by TJ Rudolph
I walked toward him and put my hands on either side of his face, “Chase, I told you, whatever you are going through, I will be there for you. Nothing is going to scare me away.” I could sense his tension easing and he pulled me in his arms.
“I just want us to take things slow; I have never really loved anyone in my life. All the women in my past, they were a means to forget. Every time I tried to get close to someone I felt like I was suffocating. But with you it’s different, I want to do everything right.”
I tried to hold back my tears as I held onto him. “You never gave me a chance to tell you…” I said.
“Tell me what?” he asked as he looked at me.
“That I am in love with you too.”
He laughed and pulled me into his arms giving me one of his amazing kisses, which left me breathless.
“So what are we going to do for three weeks?” I asked when we came up for air.
“Well, I did promise you that I would show you around Winchester and I haven’t had a chance to yet.”
“I would love that,” I said.
“First things first, I am starving,” he told me. “So, if you will allow me, I would like to take you out on our first date.”
I chuckled. “Well if it is our first date sir, then you have to leave so that I can dress appropriately.”
“Of course, madam.” He bowed. “You have one hour,” he said kissing me softly on my cheek before he left.
I started panicking after that; I didn’t go shopping for any new clothes yet and nothing I had was date worthy. I picked up my phone to text Bobby. Hey B, long story short, I have my first date with Chase and have nothing to wear!
She responded seconds later.
I knew it! I knew it! I knew it! No worries :) I got you covered. I knew something like this was bound to happen so I stuffed a dress in your cupboard, behind those gorgeous red stiletto’s you swore you would never wear. I wanted to give it to you the day you got back home but you were a bit down in the dumps over Chase, so I hid it there.
I frowned at the thought that she spent money on me and before I could tell her so, I received another text.
Don’t get too excited about me spending money; it was a two for one special, so I have the same one in a different color.
I smiled, she knew me to well. I texted her back, you are a life saver, thank you.
Anytime, just pay me back in details, was what her last text said.
I quickly went to my cupboard and saw the black and silver bag she was talking about, the bag alone looked really expensive and I could only imagine what the dress had cost. I put my hand in and felt the smooth silky texture of the dress, confirming that I was right about how expensive it was. It was a beautiful, off the shoulder, straight cut back dress and I anxiously worried if I could pull it off with my curves.
I jumped in the shower, combed out my hair and put on my dress. I looked at the red high heels for a long time before I decided that nothing else I had would go with the dress. When I heard a knock on the door, I quickly looked in the mirror and decided that the dress fit me perfectly. Bobby was definitely a fashion guru. The dress hugged my curves and wasn’t so short that it appeared tacky and it was plain, except for the ruffled strap running over my left shoulder.
I opened the door for Chase and his eyes went wide. I looked down shyly and he lifted my chin with his hand. “How did I get so lucky?” he breathed. “To say you look beautiful would not be enough.”
‘Thank you,” I said as I raked my eyes over him. He looked just as breathtaking. He wore a fitted white t-shirt and black jeans. “You look quite dashing yourself,” I told him.
He ignored my compliment. “Grace, how do you expect me to take you out looking like this? You’re going to get me into so much trouble. I’m going to beat up every guy that looks at you,” he said seriously.
“Then you had better keep your eyes on me only,” I told him as I kissed his lips, trying to soothe his already jealous heart.
He took me to a Japanese restaurant about a half an hour away and when we walked in I noticed that the entire restaurant was set up like an open planned kitchen. There were iron griddles set up in the middle of each table and the tables were arranged in a large circular formation. Chase gave a Japanese woman his name and she led us to our table and handed us the menu.
“This looks interesting,” I said to him.
“It’s about to get even more interesting,” he said as a Japanese man walked toward us with a tall chef hat. He threw some oil on the griddle and when he lit it a high flame arose.
“Good evening,” the chef said, “what can I get for you tonight?”
I looked at Chase and shrugged. “Everything looks foreign to me.”
“Shrimp or steak?” he asked me.
“Steak,” I said.
“My kinda girl,” he winked and turned to the chef. “We’ll have two steak teppanyaki please.”
I watched in awe as the chef sliced the steak and threw it around on the griddle. He was very efficient and a few minutes later he added some vegetables, poured sauce over it and made two equal portions.
“Enjoy,” he said and walked away.
“Are we supposed to eat it straight from here,” I whispered to Chase.
He laughed. “I can always ask them to get you a plate if you like.”
“No, it’s fine; I’ve just never experienced anything like this before.”
After I ate some of the food, I found that it was flavorful and delicious. “This place is amazing, Chase, thanks for bringing me here.”
“I’m just glad that we have a chance to talk after all the craziness we’ve been through and that you are finally mine,” he said pulling me close to him.
I kissed his cheek. “I can’t believe it either.” I told him.
I couldn’t remember when last I was this happy. Then I thought of Aaron and my mood took a dip into the dark side. I placed my fork next to my plate suddenly losing my appetite. Chase noticed and he squeezed my hand, something on your mind, Grace?”
I smiled at him, “everything is perfect.”
“So, how long have you been playing guitar, you are seriously good, I’m surprised you didn’t apply to a music school,” Chase said.
“I can’t even remember when I started; I must have been eight years old. I picked up an old guitar of my mother’s and it was the most natural thing I had ever done. But of course, when my mother found out, she tainted music for me forever.”
“You shouldn’t allow her to rob you of that, Grace, you are unbelievably talented and that talent belongs to you, not Cherry.”
I never thought of it that way, but he was right. Cherry was not a part of my life for a long time and it was time for me to break free from her.
“How about you?” I asked, changing the subject, where did you learn to play?” His expression changed suddenly and he looked away. I touched his hand, “you don’t have to tell me, if you’re not ready.”
“No,” he said, “I know that we are both dealing with a dark past with lots of demons, but we have to start letting each other in completely or this won’t work.”
I nodded in agreement, although I knew that there was a part of my past I didn’t ever think I would be able to share with him.
“My grandfather was the only man I was ever close to and he loved playing guitar, he stayed in the old aged home close to our house. I would visit him every day after school and we would sit and listen to his records or he would teach me to play guitar.
He stopped and looked down at his plate.
“In middle school, during summer break I found this old vinyl at that store next to Barneys and I was so happy because it was Chuck Berry, my grandfather loved listening to him—so I bought it as an early birthday gift.”
Chase pursed his lips and then took a deep breath.
“I remember turning into the left wing where he stayed and a nurse stopping me in the hallway to tell me he was gone. I was the only one at his f
uneral, not even his own son, my good for nothing father was there. He left me his guitar, it was the only thing he owned and a note telling me that I shouldn’t ever stop playing and I vowed that I never would.”
“I’m sorry, Chase,” I whispered, knowing exactly what kind of heartache he went through.
“You wanna get out of here?” he asked.
I nodded. He paid the bill and we walked back to the car. “Thanks for sharing that with me,” I said.
“I told you, Grace I want to make this work. I want you to know everything about me, just give me time. But enough of all this sad talk,” he said. “What do you feel like doing for the rest of the evening?”
“Honestly, I would actually just like to go home. It has been a really long day. Can we continue our tour tomorrow?”
“Anything you want, baby,” he said.
I pursed my lips together and tried not to smile.
“What?” Chase asked when he noticed.
“You called me baby.”
“You don’t like it?” he asked.
“It’s just different.”
He planted a gentle kiss on my lips before he opened the door for me.
College was eerily quiet and I was glad that I was not there alone. We walked into our building and Chase stopped at my door. “You’re not coming in?”
He looked conflicted as he shuffled his feet and shoved his hands into his jeans pocket, “it’s late and I don’t trust myself around you,” he said.
He pulled me against his hard muscular frame, putting his arms around my waist and kissed me. I parted my lips slowly, savoring every moment and when I bit his lower lip, he let out a low grumble and he stopped. I tried not to groan at him.
“See you tomorrow, baby,” he winked and walked off.
I was about to close the door but instead leaned against the door frame and watched him stride in God like perfection toward his room. As if he knew I was watching him, when he reached for his door handle he stopped and wiggled his butt before going inside. I burst into laughter and went into my room. I leaned against the door, sighing heavily. Chase was amazing, I didn’t know why I was so worried.
“Someone had a good evening.”
I quickly opened my eyes and saw Aaron standing in front of me. “Aaron,” I gasped guiltily.
“You look better, happier, since the last time I saw you.”
I didn’t respond, I didn’t know how to.
“You deserve to be happy, Gracy, I want you to be.”
“It just feels unfair to you,” I told him.
“Forget about that, tell me how your evening went and don’t spare any details.”
“It was really amazing,” I told him honestly. “Chase is still a work in progress but I really like him. He is nothing like what people have been saying about him. He is sweet and caring and just a tad bit too overprotective,” I laughed.
We lay down on the bed together and I continued to tell him about my night with Chase, until I eventually fell asleep. I felt happy and at peace and for the first time in a long time, I had a dream which didn’t include Aaron leaving or dying. I dreamt about Chase’s perfectly sculpted lips on mine.
***
Chase was knocking at my door early the next morning and when I opened he was standing with a picnic basket in his hand.
“Good morning,” I smiled.
He leaned in to kiss me and then stared at me.
I self-consciously wrapped my arms around my body. “What?” I asked coyly. “Don’t tell me it’s about the bunnies again.”
He shook his head. “How do you look this beautiful when you just woke up?”
I flushed. “I believe love can make one hallucinate.”
He smiled broadly like a mad man. “There isn’t a drug in the world that could conjure up such a vision.”
I shook my head. “You’re crazy.”
He grabbed my hand and pulled me toward him, “If crazy is needing to wake up to this every morning, then brand me a basket case!”
My breath quickened. Things were happening so fast, was this always how it was? I had no idea, but I didn’t think that I wanted it to slow down.
“So what is the picnic basket all about?” I asked, while he still held me in his arms.
“It’s time for our second date and since we have some rare sunlight, I thought we might enjoy it and go for an al fresco dining experience.”
“I would love that, but you need to give me a few minutes,” I told him.
I quickly jumped into the shower and got dressed. I put on a pair of black pants and my favorite blue jersey; even though the sun was shining, it was still a bit chilly.
When I walked into the room, Chase smiled at me. “You are a vision, Grace Delaney, I can’t believe that I spent so many years without you.”
“We have plenty of time to catch up,” I said, walking toward him and wrapping my arms around him.
“We better get going, because if I stay here with you any longer, this picnic might not happen.”
I laughed as he practically pulled me out the door. I walked toward his car, when I heard him call out to me. “Where are you going?” he grinned.
“I thought we’re going for a drive?”
He put his hand out. “Let me show you the beauty that WRC has to offer.”
He intertwined his fingers with mine and guided me toward a path behind the art studio. I looked around as we were walking through the rows of trees, the leaves had turned brown and were scattered all over the path leaving the trees almost bare. After we walked for several minutes, we stopped a row of bushes, it seemed like the end our tour since we couldn’t go any further.
“Is this it?” I asked.
“Not quite,” Chase said, moving a few of the branches away and revealing a brown wooden door.
My eyes went wide and I squealed like a twelve year old. “Seriously? A secret garden?”
He grinned as he opened the door. The garden was beautiful, although it wasn’t a big space. It was wedged in by rows of green bushes that extended high up. It had an array of different colored wild flowers and just one tall tree in the center. The grass was trimmed, which meant that a few people obviously knew about it. “How did you find this place? I asked him.
“The same guy that gave you a key to that art studio,” he said.
“Andrew?”
He nodded. “When I first came here, I was dealing with a lot of shit and I needed a quiet place to drown out all the noise. Andy saw me walking around one day, I must have looked like a mad man, because he told me to follow him and showed me this place.”
“Is that man real or is he a guardian angel?” I asked.
Chase laughed. “I know, he’s a great guy.”
We walked around the tall tree and I saw that Chase had already laid everything out on a blue picnic blanket. There were two trays with Champaign glasses, which looked like they had orange juice in them. There were Muffins and croissants and various cheeses. “This looks amazing, Chase.”
“I’m glad you like it, please sit down.”