32. I Wanna Be Yours

CHAPTER 32

I WANNA BE YOURS

ARCTIC MONKEYS

My arm flops across the bed, and while I’m expecting to hit the rock-hard chest of my super hot boyfriend, my arm keeps going until the soft, cold mattress finally stops the momentum. I crack an eye open as my hand feels around, as if he’s shrunk himself down and I have to find him again, but I don’t even find the wet noses of the dogs. I pick my head up and sniff the air. No bacon or waffles detected, so I roll over and grope around for my phone. I find a handwritten note next to it.

Good morning, to the beautiful woman who I found snoring in my bed this morning.

I’m in the gym with Steve, so if you come down naked, he’ll stare at you, and I’ll have to defend your honor and punch him in the nose a mere week before he’s supposed to get married stateside.

Since Ethan, his half-Canadian husband-to-be, plays hockey, this will reprise the Treacherous Canadian Ice Feud of the households akin to the Montagues and Capulets, but with better pancakes.

Speaking of, I’ll make you some as soon as I’m done. In the meantime, since you have a long weekend, pack a bag. I have a surprise for you.

-CC

I’m reminded by the things he says and does that even I fall into the trap of his greatest acting skill—duping people into believing he’s just another stupid actor. He plays that part to protect what’s left of his sanity and because he’s shy. But he’s not an idiot—unless he’s horny. He reads, follows politics more than most of us who were born in the US, and loves to learn or try new things.

It doesn’t matter if he’s the goofy idiot who wants to play, or a nerdy guy with his nose shoved in a book. I love them both.

I shower, pack a few things, and stop as the black bag sitting in the closet catches my eye. With a wicked grin, I crouch next to it, pulling out a few toys, and tucking the bag away again when I’m done. I hide everything I picked out in the bottom of my travel bag. He’s not the only one who enjoys surprising people.

They’re just coming in from the garage when I head downstairs. Chase tries to hug me, but I duck out of his reach and make him chase me around the living room while Steve yells about him having too much post-workout energy. I finally grab a pool towel and throw it at Chase before I race out to the patio and shut the door behind me.

“Don’t you dare! You’re all sweaty and I already showered!”

“Without me? Aww. Besides, you like it when I’m all hot and bothered for you!” he yells through the glass door before flashing me a pouty face, batting his eyes like a cartoon character. “Come on, beautiful.”

“Promise me, no grabbing or hugging!”

“Fine. Come in here and properly meet Steve since his bitch ass didn’t show last night.”

“What?! I promised Lala I’d be there, bro!”

I’m cautious as I slide the door open, but I give in when Chase holds up the towel with a shrug. He wraps it around me so he can give me a hug without covering me with sweat. “Fuck, you smell incredible. You get my note, Sunshine?”

“I did, Puppy. What’s the surprise?”

“Tell you later, but not till I have to.” He turns to Steve, who I’m pretty sure has been staring at my ass the whole time. I didn’t expect his sheepish grin from all the stories I’ve heard about him and his reputation. We’ve met already, but only in quick passing as he’s coming into the house and I’m leaving.

I thought Chase had muscles until now, because standing here and staring at Steve? I could do this all day. He’s built like a fucking truck and more. Chase has better hair and a better smile, and if I’m being honest, I hope he never has to get my Chase that big. But Steve’s still fun to stare at. I’m sure he thinks the same about my ass.

“Hi, I’m Steve,” he chokes out nervously before adding, “I have a boyfriend.”

“Husband,” Chase corrects.

“Only in Italy.”

“That’s not how that works, dumbass. Now, stop ogling my girl or I’ll tell Ethan. And Dev.” Chase smacks him hard in the arm, making him wince and pulling his eyes away from me.

“I swear, I’m not! Wait, did you just call me a bitch ass because I went to my husband’s game instead of being here?”

“Steve has made progress in his recovery from fucking anything that walks syndrome. In fact, he’s so busy with his recovery—which I think—involves a lot of sex with his husband, he hasn’t even had time to meet my damn girlfriend,” Chase explains to me, smiling and teasing Steve the entire time. “I’m sure Dani told you about him, right?”

“She has, but I’ve also heard a lot about you from Jamie, Lexi, Chase, and Devin. So, don’t worry, I’m sure you’re nothing like anything they said. Are you staying for breakfast?”

“Yes, he is. Come on, Stevie. Gimme a hand in the kitchen, yeah? Ren, you’re the best, baby.” He tosses the towel aside and picks me up, spinning me around while he kisses me and I scream at him. He ignores me. “Oh no! Now you need another shower! With me this time. Two-person minimum, remember?”

I’ve learned that Chase’s group of friends all have unique bonds between each other—even Dani. With Jamie, Chase behaves the most like himself, but with the others, he’s picked up a part of their personality and made it his own when they’re near. Steve gives him an equal amount of shit talking back, and even smacks him in the back of the head a few times for good measure. I sit back and watch the two clowns. It’s better than those reality shows Mama watches.

“So,” I interrupt after a low dig by Chase. “You have a husband, but you’re getting married again?”

“Yeah. Fucking crazy, right? I mean, I tried teaching Chase here the art of the playboy life—no offense. He sucked at it. Anyway, I met Ethan at one of Chase’s parties about a year and a half ago. It got off to a shaky start, but I got him to say yes. We got married in Italy last month while Lala—uhh, Ethan—had a break for the All-Star game. We thought about waiting for the off-season, but his folks are in town for the Boston games, so it works out.”

“That’s so sweet, having two weddings.”

“Did you pack your bag?” Chase asks before slamming his coffee back.

“I did, not sure why, though.”

“I’m taking you somewhere, obviously. I had to work while you were on your Spring Break, so think of it as a second, shorter break. Steve’s gonna take Pongo and Lulu, and we’re going on a little adventure.”

“You’re sure that’s smart?”

“Yep. Mills and Cyn will let me know if anything blows up while we’re gone. Oh, and before you ask, yes, you’ll be back in time for school on Monday. Promise.” He drops another waffle on my plate. “Eat up, because we’re gonna have a late lunch. We’ll bring the leftovers to snack on in case we get hungry.”

Two hours later, we’re on the road headed north out of Los Angeles on the Pacific Coast Highway. The weather isn’t too warm yet, so the windows are down and I’m watching the scenery pass by as Chase sings along to his playlist.

“Shit, I’ve never been this far north before. At least not on this side.”

“What? Seriously?” He looks over at me for a second. “Okay, eyes ahead. Trust me.”

He takes my hand, kisses my knuckles, and nods toward the road ahead. I’m not sure what I’m waiting for, though. So far, I’ve seen a ton of trees and random freeway stuff, just like it has been for the last hour.

I gasp as we come around a corner and I’m met with a stunning view of the ocean. The beautiful view leaves me speechless.

“You spend too much time in the city.”

“Something tells me you’re going to change that.”

“Damn right.”

“We used to go to the beach as kids. I always looked for the animals, but all I ever saw were birds.” Even now, I’m staring out at the water, looking for any signs of life. “Mama saw a big shark fin while out fishing with my father once.

“You’ve never seen anything?”

“I’ve never even been to an aquarium. I haven’t seen much beyond the Shark Week programming I watch with my class.”

“Shark week? For robotics kids?”

“I use it to promote pushing the limits of computers and technology. Most of them question it, like you did. Forgetting about submarines and exploratory robots that give us more insight into ocean life we can’t safely reach.”

“Fair. I never thought of that.”

We’ve been driving next to the water for an hour, and the road ahead turns away from the ocean view. As we continue on our trip, I turn back for one last look. “Oh no, I didn’t take any pictures! Shit!”

“We’ll be back this way, don’t worry. Besides, you’re going to take a ton of pictures when we stop for lunch.” He glances over and winks at me. His hand wanders up my thigh, squeezing it. The speed that I just went from wishing I could see a dolphin to wishing I could ride this man like a bull makes my head spin.

“God, I can’t wait to get you alone later. Maybe I’ll pull over and stop at a shady motel for a couple of hours.”

“Yeah, I can see those headlines now. Dive motels, sex, and drugs. Cynthia will fire you as a client. How did she even handle you trying to be a playboy like Steve?”

“I avoided stupid shit.” He goes silent and I worry I’ve overstepped, but after a pause, he adds, “I sucked at it. Steve’s a natural, charismatic and open to his wild side. Even when I’d work up the nerve to take a woman home, I’d be out of the house before she woke up, leaving her flowers and a note saying it isn’t going to work out.”

“You’d leave them alone in your home with a note? Brave of you. I’m glad I didn’t know about that before I got the note this morning, or I might have done something only slightly out of character.”

“One of them took a kitchen knife to my sofa.”

“Clever, but amateur,” I reply. He smiles at me with a wink. I glance around again and have a full-blown fuck it moment, reaching over and sliding my hand up his leg. “How about I pay you back for still being there when I woke up this morning?”

“Now that’s a headline. I’d probably crash the car into a tree with the way you give head.”

“Why don’t you pull over, big shot?”

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but we can do that later. I don’t want to miss…something.”

* * *

I still haven’t figured out where we’re going when Chase pulls off the freeway and we drive into this small beach town. I’m so used to the busy beaches of Los Angeles that this slow, relaxed lifestyle could be an alien planet. I gawk at all the little shops, cute homes, and the sprinkling of people wandering about. He parks by the docked boats near a long pier and my head pivots, trying to take it all in. He’s opening my door for me before I notice he’s even out of the car. He grabs our coats from the back and holds my hand as we walk down the pier. It’s old, and the wood creaks a little as we walk by a handful of people fishing off the side.

“I used to go to the beach with my father and we’d build sand castles. Baby Dani cried about the sand for an hour.” He squeezes my hand and we stop walking, but I’m too busy watching a young girl reel in a fish to turn around. “I dreamed about living in one of those castles one day. Too many movies with princes saving the princesses, I guess. What about you, what did you dream—” I turn back to Chase, but he’s not looking at me. He’s staring down at a small box in his hand. There’s a lump in my throat and I remember the conversation at breakfast about how quickly his friend jump from dating to marriage..

“I used to dream I’d… I’d have a family. I mean, I have Devin, but that’s not exactly what I mean.”

“Chase Cooper, if that’s a ring?—”

“No!” He replies too quickly, and winces. “I mean, it is, but not like that. It’s not a, I’m not going to ask you…I mean. Wait, if I asked? What would you say?”

I roll my eyes at the question. “I’d say yes, you’re an idiot!”

“I mean, yeah, but…it’s definitely not a ring. It’s only earrings.” He lets go of my hand and opens the box, holding it out for me to see. Two beautiful gold sunflowers with diamonds in the middle sparkle back at me in the late afternoon sun. They’re stunning, and they look more expensive than any jewelry I’ve ever owned. “Do you like them? I figured these would work since I call you Sunshine and your tattoo.”

“Chase, you didn’t need to do this.”

“Buy stuff for my girl? Yeah, you better get used to that. It’s kind of my thing. Fuck, by now I would normally have given you tons of flowers and jewelry, but life keeps getting in the way, and you’re not like that.” He brushes the hair out of my face, but the wind blows it right back. “I want the things I give you to mean something, not compulsory buys because we’re dating.”

I’ve never in my life had a man put earrings on me before, but the sparks on my skin and the heat building in my stomach as he attaches the backing makes me think I could get used to it. When he secures the second one, he steps back to look at me with a giant grin.

“You’re beautiful.”

“They are beautiful.”

“They’re barely noticeable on someone as stunning as you, Sunshine.” His hands take my face and he pulls my lips to his, stealing the last pieces of my heart that were trying hard to hold out against his charms. I never stood a chance of dodging him. “Things have been upside down for a while now, and my filming schedule doesn’t let up anytime soon. So, I wanted you to know that I love you, and I’m going to do better. For you. For us.”

“I love you, too, Chase, and I’ll be here with you to hold you to that.”

“Say it again…but the other name.”

“I love you, too,” I grin and pause as he eagerly awaits his name. “My puppy.”

“Perfection. Just like you.”

We walk hand in hand to a small restaurant at the end of the pier. It’s cute, with colorful stools along the pier overlooking the water. There’s a noise as we head to our seat, like a strange sounding dog. When I turn to see, I pull Chase to a stop and stand there, fixated on a dozen sea lions, sunning themselves on a floating piece of wood. They’re all barking and one of them slides off into the water, splashing around. My heart races and I can’t believe my eyes. They’re real. The sea lions are real. Not on a screen or a picture, not behind glass, but real and right here in front of me.

“Sea lions. Those are sea lions, Chase!”

“Yep. Hold on, you’ve never even seen a sea lion? I thought you just meant you hadn’t seen dolphins and sharks. Weren’t you born in LA?” I nod, unable to speak as I watch them. “Come on, let’s go sit and I’ll show you the otters.”

“The what?!” My eyes are probably bugging out of my head as I stare at him and make pawing motions with my hands. “Otters? Like, little furry…otters?”

He kisses my forehead with a laugh before he drags me off to our table. I don’t listen to what he orders, too busy leaning over the railing like a child and watching the marine life go about their day. I damn near fall in when the pod of dolphins swims by. As I watch, I spot something off in the distance and I freeze, staring hard at the water and hoping it happens again. The dark hump comes up again, followed by a giant flipper and a spray of water high in the air. Whales. My whole life, I’ve only ever seen seagulls and the random pelican. Now, I’ve seen so many things that my head might explode.

He comes up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist and resting his head on top of mine as the wind picks up. I never want to leave. The pier. The serene little sea town. His arms. I’ve never felt this happy, and all I needed to make it happen was the right man, a few hours in a car, and a pier.