"I have a good memory. I have plenty of details from last night."
A slow smile spread across his lips. "Last night … I'm ready to have that happen again."
"Same here."
"I'll be in Savannah the second week in March."
"That's about six weeks."
"I guess sorority girls can do basic math."
"Chase."
"Cara? I love how you say my name when I annoy you. It lets me know you care."
I mustered up some nerve. "Why are you doing this?"
"Doing what?"
"Spending so much time talking to me. There have to be better things for you to be doing." Sleeping with me was one thing, I understood how guys worked, but sitting around talking to me when he could be out with his band? That didn't gel with the image I had of most guys-especially not musicians.
"All right, I'd say I was only going to say this one more time, but I'm going to say it as many times as it takes to get you to accept it. The only thing I'd rather be doing right now is lying in bed with you. Since I can't have that, I'm taking what's second best."
"For six weeks?"
"I can't promise we'll video chat every night, but I do plan to call every night. Maybe more than once."
"What if we run out of things to talk about?"
"We won't. And if so, we can just start having phone sex."
"Chase!"
"There you go again. And wow, look at that blush."
"That was a joke, right?"
"The phone sex? Yes. I mean we'd at least have to do it over video."
"On that note, good night."
"Hey, just saying."
"We're not having phone or video sex."
"We'll see what you're saying in a few weeks." He smirked.
"I'll be saying the same thing." When you lived in a house full of girls and thin walls, phone sex wasn't in the cards.
"Okay, one more thing before you go."
"Yes?" I prepared myself for some personal question.
"If you could go on vacation anywhere in the world, where would it be?"
"I don't know," I answered automatically.
"What do you mean?"
"It means I don't know."
"All right. We'll figure it out together." He moistened his lips. "Good night, Cara."
"Good night." I clicked end and set aside my tablet. How in the world was I ever going to fall back to sleep?
Chapter Nine
I was starting to get used to how often Juliet and Mallory did things without me. That probably sounds bad, but what I mean is that it didn't bother me as much. They'd walked on egg shells the first week back, but then they seemed to understand that when they treated me that way, it only made things worse. Still, I knew they felt guilty going out if I was sitting at home, so it was nice to have my own plans to tell them about.
"You're going out with his sister-in law?" Juliet asked as she slipped into a black dress. Reed was taking her out somewhere.
"She's not officially his sister-in-law, but she will be soon." I zipped up the back of the dress for her.
"Well, that's cool I guess. It's always nice to meet new people."
I sat down on the edge of my bed. "It's not weird, is it? I mean Chase and I barely know each other."
"I think if it were a guy, it might be weird, but it's a girl. Plus, didn't you say she's a Delta Mu? That gives you something else in common. Maybe you guys will click so well that you'll stay friends no matter what happens."
"One can hope."
"Well, I'll check in with you later. Have fun and get a Hurricane roll in my honor."
"I'd get one anyway."
"Then get two." Juliet blew me a kiss before walking out the door.
I finished up the last of my weekend school work while I waited for seven o'clock to roll around. Usually I spent my Sunday nights frantically trying to get everything ready for my Monday classes. It looked like that wasn't going to be a problem anymore.
I packed up a purse and headed outside to wait on the front porch. I ran into a few of my sisters on the way out, but everyone who was still home was getting ready to go out.
I took a seat on the porch swing and started to swing it slowly as I waited for Rachel. Right on time, she pulled her Jeep up in front of the Delta Mu house.
I opened the door. "Nice wheels."
"I wanted one of these so bad in high school, but I got a hand me down Camry instead."
"I got a hand me down CRV, but I love it."
"That's not a bad hand me down to have."
"Not at all. No complaints." The price was right-i.e. free-and I liked the space.
"Sorry if I woke you up last night. I really didn't even bother to check the time. Riley works late nights a lot, so it plays into my habit."
"He stays up until one a.m. working a lot?"
"Yeah. He's at that stage where he either makes partner or doesn't. He's serious about work."
"Gotcha. That must be stressful."
"It is." She pulled away from the curb. "For both of us."
The ride over to the restaurant was a quick one, and before I knew it, we were settling into a booth. Rachel ordered a glass of red wine, and I went for unsweetened iced tea. No matter how many times I used my fake ID, it made me nervous, so I generally opted for non-alcoholic when I could.
"I'm sorry. That was dumb. I shouldn't have ordered wine."
"Oh, don't apologize," I quickly reassured her. "I'll be doing the same thing in a few more years."
She smiled. "Now that's a positive way to look at things."
As we waited for our food to arrive, I decided to ask some of the basics. "How'd you meet Riley?"
"A friend introduced us almost two years ago now. At first, I wasn't sure. Lawyers aren't really my cup of tea, but those baby blue eyes of his had me."
I smiled. Chase's eyes were brown, so the blue trait didn't run through the whole family. "Sweet. So, it was kind of love at first sight?"
"I wouldn't say that exactly … more lust at first sight … . Love at first morning after."
I laughed. "Nice. I think it's funny that you didn't want to date an attorney."
"Why? I figured he'd be uptight-and he kind of is." She picked up a piece of her Rainbow roll with her chopsticks.
"I'm the opposite. When I hear attorney, I think stable. Dating Chase is as crazy as possible for me."
"Chase managed to find the one girl who wasn't excited to date a musician … figures."
"If I'd known what he was when I met him, there's not a chance I'd have hooked up with him." At least if alcohol hadn't been involved. But either way, musicians definitely weren't my type.
"Really? His charm and good looks weren't enough?" She grinned over her glass of wine.
"I just like safe … or I did."
"I'm guessing the ex-boyfriend was on a more stable path?"
"Yeah. He's planning to go to law school." I poured some more low sodium soy sauce into the dish.
"Maybe Chase is just what you need. I know his career doesn't seem stable, but he is. He's not the kind of guy who sleeps around. You got under his skin."
"I'm not sure why or what he wants. We barely know each other."
"Then get to know each other."
"That's impossible right now."
"Is it? Haven't you guys talked on the phone?"
"And video chat too."
"It's kind of perfect. Get to know each other without jumping into bed every ten minutes. It's amazing how sex can get in the way sometimes."
I choked on my iced tea. "You're blunt."
"Just being honest. He's coming back for a festival in Savannah in March, isn't he? Until then, use the space to decide whether you're compatible."
"As strange as that idea sounds, I kind of like it." Maybe space and time were exactly what we needed. It was the opposite of how things started out with Aaron, and that made it even more appealing.
"Look, I have an ulterior motive, clearly. I'd love to see you guys work things out, but selfish thoughts aside, I think he might just be what you need. If there's ever a time to step outside your comfort zone, it's college. Life gets more complicated after you graduate."
"You're kind of good at this pep talk stuff." I finished the last of my California roll.
"I'm in PR. I'm supposed to be good at spinning things."
I laughed. "Now the truth comes out."
"There's always different ways to look at a situation. You have to find the one that works."
"Is there always one that works? I mean, aren't there times when there's no positive spin?"
"You're nineteen. You're not allowed to sound so jaded."
"I'll be twenty in April."
"Big difference." She took a long sip of wine. "Breakups hurt. I don't know all the details, but I gather your ex really did a number on you. That sucks. I'm not going to sugar coat it, but you know what's going to feel good? When you let yourself fall in love again. That's when you'll be able to walk past the guy without it even affecting you."