by Twyla Turner
“…five…” He kissed her right nipple.
“…four…” He kissed her left.
“…three…” He slid her panties to the side.
“…two…” He positioned her over his hard shaft.
“…one.” He slid her down his length with a welcoming sigh.
Day rested her forehead against his and gripped his shoulders for leverage. She used her trembling thighs to raise her hips and then plunged back down around him. Chase panted against her lips. The feel of her slick, silken heat nearly undoing him.
“Happy New Year.” Daylen breathed.
“Happy New Year, Pretty Day.” Chase groaned. “I love you.”
“I love you too, Chase.”
The windows fogged up in the cold night air. Snowflakes danced around the rocking car as the two inside brought in their new year together. Both prayed it would always be this way.
Chapter 14
A week later, Daylen had to sadly send Chase off, back to school. Armed with a mixed CD of her favorite old dead musical dudes.
“They’ll help you out, depending on your mood. Listen to Mozart if you wanna get pumped for a game. Or Chopin, if you need help sleeping. Beethoven, while doing your homework. And Bach’s cello suites, if you start missing me.” Daylen smiled shyly as they sat in Cortney, the night before he had to leave.
“Oh, there’s no doubt that I’ll be missing you.” Chase grinned down at the disc in his hand. “Thank you, Day.”
“You’re welcome.”
They spent the evening making love in the back of his old car. When Chase was finally almost too exhausted to drive, they went back to her house. They didn’t want to be apart a second longer than they had to be but didn’t want to disrespect her mother either. Instead of sleeping in separate rooms, the two of them fell asleep in each other’s arms, out in the open on the couch in the family room. Daylen’s head snuggled warmly against Chase’s chest.
Pat found them that way the next morning. And she couldn’t help but smile at them, before making her way into the kitchen to start some coffee.
The noise from the kitchen pulled Chase and Daylen from pleasant dreams, into heartbreaking reality. Day smiled sweetly at him and then covered her mouth with her hand. As she tried to mask her morning breath. Chase smirked and brushed her hand out the way.
“I don’t care about your dragon breath. I doubt mine is any better, but nothing is gonna stop me from doing this…” Chase leaned down and captured her lips in a kiss filled with desperation.
He clasped her face, stroking his thumb over her soft butterscotch skin. He memorized her lips and face with his lips and hands. He released her lips and panted against her mouth as he rested his forehead on hers. Chase squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his jaw tightly, making the muscle there tick.
“I’m gonna miss you so damn much!” He exclaimed in a whisper.
“Me too.” Daylen murmured back softly.
A few tears slipped down her temples and Chase kissed them away. Daylen knew it wasn’t the end of the world, but it sure did feel like it.
Chase placed soft kisses all around Day’s face. He then pushed himself up and off of her with a regretful sigh.
“I better start getting ready.” Chase stood.
“Okay.” Day sat up and looked down glumly.
“Hey.” Chase raised her chin with his index finger. “It’s gonna be okay, Pretty Day. We’ll make it through this.” He reassured her naively before he headed upstairs to shower and pack.
“I hope so,” Daylen said with a sense of dread.
It wasn’t long before they stood in the doorway, Chase’s duffel bag on the floor next to him. He looked like a sexy bad boy, standing there in his new leather jacket and jeans. His soft brown eyes with muted green flecks were the only evidence that he was hurting. His natural confidence faltered slightly, not sure he could hold on to Daylen from so far away. She’d never seen him so unsure of himself.
“Wait for me?” Chase asked, looking down at her.
“Always.”
Chase grabbed Daylen’s face with his large hands and kissed her hard. She tasted desperation on his lips and was sure he tasted the same on hers. She had no clue how a person could feel so overwhelmingly overjoyed and utterly heartbroken all at the same time. But it was certainly how she felt at the moment. To know she was loved by the one person she had secretly loved, for what felt like her whole life. Only to have him leave her for the next several months.
Unwelcome tears filled her eyes and spilled down her round cheeks. They broke apart and Chase looked at her with glassy eyes. He cleared his throat a few times, before speaking.
“Don’t cry, Pretty Day. I’ll be back.” Chase’s voice came out strained and husky. He reached down and grabbed his bag and quickly opened the door. Almost as though, if he didn’t leave now, he wouldn’t. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.” Daylen’s voice trembled.
Chase stomped down the front stairs and strode quickly to his car. He opened the back door and threw his duffel bag in the backseat. He swallowed thickly, around the enormous lump in his throat. He looked back at the front door and Daylen, who stood there with wet cheeks and a hesitant smile.
He lifted his hand in farewell and she waved back. Chase opened the driver’s side door. He stepped his foot into the car but felt someone watching him. He glanced up at his house and saw his mother standing in the window of the front room. She held her hand up, pressing it against the window. Chase smiled sadly at her and nodded his head. It was obvious that she had been told by his father to stay away from her own son.
As Chase got in the car, his heart fractured down the middle. Both sides ached equally for different reasons. One side squeezed painfully for the lack of love he received from his own father and the life his mother had to endure. The other ached from having to leave Day when this new side to their relationship was only just beginning to blossom.
Chase started the car and pulled away from the curb. His insides were completely at war as the two houses became smaller and smaller in the rearview mirror. One part of him never wanted to come back again, his father was dead to him. The other wanted to stay, to be with Day.
He wiped at his face, realizing it was wet with his tears. He blindly reached for the CD case that held the mix CD Day had made for him. He slid the disc into the player. The car was instantly filled with Day’s voice.
“Bach’s Cello Suite number one.” Her sweet voice said softly.
Then the soothing sounds of the cello swirled through the car. Even though Chase’s chest ached, he couldn’t help the smile that spread across his lips. She had snuck and added her own private performance, just for him.
Chapter 15
Daylen talked to Chase as much as she possibly could over the course of the next couple of months. Then the football team’s spring training started for their spring game. Often times, she’d be lucky if she could just hear him breathe on the other line. He was too exhausted to lift the phone most times. And then came finals for both of them as well as Day’s audition for the Chicago College of Performance Arts.
The day of her audition the phone rang just before she needed to head out the door. The familiar number on the caller ID brought a smile to her face.
“Hey!” Daylen exclaimed into the phone.
“Hey, Pretty Day! You ready to kill it?” Chase asked. She could hear the grin in his voice.
“I hope so,” Day said nervously.
“I know so,” Chase responded confidently.
“Daylen! Get your high-yellow butt down here! It’s time to go!” Her mom shouted up at her.
Day heard Chase chuckle across the line. “Wow! I heard that through the phone. As always, Mrs. D kicking ass and taking names.”
“Yeah, I better get going,” Daylen grumbled.
“Alright, I have to go too, but I wanted to make sure that I wished you luck. Or tell you to break a leg or something.” Chase said brightly.
“Thank you, Chase.”
“What are you gonna play?” Chase asked her.
“A contemporary piece. Plus, Bach’s Cello Suite number one, like on the CD I gave you. Only better, because I’ve been practicing like crazy.” Daylen told him.
“If it’s better, then I’m impressed because what you recorded was beautiful. I actually really like the mix CD. Those old dead dudes can really get me pumped before practice.” Chase said, sounding surprised.
“I told you they’re great.” Daylen grinned.
“Daylen Marie Daniels, let’s go!” Her mom shouted up again.
“Alright, that’s my queue. She used my middle name.” Daylen laughed.
“Okay. Bye, Pretty Day. I’d wish you luck, but you don’t need it.” Chase said sweetly.
“Thanks, Chase.” Daylen flushed with pleasure.
“I love you.”
“Love you.”
Daylen hung up the phone, grabbed her cello case, and ran down the stairs quickly. Well, as quickly as someone carrying a big cumbersome instrument can run. She ran out the front door and locked it, before jumping in the car that Pat had already started.
“Sorry, mom. Chase called to wish me luck.” Daylen panted breathlessly.
“Oh, good! You needed to hear that because you’ve been moping around here for weeks.” Pat teased as she backed out of the driveway.
“Haha… Funny, mom.” Daylen mumbled.
Pat reached over and squeezed Daylen’s damp hand. “You’ll do great, baby.”
~~~
Daylen walked out on the nearly empty stage with her cello and bow. A single chair in the middle was the only decoration. It was going to be the single most important seat of her life. At least for the next thirty minutes or so.
Day bowed to the three people sitting in the theater. She sat down and positioned her cello between her legs. Her left hand wrapped around the neck, her fingers caressed the strings lightly. Like a lover. The bow poised at the ready on the strings below.
As Day began to play Bach’s popular suite, her mind went to Chase and their idyllic couple of weeks together. The passion that he’d brought out of her radiated through her being. It extended to her arms and fingers as she played. With her eyes closed, Day let the strains of the music she had memorized inside and out, wrap around her. It was the best she’d ever played.
After she had finished her contemporary piece, Ten Preludes by Sofia Gubaidulina, Daylen stood and took another bow before walking off the stage. She breathed a huge sigh of relief that it was finally over. Now all she had to do was wait.
~~~
The months following the audition were pure torture. Other than school and finals, Daylen didn’t have any distractions to keep her mind off of whether she got in or not. At least Amy had also auditioned and was waiting right along with her. Their dream was to both get into the College of Performing Arts and room together in the dorms.
Luckily both Day and Amy received their acceptance packets within days of each other. They squealed like little schoolgirls and immediately started to plan their freshman year together. Day wanted to tell Chase, so he could celebrate in her joy though he was nowhere to be found. Buried in finals studies, mandatory tutor sessions for athletes, and light spring football requirements. Each day, she became more and more nervous about their future. If this was his life in the offseason, what would it be like during every fall semester? When the football season was in full swing and she was in Chicago at her own school?
Day tried to bury her doubts and fears about their relationship. Instead, she focused on graduation and loading up on all the stuff she’d need for college.
~~~
Chase floored it up the small rural highway towards home. He’d just finished up his last final and had a week before the summer session started. Today was Day’s graduation and he would risk jail time for excessive speeds, to get there in time to see her walk across the stage.
Once he got into town, he stopped at a store and ran in for a bouquet of flowers. He quickly paid for them and jogged back out to his car. He sped to the high school like a madman, grabbed the flowers, and got out of the car. Chase took a deep breath, smoothed down his jeans and black dress shirt and walked into his old familiar stomping grounds.
Pat had his ticket to get into the graduation, but he figured she’d already be inside. He quickly realized that he didn’t need it as he walked up to the building. Chase was immediately welcomed, to warm hugs and pats on the back. No one even asked him for a ticket. He had been king of the high school for four years and it had only been a year since he’d walked across the stage himself.
He hadn’t expected his appearance at the event to cause such a stir. As he found Daylen’s mom and made his way down the row of bleachers, the crowd murmured excitedly. All the students waiting impatiently for the ceremony to begin looked over to see what all the commotion was. As Chase sat down next to a relieved looking Pat, he spotted Daylen in the first set of seniors, being at the beginning of the alphabet. She saw him and waved happily, a huge grin spreading across her face.
Chase waved back. Her smile alone made his day of rushing around worth it. She looked adorable in her blue cap and gown with a blue and red tassel hanging on the side. Around her shoulders, she wore the white collar that represented National Honors Society. Chase smiled proudly at her.
“Sorry, I’m late.” Chase turned to apologize to Pat.
“You made it right on time.” She smiled at him broadly.
They watched the procession of graduates walk up to receive their diplomas. Chase and Pat cheered enthusiastically when Daylen’s name was called. Of course, she flushed with embarrassment when their shouts and Chase’s loud whistles reached her ears.
After the ceremony was over, all the graduates sedately moved their tassels from right to left on their hats. Instead of tossing them in the air like they all wanted to do. The tradition had been banned after the result of too many injuries. The pointed hats turning into weapons.
Chase clambered down the gym bleachers, only waving at those who tried to stop him for conversation. He hadn’t held Daylen in his arms for months and nothing was going to stop him from going to her now. Once he reached the gym floor, he watched as Daylen appeared through a sea of blue. The moment she saw him, she started running. Chase opened his arms and she flung herself into them. He wrapped her up so tight, he was sure she probably couldn’t breathe.
“God, I missed you!” Chase groaned into her ear.
“I missed you too.” Day’s voice trembled.
Chase pulled back to get a look at her breathtaking face. Her chocolate brown eyes sparkled with moisture and her smile lifted her rosy cheeks even higher. Day’s jet black hair fell in a sleek, straight curtain to her shoulders, curled slightly to frame her round face. Her side-swept bangs fell, covering one eye seductively though she had no idea, which made her even sexier.
“You’re so damn beautiful,” Chase said in awe, having briefly forgotten how one look from her could sucker-punch him in the gut.
Day flushed prettily, her naturally pink cheeks in her caramel face, deepened even more. “Thanks, Chase. You look gorgeous as always.”
Chase grasped her face and then leaned down to finally kiss her lips. Once their lips touched, they forgot about everyone milling about around them. His fingers slid through the hairs at the nape of her neck as he pulled Day in closer. Those who didn’t know that the two best friends were together romantically did now.
“Alright. Alright. Stop manhandling my daughter and let me congratulate her.” Pat said behind him.
The two young people pulled apart and Daylen was instantly wrapped up in a warm hug from her mother.
“I’m sorry your father couldn’t make it, baby.” Pat apologized needlessly.
“It’s okay mom. The only two people I need are here. And that’s all that matters.” Day gave her a watery grin.
“I’m so proud of you, sweetie.”
“Thanks,
mom.
~~~
“Ahh…fuck Day!” Chase groaned as he exploded inside of her trembling walls.
After her graduation dinner at a nice restaurant in town, Chase and Day had decided to try to get in their childhood treehouse, for old time’s sake. They knew it would probably be the last time they ever got inside of it. Once they were inside the cramped quarters, one thing had led to another and now Day melted limply against Chase’s chest and lap.
Day laid her face in the crook of his neck. Her black dress for graduation, bunched around her hips. Her panties were a crumpled heap on the wood slats. Other than that, they were still fully clothed. The cloth stuck to their damp skin in the unseasonably warm spring night.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t here to take you to prom,” Chase said as he stroked her hair back from her clammy face.
“It’s okay. Prom is a wallflower’s worst nightmare. I think I watched Carrie instead.” Day giggled against his neck.
“That’s terrible!” Chase laughed reluctantly.
“Yeah, but it was awesome. Every shy, awkward teenager’s dream.” She smiled as she nuzzled deeper into his neck.
“Has it really been that bad?” Chase asked seriously.
“Sometimes. But I guess it could’ve been worse. Being your best friend had its benefits. No one wanted to mess with me, for fear of your wrath.” Day answered honestly.
“Or your right hook. No one has forgotten how you brutalized Whitney.” Chase chuckled.
“True. True.” Daylen conceded, and then sighed happily. “I’m so glad I get to spend the summer with you before we both have to go to our schools.”
Chase stiffened under her. Day lifted her head when she felt him tense.
“What?” Daylen said warily.
“I’m sorry I haven’t told you yet, but…” Chase took a deep breath. “Most of the football team don’t take a full schedule of classes during the regular school year because of football obligations. So we have to make up those course credits during the summer session. I’m only getting a little over a week off.” Chase cringed slightly, waiting for Day’s reaction.