Pieces of Summer

“Because I’m pathetic and don’t want to risk you disappearing,” I tell her with a shrug, watching as she beams up at me like I’ve said something magical.

Chapter 35

MIKA

My fingers have been running through Chase’s hair for so long, and he breathes easily as I continue my pattern.

“You’re the only one who has ever done that,” he murmurs sleepily.

A smile breaks across my face, and I kiss him on the cheek. “Good.”

He grabs my wrist and pulls it down to kiss my hand, before entwining our fingers together.

“I’ll go to sleep if you don’t stop,” he says with that boyish grin he’s been wearing lately. It’s a stark contrast to the scowl he wore when I first came into town. “And we still need to order something to eat,” he adds.

Smiling, I turn my attention back toward the sky.

“So no food is allowed in the house or something?” Chase asks me as we stare up at the stars, lying on the roof—our spot. We’re holding hands like teenagers, and my head is now on his shoulder.

“Or something,” I answer on a happy sigh, loving the way he feels against me.

For the past week, I’ve gone to his shop a few times. I’ve also gone to the bowling alley a lot, checking in on things. Chuck is good about filling me in on how amazing the numbers look, without giving me actual numbers.

He’s a good man who doesn’t ask a lot of questions, but does exactly as I ask. I think he enjoys this job a lot more than he liked his gas station job with random hours that made it hard to have a steady home life.

As for me, I’ve worked twice as hard to make sure not to fall into a routine since Chase doesn’t realize there can’t be a routine.

I set the alarm differently, changing the minute back and forth by a couple or a single digit each day so he can get ready for work. But I’m still worried what will happen now if it doesn’t go off at all. I’ve gotten used to hearing an alarm daily, even if it isn’t at the same time.

I’ll worry about that when the time comes.

I never let him use the snooze button, since that’s a habit for normal people.

I used to love the snooze button.

Painstaking measures have been taken to keep him from unknowingly breaking too many of my rules. It’s hard as hell, but it’s worth it.

And sex is incredible. I’ve missed it. And it’s not being used as a coping mechanism. Since Chase is very unpredictable and has excellent stamina, there’s also nothing habitual about it, other than the fact it’s been daily…

Deciding not to think about it, I look up to see him smirking toward the sky.

“What are you thinking?” I ask him.

“Honestly?” he muses as his smirk turns into a full-blown grin.

“Yes…”

He glances down at me and waggles his eyebrows. “I’m thinking about how I lost my virginity in this exact spot.”

I laugh lightly while rolling my eyes. “Our roof,” I sigh.

“Well, yeah, but I mean this very exact spot on the roof.”

I can’t help but laugh a little harder. “You can’t know this was the very exact spot.”

His eyebrows go up in challenge. “Trust me, Mika. I was a sixteen-year-old boy and fucking head-over-heels in love with you. There’s no doubt in my mind this was the exact spot, because it’s seared into my memory as the best day of my life.”

My smile only grows as my hand skates across the button of his jeans, slowly undoing it. He watches me with a smirk, as I push his shirt up and kiss the lines of his abs.