Truce or Dare (Sweet Fortuity Book 1) (10 page)

“Why do you keep on pushing us together?" I demanded.

They looked taken aback. Kate looked at me like the answer was obvious. "Because you both love each other."

I took a cookie she had, snapped it in half, and bit on a piece. “When you keep pushing things together by force, sometimes they break.”

“Oh,” Haley said, her earlier excitement plummeting. “I was hoping you two would work it out.”

“Not all things work out.”

Kate frowned. “Why are you fighting it so much? Can’t you see how he’s so into you, he doesn’t even notice anyone else when you’re in the same room?”

That couldn’t be right. He couldn’t have felt that way about me.

“Some things aren’t meant to be together.”

Kate snorted. “That’s a load of bullshit, and you know it.”

She turned the coffee-maker on.

This was so frustrating. They weren’t listening.

"Sometimes… Sometimes love isn't enough. You need to trust, and you need to let go, and you need to give it a chance to do any of those."

“So why won’t you?” Kate asked.

A humorless laugh escaped me. “Believe me, I tried.”

Kate looked even more perplexed. “I don’t understand. He wants you. You want him. Why is it so complicated?”

“I don’t know what that was all about, but… Want me to come over and kick his ass?” Sierra deadpanned. The funny thing was, I had a feeling if she said she would, she’d follow through.

At that moment, the anger diffused. They were only doing what they felt would help, and suddenly, I had the urge to hug them both. And so I did just that, putting my arms on both their shoulders. I nodded towards Haley, a little weary from today.

“I might take you up on that when I need it.”

* * *

J
ust before she
was heading out, Sierra pulled me away to the side. “Say the word, and I’ll bail you out of dinner tomorrow.”

Celine’s dinner was tomorrow, and after everything, I wasn’t exactly looking forward to it. But I’d already given her my word. The offer was unexpected, but I knew in my heart that she meant it, and she would do it the moment I’d asked. I appreciated that quality a lot. Warmth filled me.

“Thank you,” I replied gratefully. “I think I’ll probably be okay, though. Chase can be mean, but hopefully not mean enough to drive me out of his place. Besides, his mom invited me. He probably won’t kick me out.”

She did a half-shrug.“Offer’s still there if you need it.”

* * *

This thing between us was complicated, and it was driving me crazy. As if it wasn’t already complicated enough. As if my heart hadn’t already been broken enough. I’d survived the last few years, but this, I had no idea how I was going to make it through this.

I checked my phone for the time. It read two o’clock.

This wasn’t going to work.

I shoved my covers aside, and jumped out of bed, deciding that sleep wasn’t going to come for me now. Not really thinking about it too much, I decided maybe my time was better spent doing something productive.

I padded off to the porch carrying my small spiral notebook and a pen, wanting some fresh air, and hoping for a spark of creativity. I opened up a folding chair and sat down.

And nearly screamed my head off.

“Chase? Don’t do that!”

He was walking up the porch, his hair ruffled, and his voice rough. “Hi,” he said, almost nonchalantly. He stopped, dropped down and sat on one of the steps, elbows on his knees.

Weary, I leaned back on the wall. “Why are you here, Chase?”

He lived maybe five minutes away, but seeing him here was the last thing I expected.

He shifted a little to look at me. Eyes blazing, he replied, “Couldn’t sleep.”

“You?” I raised a brow, unable to believe it. “Since when?”

“Since now.” He said, and then he shook his head. “Hell, since you came back.” There was an accusing edge to his voice, as if I’d done any of this on purpose.

Right.

“I can’t imagine you came all the way here to tell me that.”

He leaned back, looking me over, and I shivered at the intensity. I wasn’t exactly covering a lot of skin. I was wearing shorts, and I never expected a visitor.

“Me and Haley are practically neighbors. Hell, even if we weren’t, not like I give a damn. What are you really trying to say?”

I found I didn't know what to say. I didn't want him to know how it made me feel that he saw right through the words.

“It’s late,” I said quietly, as if he didn't already know it.

“Don’t pull away.”

But I had to. It was something I needed to do to protect myself.

He didn’t get to do that. He didn’t get to piece me together, and break me apart when he felt like it, and expect me to be okay with it.

I drew a weary breath, trying not to break down in front of him. "What do you want from me, Chase?"

“I just want to talk.”

I smiled, and though it didn't reach my eyes, with the way he looked at me, I knew he saw right through it.

His jaw clenched, looking pissed.

"Don't."

"W-what?"

"Don't pretend with me."

"I'm not—"

"You think I don’t notice, but I do. You pretend what people say don't affect you, and you smile, so fucking polite, like what they say doesn’t hurt you," he said. Still, after all this time, he could read me so well. “Drop the armor, Sherr.”

But then
he
would see. And it was already unnerving how he unraveled a part of me, the part I never wanted anyone to see.

"You see," I said softly.

“I’ve decided,” he announced. “Until you have to go back, maybe even after, not letting you go.”

What was that even supposed to mean?

I didn't understand him, and it was driving me crazy. I wanted him, I could at least admit that to myself. That was hard to deny, my response to him whenever he was around was irrepressible, and it was real, because the years apart hadn't changed that.

He leaned closer until I felt the whisper of his breath against mine. His lips touched mine. His tongue swept in, seeking, coaxing. My lips parted further, and let him in, my tongue tangling with his. He sucked it, and I moaned against his lips.

Then he pulled back, and I was dazed. If he hadn’t been holding me, I probably couldn’t have stayed standing. It left me light-headed.

Then reality rushed back to me.

Shit.

The panic set in. "I don't think this is going to work."

He didn't waver. "Good thing I like a challenge. Night, Sherr.”

I closed the door and leaned back, trying to get my heart steady again.

We just kissed, and in that short moment, only the present existed.

Did that really happen?

I knocked my head over the door a few times.

I was officially going insane. I let him kiss me, I kissed him back… and hell, I liked it.

* * *

I
slept in today
.

I didn’t mean to do it, but somehow I shut off my alarm, a little irritable. My dreams were kind of muddled, but Chase definitely starred in them, and dreams that involved him involved the past, and those ones never really left me in a particularly good mood.

My room was upstairs, its windows directly overlooking their front yard. As I pulled the curtains back, I saw it, and I blinked. I rubbed my eyes a little for good measure… And my jaw dropped as I stared.

Okay. Holy crap. This is not real.

Pink and yellow lilies were scattered on the grass. It spelled my initials; SC. It was also starting to gather a small crowd.

I was floored. This sort of thing never happened to me.

Haley burst into the room, jumping excitedly. "Oh my God. You need to see this."

I didn't even have a chance to reply, not that she waited for me. I couldn't have known what to say if she had.

I followed her down the stairs in a hurry, a little dazed.

It appeared we weren't the only ones there. The neighbors came looking, and some who were passing by stopped over to take a few pictures.

"Ohh, I never knew you liked these flowers," Haley gasped, picking one up and smelling one. Paula followed, hands flying over her mouth, and her eyes filled with awe.

And for some absurd reason, I couldn't help the grin that crept on my face. "I don't. Just the opposite."

Baffled, one of the people in the midst of taking another photo declared, "You two have an unusual relationship."

That was one way to put it.

"Look, mama! Pretty!" A little girl with soft blonde curls bent down to get a small one, and her mom tried to stop her, but she cradled it closer to her chest, like it was a treasure.

"It's okay," I offered with a small smile. "I wouldn't know what to do with all these."

He was sneaky. If he sent me my favorites, perhaps I would've told him no. But this way, he managed to get under my skin.

It was infuriating.

It was sweet.

God. I was so screwed.

* * *

M
y phone rang
in my pocket, and I had a feeling I knew who it was.

"You like them?" Chase’s voice boomed when I picked up.

I was right.

There was vulnerability in his voice I hadn't realized was there before, and it only lowered my defenses against him.

The only thing I could think to ask was, "Would you believe me if I said yes?"

"Liar." I imagined him on the other hand, wearing a smile.

And because I couldn't help it, I asked, "Why? Did you just wake up and decide, 'hey, I'll send hate-flowers'?"

"Last night, in not so many words, you told me you didn't think you were worth it."

I couldn't find anything to say. He'd noticed. Did he notice everything?

Then he went on, “Would you have accepted them if they were roses?"

I went for honesty. "Probably not. Does that make me weird?"

"Not at all."

Haley cleared her throat, nudging me. "You can't pretend, Sherr. You were smiling, I think everyone saw that."

In nearly three weeks, Chase came over and slept with me, he kissed me, and he sent me a crazy amount of flowers.

That did not follow a logical order. It went backwards.