Chapter 27

I pull myself onto my tiptoes and kiss him. Soft and lingering for a moment before pulling away.

"I'm going to savor it." My hand presses into his chest, feeling the coarse hair under my fingers, knowing tonight is something out of my wildest dreams. "I'm also going to even the score some time soon. You've made me come twice now, I have some catching up to do." I smirk, running my hand down his chest to the band of his shorts and he hisses as he breathes in.

"Good night, Chase." I pull away and leave, knowing that this time if he tries to put up another wall, it might actually break me.

Waking up this morning after the events of last night has me feeling like I'm floating on a cloud. There's a fluttery feeling churning in my stomach and I keep smiling to myself as I'm getting ready for work.

The Rec Center charity dinner is Friday and the plan has always been that Chase's mom Diane would be in town this weekend to help with CeCe while he attends the dinner. It did cross my mind that maybe he'd just ask me instead now that I've been helping out, but he said she's still making the trip here. I've been excited about the charity dinner since Abby mentioned it months ago, but now nerves have crept their way in. It baffles me, as someone who feels confident in the majority of situations, how Chase is still able to make my knees wobble sometimes.

I keep replaying the moments of last night as I'm driving to work and can't stop myself from feeling hot and bothered all over again any time I think about how his hands felt on my skin. Or how he sent me well over the edge not just once, but twice… and there easily could have been a third.

Chase admitting how he was feeling yesterday came as a shock, to say the least. I could tell he'd been resisting an urge of some kind, but I never expected him to say so much. To share just how much of me he was thinking about. It was easy to get caught up in the physical parts of what was happening. Hell, I've been dreaming of experiencing Chase in that way for years, but the emotional moments we shared? The vulnerable pieces where I made a comment about my body and he so quickly tried to rewire my thinking. I can't remember a time I've ever said that out loud to anyone else. But I think part of me was worried Chase was thinking it. Like he skimmed my side and I needed to call out my own flaw before he could?

"Morning!" I hear as I'm stepping out of my car.

Damien quickly takes my attention from last night to the present as he walks up to me with a smile on his face.

"Hi!" My greeting is more enthusiastic than normal, granting me a suspicious eyebrow raise from him as we walk toward the building.

"Did you have a good weekend?" he asks.

I swipe my badge at the doors as we enter, "It was great, how was yours?"

"We went to that new farmers' market that just opened, it was amazing. Someone was selling freshly squeezed orange juice and I bought much more than I need for someone who doesn't really even drink the stuff."

"Oh, sounds fun," I say as I place my purse down.

The ER is already buzzing. A lobby full of people and most rooms already occupied.

Thankfully, the morning flies by with the amount of patients I've seen and the afternoon follows a similar suit as I stay busy and on my feet. I had enough time to inhale a protein bar, a stick of string cheese and a bag of chips before it was time to get back on the floor for the second half of my shift.

"What room is the cardio consult?"

My head turns quickly at the sound of Drew's voice coming down the hall.

"In seven," Damien answers him, stepping between the two of us.

"Oh, okay. I thought Summer had this patient?" Drew looks at me impatiently, waiting for me to answer but again Damien speaks up.

"No, I have this one, Dr. McCall." Damien leads Drew into the room, and while I have no problem working alongside Drew when necessary, I'm thankful for friends like Damien who will step in sometimes.

"What was that?" I ask when Damien comes back to the nurses' station just before our shift ends.

"You're in a good mood today. Extra good," he emphasizes with a raise of an eyebrow. "I didn't want him ruining it." Damien shrugs, and I bite my cheek to hide the smile that's daring to break loose.

"Thanks," I say, nudging his shoulder.

Mia

Which one looks better?

Mia sends two pictures in the group chat, both of her in floor length dresses with similar necklines. Except one is a light purple and the other one is navy blue and seriously stunning on her.

Abby

What's Nate wearing?

Mia

Whatever I tell him to once I pick my dress

They both look so good, but I vote for navy!

Abby

I like them both!

Mia

I'm kind of leaning toward navy too, but I wanted to wear something lighter so I'm stuck! I'm going for… which dress is going to make me look hotter so my baby daddy will want to get it on when we get home. You know?

You could wear hot garbage and he'd be crawling to you.

Abby

That's true.

Mia

Okay, navy it is.

My hair is doing the thing where it doesn't actually want to cooperate with my vision for the night so I'm about to toss my entire idea and just leave it down like I normally do. Every time I try to pin the pieces up in the back, I can feel them falling and they don't feel as secure as they should be.

Dammit . I mutter to myself with a bobby pin between my teeth. My arms officially give out after another try and I revert back to my tried and true. Leaving my hair down in loose curls and then pinning one side back completely.

Grabbing the dress from my closet, I step into it carefully. The fabric shimmies over my hips and up my torso as I pull the straps up and let them hang from my shoulders. I didn't get a chance to put any self-tanner on this week, so the slit that goes up to my thigh definitely exposes my paler skin, but at least I shaved, right?

Giving my hair one final fluff, I grab my clutch off the bed and apply a tiny amount of lip gloss before taking one more look in the mirror and heading out the door. I've only talked to Chase once since we took things further last weekend, but I've had a hell of a week at the hospital and if I wasn't working, I've been sleeping.

Liam places both hands on my hips as he comes up behind me, spinning me around to face him.

"Careful, Evans. Almost gave me whiplash," I say, pressing a finger against his chest as he hugs me.

To his left is a wall of a man with long, thick legs and strong shoulders. A pair of honey brown eyes with flecks of gold and the most perfect scent I could get drunk off of. Chase stands tall and confident, dressed in a perfectly tailored pair of khaki pants and jacket, a white button down underneath with a tie and a dark brown watch on his wrist, pulling the whole look together.

Liam releases me and I look over at Chase as he takes a step toward me.

"Hi," he whispers in my ear when he pulls me in for a hug and my insides feel warm and tingly.

My arms wrap around his neck as he pulls my waist closer to him.

"Hi." I blush, feeling like a little girl in his arms.

"I'll tell you something, these dinners get more and more extravagant every year. Why isn't your sister a party planner?" Mia walks up beside us just as Chase lets my waist go, but his hand dangles dangerously close to mine at my side. Brushing our pinkies together every time he moves.

"This is her party planning," I say, waving my hand around the room decorated like a celebrity wedding reception.

Champagne colored lights cover the room, giving it a warm and glowing feeling. While the tables are perfectly placed throughout the room with just enough space to comfortably walk through and mingle. The centerpieces are stunning—truly something out of a fairytale with white flowers cascading down and tea candles on every table.

"It's amazing," Mia says.

"What's amazing?" The hostess herself walks up, wearing the same green dress she showed Mia and I the other day in our text thread.

"You are, little sis." Chase locks his arm over her shoulder and pulls her closer. "You outdid yourself this year. The place looks great."

"Oh, thanks. Having some extra time since Summer has been helping you has actually been helpful for me."

Chase nods, kissing her cheek before letting her go and I link my arm into Abby's.

"Can I borrow you for a minute?" I ask Abby and then glance at Mia. "Both of you?"

I can feel Chase's eyes on me, but I'm bursting at the seams to tell the girls what happened between us.

The three of us walk toward the bar and down a quiet hallway outside the doors and into an art room.

"What's going on? You look incredible, by the way. This color is gorgeous on you," Abby says.

"Thanks!"

Tossing my hair over my shoulder, I lower my voice slightly and look at Abby first.

"Is it weird if I share something that happened with Chase?"

Her eyes widen and lips pursed together as she smiles. "In moments like this I just pretend he isn't my brother because you're my best friend and I want to know."

"I knew something would happen," Mia says, adjusting the strap on her dress.

"I hoped something would, but I wasn't sure… except last weekend, when he came home from the game, something definitely happened."

"Did you sleep together?" Mia's voice gets louder.

"No, but we fooled around and… I may or may not have—but definitely did—experienced two of the best orgasms of my life." I bite my lip remembering that night, feeling turned on all over again.

"Two?" Abby gapes at me.

I nod my head up and down, heat spreading across my cheeks and my chest. I can feel my body ramping up for a repeat. Seeing Chase tonight just revved my engine even more than normal.

"Hot." Mia smacks her lips together and then runs a hand over her baby bump. "I'm reminding myself that three is enough," she blurts out in a laugh.

"Honestly, I just liked being close to him. Like skin on skin kind of close. We've hugged before and you know, high fived, been in close proximity, but like that? I was actually burning. My skin just went up in flames immediately, I don't know how else to describe it. Everything felt… perfect. He said he'd been thinking about me. How he wanted me. It was unexpected, but in the best way."

"I'm really glad he finally got his head out of his ass."

Abby reaches to hug me and Mia joins in, creating the perfect mega hug between my best girls.

"I know." I nod my head against her shoulder.

"It's so typical of him to think he could resist you, though. You're good with CeCe, you're smart, fun, and you're kind. Plus, you know… you're insanely hot."

A loud, unexpected laugh leaves my chest as I pull away from the girls. I don't need the ego boost, but I'll always gladly take one.

Being with Chase last weekend only made a few things clearer for me. One being my feelings for him aren't going anywhere any time soon, or ever probably. And two, how badly I want more of him.