"So, here we are," Chase said, suddenly feeling a bit nervous as he let Polly in through his front door, and then closed it behind her. "Are you... are you sure you wouldn't be more comfortable at your place?"
Polly looked around Chase's neat home, smiling at the cozy quilts slung over the sofa, the framed pictures of the family on the wall and the huge overstuffed dog bed in the corner, fit more for a king than an unruly Labrador.
"I want to stay here," Polly said firmly, turning to face him with a smile. "With you."
Chase swallowed, his eyes darkening with want at the husky tone in her voice, right before both of them jumped at the chiming sound of the doorbell.
"Expecting company?" Polly teased, and Chase whirled around to answer the door and get rid of whoever was interrupting his reunion with Polly. He flung open the door and was promptly knocked nearly off his feet by Jack, who set about enthusiastically licking his face.
"Hey boy!" Chase said, tugging on Jack's ears and trying to right himself despite his dog's happy greetings. "Hi Mae," he said after a moment, spotting her in the doorway.
"Hi," Mae said with a grin, shoving her hands in the kangaroo pocket of her hoodie. "Jack has been going a little nutty with missing you, and I was over at Polly's place picking up some tools I forgot when I saw headlights flash by on the road and I thought it was your Jeep, and Jack started barking, so I figured, hey, maybe you're are back, and Jack was so insistent he totally jumped in my car and was like, barking, to get back over here so I decided to come by and see if it was your, and your car was here, so I hope you don't mind, but here he is. He really missed you," Mae said in a rush, then glanced across the room. "Hi Polly!"
"Hi Mae," Polly replied happily, crossing the room to give her friend a hug. "How are you?"
"I'm great, how are you? Here, in Chase's house? How's that going?" Mae teased. "I, um, I didn't think you'd be back except for, you know, a visit. This is kind of a long way to come just for a, you know, stopover."
Polly laughed at Mae's not so subtle hints. "I'm back for good," she said, and Mae flung herself at her, pulling her into a hug. "I'm not going back to California."
"Yay!" Mae enthused. "That's great news! You are so a Yooper and not a stuck-up California person. You totally belong back here. This is so great!"
"It is great," Polly agreed, meaning it sincerely. "Thanks."
"And you're staying here?" Mae asked, raising an eyebrow in question at the surroundings.
"For now," Polly said smoothly. "Until we figure things out."
"We, huh?" Mae asked, and Polly blushed. "Cool."
"Yeah, cool," Polly echoed, even as Jack wound his way around her legs, begging for attention. She finally knelt down and pressed a kiss to his velvety nose and scratched liberally behind his ears. "Hiya, my man. I missed you too, yes I did. I'm sorry I took Chase away from you for a few days, but now you have two for the price of one because I'm back now, yes you do my sweet little man..."
Mae shot Chase his own raised eyebrow and he grinned, flashing her a quick thumbs up. They high fived silently before both of them turned their gaze back to a suddenly carefree and happy Polly, who was wrestling with Jack on the soft rug beneath their feet. "Nice," Mae said softly with a smile. "I'm happy for you."
"Me too," Chase said happily. "Now leave."
Mae laughed out loud, a deep, throaty laugh, and then called out to Polly. "I'll talk to you in a day or two about progress, okay? I'm out of here!"
"Sounds great!" Polly said breathlessly. "Talk to you then. Thanks, Mae!"
Chase reopened the front door and Mae practically skipped out on the way to her car. Polly continued to fuss Jack before she looked up to see Chase watching her fondly, his hands in his pockets. She stood slowly and crossed the room to him, even as Jack ambled off to the kitchen in search of his food bowl.
"Hi," Polly whispered, and Chase gave her a sweet, shy smile.
"Hi," he replied, not moving a muscle.
"You seem unsure about me staying here," Polly said, standing in front of him.
"I just... I want you to be comfortable. And, you know, you've made a lot of decisions in the last few days, and I don't want to rush you into... you know, anything."
"That doesn't sound much like Ladykiller Colton," Polly teased. "I'm an emotionally wounded woman – isn't this the perfect opportunity to sweep me off my feet and take me to bed?"
Chase reddened slightly and Polly laughed. "I just want you to be... ready. Because I'm going to rock you back, woman."
"Is that so?" Polly asked with a wry grin. "I've had you, you know. I know your moves already."
"Yeah, but I've had fifteen years or so to hone my skills, as it were. I have some new moves to debut for you," Chase replied cheekily. "But, you know, we've got plenty of time for that. Maybe we should start slow."
"Want me to scratch behind your ears too?" Polly teased as Jack sauntered back in the room and slumped down on his dog bed and Chase grinned again, revealing one sexy dimple.
"Gee, would you?" Chase replied.
"Actually, I was thinking of doing something else," Polly whispered, and then raised both hands to cup his cheeks, rough with stubble, then tugged his head down into a slow, soft kiss. Chase removed his hands from his pockets and pulled her closer, pressing their bodies more closely together, the better to exhibit his want of her.
"Better than an ear scratching," he concurred when they came up for air several minutes later, both of their lips bruised from their furious kissing.
"Let's go to bed," Polly whispered, and Chase studied her in the soft light. "Now."
"Are you sure?" Chase asked seriously and Polly nodded.
"I've waited fifteen years for another chance at you, Colton. Just promise me you won't forget it this time."
"Not a chance in hell," Chase replied with a smile. "Just promise me we'll decide where we go from here."
"Maybe we shouldn't make any rash 'let's share our lives' decisions until after we've slept together. For all I know, you're total crap in the sack."
"Honey, I'm a Viking in the sack, and I'm about to prove it," Chase said with an arched eyebrow. "Jack, for your sake, I'd stay in here tonight and avoid the bedroom altogether."
Polly laughed at his commanding tone, and then laughed even harder when he swept her into his arms, carried her into the bedroom and dumped her on the bed, throwing himself on the soft sheets after her.