Page 39 of Dibs
“It’s not like I’ve had the best luck with dating. The whole thing with Lisa was toxic as hell, and I’ve only dated a handful of women since my divorce.”
“Maybe that’s the problem.”
“What is?” I asked over the top of my beer.
“You keep dating women.”
“We already established I tried dating a guy. It wasn’t great either.”
“Maybe one guy isn’t enough to decide. How about you give dating another one a shot?”
The doorbell rang before I could respond. The boys came running down the stairs as I grabbed our dinner from the delivery guy.
“Dad, what are you still doing here?” Jase asked his father.
“Gage invited me to stay for dinner,” he explained as I set the pizza boxes on the counter.
“Then we’re going to talk about spring ball,” I added, hoping Chase understood that I didn’t want him to leave after we ate.
The smile he aimed in my direction told me he knew exactly what I wanted.
* * *
After Tyler leftfor his friend’s place and the other two boys returned to Dylan’s room, Chase and I moved to the living room.
“Want to watch a movie?” I asked.
He took a seat on the couch. “Sure.”
I scrolled through some options until we settled on a new action flick.
“So, not that I’m disappointed or anything, but how did you end up bringing Jase over tonight?”
“I had something to give Jamie. While I was at her house, Jase mentioned he was spending the night here, and I offered to drive him over.” He glanced at the television and then added, “And, maybe I wanted to see you.”
“I wanted to see you too,” I admitted with a grin.
We continued to watch the movie for a bit, but the words he’d said before the pizza delivery had interrupted us kept playing through my mind. I turned to face him, propping my knee on the cushion between us. “What did you mean earlier when you said I should give dating a guy another shot?”
“What do you think I meant?” He smirked.
“I don’t want to assume anything. I spent the last seventeen years thinking you regretted the first time we messed around. It’s probably best if we’re just honest with each other about how we’re feeling.”
He nodded. “Okay. You’re right. I’ve been thinking about everything since you left my house and I want us to spend more time together. Is that something you want?”
Knowing the boys couldn’t see into the living room from the second floor and I would hear them if they made their way down, I slid a little closer to Chase. “I think I’d like that.”
He leaned toward me, and I wrapped my hand around the back of his head, pulling him closer. My lips crashed against his, and he returned the kiss with the same level of intensity, our tongues tangling together.
We’d already taken things further the night I’d accepted Chase’s coffee invitation, but given our circumstances with the kids under the same roof, making out was probably as far as we’d go. I wasn’t going to complain, though, because kissing Chase was pretty fucking good.
I trailed my hand down his back, feeling just how muscular he was. It was such a contrast to all of my previous partners, who had been soft and delicate, and I couldn’t get enough. As much as I loved touching him, feeling his hands on me felt just as amazing.
Needing to be closer to him, I got up on my knees and gently pushed him back until he was lying down on the couch. I covered his body with mine and returned my mouth to his. I could feel his hardness pressing against me, and I let out a small groan.
“Damn, I can’t get enough of you,” I mumbled against his lips.
“Me either.” He ran his hands across my ass and tugged me closer to him.
