Not that he’d ever been one to dip into the groupie scene. He understood how it could hold appeal for some people, his band mates included. It was easy. In fact, Chase found that it was harder to avoid those situations than to give in to them. And he’d actually seen rare occasions that those types of hook-ups led to more than just one night. Holder, Midnight Rush’s drummer, had met his wife backstage after a show. He had taken her back to their hotel that night. Four years later, they were happily married with a baby girl on the way.
Still, Chase had never been tempted to go that route. Maybe it was because he’d found the real thing so early on in life that everything else had just seemed like a cheap, generic version. Not that he’d been celibate by any means. He’d met people through industry connections or at parties. There’d been a few women he’d seen on a regular basis, but nothing even came close to replicating what he shared with Krista.
For years, he’d thought that maybe some of what made their bond so powerful was just the fact that his home life had been so miserable and she was his beacon of light. His safe place. His happiness.
Now, as a man with a successful career and a charmed life, he knew that their connection was not based in circumstances or even just the passion of their youth. It was real. What they’d shared then and still shared today was real.
“Krista,” he said softly.
Her only response was burying her head closer against him. He felt and heard her sniff against his shoulder. Moving his hand up her back, he tilted her chin up so he could see her face. When he did, he saw tears slipping down her cheeks.
As he searched her eyes, she spoke softly, “It’s just…too much.”
“I know,” he agreed, pressing his lips to her forehead because he didn’t trust himself to kiss her on her sweet, full lips and not drag her out of here and take her in the hallway. He spread his fingers across her lower back as he threaded his other hand through her hair, holding her tight as she laid her head back against him.
Chase knew exactly what she was feeling. He also knew that trying to talk to Krista about it right now was not what he should do. As tough as she was, she was all heart, which was not something most people knew about her.
When they were younger and her emotions had been running high, she would react first, think later. That had led to a lot, if not all, of their fights. If she got jealous, she would throw accusations like Muhammad Ali threw punches—they stung like bees. Luckily, he’d learned early on how to bob and weave. He’d never let the things she’d say to him when she was upset, stick. They’d just rolled off his back. Because she’d brought that same fire and intensity to other aspects of her life. Namely, him. She’d loved him with a fierceness he’d never known before or since.
The song came to an end and the DJ announced that it was time to party. Actually, he said, “Partayyyyyy!” As a fast beat dance song began playing, Krista started to once again leave the dance floor. Chase knew that if she left him now she would spend all night marinating over the intensity of their slow dances. Chances were, the outcome would be her pulling away from him even more.
So before she’d made it two steps away from him, he grabbed her wrist and spun her around.
A look of utter shock appeared on her face as she looked up at him. “What are you doing?”
He’d never been a huge fan of dancing that wasn’t the kind that gave him an excuse to hold her close to him. Krista, on the other hand, loved dancing of any kind. When they’d gone to dances at school, she’d always danced the fast dances with her friends and then slow danced with him.
He spun her again and began moving to the music. “We’re not done dancing yet,” he said loudly to be heard over the blaring beat.
She dropped her head back and laughed, probably at his moves, before she began dancing along with him. Krista’s belly laugh was the sweetest sound in the world, and her smile lit up the room brighter than a sunny day. As they danced around the floor, Chase was just trying to do his best to keep up with her. It was worth every second because Chase would do anything to see her like that—letting loose, not a care in the world. Even humiliate himself on the dance floor in front of a roomful of people. If that wasn’t love, he didn’t know what was.
Chapter Thirteen
Krista tried to find a comfortable position in the steel foldout chair but was quickly coming to the realization that no such position existed. Her body was in far too much discomfort to reach for such a lofty goal. Not only had she pushed herself on the track yesterday morning (thanks to Chase), she’d also danced for hours (thanks again to Chase). It still seemed unreal to Krista that he’d not only stayed out on the floor after their oh-my-gosh-that-was-the-most-intense-moment-of-my-life moment, but he’d stayed out there for a couple of hours after that.