Worth the Chase

by J. L. Beck

  “Okay. Uncle Dev, this is Chase… my boyfriend. Chase, this is my Uncle Devon. Taylor’s dad and my dad’s partner and best friend.” They eyed each other for a moment, Chase being the first to break the silence.

  “It’s nice to meet you, Devon, sir,” he said all gentlemen like. I almost laughed, but instead covered it with a smile. It wasn’t like Chase to be this polite.

  “Nice to meet you as well. I know her dad already gave you the run down, but in case you forgot or simply need a reminder, I’ll break every bone in your hand before you have a chance to beg for mercy if you hurt my niece.” Uncle Devon smiled, slapping Chase on the back as he dismissed himself, walking off to find my dad.

  “Let’s just say anyone Taylor brings home will have a hard time getting around him.” Tegan laughed, “Speaking of my daughter, where is she?” she asked, nestling Clark against her chest.

  “She’s upstairs in my reading nook. You know Taylor, always got her nose stuck in a book and since I didn’t take my whole collection with me to school, she has plenty of reading material whenever we visit home. At least until I get a bigger bookshelf to hold all my books at school.” Taylor had already been here for two days. She had come down with me and Chase, staying with me at my house as her parents had been away at her grandfather’s ranch. I hadn’t wanted to bother her, so I gave her alone time whenever she started to shutdown, knowing she was going through a lot of stuff and sometimes the best time to think and come to terms with shit was when you were by yourself.

  “Okay, sweetie. So good to see you again. We missed you on the beach trip this summer.” She leaned in, kissing me on my cheek before turning towards Chase, “And nice to meet you, Chase. Please don’t hurt her, I like my husband not in jail,” Aunt Tegan said with a wink before walking away in search of Taylor.

  “What is up with all the men in your family threatening me anyways? Your dad wants to bury me, your uncle wants to break my hand, AJ said he would punch me in the eye, Michael said he’d knee me in the balls, and Brendon said he’d go crazy on me.” Chase sighed, his voice filling the air as I laughed loudly, pulling him into a hug.

  “Oh just wait, Chasey pooh. You still haven’t met my Uncle Jared. He’s my mom’s brother and a bit on the crazy side since him and my dad were childhood friends.” I laughed even harder as I released him, watching him as he scratched the top of his head. We stood there in complete silence before Chase finally spoke up again.

  “So you need a bigger bookshelf?”

  “Why, you gonna buy me one?” I responded with my own question, wondering why he was so nervous all of a sudden.

  “No.”

  “No? Then why’d you ask?”

  “Because I can make you one. Well, if you like.” Chase make me a bookshelf? Immediately my mind went to an image of him in low hanging stone washed jeans, a tool belt sitting on his hips and exposing his V muscle even more as he manipulated wood into something for me. I think yes.

  “You know how to do that?” I questioned him with a smirk on my face.

  “I know we don’t really know all the ins and outs about one another just yet, but no worries because we have all the time in the world, and I don’t want you to tell me or I tell you, I want us to learn these things about each other. But just for the sake of this conversation, yes I know how to do that. I’m training to be a carpenter back at school. This is my last year, so I know quite a bit. Well enough to make a bookshelf for my girlfriend.” He continue to fidget with each word that leaves his mouth. I was learning that was tick of his, his tell. Whenever he was nervous or unsure of how someone would react to something, he made sudden movements.

  “Well, I would love for my boyfriend to make me a bookshelf.” I stood on my tiptoes, leaning forward and into his face, placing a simple kiss on the bridge of his chin. “Chase, that’s so hot. Plus, you can build me everything I need now. Like floating shelves and oh my God, you can make me a reading nook in my room!!”

  “Gia, let’s not get carried away now.”

  “Carried away? Oh baby, I’m just getting started,” I retorted, before walking away from him to go and check on my mom in the kitchen.

  “Alzerro King, stop it!” I heard my mother’s hushed voice as I stood outside the kitchen, peeking around the corner catching a glimpse of my father and mother embracing one another. He had his arms wrapped tightly around her, and her head was leaning back on his shoulder. You could see their hearts beating, the emotion flowing simply form the way they touched and looked at one another.

  It was beautiful.

  “You know ease dropping is frowned upon in this household,” AJ, my oldest brother’s voice met my ears. He had just turned eighteen over the summer and in his last year of high school. Michael was thirteen. Having just hit puberty and Brendon was the baby, eight years old and could get away with murder.

  “You know sneaking up on someone like me is an easy way to get yourself drop kicked in the throat?” I turned around, placing my hands on my hips as I locked eyes with him. AJ’s eyes matched our fathers, in fact, everything about him reminded me of my father. It sometimes shocked me how similar they looked and acted.

  “Try me, big sis. Remember what happened last time you tried to take me on?” AJ was a wrestler, therefore he knew what he was doing. I, however, wasn’t and only knew the moves I learned when my dad forced me to take karate classes as a teen.

  “Round house kicking me in the stomach isn’t really a means to winning, AJ,” I argued back.

  “Oh, you’re just jealous that you lost to your little brother. I mean who the hell would want to admit that?”

  “Did someone say lost?” My Uncle Jared’s voice met my ears, and I pushed AJ out of the way to get to him. My arms were wrapped tightly around him, squeezing as hard as I could the moment he stepped in front of me.

  “Gia doll, did you miss me or are you trying to cut off my air supply?” He laughed into my ear, his voice deep and robust. I could hear Izzy’s Russian tone coming out as she yelled at the kids to sit down.

  “You brought everyone!? Marcy too?” I questioned. Uncle Jared had two sons, Jase, and Jackson, and then there was Marcy, who was Izzy’s baby sister. She was in her twenties like me, but a couple years older than I was. Taylor, Marcy, and I had grown up together and had more playdates than we can count.

  “I sure did, and yeah, she’s here too. She went back outside to get something from the car for Izzy.” Uncle Jared smiled before narrowing his eyes. “I met your boyfriend also. No worries though, I didn’t bust his balls nearly as bad as your dad did I’m sure.” I shook my head. I knew they would give Chase shit. It came with dating me, I had known whomever the lucky shmuck was− that if he couldn’t put up with my family and their shit then things probably wouldn’t work out.

  “Oh God, I will never live this day down, Uncle Jared!”

  “Let’s eat!! Dinner is being served. Get in here, or you might not get any,” my mom yelled, interrupting our conversation.

  “Rematch later?” AJ joked as Uncle Jared called the boys to get their mom and aunt. I rolled my eyes as we headed towards the kitchen.

  It was happening. Dinner with my entire family and Chase freaking Winchester was on the verge of happening.

  Wiping my palms on my skirt, I took a deep breath and headed over to where Chase was standing. He was smiling and carrying on conversation as he waited for me to come over. When I reached him, we walked from the kitchen and headed into the dining room, taking a seat at the long table that could easily sit our entire family and some. The smell of candied yams, stuffed turkey, and green bean casserole had me salivating as Chase stood behind me pushing my seat in before taking a seat of his own.

  Looking around the table, my eyes almost jumped into my belly as they landed on my Aunt Izzy’s famous baked macaroni and cheese, my Aunt Tegan’s sweet potato pie, and my mother’s homemade mashed potatoes. I was more than ready to fill my plate up and eat.

  The rest of my family filtered in and
took their seats just as the doorbell rang. I looked around the room again, but this time at the faces that sat at the table instead of the food that was placed on it. Everyone was here. Even Taylor had managed to make her way downstairs, so I had no idea who could be at the door.

  “I’ll get it. No one eats without me,” my dad sternly spoke while getting up from the table. He knew we never started eating until the table was graced and the turkey was carved no matter how hungry we were, and right now I was pretty hungry, so hungry that I wanted to dip my fingers into the gravy bowl in front of me.

  “Can I help you?” I heard my father’s voice from the door.

  “This is the King’s residence, correct? We were invited by Bree King, Gianna King’s mother. She said we were having a Thanksgiving family dinner, and since our kids were dating we were part of the family and needed to be here for dinner. Sorry we’re a little late, had to talk the rest of the Winchester gang into coming, but we’re here now. So invite us in already.” Professor Winchester spoke directly to my father, her tone firm as if she was standing in front of her students giving a lecture.

  “Mom?” Chase questioned as he automatically stood up. I wasn’t far behind him once I heard the familiarity of the voice as they responded to my dad’s question. Right as we reached them, my father opened the door wider allowing Chase’s parents into our home. My pulse spiked and my insides tingled. I hadn’t expected this kind of surprise. I shot mom a look as she came to stand beside us.

  “What? In this house, everyone is family. Now smile and welcome our guests,” she added nonchalantly. I grabbed Chase’s hand and moved forward to greet his family, but before I could, he was introducing me to the entire Winchester gang.

  “Professor Winchester, nice to see you today,” I spoke to her as she placed a kiss on my cheek.

  “Outside of class, I’m just Mrs. Winchester. No need for formalities here,” Mrs. Winchester said as she gave me a hug. When she finally let go, I smiled as I was hugged by his father, his aunts Jenna and Kennedy, his uncles Rex and Ryder and all of their kids. They really were a big gang, and I couldn’t keep my smile from growing wider as everyone showed me so much love.

  “Chase is your boy?” my father asked, and my eyes almost bugged out my head. Please don’t let this go downhill, I thought to myself as I looked around for Chase. With all the hugging our hands had come unlinked.

  “Yea, that’s my boy. Is that an issue?” Mr. Winchester stepped up to the plate right as my Uncle Jared and Devon rounded the counter, entering the foyer. He was almost as tall as my dad, and I noticed almost immediately that Chase and he shared the same eyes.

  “You’re aware that your son is dating my daughter, and that if anything happens to her, I will−.”

  “Dad!” I screeched.

  “You’ll what?” Mr. Winchester shoved against my father’s chest and instantly Uncle Devon and Jared reached for their guns. God, this was going to be the worst Thanksgiving ever if shit didn’t turn around right now!

  “Oh would you two just stop! They’re our kids, now stop acting like you have a pair of balls when we all know you lost those the day you got married. Tuck your tails and get moving because I’m hungry,” Mrs. Winchester chimed in just as Chance entered the house carrying a dish. I watched as Chase went over to him, peeking into the dish after whispering something in his ear. Her comment must’ve been somewhat funny because my father’s death glare turned to humor within seconds while Chance pushed Chase away.

  “You’re right,” Dad said to Chase’s mom, “Where would we be without the women we love?” he questioned Mr. Winchester as he slapped him on the back.

  “I don’t know about you, but I’d probably still be chasing that one, begging for a second chance,” Mr. Winchester retorted, a twinkle in his eye forming in the same fashion that Chase’s eyes did more often now than when I first met him.

  My chest heaved in relief just as Chase appeared back by my side, wrapping an arm around my waist. He looked down at me and I swore I could no longer see the boy who I hated. He no longer existed, he had been replaced by a man who had stolen my heart without me even realizing it until I had fallen so far down the rabbit hole with him, there was no way out.

  “That could’ve been a bloodbath,” he joked.

  “Something you’d find in those romance novels of your mom’s you like to read so much.” I nuzzled into his side more as we shared a private moment.

  “Oh, well I don’t need to read hers anymore since you got a pretty big collection yourself,” Chase fired back as we all headed for the dinner table. As we sat down one by one, I noticed my mother had added a smaller table to the end of the big table and all the younger kids were now sitting there.

  We held one another’s hands as we bowed our heads, my mother leading grace as she always did. It was then, as she talked about how thankful she was this Thanksgiving that I realized though Chase and mine’s journey had been hard getting here, it was beyond worth it.

  As grace ended and we waited for each dish to be passed around the table, I felt Chase’s hand cover my own underneath the table. The coolness of a metal being placed on my ring finger grabbed my attention from the interactions of our families to our now entwined hands. Light from the chandelier hanging above us shone against the Bernardine stones embedded into the white gold band.

  “Wha−what is this, Chase?” Though our families sat around us, they were completely engrossed in their own conversations that no one was paying us much attention.

  “It’s not that, you can ease up on the death grip you have on my hand. I like breathing, I would never think of asking you that unless I had already talked to your father about it first,” Chase spoke slowly, allowing me to take in every word as laughter and chatter surrounded us.

  “Okay, then what is this?” I swallowed, and I swear that one movement could’ve alerted the whole table had they not been talking so very loudly.

  “This is a promise, Gianna. A promise that means I’ll chase down my dreams, so that I can always be worthy of someone like you. It’s a promise that says I’ll push you to do the same so that you can become the woman you desire to be. It’s a promise to you that I’m never going anywhere unless you’re by my side.” The happiness inside of me could not be contained. I didn’t care that my dad and uncles all had their guns strapped somewhere on them, or the fact that we were surrounded from every angle. All I cared about was that this right here was a moment, our moment.

  I stood up, Chase following suit and dived, right into his arms as my eyes connected with his. I could see the emotion roaring in them, crashing against my soul like an out of control wave merging with the sand.

  I wanted a love that burned and consumed me. A love that was everlasting, far more than just a vow. A love like both of our parents, and aunts and uncles, and I could see that type of love, it was right within grasp, blooming right before me, within me and through me for Chase Winchester.

  I kissed him harder and he squeezed me tighter as I promised him that kind of love, that kind of fight with each kiss I placed upon his lips.

  They say sometimes you have to chase after what you want, well I was done chasing. I had him and he had me, I wasn’t running anymore unless it was straight into his arms.

  Four months later, Spring Break –Chase

  I knew better than to be sneaking down the halls of the King family home, but I couldn’t resist the chance to see Gia again, or to feel her nails rake against my skin as I slammed my cock into her.

  Spring break had come fast, I could hardly believe how much things had changed in the past months that Gia and I had committed ourselves to one another. We no longer slept separately, I moved downstairs into the basement and Taylor moved upstairs into my old room. We transformed the now empty basement room into a reading nook for Gia with a massive bookshelf handmade by me that had intricate designs handcrafted into the wood.

  Of course Simon never pressed charges, I guess whatever Mr. King said to him changed hi
s mind rather quickly. We still see him around, though, but we all try our best to avoid one another.

  When fall semester grades came out, Gia found out she was in fact at the top of her class. Shortly after, she started receiving numerous offers for internships, her top choice already holding a spot for her after graduation. Me? Well, I got a call two months after Thanksgiving break from a master carpenter asking if I wanted to be a part of his union crew after I graduated. Looks like I didn’t need that roadmap after all, my future was already being written out just like Jacobs told me it would be. As for Taylor and Chance, let’s just say their story is still being written out.

  The floor creaked beneath my feet, so I slowed down a bit, forcing my breaths to come in slower. We had left school earlier today for AJ’s wrestling championship and it had been ten hours since the last time I was inside of Gia. I was already going through withdrawals, my mind drifting to the next time I could be in her. I guess that explained why I was sneaking down the hall to her bedroom with her father within hearing distance. That and the fact that she had texted me to come to her room at 1:30 AM.

  I took a step forward, following the steps that Gia had told me to take earlier in the day to get to her room without hitting the creaks in the floorboards. I had never expected my girl to be so naughty and devious, but she was. Sneaking out of her room at odd times of the night, giving her dad a heart attack every time I was sure.

  The sound of a door opening at the end of the hall caused my eyes to lift. I could see the cast of her shadow across the floor as she peeked outside the door to see if I was still coming. I smirked, my cock growing tighter in my knitted flannel sleep pants. Just a few more steps and her warmth would be surrounding me.

  Her eyes shifted to mine as I reached her and even in the darkness I could see the desire to have me moving inside of her present.