Chasin' You

by K. R. Reese

  I laugh and follow him outside. “I’m holding you to that.”

  “I know you will.”

  Chapter 39

  Levi

  I grabbed a quick shower after my morning run, but I’m beginning to think I should have made it last longer. Maci left for breakfast with Ben after I pissed her off, and that leaves a sour taste in my mouth. There’s a lot that needs to be said, but I have no idea when she’ll be back or when Mitch will be home. I pull out my phone and send him a text.

  Levi: I want to talk to Maci. When will you be home?

  Mitch: I can give you time. I have an interview after class, and I’m looking at a house.

  This is all news to me. I’ve told him before that there isn’t any rush for him to move out since my mom signed the house over to me a few months back. But I’ll talk to him about it later.

  Levi: Thanks, man! And congrats!

  As I slide my phone back into my pocket, there’s a knock at the door. It surprises me, but I pull it open anyway. Ben and Maci stand on the other side.

  “Why are you knocking?” I ask her skeptically.

  “I haven’t lived here in almost a year, Levi. Did you really think I would just walk in?”

  “Well, I mean, yeah. I never said you had to knock.”

  “Too bad. It would be rude not to.”

  Maci turns back and gives Ben a hug, a huge smile on her face and tears in her eyes. “Call me when you get home.” Then she turns back to me with a scowl and says, “Be nice.”

  I don’t get to ask her what she’s talking about before she disappears into the house. I look at Ben and he rubs the back of his neck.

  “I told Maci I wanted to talk to you. But she’s confused as to why, and a little put off.”

  I step outside and close the door. I cross my arms over my chest. I’m not trying to be intimidating, but I know that’s what it looks like.

  “Get on with it, then,” I sneer.

  “Right, yeah. Here goes.” He takes a deep breath. “I know you don’t like me, and you’ve got a million reasons on why you shouldn’t. I’ve given you those reasons, and I’m not here to dispute that. But I do care about Maci, and I want her to be okay here…”

  I cut him off with a snarl. “We would never hurt her.”

  Ben raises his hands in surrender. “I’m not implying you guys would hurt her. She’s very capable of doing that herself, which is what I’m afraid of. She’s scared, Levi. Of her feelings for you. Hours of therapy can’t erase the idea that she’s not good enough for you. And that’s dangerous with her. Here’s my number. I’ll come back if I need to. But…be careful, please.”

  I take the slip of paper he hands me and watch him pull away. I may not like the guy, but he can’t be all bad if he’s looking after Maci.

  As optimistic as I am about trying a relationship with Maci, I don’t know if it’s feasible. If what Ben says is true and she’s afraid, I have to be cautious. Ben’s right, I know she’s capable of hurting herself. And if I push too hard or go too strong, she’ll run. I need to be smart about this for my well-being, too. I can’t get involved with her unless I know for sure this is what she wants. That I’m what she wants. And I have to know that she won’t bolt at the first sign of trouble or a bump in the road.

  I go inside and find her on the couch staring at nothing. I lower to the edge of the cushion beside her.

  “When I walked away, do you want to know what my worst fear was?” She looks at me quickly, then looks away again. “I was terrified that you would move on, and I’d never get to tell you how I feel.”

  My heart drops at her confession. “I wasn’t going anywhere, Mace. I couldn’t move on.” I want to erase all her pain, but that won’t help this situation.

  “But you’re saying you tried to move on?” She looks at me expectantly. I hold her face in my hands.

  “I thought about it, I won’t lie to you about that.” She closes her eyes, and I collect her tears with my finger. “But I couldn’t do it. For a long time, I viewed you as the strong one. You hadn’t succumbed to everything that had happened. I wanted to be the strong one for you this time, even though I didn’t know if you’d come back. I needed to wait for you.”

  “Most of the time, I don’t feel strong at all.” Her eyes open, locked on mine and swarming with regrets. “I didn’t choose you. I wasn’t strong enough.”

  “Well, how about we be strong together then? We choose each other. I don’t want to rush this, Mace, because we’re different people now than we were then. We aren’t kids anymore.”

  Maci snort-laughs lightly. “We weren’t kids then.”

  I lean closer and kiss her head. “We were, because we hadn’t grown up yet.”

  “I’m sorry I hurt you, Levi,” she whispers.

  It would be so easy to kiss her and tell her I already forgave her. But if we’re doing this the right way, we need to keep fighting for each other. For what we want.

  I do, however, wrap her in my arms. “We’re both responsible for hurting the other, Mace. The good thing about the past? You can move on from it.”

  Her quiet sobs soak into my shirt and I hold her tighter.

  Chapter 40

  Maci

  TWO YEARS LATER

  I gaze out at the crystal blue water before me. When Levi wouldn’t reveal the location of our honeymoon, I finally quit asking. But I definitely hadn’t expected this. The ocean seems to stretch endlessly for miles.

  I catch the smell of his aftershave before his arms wrap around my waist. I lean back against him and smile.

  “Best gift ever?” he whispers in my ear.

  I nod and turn in his arms. Levi’s eyes are as blue as the water at my back. The view is spectacular. It wasn’t that long ago, I thought I would never see that color again.

  “Actually, let me change my answer. I can think of an even better gift.” I wiggle my eyebrows at him.

  He laughs and tightens his grip. “Is that right? Is my wife needy today?”

  “Very needy,” I practically purr.

  Levi tosses me over his shoulder and carries me back in the room to throw me on the bed. I laugh.

  “This what you want, baby,” he whispers. He presses his lips to mine and kisses me. His thumbs dig into my skin and I gasp for breath.

  Levi inches his lips down my throat, and I put my head back and let out a loud moan. When he removes the panties I was wearing and his fingers begin to explore my folds, I jump.

  “You like that, Mace,” he whispers.

  “Levi…” I whisper in a breathless voice.

  When I feel him against my inner thigh, I hurry to touch him. It doesn’t last long before Levi grabs my hips and pulls me forward. He thrusts back and forth; each pass harder than the last. When a scream goes to escape, Levi’s lips touch mine again.

  He swallows my screams and moans, and with one last hard thrust, he buries himself inside me.

  “Fuck, Mace… you’re so perfect…”

  Fireworks explode behind my eyelids, and it takes me time to get my bearings. There isn’t any thinking. Any breathing. Levi eases himself out of me, and rolls to his back. He pulls me into his side.

  “I love you, Maci,” he whispers against my hair.

  I cuddle closer and whisper back, “I love you, too.”

  This wasn’t how we expected our relationship to go. We were two kids who fell hopelessly in love. But addiction and dependence, lies and selfishness, made us defiant. Predictable. Also, so very out of control.

  At the time, Levi didn’t have the kind of help I needed. I was broken and scarred. When he let me walk away, my broken heart was unlike anything I had ever felt before. I thought it was the worst thing ever. Until later when I realized he was only trying to help me.

  Now, we’re happily married on our honeymoon in Cancun. Levi proposed the night I graduated from college. I smile, thinking about it now.

  After I walked across the stage, they all met me outside campus under the pavil
ion for pictures. Mitch and Layna, his fiancé now, and Ben and his fiancé Gwen were there. I never thought Levi would accept Ben and I’s friendship. But once he saw that he was no threat to our relationship, they started talking more. Once Ben moved from New York, it was easier than ever to have everyone over for dinner, and to go out together.

  That night, Levi had chosen a little Italian restaurant that we had visited one other time before chaos took over our life. I had raved about their chicken parmesan for days after, so it’s no surprise that’s where he picked. When the waiter sat us on the back patio to ‘give us privacy’, I was a little skeptic. It didn’t matter if we were in a room full of people, everyone had forgotten about what happened to me, and if they hadn’t, they no longer cared enough to stare and whisper behind my back. But I let it go, and just enjoyed the companionship and the achievement I had made that day.

  Then Levi stood to toast. Or what I thought was a toast. I’ll never forget what he said for as long as I live.

  “Maci, you have come so far. We all have.” Levi looks around at Mitch and Ben, each giving knowing looks in return. “When I first met you, you were scribbling in your notebook that you carried everywhere with you. I was intrigued before you ever spoke to me, before you ever looked at me with those eyes I love so much.”

  “Aw, shucks, man,” Mitch laughs loudly. It’s a running joke since our eyes are identical. Layna snickers but puts her hand over his mouth anyway.

  Levi had an amused smile on his face. “I knew I should have stayed away from you. I wasn’t right for you, I only destroyed what I touched. But you needed someone, and I couldn’t walk away. I fell in love with you during our long conversations, our flirtation, our movie nights. I knew the good, the bad, and the ugly. And I wanted you anyway.”

  Tears burned my eyes, but I didn’t dare stop them from falling. When Levi knelt down on one knee and opened his hand to reveal a single platinum diamond ring with a small gold band, I gasped and covered my mouth, tears flowing freely then.

  “I love you, Mace, with everything I am. You are who I am, and I wouldn’t be anyone without you. Will you make me the happiest man alive and marry me, Sribbles?”

  The old nickname brought back memories that I had long suppressed. Happy and sad memories, but I took them all.

  Because they were us. They were who we were, who we are, and who we’ll always be.

  For a long time, I only measured everyone and everything in my life against who I was in relation to him. But that wasn’t fair or smart or good. I’ve become my own person since that fateful day he kicked me out of his life. I did it on my own, with very little help from those who cared about me most because I pushed them all away and wanted to conquer the world myself.

  I’m not that innocent girl anymore. I know what I want. I know who I am.

  I learned that rules are made to be broken. Promises don’t last forever. And, most of all, chances are meant to be taken.

  I snuggle closer into Levi’s side and close my eyes. After everything we’ve survived, I believe we can weather any storm as long as we have each other. We can do anything. Together.

  And I know he’ll never stop chasing me, just like I’ll never run too far.

  THE END

  Other Books by K.R. Reese

  Wilson Creek Series

  Come Back to Me

  Fall for Me

  Marry Me

  Rescue Me

  Stay With Me

  Chaos Series

  Tune My Heart

  Sing to My Heart

  Play to My Heart

  Beat of My Heart*

  J.M. Security

  Saving Ryleigh

  Standalone Books

  Rough Around the Edges

  This Isn’t Goodbye*

  About the Author

  K.R. Reese writes contemporary and new adult romances that give you suspense, thrills and HEAs. She’s the author of the small town Wilson Creek series and the rockstar Chaos series, with many more projects in the works. She was born and raised in Ohio, where she still resides with her husband and their children. When she isn’t reading or writing, you can find her spending time with her family, taking photos, or listening to music.

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