Take What You Want (10 page)

“
I'm
always here for you, Danni. Call anytime you want.”

Chase
listened to the silence of her ended call for several seconds before
shutting off his phone. His heart ached for the truth that was now
between them, but there was also a sense of relief of having it
finally out in the open. He thought of calling the airlines and
booking a flight to see her, but she had classes all day and he had
clients to deal with, so it made no sense to spend the money. But if
it meant keeping Danni in his life, he was willing to do whatever it
took to make her happy.

He stood in front of the
bedroom window again and looked across the hedges toward the pool.
Alex was still sitting in the shaded area the table umbrella offered.
His fingers worked down the frets of the guitar, stopped while he
wrote something onto a piece of paper, then went back to the strings
to strum new chords.

How
had his life gotten so complicated, Chase thought. He wrapped a
towel around his waist and walked into the bathroom; opting to use
the inside shower today, for no other reason than he didn't trust
himself to be outside and naked with Alex so close by. When he
finished in the bathroom he pulled on a pair of shorts, t-shirt, and
sandals, grabbed the keys to his truck, and used the side door facing
the driveway to leave the cottage – unseen by Alex.

“
Fucking
coward,” he said to himself, as he drove out of the driveway
and onto the main road that ran along a long length of beach dunes.
Somehow he'd manged to live life staying in the safe zone away from
temptation – temptation like Alex.

He drove up-island to a
private beach he knew about, hiked three miles through the woods on a
winding trail to get to it, then sat in the sand by himself for
hours. Thinking. Thinking until his head hurt. He saw no solution
to this. There was no way he'd risk losing Danni for a quick fling
with Alex – no matter how strong the attraction was or how hot
the chemistry felt, he would have to find a way to ignore it.

It
was dark outside when he got home. Several lights were on in the
main house, including the lights around the pool area, but Chase
chose to use the side door again to enter the cottage. He knew he
couldn't hide like this forever from Alex, but for now, it's what he
needed.

Monday
brought rain, a cold, wind-driven rain that blew in over the water
and dunes and sprayed the house with sand and salt, sounding like
hail when it hit the clapboard siding and windows. It howled all
day. The higher gusts rattled the windows and made the lights
flicker more than once. Chase stayed inside, caught up on paperwork
and made a bunch of business calls.

Just before dinner, Danni
called.

“
Do
it,” she said, bluntly getting to the point.

It took Chase a moment to
realize what the hell she was talking about and then he sighed,
reigning in his frustration for the same conversation replaying over
and over between them. “Danni, no. I'm not doing it,”
he said. “I thought about this all day yesterday and I decided
I'm not willing to do something that could jeopardize what you and I
have together. It's not worth it.”

“
If
you don't, you'll always wonder about it and I don't want to feel
like I was the one that held you back from experimenting,” she
said. “If Zander, I mean, Alex is interested, then I think you
should give it a try.”

“
Stop
it,” Chase said. “It's not going to happen. Forget
about it.”

“
We
survived being with Allison,” she said, “And who would
have thought that was possible: me watching you having sex with my
friend.”

“
This
is completely different,” Chase said.

“
How
so?”

“
It
just is,” he said.

Silence swirled around them
and Chase's head began to spin from the invisible motion of it.
“You're making me wish I hadn't admitted this to you,” he
said.

“
We're
getting married, Chase. We shouldn't have secrets – no matter
how uncomfortable they might be to discuss. You let me experience my
fantasy with Allison, and I want you to have this.”

“
You're
opening up something that maybe should be left under wraps, Danni.
We could be making a huge mistake – one we may not recover
from, and we'll never be able to pretend it didn't happen. Are you
willing to risk that?”

“
Are
you willing to pretend you don't have this attraction for Alex –
or any other man, for the rest of your life?”

“
If
it means the difference of having you in my life or losing you, it's
a no-brainer, Danni.”

“
Go
for it, Chase,” she said, “Then, tell me all about it.
No. Wait. I'm not sure I want to know the details.”

“
Baby,
there won't be any details to share because I'm not doing it,”
he said.

“
I
bet you'll change your mind,” she said.

“
Ten
bucks says I won't.”

-0-

Chase
woke to sunshine on Tuesday. The property owner wanted him to begin
fixing the rot around the windows, and now that the sun was shining,
he'd run out of excuses not to do it. He drove to the lumber store
first to pick-up the materials, then stopped to buy a coffee before
he came back to the estate. He took a minute and leaned against the
bed of his truck while sipping the coffee and watched an osprey
overhead circling it's nest high up on a man-made platform.

Behind
him he heard the metal latch open and close on the pool gate. He
turned to see Alex emerging from the pool area for his morning run,
wearing jogging shorts and sneakers. His chest was beautifully bare,
swirls of light brown hair dusted his pectoral muscles and spread
lower, merging in the center of his stomach in a thin line that
disappeared beneath the waistband of his shorts. The weight of his
cock pressed an outline into the thin material, and then there were
those damn enticing tattoos to look at, too.

“
Hey,
stranger,” Alex said, as he dropped his sunglasses down onto
the bridge of his nose shielding the intensity of his green eyes.
“Where've you been hiding yourself?”

“
Inside
doing paperwork,” Chase said, pulling his gaze from Alex's
impressive chest. “The usual shit.”

“
Yeah,
paperwork sucks,” Alex said. He glanced back toward the pool,
then looked at Chase again; this time removing the sunglasses. “You
sure you're okay?” he asked. “I was nervous I might have
scared you off or something.”

Chase felt the heat rise in
his cheeks. He tried to hide his smile behind the rim of his paper
coffee cup. “Well, there was that,” Chase said. He
crossed his legs at the ankle and watched Alex's eyes follow the
movement, then settle on his groin. The heat flaring in his face
sunk to his cock. He could feel it thickening with each second
Alex's gaze lingered there.

“
I
got an email from my manager,” Alex said, unconsciously licking
his lips. “He said I should check out a club for aspiring
musicians while I'm here.”

“
Cherries.”

“
What'd
you say?” Alex asked.

“
The
place you're referring to is called: Cherries, you know, for
first-timers.”

Alex smiled again. “Do
you know where it is?” Alex asked.

“
Sure.
I can give you directions if you want.”

“
I
was hoping you might like to go with me,” Alex said. He pulled
his hair behind his head making a ponytail with his hands. The
action made his biceps bulge.

Chase nodded. “I
suppose I could do that.”

“
Are
you free tonight?” Alex let his hair fall and his hands
settled on his narrow hips.

“
I
am,” Chase said. Their eyes met and held. The smile on both
their faces faded. “What time?”

“
How
about eight o'clock?” Alex asked. “We'll eat in town
first.”

“
Sounds
good,” Chase said. “I'll drive.”

A long moment passed; each
of them staring, every movement they made created an over awareness
of the other. Chase's hands had started to sweat. He wanted to
blame that on the coffee he was holding, but the ache in his balls
told him differently.

Alex was the first to look
away. He turned slightly, his gaze drifting down the long driveway
to the main road and Chase saw the long arc of Alex's cock starting
to tent his shorts.

“
Well,
I better get this run in before it gets too hot,” Alex said.

Chase nodded in agreement.
“I should get to work, too.”

“
If
I'm not back in an hour, send the EMTs to look for me,” Alex
said.

Chase watched Alex jog down
the driveway, focused on his form, but mostly the way his muscles
moved beneath the tanned skin. Finally, he turned away and bent over
on the opened truck bed gate, bracing himself with his outstretched
arms. Danni's words played in his head, and Alex's did, too. He
stood up, wiping off the sweat on his brow with the back of his hand.
He couldn't see how this would end well for any of them and fuck if
he knew how to stop it from happening.

Alex met Chase in the
driveway right at eight. His hair was still slightly damp from a
shower and pushed behind his ears and the clean scent of his skin
filled Chase's nose. Alex looked comfortable in his casual shorts,
dress shirt, and sandals and Chase couldn't help but smile at the
sight of him.

Christ! This feels like a
fucking date, Chase thought.

Alex
dug in the front pocket of his shorts and pulled out the keys to his
car and attempted to hand them to Chase. “How about you drive
us in my car?” he asked, pointing to the black Porsche parked
in the garage.

Chase rolled his eyes. “No
fucking way,” he said. “You'll have to slum it tonight
in my truck, Metcalf, because I'm not driving a car that's probably
worth more money than I make in a year.”

“
It's
a rental,” Alex said.

“
Doesn't
matter. I'm not risking it.”

“
Suit
yourself,” Alex said.

Alex hopped up into the
passenger seat of Chase's Ford pick-up truck and shut the door. “It
occurred to me today while I was out running that I've been here
almost two weeks now and I've seen very little of the island.”

“
Why
not?” Chase asked.

“
I
was so burnt out from the tour, all I wanted to do was lay low –
for a really long time,” Alex said. “Plus, there's the
security aspect to consider.”

“
Do
you get recognized a lot?” Chase asked.

“
More
than I'd like to.”

“
Well,
driving around in that Porsche certainly draws attention,”
Chase said. “You'd be better off renting a Jeep or something
with a lower profile.”

Alex glanced across the
truck cab and smiled. “I see your point.”

“
Most
of the properties I manage keep non-descript island cars year-round
in their garages,” Chase said. “Part of my job is to
maintain them, occasionally drive and service them, too.”

“
Do
you like what you do?” Alex asked.

“
On
most days,” Chase said. He took the turn onto Main Street in
Edgartown and drove down toward the harbor. “What I don't like
is having to kiss the asses of some of the ultra-rich that migrate
here for a couple of weeks a year and think they own the goddamned
place.”

“
I'm
not much of an ass-kisser, either,” Alex said, “But, I
think there is a certain amount of it in every job – including
mine. I'd sooner kick some ass, than kiss it.”

Chase
laughed at that and parallel parked his truck and stepped out onto
the sidewalk. Alex followed, doing his best to blend into the foot
traffic walking along the busy walkways. Even still, it was
difficult to miss Alex. His shoulder length hair with the blond
highlights and that dark goatee framing an amazingly sensual mouth,
toned muscles enhanced by a pair of knee length shorts and a fitted
button down shirt; it all made an impressive package. The women were
nearly tripping over themselves from gawking at him.