Behind Chase, there was an even taller man with black sunglasses. I had no idea who he was. He looked intimidating, though, and I wondered if he was some sort of security officer or something.
“Chase!” I said as I wrapped my arms around him and squished the flowers he had in his hand.
He handed the flowers off to the tall guy in sunglasses and then picked me up and squeezed me tight. His arms around me felt like home. My body relaxed instantly as I felt his warm breath on my neck just before he kissed it. The touch of his hands on me were warm and welcoming, I couldn’t wait to feel his hands on other parts of my body.
“You’re real,” he said with a little chuckle.
“So are you.”
I held onto him and tucked my head into his neck. He smelled insanely delicious and before I knew what I was doing, I had kissed his neck. Then, up higher on his neck, and then, he turned, and he kissed me right on the lips.
My lips exploded with excitement at the touch of him, and I felt my body get excited all the way down to my toes. There was no way I could have planned it and no way could I have prepared myself for the level of energy his lips gave to me. But it was perfect. Everything was perfect.
Our lips gently touched in small little kisses as Chase finally set me back down on the ground and we separated.
“Your eye,” I said as I pulled away and noticed he had a bruise around his eye.
It was weird that I hadn’t noticed it before, but I had been too distracted by his brilliant blue eyes. I had also been distracted by his soft lips pressed against mine. He didn’t look like the type of guy who got into a lot of fights; I couldn’t imagine how on earth he had gotten a black eye.
“Oh, don’t worry. Nothing too serious.”
“It’s good to meet you,” I said with the permanent grin that was now on my face.
“You too.”
Chase grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the door as the tall guy in sunglasses grabbed my bag. I still wasn’t exactly sure if the tall guy was a security guard or what. But Chase trusted him, so I let him take my bag.
“Who’s that?” I asked looking suspiciously at the guy.
“He’s my driver today. I have business meetings to get to later. My company insisted he come with me so I showed up back at work later.”
“Oh,” I said as I looked back at the man again.
His size looked menacing, but I supposed he was probably just a regular guy doing his work. He did kind of look like he was right out of one of those American television shows I watched.
“I’m going to bring you back to my house so you can settle in, Then, I have to head back to work. I’m very sorry, but I hope you’ll understand.”
“Yes, I’m tired. I hardly slept at all on the flight. I’ll be perfectly fine,” I said and squeezed his hand.
There was a connection between the two of us that I had hoped for so badly when I got on the plane in Liechtenstein. I didn’t feel any awkwardness
at all, which was crazy for me. Even guys that I had been out on several dates with, I tended to feel weird around when I was with them.
Chase and I had a better connection than I could have hoped for. As I held his hand, I didn’t want to pull away. I wanted to stay there holding it forever and ever. My heart skipped a beat when we got to the car and he opened the door for me and let me get in first.
He was like Prince Charming, the idealized man I had dreamed about, but he was right there in front of me and totally real. I really wished I could have had Ana around to show her. She would have been so excited for me.
It did kind of worry me that he had a black eye, though. I wondered how on earth he had gotten himself punched in the eye in the first place, but I decided it wasn’t my place to ask him about it. I certainly wasn’t going to be the kind of girl who got in his way of doing business or was a nag to him.
For the time being, I was going to be the demure girl that I thought Chase and most men wanted. I didn’t want to ruin things by asking a ton of questions or not showing my appreciation for him bringing me over to America. It would be easier for us if I was just the quiet, shy girl.
On the drive to his house, I continued to hold the flowers he gave me, and I couldn’t stop smelling them. I had never received fresh flowers before, and their smell was overwhelmingly perfect. The sweet aroma filled my nostrils, and I wanted to smell them more and more.
I noticed Chase watching me, and I couldn’t help but smile at him. He squeezed my hand and just smiled back and continued to watch me, as I alternated between smelling the flowers and looking out my window in awe.
“Everything is so big,” I said as I looked at the city of Atlanta.
“That’s what she said,” Chase said and then chuckled.