Page 39 of Chasing Forever

“Would you like to get together and watch it sometime?” He hadn’t been this nervous since he’d asked Emily Rockwood to homecoming in tenth grade. What in the hell was wrong with him?

“That sounds good, but not tonight. I have a lot of writing I want to do.”

He nodded. “I understand. Another time, then.”

“Sure. Have a good night.”

“You too.”

With that, she turned and went inside, leaving him standing on the porch and feeling sixteen years old.

Chapter 19

For the next few days, Callie wrote furiously, the words flying off her fingertips and onto the page. She couldn’t believe how much material she’d gained from her last outing with Chase. She’d even used their physical encounter in the water to write her first sexy scene between the characters. She’d tweaked it so the hero and heroine shared their first kiss, and it was electric. In reading it over, she’d gotten tingly, which was a sign that her writing was on point. If she’d reacted that way to her own story, she felt assured that her readers would too.

She could practically kiss Chase for giving her the inspiration. But after their discussion in the car, she knew that kissing was out of the question. That hadn’t stopped her from daydreaming about it, though. Before she’d written the kissing scene in her book, she’d closed her eyes and recalled how it felt to be in his arms with the sun beating down and the water lapping around their bodies. He’d held her firmly yet gently, and he’d gazed at her with a mixture of sweetness and desire that had warmed her to the core.

When the waves had knocked her into him, she’d brushed up against the front of his swim trunks and could have sworn he’d been hard. She’d been shocked to elicit that kind of reaction in him when they hadn’t even kissed, but the incident had given her plenty of material to work with, and she’d written four more chapters as a result.

After she’d been holed up writing, she felt the need for a break. She’d barely left the condo except to get food, and she’d only spotted Chase once when he’d been walking down the path toward the beach. He’d glanced up at her unit, but she’d been sitting far enough away from the window that he hadn’t seen her. She’d watched him until he was out of sight and had even considered going outside to join him. But she’d stopped herself. She hadn’t wanted him to think that she was constantly on the lookout for him because she wasn’t. But today she considered seeking him out.

She could use some more material for her book, but she also missed his company, so that evening she decided to take the initiative and ask him out to dinner. Now that they’d established their friendship, she wouldn’t have to worry about him taking the invitation the wrong way. If they’d exchanged phone numbers, she would have called or texted, but since they hadn’t, she walked outside and knocked on his front door.

When he didn’t answer, she turned and looked for his car. When she saw it was in the parking lot, she knocked again.

This time, he answered, and he gave her a broad smile. He was shirtless and wearing a pair of light gray athletic shorts that hung low on his waist. She’d seen him shirtless several times before, and it was still a sight to behold. But what she hadn’t seen was him wearing glasses—tortoiseshell frames that showcased his magnificent green eyes.

While she wore glasses too, she considered them a necessary evil rather than a fashion statement. But Chase in glasses was seriously hot!

“Hey,” he said. “Come on in.”

She stepped inside even though she could have asked him to dinner on his porch. But she was curious about his “space” and wanted to see what she could glean from it.

“Finally emerged from your writing cave, huh?” He motioned her into the living room, and she took a seat on the couch.

Glancing around, she saw that his unit had the same layout as hers, but it was decorated differently. She also noticed that other than a large stack of books on the dining room table, there weren’t any other personal items lying around.

“Doing a little light reading?” she said, pointing to the books.

“I’ve been doing a lot of reading on this trip.”

“I can see that.”

“So, what brings you by?”

He leaned forward and clasped his hands in front of him, looking cool and casual. In that moment, she felt exactly the opposite. Her hands were clammy, and she suddenly felt shy. But she went ahead with her plan.

“I was wondering if you were free for dinner tonight?”

A flicker of surprise crossed his face, but he smiled and said, “Sure.”

“Great. Maybe we can catch the sunset afterward.”

“Sounds perfect.”

“Okay, then. It looks like you might need a few minutes to get dressed, so I’ll just wait at my place.” She started to rise, but he motioned her to stay seated.

“Wait here. I’ll be right back.”