Chapter 12
TWELVE
CHASE
@StillSingleInDenver: I’ve got my “Future Mrs. Sullivan” mug on order #ChasingLove
@StormhawksStatsGirl: OMG you guys look too cute together! Do I hear wedding bells? #Chase it feels like fuel.
The Trailblazers come fast, hard, and relentless. Any other game this season, it might’ve been enough to beat us. But today we answer with our own fight. We’re fast, precise, and most importantly, connected. And when that final whistle blows, the scoreboard reads 28-17. Stormhawks win.
The stadium erupts, and we gather on the field, helmets raised high. Jake slaps me on the back. “Told you we didn’t need luck.”
“Yeah.” The buzz of the win thrums through me.
We were the better team out there today.
I keep my head high and my smile wide as we head into the locker room.
These are the moments. The times when everything connects, when I feel like I’m exactly where I’m meant to be—with my team and my family—that make everything feel right.
These are the moments I live for. The ones that make the weight I carry feel light enough to ignore.
I fumble with the keys to my apartment, my fingers still buzzing from the adrenaline of the game and maybe a little bit from the celebratory whiskey shots Flic gave us.
Serena’s leaning against the doorframe, her arms crossed, a smile playing on her lips as she watches me struggle.
God she’s beautiful. She’s swapped her Stormhawks coaching uniform for a pair of dark jeans and a light sweater that hugs her curves.
Her hair is loose down her back and her makeup is subtle but deliberate—making those sky-blue eyes look like they could swallow me whole.
The beer and the win must be messing with my head, because I haven’t been able to stop looking at her tonight, searching her out in every group.
“You sure you’re sober enough to get us inside, Chase?” Serena’s voice is teasing and playful.
“Oh, I’m plenty sober,” I shoot back. We both know it’s a lie. Finally, I get the key into the lock and push the door open. “But if I wasn’t, I’d blame you.”
“Hey, I’m the designated driver.” Serena steps into my apartment and kicks off her ankle boots before disappearing into the kitchen.
“Exactly,” I call after her. “You should’ve hauled my ass from the bar hours ago.
” I drop onto the couch, spreading my arms out across the back of the cushion, loving the way the world is blurry around the edges in a good way, and how tomorrow is a rest day.
No practice. No grueling gym workout. Just rest and hanging out with Serena.
Perfect! I’m already thinking of us heading up to the ranch.
Coaxing Dylan and Izzy into taking us riding.
“You were the one who started the line-dancing,” Serena replies, returning from the kitchen and nudging her elbow into my ribs as she drops down beside me, handing me a bottle of water.
I chuckle, staring out at the Denver skyline and the dots of light and then the pitch black of where the city ends and the wilderness begins.
“How do you not even have throw pillows for this couch?” Serena rolls her eyes as she shifts position, tucking her legs under herself and moving to face me. “You need, literally, everything,” she adds.
“Should I be calling my bank before our shopping trip tomorrow?”
“Absolutely.”
We talk for a while. Gossiping about the evening in between Serena tapping a list on her phone of shops and items she wants to buy for here and my house at the ranch.
By the second yawn Serena tries to hide, I know it’s time for bed.
I might have had a grueling game on the field, but Serena has been on her feet all day, running the cheer team through their routines and overseeing a million tiny details that all add up to create the magic the cheer squad always bring.
I stand up and reach out to pull her to her feet. “Bedtime for you, princess.”
“Princess?”
“Just getting some practice in for our next fake date.” Truth is, I’m as surprised as she is by what I just said. Pet names have never been my thing. “Would you rather I called you—”
She cuts me off with a sharp punch to my arm before I can utter the childhood nickname her family had for her. One she only confessed to me in a late-night game of truth or dare as kids because it was that or sneak into Dylan’s room and steal all his clothes.
“Don’t you dare,” she hisses, her voice low but playful. “You swore you’d never speak that name aloud.”
I lean in. My senses fill with the sweet blossom scent of her perfume. I lower my voice. “I swore I’d never say it publicly. There’s no one else here right now, Rena Bean.”
Her eyes dance as she shoves me hard toward the couch.
But I’m ready for her, grabbing her arms and pulling her down with me.
We land in a heap, laughter bubbling out of us as we struggle to untangle ourselves.
She’s still trying to swat me with her hands, but I hold them tight, forcing her to stop.
Only when she does am I suddenly aware of how close she is and the way her body is pressing against me.
Her face inches from mine. I can’t stop my eyes from dragging down to her lips as an unfamiliar pull tugs at my chest.