Chapter 19
Maryellen
Chase ran out of the bar, looking up and down the street for the car.
Ben waved out the window and honked the horn since he had to move down the street to wait.
Chase said he needed to talk to Jerry, and I should believe him.
But something gnawed at me, making me think he went back inside for another reason.
“There you guys are,” Chase said as he opened the door. “It got cold out here.”
The frigid air followed him into the car as he jumped into the backseat of the truck.
The car jolted to a start, pulling out into traffic just as he closed the door.
He seemed ready to bust at the seams with some type of news.
A Cheshire cat smile spread across his face as he rubbed his hands together.
“What are you so excited about?”
“You’re never gonna believe this,” he said as he spun to face me. “Jerry asked me to play at one of their live music nights. Next Wednesday, actually.”
The sparkle in his eyes was something I wasn’t used to seeing. This gave him true joy, and I was thrilled he had such passion. The pang of guilt that tore through me because of who I thought he was talking to made me pause.
I gripped his face and stared straight into his eyes.
“You deserve this, Chase Parker, so much. I’m happy for you.”
It wasn’t a secret that working with his brother didn’t make him happy. Or maybe it wasn’t so much that but being in the world of finance in general. But this obviously did.
“Thank you.” A calm settled around him. He pulled my legs onto his lap. One of his hands gripped a thigh while the other went behind my back, holding me against him. We got comfortable against one another.
“Hey, aren’t we only a few blocks from your place?” I asked as I looked out the window. “Why in the world are you going to see me home, Chase? That doesn’t make sense. Can’t Ben do that without you?”
“Mare, you’re alone. What kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn’t see you home?”
Boyfriend.
What scared me most about him using that word was the fact that it didn’t scare me to hear him call himself my boyfriend. I liked it.
Tonight, when we were in that dark, secluded hallway and walking back to our table, I felt myself give in.
I gave in to the idea that it could work.
But fate had other plans when she showed up.
I would love for her to know Chase and I were together.
She had her claws in him for too long as it was.
If she found out, the whole world would know.
That scared me.
As I looked at him, his boyish grin coupled with his sexy stubble, I realized I didn’t want to be scared to be with him. He dipped down and kissed me. Deeply. Our tongues tangled in our mouths as I held his face and wouldn’t let go. And he liked that.
“You look so fucking hot tonight, Mare. I know there are things you want to talk about,” he said against my cheek, pausing to look at me. “There are things I want to talk about.”
“OK,” I said.
His head tilted at my simple response.
“Does that surprise you?” he asked.
I wasn’t sure if it did or not. We were still figuring all of this out as we went along.
Relationships haven’t been my strong suit most of my life.
There were boys who liked me back in middle school and high school.
I dated a few, but I never really had a long-term relationship.
Even since being here in New York, I’ve kept mostly to myself and occasionally dated.
I’m no psychiatrist, but I was sure my home life was a direct correlation to me not really knowing how to do this.
But when it came to Chase, everything seemed easier. Being around him, talking to him, wanting to make it work. I’d never had that desire in the past.
It was unfortunate it had to happen with him, one of the two guys who were truly forbidden for me to get involved with.
“I don’t think so,” I told him. “Things happened tonight that we should both want to talk about.”
“I wasn’t planning on coming up to your apartment tonight.
I know how you feel about it being a work night.
Yet I don’t want to leave things unresolved.
” The feel of his fingers as they brushed along my cheek sent a shiver down my spine.
“We can have the talk here, in the car, tomorrow sometime at work, or I can come up. It’s your call. ”
My eyes wandered to Ben in the front seat. There was no way we were having this conversation in the car. Nor did I have any interest in doing it in the office either.
We both knew if he came up to my apartment, he wasn’t leaving tonight.
There was a part of me, a big part of me, that wanted that. We would talk, first, obviously.
We were crossing the Madison Avenue Bridge, which meant we should be in front of my building in a few minutes.
“Let’s talk at my place,” I told him.
That earned me a smile.
The car came to a stop in front of my building. Chase and Ben spoke for a few minutes while I waited on the steps.
“He’ll be here to get me at 6:30 tomorrow morning,” Chase said.
The walk up the stairs was a quiet one, but not awkward. Knowing we had to talk took the unease out of the situation.
“Why don’t you get comfortable, I’m gonna take a quick shower, if that’s OK?”
Sweat had been dripping down my neck from the singing and dancing; I needed to at least rinse off. Once I twisted my hair up into a knot, and the water was hot, I jumped in and out.
By the time I returned to the living room, Chase had some music playing on my speaker. It sounded familiar, but I didn’t know who it was.
“Lifehouse,” he said. “The band I sang tonight.”
I sat next to him on the couch, and suddenly neither of us had anything to say. The words of the song in the background were saying something about a clock. Chase cleared his throat, gaining my attention, but then didn’t say anything.
“Chase.” I needed to get it going.
“I know, I can’t believe she was there, Mare,” he said. “You have to believe me. I haven’t spoken to Amanda since the party at The Plaza. This was the first time I’ve seen her. And if I knew you would’ve been comfortable with it, I’d have told her about us. But…”
I put my fingers on his lips, quieting him.
“Thank you.”
He nodded.
“I hate that she ruined our night,” he said.
“She only ruined it if we let her. I’m really trying to not let her.” I paused. “I mean, she has a right to be mad at both of us when you think about it. You ditched her for me, I’d be mad, too.”
“Another Chase choice,” he said.
We both laughed. I hit his chest.
“Yeah, but that’s a choice I’m happy you made.”
He grabbed my hand, holding it close to his chest but then tugged me onto his lap.
“I am too.”
We sat in each other’s arms for a bit. Eventually he stood and pulled me with him. He stepped back and I noticed a glimmer in his eye as he reached for the sash on my robe. He paused, waiting for permission, it seemed. I stood back, my arms wide apart, granting him what he wanted.
With one swipe of his hand, the knot opened, and the robe fell from my shoulders to the floor. His eyes scanned me from head to toe, and a hum of approval sounded from deep in his throat as he continued to admire my body. But it made me a bit self-conscious, and I found myself covering my breasts.
“Don’t do that, babe. You’re beautiful, perfect. Your body is a masterpiece, and you should never be embarrassed by it, ever.” He reached for my hands, peeling them from my chest, and walked me toward the bed. “Are you ready for me to fuck you, Maryellen McEntyre?”
I clumsily pulled at the button of his jeans, while he lifted his shirt over his head.
By the time I had the button and zipper open, he was already pushing his pants off.
He stumbled as they got caught on his feet.
We laughed as he pushed me to the mattress, and he fell on top of me, trying to push his jeans off his ankles.
But the mood shifted as soon as our bodies touched.
He pulled himself up, his bent arms around my head, our noses close.
Our lips came together in a gentle kiss as we gazed at each other, our laughter now done.
He kissed me again, this time with more intensity.
His tongue fought with mine as my hands gripped his firm shoulders and drifted along his back.
My nails dragged along his sides, to his hips, and around to his tight ass.
Using his knee, he spread my legs, settling his already hard dick against me.
My hands cupped his ass and pulled him against me even harder, forcing his dick to rub against my clit.
“Fuck…Chase…that feels amazing…”
His deep breaths against my neck and my shoulder turned me on more. Then his arms straightened and his head flung up as he pushed himself against me once again. His eyes bored into mine with a fire in them.
“I need to be inside you, I need to feel you right now. I’ve missed you so much.” He pulled away and bent down for his jeans, searching frantically in the pocket. He took out his wallet, finding a foil packet within. “Will you do the honors?”
Sitting up, I took the condom from its wrapper and took hold of his dick.
His skin was warm and satiny as I pumped him up and down a few times.
His head fell back as he knelt in front of me.
The moans coming from him encouraged me to keep going.
Then I noticed the shiny precum sitting on the swollen tip of his cock.
I squeezed the head to see if there was more before my tongue danced around licking it up.
“Fuuuck!” he groaned.
I decided to get the length of him wet, putting his entire dick inside my mouth and pumping a few times while I gripped his balls. Chase held my head in place, trying to stop me from moving.
“Babe,” he warned. “Seriously, if you want me to fuck you, you’re going to have to stop.”