“You don’t think I’ve already been beating myself up over that part?” My eyes narrow at Ford. It’s thoughtful of him to want to look out for Summer, even if it is simply for the sake of Abby.
“When did this even happen?”
I can feel a headache coming on already and I’m second guessing if mentioning anything to them was the right thing to do, but eventually this would’ve come up.
“The night that storm came through… the streets were flooded, there was no way I could let her drive home in that. My sister would’ve killed me if something happened to her bestfriend because I sent her out in a storm. So, she stayed and we talked and then it just got late. I don’t fucking know what happened. I let my old self get the best of me apparently.” My eyes squeeze together and I take a sip from my water. “It was a good fucking kiss, but I can’t do that again. I told her it can’t happen again,” I add.
“Oh, you’re a fucking idiot, Hunt.” Nate laughs.
“Why? We talked about it and she was fine, I think.”
“You kiss her, you like it and then think you can just be around her so often and it won’t happen again because yousayit won’t? Idiot.” Nate’s index finger rams into my shoulder like a kid proving a point.
“I’ve been successfully not kissing Summer for the last twenty years of my life. I think I can manage not doing it again.”
The two exchange a glance.
“Good luck with that.” Ford shakes his head at me.
My comment doesn’t seem to convince Ford or Nate.
But it doesn’t have to convince them. It just needs to convinceme.
I wasn’t expecting CeCe to take such a long nap this afternoon. In fact, I don’t even think I was expecting her to nap at all, but she fell asleep on me while we were watching a movie and I haven’t had the heart to move her. Although, my arm feels like it’s falling asleep and I’d like to stretch my legs just a little since they’ve been scrunched up for over an hour.
Lifting CeCe’s arm, I move myself slowly from the couch, practically sliding my body nearly onto the floor to avoid moving her too much and waking her. My left hand plants firmly on the area rug when I hear the front door open and close and heavy footsteps making their way toward me. I look like I’m playing a damn game of Twister in this position.
Chase goes to speak, but notices CeCe asleep on the couch and simply shakes his head at me as I continue to slither out from under her surprisingly strong grasp.
“You’re free,” Chase says with a tight-lipped smirk when I walk into the kitchen. His hair is sweaty and the shirt he’s wearing looks like it’s also stained in sweat. Usually, he showers after workouts before coming home, but doesn’t look like he took the time today.
“What are you feeding her? She’s freakishly strong,” I joke, walking past him to the chair my purse is hanging on.
“I buy strawberries in bulk,” Chase replies with a chuckle.
He moves around the kitchen quietly. My pulse quickens when he takes a seat on a stool next to where I’m standing, his thighs dangerously close to touching my arm hanging beside me.
He groans as he leans back, allowing his head to fall completely back in a stretch.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” he says, twisting his body and I hear a few cracks from his back and wince. “I’m okay, just sore. My knees aren’t what they used to be.”
Both of his hands grip his knees, causing my eyes to glue themselves to his skin. He slides his hands over his quad muscles, lightly squeezing as he goes and his shorts begin moving up slightly with the gesture, causing my tongue to glide between my lips.
“Oh,” I choke out. My heart turns over in response to his body being so close to me and the desire to touch him feels all consuming.
When we spoke about our kiss, he made it clear it wasn’t going to happen again. A decision I’ve convinced myself to accept. But it doesn’t change the fact that everything Chase does will always flip my world upside down.
“I’m actually going to go to Mia’s gym later, I think. The one in my building is closed for renovations, so I’ve been using hers. It’s just kind of far for me, but it is what it is.”
“There’s a gym here.” It spills from Chase’s lips before I think he even recognizes what he said. He instantly looks like it’s a sentence he wants to take back, but in true gentlemanlike Chase form, he continues on.
“I just mean… if you need somewhere to workout, take my extra gym card and use the one here. There’s a sauna, it’s nice.”
He smiles at me courteously and then looks back down at the planner in front of him. I watch as he highlights a date on the calendar and writes “Friendsgiving” in the lined box.
“If memory serves, your gym is really difficult to find and you’re not so great at giving out directions.”
