Page 2 of Can't Walk Away

I’m staring at the pool longingly when two arms wrap around me in a bear hug. I gasp when none other than Jase’s voice rasps in my ear, “Chey.” I turn around and look up into his eyes. He’s never really hugged me like this before. It has my hopes up that he sees me for the woman I am now and not the gangly girl with braces he knew from years before.

“Hey, Jase,” I say. His mouth is turned up into a full smile and his eyes are sparkling. He bends down and hugs me as I get on my toes to put my arms around his shoulders. Jase has his arms wrapped around my lower body and I sigh aloud.

“Pretty heavy sigh you have going there,” he murmurs as we break apart.

“Yeah, it’s been a long day already,” I tell him honestly. It really has and the party just started.

“You home for good now?” he asks.

“Well, just until I find a place to live. I can’t stay here much longer. Mom is driving me crazy and Dad, you know he’s never here, but when he is, it’s not always fun,” I groan out.

“They mean well.” I snort after he says that. I can’t help but laugh. He’s being honest.

“I guess so,” I murmur out. Jase doesn’t look his age. He has the bad boy appeal; his white tee shirt is straining against his muscles and every time he moves; they flex with his body. His swimming trunks are black and he’s wearing flip flops. I notice the tautness in his body, and I lick my lips while appraising him.

When his eyes darken to a smoldering shade of green, I blush.

2

Jase

Cheyenne Adams, she’s going to be the death of me. I knew she had a crush on me while in school. I kept things platonic, while letting her know I was still a part of her life. When she left for college, it pissed me off. I wanted her to stay here so I could be there for her if she needed help. Her parents, if you can really call them that, they haven’t been around much in the past and haven’t treated her like parents should. Phil, his life has always revolved around the car dealership he built from the ground up. I get it, he needed to put a lot of time in into his business just like everyone else would. Too bad he left Chey with her mother, Debra. She’s a basket case. I’m not sure how they’ve stayed married all of these years. Yet they have.

When I saw Debra was done talking to Cheyenne, I swooped in before she got sucked into mingling with more of the same people I always try to avoid. Her shoulders were set back with a firmness, as if nothing could knock her down. When my arms wrapped around her, she knew. She fucking knew it was me and that solidified everything in me. I knew when she left at eighteen, she did it for herself. Even though I hated it, I understood it too. She came home a few times for the necessary holidays, and I got to see the knock out she’d become. It had me wanting her more and more. I knew I had to keep my distance until she finished college. I would never hold her back from her education.

I took the time to open up a body repair shop, working with my hands has always been something I’ve loved to do, and, after working at Phil’s car dealership for three years, I knew it was time to branch out on my own. Fast forward three years later, Cheyenne is home and my shop is growing by leaps and bounds.

I’m looking down into Chey’s eyes. They’re brown with golden flecks. If we weren’t surrounded by her parents’ friends, my lips would be on hers. I’d taste her for the first time, but right now I won’t.

“I have to find a place to live and soon. I love them, but after being on my own. I can’t stay here much longer,” she states.

“You know I have an apartment over my shop, right?” I question her.

“Yes,” she looks up at me with hope in her voice.

“You can move in there. No one lives there now that I bought my place. It’s not much, more like a studio apartment, but it has the essentials. Bedroom, living room, kitchen, and bathroom. It’s yours if you want.” I tell her. My hands are still holding her hips and she’s looking up at me. Her hair down and cut above her shoulders. Her skin is lightly tanning from being back home.

“Wait, you bought a house? And absolutely, when can I come look at it and what are you asking for rent?” she rambles out.

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