Chasing Red

by Kelsey Cheyenne

  A small smile pulls at my mouth which confuses Hailey. “My grandparents stepped in a lot when I was younger. They never liked my dad, but I think they assumed if he was busy and successful, he’d be less of an asshole. That’s why my grandfather invested in my dad’s company. Much to their dismay, it only made things worse at home. They started picking me up from school and letting me stay the night often. I’d spend weekends with them and my parents were glad to get me out of the house.

  “When I started hanging out with Hunter more, that got me out of the house even more, but that’s when I started to rebel. I’m sorry, baby. I hate to tell you this part.” I pinch the bridge of my nose before continuing. “I slept around a lot, starting in high school and it got worse in college when Hunter distanced himself from me because of Alison. I didn’t care about anything, if she was eighteen or thirty-eight, if she was my professor, or if she had a boyfriend.

  “Then I realized I was turning into my father by sleeping with women who weren’t single. It truly sunk in when one of the boyfriends showed up and sucker punched me, knocking me out and left me on the sidewalk outside of the girl’s apartment. I almost lost my scholarship over the debacle.”

  She rubs my back, staying neutral. She doesn’t judge me or look at me with disgust. “I vowed to change then and there. That’s also why I don’t like to touch my parents' money or take anything from my grandparents. I don’t want to be anything like my father. He took from them without a second thought and with no plans to repay them. Still, after all this time, he’s out every night, cheating on my mother, never even bothering to take off his wedding ring. I don’t know who he does it with, where he does it, or what he says to these people, but I would be better off if he’d just divorce my mom. But divorce means he’s cut off from my grandfather too.”

  “Don’t your grandparents know how awful he is?” Her voice is filled with pity, which I hate hearing, but I can’t blame her for it.

  “They do. They’ve seen the bruises my dad would leave on me, never on my face to cause suspicion, but all over the rest of me. I think my dad threatens them and they’re scared. Plus, they love my mom too much to risk causing her harm from him. Whether he hits her or not, I’m not sure, but either way, he hurts her enough with the infidelity.”

  I bark out a harsh laugh that lacks humor. “I could’ve respected my mom. She stood up for me once, but after that, she stopped caring. She cared more about protecting herself than protecting her son. By the time my dad got home, she’d already be wasted and passed out, anyway. Now, she’s even worse. She’s grown into this shell of a human, being nasty to everyone close to her. Except for her precious husband.

  “That’s why I never want you around them, Hailey. It scares me too much to think what they would do or say to you. I love you too much to subject you to that fate.” I lean in, kissing her head and inhaling her lavender scent. The smell calms me instantly and I sag back against the couch.

  “I wish I could take your pain away.” Her hand cups my face and she stares into my eyes. Her gaze is filled with such love and desire it makes me feel happy despite all the shit I told her.

  “You do, just by being you.” I kiss her and this time it leads to more. She’s eager to take away my pain and I’m keen to let her.

  As I push inside her hot, wet core, our moans synchronize, calling out in a symphony of pleasure. Every intake of breath, every vibration of her moans, pushes me toward release. She’s a vixen, always eager to please and never getting enough.

  When she comes, her skin flushes red, my favorite color on her, even better when she’s naked underneath the hue of her arousal.

  “I love you so much, Hailey. You have no idea.” I kiss her neck, tasting her sweet skin as I grind in and out of her leisurely.

  “I know, baby. I love you too.” Our mouths connect and I roll us over, allowing my girl to play cowgirl for a while.

  The sight of her head tipped back in ecstasy, her perky breasts bouncing as she moves her body up and down the length of my dick, is my undoing. I explode in her, a guttural growl erupting from my mouth in unison with my orgasm.

  She collapses on me, her perfect tits crashing into my chest, making me hard all over again. I’m insatiable for her and I’ll never get enough.

  She erases all the bad in my life. Everything about her is good and pure; she’s the light of my life and I can’t wait to get a ring on her finger. I’ll give her the year she’s asked for, but after that, she’s mine, and I intend to let the world know it.

  32

  Hailey

  My heart breaks leaving Chase behind since we made our relationship official, but it’s worse since he opened up to me last night, telling me his dirty family secrets. I have half a mind to drive over there and beat the shit out of his dirt-bag parents, but that wouldn’t do anyone any good. Plus, I may be mighty, but I’m still small, and what I saw of Chase’s father last night scared the crap out of me.

  On the bright side, since my new boyfriend is a teacher, as soon as the year is over he’s packing his bags and moving in with me for the summer. The further I can get him away from his family the better, and I think he agrees.

  It’s a sticky situation, dealing with families. They may still be blood, but does loyalty continue to run deep when they’re hurting you, both physically and emotionally? I’m filled with a blind rage to protect him, but if he still wants to have a relationship with them, I can’t stop him. Lucky for me, I don’t think he wants anything to do with them either.

  Chase is moving in with me for summer break so I only have a few weeks until he gets here. Even though we haven’t been an official couple for long, it seems natural for him to move in with me. It doesn’t feel too soon or like we’re moving too fast. In reality, we’ve moved at a snail’s pace since it’s taken us four years to even define our relationship.

  My life moves at lightning speed while I’m at school. I blink and next thing I know I’m spending my night cleaning the shit-storm of my apartment to pretend I have some semblance of organization for Chase’s arrival. When I wake up in the morning, my man will be moving in. I can’t get to bed fast enough.

  By some miracle, I wake up before my alarm which hasn’t happened since my parents took me and my brother to Disney World as kids. The energizer bunny would be envious of my motivation this morning as I brew a pot of coffee and prepare a breakfast spread worthy of a five-star restaurant.

  When a knock sounds on my door at eleven o’clock on the dot, I trip over myself trying to open it fast enough. I didn’t bother getting dressed, knowing anything I’d put on would end up on the floor in mere minutes after his arrival.

  My robe parts, exposing a sliver of my red lingerie I bought special for my man. He’s going to explode in his pants just from looking at me, which is the point, if I’m being honest.

  With a sultry walk to get in the mood, I pull open the door, leaning against it to draw his attention to my semi-exposed flesh.

  “Get in here and do me. We can grab your bags later.” With a flip of my hair and what’s sure to be a seductive lip bite, I glance up.

  “Well, if you insist.” I’m not expecting the devilish grin or the person wearing it. Running a hat through his jet-black hair, he eyes me up and down.

  “Holy shit, Landon, what are you doing here?” I cinch my robe and hug my old friend. I haven’t seen him or talked to him since he graduated.

  I’m attached to my old neighbor in an intimate embrace in my skivvies no less, when a throat clears to my right. Pulling back, I spot my boyfriend, eyebrows raised and jaw locked and way too handsome for someone who spent the morning packing and driving several hours to be with me.

  “Babe!” I launch myself at my boyfriend, jumping into his arms and wrapping my legs around his waist like I’m a contestant on The Bachelor. Plus, being a bit overzealous won’t hurt my cause from what he just witnessed.

  “Babe? Please tell me this is the guy.” Detangling from Chase, I turn back to Landon
and laugh.

  “It is. Landon, this is Chase. Chase, this is Landon, he was my savior my first couple of years here. We were neighbors.”

  “Is that right?” Being a jealous boyfriend, Chase sizes up who he’s viewing as his opponent. He has no idea about my brief history with my old friend. “Chase Westbrook, Hailey’s boyfriend.” He extends a hand which Landon clasps, though I can see the effort and tension straining in both of their forearms.

  “I’ve heard a lot about you, man. Glad you two worked things out.” He turns back to me with a sincere grin. “Hails, we can catch up later.” He backs away toward the exit with keys in his hand.

  “I thought you moved when you took that job?”

  “I did. I came back to visit my family and thought I’d catch up with you while I was here.” His shrug seems sheepish and puts Chase on the defensive once again, taking a half step in front of me to claim his territory.

  I place a hand on my boyfriend’s bicep, a silent gesture telling him to relax. “If you’re still in town this weekend, we should all grab dinner.”

  He nods and offers one more glance to Chase before retreating.

  I take my man’s hand and pull him into our new, temporary home. He’s having Hunter look after his place while he stays with me. It’s not like he’s not going home at all, but it’s easier for us right now to live in Maryland while I’m still in school.

  “So who was that guy to you? I saw the way he looked at you. Old flame?” His voice isn’t accusatory, per se, but he’s curious and maybe even a little hurt at the insinuation.

  With an eye roll and a smirk plastered on my face, I turn to the love of my life. “Here’s the deal with Landon. He was my neighbor and became my fast friend. My parents met him at the white coat ceremony and we all went to dinner. An entire year later, I agreed to go on a date with him. It was fun, he tried to kiss me, and I pumped the breaks because even then I was still so hopelessly in love with you I couldn’t bang my hot neighbor, not even once.”

  “That’s the guy you went out with? He looks like a model. Are you sure you didn’t sleep with him?” I shake my head and chuckle at his ridiculously adorable face full of shock. “Damn, you must love me.”

  I squeal as he grabs me and picks me up as he walks toward the bedroom. Now this is what I’m talking about.

  ◊◊◊

  Two orgasms later, my legs are jelly and my eyes are heavy, but I have to get up and help him unpack. Moving sucks and it’s so much work. No wonder you can hire people to do this shit for you.

  “What do you say we have some fun tonight?” We finished unpacking Chase’s last box when his face spreads into a sinister sneer. I remember the first time I saw that mischievous glimmer in his eye which was back when we crashed that wedding all those moons ago.

  “What did you have in mind?” I raise a brow, challenging him. He knows me well enough to know I don’t back down from a challenge.

  “Why don’t you invite your friend Landon over?” My jaw drops. While the thought of a threesome with Chase and Landon intrigues the hell out of me, I wasn’t prepared for this turn of events.

  “Wh-what?” I’m sure if I looked in a mirror right now I’d be white as a ghost, albeit a turned on ghost, maybe with a slight flush.

  “If that was a test you would’ve failed, you little horn-dog. I don’t care how much I love you or how much you beg me for a ménage à trois, I don’t share.” He plants a terse, possessive kiss on my lips before pulling away, leaving me wanting more. “No threesomes. I know you were close with this guy and I can tell you want to catch up with him. So call him.”

  “You want to size him up some more, make sure he’s not still after me.” A boyish grin appears and he throws me a wink.

  “So what if I do? We all win.” The man has a point.

  I text Landon to see if he wants to meet up tonight with us then turn back to my number one guy. “What do you really have in mind, if threesomes are off the table?”

  “Know of any weddings around?” I jab him in the ribs with my elbow. He throws up his hands in surrender. “Kidding. Let’s go to a bar. It’ll be casual.” I stare at him, studying his features. “No ulterior motives, I promise.”

  I agree and extend the invite to my old pal. An hour later I’m walking into a bar flanked on either side by two sexpots. Time stops as we walk by. Every head turns to stare at us. I’m pretty sure the local news comes to report the arrival of two male models and their invisible blonde groupie—ie, me.

  “What’re you having?” The bartender, a petite, edgy girl with a nose ring and pink hair, nods to us.

  “I’m having him first and him later if you know what I mean.” I jerk my thumbs to either side like the basket case I am. The girl is not impressed with my joke. “Lucky me, right?”

  She looks over my head at Chase. “We found her wandering around outside. She seems a bit…” he whistles a cuckoo sound, causing me to turn and smack him.

  “Three beers. Whatever you have on tap is fine.” I order for the three of us and the woman walks away with an eye roll, likely preparing to spit in our drinks.

  “Shit, I left my phone at home,” Chase says.

  A chill runs down my spine and butterflies flutter in my stomach at hearing him call the apartment with me home.

  “Do you want to go back and get it?”

  “No, the only person I need to talk to is right here.”

  We grab a high-top table and shoot the shit. Chase is still on edge around Landon; he’s such a fool. Ryan Reynolds could hit on me and I’d turn him down for Chase. Probably, anyway. If the opportunity ever presents itself, I’ll reassess.

  “I do have one bit of exciting news though,” my old neighbor looks at me with eyes full of love and a smile that could set off fireworks. “I got engaged.”

  “Oh my God! Congratulations! Way to bury the lead. Who is she? Where is she?” I notice my boyfriend relax now beside me with this newfound information.

  “It was too fun messing with your man over here.” Chase doesn’t find the joke to be funny. “She’s an old friend. We bumped into each other on the street grabbing coffee one morning and hit it off.” His face lights up as he raves about his fiancée.

  “Is she your one?”

  He nods and I smile. I’m crazy happy for him.

  The night passes swiftly and we part ways after several hours. I’m not sure when or if I’ll ever see him again, but I hope we cross paths someday.

  As we enter the apartment, I’m beat. I head to the bathroom and change into some sexy PJs for my first night home with my man.

  Walking back out into the living room, I can sense something is wrong. Chase is sitting at the breakfast bar, staring at his phone. His mouth is pressed into a hard line and his brows are pulled low.

  “Chase? What’s wrong?” I feel silly now in my outfit of seduction.

  “It’s, um, it’s my mom. She’s in the hospital.” My hands jerk to my face, covering my mouth as shock consumes me.

  “Well, let’s go. I’ll go get dressed.” I back away, ready to jog to the bedroom to change once more.

  “No, it’s okay. I’m sure it’s nothing. It’s late, we should stay here.” I know he doesn’t want to care, but it’s still his mom and he does care. He’s too good of a man not to. Plus, he doesn’t even know how serious it is, or what even happened.

  “Chase, we’re going.” I walk out of the room without further argument and throw on yoga pants and a t-shirt. Chase is still frozen in his spot when I enter the living room and slide on my flip flops. Grabbing my keys and purse, I yank on his arm and half pull him out the door.

  I thank the Gods above that I barely drank tonight and can drive since my boyfriend is in a state of shock.

  “Do you know what happened?” I glance to my right in time to watch him shake his head no. A million thoughts are running through my mind and I’m sure he’s just as bad if not worse.

  The drive to Philly feels ten times as long despite my spe
eding. The tension in the air is palpable and I don’t know what to do to break it. Chase is a bundle of nervous energy and I’m not sure if it’s because he’s nervous about his mom or what he’s walking into.

  We rush to the emergency desk and check in and Chase is a zombie, grumbling and going through the motions as we head to the third floor to where his mom is in a private room. Either money bought her the room or her injuries did.

  Even after all these years, I’ve never officially met Chase’s parents and these are not the circumstances I was expecting. If Chase had it his way, he would’ve never had me meet them at all.

  An elderly couple stands outside of room 315, their hands intertwined while their free hands hold tissues. Not a good sign.

  “Chase, dear. I’m so glad you came.” Extracting his hand from mine, my boyfriend walks with his head hanging to the couple and hugs them. “And who is this?” Even with tear-stained faces, I can see how good looking this couple is and how much Chase resembles them.

  “Grandma, grandpa, this is my world, Hailey Blake. Hailey, these are my grandparents.”

  “I’m so sorry to meet you under these circumstances, but I’m so glad to meet you. Chase only has wonderful things to say about both of you.” I hug them and whisper thanks in each of their ears for helping raise the man Chase is today.

  “How is she? What happened?” At least he seems to have snapped out of it since seeing his grandparents.

  “We’re not one hundred percent sure yet. She was in an accident. She was drunk and veered off the road, hitting a tree. No one else was involved and she was unconscious when they brought her in. They’ve been running test after test but we haven’t heard anything yet. They just brought her back.”