“Harper,” he spoke around the lump in his throat, “I will love you for the rest of my life.”
I couldn't turn to look at him, I just kept my eyes on the handle, “You will always be in my heart Chase Grayson.” I walked away then, and didn't look back.
8
I glanced in the rear view mirror and groaned when I saw my reflection. I looked terrible, but at least I actually looked like I had been sick. After a few breaths in and out, I put the ache to the back of my mind and focused on Brandon. He is who I want and who I need. I don't deserve him, but as long as he wants me, I'll be his. I walked to the baggage claim area and after a few minutes of waiting, saw him walking in a crowd of people. My heart tightened and I took off running towards him. I'd been unfaithful, and I was a horrible person, but I was madly in love with this man.
“Babe, I missed you!” I giggled when he immediately swept me up into his arms.
He smiled down at me and kissed my forehead, “God, I missed you too.”
“I'm so glad you're back.”
“How are you feeling sweetheart?”
“Better now that you're here.” I wrapped one hand around his neck and trailed my other fingers across his cheekbone, jaw and lips.
“I'm sorry I wasn't last night.”
“Don't be, it wouldn't have been a fun night for you.” Really. It wouldn't have been.
“Is there anything we need to get you on the way back?”
A time machine so I can go back two weeks. “No, honestly I feel so much better. Must have been one of those twenty four hour things, just take me home.”
I almost sighed in relief when I saw the driveway empty of Chase's truck, I couldn't face him when I walked into Brandon's room. While Brandon took a shower, I dressed in one of his button-up shirts and a pair of boy-cut underwear and climbed onto his bed. I knew it would drive him crazy, and as horrible as I will be for it, I needed to have a steamy session with him to push Chase even farther from my thoughts. Bree was right, this poor guy was going to explode if I didn't take it to the next level soon. But I hadn't been ready before, and damn if I thought I could be ready now. How was I supposed to let him love me and love him back in that way when he thought he was the first person I'd ever been with?
“Aw hell baby.” He groaned as his eyes raked over me.
I faked confusion and hurt as I got off the bed, “Oh, well if you want me to change, I will.”
He picked me up and slammed us onto the bed, pinning my body under his. He kissed me thoroughly and I forced myself not to compare his kisses to Chase's. I emptied my mind and focused on nothing but his lips covering mine, and his hand under the shirt on my waist. His other hand cupped under my left knee and hitched it up around his hip, when his fingers moved back to my borrowed shirt, he stopped and pushed off me. Lifting the shirt up to my waist he ran a hand over my tattoo and smiled as he brought his lips back to mine.
“You like?”
“You have no idea how sexy you are.” He growled against my mouth.
I ran my hands over his head and pressed my chest to his. Bringing my other leg up to his hip as well, he pressed me deeper into the mattress when Bree came into the house shouting my name.
“You have got to be kidding me.” I groaned and slapped a hand over my face.
Brandon chuckled in frustration and jumped off me to cover me with the comforter then went to find a shirt. “I needed to stop anyway.” He smiled and bent down to kiss me, his now gray eyes were still burning.
“HARPER!”
“She's in here Bree.” Adding softly, “You're in trouble.” He left my side with a parting wink.
“Do you have any idea how scared I was? I thought you died!”
I burst into laughter, and laughed even harder when she narrowed her eyes at me. “Really Bree? You thought I died?”
“Well okay, I thought you were in the hospital but you always answer your phone, and no one could get a hold of you. What was I supposed to think?”
“Uh...I didn't feel good, you didn't ever consider that maybe I just fell asleep and had my phone on vibrate?”
“I thought you said it was in the other room.” She deadpanned.
“It was, and it was on vibrate.”
“Oh, well then...No.”
I rolled my eyes at my friend, “I'm sorry I worried you both, and I'm really sorry that you all had to come back a day early.” I shot my eyes over to Brandon, “Well maybe not you.” I teased.
“You should be, and I'm going to kill Chase.” I tensed at his name, “This could have all been avoided if he wasn't off screwing some chick last night.”
Dear Lord my cheeks better not be bright red right now. “Bree, it's not his job to babysit me. You can't be mad at him.”
“Just don't scare me like that again, I love you.”
“Love you too friend.” I reached out to hug her, “And as much as I love you, I really need time with my man.”
She snorted and smacked my arm, “Be good. We brought Chinese home if you guys are hungry.”
Brandon sank to the bed and I crawled onto his lap. “So what would you say to grabbing some food, bringing it back here and just be alone the rest of the night?”
“I'd say it's exactly what we need.” He hooked an arm under my knees and carried me out to the kitchen.
“Brandon!” I hissed, “I'm not wearing pants put me down!”
He dropped my legs quickly and tugged on the shirt I was wearing so it was longer than most the skirts I wear. When your boyfriend is over a foot taller than you, his shirts practically become a dress. We looked through the takeout boxes and picked two of them when Chase walked through the living room. He slowed and looked at us, his eyes went wide and pain flashed through them before he could compose his face and gave us a hard nod. My jaw had dropped when I saw him and I forced it shut right before Brandon looked at me. I turned to grab silverware and chastised myself for standing here laughing with my boyfriend wearing nothing but his shirt. It was normal and needed for me and Brandon, but the exact opposite of what I wanted to do to Chase. Taking a calming breath, I walked back over and gave Brandon a playful nudge so he would follow me back to his room.
“How was the rest of your vacation?” I asked Brandon who was sitting with his back against the headboard, while I leaned against the side wall with my legs crossed onto his lap.
“Good, I really wish you would have stayed, but it was good to catch up with friends.”
“I'm glad you got to. Thanks for taking me, I loved meeting your mom.” I smiled to myself, remembering her bubbly personality, “She's great.”
He nodded and swallowed some food, “She loves you already.” He took the bite of chicken off my fork and pointed at my hand. “Where'd you get that?”
I looked at the ring and itched to hide it, not that it would do much good now. I shrugged as nonchalantly as possible and answered around a bite of food. “Chase.”
His face fell and it took a few seconds before he continued chewing. “Chase gave you a ring?”
“It's not a big deal.”
“A ring.” He raised an eyebrow at me.
“Everyone in the family gave me a few things Brandon.”
“A few? What else did he give you?”
Crap. I took my time chewing and swallowing that next bite, but forced my eyes to stay glued to his. “My tattoo.”
“Chase did your tattoo? You didn't think that was something I'd want to know?”
No, I just knew you'd be mad. “I didn't know it mattered that much to you. Would you have rather me gone to someone you didn't know?”
“At least that guy wouldn't have a history of trying to take you from me.”
“Babe, that never happened, and even if it had, he didn’t succeed. You need to get over it.”
“Not li–”
“Can we not do this please? I just got you back and I want to enjoy my night with you.”
“Fine. But next time, I would really appreciate if you didn't let him touch you for four hours.”
My cheeks flushed thinking about Chase's touch. Think about something else, think about something else, think about something else. “Brandon you're not – are you jealous?”
“Extremely.”
“Well take it down a notch Hulk.” I giggled and rubbed his arm, “Whose bed am I in?”
He continued to glower at the ring, “Mine.”
I crawled off the bed and gathered up the empty Chinese boxes, hating the fact that I had just turned that around to his jealousy issues with Chase. Leaning over to press my forehead to his, I held his gaze and spoke slowly before heading to the kitchen, “Then you have nothing to worry about.” I lightly brushed my lips against his, “I love you Brandon.” I vowed right then to spend forever making up for the biggest mistake of my life. But how do you make up for something, when the other person doesn't know about the mistake in the first place?
***
Life went back to normal as school started again and Brandon and I continued our relationship. It had been almost two weeks since he had come home from Arizona, and we were doing better than we ever had. Chase had begun avoiding me at all costs, and though it made me sad, I was extremely happy I didn't have to see him all the time. I don't know how I would have dealt with seeing his miserable face when Brandon and I were together, which was most the time.
It had been one of those days where Brandon and I couldn't keep our hands off each other, and it had been absolute torture waiting for his last two classes of the day to finish. As soon as they were done, he picked me up from the dorm and drove me to Chase's house. Our lips hadn't left each other as we made our way from his Jeep to his room, and his shirt, followed closely by mine, was on the floor before his door was shut and locked. Desire for him shot through my body as he lowered me to the bed and pulled my pants off before climbing on top of me. I reached down for the button on his pants as he pushed a bra strap off my shoulder and kissed where it had just been. I slid the zipper down and he put a hand behind my back, lifting my body off the bed. Planting his knees on either side of me, his other hand went to unhook my bra. He laid me back down on the bed and slowly started pulling it away when his phone rang.
“Every freaking time.” He growled and snatched up his phone, “What?” After a few seconds he sat up quickly and smiled, “No way! Where? Yeah I'll be there.” He jumped off the bed, pulling me with him, “Come on baby get ready, there's a fight.”
“Are you kidding me?!” I hooked the bra back together and planted my hands on my hips, “You're going to stop in the middle of that to go to a fight? Tell Scarecrow to find somebody else!”
“Don't be like that Harper, this fight could easily win me three grand.”
My hands paused with my shirt halfway over my head. Holy hell. “Three grand?!” I still had never heard an amount until now. The wads of cash were usually pretty big, but they could have been ones for all I knew.
“Yeah, I haven't had that high of a night in almost a month.”
“In a month? How much do you normally make?”