Chasing Bliss

by Sabrina A. Eubanks

  When she got back to her apartment, she ran a hot bath and got into the tub. She used some of her roommate’s bath salts, hoping Tasha wouldn’t mind. Tasha was usually pretty good about sharing stuff, but she drew the line at what she called her “relaxation therapy.” She said she needed it to help her unwind after a long day in the ER, and Bliss couldn’t blame her. Natasha Lowery was doing her first year of residency at New York Presbyterian, and Bliss was extremely proud of her best friend. She was a neurologist, and Bliss was impressed—big time, even if Tasha was something of a pothead in her downtime. Bliss was just getting out of the tub when she heard Tasha come in.

  “Bliss? You home?”

  “I’m just stepping out of the tub!”

  “Well, hurry up. I gotta tell somebody about the day I had.”

  “Good, ‘cause I gotta tell you about mine.” Bliss toweled off and put her robe on.

  Tasha startled her when she banged on the door. “Bliss, you better get your little ass outta that bathroom and quit using up my damn bath salts! You used so much I can smell them through the door!”

  Bliss opened the door with a sheepish grin. “I’m sorry, Tasha. I’ll buy you some more…promise.”

  Tasha looked at her dubiously. “Oh yeah? With what? Your ass ain’t worked in a month.”

  Bliss looked at her loftily. “I got a job,” she said and stuck her tongue out at Tasha.

  Tasha laughed out loud and did a little dance. “Hallelujah and thank you, Jesus!” She grabbed Bliss’s hands, and they did the happy dance together until they were reduced to girlish giggles.

  “I gotta get dressed, Tasha, or I’m gonna be late.”

  Tasha frowned. “What? You start working tonight, Bliss?”

  Bliss shook her head dreamily. “No…I have a date—or at least I think it’s a date.”

  “Stop playin’! Your ass ain’t had a date in 2,000 years.”

  Bliss gave her a dark look and started spraying on perfume. “Later for you, Tasha.”

  “Who is it?” Tasha asked, sitting on Bliss’s bed and lighting a joint.

  “His name is Chase Brown. He gave me the job this morning.”

  Tasha frowned through her reefer smoke. “You dating your boss, Bliss?”

  Bliss put her panties on and started rubbing lotion all over herself. “No. My boss’s brother.”

  Tasha nodded, looking confused. “Oh…all right. Well, you go girl and all that good shit. Is he cute?”

  Bliss slipped her dress over her head and grinned lewdly. “Hell, yes!” She sat down and put on her sandals, then stood back up, taking the pins out of her hair. “Can you zip me up?”

  Tasha obliged, with the joint still stuck in her mouth.

  Bliss made a face and waved the smoke away. “Come on, Tasha! Don’t blow that stuff in my hair. I don’t want him to think I smoke that shit.”

  “Spray some more of that perfume on, and he’ll never know.”

  Bliss sucked her teeth. “You make me sick. Tell me about your day while I do my hair.”

  Tasha told her about the horrors of the ER while Bliss combed her hair and did her makeup.

  When Bliss was finished, Bliss picked up the small purse she’d be carrying and shrugged into a short black trench coat. “I gotta go, Tash. I’ll see you later. Wish me luck.”

  Tasha got up and followed her to the door. “Later for luck. I wish you sex—and plenty of it!”

  Bliss smiled at her. “From your lips to God’s ear, girl. See ya later.”

  ******

  Bliss didn’t bother with the subway; she had no intention of showing up late twice in one day. She hopped into a cab and took it a little farther downtown to Delight. When she got out of the cab, she saw Chase’s Ducati sitting right out in front. Delight was a supper club, so there was no velvet rope or outdoor line waiting to get in.

  Bliss opened the door and stepped inside. The place was vibrant and colorful. A live band was playing somewhere off to the left, and the bar ran along the back wall, an area was crowded with people. There was another room to her right that looked like it held a dance floor, and it seemed to just be coming to life. Bliss walked over to the hostess and smiled. “Hi. My name is Bliss Riley, and—”

  The hostess smiled at her brightly. “Come with me,” she said. “Chase is in his office, but he wanted to know the minute you came through the door.” She glanced at Bliss like she had a million questions for her, but she stayed quiet while she walked and smiled. She knocked on the door. “Chase, Ms. Riley is here.”

  “Send her in.”

  It was funny, but Bliss wasn’t nervous until that very second. She had sudden and total recall of his face, and her knees went a little wobbly.

  The hostess pushed the door open and smiled at her.

  Chase was on his cell phone, leaning back in his chair, and he didn’t look pleased. Bliss caught the tail end of his conversation: “I ain’t gonna talk to you about this right now, Cyrus. No! I’m busy. Bye, Cyrus.” He ended the call and threw his phone on the desk. Chase stared at Bliss for a moment, then stood without taking his eyes off her. “Oh shit,” he said. “I think my heart just stopped.”

  Bliss smiled at him coyly. He’d said exactly the right thing. She felt the first stirrings of something special. “Well, then how do you suggest we get it started again?”

  Chase smiled at her and came around the desk. He walked up on her and ran the lapel of her coat between his fingers. “Bliss. Where’d you get a name like that?”

  She was very aware of his fingers sliding down her lapel. Her lips parted to say something, but she couldn’t find her voice.

  Chase dipped his head like he was going to kiss her, but he didn’t. “You’re not gonna answer me?”

  Bliss blinked and realized she was breathing hard. She wanted to throw her arms around him, but she didn’t. “My dad named me. He was happy to have me, I guess—you know…blissful.”

  Chase’s hand left her lapel, and he put his lips close to her ear. “So am I. You gonna make me happy…Bliss?” He was so close she could see the weave of the fibers that made up the royal blue shirt he was wearing, untucked, with black jeans.

  Bliss licked her lips. “Are you gonna make me happy?” she countered.

  Chase smiled and whispered in her ear, “Don’t answer a question with a question, Bliss.”

  “You’re going to kiss me, aren’t you?”

  He grinned a bit lasciviously. “I was thinkin’ about it, but I don’t want you to slap me,” Chase said, pulling back to look at her.

  Bliss felt dizzy, as if nothing else mattered in the world except for what was going on right there in that small patch of space. “I might slap you if you don’t,” she said in a voice that didn’t quite feel like her own. It wasn’t, for Bliss would have never said a thing like that. But the words had come from her own lips, and she didn’t care how it sounded.

  Chase stepped away from her, but he took both of her hands in his and pulled her forward. When his lips touched hers, Bliss felt like she stepped outside of herself and was watching all this go down. Chase put his lips against hers, slightly apart. Their mouths touched, and they savored the feel of their collision. He kissed her again, and she caught the teasingly, tantalizing, taste of his tongue. He let her go and moved away from her, but not too far. “Maybe I shouldn’t have done that.”

  Bliss looked surprised. “Are you sorry?”

  He smiled. “Nah.”

  She smiled back. “Me neither.”

  Chase nodded. “Well, all right then.” He took his jacket off the back of the chair. “Let’s go.”

  “We’re leaving? I thought we were staying here.”

  Chase slipped his jacket on. “Nope. I gotta bounce up outta here. Cyrus is on some shit, and I don’t want him showin’ up here and fuckin’ up my night.” Chase picked up his helmet and was about to put it on when he stopped suddenly and looked at Bliss. “I shoulda drove. I can’t put you on the back of my bike in that dress.”
r />   Bliss looked down at herself and had second thoughts about the dress too. It might have been an error in wardrobe choice, but she was glad she’d worn it. She was also game enough to get on his bike anyway. She didn’t want to pass up a chance to be that close to him. “If you’ve got another helmet, I’ll be okay.”

  He went to the closet and got a midnight-blue helmet off the shelf. He looked at it like it was suspect and handed it to her. “It’s Corey’s. I’d look it over before I put it on my head.”

  Bliss checked it out. “Looks okay to me.”

  Chase put his helmet on and flipped up the faceplate. “It’s gonna mess your hair up,” he warned.

  Bliss smiled. “I don’t care, Chase…if you don’t.”

  His eyes twinkled. “Just want to be with me, huh?”

  She nodded. “Yeah. Let’s go.”

  He took her hand, and they left his office.

  They walked past the hostess, who noticed Chase was holding her hand and gave Bliss a subdued look of hating. Chase turned his head her way. “Goodnight, Maya. If Cyrus shows up, send him to Jayson, okay?”

  “Not a problem, Chase. Goodnight. Goodnight, Ms. Riley.”

  Bliss smiled at her and wiggled her fingers in her direction. “‘Night,” she said, wondering if that woman had been with Chase or just had a crush. She felt Maya’s eye daggers in her back as they headed for the door.

  Chase paused by a good-looking, chocolaty, diesel brother by the door. “Hey, J.T. What’s good?” They dapped each other, and Chase put his hand low on Bliss’s back. “This is Bliss Riley. Bliss, this is Jayson Taylor. You need to know him, ‘cause you’ll be seeing him a lot.”

  “Hey, Bliss. I hear Chase has you workin’ for Cyrus?”

  She smiled. “Yeah. I start Monday.”

  Jayson wasn’t shy about noting Chase’s hand on her back and Corey’s helmet in her hand. He laughed and hit Chase on the back. “Looks to me like you started already—just not for Cyrus.”

  Chase smirked. “If Cyrus comes by lookin’ for me, tell him I went to Shelter.”

  Jayson’s face got serious. “All right. Where you really gonna be?”

  Chase smiled. “Not at Shelter.”

  “Don’t worry. I got you, Chase.”

  “Thanks. Bye, J.T.”

  They went out to his bike, and Bliss put the helmet on her head. “He seems nice, ” she said, tucking her hair out of her eyes.

  “Yeah, he’s my best friend,” Chase said absently. “I’m gonna get on and lean my bike for you. When you get on, put your feet here,” he said, pointing to a short bar. Chase got on and leaned.

  Bliss got on behind him, trying not to give anybody a nice view of her panties. She was scared because she’d never been on a bike before, but not as terrified as she would have been if someone else were driving. As Chase righted the bike, Bliss slipped her hands around his waist and interlocked her fingers to hold on tight; it wasn’t lost on her how hard and tight he was.

  He looked over his shoulder at her and smiled. “You okay?”

  Bliss nodded. “I think so.”

  “You gotta hold onto me as tight as you can, okay? Put your faceplate down and don’t let go, all right?”

  “Don’t worry, Chase. I’m not trying to let you go.”

  They stared at each other for a second, smiling, and then Chase flipped his faceplate down and they buzzed away.

  ******

  Chase took her to a nice restaurant on the Upper West Side. It was a little crowded, but when they walked in, the owner called Chase by name and greeted him warmly. The round booth he sat them in was made to seat six people, but they squeezed together in the middle.

  “You know the owner?” Bliss asked, fluffing her hair out with her fingers.

  “It ain’t hard to know the owner if you’re in the business. Hell, you know me.” He turned in his seat to face her, placing his arm along the back of the booth, and watched her fix her hair. “Sorry I didn’t bring my car. Time kind of got away from me, and I didn’t go back home.”

  Bliss laughed, tucked her dress under for modesty, and turned to face him. “It’s okay. Really. I was terrified at first, but I enjoyed the ride. It was nice.”

  The waiter popped over with an ice bucket that held a frosty bottle of Dom.

  Chase raised his eyebrows at him.

  “Mr. Mulroney wants you to enjoy this, courtesy of the house, Mr. Brown.” The waiter popped the cork and poured the champagne. Chase scanned to room until he met the eyes of the owner and raised his glass, took a sip, and sat it back down.

  “Wow,” Bliss said, sipping her champagne. “I’m impressed.”

  Chase shrugged. “It’s a nice gesture. He owes me money, and I don’t ride him about it.”

  “That’s sweet of you. Are you really as nice as you seem, Chase?”

  He rubbed at the scar that ran along the back of his fingers. “Depends on who you ask.”

  She put her glass down, too, and ran her fingers through her hair. “I’m glad you asked me to meet you.”

  “I’m glad too.” He leaned toward her and put his hand on her thigh.

  Bliss was a little shocked, but his hand wasn’t unwelcome.

  “I like your dress,” he said.

  His eyes were mesmerizing her. They weren’t light brown, but they weren’t exactly dark brown either. They were more like the color of dark whiskey. Between him having his hand on her thigh like that and looking at her with his clear, beautiful eyes, Bliss was having a problem keeping her hands off him. The scent of Chase’s cologne was also killing her; he smelled delicious. She wanted to climb into his lap and kiss him until her lips hurt. “Thank you,” she said finally.

  “Did you wear it for me?”

  “Yes. Yes, I did.”

  “Well, I appreciate it.”

  “I hoped you would, even though I did have second thoughts about meeting you. I mean, you did hire me to work for your brother Cyrus. Isn’t that supposed to be unethical or something?”

  Chase laughed and raised an eyebrow. “Who cares, Bliss? Life goes by too fast to spend it worryin’ about shit like that. Sure, you got the job, and I think you can do it, but to tell you the truth, I don’t care if you ever work for Cyrus. I just want you to make sure you got time for me.”

  Bliss smiled slow. Damn! This one certainly doesn’t beat around the bush. He gives it to you straight, with no chaser. She found she didn’t have the willpower to debate with herself about what she should or shouldn’t do. She didn’t want to think about what was proper and what wasn’t. She liked him a lot. “You feeling me like that, Chase?”

  He smiled. “You had me when I flipped my visor up and saw you standin’ there in that dirty little gray skirt.”

  Bliss sucked her teeth, but she smiled when she did it. “It’s your fault my skirt was dirty in the first place.”

  “All right, already! I’ll make it up to you, I promise.”

  Bliss laughed and leaned away from him. “Okay. I’m gonna hold you to that, Chase.”

  He moved right up on her and put his lips very close to her neck. “What else are you gonna hold me to?”

  Bliss put her hands on his chest and pushed him back a little. Again, how he felt beneath her hands was not lost on her. She was certain that if Chase suddenly decided to take his shirt off, she wouldn’t be disappointed. Bliss felt more than a little overwhelmed by him. She wanted him, and he knew it. Bliss pushed against him a bit harder. She didn’t want to get swept up in the moment and end up making a seriously bad judgment call. “Hey, Chase…wait a minute.”

  He pulled back and looked at her patiently, with his hand still on her thigh. “What’s up?”

  “You know…we just met each other, and—”

  He laughed. “I didn’t just meet you. I met you this morning.”

  The waiter appeared, trying to be discreet. “Do you need more time, Mr. Brown, or are you ready to order?”

  Chase didn’t even turn around to look at him. He w
as still looking at Bliss like she’d just stepped straight down from Heaven. “Bring me the veal.”

  “And you, Miss?”

  Bliss couldn’t take her eyes off him. “I’ll have the same.” She wasn’t looking at the waiter, either, but she could hear the smile in his voice.

  “Very good.” He disappeared just as discreetly as he’d come.

  Bliss realized with a start that her hands were still on Chase’s chest. She tried to pretend she was smoothing the fabric of his shirt. “I’m just saying that you don’t even know me, yet you’re sitting here all hugged up on me.”

  Chase grinned at her. “So? Since you put it that way, you don’t know me either, and you’re feelin’ me up. That’s okay, though, ‘cause I don’t mind a bit.”

  Bliss took her hands off him like he was hot.

  Chase laughed.

  She frowned. “What’s so funny?”

  “You…you’re scared of me.”

  Bliss frowned harder. “I am not!”

  He gave her an indulgent look. “Okay, let me rephrase that…you might not be scared of me, but you’re scared of yourself with me.”

  Bliss stared at him.

  “You feel like, if you don’t rein my ass in, you’ll do something you think you might regret, right?”

  Bliss sighed; he was right. “Yeah.” She looked him in the eye. “I hope you know I’m not sleeping with you tonight, Chase. Let’s get that straight, okay?” She expected him to fall back, but Chase was tenacious and stayed right where he was.

  “Am I makin’ you that uncomfortable, sittin’ here with my hand on your thigh?”

  No, he wasn’t. That was the problem. He was making her want him. He’d already kissed her without giving her enough time to think it through. She didn’t even know him well enough to know his romantic background. He could very well have a wife and kids hidden somewhere—or hell, looking as good as he did, at least a girlfriend. Bliss put her hand on his and forcibly removed it from her thigh.

  He smiled at her, and his eyes sparkled with amusement.

  “Stop smiling at me like that, Chase. If we’re gonna go one step further, we need to get to know each other. For all you know, I could have a real jealous boyfriend waiting around the corner to shoot you in the forehead.”