Chasing the Dream: Dream Series, Book 3

by Isabelle Peterson

  The love in that hug was palpable. In the embrace of Chase’s family, it felt, at that moment, that anything was possible. What an incredible feeling. Chase’s family may not be exactly traditional, but there was more love with these three than you sometimes see in “normal” families. Take my family for instance. My mother and brothers and I were a good group, maybe not as close as Chase, his mom and her brother, but close. My dad always seemed to be on the outside, disconnected, and now that he and my mom were nearly divorced, it all kinda made sense.

  The timer for the oven went off in the kitchen, and we started to pull apart, when Shannon spoke up and pulled us back in. “Just another minute…please. I just need this hug for another minute. The lasagne will keep.” So we continued to hug until the timer stopped beeping, then we all made our way to the kitchen and got busy setting up the table, as a team while the lasagne set for a few before serving. Shannon brought the salad she’d made and salad dressings, Chase handed me a stack of plates, and he took care of the napkins and silverware, Brock got us drinks, and then brought the setting lasagne to the table.

  Dinner went nicely as Brock talked about the business of farming sunflowers, Shannon and Chase brought Brock up to date with her medical status, and I sat back and took it all in.

  “Oh, and I asked Susan over for dessert and coffee later, if that’s okay?” Brock said, checking his watch. “She should be here soon. She’d really love to see you, Charlie.” Chase quickly explained to me that Susan was an ‘old friend of the family,’ then Brock continued, “And we’ve recently started, well, I guess you could call it dating.”

  Shannon beamed and reached across the table to pat her brother’s hand. “She does your heart good, Brock my. If I haven’t said it yet, I’m happy you’re seeing her.”

  “Well,” Chase said standing. “You guys go ahead and sit in the living room. Take it easy, I’ll clean up here and get the coffee started.” Brock and Shannon stood.

  “I’ll help you, Chase,” I said standing and taking my plate. Chase smiled at me and we got to work clearing the plates and washing them up, I washed and Chase dried and put the dishes away. Chase talked about the classes at NYU that he wanted to take. He was going to major in Film Making with an emphasis on production, along with some business classes.

  As Chase set up the coffee pot with some decaf coffee, he looked over at me.

  “Today has been nearly perfect,” he said, pulling me into him, and pressing his lips gently to mine.

  Although I enjoyed his warm hug, and tender kiss, and the way he smelled, I was reminded how my day had been nearly perfect, as well. Just that damn test. I remembered that I tried to tell Chase about my ‘condition’ but was interrupted. I figured now was as good as a time as any. Then maybe he could call his manager and get his projects back.

  “Chase, I have to—”

  “Hi!” an unfamiliar voice came from the living room. I heard Shannon and Brock greet the new female voice.

  Chase dropped his head to my shoulder and sighed.

  “What is it?” I asked.

  “Susan,” he whispered.

  “The old family friend?” I asked. He nodded ‘yes’ into my shoulder. “What’s wrong?”

  He cleared his throat and pulled back to look at me. “Susan is Abbie’s mom.”

  “Who’s Abbie?”

  “She was my first girlfriend.”

  “Oh,” was all I could come up with. Chase had said he didn’t do relationships—ever. Now he was saying he’d had one before. My heart clenched, physically hurt from this piece of news.

  “We grew up together,” he continued, “She lived three doors down from us at the time. Summers were spent swimming in the lake, catching fireflies, and when I was around during the school year, we were in the same classes at school. We were inseparable. You could say we started dating when we were just four years old.” He swallowed hard and his violet-blue eyes shone through a wall of unshed tears. “I loved her. She was there for everything with me. My dad’s death when I was six. My mom’s divorce from my step-dad after he left my mom for my then manager, Andrea, which is when Michael became my manager. I was twelve. She was my first kiss…” A tear sprung forward from Chase’s eye and ran down his face. He let the tear do its thing. He didn’t try and wipe it away. “We had been together all day, along with a number of our friends, swimming in the lake, riding our bikes downtown, and hanging around like a bunch of punks.” I watched him smile sadly as if he were reliving the afternoon.

  “We were eating at Johnson’s Barbecue on Route Twelve. I noticed that Zach Baker wouldn’t take his eyes off of her, and had spent the whole day trying to be near her. I called him on it, and Abbie got pissed. Then I accused the two of them of having something goin’ on the side. Abbie started screaming at me, that I didn’t own her, and Zach was just a friend, and if I were around more, I would know that. Before I knew it, she’d hopped on her bike and started off. I was just about to go after her when…” Chase’s voice had grown to barely a whisper and was shaky. More tears spilled out of his eyes. As he brushed them away, I noticed his hands were shaking. Carefully I took hold of them. My own emotions were now running high. He cleared his throat and continued. “Suddenly out of nowhere, a car came racin’ down the road and,” Chase sobbed. “Hit her head on.”

  Immediately I pulled Chase into me. I held on tight and rubbed his back. “Omigod, Chase.” I had no idea what to say.

  “The guy that hit her didn’t even stop. He just continued to speed down the road. We all ran over to her, but she was unconscious. Alex had run into Johnson’s and started screaming for help. Detective Nolan who had been there eating with his wife, and everyone else in the joint, came running out. We were all surrounding Abbie as she lay there, a limp, and bleeding mess. I held her hand and cried, begging her to open her eyes, but she wouldn’t. I told her over and over again that I was sorry. But nothing I said mattered. When the cops and ambulance arrived, they took her off, but I could tell… I knew… She was already gone. And our last words were…”

  Chase held me so tightly that I could barely breathe. But that was okay. I couldn’t breathe much after that story anyway.

  “Shh,” I soothed, or tried.

  “Drew saw the plate on the car, and they caught the guy. He was from another county, and was on a drinking binge.”

  Chase held me quietly for a few moments. “I never thought I’d feel for another girl, woman, what I felt for Abbie.” Chase kissed the top of my head, and I felt the love, the caring, flow right into me. “And I’ve lost everyone I ever loved. My dad, my step-dad, Abbie…I risk losing my mom… I can’t lose you. Okay?” he whispered.

  “Okay,” I whispered back.

  “Charlie!” Shannon called from the living room, making us both start slightly. “Susan’s here!”

  I gave Chase an extra hug and kissed him softly on his perfect, soft, warm lips. Then together, him grabbing the tray with plates, spoons, mugs, cream, sugar and coffee, me collecting the cobbler and ice cream, we headed out to the living room.

  Susan’s visit was sweet, even if bittersweet for Chase. It was clear she harbored no ill-feelings toward Chase. She was an absolute dear to him. And it was adorable watching Brock as a lovesick puppy at her side. After the coffee and cobbler, which was a big hit and garnered me instant credibility with the family, I was eager to get to bed. Thankfully, Susan and Brock headed out, leaving Chase, his mom, and I to say good night.

  Once I was tucked into bed, my mind continued to churn with this insanely packed day. Morning glory wishes, Shannon’s doctor visit, the shaved heads, Chase kinda leaving acting to move to New York and go to NYU, Chase’s first love… my pregnancy. My heart grew oppressively heavy at that last one.

  The pregnancy. How far along could I be? Thinking about the time frame, I would have had to have gotten pregnant at the April Fool’s Day party, those cheap glow in the dark condoms that Danny found so hilarious, swinging his sheathed, glowing cock around in the
dark… And, to be honest, it was funny. Then. But now, it wasn’t so funny. No, it wasn’t funny at all. And calculating, that would be all of April and all of May and now it was the first week in June. Nine weeks. Was my pregnancy at a point where it was a baby? Was it too late for an abortion? Could I even do that? I didn’t think I could. But what was I going to do?

  CHAPTER 28

  There was a soft knock on the bedroom door, then it was opened a crack and Chase quietly asked, “You awake, Phoebs?”

  I glanced at the clock and saw it was a quarter after one in the morning. And I was awake so it wasn’t a big deal. “Yeah, sure. Come on in,” I replied sitting up and straightening my t-shirt and the comfy cotton boxers I was wearing for PJs.

  Chase stepped in wearing only jeans, his strong, bare chest gleaming in the moonlight. I was still getting used to his shaved head. “I didn’t wake you, did I?”

  “No,” I shook my head. “I have a lot on my mind. Couldn’t sleep.”

  Chase leaned against the door-jamb and crossed his arms over the impressive planes I’d been admiring while hidden in the shadows. “You raced off kinda quick tonight. I didn’t get a good night kiss,” he whispered.

  “Is that what you came in for?” I asked. Briefly I wondered what his mother would say if she were to happen upon the room and find Chase in here.

  “No. I came in to see if you wanted to go for a moonlit skinny dip,” he said casually.

  “I didn’t pack a suit,” I said.

  “Hence the skinny dip,” he smirked.

  “Oh, right!” I said feeling stupid.

  “You’re adorable.”

  “I’m a dork.”

  “Okay, you’re a-dork-able,” he said, sauntering into the room. “You game?” he asked.

  “I dunno, I mean…” I know I had thought about it earlier in the day, and I was suddenly wondering if he’d read my mind, but to actually swim…naked…with Chase. I wasn’t given much time to think about it, because Chase took my hand and pulled me gently from the bed. Apparently my body wanted to go skinny dipping because it didn’t give much resistance.

  Hand-in-hand, we snuck out of the house, and made our way down to the lake. As beautiful as the lake was in the day, and at sunset, I think by moonlight was my favorite. The trees that surrounded the lake lent a very private feeling. It reminded me of the country song by Luke Bryan, Country Girl, where he sings: “…in the wind, on the hill, underneath the pines.”

  We stood on the pier and Chase looked at me with a mischievous grin. “Last one in is a rotten egg?” he challenged.

  Suddenly, I felt the challenge and started to count. “Three…” I sang, grabbing the hem of my t-shirt. “Two…” Chase readied his fingers on the button of his jeans. I ripped off my shirt as I shouted, “One!” I had my boxers dropped quicker than that, as Chase was just kicking off his jeans. I ran to jump off the end of the pier, but Chase caught me from behind, and we jumped in together.

  The water was surprisingly warm and hugged us as Chase and I surfaced and started to tread water.

  “Couldn’t have either one of us be rotten,” he grinned, his arms still locked around me. The water felt incredible and truly erotic as it washed my skin, and while brushing up against Chase’s godly figure, just as naked. With one arm securing me, he started a side backstroke with his other and moved us across the water, and I helped by gently kicking.

  We swam like that for a little bit, then started to dunk one another, and splash around. After about half an hour, we climbed out of the water and Chase grabbed a few towels from the storage locker that also held life vests. As we dried off, I couldn’t keep my eyes off of Chase’s body in the blue moonlight. Chase’s clean, toned figure could be the body double for Michelangelo’s David, except for one thing. Chase was much more endowed than David. I watched as his “endowedness” seemed to grow under my gaze. I glanced at Chase and saw that he was watching me look over his body.

  He stepped into me, pulled the towel from my hands, and dropped it on the pier. There I stood, naked in the moonlight, the world dropped away as only Chase’s gaze covered me, the same as I had been doing to him moments earlier. His attention had a different moisture taking over between my legs. Chase took one step forward, his lips crashed down onto mine and what started as a simple kiss, quickly grew into a frenzied tangle of tongues, lips, and even teeth. Chase broke our kiss, and quickly laid a few towels on the pier and then, silent and strong, he lowered me to the ‘bed’ he made. And just as quickly as our kissing had been stopped, it resumed with all the passion that had been paused, and then some. Chase reached for his jeans and produced a condom from the pocket.

  Needing this desperately, I grabbed the foil packet from his hand and pushed Chase onto his back and straddled his thighs. I tore open the square and pulled out the rubbery ring. Reaching down I fisted his velvety shaft admiring it’s weight, heat, and length. Finding Chase’s eyes sparkle in the moonlight, I saw that he was as hungry for this as I was. I slipped the latex over his length, and then raised myself up and inched forward to line his cock up with my sex.

  With just the head pushed into my entrance by an inch, I bit my lip as I considered how I was going to do this. Fast and furious? Or slow and tortured?

  “Sweets, you’re killin’ me,” Chase panted.

  “You ain’t seen nothin’ yet,” I grinned as I slowly lowered myself onto his erection. His face said it all… a look of utter ecstasy. Once I was fully seated, I rotated my hips in a small circle, pulling a delicious growl from him. His hands slid up my sides until they reached my breasts. He palmed each globe, and rolled my taut nipples between his fingers. I shuddered with the delicious twinge that shot to my core. I slowly raised myself until Chase’s cock was nearly free, then slowly lowered and rotated again. I repeated the action a few times, a little faster each time then, I started to rock on his cock, relishing the feel of him filling me so completely along with his ministrations on my aching breasts. I enjoyed the power of being on top. Emboldened, I continued to pump up and down, the pending orgasm flooding my every nerve. Chase dropped a hand to my clit and thumbed over the sensitive bud and released such a powerful orgasm that the sounds coming from my own mouth were unrecognizable, even to me.

  One thing I know I said: “Charlie!” I had gasped. He blinked at me and his breath grew shallow. Why I chose to use his given name and not his stage name, I had no idea.

  Before I could figure out what happened, I was on my back and Chase… Charlie… was hovering over me. “Say my name again,” he breathed.

  “Charlie,” I said simply, a smile speeding over my lips.

  His eyes widened and a giant smile spread over his face. He pressed his hips into me, his hot cock slowly sliding between my folds.

  I said his name again, and with more force, he ground into me again. With desperate thrusts of his own, he pounded into me seeking his own release. My legs wrapped around his waist and my fingers enjoyed the feel of every muscle in Charlie’s back tense and twitch as he pounded home into me repeatedly. Grunts and the sounds of wet, sweaty skin echoing off of the lake, I relished the feeling of another orgasm building within me. I started to grip into Chase’s back. I was mildly conscious that I was digging my nails into his skin when we both screamed out each other’s names as we came.

  This coupling was unlike any of the others. It wasn’t just my using his ‘real’ name. It was a desperate connection. A healing connection. I swear I felt his soul seep into mine as we came together, staring deeply into each other’s eyes. It was a feeling that was both exhilarating and terrifying.

  Chase pulled out and rested on his side next to me, the cool night air not cooling us one bit. He was as sweaty as I was, and he smelled wonderful. I gazed up into the night sky, the countless stars, all twinkling for our happiness.

  “Thank you for being here. This trip has been more than I could have possibly imagined.”

  “Same for me,” I said thinking about all that had gone on over the
past thirty-six hours. I met Chase’s family, learned of his mom’s condition, Chase talking about quitting acting for a while and moving to New York, Chase and I somehow said the L-word, and I learned that I was pregnant. I searched his eyes, the stars reflected in them, and I wanted to cry.

  The moment was perfect. I wanted to say, I love you. But how could I do that to him? What would he think when he learned of my ‘condition?’ I had no doubt in my mind that he would leave me once he found out. Ironic since he was so afraid of me leaving him. Instead, I leaned into him, and kissed him. It was all I could do.

  He kissed me back, eagerly…tenderly…lovingly. I loved kissing Chase/Charlie. It felt like home. Like I could do no wrong. In fact, everything about our bodies matched with such precision. We were perfect for each other…except… I was pregnant with another man’s baby.

  Charlie cupped my jaw, and pulled back so we were nose-to-nose. “I love you, Phoebe,” he said. My eyes welled with tears. I wanted to say it back. I love you, too, Charlie. I did. I really wanted to say those words. The flood of emotion caused me to shudder.

  I had to stop this nonsense. I had to tell him what was going on with me. And no one would interrupt us now, but I chickened out. “We’re gonna catch pneumonia out here like this.”

  “Always looking out for me,” he said, kissing my nose. He leapt up and grabbed our clothes and came back. We dressed silently, he took my hand and the towels, and we walked back to the house.

  Back upstairs, Chase walked me to my room, but he didn’t stop there. He came into the room and started toward my bed. “I think you should sleep in your own bed,” I said, stopping him. He looked hurt. “I’m just uncomfortable with your mom being down the hall,” I added, hastily, but I really needed the space right now. I had so much to figure out that I couldn’t bear it. When he was near me, touching me, I couldn’t think clearly.