Page 77 of Chase

Chase shifts nervously.

“I love you too.” I don’t give him a chance to respond with words.

I close the gap and pull him down to kiss me.

The tension breaks. I melt into his arms and tilt my head to deepen the kiss.

I’ve missed this.

I’ve missed him.

We kiss, forgetting that we’re standing on my front porch.

The world melts away.

“Sorry to interrupt, but the pizza is getting cold,” Ally says popping our bubble.

We pull away breathless.

Wow.

We need to kiss like that more often.

Chase doesn’t say anything. He just pulls me into his side and walks us into the house.

As we enter the dining room, I take in just what my friends have done.

The smell of pizza fills the room.

There are plates full of brownies and muffins.

Bowls of chips and lollies.

How is it they know more about what I like and need than what my own father does? I’m hit with overwhelming waves of emotions. This is what family is.

“Are they Martha’s muffins?” I ask.

“Yep, she made you brownies as well,” Arden says as he hands Chase and I a beer and sits at the table.

I take in the table again, shocked that they’ve done all this for me. I blink back tears and Chase notices the slight change in me.

He turns me to face him.

“We all love you. There’s nothing we wouldn’t do for you,” he says, reassuring me.

“Thank you,” I whisper and move forward to bury my face in his neck, letting him ground me again.

“You’re welcome. Now let’s eat. We’ve got a night of movies and snacks ahead of us,” Chase says, moving me to the table.

I love them for this. They knew this was what I needed.

We fall into easy conversation over dinner. It doesn’t feel like I spent the week ignoring them. They pick up from where we left off. Like nothing has changed. They aren’t holding grudges.

It’s then I make the decision to tell them all about what happened.

They deserve to know, and Smalls told me that maybe them knowing would help me. Being able to talk about it might help me move on. I struggle to find the words. I don’t know how to tell them. It helps that Rhys already knows. He’s always the wild card, but I know I have him on my side and that gives me the push I need.

I pick nervously at the label on the beer bottle.

---