An hour later, Chase opens the passenger door to my car and motions for me to get in.
“You think you’re driving my car?”
“A lady shouldn’t have to drive all the time. Let me take care of you for once.” He leans down and presses a quick kiss to my forehead.
“Only because that was sweet, and I don’t feel like driving.”
“If you say so.” He runs around the front of the car and slides into the driver seat. Pushing the start button, the engine roars to life and he shifts the car into reverse. I watch with rapt attention as he throws an arm on the back of my seat and looks over his shoulder as he backs up in my driveway. When he’s satisfied, he uses the arm that was on the seat to shift the car into drive and then rests his large palm on my thigh.
“What?” he asks when he notices me staring at him.
“Why is it so hot to watch a guy drive in reverse?”
“Keep looking at me like that and we’ll never make it to the center, Princess.” He stops at the end of my driveway while the gate closes.
“Are you sure you’re comfortable over there?” My eyes track over his tall, lean body crammed into the driver seat of my Mercedes.
“I’m fine.” He fidgets with the settings, leaning the seat back and repositioning so he has more room before he pulls out onto my street. The whole time he drives his hand stays on my leg. No wonder Ivory took that picture in Belize and posted it online for the world to see. The feeling of his callused palm on my upper thigh is electric. There’s a sense of security and possession from the casual touch. He lightly rubs his thumb back and forth, focused on driving us safely across town to the community center he’s been volunteering at.
“So, if this isn’t in your schedule, why are you going today?” Deciding to mimic his position, I place my hand on his thigh. He looks over with a smirk that has me wishing we could go back to bed.
Later, Gabrielle. You don’t need to jump his bones twenty-four seven. Your vagina could use the break too.
“I go every time I’m home now.”
“You do?”
“Yeah,” he shrugs. “I stop by once a week and play games, talk, whatever they want to do.”
“Wow. I don’t know what to say. That’s really sweet of you.”
“You don’t have to sound so surprised, Princess.” He laughs it off, but he shifts uncomfortably, his hand gripping the steering wheel tighter.
“Hey,” I lace our fingers together on my lap. “That’s not what I meant. I’m not surprised you’re a good guy. I’ve known that for a while. I’m just surprised you go so often. You have a lot of other stuff going on and you’re not reporting it for your community service hours, so I had no idea.”
“It didn’t feel right to report them as my hours. I like going to spend time with them. The kids are cool. They don’t ask me for things. They don’t expect anything of me. When I’m there, I can just hang out.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you felt that way.”
“It’s my own fault. I created this persona for the public and then I really stepped in it with the headlines after getting arrested. I guess I just realized all of that wasn’t important anymore. I didn’t need to be the life of the party. The bad boy who showed out on the field and even more off the field.”
“What made you realize that?”
“If I’m being honest, it was you.”
“Me?”
“Yeah. I hated the look on your face that first month I was with the team, and even worse was the look of disappointment when I got arrested. I knew if I wanted that look to go away, then I needed to grow up. Things were different. I was in a different place in my career and my life. Hanging with Fields and Miller has been good too. They’ve got this balance of fun and dedication that makes it easy to model after.”
“They’re great. I’m glad they’ve been that for you.” Taking a minute to consider what he just said, I feel the need to tell him he was enough as he was. “You didn’t have to change for me.”
“Yes, I did, and I don’t regret it for a second because I’m here with you now.” We ride the rest of the way in comfortable silence, with no sound except for the music on the radio.
I think back to Chase’s first month in Nashville. My disappointment was only bolstered by the feelings I was fighting. Thinking about it now, I wasn’t as upset with him for getting in trouble as I was with the situation and the way I let him in right before it happened. It’s not easy for me to lower my walls. He caught me off guard and I did the only thing I knew how to do—I pushed him away by being a bitch. Only it didn’t work because here we are.
When we walk in the doors at the community center, the kids run up to talk to Chase immediately. Variations of “you’re here,” “how was your game?” and “that was a sick play,” are shouted out at the same time. I watch in awe as he greets each of them individually with a specific handshake or some othercoordinated routine they’ve mastered. A teenage girl steamrolls him in a hug and starts talking a mile a minute. I laugh to myself at his animated responses. He’s good with them, meeting them where they’re at and matching their energy. He says something and the girl turns to look at me with a wide grin before turning back to him and nodding her head excitedly.
“Bree, this is Shelby. She’s the girl I was telling you about.” The girl he was telling me about?Oh, the cute kid he met who wanted to be a lawyer.
