“It’s meant for three and four-year-olds. Not too long and the plus side is, itmightjust put you to sleep. So, this is a win-win deal.”
His lips eased into a smile, which was real easy to do when talking to her. “Bring it. But if it’s cheesy, I’m gonna let you know, right?”
“I’d be angry if you didn’t.”
She began reading and Chase listened until she let out a whoosh of air and said, “And that’s all I have for now.”
As they’d agree, he told her his opinion of the main character in her story. She agreed with him. But what surprised him the most was that she ended up asking if he had a suggestion on how she could fix the character in her book.
That was new.
Larke was the only person he could think of who gave a damn about his opinion. He was used to doing, not advising. Doing what he was told, or asked after a bit of buttering up. That’s what everyone expected of him.
Annoyed that he’d allowed AR to slip into his thoughts, Chase quickly dragged his mind from the group. That kind of business had no place inside his head when talking to Larke. He opened his mouth, on the verge of asking her what she was wearing. He clamped it shut. Too much. Too soon. Not wishing to scare her off, he settled on asking the one thing that had been on his mind all day long. “Can I see you after I get home?”
“When are you coming back?”
“I’m driving home tomorrow evening.”
“You won’t be too tired?”
Too tired to see her? Never. “I’m good. I’ve been driving across the states since before I got my license. No big deal.”
“Okay.” Another pause. “Can I ask you something? It might seem stupid and I suppose I already know the answer––”
He cut off her nervous rambling. “What do you wanna know?”
“Have you ever been withanynon-white person?”
“Inside the same building? Yes. Slept with? No, if that’s what you want to know.” He frowned. “Why did you ask?”
“I was doing some thinking last night. I knew some kids from high school whose parents were pretty strict; never letting them have a single taste of alcohol because they hadn’t reached twenty-one. When they went away to college, many of them spent their time partying and drinking. They went pretty crazy with this new freedom. That memory led me to wonder––could it be like that for you? You were raised to believe being with someone outside of your race is bad. What if you see me as a safe choice to kind of test the waters, see what all this forbidden drama is really about?” She inhaled. “I’m not sure if what I’m saying makes much sense. Maybe I’m just confused with all this stuff going on inside my head. Then again, your attraction to me probably hasn’t gone that far for this sort of thinking.”
“It has,” Chase murmured into the phone. “It’s gone real far.” So much, that his cock shot rock hard at the faintest possibility of them being intimate. Chase brushed his hand over his erection as it swelled painfully. “You’re not crazy. I’ve already thought about everything you said. I had a lot of time to. All last week when I was wondering what my next move was gonna be. Those same thoughts ran through my mind. But it’s not like that. For starters, there’s nothing safe about the way you have me feeling. I’ve never been nervous around any girl except you. I’m also not attracted to you because I have fantasies of being with a black girl. Never had. It’s just you I want. The girl with the pretty round face and laugh that made me forget who I was.”
