Chase Wilson wants nothing more than to get out of Port Haven. After getting into too much trouble back home, what would be a vacation for most people is nothing more than a punishment for Chase - a summer spent in the godforsaken little beach town...
my last chapter! I loved writing this story, it's way too cute for its own good. I hope you guys enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it!
also, I posted my next story on my profile, summers guide to greatness, if anyone would want to check that out.
thanks so much for reading this!
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10
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WHEN I REACHED Catalyst that morning, the first thing I noticed was that Chase wasn't there.
He was always there, every morning Catalyst was open, sat on the front step waiting for me as I rode up on my bike. He'd grin and he'd crack some horribly unoriginal joke and then he'd throw an arm around my shoulders and we'd walk inside, beginning our busy day at the restaurant.
That's how it always was. Except for that morning.
As I stepped into the empty restaurant, I followed the familiar sound of quiet mumblings until I found James back in the kitchen, rummaging through the drawers like he did every morning. He hardly looked up as he greeted me with his usual, absentminded good morning, Harper.
"Morning, James," I answered, tentatively placing my purse along one of the shelves in the back. As I began to approach him, a part of me hesitated. I mean, some part of me knew that he knew about Chase and I. We'd grown so close over the summer, spent so much time together we'd been inseparable; James would have had to been stupid to miss it. But nevertheless, we'd never verbally spoken of it, and I'd never been good at conversations like that, anyway, so we'd both settled for the unspoken agreement to — well, leave it unspoken. But I couldn't help the curiosity that crawled up my spine. "Is Chase coming in today?"
"Oh, sorry! Completely forgot." With this, James finally looked up at me, setting the money he was counting back onto the table. "He had a phone call, seemed kind of important. He told me to tell you he was going to be a bit late, but he'll be here."
"Oh. Alright," I said, satisfied with his response. I was sure Chase would tell me about it later, whatever it was. "It's almost nine. I'm gonna go ahead and unlock the doors, okay?"
James only nodded in affirmation, mumbling something absentminded beneath his breath as he continued to count last night's money. I made a mental note to try to convince him, once again, to take a vacation.
*
I was midway through a stack of dishes in the back when Chase finally showed up. I didn't even notice him until I felt him sidle up beside me, pulling one of my headphones out of my ear with a grin.
"Hey, Harper."
I shifted to face him, pulling off the old gloves I used to wash the dishes with and draping them over the faucet. "Everything alright? James said you had some important phone call."
