Taking Chances (9 page)

“Harper,” Chase
cleared his throat twice before continuing, “can I please talk to you alone?”

Brandon
bristled behind me but slowly turned me so I was facing him. He kissed my neck,
whispering in my ear, “I'll go get us something to eat. If he does anything,
call me and I'll come right back okay?”

I nodded and
watched as he put on a shirt and searched for his wallet and keys. Before he
left he kissed me so passionately, I almost forgot Chase was there. I knew he'd
done that on purpose by the smirk on his face. After one last silent warning to
Chase, he was gone. 

Chase waited ‘til
we heard the front door close before saying anything. “Are you okay? God that's
a stupid question, of course you're not.”

“No, I am. I'm
fine.”

“How can you
even say that?”

“Because I am!”
Jeez, did these guys think I was that fragile? I mean, I know I'm small, but my
dad is a Marine for crying out loud, I did daily drills and work outs with the
guys in his unit. When they weren’t doing anything, they were constantly
teaching me how to defend myself. “They don't hurt, I didn't even know they
were there until Brandon saw them.”

“I just – I
never meant to hurt you, I swear.”

The pain in his
eyes was too much, he hadn't done this on purpose. Before I could think about
what I was doing, I wrapped my arms around his neck and he pressed his face
into mine. “I know you didn't Chase. It really is okay, you were drunk, and I
was being stubborn.”

Groaning he
leaned back far enough to look at me like I'd lost it, “Don't do that. Don't
act like it's okay when it's not. You do this with everyone. And please don't
make excuses for me. Yes I was drunk, and I don't always realize what I'm doing
after I've been drinking, but that's no excuse Princess.” His voice wrapped
around my nick-name lovingly, and though it threw me off for a second, I'd have
to think about that later.

“Well maybe you
shouldn't drink then.” I joked to lighten the mood.

“Maybe I
shouldn't.” His eyebrows furrowed together, but he didn't look angry, just
thoughtful. “Why him Harper?”

“What do you
mean?”

“Why Brandon?
You'd never been kissed, why'd you choose him to change that?”

It was weird to
have him not making fun of me, I almost didn't know how to respond. “Why not
Brandon?” I replied simply. He snorted a laugh but didn't say anything. “Why
does that bother you so much Chase?”

“Because you
deserve someone who realizes how amazing you are. You shouldn't have just let
the first guy who gave you the time of day kiss you.”

“You're acting
like I gave him everything and all we've done is kissed!” I unwrapped my arms
and sat down on the bed. “And who are you to judge who I do and do not kiss?”

“Please don't.
Don't give him everything.” He placed a hand on either side of my body and
brought his face back to mine. “He doesn't deserve you Harper.”

My breath was
coming faster, and though I knew I should lean away, I couldn't make myself
actually do it. “And who does Chase...you?” My voice was barely above a
whisper.

His eyes
flashed before he closed them and hung his head. “No. I don't deserve you
either. You need someone who will cherish you, protect you and take care of
you. Someone that realizes they'd never be able to find another you in the
world, no matter how hard they looked.” He looked back up into my eyes and we
just stared at each other.

I was blown
away, the emotion in his voice when he'd said that was unlike anything I'd ever
heard. But we barely knew each other, there was no way he could think all this
about me. He moved until his lips were hovering just above mine, and I thought
my heart would stop.

“Chase...”

His voice was
husky, and I could feel his breath against my lips. That alone was enough to
make my eyelids flutter shut and my mouth open slightly. “That first night, I
did
realize I would never meet another girl like you. But you deserve someone
who has waited for you as long as you have waited for them. And no matter how
much I wish I could be that guy, I can't Harper.”

I had to bite
back a frustrated groan when he moved his face away from mine. My arms gave out
and I flopped down to the bed, trying to control my erratic breathing. It
couldn't be healthy to feel this way for someone. A whimper escaped my mouth
when he pressed his full lips to my throat.

“You're amazing
Harper. There will never be anyone good enough for you.”

I secured my
fingers in his hair, but didn't pull him closer. To be honest, I was a little
terrified of what would happen when I did. If I kissed him right now, I don’t
know if I’d be able to stop. And what would that say about me? I finally had my
first kiss just last night, and not fifteen minutes ago Brandon had me pushed
up against the wall. The way my heart would pound for each guy separately was
already frustrating me to no end, I didn’t want to complicate things further by
kissing Chase. And even though I hadn’t known Brandon long, I couldn’t stomach
the thought of hurting him. Before I could move my arms back, Chase skimmed his
nose up the inside of my forearm and kissed my wrist and palm before setting
down my hands and walking out the door.

I stood up and
tried to shake all feelings for Chase away before going to the bathroom to
freshen up for when Brandon returned. When I walked back into his room he was
sitting there with an iced coffee and blueberry muffin. I grinned and
practically bounced over to kiss him. His stone face broke into a brilliant
smile right before he caught me and lifted me off the carpet. That boy
seriously liked picking me up.

“Did everything
go okay?”

“Yep, he was
really nice. Just apologized profusely, said it wouldn't happen again.” I'd
already decided what to tell him when I was in the bathroom.

“It better
not.” He grumbled into my hair and set me back down.

I laughed and
turned to my coffee, “Thank you for this.”

“You're
welcome. It's not much, but I was kind of hoping I could take you out tonight.”

I almost
choked, “Out? Like a date?”

He chuckled and
grabbed my hand pulling me towards the bed, “Yes a date. I know it's cliché,
but how does dinner and a movie sound?”

“Sounds
perfect!” I said a little too enthused. I slapped my hand over my mouth and
turned beet red. “I'm sorry,” I mumbled into my hand, “I've never been on a
date.”

He smiled and
brushed the hair out of my face, “What was yesterday then?”

“What, at
Starbucks? I thought we were just hanging out.” 

“God you're
adorable.” He kissed my forehead then lay back on his pillows. “Okay, well
tonight is a date.”

I bit my lip
and tried to avoid bouncing up and down. I was way too excited for just a date.
“When do you want to go?”

“It's almost
two, we can leave at six if that's okay.”

“Four hours? I
gotta go then!” I leaned over and kissed him chastely before running out of the
room to find Bree.

Bree was so
excited for me that she left Konrad in bed to go with me to get our nails done.
I'd have to apologize to him later, but I was glad she was such a good friend.
I don't know why I was nervous, but I had butterflies in my stomach as I
thought about tonight. She continued to tell me not to worry since I no longer
had to worry about whether or not I should kiss him on the first date, to which
she got a swift elbow in her ribs. Her only real advice was to not make out in
the movie theater because it was annoying and unnecessary and I would most
likely be sleeping in his bed again since she planned to do more than sleep
with Konrad. I thought it was bad that I was already so comfortable kissing
Brandon after just a day, but when she talked like that, all I could do was
shake my head. At least I wasn't like that. I doubted I would ever be so
comfortable with sex. We stopped by the dorm to get an outfit Bree thought
would be perfect for the night, before heading back to the house so I could
shower. I was almost done shaving when I heard the door open.

“Uh...Bree?”

I heard the
toilet seat close and someone sit down on it. “Nope, just me.”

“Chase! What
the heck are you doing in here?” I tried to cover different body parts, but my
chest alone needed two arms to cover everything, so it wasn't working out too
well.

“Calm down
Princess, I won't peek.”

“I could've
sworn I locked that door.”

“You do realize
how easy it is to unlock
my
bathroom door when I have the key right?”

“Can you please
leave so I can get out of here?” I whined as I shut off the water. A towel was
thrust through the side of the curtain and I gladly wrapped myself in it, but
still didn't open the only thing separating us.

“Answer one
thing first, and I'll leave.” He waited for my reply, but went on when he
didn't receive any, “Are you going out with him tonight?”

“Yes Chase, I
am.”

“Is that what
you want to do, or are you trying to get back at me for telling you not to?”

“I thought I
only had to answer one question?”

“Harper.” He
deadpanned.

“Ugh, no I'm
not doing it to get back at you. Yes, I really want to go out with Brandon
tonight. And if he asks me out again after tonight, I'm telling you right now I
will say yes. I don't see why I shouldn't go out with him, and since you
clearly don't want me, I don't think you're allowed to have a say in the
matter.

He flung the
curtain open and I jumped back, almost slipping in the tub. “I didn't say I
don't want you. I said I don't deserve you.”

“That's
practically the same thing.” I glowered at him, “We both know how you are
Chase, you screw every female you come in contact with. I don't want to be just
another girl to someone, and when it comes to Brandon, I won't be.” I waited
for a response from him, but didn't receive any. “If you can convince me right
now, that I have a reason to not be with him, then start talking. Otherwise,
you and your confusing words need to stop.”

“As long as he
is what you want, I'll stop bothering you.” He reached out to brush his fingers
across the main bruise and I watched as his eyes clouded over.

Like that
wasn't confusing.

He leaned in to
press his lips to the finger marks, then on my left shoulder and finally my
right. Chase's eyes were dark by the time he looked back into my eyes. “I'm so
sorry Harper.” he whispered and leaned in close to kiss the corner of my mouth.

My knees started
shaking but I somehow managed to stay standing.

“Get my number
from Bree, I have to go into work tonight but if anything happens, call me and
I'll be there.”

I just nodded
and watched him walk out. I didn't even know he had a job, but I was positive I
wouldn't be calling him tonight. Nothing good would come of it if I did. If my
heart was already twisting from what just happened, he would surely break it
when I saw him with his next girl. I couldn't let myself get any closer to him.
No matter how much I wished he was different, he wasn't, and he would probably
never change. I needed to stop thinking about him and focus on my date with
Brandon. I dried my hair and curled the ends before doing my make-up with Bree.
She said we had to pick carefully because my green shirt was being used to
bring out the red highlights in my hair, and we didn't want to take away from
that. Whatever that meant. She settled for a neutral goldish color and
thankfully let me do my eyeliner and mascara. I wasn't too keen to have someone
else putting pointy objects near my eyes. My phone chimed and I reached for it,
smiling when I saw who it was from.

J. Carter - ‘Blaze! How’s California?’

Me - ‘AHHHmazing. When are you going to come visit?
;)’

J. Carter - ‘Soon as I get the okay.’

Me - ‘Promise?!’

J. Carter - ‘Of course. What’s my girl up to?’

Me - ‘I met someone and he’s taking me on our first
date tonight!’

J. Carter - ‘Uh…really?’

Me - ‘Yes, really. What, am I not dateable?’

J. Carter - ‘Never said that…just wasn’t expecting you
to meet someone, or date or anything like that.’

Me - ‘You could at least be excited for me.’

J. Carter - ‘I am. Call me later. Miss you’

Me - ‘Miss you too.’

“Let me
guess…Jason?”

I looked up at
Bree, “Yeah, how’d you know?”

“Every time he
calls or texts you, you stop paying attention to anyone else.”

“Well I don’t
get to talk to him often.” I shrugged.

“Uh huh. Does
Brandon have some competition?”

“What? No way.
Carter’s my best friend. There’s never been anything like that between us.”

Bree just
raised a blonde brow at me and turned me toward the mirror.

I was dressed
in a green shirt that was loose at the top but form fitting where it rested on
my hips, faded jeans with the bottoms rolled up to my calves and flip flops.
After getting Bree's approval of my appearance, I left the room to find
Brandon.

“You look
gorgeous Harper.” He breathed when I walked into the living room.

“Not so bad
yourself.” I winked. That was a lie, he looked downright delicious. He had on a
pair of reefs, dark tan cargo shorts and a black button up shirt, sleeves
rolled up to his tan, muscled forearms.

He led me
outside and I laughed when I saw the top had been put back on, “I don't feel
like fighting guys off you tonight.” He kissed me once and helped me into the
Jeep. I wasn't complaining, I'd actually done something with my hair today, I
didn't want it messed up.