Taking Chances [18+]

Pt. 6: Be My (Pretend) Girlfriend

About an hour after Chance left me alone in the bathtub, I wandered out into the living room alone with my thoughts. My stomach was nervous at the thought of bumping into him and having to rehash the conversation.

God, that was stupid. Why couldn't I just have kept my mouth shut? Why did I have to go and make things awkward with the guy I live with? This is why you don't get involved with your roommates. I internally face-palmed myself as I passed by the open balcony door and paused.

Even in the dark, I could make out Chance's muscular back and some of the tattoos that covered it. He stood facing the trees behind our apartment complex and I could tell he was sighing from the way his shoulders lifted and then fell sharply.

Not wanting to get caught staring, I scurried to the kitchen, leaving the light off and hoping to remain undetected. It was that point in the evening where my buzz was wearing off so I either needed to have another glass of wine or start drinking water in hopes of staving off my impending hangover. Water it is.

"Cami."

His voice carried through the living room as I crept by. I hesitated for a moment, considering pretending that I didn't hear him, but I knew he would just come find me.

I stepped through the sliding glass door and moved to lean against the railing, resting on my elbows as I faced the woods behind our place. "Can we talk?" Chance sighed in the darkness, sitting behind me on a lounge chair.

I thought about saying no as I wondered what he had to say. I couldn't take another rejection. I could hear Greg's slimy voice in my head.

"Chance?" he scoffed. "You think he wants you? Looking like that? Have you seen the knockouts he works with? You'd be smart to take me up on my offer. Best one you're gonna get with an ass as fat as yours."

I let my head drop for a second before I began to speak. "You don't have to say anything, Chance. I got your message loud and clear." I paused for only a moment to look down at the patio below our balcony and then I continued, nervously babbling. "I've just been confusing the feelings I've had since that intense dream with the way I feel about you now. I mean, nobody has ever treated me this way. The way you encourage me to stick up for myself and reassure me about my looks. I just feel a certain way about you..."

I sucked in a deep breath as I felt Chance step up behind me. I watched his tattooed hands slide down my forearms, circling my wrists and curling over my fingers as they gripped the railing tightly. I squeezed my thighs together when his head dropped down to my shoulder and I could hear him inhaling deeply. With his body pressed tightly against mine, he whispered softly into my skin. "I feel a certain way about you too, Cami."

The way my name rolled off his tongue had me shivering. "You cold?" he murmured, holding me a little tighter.

I glanced down at his inked arms and smiled. It felt so good to have him hold me...it felt like home. I shifted in his arms so I could face him. When he gazed down at me and I saw his pale blue eyes gleaming in the moonlight, my heart ached. "I meant what I said earlier, Chance," I began as my hands slid up his chest. "I want you. And I completely understand if you don't feel the same way..."