Hope's Chance

by Jennifer Foor

  I really did want them to be happy, except I just feared being the one to break the news to my mother. She had been through so much lately. First my grandfather died and now my grandmother had to be put into a home. Plus she had lost her job and had to sell the house. This would crush her.

  I couldn’t begin to figure out how I was going to break the news to her, but knowing Buffy like I did, I knew she was going to call every newspaper and have it listed. Hell, she probably had called to have engagement photos taken already.

  I could just picture it now. She and my father in a fashioned embrace while Chance and I stood behind them with googly eyes for each other. That would go over fantastic.

  I squeezed my arms around Chance even tighter. Our alone time was almost over and I wasn’t ready to let him go.

  When he finally pulled over he gave me a quick kiss and pulled away. We could be caught like that, so I understood completely. As he drove into the distance I felt like a part of me was gone. My heart ached and I ran as fast as I could to get back to my house and be able to see him.

  When I rounded the block that my house was on, I decided to slow down. I didn’t want to arrive just minutes after Chance, so I walked the rest of the way. I finally made it down the long driveway and was met by my father having a word with Chance. When he walked away from him, he patted him on the shoulder. I had no idea what the discussion was about but I couldn’t help having a guilty conscience.

  Chance had already begun painting the wooden shutters on the front of the house. Seeing him with a paintbrush reminded me of last Saturday. I wished we were alone again with a couple of paintbrushes and rollers.

  Chance looked back at me and gave me a wave before turning back around and getting to work. My father came back out of the house with his briefcase this time. He walked over to where I was standing and pulled me in for a hug. “I am sorry if we caught you off guard this morning Sweetie. We didn’t mean to upset you.”

  “It’s fine Dad. I had just woke up and I wasn’t prepared for hearing big news yet. I feel better after my run though.”

  He smiled. “Well I am glad to hear it. Listen, I gotta run out and show some commercial property to an investor. I don’t know how long I will be so Buffy was hoping that you and Chance would want to watch movies later. Please try and be nice to her.”

  “Actually Dad, I would love to hang out with them. Good luck with the investors.” I said as I ran into the house.

  I didn’t see Buffy when I got inside so I hurried up and headed into my room. After gathering some clean clothes I walked into the bathroom. As I reached in to turn the water on, I heard someone knocking. I walked to the door first but nobody was there. I turned around and saw Chance standing at the window.

  I pulled it open. “What are you doing?”

  He smiled, displaying his perfect teeth. “I am trying to work, but when I saw what you were doing I didn’t want you to freak out if you saw me staring.”

  “That is illegal you know.” I joked.

  “You can handcuff me right now Hope. I wouldn’t even put up a fight.” He admitted.

  I leaned out and grazed his lips. “Don’t tempt me Chance.”

  “So are you giving me permission to watch?” He asked.

  “What do you think?” I said as I started pulling off my shirt. I backed away from the window and slid my shorts off slowly. When I stood up he was smiling but walking away from the window.

  “That is so mean...” He said while beginning to paint again.

  I took my time in the shower, and not because I wanted to tease Chance. I was half tempted to pull him inside. I just wanted to let the water run down my face and relax. When I got out I didn’t see Chance anywhere around. He may have had to go get one of his famous cold showers he told me about.

  I wrapped myself up in a towel and started to slowly get dressed. When I was done applying lotion to my legs, I headed into my bedroom. After about five minutes someone knocked on my door. “Come in.” I called.

  Buffy walked in and sat down beside me on my bed. “Hey, can we talk?” She asked.

  “Sure.”

  “I feel like an idiot for how I dealt with things this morning. I was so excited that I didn’t take into consideration that it would be hard for you. I am so sorry Hope. I really love you like a sister and I don’t want to lose that if I marry your dad. I know that sounded convoluted but it is the truth.”

  “Buffy I feel the same way. I am sorry too. I should have been more understanding. You love my dad and he loves you. You guys should be able to do whatever you want.”

  She leaned her head on my shoulder. “So are we cool?”

  “Absolutely.” I said.

  She threw her arms around me and squealed like she was describing a high school crush.

  “Well I was thinking that you might want to watch movies with me and Chance. Your dad is going to be getting home late. You know how those investor meetings go. They almost always end up at some golf course and country club.”

  I smiled. “That would be great.” What would be better is if it was just Chance and I.

  Chapter 23

  Chance

  Mark had pulled me aside and asked if anyone had come over the house while he and Buffy were gone. I assured him that nobody did. That wasn’t a lie.

  We were burying ourselves into an endless mess, but there was no other place I wanted to be. Hope was fully aware of my feelings now, and she would never let me stop things even if I wanted to.

  My sister had this brilliant idea to have a movie night, and I would have declined if it weren’t for the fact that Hope was going to be there. My sister had this problem of getting the worst girly movies ever made. I usually fell asleep after the first twenty minutes, and so would my sister. We would end up taking days to finish, well she would at least.

  I got finished painting the shutters on the front and back of the house and headed toward the pool house to shower. I imagined that my sister would order pizza and we would just veg out all night. Hope had no idea what she was in for.

  When I was all cleaned up, I walked over to the main house. I called out for my sister, but she wasn’t anywhere to be found. I walked up to Hopes room thinking they might be in there, and she was sitting at her computer with headphones in. I walked behind her and kissed the back of her neck.

  She jumped before turning around and pulling me into a hug.

  “Where is Buff?”

  “She just left to go grocery shopping and grab the movies.” Hope explained.

  “So we’re alone?” I asked curiously.

  Hope placed her soft lips against mine. “I was just getting ready to come visit you. I had to wait until she at least pulled out of the driveway.”

  “What were you going to do when you found me?” I asked, even though I already knew the answer.

  “What do you want to do Chance?” She asked and then bit down on her lip.

  “I can think of a million things I would like to do with you, but for starters I think we need to do this.” I said as I leaned down and pressed my lips against hers. She grabbed the collar of my shirt and pulled me closer to her face. Her lips rubbed down my neck and she bit me and then ran her tongue over the bite mark.

  “You smell so good Chance. “ She confessed.

  We started taking off our clothes as fast as we possibly could. “What if someone comes home?” Chance asked in between kisses.

  “We should just hurry.” Hope said as she pushed me down on her bed.

  She ran her hands up my thighs and kissed me on my belly button, and then with her tongue she worked her way up to one of my nipples. She grabbed it with her teeth and slowly pulled it. “Oh God!”

  She ran her tongue across it back and forth while she watched me watch her. Hope climbed on top of me and straddled my legs. Her tongue found mine and she played with it, teasing me with her own. We didn’t have time for slow passion; we needed to hurry so that we didn’t get caught.

  Hope reache
d down and grabbed my hard shaft with her hand, and then she guided it to the right place. She lifted her body and then let me slide right inside of her. At first she was rocking slow but soon picked up the pace. She used my chest with her hands to balance her weight and she shifted her hips back and forth. That combined with the fact that her naked breasts were bouncing in front of me made me able to climax quicker than the other times. I grabbed her ass with my hands and forced her to stay still as I felt my body jolting in ecstasy.

  Hope leaned her face toward me and kissed me slowly. I couldn’t help but wrap my arms around her and hold her close to me. After a few minutes we both agreed that we needed to get dressed before Buffy returned home. The grocery store was just ten minutes away and the movie rental was out of this big box right outside the grocery store door. Depending on what Buffy needed, she may already be on her way back.

  Hope and I grabbed our clothes and began dressing. I noticed her birth control pill package laying on her dresser and I couldn’t help but grab it. “Please make sure to take one of these every day. We already have a lot of explaining to do.”

  “I never forget Chance; you don’t have to worry about that.” She said as she kissed me one more time.

  After doing a quick check out the window, Hope and I held hands as we walked down to the living room. She turned on the television while I went into the kitchen and made us both some tea, then headed back and sat on the couch cuddling next to her. When we heard Buffy pull up we scooted apart and acted like we were surprised to see her back so soon.

  “Oh Goodie, you are both already here. I am so excited.” Buffy said as she came into the room. “I got us two movies to watch and extra butter popcorn.”

  I grabbed the movies and rolled my eyes as I looked at them. Who wrote these cheesy things anyway? Hope looked over at me and I rolled my eyes holding up what would be a nightmare for me to sit through.

  Buffy came running back into the room. “I forgot to give you a movie.” She said. She handed a movie and I immediately smiled. She had gotten me a horror flick even though she hated them.

  She rolled her eyes. “I know I hate them, but I figured that we could all sit on the same couch and you could protect Hope and I. You do have two shoulders we can hide behind ya know.” My sister said all matter of fact.

  I got the biggest smile on my face as I walked over and put the movie in. I sat down next to Hope and leaned into her. “Do you like scary movies?”

  “Actually I do.” She whispered.

  “Damn I was hoping you could hide your eyes in my shoulder.”

  She smiled back at me. “Oh that can be arranged.”

  Buffy came back in the room with a giant bowl of popcorn. We turned off the lights and all three sat on the couch ready to watch. About halfway into the movie, Hope grabbed a blanket and wrapped it around herself. I slid my hand down to my side and slipped it under the blanket without making it obvious to my sister. It was there that I found her fingers waiting to be held.

  Buffy had fallen asleep first as Hope and I continued to watch the movie. Her hand never left mine and I found comfort being able to do such mundane things with her. She was so special to me and I couldn’t help but love the fact that she loved horror movies.

  When the movie was over I leaned over to Hope. “I better call it a night.” I whispered.

  She brought her chin up and brush her lips over mine. “Okay.”

  “Walk me into the kitchen?” I asked in a quiet tone.

  She nodded and followed me in there with our cups in her hands. I leaned down and kissed her lips. My thumb came up and rubbed her bottom one. “See you in the morning baby.” I said as I walked out toward my place.

  It killed me to do that.

  I made it in the door and grabbed my pack of smokes. If I couldn’t be with Hope tonight than I was going to have my first cigarette of the day. I stripped down in my living room to only my boxers and headed out to the picnic table, where I had watched Hope seduce me just days ago, and lit one up. The smoke filled my lungs and I realized how lonely I was. It was unbelievable how in just a few weeks I had come to love someone so much that I didn’t want to be away from them.

  Finally after all this time thinking my life was over, she was here, making me want to live again. She had no idea how grateful I was to her.

  There was the giant issue of her father warning me to stay away from his daughter, and the fact that the local cops were breathing down my neck for an alibi that I couldn’t give them.

  I know Hope said she wanted the truth to come out, but I couldn’t let her do that. If she told the cops we were together I would be out of trouble with them, but have to then deal with Mark? It was a lose-lose situation.

  I finished my cigarette and put it out in one of my sisters new flower pots. I would have to remember to remove it in the morning so she never saw that I had done it.

  I went in the pool house and tried to find something to watch on television, but my mind was elsewhere. I couldn’t stop thinking of Hope. I wondered what she was doing and if she was thinking about me too.

  Finally I headed into my room and lay on my bed. I was getting ready to play around on the internet on my cell phone when I got a message.

  It was from an unknown number, but there was only one person it could have been.

  Hope

  I couldn’t stand being in my room, so I snuck downstairs and got Chance’s number from my father’s office. I got so excited that I started texting before I had even made it back to my room.

  I miss you already ~ Hope

  I stared at my phone and when I didn’t get a reply I wondered if Chance was awake, or even if this was still his phone number. I grabbed my stuffed frog he had won me on the boardwalk and hugged it.

  Finally my phone vibrated.

  Me too! ~ C

  I got a big smile on my face.

  So what are you wearing? ~Hope

  A pair of long plaid pants. A Hawaiian shirt that is button up. And some argyle socks. ~C

  Lol I bet that looks so hot on you. ~ Hope

  I can’t sleep. There is something wrong with my bed. ~C

  What? Did you break it? ~Hope

  You’re not in it baby ~C

  I held the phone to my chest and started laughing.

  What would you do if I was? ~ Hope

  I would hold you all night long. ~ C

  : )~Hope

  <3 Goodnight baby ~C

  <3 Goodnight ~Hope

  I wished we could talk all night long, but I needed some rest. It had been a long emotional day for me. I hugged my stuffed frog and finally fell asleep.

  Chapter 24

  Hope

  When I woke up Buffy was sitting on the edge of my bed. I didn’t even have to open my eyes all the way to know it was her. Her bright pink tank top was burning my eyes.

  “Oh hey Buff. What’s up?” I asked.

  “Sorry to come in your room so early. I actually had something I wanted to talk to you about.” She explained.

  I tried to focus and listen but I was not a morning person. “Okay, is it about the wedding?”

  “No, actually it is about my brother.” She stated.

  Her eyes were fixed on mine and I didn’t know what to do. If I changed my expression she would know I was hiding something. I remained as calm as I could. “What about him?”

  “Well I was wondering if you have seen him with anyone, especially when we were away.” She asked.

  “Oh, um…no, I didn’t see him with anyone.”

  “Hope, I won’t be mad if he asked you not to tell me. I know he has been seeing someone. He is acting different, and a few weeks ago I found him naked in his bed, after he left a bar we were at earlier. Now I know my brother and he doesn’t sleep without clothes.” She sounded certain.

  “I swear to you that I didn’t see anyone over the weekend or ever.”

  She gave me a quick smile. “Damn. Did he ever leave and stay somewhere else over night?”
r />   I shook my head. “No! I saw him everyday at least a couple times. If he went anywhere I didn’t notice.”

  Buffy stood up and headed toward my door. “It was worth a try I guess. He won’t talk to me about it. Maybe it is my imagination.” She started walking out of the room. “Sorry I woke you up. I just didn’t want to ask in front of your father or Chance.”

  “It’s fine. I will see you downstairs.” I announced.

  Well that sucked. I grabbed my cell phone and texted Chance.

  Buffy just asked me if I saw you with anyone while they were gone. She mentioned the morning she found you naked when I was hiding in the shower. I didn’t tell her anything. Just wanted you to know. ~Hope

  Wow she won’t give up will she? Thanks! C-ya later baby. ~C

  Definitely! ~ Hope

  I climbed out of my bed and got dressed. Today I was going to visit my mother. I hadn’t seen her in weeks and I wanted her to be informed about my father’s plans. Maybe it wasn’t my place to tell her, but she would kill me if she found out from someone else. I threw on some sweat shorts and the white t-shirt that smelled like Chance. I went into the bathroom and washed up, then finally made my way downstairs. Buffy was outside doing what looked like Yoga. My father was in his office talking on the phone.

  Finally, Chance came walking into the kitchen as I opened the refrigerator.

  I felt a hand brush over my butt. “Good morning beautiful.”

  “Hey yourself.”

  He was eating a banana and I couldn’t help but watch his lips as he ate it. “What are you doing today?”

  “I am going to see my mother. It has been a while and I need to get out of this house.”

  Chance knew not to take it personal, well I hoped that he did.

  “I guess you are going to spill the beans to her.” Chance assumed.

  “That is the plan.”

  I heard my dad coming into the room. “What is the plan?” He asked.

  “I um,I’m going to have lunch with Mom today.” I confessed.

  “Hope it’s okay. It’s fine. She needs to know.” He squeezed my shoulder. “Don’t worry about it sweetie. I know you were going to tell her sooner or later.”