“Chase, it’s fine. Really. Thanks for doing that. I can get the snacks, how’s that?”
He smiled and relaxed into his seat. “Sure.”
“Let’s just get inside. I don’t think this rain is stopping any time soon.”
He reached into the back seat and pulled out an umbrella. He ran around the car and held the door open for me. When I got out, he pulled me in close.
“You want to make a run for it?”
I nodded. “On your mark…”
“Go!” he shouted.
I tried to keep up with him, while he tried to keep the umbrella covering the both of us. My arm was wrapped tightly around his. We were both laughing until we approached the curb. A huge puddle had formed, and we were heading straight for it.
“Chase,” I warned, trying to slow down.
“You can make it!”
“Chase! My legs aren’t long enough!”
“Jump, now!”
We both leapt over the puddle. I squeezed his arm as he pulled me across. We were out of breath, and still laughing when we landed on the other side.
“I would have killed you if I landed in that puddle!”
“You have no faith in me.” He held out his arm. “Look at these little claw marks you left in me. It looks like I got attacked by a baby squirrel.”
“I couldn’t exactly pay attention to my grip as I was flying through the air.” I rubbed his arm for good measure. “You’ll live.”
We blew past the line and scanned our tickets on Chase’s phone at the machine. Then, we stood in front of the snack counter and surveyed the options.
“So, are you a chocolate or gummy kind of girl?”
“Both. What kind of question is that?” I reached out and took a bag of Sour Patch Kids along with a box of Junior Mints. “What are you getting?”
He chuckled. “Oh, are those all for you?”
“I don’t share my snacks.”
“Not even with me?!”
I shook my head. “Not even with the one and only Chase Brooks.”
He grabbed a large bag of popcorn off the shelf. “Fine. Then you can’t have any of my popcorn.”
“Fine.”
“Do you guys want drinks?” the cashier asked.
I looked at Chase.
“Just get one, and we can share.”
I hesitated. “Just one. Large, I guess.”
“Enjoy your movie!”
I took my change and the cup from the cashier, and walked to the soda fountains. “What are we drinking?”
Chase shrugged. “Whatever you want.”
“Grab some napkins.” I pointed to the popcorn surrounding his feet on the floor. “You look like you’re going to need a bunch.”
He shoveled a giant-sized handful of popcorn into his mouth. Pieces dropped everywhere. “You think?”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “Maybe see if they have a tarp instead.”
Inside the theatre buzzed with excitement. I noticed several familiar faces. I ducked my head behind Chase until we found our way to our seats in the back.
“Crowded in here,” he commented.
“Good thing you got our tickets ahead of time.”
He watched as I tried to adjust myself comfortably in the reclining seat. “I can move this armrest up if you need more room.”
“No, I’m okay.” I gave him a side look. “I need a barrier to keep you from my snacks.”
He dramatically covered his tub of popcorn. “Then keep your grubby hands off my corn!”
“Hey, Brooks!” someone shouted.
Chase looked up to see one of our old high school classmates approaching from the row in front of us. His face looked familiar, but I could not for the life of me remember his name.
“Hey, Eric. How’s it going?”
“It’s going well, my man. How was California? I’m surprised you’re back already.”
I cringed. He must have to deal with that a lot. I wondered if he felt embarrassed.
“California was good. It’s nice to be back home, though.”
Eric realized I was sitting next to Chase, and did a double-take. “Merritt? How the hell are you?”
“I’m good.”
“Wow. I saw your accident on the news. I can’t believe you’re alive.”
“Here I am.”
“It was good to see you, Eric,” Chase intercepted. “Enjoy your movie.”
Luckily, Eric took the hint and waved goodbye. “Take care, guys.”
My polite smile turned into a sneer once his back was turned.
Chase laughed while he shook his head. “People don’t get it. It’s not their fault.”
“No. I blame their parents for making them so stupid.”
“Eventually, everyone will forget about you, and me, and move on to the next big story.”
“Can’t wait,” I muttered as the lights turned down. If I was going to be in public, at least I was safe in the darkness.
Thirty minutes into the movie, I had already finished both boxes of my candy. Chase’s hand slowly reached over for the chocolate. I stared straight ahead, pretending not to notice, and allowed him to take the empty box off my lap. I could see his confused expression as he shook the box into his hand and nothing came out. I started giggling.
He leaned over and whispered, “You ate everything already?!”
I tried to be quiet as I laughed. He tossed a handful of popcorn at me, which only made me laugh more.
I reached out my hand. “Can you pass me the drink?”
“Nope.”
“Hand it over.”
He crossed his arms over his chest and relaxed back into his seat with a grin on his face.
I could not reach it with the armrest in between us. I slowly lifted it up, and scooted over. I tried to stretch my arm across him.
“Aww you want to snuggle?” He put his arm around me and squeezed so that I could not move from my spot.
I squirmed trying to reach the soda.
Finally, he gave in and handed me the cup. I took a few swigs and dug my elbow in his side while he whimpered quietly. I handed the cup back to him and went to slide back over to my side.
“Stay here,” he whispered, holding onto me. “I’m comfortable.”
I hesitated for a moment.
“Stay,” he breathed into my ear again. He was warm and smelled like popcorn. It was oddly comforting to feel him beside me in the seat.
I reluctantly sat back. I felt stiff, but didn’t dare move for fear of what his next move might be. I focused my attention straight ahead. We remained like that for the duration of the movie until the credits started scrolling across the screen.
I quickly sat up as the lights came back on. “What did you think?”
“It was great. You?”
I nodded in agreement. “I liked it.”
We walked out with the masses, and made our way back to the car. Luckily, the rain had subsided.
“If you could be any superhero, who would you be?”
He smiled as he started the engine. “That’s easy. Superman.”
“I knew you were going to say that.”
“Why’s that?”
“I don’t know. I could see it. I’m just glad you didn’t say Batman.”
“What do you have against Batman?”
“He doesn’t have any real superpowers! He’s just a guy with gadgets. What if something doesn’t work one day, or his batteries die? There he is, scaling down a building – boom. Dead. He is one faulty piece of equipment away from being roadkill. And Spiderman – don’t even get me started. Who wants to shoot webs out of their hands?! That’s disgusting.”
Chase was laughing. “Who would you be? The Hulk?”
“No. That’s really not ideal. I would be Phoenix.”
“As in Gene Grey, turn evil and kill everyone Phoenix?”
“Yup. I would be able to move shit with my mind. I could hear what everybody was thinking. She was the most powerful.”
“Would you read my mind?”
“I wouldn’t have to. You’re an easy read.”
“You think so, huh?”
I noticed we weren’t on the way to Shelly’s apartment. “Hey, where are we?”
“I want to show you something.”
“So we’re not going back to Shelly’s?”
“We’re making a pit stop first.”
I sat quietly trying to figure out where we were headed. The neighborhood looked familiar when he slowed down. Larger homes, perfectly manicured lawns. This was the nicer side of town. Then he pulled into a driveway.
I looked up at the white colonial before me. There were more windows in one room than I had in my whole house. The largest window above the front door displayed a spiral staircase and a crystal chandelier.
“This is your house, isn’t it?”
He grinned. “Come see your new apartment.”
I quickly followed him up the driveway. “Are your parents home?”
“Why are you whispering?”
“I don’t know.” I looked around. “What time do they go to bed?”
He chuckled as he led me up the concrete stairs on the side of the house. “You don’t have to worry about what they are doing. You come and go as you please. This is your own place.”
At the top landing, he turned around and handed me a key. “This is yours.”
I turned the key in the lock and pushed open the door. I looked for a light switch along the wall. Chase flicked the lights on behind me. The bright white walls smelled like they were freshly painted. In the living room, there was a three-seat gray couch with a matching single recliner facing a flat screen television mounted on the wall. The room was open to the small eat-in kitchen, with stainless steel appliances. The glass kitchen table seated four people. I turned and followed the hallway to find a small pale blue bathroom with a walk-in shower. The room next to it was the bedroom. There was a dresser, bed, and desk, all pushed into the center of the room covered by clear plastic.
“We wanted you to pick the color for your bedroom. Then I can paint it for you before you move in this weekend.”
I stood in awe of the place. Everything looked brand new. I walked back into the living room to take another look.
“Well?” Chase was right behind me. “What do you think of your new home?”
Home. The word was foreign to me. “You know, I always had to worry about taking care of my dad. My whole life. I never imagined what it would be like to move out of the house and live on my own. I never thought about having my own place.”
“You deserve everything you want in life. You can have whatever you want.”
Looking in his eyes, it seemed believable. I felt a pounding in my chest.
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s… beautiful in here. I love it.”
“You’ve been through enough. It’s time you start feeling what it’s like to be happy.”
“Maybe we could go check out some paint colors tomorrow?”
His eyes lit up with excitement. “Definitely.”
“Maybe I could help you paint, too.”
“Whatever you want to do. You just say the word.”
On the ride back to Shelly’s, hundreds of emotions surged throughout my body at once. I was in a daze when Chase pulled to a stop and turned off the engine.
“You okay in there?” he asked quietly.
I nodded, and offered him a smile. “Tonight was fun.”
He reached out and stroked my cheek with his thumb. “I like spending time with you. I like being with you.”
I gently pulled his hand away from my face, and gave it a squeeze before placing it in his lap. “Ditto. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
I got out of the car before he could say another word. It was a great night, and I didn’t want anything to ruin it.
Chapter Seven: Dinner with the Brooks
“How can there be so many whites? Isn’t white just… white?”
Chase chuckled. “There are a lot of different shades.”
“Could you imagine being one of those people? Darling, do you think we should go with the off-white, or the egg white?”
“I don’t know, darling. What about the vanilla white?” His accent was almost worse than mine.
“That one is a bit whiter than the other white.”
“Darling, this is such a tough decision.”
“This white really brings out the white in your eyes, darling.”
We were laughing when a worker approached us. “Do you kids need any help finding a color?”
Chase wrapped his arm around me. “We are looking for the perfect color for my darling’s bedroom.”
I shook his arm off, trying to stop laughing. “I don’t want something too loud. Not sure on the actual color.”
The old man handed me a few paint swatches. “These are really popular in the bedroom.”
“Thanks.”
Chase leaned in as the man walked away. “I bet he knows exactly what’s popular in the bedroom.” He wiggled his eyebrows.
“Ew. So not what I wanted to picture.” I shuffled through the swatches until I found a pale yellow color. I held it up. “What do you think of this one?”
Chase nodded. “I like it. It’s happy.”
“It’s called A Hint of Sunshine.”
“It suits you.”
I laughed. “What does that even mean?”
“You seem so sad and guarded on the outside. But once in a while, you smile, and it’s like a hint of sunshine comes across your face, just for a moment.”
“That’s good. You should call Hallmark and get that on a card.”
We picked out paint brushes and rollers while we waited for the cans to be shaken. When it was ready, we carried everything to the checkout counter.
Chase stepped in front of me. “This is being taken care of, so don’t even take out your wallet.”
“No, no. This paint is for my room, so I’m going to pay for it.”
“Nope. Beverly’s orders. This is all part of getting your apartment ready. She would be painting for any tenant that moved in.”
I sighed. “I guess you being difficult runs in your family, huh?”
“Oh, and she wants you to come to dinner tonight. After we finish painting.”
I tried to hide my unease.
Once we were back at the apartment, Chase began laying out all of the materials. I set up my phone to play the best of the eighties while we painted. There was no conversation, which was nice for a change. We hummed along to a song every now and then. Painting felt therapeutic. The sound of the paint brushes swishing up and down was calming. It didn’t hurt that I got to steal a glance or two at Chase while he worked. He had muscles in his arms that I didn’t even know existed, as they contracted with every push and pull of the roller. I also happened to notice the way his shorts curved around his perfectly round rump. I was foolishly staring when he unexpectedly turned around.
“How does it look from down there?”
“What?”
“The paint. How does it look?”
I bit my bottom lip to keep from laughing. “It’s perfect.”
He nodded in agreement. “We’ll let it dry, and paint the second coat in the morning. It will be ready for you to sleep here by tomorrow night.”
I glanced at the time on my phone. Two hours had gone by like seconds. “I’d better jump in the shower to get ready for dinner.”
“See you at six.” He gave me a wink and carried away the brushes and rollers.
When I heard the door close, I typed out a text to Brody: I need a big favor - can you drop off a bottle of wine outside my apartment please?
I hit send and stepped into the shower. I refused to show up to dinner emptyhanded with the Brooks family, and Chase would have told me that wine was not necessary. How I was counting the days until I could be rid of this sling, and drive wherever I wanted – even though I had nothing to drive. I put on jean
s and a plain black V-neck shirt; I didn’t want to look like crap, but I also didn’t want to look like I was trying too hard. Dinner with the entire Brooks family was intimidating. I made a single-handed attempt to run some gel through my hair so the curls didn’t look so frizzy. I smiled when I saw the bottle of wine sitting on my doorstep outside my front door. I walked down the stairs, across the front yard, and rang the doorbell next to the fancy giant double doors. Then, I took a deep breath.
To my surprise, a tiny blonde-haired human opened the door. “It’s her!” she shouted. “Come in. Do you like my dress?” Khloe twirled and waited for my response.
I smiled as I stepped into the grandiose entryway. “I love it. Yellow is my favorite color.”
“That’s what Chase said. He is very excited you’re coming to dinner. So is my mom. She said that Chase doesn’t bring a lot of girls home, so this is big.” Her hazel eyes widened to put emphasis on the last word.
I laughed as she took my hand and dragged me into the dining room.
“Chase! Look! Merry is here!”
Chase and his father were setting the table.
“It’s Merritt, you knucklehead.” Tanner waltzed into the room. He gave me a nod before sitting down to await the food.
“It’s fine,” I reassured Khloe. I could care less what she called me. I walked over to Tim and handed him the bottle of wine. “I wasn’t sure what to bring.”
Chase smiled and shook his head while Tim gave me a hug. He still smelled like the shop. It reminded me of my father. “That was very kind of you. You didn’t have to bring anything.”
Beverly appeared in the doorway from the kitchen. “You did not have to bring a single thing. This is your special dinner.”
“I don’t need a special dinner. The apartment is more than enough. I don’t know how I can ever repay you for everything.”
“I should be the one getting a special dinner. You took my apartment,” Tanner grumbled.
I had to stop my jaw from dropping open. “What do you mean?”
Chase smacked him in the back of the head. “You wish it was your apartment. I’m the older one, it would have been mine, if anything.”
“You left for two years. I had dibs on it,” Tanner retorted.
“Enough now!” Beverly entered the dining room carrying a large oven-baked chicken decorated on all sides with sliced potatoes. It smelled amazing. I could not remember the last time I had a home-cooked meal that I had not prepared myself.
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