Set sail my love

13

"Hey," I pushed the door closed with my foot as soon as I'd fumbled my way into my apartment.
"Hey. Didn't think you were coming home tonight." Chase said as he came over to help me take my shoes off and get my bag down.
"No... I left Jessi in good hands. I mean besides Keon her moms back." As I walked over to the kitchen island Chase was massaging the tense spots in my shoulders I didn't even know I had.
"Stellies Keon? The kid from Jamaica?" He stopped momentarily out of shock before continuing with his rhythm on my body.
"Yeah they kept arguing all night till I just got up and left. I'm really tired anyway it was a long day."
"Do you want to tell me what happened?" Chase came around to my side and pulled out a high stool for himself.
"We burned his clothes."
"What?"
"It's nothing the fire alarm didn't put out but best believe he's gonna have a hard time finding anything intact in there."
"Geez Lira," He got up and paced a few steps. "did you check if his pockets were empty? You guys could've burnt down his identity card or passport." He ran his palm over his face and stepped toward the island again.
"I don't want to fight tonight." I got up and walked toward the fridge with my bag in my other hand.
"Oh and you think I do?" I turned briefly to face him and his face was twisted in disgust. "You think I would enjoy lecturing my grown girlfriend on the errs of her irresponsibility? Something her father ought to have taught her in the first place?" I slammed the fridge door hard after grabbing a carton of grapes and stalked away to my room.
"No so lock the door on your way out since my irresponsibility irks you so much." I knew he was saying sensible things but I didn't want to listen to him in case it made me put any negative thought to Jessi's image.
"Lira,"
"No I mean it Chase. We're both too tired to fight I'll talk to you in the morning." Chase had been following after me on my way to my room and by this time we were stood on opposite sides of my bed. He moved towards me and took the grapes I had in hand, and placed them on my bedside table. He held both my hands in his own.
"Lira. I'm not walking out of here until we're okay." His eyes held mine with such intensity I failed to pull away. "Just be careful. Because Sasha could press charges or cctv could get you taken to the ramp."
"He won't be pressing charges. He's not like that." He regarded my words for a moment before getting up and taking the grapes with him.
"If you say so."
"Where are you taking those?"
"Back to the fridge because I made you dinner." He came over and laid a soft kiss on my nose before heading to the kitchen space.
"But I said I didn't want any." I followed behind him and took a seat at the table while he pulled a plate out of the microwave which he'd probably heated up before I got here. It was fried rice with vegetable stir fry and fish strips.
"I know." He placed the plate in front of me and handed me a fork then sat next to me. I took a heavy laden forkful with a bit of everything to my mouth and released a guttural moan of pleasure when the flavors exploded on my tongue. I was such a sucker for broccoli and rice and Chase tried to incorporate both in most of our dishes.
"You're a life saver!" I gasped between servings as I marveled at how well this boy knew me in the span of two months. Although when he says it he says he's always known what I like from back in the day.
"So is this typical white people food or just a you thing?" He broke into a smirk as he brought a seedless red grape to those luscious lips.
"Typical white people food. We survive on greens and white meat most of the time so the rice is a bonus." I broke out in giggles at that. "I don't think I'll ever fully get used to that."
"To what?"
"Hearing your laugh."
"Oh," I rolled my eyes. "I have the weirdest laugh in the world no need to rub it in." He laughed at my words.
"No I love your laugh."
"Really?"
"Yeah it's just how I would imagine a llama expresses its humor." I threw a diced carrot at him in outrage but he caught it with his mouth. "Thanks babe." He chewed on it and winked at me in his play boy nova.
"Don't test me Chase Waters or I will change your name in my phone." He laughed and brought it out from the pocket on his shorts.
"Not if you can't get it." He brought it up above his head as soon as I dived out of my seat to grab it.
"You will give that back!" I swung and jumped and tried to tickle it back down from him, which worked.
"Or else what?" He grabbed my waist when I had my back to him and pulled me into his chest so hard I felt his heartbeat through my skin.
"Or else I'll leave you for my other boyfriend." I smiled innocently at him from over my shoulder as I unlocked my phone and noticed two missed calls and a chain of text messages from Kai. I exhaled out of exhaustion.
"You haven't left him." Chase bit out as a question.
"No. I can't do that right now." I tried to step out of his grip but he held on and instead spun me to face him.
"Are you going to? Because I've got the short end of the stick here Lee." He leaned his forehead on mine and I closed my eyes in fear of feeling the unrestrained emotions he was clearly working through.
"Yes. He has to come home first so I can talk to him." Chase looked up at me then and let me step back from him. "There's no telling what my father would do if Kai ran to him right after I call it off over the phone." He nodded.
"You should get that." He pointed at my phone which I hadn't noticed was flashing an incoming call from Kai. I stared at the screen for a few seconds and then silenced the call and looked back at Chase.
"No."
"Lira-"
"No Chase, I'm here with you and I won't let him ruin this."
"Lira if you don't pick up he'll know something's up..." I held his wounded look for a while until the call dropped and there was this thick field of misunderstanding hanging between us.
I called Kai back and he picked up on the first ring.
"So I have to tell you this! I just got promoted to acting partner at the Buzari Legal Team! Okay so maybe it's only as temporary as 2 weeks but then it's something Lira! This might be the start of a whole other set of events that finally catapults me to the top of the food chain where I'm supposed to be!" He sounded like he'd said all of that in one long breath.
"That's great, really. Well done Kai." A nervous laugh escaped my lips deflating the false pride i had injected into my mild praise of him.
"Exactly! Man I knew you'd understand. You always get what I'm trying to say you know? It's like we're two halves of the same being I tell ya."
"Umm... yeah it is. But what do I understand."
"Well of course this pushes back my return by 3 weeks. I can't come home now when I'm in the running for a possible permanent promotion here." My heart dropped down to my curled up toes and I walked toward the fridge to hide the cringe on my face from Chase who would obviously pick up on it.
"You aren't supposed to come back till August what do you mean  push back your trip?" He released an irritated laugh and I scowled so  loud I felt Chase's questioning glare bore into the back of my neck.
"We'd decided I come home as soon as possible so we can make arrangements for our future. I'm getting placement and you're graduating soon so why wait." He said that so matter of factly I had to sigh out my frustration before I really let him know what I was thinking.
"By we you mean you and my dad huh." I pulled out a carton of orange pulp juice and poured some into a glass from the dish rack on the sink.
"Listen we're doing what's best for you and for all of us. The sooner we tie things together the quicker the de- well... the quicker everything else falls into place."
"The what? What were you going to say Kai?"
"It doesn't matter. What's important is that we play our part as sincerely as we can. You still want to be my girl right ?" I heard the hopeful crack in his tone and I thought to myself he didn't deserve what I was putting him through regardless of the kind of person he was.
"Yeah," I drastically sighed.
"Okay then we should get married there's nothing left to wait for since we're all in. There's a lot more perks for us after the ceremony anyway if you know what I mean." He chuckled and I didn't miss the innuendo. I had to mentally kick myself to avoid puking out of disgust and horror.
"Yeah. We should. Look I gotta go... do a project for Poli Sci,"
"Okay. I won't keep you for long. I just wanted to share the good news..." there it was again, his casual way of guilt tripping me.
"I'll call you tomorrow after school."
"Yeah of course. I love you..."
"Alright..." My eyes wandered to Chase who was stood directly in front of me looking worried since I hadn't been saying much in the conversation. "I love you too."
Chase clenched his jaw and nodded dejectedly walking around to the other side of the island so he could put some space between us.
"He'll be home in 3 weeks." I said flatly as soon as I'd hung up and put my phone on the counter.
"Isn't that earlier than planned?"
"Not according to his plan with my dad. Apparently he's on schedule." I pursed my lips in annoyance and walked right into Chase's chest. "Hold me." He didn't ask any questions and instead encompassed me in a grip so hard it seemed he was afraid I'd fall apart to jagged up pieces if he didn't hold me down. "I'm so scared Chase so so scared right now." He kissed my forehead then rested his chin on my head.
"I will protect you. We're gonna be okay." He whispered so I could barely hear him and yet we were practically one in that moment. I believed him because for the first time in my life I had somebody. I had somebody I had decided to give myself to without interference from my father or the government.
Chase sat by me as I finished my dinner and we talked about potential countries we could run away to and be fugitives together.
I was laughing so hard at some point I got a rice grain stuck up my nose and it hurt but chase thought I was messing with him and sat back cracking his ribs in heartfelt laughter.
"that's not funny!" I tried to sound serious as I scraped the remaining bits from my plate to the trash chute. "That really hurt and you weren't any help at all."
"I'm sorry but you should've seen yourself!" He broke into more contained laughter this time and I joined him mockingly.
"This is why I won't let you into the get away car when I'm now driving out to Cairo." I tsked at him as I washed my plate and stood it up on the dish rack to dry.
"We won't be able to drive out anyway. Any slight whiff your dad gets that you're gone and the state troupes will be at every boarder scaling vehicles in search of you."
"Please Chase, I'm not the presidents daughter." I shook my head at him when we got to my room and I threw a long sleeved sweater at him and a pair of my sweatpants.
"Okay fine. He'll have his private security on you and there's no way any of them will risk getting gutted so they'll obviously find you." He picked up the clothes I threw him and gave me a look.
"I wear oversized clothes." I shrugged. "They're warmer and why am I explaining myself to you." I palm faced myself.
"Smells like you." He looked at me with his nose buried in the material and his eyes were glazed with the type of hunger I knew was mirrored in my own. I wanted to attack but I wanted him to make his advance first. The veins running down his neck and down his arms were pressing hard against his skin and I noticed he had his fists clenched for restraint. My breaths were coming out chipped and hurried and I knew he could feel the need we were both exuding in this small room.
"I'm going to the bathroom." He bit out and headed there with the clothes I'd thrown him but I didn't miss the crack in his now hoarse voice as he said that. Before I could bring any of it up with him I heard the bathroom door click shut and lock behind him. I exhaled a breath I had no idea I'd been holding in and decided his restraint was probably best for the both of us right now. I stripped out of my day clothes and threw on my fluffy pajama pants and a tank top. I rolled up a pair of fuzzy socks and tied on my satin scarf to keep my hair in check.
I was pulling up my blankets so I could lay down when Chase came out of the bathroom dressed up and having brushed his teeth. I tried to ignore the pain I felt when I noticed he didn't feel comfortable enough to change in front of me.
"Well your shirts a crop top on me." Chase chuckled as he stood straight to show me that it stopped right above his perfect belly button.
"Please it's not that bad." I laughed when I saw how tight the pants were and he scowled at me which made me laugh more. "You can live through the night." I patted his sturdy chest and walked away feeling accomplished for giving that hearty speech.
"I can't walk in this." I thought he was joking when he said that until he kept standing there and I examined his theory from much closer. I felt a deep irreparable blush flood from my toes to the top of my hair and redden my chocolate skin when I noticed him ingrained clearly on my sweatpants. I couldn't unsee that image or undo the knots tied up in my stomach by seeing it.
"Oh um... maybe I should... maybe you should..."
"Take them off?" He said calmly enjoying my all too flustered nature.
"Take them off... yeah..." there was nowhere to look suddenly Chase's presence was filling up my whole room. "I'll go in the bathroom..." I mumbled trying to brush past him with my head down.
"Why? You're still going to sleep cuddled up to my naked body in the bed." He said seriously as he held me by the arm, preventing me from leaving.
"Please don't say that," I bit my lip as the heat washed through me again and he must've felt it because he dropped my arm and raised his hands in mock surrender. "It's just your bare legs and I thought you'd want your privacy to you know..."
"Take my pants off?"
"Gosh Chase yes. To take your pants off." I was furiously petting my head now as a nervous habit since my lip was starting to bruise from the bite.
"No. You can stay." He brought the pants down his hips ever so slowly, past his ripped thighs and scarred knees, down those toned cuffs and past his shockingly beautiful feet. He stepped out of them and stood aside in nothing but my sweater and his tiny boxers. I gulped as I suddenly realized this was going to be a long night.
I got in and under the covers on my side of the bed and he followed suit, the whole time I would steal glances at him and notice that he was in his element without the slightest bit of awkwardness. And yet here I was, the owner of this living space, running out of air to breathe because a godly being would occupy my bed for the night. We had never done this before, and I didn't know how to act. Not even with Kai had I ever shared a bed with him voluntarily, and now I had to endure a half naked demi god.
I lay stiffly on my own side facing the wall away from him.
"Are you okay?" He asked seemingly concerned but nonplussed.
"Mh." I mumbled because I was afraid I would tell him about the buzzing in my ear and the pool sliding down from my stomach.
"Okay... come closer." It must have been my heightened senses robbing me of normalcy because when he said that it sounding like his voice was raspy. For a good minute I didn't move or say anything to him, I wasn't even sure he was still awake but the wanting part of me was hoping he was.
He decided to move to my side, gently but with a sense of urgency. He came so close he was only a hairs breath away from my aching skin and then he lowered his cold hands onto the skin of my arms. I kept my legs crossed and refrained from rolling over to face him, but he made it work by moving his chest close enough to be supporting my back and his chin close enough to be leaning on my head. I blinked really hard trying to shut out the symphony breaking out in my mind in response to the vibrancy he left on my arms.
He held me like that for a while longer and all I could feel  was the soft rise and fall of his chest with every breath he took.
"Are you okay? Is this okay? Should I-" He suddenly pulled back and I mentally kicked myself for hating the space between us.
"No it's umm... it's fine. Nice, actually." I turned over and faced the ceiling as I said this.
"Are you sure? I don't want to overstep or anything."
"You're not over stepping. You're... it's fine. This. You can hold me." I finally enveloped myself in the courage to turn fully to face him. God he is so beautiful.
I smiled wide and true when he creased his brows in wonder as to why I was intently registering him.
"Come here." I pulled his face down by his sweatshirt and I allowed my lips to invade his own which led to a release of more of what was raging inside me but instead of calming me down I was only more frazzled by it. I desperately needed this, but I wasn't sure he would be so willing so I continued to probe my tongue through his teeth until he eventually gave in and allowed me passage. Our tongues wrestled hastily and surely in search of that holy place where bodies fuse as one. He groaned and I felt him tremble beneath my skin as his body tensed and flexed until he was calm enough to let himself touch me. He pulled away from the kiss and I assumed it was to maintain composure but my hands had other ideas and so they dug into tufts of his hair so they could lead him back to my open mouth. This time he kissed me with less restraint and more of that heat I was feeling throughout my own being. We rolled over to his side so that I was straddling him as his hands ran up my sides going behind and under my shirt to caress the nerve endings in my back. A sigh of elation escaped me and surprised us both and we giggled through the kiss but didn't separate. I ran my hands up the washboard of his abs and I marveled at how smooth everything was although it looked so cutting edge. He lifted me off him and laid me on his side so he could breathe. I whined all the way down and looked back at him with the most sincere puppy eyes I could muster.
"We need to stop." He panted and sat up to take the sweatshirt off. I followed suit with my pajama pants getting excited with the concept of us being the Netflix couple that says all the reasons they should stop while taking off their clothes to continue.
"We should." I panted as I brought my butt up under the covers to slide the pants off. They came off with my socks. As soon as I was bottomless and chase had lied down with only his briefs I made to climb back on top of him and really go all the way but he lifted me gently again and pulled me up and off of him.
"We really should stop now. Before it's too late." I looked up at him ever so innocently wondering why he's making this game weird.
"Sure." I drawled while biting his ear and sucking on it slowly the way I'd seen it done in chick flicks.
Suddenly through a painful moan he grabbed my hand and put it on himself and I almost choked on the oxygen.
"Yeah. If I don't stop now then I will hurt you." I didn't argue then because he felt so big and was he throbbing? I wondered. Suddenly I didn't mind that he didn't want to go all the way although the wanting in me was still clawing at my uterus trying to get me to live it out. "And I know you think you're ready but I'm not." Suddenly I felt humiliated and with my petty temper that led to anger.
"Okay yeah whatever. You will probably only be ready when it's Britney from archery or Cassie from the bar huh!" I climbed off the bed and walked around to my side of it trying to will the tears back inside the ducts.
"What's that supposed to mean?" He asked genuinely confused. I could not believe his clueless act but there was no shutting me up now.
"It means that you'll fuck whomever wherever until that person actually loves you then you're a virgin all over again! Suddenly you aren't ready and you need time. You know I never took you for a racist." I bit out as I pulled the covers tight around me and flipped onto my side facing the wall again leaving him with just a slither of blanket. He actually started laughing.
"Baby-"
"Don't baby me!" I bit out in utter hurt.
"I want to do this with you, you felt it yourself that every part of me wants to go through with this... but I want to do it when you're my girlfriend and it's only me you're with..." I didn't move as the intensity of his words sunk into me and hit the sore spot I thought he'd caused but inevitably came to realize that I'd done to myself. "And I did fuck Britney, I could fuck Cassie from the bar too but that's all they will be to me. Good fucks... I want to make love to you. All night and every stolen hour of the day. I want to do this all of it and do so much more when it's just you and I..." he moved closer to my body and lay his head on my shoulder so he could sneak a glance at my face. I breathed out deeply and I took advantage of the lengthy silence to make him feel as guilty as I was feeling embarrassed.
"So if the car won't work what will we get out on?" I felt his face break into a smile as he pushed back and gave me enough room to roll over and rest my head on his bare chest.
"We could always board a midnight plane... or something that leaves in the early hours of the morning." I gasped excitedly and earned a hearty laugh from him.
"That could work!" I squealed excitedly slapping him in his hard chest for laughing at my expense.
"Ouch!" He dramatically appealed. "I will tell coach you are abusing his mvp."
"O please you're fine," I let out lazily while bolting up with sudden realization. "The flights could actually work because once we've boarded we're out of here." I held my palms to my cheeks with such hopes I actually believed we could pull this off.
"Wait wait, but won't they have our faces pasted all over the news as missing persons or worse, enemies of the state?" Chase bellowed from his comfortable spot amongst my blankets. I looked down at him from my kneeling position and mentally scratched his pretty face with my acrylic nails because he'd bury my bubble.
"They'll definitely have me up, but they'd want to keep your presence with me a secret so they can torture you illegally without police interference." I was so dejected I just sat still with my bottom lip between my teeth in deep thought. "Well that cancels out trains..." I shrugged.
"We should just build a boat. Take off from Port Elizabeth and head west. They won't dare come in the Indian Ocean ." I stared down at Chase as he said that and it slowly registered that it would be highly successful.
"Jessi and I always talk about sailing away together to one of those neutral countries. I guess she could come with us." I lay back done beside him with my head on his chest. "Now all we need is a date." I said after a while because I had been replaying a successful escape scene in my head and was finally convinced we could pull it off. "Where were you tonight when I tried calling you?" I barely whispered because his breathing had become steady and he had fallen asleep. The question had unsettled me for majority of the night and I'd been meaning to ask but a very anxious part of me didn't want to know and so I was relieved that he hadn't heard me.
I fell asleep to thoughts of his heartbeat being my lullaby for the rest of our fugitive lives.