Bad Company (Seven Deadly Sins #1) ✅ Completed

Chapter Eleven: Root Beer Floats and Nails

"Hermann. Well, really to an estate sale there."

I turned around and looked behind my shoulder, remembering why I'd bolted down the street in the first place. No one seemed to be me following me just yet, which was a big relief; though I couldn't be sure it would last. I turned back to Chase. "Hey, is there somewhere I can get something to drink? I'm not really feeling up to going to back to my aunt's shop just yet. Dante's probably still mad at me over his radio."

"Sure, but what did you do to his radio?" he asked curiously, his eyes still retaining their hardness.

I rolled my own eyes now, "Nothing! He's the one who almost broke it turning it off. He's got some stupid rule about drivers picking the radio station."

Chase looked at me, his face growing serious. "He's right, Eliza."

I threw my hands up in the air. "God, not you too!"

Chase laughed, and this time it reached all the way to his eyes, chasing away any worries about Dante. "Don't worry. You can listen to whatever you want in my car. I won't bite your head off for it."

"Whatever," I grumbled. What was it with people around here and their crazy radio rules? Surely the fact that passengers were stuck in the car the same amount of time as the driver counted for something? Next time I was going to be sure to bring my iPod with me - well if there was a next time. At the moment, I was really hoping there wouldn't be a next time anywhere in my near future.

"So, do you like root-beer, the float kind in particular?" Chase asked now, breaking into my inner car radio reverie.

"Absolutely," I said, more than a little excited. I hadn't had a root-beer float since before my dad left home. I couldn't even remember how old I'd been the last time I had one. After he'd left, my mom pretty much stopped trying. She'd never really been into the whole parent scene anyway, but at least when he was around we had ice-cream. The second he'd left, she didn't even bother with that. Sure, she made sure she had stuff she liked, or things her boyfriends cared for, but most of that stuff was pretty unappetizing. When she'd dated Todd we had a lot of organic stuff, with her last it was a lot of gluten-free stuff. A root-beer float sounded like heaven right now.

"Great. I know just the place to go then," he winked.

I groaned, already knowing the answer. "Not the gas station again?"

He laughed. "No, my dad's store actually."

"The hardware store?" I asked dubiously. What kind of place was this? Pizza and gas, root beer floats and nails? It was all just a little too out there for me.

"And the home of the best homemade root-beer floats in Central Missouri. We'll get my dad to make them for us. He's got a soft spot for pretty girls."

He leaned in close, and I smelled the fresh scent of his soap mixed with the sharp tang of sawdust and leather. He ran a hand over the side of my face, tucking a strand of wayward hair behind my right ear. One side of his mouth lifted in a half-smile that made butterflies take flight in my stomach again, "I guess I do, too."

My stomach did another one of its odd flips as his green eyes searched mine. "I'm not pretty," I whispered, unable to keep my gaze from falling from his eyes to his lips. There were no piercings, but they were still so tempting. Something inside me felt so drawn to kiss him, to press my lips against his and run my tongue over his lips until he opened up the way I had done with Dante.

Chase shook his head in agreement. "No, you're not." I tried not to let the disappointment of his words crush me too much, but it was hard. His eyes never left mine as he continued, "You're beautiful, Eliza." He closed the distance between us and kissed me. This time when our lips touched, I felt it sizzle along my skin, like I'd stepped in front of a blast oven. It wasn't as intense as Dante's kiss, but it felt different than before - like I was pouring myself into him and he was gladly taking it all.