Chapter 40:
I rolled over and felt bare skin underneath my cheek and hand. My eyes shot open and I sat up. Laying next to me was a shirtless Chase smiling at me. "What are you doing here?" I asked gliding my fingers through my hair. I'm sure I looked very unattractive.
"Well good morning to you too," he said with a laugh. I sat back next to him. "Remember how you asked me to stay with you last night?" I nodded. "And I said no?" I nodded again. "Well after I went back to my room I changed-"
"Doesn't look like you changed much," I said gesturing to his bare chest.
"Are you complaining?" he asked with a smirk.
I shook my head as I examine his abs. "No, not at all." I shot him a smirk back.
He threw his head back and laughed. "Well, anyway, I got changed and then I layed in bed for a while, but I wanted to be next to you. So I got out of bed and came back. When I opened your door you were already asleep. I figured, since you asked me to stay, you wouldn't mind if I just got in bed, so I did," he said gesturing to us laying in my bed together.
"Well, I'm glad you came back," I said while leaning against his chest again. I could tell he was smiling. But there was an unsettling feeling in the pit of my stomach. "Do you want to go downstairs and get something to eat?" I asked.
He nodded, but I think he could tell something was off. I smiled at him, trying to seem more reassuring and got out of bed, with him following me.
I opened the door and when we both stepped out of my room, so did Keaton. He turned to look at us both leaving my room and his eyes went wide and he raised his eyebrows as he smirked. He crossed his arms in front of his chest. "What happened to you two last night?" he asked. I had forgotten that he also saw us cuddling on the couch last night.
"Nothing," Chase and I said in unison.
"Mhm," Keaton said as he walked down the stairs. I looked at Chase and he was looking back at me. He shrugged and we followed Keaton into the kitchen.
"So, how was the dance?" I asked as I sat down on a stool at the counter and the guys started to get food.
"It was a lot of fun. Thanks, by the way," he said with a smile. "I don't think I said it yesterday, but you guys really helped me so thank you."
Chase ruffled his hair and I smiled at him. "So tell us about it," I prodded.
"We danced and," he paused, "I don't know. It was just a lot of fun." I smiled again. It was cute to hear him talk about it. "And Ary looked amazing, but to be honest, I like her more when she's at the skate park in a tshirt and jeans," he said while smiling.
"She was worried you would like her better the way she was dressed last night. You should tell her that you like her without the dresses and stuff. It'll make her really happy," I suggested.
He nodded. Chase slid a bowl of cereal over to me and took a seat next to me. Keaton took his granola bar and apple upstairs and went back to his room.
Chase and I ate quietly for a while, but that feeling came back soon. What was this? "Chase?" I said.
"Yeah," he said looking down at me.
"What are we?" I found myself asking and he kind of laughed. "Seriously." I paused. "Chase, I really like you and I want to be more than friends. I mean we've been getting there but-"
"I really like you and I want to be more than friends too," he said sitting up. I sat across from him with my hands in my lap. "It won't be easy to be in a relationship, considering we live together and everything we've both been through," he paused and took my hands in his. "But, I would really like to try to make us happen."
It was so cute, listening to him talk about us. I loved it. "So," I said, "Are we-"
"A couple?" he asked.
I nodded, letting him know that's what I was asking. "Well, I'd like to be your boyfriend if you want to be my girlfriend," he said.
I smiled and nodded. That's all I could bring myself to do. I wrapped my arms around his neck and his arms looped around my waist. As we were hugging there was a cough that came from behind us.
I turned around and Chase's hands still lingered on my waist. I liked that he didn't just jump away. It was Ethan who was smiling at us. "So you two are a thing?" he asked. My eyes went wide. "I heard the whole thing, don't worry. I won't say anything if you don't want me to."
I looked up at Chase. "Maybe we should tell people. I mean, they'll probably find out one way or another."
Chase nodded. "Yeah, do you want to do it before dinner tonight? Wesley is having his boyfriend over so maybe we should tell them before he gets here," he suggested. I nodded.
We put our bowls in the sink and walked upstairs. As we left Ethan yelled, "Congratulations, by the way." We both laughed at him and said thanks.
Chase and I spent the rest of the day hanging out. We watched TV and played with William in the backyard again. It was a bit colder out so we didn't play zombie slayers again, but we did play hide and seek, which was a lot of fun with the both of them. Chase insisted that we hide together when William was looking for us.
I shook my head and ran off to hide behind a bush, where William found me. After Chase was found he said, "You should have stayed with me."
When it was almost time for everyone to get ready for dinner, Chase and I had Ethan get everyone into the living room so we could tell them the news. Chase and I walked downstairs together and stood in front of them. "We've been having a lot of family meetings lately," Keaton complained.
I laughed at him and then looked at Chase who had a goofy grin on his face. "Uh, Chase and I have something we want to tell every-"
"Ellie and I are dating," he blurted out proudly. He wrapped his arm around my waist and I looked up at him with a glare. He shrugged and I rolled my eyes while smiling at everyone else. It was silent and no one seemed to be smiling with us.
Chase's hand slowly drifted from my waist and fell at his side. Ethan and Keaton looked at each other and Wesley looked at us. Jeff and Lydia looked at each other then looked at us. They both stood up and stood in front of us. Lydia looked at me and I saw the hint of a smile pulling at the corners of her lip. A sigh of relief escaped my lips and Jeff said, "What took so long?" as he pulled Chase into an embrace.
Lydia hugged me and the smile finally escaped. "Congratulations," she said to both of us. I smiled then the guys came to hug us.
"I already knew," Keaton said to everyone.
"I did too," Ethan said.
Lydia and Jeff looked at us. "How long have you two been together?" Lydia asked.
"Since this morning," Chase said.
"They both found out while we were talking about it with each other," I said as Chase's arm went back to my waist.
Lydia and Jeff smiled and we all went to the kitchen to help set the table. As we were setting the food down, the doorbell rang. We all continued what we were doing, casually, and Wesley went to answer the door.
The tall, young, brown haired boy walked through the door with a smile on his face. He was dressed in a nice button up shirt with khakis. Lydia and Jeff went to greet him first and the rest of the guys stood in a line by the stairs, just like they had when I met them all.
Lydia and Jeff said hi happily. Jeff shook his hand strongly. He looked at all of us and was still smiling. "Guys, and Ellie," Wesley said, "This is Danny." We all smiled and waved. "You already know most of them," he said to Danny. "The younger ones are Logan, Oliver, and William," he said as he pointed to each other them.
"Hi," Danny said to all of us.
"Okay, everyone, take a seat. The foods ready."
We all took our seats. Wesley and Danny sat next to each other. Chase and I sat next to each other. Lydia and Jeff had the ends of the table. The rest of the guys filled in where they could.
We had pasta for dinner. Just like we had when Jared came over. That was a trip. Lydia was looking around to make sure no one was going to throw anything this time. When she was satisfied she began eating.
"So, Danny," Lydia started the conversation. "What do you like to do?" she asked.
"Uh, I play soccer and basketball," he said. Lydia nodded with a smile.
Ethan started next. "Do you two have any classes together?"
Wesley nodded. "Yeah, we have biology and geometry together."
The rest of the dinner went smoothly. There were no food fights and no arguments. It was just a lot of talking about Danny. We did talk about Danny's parents not knowing he was gay. Danny brought it up. He seemed like an honest boy. I think he was nervous and didn't want to hide anything from them.
When Danny was leaving Wesley and Lydia and Jeff showed him out. Lydia said, "It was a pleasure having you over and you can come over anytime you would like."
He smiled at her and thank her for having him over. Jeff had a different approach than Lydia. He placed his hand on Danny's shoulder and gave it a firm squeeze. "If you hurt my son, I will hurt you," he said. "But, other than that you seem like a very nice boy for Wesley." Lydia started to pull him away as Wesley was trying to say goodbye.
Chase walked me upstairs to my room and the rest of the boys stayed downstairs to watch TV. We stopped at my door. "So that wasn't too bad, right?" he asked. "Telling them?"
I shook my head. "I was worried when they stood up. I thought they were going to be mad or something."
He nodded his head. "Me too." He leaned closer and planted a kiss on my cheek. "I'm just happy that we are finally a couple." He smiled and winked, then walked to his room. I smiled as I closed my door.
I have a boyfriend!
Hey!!!! There is only one chapter left and it is going to be big so get ready!!:)