The Choice (27 page)

“You’re an awful employee, dude,” I joke as Chase steps into my office at eleven fifteen.

“Yeah, I know,” he smirks. “Sorry, man.
I would’ve been here sooner, but Sophie wanted to hang out with Ana so I dropped her off at your place.”

“It’s cool,” I wave him off, finally looking up at him
and taking in the bruise forming over his left eye. “What the fuck happened to your face?”

“Got in a fight,” he says with a shrug as he takes a seat in the chair across from me.

Shaking my head, I chuckle as he fills me in on what happened this morning.

“Well,” I start. “I can’t say I blame Sophie for being pissed, but I see why you whooped his ass.”

“Yeah,” Chase agrees. “She agreed to look for another job, but I don’t know where she’s going to find something right before Christmas around Rockport.”

“Lila’s is still having Ana come in for shifts here and there,” I mention. “Maybe she can do that for a little while?”

“Sophie isn’t working in a bar, Drake.”

“What’s wrong with working in a bar?”

“Nothing, I just don’t want her to do it. She’s got dudes all over Rockport gawking at her enough as it is.”

“You think they won’t gawk at her if she works in retail?” I laugh at his nonsensical excuse.

“Shut up, dick,” he chuckles. “You know what I fucking mean.”

“Not really
, but whatever,” I start, pushing away from my desk and shutting my computer off. “Analise just sent me a text saying they’re meeting us for lunch. They’ll be here anytime now.”

“Well, I have been working pretty hard today,” he says, making us both laugh. “I think a nice lu
nch out might be nice. Thanks.”

“You’re an idiot,
” I laugh. “So, seriously man. Are y’all going to be okay on money since Sophie isn’t working now?”

“Yeah,” he says
. “I’m good, man. I’ve got savings and I wasn’t letting her pay for anything anyway, so she doesn’t even need to work, she just wants to. We’ll be fine.”

“
Well, if you get over this jealousy shit, Ana can get her on over at the bar. Just let us know and I’m sure she’ll talk to them.”

“She’s good, but thanks,” he starts, obviously a little irritated that I brought it up again.

“Who’s good?” Analise says as she and Sophie make their way into my office. “Hey Baby,” she smiles, greeting me with a kiss.

“Hello my Love,” I kiss her on the neck. “I was just telling Chase that Sophie may be able to help out at the bar, but…”

Before I can finish, the girls’ eyes both light up.

“Baby, that’s a great idea!”
Analise says excitedly, beaming at Sophie who is sitting on Chase’s lap across from us. “Soph, we could work together and everything!”

“That would be fun! Will you talk to Lila for me?”

“No!” Chase says over Sophie, causing the smiles to leave their faces. “Sophie, I don’t want you working up there. The guys that go in there are fuckin’ creepy, Babe.”

“Well, I met you there,” she counters, causing us to laugh. “What does that say about you?”

“Ha ha very funny,” he smirks. “Seriously, I’m not comfortable with it, Baby. Please look for something else.”

“This is what I wa
s about to say,” I interject, facing Analise. “I mentioned it, but he’s not comfortable with it.”

“Chase, I need a job!”
Sophie argues.

“No, you don’t! You especially don’t need one a
t some shitty ass bar, Sophie!

“Lila’s isn’t shitty,”
she disagrees, standing up when Analise and I do so we can head to lunch. “You’re being ridiculous! I’m talking to her.”

“Babe
, are you even listening to me? I don’t want you working there!”

“Why? I don’t understand what’s so bad about working at Lila’s? What the hell is your problem, Chase? You get me fired from one job and now you’re telling me I can’t apply for another one? Why are you acting this way?”

“You’re too good to work at a place like that, Sophie!” Chase blurts out, causing the three of us to turn to face him, all with our jaws gaping.

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” I ask, instantly pissed. “
Analise works there, Chase.”

“God, that came out so wrong,” he starts,
rubbing his hands over his eyes before facing Analise. “I’m sorry. That’s not what I meant, Ana.”

“Then what
did
you mean?” I say, folding my arms over my chest before facing him.

“I just meant that Sophie’s never worked in a bar before,” he tries to explain. “And I know how those guys can be. I don’t want her to have to deal with that shit. She’s just not the kind of girl you see working in a bar with a bunch of creepy men.”

“What kind of girl would that be, Chase?”

“Chase!” Sophie hisses at him. “What the hell is wrong with you
today?”

“
Soph, it’s fine,” Analise says from behind me. “Baby, let’s just go eat. That’s not what he meant. It’s not a big deal.”

“It
is
a big deal,” I tell her before facing my cousin again. “Do you have a problem with her, Chase?”

“What? No,” he says shaking his head and looking at me like I’m nuts. “I just mean Ana has experience dealing with jerks because she’
s used to being in places like that.”

“Dude,” I start, rage building in my chest. “You need to stop talking.”

“What? It’s true! She’s worked in a bar before, Sophie hasn’t! I’m not saying that makes her better,” Chase says, throwing his hands up in frustration. “What the fuck! Is this everyone get pissed off at Chase day or something? Shit!”

“Maybe if you would think before you speak, people wouldn’t get mad at you,”
Analise says quietly from behind me.

“You know that’s not what he even meant, Ana! You just said it yourself!” Sophie interjects.

“It doesn’t mean it wasn’t rude and hurtful,” Analise responds.

“
If something I said sounds rude and hurtful, but you know I didn’t mean it, that’s not my fault, Ana,” Chase snaps at her.

“Don’t fucking talk to her like that, Chase,” I ground out.

“Like what? She just said she knows I didn’t mean it, but now she’s upset? How is that my fault?”

“That doesn’t erase what you said, Chase!”
Analise raises her voice. “If you said it, there has to be some truth to it.”

“Are you serious?” he asks her.

“Don’t make me fucking do it, Dude,” I warn, my hands tightening into fists as I shake my head.

“What? You’re going to fucking hit me because your girlfriend got her feelings hurt over something I didn’t even mean?” he scoffs. “What the fuck is that?”

“Chase…” I say, giving him one final warning, but he shakes his head at me.

“This is fucking stupid! She knows I didn’t mean anything by it, I apologized and that’s not good enough?” he asks. “What? Am I supposed to kiss everyone’s ass all day? If so, go ahead and hit me. I don’
t kiss her ass,” he says, gesturing to Sophie. “And I’m in love with her. I’m damn sure not kissing you or your girlfriend’s ass.”

“
God, you’re such a dick…” I say, shaking my head as I draw back and hit him square in the jaw.

***

As soon as the initial surprise wears off, I’m pissed.

If one more person hits me today….

Feeling the warmth of new blood coming from my already busted lip, I can’t help the sardonic laugh that leaves my chest.

“You motherfucker,” I say, swiping the blood from my lip before turning to face Drake, who’s shaking his head at me. “You fucking asshole!”

“I warned you!” he replies, still shaking his head at me. “I’m not going to let you talk to her like that. What the fuck did you expect to happen, dumbass?”

Before he can say anything else, I punch him back, causing him to stumble into the wall.

“What the hell?” he exclaims as he rights himself, coming back towards me.

“What? You wanted to fuckin’ fight me, Drake,” I shout at him.

“No,” he says through clenched teeth. “I wanted you to shut your mouth! Apparently, you don’t know how
to, you asshole!”

Grabbing me by the front of my shirt, he shoves me against the wall behind me, further infuriating me.

“You can do better than that, Drake,” I egg him on with a smirk. “Come on, Cuz. Get mad.”

“You just don’t know when to shut up, do you?” he says, swinging as I duck just in time to watch him punch through the drywall that was behind my head seconds ago.

“Come on, tear your shit up to prove a point, Drake,” I instigate him further as I bring my knee to his stomach, pushing him away from me.

“Would you
both stop it?” Sophie shouts from the other side of the room.

“You better listen to your girl,” Drake says as he stands to face me, cocking his fist back.

“Seriously, Chase! Just stop running your mouth!” Ana yells.

“Keep her out of it, Drake!” I threaten him.

“Why are you screaming at him? Drake hit him first!” Sophie defends me as I take another blow to the face.

“Are you kidding me right now? If Chase wasn’t acting all holier than thou, none of this w
ould even be happening!” she yells back at Sophie.

“Jesus Ana! He said he didn’t mean it!” Sophie shouts
as my fist connects with Drake’s left cheek.

“Stop defending him, Sophie!”

“You stop defending Drake!”

“
Aww, I would never bring your sweet little Sophie into anything,” Drake replies, standing straight as I square my shoulders.

“Hey!” I hear from both the girls, but all I see is red fury.

“You better shut the fuck up, Drake!” I warn. “You keep her out of this.”

“Come on, Chase,” he flashes me a grin, knowing he’s hit the switch. “Get mad.
Defend her honor so she doesn’t feel left out. We wouldn’t want her to cry or go fuckin’ crazy!”

“Drake!” I hear Ana shout in her defense while a simple “Oh no!” comes from Sophie as I charge him.

“I told you, you motherfucker!” I shout at him before taking us both down.

In the next second, we’re on the ground and I’m straddling him, hitting him in the face twice before he pushes me off of him and begins doing the same to me.

“Fuck you, Chase! You’re a fucking dick!”

“Stop!” Sophie and Ana scream at us before turning to scream at each other again.

Pushing him off of me, we’re both panting, but too stubborn to stop. Stumbling back to our feet, we stare at each other angrily for a moment before we’re distracted.

“
He didn’t say anything that wasn’t true, Sophie! You’re being completely insane right now!”

“You don’t know insane, Ana! I’m about to go insane on you if you don’t stop screaming at me!”

“You’re screaming at me!”

“Well, you’re pissing me off! Stop defending him! Chase didn’t even mean what he said! Drake purpo
sely said that about me!”

“He only said it because he’s mad at Chase for running his mouth!”

“Well, it doesn’t mean it wasn’t rude and hurtful! Sound familiar?”

They’re both furious with each other, something we’ve never seen. Before they can lunge at each other’s throats, I
make my way over at the same time Drake does. Gently pulling Sophie by the elbow, I glance over at Drake.

“I’m stil
l fucking pissed,” he says, glaring at me.

“
Good, you fuckin’ dick,” I answer him, pulling Sophie towards the door as she and Ana glare at each other angrily. “Come on, Baby. Let’s get the hell out of here.”

By the time Thursday rolls around, I’
m completely miserable. Not only have I not had a job for nearly a week, this is the longest I’ve ever gone without talking to Ana. I know she’s okay because Chase and Drake did the typical guy thing and went right back to normal the next day. In fact, we hadn’t been gone from the office for an hour before I received a text from Drake apologizing for what he’d said in anger. I know if something had happened to her, I’d be the first to know, but the whole situation has just left me feeling awful.

I’m s
itting on the couch in pajamas sulking over rocky road in front of the television. An old rerun of Thundercats is playing now and I’m stuck in a distant memory of Jack when Chase gets home from work.

“Hey Beautiful
,” he smiles, leaning down over the back of the couch to greet me with a kiss. He slides his big hand under the top of my shirt, massaging my bare breast and causing me to deepen our kiss. Letting out a low, pleasurable hum, he runs his tongue over my lip before pulling away slightly. “Mmm, you taste like sexy chocolate.”

“You taste like sexy boyfriend,” I smile.

“Sexy fiancé,” he corrects, running his lips down my neck, his scruff causing me to let out a chuckle. “There’s my girl,” he smiles. “How was your day? Did you do anything fun?”

“You’re looking at it,” I sigh. “How was yours?”

“Good,” he says quietly, studying my face as he gazes down at me from his position behind the couch. “You should call Ana, Baby.”

“Nope,” I shake my head stubbornly
, taking the last bite of my ice cream. “She can call me when she’s ready to stop being a jerk.”

“Sophie,” he starts. “You’re miserable.”

“I’m fine,” I lie, my eyes watering and lip trembling. “I don’t even care anymore.”

Wrapping his arms around me from behind, he rests his face into the crook of my neck. As he hears me sniff, fighting back tears, he holds me tighter and I’m done for. Tears streaming down my face steadily, I begin my daily rant, deep down feeling sorry for Chase that he has to listen to it again.

“You know, this is just typical Ana behavior! Every time we have a disagreement, she’s such a brat! She makes me tell her everything and then if she doesn’t like it, she pouts! Then
I
have to apologize to
her
! It drives me insane! Meanwhile, she just does whatever the hell she wants! She probably isn’t even upset about any of this! She’s probably just sitting over there, waiting for me to call her and apologize
again
!”

“I’m sure she is upset, Baby,” he says softly. “Drake told me she hasn’t left the house since they got back the other day after your argument.”

“Really?” I say, hopeful that she’s as miserable as I am.

“Yeah,” he nods, wiping the tears from my cheeks. “He told me she’s been a wreck all week.”

“You’re just saying that to make me feel better,” I argue with a sniffle.

“No, I’m not,” he smiles
, squeezing the breast he’s still palming under my shirt. “I promise that’s what he told me. I bet if you called her right now, you two could work this whole thing out like it never happened.”

Considering this, I begin absentmindedly chewing my lip in
deliberation, trying to decide if I should make the call. Does it really matter who apologizes as long as things go back to normal again? Before I’m able to make a decision, Chase growls into my neck.

“God, Baby, you’re killing me here,” he groans. “I’m trying to be sensitive, but you’re making it
really hard
.”

“Hmm,” I
say meeting his eyes with a playful gleam, my teeth clamped down tightly over my lip. “How hard is it?”

Letting out a chuckle, he kisses me again, this time with more force as he moves the empty ice cream bowl balancing on my lap. He tosses it carelessly onto the coffee table in
front of us, causing the dish to clatter against the wooden surface before he climbs over the back of the couch in one swift motion. In the next second, Chase has positioned us so that I’m lying beneath him and his lips are on mine immediately.

Our clothes begin flying off simultaneously, going in all directions as
our lips keep crashing against each other. Before I can even comprehend what’s happened, he pushes into me, stretching me and filling me completely. As we both let out groans of pleasure, a glimmer of unveiled amusement and unmistakable lust cross his features as my eyes flutter, the instant gratification of him inside me undeniable.

As he begins to take me, he worships my breasts, biting and sucking as he sends waves of ecstas
y straight to my core. Resting his palm on the side of my neck, he uses his thumb to turn my head slightly, biting, licking and sucking his way up, marking his territory along the way. The slight pain of his teeth against my flesh as he pushes into me with more force is enough to have my walls pulsing around his thickness in minutes.

“You ready t
o give it to me already, Gorgeous?” he smirks breathlessly, his hooded eyes holding mine.

“Yes,” I pant. “Make me come, Chase. Please, Baby.”

“Hold on, Sweetheart,” he whispers and my hands fly behind me, gripping onto the arm of the couch in desperation.

Sitting up slighting as his grip moves to my waist, Chase begins pounding into me. He holds me in position, my hips inches above the couch as he gives me each and every glorious inch of him.
I can’t contain the animalistic noises coming from my chest as he continues thrusting into me, leaving me feeling impaled by his rapturous force.

“Oh! My God, Chase! I love your dick!” I scream, causing him to let out a satisfied rumble of laughter, driving into me harder still.

“That’s your dick,” he assures, causing another deep shudder to rock through me as he pushes me further to the edge. “Give me what I want, Sophie,” he orders. “Go Baby.”

“Chase!” I shout
out, my climax consuming me completely as he continues to take me with the same force.

“Good girl,” he croons, letting out a low groan as he feels the evidence of my contentment wash over him. He bites down on his own lip, causing me to let out a slight whimper. “
Let go of the couch, Babe,” he orders.

Immediately, I release my grip and in the next second, he’s flipped me over and pushed his way back into my drenched sex. The sensation of him rushes through me, renewing my craving for him as he grips the hair at the back of my head and bites into my shoulder.

“You want it rough, dirty girl?” he growls, causing the flurry to build tenfold.

“Yes!” I gasp excitedly.

“Yeah?” he teases huskily, slowing his movements slightly. He runs his tongue up the side of my neck before biting into my skin and slipping his finger into the tight bud of my ass. He’s driving me mad with want for him as he rasps into my ear. “How rough do you want it, Sophie?”

“Use me, Chase. Fu
ck me like you paid for it,” I rasp out, my words surprising us both.

“Fuck, Sophie,” he groans in approval as his grip on my hair tightens
. He slides his finger out slowly before pushing back in, causing me to shudder violently. “I fucking love it when you’re filthy, Princess.”

Before the blush can even reach
my face, he’s holding nothing back as he stakes his claim on my body. He’s pushing into me with so much force, my knees raise from the fabric with every thrust and it’s exactly what I crave.

Releas
ing my hair, Chase grips my shoulder, holding me in place as he pushes into me completely and continues his delicious attack. Returning my hands to the arm of the couch for leverage, I meet him thrust for thrust. He slides his finger out with a deep groan and grips my hip roughly before his hand comes down on my ass, sending shocks of pleasure through me.

“Touch yourself, Sophie,” he orders. As my hand meets my swollen clit, I’m immediately thrown into another round of
orgasms, his words spurring me on. “Give me what I want, Baby.”

“Oh my God, Chase!” I call out weakly.

“Make that pretty pussy come for me,” he orders, making me spiral without slowing. As I attempt to move my hand away from my sex, his hand sharply meets my skin again. “Put it back, Princess.”

“Baby,” I whimper, earning me another smack.

“Hush, Baby. Do as you’re told,” he grounds out, moving my hand back in place.

Within what seems like seconds, I’m going again. Exhausted from pleasure, I marvel at the low groan that leaves him as I feel him begin to reach his own climax as mine continue
s to come in waves. Feeling him pulse, I can’t help the moan that escapes my lips.

“Please
give it to me, Baby,” I beg, tears of pleasure running down my cheeks.

“What do you want, Sophie?”

“Come inside me, Chase,” I breathe, my voice weak and husky. “Show me who I belong to.”

“You’re mine,”
he hums, chuckling darkly. “You belong to me, Sophie.”

“Yes,” I manage, m
y final orgasm rendering me near speechless as he fills me completely.

As we come down together, I find it impossible to move. Instead, I lie
my front flat against the couch as we both pant, Chase staying nestled inside me as he gently rubs his hands over my skin.

“Did I hurt you?” he asks softly when I don’t speak and I silently shake my head at him, still unable to recover verbally. “You need a minute?” he asks, chuckling when I nod weakly.

With the exception of our still heavy breathing, silence fills the house as Chase continues to run his hands over me. Reaching up slightly to wipe the tears of pleasure still staining my face, he gently pushes the stray hair away from my face. Resting his head against the back of the couch as he gazes at me lovingly, I’m overcome with the amount of emotion I feel for him.

“I love you,
Pervy Perverson,” I say softly, smiling at him and causing him to chuckle.

“
I love you, too, my dirty little freak.”

***