It Started with a Crush by Piper James

Chapter Twenty-Five

Sage

Chase: I miss your face.

Me: Is that all you miss?

Chase: I was trying to keep this convo PG since you’re at work, but if you want a list of all the things I miss about you, I’d be happy to oblige.

Chase: I miss kissing your sweet mouth.

Chase: I miss holding your hand in mine.

Chase: I miss looking into your eyes while you ride my hard cock.

Me: Corn dog.

Chase: No fair! You started it!

Chase: And I thought we established we didn’t need a safe word.

Me: We do if I’m going to make it through the rest of the school day before I can get out of here and have some time alone with BOB.

Chase: Bob? Who’s Bob?

Chase: Sage?

Chase: Shit, your lunchbreak is over. Call me as soon as the last bell rings, and tell me who this Bob is so I can fuck him up.

Chase: Never mind. I asked Noah if he knew a Bob in town, and he laughed for thirty minutes before telling me it’s an acronym for “battery-operated-boyfriend.”

Chase: You’re so getting spanked for that dirty trick.

Me: Promise?

Chase: Finally. It felt like that three hours lasted forever. Are you home?

Me: Yes. BOB and I have a date, remember?

Chase: You’re killing me, Sage. I can’t get the image of you and BOB out of my head.

Me: Good. Serves you right for getting me all hot and bothered at work.

Chase: Your sweet ass is definitely meeting my palm next time I see you.

Me: Let’s hope it’s not at the grocery store.

Chase: Vixen.

Me: *Picture Sent*

Chase: Is that? Sweet baby Jesus in the manger. You’re really trying to fucking kill me, aren’t you.

Me: Meet BOB.

Chase: I think I need video proof that he’s taking care of you in my absence.

Me: Goodbye, Chase.

Chase: Bye, Sage.

* * *

Me:Have you finished for the day?

Chase: Yeah. Just got back to the house. Daniel is working on his science project. Thanks for that, by the way.

Me: Hey, he picked it himself. I had nothing to do with it.

Chase: And you couldn’t steer him in another direction? My kitchen is covered in glue, glitter, and food coloring, and there’s no less than twenty-seven containers of homemade slime stacked up by the stove.

Me: I told him to make three.

Chase: Well, he’s always been an overachiever. So, yeah. Thanks again.

Me: You’re welcome!Always happy to mold young minds.

Chase: Spank, spank.

Me: Promises, promises.

* * *

Chase:How’s BOB doing?

Me: He’s out of commission.

Chase: What? Why?

Me: Doesn’t do it for me anymore. You ruined me.

Chase: Want me to come over and kiss it all better?

Me: Don’t tease. This is serious.

Chase: I’m sorry. And I’d be there in an instant if Noah and Ethan hadn’t already gone to Oakley for dinner. I can’t leave Daniel here by himself.

Me: Of course, not. I’ll be fine until I see you again. Just be ready.

Chase: I’m always ready.Always.

* * *

It had beena week since Chase slept over at my house, and I was finally going to see him. Belle texted everyone on Thursday, demanding we all show up for dinner tonight. So, I put on my prettiest sundress while skipping the undergarments. I didn’t need a bra because the dress had built-in support and spaghetti straps, and no one would know I wasn’t wearing panties…except for Chase.

Just thinking about the ways I could clue him into the fact I was going commando was making me wet, and I briefly reconsidered the decision.

“Maybe I should wear underwear and a panty liner,” I mumbled at my reflection.

Being around Chase all night, smelling his cologne and seeing the fire in his eyes…it was going to kill me. I just knew it. But Daniel would be there, so we had to behave and act normal. Casual.

“Piece of cake,” I murmured sarcastically.

It wasn’t going to be easy, but it had to be done. Everyone else knew we were together, but Chase’s son would never be able to keep it a secret. And I wouldn’t want to ask him to. So we had to pretend.

When I arrived at Belle and Ryder’s place, everyone was there…except for Ember, of course. She was always, always the last to arrive. I didn’t see Belle, either, but I assumed she was in the kitchen. Chase’s eyes lit up with unspoken promises when I said hello to him, making my breath stutter. Forcing myself to act normal, I greeted Daniel before I did something stupid. Like kiss Chase in front of everyone. Or climb on his lap and dry hump him until I came.

After talking to Daniel for several minutes, I moved away from him and his enigmatic father. Pulling Dakota to the far side of the room, I asked her how her job with the realty company was coming along. She gave me a knowing look, but answered the question like there was nothing else going on.

“Good,” she said. “I’ve sold three houses this month, which is kind of miraculous in Red River. It’s not really a hot market, being such a tiny place, but I managed to entice some investors to buy the homes as rental properties.”

“That’s great,” I said with a little too much enthusiasm.

I could practically feel Chase’s gaze burning into my back, and it was taking everything I had in me to not turn around to see if I was right. I shifted my weight from foot to foot, wrung my hands, and plastered a giant fake smile on my face. Dakota sighed and shook her head.

“You look like an addict jonesing for his next fix, Sage. You need to calm down if you don’t want Daniel to notice and ask you about it.”

I took a deep breath and released it slowly. Shaking out my arms, I leaned in closer.

“I know,” I whispered. “I haven’t seen Chase since last weekend, and I’m having trouble keeping it together.”

“I got this,” she said, then leaned around me. “Hey, Daniel, do you want to go out to the barn with me to see the litter of kittens?” At my startled expression, she whispered, “Belle told me a feral cat snuck in there to give birth a few days ago. You have ten minutes. Fifteen, tops.”

Daniel rushed up then, wrapped his little hand around Dakota’s, and dragged her into the kitchen toward the back door while talking a mile a minute. When they were gone, I looked at Chase, who was already standing. Giving me smile and a jerk of the head, he headed down the hall and into the bathroom.

My brain restarted a second later, and I hurried after him. As soon as I entered the small space, Chase slammed the door behind me and pushed me back into it. His mouth was on mine an instant later, devouring me with a need so palpable, I could feel it in my bones.

His hand snuck under my skirt, and a low growl vibrated in his chest when he discovered my lack of underwear. He rubbed a finger through my slick folds, then jerked away. Before I could protest, his hands cinched around my waist, lifted, and set me down on the counter.

“What are you doing?” I whispered in a panic.

“Don’t make a sound,” he said in answer as he pulled me toward the edge.

He flipped up my skirt, pushed my knees apart, and dove in. I sucked in a silent breath as his tongue licked a long, slow path up my slit. I gritted my teeth, forcing myself to breathe silently through my nose when it found my clit and flicked against it.

“Mm,” Chase hummed as he worked, tracing circles around the bundle of nerves before sucking it gently into his mouth.

My head hit the mirror with a thud as I fell backwards, clenching my hands into fists as I fought the urge to moan. Chase rewarded my silence by slipping two fingers inside me, rubbing that secret spot while his tongue battered my clit.

I came without warning, slapping a hand over my mouth to stop any sounds from coming out. Chase was relentless, continuing to finger me as he sucked my clit until the waves of my orgasm began to slow. With one last lick, long and slow like I was his own personal ice cream cone, he pulled his fingers out and straightened.

Then he stuck his fingers in his mouth and sucked them clean while holding my gaze. A breath shuddered out of me, making him smile.

“Delicious,” he whispered before stepping between my still-spread legs and pressing his mouth to mine in a long, deep kiss.

When he ended the kiss and pulled back, I stared at him in awe. He smiled and shot me a wink. He pulled me off the counter and held me until I was steady on my feet. I looked up at him, my lips curving up into a smile.

“That’s it,” I said. “I’m officially breaking things off with BOB.”

“Careful,” he said, his smile turning devilish. “I still owe you a spanking for that.”

“I can’t wait,” I admitted, leaning into him for a hug. “And thank you. I really needed that.”

“I did, too,” he said.

“What about you?” I asked, feeling his erection pushing into my belly.

“I’ll be okay in a few minutes. Go on. I’ll stay here for a minute so we aren’t walking out together.”

I felt bad for leaving him in that condition, but our ten minutes were almost up, and it would be worse to start something I couldn’t finish. So with one last hard kiss, I turned and opened the door. The damn thing wasn’t even locked! Fuck, I was glad no one walked in on us.

As soon as I walked back out into the living room, it was obvious why no one had walked in. Every single one of them—Noah, Ethan, Ryder, and Ember, who’d finally shown up—was smiling at me, and fucking Noah waggled his eyebrows for good measure.

“Shut up,” I grunted, walking past them to find Belle in the kitchen.

Daniel came running through the back door as soon as I entered, chattering happily about the kittens. Dakota strolled in after him, shooting me a wink and squeezing my arm as she walked by. Belle looked up from the pot of spaghetti sauce she was stirring and smiled.

“Hey, Sage. When did you get here?”

“A while ago,” I murmured, happy at least one of the people in this house had no idea I’d just had a mind-blowing orgasm.

“Should I spray down my bathroom with bleach?” she asked, her expression a picture of innocence.

“Oh, God,” I muttered, and she laughed.

“No one heard anything,” she assured me. “But Ryder came and told me you were here, and when I came out to say hi, you and Chase were missing. Noah cracked a joke about Chase finally not needing the cold showers he’s been taking all week, and I put two and two together. Feel better?”

“Much,” I sighed. “And no. No bleach needed.”

“Thank God. The smell would—”

Her face turned beet red before she spun around to stir the sauce again. I waited for her to finish her sentence, but she remained silent, her bottom lip tucked tightly between her teeth.

“Hey, you okay?” I asked, moving toward her.

“Yeah, I’m great,” she said. “Taste this sauce for me. I feel like something is missing, and I can’t figure out what.”

“Sure,” I said, moving forward as I studied her profile.

Something was definitely up with her. After two decades of friendship, there wasn’t much she could hide from me or Ember. But I decided not to push. Whatever it was, she’d tell me in her own good time. I slurped some sauce from the spoon she held up and smacked my lips.

“Tastes good to me.”

“Huh,” she said, then shrugged. “Okay then, I’ll take your word for it. Can you go tell everyone dinner will be ready in five?”

“On it,” I said, turning to go.

Worrying about Belle had taken my mind off of Chase for a minute, but as soon as I entered the living room, he looked at me and licked his lips. A shiver coursed through me, and he smirked.

“Asshole,” I mouthed at him after making sure Daniel wasn’t looking at me.

He shook his head, his eyes full of promise as he rubbed his hands together. Oh, I was going to pay for that insult. In the best possible way.

“Dinner will be ready in five minutes,” I announced, forcibly keeping my eyes off the man currently occupying all the real estate in my head.

“Daniel, go in the bathroom and wash up,” Noah said loudly. “Wait, is it safe for him to go in there?”

My eyes widened, and Noah’s dark eyes lit up with glee. I looked from him to Daniel, who just looked confused.

“Why wouldn’t it be safe? Did someone go in there and stink it up, or something?” Daniel asked.

“Yeah, Uncle Noah took a big poop,” Chase answered, glaring at his brother as he took Daniel’s hand in his. “Come on, bud. I’ll go with you and make sure the stink’s cleared out before you go in.”

Noah laughed unashamedly, and I shot daggers at him with my eyes. As soon as Daniel was out of earshot, I marched toward him.

“What the fuck, Noah?”

“Oh, relax. I was just teasing, and Daniel has no idea what I meant.”

“Uh oh,” Ember called out, shaking her head with wide eyes.

“What?” Noah asked, looking at her in confusion.

“You never tell a woman to relax, dumbass,” Dakota supplied, her tone harsh and condemning.

“Oh, sorry,” Noah said, looking at her for a beat too long before turning his gaze back to me. “Really. I didn’t mean anything by it.”

“It’s fine,” I said. “Just don’t make any more jokes like that around Daniel, okay? He’s smarter than you think.”

Daniel running back into the room ended the conversation, but Noah caught my attention and mimed locking his lips as we all headed into the dining room. I arched a brow at him, and he held up three fingers in the “Scout’s Honor” symbol. As if he were ever a boy scout.

Dinner was delicious—spaghetti, garlic bread, and salad—and the conversation was lively. The brothers were getting close to finishing the ranch, and Ryder asked Dakota if she wanted to be the listing agent when they were ready to put it on the market. A place like that would earn her a huge commission. She was surprised and accepted with much gratitude.

Not everyone was excited, though. Thinking about the completion of the remodel dampened my spirits significantly. That ranch was what brought the Perry’s to Red River. Ryder would be staying here, obviously, but the other three? They’d be heading back home. To Los Angeles.

“Now that everyone is done eating,” Ryder said, pulling me out of my negative headspace, “Belle and I have some news we’d like to share.”

Everyone perked up, staring at them expectantly. Belle was blushing, but it looked more like a flush of pleasure than one of embarrassment. Ryder looked at her, and she nodded. He smiled at her sweetly before looking back at the rest of us.

“The Perry family will be gaining a new member in a few months.”

When we all just stared at him in confusion, Belle raised her glass of sweet tea and announced, “We’re pregnant!”

The whole table erupted, shouts of joy and congratulations as we all gushed over the news. Daniel was particularly animated, his excitement over having another kid in the family making him wiggle in his chair. I smiled at his joy, then glanced at Chase.

He was staring at me, his expression unreadable. Then he seemed to shake himself, shot me a grin, and turned to join in the congratulations.

I quickly forgot the weirdly charged moment as every person at the table made toasts in the baby’s honor. We laughed, Belle cried, and Ryder preened.

Belle’s strange behavior in the kitchen suddenly made sense to me. Her senses of taste and smell were probably all out of whack, which was why the sauce tasted off to her and the smell of bleach would probably make her puke.

“How long have you known?” Ember asked.

“We just found out,” Belle replied. “We didn’t expect it to happen so fast. We’ve only been trying for a few weeks.”

Ryder puffed up like a rooster, making everyone laugh as he flexed his biceps. The guys made a few jokes and the girls made plans to go shopping.

Belle looked at me, and I mouthed, “congratulations, Mama.” She mouthed back, “thank you” as her eyes glassed over again.

It was a great night, all around. I just wished Chase and I didn’t have to go our separate ways when it was over.