As I get closer to the parking lot, a wave of students clears a path and I see Chase facing me, holding one long stem rose. He’s wearing a beige sport jacket and white button-up shirt. His attire fits his slender physique well. He looks as hot as he did when he spotted me in his dad’s office.
When I get close enough to him, he hands it to me. “I truly am sorry.”
I look at him surprised. “They were from you?”
“Afraid so. I think I may have murdered a whole garden today because of how terrible I feel right now.”
I look at him softly, unsure of what to say. “Well- thanks.”
“I sincerely wanted to have fun with you when we went into the woods- but probably only succeeded in giving you PTSD.”
I laugh. “I’m surprised at how well I’m taking what happened.”
“Can you forgive me?”
I nod my head. “I guess - but don’t expect me to be freely walking into the woods with you again anytime soon.”
He smiles. “Completely understandable. I do admit though to having another motive today.” He looks at me anxiously and wipes his hand against his dress pants.
“What’s wrong?”
He smiles at me thinly. “I’m not used to feeling like this. I know you don’t know me that well, but you’re different. You make me nervous when I’m around you- in a good way. I can feel butterflies in my stomach, like they are about to burst out. It’s a weird feeling. Before all the- bad stuff happened in the woods, I wanted to ask you something. I wanted to ask you out for dinner.”
“Oh.” I say. “Is there a reason why you don’t want to anymore? Am I no longer interesting to you?”
He laughs. “Quite the opposite. I can’t stop thinking of you. I was pretty sure you never wanted to see me again though.”
“I guess I just needed some time to think about things.”
“I’ve got a great restaurant with reservations for us tonight.”
“Tonight?” I say with a weary smile. “I can’t. I told Jaxson I’d go at the big game tonight, and I guess there is some big party after.”
Chase lowers his head. “He likes you as well, doesn’t he?”
I look at him, and almost feel sad for some reason. “I guess there’s a few guys who have me in their thoughts.”
“So long as he isn’t the only one you’re thinking about, I can live with it.”
I smile and nod my head. “I’ve got someone else I think about from time to time too. Can we do dinner another time?”
“I’m afraid I did something vicious.” He says with a smirk. “I sent your driver home, thinking I could whisk you away.”
“But the game starts soon.”
“You can say no.” He says with a thin smile. “You will be the prettiest girl to ever break my heart. Just know that I make one phone call and my reservation is changed instantly to now. I’ll have you back in time for the silly superstitious game. Don’t make me beg. I think I look hideous when I’m pleading on my knees.”
I doubted that.
“Promise me we will be back on time,” I say.
He nods his head. “Cross my heart.”
∞∞∞
Chase is driving much faster than necessary in his fancy sportscar. He claims he changed his reservation and needs to get us there quickly. He’s driving stick, which I always thought was very hot. Maybe I had watched way too many Fast and Furious movies, but a guy who knows how to handle a stick, gets my heart pumping.
The light ahead of us turns yellow and Chase speeds up. He flies past it but stops suddenly at the next red light not much further on. My upper torso falls towards the dash and Chase puts his arm out, brushing past my breast, stopping me from going further.
He tries to act like nothing happened. “Almost there.”
“Where are we going?”
“The fanciest place in Ryland.” He says with a smile.
He shifts into gear when the light turns green but is driving noticeably slower. I kind of miss him going fast. He picks up speed then suddenly makes a left turn. We drive past golden arches when I finally realize where he has taken me.
Chase goes through the drive through lane and lowers his window. “Yes, I’ll have a quarter pounder with cheese. Can you supersize that for me?”
The drive through speaker crackles. “Of course, will there be anything else?” Chase looks at me with a smile.
“You are something else.” I whisper to him. “Big Mac!” I yell. “Extra mac sauce.” Chase looks at me as if he’s impressed. “Supersize it as well.”
We eat in his car. I drop some ketchup in his leather interior, but he doesn’t mind. When we both finish our meals, he rummages through the bottom of the takeout bag.
“The fries at the bottom are always the best.” He says with a smile. “You think the fun is over when you’re done eating, but then you find those beautiful ones that thought they got away.”
“I still can’t believe you took me to a fast-food drive through on our first date.”
Chase finds a fry and eats it, smiling at me. “I thought this was our second.”
“I think we would both prefer I don’t count the woods.”
“Right.” Chase agrees. “I did have a better place for tonight. This wasn’t the plan exactly.”
We talk more about our lives. He asks me about my parents. I don’t exactly lie but leave out certain parts. I don’t mention the fire. For all he knows, they are both excited for me to be at Ryland Academy and can’t wait to see me for the holidays. I don’t mention my father was a local drug dealer either. I told him he worked on the line at a busy automotive production factory, which was true. He found a lot of good customers from his short stint of trying to work for a living.
“How did your parents meet?” Chase asks me. I think for a
