Chapter 7
Britain struggled to remove Dave's large arm from around her waist, which was an exercise in futility. He was sleeping soundly; spooning against her, his arm was wrapped around her tightly, ensuring that she wouldn't get away. She pushed his arm and tried to lift it off. When that didn't work, she tried to slide down and it lift up. There was no escaping it, she was stuck.
"You're not going anywhere, so you might as well lay back down and go back to sleep." He said his voice deep and groggy.
"I gotta pee." She whined, still trying to move him off.
"No you don't. You're just trying to get dressed." He informed her pulling her closer.
"Davey, I gotta pee, really. If you don't let me go, you're going to be in a very wet bed."
Reluctantly, he let her go. Golden showers were not something that he thought were particularly sexy. If she really had to go that bad, it would be best for everyone involved, if he let her get up.
"Sucker!" She laughed and got out of the bed.
"I don't understand why you don't like to just lay with me." He turned over to his stomach and closed his eyes.
She leaned down to his face and whispered in his ear. "I'm not really that comfortable with lying around with you, naked, while your daughter's in the next room." She kissed his cheek and walked over to retrieve her tank top.
"Don't do that… don't get dressed." He whined, rolling over to look at her. She poked out her tongue and leaned down to retrieve her panties. He watched as she very slowly and seductively put them on, one leg at a time. "I'm warning you. If you do that…I'm going to have to come over there and take them off again." He sighed heavily and pulled the covers off so that he could sit up.
With a face that said I dare you, she looked him dead in the eye and pulled them further up her legs, past her knees, past her thighs and settled the thin straps across her waist. Smiling, she looked at him. "Now what?"
He put his head down and laughed. "Take those off." He warned in a deep voice, swinging one of his legs over the side of the bed.
She started to bounce on her toes, and rubbed her nose with the side of her thumb. Her other hand was in a fist making jabbing motions in the air. "You ain't so tough. I could take you." She said as she demonstrated her shadow boxing technique.
He put both feet on the floor and stood up to his full height. He rolled his shoulders back and cocked his head from side to side. With a raised eye brow, he looked down at her. "Is that a challenge? Am I supposed to be scared or something?"
"What's that supposed to mean? You don't think I could do it, do you? I've been watching Ultimate Fighting. I could kick your ass…if I wanted."
He could tell by her tone of voice, that she was serious. She really thought she could take him. He tried to hold in his laugh at the prospect of her beating him up. He could not however stop the huge grin that had spread across his face. He licked his lips to try to keep back the laughter which only ended with him biting his tongue. "I'm a lover, not a fighter." He smiled holding up his hands as he watched her bounce around the room like Muhammad Ali.
Britain rolled her eyes at Dave. "Well, I'm breaking hearts and faces." She jabbed the air to show her just how much of a bad ass she really was.
He couldn't hold it in anymore. He let out a laugh that made him bend over and put his hand on his stomach. "You really think you could beat me?" He asked through his laughter. He looked at her eyes; they were intensely blue. She's pissed! She's actually pissed. "Babe, I didn't mean that you couldn't beat me. I'm sure, somewhere, somehow, in some alternate reality, if we were in a fight of sorts, you could in actually, possibly kick my ass … maybe."
"You know what? You're not the only bad ass in this room. I can hold my own, I can fight." She hated that smug grin he was giving her. So what she couldn't move him if she wanted to, the least he could do was pretend that she was strong.
"You care to place a wager on that?" He asked still smiling like the Cheshire cat. "What are the stakes?" He heard her ask through his whimper of laughter. He played out all the things he could make her do, but that was too easy. He had to go for something that she really didn't want to do. What is it? Let's see… "If I win, you have to go to the gym with me…and my 'stupid' friends." That was a fate worse than death. Not only would she have to work out, which she hated, she would have to endure his idiot friends, all full of testosterone while she did it.
She nodded her head in acceptance. "And when I win…" She paused, "You have to paint my toe nails, go shopping with me, and hold my purse… all while wearing jeans." She insisted rolling her neck to stress the point.
She never really understood, what his adverse relationship with jeans was all about. All she knew was he never wore them. To her knowledge, he even didn't own any. He always wore sweats, dress paints or Dockers. But she secretly wanted to see him in jeans; to see the way the denim hugged his cute backside, to see those muscular thighs… the thought made her blush.
"Hey! I only asked for one thing. Why is it that you get so much if you win?" He wrinkled his brow. Surely he could have made it harder, but he was trying to be nice. After all, she stood no chance in hell of beating him in the first place.
"Do we have an accord?" She asked arching her eyebrow at the challenge.
He tossed his head back and laughed. "Yes…where are you going?" He asked as she walked passed him and grabbed the handle on the door.
"I'm going to get my nail polish. I need to make sure I pick the right color."
"Nuh-uh. Let's do this." He bent slightly at the waist as if he were ready to square off.
"Um, don't you want to put some underwear on or something? I mean… you could get hurt." She said motioning to his nude lower half.
He shook his head. What was the point of covering up? She wasn't going to win anyway. He watched in amusement as she strolled back across the room and matched his stance. The two of them circled each other, reaching a hand out to get contact with the other. With every attempted jab, he slapped her hand away; his devious grin, angering her more. Finally, she put her hands out, fingers up and motioned for him to do the same. This was going to be a battle of wit as well as strength. He stood up and looked at her as if he didn't believe it. She actually wants to see who is stronger. Be gentle with her, she's a 120 pound woman. You could snap her wrists without thinking about it.
Dave intertwined his fingers with hers. He applied a little pressure and bent her wrists back, which were easily followed by her arms. He continued to push down and back until his chest was up against hers and her arms were behind her.
Without any warning, she got on her tip-toes and kissed him. It was one of those kisses that made him lose his breath and made every muscle in his body come to life. He released her hands and wrapped his arms around her. She walked him slowly toward the bed, backward. As he pulled her down on top of him, she patted the bed three times. "I believe, I won." She whispered in his ear.
He laid there, dumbfounded as she stood up holding her arms up in the air and bounced around the room. All he could do was laugh. How could I have fallen for that? That was the oldest trick in the book: distract your partner with the lure of sex. "You cheated. That's not how you fight." He pouted.
"You, never instituted the rules of the match. I won; it was a no disqualification match. I used any means necessary."
He stood up and in one fluid motion, swept her up off her feet. Gently, he laid her back on the bed and hovered over her. "I won." He whispered right before claiming a kiss.
"How so?" she asked trying to catch her breath.
"Because, these…," he tugged on her panties, "are coming off."
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Chase entered the lobby at 9:45. She was so nervous. She had been around wrestlers since she could remember, but never once was she nervous about seeing one. It had taken her 20 minutes to get dressed, and all she could come up with was a pair of holey blue jeans and a black Velvet Revolver tank-top. She thought about wearing sandals, tennis shoes, and heals, but opted for black flip-flops instead. She really spent a long time on that "I wasn't trying to impress you" look; which she thought she failed miserably at.
She had started to ask Britain for advice, but that was a bad idea. For one, Britain might have told her dad. Although they were friends, she still didn't know how much she could trust her. The other reason was simple. When she approached the door, she distinctly heard laughter, followed by mumbling, accompanied by a moan or two. God! How many times do they have sex in one day? It was better to leave well enough alone, so she returned to her room and found something to wear.
She sat nervously in the lobby and looked at her watch again. She heard a familiar voice coming from the elevator and turned around to see who it was. Her heart almost stopped at the sight.
"So, I'm sayin'… I'll give you a call when we get to the next city." A bare chest John Cena said in the ear of a woman that looked like she could have been a stripper.
"Don't say it, if you don't mean it." The stripper woman replied, pouting at him.
"I will. I don't do this on the regular. But you… you're special. I'll call you, maybe you can come out and hang with me a lil' bit." His words dripped off his lips.
She watched him escort the stripper to the door and place a kiss on the back of her hand. The stripper blushed and headed out into the bright sunshine of LA in the morning. As he turned to walk back in the hotel, she saw a huge smile come across his lips followed by slight laughter. Chase wanted to disappear. She had held a torch for him so long, and finally she saw him for what he was; a man-whore.
He must have done this in every city, pick up some loose girl and bring them back to his hotel. He would have his way with them and send them off with the promises that they were special and that he wanted to be with them. Maybe her dad was right; maybe men were only out for one thing.
Chase could hardly finish the thought before John spotted her and approached. "What's up blondie?" He asked tugging on her hair.
She moved her head and straightened her hair out with her hand. "New friend?" She noticed how his lips curved upward when he smiled. He had the nerve to smile about treating that woman like trash right in front of her.
"Who her? Nah. I just met her. I don't even know her name. But you know, that's how playas role." She couldn't believe that he would be sitting there laughing about it, in front of her.
"I'm sure she didn't feel like that." She said looking toward the elevators for Jeff. She didn't want Jeff to see her with John, or John to know that she was going out with Jeff, or for John to know how bad he was pissing her off.
"She knew the deal from jump. You be surprised how many women, throw themselves at us. It comes with the contract. We all do it, even the Divas." He said patting her leg. Just the thought of his hand on her right now made her nostrils flair.
"Not all of you. My dad doesn't." She said no longer caring if the anger in her voice showed.
"Not now, but he did. Come on blondie, we both know you ain't as naïve as your Pops thinks you are. Before he met her," he motioned toward the ceiling indicating they were upstairs, "your Pops got more ass than all of us put together. Even when she ain't here, the offer still stands. Just saying the words WWE, makes the panties come off." She couldn't believe how smug he was. What was she thinking, having a crush on him? "Don't hate a playa; hate the game." He said before kissing her on the head and walking toward the elevator.
She sat on the couch, face red, arms crossed, cursing under her breath. Anyone who looked at her could tell she was NOT in a good mood.
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Jeff pushed the button on the elevator, hoping that he would make it downstairs before Chase did. He had been successful in avoiding Matt and Ashley's interrogations all night. Apparently, the pair of them had spotted him and Chase talking at the pool.
"So Jeff, who's your new friend?" Ashley asked with smile.
Matt shook his head in disbelief. "Didn't I tell you, Jeffro? That one's not for you. She too young man, besides, her dad is gonna kick your ass. Leave her alone."
He couldn't pay attention to Matt; he had no idea what he was talking about. Matt never knew what he was talking about, if he did, he would have known that Amy was cheating on him and he would have never hooked up with Ashley. She was annoying as hell! Why would he take advice from a man whose girlfriend called him V1? V1? What the hell does that mean anyway?
As he entered the lobby, he saw her. She looked beautiful. Even though she was wearing beat up blue jeans and a tank top, he felt like he should have taken more time to get ready. He didn't think about his clothes when he put on the blue bandana, white beater, Kaki shorts and purple Vans.
He decided that his attire would have to do, or else he would late. He walked slowly over to her, paying particular attention to her face. So, that's what it looks like when an angel gets mad. He couldn't help the smile that crossed his lips as he went to say hello. "You ok?" he asked cautiously. She glared at him and nodded. Without a word, she stood up and headed toward the door.
"You know where you wanna go? We could eat here at the hotel if you want." He said fidgeting with the leather wristband he wore. He had no idea what she was upset about; he just hoped it had nothing to do with him.
"No. I don't want to run into any of my dad's asshole friends. Anywhere else but here is fine." She said suddenly aware that Jeff was avoiding looking at her.
Jeff shrugged and walked with her out to his rental. He had rehearsed it over and over again, how a gentleman is supposed to treat a lady. He remembered to hold the door open for her, but he had forgotten to close it. It wasn't until he rounded his side of the car, that he saw her reach over and close the door shut. 'Shit! You idiot!' he yelled at himself, before opening the door and getting in.
As he started the ignition, the radio blast made Chase jump. He closed his eyes and prayed to just be swallowed up by the seat. "Sorry." He said as he adjusted the volume.
"That's Pearl Jam. I love them." She said and started to sing along.
She's perfect. She even likes good music!
Chase had suggested that they go to a restaurant close to her school. It was the same place that she practically lived in last semester. He didn't mind the drive, he was actually enjoying listening to her sing; she had a pretty good voice.
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Britain picked up the note taped to the TV. Daddy, Gone to breakfast, I'll be back soon. My cell is on, if you need me. Chase. "So much for asking her if she wanted to have a girl's day out," she sighed. She turned back toward the bedroom when she heard Dave singing loudly in the bathroom.
I wish he could take a shower quietly. But no, she was now enjoying the sounds of 80s hair bands; off key to boot. She walked to the bathroom door and stuck her head in. Whatever he was singing he was really giving his best performance. Trying not laugh, she listened closely… "You say I'm never gonna break ya. But we won't know until we try…" She watched him grab the bottle of shampoo and hold it to his mouth like a microphone.
I know that song, she thought as she listened closer. "So now's the time to make up your mind…" He sang louder getting more and more off key. This time, he coupled his rock star performance with delicate side sways in the shower, completely oblivious to the fact that he had a live audience,
"The Bullet Boys? Babe, you're really dating yourself." She said walking in the bathroom and hopping up on the sink.
Slightly embarrassed, he smiled. "What? That was good music. They don't make it like that anymore." He turned off the shower and stepped out. He couldn't help but to laugh as he grabbed his towel.
It was something about the innocent way she sat there and talked to him that he liked about her. For the first time in a long time, he actually had a "relationship", someone that he could just kick it with. It had taken a little time to get use to, but for the first time since his second divorce, he'd actually found someone that he would consider more than a lover, he considered her his friend.
"You don't have to tell me. That was the best concert I ever went to." Am I really that old? It seemed like only yesterday she was making signs to hold up at rock concerts. Hanging out with her friends at the Capital Center, and her Ma waiting in the parent's quiet room, while they drooled over the guys on stage.
"You had to be like 2 back then," he said mocking her about her age.
"Dude, I was almost 13. The Bullet Boys opened for Winger and Cinderella. That show was awesome." She laughed remembering how stupid she must have looked, trying to act like mature women back then.
"When you were 12, I was 23. You know, I could've gone to jail for you back then," he said suddenly becoming aware of how big their age difference was.
"Maybe. But I was very mature for my age. You know, I got to meet them that night. One of my friends actually hooked up with the guitarist from the Bullet Boys a few years later."
"So you were a groupie at 12? What the hell did you possibly have to talk to those guys about?" He wrapped the towel around his waist, extremely interested in what she had to say.
"The usual, their music, braces, 7th grade, that kind of stuff."
He laughed deeply. He could imagine her being 12. Sitting on a tour bus with a bunch of horny guys, trying desperately hard to be a grown up.
"It wasn't until I was 14, that I kissed my first rock star, though," she smiled walking out of the bathroom. He furrowed his brow and started after her. "Who the hell were you kissing at 14?"
"Oh, no one in particular. Let's just say I met a lot of people at Hammerjacks." He smiled. "Hammerjacks, now that's a name I haven't heard in a long time. How the hell were you able to get in there?" Being from DC he was really well acquainted with the clubs in Baltimore. He had been there before and gotten into some really interesting things there too. He just hoped that she hadn't.
"I had a friend who was a bouncer. I never got carded, mostly everyone knew me." She laughed.
He walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her, "So, you've been a groupie for a long time, huh?" He turned her around and kissed her softly. "Why don't you show me what you learned?"
She laughed, wiggling out of his arms. "I have never been a groupie. I was more like a personal fan. Besides, I think you're a little too old to show you some of the things I've learned. Don't want to dislocate your hip or anything." She teased patting his backside.
His face grew concerned, "Remind me to keep you away from my girls. I swear if one of them ever so much as thinks about…" He suddenly thought about one of his girls, being all over some sleazy rock star types; the type of guys that have women at their beck and call, the types of guys that walked out into a crowd and picked the one they wanted to take back to their room, the types of guys that he was friends with. Her deep laughter quickly drew him out of his dark fantasy.
"Believe me, they think about it. Babe, Maddy's 16. You don't see it when she looks at Randy? She's thought about it. I'd say, she's got a crush." She walked passed him and patted his chest.
He sat on the bed, his mind racing. Maddy? Not my Maddy. She's so innocent, no, she hasn't…But…I'm going to kill Randy.
"Dude, relax. She's a good girl. All I'm saying is, your girls are turning into women. Trust me, I was doing a lot worse at 16." When he got like this, obsessive, she wanted to knock him out. They always laughed about the wild times they had as kids. But when it came to his girls, he mistakenly thought they were angels. She tried to explain to him on many occasions, that they were growing up and he had to respect that. But, he had made it his mission to shelter his girls and he was going to do it even if that meant beating the shit out of every guy that came in contact with them. His relationship with his daughters was one sided. To him they were angels and they made sure not to tarnish that image of them. All three of them knew that he loved them unconditionally, but they knew how he could get. It would take nothing for him to embarrass the hell out them when it came to their protection.
She watched as he riffled through his bag and pulled out his cell phone. Trying to stifle her laugh, she made an angry face at him as she watched him dial the number and sit impatiently waiting for the phone to ring.
"Hey Peanut…How's it going? Good…Yeah, I'm in California…yeah, in two weeks…we'll see honey. Hey Alli, is Maddy there?"
Britain shook her head. She knew what he was about to do. That poor child was going to be interrogated. She quickly ran up to him and tried to take the phone from his hand. He held her off with one hand and moved around with the other so she couldn't grab it. Frustrated, she backed up and stood in front of him waving her hands frantically to stop the impending inquisition.
"Hey Pumpkin, it's Daddy. Good, you…You being a good girl? Nothin', just wondering…I know. It's just…yeah, but you're just growing up so fast and I'm not there all the time…no Pumpkin, I feel fine…I know. I miss you too…yeah in two weeks. She came in yesterday…tomorrow I think. She's fine, she's here too… I don't know, I can ask her but she may have to work. I don't know, mom might not like that…When I come, you think you might want to get dinner with your old man? Ok, it's a date...Randy? Why would he come? What's with…ok, Pumpkin…I'll tell her...see you soon… love you, too. Bye." He dropped the phone and put his head in his hands. "My baby's growing up."
Britain smiled sincerely at him as she put her arms around him. "I'm very proud of you. You should be very proud too. You have wonderful kids that love you very much. Now let's just hope they have enough sense not to turn out like you." She laughed kissing his cheek.
"What about Chase? You think she's still a good girl?" His face made her heart break. He couldn't actually think that he could keep this woman bottled up in a little girl's life forever.
Britain had always known that he was over protective, but this was ridiculous. "Chase is a grown woman…" she placed her finger on his lips to stop him from talking, "a grown woman. Any choices she makes are her own. You have to support her, no matter what."
"Maybe, you could just talk to her. Find out if she's… you know." He pleaded with her eyes.
She shook her head and laughed. There was no way in hell she was going to approach his daughter and ask her about her sexual status. No matter how much she loved him, that was never going to happen.
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Chase and Jeff sat in the crowded restaurant in the booth in the back. "You seem nervous." Chase said never lifting her head from the breakfast menu.
Jeff had been pulling the plastic covering off of his menu since they were seated. "Or maybe, I'm always like this." He smiled. "You know, most people think I'm pretty weird."
Chase shrugged and went back to menu. She knew the menu by heart, but she couldn't look at him. "You seem pretty normal to me."
That was a response he hadn't been expecting. This girl was different. She hadn't once tried to stop him from ripping up the menu; she didn't say anything smart when he asked the waitress for the kid's placemat and a pack of crayons. He wasn't trying to piss her off, but he thought if he were himself, it would probably happen anyway. But, she hadn't gotten pissed off. In fact, she seemed to be having a better time than she was in the hotel. "So? You gonna tell me why you were lookin' so mad earlier." Jeff asked as the waitress walked away. He picked up a crayon and started to do the word search on the kids menu.
"John Cena." She replied. Jeff didn't look up, but nodded his head. "Oh, there's pancake." Chase picked up another crayon and circled the word.
Jeff's mouth went dry. Was she actually helping him do a child's word search? This was too good to be true.
"Do you sleep around on the road?" She asked nonchalantly. She couldn't believe she just asked him that. She'd never been a particularly subtle person before, but that was just down right rude. She really didn't know him from Adam, and had no right to ask him about his sex life.
Jeff let a huge smile creep across his face. "Um…what?"
"John says, that all you guys screw around when you're on the road." She said folding her arms across her chest. "I know you guys travel a lot and girls are probably throwing their underwear at you in every city. But, I mean… you don't have to indulge, do you?"
Jeff sat there slack jawed. She was livid! Her eyes narrowed as she spoke, her ears turned a pale shade of red. 'God, she's cute when she's mad.'
"I think my dad's a good man. I don't think he would cheat on Britain or anything. But John said that he gets women throwing themselves at him too…" She was doing it again; rambling. She always did that when she was angry or nervous.
"I don't know." Jeff responded slowly. "There are lots of women more than willin' to warm your bed. Some of them are willin' to do anythin'. I could tell you about some of the fan mail me and Matt get. But, I think it depends on the person. Some guys like the fact that can get with all these different women. But, if it comes that easy, I don't want it."
"Did you always feel like that?" She asked looking him in the eye. She needed to tell if he were lying.
"No. I started in this business when I was 16. To a 16 year old boy, getting laid by a different woman every night was the best thing on earth. But it gets old after awhile. You start to realize, they don't care 'bout you; just that they just wanna get with someone in the WWE. Sometimes, you just want someone to talk to, ya know? But then I realized they didn't wanna talk to me. Or if they did, they wanted me to tell them 'bout Matt, or Jericho or someone like that. Just sorta realized that I needed more." It was the truth. He tried to keep his loneliness out of his voice, but it was evident by Chase's face that he wasn't successful.
"Did my dad sleep around a lot?" She asked seriously. She felt a slight bit of anger when he shrugged his shoulders. You know damn well, he did. You just don't want to tell me.
"You know what it's like. Bein' alone…just needin' someone to comfort you." He said drawing cartoons on the other side of the menu.
She laughed. "I told you. I've only had a few boyfriends. I have no idea what it's like. God, my dad is going to have a fit when he finds out I went to breakfast with you. Can you imagine what he would do if I ever had sex?" She was doing it again! Not only did she ask him about his and her father's sex lives, but she just admitted to him that she was virgin! If she could have fit under the table, she would have dove under it. She was more than happy when the waitress brought their breakfast to the table. But she thought she noticed a smile on Jeff's face at her admission.
Jeff carefully stacked his pancakes, making them into a perfect pillar. He carefully poured syrup on the center and let it drizzle down the sides, so that each side had a drizzle that was no more than 4 inches a part from each other. He picked up the bowl of strawberries and sliced one in 6 slithers. He carefully placed the slivers around his pancakes. Finally, he grabbed the whipped cream and drizzled it on the sides, creating perfect flower buds.
Chase watched in amazement as Jeff worked over his food. By the time he was finished, the pancakes were a masterpiece, they looked more like a wedding cake than pancakes. "Do you always do that?" She asked motioning toward his plate.
"Since I was a kid. I like to see what kinds of designs I can come with." He braced himself for her to say she was ready to go. He had embarrassed her in public, he was sure of it.
To his surprise, Chase pushed her plate of French toast toward him. "What can you do with mine?" She asked, flashing her dimples.
Jeff's heart fluttered as he picked up her plate and began to arrange her food into a culinary masterpiece. By the time he was finished, she had stacks on both sides, with a whipped cream and strawberry flowers spelling out her name.
Chase couldn't stop herself from laughing. "I'm almost afraid to eat it; it's so pretty." She regarded him as he shrugged, noticing how muscular his shoulders were. "I hope it tastes as good as it looks."
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Dave knocked on Chase's door and when she didn't answer he cracked it open. "Chase, you ready for breakfast?" When there was no answer he walked in the room. The bed was made, but there was at least six outfits carelessly thrown across the room. "Babe? Do you know where Chase is?" He called out picking up her clothing and placing it on the bed.
"I forgot to tell you. She left a note, she went to breakfast." Britain answered rinsing the toothpaste out of her mouth. "She said to call her if you need something."
He walked into the bathroom and leaned up against the sink. "Why didn't she wait for us?"
"Maybe it was because you decided to have dessert before breakfast. Or could it be that it took you thirty minutes to put on two coats of nail polish? My toes look great by the way." She said kissing him on the chin and walking out of the bathroom.
Dave pulled out his cell phone. He had to admit, he was a little disappointed that she would go to breakfast without seeing if they wanted to go too. He scrolled through his phone and found her number.
"Hello?" she said quietly. "Hey, Princess. Why didn't you wait for us?" He asked trying to hear her through the sounds of clattering dishes in the background. His cheeks got warm when she said that she could tell that he and Britain were busy, so she went without them.
"I thought I'd get to spend some time with you before you leave tomorrow. What do you have planned for the day?" He asked hoping that she could make some time for him. He sighed when she said that she had planned on doing some shopping for her apartment, and that he could tag along if he wanted.
"How about you just use my credit card instead. That way it will just feel like I'm there. You think that you can give me some time and maybe we can have dinner together? Just us?" It was harder than he thought to ask his daughter if she wanted to take some time and just catch up. But was relieved when she said yes. "Eight o'clock? See you then. I love you." And his heart melted when she said she loved him too.
He walked back in the room and sat on the bed. "Chase doesn't want to hang out with me. She's going shopping. Maybe you should go with her, you know, keep her company." His face broken into a frown making him look like a 315 pound baby.
"She's probably going out with one of her roommates. She has friends here, remember. If she were lonely, she would have asked one of us to go with her." She pulled her skirt down past her hips. "Besides, you are shopping with me. We gotta get you some jeans."
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Chase closed her phone and looked at Jeff. "I'm surprised he didn't ask me more questions." She said casually, biting into a strawberry.
"Can I ask you a question?" Jeff put down his fork. "How old are you?" He'd heard her tell John that she was turning twenty and that he shouldn't be asking a woman her age. But, Dave seemed really protective of her and she was a virgin…
"I'm nineteen, but my birthday's August 9th." She answered trying not to sound too excited. Birthdays had always been her favorite thing. Her family always went out for birthdays. Last year, she'd gotten a car, this year she was hoping for a trip to Europe. Oh, she couldn't wait until August 9th.
"Mine's August 31." Jeff smiled.
"So, how old are you?" She asked quickly. Judging from his look, she would guess that he was about 24, 25; but looks can be deceiving.
"I'll be 30. I can't believe it. 30! When the hell did I get that old?" He laughed. He noticed the hint of shock on her face. "I know. Don't act it do I?"
"No; you don't look it. Besides, 30's not old." She had to admit, the thought did cross her mind. Her dad was 11 years older than Britain, who was only 8 years older than her. Jeff was 10 years older than her and only 10 years younger than her dad; man, that was confusing.
"Why'd you ask me how old I was?" She leaned over the table to take another strawberry off of Jeff's plate. She frowned when he shook his head. She knew he had a reason, but getting it out of him was another story.
"It's just, um… you said, you know, you'd never…I mean being 20 and all. It's just kinda different." If he hadn't done enough this morning to make sure this girl never wanted to talk to him again, this last comment would have certainly sealed the deal.
"I'm the last of dying breed. You know that movie, 40 Year Old Virgin? That'll be me in a few years." She looked at Jeff who bit his lip. "I've never really gotten close enough with any boy to even want to. Besides, my head's always in the books. I don't have time to even date."
Jeff could tell she was getting uncomfortable with the conversation, so he changed topics. "So what ya takin' at school?" Her face lit up when he asked.
"I took some pretty easy stuff this semester. The only thing I'm worried about is Intro to Drawing. I can't draw, like you. You really couldn't tell what my stick figures are supposed to be." She laughed pointing at his cartoon.
"Drawin's easy. You just gotta imagine the lines and let your hand and mind work together; forget about using your eyes. You gotta feel what you're drawin'." She shook her head. "I can help you out if with that, if you want." He wasn't sure if he was being too forward; for that implied that he would be seeing her again.
"So, what do you have planned for the rest of the day?" She asked placing her napkin on her empty plate. He frowned and shook his head. "Well since you invited me to breakfast, how would you like to go shopping with me for stuff for my new place? I could really use the help. Especially from someone with an artistic eye, like you."
He was flattered. She actually wanted to spend more time with him. Oh, you muses were in full effect today. "Well it beats the hell out of what I was gonna do, which was nothin'. I'd love to."