"You are. You definitely are. I've been pretty miserable the past couple of days. Your family is more like a family to me than my own. Your brother is like a brother I've never had. He's always had my back. I felt like my feelings for you were betraying him. I was afraid of what my actions in pursuing something with you would cause. I don't want to lose you and your family, but my pushing you away was doing just that."
"Okay. "
"I'd like to take you out tonight, will you let me?" he asks full of hope.
I'm quiet and shocked at these turn of events. I’ve been silent too long, so he squeezes my hand. "V?"
"Yes," I agree. His face lights up. His beautiful smile is on full display. The fact that my agreeing to go out with him has him this happy makes my heart soar. He uses the hand that is holding mine to pull me forward and uses his unoccupied arm to wrap around me in a warm hug. He holds on tight, seeming to be breathing me in.
"I haven't been this happy in a long time. Thank you," he whispers. I’m speechless at his heartfelt confession. He pulls away, but his face is close to mine, and his eyes are scanning me. His arm that’s wrapped around me moves to my arm, rubbing up and down in a comforting gesture. "You alright?" he questions. His eyebrows have furrowed.
"Yeah," I say low, and give him a smile. "You've just taken me by surprise this morning."
"A good surprise, I hope." He pulls away when I nod. "Let's get you to school." He keeps our hands intertwined and uses his left hand to awkwardly put the truck in drive. I try to pull my hand away, but he squeezes my hand and looks over, "No."
"Kay."
He's successful using only his one hand to maneuver the truck back on the road. We're mere feet away from the school entrance when he drops the bomb on me.
"I'm going to speak to your brothers later."
"What?" my response is loud, "You can't." The joy I was feeling has turned to fear. He glances at me then back at the road. "I don't want to go behind their backs."
"They won't allow it, Chase…they just won't," I say worriedly. "Please can you just...wait?" He sighs as he pulls up in front of the high school. I can tell he's having an internal battle with himself. "What are they going to think when we both turn down going to the track tonight?" he asks.
"We'll think of something, just please don't say anything yet," I beg, squeezing his hand. I have to get out of the truck but refuse to move until I hear him agree. I don't even care if there's a string of honking cars.
"Alright," he agrees, reluctantly.
I lean over and kiss him on the cheek. "Thank you," I whisper, then swiftly jump out of his truck. I feel like I'm on top of the world. I’m sporting a smile so large I must look like a clown, but I don't care. Chase Daniels confessed he's ‘in-like’ with me and is taking me out tonight. I have a date with Chase Daniels!
You’re Beautiful
"Well, well, well...look at you. All sunshine, rainbows, and shit," Taylor says as soon as she sees me approach her in the senior hallway. "I assume Mr. Daniels had a lot of nice things to say?"
"That, he did!" I confirm.
"Well, do tell. "
I don't hesitate in telling her every little detail, unable to wipe the permanent smile from my face. I never realized how many muscles you use to smile. "Jeez, my face hurts," I muse while rubbing my cheeks.
"It's about damn time he got his head out of his ass," Taylor chides, "You do realize that Wes races tonight, right? How are you going to get out of going?" I ponder on it but my excuse of hanging out with Taylor won't work, as she'll have to be at the track to support her man.
"Damn," I whisper, "I don't know." I pull my phone from my back pocket and send Chase a text. My smile returns in full force.
Me: Hey, Wes has a race tonight. We're gonna have to go.
I know that he's at work, so I don't expect him to text back right away. I tuck my phone away and notice that Tay is watching me with a peculiar expression on her face. "What?"
"Nothing." She smiles then wraps her arm around my shoulder, gently pulling me down the hallway with her.
Taylor's blonde hair is swinging back and forth as she bobs her head to the song playing on the radio, also occasionally belting out some out of tune lyrics. We're a couple of minutes from the garage when my phone rings. My hand instinctively reaches forward to turn down the music, and a muttered, "Hey!" comes from Taylor. Glancing down at the phone in my hand, I see Chase's nickname displayed on the screen. My heart takes off in a wild rhythm that’s beating out of control.
"Oh, lover boyyy," Taylor sings.
I laugh and answer the phone. "Hey,"
"Hey, you. Sorry I didn't text you back. Work has been pretty hectic. I finally have a moment."
"Wow, that sucks."
"Yeah," He agrees. "It's so good to hear your voice."
A giggle escapes from my mouth, surprising me. I clear my throat. "We spoke this morning," I point out.
"Yeah, almost eight hours ago. That’s too damn long. How was your day?" he asks. I love that.
"It's school. So yanno...it sucked."
"So, no guys asking you out? No one I have to beat up?" he jokes.
I snort. "No."
"Alright, good," his voice goes soft, "I can't wait to see you."
It's so weird to hear this confession coming from him--his deep voice expressing his need to see me. It fills me with warmth.
"Me too, but about that...what's the plan? Wes has a race tonight."
"Yeah, we'll have to go. Maybe we can go to Chrissy's after, so it won't be much of a date. I'm sorry."
"As long as I get to spend time with you I don't care where we go," I confess.
"I feel the same, but I still want to take you out."
This makes me smile, but it's short-lived when I hear gagging coming from my left, and I glare over at Taylor who is sticking her finger in her mouth. I roll my eyes.
"What is that noise?" Chase asks.
"Taylor is being gross."
"That's not surprising."
"Nope."
"Are you on your way to the garage now?"
"Yeah, are you going to stop in?" I ask, hopeful.
"No, probably not. I'm not sure when I'll get done. I'll see you at your house. What are the chances that you'll be able to ride with me?" He asks.
"I don't know." I sigh and look at Taylor. She's focused on the road, but I know she's listening.
"We should try and talk to your brothers, V."
"I don't know, Chase." I look out the window. "I want to focus on us before getting them involved. Like, what if we don't work out?" I ask.
"And what if we do?" He retorts.
"Then I think we should tell them one by one. Telling them all in a group is just a bad idea." I can see Taylor nodding in my peripheral vision, silently agreeing with me. "They feed off of each other."