Chapter Eleven
I finished brushing my teeth in the bathroom Nikki obviously shared with Clara and Timmy. At least I assumed that was the case, judging from the bucket of rubber ducks sitting near the tub. She didn’t seem to be the type who would be playing with bath toys, but I had to admit that particular mental image brought a smile to my face.
“What are you grinning about?” Nikki’s voice caught me off guard, and I glanced at her in the mirror before bending to rinse.
“Nothing you want to hear,” I replied, watching as she started brushing. Even mundane tasks like this were a pleasure to participate in with her.
“You’re still grinning,” she spoke over a mouthful of toothpaste.
“You’re fun to watch.” I shrugged, folding my arms as I leaned against the wall. “Actually you caught me wondering if all these rubber ducks belong to you.”
She chuckled and rinsed. “Yeah. It’s a crazy fetish I have.”
“Seriously?” I asked, unable to tell if she was teasing, and I was rewarded with an eye roll.
“They’re Timmy’s. He’s the one with a serious duck obsession.”
“Ah, good. I was starting to question your taste.”
“I taste just fine.” She grabbed my shirt and pulled me to her, kissing me on the lips, allowing her fresh, minty flavor to mingle with my own.
“Mmm. You do taste good,” I added when she moved away.
I followed her across the hall into her room. The bedding had been turned down during my short absence from the space and the pillows fluffed.
“I hope you’ll be comfortable in here. Is there anything you need? I’ve never had a boy spend the night before.” She blushed.
“Well, I’ve never stayed in such a purely feminine bedroom before either, but I think I’m manly enough to pull it off.” I yanked my shirt off and flopped onto her mattress, placing my arms behind my head. “What do you think?”
She swallowed thickly as she stared down my body before quickly returning her gaze to mine. “I think you’re in no danger of having your manliness questioned.”
It was wrong how much this girl could set me on fire. I got up and stalked toward her, grabbing her around the waist and hauling her next to me.
Her fingertips voluntarily slid up over my chest and wrapped around my neck.
“It’s a pity you can’t stay in here with me,” I said, pushing a few strands of hair away from her features. I kissed her sweet tasting mouth one more time before taking her by the shoulders and pointing her in the direction of the door. “Now get out of here before your mom chases me off with a shotgun.”
She laughed. “My mom doesn’t own a shotgun.”
“Oh, I’m sure she could find something suitable, if the situation warranted it.”
Nikki cast a soft smile, her eyes trailing over my half-dressed form. “Then I guess I shouldn’t tell you how good all those muscles look with your shirt off, should I?”
I shook my head. “No, you shouldn’t. That could turn out really bad.”
“Goodnight, Chase.”
“Pleasant dreams, Nikki,” I replied as she closed the door. I stood there for a full minute, staring at it and wished I could go after her. I needed find a way to control these raging hormones of mine when I was around her.
“Sleep. I need sleep,” I whispered, dragging my hand through my hair, letting out a deep breath and unfastening my pants. I left them in a heap in the floor, and slid in between the comfortable blankets, before turning off the bedside lamp.
Even with the room cast into darkness, I was on sensory overload. I could smell her perfume on the pillow, and it was intoxicating. Her sheets wrapped around me, brushing my skin the same as they would hers.
I groaned and hit the pillow with my fist. “Get a grip, Walker,” I growled to myself, determined to think about something else.
My mind wandered to the fight I’d had earlier with my grandpa, and I wondered what I was going to do now. Surely my mom would understand I couldn’t live like this anymore. This proved to be exactly the topic I needed, as I found my eyes growing heavy, and I drifted off to sleep.
“Chase.”
I snuggled deeper into the covers.
“Chase,” the familiar voice came again, along with a hand softly squeezing my shoulder.
I opened my eyes and blinked, wondering why Nikki was standing in my bedroom. I smiled and reached out, pulling her to lie beside me. The memories came flooding back now, and I remembered I was actually in her room. She wasn’t an illusion.
“Hey sexy,” I whispered into her ear, as I proceeded to nudge my nose against her neck.
She giggled and squirmed against me, and I liked it. But then she crawled off and put her hands on her hips, staring down with her head crowned in a glorious array of bedhead.
“You need to get up. Your grandpa’s outside on the front porch. He wants to speak with you.”
Her words effectively distinguished my playful mood. “What does he want?” I replied gruffly.
Nikki shifted nervously. “Please don’t be angry with me for interfering, but I called your mom after you went to bed. I told her why you beat up Jeremy—the whole story, Chase, and suggested she tell your grandpa too.”
I couldn’t believe she’d put her neck out for me like that. I knew how badly she wanted to keep this to herself.
“Nikki, I don’t even know what to say. You shouldn’t have felt like you needed to expose yourself that way. I would’ve handled it.”
“You fought him because you were defending my honor. I know your grandpa wasn’t only angry about that, but I had to let them know what a good guy you are.”
I threw the covers off, and moved toward her.
“You aren’t dressed,” she squeaked, blushing as I approached, and I stared down at my underwear-clad form.
“Sorry,” I apologized, knowing I wasn’t leaving much to her imagination now. “Habit.” I hugged her, feeling her tremble in my arms. “I wanted to say thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” she said, gazing up at me before she cast an anxious glance at the door. “You better get dressed. I need to start getting ready for school anyway.”
I reluctantly released her and watched her scurry away before I grabbed my pants and t-shirt from the day before and slipped them on. I could hear noises, along with good smells, coming from the kitchen, but I headed in the other direction toward the front of the house.
Stepping outside, I found my grandpa sitting in the porch swing. I folded my arms across my chest and leaned against the railing, waiting.
He glanced over and let out a heavy sigh. “It appears I may have some apologizing to do this morning. When your mom filled me in on where you were, and what was going on, I thought I’d try to come and catch you before school.”
I didn’t say anything.
“Look, I’m sorry I lost my temper the way I did yesterday. I was really angry when I discovered you were still using marijuana, and then I heard about you being in a fight, and it all escalated from there. I didn’t take the time to find out the facts first. I had no idea Jeremy was even capable of such behavior, and if I did, well, I would’ve kicked his butt myself.”
It was difficult to keep the grin off my face from that mental image, so I looked away from him as I tried not to laugh.
“Here’s the deal, Chase. I know there’s a good kid inside of you—he’s just a little mixed up right now and needs some direction. You’ve been a hard worker and done a good job at the chores I’ve given you. However, I won’t tolerate you bringing illegal substances of any kind into my home. Period. So this is all up to you. You can quit with the dope and come back, or you can keep it up and stay gone. What’s it going to be?”
I moved to sit on the steps to the sidewalk, trying to relax. I knew he wanted an answer from me right now, but I honestly didn’t know what to say.
He didn’t speak anymore either, as he waited, and it was a while before I decided to reply.
“This may all seem like a cut and dry easy choice to you, but it’s not for me. Sometimes I get so caught up in everything it becomes painful. Smoking and drinking are the only things I’ve found to help numb the pain. I like it.”
He left the swing and came to sit next to me. “But what are you really accomplishing? As soon as it wears off, you still have the same set of worries. You’re using it as a coping mechanism instead of dealing with the real issues. You’re adding to your own problems.”
“That might be true, but for a few blessed hours I can forget. I need that.”
“No, you don’t. There are other ways of getting past old hurts. Move forward—make new friends, new memories. Find happy things to replace the old ones that aren’t there anymore.”
“Nothing will replace my dad,” I said bitterly.
“Nothing should. But do you really think he would want you to sit around being miserable for him your whole life? I don’t. He spent too much time trying to help you successfully build your future. Get away from self-medicating and come home. Coach Hardin will be starting early football training and weight lifting next week. That’ll give you something new to focus your energies on.” He paused for a moment to gesture over his shoulder. “And you’ve got a real pretty gal in there who seems to care a lot about you. Surely that can count as something good.”
I nodded. “She’s great. It’s nice to have someone who isn’t so quick to judge.”
Grandpa gave a slight grimace. “Chase, I don’t know what else to say except I truly feel I have your best interest at heart.”
“Well, thanks for coming to tell me,” I said, standing up and going to the door.
“Will you come back home after school?”
I shrugged. “I guess there’s a stronger possibility of that happening now than there was earlier. I don’t know. I need to think some things over.”
“Try not to be too long about it. Your mom might actually kill me if you don’t show up soon.” He stood and shook his head. “She was madder than a wet hen at me last night.”
I wasn’t entirely sure what the term meant, but I knew my mom never minced words when she was angry. “Tell her I love her, and I’ll get hold of her soon. My phone is still dead since I forgot my charger.”
Grandpa smiled. “Well, that’s almost a guarantee you’ll come home then, isn’t it? I know how you kids can’t live without your technological contraptions.”
I had to fight to keep from rolling my eyes. “I’ve got to get ready for school, or I’m going to be late. I don’t need another detention.”
“Alright. Have a good day.” He gave a slight wave before walking toward his truck. I didn’t watch him any longer, instead going inside toward Nikki’s room.
“Chase? Do you want some breakfast real quick before you shower? I’ve got cold cereal and hot blueberry muffins in here,” Justine called from the kitchen.
“Sure. Sounds great. Thank you.”
“Did everything go okay outside?” she asked casually as she brought me a bowl and spoon to the table.
“Yeah, it’s fine. He apologized for a couple of things and gave me some advice.”
“Well, if there is one thing I’ve always thought about Warren Johnson, it’s that he’s a fair man.”
“So I’ve heard,” I mumbled as I reached for the box of cereal, pouring it. Justine set the plate of muffins along with some butter down next to me.
“The others have already eaten. I need to go supervise the little ones getting dressed and fixing their hair. Are you going to be okay in here? Can I get you anything else?”
“No, I’m good. Thank you for everything, Mrs. Wagner. I really appreciate all you’ve done—especially with me being a complete stranger.”
“You can thank my daughter for that. She’s always been selective about who she trusts, and for some reason she trusts you. That’s a big compliment.”
I saw Nikki step out of the bathroom briefly—her wet hair wrapped in a towel—before she ducked into her bedroom. Even without her hair fixed and makeup on, she was still beautiful.
“Nikki’s special anyway you look at it,” I replied, lifting a bite to my mouth.
She slid into a seat. “You really like her a lot, don’t you?” She stared directly at me as she awaited my answer.
I nodded and swallowed.
“Please be careful with her, Chase. Her heart has already been badly damaged once. I’d hate to see anything like that happen to her again.”
“You have my word, Mrs. Wagner. I’d never intentionally do anything to hurt her.”
“Justine,” she corrected, patting my hand. “Call me Justine.”
“Sorry,” I smiled. “Old habit.”
“Old is exactly how it makes me feel.” She laughed as she stood. “I guess I better tend to these kids.”