I pulled my hair tie out and shook my hair down, running my fingers through it to try to fluff it back to life. “Well, this will just have to do,” I thought to myself. I swiped on some chap stick, grabbed my jacket, and headed for the door.
Avery ended up taking me to a restaurant about fifteen minutes from my house. We settled into a booth and fell into the most natural conversation. Talking to him was so easy it was almost scary. We talked about our childhoods, our families, and his home.
My twenty one year old hottie was the product of a happy family of four until his entire world changed at the age of ten. His mother took off in the middle of the night, leaving Avery and his younger brother with his father. Not that he complained. His father did the best he could under the circumstances. He was the VP of a massive telecommunications company and sounded very successful. Avery told me that while his father worked long hours, he would always come home and turn on their stereo as loud as it would go and spend what time was left of the evening with the two of them. No matter what, there had always been music playing in their house, and though it was obvious that his dad did it because he didn’t want to talk about the hard stuff, Avery knew his love of music developed from that.
We moved off the topic of family and quickly switched to lighter topics like movies, music, and books. The more I talked to him, the more I realized just how much Avery and I had in common. We had the same sense of humor, obviously the same taste in music, and he was more than just some guy I had met in a bar. He was smart. He was well spoken, funny, charismatic, and witty. Avery was magnificent.
I pushed a half-empty plate of fries aside, propped up my elbows and laid my head on my hands, smiling across the table at him. I watched as he brushed his hair back and smiled back at me. Pushing the sleeves of his shirt up, he gave me a glimpse of his ink as he casually laid his arms on the table. Like a reflex, my hand flew out to him and touched his arm, tracing the tattoos. The one on his right forearm looked like sheet music. Staff and notes wrapped around his arm. I wasn’t skilled enough to read music, so I had no idea what song it was. The left was covered in writing. He cleared his throat and moved his arms for me to get a better look.
“This one,” he began, pointing to the sheet music one, “is the first song I ever learned to play on the guitar—Tom Petty’s “Free Falling.” And this one is kind of my mantra, my words to live by.” He tapped at the scripted flesh on his arm and I leaned in further to get a better look.
The words Music is a Moral Law, It Gives Soul to the Universe were scribed in beautiful calligraphy on his toned forearm.
My face lit up, “That’s Plato, right?” I asked.
Raising an impressed eyebrow, he took my hand in his.
“You’re incredible, you know that?” he said, never taking his eyes off me. I knew I was blushing but I didn’t care. I tucked a piece of hair behind my ear and decided to change the subject.
“I really love your tattoos. How many do you have?”
He grinned, “A whole lot. I’ve never really kept count, but I know I have a ton.”
“Really? I’d love to see them,” I chimed with a childish excitement that I instantly regretted.
He wiggled his eyebrows at me in a suggestive way, “Even if I have to remove quite a bit of clothing to show you?”
I can honestly say that I had never thought of him naked up until that exact moment, and then that’s the only thing I could think about. My entire body must have turned bright pink because Avery just chuckled to himself.
He leaned across the table and whispered, “You’re thinking about me naked, aren’t you?”
My jaw dropped and I reached out and playfully smacked him on the bicep. He made a face like I hurt him, but he couldn’t pretend long because he couldn’t stop laughing. I, of course, started to laugh too, forgetting that I was even embarrassed to begin with.
Before I knew it, almost three hours had passed and it was almost seven. Avery was ever the gentleman, paying for our meal and opening the car door for me as we headed back to my house.
I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to him yet. I kept fidgeting in my seat and checking my watch. My parents wouldn’t be home until about nine. I had a good hour more I could spend with him. Before he could say anything, I blurted out something that I could only call insanity.
“Do you want to come in for a little bit?”
He looked a little surprised, but nodded.
“As long as you say it’s ok, of course I’d like to.”
We went inside and I showed him around quickly, not wasting our time on a tour. When we reached my bedroom, I thought his jaw was going to drag the floor.
“This is your room?” he asked with an odd sternness to his voice.
Watching him survey the four walls, I nodded. He turned to me, his face completely disconcerted, and pointed at the entrance.
“Chase, there’s no door!”
I shrugged. I hadn’t thought this far ahead when I invited him in.
“Privacy is for adults, I am not an adult yet,” I replied in a mocking tone, trying to laugh it off. I looked up at him as he gave me a sad, almost torn look.
“There isn’t an ounce of color in here, no door, nothing. Add bars, and it may as well be a jail cell. This can’t seriously be how you live every day,” he spoke almost angrily.
I wanted to feel defensive. How dare he act like my life is like a prison, but, the truth was, I had felt that way for so long that I couldn’t argue.
I felt his strong hands on either side of my face as he tilted my head up. I stared up into those stormy eyes and braced myself. He was about to wreck me again.
“I know we haven’t known each other long, but seriously, Chase, there’s so much more to you than this,” he said waving his hands around my room and gritting his teeth out of anger.
I don’t know if it was the repressed thought of this being the last time I would see him or touch him suddenly surfacing, or the way he was already fighting for me, a girl he barely knew, but something inside of me broke. The innocent nature of my feelings toward him crumbled. My hesitation melted away as I stepped forward and with both hands grabbed onto his shirt. The urge to touch him and kiss him overwhelmed me completely, and it must have been on his mind too because in an instant his hands were cupping my face and his lips were on mine.
We were in the middle of my room, locked in a sweet, gentle kiss and something inside me just felt like it snapped.
I wanted to be closer to him. I wanted to touch more of him. I just wanted more.
I needed more.
My grip on his shirt tightened, and I pulled harder. I pressed my lips to his with such urgency. His hand slid passed my cheek and into my hair, tugging it gently. We stumbled backwards a few steps until my legs hit the back of my bed, and I sat down quickly, never letting go of his shirt. Slowly, his large frame followed my lead as I began to lie back bringing his body over the top of mine. My pulse was racing wildly as he sank down against me, my hands moved timidly up his chest, one into his messy hair while the other rested against his neck. Avery made a very low growling sound and my entire body reacted by arching against his. He broke our kiss, and I made the most unattractive, groaning sound as his lips started working their way down my neck. I let out a gasp, and my eyes fluttered open and I felt goose bumps covering my body. Feeling his tongue against my collarbone, I made that awful noise again and pulled a little at his hair. He paused and brought his face back up to mine; my heart sank. I’d probably hurt him or completely ruined the moment by sounding like a crazed animal every time he kissed me there, but I had never felt anything so wonderful before in my life.
“God, even the sounds you make are sexy,” he said in a breathy voice that made me want even more of him. I stared up at this boy and knew instantly that I wanted everything with him. I hadn’t always believed in saving myself for marriage, because I wasn’t sure I ever wanted to get married. I was saving myself for someone special—someone that made me feel s
afe, wanted, and beautiful. Someone incredible. I couldn’t get any more incredible than Avery McGuire.
I leaned up on my elbow and gently traced his lips with my finger before kissing him softly and slowly, tracing my tongue along his bottom lip to his piercing. He made that growling sound again as I whispered, “Please don’t stop,” against his lips. His gray eyes looked into mine and within seconds, we were kissing again with a new urgency. I felt his hands slide down my waist and grasp my hip. The second his fingers slipped underneath the fabric of my shirt, I heard the front door slam shut.
“Chase! We’re home!”
We jumped apart before the ‘se’ part of my name left my father’s lips.
“SHIT!” I gasped, both of us jumping to our feet. I had no idea what I was going to do, and my brain wasn’t grasping on to any one thing other than wanting to kiss him again. Startling me, Avery grabbed me in his arms,
“Don’t worry. I’ll go out the window. I promise I’ll come back and see you again. Goodnight, Chase.” He kissed me quickly, flew to the window, hoisted it up, and in record time he was out. I watched as he carefully walked down the sloped roof, jumped to the ground, and ran to his car. A long breath escaped me as soon as his headlights turned on and he drove off. I let out a soft, unbelieving laugh as I replayed what had just happened in the last few minutes, putting my fingers to my swollen lips hoping I hadn’t dreamt that part.
“What are you still doing up? And what is that, why are you still dressed? Chase, you know that is an undershirt! You look trashy like that, I hope you didn’t leave the house in that thing,” my mother barked from my doorway.
I sighed. I didn’t have the energy to even reply tonight. Instead, I reached up and took off my purple shirt, smelling Avery all over it, I threw it on top of my bed and headed for the bathroom in nothing but my bra and jeans, leaving my mother with a horrified look on her face.
I looked up at the clock mounted on the brick wall of the school’s outdoor breezeway as I made my way to class. Sure enough, it was only a quarter to ten in the morning, yet there it was, as if I had dreamt it up and willed it to appear.
I don’t know how I knew, but the way my heart raced lead me to believe it couldn’t be anyone but him in that sleek, black mustang sitting in our school’s parking lot. It probably only took about a minute before I was all smiles and running full speed toward the car. I approached the driver’s side slowly, and that messy blonde hair caught my eye instantly.
Avery looked as though he was talking to himself. I let out a soft laugh and lightly tapped on the glass. He jumped sky high, and as soon as our eyes met, his cheeks actually started to turn pink.
I’d seen sexy confident Avery, and he had me at my wits end, but cute, slightly flushed Avery almost brought me to my knees.
He was too adorable for words, tattoos and all.
Opening the door, he laughed to himself as he got out and leaned against the car.
“Hi,” I said with a giggle.
Avery smiled wide and licked his lips, “I swear I am not a stalker. I was not planning on you seeing me here five hours early.”
I tilted my head to the side and chewed at my bottom lip, “You were coming to pick me up from school?”
Avery’s eyes never left mine as he nodded, reached out, and took my hand, pulling me against him. I closed my eyes and breathed him in as his arms wrapped around me.
“I was bored, and I couldn’t sleep. I would rather be bored and closer to you, so I came out here to pick you up. Only now, waiting in a school parking lot for hours sounds like a really bad idea.”
Freaking adorable.
I smiled and opened my mouth to say something but the bell rang out, announcing that I was late for Calculus.
I turned back to Avery with a mischievous look.
“Did you have something planned?” He nodded with a certain kind of smirk that made my legs shake.
“Sort of a surprise for this afternoon, after you’re done with your classes,” he said with a sparkle in his eye.
“Can we do said surprise now, or does it have to wait until later?” I asked coyly.
He raised an eyebrow, “Are you thinking about skipping school, Miss Taylor?”
It was my turn to blush. I nodded and he gave me the sexiest grin ever. I was pretty sure my body was about to burst into flames. It was starting to feel like it was a billion degrees outside.
He leaned in close, brushing my hair aside, and murmured, “Well then, if you insist on being naughty, I will gladly give you your surprise right now.”
Make that two billion degrees.
“Now, shhhhh! I told you before that this was a surprise, didn’t I? Keep your eyes closed!” Avery said playfully, returning to my side after a few moments of rustling around nearby. He covered my hands with his as he walked behind me, trying to keep me blind to our surroundings as he directed me where to walk.
A moment later he stopped us, leaning in against my ear, “Ok, now you can open them.”
Avery gently lifted his hands from mine. I hesitated, not wanting to rush the surprise he had planned for me. This was twenty million times better than sitting through Calculus, and I wanted to savor the moment. I bit my bottom lip as I kept my hands firmly in place and grinned like crazy when I heard him chuckle behind me. I felt the caress of his warm breath as he sensually nuzzled the back of my neck, causing a shudder to course through my body.
“I could blindfold you for the rest of the time if that’s what you’d like,” he murmured huskily against my ear. Goose bumps spread down my shoulders and all the way to my fingertips.
“Hmmm,” I exhaled with a smile as I leaned into him. A few more kisses traced a path along the nape of my neck and I sighed again, breathing in the fresh air. This must be what heaven feels like. Suddenly, I’m struck with a desperate urge to look at him, to touch him back, to remind myself that he’s real. Fighting my urge to prolong the sweet assault at my nape, I slowly opened my eyes to brilliant orange, yellow, and brown hues all around me. Studying the autumn-brushed park surrounding us, I noticed a blanket a few feet away covered with pink carnations. A small basket of snacks and drinks lay there among the flowers. I spun around and flung my arms around Avery’s neck, the happiness of the day etched all over my face. I leaned in unhurriedly and placed a soft kiss against his lips, loving the way he let out a low, appreciative groan before brushing a hand against my cheek.
“You look absolutely beautiful today,” he sighed a moment later, pulling back from our kiss. I could feel that familiar heat rising beneath my cheeks as I smiled and looked back over at the blanket.
“Is that for us?” I asked, tucking some stray curls behind my ear.
With a half turned up smile, Avery nodded. Taking my hand, he led me to our picnic.
Once we sat down on the blanket, he started to pull out our extravagant lunch and I couldn’t help but giggle. Out of the basket came some salt and vinegar chips, peanut butter cups, beef jerky, gummy worms, chocolate donuts, and sweet tea. At first glance, it was junk food heaven, but to me, it was all of my favorite snacks. I lifted a flower to my nose and breathed in the sweet scent.
My favorite flower, dozens of them.
He had remembered every single thing I’d rattled off in conversation over dinner the other night.
“I thought I’d change things up a bit, ya know. It’s not a traditional picnic, but it fits you. It fits,” he paused, pursed his lips in a contemplative manner and then smiled, “It fits us.”
I turned my head in his direction as the butterflies started to take over my entire body. I wrinkled my nose and grinned wildly.
“I love it. I can’t believe you remembered all of my favorite things,” I said, pulling my hair over to one shoulder as I leaned onto one arm to stare at him.
“Do you have any idea how breathtaking you are?” Avery spoke softly, his eyes roaming over me shamelessly.
I turned my blushing face away from him, his heated gaze turning this cool au
tumn day into a blazingly hot one again. The way his stormy eyes washed over me filled me with that curious feeling again— the one where the warmth from inside my heart overflowed, causing an utterly euphoric effect. I could picture myself lying next to Avery like this for the rest of my life and never growing tired of him.
We opened up the snacks and took a few bites of whatever we were in the mood for, laughing and playing with our food the entire time. We took turns as we tossed candy up in the air and tried to catch it in our mouths. He was the only one with the skill to pull it off. I couldn’t do anything but peg myself in the eye and giggle incessantly after every attempt I made. Avery took every chance he had to steal an innocent glance or touch when the opportunity arose.
Lost in the idyllic moment, I didn’t notice when he pulled something out of his back pocket until he was holding it right in front of my face. He slowly and sweetly pushed my hair aside as he placed headphones in my ears that were attached to an iPod in his hand. I raised a curious eyebrow at him as I set down my bag of gummy worms.
“What’s this?”
Grinning, “You said you wanted to hear my band, and since I’m only one quarter of it, this is the best I can do at the moment. Now, if you like it, smile really big and tell me how awesome we are. If you don’t like us, smile really big and tell me how awesome we are, ok?”
I threw my head back and laughed, “Oh, shut up! There is no way that I won’t love it. Now, just show me how to work this thing.”
It was his turn to laugh as he scooted over right beside me and pressed a few buttons until my ears were filled with music. I closed my eyes as a voice as smooth as velvet began to sing, wrapping around me and sucking me in instantly. For the rest of my life I would recognize his voice anywhere.
Wild Chase Page 4
