“Show her something? Is that code for something else?” Juliet nudged me.
Chase ran his hand up my arm. “Not this time.”
I said goodbye to my friends, and we made our way out.
“I’m parked over there.” Chase pointed to a lot across the street.
“Whose car did you borrow?” I laced my fingers in his as we crossed the street.
“Mine.”
“Wait. You drove down here?”
“Yeah. Does that surprise you?”
“You must have been driving all night.”
“Yeah, I must have been.” He kissed me on the forehead.
“Are you ready to tell me where we’re going?” I buckled my seat belt, checking out the inside of his Altima. You can tell a lot about someone by their car. It was funny finally seeing Chase’s only after we’d gotten to know each other so well.
“You’ll see very soon.”
We drove through downtown before Chase got on Folly Road and headed out toward Folly Beach. What did he need to show me out there?
We drove until he pulled into a driveway. “Here we are.”
“You wanted to show me a house?”
He smiled. “Trust me, you’ll want to see this.”
I got out of the car and let Chase lead me up the front steps of the small two story home.
“Wait? Is this your place?”
“I decided there was no reason to keep my home base in New York when the only place I want to be is with you.”
There went the tears again. I launched myself into his arms. “I can’t believe it. So you’ll be here when you’re not touring?”
“Yes. I’ve got enough room that I can set up a recording space if I want, and the band can fly down if they need to. I do most of my writing alone anyway.”
“This is unreal. Unreal.”
“Come look at this too.” He took my hand and led me up the stairs. He walked into a large bedroom that by the looks of it had to be the master. It was completely empty, like the rest of the house.
I knew he wasn’t talking about the room though. He pushed open a set of French doors that opened onto a small deck that overlooked the water. I followed him out onto the deck. The waves were calm, gently lapping against the shore.
“See, this way we can have sex on the beach every night.”
I laughed. “And it won’t even involve getting sandy.”
“I wouldn’t mind getting sandy with you again.” His lips grazed my earlobe.
“Can we start now?”
“Start having sex on the beach?” He slid the thin strap of my tank off my shoulder and ran his lips over my skin. I shivered.
“Yes.”
“I was kind of going to insist on it.”
“I guess we’re using the floor?” I eyed the thick carpet back inside.
“Wait. I had this all planned.” He darted away and pulled out a light brown comforter from the closet. “I actually found one in a color called sand.”
I laughed and watched him from inside. “You’re being weird sexy again.”
“Aren’t I always?” He laid the blanket down on the wooden decking before returning to the closet. This time, he brought out one of those scented candles. “It’s called Ocean Breeze. We’re near the ocean, but I thought we could use a little more atmosphere.”
He lit the candle while I stood there in awe of what my crazy, yet amazing, boyfriend was doing. Luckily, his deck was separated from the nearest neighbor by a thick grouping of palm trees.
With the candle lit, he walked back over to me. He placed his hands on both of my arms and looked straight in my eyes. “I love you, Cara. Meeting you was the single best thing that’s happened to me, and if my song didn’t make this clear already, I’m never giving up on you—on us. I’ll always find you, and bring you back to me.”
“I love you.” I kissed him, wanting the physical connection to go along with the emotional.
His lips immediately responded to mine as he slipped first one, and then the second strap down on my tank top. My tank had a built-in-bra, so when he tugged it down, he’d already exposed my breasts.
He kept one hand around me, while his other fondled my breast. He had such expert hands, the kind of hands that could play a guitar like no one else, and could make me feel like I didn’t think possible.