Just for the Summer (Chasing Carolina #0.5) Read online

  “I wanted to see if maybe we could go somewhere and talk.”

  Pushing myself off of the island, I walk towards her and grab the door handle. “Sure, let’s go outside.”

  Becca is grabbing Parker’s hand, leading him into the living room as Ashlynn follows me out onto the wraparound deck. It looks like they’re going to do some talking too, or maybe not so much talking…but things are looking up for us, so that’s a plus.

  As soon as I shut the door, Ashlynn follows me to the railing of the deck and stares down at the dark beach. Standing next to her, I rest my forearm on the banister and face towards her. I have an overwhelming urge to touch her, so I reach out and run my hand slowly down her back.

  “So what did you want to talk about?”

  Spinning, she gazes up at me with her face glowing in the porch light, making her beautiful face appear angelic. She’s so damn gorgeous.

  “I wanted to talk to you about you…us. I really like you, and I think you like me, or at least I thought you did.”

  How can she even doubt that? I thought I made it pretty clear yesterday I liked her.

  She lets out a soft sigh before continuing. I don’t dare interrupt her, since she’s finally talking to me again. “You’re so hard to read…God…I know I’m rambling. It’s just…yesterday was so much fun, and then I saw you with that other girl and I didn’t know if I was imagining everything between us.”

  I need to hold her, show her my feelings for her are real. Reaching out, I wrap my arms around her waist and pull her to me. At first, she keeps her hands down at her sides and just stares up at me with her big blue eyes sparkling.

  “You weren’t imagining anything, Ashlynn. I really like you…I think more than I’ve liked any girl. It’s pretty crazy and making me question my sanity, because I find myself thinking about you every single second of the day.”

  I can’t believe I’m really saying all of this to her. I think hell froze over the day I met Ashlynn, because just in the matter of three days, I’ve turned into a totally different person.

  “Is that so?” she asks with laughter in her sweet, soft voice. “If you like me so much, what were you doing with that girl last night?”

  Ahh, hell. I was a dumbass for thinking I wouldn’t have to confess I’d messed up.

  I inhale deeply and then exhale slowly as I try to think of the best way to go about this without Ashlynn getting pissed off, kneeing me in the balls, and then hauling ass back to her house.

  “I fucked up. Plain and simple. After y’all left last night, the guys wanted to go out, so we texted some girls we’d met the night before. It was stupid. The truth is I wanted to go out with you last night, but I didn’t want to come off as overeager, because we all know girls love it when guys play hard to get.” I give her a devilish smirk and relax a bit as she smiles back up at me and finally wraps her arms around my waist.

  Holding her in my arms feels perfect. We feel perfect.

  “Well, playing hard to get does work, Chase, but there’s a difference between leaving me wanting to see you again, and just being a plain asshole, going out with another girl, and making me never want to see you again.”

  “What about you and Mr. ‘Ain’t I just irresistible with my British fuckin’ accent’?” I’m feeling defensive and don’t think before speaking like usual. I mentally cringe as soon as my question comes out, but damn, she’s pissing me off.

  I’m a guy for Christ’s sake. We’re bound to mess up. We will definitely not just mess up once or twice, but a whole hell of a lot of the time. We’ll do more shit wrong than we ever do right, but that’s just life. Women just have to learn to accept that and find a way to like us anyway, because there’s no chance in hell I’ll ever be perfect.

  She slaps my chest before hooking her hands back around my waist. “Oh stop! Liam is very nice, but there’s nothing going on between us. I met him this morning while Nikki and I were getting ready to go for our run. He asked if we had plans tonight and we said no, so he invited us to go out with him. You were with your little friend from last night, so I saw no reason I should tell him no.”

  I suddenly feel sick at the thought of my major fuck-up last.

  I don’t know why the hell I brought Sophie back here last night. It was wrong on so many levels. The entire time, I was thinking about Ashlynn, even while we were having sex. I was three sheets to the wind, but that’s no fucking excuse. I still knew what I was doing, and knew it was wrong, but I still used Sophie to try to push the thoughts of Ashlynn from my head and it backfired. Being with her only made me think of Ashlynn more, and then I felt like the world’s biggest asshole afterwards.

  I’ve never regretted anything in my life, but for the first time, I actually regret something I’ve done.

  Pushing the thoughts of Sophie out of my head, I focus on Ashlynn. “Sophie means nothing to me. I don’t plan on ever seeing her again, but you, on the other hand, are someone I want to get to know very well before you leave to go back to Georgia.” I slide my hands down to her ass, giving it a gentle squeeze, pressing her into my now semi-hard dick that’s tenting my shorts.

  Her eyes open wider and her mouth forms a small O. It’s taking everything in me not to lean over and kiss her perfect lips.

  “I’m not gonna lie. I really want to get to know you too, every single inch of you…but we gotta take things slow. I just got out of a relationship, and this whole casual thing is new to me. I don’t know if I can be what you need me to be, but I’m going to try.”

  “I’m okay with that. I don’t want you to feel pressured into doing anything you don’t want to do. We can agree tonight to forget about the mistakes of yesterday and focus on all the fun we can have for the next three weeks. We can make the most of the time we’ve got and go from there. If you’ll let me, I’d really like to take you out on a date tomorrow night.”

  I just asked her on a date. Who the hell am I, and where is the Chase who never goes on dates? Sure, I’ll go out with a girl if we’re with a group of people. Normally, I just work my Kenzington charm to get her into my bed afterwards and then move on to the next girl, but with Ashlynn, everything’s different. Plus, she just made it very clear I won’t be fucking her anytime in the near future, but still, I want only her.

  There’s some crazy ass shit going on in my head right now.

  “You want to take me on a date?” she asks, furrowing her brows and wrinkling her adorable little nose up the same way she did yesterday on my boat.

  I guess she’s just as shocked as I am. Nodding my head, I give her ass another squeeze. “I do. So what do ya say? Will you go on a date with me, so I can prove to you there’s more to me than this womanizing asshole you’ve seen so far?”

  Rolling her eyes, she lets out another soft sigh, making my dick jump again. Fuck, my hand is going to be getting a lot of use until I wear down the walls around Ashlynn and get her to finally give into me.

  I just hope for my dick’s sake that its sooner rather than later, especially since our days together are numbered. I want to be with her as much as I can before it’s time for us to go our separate ways.

  “I guess I can go on one date with you, and for the record, you had your moments yesterday when I didn’t think you were a total asshole. I actually had a lot of fun with you and your friends out on your boat, and I’d really like to take you up on that wakeboarding lesson sometime.”

  “You just say the word, and baby, I’ll take you out on my boat and teach you anything your little heart desires.” Releasing her ass, I bring my hands up to cup her head. I slowly slide my left hand to the nape of her neck, and with my right, I rub the pad of my thumb across her bottom lip. Her lips have been teasing me for days, and I don’t think I can wait any longer to finally taste them and feel her mouth against mine.

  “I really want to kiss you right now,” I say barely above a whisper.

  She lets out a shaky breath as her hands roam up my back, fisting my shirt. “I would love for you
to kiss me.”

  I don’t give her a second to change her mind. Leaning down, I press my lips to hers, pulling her body against mine. Her lips are soft, and the second they touch mine, I feel my dick completely harden to the point it’s painful. I walk her towards the house, pinning her against the wall beside the front door.

  I grind my hips into her, causing a light moan to escape her lips and vibrate into my mouth as she parts her lips, allowing my tongue access to hers. Tilting my head, I start kissing her harder, and slide my tongue into her mouth, twisting my tongue with hers and savoring her taste. She tastes like sweet tea. I will never drink sweet tea ever again without getting a raging hard-on, because all I’ll be able to think about is the delicious taste of it on her tongue.

  Her hands find their way to my hair and I growl into her mouth as she fists it, pulling me even closer. Fuck, this girl has me spinning. I was buzzed when she got here, but now I feel drunk. This feeling consuming me is unlike anything I’ve ever felt in my entire fucking life. No alcohol or Mary Jane can make me feel as high as I’m feeling right now. This kind of high can only be reached from a hit of Ashlynn. Right now, I can’t get enough of her.

  With one hand, I dig my fingers into her scalp, eliciting an erotic moan from deep in her chest, and with my other hand, I slide under her tank top and feel her shiver against me as I explore her smooth, warm skin. Gripping her exposed hip, I squeeze her and grind into her harder. Her moans mixing with the roar of the ocean is the perfect summer song.

  Just as I feel her giving into me, her kisses turning more passionate and aggressive, making me practically cum in my fucking pants, the door opens and Vance pops his head out, shouting, “Chase, you still out here?” giving me a fucking heart attack.

  Ashlynn releases my hair and brings her hands to my chest, pushing me away, and then adjusts her tank top and gets to work fixing her messy bun.

  Perfect fucking timing, asshole.

  “Yeah, I’m right here. What do ya want?” I snap at him as I adjust myself in my shorts.

  He gives me a knowing grin and drags his gaze from me to Ashlynn, who’s blushing a deep cherry red right now. “Sorry to interrupt, bro. It’s just the pizza’s done, so I thought I’d let you know.”

  I run my fingers through my hair and let out an aggravated groan. “Thanks. I’ll be right in.”

  “Sorry about interrupting whatever it was I was interrupting,” he says before shutting the door, giving us privacy once again.

  “I should probably get going,” Ashlynn says before wrapping her arms around my waist and pulling me back to her again.

  “You sure? You can come in and have a slice of pizza if you want.”

  Shaking her head, she beams up at me with the biggest, most beautiful smile. Her lips are slightly swollen from our kiss, and I can’t help but smirk at the thought I’d left my mark on her.

  “I have a big date tomorrow, so I need my beauty rest,” she teases before leaning up on her toes and pressing a soft kiss to my mouth.

  A gentle breeze blows across the water and over us, causing her to shiver slightly in my arms. “Well, then I guess I’ll say goodnight and let you get on your way.” I give her one more kiss before releasing her.

  “Goodnight, Chase.”

  I stand on the deck and watch her until she disappears into her house before I head inside to eat. Today has been a whirlwind. I can only hope things will be looking up from here.

  “I’M SO NERVOUS ABOUT my date with Chase tonight,” I say, rolling onto my stomach so I can tan my backside.

  “Don’t be. I imagine it’ll be something fun and completely Chase-like. Maybe zip lining or snorkeling, because from what I Googled on him this morning, he lives on the wild side. That boy should have danger as his middle name.” If this is Nikki’s idea of helping me relax, she’s insane.

  “Really, Nikki? Thanks. Now I’m about a hundred times more nervous! I’m terrified of heights, and I really don’t think swimming around waiting for a shark to eat me qualifies as an amazing date. Why is it the one guy I’m attracted to since Evan has to be an adrenaline junky?”

  The rest of our crew appears beside us, Becca plopping down onto her towel beside me, and Tamara sitting back in her beach chair. They just got back from taking a dip in the ocean. It’s so hot today I feel like I’m melting under the sun. We have to keep jumping in the water every few minutes to cool ourselves off. I don’t want to burn, ruining my date with Chase because I’m as red as a lobster, so I’ve been applying sunscreen religiously.

  “What are we talking about?” Tamara asks while slipping her oversized sunglasses back on and setting her sun hat on her head. She digs her book out of her beach bag before turning her eyes to Nikki and me.

  Becca rolls onto her side, props her head up in her hand, and grins at us. “Yeah, girlies. Spill it. What are y’all gossiping about? Wait! Wait! Let me guess…Chase?” She lets out a high-pitched giggle when I roll my eyes at her and give her a push, sending her onto her back.

  “Yes, Chase, and now, thanks to Nikki, I’m stressing over what we’ll be doing for our date. We barely know each other, so it’s not like he’s aware of my extreme fear of heights and sharks. Nikki here has revealed Chase is an adrenaline junky who likes to live life on the wild side, which is the total opposite of me!”

  Nikki lets out a loud huff. “Oh, stop being such a twat waffle. You’re going on a date with Chase freaking Kenzington! I googled my ass off all freaking morning, and let me just say the ladies have nothing bad to say about that man besides the fact he’s a heartbreaker. Which…I mean…come on. That’s a given. We’ve seen his womanizing ways firsthand. With looks like that, I’d think he was gay if he didn’t manwhore it up every once in a while.”

  “Well, well, well, what do we have here? Four gorgeous ladies sitting on a beach all by themselves? I think this situation needs to be rectified STAT!” Parker shouts across the beach at us with a big ass grin across his face.

  The crap that comes out of that guy’s mouth…

  “Ashlynn,” Chase says in such a way that makes me tingle with excitement from my head to the tips of my toes.

  “Chase.” I laugh as he squeezes his body beside me on my towel.

  “What are you ladies up to today besides looking beautiful?” Parker asks, sliding his eyes over the four of us. He’s such a pig, but he is entertaining.

  He’s sitting beside Becca—who never came home until after the sun was up this morning, by the way. She rolls on her back, resting her head in his lap as she peers up at him. “We’re working on our tans. What are you guys up to? Nothing that’ll end with us bailing your sorry asses out of jail, I hope.”

  Vance, who’s sitting in one of our empty beach chairs, digging his toes in the sand, answers for the guys, swinging his hand from Chase to Parker, “These two jackasses are spending the day here until lover boy takes you out on your date, and I’m going out with a girl I met last summer who’s back in town.”

  Parker, needing to put his two cents in of course, tells me, “I’m still trying to wrap my head around the fact Chase is actually taking you out on a date. This dude hasn’t taken a girl out on a date in his entire life! I bet you a million dollars the devil is playing hockey down in hell right now.”

  “Oh, come on. He’s twenty-two, for crying out loud; he’s had to have gone on a date at some point in his life,” Becca says, slapping Parker on the thigh before turning her attention to Chase and me.

  Chase lets out a deep chuckle and holds his hand up in the air with his index finger pointing down at himself. “Hello! I’m sitting right here, and for your information, I’ve been on dates, thank you very much. I’ve just never gone out with a girl without having a group of our friends tagging along with us.”

  Propping myself up on my forearms, I look up at Chase. “I’m excited for our date and honored I’m the first girl you’ll be taking out on a real one. I just have two requests: Please do not take me to do anything involving heights or sha
rks.”

  Giving me his adorable, melt-your-heart grin he bends down, slides his fingers under my chin, tilts my head up towards him, and presses a sweet, heart-fluttering kiss to my lips. “Deal,” he murmurs against my lips before pulling away from me, leaving me hungry for more.

  I give him a small smile as I watch him grab my bottle of suntan lotion from my beach bag and pour some into the palm of his hand. “You’re lookin’ a little red, and the last thing I need is for you to get sunburned and have to cancel our hot date.”

  The idea of him running his hands over my body makes my heart stop and jump start again. Last night, just that kiss he gave me had my resolve crumbling. I am trying to be smart and take things slow, but he makes it almost impossible to do so when he’s constantly tempting me to throw caution to the wind and do everything my body is screaming at me to do.

  It’s so hard to decide who to listen to when your head and your body are both screaming at you to do two different things.

  Chase programmed his number into my phone today at the beach, and then called it so mine could be saved into his, so around five o’ clock, I wasn’t too surprised to receive a text from him. He wrote me, saying to wear shorts, a tank top, and bring a hoodie. That was his only request for our date, and even after asking him a million times, he refused to tell me where he was taking me.

  He was so sweet, and looked as handsome as ever when he knocked on the beach house door at six sharp. He was wearing cargo shorts, and a tight-fitting blue shirt that made his ocean blue eyes shine even brighter.

  We took his Silverado, but he promised tomorrow he’d take me for a ride on his motorcycle. I continued to try and guess what we were doing for our date, but he refused to give me even the smallest clue. His lips were sealed, and when we got about three minutes away from our destination, he made me cover my eyes until he was parked.

  So here we sit, and finally, he tells me I can look, and I literally laugh out loud as I take in the sign that says NASCAR Speedpark. Of course he brought me to a go-kart track. He is too cute. He has the biggest grin on his face, and it’s contagious. Seeing him so excited for our date has me bursting with excitement of my own.