“Yes, sir.” Chase reaches out his hand, and they shake hands as the man stops in front of us.
“Harry. Nice to meet you,” he says then continues, “She's all ready for you.” Harry holds out a set of keys to Chase. I watch this whole conversation from the side, completely stunned.
“Oh, they go to her.” Chase gestures to me.
“Here ya go, young lady. I hear you're going to take good care of her.” Harry holds out the keys to me, and I slowly reach out my hand. Is this a joke? He releases the keys, and they fall into my palm. I watch this as if it's in slow motion and I dare not make a sound. Still confused, I look back up at Harry then to Chase.
“What?” I finally speak up.
“You are the proud owner of a 1969 Camaro,” Chase tells me.
“What?” I ask again, not sure I heard him right.
“It's yours,” Chase says pointing to the car.
“Are you serious?” I yell out.
“Yes.” He laughs.
“How? What the hell! I'm so lost right now.”
Chase chuckles at my behavior, and Harry leans into him. “She gonna be okay?”
“Yeah, she's gonna be fine.”
“Alright then. Thank you.” He pats Chase on the back and leaves us standing there.
“You bought this?” I ask. It's the only thing I can think of.
“Yep.”
“But it's mine?”
“Yep. Well, it's ours.”
“Ours.”
“Yes, I thought, well...I was hoping that it could be something we could work on together. But since I'm leaving, I thought maybe you could work on it while I'm deployed. Would give you something to do.”
“Really?” I’m shouting in excitement, now. “For real? No way!” I've about lost it. I'm bursting at the seams, and the thought behind this is so beautiful.
“Yes, really. For real.” He pulls me towards the car. “I even got a plate for it.”
He guides me towards the back of the car, and it's a custom plate that reads “VERNICA”.
I deadpan over to Chase, “Really?” and place my hands on my hips.
He laughs lightly, “You'll always be Vern.” I can't stay mad at him. Especially with this gesture. I just can't. The thought behind this is enormous, and well planned out. I know it takes time to get a custom plate done. I jump on him, successfully taking him by surprise.
“Thank you so much.” My throat becomes tight, holding the tears at bay.
“You're welcome,” he responds.
“This is…” I pause. “I have no words. It's so thoughtful. I love this car!”
He smiles. “I know, and I love you.”
I grab his face and smash my lips to his, kissing him multiple times.
“So, what now?” I ask.
“A towing company is going to come pick it up tomorrow and drop it off at the garage. I already spoke to your father about it.” That surprises me, and he must see it. “Yep. I have it all situated.”
“You're good.”
He winks at me. “I know.”
I squeal in excitement and jump in place; a few guys walk by looking at us strangely. I stop jumping. “This is my car!” I yell at them. Two of them look at me like I've lost my mind, and another says, “Congrats.”
Chase laughs at me, “Let's get you outta here, you weirdo.”
I giggle with enthusiasm. 'Where to, now?” I ask.
“I didn't have much planned after this. We can go to my house and spend the day together,” Chase suggests.
“I don't care what we do, as long as I'm with you.”
“Perfect answer,” he says kissing my lips, and we part to get into his car.
I buckle up my belt and hit my legs while yelling, “I have a Camaro!” Chase is watching me, amused. “Okay. I’m done. I promise.”
He puts his hands up, “Hey, I didn't say anything. I'm glad you're excited about it.”
“I have to learn how to work on the body.” I think about it. “I'm pretty sure Victor took a course. Maybe I can look into taking one too.”
“That'd be hot,” Chase says and starts up the car.
“Yeah, I'll ask him about it.”
“Good,” Chase responds while reversing from the spot, driving slowly back down the bumpy road. He drives us towards his house.
We spend hours in his room, enjoying our time together, and don't leave until we're both starving. Chase suggests we do some take-out. “Chinese?” he asks.
“Hmm yeah, I could go for some sushi. Does the China House have sushi?” I ask, never having any since visiting Victor, but I could seriously eat some now.
“I guess we'll find out.”
We hop into the Z and head to our local China House. We stand back, scanning the menu, and I notice the small sushi bar in the corner.
“Yes!” I point towards the little bar.
Chase laughs, “Alright then. Do you want anything else?”
“Yeah, I'll take some pork fried rice, and some crab rangoons.”
The lady behind the counter asks if we're ready. Chase nods then takes a step forward.
“I'll be right back, I have to pee,” I tell him and skip off to the side of the small restaurant, and thankfully, the bathroom is unoccupied. I quickly do my thing, wash my hands, and leave the bathroom. Chase is off to the side, but his back is facing me. His large frame is definitely one to admire, and I know just how sexy those shoulders look without a shirt. I come up behind him, wrapping my arms around his waist. I feel the vibrations of him speaking, but he immediately stops. “What's wrong?” I ask, looking up and removing my arms from around him, so I can move to his side.
I see who he’s talking to, and I freeze. Fuck. Shannon stands in front of Chase, her hand on his pec. She takes a step back when she sees me, her hand dropping to her side. Her eyes narrow on me and then move to Chase. “You are screwing little Russo!”
Chase sighs. “If I recall correctly, I told you that's none of your business.”
Shannon laughs, and it's not a nice laugh. “Whatever. I don't fucking care.” She abruptly turns and walks out of the restaurant, her blonde hair swooshing.
“Crap,” I mutter. Our weekend has spoiled me; being allowed to grab him without consequences is something I enjoyed. Being back in town, we have to be a bit more discreet until we speak with Vance.
“Don't worry about it,” Chase dismisses, then wraps his arm around my shoulder not caring. “What about Vance? What if she tells him?”
“She said something about us awhile ago, too. She never said anything to him then, why would she now?”
“I hope you're right,” I murmur.
“Sushi, pork fried rice, crab rangoon, General Tso, and an egg roll!” the lady at the front yells, placing the large bag on the counter. Chase steps forward, taking me with him, and grabs the bag.
Once back in his room, we sit cross-legged on his bed watching one of his favorite movies, ‘Iron Man’. He couldn't believe that I have never seen it before and insisted that it be changed, immediately. He “cannot date someone who hasn't been introduced to Tony Stark”. I have to admit, by the time the movie was over, I fell a bit in love with Robert Downey Jr. He put in the second movie, and we snuggled up together. I struggled to keep my eyes open halfway into the movie, but I lost the fight.