Chasing Leah (Journey Series)

by Williams, C. A.

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  School and work both start up again after the short holiday break and I quickly jump back into the routine of things. There’s just a few weeks left before the extended winter break and I know I’ll have to be cramming for my final exams of this semester.

  Chase has been so sweet working out my schedule with his and slipping in small dates in our short amount of free time. We’ve even started staying at each other’s apartments a couple of nights a week so we can spend more time together. It took a little bit of convincing on Chases part since I wasn’t so sure about carting Caleb back and forth but Caleb didn’t seem to mind. Chase had his extra bedroom set up for him and I think he liked staying there more than our actual apartment.

  The Major Hoosiers have been steadily performing since we got back and Teddy even lined up a gig back in his hometown for a buddy of his that’s getting married. This will be one of their bigger performances and the first time at something so formal like a wedding reception. I can tell Chase has been a little nervous about it, working on songs when we’re together often. I asked him about it and he said that he wouldn’t want to mess up someone’s special day with the antics of Teddy.

  He can tend to get a little wild when alcohols involved and especially when there’s willing females around. I’ve been witness to it a couple of times when me and Remy, whose still dating Mark, caught some of their performances. Teddys left almost every time with at least two girls wrapped around him. Chase just seems to find it funny and ignores the repeat of girls that follow them from gig to gig. He only has eyes for me when he has his guitar cradled in his lap likes he’s playing solely for me.

  “You sure you don’t want to come with me baby? Me, you, and Caleb could get a room of our own, we could make another road trip out of it.” Chase wiggles his eyebrows at me as he stuffs clothes into his suitcase and sets his guitar case on top. I’m sprawled out on his bed while he was finishes up with his packing and really not looking forward to him leaving, I’ve gotten used to always having him around. “No I’m sure. I need to stay here for work and you’ll be busy with the guys anyways. On another note, did you officially dub ‘baby’ as my new nickname?”

  “Oh yeah you finally caught onto that, huh? Well I didn’t have much choice, you can’t really shorten your name much unless I call you Lee and I know I tell you your sexy as hell all the time but that sounds a little butch to me and its bring up a mental image of you with a shaved head and some enormously baggy clothes on.” I roll my eyes at the image that he’s conjured up in his head and I guess I can see his point. “My pretty was also one I thought would fit you too.”

  “Aw that’s sweet Chase but it also reminds me of the wicked witch from Wizard of Oz, so I guess that one’s a no go too huh?” He leans down and kisses my forehead before heading into his bathroom to grab a few last minute things. “Okay last one and if you shoot this one down, baby it is. I know you don’t celebrate your Italian heritage much since your Grandma wasn’t one to spend time in the kitchen with you making big pots of tomato sauce and showing you the ways of fresh pasta but how about my little cannoli? That one’s totally originally, you can’t even deny it.” I snort out a laugh covering my mouth with the back of my hand so I don’t offend Chase. Obviously he’s spent a lot of time thinking about this. “Let’s just stick with baby, okay?”

  The corners of his mouth turn up slightly as he nods his head at me in agreement. “Good that was the one that suited you perfectly anyways. I like to carry you around like a baby, you tend to whine sometimes, and you’re the most beautiful and peaceful when you’re sleeping.” I’m pretty sure he just insulted me in telling me that he likes me best when I’m sleeping but I guess I’ll let that one fly for now. “How about I make your nickname my little cannoli, it fits a certain male appendage of yours perfectly.”

  “Oh really,” he says in a low growl and flicks the button of his jeans open before pushing them down along with his boxers into a puddle on the floor. “You willing to test that theory out?” He asks between kisses as he climbs on top of me and works my skirt up over my hips and shoves my underwear to the side. “Um you think we have time for this, aren’t the guys waiting for you?” I ask in between pants against his lips as his fingers explore my body. “Don’t worry, will make this quick,” he replies before thrusting his hips and ramming into me.

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  “So are you excited for the guys to come back?” Remy asks as we work a night shift together. We were pretty busy for a week night and we both had full sections of drinking college students which tended to be pure chaos sometimes.

  “Well I don’t know about the other guys but I can’t wait to see Chase,” I say teasingly as I run back a pitcher of beer to one of my corner tables. Especially after the quickie that we had a few minutes before he left. He obviously did that on purpose, just making me wait for more. I’ve literally been counting the minutes down until he would be home and I was going to jump on him like the sex starved girlfriend that I was the minute he walked through the door. I would make sure he never left me alone for that long again.

  “You guys are so perfect together, you’re like Ken and Barbie. If Ken had tattoos all over him and Barbie was of Italian descent,” she adds.

  I giggle at Remys description and shake my head. “Um thanks, I think. How are you and Mark doing?” I ask as I follow behind her with a tray of food for one of her tables. She drops off everything with each customer and I trail behind her to the kitchen.

  “We’re doing okay I guess. I just don’t know if we’re on the same page. I think he just sees our relationship as something casual.”

  “What Remy, how could you think that? That boy is head over heels in love with you.” I lean over and snag a piece of silver glittery garland out of her hair.

  We had started decorating Ginos before the place started picking up that night. With the holidays right around the corner everyone was getting into the Christmas mood even our round little owner himself, Gino. He could be tough to work for at times but he had a soft spot for “his girls” as he called us.

  And as soon as Remy and I had walked in earlier to start our shift, he had shoved an overflowing box of decorations at us and demanded “his girls” start spreading the holiday cheer around the place. I had rolled my eyes at the heap of garland and lights already having dealt with Ally decking out every nook and cranny of our small apartment the day after Thanksgiving. I wasn’t into all the decorations but Caleb loved them and that was all that counted.

  But Remy dived in hanging strings of lights from all of the exposed beams and wrapping garland around the bar. There was a light snow falling outside too which Remy said officially meant it was decorating time. She even turned on some Christmas music which helped to get me in the mood. A little. I wasn’t big for holidays especially Christmas time.

  I always felt a little left out at the James house even though they included me in everything even playing Santa on Christmas morning. When Caleb came along I guess I kinda had to get into the mood. I always tried to make it as special as possible for him. This year Chases mom who I talked with on the phone at least twice a week had already invited me to their house for Christmas. We were planning on getting there two days before the holidays and she wanted to wait till then so we could all decorate the tree together and bake cookies. The girls were all excited for Caleb to come and help out. Chase had been acting like a little boy lately whenever it came to talking about our upcoming time we had planned together. Holidays were big in his house and he was excited that I was coming with him so we could share the time together.

  “You think Leah?” Remy asks interrupting my thoughts which again had drifted to Chase like always. I smiled at the thought of his green eyes and realized how much I really missed him. We hadn’t told each other we loved each other yet but I knew we both felt the same way. I couldn’t imagine my life without him even after only being wi
th him officially for such a short time.

  “Yes Remy you’re all he talks about especially when you’re not around. He’s lucky to have you though so he better be good to you or I’ll have to use some of my self -defense moves on him.”

  “Yeah those scared off Gage from bothering you again, huh?

  I hadn’t seen or heard from Gage since Halloween night when I had put him in his place. Ally had told me after I had left obviously shaken up, Chase had a few words with Gage too and had him held up against the wall by his collar with one hand and the other was around his throat. Chase had never mentioned anything about the incident to me and I never brought it up but I figured whatever he had said combined with the damage I did to him left Gage running with his tail tucked between his legs.

  Remy and I both hustled to our tables that were waiting to put in orders and to hand out bills. By the time the last customer left it was close to midnight and both of us collapsed at a nearby table to cash out for the night. I wiped down a few more tables and then tossed my apron into a pile for the dirty ones. After a quick call to Ally to check on Caleb, who of course was conked out, I was set to go.

  “’Kay Rem I’m gonna head out. You almost finished up?” I ask as I slide on my plaid pea coat and put my matching black hat and gloves on. I press my nose up to the fogging door and see a coating of snow on the roads and the few cars left in the parking lot.

  “Yeah I’ll be right behind you Leah. I just have a few things left to fill up. I’ll see you tomorrow at class, yeah?”

  “Bright and early, I can’t wait till finals week is over. I’m seriously ready for winter break.” I say as I open the door and instantly feel the chill that the snow blows in.

  “Me too, be careful out there Leah.”

  “Always. See ya Rem.” I wave to her over my shoulder and head out to Chases jeep. He had ridden down with Teddy and Mark to their performance they had scheduled and left me the jeep. I insisted I would be fine with my car or walking but Chase wouldn’t agree with me on this one. He was ready to take that piece of shit to the junkyard which I wouldn’t mind but it was nice having my own car in case I ever needed it.

  There was probably a few inches of snow layered on the streets and sidewalks that had been untouched since there wasn’t much traffic out around this time of night. This area of town didn’t have a lot of bars, those were a few blocks over from Ginos. My shoes crunched as I made a path through the unmarked snow and I buried my face further into my coat to avoid the heavy snow that was still coming down.

  I heard the familiar ringtone that meant Chase was calling just as I reached in for the keys. He had added one of his guitar solos on as my ringtone for him and my heart skipped a beat every time I heard it.

  “Hello,” I answer with a smile on my face.

  “Hey baby, how was work?” Chases gruff voice comes through the speaker and I swear my heart melts on the spot just by the sound of it. “Oh ya know typical night, my feet are killing me.” I unlock the car and root around the back seat. “Hey do you have a snow brush somewhere in this mess?”

  “Snowbrush, is it really snowing there?”

  “Yup, hence the snowbrush,” I answer back sarcastically as I dig through empty fast food wrappers and school books. Chases apartment might be clean but his car was a totally different story. “Look in the way back babe. I think I stashed it there after last winter.” I hear loud noise in the background- people talking over each other and the sound of glasses clinking. “Aha,” I say as I grab the long brush and begin to knock off the small accumulation that’s made its way onto the windshield. “Are you guys at the reception right now?”

  “Uh yeah, well it’s kind of like an after party thing, just a few close friends of the bride and groom. Teddy got invited so he brought us along.” I start up the jeep and turn the defrost on trying to warm up my hands by the cool air that’s blasting out. The sound of a few women laughing comes over the speaker loud enough to echo through the jeep. “Chaaasssee,” I hear a high pitched voice whine, “come back here.”

  “Uh who is that,” I ask as I pull out of the parking lot. “No one important baby just one of the drunk bridesmaids,” he says as the noise lessens. He must have moved farther away from the party. “So we decided to come back a day early. Teddy got us a gig at another bar across town.”

  “That’s cool,” I absentmindedly answer back as I try to push the images of drunken women throwing themselves at my boyfriend. I trust Chase. He’s never given me a reason not to. It’s just some of those women who don’t know what the word no means that worries me.

  “That’s cool? Aren’t you excited to see me Leah?” He sniffs through the phone like I hurt his feelings. “I miss you so bad it hurts. The guys have been getting on me this whole trip saying I’m no fun to be around anymore. All I can think about is you.”

  My eyes tear up at his tender words “Of course I’m excited. I’ve literally been counting down the minutes till you get back. I’m pretty sure I’ve been driving Ally insane around the apartment. She says I’m too depressing without you around.”

  He lets out a husky laugh. “I’m sure you even make being depressed look sexy Leah,” he takes a pause. “I really didn’t want to say this over the phone but why wait, right? I love you so much Leah.”

  I grip the phone even tighter as I turn onto Maple Street, just a few blocks from home. His words running straight through and making me fall for him even harder if that’s possible. I let out a shaky breath and whisper back to him, “I love you too Chase.”

  “Good babe. I thought maybe you would leave me hanging. I know you didn’t want to move too fast but I can’t help myself with you.”

  “I know, I feel the same way.”

  “Kay well I should probably get in there. Gotta make sure Teddy doesn’t get too out of control and screw the brides little sister or something.” I laugh picturing Teddy to be the kind of guy to do just that.

  “Bye Chase I can’t wait till your home.”

  “Bye baby.”

  I hit the end button and toss my phone onto the passenger’s seat as I pull up to a red light. My vision is blurred by the unshed tears from Chase telling me he loved me. Those three words made my heart swell with love for him even more since we had both now expressed it to each other. At least he was coming home sooner, I don’t think I could spend another minute without him. I swipe the tears out of my eyes and press down on the gas after the light turns green.

  I make my way through the intersection just barely before I hear a squeal of brakes and hear the crunch of metal before I come to the realization that my door was being smashed into as the jeep spins around in circles like one of those rides at the fair and I scream just wanting it to stop but either no sound actually comes out or the crunching is so loud that I can’t even hear myself. Time seems to go in slow motion from there. Glass shards fly through the air pelting my whole body feeling like a million beestings hitting my body all at once, my seat belt forcing my body back as it tries to go the opposite direction and the air bag being deployed with a loud pop.

  I heard more cars hitting their brakes and the sound of car doors slamming as a whir of voices came closer towards me. All I could think about was getting to my phone I had to call Chase , I needed Chase. He needs to take care of Caleb for me, I can’t leave him alone. I stretch my fingers towards the other seat but can’t find my phone. What is that warm wetness? I look down and see blood oozing down my arms from the glass that’s embedded itself through my coat. Oh my head. It feels like there’s an elephant trampling through my brain over and over again. “Chase…..” I was able to croak out before the world went black.

  Chapter 19

  Chase

  I shove my phone back in the pocket of my black dress pants before heading back to the small party at the club down the road from the reception hall. So I said it. Finally. And she actually said it back. I really wasn’t expecting that one. I’m pretty sure I’ve been in love with Leah since the first t
ime I’ve seen her but getting it out there feels so much better.

  I’m instantly assaulted by the smoke and the scent of alcohol lingering through the air as soon I come back through the doors of the VIP section we’re in. “Chase dude were you on the phone. Again?” Teddy asks as I slide back into my seat next to him. He has a different girl in his lap from before and I’m sure there’ll be a few more before the nights over, the way these girls are chasing down the liquor, shot after shot. “So how’s Leah?” Mark shouts in my ear over the blaring music. “She’s good, better than good. She’s awesome.” Teddy smirks over at me with a knowing look on his face. “Finally told her you love her right dude?”

  How does he know that kind of shit? For someone who’s never been in a serious relationship once in his life, he seems to know pretty much everything about them. “Dude if you weren’t gonna tell her soon, I was going to be stealing her from you. That girl needs to be with Teddy. I can show her so many things with that hot little body of hers.” And there we go, good old Teddy. “Fuck off Teddy. You don’t look at Leah. Ever. And if I ever see you lay one of your disease infested hands on her, I will beat the living shit out of you.”

  “Whoa, whoa buddy. Relax. Just messing with you.” He slurs out before taking another shot that one of the many girls whose been throwing themselves at him all night. I shake my head at a certain leggy brunette who’s been following me around all night. I think her names Sarah, Sharon, Suzy. Something with an S. Not like I care.

  “Oh come on Chase. Live a little. She’ll never know,” she purrs into my ear wrapping an arm around my neck and trying to straddle my lap. “Thanks but no thanks.” I stand up and lift her off my lap, setting her onto Teddy. I’m sure he’ll appreciate her. “I’m outta here. I’m gonna head back to the hotel,” I shout over the music. Mark stands up and follows me out. “Me too bud. These kinds of things are just lame without your girl, huh?”