Chapter 7

The music filtered through the room as we entered the house. It still didn't feel real to be here with him. Chase had a six-pack in each hand as he weaved between party-goers and if I wasn't careful, I would lose him in the crowd. Four years later, I didn't know any of these people anymore, but he sure did. Several people stopped him on our journey to the kitchen, giving him bro hugs and pats on the back. Shit, it wasn't like I had a right to him anymore. It was weird that he'd even invited me to this.

"Don't look like such a deer in the headlights." Chase set one pack of beer on the counter before turning all that attention on me. His steel-gray eyes sucked me in all over again. I wanted to push that stupid hat off his head and wreck his hair, forget this crowd of people…

"Earth to Nathan?"

"Um, right? This is a normal thing now?"

Chase looked around the packed house before nodding at me. "House parties? Seems that way. Normally it's the out-of-towners. They come and rent one of the places closer to the beach. Sometimes, it's the locals. As long as I don't have to clean up the mess..." He shrugged before grabbing a drink, popping the cap, and bringing the bottle to his lips. Watching him drink had me turning away. It was gross that I was still so drawn to him.

"Do you ever have to clean up the mess?"

Chase laughed as he set the bottle back on the counter. "Look around. What house are we in? We'll be in this shit in a day or two."

I'd been away for too long because I didn't recognize this house, but Chase implied that this was one of Uncle Drew's properties. "And you just let them tear it up?"

He sighed as he took another drink before handing me a bottle. "You have a lot to learn. It sucks, but it's guaranteed money."

The crowded party pulled my attention away from the man standing across from me and what he was saying. I took another sip of the cold beer, the condensation dripping down my hand. We'd been to a few parties during the summers back in high school, but they were never as wild as this. I now appreciated anyone who had to clean up after that crap.

I looked around the room again, rolling the bottle in my hands. Throngs of people gathered together. Some were dancing, while others stood around drinking like we were. Without thinking too much more about it, I took another long swig. The hoppy beer flowed over my tastebuds and down my throat as I turned my attention back to Chase. His eyes sparkled with amusement as he watched me.

"Now, are we going to stand around and bitch about clean-up duty, or are we going to have fun?"

Fun, right? We'd come here to do that, while I wanted to be a fly on the wall. I wanted to watch everyone else get stupid because partying it up is what landed me here in the first place. I took one more swig of my beer before setting the bottle back on the counter and nodding toward the living room, where more people were dancing. "Do you still dance?"

Chase's grin split his face in half, and my stomach tied itself up in knots. He was the very reason I learned I was bi. He sucked his bottom lip between his teeth and nodded. "He asks if I still dance. I've got all new moves..." He waggled his eyebrows as he said it, his tone bordering on suggestive. If he hadn't been so hostile when I first showed up, I would've assumed he was interested in more.

His warm hand enveloped mine as he dragged me over to the writhing bodies. Now it was my turn to feel a little stupid. Chase's eyes danced with amusement before he spun, plastered his back against me, and swayed with the music. As if having a mind of their own, my hands grasped his hips, and my body followed his rhythm. My senses were overwhelmed. The smell of sea spray and spice rolled off him, and I wanted to bury my nose in his hair and take deep breaths of him. Too bad that damn hat was in the way.

Our bodies kept in sync with the music, but my mind strayed to the logo on his hat. In high school, Chase hadn't been interested in college. He wanted to stay close to home, that the shore had called to him. He'd teased me relentlessly about my ‘big city lifestyle' and that I'd never be able to settle down to such a quiet life. I'd promised him, anyway. I'd let him down.

"A fan of the Huskies?" The words were breathed against his ear and a scattering of bumps broke out across the back of his neck.

Chase spun in my grasp, his arms looping around my shoulders. He grinned, leaning close. My heart pounded rapidly at his proximity, threatening to beat right out of my chest. "You see, some jackass gave this to me. Said he was coming back..."

It was a dig, and I knew what he was trying to do when his body heat pulled away and he danced off into the crowd. I followed him like I was following a mirage through the desert. He was water, and I was dying of thirst. The problem was figuring out what he was trying to achieve by antagonizing me. Little flashes of the green t-shirt he wore broke through the crowd at odd intervals, but I tracked him to the sliding doors to the patio.

While the days were warm, nights at the beach were cold. The wind blasted my cheeks the second I stepped onto the deck, and a shiver raced down my spine. I rubbed my hands up and down my arms as I looked around the surprisingly empty space in search of Chase. He couldn't have gone too far in the time it took me to get out here.

"I'm down here." Chase's voice trailed over the breeze, and I moved to the edge of the railing. He was sitting in the sand, wedged between the wood slats of the foundation and some sea grass.

There was no hesitation when I climbed over the rails and jumped down beside him. Chase let out a low laugh before pointing over to the side. "Always one for the theatrics. There are stairs over there."

I huffed as I situated myself, crossing my legs over each other and staring out into the dark. You could just see the waves crashing over the shore. The moon reflected off the surface, painting such a peaceful image, pulling me back to so many summer nights as a teenager spent just like this.

"You didn't really want to come to this party, did you?" Chase grabbed a long piece of grass, broke it off, and tied it in knots.

I shook my head, my attention still out on the water. If I looked at him, I'd be tempted to relive the memories trying to slam into me. While we were inside, hed been mildly flirty. Now he showed no interest in rekindling anything. Since Id fucked him over, I couldnt blame him. Revisiting those feelings would just be trouble.

"Not really. I don't have anything against them. A good party is where it's at, but the whole reason Mom shipped me out here was because she got tired of me doing the same shit all summer instead of looking for a job. Joke's on her: there are no jobs."

Chase threw the blade of grass he'd been messing with, saying nothing. I'd give anything to know what he was thinking about. Was he pissed because I hadn't shown up here for him, confessing that I only came here as a punishment? What twenty-three-year-old was still being punished by his parents? Me, that's who, and it was embarrassing as fuck. I was trying to make the best out of the situation, regardless.

My eyes caught on Chase's fingers as he grabbed at another piece of grass, resuming his task of tying it into knots repeatedly before tossing it aside and grabbing another piece. He was fidgeting, distracting himself from something by keeping his hands busy. It had been years, but I still remembered some of his old nervous habits. Without thinking, I covered his hand with mine, and he blinked at me. Our gazes locked in one heated moment as the air crackled around us.

The moment ended just as quickly as it started when Chase pulled his hand from my grasp. He yanked his hat from his head, turning it to look at the logo. His dirty blond hair spilled over his forehead. "Maybe I held on to some things that I shouldn't have." He shrugged before dropping it into his lap. He closed his eyes and rested his head against the deck.

Something gross settled into the pit of my stomach. I'd done a terrible thing, making him think I was coming back. I had intended to, but life had other plans.