Chasing Bliss (14 page)

Chapter 10

“W
ho you goin’ out with, Tash? That same guy…Trevor?”

While Bliss got ready for Chase, Tasha sat on her bed, as usual, keeping her company.
Tasha was dressed to go out herself. “Yeah. Same ol’, same ol’.”

Bliss sat down beside her and started pulling on her stockings. “You sound bored with him. Are
you?”

Tasha took her foot out of her sandal and inspected her pedicure. “A little. He’s
just
a doctor—
not some exciting club owner like your fine-ass friend Chase.” She stuck her foot back in her
sandal, then took the other one out and inspected it. “You like him a lot, don’t you?”

Bliss put on her other stocking, pondering whether or not she wanted to let her best friend inside
her head. She wanted Chase to be the first person to know how she felt about him.

“Hello? I’m talking to you, Bliss.”

She stood up and put on a pretty black lace garter belt and snapped her stockings onto it. Bliss
glanced at Tasha with a guarded expression. “Yeah, I like him a lot.”

Tasha raised an amused eyebrow. “I see. He gets
real
stockings instead of plain old pantyhose.
Very sexy. Are you gonna give him some tonight?”

Bliss looked over her shoulder. “Are you gonna give Trevor some?”

Tasha sighed expansively. “It looks like it’s on the itinerary. So is Chase gettin’ lucky or not?”

Bliss slipped on her nicest, slinkiest little black dress. “Yeah, probably.” She couldn’t help but
smile at the thought of him peeling it off of her. “No, make that
definitely
.”

Tasha grinned at her and hopped off the bed. She ran out of the room with the heels of her
strappy sandals click-clacking noisily on the hardwood floor.

Bliss laughed and shook her head, wondering where she was running off to. She put on her
perfume and started to do her hair.

Tasha came back in the room just in time to zip her roommate and best friend up.

“Thanks,” Bliss said, still fiddling with her hair.

“Don’t thank me for that. Thank me for
these.
” She handed Bliss a strip of three condoms. “Just
make sure you put ‘em in your purse…and use them. Don’t stand there looking embarrassed. It
ain’t always about the monster, though that’s always there, but in my humble opinion, Chase looks
potent
. He also looks like he wouldn’t mind getting you pregnant. If you need to use them, use
them. Please.”

Bliss laughed because her mind immediately went back to what he’d said about kids, that he
wouldn’t mind “helping her out” with that. Tasha was right, and Bliss took the condoms. “Thank
you, Tasha, but I’m sure he has his own.”

“Never trust a man when it comes to your contraception,” she said, sounding like a school nurse
or some eight-grade health teacher.

Bliss didn’t want to talk about it anymore. She wasn’t stupid, and Tasha was coming off a little
condescending, like she was talking to someone who was slow. “All right. Okay. I got it!”

Tasha put a hand on her arm. “He looks at you like he loves you, you know, and you look at
him the same way. Sometimes when your emotions are that strong, common sense goes out the
window. That’s
all
I’m saying, Bliss. I don’t mean to sound like I’m preaching. You and Chase
have some real serious shit going on between you. You’d have to be blind not to see it.”

Bliss put on her earrings and was about to say something, but she was interrupted by the
doorbell.

Tasha looked at her watch. “That’s not mine. Trevor’s never on time.” She followed Bliss to
the front door like a puppy, the shells in her hair clinking, her bracelets jingling, and her heels
clacking.

Bliss smiled. Her dear friend could never sneak up on anybody. She made too damned much
noise. Bliss looked at her with some amusement. “What are you so excited for?”

“’Cause that dress means suit. I can’t wait to see that dude in a suit.”

Bliss laughed. “You stupid, Tash.” She opened the door, and sure enough, Chase was standing
there wearing a very nice one.

He was gorgeous. He smiled at her and, oblivious to Tasha, pulled her into his arms and kissed
her firmly on the mouth. “I missed you,” he said, letting her go.

Bliss smiled, speechless.
Oh yeah. It’s on…tonight!

“
Damn!
” Tasha said from behind her. “Look at you, all tricked out and spruced up. Showin’ up
here lookin’ like the black James Bond and spittin’ lines like that. You give lessons? ‘Cause Trevor
could use some.”

Chase laughed. “It ain’t something you learn.”

Tasha smiled. “Unfortunately, you’re right. Just don’t go bringin’ my friend back here all
knocked up.”

Oh no she didn’t!
Bliss hit her in the arm. “Be quiet, Tasha! Jesus Christ!”

Chase didn’t seem upset in the least though. “Okay. I’ll try not to, but I can’t make you any
promises.”

They left, and Chase drove Bliss in his very nice car to a very nice restaurant, where they
enjoyed a very nice, very expensive meal. They got back in his car, and he drove to Cream and
parked his car right in front of the club. Chase took her hand as they walked in. Bliss must have
heard his name called out at least fifteen times, and he nodded and stopped to speak to a few
people: a guy who played for the Knicks, a guy that played for the Jets, a well-known rapper, a
record mogul, and an actress who seemed a little tipsy and tried to kiss him on the mouth. Bliss
smiled and let it go, because Chase never let go of
her
and introduced her most graciously to
everyone they bumped into. That woman—if she ever mattered—didn’t matter anymore. Chase
didn’t just seem to be drifting aimlessly through the club; he seemed to be looking for someone in
particular. He stopped at the bar, and the bartender stopped what he was doing and made his way
over to him. Chase reached across the bar and clapped him on the back. “Congratulations, Jimmy!
Dee told me you got a little girl now.”

The bartender was beaming. “Yeah, day before yesterday. Eight pounds even.”

Chase smiled. “She got a name yet?”

“Not yet. We’re still working on it.”

Chase reached into his jacket and took out a slim white envelope. He handed it to Jimmy. “Here
you go, Jimmy. Put it to good use. If you need to take some time off, tell Dee I said it’s okay.”

“Thanks, Chase. We really appreciate it.”

“Speaking of Dee, you seen her?”

Jimmy looked over Chase’s shoulder and grinned. “Comin’ right at you, boss. Two o’clock.”

Chase turned around, and Bliss took a slightly intimidated step behind him. Dee was parting
the crowd like Moses in the Red Sea, and people were falling back to make way for her beeline to
Chase.

“Uh-oh. I think I might have stayed away too long,” Chase muttered under his breath.

Dee was an impressively beautiful woman, somewhere in her forties, with an equally impressive
figure. Bliss straightened up and smoothed her dress down as the woman approached the bar like
a tidal wave. “Well, well!” she said in a loud, boisterous voice. “If it ain’t Chase Brown! I’m a
little shocked to see you standing here in
your own
club. I thought you’d abandoned me.” She got
a little closer to him and kissed him on the cheek. “You’re wearin’ the hell outta that suit, Chase.”
She turned her entire body and looked Bliss over from her head to her toes. Dee smiled at her a
bit ruefully and then offered Bliss her hand. “Delia Montgomery…and the only person you could
possibly be is Bliss Riley. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“Nice to meet you, Dee. I’ve heard a lot about you too.”

“Don’t hold it against me. I’m not as bad as they say. I just like things my way, although his way
does work sometimes. Look at you! Aren’t you just the prettiest little thing? Oh shit, I’m babbling,
and I don’t know what for. Shit.” Dee never lost her smile through her whole little rant.

Chase was looking at her with his lips tucked in. “You all right, Dee?” he asked.

Dee still had hold of Bliss’s hand. She shook it again and then let it go. “Yeah, Chase. I’m great.
How about you?”

Bliss looked from one to the other.
Okay. What is this shit?

“I’m a little shocked, Dee.”

She gave him a slightly sour smile. “It’s a small thing, Chase. Don’t worry about it. I’m good.”
She touched Bliss’s arm. “I’ll see you next time, Bliss. We’ll get to know each other. Sorry about
the theatrics,” she said and then walked away before they could say goodbye.

Chase thoughtfully and silently watched her retreat, then turned back to Bliss. “I could say I had
no idea what that was all about, but that would be a lie. I just kind of hoped it wasn’t true.”

Bliss felt bad, but she didn’t feel sorry. All is fair in love and war, but she wasn’t insensitive.
She squeezed his hand. “Let’s go, Chase.”

He took her out without a word of protest. They got in his car and took Broadway up to Riverside
Drive. They rode all the way up to Chase’s place, making small talk, with his hand on her thigh.
Bliss could tell Dee’s reaction bothered him, but he didn’t seem to want to talk about it, and having
just met the woman, she didn’t want to bring it up.

Bliss was slightly upset that it had cast a bit of a pall on their evening, but he’d explained to her
beforehand that he wanted to stop by because he had something for Jimmy. Also, he’d wanted her
to meet Dee, an important fixture in his life. Bliss looked over at him. He wasn’t talking, and he
looked like he was lost in thought. Chase had a tendency to brood, she’d noticed. She placed her
hand over the one he had on her thigh and laced her fingers with his. “Don’t be upset, Chase.”

“I’m not. I’m really just a little shocked, like I said. I didn’t really think she was feelin’ me like
that
. I thought it was a game we always played. Okay, okay…someplace in the back of my mind,
maybe I thought she was a lot more serious than I was, but still.”

Bliss rubbed the back of his hand. “Let it go, Chase. It’ll work itself out.”

He didn’t answer her as he picked up a gadget and pressed a button. A garage door rolled up on a building that
looked like an office space, and he drove in. Chase pressed another button, and the lights came on.

They got out, and Bliss took a quick look around. She saw his Ducati and a black Kawasaki on
one side of the room, as well as an old-style muscle-car Charger—not the new, revamped version.
It was sleek and black and dangerous looking, and Bliss didn’t like it at all. She touched it with
her finger and found it to be as cold as it looked. She wrinkled her nose. “What’s up with
this
car,
Chase?”