Chapter 25
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Ashley
I closed the door behind him and thanked my lucky stars I hadn't changed into my pyjamas yet. The man had seen me naked, but he wasn't ready for my pink, fleecy nightwear.
"Good game," I said. Okay, I could have started with something better than small talk, but then he grinned.
"Thanks. The Kookaburras were tough. It was a pleasure to hand them their beaks on a platter."
I smiled. It could just as easily have been the Humpbacks who were handed their beaks…or tails. I thought better of saying so. He knew better than I did how close they came to losing.
He stepped closer to me. "I didn't come here to talk about the game. Not right away at least." He grinned again.
I rolled my eyes at him, but smiled. "What did you come here for then?"
His expression became serious. "I came to see you." He frowned slightly. "You were at the game?"
"Yeah." I shrugged one shoulder, then gestured toward the couch. "I sat with Bec. She helped me to understand the rules better." It wasn't that complicated, but every game had its nuances if you knew what to look for.
He didn't seem surprised. "I went looking for you, but you'd left."
My heart raced at his words and the implication.
"You did?" I sat down a little too fast and almost missed the couch.
He caught my hand and helped me down, but then didn't let go. Did he feel me trembling? Or maybe that was him.
"Yeah. I've been a dick," he said. "I shouldn't have stood you up or pushed you away."
"You got hurt," I said evenly. "It makes sense that you wouldn't want to jump into something so soon."
"So did you," he reminded me. "Got hurt, I mean."
He didn't need to remind me; I spotted a balloon hiding under the table. How many more of the horrible things had I missed?
"Yes, I did, but it's one thousand percent over." I told him about the balloons and the conversation with Kris.
Chase laughed, and looked approving when I told him where I donated the balloons.
"I'd have seen how many I could fit in Bam's locker," he said. "I still might do that. His face when he opens it would be totally worth it."
"Just keep them away from me." I shuddered.
Chase drew me in and put an arm around me. "I promise, I will never, ever give you any balloons. If I ever break that promise, I'll…"
"Walk in the spring parade wearing a pink tutu?" I suggested. That would almost be worth it.
Almost.
He snapped his fingers. "Yes. Bright pink. And a matching blouse with a unicorn on it."
"I'll hold you to it," I said. Although, he'd look cute dressed like that.
"What else will you hold to me?" he asked in my ear.
My mouth went dry and I had to swallow before I replied. "That depends. What else do you want me to hold to you?"
He sat back.
For a moment I thought I did something wrong.
"Everything," he said finally. "But I don't want to rush you."
"I don't want to rush you either," I said softly.
"But I'm not scared to try. You're not—" I waved a hand as though I'd forgotten the name of my ex already.
"You're not that guy. You wouldn't do the things he did.
I'd never do what she did either." I didn't want to mention Brandi's name.
Our exes were in the past. I wanted to think about the present.
For the first time in a long time, I wanted to think about the future too.
"I know you wouldn't," he said. "You care about people, not likes. Or follows. Or whatever it is now."
"I try to," I said. "People are more important than money."
"That's true," he said. "You're more important to me than anything."
I almost teasingly asked if I was more important to him than football, but I wasn't the kind of girl who would make a guy choose. There was a place in his life for both of us, if he was willing to try.
"You're important to me too." I locked my eyes on his and smiled. "Are you ready to give this a try? Really ready?"
He hesitated for a moment. "Yes," he said firmly.
"I've been ready since we met, I just didn't realise it at the time.
" He cupped my cheek with his hand. "I used to watch you with Kris, the couple of times we all went out.
I wondered what you saw in him. He always seemed so, I don't know, boring? I thought you could do better."
"Like you?" I asked, half teasing.
He grinned. "Exactly."
Before I could roll my eyes, or sock him, he leaned in and pressed his mouth to mine. Just soft at first, but gradually deeper until everything disappeared around me but the feel of his mouth and his hand on my neck.
He broke off long enough to say, "I love you."
"I love you too," I said softly. I rose and offered him my hand.
He took it and we walked the handful of steps to my bedroom.
Our clothes lay here and there, all over the floor in a matter of moments. I winced at the bruises on his body. Some were already blue, others were still patches of red.
"Do they hurt?" I asked, trailing my finger lightly down his arm and over his stomach.
Chase glanced down and shrugged. "I'm used to it. They're battle wounds. They show how big a badass I am."
I snorted and tugged him over to my bed.
With that other guy, any other guy, I'd have pulled the covers aside and dove under to hide myself.
With Chase, I didn't want to hide. With just a glance, he made me feel beautiful.
Even sexy. No one ever made me feel that way before.
I wanted to share my everything with him. No secrets, no lies, nothing hidden.
Open, honest, naked, real.
I pulled him down onto the covers and wound myself around him. The world melted away, leaving only us, our arms, our bodies, our love.