Under The Stars

8

Alina

Sixteen Years Old

I’m Chase Adams’s girl.

Those are four words I never thought I’d say.

I can’t stop smiling. Last night, after the high wore off, I was terrified of him running again. After all, it’s what he’s programmed me to expect. Instead, he admitted how tired he was of fighting what’s between us. Said I was his and he was mine, and that’s all there is to it. Maybe it makes me a sucker, but I believe him. Chase is a lot of things, but he’s never been a liar.

“So, let me get this straight, Alina May.” Becca squints while she sits on the brown leather couch in my living room. “You went out and had an amazin’ date with Reed. Gorgeous, charmin’, totally fuckable, Reed. Am I right so far?”

“Yep.”

“He wooed, you swooned. He was a perfect gentleman, not even sneakin’ a titty grab all night and then… Bam!” She smacks her hands together. “The King of Assholes waltzes in, only after someone else shows interest, by the way, and you just jump in his arms and run off to live happily-ever-after?” Her voice is pinched, eyebrows raised so high they blend into her fiery hairline.

I sigh. “Becca, it’s not like that.”

“Then what’s it like?”

“Listen, I like Reed. I truly do, and in a perfect world where my head rules my heart and not the other way around, he’d be the best choice for me. But Chase is my person, Becca. If he’s willin’ to give us a chance, I have to see where it leads. I’ll regret it for the rest of my life, otherwise.”

“Look, all I’m sayin’ is this thing with Chase—it has heartbreak written all over it, sister. I’ve watched you pine for years while he tore you up, and I’m supposed to, what? Just forget all that, and suddenly be okay with this? No,” she shakes her head, “I don’t think I can.”

“I’m not askin’ you to. Honestly, Becca, it’s not your choice. I’ve wanted Chase to be mine for as long as I can remember. I don’t think I’ll ever feel for anyone a fraction of the way I feel for him. He’s it for me.”

“He has issues, Alina.”

“Who doesn’t?”

She rolls her eyes and I snap. “Rebecca Jean, you’re my best friend, but I swear to all that’s holy if you don’t get off your high horse, and at least pretend to be supportive, I’ll kick your butt straight out that door.” I point toward the front entry, disappointment coloring my insides because she can’t see how happy I am. “I’m not gonna sit here and justify my actions to you. Just ‘cause you have issues with commitment, doesn’t mean everyone else has to.”

She scoffs. “I don’t have issues with commitment. I just don’t do commitment. There’s a difference, honey. The church has me trapped enough.” She wrinkles her nose, placing a hand on my arm. “Look, I’m sorry, Lee. I just worry. But if you’re happy, I’m happy.”

I blow out a breath, “Thank you.”

“So… what was it like? And don’t leave out the details.” She wiggles her eyebrows. “I’ll just pretend when you talk about Chase’s d**k that it’s Brad Pitt’s.”

I grab a throw pillow from beside me and toss it at her, laughing.

The doorbell rings. I get up to answer. Becca follows, saying she needs to get going before her folks send out a search party. I open the door and find Chase, one arm raised along the frame, his body towering over mine.

“Hey.” His grin is wide, those dang dimples on full display.

“Hi.” My stomach flutters, lips curling.

He doesn’t move to step inside, and I don’t move to let him. We just stand in the doorway, smiling wi

de, locked in the others’ gaze.

Becca chuckles. “Good God Almighty, y’all make me sick.”

We ignore her.

“Okay, okay, I can take a hint. Lee, call me later, babe.” She squeezes past Chase, waving her hand behind her as she walks down the drive.

I mumble a goodbye, my eyes never straying from Chase.

He finally moves, his hand reaching out to lightly push my stomach, walking me back until I’m pressed against the wall. My heart dances so wild in my chest I’m afraid I’ll pass out. He wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me into his body, my breasts grazing his chest. My n*****s harden at the contact, and a pulse of arousal shoots through me. He leans down and takes my lips in a kiss, different from the ones last night—sweeter. Still, when his tongue teases my mouth, my body vibrates with want.

He pulls away before coming back for a quick peck. Once… twice. “I’ve been thinking of your lips all damn day,” he growls, leaning in like he can’t stay away.

I think I might burst from happiness.

My arms wrap around his neck, pulling him down so I can deepen the kiss. He groans, his arm tightening around my waist as he lifts me. His hips push into mine, and I feel the outline of him through his jeans, hard and thick. I moan into his mouth, the ache sharpening between my legs. I think I might die if he doesn’t get inside me, but my head stops me from losing myself completely. I’m not ready for that. Not yet. Not until I know he won’t push me away again.

I pull back, his lips following mine in protest.

“Chase, we gotta stop. I don’t wanna be here when Mama and Daddy come home.”

He grips his hair, stepping back. “s**t, okay. We can go to my place to chill. Sam took Anna to work with him today, they’ll be gone awhile.”

“What about Lily?” My stomach knots thinking of what her reaction will be to Chase and me. Like everyone else, she assumes we grew apart as we got older, not realizing her brother was busy tangling up my soul with his.

He shrugs. “What about her?”

“I mean… is she home?”

“Probably. Who knows with her these days?” His jaw clenches, sadness sweeping over his features. “I’m trying not to be so overbearing. Let her live her life.”

Guilt stabs me for not voicing my worries. I promise myself that after we handle her finding out about us, I’ll bring it up. One thing at a time, Alina.

“Do you, ya know, wanna tell her about us?” I break eye contact, peering down at my pink-sparkled toes. I guess the rips he caused on my insides are a little deeper than I thought because part of me is terrified he’ll want to keep me a secret.

He tilts my chin up with his index finger. “I plan to tell everyone about us. I told you last night, I’m done fighting this. It’s us, now. Always.”

My body releases the tension, relief flooding my veins.

He pecks my lips again, trailing his hands down my arms until our fingers lace together. “How you feeling today, Goldi?”

I smile up at him. “Just right.”

He smirks, grabbing my hand and leading me out the door, making our way to his house.

Lily is home, and she does not take the news well.

I’m not sure what I expected, but it wasn’t this. I watch her pace the living room, feet moving so fast I’m not sure how the rest of her body keeps up. She looks tired today, a raggedness to her features I’m not used to seeing her wear. Her dark brown hair hangs limp and stringy, no makeup on her face. The antithesis of what Lily Adams usually represents.

“Lil, come on,” Chase pleads, standing in front of her.

She stops pacing. “Don’t you ‘come on’ me, Chase. What am I supposed to do with this? I was having an okay day. Then in walks my brother, the one person I could always count on to put me first, and I find out my w***e of a best friend has been stealing him out from under me all this time?”

My heart drops through my stomach. Did she just call me a w***e?

Chase cuts his hand through the air sharply. “Put you first? Lil, you haven’t let me put you first in a while. Every time I try, you call me overbearing, so don’t play that card with me. And don’t call her that. You don’t get to act like you’re a victim, here. This has nothing to do with you, Lil.”

“This has everything to do with me!” Her voice grates my eardrums, making me flinch. “She’s supposed to be my best friend! And you… you are supposed to be my brother. Didn’t you care at all about how this would make me feel?”

Tears stream down her face, and while I can understand where she’s coming from, this reaction is extreme, to say the least.

Chase breathes out, his shoulders falling as he walks toward her and takes her hands in his. “I’ll always be your brother. All I’ve ever wanted was to see you happy. Don’t you want the same for me? She makes me happy, Lil.”

Lily sniffs, staring hard at the ground like she wishes it would open up and swallow her whole. Her words are a whisper, so soft I have to strain to hear them. “She’s going to take you from me. I can’t lose you, Chase. You’re the only thing that keeps me safe.”

I feel awkward, standing behind them, watching as Lily’s scars from years I wasn’t a part of rip open and bleed out on the floor.

Chase pulls her to him harshly, the muscles in his arms tensing as he hugs her tight. “You’ll never lose me, Lil. It’s you and me against the world. That’s never going to change, okay?”

She nods against his chest.

My body relaxes, tension I didn’t even realize I was holding melting away.

Chase and Lily separate. He wipes the tears from her eyes before turning to wink at me. “You want something to drink?”

I shake my head, still feeling off-kilter from Lily’s reaction. I’m looking at Chase but can feel the weight of her stare. When Chase goes toward the kitchen, I pivot.

“Lily, I—”

“Don’t,” she cuts me off, a look of disgust creeping over her face. “I thought I knew who you were. But looking at you now? I just see bumpkin trash.”

Each word is a visceral pain making my stomach squeeze so tight I feel like I might throw up. She moves forward until she’s right in front of me, glaring. I try to focus on her words but my brain is too busy taking in her eyes. Have her pupils always been big like that? By the time I snap out of it, she’s done talking, looking at me like she’s waiting on a response. I have no idea what she just said. She rolls her eyes, knocking into my shoulder hard as she pushes past me, storming out the front door.