Unfamiliar (18 page)

“No one’s ever said that before, that I’m hot, I mean.” She seemed embarrassed as she said this.

“Well,
no one’s
an idiot,” I said, giving her a meaningful look, and from the way her brows knitted together I could tell she knew exactly who I was referring to.

“Um, let me grab my coat,” Hailey said, turning around and walking back into the room.

That’s when I got a good look at her ass in that dress. Oh man, it was going to be hard to keep my hands off Hailey tonight. And, something else was going to be hard too.

“Ready to go?” Hailey came back carrying a long, black coat. I really hoped she didn’t get cold tonight because I wanted to show her off in that dress.

“Yeah, sure.”

As we walked out to my car, I wasn’t sure what to do with my hands. What I really wanted to do was hold Hailey’s hand, but that was probably out of line so I decided against it. Once we got into the car, Hailey was silent, which was fine with me because there was a lot going on in my mind.

I couldn’t seem to shut off my thoughts when it came to Hailey. Let’s face it, I really wanted her to like me, and I wanted this night to go really well. I was hoping she would be somewhat impressed with me tonight.

When we got to the concert hall, I was relieved to find that it was starting to fill up, which meant that enough people still cared about classical music to come out and see the show. That thought made me smile.

“Let’s find a spot close to the front,” Hailey said to me, her eyes bright as she surveyed the hall. “We better save seats for Jonathan and Tessa.”

I remembered that Zach and Trey would be here too. “And two more seats for my other friends that are coming as well.”

“Okay, sounds good.” Hailey started making her way through the crowd and I was about to follow after her but stopped when I heard my name.

As I glanced around, I caught sight of three f
amiliar people approaching us—my parents and Cecilia.

“Chase!” Cecilia greeted me with a smile and a big hug.

I noticed that Hailey had stopped walking and was now making her way back to my side as she took in my family. It wouldn’t take her very long to figure out who they were—we all looked exactly alike.

“Hey, Cici,” I said, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. “I didn’t think you guys would make it.”

“We wouldn’t miss it for anything,” Mom said with a warm smile.

I gave her a hug and then glanced over at my dad. “Thanks for coming.”

Dad gave me a tight smile. I wasn’t sure what that smile was supposed to mean. Did he hate the fact that he was here? Or was he just keeping his mouth shut so he didn’t say anything to piss me off?

Either way, the fact that he was here meant more to me than he would ever know.

Mom’s eyes fell on Hailey, and I saw something in her face change. “Did you bring a date, Chase?”

A hot flush crept up my neck. My family hadn’t seen me with a girl since my break up with Heather, and it’d completely slipped my mind that they’d be here tonight. I was kind of at a loss for words.

“Uh, I-”

“I’m Hailey Peters,” Hailey said extending her hand, “I’m in Chase’s Music Composition class.”

My parents and Cecilia all shook Hailey’s hand in turn and introduced themselves. I still hadn’t managed to form any words as of yet.

“What are you majoring in, Hailey?” Mom asked, her tone pleasant. The way Mom’s eyes glided over Hailey wasn’t lost on me. Mom was highly critical when it came to someone’s appearance, and I could tell that the way Hailey dressed had impressed her.

“Business,” Hailey responded. “I thought it would be a practical degree to have.”

“That’s right, it is,” Dad said.

Jeez. Even Dad seemed to be ‘Team Hailey’.

“But I’m thinking of adding a minor in music.”

I glanced over at Hailey in surprise. I hadn’t expected that from her.

For some reason, Dad didn’t seem shaken by Hailey’s admission. In fact, a smile came to his face. “So you’re creative, too? Chase needs someone like that.”

Mom nodded, as usual agreeing with Dad. “Yes, he needs someone who is balanced. And not crazy.”

Dad laughed. “Yes, lack of craziness definitely gives you points.”

Cecilia and I exchanged weird looks. Um, what the freaking hell was going on here? I’d never seen my parents act like this before.

“Well, I can get a little crazy when my clothes aren’t organized or when my room is untidy. I’m a little OCD, but I’ve been trying to keep it at bay—
my roommate is kind of a slob.” What Hailey didn’t realize was that she’d just listed qualities that my parents loved.

“That makes perfect sense to me,” Mom said, her eyes shining.

I watched in amazement as Hailey flawlessly carried a conversation with my parents. She was just too amazing for words.

“Why don’t you sit with us?” Hailey asked, looking around at my family with this cute, little smile on her face that made my pulse speed up.

“We’d love to!” Cecilia said, linking her arm through Hailey’s.

“Why don’t you go ahead and save some seats at the front?” I placed my hand on the small of Hailey’s back. “I’ll be right back.”

Cecilia shot me a look of confusion and I shook my head slightly letting her know that everything was fine.

But I wasn’t sure if everything was fine. I was nervous as hell.

My heart was thrumming.

My palms were sweaty.

I was pretty sure I was about to go into cardiac arrest.

But I held myself tall as I made my way through the crowd and around to the back. Regardless of how I felt, I had to focus. I had to let the music engulf me.

It was time for Hailey to finally see the other side of me.

Hailey

Cecilia led the way to the front of the auditorium. We were early enough that we were able to grab seats front and center. I was relieved that I wouldn't miss anything this time around. After we took our seats, I opened up the program just for something to do and again was disappointed that there were no pictures. It seemed weird that I felt such a connection to William C. Lancaster and still had no idea what he really looked like other than the fact that he had dark hair and wore glasses.

I couldn't wait to finally hear him perform again. Even though it had been weeks since the first time I had heard him, I could remember every note he’d played and the way it’d made me feel, like he’d reached inside of me and touched my soul. Even if the evening continued to be awkward between Chase and I, at least I would get to enjoy listening to William play again.

I tried not to read too much into how nervous he was acting, but I couldn't help but wonder if maybe he didn't want to be here with me tonight. For some reason I hadn’t told Chase yet that Braxton and I were taking a break. I almost said something a few times but stopped myself for couple of reasons.

First, it seemed presumptuous somehow. Like by telling him that I was currently single he would assume that meant I wanted to start a relationship with him. Second, I feared how he would respond. He was being so weird today that I kept questioning myself. Maybe he really did just wanted to be friends and I read way too much into that kiss after all?

Let’s face it, I really wasn’t his type. I didn’t want to make a fool out of myself before I knew for sure how he felt about me. So I kept my mouth shut, intent to just go with the flow tonight and see how things progressed naturally.

He looked really nice tonight, but he seemed really uncomfortable seeing his parents here. I guess it was kind of weird to run into them here of all places. What were the chances of that? It wasn’t hard to imagine his family being fans of William C. Lancaster, but Chase seemed really surprised so maybe it was just an awkward coincidence.

“Have you ever watched Chase perform before?” Cecilia asked.

“Um, yeah, a few times. I wasn't sure if I'd like his punk music but it's growing on me.”

His parents exchanged a look that I took to mean that they didn't really approve of Chase's band.

“No, I meant— ”

“Hey look!” Jonathan interrupted her. “Zach and Trey are here.”

“Did we miss anything?” Trey asked eagerly. It was obvious that the concert hadn't even started yet, but Jonathan answered anyway.

“Nope, not yet,” Jonathan answered.

“Good. We don't want to miss this.” Zach smiled at me as he took a seat at the end of the aisle.

“You must really like classical music,” I commented. Was the entire band closet classical fans?

“Something like that,” Trey said with a smirk.

Jonathan and Zach chuckled and I had a nagging suspicion that it was at my expense but told myself I was probably just being paranoid. I shook it off. I was letting my insecurities mess with my head. Of course, between the mixture of amused looks I was getting from the guys and the curious ones I was getting from Chase's family, was it really any wonder I felt uneasy?

I found myself wishing Chase would hurry up.

“Are you okay?” Tessa whispered.

“Yeah, I'm fine.”

“You look like you are about to puke.”

I felt like I was about to puke.

“Do you get the feeling we're missing something?”

“No, why do you ask?”

“Nothing,” I said dismissively. “I'm sure it's nothing.”

Five minutes passed and still no Chase.

“I wonder what’s taking him so long?” I mumbled.

Jonathan just smirked. “Oh, I’m sure he’s fine. Probably just jittery.”

What could he possibly be jittery about? I smiled thinking that maybe he did have feelings for me after all and was just as nervous about tonight as I was.

Ten minutes had passed and still no Chase. Nobody else seemed remotely concerned about the fact that he wasn't here yet. I checked the time and realized the concert was getting ready to start.

“Should we try to find him?” I asked Tessa as I looked around the auditorium again for any sign of him. Cecilia tilted her head curiously at me but still didn't say anything.

“What?” I asked her.

“Nothing,” she shook her head. “I guess I just don't understand what's going on here.”

“Me either.”

“I'm sure he'll find us,” Tessa assured me.

“Yeah, you're probably right.” I just couldn't help but feel like something was off but I couldn't put my finger on it. I fiddled with the program, folding and refolding until it was so creased I couldn't read the words any more. The auditorium was filled now, the only empty seat in the entire place was the one in between Cecilia and me—the one that I was saving for Chase.

Every minute that he was gone was making me that much more frustrated. Damn him. I should've known better. At least Braxton didn't abandon me. Sure he made us late but at least he was there with me. Chase had been acting weird the whole way here— like he was nervous about something. Maybe he was planning on bailing the whole time to get back at me. Jackass.

“Where is he?” I said, irritated.

“Don't worry,” Tessa said. “I'm sure he'll be here before the curtain opens.”

Jonathan snickered.

“What's so funny?” I asked him sharply when I couldn’t take it any more.

“Nothing.” He smiled. “It's just so funny that you guys have no idea.”

“Wait--do you mean she doesn’t know?” Cecilia cocked an eyebrow. “She has no idea?”

“No idea about what?” Tessa was starting to sound just as irritated as me. “What's going on?”

“You'll find out soon.” He smirked as the lights dimmed.

“What does that mean?”

His only answer was a head nod toward the stage that reminded me of something Chase would've done. It was frustrating. “Tessa, your boyfriend is getting on my nerves,” I whispered to her.

“He's kinda getting on my nerves too.”

I shifted my focus away from my annoyance with Jonathan so that I could enjoy the concert. I didn't know what happened to Chase, but William was getting ready to come on stage and I had been looking forward to it for weeks. I was planning to come by myself anyway so nothing really had changed. I wasn't sure why I was so disappointed—I shouldn't care whether he was here or not.

Except I did care. I had hoped that tonight would be the night I could figure out how I felt about him— about everything. I was free and clear— sorta. Braxton had agreed to let me have time to myself to figure things out. We were basically on a break so I would be able to spend time with Chase and not feel guilty about it.

And he’d totally bailed.

Though the lights were dimmed, I could see the shadowy figure of William C. Lancaster as he walked across the stage. I knew I should just forget about Chase and focus on the show but it was no good. Where had he disappeared to? Had he seriously just left me here? It appeared that way, but it just didn’t seem like something he would do. I found myself searching the dark auditorium for Chase again. Was he hurt? Maybe somebody jumped him in the bathroom for his wallet. Maybe he’d fallen and was lying somewhere unconscious. I should probably get up and go look for him.