It probably wasn’t going to appreciate her choice of footwear for this evening either, but it was just going to have to deal. Krista had found the most amazing pair of black strappy heels that were in no way arch supporting but in every way worth it. The second she’d slipped them on and stood to look in the mirror at the boutique, she’d felt like a Victoria’s Secret model walking down the runway. Sold. Sometimes a girl just needed to feel that kind of powerful rush.
Grabbing her iPod, Krista practically skipped to the entrance of the field, giddy with excitement. It had seriously been too long since she’d done this. The air, crisp on her face, felt like it was in the mid-60s—perfect for a run. She would be able to watch the sunrise and hopefully recharge herself by building her resistance to Chase. If not resistance, then at least some ironclad exit strategies for removing herself from any situation where he was in the general vicinity.
As she stepped through the entrance, she was happy to note that the gate was open. The track was the first thing she noticed. When she’d been in high school, it had just been a dirt track, but they had made improvements to it and it was now a synthetic rubber surface. She couldn’t wait to put some miles on it.
Movement caught her eye, causing her to raise her gaze slightly. There, on the other side of the field, running the track was a male figure. She could not make out the face clearly, but her body instantly recognized that run.
“You have got to be freaking kidding me!” Krista said loudly with a healthy dose of indignation. (Even though it was only to herself, she felt totally justified in voicing her supreme frustration!)
Chase Malone might have more commonly been known for making girls’ panties wet while onstage with a guitar strapped around his neck, singing into a microphone, but the female population that had gone to high school with Chase were privy to another, some would argue even more powerful, Chase Malone wet-panty-inducing move. His running.
Once Chase had joined the track team, the female attendance skyrocketed. It had bothered Krista at the time. In fact, they’d gotten into more than one huge fight over it. Chase had been hers. She’d hated it that there were girls with signs on the sidelines cheering him on.
Now, as an adult, she didn’t blame the teen girls—or adult women—one bit. How could she? The way his body moved when he was on the track was hands-down still the sexiest thing she’d ever laid her eyes on—and the very last thing she needed to be looking at today!
She knew the moment he saw her. Goose bumps broke out over her skin, and it had nothing to do with the chill of the early morning air. The closer Chase got, the more her body responded. Her core clenched and fevered arousal coursed through her veins as he kept his eyes trained on her, making her feel like the target of the heat-seeking missile of his smoldering stare.
Damn. Why did he have to have this potent of an effect on her? Irritation flooded her system at her body’s reaction. She was mad, horny, and frustrated.
Maybe this wasn’t going to be such a great day after all…
* * *
As Chase rounded the track for the tenth time that morning, he caught sight of something that caused his heart to slam into his ribs. Krista stood at the entrance of the field, her gorgeous red hair pulled up in a ponytail, in a hoodie and sweats that were rolled up on her calves, showcasing her tiny ankles, which for some reason had always been one of Chase’s favorite parts of her anatomy. He could feel desire spreading through him from the mere sight of her a hundred yards away. His entire body ached for her.
As he quickly closed the gap between them, he noticed two things. One, with no makeup on and her hair pulled up, she could have easily been back in high school. Two, she did not look happy. Chase was having the exact opposite response to her arrival. He could not be happier about this unexpected meeting.
When he got within a few yards of her, she said loudly, “What the hell are you doing here?”
He didn’t answer right away, waiting until he slowed to a stop in front of her. As he removed the earphones form his ears, he replied, “My taxes.”
“Don’t be a smartass.” She narrowed her eyes at him.
He smiled broadly as he responded, “You asked an obvious question. I thought I would give you a creative answer.”
Since coming home, Chase had felt like he’d been walking on eggshells around Krista. Even when he’d intentionally tried to fire her up and get her talking to him, he’d still held back. What he realized yesterday after she’d left the conference room was that holding back and treating her with kid gloves was getting him nowhere. In fact, he felt like it might even be causing her to pull further away from him. Which was the last thing he wanted.
What Chase did want was to be with Krista. The only girl he had ever loved and who he now knew for a fact was the only woman he would love. He’d decided last night as he’d tossed and turned in his bed that the only way he had a shot at that happening was to not tiptoe around anything, including them. If he had something to say, he was going to say it. If she wanted to yell, scream, or storm away, then so be it. That’s how it had always been between them. Real. Raw. Connected.
“Chase. I’m not doing this with you.” She shook her head as she crossed her arms defensively.
Her words didn’t surprise him. Their returning to being them was probably the last thing on earth she wanted to happen. But that was exactly what was going to happen if he had any say over it.
“This is my track,” she said pointedly. “I just came here to run.”
“What a coincidence. So did I,” he said, mimicking her tone. Then he began to jog in place as he said, “I think the track is big enough for the both of us. Unless you’re scared you can’t keep up with me.”
Placing his earphones back in his ears, he continued his run on the track knowing that there was no way her pride and competitive nature would allow her to just walk away. No matter how much she didn’t want him here.
This morning, as he’d pulled on his old running shoes, the most he had hoped for was that by getting to the track this early he would have it to himself. He appreciated the fact that people were excited to see him, but there were times when he simply wanted to be out in public and just be him, not the person people had built him up to in their minds. Now, he was more than happy that things had not gone as he’d hoped. Nothing could have made him happier than seeing Krista standing at the gate, looking like she was ready to spit nails over his mere presence on her track. It was cute as hell.
As he turned the corner of the track to head down the visitor’s side of the field, he saw her stretching beside the cheerleaders’ stand. He couldn’t make it out clearly, but it looked as though she was muttering to herself. Her skin was already flushed and she hadn’t done more than a few stretches.
Chase had been thinking a lot about the night he’d left town so many years ago. Part of him still questioned if he’d done the right thing. Guilt over seeing his mom’s house and finding out from her doctors that she was dehydrated and slightly malnourished plagued him. And Krista. Seeing her, talking to her, briefly touching her had made him question everything about the last ten years. Sure, he’d tried to stay in touch with her. He’d never missed a birthday, Christmas, Valentine’s Day or their special anniversary. He’d texted her randomly. But he hadn’t really tried to reconnect with her.
He kept asking himself why not. The easy answer was that she’d never returned his texts or calls or responded to any gifts he’d sent. Still, deep down, he knew better. That wasn’t the reason he’d stayed away. Chase was beginning to realize that the true catalyst behind what he’d done came down to two facts. One, he was scared. Two, he was in denial.
When he’d gone over to Krista’s house after his fight with his dad and told her he had to leave, get out of town, and not come back, he’d wanted them to stay together. He hadn’t wanted them to break up because of his shitty circumstances. At first, she’d agreed to them staying together. She’d cried and hugged him, softly kissing his face wher
e his dad had taken out his anger on him. She’d promised him that they’d get through this and she would always be there for him. Then, when she’d scooted over to get closer to him, her jacket had caught beneath the seat, and when she’d tugged it out, lace panties had come with it.
He had no way, to this day, of explaining how those panties had gotten into his truck. She’d been furious. He’d been just as furious that she hadn’t believed him when he told her he didn’t know whose they were. He remembered at the time not being able to believe she was actually upset about something that stupid when his life had been falling apart. Now, in hindsight, he could see how bad it looked.
He’d told her that there was no way they could stay together and make it work if she didn’t believe him, trust him. Tears had been pouring down her face as she’d looked him dead in the eyes and told him that she would never trust him and she never wanted to see him again.
A sick feeling rose in his stomach at the memory of what had happened next. He’d just been so hurt, so betrayed—first by his dad, then his mom—that, sitting in the small cab of his truck at one of the lowest points of his life, he couldn’t believe that Krista was doing the same thing.
He’d reached across her, opened the passenger’s side door, and said with an eerie calmness, “Get out.”
She had just sat there for a moment, staring at him in shock and disbelief. Looking back, he knew she’d probably expected him to talk to her, to work things out like they always had. Instead, he’d turned the key in his ignition, put his hands on the steering wheel, and, looking straight ahead through the windshield, said coldly, “Get the fuck out of my truck.”
Now, as he rounded the turn to the home side of the field, he saw her move onto the track about fifty yards in front of him. He picked up his speed to close the distance by about half. He could easily have caught up to her, but the closer he got, the more he decided that behind her was exactly where he wanted to be.
She would have the satisfaction of running ahead of him, which he knew her mind would equate to winning. And he got a chance to enjoy a view that rivaled the seven wonders—all of which he’d seen—which was the wondrous sight of Miss Krista Sloan’s backside bouncing as she ran.
In his book, it was a win-win.
Chapter Eleven
“So what’s he like now?” Becca asked as she sat beside Krista in a beige pleather salon chair while they received pedicures.
The bubbling water and massaging chair had been doing a mighty fine job in the relaxing area until the subject had inevitably turned to Chase. Krista did not open her eyes in hopes that her little sister would get the hint and drop it.
“I don’t know. The same, I guess.”
“It’s so weird. So many girls, and guys for that matter, have posters of him at my dorm. I always hear his songs as ringtones around the campus. Every time someone brings him up because they love his music or just think he’s so hot, I want to be like, ‘Yeah, he taught me how to ride a bike’. It’s just so…bizarre.”
Becca kept talking about different memories she had of Chase growing up, but Krista tuned her out. She didn’t want to think about how amazing he’d been with her sisters or how well he’d gotten along with her very overprotective cousins. Or the fact that her dad had always said that he’d thought of him like a son. None of those things were going to help her campaign to keep Chase at arm’s length.
Krista scooted up in the chair as the massager hit a rather tender area on the back of her thigh. She might have overdone it this morning…a little. It’s not that she’d been trying to show off. That really wasn’t the case. It was just that Chase had always known how to push her buttons—all of her buttons. His cocky attitude had seriously pissed her off. Since she was young, whenever she got mad, she did things fast.
Her dad used to irritate her on purpose when the family would be swimming in the pool just because it amused him to see how fast she would make it from the deep end to the shallow end. Her sister Jessie used to intentionally frustrate her whenever they were doing chores because she knew that Krista wouldn’t stop when she’d finished her own—she would keep cleaning until the entire house was spotless.
So true to form, this morning she’d run around the track like her sweats were on fire. Which was not a total stretch in the analogy department, considering that the entire time she’d been on the track she’d felt the heat of Chase’s stare as she ran. Krista hated to admit it, but she’d liked knowing that he was behind her, watching her as she ran like the wind. When they’d finished their laps and walked over to stretch, she’d seen just how much he’d enjoyed the view straining against his shorts.
She’d be lying if she said that it didn’t give her a thrill knowing how she’d affected him more than once since his return. In fact, practically every time they’d seen each other, his pants had gotten snug below the belt. Krista knew that she’d been just as turned on as Chase all of those times, but he didn’t. He might suspect it. But there was no indisputable proof as was the case in his lower region.
“Krista?” The questioning sound in Becca’s voice forced her to open her eyes.
“Huh?” Krista turned and saw that not only was Becca staring at her, but Haley and Jamie seemed to be all ears as well. Thankfully Amber, Chelle, and Katie were all in getting massages. Otherwise this would have been a tad bit too much.
Becca’s brow furrowed in concern. “I asked if you were going with Chris to the engagement party tonight.”
Chris!
Holy shit. She’d completely forgotten about Chris. Not that they were really a couple, but they had definitely moved past the booty-call-slash-friends-with-benefits stage of their relationship.
Hoping to cover up her shock at hearing his name, Krista smoothly (she hoped!) answered her sister. “Nope. He’s working tonight. So I’ll probably see him there.”
Her sisters and Jamie nodded their heads, all with varying degrees of ‘knowing’ looks in their eyes.
“Does he know that Chase is back in town?” Jessie asked.
“I don’t know,” Krista snapped.
Jessie’s brows rose. “Oookay.” Her sister sat back against the chair.
“I just mean, it doesn’t matter if he does or doesn’t know that Chase is back. It has nothing to do with us,” Krista said, softening her tone.
“Umm…” Jamie was nervously biting her lip. “I’m not sure if I should tell you this. I thought maybe I should, but then I thought, ‘No, it’s none of my business.’ Then I thought, ‘If it were me, I’d want to know,’ but then I thought—”
“Jamie.” Krista interrupted her ramblings. “Just say it.”
“Alex invited Chase to the engagement party tonight,” Jamie blurted, all of the words coming out so fast it sounded like one very long word… AlexinvitedChasetotheengagementpartytonight.
“What?!” Krista sat straight up in her chair.
Jamie nodded, wide-eyed, as Becca’s hand flew over her mouth in shock and a small smile lifted on Jessie’s face.
“Why did he do that?” Krista wanted to kill her cousin. What could have possibly possessed him to invite her ex-boyfriend to her sister’s engagement party?
Jamie’s left shoulder lifted as an apologetic expression fell over her face. “I don’t think he meant to upset you. He said he ran into him at the hospital. He was happy to see him again, and I guess thought his brothers would be too. He said that he specifically asked Chase about you and Chase told him that you guys were good. He said that you were the one who called him about his mom.”
Krista flopped back in the chair as all of her energy drained from her body. She’d been so looking forward to this party. A time to let her hair down. Dance. Drink. Be merry. Well, bully on that. None of that was going to happen if Chase was in attendance. Not only would Krista have to fight the inner battle that she faced every time she and Chase were within one hundred yards of each other, she was also going to have to do it amongst a very interested audience. Most of which we
re her family members. She knew that they would all be watching to see what would happen between them. It was going to be like a juicy soap opera and Krista had unwittingly just been cast as the lead role.
Then a thought hit her. Jamie had said that Alex had invited Chase. She hadn’t said if he’d accepted. Maybe he would respect the fact that this was Krista’s family, not his, and keep his distance.
Yeah, and maybe pigs would fly.
“Did he say if he was coming?” Krista tried to modulate her tone, not allowing any of the panic that was bubbling up inside of her at the thought of his being there to bleed through as she sliced her eyes to look at Jamie.
Jamie nodded once again. “Yeah, he did. I’m sorry, sweetie. He said he’s coming.”
Of course he is.
Krista shut her eyes, took in a deep, cleansing breath through her nose, and blew it out through her mouth. As the water bubbled around her ankles and the massaging chair did its thing, getting out all of her body’s kinks and working on her sore muscles, she tried to let her mind go blank. It might sound strange, but sometimes Krista did her best thinking when she stopped trying to figure everything out.
After several moments of concentrating on relaxing her entire body, letting the soft sounds of jazz softly playing over the speakers wash through her and clearing her mind, genius struck. Well, that might be a slight exaggeration. A new plan did pop into her mind though, and to her, it sounded brilliant.
It occurred to her that she had been going about this whole Chase thing all wrong. Part of his appeal was their sparks, their fireworks, which were fueled by passion and intensity. Since he’d been back in town, she’d let him goad her into getting riled up. Really, her behavior had left her wide open for it. But if she was nice to him, then he wouldn’t have the openings to push her buttons. Therefore, the intensity level would drop, thereby dropping the fireworks-slash-sparks level.
Crazy Love - Krista & Chase Page 11