The Choice (26 page)

Still shaking my head at the memory of finding the water bill on the counter beside my keys this morning, I wipe down the booth in front of me.

Sneaky ass
.

By now, he’s discovered my note and is likely on his way up to have breakfast
before he heads to work. I smile, imagining what his reaction was to what I’d written.

“What evil are you plotting
over there?” Heather asks with a small smile crossing over her lips.

“Chase,” I chuckle. “Thanks again for letting me borrow your table. I’m sure I’ll have it back to you by the end of the week.”

“You can keep that ugly thing!” she laughs before telling me she’ll be right back, turning to make her way to the office, no doubt to sexually harass our manager, Jamie.

I’m only alone up front for a few minutes before I hear the front door to the restaurant open. I look up to see Chase walking inside, dressed for work and carrying my favorite coffee.

“I don’t know how you drink frozen coffee when it’s so cold out,” he chuckles as he hands it to me and leans down to kiss me chastely. “Good morning, Baby.”

“Good morning,” I return his smile before taking a sip from my drink. “Thank you, Doodlebug.”

“You’re welcome, Sweetheart,” he chuckles again, making his way to his usual spot.

Following closely, I slide in
to the booth beside him, grateful for the temporary break in business.

“Did you get my note this morning?”

“I did,” he smirks.

“Are you ready to renegotiate the terms of our agreement?”

“No, I still don’t want you stressing out about bills, Babe,” he grins, causing me to raise an eyebrow. “If it really means that much to you, though, we’ll talk about it again tonight. Deal?”

“Seriously talk about it? No more sneakiness?”

“No more sneakiness,” he laughs, putting up a Boy Scout salute and shooting me a wink. “I promise.”

“Okay, then you
have a deal,” I agree, pulling him by the front of the shirt for a chaste kiss. “Hungry?”

Glancing down at me through hooded eyes, his lips find mine again. Discreetly, he palms my sex beneath the table, rubbing the seam of my jeans against me and causing a shiver.

“Starving,” he whispers huskily against my neck.

“Chase,”
I whimper, regretfully pulling away from him with a breathy laugh. “Someone’s going to see us, you crazy perv!”

“Sorry,” he chuckles. “I didn’t get to give you your wakeup call this morning.”

“I know,” I sigh, knowing exactly how he’s feeling. “I’m in later tomorrow, though. You can sex me up at six am,” I chuckle.

“If you think I’m
waiting until tomorrow morning, you’re batshit fucking crazy, Princess,” he smirks.

Standing from the booth, I smile as I make my way to put in his order with the kitchen
before returning to him. While his food is cooking, Heather tells us about a local band playing that she wants to see.

“Y’all should totally come with us! It’s gonna be awesome!” she says excitedly. “I know you’re going to love the band, Sophie. They’re like a cross between rock and bluegrass. They’re really cool.”

“Who is us?” Chase asks.

“Oh! Jamie bought us tickets while you were in Florida. We got four just in case y’all wanted to come,” she explains.

“That was nice,” I say with a smile. “Sure, we’ll come. Thank you! Don’t let me forget to thank Jamie, too!”

“Thank me for what?” I hear Jamie saying as he makes his way around the corner. He comes to a stop next to where Heather and I are standing next to Chase’s booth. Noticing we’re talking to Chase, a small smile creeps across his lips as he sticks his hand out to greet Chase. “Hey man, how
’s it going? I’m Jamie.”

As I take in the six foot something guy standing in front of me, I’d be lying if I didn’t say I was surprised.

“This is Jamie?” I ask Sophie, completely ignoring his greeting.

“Yeah,” she says, confusion marring her features.

“I thought Jamie was a girl,” I admit, causing Heather to laugh before she saw my noticeable irritation.

“I’m sorry, Baby,” Sophie says. “I guess I never
really thought about…”

“Wait a minute,” I interrupt her, my eyes moving directly to his. “Weren’t you at the bar
the night that Sophie was attacked?”

“
Yeah,” he says.

“That Rob
guy was your friend, right?”

“Yeah,” he admits
, shaking his head. “I had no idea he was like that. That was fucked up. Thank God our girl is alright.”

He gives Sophie a small smile and pats her on the shoulder affectionately. Heather says something to her, but I don’t hear it. All I see is
red. All I hear is Sophie’s screams from that night and the anger consumes me.

Before I can process anything else, I’m on my feet and my fist is crashing into his face.

“Oh my God, Chase!” Sophie yells out in shock. “What the hell are you doing?”

“You broke my fuckin’ nose, asshole!” Jamie shouts back at me, but I don’t slow my steps.

“You’re the one who brought that fucking piece of shit near her?” I yell back, not waiting for an answer as my fist connects with his stomach, causing him to double over.

“Chase stop!” Sophie tries again.

“Do you have any idea what could have happened to her? What nearly
did
happen because of your fucking
friend
?”

I punch him again, this time hard enough to knock him onto his ass and into a table.

“Listen to me, damn it!” Sophie yells at me, grabbing my arm and stilling my movements for a moment. “He didn’t do anything!”

“He didn’t do anything, Sophie? Are you serious? He brought that piece of shit into that bar! None of that shit would have ever happened if not for this guy, Baby!”

“He didn’t know!” she argues.

“That’s not good enough! Not where you’re concerned,” I say, still shaking in anger. “I could have fucking lost you, Sophie!”

“Yes, but you didn’t,” she argues.

“No thanks to this fucker,”
I say. “You’re quitting this fucking job, Baby!”

“What?” Sophie shouts, surprised at my demand.

“I don’t want you anywhere near this guy again, Sophie! Fuck him!” I say, turning just in time to see his fist coming toward me. 

“You motherfucker!” I ground out, feeling the throb on the side of my face where he’s hit me. “You’re ass is mine!”

Stalking towards him, we go at it in the middle of the restaurant. Sophie and Heather are now both shouting at us to stop, but our anger is too fueled.

He gets
in a couple more hits, as do I. Before long, Heather is all out screaming at us and the restaurant is completely trashed.

Panting heavily as we stumble away from each other, hatred still in our eyes, Heather’s words bring me back to reality.

“Sophie left,” she says in a short, clipped tone. “And Andre called the cops. I hope you’re both happy, you fuckin’ idiots.”

“Where
did Sophie go and who the hell is Andre?”

“He’s the cook and I don’t know, but she’s
pissed
,” she says, obviously not too happy herself. Looking at Jamie, she shakes her head. “I’m not cleaning all this shit up. You better have some fucking chocolate and a good piece of ass ready for me later. You’re in the doghouse, buddy!”

“What the fuck did I do to you?” Jamie asks her as I make my way to the door.

“This isn’t over, Fucker!” I yell back at him.

“Yeah, no shit!” he shouts back as I turn to face him.

“And Sophie isn’t
our
girl, motherfucker! She’s
mine
!”

“
That’s not what I heard, Bitch!”

“What
did you just say?” I rail, making my way back to him in two strides ready to pummel his ass again. Heather standing between us is the only thing that saved him. “Get out of the way, Heather!” I say to her before facing him again, a rage like I’d rarely known creeping up. “You’re fucked!”

“Would both of you shut up!” Heather yells at us, throwing her arms up in frustration as I push the door open in anger.

Once I get into my truck, I dial her on my hands free. On the second ring, she answers shouting into her truck so I can hear how angry she is.

“What?”

“Where the fuck are you going?” I respond, still pissed as I peel out of the parking lot.

“Are you seriously yelling at
me
right now, Chase?” she exclaims, her voice rising in anger of her own. “Did you seriously just kick my boss’s ass and then call me to scream at me on my fucking phone, Chase? Is that what’s happening right now?”

“Did you fuck him, Sophie?”

I immediately regret my words.

A deafening silence fills the truck, making my heart drop before it’s quickly filled with her low
, livid tone.

“What did you just ask me?” she grounds out. I don’t need to see her to know she’s shaking in anger right now, same as me. I try to answer her, but
she cuts me off. “Are you asking me if I cheated on you, Chase?”

“Sophie-”

“Are you
really
asking me if I fucking cheated on you while I’m this angry, Chase?” she shouts over me.

“Baby
…” I try, knowing I never should have asked because I knew better.

“No!” she yells. “Don’t you dare fucking ‘Baby’ me right
now! Just shut up! Just shut your mouth!”

“Sophie!” I shout. Before I can get the next thing out, she shouts an expletive and disconnects the call.

I try her again, but with no luck. After my third try, she finally answers only to tell me to stop calling her before hanging up on me again.

I make a quick call to Drake letting him know I won’t be in for a couple hours, if at all, grateful that he lets me get away with so much shit.

I’ve been behind Sophie for the past few miles, watching her wave her hands angrily, letting me have it in the privacy of the cab of her truck.

This is going to be brutal.

***

I know I’ve said it before, but I really don’t think I’ve ever been angrier with Chase. Not only ha
s he completely overreacted, he’s embarrassed the hell out of me.

Coming to a stop in the garage, I force my door open as I hear his truck pulling into the driveway. I slam the door angrily, completely ignoring him as I rush into the house and throw my things onto the kitchen table. I’m halfway across the living room when I hear him coming inside.

“Sophie!” he calls out to me, but I don’t slow down. Instead, I slam our bedroom door behind me, ignoring his sigh of frustration. Pulling my clothes off quickly, I throw them haphazardly onto the floor before walking in the bathroom and slamming that door. “Stop slamming doors in my face!”

“Stop following me then!” I scream back, turning the water on in the shower before stepping in. I think for a moment he’s decided to let me cool d
own, but that thought is short lived when I hear him push the door open. “Go away!”

“No!
Sophie, let me in.”

“No, Chase,” I say, weaker this time because my anger is quickly changing to disappointment. “Just let me be!
”

The next thing I hear
is the shower curtain being yanked back.

“Chase, I don’t want you in here!”

“Tough shit,” he spits back. “Move over and let me in, Sophie.”

Knowing he won’t drop it, I turn away from him and move towards the front of the shower. Even with the water running freely over my fac
e, it’s no secret that I’ve started crying.

“I’m sorry. I should never have asked you that, Sophie.”

There are so many things I want to say to him right now, but I’m so hurt, so angry, I can’t bring myself to do anything except cry harder.

After brief movement behind me, his front touches my back and he kisses me on the back of the head before pulling me closer to him.

“Come here, Baby,” he whispers. I can still hear the tension in his voice, but he’s calmed down considerably. Still refusing to face him, I take a small step back and sob harder when I feel his muscular arms wrapping around me. After holding me silently while I cry for a long time, I feel his hands in my hair beginning to lather shampoo gently into my scalp. We both remain quiet as he washes my hair carefully. Once his hands stop moving, I feel his strong hands set on my shoulders and begin to turn me to face him. “Turn around, Princess.”

Facing him for t
he first time since the blow-up, my hands are still wrapped tightly around my middle. My eyes are struggling to focus anywhere but him until finally I close them and more tears betray me. Taking my chin in his hand, he gently motions for me to move my head back to where the water is spraying.

“
I’m so sorry, Sophie. Please look at me,” he whispers. I shake my head, my last act of defiance before my eyes betray me again. “Please, Baby. I know you’re upset, but we have to talk about this.”

Finally meeting his eyes, tears continue to sting as I focus on him for the first time since we stopped screaming.

“I’m so mad at you right now, Chase,” I say quietly. He nods his head at me and is about to speak when I cut him off. “God, I didn’t think I even had it in me to ever be this mad at you, but I am completely
livid
. How could you do that to me? Chase, I’m not your property! You aren’t going to dictate everything I do in my life! Not to mention, do you have any idea how shitty it feels to know that after everything we’ve been through, you have
zero
trust in me.”

“That’s not true, Sophie.”

“Yes it is! If you trusted me, you would have never even asked me that!”

“
God, I’m so sorry for that, Sophie. He said something right before I left and I know you wouldn’t… I just,” he starts shaking his head. “I was so mad I wasn’t thinking clearly and you’d just left.”

“Well
, can you blame me? God, Chase! That was humiliating!”

“I know…”

“And then you wouldn’t even listen to me! It was like I wasn’t even there!”

“
I’m so sorry that I embarrassed you and pissed you off. I’m so sorry you felt ignored, Baby.”

“That’s it?” she says after staring at me for a long moment.

“I won’t apologize for anything else.”

“Are you serious? You aren’t going to apologize to Jamie?”

“No, I’m not,” I try to interrupt, but he gently places his fingers over my mouth. “Please let me finish.” Nodding silently, I watch as he squirts more shampoo into his hands and lathers it into my hair. “I
do
trust you, Sophie. I trust you more than I’ve ever trusted anyone else in my life and I’m sorry if I ever made you doubt that. You know I have issues from my past. Although it’s wrong to put them on you when I know you would never do that, they got the best of me. You have to know that I do trust you, Baby.”

He gently nudges my head back, helping me rinse the suds away from my hair before he continues.

“I do not, however, trust Jamie. In your eyes, you two may be friends, but he should have never put you in harm’s way. If the tables had been turned and I’d been there with you and Heather, I wouldn’t have let anything happen to her. That was his responsibility and he failed miserably. Not to mention, I’m still not entirely sure he isn’t trying to fuck you, Sophie.”

“He’s dating Heather!” I try again
, exasperated, but he doesn’t allow it. Instead, he tenderly leans my head back and begins rinsing the conditioner from my hair again and continues.

“
Well, if he’s lucky, I’m wrong, but that doesn’t change anything. I don’t want you near him, Sophie.”

“Chase
! I am not a piece of furniture! You can’t just order-”

Tilting my head just enough to meet my eyes, his next words cut me off, speaking in a
n authoritative tone I don’t often hear from him.

“
I know you’re not an object, but if you think I don’t claim ownership over every single piece of you, you’re wrong, Baby. That will never change. You belong to me, Sophie. You are
mine
. I’ll fight for you until the last breath leaves my body,” his voice is quiet, but there’s so much emotion in his words, I couldn’t doubt him for a second even if I wanted to. After holding my gaze for a moment, he leans down to kiss my neck before focusing on my eyes again.

“You’re such a
freaking mess, do you know that?” I sigh, shaking my head while I watch him nod his.

“I love you.”

Letting out a deep breath of exhaustion, I push the wet hair away from his face and rest my palm on his cheek. “I love you, too, you crazy, possessive asshole.”

Letting out a small chuckle, Chase leans down and stops right before he presses his lips to mine. “I’m so sorry I made you feel like shit, Baby. I never want to make you feel bad. You know that
, don’t you?”

“Yeah,” I whisper. “I know you are. I’m sorry, too. I know I acted crazy and shouldn’t have assumed you
knew Jamie was a guy …”

“Hush, Baby
. I forgive you,” Chase breathes into me and presses his lips to mine forcefully, taking my mouth completely.

Raising my arms to his shoulders, I hold on tightly as he throws the curtain op
en. Lifting me into his strong arms, he steps out of the shower, leaves the water running as he walks directly to the bedroom and lays me across the bed. Flattening his tongue against my skin, he begins hungrily licking his way up my stomach to my nipples, beads of water drip from his hair over me and rolling onto the now soaked sheets beneath us.

“Spread your legs, Baby,” he commands and immediately, I open to him and his lips leave my breasts and are all over my pussy. Grabbing my ass in his hands and gripping tightly, he holds me capti
ve with his mouth and hastily starts to devour me, licking and sucking at my folds without restraint. Growling in pleasure at my taste, it’s merely seconds before the first wave of pleasure begins racking through my body.

“Go Baby,” he orders as he
sucks furiously on my clit, sliding his finger into me, pumping and teasing me to release. “Come for me, Sophie. Let me taste you.”

“Oh my God!” I groan
as my orgasm takes me prisoner. Instinctively clenching my legs shut, Chase uses his strong shoulders to keep me open and grips my ass tighter in his hands. He removes his fingers from inside me and begins fucking me with his tongue. I come furiously, screaming loudly as I yank and pull on his hair, spurring him on as I buck against his lips. Licking me clean, I come down slowly only to be brought back over the edge. “Chase!” I call out breathlessly as he continues to ravage me with his mouth over and over again.

“Tell me it’s mine, Sophie,
” he commands, staring up at me.

“It’s yours, Baby
,” I pant.

“Come for me again, Princess
,” he orders and I’m gone. By the time he raises up to push into me, I’ve lost count of my climaxes and am completely useless. Pushing my legs open wider, he pushes his arms under my listless body and slides into my hypersensitive opening. Raising me up gently with his elbows, Chase runs his lips and tongue up my neck tenderly, a complete contrast to the force with which he’s driving into me. “Look at me, Sophie.” Slowly opening my eyes to find his, he kisses me lazily, sliding his tongue into my mouth.  “Taste,” he whispers and growls when I begin licking my juices from his chin hungrily. “Sophie!” he says through clenched teeth as he begins driving into me with more force, causing me to lose my grip on his mouth. “That’s so fucking hot, Baby!”

Pulling me into his lap, he clamps his hands down on my shoulders from behind and begins plunging into me mercilessly. Using the last of my energy, I grip the hair at the back of his neck and using his shoulders as leverage, I meet him thrust for
thrust, riding him harder, greedily begging for more.

“Harder, Baby!” I scream. W
ith another low groan, he complies, pounding into me so hard it’s almost too much, but this is exactly what my body craves from his.

“Good girl,” he says as I cry out in ecstasy, beginning to clench around his thick shaft. “You ready to come for me again?”

“Yes! Please!” I beg as tears slide shamelessly down my cheeks.

“Say it
again, Princess,” Chase hisses as he licks the tears from my face before growling into my ear huskily. “Tell me who owns you.”

“I’m yours,” I pant
, the possessiveness in his words sending me over the edge. “I belong to you, Chase!”

“Sophie,” he chants my name like a prayer as he grips my hair into his hands and focuses his
devastating blue eyes on mine, both of us spiraling. “Go Baby.”

Together, we crash.