reaches his eyes as he nods. He doesn’t pry, and I like that he’s satisfied with whatever bits of information I’m willing to give. No pressure or guilt-tripping. “So that’s how you became so independent,” he says.
“I didn’t really have a choice.” I shrug, looking down at the buttons on his shirt. “It got better once I met Ash, and Patti’s been around since I was little. Great-granny, too, when I was younger. I had people, just not very many.” He lifts my chin again, and I wonder how annoyed he must be that I keep looking away from him. But when I look into his eyes, all I see is that warm, intense desire I’m learning to become accustomed to. He looks at me the same way he’s been looking at me for weeks, and it’s easy to get lost in it now that I’m here in his arms. I kiss him again, sighing into him as his fingers tighten around my waist.
“What about you?” I say, pulling back for a breath and trying to keep myself from feeling too vulnerable. “Tell me about your family—what didn’t I learn tonight?”
“Well, Mom and Dad are high school sweethearts and act like it.” He chuckles, shaking his head. “They’re nevernottouching if they can help it.”
“I noticed. It’s sort of adorable.”
“You think so? Some would call it intense.”
“Oh, it’s intense, but in a cute way. You can tell they’ve been together for a while.”
“Yeah…” Chase shrugs. “It’s normal to me, I guess. All my past girlfriends commented on how comfortable I am with affection. One even called me the ‘PDA King.’”
“The king, huh?” I tease, raising an eyebrow.
He smiles, shrugging again. “I guess you can be the judge of that,” he says, pecking the tip of my nose before leaning back against the headboard. “I dunno, I just…when I like someone, I show it. I don’t know any other way.” His fingers trail over my shoulders. “Is that okay with you? PDA?”
“Yeah…it’s okay.” I bite my lip.
Chase pulls me against his chest. “That’s good. It’s been hard enough not touching you before now.”
I look up at him through my lashes as he traces lines up and down my back with his fingers, staring back at me. I’m positive he’s leaning down to kiss me again, but when he gets close, he bites his lip and whispers, “What’s your favorite food?”
A surprised laugh escapes me, and I cover my mouth with my hand. We could have blasted through this information weeks ago if I would have been honest with myself and let him in sooner. Such a basic question paired with our heated energy tonight makes the simplicity seem silly.
He laughs, too, and I tip my head to his chest, my shoulders shaking. His arms circle around me, and we’re lost in a fit of giggles, spending the rest of the night talking and laughing, kissing and learning. And when the early morning comes, I’m still wrapped in his arms.
“So…how was your night?”Ashlie wiggles her eyebrows as she sips her early morning coffee at the diner counter. Hunter gave her a ride home last night, seeing as I was otherwise preoccupied.I smile, remembering everything from the night before. “Girl, if you don’t just tell me…”
“It was good…nice. We slept together.”
“I mean, yeah, I figured that out.”
“No, I mean, we fell asleep. We kissed and talked and slept.”
“Oh,” she says, smile dropping off her face. “I thought you two would have had fireworks with a side offireworkslast night. ‘Nice’ doesn’t sound good at all. What happened when you left this morning?”
“I…snuck out.”
“Girl!” Ashlie says with wide eyes.
“Ugh, I know.” I cover my face with my hands. “Last night was good, but when I woke up this morning with his arms wrapped around me, I panicked. I don’t know what my problem is.”
“I do.” She smirks between sips. “You like him. He gave you intimacy,realintimacy, and you freaked.” I know she’s right. She’s been right this whole time. I was fully prepared to give it up to him last night, and when he stopped me, when he poured out his heart, it threw me for a loop that I’m still reeling from.
“He said he wanted to know me.”
“Like, biblically?”
“No, Ash, like get to know me…be with me.”
“Aw.” She puffs out her bottom lip, her brown eyes giving me an oh-so-cute look. “So, you’re together, then?”
I shrug. “I think…maybe. Yeah.”
