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‘You know what?’ Miley says. ‘Itisweird. He’s never even brought her home to meet me, even though I’ve told him so many times how much I want to. Like, I’m shocked Chase has a girlfriend at all, so yeah, I kind of want to meet this chick. But he always comes up with some bullshit excuse. He could at least Skype, right?’
She shakes her head, frowning, but my belly flutters with excitement. Joy.
Hope.
When we step into the hall back at the house, we’re greeted with male laughter. Gregory and Dave sit next to each other on the sofa, peering over Eloise’s shoulders as she scribbles something on a piece of paper.
Chase looks up as the door closes behind us. ‘She’s drawing me as a slice of cheese,’ he explains. His eyes fall on me, and his smile falters. He looks like he wants to say something, and my cheeks flame, but Greg laughs at the picture, drawing his attention away from me.
I peer at it. ‘You look like you’re trapped in a floorboard.’
Chase’s lips twitch.
Miley ushers her daughter out, and she draws me in for a tight hug before she leaves.
I regret not eating now, because my stomach rumbles painfully. Dave and Greg look up at the noise. ‘Hey, Frankie,’ they say in unison.
‘Hey.’ I move into the kitchen, flicking on the oven to preheat it. ‘I never knew you were blond, Dave.’
He runs his fingers through his hair. Greg says, ‘He grew it out so you don’t put blue on his head again.’
Everyone laughs but Dave, who sinks into the cushions with a scowl.
They natter amongst themselves, but grow silent as the football starts. I sip a glass of milk, my eyes involuntarily pulled to Chase.
As if he senses my stare, he glances at me. I look away quickly, embarrassed he caught me. But I look at him beneath my lashes, and his eyes flick to me again.
This time I don’t look away. Neither does he. I know he’s thinking about this morning, too. I stare until his gaze becomes too much, but when I glance back at him, he’s still watching me.
I open the fridge and stick my head in it, cooling myself down and putting up a barrier between us—
‘Can I grab a beer?’
I whirl. He stands directly behind me, a slight smile playing on his mouth. He doesn’t wait for me to move aside; he leans around me, his warmth soaking into me even though we don’t touch. He looks down at me, and I force myself to take a step back from him.
‘Are you okay with them being here?’ he asks as he pops open the bottle on the side of the fridge. ‘I can ask them to leave if you’re uncomfortable.’
Somehow, distantly, I find my voice. ‘No, they’re fine… I thought you didn’t drink.’
I recall his words that night at Archer’s party. He didn’t touch alcohol because it tempted him to indulge in drugs, and smoking weed helped with those urges.
‘I haven’t smoked since before Chapter One.’ He watches me closely.
‘You made me forget about my temptations,’he told me that morning in my room after he dropped me at home from the festival. I made him forget about his need for cannabis.Me. And what he’s implying now… that he hasn’t touched it since because of me…
It nearly rocks me back on my heels. ‘Do you, um—do you want pizza? I was gonna put one in for myself anyway—‘
‘As long as it isn’t pepperoni,’ Dave calls. ‘And Greg will have extra cheese.’
I roll my eyes and grab a margarita and sweet chilli pizza from the freezer. When I straighten, I find Chase behind me.
Checking me out.
I try to act oblivious to it because I don’t want him to stop looking at me. As I remove the pizzas from their boxes, I ask him, ‘What about you?’
‘I’ll take a few slices of margarita.’ His voice is rough. ‘I’m trying to cut down on meat.’
The mention of meat has me biting my lip to keep from smiling. He seems to notice the slip, too, because he swears quietly.
