The Change Up

The Talk Part 2

Chase’s POV:
“Turn left out of the driveway.” said Jo from the passenger seat. I’d taken one look at her and knew that she was exhausted so I had insisted upon driving her back to her place. “The house is a couple miles ahead on the right. Little yellow house.”

“Okay.” I replied. My heart sank upon finding out that she lived so close to Amber. I had hoped to have the drive over to her place to give me time to map out the words I wanted to say. But it shouldn’t have surprised me that Jo would have found a house one a couple miles away from Amber and Brantley. Her and Amber had always been like sisters, often joking how the good lord knew their parents couldn't have handled them as siblings, so he made them cousins instead. Would only make sense that she would be close to family when she was going through some serious life changes.

“You're awfully quiet.” said Jo, pulling me from my thoughts.

“Just saving everything that I need to say for when we get to your place.” I said with a nervous chuckle. “Don't want to risk you killing us both because you bit my head off while driving.” Taking my eyes off the road for a moment, I looked over at Jo. My comment had done what I had hoped it would, putting a smile on her face. 

“That driveway right there, with the gardenias on each side.” said Jo, pointing out the driveway that belonged to her house. Slowing down to turn in the drive, I eased the SUV under the small carport that was attached to the house before cutting off the engine. This is it... 

“Leave the bags. I’ll get them tomorrow.” said Jo as she made her way to climb out of the SUV.

“Oh now you dont.” I said as she went to open the door. Lightning fast, I climbed out of the car and was around to her side so that I could help her out. When her hand touched mine, I swear I felt the touch reverberate in my bones. It was like coming home. Not wanting to rush things but not wanting to lose the feel of her hand in mine, I took a chance and laced my fingers with hers. To my surprise, she tightened her grip on my hand, sending hope flowing through me that tonight was going to end the way that it should -well, like I hoped it should.

“Key is in my keyring.” said Jo as we neared the side door. 

Flipping through keys, I found what looked like a house key and inserted it into the lock, smiling when the deadbolt turned and clicked. I let her walk into the house first since I wasn't familiar with the layout. Still, she didn't let go of my hand as she walked into the house, flipping on the light over the kitchen sink. I took in the small country kitchen, the place reminding me so much of the home that my nana had lived in when I was a kid. The white cabinets and farmhouse sink were almost identical to those that had been in Nana Rice’s house. Only thing that was different was the little touches that Jo had added, making the place her own. 

“It's homey in here.” I said as I stood by the butcher block island while Jo went to the refrigerator to grab us each a bottle of water. What I really wanted was beer, but obviously she didn't have any of those on hand at the moment. 

“Part of why I bought this place.” said Jo after taking a hefty swing from her bottle of water. 

“You bought it?” I asked.

“Yep. As soon as I saw it, I knew that I wanted this place to be my home.” said Jo. “I know that eventually I will end up back in Nashville, but it will be after the twins are older. I just wanted something to call my own while I was here.”

“And what if I told you that I wanted you to and the twins to move back to Nashville with me?” I said, the words flying from my mouth. 

“Chase-”

“Jo, I've told you how I feel about you. I know I fucked up with this stunt that I pulled. I know it's going to take some time for you to trust me again. But you have to know that I am in this for the long haul.” I said. As the words flew from my mouth, the ring in my pocket began burning a hole in it, screaming at me to pull it out. Unable to hold back any longer, I slipped my hand inside my front pocket, withdrew the box and fell to one knee. I watched as her mouth hung open in shock, her eyes as big as saucers when she saw the size of the ring. “Jolene Lynlee, I have loved you since the first day I laid eyes on you. And that love has only grown over the years. We have built a friendship that is unlike anything I ever expected. I know I fucked up and I know I’m taking a chance by doing this after everything, but I think its time you and I built a life together. I think it's time we raise our kids together, make memories together, and fall even more in love with each passing day. Marry me?”

I watched as Jo took in my words. I was just starting to get nervous about what she was going to say when out of nowhere, the hardwood floor of her kitchen was pressed against my back and she was kissing me. Momentarily shocked, it took me a minute to get with the program, but when I did, I kissed her back with every feeling I had for her in my body. Tangling my big hands in her hair, I angled her head to deepen the kiss. While she hadn't exactly given me an answer, I was taking the fact that she was kissing me to within an inch of my life as a yes.

Rolling us so that she was on her back and I was hovering over her, I once again deepened the kiss, letting my teeth graze over her full bottom lip and eliciting a moan from her that went straight to my cock. If we kept up like this, I was going to make love to her right here on the kitchen floor. And that just wasn't going to do. I wanted out reconnecting to be done in a soft bed, where I could take my time and didn't have to worry about her being in pain. With a low growl, I broke the kiss and rested my forehead against hers, looking into her eyes.

“Jo, does this mean what I think it means?” I panted, my heart thundering in my ears. 

“What do you think it means?” she asked, her voice laced with desire. Hearing her like this had the animalistic side of me wanting to beat my chest like a gorilla, telling the whole world that this girl is mine for the taking. 

“Well, I hope it means that you are saying yes to marrying me and moving back to Nashville. Afterall, my house was built with you in mind. It's always been your home, you just didn't know it.” I said, my voice filled with our hope. 

“Yes.” she whispered after a beat. I was so shocked that she agreed that it took a moment for her words to process. But when they clicked, I couldn't help the smile that tore across my face. Crushing my lips to hers, I poured every ounce of love inside of me into her mouth as my hands glided over her body. When my big hands grazed her round belly, I felt a kick and froze. While this was something that she experienced all the time, this was my first time. 

“Was that? I asked, not able to get the words completely out from the lump in my throat. 

“They seem to like you. Seem to know who their daddy is.” she said, causing me to whip my head up so that I was looking into her eyes.  

 “Jo-”

“Chasey, I know we have a lot to figure out. And there is no doubt in my mind that we will get the happily ever after we deserve. But I’m willing to jump in head first as long as you are.” said Jo. 

“Baby, I want nothing more.” I said softly before lowering my lips to hers and kissing her once more. 

Jo and I might have done things backwards and taken the long way to get to this very moment, but I don't think I would change one single thing. I had the woman of my dreams in my arms, two kids on the way, and a future so bright that I was almost blinded. And all because of a little change up that I made when I drunk off my ass. But so was right, we did have a lot to figure out. But I knew that as long as I had her by my side, everything was going to be just fine.