Take Heart (9 page)

Raven has feelings for Eric?

The thought is blowing my mind.
How did I not see this coming? Has something gone down between the two of them that I don’t know about?
I’ve been so wrapped up in Chase lately, that I missed something that was so close in front of me; it could reach out and bitch slap me.

I cross my arms over my chest. “Rave, tell me what’s going on,” I demand.

She tears her gaze away from Eric and I catch a glimpse of hurt flash across her eyes. It happened so fast, that if I hadn’t been studying her reaction, I would’ve missed it. She straightens up and quickly composes herself, concealing her anger and hurt.

“Later,” she mouths.

I drop my arms and let that pacify me for now, but come later tonight, I was getting some answers. Raven flips her hair behind her shoulder and tugs down on the hem of her cami. She’s not messing around anymore. She isn’t going to drool over Eric, and she isn’t going to take shit from these girls.

She turns to me and does the same thing with my shirt to show a little more cleavage. Luckily, I’m wearing my best bra tonight, which makes my boobs look fantastic. She removes the hair tie from the end of my braid and runs her fingers through my long tresses. The sensations ripple all across my scalp and down my spine. Head rubs are my weakness, and with the loose way I’m feeling, I may end up shacking up with her instead of Chase by the time the night is over.

“Come on. Whatever you do, don’t let them see you sweat. That’s giving them a satisfaction they don’t deserve.” She grabs my hand and leads the way.

I internally put up my steel resolve as we make our way over there. When we approach them from behind, I see Chase’s back tighten up as if he senses my presence. The alcohol is making my mind wander. I’m imagining what his bare back looks like and how it would feel to run my fingernails down it. He’s got to be smoking hot without clothes on, I just know it. It’s downright sinful to think about. I snap out of my erotic daydream and remind myself to keep my eye on the prize—which isn’t Chase.

The guys turn around to face us and Chase’s anxious gaze finds mine. He’s on edge, watching me intently. He’s gauging my reaction to see if I’m pissed. I give absolutely nothing away. Instead, I let the music distract me and focus on dancing to deflect those pesky emotions. If I repeatedly tell myself I don’t care, then it’s bound to come true. Self-deluding is my thing.

His eyes move down to my chest and his expression softens, filling with heat and desire.

Yeah, go right ahead and salivate.

I turn to check on Raven’s questionable state of mind. On the surface, she looks like her usual, cheerful self, but I know better. She gives me a certain look out of the corner of her eye, one that tells me she has an ace up her sleeve.

“Are y’all going to introduce us to your friends, or are we just supposed to pull their names out of thin air?” Subtlety and patience are not her strong points today.

Instantly remembering that they have company behind them, the guys refocus their attention. I use their temporary distraction to look at Raven like she’s batshit crazy. She brushes it off and stares back at me with a stoic expression.

“Mia, Raven, this is Tamika. Tamika works with me at Surge. This is her friend, Sasha. I was just telling her how surprised I was to see her here. I figured she was working the bar tonight, but she happened to get the night off,” Chase explains, more so to me than to Raven.

How convenient.

Raven steps between Eric and Chase to shake both of the girls’ hands and introduces herself. I quickly step forward to do the same.

“So, how do you know Eric?” Raven asks Sasha curiously.

 “I met him at Chase’s place, actually. Tamika invited me over one night and we all hung out together.”

It’s a good thing I’m standing in front of Chase now because I can’t hide the jealousy I feel when I hear her say that. I know he has a history, but running into his “history” everywhere is quickly wearing thin.

“Is that so?” Raven asks coyly. “Well, Mia and I were thinking about doing some bar hopping tonight to pick up some guys. Y’all should join. It’ll be more fun as a group. What do you say, ladies?”

The fuck? Has she officially lost her mind?

“Um, sure. Sounds like fun, I guess,” Tamika says, hesitant.

“Excellent!” Raven exclaims.

I look over my shoulder to assess the guys’ reactions. Eric looks extremely confused and Chase looks pissed off. I feel a twinge of guilt but I push it aside and continue with the façade we have going on. If I break now, Raven will kill me. But if I go through with her plan, Chase will be furious. There’s no winning for me in this scenario. Since I don't know what Chase’s intentions are with Tamika, I stick with Raven on this one. Chicks before dicks.

Once all the bands finish, we walk downtown to the local bars. If it were under different circumstances, I might actually like Tamika and Sasha. They’re pretty fun to party with, and despite the bizarre situation we’re in, I must admit, I’m having a good time.

Chase and Eric have had their hands full cock blocking all of the other guys that keep hitting on us. Eric is only growing more and more irritated as the night goes on, but none of us care—least of all, Raven. Chase, on the other hand, is trickier. I know he’s jealous, but he’s masking it very well.

We’re all walking down the street to our next bar when Raven sees the sign for Surge. There’s a decent sized line and she quickly pulls me aside to stand in it. While we’re waiting for the line to move forward, us girls talk about how awesome the shows were tonight. In the middle of our discussion, I look over to find Chase staring straight at me, his gaze intense and unwavering. It’s like he’s trying to tell me something. He makes no effort to join in on the conversation, but he doesn’t look away, either.

Once everyone but Chase and Tamika show their IDs to the doormen, we’re in. Raven wasn’t kidding when she said this place was a hot spot. The club is packed wall-to-wall. We walk down a couple steps onto the main floor, which is highlighted with blue lights. There’s a large wrap around bar in front of us and a dance floor off to the left. There’s a DJ booth set up and on either side there are cages—fully complete with women dancing seductively inside. The lighting is pretty dim, giving the club a more erotic feel. The bartenders are slammed, frantically running back and forth between impatient customers and the cash register.

Against my will, Raven abruptly grabs my hand and makes a beeline for the dance floor. Tamika runs up to the bar to say hi to her co-workers. Sasha grabs Eric to dance and Chase disappears somewhere into the crowd.

Watching Eric dance with Sasha only spurs Raven. It’s starting to become a petty contest of who can rile up who more. When Raven grabs the occasional guy, Eric kicks up the dirty dancing a notch with Sasha. Seeing the two of them rub up against each other has to be killing Raven, but she’s showing absolutely no sign of being upset.

I continue what feels like a Dance Marathon until my body can’t take it anymore. There’s no way Raven’s going to let me leave. She’s on a mission and apparently she likes Eric more than either of us realized, because she seems hell-bent on proving her point.

When the music starts to slow, I decide that it’s a good time for a break. I walk over to Raven and tell her that I need to hit the bathroom and take a breather, much to her dismay.

I squeeze my way off the dance floor to find the restrooms.    Locating them at the back of the club, I waste no time getting there. I turn down a long hallway and see the sign that says “Women” but before I can walk in there, I feel a hard body come up behind me and force me into a room that’s supposed to be for employees only.

Swiftly turning around, I see Chase shut and lock the door, his gaze trapping mine. His face is hard, cold, and angry but his eyes are burning with desire. He slowly saunters toward me. I stand completely still and try to hold onto my indifference. I’m losing that battle at a rapid rate. He presses a palm flat against my stomach and my body shudders with sheer delight. He walks me backwards until I have no where else to go. The wall cuts me off.

Placing his hands on either side of my head, he cages me in. My heart is pounding and my chest is rising and falling, drawing Chase’s attention to it. Bringing his eyes back to mine, he carefully leans forward towards my cleavage and lets out a slow, cool breath. It immediately hits my damp chest and I feel my sex clench in response. I lay my head back against the wall and look up to the ceiling, arching my back, silently begging him not to stop.

He doesn’t.

My nipples tighten and the hairs on my arms rise. He makes no move to touch me, he simply continues to blow cool spouts of air all over my heated body. My chest, my neck, and my face. He smells like some spice that I can’t quite pinpoint, and his own, personal scent. The two swirl together and create a heady combination, making me want to claw my way up his body and never stop inhaling him, like some creeper.

“Are you done playing around?” he whispers harshly in my ear.

“I’m not playing around,” I lie.

He brings his knee up between my legs and strokes me against my jeans with a firm, but gentle pressure. The friction is delicious and all I can focus on is my body’s sensations shooting off everywhere.

“Are you sure about that?” He’s breathing just as hard as I am.

I moan as he strokes me again. My hands form fists at my sides. I try to control my body’s reaction but it’s no use. Chase is everywhere. He’s on my body, he’s in my head, and he’s slowly wedging his way into my heart.

“Does that feel good, Amelia?”

I close my eyes and say nothing. I feel his hair lightly brush against my skin as he lays a kiss down on the top swell of each of my breasts, and then his lips are back at my ear.

“Do you like it when I do that?” he rasps.

I whimper.
Holy fuck, I’m going to explode.
My knees start to buckle and I sink down onto his thigh. My hips start a slow gyration against his leg, the seam of my jeans rubbing perfectly against the right spot. I stick my palms flat against the wall and use that as support to continue my grind on him. I lock onto his gaze and pour every ounce of desire I’m feeling into him. My body is wound so tight. He looks like he’s about to combust just watching me do this to myself. I don’t care about being shy. It feels too good.

Suddenly, he reaches down to grab my ass. He hoists me up and I wrap my legs around his torso. He halts my movements and I can feel how rock hard he is through his jeans. He laces his fingers through mine and lifts both our hands up and rests them on the wall above my head. His deep blue eyes are burning into mine. I’m sexually frustrated and I want the friction back.

“Does it drive you crazy when I do that?”

I swallow hard and nod.

“Good, because you’ve been driving me crazy all fucking night. Do you have any idea how pissed I am that you tried to pick up guys? Am I a toy to you? Something you think you can play with?” he asks forcefully.

“Am I just a toy for
you
to play with?” I snap, sending his question right back. My sexual frustration is now turning into anger. I don’t know which I want to do more—slap the shit out of him, or screw his brains out. 

Confusion washes over his face.

“What are you talking about? Why would you say that? I think I’ve been pretty upfront with how I feel about you since day one,” he defends.

Is he joking right now? What an idiot.

I narrow my gaze and try to break his hold on my body but he doesn’t budge. It’s clear he isn’t going to let me go until we hash this out.

“Oh, really? Then explain Christa and Tamika to me, Chase. What are they to you? What am I to you, huh? One of many? A casual fucking fling? Because if that’s where this is headed, we really need to stop.”

That was it. I just gave him his easy out.

He releases a hand and gently caresses my face. I’m trying to keep my guard up but the way he’s looking at me is making that task impossible.

“You are
not
a casual fling. Okay? You are not one of many. You are the only girl that I’m seeing and I fully intend to keep it that way. Tamika works with me, and we’ve hung out together before, but we’ve never slept together. Not once. I don’t dip my pen in company ink. And as far as Christa goes, I told you that’s over between us.”

“For how long? A week? And why were you letting Tamika put the moves on you?” I accuse.

He grabs ahold of my hips and lifts me off, setting me down on my feet. He steps back and runs his hands through his hair. He seems to do that a lot when he’s nervous or irritated. I may not know him that well yet, but I have picked up on that tic. Eric has the same habit.

“Tamika is naturally a flirty person. You learn to get used to it after a while and not think much of it. You’re right, I shouldn’t have let her come on to me like that, but I swear I’m not interested in her that way. I’m interested in you. I wasn’t hitting on her despite what it may have looked like.

“As for Christa, yes, she and I have a history, but the difference now is I have feelings for someone else. That’s never happened before when she and I were sleeping around. I wouldn’t jeopardize what you and I potentially have here for a piece of ass. I care about you, Mia. A lot.” he confesses.