44. Meet Me In The Middle
Krislynn sucked in a deep breath and smiled to herself even alone in the dark. No matter how hard she tried to stop her thoughts and fall asleep, she couldn’t seem to shake the kiss she shared with Chase out of her head. The whole thing was just so... She squealed excitedly before muffling her voice with her pillow just at the recollection.
The whole thing was completely beyond her expectations was what it was. Maybe it was because he had a lot of practice, but she would ashamedly admit she’d kiss him all day if he’d only let her.
She squealed again remembering their kiss – reliving the awkward moment after they pulled apart when he pretended to be a gentleman and walked her all the way up to her room before wishing her a goodnight. What was she going to say to him the next time they meet? What was he going to say to her? Oh the suspense! Was it going to be awkward? Was it going to be...
Knock. Knock.
At the sound of knuckles gently rasping at her door, Krislynn frowned and sat upright on her bed, slightly peeved about the sudden intrusion into her girly fantasies. “Who is it?” She murmured.
“It’s me,” Chase snapped from outside her room. “There’re only two of us living inside this house right now. Who else could it be? Do you honestly think a burglar would knock?”
“If he had some manners he would.”
“If he had some manners, he wouldn’t be robbing you in the first place. Anyways. Since you’re awake, can I come in?”
Krislynn sighed before flipping on the light by her nightstand. As much as she wanted to see Chase – and she did – she would much rather be left in her wild daydreams for the night so she could catch her breath and miss him a bit, but apparently he didn’t feel the same, and since the only thing separating Chase from her was a couple of sturdy looking walls, she couldn’t exactly deny his intrusion either. “Come in,” she grumbled. “It’s unlocked.”
Without another word, Chase burst inside her room wearing nothing but a pair of tight briefs that shaped and showed... well... everything. Her eyes quickly made a beeline towards his crotch before she turned away and pulled her legs up against her body in a protective hug. “Wh- What are you doing here so late?” She asked. “Why are you dressed like that?”
He smirked, not a trace of shame on his face. “It’s the middle of the night and I came here looking like this. What do you think I came here for?” He purred, his voice all thick and smooth. “Obviously, I came for dessert.”
Her eyes quickly lifted to meet his before her jaw fell in disbelief. “But I won the second trivia question,” she shouted. “Remember? If I won then you wouldn’t... you wouldn’t do stuff with me.”
“I know. I remember.” He walked up to her bed and took a seat on the edge before he continued. “But then I was lying on my bed earlier, ready to sleep, and I couldn’t shake the thought out of my head. I mean, isn’t it a bit unfair?”
“No!”
“Yes it is!” He shouted. “Why does the second round have to be the one that counts? Why not the first?”
“Because the second round replaced the first! That’s why it’s called a redemption round Chase! You even agreed to it!”
“Well... I still think it’s a bit unfair. Besides, I’ve never even heard of such a thing.”
Krislynn squeezed her eyes and fists in frustration. “No take-backs!” She screamed.
For a moment, Chase was overwhelmed with laughter before he caught his composure. “Okay fine,” he said. “No take-backs, but I still think it’s a bit unfair so maybe... we can strike up a deal of some sort. A compromise. Meet each other somewhere in the middle?”
Krislynn glared at him through her eyelashes, but still decided to give him a chance. “Let’s hear it first,” she grumbled. “What are you thinking?”
“Well I know that you winning the second trivia question means you can take back that part about sleeping with me tonight, but I was thinking, maybe we could still sleep together... but you know, not have sex.”
Krislynn stared at him, albeit a bit flabbergasted, before she let out a quiet sigh. The cocky man that burst into her room using his stunning body as bait was almost completely gone now, and in his place, stood the guy Krislynn went on a date with earlier tonight – the one who made up bad excuses hoping he could hold her hand. “But why?” She mumbled. “You have a king-size bed in your room and I’m sure it’s much more comfortable than mine.”
“It is,” he said without a thought and then instantly bit his tongue to show remorse. “I mean it’s comfy, but lately I haven’t been sleeping very well on it, alright?”
“Why?”
“What do you mean why? Lately, I just haven’t. My bed just feels really... big lately.”
“So basically, you feel lonely because you’ve got too much empty space in your bed.”
“Shut up,” he snapped. “Are you going to let me sleep here or what?”
“Hm...”
“I won’t even touch you!”
Krislynn stared at him.
He stared back. “Okay I might touch you,” he mumbled, “but not sexually.”
Again, she just stared at him.
He stared back. “I’m being honest!”
“Fine,” she said, and he quickly flashed her a cheeky smile before she pushed him off the bed. “But not wearing that. You either put one of my tank tops on or you go back to your room and find a shirt.” He made a face at her, but then left her room for a moment before returning with a T-shirt thrown over a pair of boxers – so much easier on the eyes.
“Better?” He grumbled when he returned, and as much as Krislynn suspected he was going to try something, it only took Chase a couple of seconds – the length of time it took him to crawl under the blankets and snuggle up to her – before he completely passed out.
The worst part was that Krislynn felt almost disappointed that he hadn’t tried to make any advances towards her, but she couldn’t have been that upset because one moment she was grumbling over it and the next, the sun was up and some annoying ring was making a ruckus in the house.
“It’s the phone,” Chase mumbled, jolting her out of her dishevelled thoughts. “Go tell it to shut up.”
Krislynn made a face at him. “You go,” she reasoned. “It’s your house, it’s your phone, and the call’s probably for you anyways.” Chase’s only response was to bury his head under a layer of blankets and pillows, and after she realized she only had two options – to get the phone or let it ring until it stops by itself – she jogged out of her room and down the hallway to the nearest handset. “Hello?”
There was a light buzz on the opposite side of the line; a small pause before a female voice spoke with mild hesitation. “Um… Does a Chase Evans live here?”
“Yes, there is. May I ask who’s calling?”
The voice suddenly filled with rage. “Who’s calling?! I can’t believe you have the nerve to ask that you… you… woman! Let me give you a piece of advice. Stay away from–”
“Delilah!” Another voice shouted from the background on the phone. “Don’t talk to people like that on the phone!”
“But mom! She’s a golddigger! She’s plotting to steal all of Chase’s money!”
“Delilah, just hand me the phone! Here, give it to me!” There was a bit of shuffling and when the obviously elder lady took the phone, Krislynn was surprised she sounded so kind. “Hi there. I’m very sorry about earlier. My daughter doesn’t know what she’s talking about.”
“It’s okay,” Krislynn laughed, but couldn’t seem to shake off the name Delilah for some reasons. Delilah… Delilah… Wasn’t Chase’s sister… “Oh my god, are you Chase’s mom?”
“H- How did you guess?”
“Well I just… you know. Wait. Do you want to speak to him?”
“Is he available? I called his cellphone, but no one picked up.”
“Of course he is. Just give me a second.” After putting her on hold, Krislynn ran back inside her room and heaved a sigh at the curl of blankets Chase was hiding beneath. “Chase, you’ve got to get up. The call is for you.”
“Who cares,” he mumbled. “Just hang up and crawl back in bed with me. It’s nice in here.”
“Tempting, but seriously, you have to take this call. It’s your mom.”
At the word, Chase quickly sat up, bug eyed and alert, with bits of his hair standing up somewhat like the feathers on the top of a rooster’s head. “Wait, what did you say? My mom?” His eyes shifted around the room in panic. “How did she even get my number? Wait, what did you say to her? You have to tell her I’m not here.”
Krislynn shrugged, not exactly sympathetic to whatever inner turmoil Chase was obviously going through. “Too late,” she chirped. “I told her you were in.”
Chase quickly got out of bed. “Well then tell her I’m in the washroom taking a really long shit or something!”
“I’m not going to tell her that,” Krislynn shouted before she broke out in laughter. “That’s disgusting. Besides, it’s your mom and you haven’t spoken to her for years so you should.” Then on a darker note, she added quietly, “Some of us don’t get the chance even when we want to so just feel blessed and take the call.”
Chase let out a grunt, but her words seemed to have struck a chord in him and rather reluctantly, he reached out and took the phone from her hand before pressing the talk key. He took a deep breath. “H- Hello? Yeah. Hi mom.” There was a really long pause after while Chase absentmindedly stared at his feet, but whatever his mom was saying to him on the phone, she wasn’t shouting it, and Krislynn was disappointed to find out she couldn’t eavesdrop on a thing.
“Yeah. Yeah, I know. I’m sorry. Yeah, I’ve been busy. Really? Did you? Oh. Yeah… Who? The girl on the phone? Who is she?” Chase quickly turned to face Krislynn before looking away. “She’s uh… the girl I’m seeing… I guess. What?! No!! No mom, Krislynn and I are nothing like that! Of course! Of course, I’d invite you and yes even Uncle Steve, but that’s not the point. The point is, there is no wedding. Mom, would you just listen?! I'm not getting married! What?! Thanksgiving? No, no, no. She’s not… I’m not… Hello? Hello? Mom? Mom!!”
Chase let out an animalistic growl after – so loud that Krislynn was afraid to ask how the call went. Luckily, before she could even open her mouth, Chase turned to her with a fake smile and grabbed her forcefully by both shoulders. “You’re in for a real treat Piglet! How would you like to go back home with me this Thanksgiving, to a town in the middle of nowhere, and meet my parents?”
“What?! Oh no, no, no, no.” Biting her lips, she shook out of his grasp with all her strength before backing away. “Meeting your family Chase? No way! That’s way too scary! What if they think I’m weird? What if they don’t like me? We’re not even in the kind of relationship your mother thinks we’re in. I don’t even know what kind of relationship we’re in!”
Chase shrugged. “Well in that case, I’ll let you make a decision for me then. Either I ignore my mom and don’t go or I go back and see her for Thanksgiving. Just remember: if I go, you go, and in the same format, if I don’t go, there’s no need for you to go either. You decide.”
Almost at the edge of delirium, Krislynn stomped her foot on the ground like a child throwing a tantrum. He was only doing this because he was a selfish bastard who didn’t want to look like the bad guy for not going home for Thanksgiving. He wasn’t giving her a choice at all. If anything, he was probably riding on the fact that she wouldn’t want to spend an awkward holiday with his family and trying to make it look like everything was out of his control.
Krislynn would not have that! She had no idea why he kept running away from his family, but whatever it was, she was determined to reunite them – even if she was going to have to suffer along with him.
“Come on,” he taunted, playing his best hand with his most convincing poker face. “What’s it gonna be?”
“What do you mean?” She sung out in a fake purr. “I’ve already decided what to wear.”