“We have to leave tomorrow,” I say with a sigh to Chase and Haley.
We’re sitting together on the dock, watching our last sunset here.
“I don’t think I’m ready for it. Are you?” Haley asks.
I glance at Chase. He’s sitting next to me, his hair glowing with the colors of the sunset reflecting off the lake. His strong arms and shoulders are exposed under the resort tank top I made him buy one night after we went to dinner. He looks so handsome, and I wish that we didn’t have to go back to school. Didn’t have to face reality.
His jaw tightens, and I know he’s thinking the same thing.
“I can’t believe I’m saying this,” Haley says, “but I’ve enjoyed all the dumb family fun.”
“We’ve done a lot together,” Chase says to his sister even though I know he’s referring to us. Me and him.
“We’ve golfed, fished, gone boating and out on the wave runners, had a scavenger hunt, gone mini golfing, had movie nights by the pool, watched fireworks, played horseshoes,” Haley says, listing out all our activities.
But Chase’s eyes are locked on mine, and I know he’s thinking about all of the things that we have done. Alone.
The night we scared a few fish, skinny-dipping in the lake.
Making out after everyone else was asleep.
A visit back to the honeymoon cottage.
His gaze makes me both blush and smile.
We made love everywhere we could think of. And I mean that—the love part. Sure, sometimes, it was more about the desire, but even then …
I’m pretty sure I might be in love with him.
Crazy, right?
In love with my best friend.
My friends were right. Once you start doing it, you kind of want to do it all the time.
And Chase is this amazing combination of sexy, sweet, and sensual. I never thought I would be the kind of girl who would marry the first guy she slept with. My mom says that you need to experience different men to know what’s good and what’s not.
But I already know.
My heart, my soul, my everything knows that it’s Chase.
And I can’t picture being with anyone else.
Ever.
Again.
Damon and Haley head to the resort when everyone else heads to bed. They don’t even bother asking if we want to go with. They already know that answer.
Although we’ve had fun spending time with them, tonight, on our last night, we want to be alone.
Chase takes my hand and leads me up the hill toward the house.
But then he stops suddenly and turns me around.
“What are you doing?”
“I want to remember this moment,” he says. “How your dress is blowing in the breeze. The smile on your face. How beautiful you look.”
I blush all the way down to my toes.
Usually, I’d scoff at a comment like this, slug him in the arm, and tell him he’s silly.
But this doesn’t feel silly.
“Thank you,” I say, squeezing his hand. “It’s our last night. What should we do?”
“I want to go back to where it all started.”
I laugh and look up at the clear night sky. “I don’t think we can conjure up a thunderstorm.”
“That’s not where it started, Dani. It was before that. When you took me parking.”
“When I took you stargazing,” I correct. “It was like a field trip. Science. Very educational stuff.”
He takes me into his arms and leans in to kiss me. “Well, I definitely learned something that night.”
“And what was that?” I murmur against his lips.
“That everything with us is possible.”
“And to celebrate, you’re taking me parking?” I tease.
“I wanted to be with you that night more than anything. It really was the perfect setting.”
“I wanted to do a lot more than we did,” I tell him, taking his bottom lip in between my teeth and gently tugging on it, giving him shit.
“I know, but you were holding back emotionally.”
“I was.” I nod. “But so were you. The day of the thunderstorm was pure, raw emotion.”
His hands move from around my waist and up into my hair. “Because we almost died?”
I laugh. “Maybe.” I lean up on my tiptoes and kiss his cheek. “Take me parking, and we’ll see if we can re-create that electricity, baby.”
Chase breaks out in laughter. “Now, you sound like your brother.”
“Ha! I know. Hey, maybe I could be a player.”
“I hope not,” he says seriously.
We go to the garage, hop in the pickup, and drive up to the top of the mountain.
The second I turn the car off, I attack his neck with my lips and have my hand down his pants.
Let’s just say, he does not resist.
Once all the pent-up lust is out of the way, we move to the bed of the truck and spread the blankets out.
I snuggle against his chest, look up at the stars, and say, “I don’t want to go home.”
“How come? Are you not excited to see your friends?”
I sit up. “It’s reality time, Chase.”
“You’re right. It is.” He gently takes my face in his hands. “Devaney, I love you. Go out with me. Be my girlfriend. Let’s go back home as a couple.”
“Um,” I say, backing away.
“Um? What does that mean?”
“It just means … it feels too fast.”
“Too fast?”
I let out a sigh. “Stop and just listen to me. We already decided we’d tell our families right away. And I think we should tell them together.”
“And what about our friends?” he asks, his eyes boring into mine. “I think we should tell them the truth. That we were on vacation together, things happened between us, and now, we’re a couple. We’ve been best friends our whole lives. Everyone knows it. I really don’t think anyone will be all that surprised.”
“Uh, I maybe, kind of disagree. I say we take that side of things a little slower.” Because regardless of our long friendship, my friends are going to freak out.
The real question is, should I care?
Chase exhales slowly, his emotions written across his face. And his face isn’t looking happy right now. “How slow, Dani?”
“We already discussed the whole dating-down thing, and the reality is, regardless of my feelings for you and how hot and popular you are, I’m going to get shit about it. So, I just thought if we maybe, sort of eased into it, it won’t be such a shock. Like, we start spending more time together in public. Let people see us holding hands at school. Like people normally do when they start dating. Would that be such a bad thing?”
He looks down and lets out a sigh of relief—and it makes me want to cry. The last thing I want to do is hurt him.
“I’m not planning to ditch you as soon as we get home, okay?” I glide my fingers over his forearm in a pretend comforting gesture when I know full well that the little tickles totally turn him on. So, sue me. I’d much rather spend our night making love under the stars than talking about school.
“I’m okay with that,” he says thoughtfully.
Finally, let’s get back to the good stuff.
I even lean in to kiss him, but he keeps talking, “But we should agree on how much time. We need a target date.”
“A target date?” Shit. Do we really have to do this now? On our last night here?
“Yes. Homecoming is a couple months away. I’ll ask you. You’ll say yes. Then, we’ll make it official. Sound fair?”
I grin big because the thought of going to homecoming and dancing all night with Chase makes me really happy. “Fine, but when you ask me, please, nothing public.” I roll my eyes. “I absolutely hate being surprised like that.”
“Deal,” he says, grinning back at me and lowering his voice to a deep, sexy whisper. “I’d rather ask you alone in private anyway—so we can celebrate appropriately.”
“Hey now.” I fake push him away. “Just because it’s not public doesn’t mean I won’t want to take a photo and share it on my social media.”
He gently slides his hand across my cheek. “Remember when I offered to take you to Paris for homecoming your freshman year when Dalton ditched you?”
“Well, he did break his hand. And you’re lucky he didn’t break your face.”
“Nah, I’m fast, and he was drunk,” Chase counters, quickly jerking his body from one side to the other, showing me just how quick he is.
“I do remember. Your offer was sweet, but then you’ve always been sweet to me.”
“That’s because I’ve always been sweet on you. In fact, maybe I’ll take you there and ask you to homecoming. Private jet. View of the Eiffel Tower from a gorgeous terrace. And, of course, a glitter-covered sign in our school colors to seal the deal.”
I can’t help but swoon. “You’re silly. I love you, Chase Mackenzie. I really, really do.”
He takes my hand in his and squeezes it tightly. “Remember, if anyone gives you shit, just come take my hand. We’ll get through it together. I promise.”
I nod, knowing that he’s right. Because when he holds my hand, I agree with him. I feel like absolutely anything is possible.
