"I'm not so sure," Chase sounds uneasy.
"Please, can we just figure us out first?"
"Okay," He sighs. "But for the record, me and you...it's gonna work out."
"Yeah?" I question, totally infatuated with the future of us.
"Definitely," he confirms.
"Okay, whatever you say," I sing.
"See? You keep that up and we'll be golden."
I laugh. "Don't count on it."
"Good. I love that sass of yours."
"Noted."
"Okay, I'll see you in a couple of hours."
"Can't wait!"
"Me either. Bye, babe."
"Bye," I whisper, feeling warm at his term of endearment. I squeeze my phone and lean my head back on the headrest, allowing myself to bask in the warmth he brings all over my body. I look over at Taylor, who is smiling wide.
"What?" I ask.
"That was so sickly cute."
"It was." I nod.
"I am so happy for you."
"Me too." I bring my feet up and kick them wildly while screaming my excitement for a solid five seconds. Taylor laughs at my unexpected outburst. I collect myself and then turn to face her, bringing my legs up under my butt.
"You agree that we should wait to confront my brothers?" I ask.
"Yeah. Your brothers are cray-cray, especially Vance. And you're right! You guys are so new. What if you guys don't mesh, or get along or …whatever the reason. You guys can part and no one would be the wiser."
"He doesn't want to sneak around," I tell her.
"When you guys decide that it's becoming serious, then you let them know."
I subconsciously nibble on my bottom lip. This is starting to stress me out. "How will I know?" She looks at me, her smile growing wide. "You'll know."
"What if it takes too long?"
She shrugs. "By then, your brothers not agreeing won't matter. You guys are already in it, they'll see it, and they'll get over it."
I think it over. I don't want to worry about what they'll think because what they think doesn't really matter. I may have known Chase for a long time, but I've never gotten to know him. This is on a whole different level, and I'm excited to explore this with him. I snuggle into myself, feeling all kinds of giddy.
Taylor drops me off at work and I, unfortunately, spend the next couple hours filing customer invoices. After clocking out, I catch a ride home with Vin. Wes, Vaughn, and Vance are already hanging out in the garage.
"Hey!" I greet them as I walk inside with Vin close behind me.
"Hey, V." Wes is the first to greet me, followed by a head nod from Vance, and a wave from Vaughn.
"Whatcha doin?" I ask, halting beside Vance at Wes' car.
"Just doing a quick tune," Vance offers.
"Nice. I hear you got a money run tonight?" I turn my attention to Wes.
"Yeah. Easy money," Wes states, calmly. There’s not an ounce of nervousness emanating from him.
"Oh, yeah?" I laugh.
"Definitely. They ain't got shit on me."
"Should be a good one then. I'm gonna go up to my room. When's Tay coming?"
"Not sure. She should be here soon," Wes responds.
"Alright." I turn and walk through the door of the garage, through the kitchen, and into the living room where Mom is lounging.
"Hey!"
"Hey, honey."
I take in her appearance. "Where are you going all dressed up? And where's Dad?"
"We're going to bingo!" she says excitedly, "He's upstairs getting dressed."
"That sounds like fun."
"A five-hundred-dollar pot? Yeah, that's fun!" Dad speaks from the top of the stairs. He's wearing a ‘Victor's Garage’ shirt. He’s never one to not advertise his business, even though everyone in that bingo hall is most likely already a customer.
"Hey, Dad."
"Hey, sweet pea," he says, opening his arms as he reaches me. I move into them so he can pull me in for a big hug. He squeezes me and leaves a kiss on the top of my head. Moving back, I take a couple of steps up. "Well, you kids have fun! Good luck."
"Be safe!" Mom yells.
"Of course!" I respond, head down the hall to my room, and drop my bag near my closet. I take a whiff of myself, knowing that I'll be seeing Chase soon. I don't want to smell bad.
I definitely need to shower. I rid myself of clothes, toss my hair in a bun, wrap my body in a towel, and rush to the bathroom. I quickly wash until I feel certain I no longer smell like a grease monkey. Turning the water off, I grab the towel and dry off my body as much as possible before I wrap it around myself. I peek my head out the door, making sure the coast is clear before running to my room. I burst through the door and turn around to lock it.
"I could get used to this."
I scream at the unexpected male voice, whirling around to find Chase sprawled on my bed. He looks completely comfortable with his socked feet crossed at the ankles, hands behind his head, and a large smile on his face. His eyes are on me. His blue shirt is riding up, showing a bit of his toned stomach.
"Holy shit! You scared me," I grab at my chest, my heart pounding. Chase swiftly moves so he's sitting at the side of my bed, his feet now on the ground.
"What are you doing?" I question.
"I wanted to see you."
"What about my brothers?" I ask, worriedly.
"I told them I was going to the bathroom." He stands up and approaches me, reaching me in three strides. He pulls me to him and embraces me in his stronghold. I love the feel of our bodies so close together--his warmth is so caressing.
"Okay. I need to leave this room, and you need to get dressed." He releases me quickly, moving me so my back is to the bed, and he's closest to the door. I hang on to my towel as his eyes sweep over me. "Yes, I need to go." He quickly unlocks the door and leaves me standing in the middle of my room.
I stare at myself in the mirror in front of me, pleased. The cute jersey top fits my frame nicely, as do the dark wash skinny jeans. I wore shorts to the track once--against Vance's advice--and learned why pretty quickly. My legs had a nice, thick layer of dirt on them by the end of the night and my socks looked way more gray than white. Vance found it hilarious while I definitely did not. I chalked it up to just his disapproval of me wearing anything remotely revealing. I remember telling him to shut up before he could even explain why. Lesson learned. Now, I’m amused when girls wear skirts or shorts.
My door bursts open, and I'm ready to yell at whoever’s entering without knocking, but the words die on my lips when I notice it's Taylor.
"Hey, girlfriend." She comes to stand next to me and we look at our reflections in the mirror. Our outfits are eerily similar. We burst out laughing.
"Cute," I tell her.
She taps my temple lightly, "Great minds think alike."
I grab my boots from the closet and slip them on. I usually wear my Converse since they're good when racing, but I know I won't be doing that tonight.
"Did you just get here?" I ask her.