I can barely contain my laughter long enough to turn the corner into the next aisle. “Did you see his face?Fuck me.”
“Later, you horn dog.” He winks, and my fingertips playfully smack his bicep. I hook a finger through his belt loop and follow him to the front of the store. A surge of emotion inflates my chest as he quietly snags my favourite chocolate bar from the display next to the cash register.
In the nearly empty parking lot, cast in orange hues from the setting sun, there’s no avoiding Derek’s tall, skinny frame on our way to the truck. And there’s no avoiding him seeing us.
Derek slams his car’s trunk and stalks toward us. “Cassidy, can I talk to you for a minute?”
Chase leans over, lips brushing the shell of my ear, and whispers, “Look at the fucking scratch on his hood. Wonder what kind of wild shit happened to put such a big gash in the paint.”
I downplay my laugh by turning it into a fake cough, quickly hiding my mouth behind a closed fist. Without Chase, seeing Derek would’ve had me wanting to curl up in a ball and die. But when his hand presses to the small of my back, stoking the fire deep in my core, I feel like I can conquer the world. Facing a shitty ex-boyfriend is small potatoes.
Dropping my hand from my lips, I focus my attention on Derek. “I’m really not interested in whatever it is you have to say. You already apologized—let’s just move on.”
“It’ll only take a minute.”
I cross my arms over my chest. “Fine. I’ll give you a minute.”
Derek’s eyes narrow in on Chase. “Without him.”
“Not a chance. Hurry up, your time’s quickly running out.Tick tock.”
“Cass. Come on. This is awkward.”
“So keep whatever awkward bullshit you have to say to yourself, then.”
Keeping his mouth zipped—or his pants, evidently—has never been his strong suit. “It’s just…him? You honestly want to be with Red? The number of times I had to listen to you bitch about him and the other local guys in the bar. What the hell, Cass.”
Chase shifts his weight from one foot to the other, noticeably tensing in my periphery. Sure, I complained about having to kick him out of the bar a time or two. Yes, that was technically not very long ago. But it feels like years have passed since Derek and I broke up. Without needing to look, my hand locates Chase’s forearm like we’re magnetized, and my thumb immediately begins drawing slow circles. A silent apology.
“I know I messed up… but if you need somebody to take care of you—”
“She has me,” Chase cuts him off.
“A dirty, alcoholic cowboy?” The words come out slow and punctuated, with a questioning undertone, like it’s the first time he’s ever said any of them out loud and he’s not quite sure of the pronunciation. “Wow. Yeah, no. I can see why she’d pick you over me.Quitethe catch.”
Chase steps toward him, trying to shake my grasp, but I hold on tighter. My fingernails whitening as they press deep into his flesh. Maybe if I break the skin, it’ll disrupt him for long enough to stop him from committing murder.
“Hit me. I dare ya.” Derek leers. “Don’t worry. I’ll look after Cassidy and the baby while you’re in prison for assault.”
“Chase.” I tug on the rolled-up sleeve of his flannel. “Fuck him. He’s not worth it. Please take me home.” With a secondfirmertug, he breaks his focus on Derek’s smug face and turns to me. The harsh lines of his face soften when our eyes meet, and he gives me a nod.
“Let’s go home, sweetheart.” He firmly interlaces our fingers and holds our joined hands up like a trophy. “Fuck you, Dyson.”
“Don’t talk to me again,” I yell over my shoulder as I walk alongside Chase, letting my hip bump into his at random.
“Dyson?” I ask under my breath as Chase swings open the passenger door and I hop into the seat with a shiver. All the heat that had built upin the truck cab dissipated during our ten-minute grocery shop. “That’s a vacuum brand.”
“I couldn’t think of any other D names on the spot,” he whispers back, softly closing the door.
The moment he joins me inside the quiet truck cab, I say, “I’ve got a D word you’ll like—dick. You’re getting yours sucked tonight, Chase Thompson.”
“Oh, yeah?” The corner of his mouth lifts, and he glances at me as the engine rumbles to life.
“You made him so uncomfortable, and I loved every second of it.” I swipe my hands across the tops of my thighs. “Also, um, I’ve never thanked you before, but dealing with him in the grocery store reminded me. Thank you for not being an asshole about”—I gesture to my body—“this. Me. My body. I know it’s not exactly the same as it was…”
Thankfully, he holds his hand up to stop me from turning into a blubbering mess. “Let’s get one thing straight—there’s nothing to be an asshole about because your body is fucking flawless. I’m gonna tell you exactly how perfect it is the entire time those gorgeous, pink lips are wrapped around my cock tonight, until you stop questioning whether I find you sexy. And, if you still insist on talking shit about yourself, I’ll tangle my hands in that blonde hair of yours and shove my cock so far down your pretty little throat, you won’t be able to say anything at all.”
“I wish you would,” I tease, though my voice is still thick with unsettled emotion.
