A Hope and a Chance

by Jennifer Foor

  He smiled. “Well I’m glad to hear it. Listen, I gotta run out and show some commercial property to an investor. I don’t know how long I’ll be so Buffy was hoping that you and Chance would want to watch movies later. Please try and be nice to her. She really cares about you, Hope.”

  “I’d love to hang out with them, and I promise to be nice. Good luck with the investors,” I said as I happily ran into the house.

  I didn’t see Buffy when I got inside, so I hurried up and headed into my room. After gathering some clean clothes I went into the bathroom. As I reached in to turn the water on I heard someone knocking. I walked to the door first but no one was there. Then I turned around and saw Chance standing at the window.

  I pulled it open quickly. “What are you doing?”

  He smiled, displaying his perfect teeth. “I’m trying to work, but then I saw what you were doing. I didn’t want you to freak out if you saw me staring.”

  “That’s illegal you know. You’re a peeping Tom,” I joked.

  “You can handcuff me right now, Hope. I wouldn’t even put up a fight.” He laughed, while still looking at me with intent.

  I leaned out and grazed his lips. “Don’t tempt me.”

  “So are you giving me permission to watch?” He asked.

  “What do you think?” I started pulling off my shirt and backed away from the window while sliding my shorts off slowly. When I stood up he was smiling but moving out of my sight.

  “That is so mean,” he said in the distance.

  I took my time in the shower, and not because I wanted to tease Chance. I was half tempted to pull him inside. I just wanted to let the water run down my face and relax. When I got out I didn’t see him anywhere around. He may have had to go get one of his famous cold showers he’d told me about.

  I wrapped myself up in a towel and started to get dressed. When I was done applying lotion to my legs I headed into my bedroom. After about five minutes someone knocked on my door. “Come in.” I was hoping to see my boyfriend.

  Buffy tottered in and sat down beside me on my bed. “Hey, can we talk?” She asked.

  “Sure.”

  “I feel like an idiot for how I dealt with things this morning. I was so excited that I didn’t take into consideration that it would be hard for you. I am so sorry, Hope. I really love you like a sister and I don’t want to lose that if I marry your dad. I know that sounded convoluted, but it’s the truth.”

  “Buffy, I feel the same way. I am sorry too. I should have been more understanding. You love my dad and he loves you. You guys should be able to do whatever you want.”

  She leaned her head on my shoulder. “So, are we cool?”

  “Absolutely,” I said.

  She threw her arms around me and squealed like she was describing a high school crush.

  “I was thinking that you might want to watch movies with me and Chance. Your dad is going to be getting home late. You know how those investor meetings go. They almost always end up at some golf course and country club.”

  I smiled, only thinking of being in the same room with Chance. “That would be great.”

  24

  Mark had pulled me aside and asked if anyone had come over to the house while he and Buffy were gone. I assured him that nobody did. That wasn’t a lie.

  We were burying ourselves into an endless mess, but there was no other place I wanted to be. Hope was fully aware of my feelings now, and she would never let me stop even if I wanted to.

  My sister had this brilliant idea to have a movie night, and I would have declined if it weren’t for the fact that Hope was going to be there. Buffy had this problem of getting the worst girly movies ever made. I usually fell asleep after the first twenty minutes, and her shortly after. We’d end up taking days to finish, well she would at least.

  I finished painting the posts on the front and back of the house, and headed to my place to shower. I imagined that my sister would order pizza and we would just veg out all night. Hope had no idea what she was in for.

  When I was all cleaned up I headed over to the main house. I called out for my sister, but she wasn’t anywhere to be found. I then snuck up to Hope’s room. She was sitting at her computer with headphones in. I strode up behind her and kissed the back of her neck.

  She jumped before turning around and pulling me into a hug.

  “Where’s my sister?”

  “She just left to go grocery shopping and grab the movies,” Hope explained with an ornery grin.

  “So, we’re alone?” I needed to verify.

  She placed her soft lips against mine. “I was just getting ready to come visit you. I had to wait until she at least pulled out of the driveway.”

  “What were you going to do when you found me?” I asked, even though I already knew the answer.

  “What do you want me to do?” She bit down on her lip, while awaiting my answer.

  “I can think of a million things I’d like to do with you, but for starters I think we need to do this.” I leaned down and pressed my lips against hers again. She gripped the collar of my shirt, and pulled me even closer to her face. Her lips rubbed down my neck and she bit me before she ran her tongue over the bite mark.

  “You smell so good.” She whispered.

  We started taking off our clothes as fast as we possibly could. “What if someone comes home?” I asked in between kisses.

  “We should just hurry.” Hope pushed me down on her bed.

  Hope moved her hands up my thighs and kissed me on my belly button, and then with her tongue she worked her way up to one of my nipples. She obtained it with her teeth and slowly pulled it. “Oh God!”

  Then she climbed on top of me, straddling my legs. Her tongue found mine and she played with it, teasing me with her own. We didn’t have time for slow passion; we needed to hurry so that we didn’t get caught.

  Hope reached down and grabbed me. She lifted her body and then we were one. At first she was rocking slow, but soon picked up the pace. She used my chest to balance her weight while she guided her hips back and forth. It didn’t take us long to become overwhelmed with each other. This girl had all of my attention, and there was nothing I wasn’t willing to risk to be with her.

  When her body began to lose control it was difficult for me to be able to hold out. A few seconds after she slowed her rhythm, I was sent into a frenzy.

  Hot.

  Sweaty.

  Passionate.

  Love.

  Hope leaned her face toward me and kissed me slowly. I couldn’t help from wrapping my arms around her keeping her close to me. After a few minutes we both agreed that we needed to get dressed before Buffy returned home. The grocery store was just ten minutes away, and the movie rental was out of this big video box right inside of that same location. Depending on what Buffy needed, she may already be on her way back.

  Hope and I attained our clothes and began dressing. I noticed her birth control pill package lying on her dresser and I couldn’t help but grab it. “Please make sure to take one of these every day. We already have a lot of explaining to do.”

  “I never forget, Chance; you don’t have to worry about that.” She kissed me one more time.

  After doing a quick check out the window, Hope and I held hands as we sauntered down to the living room. She turned on the television while I went into the kitchen and made us both some tea, and then headed back and sat on the couch to cuddle next to her. When we heard Buffy pull up we scooted apart and acted like we were surprised to see her back so soon.

  “Oh goodie, you’re both already here. I’m so excited.” Buffy said as she came into the room. “I got us two movies to watch and extra butter popcorn.”

  I picked up the movies and rolled my eyes as I looked at the first one. Who wrote these cheesy stories anyway? Hope looked over at me and I held up what would be a nightmare for me to sit through.

  Buffy left for a second then came running back into the room. “I forgot to give you your movie.” Sh
e handed me a movie out of her purse, and I immediately smiled. She’d gotten me a horror flick even though she hated them.

  “I know I loathe them, but I figured that we could all sit on the same couch and you could protect Hope and I from whatever’s on that DVD. You do have two shoulders we can hide behind, ya know.” She disappeared into the kitchen to make the popcorn.

  I got the biggest smile on my face as I headed over and put my movie in, ignoring the other two. I sat down next to Hope and leaned into her. “Do you like scary movies?”

  “Actually, I do,” she whispered.

  “Damn, I was hoping you could hide your eyes in my shoulder.”

  She smiled back at me. “Oh, that can be arranged.”

  Buffy walked back in the room with a giant bowl of popcorn. We turned off the lights and all three of us sat on the couch ready to watch. About halfway into the movie Hope located a blanket and wrapped it around herself. I slid my hand down to my side and slipped it under the blanket without making it obvious to my sister. It was there that I found her fingers waiting to be held.

  Buffy fell asleep while Hope and I continued to watch the movie. Her hand never left mine and I found comfort being able to do such mundane things with her. She was so special to me and I couldn’t help but love the fact that she enjoyed these kinds of movies.

  When it was over I leaned over to Hope. “I better call it a night,” I whispered.

  She brought her chin up and brushed her lips over mine. “Okay.”

  “Walk me into the kitchen?” I asked in a quiet tone.

  She nodded and followed me in there with our cups in her hands. I leaned down and kissed her lips. My thumb came up and rubbed her bottom one. “See you in the morning, baby.”

  I headed out toward my place. It killed me to do that.

  I made it in the door, grabbing my pack of smokes. If I couldn’t be with Hope tonight then I was going to have my first cigarette of the day. I stripped down in my living room to only my boxers and headed out to the picnic table, where I’d watched Hope seduce me just days ago. The smoke filled my lungs and I realized how lonely I was without her close to me. It was unbelievable how in just a short amount of time I’d come to love someone so much that I didn’t want to be away from them.

  She had no idea how grateful I was for her.

  There was the giant issue of her father warning me to stay away from his daughter, and the fact that the local cops were breathing down my neck for an alibi that I couldn’t give them.

  I know Hope said she wanted the truth to come out, but I couldn’t let her do that. If she told the cops we were together, I would be out of trouble with them, but have to then deal with Mark. It was a lose-lose situation.

  I finished my cigarette and put it out in one of my sister’s new flower pots. I would have to remember to remove it in the morning so she never saw that I’d done it. She hated that shit.

  I went in the pool house and tried to find something to watch on television, but my mind was elsewhere. I couldn’t stop thinking of Hope, and wondered what she was doing, and if she was thinking about me too.

  Finally I headed into my room and lay on my bed. I was getting ready to play around on the internet on my cell phone when I got a message.

  It was from an unknown number, but there was only one person it could have been.

  I couldn’t stand being in my room, so I snuck downstairs and got Chance’s number from my father’s office. I got so excited that I started texting before I had even made it back to my room.

  I miss you already ~ Hope

  I stared at my phone and when I didn’t get a reply I wondered if Chance was awake, or even if this was still his phone number. I located my stuffed frog he’d won me on the boardwalk and hugged it.

  Finally my phone vibrated.

  Me too! ~ C

  I got a big smile on my face.

  So what are you wearing? ~Hope

  A pair of long plaid pants. A Hawaiian shirt that is button up. And some argyle socks. ~C

  Lol. I bet that looks so hot on you. ~ Hope

  I can’t sleep. There is something wrong with my bed. ~C

  What? Did you break it? ~Hope

  You’re not in it. ~C

  I held the phone to my chest and started laughing.

  What would you do if I was? ~ Hope

  I would hold you all night long. ~ C

  : )~Hope

  <3 Goodnight ~C

  <3 Goodnight ~Hope

  I wished we could talk all night long, but I needed some rest. It had been a long emotional day for me. I hugged my stuffed frog tight and finally fell asleep.

  25

  When I woke up Buffy was sitting on the edge of my bed. I didn’t even have to open my eyes all the way to know it was her. Her bright pink tank top was burning my eyes.

  “Oh hey, Buff. What’s up?” I asked.

  “Sorry to come in your room so early. I actually had something I wanted to talk to you about.”

  I tried to focus and listen, but I was not a morning person. “Okay, is it about the wedding?”

  “No, actually it’s about my brother,” she stated.

  Her eyes were fixed on mine and I didn’t know what to do. If I changed my expression she would know I was hiding something. I remained as calm as I could. “What about him?”

  “Well I was wondering if you have seen him with anyone, especially when we were away?”

  “Oh, um…no, I didn’t see him with anyone.” That wasn’t a lie. He’d been with only me the whole time.

  “Hope, I won’t be mad if he asked you not to tell me. I know he’s been seeing someone. He’s acting different, and last month I found him naked in his bed, after he left a bar we were all at together. Now I know my brother and he doesn’t sleep without clothes.” She sounded certain. I knew otherwise.

  “I swear to you that I didn’t see anyone over the weekend or ever.”

  She gave me a quick smile. “Damn. Did he ever leave and stay somewhere else over night?”

  I shook my head. “No! I saw him everyday at least a couple times. If he went anywhere I didn’t notice. I wasn’t his keeper though. If you wanted me to keep tabs on him you should have said something.”

  Buffy stood up and headed toward my door. “It was worth a try I guess. He won’t talk to me about it. Maybe it’s my imagination.” She started walking out of the room. “Sorry I woke you up. I just didn’t want to ask in front of your father or Chance.”

  “It’s fine. I’ll see you downstairs,” I announced.

  Well that sucked. I obtained my cell phone and texted Chance.

  Buffy just asked me if I saw you with anyone while they were gone. She mentioned the morning she found you naked when I was hiding in the shower. I didn’t tell her anything. Just wanted you to know. ~Hope

  Wow, she won’t give up will she? Thanks! C-ya soon. ~C

  Definitely! ~ Hope

  I climbed out of my bed and got dressed. Today I was going to visit my mother. I hadn’t seen her in weeks and I wanted her to be informed about my father’s plans. Maybe it wasn’t my place to tell her, but she would kill me if she found out from someone else. I threw on some sweat shorts and the white t-shirt that smelled like Chance. Then I headed into the bathroom to wash up, and finally make my way downstairs. Buffy was outside doing what looked like Yoga. My father was in his office talking on the phone.

  Finally, Chance came walking into the kitchen as I opened the refrigerator.

  I felt a hand brush over my butt. “Good morning, beautiful.”

  “Hey, yourself.”

  He was eating a banana and I couldn’t help but watch his lips as he did it. “What are you doing today?”

  “I am going to see my mother. It’s been a while, and I really need to get out of this house.”

  Chance knew not to take it personal; well I hoped that he didn’t.

  “I guess you’re going to spill the beans to her?” Chance asked.

  “That is the plan.�
��

  I heard my dad coming into the room. “What’s the plan?” He asked.

  “I um, I’m going to have lunch with Mom today,” I confessed.

  “Hope, it’s okay. It’s fine. She needs to know.” He squeezed my shoulder. “Don’t worry about it, sweetie. I know you’re going to tell her sooner or later.”

  “Thanks, Dad. I just don’t want her hearing about it from anyone else.” I ambled outside toward my car, not really wanting to be in the same room with my dad yet.

  I couldn’t stay inside with either of them. Being around Chance and not being able to touch him made me want him more. My father was keeping us apart; well he thought he was at least. The last thing I wanted was for Chance to have to move out. If I couldn’t see him I’d go insane.

  Once I started driving, I realized I wasn’t prepared to face my mother with the information I had on my dad and Buffy.

  She was going to freak out. It wasn’t because she was still in love with him, in fact she hated him. I think she would be hurt and possibly feel jealous. She had lost everything while he was living it up, becoming wealthier than when they were together.

  I pulled into the driveway behind my mother’s car and took a deep breath. It was going to be a long day. Suddenly, I wished I was back at the pool house in Chance’s arms.

  My sister was fishing around trying to figure out who I was involved with. I couldn’t be pissed at her, because I knew she was just looking out for me. The problem was I wasn’t sure how deep she was going to be looking. I had to start being more careful about being around Hope. If Buffy suspected it was her she would freak out.

  As much as I cared for Hope I had to keep thinking about the big picture. In just a few months she would be eighteen, and could make her own decisions about who she wanted to be with. I was fully aware that she wanted to be with me, but I found myself wondering if we wouldn’t just be better waiting it out. If we did then nobody would get in any trouble.