Taking Chances (18 page)

“Brandon won’t
care if we’re friends.” Okay I wasn’t entirely sure that was true.

He smiled and
shook his head, “I know you’re not that naïve. Now go have lunch with Mom and
Bree, then get your ass back here so I can have my few stolen hours with you.”

I walked toward
the entryway but stopped after a few feet, “Chase?”

“Yeah
Princess?”

Looking over my
shoulder, I held his gaze, “Will you please stop hurting me…in every way?”

Chase closed
the distance and pulled me into a tight hug, “Go eat sweetheart.”

That wasn’t a
yes, or no. But I wasn’t going to press the issue further.

T
he last three
months had flown by in an amazing blur. I had three A's and one B last semester
and was actually excited for my next classes to start. Bree was the best
roommate I could have ever asked for; she showed me everything in the San Diego
area, helped me ease into college life and welcomed me into her family. She was
like the sister I'd never had, and I loved her dearly. We still spent every
Sunday with her parents and Chase, and although it was my day away from
Brandon, being part of a family was amazing, and Sunday’s soon became my
favorite day. It hurt knowing I'd missed out on this growing up, but I was
extremely appreciative of how quickly Robert and Claire took me in and grateful
for my time with them.

As I had
suspected, I only heard from Sir about once a month, and even then it was by
e-mail. I tried to call him once a week, but he never answered and never
returned the calls. It didn't bother me too much, even when I'd lived at home,
I only talked to him if I absolutely needed to. Carter and I almost never
talked now, I still missed the way we had been, but ending our friendship was
most likely for the best. He still texts me every now and then when he’s
wasted, usually telling me about whatever strip club he’s at, or what girl he
slept with recently. And last I heard before his unit left for Afghanistan,
he’d eloped with a girl he met the day before they married. I had worried that
I’d pushed him into his new lifestyle, but Bree and Claire quickly pushed that
worry out of my mind.

Chase and I still
had our different kind of friendship. We continued to not speak during the
week, and when Sunday hit, he never let me out of his sight unless I was having
a girl’s day with Bree and Claire. I found out quickly that he hated those days.
No matter how much I wished for it, my feelings for him never seemed to go
away. Actually, the sexual tension between us seemed to grow each time we saw
each other, rather than dwindle to nothing like I wanted. The week of
Thanksgiving break, we had run into each other in the hall of his parent's
house and he stopped me so he could run his hands across my cheek and jaw, then
down my throat. He gently pressed me against the wall and leaned in. Through
the hammering in my chest and quick breaths, I'd somehow managed to ask him not
to kiss me, and that was the last time our bodies ever came closer than a few
feet of each other. I didn't understand my unwanted feelings towards him, but I
was glad we seemed to find a happy medium with our friendship, and as far as I
knew there had been no more fights between him and Brandon.

Brandon is…amazing.
He treats me like I’m the only person in the world that matters and we’re
practically inseparable. Our “weekend only” sleeping arrangement hadn't lasted past
mid-October and most nights were now spent in his bed, but we only ever slept. There
have been quite a few more times where things had gotten hot and gone a little too
far, but he always stopped us before we went
there
, and I loved him for
it. He had told me to let him know when I was ready, and even when caught in
the heat of the moment, I still hadn't said anything and he never pushed me.
Bree and I went to almost all of his fights, and he had yet to lose. Every time
it was over, Scarecrow would hand him a wad of cash, and every time he would
shove it in his pocket without counting it. I was itching to know how much he
was making, but figured if he wanted me to know, he would tell me. There were
no more cracked ribs, but sometimes he would come home with a busted lip or a
cut brow. I preferred the cut brow, the busted lips got in the way too often.

He had taken me
to Arizona with him for Christmas, and I was completely taken with his mom and
brother, Jeremy. His mom was thrilled that he was actually bringing a girl
home, and to not have to be surrounded by boys for another holiday. I helped
her cook, we went to get our nails done together and had a night of romance
comedies after we'd sent the boys away. I could easily see myself in his
family, and though that thought after only four months into our relationship
scared me, it kind of exhilarated me too. I wasn’t sure if I was ready to talk
about marriage, but eventually, I think I'd like to head down that road with
him.

Brandon planned
on staying in Arizona for the entire winter break, but I'd promised Bree I
would bring in the New Year with her, so I'd flown back to San Diego the day of
and was currently walking out of the airport. I grabbed my phone to call my
boyfriend and my heart ached at the thought of not seeing him for the rest of
break. Since Brandon and I had met, we had spent at the very least a few hours
with each other every day. These two weeks were going to suck.

“Hey baby, you
make it there okay?”

“Yep! Just got
my bag and I'm waiting for Bree to get me.”

“Will she be
there soon?”

“She sent me a
text when I was in baggage claim saying she was a few minutes out. Actually
here she comes.”

“Okay, well
I'll call you later then. Have fun tonight and happy New Year. I love you.”

I bit my lip
and smiled, hearing him say that in his deep husky voice always did funny
things to my heart. “I love you too Brandon.” I slid the phone back in my
pocket just in time to be nearly tackled by my best friend.

“Oh my God
Harper I missed you! Two weeks without you is too long!”

“Hah! I missed
you too Bree. Next time I'll just have to sneak you in my luggage.” After we
got my things in the trunk, we jumped into her car and fought the airport's
holiday traffic. “Where are we going tonight?”

“Your pick, the
guys are having a party, or my parents are throwing a party. Which I promise is
not as boring as it sounds. There's always a ton of people there, everyone
plays poker and drinks.”

“Well where
will Konrad be?”

She smirked and
raised an eyebrow like that answer should be obvious, “Wherever I am.”

“Can we just go
to Mom and Dad's? I missed them too.” During Thanksgiving, Claire and Robert
had told me they wouldn't respond to me anymore if I didn't act like they were
my parents. It started as a joke, but it stuck.

While Bree was
on the phone with Konrad, my cell went off and I started when I saw it was from
Chase.

Chase - 'You gonna be at the house tonight?'

Me - 'Nope, going to hang with the family.'

“Is that lover
boy?” Bree questioned as she turned the music back on.

“Uh...yeah.” I
have no idea why I lied, but it felt awkward correcting myself now.

“Did you guys
have
fun
in Arizona?”

I laughed at
her wagging eyebrows, “We had fun, but not that much fun. Hate to burst your
bubble.”

“You're going
to kill that poor guy Harper! It's been like what...four months? Five?”

“I know, I
know. I don't know what keeps stopping me. It's not like we never have the
opportunity. I just...I don't know.”

She shut the
music off quickly, that was never a good sign. “Are you guys okay?”

“Yes Bree,
we're more than fine, trust me! It's nothing like that, I just haven't felt
like it's the right time yet.”

“If you say so.
But I'm serious. He's going to explode if it's not soon.”

“So you keep
telling me.” I was dying to ask how Chase was, even if we didn't talk, we saw
each other every day too. And having him text me for the first time ever just a
few minutes ago had my heart racing knowing I'd be seeing him again within the
next few days. “How's the family?”

“They're good.
Mom actually cried because you weren't at Christmas.”

“What? Are you
serious?”

“As a heart
attack. Your presents were still under the tree that night and she started
crying, I had to take them up to my room to get her to calm down.”

I didn't know
what to say, I just shook my head in disbelief.

“I'm serious
Harper, she was devastated!”

“No, no. I
believe you. I guess I still have to wrap my head around how much they care for
me. And did you say I had presents? Why?” The only presents I've ever gotten
from Sir was a laptop for graduation and my iPhone. And to be honest with you,
I know the only reason I got those was because I had been planning on buying
them anyway and he didn't want me to waste my money. There were never presents,
cards or any sentiments on Christmas, or birthdays. It's just how it was.

“Because we all
love you!”

“But I – I
didn't get you guys anything.”

Bree's voice
got really soft and she reached over to grab my hand, “We didn't expect you to.
They all know what growing up with Sir entailed. We wanted to show you what a
real Christmas is like.” She looked at me until the light turned green again.
“Did you talk to him?”

“No. I called
him twice though and left messages.” Jeez, I really did have a crappy home
life. Even Bree's family called me on Christmas. And Brandon… “Oh my God Bree,
I'm so stupid!” I groaned.

“What, no
you're not!”

I pulled out my
necklace to show her, “It's from Brandon.”

“He got you a
Tiffany's necklace for Christmas? Good choice!”

“That's just it
Bree. He didn't give it to me on Christmas, he gave it to me before I left. I
thought it was so weird because he's never given me anything, and we weren’t
apart after Christmas so I would've known if he'd gotten it after. But he knows
what holidays were like with Sir, and that I was upset he wouldn't answer the
phone. I think he thought it would upset me more if he proved how much of a
jerk Sir is.”

“He's a good
guy Harper. I'm glad you have him.”

I clutched the
necklace in my hand and sighed into the seat, “Me too.” We sat in silence for a
minute, just listening to the radio. “So besides Mom breaking down, how were
they the rest of the time?”

“Pretty good,
we just relaxed a lot. Mom's trying to learn how to knit, so be sure to make
grandma jokes, it pisses her off. Dad and some of his buddies went to that golf
tournament.”

“Oh yeah, how'd
they do?”

“Uh...don't ask
him about it.”

“Figures.” Dad
couldn't play golf to save his life, but he apparently loved it. “And Chase?”

“I don't even
know. He's so moody lately.”

“Bree, when
isn't he moody?”

She snorted,
“No, I mean he's been way worse than usual. Literally since the day school let
out for break he won't talk to anyone without snapping at them. And at
Christmas, he'd barely stay long enough to even eat with us, just kept leaving.
I swear that guy needs to get laid.”

Brandon and I
left for Arizona the day school let out. Could that – I wanted to smack myself
for even thinking me leaving would have anything to do with Chase being upset.
I think way too highly of myself. “Yeah probably...holy crap is this all for
their party?” Cars were lined up blocks from the house and people were walking
towards it. Thankfully we could still get in the garage.

“I'm telling
you, this is their big thing every year!”

We grabbed my
bag and somehow squeezed through the mass of people and made it upstairs to her
room so I could freshen up and change. Bree must have let them know we were on
our way because Mom and Dad were already waiting in her room to engulf me in
hugs.

“Oh sweetie we
missed you!”

“How you doing
baby girl?”

I laughed and
hugged them back, “I missed you guys too. Why are you up here? You're missing
your party.”

“Oh hush! We
had to say hi, and plus we have some things for you.” Mom bounced over and sat
on the bed where there were boxes of presents.

“Oh. My. Word.
You guys…you really didn't have to get me anything.” Now I really felt awful
for not getting them anything.

Bree grabbed my
arm and pulled me over to the bed, “I already told you, we wanted to.”

I took a deep
breath in and willed myself not to cry. God, I had never been an emotional
person until I moved here. Mom and Dad showing me how parents should be had
made the water works come frequently, and I still wasn’t used to it. Bree got
me a new outfit she picked out specifically for tonight, and a Coach purse that
I absolutely adored. Mom and Dad got me two pairs of UGGs, an extremely
expensive jacket I'd been drooling over since Thanksgiving and a prepaid spa
day for us girls. I just sat there with everything scattered across my lap and
legs and stared at them through blurry eyes. I tried to speak through the lump
in my throat but my
thank yous
were barely audible. Mom and Dad both
kissed my cheek and walked out with Bree, who was going to save Konrad from all
the older people downstairs he didn't know. I slowly put the things I wouldn't
be using tonight back in boxes for when I took them back to the dorms or
Brandon's room and was almost done when there was a soft knock and the door
pushed open.

“Hey Princess.”
Good God I missed hearing his voice.

“Chase,” I had
to clear my throat to continue, “I didn't think you were going to be here.”

“I asked if you
were coming to the house.” He replied hesitantly.

“Right, I just
figured you meant your house.”