Chasing Red
Kelsey Cheyenne
Chasing Red Copyright © 2019 by Kelsey Cheyenne. All Rights Reserved.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.
Cover designed by NET Hook & Line Designs
Editing: Kristen Portillo – Your Editing Lounge
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Contents
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10
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Epilogue
Acknowledgments
About the Author
More from Kelsey
To the man who makes loving him so easy.
Kurt, you’re my best friend, my better half, the love of my life, and at one point, you were my best friend’s sibling. You’re the Chase to my Hailey and I love you so much.
1
Hailey
I wake up to the sound of Icona Pop singing All Night because what better way to get in the mood of kicking ass and taking names? I start every morning with a dance party to get my blood pumping because, frankly, I love mornings.
Okay, that’s a lie, but in all seriousness, who loves mornings? You have to get out of your warm, cozy bed, birds sing at an obnoxious volume, and the sun is painful in its brightness. Life shouldn’t start until at least eleven. Brunch, I can get down with. I just need a fun way to drag myself out of my pillow-top mattress.
I take my hair out of its braid, allowing the blonde waves to tumble down my back. Walking into my closet, I find my favorite off-the-shoulder cream sweater and pair it with jean shorts and white converse.
I share a two-bedroom apartment with my best friend, Mackenzie, who is almost always awake before me, but the place is quiet this morning. I make us coffee, throw two bagels in the toaster, and start the daunting task of waking her up.
I’ve woken my best friend up a number of times in our lifelong friendship and it’s never fun. I peek my head in her bedroom door and it is dark thanks to the black-out curtains covering the windows despite the fact it’s eight-thirty in the morning.
This is so not good. I knock lightly, hoping it’s enough to stir her. “Kenz, it’s time to get up.”
A loud moan fills the room.
I should’ve waited until the coffee was ready.
Meow. Her cat, Mittens, runs over to me, rubbing against my legs. I walk over to her bed and deposit the black feline on her head. She’ll start pawing at her bedhead any second now. Sorry, Kenz, sometimes drastic measures are required.
I head back out to the kitchen, grabbing our thermoses from the cupboard, and fill them with coffee. Kenz likes her java to be more sugar than anything. I’m not sure it can even be qualified as real coffee.
“Ow, you bitch.”
I smile behind my cup and stalk back to her room. Placing her cup on her dresser, I lean against her doorjamb.
“Get up, slut, we’re gonna be late.” I close the door before she can hit me with her pillow.
Fifteen minutes later, we’re on our way to our advanced psychology lecture. It’s our senior year at the University of Pennsylvania. While we’re not worried about being late, it would be tacky to miss our first class of the semester.
Mackenzie bursts through the lecture hall doors and makes her way down the steps to the front of the class. Before she gets too far, I grab her backpack and pull her with enough force to have her falling backward. I steady her before she actually falls down.
“I’m not sitting in the front of the class.” This is an elective for me. I know psychology is her major, and she wants to do well, but we’re seniors. It’s lame.
Rolling her eyes, she points to a middle section. I shake my head and pull her back up three more steps nearing the last row and take the two end spots. She plops down with a huff and pulls a notebook and pen from her book bag before setting it on her desk like the little nerd she is.
As a pre-med major, I’m allowed to call her a nerd. I’m arguably more into school than she is, and she only wants to do well. It won’t stop me from ribbing on her about it though.
I place my MacBook on my desk and open a new document while we wait for the professor to start the lecture. Right as Dr. Kavanagh pulls up the syllabus, a text pops up on my computer.
Chase: Hey, it’s Chase. I was thinking of driving up for Hunter’s birthday next weekend to surprise him. You in?
I look at Kenzie out of the corner of my eye, but she’s too enamored by the course syllabus. How random.
My brother, Hunter, lives out near State Park by his alma mater, Penn State University, which is three hours away. Chase is his best friend. His incredibly cute best friend.
My brother and I used to be inseparable. Though he’s five years older than me, he never made me feel like a child. He always treated me with love and respect, and I always considered him my best friend.
That is, until, he moved in with his wench of a fiancée, Alison. She’s kept him from me and my family, and I’m counting down the days until they break up. She’s a monster and my brother deserves so much better than her.
But why is Chase reaching out to me? I haven’t seen him since Hunter helped me move into this place. Well, except for the brief run-in at Starbucks a couple weeks ago. He didn’t bring up this grand idea then.
Does he plan to stay with Hunter and the she-devil? Does he plan to carpool up there? I can think of a million questions and just as many things that could go wrong. But I’ve never been one to turn down a party.
Hailey: Hell yes. Should I bring Kenzie?
Chase: Probably wouldn’t be best. You know she’s in love with him, right?
Huh. I’ve always had my suspicions, but she never told me so herself. It’s funny to hear he’s come to the same conclusion.
I’ll nail down the finer details later. For now, I’ll plan on a road trip with Chase Freaking Westbrook. He’s like, hotter than the center of the Earth. He is what wet dreams are made of, if women could have actual wet dreams, that is.
Ninety minutes can pass by at lightning speed when you’re not paying attention. Kenz jabs me in the ribs with her elbow while I’m too busy daydreaming about next weekend. How embarrassing.
“What gives?” I can’t even tell her what I was thinking about.
I shake my head. “Sorry, I spaced. I didn’t sleep well last night.” I shrug and rush to pack up my things. This is our only class together and now I have to rush off to my organic chemistry lab. Joy.
“Meet up for lunch?” I pull my schedule up on my phone to see if I can meet her.
“I have a break at two thirty.” She nods and we plan to stop at our favorite food truck on campus.
We don’t do anything in lab since it’s the first week of the semester, so I take the remaining three hours to Facebook stalk Chase.
He’s a calculus teacher now at our old high school and coaches the hockey team. If I had teachers like that in my day, I might’ve been a teen cliché trying to sleep with him. But my teachers were old and most of them were women. Not my style.
More good news, he broke up with his last girlfriend over a year ago and hasn’t posted anything since to indicate he’s seeing anyone new.
I get lost staring at the screen, looking into his icy blue eyes, and wishing I could run my fingers through his sandy blonde hair.
Ever since Hunter first hung out with him when they were in high school I had a crush. But I have a huge red flag looming over my head as the untouchable little sister. Not that Chase has ever shown any interest in me, but even if he did like me, he couldn’t.
I fall down a wormhole of FBI-level investigating and wind up on his ex-girlfriend’s cousin’s dog’s fan page. My phone ringing pulls me away from the stalking.
Shit. I’m late for lunch with Kenz. “Hey, girl, sorry I’m late. I’m on my way.” I rush to meet her and find her sitting at a table outside of the business building with two meals in front of her.
“You owe me.” She smirks, so I know she’s not too mad at me. “What’s with you today? You’re totally spaced.”
“It’s, um, Hunter. You know it’s his birthday next weekend and I hate not celebrating with him. Ever since that bitch dug her claws into him I’ve barely seen him or even talked to him.” I shrug. It’s not a complete lie. Every word, at least, is true.
She takes a drink and chews on her straw, lost in thought. I always try to keep her up to date with news of my brother. Mainly because I’m hoping she cracks and confesses she likes him. Hasn’t happened yet, and now we’re both keeping secrets from each other.
“What do your parents say about her?” Her voice is soft, blowing over her straw enough to create a whistle.
I smile. She will love this. “My mom loathes her. She’s always polite, of course, but she calls my mom Ronnie. It’s disgusting. My dad is indifferent toward her, ignoring her the best in can, but he’s always got my mom’s back. Considering my mom likes everyone, her distaste for Ali speaks volumes. I don’t know why Hunter stays with her.”
My parents are the epitome of a sickeningly sweet and so in love couple. They make me believe in true love and more than anything they’ve taught me what I deserve.
They were high school sweethearts and they still act like they’re in the honeymoon phase. Growing up I felt embarrassed to be around them because they act mushy all the time. Now that I’m older, I can admit it’s the type of love I yearn for.
My dad has always taken my mom’s side, even over the most ridiculous things. His favorite story to tell about my mom is when she yelled at our old neighbor because their cat looked at my mom funny. She was all out of sorts, in hysterics, with tears running down her cheeks. My dad went to intervene and when he heard what was happening, he said to the lady, “Please, tell your cat to stop staring at my wife.”
Just like that. No questions asked, he backed her ridiculous story. A couple weeks later they realized she was pregnant with me and that’s why she overreacted. Still, my dad always supported her like a husband damn well should.
I couldn’t ask for better relationship role models. They even take each other’s sides over choosing me or Hunter.
In this instance though, where my brother’s fiancée is psychotic, and he seems to be blind to it, my dad has a legitimate reason to believe my mom. We all can’t stand the bitch, but my brother doesn’t come around enough for me to ask him why he stays with her.
I’d been lost in thought and only snap out of it when Kenzie’s hand brushes against my forearm. “Hello, Earth to Hails? I lost ya for a second there.”
She grins, and it reaches her eyes, likely from the new bout of information I supplied, yet she probably doesn’t even realize I notice it. “Sorry. I was just thinking something—no, it’s too crazy. Never mind.” I wave my hand in the air as if to say, Forget it.
“What is it?” Her eyebrows crinkle and her head tilts.
“Just… this will sound weird but, I was wondering what would’ve happened if you and Hunter ever got together.” I shrug to act nonchalant, even though I’m setting her up here. I want to see her reaction.
She blushes and her green eyes widen comically. “What? Me and Hunter? Why would you even say that? Ridiculous. He would never—I mean, it’s totally—who even—no. Don’t be silly.” Tucking her strawberry hair behind her ear, she averts her gaze and grabs her phone. “Oh, shit, I’m late for class. Sorry, Hails. We’ll talk more later.” She runs off, not even chancing a glance over her shoulder at me.
She’s so in love with my brother.
My phone vibrates as I pack up to head to my last class of the day. Butterflies flutter in my stomach as I read Chase’s name. Calm down.
Chase: I don’t have school Friday or Monday for Labor Day. Long weekend at Hunter’s? What time should I pick you up?
Okay, butterflies. Flutter away.
2
Chase
“What’s that grin for?” I spin around in my chair to see the French teacher, Laila Deveraux, leaning against the doorjamb in an attempt at seduction. She’s been desperate to get her claws into me since I started this job two years ago.
“Just making plans for the long weekend.” I shuffle around papers trying to look busy. It doesn’t work. She saunters into my space, perching on the edge of my desk where I’d just cleaned.
She’s pretty, if you’re into women who are fake from head to toe and try too hard. Her long brown hair was short last week, her tits were rock hard when she hugged me after I got hired, and she talks shit about every other employee but is sweet as sugar to their faces. Her lips are plump and always red, her fingernails are long with a new manicure every week, and her heels seem to have gotten higher since I started here.
She’s got to be in her late twenties, and if I were a student, I would’ve salivated at her feet. But as a colleague, her desperation and overall attitude is a major turn off.
I look up at her, simmering with impatience and offering no attempt to hide my irritation. A couple of years ago I might’ve fucked her. I would’ve caved to her advances after our first interaction. But that was before everything happened. I’m different now and Laila doesn’t do it for me.
“Did you pencil me in for any of those weekend plans?” She shifts her hips the smallest bit, but it’s enough to cause her blouse to stretch over her ample chest, offering me a view of the black lacy bra underneath.
Who even says ‘pencil me in’ anymore? I lean back in my chair and it squeaks under my weight. I clear my throat and close my eyes so she doesn’t catch me rolling them at her.
“Sorry, Deveraux, going to visit my buddy a couple hours away.” In athlete language, calling a girl by her last name signifies she’s one of the guys and not someone I want to fuck.
She pouts, actually fucking pouts, and bats her eyelashes at me. “That’s okay, maybe another time.” She pushes off my desk and struts out of the room. I don’t watch her leave, though I’m positive her pencil skirt is snug around her ass.
I run a hand through my hair in frustration. I’ll have to nip that in the bud eventually, but I’ll worry about her later. For now, I have to plan my weekend with Hailey. My best friend’s little sister. What the hell am I doing?
Hailey: Pick me up at 2 and we’ll get there around dinnertime.
I smirk at her response and how she thinks she’s running this show, making these plans. It’s cute.
My attraction to her was rapid and unexpected. She’s always been Hunter’s little sister to me, but when we ran into each other at Starbucks, something shifted.
She sat in a corner, picking at a blueberry muffin with a coffee cup sitting in front of her, light pink lipstick staining the rim of the paper cup.
The sun was framing her face and I could see how she was biting her lip while reading through a textbook. She had multiple
highlighters scattered around in some particular pattern that no one but her could decipher.
“Hailey Blake,” I said, drawing out her name. I couldn’t help but talk to her with the angelic way she looked.
She looked up, confusion resting on her feature for a brief moment before recognition took over. “Chase? I haven’t seen you in forever.” A light blush rose up from her neck and her green eyes sparkled as she spoke. “Please, sit down.”
She folds up her notes, shoving papers into her textbook and putting everything in her book bag to make space for me. I take the seat opposite her and make myself comfortable, crossing my ankle over my knee.
“How’ve you been?” I smile, using my charm on her for the first time.
“Busy. I have all this work to do and the semester hasn’t even started yet,” she rambles on, doing and redoing her ponytail multiple times. My mouth quirks up listening to her tangent. “What? Oh my God, I’m sorry, you don’t need to listen to me complain.” An embarrassed chuckle slips from between her lips and she looks down at her lap.
“No, it’s fine. You look good, Hails. How’s Hunter doing?” Her eyes snap back to me and her cheeks flush adorably once more.
“I haven’t talked to him much lately.” She shrugs, and a sadness appears in her eyes, making them watery. It seems her relationship with his is as strained as mine is. I change the topic away from her brother.
I grab her phone and program my number into it. Then I shoot off a text to myself so I have her number as well. I don’t know what made me do it, but it felt like something I needed to do.
“I have to get to work. There’s a ton of meetings before school starts, but it was great to see you. We should catch up sometime.” I stand and rap my knuckles on the table twice before strutting out. I throw her a look over my shoulder and wink as I catch her watching me leave.
Since that brief interaction, I haven’t been able to get her out of my head. She looked so hot in her gray crop top and jean shorts. So simple but it worked for her. It worked for me. I’ve had a metaphorical—okay, and literal—hard-on for her ever since.
Chasing Red Page 1
