already too far ahead to catch up, so you yell for Chase.
“Chase! Hold on a sec.”
He turns and sees you coming toward him, and it hits him that you just saw everything that happened with him and Nick. A look of embarrassment and disappointment washes over him.
Once you get within arm’s reach of each other, you ask him, “What the hell was that all about?”
Chase lets out a low chuckle while rubbing the back of his neck and says, “So you heard all that, huh?” even though he already knows your answer.
With sarcasm in your voice, you reply, “I’m pretty sure that everyone on campus just heard you two. Seriously.”
Chase drops his head looking at the ground. You grab his forearm and give it a gentle squeeze for comfort and ask him, “Are you okay?”
He looks up at you with warmth in his eyes but hesitates to say anything. You give him a serious look and cross your arms.
“Chase, I’m not leaving until you tell me what is going on,” you state.
He finally answers you, “I’m leaving…”
In absolute confusion, you start rambling before he even has a chance to finish,
“What? I’m so confused. Leaving? What do you mean leaving? Wait. Why are you leaving? Where are you going? When are you coming back? What the hell is going on?”
Chase begins to laugh and throws up his hand to catch your attention and says, “Whoa… Alex, breath. I’m not going anywhere. I’m just not graduating. There is a business opportunity, and if I’m going to do it, then I need to do it now. It can’t wait.”
You catch your breath as Chase laughs at you. “Well then, now that that’s settled, what is it? What’s this big investment that has Nick jumping down your throat about?” you ask.
“It’s going to be a nightclub.”
You raise an eyebrow
“It’s going to be?”
“Yeah. It’s an abandoned warehouse right now. It’s just a few blocks from here. I’m going to renovate it and make it a spot for the younger crowd. With it being so close to the college, it’s perfect. If only I could get your stubborn-ass brother to realize that.”
You let out a sarcastic laugh as you say, “That the understatement of the year.”
Chase can’t help but smile and then he says, “Well, now that you know, what do you think? Are you going to yell at me too, tell me that I’m being a dumbass and that I’m throwing everything away?”
You roll your eyes as you say, “No. If this is what you want, then you should do it. Plus, it sounds like your mind is already made up, so it really doesn’t matter what I think anyways.”
Chase gives you a stern look and grabs your shoulder, sending a shiver down your spine, and says, “Alex… It matters. It always matters!”
You take a hard swallow and say, “Chase, I believe in you, I’ve always believed in you. If anyone can do it, you can.”
He starts to grin ever so slightly while letting go of you. He rubs the top of your head, making your hair even more of a mess than what it already is, and then says, “Thanks, kiddo. Now I’ve got to go and close the deal on the warehouse. I’ll see you later?”
You wave goodbye but can’t help thinking to yourself, Kiddo? I’m so tired of everyone seeing me as a kid. I’m only a couple of years younger than him and Nick. I may be Nick’s little sister but come on.
Chapter Two
The fact that you’ve always been seen as a kid around Nick and his friends, especially Chase, has always driven you crazy. Not to mention the fact that you’ve had a crush on Chase for as long as you can remember. But he has always just seen you as Nick’s little sister.
As you’re ranting to yourself, you realize how late you must be. You look at your phone to check the time and see that class is almost over.
“Well, there isn’t a point in trying to make it now. I’ll just go to the library and get the books I need to review for finals next week.”
You make your way to the library, still fuming over the last words Chase had said.
It’s bad enough that I’ve loved him since I was high school and had a crush on him for as long as I can remember, and he still sees me as a kid. I mean I know that he always helped Nick look after me but I’m not a kid anymore. I’m in college getting a degree in anthropology for goodness sakes. What else do I have to do for him not to see me as a kid anymore?
You reach the library and decide to try and stop thinking about it. You have finals next week and need to study for them. You head inside and waste no time finding your way to the section of books that you need.
You spot the aisle you need and start to make your way over to it when you hear someone say, “You look like you might need some help. Can I help you find something?”
You look and see a guy stepping toward you, and you’re thrown back when you see that he looks just like Chase. Not as tall or muscular, but his face looks just like Chase’s did when he was in high school.
You give him a polite smile and say, “No. I’ve got it. Thanks though.”
He gives you a grin and replies, “Oh, okay. Well, if you need anything just ask. I’m Brian by the way.”
You introduce yourself and tell him thank you. The two of you shake hands and then you walk over to the book aisle that you need.
You begin looking through the possible books to help you review for finals, and you notice that Brian is the aisle next to yours, pulling books out where you do, leaving a direct line of sight between you.
You look at a few more books, pretending not to notice to see if he continues, and when he doesn’t stop you turn and ask, “You’re not going to start stalking me now are you?”
You both start smiling and begin to laugh. Red washes over his face, and he says, “No. Well, I was just wondering, would you be interested in going out on a date…with me?”
You raise an eyebrow and cross your arms.
“I don’t even know you.”
“Right… Okay, so…I’m Brian Wethers. I’m a sophomore. I’m studying to get my business degree. I have a younger brother. I am originally from Virginia, and I work here in the library. So now that you know me a bit better, how does Friday at seven sound?”
You stand there, not really sure what to say, thinking it over. What the? The Chase looka-like is asking me out? He is good-looking, and he seems nice. Maybe this is just what I need to help me get my mind off Chase. Lord knows that something is going to have to knock me off this thing that I have for Chase.
“Yeah, I think I’d like that,” you reply.
Brian
