Not Alone Any More {Chase Elliott || Sequel to Only the Lonely} ✔️

xiv.

chase could not believe he had just kissed kathryn claire in front of a whole merchandise tent full of people. but seeing her there in front of him, with that bucket hat on? it was like a magnet was pulling him to her with only one thing on his mind. the kiss was breathtaking, it made him weak in the knees. all he wanted to do was relive that moment over and over again but other thoughts plagued him, taking away from the joy of the moment.

he didn't even want to log onto twitter. he had always been meticulous about keeping his private life as private as he could manage. and who could blame him? his fans regularly flirted the line of devoted and downright rabid. and he had accidentally just exposed himself and even worse -- kathryn claire to a level of scrutiny that made his stomach churn. he hoped that he hadn't made a mistake, hoped that kathryn claire would be able to handle whatever firestorm might happen as a result of this.

he glanced over at her, the royal blue bucket hat still perched on kathryn claire's head. chase felt his heart rate pick up at the sight of her, the bucket hat bouncing along with her as she bopped along to the music. 

without a doubt, he was in love with her. the fear that he had felt when she had asked him to define their relationship was gone. with that kiss, any doubt or fear that chase had melted away. he was hers, no doubt. and chase was ready to tell her.

he wasn't sure how though. he knew that he should do something special but when it came to things like this, chase was clueless. maybe he would call his mom. he winced inwardly at how lame that sounded but she was always the best at coming up with things like this.

chase tightened his grip on his steering wheel. he wanted to pull the car over, to blurt out how he feels to her. to lean over and kiss her again. to make things official. but waiting would be better, more romantic. a moment that he hopes they'll both look back on and smile about for the rest of their lives. 

"i have to go to the garage when we get back." kathryn claire's voice pulled chase out of his thoughts. "there's a little more damage than we originally thought so they need my help." 

chase drooped a little. "i'm sorry about that." he killed the engine. "hopefully it doesn't take too long."

kathryn claire gave him a reassuring smile before leaning over the console, pressing a kiss onto his cheek. she lingered for a moment, almost as if she was debating on if she should kiss him or not. after a moment, she pulled away with a small smile.  "i'll be back before you know it."

chase nodded, a pang of guilt in his stomach as they both climbed out of the rental car. he swung the keys around his finger absentmindedly as he watched kathryn claire disappear towards the garage. he hated that she was going to have to put in extra hours because of something he had done. a piece of him wanted to follow her to the garage, to help repair the damage that he had caused, but admittedly, he knew that he'd be a hindrance instead of a help. 

once she was out of his sight, a sigh escaped his lips as he turned back towards his motorhome. as he stepped closer, a feeling that chase couldn't quite place knotted up his stomach, almost like danger bells going off in his ears. he tensed as he put in the keycode to unlock the motorhome, every muscle in his body trying to stop him from entering the motorhome. 

but he ignored the feeling, instead, he pulled the door open, stepping through. the hair on the back of his neck standing up. 

 he scanned the room, his eyes locking on a shadowy figure. his stomach dropped as the shadowy figure stepped forward so chase could get a good look -- instant recognition. 

"oh baby, i had to see if you were alright."