His blue eyes are piercing their way through mine and I realize that I really do like this guy, and I should just be honest with him.
“Jesse, I— I don’t know that I… I’m not sure that I can do a relationship right now. It just… it wouldn’t be fair to you…” I say, hoping he doesn’t see how much more I’m not telling him.
A slight smile tugs at the corner of his mouth. “What if I told you that I don’t really do the relationship thing. Would that change your mind?”
Scrunching my nose at him, “What do you mean exactly?”
“Well,” he starts, licking his lips, “I don’t see why you and I can’t go out as friends and just have a good time, you know, and see where it goes. It doesn’t have to be serious, Melanie. I’m actually kind of relieved by your honesty.”
Arching my brow at him, my heart starts to beat a little faster. Is he suggesting what I think he’s… nah!
“So, you still want to go out on a date with me… but as friends… and not have a relationship?”
A devious smile appears on his face and he leans in close to me, “Well, not the kind of relationship you’re worried about having.”
My sweat glands pick up and suddenly it feels like I’m standing in a fire pit under 10,000 suns. Sweet Lord.
“Mel, I’m not trying to insinuate anything here, but I like you. I’d really like the chance to get to know you better, and I think you and I could have a lot of fun together,” his voice comes out low and rough as he takes my hand and raises it to his lips, slowly kissing the tip of my finger.
I tilt my head to the side and wonder what sort of alternate dimension I’ve fallen into.
On one hand, my obscenely horny friend, Victoria, was so wrong—I’m quite possibly about to ‘O’ right here in the damn hallway while he kisses his way down my hand to my wrist. Ok, maybe she was right. Maybe I am a tiny bit frustrated in that department and a quasi-non-relationship with this Adonis is exactly what I need.
On the other hand, I’ve admitted to myself that I do have feelings for Avery, and Jesse is his best friend. It would be insanely wrong to say yes and take this any further. I tear my gaze from my hand and look inside the little glass window and watch as Avery turns to Olivia and slips an arm around her waist. He pulls her close and kisses her on the forehead.
Ya know what, back to that first hand.
My full attention soars back to Jesse in the next second as I feel him nip gently at my wrist.
Oh my heavens.
“Yes,” I blurt out without hesitation. He leans his head back up, his black locks falling back slightly, revealing his sexy smile and I swear my legs start to shake beneath me.
“Tonight. Be ready by eight.”
Without another word, Jesse takes my hand in his and pulls me back into the studio with him. Everyone is standing around chatting, getting ready to leave for a lunch break. According to the guys, they have quite a bit of work to be done so they will be heading back here later.
Did I really just agree to go out with him? And not even go out, like go out… with intentions of sexy time! God, it’s getting hot in here again. I quickly fan at my armpits while no one’s looking.
My head is still swimming as I search the small room, looking for where I set my bag. My eyes reach the guys and my stomach drops as I watch Jesse elbow Avery and make a slight gesture toward me with a huge grin on his face. I don’t need to be a rocket scientist to figure out what he was telling Avery because Avery’s jaw tightens and his eyes search for mine.
I should be able to stand my ground and confront him, Hey, you sexy, blonde, asshat! You’re damn right I have a date! You’ve moved on, and I should too, FRIEND!
… However, the moment our gazes meet, all I feel is the sudden urge to vomit.
I need to get out of here. I frantically grab for my bag and say loudly that I’m heading to the restroom and I rush out of the door and down the hall to the ladies room. Once inside, I lean against the back of the door and take a deep breath.
Chicken shit. I am a chicken shit!
Pinching that little spot between my eyes, I shake my head and let out a bewildered laugh. Just as I lean my head back to take in another non-relaxing breath, the door opens against my back and I balk forward, nearly falling face first into the toilet.
“AAH-CCUPIED!” I manage to shout mid trip; I feel a hand grab my arm and the strength behind it is certainly not female… unless they have a lady lumberjack running around the studio.
“Whoa! Sorry about that,” Avery says with a broken chuckle as I turn around to face him with my eyes bugging out of my skull. He let’s go of my arm as I reach up and cling to my chest, my heart still pounding from my near fall… and at the sight of him being my intruder.
“Jeez-ass! You scared the crap out of me!”
As he gives me a cute boyish smile, he says, “Sorry about that. You took off so quickly, I just wanted to talk to you for a minute. Alone.”
I blink a few times, staring at him as if he suddenly grew a few more heads.
He twirls around his lip ring and let’s out another nervous laugh as he pushes the hair out of his face. I think about reaching out and tucking it behind his ear for him and almost immediately, I feel a faint fluttering deep in my stomach.
“Jesse says you two are going out tonight.”
I snap back into reality, remembering why I ran off to the bathroom in the first place.
“Oh, uh, well, he asked and, uhh, I umm,” I stutter, mentally kicking myself for yet again for not being able to just let him have it.
Being ever the gentleman, he smiles kindly and nods.
“It’s ok. You don’t need to give me any details. I just saw the look on your face, and I thought about how freaking weird this whole thing is and… I just wanted to tell you that…” he clears his throat, shutting his eyes for a few seconds before looking back up at me, “…that Jesse is a great guy and that you don’t need to feel awkward about accepting a date with him because you know, we’re friends, right?”
I tilt my head to the side slightly and stare at him with a confused look on my face. Is he really giving me his blessing to date his best friend? I reach a hand up and rub the back of my head for a minute, trying to make sense of it all. Something dark replaces the fluttering I was just feeling.
Friends or not, is it so easy for him to see me with someone else? I mentally kick myself for the five millionth time in the last few days, and find myself swallowing my pride, or whatever beast it is that has started rearing its ugly head in my thoughts, and I nod.
Man, I’m brilliant.
His smile this time is slightly less sweet as he nods back at me.
The quiet between us is growing ridiculously uncomfortable.
“I guess this means I don’t have to play the Melanie card anymore then, huh?” I finally spit out, trying to change the subject before I find myself in another bourbon bubble bath today.
Avery almost instantly shakes his handsome head no.
I am so beyond tired of being confused that I am becoming confused by my own confusion.
It’s so confusing.
“Well, why not then?” I ask, growing agitated.
“He knows about you,” he speaks softly. I lean in to him, more baffled than before.
“Huh? Well, yeah, we’ve met so—” I start sarcastically, but he steps forward waving his hand to stop me.
“No, you don’t understand. He knows about Texas,” he says slowly, his tone dropping slightly as if he’s speaking about something sordid. My nostrils flare at the thought.
“What the hell does that have to do with anything?” I say, my jaw clenching with each word.
Running another hand through his hair, he takes a deep breath before speaking, “I told him everything… about you and me. If he knows that you are the same Chase from Texas, well, he will probably stick to the whole bro-code thing, ya know?”
I pause for a moment, taking in what he’s just said. I shut my eyes an
d mumble a few choice words. I hear a sigh as the door clicks open and my bathroom buddy slowly makes his exit. Looking back over his shoulder, “He really is a great guy. Just think about it.” As the door shuts behind him, I let out a frustrated sigh. I should be upset with myself for even considering keeping up a lie to see a guy I’m not in love with, but instead I keep finding myself concentrating on the fact that Avery is more than ok with me not only lying to his great friend, but also dating him.
I exhale angrily and shove the bathroom door open. MEN!
“What are you doing?” I hear Vic’s thick southern accent fill the closet space around me. I turn around, and give her a ‘fuck-if-I-know’ look and continue going through her clothes.
“Okay! Well, if you tell me the occasion, maybe I can help locate the proper attire for you so that you can stop taking out your frustrations on my poor wardrobe. How many hangers have you broken, Chase?” she whines, strolling into her walk in closet and gazing sadly at the pile of clothes and broken plastic on the floor.
I stick out my bottom lip. Dang her for knowing me so well.
“Seven. Should I say I’m sorry seven times or can I just say I’m super sorry times seven?”
She pauses briefly as she tilts her head in thought and then flops down on the ottoman by her shoe shelf.
“Seven times. It’s only fair. You have my purple cocktail dress in a heap, woman! I’ll have to have her dry cleaned!”
I sigh and turn away from her clothes, pulling my bathrobe tighter. I walk over to my friend and sit down next to her to say ‘I’m sorry’ seven times.
“So, are you gonna tell me why you are in here raiding my closet?”
I hesitate as I think about telling her about my date. I’ve been debating on canceling all afternoon after they dropped me off from the studio. Now it’s already after six, and I know it’s too late to wuss out. Could I really pretend that Jesse knowing all about Avery and I didn’t bother me? The whole thing was making me crazy, and I wasn’t sure that telling Vic was the best idea.
I only have two options when it comes to her – I’m either going to be picked on or questioned like a criminal.
Oh, what the hell.
“Jesse asked me out.”
It’s a nice change to see someone else with a shocked look on their face.
A huge, wicked smile spreads across her face so fast that I know I have to make a run for it before she starts. I’m actually hoping that she will change her mind and start asking me a million questions.
“Chase and Jesse sitting in a tree! It’s about time she gets L-A-I-D… ed!” she sings at the top of her lungs as I get to my feet and roll my eyes.
“I’m not going to just sleep with him on the first date!” I say with exasperation as I watch her jump to her feet and head straight for a rack of little black dresses.
“Well, I highly doubt that he’s taking you out because he has naughty thoughts about you guys playing bingo together,” she states matter of fact.
She has a point there. I know exactly what the plan is, but do I really want her to know? I look down and realize that my hands are trembling. Just the thought of our talk earlier has me a nervous wreck.
It took me all of one minute to spill the beans.
“How the hell is it that I pick the one that doesn’t put out, and you get the one offering it on a silver platter with dinner mints?” she mutters under her breath, shaking her head as she continues to look through dresses. “And what are you so nervous about, anyway?”
I shrug, sitting back down. I don’t really have a good answer for that.
“I don’t know, Vic. I’m not experienced. Plus, before, it felt right. Jesse is great… but he doesn’t give me… he doesn’t give me butterflies,” I finally say, feeling like a child as soon as I say it. She instantly turns to me rolling her eyes, holding up a dress and walking over to me.
“How do you feel when you’re around Jesse, then?” she asks, taking the dress off the hanger and tossing it to me.
I pause, not even paying attention to what she’s given me to wear, and I think about it. He makes me laugh, smile, blush, and he’s hot. Bad boy, naughty thoughts, tongue ring kind of hot.
Oh boy.
“AHAHAH!” she shout-laughs, pointing at me like she’s just figured out a difficult phrase on Jeopardy.
I raise an eyebrow at her, but I don’t even have to say a word before she starts to explain.
“You got all hot and bothered just thinking about him, Chase! I swear you looked like a mood ring just then. You went from pale, to pink, to hot pink, straight into red hot!”
I throw the dress in my hands back at her as she just cackles even louder.
“The reason you don’t feel any butterflies is because with Jesse, you’re not thinking with your heart honey!” she glances below my waist and I feel my face flush.
She smirks as she hands me back the dress, “Trust me, Chase. Sometimes you gotta let your lady bits do the thinkin.”
“You look stunning,” Jesse says hoarsely as his eyes travel down my body and back up again. I blush, quickly tucking a stray strand of hair that escaped my messy bun behind my ear. I look down and smooth out the little black lacy dress I managed to squeeze myself into. Vic and I spent a few minutes arguing about whether or not it would fit me and she told me if I were lucky, I wouldn’t have to worry about wearing it for long. I kept my mouth shut just to keep her from making any more innuendoes, and making me more nervous about tonight than I already was.
I need to move on though. And if it isn’t a real relationship, then Jesse doesn’t need to know that I am his friend’s out of state affair from way back when… right?
God, my stomach feels like a giant ball of rubber bands all tangled together.
I look him over, trying not to let him see me checking him out in his black t-shirt, tight gray jeans faded in all the right places, which leads me to believe they were made that way, and a leather jacket. A pair of sunglasses rest on the top of his head.
While distracted, he reaches out slowly and lets his finger trace the thin filigree and cameo that I have tattooed across my collarbone. My breath catches as he touches my skin, and almost as quickly, he pulls his hand back with a sheepish grin.
“It’s gorgeous,” he says softly, reaching out and taking my hand. I smile and thank him as we make our way down to the car. He pulls his shades down and we make an unexpected detour to a side exit. When we get outside, I look toward the front of the building and notice a few vehicles with guys just sitting in them parked outside.
Paparazzi.
I frown slightly, gripping his hand a little bit tighter.
It isn’t long before we pull up to a little Italian restaurant and Jesse tosses the keys to the valet. Before a single word is spoken, we are whisked off to a private table in the back.
We aren’t in our seats for more than thirty seconds when a rather robust waiter pours us each a glass of red wine. It looks expensive and I don’t want to be rude, so I politely smile. I’ve never had wine before so I eagerly grab my glass and take a huge sip.
Oh my gross.
I sputter it back into the glass in the most un-lady like way, choking slightly. Jesse leans up and waves an arm at our waiter who immediately comes running.
“Everything ok, Mr. Morgan?”
“Can you get her some water, please?” Jesse says quickly, keeping his eyes locked on me as the guy turns on his heel and darts off.
Thankfully, my spitting and choking is under control by now and I look up at him sheepishly.
“Are you all right?” he asks with a hint of a smile.
Embarrassed, I wrinkle my nose and give him a half-smile back, “Yeah, I’m good.”
The waiter returns with my water and I take a huge swig, hoping it washes away the after taste. It doesn’t.
“Did you like it? The wine that is,” Jesse asks, watching me intently.
I look down at the table and decide that if I can’t be entirely hon
est about myself, I am not going to lie to him about anything else.
“Honestly?” I say timidly. He nods.
“It was awful. I don’t know how people drink it. And I can’t get the taste out of my mouth.”
He looks at me for a minute before his face cracks. A huge smile appears and he lets out a deep, roaring laugh. I let out a sigh and smile back at him.
“I can’t stand the stuff either!” he says through a laugh and grabs his glass of water and raises it to me. I giggle as I raise my glass up.
“Here’s to not drinking any more of that crap and to getting that damn taste out of our mouths!” We clink or water glasses and continue to laugh as we push the wine glasses as far away from us as possible.
The dinner goes without a hitch. He and I talk like old friends. Laughing, eating, and just getting to know one another. This is the easy part, I think to myself as I stuff another fried ravioli into my mouth.
“So, tell me about your family,” I say quietly.
He clears his throat and pauses as if he’s not sure what to say.
“It’s just me and my mom, so I don’t know if that classifies as the whole family thing,” he shrugs and takes another bite of his ziti.
My teeth sink painfully into my lip, I hadn’t really thought about how I’d answer that question either. I guess family is a complicated subject. Hoping I hadn’t upset him, I try to cut the tension.
“I don’t really have much of a family anymore, so I don’t have a family story to tell, either.”
He looks up at me with his bright sapphire eyes and his gaze softens.
“It’s always just been me and my mom. She got pregnant in high school, and my sperm donor dumped her. Her parents were so ashamed that they sent her off as soon as they found out. She did everything on her own, struggling when she shouldn’t have. That woman worked her ass off for us,” he says, his eyes drifting off as if he’s remembering something from long ago. I smile, I like the way he talks about his mother—it’s sweet.
“She sounds like a remarkable woman,” I say, placing my napkin on the table and leaning back.
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