Song Chaser (Chasers) (25 page)

I bite my lip and groan. This girl is fucking good. I grab her arms and turn her around, pulling her into my lap and facing us both toward the fire. I wrap my arms around her and set my chin on her shoulder, “Come on, I’m serious. Tell me what happened.”

Kellee sighs, but doesn’t fight me. She leans back against me and runs her thumb in lazy circles on my forearm. “It’s my dad,” she says softly, her eyes fixed on the fire.

“Did he say something to you about your mom again?”

She shakes her head, taking a long pause before answering me, “No, but honestly at this point I would take him saying something to me about her if it meant he would talk to me at all.” She presses her lips together into a hard line and I squeeze her a little tighter, waiting for her to continue when she’s ready. I remember when I was telling her about Paisley the morning after my breakdown at The Box. Kellee had sat there patiently, letting me talk when I found the words, not prodding and not asking questions. Now it’s my turn.

“I’m just so over him using my mom as an excuse, and even more over him using Mee Ma as his middle man. She shouldn’t have to lie to me, she shouldn’t have to cover for such a coward.”

I nod, “I know. Have you thought about making him sit down and talk to you?”

“I don’t know, I’ve thought about it but I don’t think I could get him to actually talk, even if I did straight up ask him. I’m also not sure I want to hear what he would have to say. We used to talk every day, used to be so close until the day I told him I wanted to go to college and I was leaving. I’ll never forget the way he looked at me,” she shakes her head a little. “It was exactly the way he looked the morning we found out Mom had left. He didn’t even give me a chance to explain, he just grouped me in the same category as her. He turned his back on me that day and I don’t know if I can forgive him for that.”

I run my fingers through her hair and wait for her to continue. I can’t say that I bl
ame her for feeling the way she does. If my dad or mom ever did it to me, I wouldn’t know how to react. I sure as hell wouldn’t be as strong as Kellee is, dealing with the silence while feeling guilty for wanting more in life.

“The worst part is I’m majoring in business for
him
, because maybe if I get a business degree he will understand since his grandpa started the business our family still owns. All I really want to do is get my degree in music education, but I know that would just disappoint him more. I could just hear him now talking about how ‘
music is a hobby, not a job
’.”

“Wait a second,” I pull Kellee to face me. “Frecks, if you really want to go into music education, then do it. Fuck what your dad thinks.”

“It’s not that easy, Tanner,” she sighs.

“Why not? Kellee,” I lift her chin so that our eyes meet. “Do you honestly think you getting a degree in business is going to make him act any different? Do you think he’s ever going to go back to normal unless you move back home and work on the farm for the rest of your life?”

She shrugs, pressing her lips together again.

“Listen, you majoring in something you’re not passiona
te about pretty much defeats the entire reason you moved to New York City in the first place. You didn’t just want to go to college, you wanted to get out of Osage and be more. If you don’t pursue your dream, your
real
dream, then leaving – and all this shit with your dad – was all for nothing.”

“I’m already in my senior year, Tanner. I would have to stay at least an
other two semesters if I change my major now.”

“And?” I lift my brows, “You’re not a traditional girl, Frecks. You’re not the norm. You started school later than most, you have more passion than most, and I know for a fact you would kick ass if you changed your major. Hell, they’d probably be offering you a job at NYU by the time you left.”

Her eyes soften a little and I see a smile threatening the corners of her mouth. She’s trying to hold fast to all the reasons why she shouldn’t do this, but her resolve is fading. “I don’t know if I could afford another year.”

“You and I both know that isn’t true,” I say, still challenging. I refuse to give up on this girl. “You’ve worked hard to be in school and if you needed one more year to get the degree you really wanted, you would find a way to make it happen.” Finally, she smiles softly. I pull her in a little closer, “So, any other excuses?”

She scrunches up her nose, “Are you always this annoying?”

I laugh, “I like to think of it more
as
persistent
.” She rolls her eyes, but I quickly kiss her and press my forehead to hers. “I know you can do this. Don’t sell yourself short because your dad is too scarred by your mom to realize what an incredible daughter he has.”

“You’re biased,” she says.

“Maybe, but I’m also serious,” I press my lips to hers again, taking my time and running my hands along her lower back. She inhales deep and pulls back, breaking the kiss long before I was ready.

“What time is it?”

I glance at the clock on the wall in the dining room, “Almost midnight. Why? Are you going to turn into a pumpkin or something?”

“No, smartass, I have to give you your birthday present.” She jumps up and I instantly crave her as soon as her body leaves mine. “Wait here.”

Kellee runs upstairs and comes back down with a small navy blue gift bag in her hand. “Close your eyes.”

“Oh
hh, are you always this bossy?” I say, smiling and doing as she says.

“I like to think of it more as
persistent
,” she teases. “Open your hand.”

I reach out my right hand
and hear the tissue paper rustling before a small, cool metal object is pressed into my palm.

“Okay, open.”

When my eyes focus, I see a small silver guitar pick with something written on it. I take it between my fingers and hold it near the fire so I can see.
 

i pick u
 

“I figured since you always use
your cheesy lines on me, it’s my turn,” she says, shrugging. I look up and meet her eyes with mine, not really sure what to say. Even though it’s just a small, cheesy gift – I feel like it’s so much more. No girl has ever given me a gift with this much thought behind it, and I can’t help but hope the message on it is right.

I hope she really does pick me.

“You’re fucking adorable, you know that?” I place the pick on the coffee table next to the gift bag and pull her back into my lap, her thighs straddling mine. “Thank you.”

“It’s not much.”

“It’s perfect,” I press my lips to hers, my hands running slowly through her hair. The flames from the fire play on her skin and dance in her eyes, just like the bonfire did last night. I kiss her deeper and she closes her eyes, but then I realize something.

I pull back, “Open your eyes.”

She flutters them open and I stare, shaking my head. “I can’t believe I never saw before.”

“What?” she asks, her hands flying up to her face. “What’s wrong?”

I laugh and take her hands in mine, pulling them away from her face. “Your eyes, they aren’t gray. They’re blue – an icy, gray-blue.”

Kellee smiles, her cheeks turning pink in the firelight. “I guess you weren’t looking close enough.”

“I guess not,” I move in to kiss her again. “Or maybe it was just all that distracting you like to do.”

“Oh sure,” she laughs against my lips. “Blame me.”

“Feel like distracting me again?” I ask, sliding my hands down to her hips and pulling her against me, desperate to be close to her again.

“Tanner!” she whisper-yells. “We can’t just get busy in your parents’ living room. They could come downstairs for a drink of water or something!”

“Come on,” I tug her bottom lip into my mouth playfully. “Be a little daring. Where’s the fun in life if you don’t take any risks?”

She pauses for a moment, like she’s drinking in the words I just said, then her
smile fades and intensity replaces the playfulness in her eyes. She thrusts her hips forward, waking up every fucking nerve in my body. I groan and my fingers grip the skin just above the hem of her sweat pants, my lips traveling down her neck. Each time my mouth presses against her skin, a short breath escapes her lips, making me grow harder.

“Damn, Frecks,” I growl against her neck. “I don’t think I’ll ever get enough of you.
You’re like a fucking bad habit I don’t want to quit. The more I get, the more I want.” I lift her tank top over her head and then pull my own shirt off, throwing them both to the floor. My hands play with the hem of her pants as I trail kisses along the lining of her black lace bra. “Do your panties match this bra?”

She nods, breathless.

“Show me.”

Kellee stands slowly, her fingertips shaking slightly as she pulls her sweats down over her thighs. They fall t
o the ground and I take in the sight of her in the matching black lace thong, the fire crackling softly and mingling with the heavy breaths between us.

“Jesus,” I stand and pull her against me. “I could just stare at you all fucking night.”

“I’d rather you do something else to me all fucking night,” she breathes and I groan, my cock aching against the restraint of my own sweatpants. I quickly pull them off and drag Kellee down on the couch, her legs straddling me again. The fabric of my boxers and the sheer lace of her thong are all that separate us.

“What do you want me to do to you?” I drag my tongue down the swell of her breast and dip it under her bra, just barely brushing her nipple. “Tell me what you want.”

“I want you inside me, Tanner.” She slowly runs her hands down my chest, over my abs, and thrusts them under my boxers. When she takes me in her hands I grow even more, my dick throbbing. “Now.”

I groan and reach my hand down between us, adjusting myself through the hole in my boxers and pulling her panties to the side before thrusting into her. Her head shoots back and a loud moan escapes her lips before I press my hand against her mouth. “You have to be quiet, Frecks. I don’t want to be interrupted.”

She nods, her eyes wide. I leave my hand pressed against her mouth and use my other to lift her hips, our bodies moving together. “I want you to fight it, bite my hand if you have to.”

Her lips smile under my hand and her eyes intensify as she uses her thighs to ride me. Each time she pushes down and I slide deeper inside her I have to fight myself to keep from cursing. I bite my lip and let my free hand explore her perfect body, unclasping her bra and ripping it off before pulling her nipple between my fingers. I gently roll it before sucking it between my teeth. Kellee breathes heavy against my hand, her head falling back at the same time a small whimper vibrates through my fingers.

“Fuck, Kellee. I’m not going to last,” I bite the skin on her neck and use my hips to meet her thrusts with my own, pushing in deeper. She tenses and her hands fly up to grab the forearm of the hand against her mouth. She grips me hard, her nails digging into my skin as her body shakes violently. My eyes roll back at the feel of her coming and I release with her, my breath stuck in my chest as waves of electrifying pleasure course through me. Kellee bites my hand and everything intensifies, the electricity burning every inch of my skin.

This girl really is a fucking drug.

She’s still shaking as I remove my hand from her mouth and replace it with my lips, softly kissing her and running my fingertips along her thighs. Our breaths slow, and that same feeling from earlier comes rushing over me. I try to fight it, try to keep it down and sew my lips shut but the words are battling their way through.

“Kellee,” I breathe, my voice low.

“Don’t,” she stops me, pressing her lips to mine again. “Don’t ruin it with words. Just kiss me.”

The same voice in my head that told me to talk to her about her dad is urging me to say what I want to say, to cross into the territory we’re playing in anyway but I do as she says and kiss her, instead.
She knows what I was going to say and I think she feels the same, but she’s not ready to go there. So I’ll wait.

Hell, I’d wait forever for this girl.

I lay her down on the couch and pull a blanket up over us, kissing her lips, her neck, tugging her earlobe into my mouth and then moving back to kiss her lips again. I kiss her more and more, my hands roaming every inch of her, claiming her as mine. I want her more than anything I’ve ever wanted. I can’t get enough. Every kiss is too short, every touch leaves so much more to be desired. 

Before long, she’s distracting me all over again.

Maybe

Kellee

“You think you’ll keep Peanut in here after we get home?” I ask Tanner, my bare feet propped up on the dashboard as we ride back to his aunt’s house to drop off the car. I still can’t wrap my mind around how much has changed in just a few days. Wednesday night we were driving in this same car and barely talking, trying not to cross the line of “just friends”. Now, on Sunday, we’re trying to fight the urge to pull over and have our way with each other on the side of I-85.