Set sail my love

8

Chase

I didn't move my hand from the wall until I was certain I wasn't going to attack her right then. She looked ravishing, like a parcel only meant to be unwrapped by me. Just watching the shock register on her face and the lust, it drove me crazy and I cleared my throat to cover up the moan that was planning to escape from me.
"What are you doing here?" She wanted it to be intimidating but her voice croaked and came out raspy which had the opposite effect.
"You missed class. I got a little worried and thought I scared you off." I scratched the back of my neck and I swear I never used to do this. But it's as if being in her immediate presence these past few days had summoned all kinds of habits from within me.
"So it's about the kiss..." She held her door open so I could walk in but I didn't miss the flush she tried to hide under her dark skin.
"So you're gonna disregard the part where I missed you?" I shot my eyebrow up at her and her eyes narrowed making me laugh. She's so animated it's too adorable. She closed the door and made for us to sit at her kitchen island. Her floorspace was open plan and I could see all features of what her deluxe room held. This is what my dad had registered me for and I'd instantly fallen in love. But when I heard she wanted it and had showed up when I'd already taken it meaning her only other option would've been to go to another residence, I anonymously gave the room up for her. I just need to not let her out of my sight this time.
"I was going to come talk to you about it but I got busy with my internship today."
"Oh you've started that?" As if by a switch her entire face lit up with unrestrained joy at my question. This is how I knew she was in love with music. I just needed to hear her sing.
"Yeah I met Danny and Jeff, basically the whole team."
"But that's really great." She nodded sweetly. "How're you gonna balance that with school?"
"I'm only going to be going there on Mondays for four hours, I'll schedule it better I don't think I'll be missing anymore lecturers." She shrugged her tiny shoulders as if that settled the matter and I broke into the widest grin I have ever felt my cheeks split into. I guess seeing her so at ease, so happy really means a lot to me. "What?"
"You just look so peaceful today. I'm thinking this music thing is what you were born to do."
"Don't be silly." She looked away astonished.
"What, you know there's truth in my words."
"Well you're not always truthful Chase..." She looked at me and I could see all the exhaustion come off her shoulders. "Why did you kiss me last night?" I didn't expect her to be so blunt.
"Because I want you Lira." I wore the most stone cold expression I could muster so I could keep myself at bay.
"You're lying."
"What?"
"I've known you forever and I'm not classified as what you 'want' Chase I'm always going to be the outsider. I don't fit in with any of your friends or your posse. I don't even watch football my god, I don't know the first thing about beer or club hopping or whatever else you do for fun and I certainly don't do well with crowds which is something you were born to swim into. You're captain of life itself Chase and I'm probably that scientist who was hired to do the statistics and make sure your ship doesn't sink so what are you doing here with me when you could be out there with anybody else?" I stared at her quivering lip stunned that she just blurted it all out. I was taken aback at her vivacity but saddened at the fact that she doesn't know her effect on people. On me.
I didn't want her to think I was lying or I was using her or I was playing games I actually wanted her to feel how I felt for her. So I took her hands in mine and held on tighter when she tried to pull away. I brought our conjoined hands to my face and rubbed her palms open on my cheeks. I heard her gasp and I reveled in the knowledge that I had the same effect on her as well.
"You're not like any of my friends and you'll never fit in with our hyper nightlife or be interested in any of my games. You'll always be the scientist that steers my ship on course but how can you not see you're the one who will give me direction?" I removed my hands from hers and she held onto me at her own accord. "I'm not looking for anymore cheerleaders Lee I'm only ever gonna want you. Like right now. Like a decade ago when I almost died after I couldn't find you." She went quiet and I could feel her being riled up from where I sat. I wanted so badly to ease all her worries, I wanted to smoothen the frustration wrinkles curling up on her face but I couldn't rush it. I knew I had to wait for her to get used to me loving her. I guess it just hurt because I'd been loving her a long time.
"You are so good at talking Chase I almost dived right in and floated on your words ..." She pushed off her seat and walked over to her window. She wanted space to think. I knew I was expecting too much from her in so little time but I had her feelings in mind. I wanted her to be happy. "I was fine last week. I was fine and I didn't need rescuing until you decided to talk to me."
"what's that supposed to mean?" She turned on her heels and looked me dead in the eye.
"How do I come back from this? How do I come back from feelings to fate?"
"It's the beginning of your life Lee,  feelings make everything that much bearable." I crossed my legs at the ankles to prevent me from getting up and going to hug her.
"No... This has made everything much more complicated." I didn't want to say anything to her that sounded selfish so I sat there trying to figure out what was going on in her beautiful mind. She didn't turn to look at me, or say anything more and a part of me respected her discomfort so I made a mental note to not press her on this. "What happened in class today?" She looked like a totally different person as she walked back toward me. More focused, detached and I couldn't help but want to challenge those walls she was building up. A Cheshire cat smile ambled it's easy way across my face and I hid my blush so well.
"Not much unfortunately, do you have your text?"
"Yeah it's in my bag," she came around her kitchen island and opened a leather back pack i hadn't noticed earlier. She pulled out her MacBook and sat next to me while she scanned her machine for the PDF. She opened the file and stretched across me to grab her notebook and pen from the other table end.
"Umm... Not much really. Just basic outlines of theoretical approaches to Comparative Politics. But advanced." I shrugged over my shoulder at her as I scrolled down to a chapter we had touched on in class when, quite frankly I was distracted by the empty spot in front of me.
"Like Aristotle? Do I need texts by him too?"
"No, but just general understanding of his methods and tools. Mainly the how's and what's of the traditional and behavioral approaches." I paused as she scribbled something down on her note pad and chuckled when she smiled up at me, third grade style. "Do I need contemporary case studies for those?"
"Not yet, maybe historical evidence of how these were implemented in the different ages of political time. Especially the traditional approach since that has the most controversial debates." I went on to re-explain everything I'd heard in class and carefully answer her questions. Slowly the tension eased out of my shoulders, I realized Comparative Politics wasn't so bad. Initially when I signed up for it I just needed a class to cover up for my attendance in the pilot art program. Nobody in my family knows I paint and I keep it that way because I don't know how they will react. In fact nobody really knew I did that and I all but I surprised myself when I started making Lira my muse. It was definitely a first for me and I still don't know what drove me to do it. She's obviously stunning and most certainly out of my league, but it's more than that. When I draw Lira all my nerves spring to action with more sensitivity than any I could ever indent on myself. It's as if my whole life I've been waiting for a depiction so intense it breathes life into me and now she's finally here. I'd never felt anything this much before and I feared I'd never feel anything again if I let Lira go.
"... So basically the parochial character of comparative politics couldn't satisfy the current movement toward a more theoretical approach to science," she pipped up pulling me out of my thoughts of her.
"... because the traditional theory was Western eurocentric and ignored the rest of the world's institutional activities." I finished off for her and earned a mocking face from an ungrateful Lira. We'd been studying together for over an hour and she was naturally taking the lead in the discussion, leaving me enough time to really check her out. She had on a snuggie and she looked really warm and cozy, I was flattered she felt comfortable enough to keep that on around me.
"You know I had that one." She dramatically rolled her eyes at me.
"Hey I was helping you." I raised my hands in mock surrender and she let out a laugh.
"Macridis..."
"What?"
"Macridis attacked the traditional theory because of its lack of substance."
"I think that's enough for tonight Lee, you're gonna wear both our brains out." Again she laughed right before we shared a yawn and good stretch. I sat there staring at her uncoil her body only to wind it back down in pure relaxation. She met my eyes and wet her lips. I swallowed long and hard right before her lips parted in anticipation. But I didn't want to do it this way.
"I should head back now..." I hopped off my stool with lightning speed and hung back with my hands down my back pockets.
"It's nearly 20:00 Chase you can stay for dinner." She crossed her arms over her chest and stood behind her stool to face me. She looked worked up and I swallowed seductively reveling in the fact that I had done that to her.
"okay... Are you ordering something?" I moved away from my stool where I was a stride away from her and stood by her microwave instead.
"Nonsense, I'll make something." She moved around the table, took off her snuggie and came to the drawers to pull some ingredients out.
"Because you can cook?" I looked at her mock-condescension and she scowled at me in response. "I mean I know you have on call chef's at your dad's house and there's no way he'd subject you to the domesticated life since he wants to build a power House out of you." I shrugged as if my answer was bullet proof. Lira rolled her eyes at me and dragged a packet of macaroni, bottle of pink sea salt and olive oil across the counter to the stove.
"I don't live at my dad's house and my grandma is African. Meaning she stopped feeding me when I learned how to walk." We both laughed after she said that and I managed to relax and slide back into my seat which was directly opposite the stove.
"Well I'm sure your grandma got the memo about your life goals."
"You seem oddly focused on those Chase Waters may I ask why?" I didn't miss a beat to reply her.
"Because I'm trying to find the piece where I will fit into it." Lira failed to hide her blush and ended up covering her face with her palms.
"I should've known you had selfish motives." She said that good humouredly and I released a chuckle more out of relief.
"Well Chase if you must know," she turned a few knobs on the stove and placed her pot of cold water with the macaroni inside onto a hot plate. "My wedding is scheduled for September next year right after I graduate."
"You're graduating early?" I tried to keep the shock out of my voice.
"Elections for Vice President start less than 8 months after that and I'll already be behind schedule with managing my father's campaign so he's obviously pulled some strings to get things to happen this way." She cleared her throat after this pronouncement and I couldn't help but be more curious.
"Tell me about Kai." She turned abruptly to face me and for a second I thought she would say no.
"Okay. What do you want to know."
"Why him?"
"Excuse me?" She looked dumbstruck.
"Of all the men your father could've chosen for you why Kai. He has no title no inheritance no name in the political arena yet, he could've chosen any of his parliamentary friends there's at least 4 single men in there and maybe 2 divorcees." I really had taken her by surprise and I loved how unguarded she was and how the shock registered on her face. I crossed my arms over my chest in inward victory.
"Well Chase my father is not that cruel those men are over 50 years old." She moved to the freezer and pulled out some cold cuts from a bottom tray. "Kai comes from a respected family and his dad is a prominent political advisor... But he wasn't resting his life on that Kai pushed through and got himself a voice in the House of Commons... He'll make a great constitutional lawyer one day and with my dad moving for him they will be indestructible..." She was marinating the chicken pieces in garlic and pepper right before she places them on a greased tray. Her fingers moved delicately and I tried to imagine what they would feel like in my hair.
"I don't hear where you'll be when all of this is happening." She scoffed in disbelief before hanging her head in humor at the side while resting her hands on the counter.
"At home Chase... Or on a plane to Europe for some dignitary meeting." She noticed I wasn't buying it. "Honestly! I'll probably be working as an ambassador or green leaf director in one of the other African countries." The fact that her father seemingly hadn't thought meticulously about her role after uniting him with Kai bothered me more than I knew she'd allow.
"You know him enough to want to spend your whole life married to him?"
"It's different. I don't know you well enough either Chase." That stung and I wondered if she was aware of just how much I wanted her to know me.
"You can't say that. You've known me your whole life."
"Yeah but I didn't know you know you, I knew of you."
"It's not like I didn't try...you just wouldn't be my friend." She shoved the tray into her preheated oven and went to check on her pasta.
"I just didn't think you were being genuine."
"Oh come on none of your friends were genuine. Especially after they all found out you're practically a celebrity." I laughed at the memory of that fateful day in 3rd grade when her mom came to pick her up from school on her way to the Chapmans dinner at City Hall. She was in the limited edition metallic black Z-class Range Rover, in a Zannotti suit, accompanied by a convoy of body guards. Nobody said anything but the message was loud and clearly delivered.
"Well I didn't like playing with boys back then." She shrugged as she sliced cherry tomatoes, green peppers and onions on a wooden board.
"You had no problem playing with the twins." I leaned back in my seat and watched her laugh at the memory of the notorious twins in our Junior school class who she used to follow around like they were Kings or something.
"Ooooo I remember Joey braided my hair with glue during nap time and my momma shaved it all off and threatened to have me sent to juvie if I didn't tell her who did it." I smiled at my memory of the big-brown-eyed beauty who sat behind me with short hair for the rest of that year.
"She was always dramatic." Lira laughed with me as she scraped off the vegetables into a non stick pan waiting on the stove. The onions smelt amazing and immediately my mouth watered and I imagined coming home from work to this everyday. Why was I thinking of her in that way if we could never be? "I like this. Takes me back to when my mother used to be well... she'd get me from school, take me to the park, ask me about the pretty girl in class who wouldn't talk to me."
Lira stuck her tongue out at me in recognition and I laughed. "We'd make dinner together, well I'd pass her the things she needed... I'd set the table and smile at dad when he'd whisk my mother off her feet at the door and dramatically kiss her hello. Wow I sound so cheesy." I ran my hand over my neck and wallowed in Lira's soft laughter. She eased so much that was raging within me and I couldn't tell her.
"You think?" She began as she added a gravy base to her pan. "It ain't bad though, I always knew you were sappy under all that muscle."
"Ha ha hilarious Lira," I rolled my eyes at her earning a bright smile. "You said your dad still lives with your mom? Sorry, you don't have to answer that." She asked as she checked on her chicken. Thing is I'd have answered anything she asked me, because I wanted her to know all of me. Unrestricted, unrestrained.
"Yeah well, visits mostly but so do I. Even after her relapse, after the rehab, after he lost millions keeping her addiction out of the papers he still loves her. He still holds her like they've just met. Most of the times I feel like an outsider in their presence even though it's my house too." I had to stop talking before the emotion overwhelmed me. I failed to mention that she'd had terrible days where her memory failed and she couldn't look after us...
"You must have such high hopes of the woman you'll marry then, I mean coming from somewhere like that." She pulled out two plates from a top shelf and set them beside the stove. That's just the thing Lira, I won't marry anyone if it isn't you.
"Yeah well, they are like something out of a soap opera." She blushed at this. "Were your parents the same?" I asked tentatively and she let out a long breath I hadn't realized she was holding.
"I appreciate that you opened up to me about your mom... But I don't want to talk about mine." Her shoulders stiffened and immediately I knew something was wrong. I couldn't push her on it because she would shut down and kick me out so I made a mental note to ask more later. "Do you want me to serve for you or should I just put the pots on the table?"
We'd been talking for almost an hour and I hadn't realized she was done cooking.
"Serve me. You've got to finish the job." I sat back self-righteously and was satisfied when a laugh slipped out of her. She looked more at ease.
"Want more macaroni? Wait you play rugby." She palm-faced herself and added another heaped serving onto my plate. She put lots of the barbeque-smelling chicken too and some gravy by the side.
"Wow you really are accurate." She made a plate for herself and sat across from me with the pots in the middle.
"Lucky guess," she shrugged and said grace. She waited for me to try the food before she went on to have some herself and my face contorted in pleasure when the flavors fused on my tongue.
"You've got to come cook for me everyday woman." She outright laughed at my shock and I went onto eat some more because it was heaven in meal form. "I mean seriously, who taught you how to cook?"
"Nana insists on making me watch when she occasionally makes our food. I have good memory." She dug into her own meal and we ate on with relative silence and some conversation here and there.
"... So it made sense for me to just not have an internet life." I was open-mouthed at her argument of why she didn't have an Instagram or Twitter account. "What?" She asked as she got up to clear the plates.
"Let me, you made the most important meal of my life." She laughed and sat back down and I took the used plates to the dish washer. I packed the left overs in her Tupperware and put it in her freezer, then I put the pots in the dishwasher as well. When the place looked clean and clear again I went to her fridge to grab some juice. I pulled down two glasses from a shelf and filled them up with Red Grape and some ice.
We sat next to each other on the stools and toasted to our full bellies. By this time we were comfortable in our silence and I was starting to hope for an invite to stay the night.
"I love being in your company..." She wasn't looking at me when she said that. "You're so loud and silent all at once. As if your heat just speaks for itself and tells me what you want without you needing to say it." I pulled her chin to face me slowly and looked right into her eyes.
"What do I want?" My voice was dry and hoarse and I noticed she wet her lips slowly.
"A home." She blinked back tears and crashed her salty lips against mine. We danced like that forever until she pried my mouth open with her tongue and I held myself back from taking the lead. Our tongues were in unison, skimming the boarders of our mouths. She tasted of grapes and melanin and life. I slid my hands up her back and she felt soft like caramel or cream or life. I breathed her in and gave into my desire to be in charge. I crashed her body into mine and heard her whimper as she grabbed onto my arms for dear life. She felt like home, she felt like all the things I've ever wanted wrapped up in one sock on Christmas and deeper than the grand canyon. I never wanted to not have her, I never wanted to not be this close to her again. She grabbed my face and moved her hands into my hair, stroking at first then pulling when I bit her lip. I moved my lips to her cheek...her chin...her neck. I placed tender kisses all over her skin and licked and nipped at that sensitive spot on her neck. She moaned into me and it reverberated through my whole body such that I had to adjust the way I was sitting and remind myself she wasn't ready for all I wanted to do to her. She held me tighter to her body and started pulling us off our seats to her bed. We hit against every surface we came to and the whole time we stumbled we didn't separate our lips or our bodies. Lira wouldn't stop giggling and that was setting crazy fires all over my skin. We got to her bed and she pushed me down on my back, grabbed the bottom of her shirt and went to pull it off when we heard her door open.
I immediately got up and she looked panic striken so I motioned to her bathroom saying that's where I was going to hide. She had her pointer finger over her lips and she frantically nodded her head at me in ascent.
"Honestly there is no god-damned service in this building I swear I called you 4 million times!" I heard her run back to her door to meet with some girl and she sounded a little unstable.
"Oh umm, I wasn't looking at my phone." Lira said.
"Really? I called you 6 times." The girl didn't sound angry she sounded tired.
"Yeah sorry..." They sounded like they were moving into the apartment and I heard her door close. "What're you doing here?"
"Kadesha needs to chill man I can't come home to an orgy again and leave her alive." The fridge door opened. "You got company?"
"Oh no umm...I'm alone. Why didn't you sleep at Sasha's?"
"Why'd you have 2 glasses out?" The fridge door closed and I heard her pour something into a glass.
"No reason. This isn't really a good time to come over i-"
"Girl please!" The girl laughed and Lira joined in cautiously. "I mean it's me. It's hot in here why don't you open some windows." Footsteps came into the bedroom space and I heard the curtains being pulled open.
"Yeah umm let's go grab some food since like, you know I hadn't cooked." Lira sounded desperate and I hoped whoever the girl was, wouldn't pick it up.
"I'm more tired than hungry. Let me grab a quick soak and then we'll-"
"No!" The bathroom door swung open and my heart leapt into my throat because I was so afraid what this girl was going to do.
"Oh shit! Chase?" She held her door open, shocked and rather amused.
"Jessi... hi..." A small voice I didn't recognize came out of me.

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Not a part of the book!
I'm really sorry I haven't been updating. I had exams and I had to put the book on hold. But now I'm back and I have some new ideas so stay tuned and keep sharing this❤️❤️❤️