Taking Chances (19 page)

The room was
thick with the tension that always followed us around. My heart started racing
from his nearness and I silently cursed myself. I really didn’t want any kind
of feelings for this guy, and here I was wishing he would try to kiss me again.
We sat there watching each other for who knows how long before he walked over
and sank down on the floor next to me, handing me a small wrapped box. “Merry
Christmas Harper.”

I picked it up
and just stared at it, all I could say was “Why?”

“Because you're
my favorite, remember?” he huffed and his lips tilted up a little, “When I saw
it, there was no way I couldn't get it for you. Please open it.”

So slowly I
probably drove him crazy, I took off the wrapping and opened the little leather
box. I gasped when I saw the ring inside there. It was a silver band that
wrapped into the trinity symbol on top. I'd always wanted that symbol as a
tattoo. I looked up at Chase and shook my head in wonder.

“How did you
know?”

“You doodle it
on everything put in front of you.”

He was right of
course, if I had a pen and paper or napkin, it always ended up on there at some
point. I just hadn't realized anyone other than Brandon noticed that,
especially him.

“Chase…” I
couldn't hold them back any longer, tears started falling down my cheeks and I
quickly dropped my head hoping he wouldn't notice. He did.

“Don't cry
Harper. If you don't like it, or you don't like that it's from me I'll take it
back.”

My laugh
sounded more like a sob than anything else. “I love it, please don't take it.”

“Then what's
wrong?” He tilted my head up and brushed away a few tears with his thumbs. I
had to force myself to not lean into his hands, it was the first time we'd had
any type of physical contact in over a month. He was a whole new kind of Chase
on Sundays, but I'd never seen him like this. So gentle and kind. It made my
entire being crave him.

“I've never had
this before. Not just the presents…the love that your family has for me. I've
never had it until now, and it's so overwhelming. I don't know what I did to
deserve it and I don't know if I show them that too.”

“You do. Trust
me.” He searched my face for a long time and wiped the remaining tears from my
cheeks. “You're special Harper, it's not hard to love you.” Dropping his hands
from my face, he stood up and left the room.

After I rinsed
off my body, fixed my hair and make-up and got dressed in my new outfit, I
grabbed the ring and tested it on my fingers before leaving it on the ring
finger of my right hand. Looking in Bree's full-length mirror, I smiled to
myself. She really knew how to shop. I was wearing a short sleeved see-through
green top that was fitted on my chest and flowed down to cover my bottom, with
a black camisole underneath, faded skinny jeans and my black UGGs. I wasn't the
best at saying thank you, but I hoped the family knew how much I loved
everything.

“Woo! You look
hot!”

I spun in a
circle to show Bree her creation, “I love it! It's perfect for me.”

“I knew it
would be.” She winked as Konrad came up behind her with drinks and they sat at
one of the poker tables.

I stood behind
her chair and tried not to look like I was searching for Chase. All of a sudden
the hairs on the back of my neck stood up and I looked to my right to find him
staring at me and unconsciously biting his lip. My face flamed and I tried to pay
attention to Bree losing Konrad's money instead of those lips. As Chase walked
by, he grabbed my right hand and rubbed his thumb over the ring he gave me
before dropping it and sitting at the other end of the table. I watched two
games and reveled in Chase's booming laugh as everyone at the table ragged each
other for losing money. Konrad stood up after the second game and gave me
strict orders to sit in for him and to not lose his money while he went to the
restroom. Guess he forgot that I was so horrible people wanted me to play with
them because it was a guarantee they would get my money.

“You better
just hand over all his chips now Princess, they won't be here by the time he
gets back anyway.” Chase teased and flashed his signature smirk.

“It's about
time.” Bree whispered leaning into me.

“For what?”

“He must've
finally got some. This is the happiest he's been in two weeks.”

Not that I had
any right to be, but I was instantly jealous of whoever he had been with. My
heart clenched just thinking about Chase in that way. I felt like I was
cheating on Brandon with my thoughts alone, and I hated it. Thankfully Konrad
came back before I could do any damage, because not only did I not have any
idea what kind of hand I had, but I could feel Chase's eyes on me every few
seconds and it was seriously distracting. The tension between us was palpable,
even in this room full of people and I needed to get away from him. I walked
around until I found Mom and Dad sitting at another table and wrapped my arms
around her neck.

“How are you
guys doing over here?”

“I'm winning!
Can you believe it Harper?” Mom's smile was contagious.

“No, have you
been cheating?” Bree's family taught me to play, and if anyone was as bad as
me, it was definitely Claire.

“Course not!
But I'm pretty sure Robert is.” She mock whispered.

I laughed and
grabbed her empty beer bottle, “Need another?”

“Oh yes please,
sweetie!”

“Anyone else?”

Three other
people I didn't know said yes so I headed for the kitchen and grabbed five.

“Nu uh. If I'm
not drinking, you're not drinking.”

I shot a
sideways glance at Chase, “Well then why don't you have one?”

“Because I
don't drink anymore.” He shrugged and looked around the kitchen for a moment.

“Since when?” I
hadn't seen him drink in months, but I didn't know he'd actually stopped.

Chase stopped
looking around and pierced me with his blue eyes, “Since I was a jackass and
hurt my Princess.”

He said my
Princess.
My.
I had goose bumps covering my body. “Huh...I didn't realize.”

“You're the one
that told me I should stop.” He said it matter-of-factly.

“But I didn't
mean you had to Chase. You're grown, you can do whatever you want.”

“I know.
Nothing good ever came from drinking though.”

Who was this
guy, and what did he do with Chase? “Do you want to split one? Nothing will
happen from half a beer, right?”

He slapped his
stomach and raised his voice an octave, “I guess my little body can handle half
a beer.”

“You're so dumb.
Help me with these, I'm hanging out at your mom's table.” I never could call
them Mom and Dad in front of Chase. Thinking about them as my parents when I
had these feelings for him was beyond awkward.

We watched
Claire win two hundred dollars, without cheating, and even though I kept my
beer in between us, Chase never touched it. With five minutes left of the year,
everyone bunched around the massive TVs all over the house waiting for the
countdown to begin. I found Bree and Konrad and joined them, though I doubt
they knew I was there. They weren't waiting for midnight, they already had
their tongues down the each other’s throats.

The countdown
started and when we hit 'six', I was yanked back to the darkened hall and found
the deepest blue eyes staring into my own. His hands cupped my face and the pad
of his thumbs brushed back and forth over my cheekbones. I vaguely heard the
party chant the final numbers before erupting into cheers and Chase's lips
softly pressed into mine. I stood stunned for a few seconds before wrapping my
arms around his neck and moving my mouth against his. When he traced my bottom
lip with his tongue, I opened my mouth in invitation and he didn't disappoint.
My stomach heated and I ached to press my body to his. He stumbled back to the
wall opposite where we'd been and grabbed my hips, bringing me to rest between
his legs. One hand went back to my hair while the other found its way to the
small of my back, bringing me even closer to him and I moaned into his mouth.
We poured four and a half months of longing and ignoring our chemistry into
that one kiss...when it was over, I knew I'd never be the same. He rested his
forehead against mine, and I had to press a hand to my chest, I swear my heart
was about to explode.

“Harper.” His
voice was rough and passionate, “I will think about that kiss for the rest of
my life.” He held me back, stepped away and watched me for a moment, then
turned to leave the house.

I stood there
watching where he'd just been and tried to convince myself that had just
happened. Next thing I knew I was back in Bree's room with my back pressed
against the door, I didn't even remember walking up the stairs. I was still
trying to calm my heart when my phone beeped and I ran for my purse,
disappointment coursed through me when I saw it wasn't from Chase.

Brandon - 'Happy New Year baby. I love you'

Worst
girlfriend of the year award should definitely go to me.

***

Five days went
by without seeing or hearing from Chase. I hated that that bothered me. I hated
that I dreamed about him. I hated that I cared at all. I’m madly in love with
Brandon, so why do I have to love Chase too? I was relaxing on Bree's couch,
still trying to excuse our kiss when my phone chimed. My heart kicked up a
notch when I looked at it.

Chase - 'So...you ever going to come get that tattoo?'

The day we’d decided on our friendship, I’d come home
from lunch with Mom and Bree to find him sketching on the couch. When he saw me
he’d flipped the book closed and said he was working on a tattoo for me. Only
problem? I wasn’t allowed to see it unless I actually got it as a tattoo, and
it was finished. Of course I wanted a tattoo, but at that point I’d had a hard
enough time just being around him. Having his hands on me for hours would have
been torture I wouldn’t survive.

Me - 'When are you free?'

Chase - 'Seriously?'

Me - ':)  Make me an appointment. I'll be there'

Chase - 'We open at four today come in then'

Me - 'Do I get to know what it is first?'

Chase - 'You can see it when it's done. I'm warning
you now, it's going to take hours.'

Me - 'Chase I swear if you put something I hate on my
body...I'll kill you'

Chase - 'I promise you'll love it'

Me - 'Don't make me regret this'

Chase - 'See you in a couple hours Princess'

This is exactly
what I was avoiding. I didn't think I could handle him touching my body before,
but now after that kiss? Aw hell, I am going to regret this. I ran upstairs to
take a shower and dressed in loose enough clothing that I would be comfortable
during and after. I called Brandon to let him know and he was excited for me,
so I decided not to mention who would be the one doing it. He would have thrown
a fit. I hated even omitting things from him, I knew what I was doing was
wrong, and yet I couldn't talk myself out of it. Thankfully Bree was gone with
her man until tomorrow, I knew she would be mad when she found out I went
without her, but I needed to do this alone. Okay not really, but I wanted to be
alone with Chase. I arrived just after four and followed Chase to his section.

“I can't
believe you actually came.”

“I know, I'm
kind of freaking out.”

His smile fell
and he leaned in close, “Then I'm not going to do it Princess. I'll do it
whenever you're ready.”

“No, no. I want
it today, but I'm afraid it's going to hurt and it's really hard not knowing
what it is. Can you please just let me see it?”

“I'm not going
to lie to you and say it won't hurt, but it's different for everyone. Some
people hate outlines, some hate shading. Some people don't feel a thing, and
some hate the entire process. I told you, you'll love what it is. But it's a
surprise, I can't tell you.”

“I'm trusting
you with this Chase.”

He cupped a
hand around my neck and pulled me close, “I know Harper, thank you.” Kissing me
softly on my forehead, he dropped his hand and leaned against the counter. I
already missed his touch. “Where do you want it?”

“Um...you said
it was big, right?”

He nodded.

“Can I know how
big? Because the location depends on the size.”

“Turn around.”

“What? Why?”

He smiled and
turned my body away. “Because I already have the outline ready to go and I'm
about to grab it to get the farthest points, I don't want you to see it.” I
heard papers shuffling for a minute before he turned me back around. “This
big.”

My eyes widened
for a second and I took a deep breath. “Okay, I want it here.” I grabbed the
wax paper and put it down on my hip. “I want it to start on the far left side
of my stomach and wrap around my left hip.”

His eyes
flashed with heat as he took the paper from my hands and rolled up my shirt
just past my waist, “Lay down on your side.” I sucked in a breath when he
tugged the left side of my pants down a bit, “I'll keep everything covered, I
promise. I just need this side further down.”

“Chase?”

“Hmm?”

“You said it's
going to take hours?”

“Yeah, probably
three. As you can see it's big and the shading is really detailed. That part
will take the longest.” He set everything up before turning back to face me,
“This is where you need to trust me. I'm about to put the outline on, please
don't look.” I shut my eyes and he laughed, “If you ever need me to stop, just
tell me, okay?”