27. Kayla
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
KAYLA
I ’m checking myself in the mirror in the far corner of my room when three swift knocks hit the front door. Hustling out to the living room, I see Mom lounging on the couch, feet curled under herself. We look at each other for a split second before she leaps off the sofa to answer the door. I spring from my spot in the hallway, making it a second too late.
“Let me meet him,” she says, laughing.
“You already met him.” I roll my eyes, grabbing my purse behind her. She’s such a “Nosy Rosie” sometimes, and I don’t want her sticking her nose in this early. “Please, Mom, just let me open the door…”
“You could both open the door,” Chase says from the other side. I widen my eyes at Mom and point my head to the couch, mouthing the word stop . She wiggles her eyebrows, reaching for the doorknob and yanking it open. Sliding past her, I close the door on her slipper before nudging her foot back into the house with my own.
With a big exhale, I turn and bite the smile that appears when I look at Chase. The sun beams down on us, and his light blue polo matches the bright sky. He bends to kiss me, but just before our lips meet, I hear an excited squeal from the other side of the peephole.
“Hey, Chase!” Mom yells from behind the door.
“Hey, Ms. Harris!” he calls back, shaking his head with a smile.
He gives me a quick peck and leads me down the steps. Once we get inside his car, Chase tangles our fingers together, kissing the back of my hand twice before placing our hands on my knee. Comfortable silence fills the car while he taps his thumb on mine to the beat of the music on the radio. The oldies station filters through several upbeat popular tunes before playing the slow ballad I sang at the outdoor bar a week ago. I look out the window, watching neighborhood trees give way to ocean waves, thinking about everything that has happened in a week.
“Hey,” he says with a gentle squeeze of my hand. “What’s got you thinkin’ over there?”
“Just…this song,” I say.
“It’s the same one from the bar.” He nods, smiling over at me.
“You remember it?”
“How could I not remember it? I don’t think it’s something I’ll ever forget.” He pulls our hands up to his lips, pecking kisses on my thumb before setting them back down on the center console. It’s cute and romantic, and even though this is a new thing, I like the little ways he touches me. I feel desired. It makes me feel like maybe Ashlie was right, and this could end well.
Despite it being prime tourist time, the beach is nearly empty. Sparkling pebbles glimmer in the sunshine as we walk hand in hand along the beach. “So where did all these crystals come from?” Chase asks, stooping to fill his hand with the stones and letting them sift through his fingers.
“Garbage.” I sit down on a nearby boulder at the water’s edge, taking off my shoes and letting the waves tickle my toes.
“Garbage? ”
“Yeah. Literal trash. This place used to be a dumping site.”
He tilts his head, eyeing me with a skeptical look. “How does garbage turn into crystals? Are you messing with me?”
“Nope. It’s glass from old broken bottles that were dumped off boats at sea. The sand and sea water smooths out the glass and deposits it back onto the shore.”
He studies the pebbles in his hand, letting them sift back down to the ground through his fingers. “They’re so small, though. Shouldn’t there be bigger pieces?”
“There used to be a lot more, but tourists kept taking them as souvenirs. Now it’s illegal to take glass or anything else from this beach, but the damage has already been done. Tourists leave with something shiny, and all we’re left with are tiny pebbles.”
“What a shame. There’s something about the ocean taking trash and turning it into treasure that feels poetic. Magical. It fits Fort Bender perfectly.” He stands, wiping his hands on his jeans as he comes to sit next to me.
“Speaking of magic, Bender lore says the blue glass is the rarest to find on the beach. Whoever finds a blue pebble will have all their dreams come true.”
“But…” he says, pulling me close and nuzzling my nose. “My dreams have already come true…”
“ That was the cheesiest line you’ve fed me yet,” I say with a giggle.
He leans down and kisses me until the smile wipes off my face. It starts off slowly, but soon, we’re grasping at each other, chests heaving as we sit here in this beautiful place, water lapping at our feet. When we pull apart, our noses stay snuggled together as his thumb caresses my side.
“I missed you today.”
“Oh yeah? What did you miss?” I arch my brow.
“Everything. I’ve gotten used to being around you.”
“Me too,” I whisper, leaning in for another kiss.
After a while, he sighs, pulling back enough to say, “We could skip family dinner tonight… ”
“And miss hearing embarrassing stories about you? Not a chance.”
“I haven’t embarrassed myself enough around you? Now you need sources?”
“Yep.” I pat his thigh before wiggling on my shoes and standing. “Sources and references. Maybe a bibliography too. Have to make sure you’re fully vetted.” I wink, and he laughs as he slips his hand into mine.
This feels good, spending time with Chase and letting myself like him without restraint. Opening up to him—sharing about Evan and letting him into my world just a little—has tunneled out some capacity to be at ease around him. The nerves I used to feel have turned down to a low, manageable simmer. He told me he would spend the summer falling for me, but I think, unwittingly, I’ve been falling for him too.
“Kayla…” Chase says from the seat next to me, breaking up the pleasant “what if” thoughts that have been scrolling through my mind the last several minutes of our drive. I blink, shaking my head to clear the haze and realize we’ve pulled up to The Bluffs Estates.
“What’s up?”
“About earlier, I know I called you my girlfriend and we didn’t really talk about it beforehand…or after, for that matter, and—why are you looking at me like that?” His forehead creases in response to the side smirk creeping up my face.
“No reason. Go on…”
“Summer will be over soon, and I know you’ll be busy with school and the internship, and I’ll have a new position at work to figure out but…”
“But…?” I encourage him. He’s rambling, which is adorable be cause I already know the answer to the question he’s about to ask.
“But… I want this. I want you to be mine, and I want to be yours. So…will you?”
“Will I, what?” I tease, trying to keep a straight face while I watch him squirm. This feels like good payback for all the times he’s flustered me out of speech. Plus, he’s cute when he’s nervous.
He blinks. “…Will you be mine?”
“Oh, um, no, Chase. I can’t,” I say, shrugging while I force an apologetic look on my face.
He opens his mouth and closes it again, confusion settling into every line of his face. “You…can’t?” He knits his brows together as he stares straight at me.
“Nope.”
“…Why?” he asks quietly, rubbing the back of his head like it will help him make sense of this conversation.
“Because…” I whisper, pulling him by his shirt so we’re eye level. “I already have a boyfriend.” I smile, poking my tongue into my cheek while I watch the realization ease the pinching on his face.
“ God , Kayla…” He puffs out a deep breath, slapping his hand to his chest and flinging his head back against the headrest.
I lose it with laughter in the passenger seat, and I’m still in a fit of giggles when Chase pulls me out of the car and leans me against the side. He steps in close, grazing my nose with his. “You scared the hell out of me, baby,” he murmurs. “I thought you were serious.”
“ Baby ?” I ask, feigning shock. I like the way the simple word rolls off his lips, like he handcrafted it just for me. Pet names have never been my thing, but he could call me baby for an eternity and I don’t think I’d get sick of hearing it.
“Yep.” He lifts his hand to the crook of my neck. “Baby.”
I tip up on my toes, giving him the apology for my prank in the form of a kiss.
Two kisses .
Okay, three, for good measure.
“Hey, whenever you two are done sucking face, dinner’s ready!” Hunter yells from the porch while looking down at the phone in his hand. He slips back inside the house, and Chase sneaks one more kiss before we head inside.
The smell of something heavenly flows through the air. Avery, Hadley, and Artemis are draped across the couches, watching TV while waiting to be called to the table. Hunter walks down the hallway toward us, finishing up a conversation on his phone.
“Dad said he probably won’t make it back in time. Something about having some business to finish up,” he announces to the room.
“Then we’ll get started,” Christine says, placing a stack of plates on the white marble countertop, next to the cups and silverware. “Hey, Kayla! Glad you could join.” She flashes a friendly grin.
“Oh, thank you for inviting me over again. I had a blast last time.”
“No Ashlie today?” Russell turns to Hunter.
“Naw, not today. She said she couldn’t make it.” He kicks at a scuff on the tiled floor, which I’m learning is one of his tells for when he’s uncomfortable.
“Well, dig in.” Christine motions from the sink toward the food she prepared. Salad, breadsticks, and the heavenly smelling chicken parmesan are spread in the middle of the table. Chase reaches his arm around my waist, grabbing a plate and slipping a little kiss on the top of my shoulder. Looking back to give him a smile, I catch Christine watching, nodding knowingly.
Once we’ve mostly finished eating, I turn to Chase’s parents and say, “I was promised some embarrassing stories.”
“ Ugh ,” Chase groans playfully, squeezing my knee. The girls get up and head to the loft, and Hunter excuses himself to go back to his rental.
“Oh, we have plenty of those!” Russell chimes in with a wink. I learn about the stuffed bunny Chase slept with until second grade, the time in junior high when his first kiss led to two sets of stuck braces and the paramedics being called, and him inviting a homeless man to dinner who turned out to be a college kid off work from a construction job.
“Oh, and don’t forget Janet!” Christine says, clutching at her chest while she laughs. “When these three were young, I hired a housekeeper to help me keep up on things. One day, when Chase was about seven, I couldn’t find him anywhere. I finally asked Janet if she had seen him, and she told me he was in the laundry room. He had locked her out so he could fold the clothes and she could get some rest.”
Chase shrugs, smiling at his mom. “She was limping all over the house, and it looked like she could use a break.”
“Our little humanitarian over here demanded she get a raise and a break every hour to put her feet up. He made me cross my heart before he would open the door.”
“You’re forgetting the part where you actually met my demands.” Chase chuckles.
“Of course I did. She was limping and needed the breaks!”
We all laugh, and I turn to look at Chase, remembering how he swept up the mess hall while Bo rested his sore knee at camp. This guy’s been authentic all his life.
“Well, as much as I’ve loved reliving all of my worst moments, it’s time for me to get you back home.” Chase squeezes my knee.
“Yeah, probably should. I have work in the morning.”
“Okay! Well, I’m sure we’ll see you around here more often.” Christine winks before clearing the rest of the dishes from the table.
Russell heads to the kitchen sink, rolls up his sleeves, and grabs a sponge. “Good night, Kayla!”
The moon inches higher in the sky as we drive through town to my neighborhood. Pulling into the driveway behind my car, Chase parks but doesn’t move to turn off the engine. He plays with my hand, slowly twirling his fingertips around mine like he’s memorizing each fingerprint. I lean toward him, drawing on his lips lightly with my own. The short hairs on his face tickle my palm as I run my hand down the muscle in his jaw.
His fingers trail up my arms, smoothing over my shoulders until they’re tangled in my hair. Right as I adjust in my seat to get closer, deeper, he pulls away. With a long sigh, hands still in my hair, he touches his head to mine and whispers, “You’re killing me, Kayla.” His thumb ghosts over my bottom lip, and he sighs again. “Let me walk you to the door before I get ahead of myself.”
Once we’re on the porch, I tip my head back, reaching up on my toes and looping my arms around his neck. He bends to meet me halfway, hands wrapped around my hips, pulling me flush against him. After another deep, slow, goodnight kiss, I look up into his eyes. “Are you coming into the diner tomorrow?”
“Of course I am.” He squints like the notion of not coming to see me is absurd.
“Then I’ll see you in the morning,” I say, smiling. I turn toward the door, and right as I touch the knob, he pulls me back to him. His thumb caresses the spot behind my ear as he nudges my lips open with his, the ebb and flow of our breathing working in tandem—rising and falling, giving and taking.
“Goodnight, baby,” he whispers breathlessly, nuzzling his nose with mine. Heat surges up my neck, and I bite my lip, heart leaping in my chest at him calling me baby again. I like it, and I really like him.
Stumbling through my front door, I close it quietly behind me in case Mom is asleep. My lips tingle as I lean against the smooth, patterned glass, and I find myself reaching up to soothe the buzzing, smiling like a fool.
I take a step toward the hallway, and that’s when I see her. Mom sits at the dining room table, still as stone. She stares at me, glasses in her hand, the remnants of tears and sniffles still present on her face. I haven’t seen her like this since her granny passed.
“Mom? Everything okay?”
“Kayla,” she says with a trembling breath, shaking her head and looking down at her hands. “I’m so sorry.” I take in the scene at the table, trying to figure out what she could possibly be apologizing for when I notice there are two coffee mugs instead of one.
“Kayla,” a deep voice says from the darkened hallway. A voice I recognize, but one that’s entirely out of context in my house. I freeze, confused, as I hear him say, “You should probably sit down.”