by Amber Heart
“I don’t see the need to leave you on pins and needles,” the coach said, pushing the test across the desk. “You got a B. Keep it up and you’ll pass the class with no problem.”
Chase grinned. “Thanks. Claire’s going to freak out!”
“I’d think it would mean a little more to you than to her,” Coach Davis said dryly.
“She’s pretty dedicated,” Chase said.
“Seems like things worked out between you two.”
Chase remembered the day before, tangled in the sheets with her underneath him. “Uh, yeah. We’re good now.”
“And you and Logan aren’t.”
“No, not so much.”
“Anything you think I need to know?”
Chase debated. “I...maybe. But it’s not really my story to tell.”
“My door’s open if you decide to make it yours.”
“Thanks.” Chase stood and looked at the B on the top of his paper. “And thanks for this too.”
He knew just where he was headed with the news.
****
Claire looked over the test Chase had brought her. “I cannot believe this.”
“I know.”
She squealed and launched herself into his arms. “You got a B!”
He wrapped her up tightly and spun her around. “We got a B,” he corrected when he put her down. “And I’m thinking that we could--”
He stopped speaking when the front door slammed. Claire looked toward it and saw Ellie walk in. Her head was down as she locked the door quickly.
“Ellie?”
Ellie jumped and spun around. “What?” she demanded, her voice thick.
“Are you okay?” Chase asked.
“Sure, I’m fine.”
Ellie’s voice broke on the last word.
“Were you out with Logan?” Claire asked.
Ellie nodded. Then she burst into tears and threw herself into Claire’s arms. “I’m so sorry, Claire!” she gasped out.
Claire cast Chase a worried glance over the other girl’s shoulder as she patted Ellie’s back. “Tell us what happened, okay?”
“He got really mad at me,” she said. “And he said all these horrible things about me being desperate and how I’d never measure up to you no matter how hard I tried. I wanted to leave, but he...he...grabbed me and...” Her breath hitched in on a sob and when she moved to cover her face with her hands, Chase saw red marks on her upper arms. They’d be dark in the morning.
“Did he hit you?” he asked.
Ellie shook her head. “No, someone came in and he let me go. And then I...I just ran.”
“You did the right thing,” Claire said. “It only would have gotten worse when you were alone again.”
“Claire,” Chase said quietly. “I think that this has gone far enough.”
She nodded, her eyes wide with fear but her jaw set determinedly. “Ellie...I’m going to talk to Coach Davis about Logan. Will you go with me?”
Ellie wiped her tears away, already shaking her head.
“I know it’s going to be scary and I know it feels wrong...but we’ve got to do this.” Claire looked down at Ellie’s arms. “If I’d done it before, you might not have these bruises.”
Chase pulled out his phone and sent a text to his coach. “Can I tell you that story now?”
The reply came pretty quickly. “My office.”
****
Coach Davis looked a little surprised when Chase walked in with Claire and Ellie. Ellie was still obviously holding back tears.
“Have a seat ladies,” he said.
Claire sat and Ellie reached over and gripped her hand. “I...I’m not sure where to start,” Claire said.
“Can I?” Chase asked. “You jump in whenever you feel good about it.”
She nodded, looking relieved.
“Claire and Logan dated last year,” Chase said, telling Coach Davis everything Claire had told him. “When she broke it off after he started pushing her around, he started harassing her,” he finished. “And he really hasn’t stopped.”
Coach Davis looked at Claire.
“I have all of the text messages he’s sent,” she said. “And the voicemails he’s left.”
“I’m going to need to see those,” Coach Davis said. Then he looked at Ellie. “And this young lady?”
“She started dating Logan a few weeks ago,” Claire said when Ellie only shook her head. “Tonight he got physical with her. Will you show him?”
Ellie pulled off her cardigan, showing the rapidly darkening bruises on her upper arms. Coach Davis’s face turned even more grim.
“We’re going to have to make an official report,” he said, standing up. “Stay here while I get everything together.”
“But...but what about the team?” Ellie asked.
Coach Davis stopped and looked at both girls. “I don’t say this a lot,” he said. “But there are things more important than football. And on second thought, young lady, you come with me. I’d like to get you looked at, just in case.”
When he and Ellie were gone, Claire stood and went into Chase’s arms. He rocked her back and forth, dropping a kiss on the top of her head.
“What do you think they’ll do?” she asked.
“I don’t know,” he said honestly. “But I’m proud of you, Claire.”
“Me?” she gave a shaky laugh. “I couldn’t even tell him what happened to me.”
“No,” Chase agreed. “But you told him about Ellie. You got her to come here.” He tilted her chin up. “You can be strong for other people, because I’m always gonna be strong for you.”
Claire thought that kissing him in the coach’s office while they waited to file official paperwork against her ex might not be the best thing to do, but when her lips met his, she knew it was exactly the right thing to do. No matter what happened with Logan, it wasn’t her fault and Chase had shown her that.
She did everything she could to express her gratitude in the kiss they shared and he cupped the back of her neck, keeping her close against him. Letting her know that she was safe with him and she always would be, no matter what came next.
Bonus Chapter
“I cannot believe we’re doing this!” Claire squealed as she dropped into the passenger seat of Chase’s truck.
“Skipping class or going to the Superdome?” said Chase.
“Shut up, I’ve skipped class before.”
“Being out sick doesn’t count as skipping.”
She smacked his arm. He caught her hand and drew her to him, kissing her once quickly. Then again more slowly. When he drew back, the excited sparkle in her dark eyes had turned sultry.
“I’ve missed you,” he said.
“I’ve missed you too,” Claire replied, picking up on his meaning right away. “Damn roommates and their drama.”
McKenna had been having some issues with her grades and her parents, who lived in town, had developed the habit of dropping in randomly. They had not appreciated finding Chase there a few weeks ago. Mainly because he’d been half naked. And because Claire had been sort of wrapped around him. But hey, she paid her share of the rent, damn it. If a girl couldn’t wrap herself around her boyfriend at home, where could she do it?
“Maybe we can figure out something after the game.”
She leaned over and kissed him again, teasing his tongue with hers.
“I hope so,” she said when she pulled back.
“Hell, I’m almost sorry I bought football tickets and not a hotel room,” he said roughly.
She smiled. “You’ll change your mind when we get there.”
Once they had finally gotten parked and into the stadium, Claire caught Chase’s hand. He glanced down quickly. Claire didn’t always feel comfortable in large crowds and this one was both huge and excited. She leaned against him happily.
“This is so cool, Chase!”
He wrapped his arm around her slim shoulders and dropped a kiss onto her smooth dark hair. “It really is, isn’
t it?”
They got their seats, hands filled with drinks, popcorn, and hot dogs. Neither of them spoke as the Saints took the field and the coin toss went up. Chase didn’t think that he breathed until halftime. As the players exited the field, Claire squeezed his hand and grinned up at him.
Chase took a breath. “Claire...there’s something I’ve been wanting to ask you.”
“Okay.” A flash of worry filled her eyes, but he saw her work to push it down.
“I...you know...I was thinking that...we haven’t really had a lot of time lately. And...you know...I miss you.”
Claire smiled. “I’ve missed you a lot too.”
“So, I wondered...” He took another deep breath. So deep that he got a little light headed, so he rushed his next sentence. “I was thinking that we’d see each other a whole lot more if we lived together.”
Her lips parted. “Are you serious?”
He nodded. “I mean, if you need to take some time to think about it, I completely understand--”
“No.” she rushed on before he could speak. “I mean, not no! I mean I don’t need time to think about it!” She covered her face with her hands in embarrassment.
“So...you’re saying yes?”
“Yes! I’d love to, Chase.”
The lightheadedness disappeared in a rush of triumphant excitement. “Really?”
“Of course!”
She threw her arms around him and he dipped his head, kissing her eagerly. They didn’t know that they were on the Jumbotron until the guy next to them tapped Chase on the shoulder. Claire buried her face in Chase’s chest and a few whistles went up from around the stadium. When the camera cut away, he looked down at her.
“I can’t wait to share a house with you,” he said, tracing his thumb down her smooth cheek.
She stretched up for another kiss and he was happy to oblige. Somehow he knew that this was just another step forward for them. Another step toward a lifetime with Claire Montgomery.
Epilogue
Claire gripped Chase’s hand as the plane dipped and began to descend. He stirred, waking up slowly. He’d slept nearly the whole flight away, but she didn’t hold it against him.
There had been even more practices since Logan had been taken off of the team. Ricky was good, but Chase was determined to get him up to Logan’s speed.
“We’re not losing our undefeated season because of that asshole,” Chase had said when the other guys complained that he was turning into a football playing machine. “And I can’t carry the whole game by myself.”
Despite the change in quarterback’s, the team was actually doing just a bit better than they had before. No one had realized how much tension Logan brought to the game until he was gone. And he was truly gone, which made Claire sigh with relief every time she thought about it. He was off the team and off the campus. And she’d finally deleted his messages and blocked his number, even though he hadn’t sent her any texts since he’d been called in for the review and started doing his best to charm the faculty. Coach Davis had been a big reason that hadn’t worked, and Claire would be forever grateful for that.
“You okay?” Chase asked sleepily.
She gave him a shaky smile. “I love to fly, but I hate to land.”
He wrapped his arm around her, drawing her against his side and resting his chin on her head. “Is it going to be snowy when we land?”
“December in Maine?” Claire asked with a slight laugh. “Of course.”
“Good,” he replied, his arm tightening around her in a quick hug as the landing gear went down and her grip clenched in his shirt. “I can’t wait to get you out in it.”
“We’ll freeze.”
“I’ll keep you warm.”
The look in his eyes certainly did a good job of heating her up. With finals, football, packing, making reservations, and organizing things with her family, they hadn’t had much time for each other. She’d been too distracted to really focus on how much she’d missed feeling him against her. As the plane landed, Chase dipped his head and took her mouth with his. By the time the plane stopped, she was clinging to him, but not from fear.
“I probably shouldn’t have done that,” Chase said, his voice rough in her ear.
“Why?”
“Because it’s gonna be too damn long till I can get you alone.”
Claire gave a breathless laugh. “That’s a good point.”
As they waited for their bags to come around the carousel, Chase looked out the window. Snow was falling gently and drifting up against the tall windows. He felt a shiver of excitement. It had been way too long since he’d needed to wear layers.
“Here they are,” Claire said. “Stop staring at the snow and use those muscles, big guy.”
He leaned over and grabbed their bags. “Are we getting a cab?”
“No, my sister said she’d be here.” Claire looked around. “She’s usually late, but I was hoping that this time--”
“Claire!”
Chase and Claire turned at the sound of the shriek. A dark haired girl threw herself into Claire’s arms and Claire swung her around. Chase raised an eyebrow at the red haired girl that had walked up more slowly.
“Hi,” the girl said, holding out her hand to Chase. “I’m Brianna.”
He gave her a smile and shook her hand. “Chase. And I’m assuming that’s Kailey.”
Brianna grinned, showing him a flash of deep dimples. “Yep.”
They turned to watch the sisters. They were still wrapped in each other's arms, chatting at the speed of light. Brianna poked Kailey in the back.
“Hey,” she said, pretending to be indignant. “You said that you wanted me to come along so that you could introduce me!”
Kailey turned with a grin and looped her arm through Brianna’s. “I did mention that, didn’t I?” she gave a sweeping gesture at the girl beside her. “This is Brianna McSouthers. Brianna, my lovely big sister Claire and her tall drink of water, Chase.”
Claire shook the hand that Brianna held out. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”
“I’d be kind of surprised if you hadn’t,” Brianna said with an affectionate grin at Kailey. “Keeping quiet isn’t her strong suit.”
“That’s it. I’m leaving you here,” Kailey said, putting her nose in the air.
“Whatever, you love me.”
Kailey’s face went a little pink as Claire raised an eyebrow. “Yeah,” Kailey said, looking down. “I guess so.”
“We should probably hit the road,” Chase said, rescuing both of the girls, who suddenly looked like they’d given too much away. “Looks like it’s starting to snow harder.”
“It really does,” Kailey said quickly. “You’ve got your stuff? Let’s go.”
“I’m driving,” Claire said.
It took a while to get all the way out to their house and when they pulled into the driveway, Chase’s mouth dropped open. The house was gorgeous, stone and glass and right in front of the lake.
“Where are Mom and Dad?” Claire asked.
“Oh!” Kailey said. “This is totally the best part! They’re in Chicago!”
“What?”
“Yeah, you know the conference?”
“Yeah?”
“Well the weather there is so bad the airports are shut down. They won’t be in till it clears. We’ve got the place to ourselves tonight.”
They’d used it well, making s’mores in the fireplace and arguing good naturedly over the movie they’d watch. They settled on a classic and both Kailey and Brianna fell asleep halfway through it. Once Claire knew for sure that they were out, she inched her fingers over to Chase’s hand and tugged him to his feet.
“Come here, I’ll show you my favorite room in the house.”
He followed her out to the sunroom. Snow was building up on the glass roof, but it didn’t obscure the stars. The fireplace blazing in the corner was the only light in the room. Claire drew him down on the sofa and rested her head on his chest.