Page 126 of Truck Off

Without a glance at the other players, he pushes to his feet and charges toward me. He grabs my hand and pulls me to my feet. Neither of us speak as he leads me out of the auditorium and down the long hallway, away from the low rumble of voices.

Once we’re alone and out of earshot, he stops and presses me against the wall.

“Please tell me you’re done processing?” he whispers against my neck.

I slide my hands up his chest and fist them into his shirt. “Yes.”

He drops light kisses just below my ear before he rests his forehead on my shoulder. “And?”

I rotate my head until my lips are right at his ear and then I whisper, “I love you too.”

He lifts his head and cups my cheek. He searches my eyes like he’s looking for a hidden meaning or trying to decipher if I really mean the words. “Do you mean it?”

I nod. “Not gonna lie. I’m terrified about what this means. You could really hurt me, Chase.”

“You could hurt me too.” He admits. “But I still love you and I still want to do this with you.”

“Okay.” I lean up and press my lips to his. “Then let’s do this. Together.”

“Yeah, baby.” He sighs and pulls me closer. “Always together.”

We stand there wrapped in each other’s arms with my back pressed against the wall. His lips explore my neck, causing goosebumps to pebble my skin. Being in his arms feels so good after several days without him. There’s comfort in his embrace and something else I never picked up on before. Safety.

I may be terrified that this could crash and burn on us, but Chase makes me feel safe. Safer than I’ve ever felt in all my life.

“Well, that wasn’t quite as grand as I was hoping for,” Jayla sighs. “But it gets the job done.”

Chase lifts his head and looks at Jayla in confusion. Her response makes me laugh. My laughter causes Chase to furrow his brow. “Am I missing something?”

“Nope,” Jayla says. “Nothing at all.”

Then she spins on her heel and disappears down the hallway. Chase turns his gaze at me with raised brows.

“What was that all about?” he asks.

I shrug. “Just Jayla being Jayla.”

He cups my cheek and drops his forehead to mine. “I’ll take your word for it as long as you tell me again.”

I smile and press my lips to his. “I love you.”

“Sweetest words I’ve ever heard.”

Then he kisses me long and hard and doesn’t stop until we turn this declaration of love into something far too indecent for a small-town community center.

Chapter 30

Showing all my cards

Chase

Lina stares at me in confusion when I park outside the small apartment complex in Beaver and toss my truck into park.

“What are we doing here?” she asks, glancing around us like she’s looking for the big reveal.

That’s partly my fault since I made a big deal of wanting to share something with her today. I didn’t give her any clues as to what, just that it was really important to me that she sees this.

Even though it’s common knowledge who my mom is and that she has a drug addiction, introducing Mom to those I care about is a different story. She’s not a pleasant woman. Not to me or anyone for that matter.

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