Page 59 of Some Kind of Forever
“I fell out of a tree.” He strokes my back lazily and speaks with a low, relaxed voice. “When I was nine, Hunter and I were climbing a dead tree at my grandparents’ house. I jumped up to reach the next branch, breaking the one underneath me, and fell all the way down, hitting almost every branch on the way. The branch that caught my fall did it by impaling me in the side before it broke.”
“You—what?” I prop up on my elbows. “Are you okay?”
“I think the last hour has shown I’m more than okay…” He smirks. “Hunter had to leave me alone under that tree to get help, and I was rushed into surgery. They got the main branch out of my side, but it punctured my lung and splintered just right that the imaging couldn’t pick up all the pieces. I would stabilize, go to a room for observation, and then bleed internally or get another infection. After the fourth time, they made a long incision and pulled out six different wood fragments.”
“That’s why you’re afraid of heights?” I ask, wide-eyed.
“That’s why I’m afraid of heights.” He nods. “I was in the hospital for almost a month. But it wasn’t all bad, and I got to stay out of school for weeks after. I wasn’t too grumpy until they told me I couldn’t play sports for a year.”
“A grumpy Chase?” I tease. “I can’t see it.”
He gives me a quick kiss. “It’s not often. The tree scale helps with that.”
“Tree scale?”
His eyes sparkle in the dim light of my room as he chuckles. “Yeah, so whenever something bad happens or I’m stuck on making a risky decision, I ask myself, ‘Is this worse than falling out of a tree?’ It puts things into perspective for me.”
“Sounds like an easy way to face your fears. Maybe I should use the tree scale.”
“Yeah, I mean, in a roundabout way, it got you sitting in my lap up on that wall, so…I think the tree scale works pretty well.”
That memory seems so distant. I never thought I’d be here, with him in my bed, but I’m thankful for whatever cosmic forces lined up to make it happen. I’m happy I took the chance on him.
He brushes his lips on mine again briefly. “Hey, Kayla…”
“Hmm?”
“I told you I was going to fall for you this summer…”
“And…?” I wait, watching the look in his eyes change from fiery passion to a fierce vulnerability.
“Baby, I’m free-falling.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
CHASE
Kayla looks so damn delectable in this olive-green dress I have half a mind to call off dinner myself and throw her on the bed behind us. But everyone has put a lot of time and energy into planning tonight. They would kill me if we didn’t show up.
“You look great, baby,” I say to her frowning face in the mirror, wrapping my arms around her waist and pulling her against me. I drop a kiss on her neck.
She shakes her head, pulling at her clothes before adjusting her hair. Shrugging away from me, she takes another dive into her closet.
“You’ve met all of them before…” I say, trying to appeal to her logic.
“But that was as your not-yet-but-almost girlfriend. This is different. Now I’m their long-lost daughter, new sister. What if they hate me?—?”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” I grab her hands, pulling her away from the closet of doom to keep her attention. “No one’s hating anyone. Especially you. You’re too amazing for that to happen.” I move her over to the bed, nudging her to sit while I kneel in front of her. Trying to think of a good way to help ease her worry, I lookinto her eyes and ask, “Would it help you to know they’re just as nervous as you are? Well, not Artie… She’s pure excitement, but Hunter and Kendall.”
“What do they have to be nervous about?”
“Hunter wants to make sure you’re as comfortable as possible. He’s been hounding me all week about your favorite foods and flowers, music taste, hobbies… I’m sure he’s been driving Ashlie nuts too.” That gets a little smile out of her, so I continue. “Kendall’s worried about pushing you too fast too soon. He’s ready to welcome you into the family with open arms, but doesn’t want to scare you off. And me…”
“You? You’re nervous?” She tilts her head, a confused line settling between her eyes.
“Yeah… I’m worried I won’t be able to keep my hands to myself all night.” I wiggle my eyebrows, leaning in for a kiss. She lets out a round of giggles, shaking her head at the cheesiness of it all. Her lips are soft against mine, and as I lean her back on the bedspread, she kisses me slowly, weaving her hands in my hair before pulling away.
“Baby, we can’t…”
