"Stop," I whine.
"Leave them be," Melissa tells Victor while pulling him into their bedroom right off of the living room. Before the bedroom door can close Victor pokes his head out, his eyes moving between me and Chase. "I'm watching you." He narrows his eyes and points to the both of us, then disappears, the door closing a second later.
"That's so embarrassing." I plop down on the sofa. Chase takes a seat next to me.
"It's not. He cares about you." Chase grabs the remote from the side table, turning on the TV.
"I know." I sigh. "Do you want to go to bed?" I ask, silently hoping he doesn't so we can spend some more time together. This has been such a fun night.
He shrugs. "I'm good." He grabs my legs and places them over his, and I snuggle into him. His hand moves, drawing circles on the outside of my jeans. My mind starts to wonder about Victor's comments about funny business and while this may not be the most ideal moment to bring it up--sitting on my oldest brother's couch--I know I need to get this out.
"Chase?" I ask.
"Yeah, baby?" he murmurs.
"You know..." I trail off, not exactly sure how to say it.
"I know, what?" he prompts.
"Um. That, I--what my brother said earlier? About having sex?"
He shifts, and I can feel his eyes on me. There's no way I can look at him. Maybe I'm not ready for this conversation. "V, look at me." My eyes slowly move to his. "You know that this"—His finger moves between the two of us—"is not what it's about, right?"
"You don't want to have sex with me?" I ask, a little confused.
He laughs, "I do." His head falls back, his eyes on the ceiling, "Very, very, very, very much."
"Oh." I suddenly feel hot all over. His head lifts and his eyes are on me again. "But I'm not with you for that reason. This is so much more."
Wow.
"Okay...but you know you're my first boyfriend, right?" I confess. "This is all new to me. I haven't done anything. Like that." I stress.
"I won't lie. I thought you haven’t, considering I know who your brothers are. There's no rush. When you're ready, you let me know. We can take this as slow as you need. I'm just happy to be in your presence. I'm with you, for you."
Be still, my heart. There's this weird feeling in my chest. I can easily fall in love with Chase Daniels. In fact, I'm sure I'm already falling. "Okay," I whisper.
I feel so relieved--and so glad to have this off my chest--that he took it so well. It brings me back to the conversation I had with Taylor. Talking with him is like talking to my best friend. This is how it should be. I shouldn't be afraid to talk to my boyfriend about my concerns or feelings. Having already confessed something so deep I know, without a doubt, that I can talk to him about anything. He leans forward and captures my lips with his; a gentle kiss followed by a nip.
Victor's bedroom door opens causing both of us to look away from each other, but not out of fear because kissing isn't ‘doing anything wrong’. Victor strolls out in a white tee and boxers. He eyes us as he walks to the kitchen, returning shortly after with a glass of water. He then disappears back into the bedroom. I can't help but laugh. "He's so crazy." I snuggle into Chase, and we fall into a comfortable silence. Every moment I spend with him is perfect. Before I know it I fall fast asleep.
To Family
The low murmuring of voices seeps into my unconscious state, rousing me awake. Slowly, my eyes open. The whiteness of the room combined with the sun peeking through the windows makes me squint until they adjust to the invasive light. I'm lying on an amazingly comfortable and fluffy bed, covered by a purple comforter--completely alone. Last I remember, I was with Chase on the couch. I notice I'm still wearing my shirt from yesterday, and I can feel the scratchiness of my jeans. Chase must've carried me to bed.
The faint smell of bacon has me up and out of the bedroom door. Chase and my brother are sitting in the living room watching some game on the TV. They both look towards me, and I smile weakly. "Good morning, sleepy head!" Victor greets me first. I mosey around the couch and plop down next to Chase, snuggling into his warmth and closing my eyes.
His chest moves as he laughs. "Good morning," his voice is low.
"Morning," I croak. I feel a slight pressure on my head from his kiss.
"Sleep well?" Victor asks.
"Uh huh. I smell bacon."
"Melissa's making breakfast," Victor informs me, "Maybe you should go take a shower?"
"Do I smell?" I ask.
"Maybe a little," Chase jokes.
My eyes pop open. I didn't even think about my morning breath. I cover my mouth and sit up quickly which causes him to laugh. My eyes narrow in a glare, but that only makes him laugh more. "Oh stop," He pulls my hand away, places a kiss on my lips, "I'm kidding."
"I think I'm gonna take a shower anyway." I walk back into the spare room noticing that the bed is rumpled from my sleep. Realizing I never brought my bag inside, I turn to leave only to notice it sitting on the dresser.
After a nice long relaxing shower, I slip on a tan oversized sweater and some maroon leggings before drying my hair. Chase and my brother are no longer on the couch, but sitting at the table eating. My stomach rumbles at the sight of food. Melissa's head peeks through the pass over, a big smile on her face, "Hey! What do you want to eat?"
"Whatever they're having is fine," I tell her. "Thank you so much."
Melissa puts a plate on pass through, and it smells so good. I grab it and dig right in. A phone goes off. "Oh! I have to get that." She rushes into the bedroom, and I look at Victor curiously.
"Probably work. She's always on call."
"Really? Even on a Saturday?" I ask. I know Melissa does some promotional business event type stuff, but I never really cared for more details.
"Yeah, I just hope she doesn't have to go in," he says, shoveling eggs into his mouth. My face drops...that wouldn’t be fun.
We're all finished eating and Victor takes our plates into the kitchen. Chase and I move back into the living room, taking a seat back on the couch and Melissa returns from the bedroom looking flustered and annoyed.
"You look pretty." Chase compliments me, pulling my attention away from Melissa. I lay my head back to look at this handsome guy. I smile wide. "Thank you." He throws me the sexy wink that I love so much, then pecks my lips.
"Everything alright?" I ask as Melissa and Victor come into the room.
"Yeah, clients can be such a pain. I had to firmly explain that I'm unavailable today," she huffs annoyed, "Anyways, are you guys ready to go out?"
"Yep!" I said excitedly, "What's on the agenda?"
"Well, what do you guys want to do? There's the park, the museum...we can shop. Tonight, we're taking you to one of our favorite restaurants, but that's not until later."
I bounce in my seat and exclaim, "I want to do it all!"
Our whole day is spent out in the city, but by nightfall my feet hurt and I’m ready for a nap. Experiencing all this with Chase by my side makes everything that much more exciting. He was enthusiastic about everything, and the day was so much more enjoyable knowing he was having as much fun as I was.