Take Heart (10 page)

Relief washes over me and I begin to thaw a little. I knew he wasn’t hitting on Tamika tonight. Despite my jealousy, I only saw her flirting with him, he never reciprocated. Deep down, I also believe him when he says he and Christa are done messing around. As of right now, I have no real reason not to trust Chase. Sure he has a past, but he hasn’t done anything to hurt me.

“I’m sorry I went along with Raven’s plan. That wasn’t very considerate of me. To be honest, I wasn’t actively seeking out guys. When I left to go meet up with Raven and bring her back to our spot, she saw Sasha flirting with Eric and lost it. Tonight wasn’t about getting back at you, it was Raven’s way of trying to get to Eric,” I explain.

He looks relieved. “Why didn’t you say something? I was starting to think my feelings for you were one-sided.”

“I should have but she was on a rampage and I kinda got sucked in. One minute, we were all having a good time and I was thinking I’d get some alone time with you, and then the next minute, we saw them flirting with you guys and it all went downhill from there.”

Sighing, Chase pulls me into his arms and lays my head against his chest. I close my eyes and listen to the sound of his heart beating while he holds me. Every so often, he kisses my head and runs his hands up and down my back.

“Those two really need to figure their situation out,” he finally says.

“You’re telling me. I didn’t even know there was a situation until tonight. I felt like I had the rug pulled out from under my feet, and it’s been nonstop chaos ever since.”

“Yeah, Eric has been infatuated with her for years, but she never seemed to be interested in him that way. Apparently, now she is,” he chuckles.

His body vibrates from it, and gently shakes mine, making me feel all warm and good inside.
Gosh, the things this guy does to me.
Tonight is the first night where I felt comfortable enough to have a raw conversation with him. Something’s changed between us. We’re acting more like a couple now than we have thus far; I just hope he notices it.

“We should get back. I can’t believe someone hasn’t come looking for us,” he smirks.

“Yeah, we really should,” I reluctantly agree. “I need to go check on Raven and see how she’s doing.” I grab onto the door handle but Chase reaches out and pulls me back.

“By the way, you look amazing tonight. I know I didn’t get a chance to tell you that earlier, so I wanted to tell you now.”

I smile. “Awe, thank you.”

“Awe, you’re welcome,” he teases. “What do you say we get out of here and have that alone time you’ve been dying for?”

“Whatever. I was thinking maybe we could bring one of those guys back with us that hit on me earlier. What do you say?”

He narrows his eyes and scowls. “Not. Funny.”

“Maybe I should make you jealous more often. It’s a sexy look on you.”

“Behave,” he warns.

“Never,” I promise.

He responds to that by giving me a good smack on the ass.

And they say romance is dead.

c     h     a     s     e

“My place, or yours?” I ask Mia.

“Definitely mine. I want to be there for Raven just in case she needs a friend to talk to about Eric.”

I can live with that. I really wanted her to choose my place because I don’t live with any roommates, but I understand her reasoning.

We walk back out front and search around for everyone who came with us. Thanks to Raven, that’s a longer list of people than necessary. I about lost my shit when she invited Tamika and Sasha to pick up guys with her and Mia. I knew she was just toying with Eric, which pissed me off even more when she pulled Mia into it. There’s no way in hell I was going to let another guy get within ten feet of her. I know she isn’t technically my girl yet, but I’ll be damned if I let some other guy walk out of here with her. If I’m going down, I’m going down for a good reason. Not some false assumption that I’m into someone else.

Spotting Tamika over at the bar, I place my hand on the middle of Mia’s back and steer her over there so we can say goodbye.

“Oh, hey! I was wondering where everyone went,” Tamika says once we reach her.

“Yeah, sorry. I think Eric, Raven, and Sasha are still dancing. I had to go to the bathroom to cool down for a minute,” Mia explains.

She looks up to give me an indulgent smile and bites down on her bottom lip like the little tease she is. Cool down my ass. I was so wound up from watching her rub up against me, I almost came undone. I’ve had my fair share of women, but the way Mia makes me feel, there’s no comparison. She’s a force of nature that I can’t control and I never saw coming. She plowed into my life with no warning whatsoever and annihilated everything I thought I knew about what I wanted from a woman—from a relationship.

“I see. So where we headed next?” Tamika asks eagerly.

“Actually, we’re going to call it a night.”

“Oh, okay,” she says, disappointed. “Well, thanks for inviting us to come out. I had a great time and I’m sure Sasha did too.”

“You okay to drive?” I check.

“Yeah, I haven’t had that much.”

Mia looks up at me adoringly like she’s seeing me in a different light for the first time. I shoot her a confused look as she tries to fight the cute smile that’s forming on her face. She needs to stop looking at me like that if she wants me to behave myself, but we’ll talk about that later.

“Alright, look out for yourself tonight and I’ll see you tomorrow at work.”

“See you then,” she replies.

I grab Mia’s hand and push through all of the people. I see Eric and Sasha grinding on each other but Raven is nowhere to be found. I turn back around to Mia.

“Why don’t you try to find Raven and I’ll meet you outside after I let Eric and Sasha know what’s going on,” I suggest.

She nods and walks off.

I walk up to Eric and Sasha. They’re so glued to one another, they don’t seem to notice anything or anyone else around them. I grab Eric’s upper arm and peel him away for a minute.

“What the hell, Chase? Can’t you see I’m busy?” he asks in an annoyed tone.

“I know. I’m just letting you know that Mia and I are headed back to her place, and possibly Raven, too, if we can find her.”

“Alright I’ll catch up with all y’all later,” he says. He turns to grab Sasha again, but I pull him back to me once more.

“Hey, for what it’s worth, she’s into you,” I tell him.

“No shit she’s into me. Now if you let go of my arm, I can get back to her and possibly get laid later.”

I shake my head.

“Not Sasha, dude. Raven. Raven is into you.”

“What?”

“I’m serious. That’s why she’s been on such a warpath tonight. Seeing you with Sasha set her off.”

Eric gives me a mixed look of pure disbelief and annoyance. He shakes his head in frustration while he processes what I’ve just said. Since I’ve been there and done that, I decide to give him some unsolicited, but much needed, advice.

“Eric, you’ve liked that girl forever, man. If there’s even the slightest chance that she wants you, isn’t that worth looking into?”

He shakes his head. “It’s not that simple. I don’t know what she wants from me anymore. The only time she’s interested, is when the threat of another girl is in the picture. It’s the classic case of she wants what she can’t have. I’m not going to be strung along like some fucking puppet. It’s not my job to be at her beck and call.”

“I think it’s more than that,” I say, in Raven’s defense.

“It doesn’t matter. She needs to figure her shit out. Her inability to make up her mind is not my problem,” he says adamantly.

I drop the subject and let him know that I’ll be driving Mia home. Since he intends to bring Sasha back to his place tonight, he’s more than happy with that arrangement.

I leave them to it and head for the exit to wait out front for Mia. When I step outside, I see that there is still a long line of people waiting to get in. There’s a breeze tonight and it instantly cools me down. All of the buildings are lit up downtown, which makes the city look awesome. The streets and sidewalks are filled with people, mainly college students, who are all out having a good time.

A minute or two goes by and just as I’m starting to get impatient, Mia and Raven come walking out hand-in-hand. Raven’s face is flushed and I’m not sure if it’s from all of the dancing she was doing or whether she’s been crying. Mia releases her hand, strolls over to me, and rests her hands on my shoulders.

“Raven is going to drive herself back to the apartment. Is it okay if I ride with her instead and meet you there?” she asks, eyes hopeful.

I reach out and tuck a strand of hair behind her ear and caress her cheek. “Of course. I’ll meet you there.”

“Thank you,” she mouths in appreciation.

I give her a slight nod and lean in to kiss her cheek. I fish my keys out of my pocket and start the long walk to get back to my car. I already know these next fifteen minutes are going to painfully creep by.

I pull into their apartment complex and immediately spot Raven’s car. Good. I drove slow on purpose, hoping they would beat me back here so I didn’t have to sit and wait. When I reach their door, I give it a couple of hard knocks. The door opens up and Raven steps aside to let me in.

“Mia’s in the shower. She’ll be out shortly. You can either hang out here or head into her room and wait for her in there. Either way, don’t be a pervert about it,” she says, stepping out. She closes the door behind her, leaving me alone with my thoughts of Mia showering right down the hall.

Now, if I were being a gentleman, I’d wait out in the living room. But when all I can think about is a stream of water running down her wet, naked body, and her hands running up and down certain areas to rub soap on herself...well...shit can you really blame me for choosing to wait in the bedroom? I figure if she doesn’t want me in there, then she can kick me out herself.

I head down the hall and stop in between the two bedrooms.
Which one is hers?
I open the door on the left and see that everything is neat, organized, and very high maintenance looking. Definitely
not
Mia’s room. I quickly close it and open the bedroom door on the right. This room is pretty bare. There’s a full bed and a nightstand, but those are the only pieces of furniture she has in here. Some of her clothes are strewn out over her bed and on the floor, including the outfit she was wearing tonight. She doesn’t have much stuff. Quite frankly, it looks like she’s living out of a suitcase.

The thought cuts me. What happened to her? All I want to do is take her shopping for a ton of new stuff so she has a full room that she can finally feel at home in. I have a feeling it’s been a while since Mia truly felt welcome anywhere. She deserves all that, and so much more. I’m going to give it to her. I want her to feel safe, settled, and comfortable.

I walk up to the bed and crawl across it. Once I reach the head of the mattress, I lay down on my side so that I’m facing the door for when she walks in. I pull out my phone and get on Facebook, while I anxiously wait for her finish showering.

Hearing the bathroom door open, I put my phone away, and prepare to give Mia my rapt attention. She doesn’t disappoint. She walks in wearing a tight, pale purple tank, and overly large charcoal sweatpants. Her hair is down, messy, and soaking wet.
Fuck me, she’s insanely gorgeous, even in sweats.
I swallow hard and feel my cock stir in my jeans. She freezes when she sees me, her face unreadable.

“What are you doing in here?” she asks, cautious.

“Raven told me I could wait out there or in here. Which one did you honestly think I was gonna go with?”

I prop my elbow on the bed and rest my head as I continue to drink her in. She just stands there quietly, eying me heatedly. I take the opportunity to play with her.

“See something you like?” I tease.

“Yeah, actually. I do. I see something I
really
like,” she stresses.

Whoa. Not what I was expecting, but I can work with this.

“Is that so? What a coincidence. I also happen to see something I really like,” I say, eyeing her up and down.

She walks to the side of the bed, places both her hands on the mattress, and leans into me. She smells absolutely divine. Like strawberries and vanilla. I instantly want a taste, but refrain from touching her. She brings her mouth to my ear and whispers, “I’ll give you a hint, what I see looks sexy as hell—especially on me. It smells so good, and heats me up in all the right ways. I’d probably get a little jealous if I saw it on anyone else, because it’s
mine
.” She slowly licks the outer shell of my ear and I about lose it.
Yes. Hers. No one else.

I feel her pulling at something underneath my leg. I lift my body to help her out, and she grabs a black Pink Floyd hoodie and slips it on. “Mmmm, now that’s what I’m talking about,” she says, smelling the inside of the hoodie and exhaling in contentment.

What a naughty little tease.

I make a tsking sound as I bring both of my legs around the side of the bed and stand up in front of her. I grab her by the waist and launch her onto the bed.

“Ahh, Chase!” she exclaims. She hits the bed with a light thud and giggles. Quickly lifting herself up, she scoots back against the headboard.

I close the bedroom door and walk around to the end of the bed, placing my knee down. The mattress dips with my weight as I slowly crawl towards her. I grab her ankle, and pull her my way, until she’s lying flat beneath me. Her top rides up a little bit, and I can see a small, sexy patch of skin where her shirt ends, and the sweatpants begin. I lean forward and grab her hips to bring the spot of skin to my lips. She gasps as I lay the first kiss down. I continue to rain kisses all over her torso, over her shirt, and up her neck as if I’m worshipping her.

My fingers travel along the inside of her arms until I reach her palms and intertwine our fingers. I hover over her and pin her weight with my hips. Her gorgeous eyes are searing with desire and her breathing has picked up. I gently bite down on the top swell of her breast and suck. Mia moans and tries to buck her hips against me. She whines in protest when I block her. I’m guessing it’s been a while. I’m going to take my sweet time and torture her before I give her what she wants.

“Chase?” she breathes.

“Yeah, baby?”

“Touch me,” she begs.

“Where?”

“Everywhere,”
she says, her eyes filled with wonder.

I begin to trace my fingers down her body, over her clothes. She shakes her head back and forth, vigorously. I instantly stop and look up, feeling her out.

“No, under my clothes,” she says softly. Her cheeks turn pink and I know she’s embarrassed. We need to work on that right now. I’m going to make sure she’s never embarrassed to ask me for what she wants. If she needs something, I’m going to be the one to give it to her. I fist my hand in her wet hair and firmly hold her in place until she’s gazing up into my eyes. I need her to be in a better headspace before I can continue this.

“Mia, don’t ever be afraid or ashamed to tell me what you want, okay?”

She doesn’t say anything.

“Okay?” I nudge, gently.

She let’s out a nervous breath and nods. I’m going to make it my mission to fire her up so she’s no longer focusing on her nerves. I want her completely confident with me.

“Tell me what you want,” I command. My grip on her hair tightens and I bring my hand to cup her sex and tease her through her sweatpants. She let’s out a high-pitched, needy sound.

“Say it,” I demand.

“You,” she gasps. “I...I want you. God, please don’t stop,” she begs.

“Tell me exactly what you want me to do to you. Be filthy and explicit.”

“I want you to take my clothes off and fuck me with your mouth.”

“Fuck what with my mouth?” I ask, my eyes burning with heat. I want to hear her say it.

Silence.

“Say it, Mia,” I challenge. I roll my hips into her and her eyes roll back in bliss.

“No,” she breathes.

Stubborn woman.