by Lane Hart
“Jesus,” I reply with a sigh. “I’m sorry,” I tell Chase, covering the top of his hand to give it a squeeze.
“I don’t know what the fuck to do for him,” he admits.
“Give him his space to grieve until you find the asshole who hurt him so that he can finally get his vengeance,” I suggest.
“Yeah, well I can’t believe my brother didn’t snap sooner, before all of this shit. Sax and I are trying to handle all the club’s legit businesses, and we’re both drowning. I don’t know how Torin did it all on his own.”
“You’ll figure it out until he’s ready to take over again,” I assure him.
“I hope so,” Chase responds with a sigh. “But enough of the heavy shit. This is supposed to be a good night for you.” He turns his head to look out the window and says, “We’re here.”
I hadn’t been paying attention to where we were going, so I’m stunned when I look out my window and see the nondescript, three-story brick building with a flag pole out front. We’re at West Carteret High School - our old high school.
“What are we doing here?” I ask Chase since it’s a Saturday and the school is, of course, closed with summer break right around the corner.
“Let’s go and I’ll show you,” he says with a quick kiss on my lips before he gets out of the limo and offers me his hand. I take it and let him pull me to my feet.
“I haven’t been back here since before the accident,” I admit to him as I take a deep breath in and let it out, remembering all the good times and bad. Mostly good ones with Chase, making out or doing more in the parking lot; stealing kisses in the hallways; working on my dad’s Mustang in shop class…
“This way,” Chase says, taking my hand and leading us toward the building back to the left – the gymnasium.
“You should’ve had me wear my gym uniform instead of the fancy dress,” I tell Chase as he pulls on the handle of the front door and it opens. “Why is it unlocked? Are we trespassing?” I ask when my heart begins to race with excitement.
“Believe it or not, we’re not trespassing. The principal opened it for me after I made a big donation,” he answers with a smirk over his shoulder as he hauls me inside the pitch-black building.
Or it was completely dark until the gym door slams shut behind us. Then, it’s like a switch is flipped and the whole place lights up like Christmas. There are strings of white lights hanging everywhere, including on the trees and tables that have been set up. A disco ball hangs over what looks like a dance floor, throwing off bright colors.
“It’s beautiful,” I tell Chase as my eyes start to go blurry from the tears clouding them.
“It’s prom,” he says, and that’s all it takes to cause the tears to overflow down my cheeks. “I’m sorry we missed ours, sweetheart.”
“You…” I start, but my throat feels like it’s closed shut, so I smack Chase’s chest instead.
“Last night was the school’s prom, so I had them keep up the decorations. You said you regretted missing ours…” he replies as he rapidly blinks his fern-green eyes and looks away like he’s tearing up too.
My man may be an outlaw biker in the Savage Kings MC, but he can still be romantic and sensitive too, making me love him even more.
“Thank you,” I tell him when I throw my arms around his neck to hold him. His arms wind around my waist; and then, as if on cue, music starts to play, a slow song.
“The prospects are in charge of operating the lights and DJ’ing,” Chase informs me as we begin to sway to the tune. “They’ll keep their mouths shut, while I’m guessing my brothers would’ve never let me live this down.”
“Then they need to learn how to treat a woman like a queen,” I whisper in his ear. “And your brothers will be so jealous when they hear about how you get rewarded for this. I’m thinking your dick may be spending more time in my mouth than it does in your pants.”
“Is that right?” Chase asks when he pulls his face back to look at me with a grin.
“Yep,” I reply.
“Well then, in that case, I can’t fucking wait to see what you’ll do for this,” he tells me before he removes his hand from me. My lovesick brain is still trying to process everything when Chase pulls out a small black box from his pocket. Opening it up to reveal a huge diamond solitaire, he says, “I should’ve given you a ring like this years ago. Will you wear it and be my old lady no matter what obstacles come between us?”
“Yes,” I tell him, but it comes out softly, so I say it again, “Yes, Chase! Yes, baby,” I repeat before I grab the sides of his face to join our lips.
Chase returns the kiss for a moment before breaking it to remove the ring from the box. Reaching for my left hand, he slips the diamond onto my finger.
“There, now you can’t change your mind,” he says, bringing my knuckles to his lips to kiss them.
“I won’t change my mind,” I assure him.
“Remember you said that,” Chase says. “Because I asked your parents to come here too.”
“You did what?” I exclaim as my neck snaps around the gymnasium, looking for them. I finally spot them over near the entrance where it’s the darkest. “Are you kidding me?” I ask Chase. “Why? Why would you do that? They hurt us both for years!”
“I know,” he says as he takes both of my hands in his and dips his head down to hold my gaze. “What they did was fucked up, and I absolutely hate it; but at the same time, I know what it’s like to be without you. I want you to just consider letting them be a part of your life again. It’s okay to be angry at them. I am too. I just don’t want you to regret pushing them away in a few years if you lose them. Life’s too short, sweetheart.”
My anger quickly melts away as Chase’s words sink in. Of all the people who should want to steer clear of my parents, he’s not only trying to forgive them but urging me to do the same. God, I’m so lucky to have this man in my life again.
“I love you,” I tell him with my chin trembling from emotion when I grab his lapels.
“I love you too,” he replies with a grin. “So fucking much.”
The End
CATCH UP WITH CHASE AND SASHA IN ABE’S BOOK WHEN THEY FINALLY GET THEIR VEGAS WEDDING!
FIND OUT MORE ABOUT ABE HERE!
TORIN’S STORY ISN’T FINISHED JUST YET.
LOOK FOR HIS BOOK LATER THIS YEAR.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
New York Times bestselling author Lane Hart and husband D.B. West were both born and raised in North Carolina. They still live in the south with their two daughters and enjoy spending the summers on the beach and watching football in the fall.
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Email: [email protected]
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